'Are all roads in India privatised? Are governments not playing a role in airports or ports? If they (private players) want to set up lines for a specific requirement, I see no reason to object. It will expand the opportunity and passengers will also benefit.'
Indian Railways is currently implementing a project that involves laying of a broad gauge line connecting Nangaldam to Talwara in Himachal Pradesh.
Developed countries are relaxing restrictions on economic activity at a faster rate than expected. Global demand for consumer goods, intermediates and commodities is growing at a fast pace. Most exporters are flushed with orders, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Tata Motors on Monday launched the country's first CNG truck in the medium and heavy commercial (M&HCV) vehicle segment in the 28- and 19-tonne nodes. Most truck makers, including Tata Motors, currently offer CNG only in the small and light commercial vehicle segments. The company also launched a fleet of seven trucks in the intermediary and light commercial vehicle (I&LCV) segment, meant for varied applications.
Outlining the Budget estimates for the coming year, the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu put the plan size at Rs 1.21 lakh crore.
The decision on the fresh round of hike has been taken under the system of fuel adjustment component about which an announcement was made in the 2011-12 rail budget.
For India to reach its bold target of having net-zero emissions by 2070, the country's solar power capacity would have to rise to over 5,600 GW, coal use particularly in the power sector will have to drop by 99 per cent by 2060 and crude oil would need to peak by 2050 and fall substantially by 90 per cent in the two decades thereafter, CEEW India has said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday surprised delegates at the COP26 climate summit with a bold pledge to cutting emissions at the world's third-biggest emitter to net-zero by 2070. Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a Delhi-based not-for-profit policy research institution, said, "The economic cost of India's net-zero 2070 transition (would be) over USD 13,000 billion between 2030 and 2100."
After Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, petrol price has crossed the Rs 100-per-litre mark in Leh, in almost all districts of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Telangana after fuel prices were again hiked on Friday. Petrol price was increased by 27 paise per litre and diesel by 28 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The hike - 18th in the last one month - took fuel prices across the country to a historic high. In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 94.76 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 85.66 per litre.
Construction is supposed to begin in 2017, with completion slated for 2023.
This was one of the toughest years for Indian Railways.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Indian Railways' wholly-owned listed subsidiary, is eyeing partnerships to offset recurring costs incurred in train operations, which is part of its two-year-old diversification from core catering and ticketing businesses. To this end, it is courting public sector undertakings such as Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and others to create a special purpose vehicle for the routes for which IRCTC has bid. The Railway ministry opened bids for public private partnerships in passenger train operations in July 2021 and received bids to operate 29 pairs of trains with around 40 modern rakes that would entail an investment of Rs 7,200 crore.
India's services activity expanded at the fastest rate in a year during February, while employment fell further and companies noted the sharpest rise in overall expenses, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.8 in January to 55.3 in February, pointing to the sharpest rate of expansion in output in a year amid improved demand and more favourable market conditions. The index was above the critical 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the fifth month in a row during February as the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines led to an improvement in business confidence towards growth prospects.
Once the scheme is implemented 70-80 per cent of the freight would move along national highways as against the current 40 per cent, says Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
'Now is the time for India to course correct and for the government also to course correct,' says businessman Mangesh Khatri.
Hyderabad on Monday became the second metro city in the country to see petrol price crossing Rs 100 per litre mark after fuel prices were raised yet again. Petrol price was hiked by 29 paise per litre and diesel by 30 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The hike -- 24th in six weeks -- pushed fuel prices across the country to new historic highs. In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 96.41 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 87.28 per litre.
'Q1 is going to bear the brunt of the second wave, exposing full-year GDP forecasts to downward revisions, unless phase-3 of vaccination is executed quickly.'
A proposal to increase rail fare is under examination and a decision will be taken shortly, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday.
He accused the previous governments of being sluggish on implementing railway projects and said the work of ambitious eastern and western dedicated freight corridors expedited only in the last six-seven years.
Petrol and diesel prices on Wednesday were hiked by 25 paise per litre each, the third increase this week, propelling petrol price to cross Rs 100 per litre mark in more cities including Bhopal and Indore. Petrol and diesel prices are now at record high across the country, price notification of state-owned fuel retailers showed. In Delhi, petrol now comes for Rs 92.05 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 82.61. This was the third increase in prices this week and seventh hike since May 4 when the state-owned oil firms ended an 18-hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.
The introduction of fuel adjustment component in passenger fares will merely add Rs 450 crore.
Even as several trains have more than 200 waitlisted passengers every day, running some trains with so many vacant seats is a criminal waste of scarce resource.
Dubai International Airport is the world's fourth busiest hub for international passengers and freight traffic.
American refiners closed some of their production, leading to futures trade benchmarked to the West Texas Intermediate going negative.
'The core sectors have not done very well in the past one year.'
India, World Bank ink $375 mn deal to help develop country's first waterway
Indian Railways has to up investment to strengthen network just like China and Russia.
The losses ranged between Rs 33,204 and Rs 10,90,480.
However, it may still not change its stance on the policy rate as inflationary pressures are coming from high commodity prices.
In July last, fares were increased by 14.2%.
After the latest spike in crude oil prices, petrol prices could potentially go up to around Rs 90 a litre making a dent in the consumer's wallet. This, the analysts fear, will push the cost of vehicle ownership in the country, further reducing the demand potential for the industry.
Petrol price on Thursday was hiked by 35 paise per litre and diesel by 15 paise, pushing rates to a new high across the country. Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 101.54 a litre and diesel Rs 89.87 per litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The increase comes after rates stayed mute for three days. Petrol price was last hiked on July 12, on a day when diesel rates had seen its first reduction in almost three months. The increase on Thursday neutralised the 16 paise price cut in diesel on July 12.
What is more worrying, according to the report, is the fact that in over 20 per cent of the topic caseload districts where the second has ebbed, the third wave has set in firmly, which was only 5 per cent a month ago.
General Motors India on Friday said it will hike the prices of its entire range of models by up to Rs 20,000 with effect from October 8 as it looks to minimise the impact of adverse currency movement and high input costs.
Hyperloop is a new way to move people and things at airline speeds for the price of a bus ticket. It's on-demand, energy-efficient and safe. Rob Lloyd, CEO & board member of Hyperloop One talks about the company's plan to harness the potential of the world's densely populated geography through the technology.
Enthused by rising potato prices after a prolonged slump, Pradeep Sharma was planning to sow the crop on his 15-acre farm near Agra slightly earlier than usual. The delayed departure of the southwest monsoon also prompted his decision, since the good soil moisture would have saved at least one initial irrigation. But the acute shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a crucial nutrient ahead of the sowing season for potatoes, nipped those hopes in the bud. DAP is the second-most used fertiliser in the country after urea.
The economic costs now beginning to show up in the hard numbers are far worse than initial expectations.
However, the tender criteria demands that an entity must be eligible to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations in order to become eligible. Currently, no drone companies are eligible to do BVLOS operations, reports Arindam Majumder.
Recently, world headlines buzzed with Elon Musk's announcement that he was shelving his audacious bid for social media platform Twitter. Away from the media spotlight, questions are being asked about the maverick billionaire's plans in India, too. A few days ago, a Reuters report said Musk's flagship Tesla had put on hold its plan to launch electric cars in India.
The railways continue to lose market share with an actual fall in the number of passengers and stagnant freight tonnage, says Subir Roy.
Prabhu hoped that during this 3-4 years period, railways would be able to absorb the impact from their resources