Though the controversy between the Planning Commission and the road transport ministry is old, the trigger for Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath calling the Commission an 'armchair advisor' seems to be a document of the Planning Commission.
To ensure seamless transfer of personal vehicles across states, the road transport ministry has come up with a new registration mark for new vehicles -- Bharat Series (BH-series).
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said if the US-based Tesla is ready to manufacture its electric vehicles in India then there is 'no problem' but the company must not import cars from China. In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Gadkari further said India is a large market and there is a huge potential for all electric vehicles. "If Elon Musk (Tesla CEO) is ready to manufacture in India then there is no problem ... Come to India, start manufacturing, India is a large market they can export from India," he said. The road transport and highways minister said his request to Musk is to come and manufacture in India.
The ministry also wants to extend support to states through a special provision from the proposed Rs 25,000 crore fund for electric bus and personal rapid transport initiatives.
General Singh was assigned to receive leaders representing the planet's two superpowers -- the president of the United States and the premier of the People's Republic of China.
To deal with the chaos at toll plazas arising out of the government's junking Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government has suspended fee collection on all booths at National Highways till the midnight of November 11.
The minister expressed hope that toll operators will respond to his call positively. Earlier, Gadkari had asked NHAI to suspend toll on all national highways to ease transportation of essential goods and supplies.
The economic reforms started by Singh as the finance minister in 1991 gave a new direction to India as it ushered in a liberal economy, Gadkari said.
The new United Progressive Alliance government has identified infrastructure development as its top most priority for faster economic growth and equitable distribution of income.
'In the case of a road accident, prevention is the only answer.' 'There's no cure to death or disability when the accident happens, and when it's due to reckless or negligent driving, it's worse because it's avoidable.'
Under regulatory scanner, Bengaluru-based Ola Electric has witnessed an uptick in its sales after facing a decline during the last few months. The company's daily average sales rose to 1,154 units in October, according to Vahan data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). With sales reaching 17,315 units between October 1 and October 15, the company has also boosted its market share to 34 per cent, up from 27 per cent in September, in the electric two-wheeler (e2W) segment.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
The 14.15 km tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
So far this year, around 839,545 electric vehicles have been sold, accounting for approximately 6.69% of the total 12,541,684 vehicles sold.
Sehwag, Gambhir to lead Gujarat Giants and India Capitals in LLC
This uncaring attitude is primarily based on the fact that road concessionaires still do not see themselves as "service deliverers", says Vinayak Chatterjee.
The strategic 900-km-long Chardham project worth Rs 12,000 crore aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns -- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath -- in Uttarakhand.
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.
The DMK leader had refused to take charge as the Minister for Communications and Information Technology due to a row over allocation of portfolios.
The Centre has taken a major step towards increasing efficiency in decision-making by empowering joint secretaries to report to secretaries directly, officials said on Wednesday.
The DigiLocker platform, launched on July 1, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has 2.1 million registered users and 2.4 million documents have been uploaded
The thrust will be on improving connectivity in economic corridors and remote and border areas with a view to hike trade and enable faster movement of cargo.
The road ministry has put forward two proposals before the Prime Minister's Office and the finance ministry.
Under the new system, a uniform driving licence will be issued across the country.
Though some operators offer the facility of tag lanes, such tags can only be used at designated points.
The Government of India has decided to launch a massive rural public works scheme, 'Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan', to "empower and provide livelihood opportunities to the returnee migrant workers and rural citizens". Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch this scheme on June 20 through video conference in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
The Delhi high court on Thursday directed the city government to stop erickshaws from plying on the roads of the national capital "as of now". "Stop it as of now," a bench of justices B D Ahmed and S Mridul said, while observing that "unregulated plying of vehicles on Delhi roads is prima facie a hazard to other traffic on road as well as the citizens".
Parks would cut transport cost by 10% for industries, allow freight movement on larger trucks and rail.
Looking to push nearly 28 million over 11-year-old polluting vehicles off-roads, the government has proposed incentives worth 8-12 per cent of the cost of a new vehicle for surrendering the old ones.
The limited availability of flexible (flex)-fuel vehicles in the Indian market and the slow rollout of ethanol-blended petrol by oil-marketing companies (OMCs) remain major obstacles to achieving widespread use of biofuels in the transportation sector in India. Recently, two Union ministers have emphasised India's biofuel potential, arguing that it has the capacity and potential to lead a transition towards widespread biofuel adoption. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari signalled that this transition is well underway and urged car manufacturers to quickly adapt and introduce new biofuel-run vehicles, lest the government resort to taxing diesel vehicles.
Gadkari said the NHAI was working on setting up an InvIT to monetise its projects for mobilising resources through capital markets.
How the 4 ministries have performed
'Peninsular Indians could ask 'Why should we contribute half of India's tax revenues if we account for only a quarter of the seats in the Lok Sabha?'.' 'The rest of the country seems likely to counter that 'democracy means one vote per person irrespective of where that person resides in India'.' 'With no easy answers to this thorny debate, the south's economic ascendancy could end up creating a Hobson's choice.' A revealing excerpt from Nandita Rajhansa and Saurabh Mukherjea's book, Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India.
A few weeks ago, when Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched an electronic toll-collection system on the Delhi-Mumbai highway, television channels reported live from toll plazas showing vehicles with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in dedicated lanes that did not have to stop for paying cash.
The e-rickshaws that had gone off Delhi roads will now be back soon.
The Centre should provide a clear regulatory pathway that it will follow so that automobile companies can plan their investments and car launches accordingly, Venkatram Mamillapalle, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO), Renault India Operations, said on Tuesday. Renault is planning to launch five cars - including a B-plus segment sport utility vehicle (SUV), a C-segment SUV and an electric vehicle (EV) - in India in the next three years, he told reporters. In early 2022, the ministry of road transport and highways had announced that cars in India would be required to have six airbags from October 1, 2022.
Automobile dealers' body FADA on Thursday sought a cut in GST on two-wheelers from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, saying the segment being essential for millions should not be categorised as luxury item. The industry body said it has appealed to the finance minister, chair of the GST Council, all GST Council members, the ministry of heavy industries, which supervises the automobile sector, and the ministry of road transport & highways. This timely and decisive intervention would help in making two-wheelers more affordable, reviving demand and reinvigorating an industry that has seen a significant slump in sales over the past few years, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said in a statement.
The minister said that the priority for him will be "rolling out all stuck highway projects that include many of the IL&FS projects within 100 days".
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday pitched for policy guidelines to utilise scrapped vehicles as raw material for steel production, saying there are close to about one crore such vehicles in the country. Scindia, who also holds steel portfolio, said the time is not far away when the country will have to move towards green steel, and therefore, the option of iron ore and coking coal will not be available. Green steel is manufactured without using fossil fuels.
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