New Delhi: Government of India and KFW (Federal Republic of Germany) signed here yesterday two loan agreements worth Euro 125 Millions for financing two projects under the Green Energy Projects (GEC) programme- Himachal Pradesh (Euro 57 million) and Andhra Pradesh (Euro 68 million). Loan agreements were signed by Mr. S. Selvakumar, Joint Secretary (Bilateral Cooperation), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Roland Sillar, Member, KFW Board Management, from German side. Project agreements were also signed by Mr. S.L. Sharma, MD, HPPTCL and Mr. P. Satyamoorty, Director (Finance), Andhra Pradesh TRANSCO relating to their respective State(s)
With the Green Energy Corridors, the intra-State network will feed the renewable energy to the respective State grids and the high capacity transmission corridors and inter-State network will connect major renewable energy pockets with the national grid.
Renewable Energy is one of the key areas of Indo-German partnership mentioned in the Joint Statement of Hannover in April 2015 and with financing of the transmission infrastructure of Renewable Energy projects, the Central and State grids will be strengthened to evacuate more green energy.
Success in my Habit
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
India set to grow faster than other emerging markets, as per IMF
New Delhi: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted the Indian economy to grow at 7.5 per cent in FY 2015-16, faster than every other major emerging market, mainly due to increase in investments, policy reforms and lower commodity prices. In 2015, inflation is expected to reduce further, reflecting the fall in global oil and agricultural commodities prices, which is expected to aid domestic demand as well as decrease India’s current account deficit. Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi has outlined several business reforms aimed at attracting foreign investments such as simpler regulations, removing limits for foreign investments in certain sectors and enabling fast-track approvals for infrastructure projects. The government is taking efforts towards making the tax regime transparent and predictable.
DBT Partners with a US Firm to Reach Microscope Easily to Our Students
New Delhi: Undergraduate students from all parts of the country will soon be able to take a peek through a microscope that they can carry with them, following an initiative by the Department of Biotechnology to reach the Prakash Lab’s low cost paper folding-microscope, the Foldscope to students in our country.
The letter of intent to distribute Foldscope through DBT’s star college and other programmes was exchanged between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Prakash Lab in the presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his visit to Silicon Valley in USA recently.
It all started with a tweet from Secretary, Department of Biotechnology Professor K Vijay Raghavan to Dr Prakash on August 12 this year.
‘Hi, can we discuss using Foldscope widely in India? I am at the Deptt of Biotech, Govt of India’.
Dr Prakash responded immediately welcoming it, a skype call followed subsequently. Prime Minister’s office also responded enthusiastically to the call requesting for his support.
Rapid communication through the social media played a crucial role quickly paving the pathway for the letter of intent to spread the low technology widely through DBT’s network.
This was a unique demonstration of how the government is using the social media in novel ways to stimulate citizen science.
Dr Prakash is excited about engaging through DBT to extend further the Foldscope’s reach to all parts of India. He said, “Our vision is to bring a microscope into the hands of every single kid in the world”.
“Partnering with Prakash Lab’s Foldscope is an exciting new adventure for the Department of Biotechnology. It is Citizen Science at its best. The Foldscope is torchlight in the hands of human curiosity that allows each and every one of us to explore our planet at the microscopic level, just as the telescope allows us to explore the stars. The beauty we see and the science underneath it will create a new generation of young scientists in India. We look forward to taking this wonderful partnership ahead” said Professor Vijay Raghavan.
Prakash Lab, a research group at Stanford University working in the field of engineering and physical biology, will source Foldscope to DBT and its constituents.
The DBT will ensure that the Foldscope is provided to students of the Star College scheme in each identified college. This will be done progressively based on the availability of Foldscope.
Foldscope will be used as an educational and training tool to understand physics, chemistry, biology and instrumentation.
Foldscope is provided as a kit where the student starts by first building the actual unit from the kit; and explores curiosity driven questions surrounding the microscopic world in physics, chemistry and biology. The users build an online community and share insights, projects, questions and scientific discoveries with the community at Foldscope online platform.
Workshops and training programmes will be run by Prakash Lab in collaboration with Indian institutions. The nascent Local Foldscope community based in India will also be involved in training.
After this initial pilot program, the collaboration with Prakash Lab will be expanded to setting up of joint research for explorations of other low cost instrumentation in colleges as deemed mutually appropriate.
This was a case of matching of views that is focused to create a spark. The Prime Minister has been stressing on using Indian experts abroad to bring benefits to India.
The letter of intent to distribute Foldscope through DBT’s star college and other programmes was exchanged between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Prakash Lab in the presence of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his visit to Silicon Valley in USA recently.
It all started with a tweet from Secretary, Department of Biotechnology Professor K Vijay Raghavan to Dr Prakash on August 12 this year.
‘Hi, can we discuss using Foldscope widely in India? I am at the Deptt of Biotech, Govt of India’.
Dr Prakash responded immediately welcoming it, a skype call followed subsequently. Prime Minister’s office also responded enthusiastically to the call requesting for his support.
Rapid communication through the social media played a crucial role quickly paving the pathway for the letter of intent to spread the low technology widely through DBT’s network.
This was a unique demonstration of how the government is using the social media in novel ways to stimulate citizen science.
Dr Prakash is excited about engaging through DBT to extend further the Foldscope’s reach to all parts of India. He said, “Our vision is to bring a microscope into the hands of every single kid in the world”.
“Partnering with Prakash Lab’s Foldscope is an exciting new adventure for the Department of Biotechnology. It is Citizen Science at its best. The Foldscope is torchlight in the hands of human curiosity that allows each and every one of us to explore our planet at the microscopic level, just as the telescope allows us to explore the stars. The beauty we see and the science underneath it will create a new generation of young scientists in India. We look forward to taking this wonderful partnership ahead” said Professor Vijay Raghavan.
Prakash Lab, a research group at Stanford University working in the field of engineering and physical biology, will source Foldscope to DBT and its constituents.
The DBT will ensure that the Foldscope is provided to students of the Star College scheme in each identified college. This will be done progressively based on the availability of Foldscope.
Foldscope will be used as an educational and training tool to understand physics, chemistry, biology and instrumentation.
Foldscope is provided as a kit where the student starts by first building the actual unit from the kit; and explores curiosity driven questions surrounding the microscopic world in physics, chemistry and biology. The users build an online community and share insights, projects, questions and scientific discoveries with the community at Foldscope online platform.
Workshops and training programmes will be run by Prakash Lab in collaboration with Indian institutions. The nascent Local Foldscope community based in India will also be involved in training.
After this initial pilot program, the collaboration with Prakash Lab will be expanded to setting up of joint research for explorations of other low cost instrumentation in colleges as deemed mutually appropriate.
This was a case of matching of views that is focused to create a spark. The Prime Minister has been stressing on using Indian experts abroad to bring benefits to India.
Edelweiss setting up US$ 1 bn real estate fund
Bengaluru: Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors Ltd, part of diversified financial services firm Edelweiss Group, is raising up to $1 billion for its first residential real estate fund, a top executive said.
Edelweiss Real Estate Fund is a structured credit, offshore fund that is looking to invest $15-75 million in each transaction. It is planning to do a first close of about $350 million in a month’s time, making it one of the largest first closures in recent times.
Once a fund achieves the so-called first close, it starts making investments.
“We are looking to partner mid-sized developers in real estate projects that have already got the key approvals. The fund will not provide capital to buy land or invest in an early stage of a project,” said Venkat Ramaswamy, executive director and co-head of global asset management, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd.
The fund will scout for investment opportunities in five property markets—National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Private equity (PE) firms plan to raise about $3 billion (excluding the Edelweiss fund) from overseas investors this fiscal year to invest in projects in the top property markets despite choppy markets and inadequate interest from limited partners (LPs) in the Indian real estate segment.
LPs include public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, wealthy individuals and university and other endowments that are the source of money for PE firms, which then establish funds to invest.
Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC) has two new offshore funds, a $500 million fund through HDFC Property Fund that will be launched later this year and an $850 million fund through another entity which is already in fund-raising mode.
IDFC Alternatives is also targeting about $250 million from offshore investors for a new fund and has entered into an asset management and development partnership with property firm SARE Homes, which will manage and monitor the projects in which the fund will invest.
For six-to-seven years, Edelweiss has made investments in real estate projects mainly out of its own balance sheet. This time, as it gears up for a full-fledged fund, it is tapping investors in Asia, Europe and the US.
“Edelweiss is a meaningful investor in all our alternative credit funds, and our fund size is decided on the basis of what we can deploy. We have an extremely good team with strong real estate market connects in our five addressed cities, which is essential in terms of deploying and recovery of capital,” said Ramaswamy.
PE funds that invest in real estate projects typically opt for equity investments, which carry higher risks and returns; debt investments with lower but guaranteed returns; or structured transactions, which are a mix of both.
In the Edelweiss fund, structured credit means returns are structured keeping in mind the cash flow of the project. It keeps 1.5 to 2 times its investment amount as collateral and has control of the project cash flows.
For home-grown firms such as ASK group and Edelweiss that are raising their first offshore funds, it will be interesting to see how they tap the LP network in today’s challenging conditions, a property consultant said.
“Funds have taken longer to raise offshore capital in recent times as most LPs are not willing to write large cheques and commit upfront capital,” said Shashank Jain, partner, transaction services, PricewaterhouseCoopers India. “Most of them give out smaller amounts, and keep monitoring the fund’s performance and as and when good transactions take place, they commit more money. As a result of which, the final closing of a fund happens in a staggered manner.”
Edelweiss Real Estate Fund is a structured credit, offshore fund that is looking to invest $15-75 million in each transaction. It is planning to do a first close of about $350 million in a month’s time, making it one of the largest first closures in recent times.
Once a fund achieves the so-called first close, it starts making investments.
“We are looking to partner mid-sized developers in real estate projects that have already got the key approvals. The fund will not provide capital to buy land or invest in an early stage of a project,” said Venkat Ramaswamy, executive director and co-head of global asset management, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd.
The fund will scout for investment opportunities in five property markets—National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Private equity (PE) firms plan to raise about $3 billion (excluding the Edelweiss fund) from overseas investors this fiscal year to invest in projects in the top property markets despite choppy markets and inadequate interest from limited partners (LPs) in the Indian real estate segment.
LPs include public and corporate pension funds, insurance companies, wealthy individuals and university and other endowments that are the source of money for PE firms, which then establish funds to invest.
Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC) has two new offshore funds, a $500 million fund through HDFC Property Fund that will be launched later this year and an $850 million fund through another entity which is already in fund-raising mode.
IDFC Alternatives is also targeting about $250 million from offshore investors for a new fund and has entered into an asset management and development partnership with property firm SARE Homes, which will manage and monitor the projects in which the fund will invest.
For six-to-seven years, Edelweiss has made investments in real estate projects mainly out of its own balance sheet. This time, as it gears up for a full-fledged fund, it is tapping investors in Asia, Europe and the US.
“Edelweiss is a meaningful investor in all our alternative credit funds, and our fund size is decided on the basis of what we can deploy. We have an extremely good team with strong real estate market connects in our five addressed cities, which is essential in terms of deploying and recovery of capital,” said Ramaswamy.
PE funds that invest in real estate projects typically opt for equity investments, which carry higher risks and returns; debt investments with lower but guaranteed returns; or structured transactions, which are a mix of both.
In the Edelweiss fund, structured credit means returns are structured keeping in mind the cash flow of the project. It keeps 1.5 to 2 times its investment amount as collateral and has control of the project cash flows.
For home-grown firms such as ASK group and Edelweiss that are raising their first offshore funds, it will be interesting to see how they tap the LP network in today’s challenging conditions, a property consultant said.
“Funds have taken longer to raise offshore capital in recent times as most LPs are not willing to write large cheques and commit upfront capital,” said Shashank Jain, partner, transaction services, PricewaterhouseCoopers India. “Most of them give out smaller amounts, and keep monitoring the fund’s performance and as and when good transactions take place, they commit more money. As a result of which, the final closing of a fund happens in a staggered manner.”
New IPR policy in 2 months: DIPP secy
New Delhi: India was going to unveil a comprehensive intellectual property right (IPR) policy to address the concerns of foreign industries operating here and those looking to invest in the country, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant confirmed in New Delhi on Monday.
Addressing a joint Indo-German business round table, attended by chief executives of companies from both countries, Kant said the government was doing all it could to bring out the IPR policy; it would be made public in two months’ time.
His statement came after entrepreneurs from Germany’s pharmaceutical and defence industries conveyed the difficulties of working with sensitive technology under India’s existing IPR regime.
The defence trade between India and Germany, though at a favourable stage currently, needed to be streamlined through responses from the demand and supply sides of the economy, said a German industrialist.
Among other issues raised by the delegation were the unease of business, especially in the Customs clearance process, unavailability of technical workforce and need to remove existing red-tape in investment.
Significant concerns over delays in implementation of the goods & services tax (GST) were also mentioned.
The event, organised by industry bodies Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (Ficci), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, saw the participation by 20 CEOs of German and Indian companies.
Addressing a joint Indo-German business round table, attended by chief executives of companies from both countries, Kant said the government was doing all it could to bring out the IPR policy; it would be made public in two months’ time.
His statement came after entrepreneurs from Germany’s pharmaceutical and defence industries conveyed the difficulties of working with sensitive technology under India’s existing IPR regime.
The defence trade between India and Germany, though at a favourable stage currently, needed to be streamlined through responses from the demand and supply sides of the economy, said a German industrialist.
Among other issues raised by the delegation were the unease of business, especially in the Customs clearance process, unavailability of technical workforce and need to remove existing red-tape in investment.
Significant concerns over delays in implementation of the goods & services tax (GST) were also mentioned.
The event, organised by industry bodies Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (Ficci), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, saw the participation by 20 CEOs of German and Indian companies.
Centre to invest Rs 70,000 crore in ports in 5 years
New Delhi: The Centre is likely to invest around Rs 70,000 crore in 12 major ports in the next five years under 'Sagarmala', an initiative aimed at promoting 'port-led development' along India's 7,500-km coastline.
"In a recent meeting, industrialists said it's cheaper to travel from Mumbai to London than to Delhi. Our logistic cost is thrice that of China... If we want to compete in the global market, logistic costs need to be reduced. 'Sagarmala' will address all these issue by developing ports and waterways in the country," said Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport, highways and shipping after chairing the first meeting of the National Sagarmala Apex Committee.
"We are planning to invest Rs 60,000-70,000 crore on development of 12 major ports in the next five years. We have received 104 suggestions from international consultants to increase efficiency, which will be implemented in the next few years," he added, Gadkari said the project would create huge employment and boost the country's GDP. "Very soon, the ports, shipping and highways sector will add two per cent to the country's GDP."
To transform India into an automobile hub, he said the government would build eight scrap recycle centres near ports such as Kandla to recycle used vehicles from the world over and boost automobile exports.
"In a recent meeting, industrialists said it's cheaper to travel from Mumbai to London than to Delhi. Our logistic cost is thrice that of China... If we want to compete in the global market, logistic costs need to be reduced. 'Sagarmala' will address all these issue by developing ports and waterways in the country," said Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport, highways and shipping after chairing the first meeting of the National Sagarmala Apex Committee.
"We are planning to invest Rs 60,000-70,000 crore on development of 12 major ports in the next five years. We have received 104 suggestions from international consultants to increase efficiency, which will be implemented in the next few years," he added, Gadkari said the project would create huge employment and boost the country's GDP. "Very soon, the ports, shipping and highways sector will add two per cent to the country's GDP."
To transform India into an automobile hub, he said the government would build eight scrap recycle centres near ports such as Kandla to recycle used vehicles from the world over and boost automobile exports.
India and Germany Sign Agreements for Furthering Cooperation in the Field of Science & Technology
New Delhi: India and Germany have signed agreements for furthering cooperation in the field of Science & Technology. The Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the German Federal Minister for Education and Research Ms. Johanna Wanka signed the main agreement and witnessed signing of another agreement by the officials for the purpose after mutual discussions in New Delhi today. At the meeting held before the 3rd Indo-German Consultative meeting, both the Ministers expressed their satisfaction on the level of Indo-German Science & Technology cooperation which is now recognised as one of the strategic pillars in the overall bilateral relationship. It was reiterated by both sides that they would continue to support and strengthen the basic research component of collaboration which will underpin future technology developments. India is investing approximately 14 million euro for the construction of an additional beam line and access to the synchrotron facility at PETRA-III in DESY at Hamburg. Similarly, India is equity share holder with investment of 36 million euro in the construction of the international “Facility for Antiproton-Ion Research” (FAIR) at Darmstadt. Both these state of art facilities will further enable our scientists to conduct high impact and frontier research in material science, nuclear and high energy physics. On the same model, Dr. Harsh Vardhan offered Germany to participate in some of the future mega science projects, which India will be embarking upon. A major highlight of the meeting was the agreement on both sides to extend the bi-national Indo-German Science & Technology Center (IGSTC) beyond 2017 with increase in funding from 2 million euro to 4 million euro every year. This was a reflection of the common endeavour on both sides to support industrially relevant R&D projects that have potential to generate novel technologies and new intellectual property in sectors such as advance manufacturing, embedded systems & ICT for automobiles, renewable energy, food security, clean water and health care technologies- all of which are in tune with present national missions of the government of India. India is the only country with whom Germany has such a bilateral R&D Centre dedicated to promote applied and industrial R&D. The Centre is already supporting 15 joint projects and pro-types of some new technologies have been co-developed in solar-thermal energy, stress tolerant chic-pea variety, and high altitude cold resistance plants etc. Dr. Harsh Vardhan expressed confidence that the extended tenure of Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) until 2022 along with doubling its financial resources will enable us to co-develop affordable technologies that can contribute to the knowledge economy of both our countries. Both the Ministers reiterated the need for concerted effort to promote exchanges of young scientists and student researchers. To this end DST through a Letter of Intent agreed to continue the support for participation of 25 Indian science and medical students to the annual Nobel Laureate meet in Lindau. Both the Ministers echoed that the future cooperation should focus on programs to promote innovation and techno-entrepreneurship by linking the SME and Start-up enterprises of both the countries in order to make meaningful contribution to the knowledge economy and use the tools of science and technology to address socially relevant challenges. New areas such as anti-microbial resistance and regenerative medicine, earth science system including monsoon studies and marine sciences required to understand the climate change process was emphasised by the Indian side that needs to be addressed together.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Sun buys InSite Vision for US$ 48 million
Sun Pharmaceutical has acquired InSite Vision, a US-based specialty ophthalmic product maker, in a $48 million (about Rs 320 crore) deal. The acquisition will enable Sun Pharma, India's largest drug maker by revenue, to grow its US business. The US sales make up for about half of its consolidated revenue.
Sun Pharma said it was developing branded ophthalmic business in the US and acquisition of InSite Vision and in-licencing of Xelpros eye drops were steps in that direction.
For the six-month period ended June 30, InSite Vision reported revenue of $3.8 million, Ebitda loss of $6.4 million and a net loss of $7.5 million. InSite Vision's core competence is research and product development, and has research facilities in California. However, the company has been facing fund shortages, sources said.
Kal Sundaram, chief executive of Sun Pharma's North American business, said, "This potential acquisition is a part of our overall objective of transitioning to a specialty company. Besides dermatology, we have identified ophthalmics as one of the key segments for establishing our branded presence in the US."
Jerry St Peter, vice-president and head of Sun Pharma's US ophthalmic business, said, "The potential addition of the InSite Vision portfolio serves as a significant step towards enhancing our branded specialty pipeline in the ophthalmic segment. InSite Vision will bring with it a pipeline of three late-stage clinical candidates, validated drug delivery technology and a track record of achieving US FDA approval for ophthalmic products." The company has two branded eye drops, which are marked by other companies.
The size of ophthalmic product business is about $7 billion and top five companies in the space control over 95 per cent market share.
Sun Pharma said it was developing branded ophthalmic business in the US and acquisition of InSite Vision and in-licencing of Xelpros eye drops were steps in that direction.
For the six-month period ended June 30, InSite Vision reported revenue of $3.8 million, Ebitda loss of $6.4 million and a net loss of $7.5 million. InSite Vision's core competence is research and product development, and has research facilities in California. However, the company has been facing fund shortages, sources said.
Kal Sundaram, chief executive of Sun Pharma's North American business, said, "This potential acquisition is a part of our overall objective of transitioning to a specialty company. Besides dermatology, we have identified ophthalmics as one of the key segments for establishing our branded presence in the US."
Jerry St Peter, vice-president and head of Sun Pharma's US ophthalmic business, said, "The potential addition of the InSite Vision portfolio serves as a significant step towards enhancing our branded specialty pipeline in the ophthalmic segment. InSite Vision will bring with it a pipeline of three late-stage clinical candidates, validated drug delivery technology and a track record of achieving US FDA approval for ophthalmic products." The company has two branded eye drops, which are marked by other companies.
The size of ophthalmic product business is about $7 billion and top five companies in the space control over 95 per cent market share.
Railways, Maharashtra government to set up Special Purpose Vehicle for railway infrastructure
In a bid to give boost to Railway infrastructure projects in the state, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday has decided to form the Maharashtra Railway Infrastructure Development Company. The decision was taken after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a review meeting with Railway officials of various development projects pending in the state.
The Maharashtra government has said that the Company which is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been formed to ensure that the various development projects are completed in a time bound manner. Fadnavis would soon be meeting Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in order to fix the modalities of how Railway officials would be members in this company and how many funds would be allocated by the Railways as well as by the state for the company.
Some of the projects that would be undertaken through this SPV would be the setting up of the Beed-Parli- Baijnath railway line. In Marathwada the state would also use the SPV to clear the decks for the land acquisition for the Wardha- Yavatmal- Nanded line.
Fadnavis also discussed with Railway officials to prepare a plan for building a Metro from the Mumbai Airport to Naina in Navi Mumbai in order to connect to the new Navi Mumbai airport and also asked Railway officials to simultaneously prepare a detailed plan for an elevated line from CST to Panvel.
The Maharashtra government has said that the Company which is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been formed to ensure that the various development projects are completed in a time bound manner. Fadnavis would soon be meeting Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in order to fix the modalities of how Railway officials would be members in this company and how many funds would be allocated by the Railways as well as by the state for the company.
Some of the projects that would be undertaken through this SPV would be the setting up of the Beed-Parli- Baijnath railway line. In Marathwada the state would also use the SPV to clear the decks for the land acquisition for the Wardha- Yavatmal- Nanded line.
Fadnavis also discussed with Railway officials to prepare a plan for building a Metro from the Mumbai Airport to Naina in Navi Mumbai in order to connect to the new Navi Mumbai airport and also asked Railway officials to simultaneously prepare a detailed plan for an elevated line from CST to Panvel.
NHAI global arm to build roads in Iran, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan
New Delhi: With offers to build roads and highways in Iran, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan coming its way, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to go global, and Roads, Highways and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari will soon set up a separate body — NHAI International — to tap into road building possibilities outside India.
NHAI International will be a set-up outside the existing ambit of NHAI and will have its offices in several countries. It will work as a contractor mostly in neighbouring countries on the same model as railways PSUs -- IRCON, Railtel and RITES -- are undertaking construction and consultancy projects internationally.
"Recently, Iranian foreign Minister met the roads minister in Delhi and requested him to take up the roads and highways construction projects in Iran. We have an excellent opportunity to go international," a senior government official said on the condition of anonymity.
"The ministry has similar proposals from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. We could get similar opportunities in Myanmar and several west Asian countries," the official said. The step would open up a revenue stream for the roads ministry that is planning to award contract worth Rs 5 lakh crore in India in the coming years.
The government has decided to increase India's national highways network to 1.5 lakh km within a year by adding 50,000 km more to the existing network. Roads ministry is already in the process to increase its road building capacity with the target of achieving 30 km of roads construction every day by March 2016. The government is also planning to set up a separate body to undertake its expressways project. The ministry has planned to build more than eight expressways at a cost of Rs 16,500 crore.
"There's a committee set up for the revamp of NHAI. So, we'll act as per its recommendations," the official added.
Other than building roads, the Nitin Gadkari-led ministry is also expanding its wing to build other mass transit projects connecting major cities with the suburbs. There's a proposal to build Rs 4,000 crore mass rapid transport system that connects Manesar to Dhaula Kuan. The work on the project is expected to start by the end of this year.
Under this project, small, fully automatic, driverless vehicles known as pods will travel suspended under an overhead network. The overhead network will be laid on the median of the highway stretch. The project will cost Rs 50 crore per km as against Rs 350 crore per km cost of building a metro network. The government is likely to set up a separate body on the lines of DMRC to build more such projects around the National Capital Region (NCR) and other big cities.
NHAI International will be a set-up outside the existing ambit of NHAI and will have its offices in several countries. It will work as a contractor mostly in neighbouring countries on the same model as railways PSUs -- IRCON, Railtel and RITES -- are undertaking construction and consultancy projects internationally.
"Recently, Iranian foreign Minister met the roads minister in Delhi and requested him to take up the roads and highways construction projects in Iran. We have an excellent opportunity to go international," a senior government official said on the condition of anonymity.
"The ministry has similar proposals from Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. We could get similar opportunities in Myanmar and several west Asian countries," the official said. The step would open up a revenue stream for the roads ministry that is planning to award contract worth Rs 5 lakh crore in India in the coming years.
The government has decided to increase India's national highways network to 1.5 lakh km within a year by adding 50,000 km more to the existing network. Roads ministry is already in the process to increase its road building capacity with the target of achieving 30 km of roads construction every day by March 2016. The government is also planning to set up a separate body to undertake its expressways project. The ministry has planned to build more than eight expressways at a cost of Rs 16,500 crore.
"There's a committee set up for the revamp of NHAI. So, we'll act as per its recommendations," the official added.
Other than building roads, the Nitin Gadkari-led ministry is also expanding its wing to build other mass transit projects connecting major cities with the suburbs. There's a proposal to build Rs 4,000 crore mass rapid transport system that connects Manesar to Dhaula Kuan. The work on the project is expected to start by the end of this year.
Under this project, small, fully automatic, driverless vehicles known as pods will travel suspended under an overhead network. The overhead network will be laid on the median of the highway stretch. The project will cost Rs 50 crore per km as against Rs 350 crore per km cost of building a metro network. The government is likely to set up a separate body on the lines of DMRC to build more such projects around the National Capital Region (NCR) and other big cities.
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