Create infrastructure in UP, Bihar to decongest Mumbai: Sena slams Gadkari

Mumbai has been significantly contributing to the national treasury, but it has “not got the due share of financial assistance from the Centre” in the battle against Covid-19, it claimed

The Shiv Sena on Monday hit out at Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s remarks on the need to decongest Mumbai, saying if smart cities are created in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar population in India’s financial capital will come down. An editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ claimed that nearly 1.50 lakh migrant labourers, who went to their native places during the lockdown, have returned to Maharashtra as they “do not have any work” back home. Mumbai has been significantly contributing to the national treasury, but it has “not got the due share of financial assistance from the Centre” in the battle against Covid-19, it claimed.

Gadkari last month said there is a need to decongest Mumbai as the densely populated city is facing “disastrous consequences”, referring to the mounting coronavirus cases. In response, the Sena on Monday said, “If you create smart cities like Mumbai and Pune in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the population density of Mumbai and Pune will come down naturally. Jobs should be created in those states first.”

Gadkaris concerns will automatically be addressed if those states create more and more infrastructure, the Marathi publication said. “Nearly 1.50 lakh migrant labourers have returned to Maharashtra again during the lockdown period. They do not have any work in their native states. The reason behind it is that development has not reached those states, it said…Read More

Auto industry fears collapse, Nitin Gadkari offers comfort at mega meet

With auto sales sliding for over 13 months now, industry captains went all out to demand a cut in goods and services tax as the only way to revive demand

This may be an odd time for the automobile industry to gather under a common roof to discuss a “new era”, but that exactly was the theme of the much awaited annual convention for the sector held in the capital on Thursday.

Around 1,300 delegates from vehicle, engine and component manufacturing companies were in attendance at the 59th Annual Convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) —Moving into a new era of auto industry. With auto sales sliding for over 13 months now, industry captains went all out to demand a cut in goods and services tax (GST) as the only way to revive demand.

Compared to previous years, the attendance at the SIAM meet was muted, in sync with the overall gloomy mood. “My company’s head of sales thought it would be more efficient to use the time meeting dealers rather than participating in a conference which would have no outcome,” said a senior executive of a carmaker.

“The Indian automotive growth story is about to collapse. The customer is confused,” Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD at Tata Motors said. Butschek has reasons to worry. Passenger vehicle sales at his firm had more than halved in August compared to last year….

Gadkari promises Rs 15 trillion highway spending, revival of IL&FS projects

The minister said that the priority for him will be ‘rolling out all stuck highway projects that include many of the IL&FS projects within 100 days’

A hard worker in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bureau, Union Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari in his second innings has arranged huge plans — from mixing Rs 15 trillion in parkways to impelling GDP development by globalizing khadi and MSME items.

In the wake of assuming responsibility for Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) service, Gadkari in his first meeting to PTI, said the mission ahead was to further drive nation’s financial development through purposeful endeavors be it in interstates or MSME.

“The blue print for parkways is as of now set up. We intend to take up work worth at any rate Rs 15 trillion in thruways that incorporates building 22 green interstates, revealing every single stuck undertaking in the following 100 days and making a ‘matrix of streets’ at standard with power lattice,” Gadkari told PTI in a meeting here Wednesday.

Nitin gadkari said during his past residency, his services – Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River advancement – in a total premise, had seen a spend of Rs 17 trillion that included Rs 11 trillion in expressways part alone.

Alluding to the groundbreaking triumph of BJP driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gadkari said the reverberating command by the general population transcending insignificant gathering legislative issues, station belief or communalism has reaffirmed that individuals need “advancement” which will remain a need zone.

Through demonetisation, the message has gone clear to the general population that Modi-drove government is against defilement and blackmoney and all activities whether welfare plans, houses, gas, power or medical coverage have profited poor people, he said.

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Goa gets a new CM in the wee hours; BJP’s Pramod Sawant takes oath

The Governor also administered oath to 11 other ministers, including those from BJP’s allies MGP and the GFP

Politics News: BJP MLA Pramod Sawant was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Goa just before 2 am Tuesday, capping a day of hectic parleys between the saffron party and its allies to put a new government in place in the state.

After multiple postponements of the oath ceremony on Monday, the day when his predecessor Manohar Parrikar was cremated with state honours, Pramod Sawant was sworn in by Goa governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan at 1.50 am. Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old legislator from Sankhalim in North Goa. 

The Governor also administered oath to 11 other ministers, including those from BJP’s allies MGP and the GFP. Interestingly, all the ministers who were part of erstwhile Manohar Parrikar-led Cabinet were sworn in by the Governor.

MGP’s two MLAs Sudin Dhavalikar and Manohar Ajgaonkar were sworn-in, while Goa Forward party MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Vinod Palekar and Jayesh Salgaonkar also took oath. BJP MLAs Mauvin Godinho, Vishwajit Rane, Milind Naik and Nilesh Cabral also found a place in the Sawant-led Cabinet. Independent MLAs Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gawade were also sworn in by Governor..

Soon, your driver's licence to be linked with Aadhaar

He also said that digital governance is honest, transparent and efficient governance

 

In another move to make India digital, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday asserted that the Government is planning to link the driving licence with the Aadhar card.

Addressing the gathering at the Digital Haryana Summit 2017, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Aadhar is a digital, not a physical identity and a digital identity confirms the physical identity.

"We are planning to link the Driving Licence with the Aadhar. I have had a word with Nitin Gadkari regarding this," he said.

He also said that the decision to link the PAN card with the Aadhar was taken to stop money laundering.

Promoting the concept of digital governance, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the digital governance is 'good governance' and that it ensures fast delivery as well as the welfare of the poor people.

"Digital governance is honest, transparent and efficient governance," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"Digital India must lead to digital intrusion; it must lead to a digital society," he added, while appreciating the Indian IT industry.

He further said that the technology must be made available at affordable costs for people.

Mr Gadkari, allowing driverless cars will generate more high-paying jobs

Autonomous vehicles are the logical next step for cab aggregators like Ola and Uber

economy news: Nagpur, the home town of Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, is now a laboratory to test electric vehicles for public transport in India.

Cab aggregator Ola is testing a model that uses electric auto rickshaws, cars, and buses to make adoption of electric vehicles for mass transport viable. If the Nagpur experiment succeeds, Ola will execute the promise by its investor, Japanese internet firm Softbank, of running over a million electric vehicles across India. This vision requires massive investments in cars, buses, and the charging infrastructure. In addition, investments are also required in batteries, which India currently imports.

Both Ola and Uber have an asset-light model — they don't own the cars that run on their platforms. Instead, the cars are leased by the drivers, who repay the loans, spend on maintaining the cars, and then earn enough to fend for themselves. In scale, electric cars have better efficiency and are cheaper to run for more miles than fossil fuel-powered cars.

Till 2016, Ola and Uber splurged billions to woo thousands of drivers to their respective platforms. However, as the taps turned dry and investors pushed them towards profitability, they cut incentives for the drivers and increased prices. This move saw several thousand drivers and customers move away from the respective platforms. There are hundreds of cars on sale now as drivers are finding running on either platform unviable.

The country has seen a spate of protests from drivers seeking government intervention. In this context, Gadkari's statement that driverless cars will not be allowed in India in order to save jobs appears to be aimed at pacifying the unrest among drivers.

The electric cars vision is nice till Ola reaches a certain scale. Ola needs to make profits for itself and its investors. When the network effect comes into play, the winner dominates the market and the runner up becomes a distant second. Google and Facebook have become monopolies because of this network effect — the more users a company has, the harder it will get for rivals to compete with it.

So, after ensuring that there are thousands of electric vehicles on Indian roads and make it a habit for users to use their platform like they did for diesel run cars, their next logical move would be to look at autonomous vehicles.

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After Modi gives J&K new tunnel, state to see Rs 7,000-cr projects in 2 yrs

Union minister Gadkari says work on ring roads for J&K to start soon

 

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said fresh works worth Rs 7,000 crore would be commenced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the next two years in Jammu and Kashmir.

"I want to assure you that in coming two years we will start works worth Rs 7,000 crore in the state," he said at a rally after the inauguration of Asia's longest road tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

"I am happy that the prime minister has dedicated the biggest road tunnel to the nation," he said after Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, that will reduce the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by around 2 hours and the distance between the two cities by 31 km.

"We are building 13 new project in Jammu and Kashmir and I hope that it will further strengthen the road network and road communication for the people," The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping said.

He said that work on the ring roads in Jammu and Srinagar would start in the next three months."I feel happy to announce that the ring road of Jammu, costing around Rs 2,100 crore, and Rs 2,200 crore for Srinagar road, are going to be constructed," he said....READ MORE