Govt not to award BOT projects to private firms this year
The Delhi Traffic Police has announced that it has made "adequate" arrangements to manage crowds and ensure safety during Christmas celebrations in the national capital. Deployments have been made near churches, malls, and markets, and a drive against drunken driving will be carried out until New Year. The police have also advised commuters about traffic diversions and restrictions in certain areas due to expected heavy crowds.
Days before Diwali, the monthly economic review by the finance ministry has highlighted moderation in urban demand, softening consumer sentiments and limited footfall as areas that need to be watched. In its review, released on Monday, the ministry also noted the early signs of artificial intelligence displacing workers, as described in anecdotal reports. The commentary from several large consumer goods companies, including Nestl India, Hindustan Unilever, and ITC, in their recent quarterly earnings, has been around a sluggish urban demand. Rural consumption, however, has mostly seen a revival, the companies pointed out.
The employees are demanding salary parity with state government employees, seeking a pay scale adjustment to match that of their counterparts in the state sector.
A BEST electric bus, traveling at a speed of 46 kmph, collided with a crowd in Kurla, Mumbai, killing seven people and injuring 42 others. The driver, Sanjay More, has been arrested for reckless driving. The accident has raised concerns about speed limits and training for drivers of automatic transmission buses.
The Indian Railways carried more goods in December 2023 than the same time last year, making more money than any month bar one since the pandemic. The railways made Rs 15,098 crore by carrying freight in December 2023. The number was higher only in March 2023 when it earned Rs 15,769 crore, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar told PTI that the accident took place above the forests of Gaurikund amid poor visibility due to bad weather.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Roads and national highways are the lifeline of the country, says Oscar Fernandes.
The 4.5 kilometre-long Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand, which is part of the central government's strategic 900-km 'Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road', will continue after the necessary safety audit and repair of the broken structure, a senior road ministry official said on Wednesday.
The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry on Wednesday said the states and union territories (UTs) will provide up to 25 per cent rebate on road tax for vehicles that are purchased after scrapping old vehicles under the new National Automobile Scrappage Policy. The ministry in a press note said that in the vehicle scrapping policy, it is proposed to have a system of incentives to nudge vehicle owners to discard old and polluting vehicles. "As an incentive for scrapping, concession is stipulated in the motor vehicle tax for a vehicle registered against submission of Certificate of Deposit, which is issued by a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility.
In an apparent comment on the current political situation in Maharashtra, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said those who were aspiring to become ministers are now sad as the field has got "crowded", and they do not know what to do with their "stitched suits".
The Centre on Wednesday scrapped the mandatory human safety tests for electric vehicle (EV) batteries required to qualify for incentives under various government schemes. The ministry of heavy industries, in its fresh guidelines, has made compliance with the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH's) prevailing EV battery testing standards the only requirement to get incentives under the Centre's various incentive schemes.
A Mumbai court on Friday denied bail to the driver of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus involved in the December 9 accident in Kurla West, which resulted in the deaths of seven persons and injured more than 40.
Raut was responding to a reporter's question about opposition parties' claim that Gadkari was targeted through the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on alleged irregularities in the work done by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
Days after saying that there is no need for subsidies to achieve greater penetration of electric vehicles (EVs), Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday clarified that the view is his own, but any official call on EV subsidies is not one that he can take.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday took potshots at the rival Shiv Sena over its minister not finding a place in the reconstituted NITI Aayog.
Police personnel in adequate strength were deployed across the state to maintain law and order, officials said.
The strong message from the prime minister is of continuity of policies he considers right with strong emphasis on execution, points out T N C Rajagopalan.
The driver was speeding and the bus swerved for about 200 metres before it dashed into multiple vehicles on the road.
Speaking during the Question Hour, the road transport and highways minister said the country has set several world records in road construction despite COVID-19. The construction of Zoji La tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh highway will be completed before 2024, while another Z-Morh tunnel will be completed in the next three months, he added.
Ahead of the festive season, several passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturers have agreed to offer discounts of 1.5-3 per cent on new vehicle purchase against scrapped old vehicles after a meeting with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, an official statement said on Tuesday. The statement further said Mercedes Benz India has offered a flat discount of Rs 25,000, which will be over and above all existing discounts. Union Road Transport and Highways (RT&H) Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday chaired a meeting with the SIAM delegation at Bharat Mandapam, where he addressed pressing issues in the automobile industry.
Mumbai's iconic red double-decker buses, which have been an integral part of the city's public transport system for more than eight decades, will go off the streets this week, an official from the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking said on Tuesday.
All tunnels being constructed in Uttarakhand will be reviewed, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Thursday after drilling began at the Silkyara tunnel with a heavy duty machine to rescue 40 labourers trapped there for four days.
The strike by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees for salary hike and other demands entered the second day on Wednesday, which continued to cripple the services and cause inconvenience to lakhs of passengers, especially ahead of the Ganesh festival.
This will fill the road infrastructure deficit.
Road builders have been asking for one to resolve various contract disputes and renegotiate others.
Nibe Space (NSPL), a subsidiary of Nibe, announced its vision to establish India's first multi-sensor, all-weather, high-revisit Earth observation satellite constellation. Aiming to strengthen India's self-reliance in the strategically crucial defence-space sector, NSPL signed memoranda of agreement with Indian and global partners, including Larsen & Toubro, Centum, AgniKul, Skyroot Aerospace, SpaceFields, SISIR Radar, CYRAN AI Solutions, and Thales Alenia Space as a technology partner.
The World Bank has approved a $348 million loan to help improve the quality, capacity and safety of the road network in Tamil Nadu.
'In the case of a road accident, prevention is the only answer.' 'There's no cure to death or disability when the accident happens, and when it's due to reckless or negligent driving, it's worse because it's avoidable.'
The group, which held its first meeting in London on Monday will focus mainly on the construction of major highways and district-level roads. It will comprise major road building contractors from the UK and India.
The Punjab Police has busted a narco-terror module and arrested four individuals, including a father-son duo, recovering 4 kilograms of heroin. The accused were in direct contact with Pakistan-based drug smugglers, according to Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav. The arrests were made in an intelligence-led operation by the Counter Intelligence (CI) unit in Amritsar, following inputs about individuals receiving a drug consignment from the Attari area. The DGP stated that preliminary investigations have revealed the involvement of a foreign-based individual identified as Bhullar, who is believed to be managing the gang.
Violence erupted in Manipur's Kangpokpi district as Kuki-Zo groups protested a directive allowing free movement across the state. One protester was killed and over 40 others were injured in clashes with security forces. The protests were sparked by Union Home Minister Amit Shah's order, which aimed to restore free movement across the state after ethnic violence erupted in May 2023.
'A few answers for the reason of the crash will be known -- whether it was a technical fault, design issue, human error etc.'
India expects a big investment of $5 billion (about Rs 22,800 crore) from Canada in the country's road development programme over the next three to four years, road transport and highways minister Kamal Nath has said.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said rapid strides in technology and green fuel will reduce the cost of electric automobiles, bringing them at par with petrol-run vehicles in the next two years. Replying in the Lok Sabha on the Demands for Grants for Road Transport and Highways Ministry, 2022-23, Gadkari emphasised the need to shift to cost-effective indigenous fuel and hoped that this fuel will be a reality soon, bringing the pollution levels down and improving the overall situation in Delhi.
Aiming for a 9 per cent GDP growth by 2011, India attaches the 'highest priority' to build good road infrastructure across the country to achieve the target, Union Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath has said.
He further said that the "focus is on horizontal drilling" as rock formation has created challenges for vertical drilling.
