Nitin Gadkari’s home state Maharashtra to get most road projects
Maharashtra , the home state of Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari , will get the lion’s share of road projects this year, which will be executed by the road transport and highways ministry . According to an official order issued by the ministry on Friday, officials have been allowed to sanction projects with expenses up to Rs 20,000 crore for Maharashtra during this year. The total approved sanction ceiling for building highways for 2016-17 for all states is pegged at Rs 42,208 crore. These works don’t include projects that are undertaken by National Highways Authority of India. “The projects sanctioned this year will be executed in the next 2-3 years, and hence, the entire allocation will be released in installments. Maharashtra has got a good share since many stretches in the state have been declared as new national highways in the past two years,” said a ministry official. He added that the original demand from the state was Rs 40,000 crore investment, but it was reduced to half. Cole Cassels Womens Jersey
NHAI to repay loan to banks even in stuck projects
Bringing some relief to lenders that have financed ‘languishing’ projects, NHAI has decided to pay back major share of the loan to banks after carrying out independent assessment of the work done. Such projects will then be, under public-privatepartnership (PPP), taken over by the authority for their completion. Sources said NHAI Board, the apex body with representatives from different ministries, has approved the proposal and it will soon be sent to the cabinet secretariat for its assent to carry out necessary changes in the model concession agreement ( MCA). Such a mechanism is likely to bring relief for bankers in at least 7-8 languishing projects. In the existing MCA, lenders get no compensation in case a project is terminated during construction period. They are entitled to get 90 per cent of the remaining debt only in case a contract is terminated after completion of the project. “We have prepared a policy proposal on this to take forward the works and also to reduce chances of huge number of litigations. Some portion of the amount lent by banks will be recovered,” NHAI chairman Raghav Chandra told. He said the payment released by NHAI, based on independent evaluation, will be transferred to the escrow account of each project and the lender will be free to decide about usage of the funds.
Infrastructure projects to increase use of geosynthetics: NHIDCL
Given the life-extension benefits and durability that geosynthetics provide, they are increasingly being deployed for road projects in regions with high soil erosion, an NHIDCL official said on Thursday. “For accelerating usage of Geosynthetics in road construction, the Ministry of Textiles is incentivising their usage by providing a subsidy,” Anand Kumar, Managing Director, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, said at a global summit on Geosynthetics here. Highlighting the manifold applications of Geosynthetics, he said there is a need to sensitise on the advantages of its adoption and their positive impact from a lifecycle cost-benefit perspective. Other advantages, according to him, include enhanced efficiencies, quality and a reduced carbon footprint. He emphasised on indigenous development, constant research and continuous propagation of the material for its increased usage. Arvind Ltd, Executive Director, Punit Lalbhai said Geosynthetics has played a key role in infrastructure development in countries. Brian Schou Nielsen, Director, Fibertex Private said its global market was growing at 4-5 per cent per annum with India and China growing at 10 per cent. Nick Kwiatkoski Jersey
13 new smart cities announced; Lucknow, Chandigarh make it to the list
Lucknow, Faridabad, Dharmashala, Chandigarh, Raipur, New Town Kolkata, Panaji, Ranchi, Bhagalpur (in Bihar), and Warangal (in Telangana) are among the 13 new cities that have been selected under the Smart City scheme. The other cities in the list which were finalised through a “fast track competition” are Port Blair, Imphal, and Agartala. However, Uttarakhand capital Dehradun could not make it to the group. Earlier, the names of 20 cities were announced and government had started the “fast track competition” for 23 cities from an equal number of states since none of the cities nominated by them figured in the first list of top 10 smart cities. While announcing the new names on Tuesday, Union Urban Development minister, M Venkaiah Naidu, stated that these cities have proposed investments of Rs 30,299 crore. The earlier 20 cities had proposed an investment of Rs 50,560 crore. Naidu said the cities selected in this round have improved their earlier plans in areas including better profiling of respective cities, ensuring consistency between citizens’ aspirations and action plans, more feasible resource mobilization plans and presenting a more coordinated and integrated picture of how individual projects will contribute to the area level changes. The 10 cities that could not make the grade in this fast track competition will get another opportunity to revise their plans and submit them for evaluation in the second round of regular competition to be held by the end of June. TJ Brodie Authentic Jersey
Cancer-causing substance in pizzas, burgers takes life out of Jubilant, Britannia, Westlife
Shares of franchisees of quick service restaurants (QSRs) such as Domino’s and McDonald’s dropped up to 10 per cent in Tuesday’s trade after the Union health ministry asked for a detailed report on the findings of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE ) that suggested presence of potassium bromate and potassium iodate in most bakery products. Potassium bromate can cause cancer and is banned in most parts of the world, but not in India. Potassium iodate, on the other hand, can cause thyroid-related diseases. According to the CSE report, KFC (part of the Yum chain of restaurants), Pizza Hut (Yum chain), Subway Systems and Green House & Hestsoft Foods (Slice of Italy) have denied use of potassium bromate or potassium iodate. Breadmaker Britannia Industries, too, has denied its use in its products. But no response was received from Jubilant FoodWorks (Domino’s) so far. The bread of McDonald’s McAloo tikki Burger had 1.23 ppm of potassium bromate/iodate, the study found. Shares of Westlife Development, a BSE-listed franchise of McDonald’s, slumped 19.9 per cent to hit a low of Rs 200, before staging a smart recovery. The stock was down 1 per cent at Rs 217.35 at the time of writing of this report. Jubilant FoodWorks dropped 12.35 per cent to hit a low of Rs 975. The sample of Domino’s Margherita Pizza had 1.23 ppm and 1.18 ppm of potassium bromate/iodate, respectively. Britannia Industries was down 1.28 per cent at Rs 2,646. CSE’s pollution monitoring laboratory (PML) found residues of potassium bromate/iodate in over 84 per cent of bread and bakery samples sourced from Delhi. “The use of potassium iodate as a flour treatment agent in breads should not be allowed by FSSAI. It is not recommended as a flour treatment agent in several countries due to possible higher intake of iodine, which can potentially affect the functioning of the thyroid gland,” it said. Josh Smith Womens Jersey
Study finds cancer-causing chemicals in Delhi bread
The bread you eat every day may contain cancer-causing chemicals, a study conducted by a public interest research and advocacy organisation has indicated. Its findings, based on samples collected from Delhi, have prompted the union health minister to seek a report, even as bread manufacturers staunchly denied use of harmful ingredients in their products. As much as 84% of 38 commonly available brands of pre-packaged breads tested positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate, according to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The two ingredients have been banned by many countries, listing them as “hazardous” for public health, it said. There is no ban on these substances in India. The All India Bread Manufacturer’s Association (AIBMA) denied widespread usage of potassium bromate. “Majority of Indian bread manufacturers do not use potassium bromate. We are going to present our point of view soon,” Treasurer Sudeep Ahuja said. Ahuja said some companies use potassium bromate to increase the shelf life of breads. This ingredient is used widely in the US in breads, he claimed, suggesting that the substance isn’t harmful. The association will meet with its members to discuss further course of action and present its views to the government, he said. CSE claimed that while one of the chemicals is a category 2B carcinogen possibly carcinogenic to humans the other one could trigger thyroid disorders. The study covered only Delhi. Thirty-eight samples of commonly available branded varieties of packaged breads, including buns,ready-to-eat burger bread and ready-to-eat pizza breads of popular fast food outlets from Delhi were tested by CSE’s Pollution Monitoring Laboratory. “We found 84% samples positive with potassium bromate or iodate. We reconfirmed the presence of potassium bromate or iodate in a few samples through an external third-party laboratory. We checked labels and talked to industry and scientists,” said Chandra Bhushan, deputy director-general of CSE. “Our study confirms the widespread use of potassium bromate or iodate as well as presence of bromate or iodate residues in the final product,” he added. McDonald’s India said it doesn’t use potassium bromate or potassium iodate in flour or other ingredients that goes into its buns. “Claims by CSE in their press release and report are completely baseless,” said Vikram Ogale, the company’s director of national supply chain and quality assurance. Reacting to the CSE report, Health Minister JP Nadda said: “We are seized of the matter. I have told my officials to report to me on an urgent basis. There is no need to panic. Very soon we will come out with the report.” CSE said high levels of potassium bromate or iodate were found in sandwich bread, pav, bun and white bread of virtually all top brands. CSE has urged the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the food regulator, to ban the use of potassium bromate and potassium iodate with immediate effect. Brayden Point Jersey
Flipkart exchanges GMV for customer loyalty; markdowns of valuation by MFs irrelevant: CEO Binny Bansal
GMV is out, NPS is in, and valuation markdowns mean nothing. Flipkart is giving the heave-ho to gross merchandise value, a metric which is a proxy for sales, the company’s new CEO Binny Bansal said in an interview on Monday when he also dismissed as irrelevant markdowns by some mutual funds of the valuation of the Bengaluru-based company. Instead of obsessing about GMV, the online marketplace is embracing ‘net promoter score’ (NPS) which Bansal is hawking as a proxy for customer loyalty, as Flipkart repositions itself under its new leader. “We have stopped giving the (GMV) range,” said Bansal, who took over from cofounder Sachin Bansal as CEO in January. “So the focus is now on input targets about the number of customers, customer experience, NPS,” he said. The recent valuation markdowns by some mutual funds don’t mean very much, he said, likening it to beauty which is in the eye of the beholder. “It’s mostly a theoretical exercise by small investors. From our perspective, valuation is when we raise money,” he said. Mike Hull Authentic Jersey
‘Ecommerce FDI violation case still relevant’
The All India Footwear Manufacturers & Retailers Association on Monday argued in the Delhi High Court that the case it filed against ecommerce companies accusing them of violating the country’s foreign investment rules was still relevant. The association had accused ecommerce firms with foreign funding of directly selling to consumers, which local rules don’t permit. On March 29, the government issued a notification with clearer rules, which continued to bar foreign direct investment in inventory-led ecommerce and allow overseas capital in marketplaces, but restricted such firms from influencing prices on their platforms directly or indirectly. According to the regulation, ecommerce entities providing marketplace must maintain level playing field for all sellers. At a hearing on May 5, government lawyers told the court that with these regulations in place, the case had become “infructuous”. However, on Monday, lawyers for the shoemakers said several ecommerce companies were undertaking actual retailing themselves. “The government had said the new notification kills the case. We argued the writ petition is not infructuous because the new regulation confirms FDI in inventory-led ecommerce is not allowed,” said Rishi Agrawala, a lawyer representing the footwear association. The court adjourned the matter to July 26, Agrawala said. Two separate cases filed in the Delhi High Court by the associations representing the shoemakers and brick-andmortar companies had alleged that ecommerce companies were circumventing India’s foreign investment by operating marketplace models, yet indulging in retailing directly to consumers. The court cases prompted the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to spell out the rules for foreign funded marketplaces. Mark Stone Jersey
IndiGo plane flew close to road; DGCA suspends license of 2 pilots
Putting the lives of passengers in danger, an IndiGo aircraft flew close to the road running parallel to the Jaipur Airport runway in February and aviation regulator DGCA has now suspended the flying licenses of the two pilots concerned. IndiGo Flight 6E-237 from Ahmedabad was involved in the incident that happened on February 27. Sources said the A-320 aircraft was few minutes away from touch down at Jaipur airport when a warning from Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) was noticed. The pilots seem to have mistaken the road nearby as the runway and soon after the warning, the flight made a go-around and managed to land safely at the Jaipur airport, they added. Installed in an aircraft, Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) provides a timely warning to the flight crew when the aeroplane is in potentially hazardous proximity to the earth’s surface. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the matter and taking serious note of the violation, the regulator has suspended the flying licenses of two pilots, the sources said. Soon after the incident, the airline had grounded the pilots from flight duties. IndiGo operates 180-seater planes. When contacted, IndiGo said the flight 6E-237 was involved in “EGPWS Too Low Terrain” warning during visual approach at runway 27 at Jaipur airport. “The captain-in-command immediately took a precautionary measure and carried a go-around. The aircraft landed safely on subsequent ILS (Instrument Landing System) approach on runway 27,” it said in a statement. IndiGo said both the pilots have been taken off from flight duty with immediate effect. “The matter was duly reported to the DGCA by IndiGo flight safety department,” it added. Earlier this month, a New Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Vadodara with 177 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the city airport due to a technical fault. Larry Robinson Authentic Jersey
Domestic passenger traffic to cross 100 million by year-end: DGCA
Sounding bullish, DGCA expects more than 100 million domestic passengers to fly by the year end, especially as India has outstripped passenger traffic growth in this sector across major global economies including the US and China last year. The number of passengers flown by the Indian airlines stood at 81.09 million in the January-December period last year, a jump of 20.34 per cent from 67.38 million they had flown in 2014, as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data. “We have now crossed in the past four months of the current year (January-April) 30 million domestic passengers and growth is 23 per cent. At this rate, we will cross 100 million domestic passengers by the end of this year which perhaps is the highest in the entire world ,” DGCA Chief M Sathiyavathy said at an aviation event last week. “The country which is second (in passenger growth terms) is nowhere near us,” she said in an apparent reference to China, which logged 10.9 per cent growth in domestic traffic last year. Air traffic has been posting more than 20 per cent growth over the past several months with travel demand in April surging to 20.93 per cent over the same month of 2015 driven by lower fares. Earlier this year, Sydney-based aviation think-tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) had in its forecast said that India will have over 100 million fliers by March 2017. Sathiyavathy said that the domestic aviation industry has about 1,200 aircraft, leaving aside microlites and hand gliders. “With scheduled airlines, we have more than 400 aircraft and if we are going to post the growth of over 20 per cent over the next few years, which is what we expect, you can imagine the number of aircraft flying in the sky,” she said. According to the DGCA chief, scheduled Indian carriershares operate from across 80 airports in the country, adding that “of these 22 are joint user aerodromes (used both for civil and military puposes)”. More than 25 per cent of the aerodromes are joint user aerodromes, she added. According to an industry report presented at the India Aviation Conference in Hyderabad in March this year, India is set to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2020. Seth DeValve Authentic Jersey