India can become the number one automotive manufacturing hub in the world within five years, but auto companies need to enhance safety features to reduce deaths due to road accidents, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. In his inaugural address at the Auto Expo 2023 here, the minister for road transport and highways asserted that the government's target is to reduce these accidents by 50 per cent before the end of 2024 while asking the auto industry to take suo moto action for road safety as the government doesn't want to make anything mandatory. Gadkari's sentiments were also echoed by Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey, who lamented that while India has only 1 per cent of the total overall vehicles, the country accounts for 11 per cent of the total global deaths due to road accidents.
The erstwhile divestment commission to be now be replaced by the BRPSE.
Swami Chinmayanand, Kailash Meghwal, Prahlad Singh Patel, Nagmani and P C Thomas were also inducted as ministers of state into the council of ministers.
With land acquisition completed and infrastructure work streamlined, India's bullet train dreams are slowly, but finally, inching closer to reality.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph is likely to give its verdict.
The deal is estimated to be worth Rs 12,000 crore.
The interim Budget in May this year had extended the depreciation benefit on purchase of new commercial vehicles to September from March 2009. Industry executives said this should be extended as sales of large vehicles slumped 40 per cent in April and May this year. Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles had dipped 33 per cent in 2008-2009.
The scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Ministries such as road transport and heavy industries are learnt to have objected to NITI Aayog's attempts to become an implementing body for the EV programme.
In a communication to all states and union territories, the NDMA said due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established standard operating procedures.
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Tuesday after suffering from multiple organ failure.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Centre had sent multiple advance warnings to the Kerala government about possible floods and landslides in the state, starting as early as July 23, and nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were rushed to the state the same day.
Questions that the state had come to recognise over time but consistently delayed treating seriously because doing so requires an overhaul of perspective and lifestyle, notes Shyam G Menon.
Differences between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party over portfolio allocation blew over on Wednesday with Anant Geete deciding to take charge as heavy industries minister after party chief Uddhav Thackeray held "satisfactory" talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the matter.
Nationalist Congress Party ministers on Thursday boycotted the meeting of Union Cabinet in New Delhi to show their unhappiness over party leader Sharad Pawar not being given the number two position in the government.
Industry staring at a record surplus by next year
Admitting the "failure" of the UPA government in grounding several mega projects in a time-bound-manner, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Praful Patel blamed it on the environmental "activism within the government".
He also said the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress is just an 'adjustment'.
He said any decision regarding divestment of BHEL has to be taken by the board of the company.
Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday dismissed the Opposition's demand for his resignation in the wake of the Supreme Court rebuking him for abusing his position as Maharashtra chief minister. "These are political things. I cannot expect anything positive from my opponents", Deshmukh said when asked about the demand from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena that he quit in the wake of the court's observations against him.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The Nationalist Congress Party has decided to pull out of the UPA government and support it from outside in protest against the way the party was treated by Congress, creating fresh trouble for the ruling coalition.
The total allocation to the defence sector is 12.9 per cent of the total budget of the government of India for the financial year 2024-25.
More than 2,800 jobs will be axed as Tata Steel plans to close its blast furnaces at the Port Talbot plant in South Wales in the UK. Of the total job cuts, 2,500 will be in the next 18 months, said Indian conglomerate Tata. A further 300 jobs are to go in three years.
Heavy rains continued to pound Chennai and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on December 5.
Both the new and the old Parliament complex and their allied buildings will be brought under a comprehensive security cover of the CISF which will also have the existing elements of Parliament Security Service (PSS), the Delhi Police and the Parliament Duty Group (PDG) of the CRPF, the sources said.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday said he saw nothing wrong in Maharashtra Congress ministers donating money for party chief Sonia Gandhi's public rally near Nagpur.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders condoled the death of Veerendra Kumar.
Former India skipper and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and Union Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh were on Tuesday elected unopposed as vice-presidents of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). After the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Tuesday evening, both Vengsarkar and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Deshmukh were left without any opponent for the July 10 elections.
Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla, who had crossed 75 years, resigned on Tuesday from the Union Cabinet along with Minister of State for Heavy Industries G M Siddeshwara.
Reversal in the declining economic growth trajectory is clearly the need of the hour and all steps should be taken to bring about this change.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel on Friday said his ministry was preparing a list for outright sale of sick and closed PSUs that have no potential for turnaround.
The heavy industries ministry has asked US-based electric car major Tesla to first start manufacturing its iconic electric vehicles in India before any tax concessions can be considered, government sources said. They said that the government is not giving such concessions to any auto firm and giving duty benefits to Tesla will not send a good signal to other companies that have invested billions of dollars in India. Tesla has demanded reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs) in India.
The central government will invest Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion) in setting up world-class automotive testing and R&D infrastructure with foreign collaboration.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
The emission is nine times more than cap; Volkswagen denies the claim.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said if the US-based Tesla is ready to manufacture its electric vehicles in India then there is 'no problem' but the company must not import cars from China. In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Gadkari further said India is a large market and there is a huge potential for all electric vehicles. "If Elon Musk (Tesla CEO) is ready to manufacture in India then there is no problem ... Come to India, start manufacturing, India is a large market they can export from India," he said. The road transport and highways minister said his request to Musk is to come and manufacture in India.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
Shiv Sena leader and Heavy Industries Minister Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil on Saturday resigned from the Union Cabinet.
