Women get 50% seats in panchayats

New Delhi

Aug. 27: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to provide 50 per cent reservation for women in all three tiers of panchayats, a major decision to ensure greater representation of women in the decision-making process at the local level.
The government will bring a Constitution amendment Bill in the next session of Parlia-
ment to enhance reservation for women from the current 33 per cent to at least 50 per cent.
The move will apply to the total number of seats filled by direct election, the office of chairpersons and seats and offices of chairpersons reserved for SCs and STs.
With the proposed constitutional amendment, the number of women representatives is expected to be over 14 lakh.
The Cabinet also approved a proposal to set up Indian Institutes of Management in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhatt-isgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
The government also decided to provide full interest subsidy on education loans taken by poor students to pursue technical and professional courses and fixed their parental income limit at Rs 4.5 lakh per annum to avail the benefit.
Source :: DC