India will invest USD 82 billion in port projects by 2035, raise share of clean renewable energy source in maritime sector, develop waterways and boost tourism around lighthouses as part of port-led development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Maritime India Summit, he invited global investors to invest in Indian ports, shipyards and waterways. More than 574 projects costing USD 82 billion or Rs 6 lakh crore have been identified for implementation between 2015 and 2035 under the Sagarmala Project, he said. The government, he said, is looking to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030.
The government on Monday issued a letter of intent (LoI) confirming the sale of its 100 per cent stake in loss-making Air India to Tata Group for Rs 18,000 crore, a senior official said. Last week, the government had accepted an offer by Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate, to pay Rs 2,700 crore in cash and takeover Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt. Subsequent to that, an LoI has now been issued to Tata confirming the government's willingness to sell its 100 per cent stake in the airline.
The OTT menu is sparkling with brand new goodies. Here are Sukanya Verma's 10 recommendations for the week.
Lok Sabha on Thursday passed two bills before the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid continuous protests by opposition members over the Pegasus spying row and farmers' issue.
The guidelines listed several services including government and private offices that will be out of bounds during the period, while exempting establishments such as hospitals, ration shops, dairies, banks, insurance offices, and print and electronic media. Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce has also been exempted from the purview of the lockdown.
With 262 planes, IndiGo operated over 1,500 daily flights prior to March 24 but is now operating around 350 scheduled flights a day, which is putting a pressure on its finances.
The government has initiated the process for inviting financial bids for the sale of national carrier Air India and the deal is likely to conclude by September, sources said. Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group was among the "multiple" entities that had put in preliminary bids for buying loss-making Air India in December last year. The sources said that after analysing the preliminary bids, eligible bidders were given access to the Virtual Data Room (VDR) of Air India, following which investors' queries were answered.
Russia is among the top buyers of Indian tea, accounting for about 18 per cent of the industry's total exports.
The airlines were penalised for 'concerted action in fixing and revising Fuel Surcharge (FSC) for transporting cargo.'
About 50,000 truckers, most of whom are single-truck owners, could be thrown off their businesses due to the recent fuel price hike. "Already the vehicle supply on the road is higher than the requirement. "With the fuel price hike, fleet owners will look to cut down fleet size wherever needed and due to this, small single-truck owners could be at the receiving end," Ashok Goyal, managing director at BLR Logistiks (I) Ltd said. The company has a fleet of 500 vehicles of all types-small, medium and large with pan-India presence.
J R D Tata and Air India... Mrigank Warrier explores one of India's eternal love stories.
The Reserve Bank on Friday retained the GDP forecast for the current financial year at 9.5 per cent and flagged global semiconductor shortages, elevated commodity prices and potential global financial market volatility as downside risks to economic growth. In his address after the three-day meeting of the rate-setting panel, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said recovery in aggregate demand gathered pace in August-September, and it is reflected in high-frequency indicators, like railway freight traffic; port cargo; cement production; electricity demand; e-way bills; GST and toll collections. "The ebbing of infections, together with improving consumer confidence, has been supporting private consumption," he said, and added the pent-up demand and the festival season should give further fillip to urban demand in the second half of the financial year.
The number of forms to be filled to operate drones in the country have been reduced to six in draft 'Drone Rules, 2021' in comparison to 25 forms mentioned in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, it said.
Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of debt-laden State-run airline Air India but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, sources said.
The court, however, said it was not going to accede to the demand of Rs 50 lakh sought by the girls' family as it was an 'exorbitant' and 'highly exaggerated' amount.
France on Sunday delivered to India 28 tonnes of ready-to-use medical supplies including eight large oxygen plants while the US sent to India a third flight that brought over 1000 oxygen cylinders
The 80-odd projects completed till now are already valued at Rs 14,000 crore.
"Financial bids for Air India disinvestment received by Transaction Adviser. Process now moves to concluding stage," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
Whatever mildly political or pandemic relevance Army of the Dead means to imply is floundered by its mindless mood and clumsy characterisations, observes Sukanya Verma.
Kaavan, the world's loneliest elephant, will finally get a chance to live in a place he can call home.
The government has allowed import and export of COVID-19 vaccines without any value limitation, in order to ensure speedy clearance and distribution. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has amended the regulations to facilitate the import/export of COVID-19 vaccines through courier, at locations where the Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS) is operational. "Imports and exports of vaccines in relation to COVID-19 has been allowed without any value limitation," said the amended Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Amendment Regulations, 2020.
As a model of transport, the A380 strikes a parallel -- a shared fragility -- with giant container ships, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Major Ports Authority Bill, 2020 was passed through ballot votes in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with 84 votes in its favour and 44 against it. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on September 23 last year.
The 68-year-old Bindroo, who ran Bindroo Medicate, was shot at by the assailants point blank at his pharmacy, a police official said, adding he was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
During his address after flagging off the train via video-conferencing, Modi said his government's policies are clear and intentions transparent in reforming the agriculture sector.
With the number of coronavirus infections declining in the country, industry chamber FICCI has suggested the government to follow a graded approach in unlocking economic activities. The chamber has suggested opening up of economic activities depending upon the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in that region or district. It has divided regions at four levels - minimal risk, low risk, medium risk and high risk. It has asked for opening e-commerce supplies for both essential and non-essential activities in all districts irrespective of the positivity rate, besides home delivery of alcoholic beverages, logistics, warehousing and all cargo movement.
Unpaused: Naya Safar holds on to a light-at-the-end-of-a-tunnel thought and looks at the pandemic-afflicted people from all walks of life through the prism of optimism in five poignant stories, notes Sukanya Verma.
The conglomerate, which has received environmental clearance for the project, plans to invest around Rs 1,500 crore in it.
At least 40 people died and nearly 150 others were injured on Friday after a packed three-storey ferry carrying around 500 passengers caught fire on the Sugandha River in southern Bangladesh, officials said.
Industry officials say the crunch has not only affected manufacturing of edibles but even of items like nozzle pumps and other goods used in packaging.
There is no word yet on the progress of rescue operations for the accommodation barge SS-3 and the Sagar Bhushan oil rig.
Meanwhile, with China switching its trading partners due to geo-political issues, increased trade with South Africa for bauxite and with the US for coal is also auguring well for vessels with tonne miles going up.
India should have done more to protect jobs during the pandemic, a senior official from a global consultancy firm said on Tuesday. Alok Kshirsagar, a senior partner with McKinsey & Company, said the United Kingdom ran a very effective programme to protect employment through the payroll protection initiative, while the US was also not so effective because they were not well-targeted."I think in India, frankly, we should have done more to protect employment in some way, shape or form," Kshirsagar said while speaking at an event organised by industry lobby grouping CII. It can be noted that unemployment had touched record highs during the pandemic across the organised and unorganised sectors.
According to a report in the Daily quoting a senior administration official, there was a "tiny slice" of personal protective equipment left over.
Trump has roped in Army Corps of Engineers to build hospitals all over the country, activated the ready reserve components of the Armed Forces and invoked the Defense Production Act to compel General Motors to accept, perform and prioritise federal contracts for ventilators.
The Kerala government on Friday decided to recommend a judicial inquiry against central probe agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, which are investigating the gold and dollar smuggling cases.
These companies were identified through the India Innovation Growth Programme, an innovation contest through which the US firm identifies Indian research and development potential.
The airlines have waived charges for transport of relief cargo to Chennai.
Railway route privatisation is not as rosy it looks as there is no bar on competition on one hand and demand-risks outweigh the benefits on other, even though the private operator is free to fix the tariffs, warns a report.
The issue is set to be discussed early next week as the commerce department meets with industry bodies to discuss the widening supply gap for key imports.