Modi diktat paying off: India infrastructure projects on a roll
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to push delayed infrastructure projects are paying off. About a quarter of 1,201 projects valued at 16.9 trillion rupees ($262 billion) were delayed as of January, down from 43 percent two years back, according to a government report seen by Bloomberg News. Cost overruns have also come down to 11 per cent from 20 percent from March 2015. Of the total projects — each worth at least 1.5 billion rupees — 329 are running behind schedule, 293 have cost overruns, while 95 have both time and cost overrun compared to their original implementation schedules. Since coming to power in May 2014, Modi has been reviewing infrastructure projects, setting targets for ministries, taking steps to ease bottlenecks and encouraging overseas companies to set up factories. Still, projects from sectors including coal, power, petroleum, railways and road have been running behind schedule, primarily because of a delay in attracting finance, land acquisition and environmental clearances and a lack of infrastructure support and linkages. As the government implemented initiatives such as the delegation of decision-making power, setting deadlines and reforming contract rules, the stalled public projects stared moving, said Manish Agarwal, Leader, Capital Projects & Infrastructure, PricewaterhouseCoopers India. “Government intentions have translated into reality.” The government is focusing on an “increase in public spending, completion of stalled projects rather than the announcement of new projects, the resolution of private stalled projects and bringing new projects into the market for private investment,” said Agarwal. With the government’s recent steps to reduce non-performing assets of banks, there will be some increase in private investment, said Agarwal. In the latest review meeting on April 26, Modi called for a consolidated approach to existing projects. India needs $646 billion investment in the next five years to meet its infrastructure demand, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in April. Denzel Perryman Jersey
Transport Unions Strike, 22,000 Buses Go Off Roads, Commuters Hit In Tamil Nadu
Commuters are facing a harrowing time in Tamil Nadu as 22,000 state-run buses have remained off roads after many transport unions began their indefinite strike on Sunday. Their demands include revision of wages, settlement of Rs. 1,700 crore dues for more than 10,000 retired workers and government taking over operational losses of transport corporations among other issues. As a majority of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses stopped plying yesterday after talks with the government failed, passengers across the state were stranded for hours with not many commuting options available. The government has agreed to discuss the matter with the unions to reach a consensus. Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar said 37 unions were in support of the government. Ten other unions, including those headed by DMK and Left, are participating in the strike. He said the government was ready to hold talks to break the logjam if the unions came forward for discussions. “Efforts are on to operate the bus service in full strength even as 2,000 private vehicles have been pressed into action in Chennai to clear the rush,” he said. Police protection is being provided to buses plying on the roads, the minister said. The government is also mulling deploying retired and private drivers to run additional buses, officials said. It has also requested the Southern Railway to operate inter-city services between Chennai and other cities. It has also increased number of services on the various suburban routes in and around Chennai. Derek Watt Jersey
Villagers in Haryana end protest over expressway construction
The construction work on the KGP and KMP Expressways has resumed as farmers at Badhkhalsa village at Sonipat ended their protest after assurances from the district administration that they’d be duly compensated, the state authorities said on Sunday. The villagers had been protesting against the acquisition of their land for construction of road and roundabout of Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressway and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressways since November 17, 2005, an official statement said on Sunday. “As the villagers were not ready to give up their land, the construction work had to be halted. The farmers recently ended their protest,” it said. The construction of the road was restarted after the BJP government came to power in Haryana in 2014. “On April 19, 2016, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held a meeting with the villagers where he offered the villagers land in other locations in lieu of the land to be acquired. He had also instructed the district administration to comply with these orders,” the statement read. Following this, Sonipat Deputy Commissioner, K Makrand Pandurang, held talks with the villagers and offered land or enhanced compensation. “While 70 farmers were recently paid compensation, land at other locations would be provided to the remaining 212 farmers, for which the process has already been started,” it said. The 135-km long Eastern Peripheral Expressway (KGP) envisages signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal. The two expressways were planned in 2006 following the Supreme Court order to form a ring road outside Delhi for channeling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the national capital. Evan Turner Authentic Jersey
Safety on NHs and State Highways raising concern
Eight deaths in two accidents barely few hours apart on Friday, that too just two days after the ghastly accident that claimed two lives including that of Nishith Narayana, and the question is back again. How safe are our roads and highways? That the highways, both National and State, passing through the State, along with the Outer Ring Road (ORR), have turned virtual death traps over the last few years is not a new fact. As many as 2,377 people have lost their lives in 3,137 road accidents from 2013 to 2015 on 12 NH/SH stretches and the Outer Ring Road (ORR). And in 2016, as per figures from the National Accident Data, 225 accidents were recorded on every 100 km of national highways, while there were 126 deaths recorded on every 100 km of State highways. And with Friday’s accidents, the toll has climbed higher. “There is a need to re-do the road safety awareness programmes and safety campaigns,” feels Additional Director-General of Police (Road Safety), T Krishna Prasad. A massive awareness campaign was taken out in January, which Prasad says had yielded major results. The accident growth rate in the first quarter of the year had gone up by six per cent across the country, while in Telangana, it had dipped by one per cent. This was in comparison with the figures of the first quarter of 2016. The number of deaths in accidents, again when the two first quarters of 2016 and 2017 were compared, had grown by seven per cent across the country, while in Telangana, it fell by four per cent. However, public memory is short, and the campaign has to be taken up again, he says, adding that educational institutions, IT firms, and all other stakeholders would be involved in another massive campaign to be taken up in the first week of July. At the same time, efforts are on to straighten out a few bottlenecks on highways, like clearing defects which make certain stretches black spots on highways, apart from mapping hospitals nearest to such black spots using Geographic Information System (GIS). Villagers will also be sensitised to help accident victims, Prasad said. Study pins the blame on poor reporting, infra Hyderabad: Poor implementation of laws, lack of coherent data collection and glitches in infrastructure are some of the reasons behind India’s increasing road mishaps, a study by National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) says. Titled ‘Advancing Road Safety in India: Implementation is the Key’, the study was conducted in collaboration with global safety science consultant UL as part of the fourth United Nations Global Road Safety Week (May 8-14). The study, which puts out bare facts on road accidents and deaths, points at inefficiency in the implementation of laws due to divided responsibility between Central and State governments. It also says the country lacks comprehensive data collection and analysis of police and hospital records. Poorly maintained roads and trauma centres is another reason the study lists out, among other factors. According to the study, pedestrians (30%-40 %), two-wheeler riders/pillions (30%-40 %) and cyclists (10%) account for nearly 80% of casualties and injuries. These figures are in complete contrast with government records due to flawed reporting practices. Some studies suggest that the number of deaths is likely to be 20% higher than what is declared, while serious injuries are underreported by more than 50%. The study goes on to quote Ministry of Road Transport and Highways data — only 22.1% of accidents and 11.3% of road deaths of the total 50 million plus cases were reported in 2015. “A large number of crashes and deaths occur on rural roads (most of these include national and State highways) where road safety is yet to gain prominence,” it states. The study will be used as reference to address the road safety crisis afflicting the country, a statement read. DeAndre Jordan Jersey
How UDAN scheme has changed IndiGo’s flight plan
IndiGo, it seemed, was convinced that a single-breed aircraft fleet works best for a low-cost airline. But, now, in a complete change of tack, the carrier has announced that it will acquire ATR 42-600 aircraft to fly on regional routes. The airline has signed a term-sheet with ATR for these aircraft. IndiGo’s change in plans can be viewed in various ways. First, it can be seen as a logical step to grow in Tier 2 and 3 cities, for which, the airline’s existing fleet of Airbus A-320 will not work. With many believing that the next phase of growth in the domestic aviation market will come from tier 2 and 3 cities, and the fact that the number of passengers flown under the Government’s UDAN scheme will count towards domestic market share, it probably makes sense for IndiGo to venture into this market. Many also believe that the announcement follows a nudge from the Government that the market leader needs to be part of its new aviation initiative. Anyway, there is history of other airlines opting for smaller aircraft. SpiceJet ordered Q400 in 2010 almost five years after Ajay Singh restarted the airline. Jet Airways picked ATR aircraft years after starting and stabilising its operations in the domestic market. Guarding dominance Many believe that as the market leader, with a share of over 40 per cent, IndiGo may be looking at ATRs as a natural way to ensure that its competitors — SpiceJet and Air India, which have already secured routes under UDAN — do not become a threat to its dominance. Incidentally, this is not the first time IndiGo has announced its intention of entering the regional market. During the UPA government’s second term, IndiGo officials had told media, off the record, that it was signing up for smaller aircraft to look at regional routes. The then Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh, had been keen on regional connectivity. But with the Manmohan Singh government losing the elections that plan died a natural death. This time, the regional connectivity scheme is already up in the air. Focus division And, IndiGo is serious about that. Addressing a conference call after announcing the ATR move, Aditya Ghosh, IndiGo President, said a ‘focus division’ will handle the turbo-prop operating functions that will not overlap with its narrow-body working. These operating functions will comprise flight operations, inflight services, despatch and operations control, route planning and revenue management. But human resource, finance and legal functions will be managed by the IndiGo infrastructure already in place. “The advantage of this overall structure is that it will avoid adding complexities to IndiGo’s mainline operations. At the same time, most if not all administrative functions will be handled by the existing IndiGo department,” Ghosh said. ATRs will also face other hurdles. The first is lack of a trained manpower, especially pilots to operate the ATR 42-600 aircraft. If IndiGo is forced to bring in expat pilots, it could be looking at a monthly salary packageof $10,000 (?645,000) per commander. The actual payout is likely to be higher, as the airline will have to bear the taxes on pilots’ salaries. While IndiGo has not indicated how many ATRs it is planning to get, the rules stipulate that there should be a minimum of three sets of crew per aircraft, which means that the airline will need at least six pilots per aircraft. Besides, the pilots operating the smaller aircraft will naturally want career progression by moving to operating the larger Airbus A-320 aircraft of the airline. This is something which has played out in several Indian carriers already, including in Air India. At the moment, IndiGo does not face this problem as it operates an all Airbus A-320 fleet. Jason McCourty Jersey
‘It is difficult to harmonise airline services’
As Star Alliance, a club of 28 global airlines including Air India, celebrates its 20th anniversary, its Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Goh, met global media to outline the Alliance’s plans. Excerpts A lot of customer service issues have been raised by various airlines with United being the big one? Has there been any discussion at the Alliance on common standards of customer service? We should recognise that certain operational matters remain the prerogative of our members. In terms of cooperation, Star Alliance is not all-encompassing. On the issue of more standardised service, it is not easy to achieve because our members are of different size, cultural backgrounds and have different business models… it is very difficult to try and harmonise service standards. In the case of United, there has been a lot of interaction within the Alliance…The resulting new policy for this airline (United) is certainly one of communication and exchange with other members. The discussion was not across the Alliance but among members. In a large country like India, is one airline enough for the Alliance, or will you look at another partner? India and Brazil are big and fast growing markets. We are constantly assessing to see whether one, two or even a third member will meet our purposes. Will that be a low-cost carrier or a full-service airline? The Connecting Partner Model gives us the option of working either with a full-service carrier or with, I will not call it a low-cost carrier, a hybrid carrier, on a more local or regional basis. (Launched in December 2015, the Connecting Partner Model allows low-cost and hybrid airlines to connect to the Alliance network.) In its 20th year, will you look at advocacy as the Alliance has not really spoken up on issues concerning the industry? If it is an industry issue, we think the better people to advocate it will be the International Air Transport Association or the International Civil Aviation Organisation. But almost three-fourth of the passengers flown globally are on your partner airlines… It will depend on the issues. Which are the issues? Our voice may add, but it is not going to change, for instance, the electronic devices ban. We have a view on this and we will share it with IATA and ICAO. What is your view? Our members are concerned. Obviously this impacts operations and customer experience. If this has a negative customer experience, then we should be careful. But it is a positive for a number of your airlines (the laptop ban has seen passenger carriage increase on Air India)… If you look at the latest coming out of Washington, they are also thinking of extending the ban to Europe. We have a member from the US as do the other alliances and they operate to many stations in Europe. If this ban happens, it is going to affect them just as much as other airlines. In its 20th year, is Star Alliance now targeting 20-year-olds by shifting the focus to a digital experience? We have to adapt. If we continuously focus on high-value travellers… then we are missing an important segment of the market. Travis Frederick Womens Jersey
Let the scripting of Air India’s future begin with professionalising it
Even half-hearted suggestions of a stake sale (read: privatisation) in Air India (AI) have invariably been followed by virulent protests. This has compelled the government to repeatedly deny the existence of any such plan. As a result, AI continues to be in a turnaround mode for over two decadeswith every incumbent aviation minister and AI chairman and managing director periodically making claims of having achieved success, even if discernible signs of a meaningful turnaround have been non-existent. Rusney Castillo Womens Jersey
Run ragged by rivals, Air India has just two choices left: Privatise or perish
Two months after the Narendra Modi government took charge in May 2014, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) called a meeting to discuss the possibility of Air India advancing its revival by two years and subsequently going in for a stake sale. “During the meeting, pointed questions were raised on advancing Air India’s profitability target to FY19 from FY21and a plan to divest stakes in the national carrier after it turns around,” said a senior Air India official, who did not want to be identified. Kamalei Correa Authentic Jersey
Centre cuts UDAN levy on air tickets
In a relief to passengers flying on major domestic routes, the Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to significantly reduce the levy on air tickets imposed to fund the Centre’s new regional connectivity scheme UDAN. From June 1, it will only charge a uniform levy of Rs. 5,000 per flight on major routes, down from Rs. 7,500-Rs. 8,500 per flight it had ordered to charge earlier. The move will come as a relief to passengers taking flights on major domestic routes as each passenger will have to bear about Rs. 30 as cess against about Rs. 50 as per government’s previous order in November 2016. “The Central Government has decided to revise the levy on scheduled flights being operated within India to fund the Regional Air Connectivity Fund at a uniform rate of Rs. 5,000 per flight till further revision. The said levy will now come into effect from June 1, 2017,” said an order sent by the Civil Aviation Ministry to all Secretaries of Central government and chief secretaries of State governments on May 9. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been directed to issue a circular on the revised levy amount. The Centre had ordered imposing a levy of Rs. 7,500 for flights up to 1,000 km, Rs. 8,000 for flights between 1,000 and 1,500 km and Rs. 8,500 for flights beyond 1,500 km, except north-eastern states and regional routes, effective from December 1. A reduction in levy is also seen as government’s efforts to bring domestic airlines on board its UDAN scheme as most domestic airlines refused to charge a levy on air tickets. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir, had dragged the Centre to the courts challenging the levy to finance the regional connectivity scheme. Only AirAsia and Air India had imposed a regional connectivity scheme surcharge on its tickets so far. Michael Hoomanawanui Womens Jersey
India’s first ATR simulators inaugurated in Gurugram
In an attempt to uplift the country’s civil aviation sector, the Flight Simulation Technique Centre (FSTC) acquired India’s first ATR 72-500 full flight simulator in the previous year. Issued to be certified by the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) and Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) India, FSTC officials informed that it was the first of its kind simulator in the South East Asian region. FSTC, one of the largest training organisations registered under Approved Training Organization (ATO), has a substantial number of full flight simulators catering to all the airlines in India flying various fleet types. The pilots trained by the institution are placed in major domestic airlines like Indigo, Vistara, Jet airways, Spice Jet and Air India. According to the official announcements, the ATR simulator will help pilots who have to travel to Toulouse, Madrid and Bangkok for type-rating training. ”This is a fruitful measure that will help trainee pilots gain more confidence and also reduce the cost and time spent on training,” the spokesperson stated. The move was welcomed as a part of the Centre’s increased emphasis on Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). According to the official report, IndiGo announced that it will be purchasing 50 ATR 72-600 aircrafts. Air India’s subsidiary, Alliance Air also plans to expand its fleet by leasing 10 ATR planes this year. Captain Sanjay Mandavia, MD & Accountable Manager, FSTC, commented, “FSTC’s decision to bring India’s first ATR 72-500 state of the art simulation in the heart of the Gurugram, where we are already providing instructor-led ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ training for the Airbus A320 & Boeing B737 further extends FSTC’s commitment to the aviation community in India and the region. Positioning this simulator close to Indian customers and operator’s base of operation will enable them to be more efficient while continuing to train the pilot skills and decision making that enhances safety and effectiveness.” Zaza Pachulia Womens Jersey