The cabinet committee on security chaired by prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday cleared Rs 2,900 crore advanced jet trainer deal for the Indian Air Force. The deal involves procuring 181 Pilatus basic aircraft trainers from Switzerland — 75 PC-7 Mk IIs in flyaway condition and 106 will be manufactured under licence agreement by HAL.

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 After an elaborate process, the Swiss Pilatus was selected over its Korean rival to provide trainer jets. The aircraft will replace the HPT-32 trainer aircraft that have been grounded for over two years after a fatal accident in 2009, defence ministry officials said. The delivery of the jets is expected to begin by the middle of 2013.

Earlier, the full Cabinet cleared amendments to the Women’s Protection Bill aiming to protect women against sexual harassment at workplace. The new law will cover all women workers including domestic helps. A clause that allowed the accused to prove innocence has been removed from the bill.

The cabinet had earlier referred the proposed amendments to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redress) Bill to a GoM.

The Cabinet also cleared the Copyright (Amendment) Bill. The proposed legislation is aimed at according un-assignable rights to ‘creative artists’ such as lyricists, playback singers, music directors, film directors and dialogue writers who will be paid royalty every time the movie they have worked in is aired on a television channel.

The cabinet also approved a law to bring micro-lenders under the central bank’s oversight. Micro-lenders have been accused of aggressive lending and recovery practices and high interest rates, which called for their regulation.