The Unique Identification (UID) project has incurred an expenditure of R3,062 crore as of July end as against a total cost of R12,398 crore sanctioned by the government. ?Against a total cost of R12,398 crore sanctioned by the government for the UID project, an expenditure of R3,062 crore has been incurred as on July 31,? MoS for planning Rajeev Shukla said.
?Food Bill to cover 67% population?
The food security programme is not restricted to the poor and the population covered by it is about three times the number of people below the poverty line. ?The government has decided to cover 67% of the population under the Food Security Act. The proposed coverage is not restricted to the poor only. As per Planning Commission estimates, 21.9% of the people live below the poverty line in 2011-12.
?SAIL profit hit by lower steel price?
Sharp decline in steel prices, high operation cost and old and outdated technology are the primary reasons for lower profit of SAIL, steel minister Beni Prasad Verma said on Thursday. Profit after tax of SAIL came down to R2,170 crore in 2012-13 from R3,543 crore a year earlier, Verma said.
Highways growth hit by weak mkts
Poor market conditions and non-availability of debt with lending institutions were the prime reasons for lacklustre performance of the highways sector in the previous fiscal, MoS for road transport and highways Tushar A Chaudhary said. The NHAI awarded 1,116 km of projects as against a target of 8,100 km in the financial year 2012-13, he said. The government has decided to award works on EPC along with BOT (built-operate-transfer).