Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Monday a record sum of Rs 1.10 lakh crore for the Railways, out of which Rs 1.07 lakh crore is for capital expenditure, and said the national transporter would monetise the dedicated freight corridors after its commissioning. Presenting the Union Budget 2021-22, Sitharaman also applauded the services provided by the Railways to transport essential goods across the country during the coronavirus lockdown.
Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked various ministries to try to spend more than their capital expenditure targets as well as explore public private partnerships for viable projects. During a meeting with senior government officials to discuss the infrastructure roadmap, she also urged the ministries and their CPSEs to ensure clearance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) dues at the earliest. This was the fifth review meeting by the finance minister with ministries and departments on the infrastructure roadmap.
Glimpses into the life of Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, who at 31, is Pakistan's youngest first lady.
The Railways could tie up with technical institutions for introducing railway-oriented subject for graduation and skill development.
The first public-private partnership (PPP) initiative in bottled drinking water has taken shape at Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, with a Rail Neer plant set for commissioning.
4,000 dialysis units to be set up across India, government working on providing free basic healthcare to BPL families.
MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi and sail around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, traversing across 27 river systems in the two countries, it said.
The Budget emphasises on capacity building and empowerment of marginalised sections of society including farmers.
Terming investment in infrastructure "quintessential" to boost growth, the Economic Survey on Friday said post unlocking of the economy, infra sectors are poised for growth and construction of roads is expected to return to the high pace attained before COVID-19. The infrastructure sector will be the key to overall economic growth and macroeconomic stability, the Survey said emphasising that the year after the crisis (2021-22) will require sustained and calibrated measures to facilitate the process of economic recovery and enable the economy to get back on its long-term growth trajectory. "Basic infrastructure facilities in the country provide the foundation of growth. In the absence of adequate infrastructure, the economy operates at a suboptimal level and remains distant from its potential and frontier growth trajectory.
The government is likely to allow FDI in high speed trains and other projects.
The government has made clear that the Airports Authority of India will closely monitor the cost of airports built through the PPP route.
We have decided to provide good quality food to our passengers and for that we have decided to have base kitchens at several places so that fresh food can be picked up at every two-hours of travel," Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said at a round table conference on catering in New Delhi.
As India looks to scale up use of technology in agriculture, a recent study has found that with just 2 per cent of the cultivators in India using mobile applications for farm-related activities and real-time alerts, adoption of tech solutions such as Internet of Things (IoT) remains at a nascent stage. It also found almost 90 per cent of the existing start-ups and tech-based companies have solutions that are focused only on pre-harvest operations and not on post-harvest which has a higher investment potential due to the presence of big companies. In post-harvest operations, the study, Titled, IoT Adoption in Indian agriculture, that was conducted by industry body Nasscom along with Cisco India among more than 180 enterprises and 40 agritech start-ups found that unclear Return on Investments (RoI) is a big stumbling block for adoption of tech solutions like IoT.
The initiatives intended to benefit the common man include e-ticketing, catering on demand, bio-toilets, food for infants, better stations.
The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, lead agency under Finance Ministry to gather and disseminate intelligence related to financial crimes, has traced illegal flow of money through Private Placement Programme, which involves offering of securities to select individuals or groups, upto 50 in numbers, official sources said.
In a late night development, chairman of the state-run Airports Authority of India, V P Agarwal, was removed from his post apparently because of his "opposition" to privatisation of more airports in the country, sources said.
India, World Bank ink $375 mn deal to help develop country's first waterway
Govt to introduce new aviation policy on May 15.
SmartCity project is in advanced stage.
The idea of modernising railway stations under a PPP arrangement was aired several years ago by the then railway minister, Lalu Prasad, who visualised attracting Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) investment in 22 stations.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday said it will come out with a framework allowing borrowers to switch to fixed interest rate from floating interest rate, a move that would provide relief to borrowers of home, auto and other loans reeling under the impact of high interest rate. Unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said under the framework, to be put in place shortly, the lenders will have to clearly communicate with the borrowers about tenor and EMI. "The supervisory reviews undertaken by the Reserve Bank and the feedback and references from members of public have revealed several instances of unreasonable elongation of tenor of floating rate loans by lenders without proper consent and communication to the borrowers," he said.
To increase the inbound tourist inflow, the tourism ministry has also given a proposal to the home ministry.
With buyers playing safe, projects such as Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway find it difficult to get new concessionaires
Jaitley said an effective multi-modal logistics and transport system will "make our economy more competitive.
"Call it a craze, fever or national interest but HSR is our window to the outside world."
E-commerce players may soon rent out drones, so you can use them the way you book a cab on an app, and test viable use-cases for last-mile delivery.
CAG in the audit report on land issues in three IT parks also said 64% land given for IT development remained unutilised since 1990
The redevelopment of stations is good news for construction companies.
Following are the highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday
Stocks to watch: ACC, Ambuja Cements, India Cements, Shree Cement, Ultra Tech Cement.
Moving ahead with the economic reforms, the Cabinet tonight cleared the long-delayed proposal for raising FDI limit in defence to 49 per cent and fully opened up the railway infrastructure segment, like high-speed trains, for foreign investment.
The government also proposed promoting 'one product one district' for better marketing and export of horticulture crops. It also called on states for early implementation of three key central model laws on land leasing, agriculture produce and livestock marketing and contract farming.
The two major railway unions have proposed to the government an unprecedented alternative to privatisation or inviting foreign investment, to help raise funds and improve revenue.
Industry bodies said the decisions will help attract much-needed capital, create jobs, encourage collaboration and benefit cash-starved small and medium enterprises.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved a five-year-long reform-based result-linked power distribution scheme worth Rs 3.03 lakh crore, for strengthening system of utilities to improve efficiency. Briefing after the CCEA meet here, Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said, "We have done a lot for power distribution reforms. It needs to be strengthened. Today, the Cabinet has approved the new scheme worth Rs 3.03 lakh crore, including Rs 97,000 crore central outlay." He said the funds would be given to power distribution companies (discoms) to strengthen their system.
The 60-member Meghalaya assembly had 30 Congress MLAs. Friday's resignation comes days after another Congress MLA, P N Syiem, resigned from the party.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pitched for front loading of capital expenditure, saying it is critical for revitalisting the economy post the coronavirus pandemic. During a virtual meeting with senior government officials to discuss the infrastructure roadmap ahead, she also asked ministries to aim to achieve more than their capital expenditure (capex) targets. The Union Budget 2021-22 provided a capital outlay of Rs.5.54 lakh crore, a sharp increase of 34.5 per cent over the Budget Estimate of 2020-21.
The move will lead to augmentation of water infrastructure in the country
Shifting to a PPP model could repeat the errors of the past
Clauses on land return, action against officials diluted
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