Project approvals will now go through more rigorous scrutiny to ensure cost & time overruns are minimal. By 2023, with nearly 80% of tenders awarded, cost of Bharatmala Phase-I doubled.
Only individual road corridors will be approved by Modi govt in 3rd term, it is learnt. Cabinet’s nod to 8 high-speed roads spanning 936 km is part of this new strategy.
Govt working to develop access-controlled high-speed corridors as part of Vision 2047, which will be the next phase of highway development after Bharatmala Pariyojana programme.
Highways sector also saw jump in allocation. Fifty airports, heliports, water aerodromes & advance landing grounds to be revived to improve regional air connectivity.
Disenfranchisement by institutional fiat is profoundly undemocratic. The effect of the ECI's new documentary process in Bihar will tilt the scales in favour of the BJP.
Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.
India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.
Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.
Firstly, the consultants who prepare the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) must be held accountable. The DPRs for infrastructure projects provide wildly exaggerated figures. Figures and numbers are cooked up in favour of the project. Egregiously optimistic estimates, far removed from the realities of life, are made.
An example of this are the metro projects across cities. Except Kolkata and Delhi, none of rhe metro projects have crossed even 25% of the projected ridership volume.
It’s high time the agencies/consultants preparing the DPRs are held accountable and penalised.
Secondly, the land acquisition issue must be looked into. In every single infrastructure project, delays are primarily due to land acquisition issues. This leads to severe cost overruns. A political consensus must be arrived at to ensure swift and smooth procedures of land acquisition.
Investment in defence is guided by strategic considerations. However, road and rail, accounting for the bulk of government capital expenditure must pay for themselves, as commercial enterprises. Be able to service debt. Railways recently wanted 70,000 crores of loans to be converted into a grant, ie, written off.
Firstly, the consultants who prepare the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) must be held accountable. The DPRs for infrastructure projects provide wildly exaggerated figures. Figures and numbers are cooked up in favour of the project. Egregiously optimistic estimates, far removed from the realities of life, are made.
An example of this are the metro projects across cities. Except Kolkata and Delhi, none of rhe metro projects have crossed even 25% of the projected ridership volume.
It’s high time the agencies/consultants preparing the DPRs are held accountable and penalised.
Secondly, the land acquisition issue must be looked into. In every single infrastructure project, delays are primarily due to land acquisition issues. This leads to severe cost overruns. A political consensus must be arrived at to ensure swift and smooth procedures of land acquisition.
Investment in defence is guided by strategic considerations. However, road and rail, accounting for the bulk of government capital expenditure must pay for themselves, as commercial enterprises. Be able to service debt. Railways recently wanted 70,000 crores of loans to be converted into a grant, ie, written off.