The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy providing preference to domestically manufactured goods for government procurements, in a major step to boost the government’s Make in India initiative. It also approved the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which has, for 25 years, been the single-point window for clearing foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals requiring government nod.

The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also gave its nod to a “strategic partnership” model under which select private firms would be engaged to build military platforms like fighter jets, submarines and battle tanks.  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which met before the Cabinet, approved the closure of Janpath hotel in the national capital. The property will be used for setting up government offices. It also cleared the hike in fair price for sugarcane by Rs 25 a quintal, a move that will benefit about five crore farmers across cane-producing states. Read more…