The chief minister said work on the Chennai metro has been delayed due to the state’s fiscal constraints, pushing the completion deadline to December 2028 from December 2027.
Experts are critical of state govts pushing for metro projects in Tier-2 cities due to lack of proper assessment of requirement. Centre has around 20 pending proposals from states.
A flagship programme under the state’s 5T initiative, foundation of the Rs 6,225 crore project was laid on 1 January. Odisha govt has set a four-year deadline to complete Line 1.
Report by IIT-Delhi & Infravision Foundation also found that Delhi metro ridership was equal to 47% of projected ridership as against 25-30% for other operational metro rail networks.
Lack of planning & absence of regulations dissuading use of privately-owned vehicles in cities are some of the important factors responsible for slow implementation of the policy in cities.
Urban affairs ministry officials say guidelines for standardisation will 'not be binding' on metro corporations & norms for electro-mechanical components in 'advanced stages'.
House panel last yr flagged that almost all metro networks are in losses. Centre has received 21 proposals & approved 2, is working on guidelines to standardise construction & lower cost.
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.
Capable of being fired in plain and high-altitude areas, it has day-and-night capability and two-way data link to support post-launch target, aim-point update.
As Narendra Modi becomes India’s second-longest consecutively serving Prime Minister, we look at how he compares with Indira Gandhi across four key dimensions.
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