by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, Corporate Reports, Economy, News, Politics
PM Modi arrives at Aizawl airport in Mizoram
Aizwal : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday the Centre is committed to put all the state capitals of the northeast on the rail map and is executing 15 new projects in the region.
“We are committed to bring all the state capitals of the northeast region on the rail map. The government of India is executing 15 new rail line projects of 1,385 km length, at a cost of over Rs 47,000 crore,” Modi said during his visit to Mizoram.
“It is said that the lack of connectivity is one of the biggest hurdles in the path of development of the Northeastern region,” Modi noted, adding: “My government wants to do ‘transformation by transportation’ through investment in infrastructure…”
He said the Centre has been proactively following the ‘Act East Policy’. “As a gate-way to South East Asia, Mizoram stands to gain immensely from this. It can emerge as a key transit point for trade with Myanmar and Bangladesh,” said the Prime Minister.
The vision of New India can be realised only if fruits of development reach all, he said.
The Centre plans to focus on around 115 districts which are relatively backward when evaluated on various indicators. This will benefit backward districts of Northeastern states, including Mizoram, said Modi.
“In the spirit of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” every Indian, irrespective of caste, gender, religion, class must have equal opportunities to partake in the new prosperity,” he added.
Modi was in Mizoram to inaugurate the 60 MW Tuirial Hydro Electric Power Project (HEPP). He dedicated the project to the people saying it will boost the socio-economic development of the state.
Tuirial Hydropower Project is the first major central government project to be successfully commissioned in Mizoram, Modi said, also adding that besides electricity the reservoir water will also open new avenues for navigation.
“This will provide connectivity to remote villages. The huge reservoir, spread over an area of 45 square km, can also be used for development of fisheries,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister said the project would boost eco-tourism and provide a source of assured drinking water supply.
He said the project was first cleared by the union government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, way back in 1998 but got delayed.
“The completion of this project is a reflection of our commitment to complete ongoing projects and usher in a new era of development in the Northeastern region,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also said that during the tenure of Vajpayee, significant work was done for the development of the Northeast.
“We have taken forward this vision and are devoting resources for the progress of the Northeast. My ministerial colleagues are frequently visiting the Northeast,” Modi said.
“There have been over 150 ministerial visits. Our initiative – the Ministry of DoNER at your doorstep has added impetus to the development of the Northeast. It has enabled us to understand the aspirations of the Northeast even better,” he added.
Modi also said that he was delighted to be in Mizoram and this was his first visit as Prime Minister as he had visited the state before also.
“I admire the beauty and friendly nature of the people,” he said.
“The high literacy rate, scenic beauty and availability of large English-speaking population in Mizoram make for a perfect blend to develop the state as a model tourist destination,” said the Prime Minister.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate finance, Corporate Governance
New Delhi : Over two months after Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the flexi-fare scheme will be reviewed, the railways has set up a six-member committee to review the scheme, by comparing the prices with that of other modes of transport.
According to a railway board letter issued on December 11, the board has formed a six-member committee comprising two railway board officials along with Ravinder Goyal, Adviser, Niti Ayog; Meenakshi Malik, Executive Director, Revenue Management, Air India; S. Sriram, professor of transport economics and Iti Mani, Director, Revenue, Le Meridien, Delhi.
The committee will review the flexi-fare system and submit its report in 30 days.
“The broad terms and reference of the committee shall be to examine all options and recommend the best option keeping in mind passengers and railways’ interest”, the letter read.
On September 28, Goyal said the flexi-fare ticket pricing system would be reviewed soon.
“I have heard people complaining about the flexible fare ticketing system. We will soon take a decision on that,” Goyal had said.
The Minister also said that the prices in the flexi-fare system would be slashed.
On September 9, 2016, Railways introduced flexi-fare for premier trains – Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi.
Under this, the base fare increases by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold, subject to a prescribed limit. There was no change in the existing fare for 1AC and EC class of travel.
But on December 19, Railways started to provide 10 per cent rebate on any seat left vacant after the preparation of the chart.
According to a railway ministry official, who wished not be named, due to the introduction of the flexi-fare in premium trains, the revenue share increased but it lost passengers as several berths in the trains remained vacant.
The letter also said: “The committee should assess the impact of implementation of flexi-fare in its current form with respect to revenue generated for the railways, impact on passengers in terms of their choice of the railways as a means of transport with increased fare.”
The committee will also explore ways to offer add-ons to passengers like loyalty benefits or deferred benefits for better patronage of the scheme.
The committee will also recommend if modifications or amendments can be brought to the flexi-fare system to offer passengers flexibility of rates during peak season, lean season or during week days or weekends or during festivals.
The committee has also been asked to review the fares of the Humsafar Express which was launched last year.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, News, Politics
Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express
By Sujit Chakraborty,
Agartala : India and Bangladesh will restore the pre-1965 status of rail connections between the two neighbours, Bangladesh Railway Minister Mazibul Hoque said here.
“India and Bangladesh will jointly restore the pre-1965 status of our rail connections.
“Currently India and Bangladesh have four operational rail links between West Bengal and western Bangladesh. More rail connections would be restored in the near future,” Hoque told IANS here on Friday night.
“The Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) new rail link will be operational within a year. Funded by India, the necessary works for laying the new 15-km rail track between Agartala railway station and Akhaura railway station has already started.”
The Bangladesh Minister is here to attend the Rotary Clubs of India and Bangladesh’s two-day third “Setubandhan” international programme.
The state-run Indian Railway Construction Company (Ircon) will lay the five km track on the Indian side while the remaining 10 km would be laid by the Bangladesh railways.
The Rs 963 crore ($145 million) project was finalised in January 2010 when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met her then Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi.
Former Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Majibul Haque, jointly laid its foundation stone here on July 31 last year.
The Indian government would bear the entire cost of the project. The issue had also figured during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Sheikh Hasina during his visit to Dhaka in June 2015.
“India is the best friend of Bangladesh. The country sheltered lakhs of Bangladeshi men and women in the 1971 Liberation War and helped a lot to create a sovereign country of Bangladesh,” said Hoque, who is himself a Bangladeshi “Mukti Yoddha” (freedom fighter) and trained in Tripura during the nine-month-long war.
The four operational railway links between India and Bangladesh are Petrapole-Benapole, Gede-Darshana, Radhikapur-Biral and Singhabad-Rohanpur.
Two more rail connections have been proposed. Feni (Bangladesh)-Belonia (India) will connect Tripura with the Bangladesh sea port of Chittagong, and West Bengal’s Siliguri will connect Panchagarh in North-Western Bangladesh, opening the scope for future cargo movement.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her visit to Bangladesh earlier this week said a significant area of the bilateral cooperation is the quest to increase connectivity through restoration of pre-1965 links encompassing road, rail, water and coastal shipping.
The frequency of the Dhaka-Maitree express has been increased. The journey time of the Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express will be reduced from nine to six hours, by doing away with the two-phased immigration checks at the Indian border of Gede and Bangladesh border of Darshana.
The inaugural commercial run of the Kolkata-Khulna second passenger train service is expected to start by the middle of next month. More bus services linking the cities of Bangladesh and India have also begun.
The Kolkata-Khulna passenger train service was operational till 1965.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday stressed on safety, saying that renewal of rail tracks would be done wherever required and the signalling system revamped.
Addressing a press conference here at Rail Bhawan, Goyal said: “Track renewal on the routes where it is required has been ordered.”
He also said he has asked the railway officials to revamp the existing signalling system.
The move comes in the wake of several railway accidents, especially in Uttar Pradesh last month, due to trains jumping off the tracks. The frequent rail accidents led to Suresh Prabhu being shunted out as Railway Minister and Goyal brought in.
Goyal said that the flexi fare ticket pricing system would be reviewed soon.
“I have heard people complaining about the flexible fare ticketing system. We will soon take a decision on that,” he said.
He also said that the prices in the flexi fare system would be slashed.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Corporate, Corporate Governance, Economy, Large Enterprise, News, Politics
Piyush Goyal
Mumbai : Following a controversy over a circular of the Railway Board issued last week, listing details to be printed on food packets/casseroles on trains, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has ordered even the MRP of all food items must be printed, an activist said here on Monday.
The Railway Board’s circular had listed details like names of the supplier/contractors, weight/grams, date of packing and distinctive symbol of veg/non-veg food items.
Surprisingly, it failed to include the specification of mentioning the maximum retail price of the food items, compelling Mumbai RTI activist Anil Galgali to lodge a complaint with Goyal.
“This error or omission could have been grossly misused by the food suppliers/contractors to cheat the gullible passengers consuming those on long-distance trains with limited halts,” Galgali pointed out.
The original circular was issued on September 19 by Additional Member, Tourism and Catering, Sanjiv Garg, which failed to mention the requirement of MRP, he said.
Following the complaint by Galgali, a Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party member apprised the Railway Minister of the faux pas and urged rectification of the same.
“Today, the Railway Board has issued a fresh circular, incorporating the suggestion and henceforth the MRP and sale prices should be compulsorily printed on all the food items served to the passengers,” Galgali said.
He expressed gratitude to Goyal and the Board for intervening in the matter and preventing a possible loot of lakhs of railway passengers by the service providers.
—IANS
