Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday pitched for formulating a policy for using the Reserve Bank of India's rising foreign exchange reserves for funding road projects, saying the country needs low cost finance for such infrastructure projects. Addressing a virtual event organised by industry body CII, Gadkari further said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should also have a financial arm like the power ministry's Power Finance Corporation (PFC). "We have a surplus of dollar reserves in the country. I have decided to talk with the RBI Governor, about how we can formulate a policy by which we can use this foreign exchange reserves for development of infrastructure in the country," he said.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday launched the country's first crash testing programme Bharat NCAP aimed at improving road safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is India's own crash testing programme and is cheaper than tests conducted abroad, Gadkari said, adding that the star ratings will help buyers understand the quality of the product and make an informed purchase decision. Bharat NCAP will be implemented from October 1, 2023.
'Instead of ACs, the government should do something to increase our salary.'
You increase the production, only then it is possible to reduce cost, Gadkari said.
The truckers organisation, All India Motor Transport Congress has demanded lower toll tax or nearly 62 lakh (6.2 million) trucks would go off roads from August 6, bringing movement of goods throughout the country to a halt.
The monsoon spelt mayhem in several parts of the country on Monday, particularly Mumbai where local train services and flight operations were hit and everyday life disrupted as well as Assam that was grappling with floods yet again.
The government on Friday extended the validity of motor vehicle documents like driving licence (DL), registration certificate (RC) and permits till June 30, 2021, in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In an advisory to states, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said it is extending the validity of fitness, permit, driving licence, registration and other documents whose extension of validity could not be granted due to lockdown and which had expired since February 1, 2020, or would expire by March 31, 2021. It had earlier issued advisories dated March 30, 2020, June 9, 2020, August 24, 2020, and December 27, 2020, in connection with extension of validity of documents related to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.
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.
What some of our leaders were up to on the weekend.
In many states, aggregators operate without a licence; in others, with the risk of the licence being revoked by any regional transport office on the slightest pretext.
The Centre will make it mandatory for carmakers to provide a minimum of six airbags in motor vehicles that can carry up to 8 passengers for enhanced safety of occupants, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday. In a series of tweets, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said his ministry had already mandated the implementation of fitment of the driver airbag with effect from July 1, 2019 and front co-passenger airbag with effect from January 1, 2022. "In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in motor vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers, I have now approved a Draft GSR Notification to make a minimum of 6 Airbags compulsory," Gadkari said.
The first phase of the prime minister's ambitious Rs 58,000 crore (Rs 580 billion) National Highway Development Project, connecting four metros with four/six lane roads.
Sources added that in the past one week, 4,000 trucks carrying essential supplies reached the valley via NH 37, which is the only road that is open for now.
Fifteen pilgrims were killed and 18 others wounded in a road accident in the mountainous Ramban district of Jammu region on Saturday night.
A local tribunal has awarded Rs 2.52 crore in claim petitions filed by the representatives of Army personnel killed in road accident at Chambalwas on Jammu-Srinagar National highway, sources said
India has world's second largest road network with its National Highways covering a distance of 92,851.07 kms.
While inaugurating the projects, Modi said highways construction has reached 27-km a day from mere 12-km a day during the Congress regime.
Kamal Nath, minister of road transport and highways, pitched for American investment and advanced technology transfer in infrastructure development in India's road sector in New York last week.
The tunnel would reduce the travel time to the Ladakh region by 15-20 per cent and would come up close to the Atal tunnel near Rohtang Pass, reports Megha Manchanda.
What some of our leaders were up to on the weekend.
The worker said there was a natural source of water in the tunnel but they had no clothes to change.
The government began the selection process a year earlier and has twice gone through the process of short-listing candidates.
"We have conveyed this to the road transport ministry. We go for environment approval for all land we acquire, but land with environment issues requires more approvals," said a senior NHAI official, who did not want to be identified.
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.
Contentious issues like land acquisition and sharing of toll seem to have put the approval of the new Model Concession Agreement for highway projects on hold.
The World Bank has suggested that cess on petrol and diesel be doubled to Rs 3 per litre to partly generate Rs 100,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion) needed by 2011 for constructing roads and highways in the country.
Several Union ministers and chief ministers voluntarily removed the red beacons from their vehicles even before the notification of it came into effect.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Transport Kamal Nath on Tuesday claimed that the Congress would form the government in Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in his maiden Budget Speech that government would focus on campaigns to sensitise people of this country towards the concerns of the girl child and women.
Govt may delay BS-V and -VI implementation by a year
The use of such robots can not only save lives but can also help road construction companies cut down on labour costs.
The government on Thursday postponed by one year the target date for completion of the first phase of the prime minister's ambitious Rs 58,000-crore National Highway Development Project.\n\n\n\n
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.
'Strange as it may seem, the more advanced the safety features in a car, the more critical is the role of the humble seat belt.'
The government expects to collect Rs 1,495 crore (Rs 14.95 billion) as toll tax from highways during the current fiscal, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
While she primed up spending on infrastructure to create jobs and boost economic activity, Sitharaman did not tinker with income tax slabs or tax rates. Her Budget for the fiscal year beginning April 2022 proposed a massive 35 per cent jump in capital expenditure to Rs 7.5 lakh crore, coupled with rationalisation of customs duty, an extension of time for setting up new manufacturing companies and plans for starting a digital currency and tax crypto assets.
The highway authority's annual toll earning for 2009-10 was in the range of Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion) from 141 public-funded toll plazas in the country.
The bill also has provision of up to Rs 10 lakh compensation in case of road fatality.
The IL&FS deal marks a sharp turnaround from last year when investor interest in public works plummeted.
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