Cabinet approves signing oil & gas co-operation pact with Mozambique

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between India and Mozambique for cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons for a period of five years.

The MoU is for cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream oil and gas sector, encouragement of trade and investment between the two countries, promoting dialogue among all concerned parties and intensify technology transfer, an official statement said.

“Mozambique is strategically located near India and is ideally suited for bringing natural gas to India at market-determined price. Participation of Indian energy companies in the project will facilitate access to LNG for the growing Indian gas market,” it added.

The Union Cabinet also approved the signing of an agreement to abolish visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and official/service passports. The agreement between the countries would allow such officials to enter and exit, transit through, and stay in the other country for up to 90 days without a visa.

In another decision, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the acquisition of Polar Research Vessel (Ice-breaker, Research cum Supply Vessel) by the Ministry of Earth Sciences for ₹1,051 crore. The acquisition has to be made within 34 months.

“The Ministry of Earth Sciences felt it necessary to have the country’s own polar research vessel considering the need to sustain two Indian research bases in Antarctica (Maitri and Bharti),” the statement said.

The Cabinet also approved introducing the School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014 in Parliament to bring all three Schools of Planning and Architecture within the ambit of the legislation. The proposed Act will empower these schools to award degrees and enable them to become centres of excellence such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology.

The Cabinet also approved transfer on a lease basis of 4.687 acres (instead of the earlier approved 15.19 acres) of defence land in perpetuity to the Kendriya Vidyalaya for construction of school building and other related infrastructure for the KV No. 2 school in Gurgaon.

The formalities relating to the transfer of land would be completed within three months.