Indian Economy-News & Updates

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Shipping
24-November, 2016 15:17 IST
Development of Existing Ports in The Country

The Government is keen on developing the existing ports in the country. As on date, , 18 projects have been awarded in Major Ports including Kolkata Port in the year 2016-17. Out of the 18 projects, the project for conversion of Iron Ore Terminal to common user Coal Terminal at Kamarajar Port is under PPP mode. The cost of the project is Rs.220.00 crore and expected date of completion is June, 2017.


Details of Projects awarded in Major Ports in the year 2016-17 are as follows:-


S.No - Port - Project - Investment(Rs. In Crore) - Capacity(Million Ton per Annum)

1. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.- SEZ Phase – EPC contract for infrastructure development-468.82- -

2.Mumbai Port Trust- Grant of License for development of floating cranes at port lighter age area- 35.00- 00.90

3.Mumbai Port Trust- Construction of breakwater at Mandwa (Maharashtra Maritime Board)-130.80 - -

4.Kolkata Port Trust- Development of 2 floating cranes near Sagar- 60.00- 2.00

5.Kolkata Port Trust- Development of hardstand storage area of 1.13 Lakh Sqm. Inside dock.- 43.99 - -

6.Kolkata Port Trust - Replacement of Fendering system of Lead-in-Jetty- 44.81 - -

7.Chennai Port Trust- Development of Coastal Terminal- 80.00- 1.10

8.Chennai Port Trust- Installation of 400 kw Solar power plant on building roof tops- 3.79- -

9.Kamarajar Port Limited.- Conversion of SIOTL Iron Ore Terminal to Coal handling- 220.00- 6.00

10.Kamarajar Port Limited- Widening of NCTPS and Port Access Road to 4 land from the existing 2 lane road (7 Kms)-
200.00 - -

11.Kamarajar Port Limited.- Improvement to internal roads and gate complex in KPL.- 30.00 - -

12.Paradip Port Trust - 2 nos. Of harbour mobile cranes- 80.00 - 2.50

13.V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust- Development of Additional Harbour Mobile Cranes at III & IV Berth-28.50-4.36

14.V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust-Truck parking terminal - 23.77 - -

15.V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust- Providing railway track between Marshalling Yard and Hare Island- 70.12- -

16. Cochin Port Trust - Procurement of oil spill response equipment. - 10.45 - -

17.New Mangalore Port Trust - Procurement of oil spill response equipment. - 10.45 - -

18.Mormugao Port Trust - Development of Storage area for container.- 15.00 - -


This information was given by the Minister of State for Shipping Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.


****

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:58 IST
MoU with Russian Railways for Upgradation of Speed of Passenger Trains

A protocol has been signed between Ministry of Railways and Russian Railways on 15th October, 2016 during the India Russia Annual Summit in Goa under co-operation Memorandum of Understanding between both the Countries. The protocol covers technical and execution study for upgradation of the speed of passenger trains upto 200 kmph on existing Nagpur-Secunderabad corridor of Indian Railways.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Ministry of Railways of the Republic of India and the Joint Stock Company “Russian Railways” on 24.12.2015 for Technical Cooperation in the Railway Sector wherein modernization of existing lines of Indian Railways in order to raise train speeds upto 160-200 kmph is one of the cooperation areas.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project is the only sanctioned High Speed project in India. The Project is approved for implementation with Financial assistance of Government of Japan upto the extent of 81% of the project cost of approximately 98000 Crores. The target for completion is 2023.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).

****

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:56 IST
Construction Works In Railways Under MGNREGA

Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Railways have already identified certain railway works, which can be undertaken under MGNREGA as under: (i) construction & maintenance of approach roads for level crossings; (ii) developing & cleaning silted water-ways, trenches & drains along track; (iii) construction & maintenance of approach road to railway stations; (iv) repairs of earthwork to the existing railway embankments/cuttings; (v) clearing vegetation growth; and (vi) activity of plantation at extreme boundary of railway land, under MGNREGA.

A joint Memorandum and Advisory has also been issued in this regard. Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Rural Development also conduct inter-ministerial coordination meetings as and when required, to sort out practical difficulties.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).

*****

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:56 IST
SPV For Bullet Train Project

A Special Purpose Vehicle, namely, National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRC) has been formed in February, 2016 to implement Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor project.

Estimated cost of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor is rs 97,636 crore. Government of Japan has agreed to provide Japanese (Yen) loan upto 81% of the project cost at 0.1% per annum, to be repaid in 50 years with 15 years moratorium.

The target for commissioning the project is 2023-24. Work on scheduled activities such as appointment of General Consultant, Final Location Survey and training of officials has commenced.

The project has been sanctioned with 50% equity participation by Ministry of Railways and 25% each by the Governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).



****

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:55 IST
Steps Taken By Railways to Ensure Good Quality and hygienic Food to Railway Passengers

Improvement of catering services is an on-going process. In its endeavour to provide quality and hygienic food to the passengers, Railways have developed and operationalized an institutionalized mechanism for monitoring of quality and hygiene of catering services through regular inspections at various levels to address catering complaints.

Further, steps taken to ensure good quality and hygienic food served to the passengers inter-alia include:- (i) Phased introduction of station based e-catering at all A1 and A category stations for widening the range of options available to passengers for ordering food of their choice. (ii) Introduction of precooked food (‘ready to eat’ meals). (iii) Operation of centralized Catering Service Monitoring Cell (CSMC) (toll free number 1800-111-321) for prompt redressal of passenger grievances relating to the catering activities and real time assistance to travelling public. (iv) Imposition of penalties in case of deficiencies detected in services. (v) Operation of All India Helpline (No.138) for rail-users to lodge complaints/suggestions regarding food and catering services (vi) A Twitter handle with the address @IRCATERING has also been made operational to cater to the complaints/suggestions with regard to catering services.

Safety is accorded the highest priority by Indian Railways and all possible steps are undertaken on a continual basis to prevent accidents and to enhance safety. These include timely replacement of over-aged assets. Adoption of suitable technologies for upgradation and maintenance of track, rolling stock, signalling and interlocking systems, safety drives, greater emphasis on training of officials and inspections at regular intervals to monitor and educate staff for observance of safe practices. Safety devices/systems being used to prevent accidents include complete track circuiting, provision of Block Proving Axle Counters (BPAC), Auxiliary Warning System (AWS), Colour Light LED Signals, Vigilance Control Device (VCD), usage of 60 kg rails and pre-stressed Concrete Sleepers, long rail panels, better welding technology, progressive use of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) Coaches, Centre Buffer Couplers with Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Coaches, etc.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).

*****

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:55 IST
Medical Facilities On Running Trains

All passengers trains are provided with First Aid Boxes containing essential drugs and dressing materials. The First Aid Box is available with the Guard of the train who is trained to provide basic First Aid to the needy passengers. In case of medical emergency, passengers can contact help line number 138 through their mobile phones or inform on-board ticket checker for arranging medical assistance. In addition, First Aid Boxes with wide range of medicines, disposable medical materials have been provided with the Train Superintendents of Rajdhani / Shatabdi Express trains. Further, the Station Masters have details of Doctors, Clinics and Hospitals (Railway, other Government and private) in the vicinity of the station, so that their services could also be availed, in emergencies.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).

*****

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:55 IST
CCTV Cameras in Coaches

In order to improve the safety and security of passengers, including women and children, the Government has installed CCTV cameras on a limited number of coaches of passenger and suburban trains on a pilot basis. It has already been completed in about 25 passenger coaches and 44 suburban coaches.

Integral Coach Factory (ICF) / Chennai was assigned the responsibility for developing the specification for CCTV cameras in coaches by Railway Board. ICF, accordingly, issued a specification and provided CCTVs on trial basis in 04 coaches during the year 2015.

Subsequently, Railway Board formed an Expert Group comprising of senior Railway officials on CCTV system for Rail Transport Application. After due deliberation and interaction with industry representatives and other technical experts, the Expert Group submitted its recommendations to Railway Board regarding improvement in the existing specification. Railway Board accepted the recommendations made by the Expert Group and advised ICF to modify its specification accordingly. ICF, subsequently, issued a revised specification for fitment of CCTV in coaches in August 2016.

Discussions were held with stakeholders at various stages.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).

****

Ministry of Railways
25-November, 2016 16:54 IST
Fitting Of Bio-Toilets In Trains

Government has planned to fit bio-toilets on all new and existing coaches to maintain cleanliness and hygiene by way of eliminating direct discharge of human waste on track from the train toilets.

The additional cost of providing bio-toilets in one coach (4 bio-toilets) is ₹4.0 lakhs approximately. For the in service coaches, which require replacement of structural members for fitment of bio-toilets, the additional cost is approximately ₹16.00 lakhs per coach

As per the current projections, bio-toilets are required to be fitted in approximately 45000 more coaches as on 31.10.2016.

Contracts have been placed for supply and retro-fitment of bio-toilets in 8888 existing in-service coaches, on nine vendors at a total cost of ₹355.04 crores.

Four sections viz. Rameswaram-Manamadurai (114 Kms), Okha-Kanalus Junction (141 Kms), Porbandar-Wansjaliya (34 Kms) and Jammu-Katra (78 Kms), have been chosen in the first phase for making them Green Corridor i.e. Railway section free from any direct discharge of human waste on track from toilets of trains. Of these, Rameswaram-Manamadurai, Okha-Kanalus Junction and Porbandar-Wansjaliya sections have already been commissioned as ‘Green Corridors’.

No separate funds have been earmarked for creating Green Corridors, per se, since Green Corridors are created by running all the trains over these sections with only those coaches which are fitted with Bio-toilets.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 25.11.2016 (Friday).

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
25-November, 2016 16:00 IST
Procurement of Pulses for Buffer Stock

The Government has approved domestic procurement of 10 lakh tonnes of pulses consisting of 5 lakh tonnes of pulses from Kharif Marketing Season 2016-17 and 5 lakh tonnes from Rabi Marketing Season 2017-18 for building the buffer. This information was given by The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri C.R Chaudhary while replying to a written in Rajya Sabha today.

The Minister further informed that as on 21.11.2016, a buffer of 638,205.55 MT of pulses, viz. 130,492.33 MT of Chana; 204,030.859 MT of Tur; 143,555.76 MT of Masur; 83,181.792 MT of Urad; and 76,943.81 MT of Moong, have been built through domestic procurement and import contracts. Of the 20 lakh tonnes of buffer stock of pulses approved by the Government, the tentative target is 10 lakh tonne through domestic procurement from farmers and another 10 lakh tonnes from imports.

*****

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Steel
28-November, 2016 16:19 IST
New National Steel Policy


The Government proposes to revisit the existing National Steel Policy. It is at conceptual stage.


Based on the decision taken in the meeting of High Level Committee on Manufacturing held on 09.07.2013 to achieve the ambitious target of 300 Million Tonne Per Annum (MTPA) steel production capacity by 2025, a concept of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was enunciated. Four mineral rich states, namely, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka and Jharkhand were identified for setting up of Integrated Steel Plants through SPV route, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the State Governments of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.


The global glut and surge in the import prices of steel has adversely affected the domestic steel industry and it has resulted in erosion of profits of domestic steel companies and has resulted in Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) of domestic steel companies.


The Government has taken the following steps to provide support to the domestic steel industry:


i. To ensure that only quality steel is produced and imported, Government has notified Steel and Steel Products (Quality Control) Orders dated 12.03.12 and 04.12.15.

ii. Govt. has notified MMDR, Amendment Act, 2015 to streamline grant of Mining Leases in order to maintain sufficient availability of raw materials for various sectors including steel sector.

iii. To provide level playing field to the domestic steel producers, Govt. has imposed Minimum Import Price (MIP) on 66 steel products.

iv. Government has imposed in June.2015, an Anti- Dumping Duty on imports of certain variety of hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China ($309 per tonne), Korea ($180 per tonne) and Malaysia ($ 316 per tonne).

v. Hiked import duty on ingots & billets, alloy steel (flat & long), stainless steel (long) and non-alloy long products from 5% to 7.5% and non-alloy and other alloy flat products from 7.5% to 10%. This was further revised in August, 2015 on flat steel from 10% to 12.5%, long steel from 7.5% to 10% and semi-finished steel from 7.5% to 10%.

The Minister of State for Steel Shri Vishnu Deo Sai gave this information in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.


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

Ministry of Steel
28-November, 2016 16:20 IST
Special Package for Steel Sector

Indian Steel Association and Indian Chamber of Commerce had sent representation to Ministry of Steel for working out a suitable comprehensive package to support steel sector. Their representations have been forwarded to Department of Financial Services.

To curb cheap imports of steel products into the country the Government has imposed the Minimum Import Price (MIP) on 173 HS Tariff lines concerning steel products vide Notification no. 38/2015-20 dated 5th February, 2016 for the period of six months. Further MIP on 66 HS Tariff lines was continued for period of two months vide Notification No. 20/2015-20 dated 4th August, 2016 and further extended upto 4th December, 2016 vide Notification No.30/2015-20 dated 4th October, 2016. Government has imposed in June, 2015, Anti-Dumping Duty on imports of certain variety of hot-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China ($ 309 per tonne), Korea ($ 180 per tonne) and Malaysia ($ 316 per tonne).

The Minister of State for Steel Shri Vishnu Deo Sai gave this information in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

 

[Hindustani78]

The PMO officials take initiative to train staff for mobile banking and cashless transactions, at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, in New Delhi on November 28, 2016.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
29-November, 2016 16:01 IST
Steps taken to check prices of pulses


Data on year-wise consumption of pulses is not compiled by the Government. However, in the Report of the Working Group on ‘Foodgrains-Balancing Demand and Supply’ for the 12th Five Year Plan, the estimated demand of pulses in the year 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 are 22.68 MMT, 23.62 MMT and 24.61 MMT respectively. steps taken by the Government to reduce the prices of pulses are given below.



· Export of all pulses is banned except kabuli channa and up to 10,000 MTs in organic pulses and lentils.

· Import of pulses are allowed at zero import duty.

· Stock limit on pulses extended till 30.9.2017.

· MSP raised for kharif pulses of 2016-17 for Tur, Urad and Moong as well as for Rabi pulses of Gram and Masoor for season 2016-17.

· Government has approved creation of buffer stock of pulses for effective market intervention. Buffer of around 6.18 lakh MT of pulses has already been procured out of the target of 20 lakh tonnes.

· Government has released around 38,974 MT of pulses from the buffer stock (consisting of Tur and Urad) to States/UTs at subsidized rates for retailing by them at not more than Rs 120/- per kg to improve availability and stabilize prices. In addition, 6884 MT of Chana has been allocated to states at subsidized rate for retailing.

· Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned new contracts in Chana to dampen speculative activities in Chana and in respect of running contracts in Chana disallowed taking fresh positions to reduce speculative activities.

· Strict vigilance by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to prevent importers from mis-using the facilities of Customs Bonded Warehouse facility.

· Setting up of a Group of Officers for regular monitoring and exchange of information on hoarding, cartelization etc.

· About 1.40 lakh tonnes pf pulses seized from 14612 raids and disposed of 1.28 lakh tonnes either by auction or other means permitted under EC Act, 1955.





This information was given by The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri C.R Chaudhary while replying to a written in Lok Sabha today


*****

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
29-November, 2016 15:58 IST
Government agencies procured more than 2 lakh tonnes Arhar and 82 thousand tonnes Moong

The Government has approved creation of buffer stock of pulses upto 20 lakh tonnes including Arhar. For the buffer stock of pulses, the tentative targets fixed for procurement of Arhar and Moong are 2.65 lakh tonnes and 1.03 lakh tonnes respectively. The Procuring agencies have procured around 204,030.859 tonnes of Arhar and 82,859.59 tonnes of Moong.

This information was given by The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri C.R Chaudhary while replying to a written in Lok Sabha today

*****

 

[Echo_419]

Auric city plot rate is Rs.320 per sq ft.

The process of selling plots in the proposed Aurangabad Industrial City (Auric) under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) began today.

The Aurangabad Industrial Township Limited (AITL), which is overseeing the process, has fixed the rate at Rs 320 per square foot. As many as 266 applied on the day one in the online process for sale of plots. A total of 49 plots on 43 acres of land will be available for sale in the first phase the plot size being seven gunthas to three acres. Lease agreements will be inked while allotting plots to industries due to which there is no scope for recommendations, claimed officials. All information related to plots is available on the official website of the Auric. Applications for plots will be accepted till December 27. The online registration drive received good response from industrialists on the first day itself, said DMIC general manager Gajanan Patil.

Of the 49 first-phase plots, six plots are of seven gunthas, four of 10 gunthas, 10 plots between 10 to 20 gunthas and 19 plots between 20 to 40 gunthas size. There are six plots of two acres, one of three acres and three of three acres.
LT

Posted from Sky Scraper city

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Commerce & Industry
30-November, 2016 17:05 IST
Index of Eight Core Industries (Base: 2004-05=100) October, 2016

The summary of the Index of Eight Core Industries (base: 2004-05) is given at the Annexure.

The Eight Core Industries comprise nearly 38 % of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stands at 188.1 in October, 2016, which was 6.6 % higher compared to the index of October, 2015. Its cumulative growth during April to October, 2016-17 was 4.9 %.

Coal

Coal production (weight: 4.38 %) declined by 1.6 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 increased by 0.7 % over corresponding period of previous year.

Crude Oil

Crude Oil production (weight: 5.22 %) declined by 3.2 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 declined by 3.3 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Natural Gas

The Natural Gas production (weight: 1.71 %) declined by 1.4 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 declined by 4.0 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Refinery Products (93% of Crude Throughput)

Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 5.94%) increased by 15.1 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 increased by 8.9 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Fertilizers

Fertilizer production (weight: 1.25%) increased by 0.8 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 increased by 4.8 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Steel (Alloy + Non-Alloy)

Steel production (weight: 6.68%) increased by 16.9 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 increased by 8.5 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Cement

Cement production (weight: 2.41%) increased by 6.2 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 increased by 4.8 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Electricity

Electricity generation (weight: 10.32%) increased by 2.8 % in October, 2016 over October, 2015. Its cumulative index during April to October, 2016-17 increased by 4.7 % over the corresponding period of previous year.

Note 1: Data are provisional. Revision has been made based on revised data received for corresponding month of previous year in respect of Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Fertilizer, Steel, Cement and Electricity. Accordingly, indices for the month of October, 2015 have been revised.



Note 2: Since October, 2016, Electricity generation data from Renewable sources is also included.



Note 3: Release of the index for November, 2016 will be on Monday, 2nd January, 2017.

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

Ministry of Commerce & Industry
30-November, 2016 15:46 IST
High Yielding Variety of Robusta and Arabica Coffee Plants

The Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) of Coffee Board is releasing high yielding and disease resistant varieties of Arabica and Robusta from time to time.In Arabica, ‘Chandragiri’ a semi-dwarf variety with high degree of field tolerance to leaf rust disease and high yield potential has been released for commercial cultivation during 2007-08 season. In addition, three genotypes of Arabica have been given for multi-location trials in growers’ field during 2014-15. In Robusta, the improved hybrid variety already developed by CCRI is most preferred among the growers because of its high yield potential and quality of beans. Further research for development of drought resistant variety of Robusta has been taken up by CCRI.

CCRI has developed and refined the clonal propagation techniques and has supplied around 1,62,000rooted clones of hybrid variety to the growers’ from 2014-15 onwards. Training programmes are organized to build the capacity of growers in clonal production methods. Clonal nurseries have been set up in about 10 estates with the technical support of CCRI. Efforts are being made to involve the unemployed youth and self-help groups for clonal multiplication of Robusta coffee.

Coffee Board is also implementing Integrated Coffee Development Project under which various interventions such as research & development, technology transfer, capacity building, replacing the old unproductive varieties with improved high yielding/disease tolerant varieties, water augmentation and mechanization etc. are undertaken for the overall improvement of production, productivity and quality of coffee.

This information was given by the Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today

********

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Railways
30-November, 2016 15:32 IST
CCTV For Monitoring Cleanliness at Railway Stations

Presently, over 340 Major Railway stations have been provided with CCTV cameras over Indian Railways for round-the-clock surveillance by Railway Protection Force for the security of passengers.

Instructions were issued by Railway Board during July, 2014 to all Zonal Railways for extending the use of CCTVs to monitor cleanliness in such stations.

In order to further emphasise the use of CCTVs for monitoring cleanliness, detailed implementation guidelines have been issued by Railway Board to all Zonal Railways in May, 2016.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 30.11.2016 (Wednesday).

****
Ministry of Railways
30-November, 2016 15:26 IST
MAGLEV Bullet Trains

Indian Railways have floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) for designing, building, commissioning, operation, running and maintenance of levitation based train system on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. The Railway route for this project has not been defined at such an early stage of the project since the initial thrust is on developing and implementing a cost effective solution of such a technology.

The key features of the levitation based transportation system are as under :-

• Very high speeds can be achieved in such a ground based transport system.

• The vehicle carrying passenger / goods shall ride on a cushion of air generated by using magnets.

• Riding comfort of such vehicles is expected to be very good.

• The levitation based trains shall be powered by electricity.

While floating the EOI, it is envisaged that the execution and funding pattern of this project will be on PPP basis.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 30.11.2016 (Wednesday).

****

Ministry of Railways
30-November, 2016 15:25 IST
Introduction of New Trains


The number of new trains introduced during the last two years i.e. from 2014-15 to 2015-16 is as under:

S.No.-Year- Number of Trains introduced(In singles)

1.2014-15 - 232
22015-16 -133



Introduction of new trains is an ongoing process over Indian Railways subject to operational feasibility, commercial viability, availability of resources etc. New train services announced in Railway Budget 2016-17 are to be introduced during the course of the current financial year.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 30.11.2016 (Wednesday).


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

The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagging-off the 14117/14118 MANWAR- SANGAM EXPRESS (Allahabad- Basti- Allahabad) (5 days a week), through video conferencing from Rail Bhawan, in New Delhi on November 30, 2016. The Minister of State for Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain, the Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha, the Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A.K. Mital and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Union Minister for Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu addressing at the inauguration of the 14117/14118 MANWAR- SANGAM EXPRESS (Allahabad- Basti- Allahabad) (5 days a week), through video conferencing from Rail Bhawan, in New Delhi on November 30, 2016. The Minister of State for Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain, the Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha and the Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A.K. Mital are also seen.

 

[Echo_419]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...cross-india/articleshow/55716822.cms?from=mdr
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...a-budget-for-2016-17/articleshow/55714611.cms

@Abingdonboy @ranjeet this is a game changer

 

[luckych]

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=136871128#post136871128

 

[anant_s]

Women pilot Lucknow’s first Metro run

Pratibha and Prachi, the two women train operators hail from Allahabad and are fresh recruits for any Metro project.

Highlights

• It is a conscious decision by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation to give the opportunity to women.
• With this, Lucknow becomes the first city in the country where women operators commence Metro trials.

LUCKNOW: When the Lucknow Metro first chugged down the elevated corridor on Kanpur Road for trials on Thursday, it became a matter of pride for Lucknowites to see two women piloting the train on the priority section.

It is a conscious decision by the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) to give the opportunity to women so that they get a chance to prove their mettle before public in handling high-tech Metro trains.

"We have chosen two women operators to drive the Metro train before the CM and public for the first time. Our women train operators are so confident and excited to drive it that they wished to take lead in the trials. They have undergone rigorous training, both at the Centre of Excellence of LMRC and hands-on training at the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation," LMRC MD Kumar Keshav told TOI.

He added that "LMRC is a progressive and coherent organization which believes in giving opportunities to both boys and girls".

With this, Lucknow becomes the first city in the country where women operators commence Metro trials.

The two women taking the lead are Pratibha and Prachi Sharma, both from Allahabad. Pratibha has done B Tech in electronics and communication engineering from SRMSCET, Bareilly while Prachi did her diploma in electrical engineering from IERT, Allahabad. Both joined LMRC as station controller-cum-train operators on June 9.

The decision is a welcome break from the tradition as train operators' job is generally considered a male preserve. There were a total of 97 vacancies for train operators' job in Lucknow Metro, for which 3,827 applications had poured in from women candidates. This is 19% of the total applications LMRC received for the job. LMRC was in for a surprise to get an overwhelming response from the state's women for heavy-duty technical jobs.

LMRC recruited a total of 21 women station controller-cum-train operators as a part of UP government's 20% horizontal reservation policy for women in government jobs. Except for Chennai, most of the other cities with metro train systems have just 1-2% women operators. Even the Delhi Metro has only three-four women operators driving trains.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...nows-first-Metro-run/articleshow/55715025.cms

 

[Hindustani78]

The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri J.P. Nadda and the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh witnessing the signing ceremony of an MoU between Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in New Delhi on December 01, 2016. The Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, the Secretary, Directorate of Health Research & Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra and the Sr. Deputy Director General (Admn.), Dr. Rakesh Kumar are also seen.

 

[kadamba-warrior]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...cross-india/articleshow/55716822.cms?from=mdr
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...a-budget-for-2016-17/articleshow/55714611.cms

@Abingdonboy @ranjeet this is a game changer

Yup! This is indeed a game changer. He can add on so many features to this, lend this to state governments, Panchayats and every government body. But I am waiting for him to bring eMarket for farmers to mainstream that can truly free the farmers from the bondage of crooked APMC dalals!

All in all, he has been plugging all holes in government expenditure and subsidies. We need him desperately to stay on for another 1 or 2 more terms to institutionalize all the positive changes.

Else, it would all come to nought, and it will be business as usual! As it has been for the last 70 years!

 

[Echo_419]

Yup! This is indeed a game changer. He can add on so many features to this, lend this to state governments, Panchayats and every government body. But I am waiting for him to bring eMarket for farmers to mainstream that can truly free the farmers from the bondage of crooked APMC dalals!

All in all, he has been plugging all holes in government expenditure and subsidies. We need him desperately to stay on for another 1 or 2 more terms to institutionalize all the positive changes.

Else, it would all come to nought, and it will be business as usual! As it has been for the last 70 years!

Don't forget to tell your relatives to vote for BJP in 2019