Shimla, Nov 30 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday approved a series of new projects, including the setting up of a new university in Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur"s home district Mandi, a spokesperson said. The decision to set up the varsity named after Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Thakur. The Cabinet also approved the introduction of the Sardar Patel University, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2021 in the state assembly in its coming session, the spokesperson added. This was the second Cabinet meeting after the ruling BJP lost recent bypolls in the Mandi parliamentary constituency and three assembly segments of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai in the state. The bypolls for the four seats were held on October 30 and the results were declared on November 2. The Cabinet also gave its approval for procurement, supply and distribution of school bags under "Atal School Vardi Yojna" to school students of classes 1, 3, 6 and 9. This decision benefits about three lakh students of various government schools in the state and it will incur a cost of Rs 9 crore, he added. The Cabinet also approved a decision to open new primary schools in villages Rains and Chiral under the Drang and Sundernagar assembly segments in the Mandi district. Besides these two schools, the Cabinet also approved decisions to open new primary schools in four others villages in the Chamba district. The cabinet also decided to upgrade a government primary school in Devari village in Kullu district to a middle school. It also gave its nod to start mathematics classes in the Government Degree College, Kandaghat in Solan district. The Cabinet also decided to open four primary health centres at various places in the Mandi district besides sanctioning requisite posts to manage these centres. It also decided to upgrade a Community Health Centre at Baldwara in Mandi district to a 50-bedded Civil Hospital and sanctioned 11 posts of different categories to man the hospital. The Cabinet also approved decisions to award tenders for the upgradation, operation and management of a cultural centre and a convention centre of HP’s Tourism Department in Mandi to two firms of Chandigarh and Delhi respectively. It also decided to fill up 100 vacant posts of clerks and 50 posts against anticipated vacancies in the Himachal secretariat on a contract basis. The Cabinet also decided to implement "Swaran Jayanti Paramparagat Beej Suraksha Avam Samvardhan Yojna" in the state, aimed at enhancing farmers’ income. PTI DJI RAX RAX