MNEWS

Prime Minister to inaugurate EPE and Package –I of  Delhi-Meerut Expressway on 29thApril Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari has announced development of a new highway alignment between Delhi and Mumbai. A sum of one lakh crore rupees will be spent on this expressway. The Minister also disclosed plans for a Chambal Expressway which would be connected to this Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, and is likely to benefit states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the backward areas will also shine like Gurugram. Addressing a media event in New Delhi today, Shri Nitin Gadkari outlined major initiatives of his ministry for de-congestion of Delhi NCR. A total of ten projects are underway costing 35,600 crore rupees. He said, about forty thousand commercial vehicles enter Delhi on a daily basis, which cause increased pollution and congestion in the city state. An ambitious scheme o...

Government and RBI have taken all steps to meet unusual demand of the currency. Adequate reserves of currency to meet the rising demands. Non Functional ATMS to be normalized soon. There are reports of cash shortages and some ATMs running dry of cash or becoming non-functional in some parts of the country. There has been unusual spurt in currency demand in the country in last three months.   In the current month, in the first 13 days itself, the currency supply increased by Rs.45000 crores.  This unusual spurt in demand is seen more in some parts of the country like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, MP and Bihar. The Government of India with the Reserve Bank of India have taken all steps to meet this unusual demand. We had adequate reserves of currency notes which have been used to meet fully the extraordinary demand generated so far.  We continue to have in stock adequate currency notes of all denominations, including of Rs.500, 200 and...

Farmers must diversify and take up allied activities like poultry, dairy and fisheries; Addresses Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Assam Agricultural University The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu said that innovative practices must come into farm sector to make it sustainable and profitable. He was addressing the inauguration of year long Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Assam Agricultural University, in Jorhat, Assam today. The Governor of Assam, Shri Jagadish Mukhi, the Minister for Agriculture, Assam, Shri Atul Bora and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The Vice President said that achieving self sufficiency in the pulses and oilseed sector is challenge before the country. I am sure that with the dedication demonstrated by our agriculturists and the cutting edge research being conducted in our laboratories, we will achieve self sufficiency even in these two crops soon, he added.  The Vice President said that India needs to respond effect...

A Loan Agreement for IBRD loan of USD 48 million for the “Meghalaya Community - Led Landscapes Management Project (MCLLMP)” was signed here today with the World Bank. The Loan Agreement was signed by Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary (MI), Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Hisham A Abdo Kahin, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank. A Project Agreement was also signed by Mr. P. Sampath Kumar, Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya & CEO, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and Mr. Hisham A Abdo Kahin, Acting Country Director, World Bank (India). The Objective of the Project is to strengthen community-led landscapes management in selected landscapes in the State of Meghalaya. The Project consists of three components: (i) Strengthening Knowledge and Capacity for Natural Resource Management; (ii) Community-led landscape planning and implementation and (ii...

GreenCo rating implemented in 42 production units and workshops of Indian Railways Pursuing sustainable growth through preserving the environment is one of the hallmarks of Indian Railways. To further spread its green initiatives, Indian Railways had entered into partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in July 2016. As part of this partnership, CII is facilitating various railways’ production units, workshops and other units go the Green way and in the process equipping them to green the operations and practices. CII’s GreenCo Rating System is a first-of-its-kind rating in the world that facilitates companies in improving their overall green performance. GreenCo focus on major environmental areas including- energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, waste management, resource conservation, green supply chain, product stewardship and life cycle assessment. As on date, GreenCo Rating is being implemented in 42 facilities (production ...

MHA asks states to take measures to prevent any untoward incident in view of forthcoming Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the State Governments to take all necessary precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incident in view of the forthcoming Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. The MHA has asked that patrolling should be intensified in all sensitive locations to ensure that no loss of life and property takes place and prohibitory orders may be issued wherever necessary. The advisory stressed that District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police may be asked to take all necessary steps for ensuring that law and order situation remains firmly under control in the areas of their jurisdiction. The MHA has advised them to activate community policing initiatives to ensure peace and harmony. The communication was issued in the wake of reports of vandalism of statues in some parts of the country and violence during Bharat Bandh ...

Plans to install at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2022 The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) an autonomous body under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has called for ‘Expression of Interest’ (EoI) for the first offshore wind energy project of India. The global EoI is intended to shortlist prospective offshore wind energy developers for a  1000 MW offshore wind energy project in Gulf of Khambat, off the coast of Gujarat . The proposed area is located 23-40 km seaward side from Pipavav port. MNRE plans to install at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2022.  As per the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy notified on October, 2015, National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai is the nodal agency to carry out the necessary studies/surveys before final bidding and act as a single window for facilitating necessary clearances required for development of offshore wind project in India. The first offshore LiDAR was instal...

Marking the growing prominence of India in the global energy map, the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial (IEF16) is being hosted by India and will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Wednesday. IEF16 is the largest gathering of Energy Ministers from across the globe, industry leaders and heads of key international organizations who will debate the future of global energy. Prominent among those attending the Ministerial Meeting this year are Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, India, Mr. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia, Mr. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, UAE, Mr. Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Minister of Petroleum, Iran, Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar, Mr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigeria, Mr. Kosaburo Nishime, State Minister of E...

The major ports in India have recorded a growth of 4.77 per cent and  together handled 679.35 Million Tonnes of cargo during the period April 2017 to March 2018 as against 648.39 Million Tonnes handled during the corresponding period of previous year. Nine Ports - Kolkata (including Haldia), Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kamarajar, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Deendayal also registered positive growth in traffic. Cargo traffic handled at Major Ports: Cochin Port registered the highest growth of 16.52 per cent, followed by Paradip 14.68 per cent, Kolkata (incl. Haldia)  13.61 per cent, JNPT 6.2 per cent and New Mangalore 5.28 per cent. The growth at Cochin Port was mainly due to increase in traffic of Fin. Fertilizer (105.88 per cent), POL (20.62 per cent) and Containers (12.46 per cent). In Kolkata Port, overall growth was 13.61 per cent. Kolkata Dock System (KDS) registered traffic growth of 3.45 per cent. Whereas Haldia Dock Complex (HDC)...

The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu, delivering the inaugural address at the Global Logistics Summit, in New Delhi Efficient logistics is critical for countries like India to harness trade and facilitate greater & faster integration with both the domestic as well as world economy. Keeping this in mind 56 new airports will become functional in the next few years, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu said at the two days Global Logistics Summit being held in New Delhi. The Minister further said that by bringing all the stakeholders together it will create the right platform to improve logistics and connectivity which are vital for increasing intra-state and international trade flows. Indian logistics industry is estimated at around US $ 215 billion in 2019-20, growing at over 10 % annually. In the last decade or so, significant improvements in Railways, Roads, Highways, Inland ...