The union cabinet on Thursday paved the way for centralised processing of e-filed income tax returns at Bangalore. It also approved
the National Policy on safety, health and environment at work place.

The CPC, that entails an estimated expenditure of Rs 255.46 crore over a period of five years, would make processing returns and issue of refunds expeditious.The CPU will also process paper income tax returns from Karnataka in initial stages and other states of the region subsequently, union home minister P Chidambaram told reporters here.
The cabinet approved amendments to the Rubber Act, 1947 which will allow the Rubber Board to prescribe standards for quality, labelling and packaging for the commodity produced in the country, imported into the country and exported from the country.

The changes in the Act, which was last amended in 1994, will also empower the Board to levy cess.
It also gave its go-ahead to setting up of electric locomotive factory at Madhepura and diesel locomotive factory at Marhowra in 26:74 joint venture. Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens have been shortlisted for the electric locomotive factory and GE India and EMD, USA for diesel locomotive.

The cabinet gave its approval for setting up two more All India Institute of Medical Sciences- like institutes and upgradation of five regional medical colleges. While the new institutes would set up at a cost of Rs 823 crore each, state medical colleges would be upgraded at an expenditure of Rs 150 crore.

With polls in sight, the cabinet approved expansion of the scope of National Social Assistance Programme to provide pension at the rate of Rs 200 per month to include widows between 40-64 years and persons with severe disabilities between 18-64 years, below the poverty line. This would entail and estimated expenditure of Rs 1691 crore.
The cabinet has allowed the additional allocation of Rs 500 crore to Cotton Corporation of India in the current fiscal to facilitate the enterprise to undertake minimum support price operations.

The cabinet also gave its go-ahead to memorandum of understanding between India, Brazil and South Africa for co-operation in the field of human settlements. MoU between India and Egypt for co-operation in the area of health and medicine were also given ex-post facto approval.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the modification of the guidelines of the sub mission on urban infrastructure and governance under the JNNURM. This would allow states to purchase buses upto June 30, 2009 under the scheme as announced in the stimulus package. gave its go-ahead to four and six laning of National Highways section of two sub projects in Gujarat and Rajasthan and two laning and four laning of National Highway projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka.

The CCEA approved continuation of centrally- sponsored scheme on development of marine fisheries, infrastructure and post harvest operations during Eleventh Five Year Plan with an outlay of Rs 746 crore. Continuation of directorate of oil seeds research and all India co-ordinated Research Projects on various oil seed crops was also give a go-ahead by the CCEA. The CCEA approved revised cost estimates for Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's for project spearheading small aircraft civilian design, development and manufacture.