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.
World Bank is expected to extend $2.5 billion loans to India this fiscal, which is lower than the targeted $3 billion annually during 2004-07.
The Centre's ambitious Rs 6-trillion National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) could fall short of yearly targets for the current fiscal year (FY22) and the next one as well (FY23), partly due to the long gestation period in monetising big-ticket railway infrastructure, Business Standard has learnt from sources in the finance and rail ministries. Officials say the major chunk of railway monetisation will happen from FY24 onwards because leasing some of the infrastructure, like stadiums and dedicated freight corridor, will not happen anytime soon. Rail infra is expected to be the second-biggest contributor to the NMP, with about Rs 1.52 trillion worth of assets to be monetised.
After twice revising its deadline from the original December 2004 to the latest December 2006, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials say that till date it is only 94.4 per cent complete.
The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just about 4 km from the international border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
NHAI to pull plug on Rs 3,000-crore ventures for poor show
The agitating farmers had earlier said they would picket toll plazas to press their demand for a repeal of the three new laws, which were voted through in Parliament in September amid strong protests by opposition parties.
The sector hit many roadblocks during 2014, as builders were seen shying away from the projects and investments dried up amid various regulatory, judicial and policy-related bottlenecks.
Government officials believe that central bridge projects perform better than state projects due to stricter checks and balances.
MCA is a legal contract, which prescribes the terms and conditions for executing a road project.
'Probably revised guidelines will come, and then the real picture will emerge.'
Besides projects under the NHAI, the government earmarks funds for constructing roads, undertaken by various state government agencies and municipal corporations. Nath will be seeking Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) for this.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor welcomed the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 case, and said everyone associated with the conspiracy of the Mumbai terror attacks must face the court of justice. He described Rana's extradition as a "step forward for justice." Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of David Coleman Headley, is being brought to India after his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition failed. Tharoor expressed hope that the interrogation of Rana would provide more details about the Mumbai attacks and said he was "very glad" that Indian authorities managed to get Rana's custody.
NHAI has already initiated process to handle such emergency situation and also taking all possible measures to avoid such incidents in future, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Union finance ministry has endorsed the views of Gajendra Haldea, infrastructure advisor to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, who had objected to recent changes in bidding norms by the National Highways Authority of India.
The Plan panel is against an NHAI proposal to increase the cost allocation of building each four-lane highway by 33 per cent.
The government began the selection process a year earlier and has twice gone through the process of short-listing candidates.
Inadequate funding and non-viability of some projects have forced several leading infrastructure development firms to stay out of bidding for over 13 highway projects worth over Rs 12,500 crore (Rs 125 billion).
A report by a senior official in the Planning Commission has said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is heading towards bankruptcy, as its debt is set to increase five times in the next three years.
"I am shocked why it was not followed. This is even there in the manual of the Indian Road Congress. Had that been followed then there would have been no casualties. There have been gross violations," Maitra said.
'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic divestment,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
To centralise process by setting up special units in each state.
Currently, roads are only entrusted with the authority which licences them to private developers who cannot provide such roads as security to avail loans from banks and other other institutions. Once the roads are vested with the NHAI, the authority can lease them to the developer who can securitise the property to raise money.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been under attack for delays in completion of its road projects as well as for poor corridor management.
At present, Road Secretary R S Gujral is handling the additional charge of NHAI chairman, the position which has been vacated by Brijeshwar Singh, for three months.
National Highways Authority of India is working on a proposal to scrap the 30 to 35 per cent premium on toll charged on highways that bypass cities.
IHMCL implemented the FASTag electronic tolling of national highways, but due to technical glitches, road ministry is mulling the option of offering this job to a Korean company
'Pakistan has made a business out of faith. How will a poor devotee pay this amount?'
Taxpayers need not invest proceeds from sale of property strictly within 180 days from date of sale to get exemption under Section 54EC.
The company, which is bidding for 16 road projects worth Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) this year from the National Highways Authority of India under the public-private-partnership model, intends to invest the money in the form of equity to set up special purpose vehicles to execute new road projects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two specially designed Vande Bharat trains between Katra town and Srinagar city, reducing travel time between the two places by two to three hours and ensuring all-weather surface connectivity with the Kashmir valley.
Geo-fencing to map vehicle route; pilot run expected on Delhi-Mumbai highway
NHAI had earlier planned to go for private placement in order to raise funds faster but later decided to go in for the public issue due to the prevailing interest rate scenario.
