A cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, took place today at the Mahanadi Bhawan, resulting in several important decisions. The council of ministers made the decision to honor the sacrifice and valor of Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Girepunje, who was killed during an anti-Naxal operation in the Sukma district, by appointing his wife, Sneha Girepunje, as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in the State Police Service. Akash Rao Girepunje died in a bomb blast on June 9, 2025.
The cabinet also approved revisions to the state’s solar energy policy aimed at decreasing dependence on conventional energy sources and fostering energy production from non-conventional sources. Key decisions included:
* **Policy Extension:** The revised policy will now remain in effect until 2030 or until a new solar energy policy is issued by the state government.
* **Industrial Incentives:** Solar energy projects will be recognized as priority industries under the state’s industrial policy.
* This will provide investors with benefits such as interest subsidies, capital cost subsidies for micro-industries, GST reimbursement for small, medium, and large industries, electricity duty exemptions, stamp duty exemptions, project report preparation grants, exemptions on land use change fees, fee concessions for obtaining land from the land bank, land premium exemptions for entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes/Tribes, the disabled, senior citizens, and the third gender community, grants for employing the disabled, and special packages for mega and ultra-mega projects.
* Furthermore, the cabinet approved the appointment of Rita Shandilya, currently a member and acting chairperson of the Public Service Commission, as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission.
* A decision was also made to increase the monthly honorarium for retired media personnel under the Chhattisgarh Senior Media Personnel Honorarium Fund from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, as announced in the 2025-26 budget.