To woo the farming community, the Centre decided to set up National Commission for Farmers. Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said after a Cabinet meeting held at Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s residence that the commission would cover issues like disbursal of farm loans, rate of interest charged and implementation of crop insurance schemes.

The Centre also approved a national policy for street vendors to protect them from exploitation and extortion. Urban Development Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the vendors would be provided with walking zones and identity cards.

The Cabinet also gave its approval to South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA). The agreement on the creation of SAFTA was reached at the Islamabad SAARC Summit to permit trade and economic cooperation among the seven members. The agreement would come into effect from January 1, 2006.

The Cabinet also cleared a new food grain policy that would allow private traders to directly procure and export wheat and rice. It allowed private exporters to procure food grain from the open market in a bid to ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce. The ministries of Commerce and Food and Consumer Affairs would prepare and operate a monitoring scheme to prevent scarcity of food grain within the country.

The Cabinet also permitted payment of WTO compatible costs to all exports of foodgrain and their products. It also decided to set up National Commission for Farmers to review the status of Indian agriculture and assess the conditions of farmers.

Under the policy, which will be implemented by the respective municipalities in various states and Union Territories, unions, cooperatives and associations of street vendors would be promoted to facilitate their empowerment and end harassment at the hands of authorities.

The Union Cabinet also cleared a draft concession agreement for the proposed $250-million international airport in Bangalore.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the concession agreement laid down obligations for various stakeholders. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone for the airport at Devanahalli, near Bangalore.

The shareholders in Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) include the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation with a 13 per cent equity, Airports Authority of India with another 13 per cent and Siemens consortium with a 74 per cent stake.