With different agencies showing divergent predictions regarding the southwest monsoon, the central government and states are gearing up to face adversity with various line ministries reportedly being directed to undertake mock drills and hold preparatory meetings. Around 56 per cent of the net cultivable area of the country is rain-fed, accounting for 44 per cent of foodgrain production. The June-September rains contribute around 73 per cent of the annual precipitation.
This uncaring attitude is primarily based on the fact that road concessionaires still do not see themselves as "service deliverers", says Vinayak Chatterjee.
To threaten China and Pakistan, and then to sharply cut back on military funding, bespeaks a remarkable trust in Beijing and Islamabad that is not borne out by anything they say or do, notes Ajai Shukla.
The government has approved 20 new highway and housing projects at a total investment of Rs 14,538 crore (Rs 145.38 billion).
The project, the agreement for which was signed way back in 2009, had been gaining strategic relevance over the years as India-China ties took a hit.
Few big ticket road projects will be fast-tracked soon.
India can become the number one automotive manufacturing hub in the world within five years, but auto companies need to enhance safety features to reduce deaths due to road accidents, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. In his inaugural address at the Auto Expo 2023 here, the minister for road transport and highways asserted that the government's target is to reduce these accidents by 50 per cent before the end of 2024 while asking the auto industry to take suo moto action for road safety as the government doesn't want to make anything mandatory. Gadkari's sentiments were also echoed by Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey, who lamented that while India has only 1 per cent of the total overall vehicles, the country accounts for 11 per cent of the total global deaths due to road accidents.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
The Public Private Partnership Approval Committee (PPPAC), chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan, had granted approval to the six proposals of the ministry of road transport and highways spread across five states, an official statement said.
In the two years since the PLA's intrusions into Eastern Ladakh, the Border Roads Organisation is sparing no effort to build and upgrade road highways from Tezpur to the McMahon Line.
The petition alleged that "illegal mining" was being carried out by Singh, the MP from Kaiserganj, in Majharath, Jaitpur and Nawabganj villages of Tarbganj tehsil in the district.
The Centre has accorded top priority for cost-effective, pollution-free transportation modes, such as waterways, which reduce logistic costs and increase road safety. Union minister of roads, highways, ports and shipping Nitin Gadkari speaks to Sanjay Jog about the government's strategy.
The Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways will set up a road safety fund with an initial corpus of Rs 120 crore (Rs 1.20 billion).
Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Balwal, who has expertise in handling terror-related cases, has been "prematurely" repatriated to Manipur cadre where a fresh bout of violence has worsened the already tense situation.
In unprecedented scenes, supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday stormed the Pakistan Army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander's residence in Lahore after his dramatic arrest in a corruption case.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed to allow conversion of regular vehicle registrations into Bharat Series (BH) numbers as part of measures to widen the scope of the BH series ecosystem. At present, only new vehicles can opt for BH series mark. In a draft notification, the MoRTH informed about the proposed amendments in the rules governing Bharat (BH) series registration mark which was launched for people who are in transferable jobs.
It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on April 10 and 11 where he will launch the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' in Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border.
According to an analytical report, about 130 million violations of traffic rules by drivers last year led to more than 76,000 deaths, down 16 per cent.
It said that the opportunities presented by an open and competitive South Asian market may also be grasped and consolidated from both security and economic perspectives.
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
According to new ministry guidelines, the permission to chop down forests will be given only after all the compensatory levies are provided
Modi placed a $12.6 billion bet in this year's budget on road building
The NCMC facilitates convenient travel while integrating last-mile connectivity, a must in India's extensive landscape. It enables travellers to pay for a cross-section of needs, including toll tax, retail shopping, and withdrawing money.
The PLA said the move has 'seriously damaged' border peace and tranquillity.
Despite the hope that lessons will be learnt, the next accident invariably shows that nothing has been learnt -- or if learnt, they have been ignored, observes Prosenjit Datta.
"We have sought assistance from World Bank for 37,000 km of roads as we plan to take up work on these projects soon," Road Minister C P Joshi told reporters after a meeting with a World Bank delegation, headed by its South Asia Region Vice President Isabel Guerrero.
The Centre has completed asset monetisation worth Rs 96,000 crore during FY22, surpassing the target of Rs 88,000 crore. For FY23, it has set itself a goal of Rs 1.62 trillion, and already has a pipeline of assets worth Rs 1.6 trillion under advanced stages of implementation, an official said. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday reviewed the progress made by several ministries and nudged departments to achieve the targets set for them, the official added.
Two home guards were killed and at least 15 others, including several policemen, were injured on Monday as a mob in Haryana's Nuh district tried to stop a Vishwa Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said.
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.
FM brings these sectors under the knife in a final attempt to hit a tough fiscal deficit target
A massive outlay of Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion) has been earmarked this financial year for laying of rural roads, a key component under Bharat Nirman programme.
The wrestlers said they are surprised that Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitates them and clicks pictures with them when they win medals but now he has turned a blind eye to their plight.
The road transport ministry on Wednesday notified new rules to make the use of safety harness and crash helmets mandatory for children below the age of four years on motorcycles.
A surprise attack by Hamas militants from Gaza at daybreak killed at least 200 Israelis on Saturday even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared "war" and said his country would extract an "unprecedented price" from its enemy.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Jaya Varma Sinha, member of operation and business development, Railway Board said, "According to the preliminary findings, there has been some issue with the signalling. We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Only Coromandel Express met with an accident. The train was at a speed of around 128 km/h."
The student was taken to Westmead Hospital with major injuries to his head, leg, and arm.
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