New Delhi : The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for extending the scheme of interest subversion of one percent on housing loans up to 15 lakh rupees for the year 2012-13. The cost of the house should not be exceed 25 lakh rupees. Briefing the decision of Cabinet meeting to media persons in New Delhi today, Home Minister P.Chidambaram said that a budgetary provision of four hundred crore rupees has been made for financial year 2012-13 for implementing the scheme. The extended scheme will benefit all housing loans availed in financial year 2012-13.

In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Cabinet also gave its nod to the proposal to offer financial support for the development of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters, EMCs. The proposed EMCs scheme will support setting up of Greenfield and Brown field EMCs and will help in developing of entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Mr. Chidambaram said that the construction of Additional Office Complex for the Supreme Court of India has also been sanctioned by the Cabinet. According to the approval Additional Office Complex will be constructed on the adjoining Pragati Maidan land at an estimated cost of 884 crore 30 lakh rupees. It will facilitate planned and segregated movement of various stake holders and users. Non- judiciary and litigants waiting hall and lawyers offices will be constructed in the Additional Office Complex.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for reimbursement of freights for distribution of Phosphatic and Potassic fertilizers under the Nutrient Based Subsidy Policy. This will ensure equitable prices of these fertilizers across all regions.

The CCEA also gave its nod to the proposal of Tamil Nadu government to set up a Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment region, PCPIR, in the Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts of the State. Such PCPIRs have already been approved for Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Odisha. In Tamil Nadu, a total investment of more than 92 thousand crore rupees is expected in the PCPIR.