Rush hour for cabinet as election code looms

livemint.com:

₹43,700 crore trans-shipment terminal at Great Nicobar island, and digitally connecting agencies in the debt resolution ecosystem are among key proposals awaiting cabinet nod. Major decisions are expected in the areas of infrastructure and public service. The proposal for the International Container Transshipment Terminal in Great Nicobar island that the Cabinet will consider is under the public-private partnership model, said one of the persons quoted above.

The aim is to get this project off the ground and invite bids in the first quarter of the next fiscal year after the cabinet approval, the person said. The project has already received in-principle approval from the finance ministry and funding clearance from the ministry's public investment board (PIB). Shipping and ports minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Mint in September that close to 10 domestic and global players have responded to the expression of interest sought for the mega project.

The cabinet is also likely to consider a proposal from the coal ministry to set up a coal trading exchange with Coal Controller Organisation attached to the ministry as the regulator. The plan is to launch the platform early so that trading can start from next fiscal, a second person said. The road ministry's Vision 2047 plan, under which over 50,000 km of access-controlled expressways would be built over next decade, is also likely to come up before the cabinet.

Cabinet approval is needed for the annual construction projects to be planned under the vision, a third person said. Experts pointed out that decision-making invariably slows down once the code of conduct kicks in. “The government of the day will not be in a position to announce new projects or even make major