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Cabinet nod for tourism policy

BS Economy Bureau

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the new health and tourism policies. It also approved the introduction of the Payment of Wages (amendment) Bill, 2002, incorporating the recommendations of a group of ministers.

It also cleared a special package for Jammu & Kashmir and approved a Rs 24.98-billion plan for development of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III of 4-tonne class payload capacity.

It will have a foreign exchange component of Rs 6.28 billion to create the potential for making two yearly launches by 2007-08. The Insat-III satellites fall in the 2.5-2.7 tonne range.

The Cabinet also okayed the setting up of a national laboratory practice compliance monitoring authority to ensure availability of reliable data to regulatory authorities for making risk and hazard assessment.

The authority will be under the administrative control of the department of science and technology with its secretary as the chairman.

The tourism policy aims at improving infrastructure, promoting domestic tourism, setting up circuits to attract foreign tourists, and promoting India as the tourist destination.

The J&K package, tailored on the lines of the one for the northeastern states, will provide a 10-year excise holiday for new and existing units that go in for substantial expansion from the date of commencement of production.

This is in addition to the five-year income-tax holiday for the units, with an additional benefit of 30 per cent tax payment for another five years.

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