M A I N   N E W S

Retirement age of teaching docs raised
Girja Shankar Kaura
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 5
The Union Cabinet today raised the retirement age of specialists teaching Central Health Service doctors from 62 to 65 years.

The Cabinet, at its meeting chaired by Manmohan Singh, gave the clearance for increasing the retirement age that would help the availability of teaching specialists for longer time.

“The enhanced age of retirement would be available to those specialists who are engaged only in teaching activities and are not occupying administrative positions,” I&B minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting.

Such CHS officers who are occupying administrative positions would have the option of seeking appointment to teaching positions in case they wish to continue up to 65 years, Dasmunsi said.

Scholarships

The Cabinet in another decision also gave its approval to the revised draft agreement between the US and India for financing certain education exchange programmes and also gave its approval for change in nomenclature of the “Fulbright Scholarship” to “Fulbright-Jawaharlal Nehru Scholarships and Grants”.

Kolkata Metro

The Cabinet also gave its approval for the implementation of the East-West Metro Corridor project in Kolkata covering a length of 13.77 km (8 km under ground and 5.77 km elevated), on standard gauge from Howrah station to Salt Lake Sector V at a completion cost of Rs 4,676 crore.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be constituted for successful execution of the project as well as its operation and maintenance. Such SPV will be a joint venture company of the West Bengal government and the Centre.

The objective behind the implementation of the project is to provide much needed additional transport infrastructure to Kolkota.