The Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, came together on Thursday to raise the issue of stalled projects plaguing India Inc and implored the Maharashtra government and the Centre to make Mumbai, India's financial capital, an easier place for business and investments. "Several projects are stuck for many years in Mumbai and we would like to know how the government intends to improve the financing and execution of projects, including those relating to infrastructure and education which have been in limbo for long and are affecting the growth of the city," Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani told Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Seated on the same table was his brother, apart from Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry and State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. Jaitley was addressing the Mumbai Next MMR Transformation conclave, organised by the Maharashtra government and Mumbai First here, through video conference. In his reply, Jaitley said the government was exploring several options of infrastructure financing in India and that a number of international bodies were ready to fund infrastructure development projects. He added the government was keenly considering these funding sources. While praising Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for honesty, Jaitley also had a word of advice. Apart from being honest, the government had to be decisive, he said. On his part, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani told the chief minister about his experience of decisions being delayed due to an indecisive bureaucracy and the need to protect officials who wanted to take quick decisions. "Through the past many years, we have faced a number of obstacles in decision-making," he said, adding he was speaking as someone who had lived and invested in Mumbai. Fadnavis responded by saying he would bring about a transparent process to ring-fence officials. Both the Ambani brothers have announced a number of infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai, including a world-class convention centre in Bandra Kurla Complex by RIL, but very few have actually fructified. RIL's special economic zone project failed to take off due to land acquisition problems in Raigarh, while a second SEZ near Mumbai is stuck due to lack of clarity in SEZ norms. The first phase of the Mumbai Metro, set up by Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure, was marred by cost overruns and run-ins with the government over fares. Subsequently, the company withdrew from the second and larger phase, citing inordinate delay. Anil Ambani also withdrew from Mumbai's sea link project on the same grounds. The brothers had also bid for a trans-harbour sea link between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai under the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government, but their bid was rejected. Reliance Infrastructure is also the power supplier to more than half of this city. Participating in the conclave, some of India Inc's leading bankers said making Mumbai a financial hub would take at least a decade. SBI's Bhattacharya said the Indian currency should be made fully convertible and facilities should be created for it. "However, for this, the economy needs to look up and that will happen only in the next 7-10 years, not immediately," she added. Sunil Kaushal, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered, India, pitched for strong infrastructure to support development. "We will take a long time to develop into a global financial centre. We need to solve transport bottlenecks in Mumbai and have lifestyle facilities for people working in and around these areas," he said.
The Lok Sabha election will be held in 7 phases, beginning on April 11, 2019 and ending on May 19, 2019.
It took the Danish beer maker eight years to move among the top three.
Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was re-nominated by Congress from Chandigarh on Thursday brushing aside the "taint" argument as it released the second list of 71 candidates who include film star Nagma in Meerut and Youth Congress chief Rajeevv Satav from Hingoli.
Stepping up his attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family, Narendra Modi on Friday said Rahul Gandhi was talking of changing the system when it was his father and grandmother who made it and distorted and misused it for their personal gains.
The government had last week decided to set up the 51 airports to enhance air connectivity to small cities in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
Raids are being carried out across the country by the Income Tax department in the wake of the burgeoning fake currency racket post demonetisation, as currencies both new and old have been seized in large amounts from Bengaluru, Panjim and Faridabad besides the national capital.
Eight women died and 52 others have been hospitalised due to botched surgeries at a government-organised sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district.
Around 30 per cent polling was recorded till noon on Tuesday in 72 constituencies spread over 19 districts of Chhattisgarh where voting for the second and last phase of Assembly polls is underway.
As the dust finally settles on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and Bharatiya Janata Party along with its NDA allies emerges as the clear winner, here is a list of who won in each of the 7 phases of elections.
Domestic airports across the country are bursting at the seams. And new ones are stuck.
'Will anything change for you after the election?' And the man said 'Kuch nahin badlega.' And he had a smile on his face. He knew nothing was going to change.
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