Modi government's story of five years with regard to equity allocation for PSUs shows that it may have allowed a large part of its resources to be wasted. This is also a worrying reflection of the government's inability to take hard decisions - whether they pertain to privatisation or forcing weak public-sector banks to wind down their operations, says A K Bhattacharya.
'Some districts have said that areas which are away from the urban centres and where there have been minimal to zero Covid-19 cases may be exempted from the lockdown and construction activity should be allowed,' said a person in the know.
The agitating farmers had earlier said they would picket toll plazas to press their demand for a repeal of the three new laws, which were voted through in Parliament in September amid strong protests by opposition parties.
This uncaring attitude is primarily based on the fact that road concessionaires still do not see themselves as "service deliverers", says Vinayak Chatterjee.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said monetisation of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) assets is based on the principle of value creation for the government and investors and would bring about a paradigm shift in infrastructure augmentation and maintenance. Chairing the National Workshop with the states/UTs on Asset Monetisation organised by Niti Aayog, the minister sought the collaboration of states for the holistic development of infrastructure. She said India can become a $5 trillion economy, while striking the right balance between fiscal imperatives and socio-economic welfare, through active collaboration between the public and private sector.
The sector hit many roadblocks during 2014, as builders were seen shying away from the projects and investments dried up amid various regulatory, judicial and policy-related bottlenecks.
Road developers hoping for early relief from the government will have to wait longer.
The higher the tax bracket, better the yields for these instruments
These clauses deal with penalties, licences, registration and National Transport Policy, among others.
To deal with the chaos at toll plazas arising out of the government's junking Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government has suspended fee collection on all booths at National Highways till the midnight of November 11.
Parks would cut transport cost by 10% for industries, allow freight movement on larger trucks and rail.
If India had a road regulator in the late nineties, the capacity-building model based on public-private partnerships would not have been in tatters.
Spanning 555 km, the project was to cost Rs 7,500 crore.
'Our automakers export 50 per cent of what they manufacture and once the policy comes into play, which is in the next 2-3 years, we would become a Rs 10 trillion industry.'
While the most obvious beneficiary of this roll-out will be manufacturers of FASTags, or the Radio Frequency Identification chips, a PwC report says implementation of a pan-India electronic toll collection system on national highways may help save approximately Rs 87,000 crore annually.
Assocham president Niranjan Hiranandani said his talks with government officials showed dues to industry and states were pending in the form of refunds of income tax, value-added tax, and GST, and compensation, payments to discoms in the power sector, fertiliser subsidies, etc.
It requires Rs 90,000 crore (Rs 900-billion) investment, of which one-third (Rs 30,000 crore or Rs 300 billion) should be private equity.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari known for promoting innovative ideas in transportation, created a stir some time back when he pitched for 100 per cent electric mobility by 2030. In an interview with Megha Manchanda & Jyoti Mukul, he talks about the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and electric vehicles.
The combativeness reflects her insistence not to meekly acquiesce to what has been going on in Raisina Hill for years or decades, observes Kartikeya Tanna.
Last year, the government had allowed NHAI, IRFC, Hudco, REC and PFC to issue tax-free bonds.
The most pernicious abuse of the toll system is the VIP syndrome. Most toll plazas carry a long list of VIP vehicles that are exempt from payment and others have to compensate for them.
Sathe had suffered multiple injuries on his skull in that incident, but due to his strong will power and passion he cleared the test and started flying again, his cousin said.
Of these, about 100 projects are likely to be completed by December 2018.
While seven companies bagged orders worth Rs 42,000 crore, industry experts said most of this new order activity was a spillover, and fresh project finalisation remains weak.
'Our target is to award Rs 25 lakh crore worth of projects that would result in creating 25 million jobs'
According to senior officials of the National Highways Authority of India, this project is part of a larger 245-km highway development project connecting Hyderabad and Solapur.
Little attention is being paid to keep roads, bridges and flyovers in good shape
Move is to encourage investment in the infrastructure sector.
Senior finance ministry official said the economic affairs department cleared the proposals on Friday.
The assault on the engineer came days after a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator assaulted an official with a cricket bat in Madhya Pradesh.
In the video clip that has gone viral on the social media, Rane and Kankavli Municipal Council president Samir Nalawade are purportedly seen tying Deputy Engineer Prakash Khedekar of the National Highways Authority of India to the railing of a bridge and pouring buckets of mud on him.
Consumption of cement, steel, and bitumen is to get a boost of Rs 42,000 crore (Rs 420 billion), as the National Highways Authority of India has announced to award 7,994 km of highway projects in the current financial year.
The National Highways Authority of India will this year witness the highest ever growth out of the last decade. But Gadkari himself admits his biggest failure as India's roads minister has been his inability to curb loss of life in road accidents.
Haldea's report requires serious rethinking of the NHAI model, not an outburst by Kamal Nath.
The brokerage said the consolidated fiscal deficit, including that of the Union (3.6 per cent), the states (2.6 per cent) and the off-budget borrowings which are being resorted to increasingly is a worry.
The CBI had registered a case against the four for allegedly entering into a criminal conspiracy and engaging in corrupt practices in the award of contract.
India will not allow Chinese companies to participate in highway projects, including those through joint ventures, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday amid the border standoff with China. Gadakri also said the government will ensure that Chinese investors are not entertained in various sectors like the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The National Highways Authority of India on Wednesday said it needs to borrow up to Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) per year for the next 15 years to implement Rs 9 lakh crore (Rs 9 trillion) worth of road projects in the PPP mode till 2031-32.
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