Deepak Parekh, HDFC Bank Chairman, M S Verma, former SBI Chairman, Raghuram, Professor IIM, Ahmedabad, Rajiv Lal, IDFC MD and Vinayak Chatterjee, Feedback, Infrastructure Services Chairman are members of the committee.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that Bangladeshi infiltrators detained in the state will be handed over to the BSF instead of being produced in courts, following a new rule. Instructions have been issued to the police and RPF to directly transfer detainees to the BSF at the Bangladesh border, with weekly reports submitted to the CMO.
'It can be two months, a year, or even five years. We need to be prepared.'
The committee also cleared the Rs 5,000-crore (Rs 50-billion) modernisation plan for the New Delhi Railway Station.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed projects, which will be fully funded by the Centre, will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects covering 35 districts in nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal -- will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km and provide employment of an estimated 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu aligns priorities, funding and organisation to shape a transformation agenda.
In a written reply to the House, Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the recommendations are presently under examination by the ministry.
LHB coaches are safer. Two high-level railway safety commissions came down heavily on ICF coaches, recommending their replacement by LHB, says Bibek Debroy.
Indian Railways is in talks with Reliance Jio Infocomm to allow the Mukesh Ambani-led telecom major's use of its towers. The aim is seamless mobile and internet connectivity for passengers along the 67,368-km of tracks. The Railway Board has entrusted its RailTel Corporation arm to work on the modalities with Jio. The Jio tie-up is expected to bring down its telecom bill by at least 35 per cent from this financial year.
He said that efforts were being made either to close or man such crossings in the next two years.
The Union government is reportedly considering doing away with the practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget.
A high-level committee set up to suggest a blue print for modernisation of cash-strapped railways will submit its report shortly, said its chief Sam Pitroda while dismissing report of having recommended 25 per cent hike in passenger fares linking it to inflation.
Presenting the Narendra Modi government's maiden Rail Budget, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda announced setting up of logistic parks and private freight terminals on PPP model.
Shah said the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that gave primacy to penal action, and made reporting of crimes even easier by recognising e-FIR, Zero FIR and electronic or digital evidence.
Likely to be merged with Union Budget from FY18
Nirmala Sitharaman's messaging was clear when she presented a well-balanced Budget with an eye on state elections in nine states followed by a general election next year, observes Ramesh Menon.
A devastating fire at a multi-storeyed building in Kolkata that claimed nine lives turned into the epicentre of a political slugfest on Tuesday, with the Trinamool Congress government and the Bharatiya Janata Party pointing accusatory fingers at the Railways and the state administration respectively, even as the bereaved families grieved at the loss of their near ones.
Even as the Maharashtra government claims it is implementing in phases the Ram Pradhan committee report, which examined the government's response to the 26/11 terror attacks, gaping holes still exist in the security apparatus.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
The aspirations, energy, enterprise and skills of the youth will be the force for India's economic transformation
Most of the projects face hurdles such as delay in approvals and lack of coordination between state governments and the railways.
Stepped up public expenditure must be accompanied by focused policies, advises Vinayak Chatterjee.
India will need an annual investment of Rs 15 trillion in infrastructure over the next five years, says Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII.
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.
'While all would agree on the need to be ready to launch cross-border strikes on terror camps, there is sharp disagreement on how best to do it.' 'Through IAF fighters, or surface-to-surface missiles?' 'Or should army Special Forces be created to do the job?' 'If air strikes are the agreed priority, additional funding must be made available for the purchase of fighters and missiles.' 'If it is to be Special Forces, the army must be facilitated in raising a Special Forces Command,' notes Ajai Shukla.
There were heightened expectations from Budget 2017 after the impact of note ban on different sections but most remain unfulfilled.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari known for promoting innovative ideas in transportation, created a stir some time back when he pitched for 100 per cent electric mobility by 2030. In an interview with Megha Manchanda & Jyoti Mukul, he talks about the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and electric vehicles.
'Overlying his idealism was a hatred of war and of all things military. He gave no deep thought to politico-military matters and this prevented him from making sound security decisions.'
'Earlier compensation was less, but we have increased compensation four fold. As a result, farmers want to give up their land.' 'Infrastructure projects will create 50 lakh jobs. If today we are building 14 km of road per day, by next March, we hope to take it up to 30 km. My own hope is we can take it to 100 km per day.' 'The government's ambitious Sagarmala project aims to develop port infrastructure along the country's 7,500 km coastline. The project includes modernisation of our ports and islands, setting up of coastal economic zones, new major ports and fish harbours.'
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