Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday pitched for using the USO Fund to subsidise smartphones for select groups to help penetrate the digital revolution and said India should make the rollout of 5G or the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks a national priority. As much as 5 per cent of the licence fee paid by telecom operators goes to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund, which was set up in April 2002 for achieving universal service objectives by providing access to telephone services in rural and remote areas and creation of infrastructure for mobile services and broadband in these areas. However, according to the CAG, less than half of the funds so collected are transferred for the said purpose.
India will require a total investment of $10.1 trillion to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, while the nation could face a shortfall of $3.5 trillion, a study by CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF) said. At the recently concluded COP26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India's aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. "India would need cumulative investments of $10.1 trillion to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, according to an independent study released today by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF)," a statement said.
Modi is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Xi on Tuesday.
For 2017-18, the plan size has been pegged by the Railways at Rs 1,31,000 crore.
Bankrupt Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has sold the entire stake in the waste management arm IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure & Services (IEISL) and its subsidiaries to EverEnviro Resource Management (EverEnviro), an arm of the PE major Everstone Group, the companies said in separate statements. Though the value of the deal was not specifically disclosed, the crippled IL&FS -- which is under bankruptcy proceedings in NCLT -- said the sale will reduce its overall debt by Rs 1,200 crore, which is the combined debt of entities under the group's environment businesses. IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure & Services (IEISL) is one of the leading integrated waste management companies that is into municipal solid waste management apart from presence across various segments including construction and demolition, collection and transportation and waste to energy and currently manages over 8,400 tonnes per day solid municipal waste.
Biden's proposal also sets aside USD 20 billion for a national vaccination programme and USD 50 billion to scale up coronavirus testing.
All India needs to do is focus on making its business environment more friendly.
Think organic food, affordable homes, artificial intelligence, suggests Prof Manmeet Barve.
Markets regulator Sebi and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are probing some Adani Group companies for alleged non-compliance with rules, the government told Lok Sabha on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question said accounts of three of the six Mauritius-based funds, that have invested most of their money in Adani Group firms, were frozen in 2016 over the issuance of Global Depository Receipt (GDR) by certain listed firms. No freeze was ordered for their holding in other firms.
The need of the hour is to strike a balance between the capability of the conventional and the prospect of the renewable to give a realistic shape to the Prime Minister's vision, says Rajiv Mishra.
Almost every country in the world just signed on to the #ParisAgreement on climate change
PM Modi cautioned against any unilateral steps that will lead to an economic barrier in the battle against climate change as he hoped that the developed countries would mobilise aid.
India has emerged as one of largest destinations in the world for investors keen to put their money into firms doing good. Nita Bhalla reports.
This is the joint statement issued by the ministry of external affairs on the visit of US President Barack Obama to India.
During his three-day UK visit until Tuesday, Modi is listed to address the COP26 summit with a national statement about India's climate action plan in the afternoon session on Monday, ahead of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
When President Obama lands in New Delhi later this week, this spirit of accommodation must reignite a strategic economic relationship between the two countries.
With most Adani Group shares locked in lower-circuit in early morning trade based on news that accounts of three foreign portfolio investors, heavily invested into group companies, were frozen by the National Security Depository Limited, market experts advise caution that investors should not jump in now to buy at lower levels.
Indian 'Vedas' have since thousands of years considered sun as at soul of the universe and a nourisher of life, the PM said.
Moving ahead with their new mantra -- Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to deepen cooperation in every sector for the benefit of global stability and people's livelihoods over the next ten years.
Bunker Roy, founder of the Barefoot College at Tilonia in Rajasthan, was awarded the Clinton Global Citizen Award at a ceremony in New York on September 25.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal on the government's manufacturing push and other key issues.
US Ambassador Richard Verma's tips to the Indian states.
A Cabinet note of the much-awaited legislation is ready and is likely to be put before the state Cabinet in the next 15 days.
He said COVID-19 can be a catalyst towards the adoption of digital technologies in health and education and drive change in a way that even venture capital funds have not achieved despite pouring billions in investments.
ONGC has qualified for final bidding of the first phase of the bioremediation project, worth $3 billion. The total project, to be funded by the World Bank, was likely to cost up to $40 billion, said sources. This project was first floated in 2006 and is aimed at cleaning the huge oil spills created during the war, which was fought after Iraq occupied Kuwait. OTBL is hopeful of bagging this project.
A key UN climate change summit that will be attended by nearly 150 world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicks off on Monday under the shadow of the deadly Paris terror attack to try to craft a long-term deal to limit carbon emissions.
The primary market is set for a bumper Rs 80,000-crore bonanza with 30 companies already filing IPO papers to raise Rs 55,000 crore, while around 10 more are lined up for this month itself, seeking to mop up another Rs 25,000 crore, say investment bankers. The market has been on a non-stop rally, hitting new records almost every week, on the back of an influx of investors -- a vast majority of them first-timers -- coupled with a flood of liquidity. Foreign funds alone had pumped in a record $35 billion into the market in FY21, while the trend has continued this fiscal as well. Domestic institutions led by LIC have also infused trillions of rupees, helping woo retail investors in troves -- the year saw over 20 million new investors coming to the market.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for deeper ties in key areas of counter-terrorism, climate change and UN reforms.
Venture capitalists Adam Wolfensohn and Ameya Bijoor tell Anjuli Bhargava about the kind of investments and companies they are looking to invest in.
'They don't always agree with our governments, their teachers or their parents, but it is the conviction of their ideas, and their determination to share them with the world that, I believe, is one of the greatest sources of hope for our planet.' 'The colonisation of space, understanding the very building blocks of matter and the universe, utilising our understanding of the human genome to conquer disease -- these are the tasks waiting for a fellowship of minds to realise new triumphs in our collective destiny.'
'It is never easy to run a campaign as a woman, particularly a minority woman, especially when you are bucking the establishment.' 'My entire campaign is an act of resistance.'
The growth story of India depends on its achievements in the S&T sector. There is a need to revolutionise the landscape of Indian science and technology and this is only possible if the scientific community is allowed to work 'professionally and scientifically' without burdening them with the baggage of the past, says Ajey Lele.
India lost around 38.5 thousand hectares of tropical forest in the last decade. Nearly 14 per cent of the country's tree cover! It is one thing for Modi to announce that India will reach a net-zero level of emissions in 2070. But if it is serious, it needs to start today, points out Ramesh Menon.
The Child Protection Services programme under the Integrated Child Development Services was increased to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 925 crore.
Modi said Kudankulum 1, an Indo-Russian project, was an important addition to the continuing efforts to scale up production of clean energy in India.
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Infosys will develop software for managing the kumbh mela scheduled in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) in 2016, he told PTI in an interview.
Goa, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya will initiate schemes to enable 24x7 power to consumers.
Subject to finance & tech from rich countries through an ambitious, fair Paris deal
'He keeps reminding me he is senior. There is no debate in this. I have never shown any disrespect to you since you are a senior,' the PM said.
Trump's diatribe against India in his speech on the Paris Agreement is hard to explain, especially when a Modi-Trump meeting is supposedly on the cards, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
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