Months after the government increased renewal charges for older vehicles, the transport ministry has raised the fitness test fee for all motor vehicles older than 20 years to discourage people from keeping them.
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
While presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament, the finance minister said poll-bound West Bengal will see highway projects worth Rs 25,000 crore. She also announced that highway projects worth Rs 65,000 crore will be undertaken in Kerala. She also announced an Rs 18,000-crore scheme to augment public transport in urban areas.
Gadkari said that the MSME sector contributes significantly in pushing the country's economic growth and creating employment.
The vehicle scrapping policy will offer about 5 per cent rebate to those buying new cars if they junk their old vehicles, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday terming it a "win-win" situation. The voluntary vehicle scrapping policy announced in the Union Budget for 2021-22 provides for fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles while commercial vehicles would require it after the completion of 15 years. "The 'Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme' or 'Vehicle Scrapping Policy' will offer a rebate of about 5 per cent to buyers on new car purchases in lieu of scrapping of the old.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was on Wednesday given the additional charge of portfolios held by Gopinath Munde who died in a road accident in New Delhi.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said opening of transport and highways will go a long way in instilling confidence among the public and cautioned towards maintaining social distance and adopting all safety measures like hand wash, sanitizing, face masks, etc while operating buses and cars.
Gadkari said, infrastructure sector including highways, airports, inland waterways, railways, logistic parks, broad gauge and metro, apart from MSMEs can attract large scale foreign investment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Ulan Bator on his historic visit to Mongolia to hold talks with the country's leadership to bolster economic and trade cooperation, including in transport, highways and energy sectors.
India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday amid the border standoff with China. Gadakri also said the government will ensure that Chinese investors are not entertained in various sectors like the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The project holds strategic significance as Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway and remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall.
The Centre on Monday earmarked a separate Rs 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres to tackle air pollution and announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, even as it shrunk the budgetary allocation for the environment ministry from the last fiscal by nearly eight percent. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech for 2021-22, announced a total of Rs 2869.93 crore for the ministry, Rs 230 crore less than the last fiscal. Officials said the outlay has been lesser this time as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ministry has set a target to spend Rs 5 lakh crore in road infrastructure
The chief minister also put forth the demand to stop hydrocarbon extraction project in Neduvasal in Pudukkottai district that has attracted large-scale protests recently.
Parks would cut transport cost by 10% for industries, allow freight movement on larger trucks and rail.
'We will be able to provide 450 square feet house in Rs 5 lakh,' Nitin Gadkari said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Seoul on Monday on the last leg of his three-nation visit during which he will hold talks with the South Korean leadership aiming to give a fillip to economic and trade cooperation.
Transport minister says they are cheaper mode of transport than road and rail; so far only 5 river stretches have been declared waterways
While the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 7,409, as many as 764 people have been cured and discharged, and one had migrated, it said. Of the total 273 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 127 fatalities, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 36, Gujarat at 22 and Delhi at 19.
Each port will construct one smart city.
He also received the country's first container cargo transported on inland waterways from Kolkata.
'Strange as it may seem, the more advanced the safety features in a car, the more critical is the role of the humble seat belt.'
Our country needs massive investment in access of Rs 50 lakh crore in infrastructure to increase growth of GDP and integrate the nation with a network of roads, airports, railways, inland water and to provide good quality services to the people: FM
'The reshuffle was expected to show some sign about the BJP's awareness of the looming difficulties.'
'But there is no certainty that the new inductees will be able to breathe life into the government,' says Amulya Ganguli.
While inaugurating the projects, Modi said highways construction has reached 27-km a day from mere 12-km a day during the Congress regime.
It includes a session with Gadkari on analysing the initiatives needed to bridge the $1 trillion infrastructure deficit in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sudnay arrived in Tehran on a two-day visit.
Nitish 'sent his emissary, Prashant Kishor, to me on five different occasions.' 'Kishor seemed to indicate that if I were to assure in writing my party's support to the JD-U, the latter would pull out of the BJP alliance and rejoin the Mahagathbandhan.' A revealing excerpt from Lalu Prasad Yadav's Gopalganj To Raisina: My Political Journey.
The prime minister tweeted: "Pained to know about the passing away of Mrs Suvra Mukherjee. My condolences to Rashtrapati ji & his family in this hour of grief."
Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and M&M draw visitors with a range of concept cars.
Earning numbers of blue-chips, including ITC and SBI, due tomorrow.
A K Bhattacharya deciphers Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first cabinet reshuffle.
'If your paper writes something you don't agree with, will you criticise it?' Nitin Gadkari asks Aditi Phadnis when quizzed about demonetisation.
Modi, who is undertaking his first visit to China as prime minister, will reach the ancient city of Xi'an, the home town of President Xi Jinping, for a summit meeting, an unusual departure from normal protocol and seen as a reciprocal gesture by the Chinese leader who was hosted by Modi in Ahmedabad when he visited India in September last year.
The Prime Minister's Office has clarified that the total sanctioned strength of the PMO has been around 525 in the period 2011-14. As against this, the actual strength of the PMO in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 was in the range of 407 to 411. The number has now declined to 385.
It's election season in Tamil Nadu and all political parties are tying themselves in knots over the banned jallikattu but none more than the BJP, says R Ramasubramanian.
'The corporate sector says by 2022 they will create 300 million jobs.' 'In the last 70 years we didn't do it, how will we do it in 5 years?' 'Only agriculture can bail out the economy. Unfortunately, it is not being looked into.'
'Earlier compensation was less, but we have increased compensation four fold. As a result, farmers want to give up their land.' 'Infrastructure projects will create 50 lakh jobs. If today we are building 14 km of road per day, by next March, we hope to take it up to 30 km. My own hope is we can take it to 100 km per day.' 'The government's ambitious Sagarmala project aims to develop port infrastructure along the country's 7,500 km coastline. The project includes modernisation of our ports and islands, setting up of coastal economic zones, new major ports and fish harbours.'
Nitin Gadkari has seven portfolios, but does not seem weighed down at all by the many things on his plate. The minister is brimming with ideas...
The public-private partnership model is a compulsion, says the minister.
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