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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/638681/of-275-dilapidated-railway-bridges.html

Press Trust of India, New Delhi, Oct 21 2017, 12:24 IST
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The board had earlier sought details of the condition of bridges and found that the trains would pass on the 252 dilapidated bridges at its usual speed, posing a safety hazard. file photo


The Railway Board has ordered a review of all rail bridges in the country that need repair after it was found that out of the 275 such bridges, only 23 had speed restrictions on them.

The board had earlier sought details of the condition of bridges and found that the trains would pass on the 252 dilapidated bridges at its usual speed, posing a safety hazard.

"CBEs (chief bridge engineers) should specifically review the position in respect of all bridges assigned with ORN-1 and ORN-2 rating in their respective railways and firm up the action plan for their rehabilitation on priority," the board's order said.

The railways has three ratings for its bridges - overall rating number (ORN), 1, 2, and 3 - bridges with ORN-1 rating require immediate building/rehabilitation, ORN-2 ratings are required to be rebuilt on the programmed basis while ORN-3 bridges require special repairs.

"It seems that proper time-bound planning has not been done by the Railways for rehabilitation of these bridges which creates a doubt whether correct condition rating appropriate to the actual condition of the bridge has been assigned or not," said the order issued last month.

"It is also felt that there has been a lack of due diligence at division/headquarter level while revising/conforming the rating given by ADEN (Assistant Divisional Engineer )," it said.

The board also said that it has observed that in most cases, no speed restriction has been imposed and special inspection schedule has also not been prescribed by the CBEs.

The Railway Board had sought details of the bridges and it was observed that a large number of bridges needing rehabilitation existed on some zonal railways for long.

The Central Railways has 61 such bridges, East Central Railways 63, South Central Railways 41 and Western Railways has 42 such bridges.

Pulling up the zonal railways for failing to follow procedure, the board has said that there are many bridges where speed restrictions have been imposed on condition basis even when they have not been categorised under ORN-1 or ORN-2 categories.

A 2015 CAG report had found that delays in sanctioning of bridgeworks and completion of sanctioned bridgeworks resulted in operation of train services with speed restriction resulting in extra operational costs.
 
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
24-October, 2017 19:20 IST
Minister for Commerce and Industry reviews Government’s initiatives on IPR

The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu took a review of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related initiatives taken by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for strengthening the IPR regime in the country.

The Government of India has been working relentlessly to streamline IP processes and modernization of IP offices through steps such as comprehensive e-filing facilities made available for patents and trademarks, auto-allotment of patent applications to ensure uniformity and utilization of the specialized expertise of all examiners and controllers and by auto generation of trademark certificates. Examination of Patent applications has increased over three times in the last six months compared to the same period last year.

To reduce the pendency, 458 Patent and 59 Trademark examiners have been appointed in addition to the existing manpower. Pendency in Patent examination is targeted to be brought down from the present 7 years to 18 months by 2019. The pendency of Trademark applications at the examination stage has been reduced drastically – the time taken for examination has been brought down from 13 months to less than one month.

Innovation is widely recognized as a central driver of economic growth and development. In this context, DIPP has also signed an institutional agreement with the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology to establish India’s first Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at Patent Information Centre, Punjab, under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program. Another TISC is being established at Anna University, Chennai.

Talking about the importance of IPR and innovation the Commerce and Industry Minister said, “India is now at the forefront of innovation and developing new ideas. In such scenario, protection of IPRs becomes extremely important.” On this occasion, Secretary DIPP Shri Ramesh Abhishek provided the details of how recent initiatives by the Government of India are transforming the IP landscape in India.

The Government has been spreading awareness about IPRs in schools and efforts are on to include IPRs in school curriculum. The awareness drive is also being carried forward in universities and industries as well.

The Government has been engaging with people on social media platforms as well. The #LetsTalkIP campaign has gained momentum and this initiative aims to bring about a radical change with respect to awareness on Geographical Indications (GIs) and India’s rich cultural heritage. A logo design and slogan contest for GIs of India has also been launched on the MyGov.in website.

On this occasion, the Minister also launched the official website of the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), which is a professional body created under the aegis of DIPP to ensure focused action on issues related to IPRs and smooth implementation of the objectives of the National IPR Policy adopted in May 2016. The website can be accessed at www.cipam.gov.in. It will provide regular updates on the latest IP trends – statistics on applications filed, examined, grants and disposal for various IPRs. It would provide information on the various initiatives being taken by the Government to strengthen the IPR regime in the country.

Ministry of Commerce & Industry
24-October, 2017 15:36 IST
Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu launches CIPAM’s Website

The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu launched the official website for the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) here today. CIPAM has been set up under the aegis of DIPP with a mandate to effectively implement the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy. Secretary DIPP, Shri Ramesh Abhishek was also present.


The website is interactive providing regular updates on all upcoming events including awareness and sensitization programs being conducted, as also information on all Intellectual Property Rights. It would make available resource material on IPRs specially curated for various levels: schools, universities, industry and enforcement agencies.


One can read the latest news and updates, specially curated feed on all latest happenings in the world of IP, insightful and educational blogs by CIPAM and IP experts.


The website provides regular updates on the latest IP trends – statistics on applications filed, examined, grants and disposal for various IPRs. It would provide information on the various initiatives being taken by the Government to strengthen the IPR regime in the country.


You may visit www.cipam.gov.in or follow CIPAM on Twitter at @CIPAM_India for updates.




***

Ministry of Finance
24-October, 2017 18:25 IST
Strong Macro-Economic Fundamentals And Reforms for Sustained Growth

Following are the highlights of the presentation made by ministry of finance secretaries at the press conference held today



I. India a haven of Macroeconomic Stability



Strong economic growth



· India grew at a very strong pace of 7.5% p.a. in the three years of 2014-17 with growth exceeding 8% in 2015-16. There was a temporary slippage in growth in the last two quarters thanks to transitional effect of Demonetisation and GST. That effect is now over, with all indicators – IIP, Core Sector, Index, automobile, consumer spending etc. pointing out a strong growth pick up, there is expectation of very good growth from second quarter of current year itself.

· The current global economic outlook is marked by relatively stronger activity in both advanced economies and emerging market & developing economies. Global economic activity is on the course of gradual improvement and the world GDP is projected to grow at the rate of 3.6 per cent and 3.7 per cent in 2017 and 2018 respectively, after remaining subdued in 2016, when it was 3.2 per cent. Significant improvement in investment, trade, and industrial production, coupled with strengthening business and consumer confidence, are supporting the recovery. This would also help in growth of exports which is reflected in strong export growth of 25.6% in September 2017 with April-September growth averaging nearly 12%.



Inflation has been brought under control


· The decisive steps taken by the Government along with decline in crude prices from its high levels in 2013-14 and benign global prices of tradables helped the economy to get out from inflationary spiral to relatively stable prices. Inflation declined from nearly double digits in 2012-13 and 2013-14 to an average of less than 5 per cent since then. Between July 2016 and July 2017, the inflation rate was close to 2 per cent. Inflation based on CPI is currently within the target of 4 per cent and is expected to be close to 3.5 per cent for the financial year 2017-18. Inflation is currently well within the target of 4 per cent. However, the RBI has projecting it to increase to 4.2-4.6 per cent in the second half of the current financial year, a little higher than 4 per cent target, but within the range of 4+/-2 per cent.

· Headline inflation based on Consumer Price Index (Combined) averaged 4.9 per cent in 2015-16 as compared to 5.9 per cent in 2014-15. CPI inflation for 2016-17 averaged 4.5 per cent. The year-on-year inflation in April-September 2017 was 2.6 per cent as compared to 5.4 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

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External sector indicators have improved significantly despite global sluggishness



· Along with lower inflation, lower level of current account deficit has brought about much of macro-economic stability in the last 3-4 years. Current account deficit was at dangerously high level of over 4 per cent in 2011-12 and 2012-13, leading to a significant instability in the exchange rate of the rupee. With significant improvement in the current account balance as reflected by lower levels of current account deficit, the volatility in the exchange rate also declined considerably.

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World trade volume (goods and services) growth continued to decelerate in 2016 to 2.2 per cent from 2.8 per cent in 2015 (IMF’s WEO, October 2017). It is projected to pick up with growth of 4.2 per cent in 2017 and 4.0 per cent in 2018.

India’s Merchandise trade


· Exports declined in 2015-16 primarily on account of the sluggish global demand and imports declined due to steep decline in international crude oil prices as well as the decline in the prices of other commodities. During 2016-17, exports grew by 5.2 per cent while imports increased by 0.9 per cent, helping in narrowing the trade deficit. Merchandise exports and imports grew by 11.5 per cent and 25.1 per cent respectively in dollar terms during April-September 2017, resulting in widening of trade deficit from US$ 43.4 billion in April-September 2016 to US$ 73.1 billion in April-September 2017.

· The current account deficit (CAD) for 2015-16 was 1.1 per cent of GDP as compared to 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2014-15. The CAD further narrowed to 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 on the back of the contraction in the trade deficit that narrowed to US$ 112.4 billion in 2016-17 from US$ 130.1 billion in 2015-16. However, current account deficit widened to US$ 14.3 billion (2.4 per cent of GDP) during Q1 2017-18 from US$ 0.4 billion (0.1 per cent of GDP) during Q1 2016-17, mainly on account of higher trade deficit in this period.



Robust foreign direct investment


The gross FDI flows to India in 2016-17 amounted to US$ 60.2 billion, as compared to US$ 55.6 billion in 2015-16 and US$ 45.1 billion in 2014-15, indicating the improved global confidence on the Indian economy. During April-August 2017, the gross FDI inflow in the economy was US$ 30.4 billion, higher as compared to the inflow of US$ 23.3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.



Foreign exchange reserves


Foreign exchange reserves stood at US$ 370 billion at the end of March 2017 as compared to 360.2 billion as at end March, 2016. As on 13th October 2017 the foreign exchange reserves exceeded US$ 400 billion. With increase in reserves in the last couple of years, most reserve-based external sector vulnerability indicators have improved.

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Steady improvement in fiscal situation and fiscal consolidation is on track



There has been a steady consolidation of fiscal deficit in the last few years. Fiscal deficit of the central government had reached alarmingly high level of close to 6 per cent 2011-12 and averaged over 5 per cent between 2011-12 and 2013-14. The government is committed to fiscal consolidation path and has shown a steely resolve to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2016-17 and further to 3.2 per cent as per the Budget estimates in 2017-18.

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Fiscal deficit of the Government of India as a ratio of GDP was 3.9 per cent in 2015-16 and 3.5 per cent for 2016-17 [Revised Estimate] and is budgeted to be 3.2 per cent in 2017-18. Focus on expenditure rationalization with plugging loopholes in public expenditure and innovative revenue raising efforts have helped to achieve this.


From the angle of internal and external public debt stock, India does not face serious fiscal solvency related issues. Government of India’s total outstanding liabilities-to-GDP ratio is budgeted to decline from 46.7 per cent by year-end 2016-17(RE) to 44.7 per cent by year-end 2017-18.


Tax revenue (net to Centre) is increased by 16.8 per cent in 2016-17 (Provisional Actual) and it is budgeted to grow by 11.3 per cent in 2017-18.

Fiscal deficit during April-August is 96 per cent of the full-year budgeted fiscal deficit on account of front loading of expenditure, but we are reasonably confident that full year budgeted ratio of fiscal deficit of 3.2 per cent of GDP will not be breached.


II. Transformational Reforms



Landmark Reform in the form of GST



Subsuming a large number of Central and state indirect taxes, the GST has been a landmark reform that has been implemented with effect from 1st July 2017. The launch of the GST represents an historic economic and political achievement, unprecedented in Indian tax and economic reforms, which has rekindled optimism on structural reforms. This has resulted in unified tax across the country and has helped in removing transport restrictions on the movement of goods resulting in their faster movement and help in creating common market, reduction in corruption and leakage and further help in Make in India programme. It is expected to provide boost to revenues, investment, and medium-term economic growth. Despite the teething troubles that the government and the GST Council are addressing, initial results in the form of revenue raised seem encouraging.

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Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code


Another game changing reform has been The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) that was enacted on May 28, 2016, with an aim to consolidate the laws relating to insolvency of companies and limited liability entities (including limited liability partnerships and other entities with limited liability), unlimited liability partnerships and individuals, presently contained in a number of legislations, into a single legislation. The Code provides a comprehensive, modern and robust insolvency and bankruptcy regime, at par with global standards and even better in some aspects.

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The Government moved at a quick pace to implement the Code. About 2050 applications have been filed before NCLT so far, of which, 112 applications have been admitted and another 146 have been rejected or withdrawn. The default underlying admitted applications range from a few lakh of rupees to a few thousands of crores. The announcement of 12 large defaulters by the RBI will expand this sharply.



Crusade against Black Money including demonetization



The initiatives like: (a) Special Investigation Team on Black Money, constituted in May, 2014 for monitoring investigations and reviewing the framework for curbing black money; (b) Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, enacted w.e.f. 1st July 2015; (c) the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016; and (d) enactment of the comprehensive Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, w.e.f. 1st November, 2016 had made varying degrees of success in the fight against black money generation and holding. The follow-up to these measures in terms of demonetization of the high denomination notes w.e.f. the expiry of 8th November, 2016 effected a body blow on black money.



Housing Development



Government has announced various measures in the Budget 2017-18 to promote growth of the economy which, inter alia, include push to infrastructure development by giving infrastructure status to affordable housing, higher allocation to highway construction, focus on coastal connectivity. The other growth promotion measures include: lower income tax for companies with annual turnover up to Rs 50 crore; allowing carry-forward of MAT credit up to a period of 15 years instead of 10 years at present; further measures to improve the ease of doing business; and, major push to digital economy. The Budget also targeted to provide higher agricultural credit and to increase employment significantly.



Institutional reforms


Institutional reforms including expenditure rationalization and progressive elimination of leakages in public delivery through stress on targeting and direct benefit transfer; instituting a profoundly impactful financial inclusion programme; measures to improve policy transparency in governance and decision-making; Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) programme for DISCOMs; liberalization of FDI norms in various sectors; and approval of National Intellectual Property Rights Policy for laying down the future roadmap for intellectual property in India.



Improved ease of doing business


The complementarities built around the flagship Make-in-India programme, including comprehensive measures for improving the ease of doing business, encouragement to budding entrepreneurial talent under the Start-up India and Stand-up India Initiatives and advertisement and global campaign, have evidently improved India’s global ranking as a business destination. India has launched eBiz platform for creating a business and investor friendly ecosystem by making all business and investment related clearances and compliances available on a 24x7 single portal, with an integrated payment gateway.



Radical changes in FDI policy regime; most sectors on automatic route for FDI



The Government radically liberalized the FDI regime on 20thJune 2016, with the objective of providing major impetus to employment and job creation. This is the second major reform after the major changes announced in November 2015. Now most of the sectors would be under automatic approval route, except a small negative list. Changes introduced in the policy include increase in sectoral caps, bringing more activities under automatic route and easing of conditionalities for foreign investment. With these changes, India is now one of the most open economies in the world for FDI.



Ambitious Disinvenstment Programme


Progressively higher revenues have been raised from disinvestment in public sector undertakings in the last three years and the government has a very ambitious target of raising much higher revenues in the current financial year.


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Reaching Welfare Programme for poorest families in North-East Corners


In order to help the poorest of the poor, and to improve their living conditions, particularly that of women, the government has provided over 3 crore LPG connections between May 2016 and June 2017 which will replace the dirtier traditional fuels that are health hazard. Similarly in order to secure poor people from shocks of man-made and natural disasters, total enrolment under Pradhan Mantri Jeewan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Bima Yojana was14 crore persons by September 2017.

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III. Infrastructure Push


Government has consistently increased Public Expenditure on Infrastructure in order to boost employment and provide renewed impetus to economic growth. Government of India’s total expenditure this year has crossed Rs 11.47 lakhs crores (upto Sept ‘17), out of the budgeted expenditure Rs 21.46 lakhs cr. (an increase of Rs. 1.2 lakhs cr. over last year).


Special thrust of this drive is on key development sectors including Rural Roads, Housing, Railways, Power, Highways and Digital Infrastructure. The Capex target of Government of India for 2017-18 is Rs. 3.09 lakhs crores, which is 31.28% higher than last year, out of which Rs. 1.46 lakhs crores has been spent on capital works till September 2017. In addition, Government of India had fixed a Capital expenditure target for CPSEs for 2017-18 at Rs 3.85 lakhs crores, out which capex spending of Rs 1.37 lakhs crores has been achieved by CPSEs till Sept’17.



Railways



· A target of Rs.1,31,000 crore has been made for Capital Expenditure for the Railways. Against the target, an expenditure of Rs.50,762 crore has been achieved. The main thrust is on upgrading the infrastructure to improve safety, laying of new lines and providing passenger amenities.

· The following are the key among the capital works completed : New Lines (Construction) (Rs.4531.93 cr), Gauge Conversion (Rs.1842.24 cr), EBR-Partnerships (Rs.11504.29 cr), Track Doubling (Rs.4069.60 cr), Traffic Facilities (Rs.517.05 cr), Rolling Stock (Rs.8214.11 cr), Leased Assets-Principal Component (Rs.7781.97 cr), Road Over/Under Bridges (Rs.1068.09 cr), Track Renewals (Rs.2837.72 cr), Electrification Projects (Rs.1119.17 cr), Passenger Amenities (Rs.539.73 cr), Investment in JV/SPVs (Rs.1263.52 cr), Metropolitan Transport Projects (Rs.446.16 cr), etc.


Saubhagya (Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana)


· Under this program, Universal Electrification is being taken up to provide last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified households in the country by Mar ’19. This is an addition to the ongoing Scheme of Rural Electrification (Deen Dayal Upadhay Gram Jyoti Yojana).

· Outlay proposed is Rs.16,320 crores, involving GoI support of Rs.12319.50 crores



Rural roads – PM Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)


· In order to complete Phase-I and II of PMGSY, Government of India, along with States, proposes to spend Rs. 88,185 crores over 3 years starting 2017-18. This will result in construction of 1,09,302 km of rural roads covering 36,434 habitations.

· In addition, roads worth Rs 11,725 crores, involving 5411 km of upgradation of existing roads and construction of new roads in 44 LWE districts, will be completed by 2019-20.



PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Urban & Gramin


· Universal Affordable Housing for All is being implemented and accelerated to give a big boost to the construction sector. Under PMAY (Urban), 1.2 crore units will be built with an outlay of 1,85,069 crores over next 3 years. Under PMAY (Gramin), 1.02 crore units will be built (51 lakhs units this year) with an outlay of Rs. 126,795 crores by Centre and States by March ’19.



Bharatmala Pariyojana



· Taking forward it’s commitment to providing more efficient transportation, Government has debottlenecked the Roads sector and significantly stepped up the Highway development and road building program. In order to further optimise the efficiency of movement of goods and people across the country, Government is launching a new Umbrella program. This Road Building Program, for 83,677 km of roads involving capex of Rs.6.92 lakhs crores over next 5 years.

· Out of this, Bharatmala Pariyojana to be implemented with an outlay of Rs.5,35,000 crores will generate 14.2 crores mandays of jobs.

· The following categories of roads (34,800 km) have been proposed under BMP

• Economic Corridors (9000 km)

• Inter Corridor and Feeder Route (6000 km)

• National Corridors Efficiency Improvement (5000 km)

• Border Roads and International Connectivity (2000 km)

• Coastal Roads and Port Connectivity (2000 km)

• Green field Expressways (800 km)

• Balance NHDP works (10,000 km)

· Bharatmala works have been proposed for completion in 5 years by 2021-22 through NHAI, NHIDCL, MoRTH and State PWDs.

· Substantial delegation of powers has been provided to NHAI, NHIDCL and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to enable speedy implementation.

· Funding for BMP: Rs.2.09 lakhs crores will be raised as debt from the market, Rs.1.06 lakhs crores of private investments would be mobilized through PPP and Rs. 2.19 Lakhs crores is to be provided out of accruals to the Central Road Fund (CRF), ToT Monetisation proceeds and Toll collections of NHAI.

· In addition to 34,800 km under Bharatmala, balance works of 48,877 km of works under other current schemes will be implemented in parallel by NHAI/MoRTH with an outlay of Rs.1.57 lakhs crores. This will be financed by providing Rs. 0.97 lakhs crores from CRF and Rs. 0.59 lakhs crores as Gross Budgetary support.

· ToT Monetisation: For the first time ever, monetisation of 82 operating highways under a low risk Toll – Operate- Maintain-Transfer (ToT) Model has been initiated with a private investment potential of Rs 34,000 cr. The 1st bundle of 9 NH stretches of 680.64 Km has been put out to tender by NHAI with potential monetization value of Rs. 6258 cr.


Given the strong macroeconomic fundamentals of the economy and the continued public spending at substantially enhanced levels in comparison to previous years, Government has taken several steps to improve the investment climate in the country. The comprehensive economic reforms undertaken by the government have resulted in unprecedented levels of foreign direct investment in the last 3 years. However, the domestic investment of the private sector continued to be affected by the growing contamination of loans advanced in the past, which have now become unsustainable. Besides affecting the general investment climate these non-performing loans have also necessitated an unprecedented levels of provisioning, particularly in the public sector Banks. This in turn has affected their lending capabilities that has particularly affected the Medium and the Small scale sector. It may be seen that while many corporates have accessed the bond market in the recent past, it is the MSMEs that have been deprived of capital due to the inability of the Banks that are weighed down by the excessive burden of very demanding provisioning norms. This called for effective steps for creating a conducive environment in which PSBs could provide loans to the private sector, especially the Medium & Small Scale industries.


IV. Recapitalization of public sector banks





· Government Commits to Unprecedented Strengthening of Public Sector Banks

· Rs. 2,11,000 Crore Front-loaded Bank Recapitalisation to Clean Up Legacy of NPAs

· Credit Growth to Take-off through Recapitalised Banks

· Banks to Give Big Push to MSMEs for Jobs and Growth



Government has decided to take a massive step to capitalise PSBs in a front-loaded manner, with a view to support credit growth and job creation. This entails mobilization of capital, with maximum allocation in the current year, to the tune of about Rs. 2,11,000 crore over the next two years, through budgetary provisions of Rs. 18,139 crore, recapitalisation bonds to the tune of Rs. 1,35,000 crore, and the balance through raising of capital by banks from the market while diluting government equity (estimated potential Rs. 58,000 crore).



Government actions are not limited to addressing capitalisation of PSBs. Definite steps will be taken alongside capitalisation to enable them to play a major role in the financial system. PSBs having 70% market share in the banking space will be geared for greater growth and to contribute through enhanced credit off-take. The stage has been set with a ‘MUDRA Protsahan’ campaign across the country.



There will be a strong push on enabling growth of MSMEs through enhanced access to financing and markets, and a drive to finance MSMEs in 50 clusters. While Ministries concerned will spearhead and provide momentum, banks will undertake speedy processing of loan applications in a hassle-free manner. Fintech companies will be roped in to cut down the appraisal process and generate quality loan applications. MSMEs will be handheld by extending support through:


ü Compulsory TReDS (Trade Receivables electronic Discount System) registration by major PSUs within next 90 days, for shortening the cash cycle

ü Sector-specific Mudra financial products, such as Mudra Leather, Mudra Textiles, etc.

ü 100 bank-approved MSME project templates for speedier credit

ü Revamped udyamimitra.in portal, so that banks compete for financing MSME projects

ü Drive for registering MSMEs on the GeM (Government electronic Marketplace) portal and e-commerce platforms


It may be recalled that aggressive loaning to sectors with excess capacity and poor due diligence created large stressed assets, which grew to 11.9% by March 2014.


Asset Quality Review (AQR) carried out in 2015 for clean and fully provisioned bank balance-sheets revealed high incidence of NPAs. Expected losses on stressed loans, not provided for earlier under flexibility given to restructured loans, were reclassified as NPAs and provided for. PSBs initiated cleaning up by recognising NPAs and provided for expected losses.


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Gross NPAs in PSBs rose rapidly from 2015, from 5.43% (Rs. 2,78,466 crore) in March 2015 to 13.69% (Rs. 7,33,137 crore) as of June 2017. Provisioning for expected losses grew substantially. From 2014-15 to 2017-18 Q1, Rs. 3,79,080 crore provisioning was made, whereas during the preceding ten years total provisioning was Rs. 1,96,937 crore only. This was the right approach to dealing with expected losses on account of stressed loans.

Indradhanush Plan for recapitalising and revamping PSBs was announced by the Government on 14.8.2015. Government envisaged capital need of Rs. 1,80,000 crore till 2018-19. Accordingly, Government made provision of Rs. 70,000 crore and projected market-raising of capital by banks to the tune of Rs. 1,10,000 crore. So far, Government has infused capital of Rs. 51,858 crore in PSBs. PSBs, under stress due to AQR and NPA recognition, have so far been able to raise Rs. 21,261 crore from the market. The launch of Indradhanush before the sharing of AQR findings by RBI with PSBs in December 2015 enabled PSBs to successfully remain Basel III compliant despite high NPA and consequential provisioning requirement identified through AQR. The present decision further builds upon Indradhanush.



Government also undertook several legislative changes to facilitate recovery and resolution of stressed assets. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was enacted as a unified framework for resolving insolvency and bankruptcy matters. The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act) and the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 (which governs Debt Recovery Tribunals) were amended in 2016 to facilitate faster recovery. Further, the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was amended this year to enable Government to authorize RBI to direct banks to initiate the insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.


These bold steps taken over the last three years not only addressed legacy issues but gave a strong impetus to reforms aimed at rebuilding the strength of PSBs. The process of building stronger, bigger banks has begun with the consolidation of State Bank of India and the announced recapitalisation will give it greater impetus. A differentiated approach will be followed for this, based on the strengths of each PSB.


The unprecedented recapitalisation and the initiatives announced today are expected to have a noticeable impact in the near-term, contributing to accelerated economic activity, employment and growth of the economy.



V. stronger economic growth AHEAD


The real growth of the economy as measured by the GDP growth showed a steady improvement when it averaged 7.5 per cent between 2014-15 and 2016-17 vis-à-vis 5.9 per cent in the previous two years. Although there has been some reduction in the growth in the last few quarters, one expects it to be a temporary blip and going by the available indicators the downslide seems to have bottomed out and can expect the GDP growth to start rising again.


As per the 4thAdvance Estimates of production of food-grains released by Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare for 2016-17, the production of total food-grains is expected to be 275.7 million tonnes, 9.6 per cent higher as compared to last year’s total food-grains production of 251.6 million tonnes. As per the 1st Advance Estimates for 2017-18, the foodgrains output for Kharif season is likely to be 134.67 million tonnes as against 138.52 million tonnes as per the 4thAdvance Estimates of 2016-17.


Despite subdued global economic condition and resulting lower levels of demand for India’s exports demand, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 4.6 per cent during 2016-17 as compared to a growth of 3.3 per cent in 2015-16 (as per the revised IIP series. During April-August 2017 the general IIP growth was 2.2 per cent as compared to a growth of 5.9 per cent in the same period of previous year. During August 2017, the IIP registered a growth of 4.3 per cent, significantly higher than the growth of (-) 0.2 per cent in June and 0.9 per cent in July 2017. The sales of passenger vehicles registered a growth of 11.3 per cent for September 2017 and 9.2 per cent for April-September. Similarly, the sales of commercial vehicles increased by 25.3 per cent in September 2017 and 6 per cent for April-September 2017.

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As per IMF’s assessment in October 2017, India’s growth is expected to be at 6.7 per cent in 2017 and 7.4 per cent in 2018. IMF has also projected that India’s growth would increase to 8.2 per cent by 2022. China’s growth in 2016 was 6.7 per cent and is expected to be at 6.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent in 2017 and 2018 respectively. We expect strong growth rebound in the quarters and years ahead – may be better than even IMF’s projections.

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Ministry of Power
24-October, 2017 17:45 IST
Ministries of Power & Textiles join hands under new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries)

EESL to provide energy efficient Powerlooms equipment to small and medium units at no upfront cost

Ministries of Power and Textiles have joined hands under a new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries). Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector entity under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, would procure energy efficient Powerlooms, motors and Rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium Powerloom units at no upfront cost.

The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis. To kick start the implementation, cluster wise demonstration projects and workshops will be organized in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, Ichalkaranji, etc.

The use of these efficient equipment would result in energy savings and cost savings to the unit owner and he would repay in installments to EESL over a 4 to 5 year period. This is the aggregation, bulk procurement and financing model that EESL has successfully deployed in several sectors like LED bulbs, Smart Meters and Electric Vehicles. The unit owner neither has to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure these equipment nor does it have to allocate additional expenditure for repayment as the repayments to EESL are made from the savings that accrue as a result of higher efficiency equipments and cost savings. The aggregation of demand and bulk procurement will also lead to reduction in capital cost, benefits of which will be passed on to the Powerloom units so that their repayment amount and period would reduce.

The Powerloom sector in India is predominantly an unorganized sector and has a large number of micro and small units which produce 57 percent of the total cloth in the country. There are 24.86 lakhs Powerloom units in this country, most of whom use obsolete technology. With a view to upgrading the technology, the Government of India has been implementing the INSITU upgradation of plain Powerlooms as part of Power Tex India under which plain Powerlooms are attached with process control equipment leading to higher productivity, better quality and more than 50 percent additional value realisation. So far 1.70 lakhs plain Powerlooms have been upgraded under the scheme, with a total Government of India subsidy of Rs. 186 crores.

RM/VM

Ministry of Power
24-October, 2017 17:45 IST
Ministries of Power & Textiles join hands under new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries)

EESL to provide energy efficient Powerlooms equipment to small and medium units at no upfront cost

Ministries of Power and Textiles have joined hands under a new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries). Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector entity under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, would procure energy efficient Powerlooms, motors and Rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium Powerloom units at no upfront cost.

The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis. To kick start the implementation, cluster wise demonstration projects and workshops will be organized in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, Ichalkaranji, etc.

The use of these efficient equipment would result in energy savings and cost savings to the unit owner and he would repay in installments to EESL over a 4 to 5 year period. This is the aggregation, bulk procurement and financing model that EESL has successfully deployed in several sectors like LED bulbs, Smart Meters and Electric Vehicles. The unit owner neither has to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure these equipment nor does it have to allocate additional expenditure for repayment as the repayments to EESL are made from the savings that accrue as a result of higher efficiency equipments and cost savings. The aggregation of demand and bulk procurement will also lead to reduction in capital cost, benefits of which will be passed on to the Powerloom units so that their repayment amount and period would reduce.

The Powerloom sector in India is predominantly an unorganized sector and has a large number of micro and small units which produce 57 percent of the total cloth in the country. There are 24.86 lakhs Powerloom units in this country, most of whom use obsolete technology. With a view to upgrading the technology, the Government of India has been implementing the INSITU upgradation of plain Powerlooms as part of Power Tex India under which plain Powerlooms are attached with process control equipment leading to higher productivity, better quality and more than 50 percent additional value realisation. So far 1.70 lakhs plain Powerlooms have been upgraded under the scheme, with a total Government of India subsidy of Rs. 186 crores.

RM/VM

**************

Ministry of Textiles
24-October, 2017 17:45 IST
Ministries of Power & Textiles join hands under new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries)

EESL to provide energy efficient Powerlooms equipment to small and medium units at no upfront cost

Ministries of Power and Textiles have joined hands under a new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries). Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector entity under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, would procure energy efficient Powerlooms, motors and Rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium Powerloom units at no upfront cost.

The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis. To kick start the implementation, cluster wise demonstration projects and workshops will be organized in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, Ichalkaranji, etc.

The use of these efficient equipment would result in energy savings and cost savings to the unit owner and he would repay in installments to EESL over a 4 to 5 year period. This is the aggregation, bulk procurement and financing model that EESL has successfully deployed in several sectors like LED bulbs, Smart Meters and Electric Vehicles. The unit owner neither has to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure these equipment nor does it have to allocate additional expenditure for repayment as the repayments to EESL are made from the savings that accrue as a result of higher efficiency equipments and cost savings. The aggregation of demand and bulk procurement will also lead to reduction in capital cost, benefits of which will be passed on to the Powerloom units so that their repayment amount and period would reduce.

The Powerloom sector in India is predominantly an unorganized sector and has a large number of micro and small units which produce 57 percent of the total cloth in the country. There are 24.86 lakhs Powerloom units in this country, most of whom use obsolete technology. With a view to upgrading the technology, the Government of India has been implementing the INSITU upgradation of plain Powerlooms as part of Power Tex India under which plain Powerlooms are attached with process control equipment leading to higher productivity, better quality and more than 50 percent additional value realisation. So far 1.70 lakhs plain Powerlooms have been upgraded under the scheme, with a total Government of India subsidy of Rs. 186 crores.

RM/VM
 
Bitumen imports jump as highway expansion drive picks up pace
India’s bitumen imports have risen 823% since 2010-11 to 905,000 tonnes, road construction pace quickened to 22 km per day in FY17 from 17.2 per day in FY16
Jyotika SoodGireesh Chandra Prasad


New Delhi: India’s roads and highways expansion drive has led to a sharp annual growth in import of bitumen, a refinery by-product used in laying the surface of roads and highways, opening up a growing market for shipments from Iran, the UAE, Malaysia, Singapore and Greece. Indian refiners, in the meantime, are focusing on capturing the global market for high-end finished petroleum products.

While India’s refining capacity rose by 21% since 2010-11 to 234 million in 2017-18, bitumen imports rose by a phenomenal 823% during the period to 905,000 tonnes as demand outpaced production and refineries opted for maximising output of other high-revenue-yielding finished petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel with an eye on export markets, data from oil ministry’s arm Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.

Imports from Malaysia and Singapore rose sharply in the April-February period of 2016-17 from a year ago in rupee terms, showed data from the commerce ministry.

The pace of road construction has picked up in the last few years. During 2012-14, highway construction was around 9km a day, which rose to 17.2km a day in 2015-16 and to approximately 22km a day in 2016-17.

A record 47,350km of roads were constructed during 2016-17, the highest-ever in the last seven years, under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This contrasts with 25,316km of roads built in 2013-14, 36,337km in 2014-15 and 36,449km in 2015-16.



Experts said the trend of rising import of bitumen will get more pronounced in the coming years as the country makes more rural roads to improve connectivity.

Binaifer F. Jehani, director, industry and customised research, CRISIL Research, said the demand for bitumen is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% to 8 million tonnes in 2020-21 due to a 6-7% CAGR in lane kilometres, largely driven by the expansion in rural roads . “Imports are also expected to increase due to strong growth in bitumen demand but major part of it will continue to be supplied by domestic refineries,” said Jehani.

An official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said, on the condition of anonymity, that import dependence will expose states, which rely on bitumen for laying roads, to price and currency volatility, while the Central government is making a transition from bitumen to cement and concrete for laying national highways. “Most of the road estimates being prepared for NHAI are now based on cement and concrete, which costs roughly around 10-20% more,” said the official.

Refineries in the country, in the meantime, are eying the higher end of value-added refinery products with the hope of becoming major regional suppliers. “Bitumen is said to be at the bottom of the barrel, which implies its position among the set of refinery products. It, therefore, makes sense for refineries to maximise production of higher end items such as petrol and diesel, that could fetch them better margins. Production of bitumen also depends on the kind of crude used,” said R.S. Butola, former chairman of Indian Oil Corp., the largest refiner in the country. That approach has resulted in Indian companies exporting 15.4 million tonnes of petrol and 27 million tonnes of diesel in 2016-17, showing a growth of 14% and 34%, respectively, from 2010-11 levels.





http://www.livemint.com/Politics/DN...nsion-opens-up-market-for-global-bitumen.html
 
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being received by the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, on his arrival, at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017. The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry, Shri C.R. Chaudhary and the Secretary, (Consumer Affairs), Shri A.K. Srivastava are also seen.
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The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh lighting the lamp to inaugurate the India-Investors’ Destination Session, at the Global Investors’ India Forum-2017, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh releasing the publication at the inaugural Session of the India-Investors’ Destination, at the Global Investors’ India Forum-2017, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh releasing the publication at the inaugural Session of the India-Investors’ Destination, at the Global Investors’ India Forum-2017, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh addressing at the inaugural Session of the India-Investors’ Destination, at the Global Investors’ India Forum-2017, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017. The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan and the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry, Shri C.R. Chaudhary are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi with the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi, at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
s20171026115779.jpg


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi with the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
s20171026115780.jpg


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi with the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi and the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, at the inauguration of the International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South & South-East Asian Countries, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi on October 26, 2017.
s20171026115781.jpg
 
Exports rise 25.67% in Sept; all major commodities record growth

exports_3204342f.jpg


Trade deficit narrows marginally due to lower import growth

NEW DELHI, OCT 13:
Ringing in festive cheer for exporters and policy-makers, goods exports moved to a higher growth trajectory in September, posting a year-on-year increase of 25.67 per cent to $28.61 billion.

All the top 10 commodity groups, ranging from engineering items to textiles, registered an increase in growth.

This is the 13th consecutive month of growth for exports, but the rate of increase, so far, was mostly low.

The trade deficit, too, narrowed in September by 0.95 per cent to $8.98 billion, as the import growth rate was slightly lower than export growth, with gold imports declining by 5 per cent. Imports increased 18.09 per cent in September 2017 to $37.59 billion, according to an official release from the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

“Overall, it has been a fabulous performance and once the GST hurdles are behind us, exports would surely lead the India growth story again,” said Engineering Export Promotion Council India Chairman TS Bhasin.

The acceleration in goods exports is good news for the government which is carrying out a sectoral study to come up with a plan to boost exports sharply and on a sustained basis.

Engineering success

Apart from engineering goods exports, which posted a sharp increase of 44 per cent during the month to $7.32 billion, other sectors that registered growth included gems and jewellery, petro products, organic and inorganic chemicals, readymade garments, drugs and pharmaceuticals, cotton yarn/fabs/made-ups, handloom products, marine products, rice and electronic goods.

Oil imports, at $8.18 billion were 18.4 per cent higher than in September 2016. Non-oil imports, at $29.40 billion, were 17.9 per cent higher. Gold imports came in at $ 1.71 billion.

The trade deficit in the first six months of this fiscal year increased to $72.12 billion compared with $43.35 billion in the first half of 2016-17.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com...67-to-2861-bn-in-september/article9904507.ece
 
The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal lighting the lamp to inaugurate the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017. The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha, the Member Traction Railway Board & Patron, IREE, Shri Ghanshyam Singh and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal launching the Solar/Wind Power Plants, at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017. The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha and the Member Traction Railway Board & Patron, IREE, Shri Ghanshyam Singh are also seen.
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The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal releasing the souvenir, at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017. The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha, the Member Traction Railway Board & Patron, IREE, Shri Ghanshyam Singh and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017.
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The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017. The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha and the Member Traction Railway Board & Patron, IREE, Shri Ghanshyam Singh are also seen.
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The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017.

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The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha addressing at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification, organised by the Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE), in New Delhi on October 27, 2017.
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Ministry of Railways
27-October, 2017 14:48 IST
Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurates International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification



Minister of Railways & Coal Shri Piyush Goyal inaugurated International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification organised by Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE) India here today i.e. 27th October 2017.


Minister of State for Railways & Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) Shri Manoj Sinha was specially present to grace the occasion. Member Traction Railway Board & Patron, IREE, Shri Ghanshyam Singh, other Railway Board Members, Additional Member Electrical, Railway Board & President, IREE Mr. V. K. Agarwal and senior officials were also present on the occasion.


Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal said, "Indian Railways is working with a renewed attitude and confidence. The mindset of Indian Railways has changed. Indian Railways is working with “will do/can do” spirit, for the Government, Development is a positive agenda. Indian Railways is working in a mission mode and coming up with solutions to the problems. Indian Railways is working with a commitment to serve in a time bound manner for the common people. For the common people, Railways is the preferred mode of transport. 1.3 million Railwaymen have dedicated themselves to serve with commitment. We are working in time bound manner, skillfully, effectively to transform Indian Railways truly to a world class, safe and modern transporter. As India showed the world a new light in replacement of LED bulbs, similarly Indian Railways shall lead the world by achieving 100 % electrification. Indian Railways by applying economies of scale shall be able to accomplish 100% electrification at lower prices with “an incentive cum penalty” framework scheme. A holistic plan is required to carry out 100 % electrification. This conference shall ensure to find solutions to all the bottlenecks with a view to implement the electrification in mission mode. “To think is easy, to act is difficult but to act as you think is most difficult” & Indian Railways has accepted this most difficult challenge. The question is are we destined to live in the past or we are ready to change? We will have to change as per the best in the world. With New India, we have to build New Indian Railways which is modern, safe and run with better speed. We should not let down the next generation by not incorporating modern ways.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Railways & Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge), Shri Manoj Sinha said, "Indian Railways have set a massive target of 100 % electrification, meeting this huge target is a challenge, this conference will provide an insight how we may achieve this target. Also, Green Initiatives and adopting viable sources of energy over Indian Railways has been our priority in past three years."


Minister of State for Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain who could not attend the event has, however, in his message sent for the souvenir said, “Indian Railways is the most energy efficient mode of transport and therefore, is considered as the most environmentally sustainable transport system. With rapid economic growth, the transport sector is also growing and increasing its energy demand. Transport sector being the biggest consumer of energy, especially railway as the single largest consumer with share of about 2% of National energy consumption.

Mission Electrification, a strategic shift for Railways is a bold initiative taken up by Indian Railway wherein it has been decided to undertake electrification of complete railway network at a rapid pace. This along with Decarbonization initiatives will propel increased use of Renewables in Railways.”


Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Ashwani Lohani in his message for the souvenir said, “Rail being the most energy efficient mode of transport is further working to change the energy mix towards greener sources and has taken number of steps in this direction. We need to continue to innovate so as to make railway cost effective, sustainable and a preferred carrier. In this regard, 100% Electrification now targeted will serve an ideal stepping stone, wherein technological inputs are required to accelerate electrification. This conference will lead to many such solutions to speed up electrification projects, increase speeds and use of renewable energy in the rail sector in an effective manner leading to reduced operational costs.”


Speaking on the occasion, Member Traction, Railway Board, Shri Ghanshyam Singh said, “Under the able leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister and guidance of Hon’ble Minister of Railway, Indian Railway has committed itself to serve the people of this nation by improving its services and thus gradually transforming itself into an efficient and reliable public and goods transporting agency across the country. As announced by Hon’ble MR, to take the pace of Electrification to about 30 KM per day, we are going for precast foundation, mechanization of construction & are introducing various technologies and systemic changes in our bidding system also by bringing in bigger contract packages. Electrification is a powerful measure to achieve cost effectiveness. It improves mobility by use of high power energy efficient Locomotives, facilitate shift of traffic from road to rail and also to reduce carbon footprints. In addition electrification will also reduce traction energy bill substantially from present energy bill of Rs 26,500 Cr. to Rs 16,000 Cr i.e. by about 40%, thereby will improve operating ratio. IR has already reduced the electric traction bill of Rs 10,600 Cr in 2014-15 by about Rs 1200 Cr over the last two years by procuring power under Open access and the same is likely to reduce further, giving railway an annual saving of about Rs 3000 Cr by end of this financial year.”

President of Indian Railways Electrical Engineers (IREE) and Additional Member (Electrical), Railway Board, Shri V.K.Aggarwal said, “IREE conference aims to discuss implementable technological solutions and financing towards speedy electrification, induction of high speed locos & solutions to fruitfully use renewable energy models to achieve target of 1200 megawatt installation by 2020 and thus achieve the broader goal of transforming Indian Railways as one of the most efficient rail network in the world.”

The main objective of the two days international conference is to bring green power project developers and other stakeholders on a common platform for making Indian Railways (IR) an efficient and Greener mode of transport. This will open an international discussion on various Green initiatives including use of renewable energy, shift towards electric traction, development of new locomotive technology, high speed rail traction system and development in generation of Solar/Wind power as well as use of energy in efficient ways. This conference has the aim for giving boost to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Innovative India’ campaigns of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India.

Theme of the conference aims at achieving following activities:

1) Moving Indian Railways towards 100% Electric traction – Showcase new technologies, mechanisation and innovative solutions for speedy electrification.

2) Meeting Indian Railways high speed Locomotive requirements.

3) OHE for 200 kmph- Requirements & How to achieve in existing OHE.

4) Solutions for Energy Efficiency and increasing use of Renewable Energy on Indian Railways.


Objectives of the Conference:

In brief, this conference aims to:

• Increase awareness among the stakeholders about Green Energy options available on Indian Railways;

• Evaluation of the existing policies & risk factors, suggest improvements and explore future opportunities;

• Explain the commercial aspects of these technologies, identification of business opportunities and the related risk mitigation options;

• Formulate strategy for successful implementation;

• Discuss de-carbonization through successful carbon foot-printing;

• Comparison with other countries and benchmarking;

• Discuss case studies on successful pilot projects;

• Moving IR towards 100% Electric traction - Showcase new technologies and innovative solutions for speedy electrification;

• Meeting IR's high speed Locomotive requirements;

• OHE for 200 kmph- Requirements & How to achieve with existing OHE;

• Solutions for Energy Efficiency and increasing use of Renewable Energy on IR;

• To promote and popularize 'Make in India' initiative a new Indian Railways;

• Provide a platform to learn and share experiences of international & national experts and industry leaders on electrification, renewable energy technologies &

solutions and best practices in the Rail Sector;

• Offer insights and in-depth discussions on a wide range of green initiatives and energy efficiency issues in the Rail Sector.

Mission Electrification, a strategic shift for Railways is a bold initiative taken up by Indian Railway wherein it has been decided to undertake electrification of complete railway network at a rapid pace. This along with Decarbonization initiatives will propel increased use of Renewables in Railways.

Eminent and respected speakers from India & abroad spoke on various subjects considering the wide range of the subjects including speakers like Mr. Camille Thill from Bombardier Transportation (Switzerland), Mr. Joaquín Jiménez, Senior International Vice Director ADIF (Spain), Dr.-Ing. André Dölling from Siemens (Germany) & Prof. Biprodas Dutta, President, Vivaswan Technologies, Inc (USA) and many others. During the conference, each technical session was chaired by the retired Members from different departments under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

This conference will work as a platform to learn & share experiences of international & national experts and industry leaders on electrification, renewable energy technologies & solutions and best practices in the Rail Sector. This will further promote and popularize ‘Make in India’ initiative a new Indian Railways through promoting a sustainable approach implementing Energy Efficiency and increasing use of Renewable Energy in Indian Railways.

In this regard, following action has been planned for improving efficiency and bringing in cost economies in freight and passenger operations. Reducing the Carbon Footprints through use of sustainable and green sources of energy is also a key focus area.

In line with this vision, following action plan is undertaken:

a) Electrification of Railway Tracks

Currently about 33,000 rkm of tracks are electrified i.e. 40% of Railway network is electrified though it carries about 55% coaching and 65% freight traffic at about only 35% of total fuel bill of Indian Railways. We are now going for 100% Railway electrification and to achieve this task, 33000 RKM of Railway network will be electrified on fast track by 2021-22. This will reduce energy bill from present level of Rs 26,500 Cr. to about Rs 16,000 Cr. i.e. savings of Rs 10,000 Cr. per annum with almost 100% operation on electric traction. To fast track the pace of electrification, Ministry of Railway would be involving PSUs like IRCON, RITES and PGCIL. Increase in the pace of electrification will reduce its fuel bill by Rs. 10,000 cr. annually as against the business as usual approach.

b) Mission 41K & Open Access

To further bring down the energy bill on Indian Railways, Railway have started procuring power through ‘Open Access’ and in this year the electric traction bill is likely to reduce by Rs 2500 Cr. i.e. 25% on annualized basis as against the bill of 2014-15. As you may be aware that earlier Mission 41K was launched with an aim to generate a cumulative saving of about ₹41,000 cr in electric traction bill from 2015 to 2025 by procuring power from ‘Open Access’. You will be happy to know that we are doing much better than what was targeted and till Sept. 2017 we have saved about Rs. 5100 Cr, i.e. Rs. 1000 Cr, more than what was estimated in Mission 41k document.

c) Harnessing Renewable Energy on Indian Railways to reduce energy cost and carbon footprints

Indian Railways has planned to set up about 1000 MW solar and about 200 MW wind power plants by 2020-21 across Zonal Railways & Production Units. So far more than 60 MW of solar & wind power plants have already been installed covering 270 stations & 120 administrative buildings & hospitals and further orders for about 150 MW have been placed for solar plants on roof tops of Railway Buildings. Moreover Railways are also working for setting up 400MW capacity through various other agencies to source energy in various states through land based solar plants.

Railways is effectively using its roof top for putting up solar plants under PPP, which has made it possible for Railways to purchase power at a much lesser cost. There by again saving in the energy bill without any investment. Under this model about 150 MW solar plants have been ordered till date.

d) Production of Energy Efficient High Horsepower Locomotives

Indian Railway is also on the path of development of High speed Passenger locomotive with speed potential of 200 kmph. Works on high speed locomotive is going on full steam and is expected to be turned out by CLW in March 2018. In addition Indian Railways is planning to acquire high horse power, (9000 HP) passenger locomotive capable of hauling trains at 200 kmph on routes identified for semi high speed operation (160-200 kmph). It is planned to upgrade the existing 6000 HP freight and passenger locos to 9000 HP to improve the hauling speeds for freight trains and number of coaches for Passenger trains. It’s a ‘Make in India’ initiative already started at CLW.

e) Head On Generation (HOG)

Indian Railways have introduced HOG system wherein the lighting, air-conditioning and other electrical loads of passenger coaches would be fed directly from electric power drawn by locomotive from grid. This system will do away with the requirement of diesel power car for feeding electric supply to coaches and also enable in carrying additional passengers. On date 34 trains are already running on HOG system & are giving a saving of about Rs. 87 Cr per annum and additionally 64 trains will be taken on HOG system in the current fiscal year.

f) Electrical Multiple Units (EMUs)

All new EMUs produced will be energy efficient with three phase technology having regeneration capability. Working on multi prolonged strategies to reduce this energy consumption Railways are now inducting only 3 phase energy efficient regenerative locomotives and EMUs from 2016-17.

During the conference Hon'ble Minister for Railways & Coal. Shri Piyush Goyal dedicated Solar Power Plant of 5 MWp to the nation.This is the first largest Plant commissioned by Indian Railway on the roof top of Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Anand Vihar & Delhi Railway Station.

This project was awarded under PPP model in December 2016 at Rs. 4.14 per unit and it was the lowest tariff on Indian Railways at that time. The Plant has been commissioned in record period of 10 months. The entire cost of the project i.e., Rs.37.45 Cr. have been bought in by the Developer under Public Private Partnership model. The developer will also maintain it for 25 years and Railways will only pay energy consumed at Rs. 4.14 per unit and the facility of Net-metering is also available where the excess power supply is fed into the DISCOMs. This will save Rs. 421.4 Lac and will meet about 30% of the requirement of these installations. It will also reduce 6082 Tonnes CO2 emission per year.

The Railway Minister also released a souvenir on this occasion.

There were also following technical sessions:-

a.) Theme: Green Energy Projects-Opportunities for Partnerships.

b.) Theme: Meeting IR’s High Speed Locomotive Requirements.

c.) Theme: Energy Efficiency - Technology & Solutions.

d.) Theme: Roadmap towards reducing carbon Footprint.

e.) Theme: Moving Indian Railways (IR) towards 100% Electric Traction.

f.) Theme: Biodiesel-Technology & Solutions.

Vote of thanks was proposed by Shri Dayal Dogra, General Secretary, IREE and Principal, Chief Electrical Engineer, Northern Railways.


About IREE

Engineers is a professional body of Railway Electrical Engineers. It is a technical body under the auspices of Ministry of Railways sharing knowledge and experience of various Railway engineers and others connected with Electrical Engineering.

The Institution, registered at Nasik in 1995, has been recognized by Railway Board in the year 1998. The Institution aims to disseminate and share the technical knowledge among the Railwaymen and industry regarding the available and new technology related to design, construction and maintenance of electrical assets including energy management portfolio. It is the platform for adoption of new emerging technologies to serve the need of Railway Electrical Engineering.


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Prime Minister's Office
29-October, 2017 19:04 IST
PM dedicates Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today dedicated the Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation, by unveiling a plaque at Bidar Railway Station.

The Prime Minister also flagged off the DEMU Service between Bidar and Kalaburagi.

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveiling the plaque to dedicate the Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the plaque to dedicate the Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagging-off the DEMU Service between Bidar and Kalaburagi, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagging-off the DEMU Service between Bidar and Kalaburagi, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagging-off the DEMU Service between Bidar and Kalaburagi, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at an event to dedicate the Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar and other dignitaries are also seen.
s20171029115955.jpg


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at an event to dedicate the Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth Kumar and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at an event to dedicate the Bidar - Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the Nation, at Bidar Railway Station, in Karnataka on October 29, 2017.
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http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...iyush-goyal/story-J9neMvTyeI3YNhcnpSiahP.html

The railway minister says the ministry is compressing the time taken for complete electrification of rail lines to four years from the earlier plan of 10 years.
india Updated: Oct 29, 2017 21:53 IST

Press Trust of India, Mumbai

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The railways can play an important role in aggressively pursuing government agenda to provide safe, secure, comfortable travel, said the railway minister.(File)

The Railways is looking to invest over $150 billion over the next five years which would help create one million additional jobs, minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Goyal, who took over as the rail minister after a Cabinet reshuffle in August, said he was trying to give the national transporter a “new direction”.

“During the next five years, the Railways alone will be looking at an investment of upwards of $150 billion. And when I translate that into jobs, I see a million jobs being created only through investments in the railway sector,” he said.

The Railways can play an important role in “aggressively pursuing” government agenda to provide safe, secure, comfortable travel, he said addressing an awards function organised by the business daily Economic Times here late on Saturday night.

A focus on infrastructure could also help increase local manufacturing, he said.

Goyal said his ministry was also compressing the time taken for complete electrification of rail lines to four years from the earlier plan of 10 years, which would help cut costs by around 30% for the loss-making Railways.

This electrification initiative would help save the national transporter around Rs 10,000 crore per annum on fuel bill, he said.

Earlier this month, Goyal had said the railways would create one million jobs within the next 12 months.

In 2015, his predecessor Suresh Prabhu had said the Railways needed investments of Rs 8.5 trillion over the next five years, and invited overseas investors for the same.

Prabhu had also secured a debt funding worth Rs 1.5 trillion from Life Insurance Corporation to fund various projects.

It is not clear whether Goyal’s $150 billion is part of Prabhu’s Rs 8.5 trillion investments.
 
Ministry of Railways
30-October, 2017 16:50 IST
The Vice President of India awards Ministry of Railways for creation of an IT enabled organization wide infrastructure in Railway tendering and contractual matters.

The Vice-President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu awarded Ministry of Railways, for outstanding contribution in IT initiative for Transparency in the organization, for creation of an IT enabled organization wide infrastructure in railway tendering and contractual matters to enhance transparency and clarity in processes, today (i.e.30th October, 2017) at Vigyan Bhavan. Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, Cabinet Secretary, Shri P K Sinha, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Shri K V Chowdary, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The award was received by Shri Rajaram Prasad,(GM/MMIS/CRIS), who has been the prime mover behind the effort.

This award programme at Vigyan Bhawan was organised by Central Vigilance Commission as a part of Inaugural function of Vigilance Awareness Week-2017.

As a result of this IT initiative, Railways has been able to achieve 100% e-tendering for procurement and 100% e-auction for disposal of scrap in a secure, transparent and easy manner, with information and status accessibility to all the stakeholders at the click of a button. This has substantially mitigated the risk of corruption involved in these areas, simultaneously providing the environment of Transparency, Ease of doing business and Fair Business Practice.

Indian Railways’ e-procurement portal (IREPS) is the largest e-procurement platform in India handling almost 2/3rd of the total Government tenders. During financial year 2016-17, IREPS has successfully handled 3.36 Lakh e-tenders. IREPS successfully handled e-Auctions for 31726 lots (2638 catalogues) during 2016-17. It has over 67,900 registered vendors, over 2,800 registered bidders and over 10,000 railway users.



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Soon only end-to-end immigration checks on Dhaka-Kolkata train
Immigration and custom checks at border points for passengers of Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express will soon be done away with, ending a major inconvenience, senior railway officials of India and Bangladesh said.

Just like in international flights, checks will continue only while boarding and deboarding a train at Dhaka Cantonment and Kolkata stations, reducing the journey time from around nine hours to around six-seven hours.

The Indian and Bangladesh governments have finally decided to end two rigorous and time consuming immigration checks at Darshona (Bangladesh side) and at Gede (Indian side), conceding a major demand of passengers from both sides, the officials said.

Passengers had to deboard along with their luggage at these two points for checks which took anywhere between two to three hours.

Officials added that the passengers will not be able to deboard the train anytime during the journey.

The end-to-end immigration check is likely to be launched by the prime ministers of the two countries this November, the officials said .

"The checks will now be done at Kolkata and Dhaka. It will solve a lot of issues that passengers have while dealing with such checks which cause delay as well," Md Habibur Rahman, Assisting Director General (Operations) of Bangladesh Railway, told PTI, adding the new system will be officially launched next month.

Officials in Indian Railways told PTI that while there will be no checks at Darshona and Gede anymore, the train will halt for technical checks by security forces of either country at these stations.

During the halts when the train's under carriage will be checked, officials said, the passenger coaches will be under lock and key, thus restricting any passenger movement.

Currently India and Bangladesh have four operational rail links between West Bengal and Western Bangladesh. These are Petrapole-Benapole, Gede-Darshana, Radhikapur-Biral and Singhabad-Rohanpur.

Indian officials say that efforts are being made to operationalise two more rail connections by next year to take the number of rail links between the two countries to six, as in pre-1965 era.

Indian Railway has already listed its upcoming links - Haldibari in Norther West Bengal to Chilahati in Bangladesh and Shahbazpur in eastern Bangladesh with Mahisasan in Assam.

Three more rail connections are proposed between the two nations - between Panchagarh in North-Western Bangladesh and Siliguri, Agartala-Akhaura link which will connect West Bengal and Tripura through Bangladesh and the line connecting southern Tripura's border town Belonia to Chittagong international sea port in (southeast) Bangladesh.

"This is a great victory for both Indian and Bangladesh railways. If this works out successfully, then we are planning to run these trains at night, just like in Europe," said a railway official in India.
https://www.outlookindia.com/newssc...igration-checks-on-dhakakolkata-train/1177473

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'T' for transgender in railway tickets soon
With growing awareness and sensitisation, The Indian Railways, too, plans to introduce reforms to recognise 'transgenders' in their forms. This will reflect in ticket booking and cancellation forms, which will be modified to include a 'T' beside 'M' and 'F'.

So far, only male and female categories were mentioned in the forms.

According to a recent Railway Board letter to all zonal railways, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is at present dealing with various issues of transgenders and a proposed legislation — The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, is being reviewed by a parliamentary standing committee.

"The matter has been reviewed and it has been decided that till such time the detailed modalities on this account are finalised by the Ministry of Social Justice, a provision may be made in the system to capture the gender of transgenders as 'T' instead of 'T(M/F)' as advised earlier," says the letter.

In a landmark judgement in 2014, the Supreme Court created the 'third gender' status for hijras or transgenders.

Following the order, many government documents such as passports, ration cards, bank forms, and voter identity cards have started providing 'TG' (third gender), 'Other' or 'T' (transgender) as options. However, despite introducing the option 'T(M/F)' through an order in 2016, the railway forms kept giving binary option of M/F only.

The Railway Board said in its review it had also taken into consideration the directions of the Kolkata High Court which had asked State Bank of India to include the third gender category in its application forms for recruitments.

The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Railways, will make necessary changes in the software to include the transgender category in the passenger railway system under intimation to all zonal railways, the letter said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-t-for-transgender-in-railway-tickets-soon-2556572
 
NTPC to begin coal production from Talaipalli mine by 2019

The NTPC, India’s largest power producer in public sector, is likely to begin coal production from Talaipalli mine in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district by 2019, an NTPC presentation has informed.

Talaipalli mine has gross coal reserves of 1267 million metric tonnes (MMT) with excavation capacity of 18 MMT per annum.

The NTPC haS been granted bridge linkage for seeking coal supply from the Talaipalli block by the Union Coal Ministry.

The scheduled date of start of coal production from the coal block as per the Coal Mines Development and Production Agreement is financial year 2019-20.

NTPC Ltd has been allocated 10 coal blocks spreading over Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand states, with combined Geological Reserves of approx. 7.6 billion tonnes, officials informed.

The aggregate capacity of the coal blocks is approx. 10.7 MTPA.

NTPC intends to develop the coal blocks by outsourcing to Mine Developer cum Operator (MDO) selected through international competitive bidding process.

The MDO contract is awarded for Pakri Barwadih(Jharkhand) and Dulanga(Odisha) coal blocks. Coal production has already started from Pakri Barwadih Coal Mining block.

The Board of Directors of NTPC Ltd had already accorded investment approval for Talaipalli project in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh for mining 18 Million Tonnes per annum of coal per annum at an appraised current estimated cost of Rs 3004 crore.

Notably, the power to be generated by upcoming NTPC Ltd’s 1600 MW Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) at Lara in Raigarh district will be supplied to Chhattisgarh, Goa and Maharashtra states, officials stated.

The coal requirement for the proposed plant would be met from Talaipalli Coal Block of Mand in Raigarh Coalfields, they stated.

It may be recalled that NTPC’s upcoming Lara STPP in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh has acquired all necessary clearances from the Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change for the project, officials stated.

The Lara plant of NTPC would be utilising super critical technology for power generation.

The Union Ministry of Coal has also assured Coal India Ltd (CIL) for getting Mand-Raigarh railway line project expedited to facilitate growth in offtake of coal from mines under South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Chhattisgarh.

This was against the target of 123.89 million tonnes (MT) - a growth of 11.1 per cent.

Notably, SECL is targetting total coal production of 250 million tonnes (MT) from its underground and open cast mines by 2019-20, officials stated.

SECL recorded coal production (provisional) of 12.10 million tonnes (MT) against target of 11.70 MT as on February 2016, Coal India Ltd (CIL) informed the Bombay Stock Exchange in its filing earlier.

Meanwhile, the total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) in the country during December 2015 was Rs 20096 crore. The contribution of Coal was the highest at Rs 9132 crore (43%), the Central Government has informed.

Notably, the Coal India Ltd (CIL) is targetting production of 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2020.

Wagon availability will be a key factor for achieving this target by Coal India Ltd, officials stated.

By signing of the MoU, the Railways and Coal India Ltd will be entering into a strategic partnership which would ensure adequate wagon availability for meeting the transportation needs of coal produced by Coal India Ltd.

Notably, the Central Government has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding each with the states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh for critical coal connectivity projects to improve transportation of coal, officials informed.

The Union Railway Budget 2016-17 has put Chhattisgarh on Centre’s high priority list among states for its ambitious dedicated freight corridor project implementation plans.

The then Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech has put high emphasis on ensuring structuring, award and implementation of freight corridor projects in a time-bound manner through innovative financing mechanisms including Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The Union Railway Minister in his budget speech has also put emphasis on rapid expansion of freight business to build more dedicated freight corridors for increased traffic with consequent benefits for the economy and environment with Chhattisgarh being the direct gainer from the initiative due to high coal and iron ore movement through the Railway network from the State.


Prabhu also said that technological solutions for project management and monitoring will be taken up. The latest Drone and Geo Spatial based satellite technology will be used to monitor physical progress across major projects and also the progress on Dedicated Freight Corridor, he said.

Notably, on February 9 this year, the then Union Railway Minister had commented : ‘For development of the country, extension of rail network in resource-rich State like Chhattisgarh is necessary and the task of Rail network extension in the State will be carried out through a special joint venture company.”

He was speaking at a programme organised to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for three rail corridor project between Indian Railway and Chhattisgarh Government in New Delhi.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-e...-production-from-talaipalli-mine-by-2019.html
 
Railways Bidar-Kalaburgi line inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi; Bengaluru, New Delhi trip cut by 380km
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dedicated the Indian Railways’ 110km Bidar-Kalaburgi railway track in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region that is aimed at reducing the distance between Bengaluru and New Delhi by 380km and travel time by six to eight hours, IANS reports. The new track will provide direct rail connectivity from Bengaluru to Bidar in the state’s northern region, about 690km away from the state capital. The report says that work for the project had begun over two decades ago in 1996, but its construction work began only in 2000 and dragged on for years due to meagre fund allocation by the Railway Ministry. The delays in the project escalated its cost to a whopping Rs 1,542 crore from the original estimate of Rs 370 crore. Land acquisition between the towns also delayed its completion.

Earlier, Modi also launched the digitised cashless Self-Help Groups (SHG) transactions in the state Charitable trust of the Sree Kshetra Dharmastala Rural Development project is organising the public function and the launch of the Rupay cards and SHG transactions at the rally in Karnataka’s Ujire, about 50km from Mangaluru in the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada.. “Now an era of digital currency has started, and India should not lag behind,” Modi said at the rally. Modi said digitisation was aimed at bringing in accountability and added that more cash would bring with it social evils.

Watch | PM dedicates the Bidar-Kalaburagi New Railway Line to the nation

Modi also highlighted the success of direct benefit transfer scheme and said because of the government’s efforts, Rs 57,000 crore “going into someone’s hand illegally” had been stopped and the money was now reaching the right beneficiary. “Now tell me, those people whose pocket the Rs 57,000 crore used to go to, will they like Modi? Will they not get angry with Modi?… Difficulties will come, but standing at this holy place I’m saying whether we are there or not, we will not let this country be destroyed,” he said.
http://www.financialexpress.com/ind...bengaluru-new-delhi-trip-cut-by-380km/911351/
 
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