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| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Monday (January 19, 2026) gave its nod to promulgate an ordinance to levy a dedicated ‘orphan and widow cess’ on petrol and high-speed diesel at the point of first sale within the State. The move was done with the aim of generating additional resources for strengthening welfare schemes benefiting orphans and widows.
The decision was made at a State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said a government statement. The cess will be non-burdensome to consumers, while ensuring the availability of adequate financial resources for the effective implementation of welfare schemes for orphan and widows, said the statement.
The Cabinet also gave its approval to adopt the national policy on geothermal energy to facilitate the exploration and development of untapped geothermal energy resources in the State. It approved the Directorate of Energy as the nodal agency for the implementation of this policy and sanctioned amendments to the Swaran Jayanti Energy Policy, 2021, to incorporate guidelines related to geothermal energy, it added.
The Cabinet also decided to establish four new laboratories for nutritional profiling and strengthening of the food testing eco-system, one each in Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Solan districts, besides upgradation of the composite testing laboratory at Kandaghat in Solan district, along with creation and filling up requisite posts.
It also decided to allowed the Alliance Air Aviation Ltd. to operate 46 seater aircraft on Delhi-Shimla-Delhi and Shimla-Dharamshala-Shimla routes, the statement added.
Published – January 19, 2026 10:09 pm IST
