‘Uday’ gets discoms back in shape, boosts power supply
The Modi government’s prescription for ailing state power distribution companies is slowly putting them back in shape and reducing the duration of blackouts in the nearly two years since the treatment began. Data presented during last week’s review of ‘Uday’, the revival plan for discoms, by the PM show major improvements in the key parameters on which health of discoms are judged. The government approved Uday on November 5, 2015, when all state discoms were gasping under a collective debt of Rs 3.95 lakh crore. Some 90% of this debt, or Rs 3.82 lakh crore, belonged to states that were ready to swallow the pills being proposed in Uday. Almost two years down the line, the participating states now have found relief for their debt pain by floating bonds worth Rs 2.32 lakh crore, or nearly 87% of the burden. The next step was to regain operational strength by reducing AT&C (aggregate transmission and commercial) loss — a euphemism for power theft — through widespread metering and improve revenue through robust billing and collection. Tests have been positive on both counts, with 12 states reporting a reduction in AT&C losses and 15 states shrinking the gap between their aggregate cost of supply (ACS) and aggregate rate of realisation. At an overall level, the ACS-ARR gap has reduced from 59 paisa per unit in 2016-2017 to about 45 paisa per unit at present. Simultaneously, the average AT&C loss for all states that have signed up for UDAY has come down to 20% this fiscal. No wonder, the average annual loss of discoms have come down from Rs 51,340 crore in fiscal 2016 to Rs 40,295 crore in 2017. So what does all this mean for average consumers? Well, longer supply hours, for one. A recent government statement said the average duration of power cuts declined 61% to 7.45 hours a month in May this year from 19.38 hours in the year-ago period. Herman Edwards Jersey
Road ministry sanctions 115,435 kms of national highways
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways informed Lok Sabha that total 115,435 kilometres of National Highways have been sanctioned in all 35 states and Union Territories in the country. In a reply of unstarred question raised by Shimla Member Parliament Virender Kashyap in lok sabha, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan informed Lok Sabha that out of total 115,435 kilometres, 10,668 kilometres national highways have been sanctioned in the states of Himachal, Punjab , Haryana, Chandigarh and Jammu Kashmir. He told that 2,642 kilometres national highways have been sanctioned in Himachal Pradesh while 2,641 kilometres in Haryana , 2,601 kilometres in Jammu & Kashmir, 2,769 kilometres in Punjab and 15 kilometres have been sanctioned for Union Territory Chandigarh . The minister told that highest 15,436 kilometres (kms) national highways have been sanctioned for Maharashtra while minimum 15 kilometres have been sanctioned for Chandigarh. The Minister further said that 6286 kms national highways in Andhra Pradesh, 2537 kms in Arunachal Pradesh, 3845 kms in Assam, 4,839 kms in Bihar, 15 kms in Chandigarh, 3232 kms in Chhattisgarh, 79 kms in Delhi, 262 kms in Goa, 5017 kms in Gujarat, 2641 kms in Haryana, 2642 kms in Himachal Pradesh, 2601 kms in Jammu & Kashmir, 2661 kms in Jharkhand, 6791 kms in Karnataka, 1782 kms in Kerala, 7854 kms in Madhya Pradesh, 15436 kms in Maharashtra, 1746 kms in Manipur, 1204 kms in Meghalaya, 1422 kms in Mizoram, 1547 kms in Nagaland, 4838 kms in Odisha, 64 kms in Puducherry, 2769 kms in Punjab, 7906 kms in Rajasthan, 463 kms in Sikkim, 5381 kms in Tamil Nadu, 3786 kms in Telangana, 854 kms in Tripura, 8711 kms in Uttar Pradesh, 2842 kms in Uttarakhand, 2998 kms in West Bengal, 331 kms in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 31 kms in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, 22 kms in Daman & Diu have been sanctioned by ministry of Road Transport and Highways in these states . The Minister informed Lok Sabha that among Union Territories, Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been sanctioned highest 331 kms national highways while Chandigarh has been sanctioned minimum 15 kms national highways in the country. He said that about 20557 kms of National Highways are under Detailed Project Report preparation as on June 30, 2017. Mario Edwards Jr Womens Jersey
India will need $4.5 trillion by 2040 for infrastructure: Report
India will need investments to the tune of around USD 4.5 trillion till 2040 to develop infrastructure to improve economic growth and community wellbeing, said Global Infrastructure Hub today. According to its report `Global Infrastructure Outlook’, India has an infrastructure investment need of USD 4.5 trillion by 2040, making it the second largest infrastructure market in Asia after China. “Rising income levels and economic prosperity is likely to drive significant demand for infrastructure investment in India over the next 25 years,” the report said. Taking sustainable development goals (SDGs) into account, the country is predicted to need an additional USD 888 billion by 2030 to provide universal household access to electricity and water. “In absolute terms, the total investment needed to meet the SDGs is greatest in India – a total of USD 1.3 trillion of investment is needed by 2030, more than China, which is USD 257 billion,” the report said. The firm, which conducted an intensive study of 50 countries and seven industry sectors, found out that by 2040, the global population will grow by almost two billion people – a 25 pet cent increase. Rural to urban migration continues with the urban population growing by 46 per cent, triggering massive demand for infrastructure support, it said. The cost of providing infrastructure to support global economic growth and to start to close infrastructure gaps is forecast to reach US$94 trillion by 2040, with a further USD 3.5 trillion needed to meet the UN SDGs (sustainable development goals) for universal household, access to drinking water and electricity by 2030, bringing the total to USD 97 trillion, the report added. Jordan Howard Jersey
In-principal approval for airport in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar: Government
The Centre has granted in- principle approval for an airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Parliament was informed today. This is the second airport in UP to be approved by the Centre since BJP’s Yogi Adityanath took over as the state’s chief minister in March. Last month, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced that the government had given clearance for an airport in Jewar in Greater Noida, which would be operational in five to six years. “Government of India has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) for setting up of a new Greenfield Airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Kushinagar airport would be developed by the government of UP. “In case of Kushinagar airport, GoUP made efforts for implementing the project under Public Private Partnership mode, however, the project could not attract private investors due to non-viability. Subsequently, GoUP has decided to develop the airport on its own,” Sinha said. PTI JCIn- principal approval for airport in UP’s Kushinagar: Govt New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) The Centre has granted in- principle approval for an airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Parliament was informed today. This is the second airport in UP to be approved by the Centre since BJP’s Yogi Adityanath took over as the state’s chief minister in March. Last month, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced that the government had given clearance for an airport in Jewar in Greater Noida, which would be operational in five to six years. “Government of India has granted ‘in-principle’ approval to Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) for setting up of a new Greenfield Airport at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Kushinagar airport would be developed by the government of UP. “In case of Kushinagar airport, GoUP made efforts for implementing the project under Public Private Partnership mode, however, the project could not attract private investors due to non-viability. Subsequently, GoUP has decided to develop the airport on its own,” Sinha said.
Goa’s new airport to be commissioned by May 2020: Manohar Parrikar
The first phase of Goa’s upcoming Mopa international airport will be operational by May 2020, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the state assembly on Tuesday. “GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) has already started pre-construction work and, as per concession agreement, the first phase of the project is likely to be commissioned by May 2020,” Parrikar said in a written reply tabled on Tuesday, during the ongoing monsoon session of the state assembly. Parrikar said the process of meeting pre-construction requirements was in progress and the actual construction work of the Mopa Greenfield airport, located nearly 40 km north of Panaji, was expected to begin shortly. “Mopa airport project is expected to create multiplier effect in the economy generating employment across various sectors,” he said. The Chief Minister said the existing Dabolim international airport in South Goa, which operates out of an Indian Navy base, will continue to be operational for civilian purposes. Demetrius Harris Authentic Jersey