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Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:17 am
by jamwal
There is no better way of countering fake propaganda than with real data with verifiable sources. This thread is meant s repository of news links, videos, images and other data which highlights the good work done by Modi government since 2014. Kindly post only data and refrain from discussions.

I had started collecting such news items on my website some time back http://jjamwal.in/yayavar/bjp-governmen ... racking-1/

This is the main Google Docs sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... ingle=true

Please feel free to suggest any news item I have missed

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:24 am
by jamwal
1. Raise the height of Sardar Sarovar dam
After a wait of eight long years, the Gujarat government has got the final clearance to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar dam from 121.92 metres to 138.68 metres.The decision was taken at the crucial meeting of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) in New Delhi on Thursday. JN Singh, managing director, Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) confirmed the development.Senior government officials say at the Full Reservoir Level of 138.68 metres, there would be assured water for irrigation to an additional area of 6.8 lakh hectares, an additional 40% power generation, and enhanced water supply. Raising of Narmada dam height to 138.68 meters will take at least 36 to 40 months once started. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 436408.cms

Infrastructure 20/06/2014 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com//photo/36453321.cms


2 Fear of Narendra Modi makes babus finalize plans in 24 hours

Within hours of President Pranab Mukherjee speaking on the Modi government's priorities, some of the ministries have started preparing detailed sketches of some of the proposed programmes. Sources said that the schemes have been picked by the Prime Minister's Office and the ministries were asked to draw up detailed plans quickly. This is being seen as a move by the PMO secretariat to identify the schemes and programmes that can be first tracked with a clear focus. In certain cases, the ministries had to prepare rough plans within a day as there was no word from the PMO or the Cabinet secretariat on when the PM will review presentations. All the departments have sent their presentations to the Cabinet secretariat. On Tuesday, senior officials across ministries were busy preparing "responses" to issues referred to them by the PMO. Government officials said that considering the government's commitment to ensuring hygiene by providing drinking water and toilets in every household, the drinking water and sanitation ministry is preparing a detailed plan on "Swach Bharat Mission". Similarly, the consumer affairs department is preparing a detailed plan for expansion and detailed monitoring of essential commodities across the country so that early trends can be detected for taking necessary steps.The urban development and housing ministries are preparing a roadmap for making cities better and more efficient while also chalking out plans to develop new cities. The housing ministry is working out a strategy to enable the private and public sectors to create enough house stock to achieve "right to house" furing the NDA's tenure. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 367492.cms Administration


3 Road projects along China border to get fast-track approval

After giving two quick green clearances to defence projects, the environment ministry has now decided to fast-track road projects along India-China border. These road projects within 100 kilometres of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are crucial for troop movements and other related developments for security point of view.A decision on environmental and forest clearances on building defence infrastructure in areas in the 100 km-range from the LAC can be taken by the state governments concerned, environment minister Prakash Javadekar said. "Construction of roads within 100 kilometres of Line of Actual Control will be given fast-track approval", said the environment minister Prakash Javadekar. A policy in this regard will be formulated very soon, he told reporters. The 4,056-km-long LAC with China touches four states — J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Interestingly, it is the second such decision keeping China in mind. The ministry has earlier given its go ahead to set up a radar station at Narcondam in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.The project was pending for long despite repeated requests from the defence establishment which wanted to install the radar at the strategic location in view of suspected Chinese presence and "listening post" on nearby Coco Island.Though Coco Island in the Bay of Bengal belongs to Myanmar, China is learnt to have set up extensive infrastructure there.Referring to the delays in grating clearances to such vital projects under previous government, Javadekar said, "Delays in Defence projects were due to case by case decision making process. We'll make policy laid decisions. We will put policies in place". http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 429978.cms Infrastructure Defence


4 Working a 6-day week? No problem! Bureaucrats are loving Modi’s iron-fist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told India's civil servants to throw out dusty files, clear clutter from corridors and may even demand that they work a six-day week. The apparatchiks? They are apparently loving it. Within days of taking office, Modi issued 10 administrative commandments. The first: Build Up Confidence in the Bureaucracy."This is unprecedented. Power has been shifted," said Suhaib Ilyasi, editor of Bureaucracy Today, a professional journal."The bureaucrats are feeling happy - even though they will have to work harder," added Ilyasi. In a readers' poll, more than 70 percent backed Modi's shakeup. It's a huge turnaround for a state apparatus that, despite recruiting its top cadres through tough competitive examinations, has been ranked Asia's worst by one political risk consultancy. In a two-pronged attack, Modi has targeted slovenliness in government offices - often grimy places where red spit from chewed betel nut stains walls, toilets are rarely cleaned, and discarded furniture and rotting files clog corridors. In an edict seen by Reuters he demanded "hygiene and cleanliness". Offices must be "cleared and spruced up"; each department should scrap 10 archaic rules; and forms should be no longer than one page. Change has been dramatic at government buildings across the colonial-era heart of New Delhi. Outside the Agriculture Ministry, unused files and old computers were piled up to be taken to a junk yard. Missing ceiling tiles have been replaced in passageways to cover looseables. The Health Ministry issued a statement saying that 35 steel cabinets, three water coolers and 40 chairs had been cleared from its corridors. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched an tender to auction off "obsolete/unusable/unserviceable items". http://www.firstbiz.com/corporate/worki ... 87549.html Administration Administration


5 Investments to get push as Modi govt takes green clearances online Of the 285 projects that have been stalled, around 44 percent are blocked due to pending environment clearances. Most of the projects are in the field of energy - power, coal and petroleum. Prakash Javadekar, the new minister of state for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, announced the online service system for TOR (Terms of Reference) and environment clearances. "For 25 days, submissions can be done both online and in the form of hard copies. But from 1 July, it will be fully online. That is our beginning of transparency. One need not visit the office but submit their proposals online," Javadekar said. The new system will allow applicants as well as authorities to keep a check on the entire process while adhering to the timeline of various clearances\rejections. The government is likely to launch an online system for forest department clearances as well. http://www.firstpost.com/india/investme ... 58893.html Infrastructure Economy
6 Narendra Modi to MPs: Ask SC to fast-track your cases Declaring that there should be no space for criminals in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought the support of lawmakers to ask Supreme Court to complete trials of pending cases against MPs within a year. The PM, who has spoken of fast tracking pending criminal cases against MPs during his campaign, said such an initiative will help punish the guilty and remove the taint from those MPs who are falsely charged. "Would it not be better if the guilty are punished? Then every time you file an affidavit you don't have to put down a case that some NGO will highlight as a pending criminal investigation," Modi said in Rajya Sabha while replying to the debate on the President's address to Parliament. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 405187.cms Administration


7 PM Narendra Modi scraps 4 Cabinet Committees, including one on UIDAI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening abolished four cabinet committees, including the one dealing with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and decided to reconstitute five top cabinet panels that deal with Security, Economic affairs, Political and Parliamentary affairs and appointments, taking another significant step towards his goal of downsizing the government. The decision to do away with cabinet committees dealing with Prices, World Trade Organisation, UIDAI and natural calamities comes ten days after the Modi administration scrapped all the groups of ministers set up by the UPA to deal with prickly policy proposals. http://articles.economictimes.indiatime ... ecretariat Administration Administration
8 Modi govt puts NGOs under scan following IB warning The Prime Minister's Office has written to all the ministries twice, asking them to furnish details of NGOs working with them on various projects. This comes soon after the PMO received a report from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) alleging that NGOs were threatening India's economic security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the discussion on President's address in Lok Sabha in New Delhi. The letters were sent on June 3 and 5 by Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi, to all the secretaries heading various central ministries. The first letter, issued on June 3, merely sought details of all autonomous bodies and NGOs working with the ministries."This is for the first time that the PMO has sought such information. Ministries have been asked to give details of all autonomous bodies working under them, what is their function etc," said a senior government official who requested anonymity. "The PMO has also sought information on NGOs working with ministries such as when were they appointed and details of projects they are working on. We were just told that the PMO wanted to update its database."The second letter issued on June 5 is much more detailed and seeks extensive details about the NGOs and the projects in which they are partnering with the ministries. It seeks details of the NGO, its affiliations, people on its board, foreigners working with it and details of their employment and visa, as well as Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) clearance. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new ... 28881.aspx Administration Administration Defence


9 1,200 years of servitude: Modi offers food for thought

Barah sau saal ki gulami ki maansikta humein pareshan kar rahi hai. Bahut baar humse thoda ooncha vyakti mile, to sar ooncha karke baat karne ki humari taaqat nahin hoti hai (The slave mentality of 1,200 years is troubling us. Often, when we meet a person of high stature, we fail to muster strength to speak up). Those were some seminal words in the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He was speaking as part of the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address to the joint session of the Parliament on 9 June. The key phrase was – "1,200 years of slave mentality". Makkhan Lal, historian and former ICHR Council member, says, "The prime minister has stated historical facts. He was not asserting to political correctness. Whether Ghoris, Ghaznavis, or the rulers of the Sultanate or the Mughal period, they were all foreigners originally. They didn't belong to the culture of the land then. They came from outside, waged wars against the local rulers, took them captive and in many cases, plundered the resources and ruled the land by enslaving the locals." The question, it seems, is not about foreign rule or local rule, but about 'slavery' or subservience to a foreign power that gave birth to slave mentality. Lal elaborates, "Had the British not left India in 1947, and stayed on and become one among the Indians, they too would have begun to be considered as non-foreign." http://www.firstpost.com/politics/1200- ... 67805.html


10 Employees to get pension payment order on retirement day: Govt

The government has decided to give pension payment order to an employee on the day of his or her retirement, Union minister Jitendra Singh said today. The Department of Pension and Pensioner’s Welfare is working with the vision of ensuring the life of dignity for pensioners, the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said. “The goal is to ensure 100 per cent payment of all retirement dues and the delivery of pension payment order to retiring employees on the day of retirement itself,” he said at the first interactive conference with state secretaries (Pension) here.The Department of Pension and Pensioner’s Welfare has taken a number of steps including review of forms and simplification of procedures. An online Pension Sanction & Payment Tracking System called BHAVISHYA has been launched, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Personnel. http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/p ... 37989.html Administration

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:59 am
by jamwal
11 National acc wiil be-appointing authority for top officers

Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC), led by PM, will be solely responsible for senior-level appointments in Govt. It will ensure that senior positions (Secretary and above) are not left vacant for a long time, and that there is no corruption or favoritism in these appointments. All officers selected have to be proposed through an online process ACC Vacancy Monitoring System (AVMS). Through this AVMS, the Govt will monitor the status of vacancies, and ensure transparency in appointments. http://www.jagran.com/news/national-acc ... tml?src=p1 Administration

12 PM Modi kicks into gear with defence, dam projects
The new government kicked into gear this week, clearing billions of dollars worth of long-delayed defence projects, including a big Navy base, as well as approving the scaling-up of one of the country's biggest dams.The decision to give the projects the go-ahead despite concern about their environmental and social impact signals Prime Minister Narendra Modi's no-nonsense approach to issues he considers to be important for national security.The clearances were made over several days and were the first major decisions from the government that swept to power on May 16 on promises of getting Asia's third-largest economy moving and building a stronger country.Environment minister Prakash Javadekar said the government could not compromise on efforts to build military and civil infrastructure on the border with China as well the west-coast naval base in as an alternative to crowded Mumbai port.As well as the $2 billion extension to the Karwar base Karnataka, Javadekar approved a radar station in the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal. A defence source said he also planned to fast-track road building along the disputed border with China. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 501725.cms Infrastructure Defence

13 India joins Washington Accord – Smriti Irani scores a win
For a country where the best technical minds, after passing out from top technology institutes like IITs, pursue MBA courses and end up with financially lucrative business management jobs, India’s becoming a permanent signatory to Washington Accord is good news. In what can well be an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enhance India’s technical education and in turn its technical expertise significantly, India joined an elite 17-member group of permanent signatories of the Washington Accord. Washington Accord is an international accreditation agreement for engineering degrees among prominent nations of the world. The agreement is aimed at promoting mobility and quality assurance of engineers across international boundaries. The Accord requires member nations to ensure that the highest quality assurance standards are implemented in their technical and engineering programmes. http://www.niticentral.com/2014/06/13/w ... 31642.html Foreign policy


14 Power sector poised for biggest revival in recent years The new government's resolve to pursue economic reforms appears set to catalyse the power sector's biggest revival in recent years. On the back of positive market sentiment, distressed power projects are finding buyers, companies are putting in equity and equipment orders are getting finalised. This comes after a nearly four-year-long dry spell, during which shortage of funds and policy issues hobbled development. Experts say the sector is recovering faster than expected as companies believe a pick-up in economic growth will lead to a surge in electricity demand. Industrial production in India grew at 3.4% in April due to improved performance of the manufacturing, mining and power sectors and higher output of capital goods. "We are hoping for a big revival in the power sector," said Ashok Khurana, director general of Association of Power Producers. "The sector is now looking up and waiting for a concrete set of actions to handle issues of fuel security, transmission congestion and electricity off-take." Kameswara Rao, PwC India's leader for energy, said action that had slowed midway is now picking up. "Projects that were lying low have gathered some energy. The promoters of the projects that are half through have picked up pace of work," he said. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ind ... 679780.cms Infrastructure Economy

15 Rajnath singh reviews citizens database scheme

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday asked officials to speedily create a National Population Register (NPR). At a review meeting, the minister said effective steps should be taken to push the project to its logical conclusion, an official release said here. The NPR scheme is the biggest security and e-governance initiative in the world. Rajnath Singh instructed that all necessary proposals, including the updating of the database through linkages with the birth and death registration system and the issuance of national identity cards to citizens, be brought for approval at the earliest. http://www.lensonnews.com/lensonnews/1/ ... cheme.html Administration


16 All panchayats to get broadband links in 3 years: Minister

All nearly 2.5 lakh village panchayats in the country will be provided broadband connectivity in three years, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Tuesday. Talking to reporters here, Prasad said 50,000 village panchayats will be provided broadband connections in the current financial year. “Another one lakh will get in 2015-16 and the rest in 2016-17. All the village panchayats will be connected to broadband by the end of financial year 2016-17,” the minister said http://headlinesindia.mapsofindia.com/s ... 64405.html Infrastructure

17 Narendra Modi perks global interest in Hindi
The Indian Prime Minister although quite able of conversing in English is known to prefer Hindi or Gujarati and while there have been other national leaders who have chosen to converse in their regional language no one has quite been able to captivate a country the way Narendra Modi and his speeches did. His choice of language(s) has forced people, who have, who aspire for and who despair of an English education, long touted as the ticket to success, to take a long hard look at their own linguistic history. The report quotes PN Vasanti, the Director of the Centre for Media Studies in New Delhi who says http://www.niticentral.com/2014/06/18/n ... 31834.html Foreign policy

18 One Stop Crisis Centre: A ray of hope for rape survivors
With the entire country facing outrage and disenchantment due to increasing incidents of crimes against women, the new dispensation at the Centre has taken the first steps towards putting things back in order. Within a month of its coming to power, the Narendra Modi Government has opened India’s first One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) for women in Bhopal. http://www.niticentral.com/2014/06/18/o ... 31885.html Administration

19 NDA readies big push for capital goods

In an attempt to provide impetus to India’s ailing manufacturing sector, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is drawing up a Rs.10,000 crore plan to boost localization of at least 10 key technologies in the capital goods sector. A cabinet note seeking government approval for the plan was circulated last week by the department of heavy industries.The project, which will first start as a pilot at six Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Central Machine Tools Institute with a grant of Rs.920 crore, will work on key technologies that cannot be “bought” or “brought” by India. The government will also enlist industry as a partner in the project, aimed at reviving the Rs.1.85 trillion Indian capital goods sector. http://www.livemint.com/Industry/df7X2p ... goods.html Infrastructure Administration


20 Centre cracks the whip on NGOs, direct foreign funding put on hold

Acting on Intelligence Bureau's recommendation, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday put on hold direct funding of NGOs from abroad. The MHA has directed the Reserve Bank of India of Indian to put on hold foreign funding to NGOs. Also, NGOs will have to inform the RBI prior about any funding they receive from abroad. The Centre's action came a day after the IB prepared yet another report on NGO Greenpeace, recommending cancellation of permission given to it for collecting funds abroad besides reassessment of its tax compliance. The IB had sought that foreign donations to the Greenpeace be put on "prior category" list so that permission is taken before any money flows in for funding their activities. http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/ce ... 40813.html Administration Defence




21 Government clears investment hurdles, gives go ahead to seven projects worth Rs 21,000 crore


The Narendra Modi government has cleared seven big-ticket investment projects worth Rs 21,000 crore, some of whom have been held up for decades, because of hurdles ranging from environmental issues to financing problems. The oldest among them, which has been on the drawing board for over 30 years http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 847309.cms Infrastructure


22 Government allocates Rs.5,000 crore to settle locals along China border

According to sources since the area has almost no infrastructure, local residents have been pushed as far as 50 km from the border, making the areas more vulnerable to incursions by Chinese troops. In the past few years, there have been numerous incursions along the border. "If there are no people living in these areas, the Chinese can claim it to be their territory in case of a border dispute," the official said. According to sources, the fund of `5,000 crore, likely to be approved in the new government's first budget, will be over and above the earlier allocation of `28,000 crore. There are plans to build schools, hospitals, roads and provide all basic amenities to people living here. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/lac- ... 67670.html Infrastructure Defence
23 Narendra Modi government puts Iran's Chabahar port work on fast track The Narendra Modi government has decided to get moving on the long-delayed construction of strategically critical Chabahar port in Iran that would give India easier access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through a shorter route that would also mean being able to avoid Karachi in neighbouring Pakistan. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 907416.cms Administration Foreign policy Defence 21/06/2014


24 Narendra Modi cracks the whip on ministers' foreign travels

UNION ministers will now have to submit proposals of their foreign travels to the PMO “at least 10 days before the proposed date of departure” as against the earlier norm of five days. A recent order issued by the Cabinet Secretariat also states that the proposals for foreign tours will have to incorporate details of the tasks to be accomplished during the visit.Also, those who travel abroad will have to submit a post-visit report to the PM. The same rules will apply during foreign visits undertaken by Secretary/Additional Secretary level officers. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/na ... ls/1262585 Administration


25 Forest ministry greenlights faster, simpler clearances; defence, roads get priority
The Narendra Modi government would augment the administrative support to expert committees on environment, ensure that approvals take virtually no time once due diligence is done and attempt to converge the process of environmental and forest clearances (ECs and FCs), environment minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/fo ... ty/1262507 Administration Economy Defence


26 Security briefings on PM agenda Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take monthly briefings from each of the three military chiefs turning on its head the UPA’s policy of keeping the armed forces away from the centre of decision-making on security policy. For successive years military veterans have complained that the top brass was not adequately consulted by the government despite the inputs they could give in assessing security situations. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140624/j ... 6i417G55aA Defence


27 Modi austerity drive, no new cars for ministers, PMO to monitor spending In a move to probably bring in austerity in his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all the ministers to refrain from buying new cars, said sources. Modi, whose working style had garnered headlines in less than a month of assuming office, has also asked the ministers to take PMO's approval for any purchases above Rs 1 lakh, according to sources. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/modi-austeri ... 37-64.html Administration 1/6/2014


28 Road Min approves over Rs 40,000 crore highway projects

In a boost to the infrastructure sector, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved worth over Rs 40,000 crore of highway projects to be implemented in the next couple of years. These projects are in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Northeastern region. "We have approved projects worth Rs 20,000 crore for Jammu & Kashmir. They include 2-laning and 4-laning of National Highways in the state some roads projects in Leh and Ladakh and we will co-ordinate with the PWD (Public Works Department) of the state for these projects," Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told reporters here. http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/road-mi ... ojects-396 Infrastructure


29 3 satellite cities being planned for re-settlement of Kashmiri Pandits

NDA government's plan to resettle Kashmiri Pandits back in the Valley looks well on course after Centre asked state government to allot 16, 800 kanals of land in three districts for the development of 3 satellite cities.During a meeting between Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah, it was decided that three cities would be developed in 3 districts- Anantnag, Baramullah and Srinagar- to re-settle the displaced Pandits. The 3 cities will be high-tech and well equipped with all basic amenities. http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/NAT-TOP-3 ... 8-NOR.html Administration


30 Thirty days in office, Narendra Modi-led NDA working to keep promises Within 30 days of taking charge, the NDA government has given environment clearance for projects worth about Rs 22,000 crore that needed coal linkages, approved setting up of eight centres for IT manufacturing and raised fares for long distance trains. It has also asked states to remove fruits and vegetables from the APMC act and promised to offload 50 lakh tonnes of rice in the markets to keep retail prices stable. Delhi and Uttarakhand have complied with the directions. And just a day into its second month, the government has decided to take more time to figure out what will be the price of gas extracted from domestic fields, a subject that has become a political hot potato. As of now, the government has eschewed the temptation take a strident path on economic issues. In the case of gas, for instance it has decided to move with caution building up stakeholder consultations.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/th ... es/1264309 Administration


31 Narendra Modi government to club three social security schemes
The Ministry of Labour and Employment plans to launch a pilot in 20 districts from January 1, 2015 to enable unorganised workers to avail benefits of the Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY), Aam Aadmi Bima Yojan (AABY) and Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) via one single smart card. The pilot project would be funded from the National Social Security Fund. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 285706.cms Administration


32 Gadkari zips on development flyway

"Road construction has gone down to three kms a day. Highway projects worth about Rs 60,000 crore are stuck, mainly due to delay over land acquisition and environment and forest clearances," Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told reporters here. "We have managed to find solutions for projects to the tune of Rs 35,000-Rs 45,000 crores. These stalled projects would be up and running in the next three months. We have fast-tracked the processes of clearances," Gadkari said. The Minister said, three months onwards, forest clearance, which is a big impediment and slows down road construction, will no longer be required. "The Government has decided to import truck moulding machines from Canada, which can uproot and replant trees from forest tracks to a fresh location. We will only need to give an affidavit to the forest department on the number of trees transplanted," he said. http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-news ... lyway.html Infrastructure Economy 25/06/2014


33 Govt liberalises defence manufacturing; delicenses products

In a major liberalisation, the government on Thursday allowed manufacturing of several hundreds of equipment and products in the defence sector without licence. Manufacture of products such as sub-assemble items, components, castings, night-visions and surveillance would not require an industrial licence. Simplifying the licensing process, a Commerce and Industry Ministry order listed four categories of products that would require prior permission and freed the rest from any licence condition. Industrial licences would now be required only to make items such as tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles; defence aircraft, spacecraft and parts; warships of all kinds; and arms and ammunition and allied items of defence equipment, parts and accessories. According to a top government official, this is a major breakthrough which would enhance defence manufacturing in the country. "From the earlier list, now we have removed over 50 per cent of items which would not require industrial licence to manufacture. The previous list was a total of 6 pages, out of which 4 pages have been removed. A foreign company too can come and set up units to manufacture those items without prior approval," the official said. http://www.rediff.com/news/report/defen ... 140626.htm Infrastructure Economy Defence


34 Security manual: Audit by IB, Secrets Act on private defence firms

Moving ahead with its plans to promote private industry in the defence sector, the government has issued a set of security guidelines for all licensed defence companies detailing the measures to be put in place for manufacturing sensitive equipment — from an audit by the Intelligence Bureau to setting up elaborate physical defence systems and making the Official Secrets Act (OSA) applicable to employees.The new security manual, applicable to all Indian licensed defence companies, comes after a list of products and technologies requiring a licence by the commerce ministry was released. The government has moved ahead with plans to liberalise foreign direct investment in the sector.The IB will first carry out a security audit of all licensed manufacturers to see how they comply with the regulations. It will have the power to make recommendations to improve security. Directions have also been issued that the visits of all foreign nationals should be reported to local IB authorities. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... nce-firms/ Infrastructure Defence


35 Sri Lanka shuts terror door on Pakistan

Sri Lanka has banned visas on arrival for Pakistanis after investigations showed that jihadist groups targeting India were using Sri Lanka as a transit point. Lanka is also one of the few countries that extended such a facility to Pakistani nationals. Modi, in his first conversations with Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had raised this issue which he said was of particular sensitivity to India. On his return, Rajapaksa is believed to have launched an investigation. The results of the probe have contributed to the decision. In a related development, Sri lankan authorities have been rounding up Pakistani asylum seekers — almost 1,500 of them will be deported back to Pakistan. This has invited sharp criticism from human rights activists and the UN, because many of them are Ahmadiyas (a banned sect in Pakistan) and Shia Muslims. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 423753.cms Foreign policy Defence


36 India, China sign pact to set up Chinese industrial parks in India

India and China today signed a key agreement to set up Chinese Industrial Parks in India as their Commerce Ministers today held the first meeting here after the new NDA government came to power. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 511073.cms Economy Foreign policy


37 Rajnath Singh sets a 3-yr deadline for NPR rollout, link to voter ID likely

Giving a thrust to the BJP’s poll promise of weeding out illegal immigrants from the country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has set a three-year deadline for officials to identify Indian citizens in the country through the National Population Register (NPR) project. The government also wants officials to conduct door-to-door verification across the country and issue NPR cards only to Indian nationals. The government is also planning to link NPR to voting rights, which means election identity cards would not be the sole document for eligibility to vote.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... id-likely/ Administration 1/7/2014


38 Register online, get provident fund code within hours Now any employer or establishment can get a provident fund code number within hours of registering online. They will no longer have to chase officials and files to get the PF code with the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). "This will clear hurdles, such as bureaucratic delays, and hopefully portability of the code number will also happen soon," labour minister Narendra Singh Tomar said while launching the online registration system on Monday. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wea ... 555385.cms Administration


39 Now, Rajasthan set to amend Apprentices Act
Sources in the state government say after the amendments, the appointment of apprentices will be voluntary and industry will be allowed to design courses according to their needs. “We are not changing the provisions of the Act regarding the punishment. What we are doing is making it more flexible. There will be less prosecution in such cases. The intention is to generate more employment the way we are doing through amendments to other three Acts,” Rajiv Mehrishi, chief secretary of Rajasthan, told Business Standard. “The Apprentices Act, 1961, was written for a very different India. It has scared away employers because it requires an employer to seek a licence for every apprentice. It has imprisonment provisions for not engaging with the Act. Also, it micro-specifies location, duration and trades,” said Manish Sabharwal, who headed the Planning Commission’s sub-committee on remodelling India’s apprenticeship regime. “Apprentices are vital to building skills,” he adds.India has only 300,000 apprentices, compared with three million in Germany, 10 million in Japan and 10 million in China. The Act was last amended in 1973 to bring the training of graduate and diploma holders in engineering and technology under its purview. http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 025_1.html Economy Administration


40 India's services PMI hits 17-month high in June India's private sector output witnessed significant uptrend in June as both manufacturing and services sector registered solid rate of expansion, driven by robust order flows and stronger business sentiment, an HSBC survey said on Thursday. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 689968.cms Economy


41 660 Nirbhaya Centres for women violence victims
660 Nirbhaya Centres for women violence victims: At least 660 rape crisis centres will be established across the country and named as Nirbhaya centres, as a tribute to the victim of December 16, 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. The centres will be set up in all the 640 districts and 20 additional locations in the country and the project will cost 477 crores approximately, Women and Child Development Ministry officials said. The Women and Child Development Ministry has already prepared the concept note which has been approved by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and has been sent to various stakeholders like Ministry of Law, Finance, Tribal Affairs, Health, Social Justice and Empowerment and Minority Affairs seeking their suggestions. http://news.rediff.com/commentary/2014/ ... ccfafa18c9 Administration


42 Passport delivery to become hassle-free, no police verification in case of renewal
The passport delivery system could soon become hassle-free and quick. On the directions of the chief passport officer in the ministry of external affairs, Mumbai may lead the way to do away with cumbersome processes that currently delay the issuance of a passport. Maria said specific bottlenecks in the police verification process have been identified and stringent measures taken to ensure that the entire exercise is completed in a time-bound period. "It was bringing a bad name to Mumbai Police. In addition, there were charges of corruption too. I am sure, once the new system comes into force, passport delivery will be hassle-free," Maria said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 724655.cms Administration


43 Four new vaccines in national immunization programme
The Indian government Thursday introduced four new vaccines, including one for Japanese Encephalitis (JE), in the national immunization programme, which will now provide free vaccines against 13 life-threatening diseases to 27 million children annually. The decision to introduce the vaccines for rotavirus, rubella and polio (injectable) as part of the universal immunization programme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official here said. The JE vaccine would be available for adults in 179 districts in nine states where the disease is highly prevalent."The introduction of four new lifesaving vaccines, will play a key role in reducing the childhood and infant mortality and morbidity in the country. "Many of these vaccines are already available through private practitioners to those who can afford them. The government will now ensure that the benefits of vaccination reach all sections of the society, regardless of social and economic status," said Modi. http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/four-new ... LATESTNEWS Administration

44 Govt to bring in 24-hour TV channel for farmers
Farmers will soon have a 24-hour TV channel dedicated to agriculture and related issues, providing the farming community with information related to aspects like weather forecast and seeds. To be named 'DD Kisan', the government and the Prasar Bharati are working on finalising the plans for launching the channel at the earliest. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 890102.cms Economy


45 ‘No relevance’, Centre asks UN mission to vacate Delhi office

The Narendra Modi government has asked the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to vacate the government bungalow housing its office in the heart of the Capital, in a sign of its toughening stand towards the UN mission. The Indian Express has learnt that South Block has asked the UNMOGIP to vacate the bungalow — 1AB, Purana Qila Road — which has been serving as its office for the last four decades. The government accommodation — a Type VII bungalow, about 7,000 square feet — was allotted to the UN mission “free of charge”.Sources said in its recent communication to the UN, the government has conveyed that the UNMOGIP’s role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. New Delhi is of the view that the UNMOGIP has “no relevance or role to play whatsoever”.The UNMOGIP, established under a UN Security Council Resolution, was meant to supervise the ceasefire line established under the Karachi Agreement of July 1949. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... hi-office/ Foreign policy Defence 8/7/2014

46 New advisory to end ‘inspector raj’
To usher in greater ease of doing business, the government has taken steps to rein in the notorious "inspector raj". In an advisory to all ministries which is aimed to check fishing expeditions by inspectors, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has said no inspection of business premises and factories should be done unless it is approved by the head of the department. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 036699.cms Administration
47 Iraq- Doval made mission impossible possible At one point in time bringing back the Indians from Iraq looked like an impossible task considering the mentality of the ISIS. The ISIS was in fact thinking of taking into their fold as many Indians as possible not with an intent of killing them, but to use them as shields and also for the sake of global publicity. However with militant you never know and what could trigger off a brutal assault. http://vickynanjappa.com/2014/07/09/ira ... -possible/ Defence


48 India starts first major coal mine in at least five years
Coal India Ltd started production on Friday at a 12-million-tonnes-per-year mine, its first major new project in at least five years, which should help boost supplies to fuel-starved power plants. The world's biggest Coal miner has struggled to raise output fast enough to meet rising demand from power companies, making India the world's third-largest coal importer despite sitting on the fifth-biggest reserves. Central Coalfields Chairman Gopal Singh said the opening of the mine, its first in decades, was fast-tracked on the orders of new Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, who took charge about 45 days ago."The minister has given us strict orders to raise output," Singh said at an event where Goyal inaugurated the mine from a New Delhi hotel using video conferencing.Goyal said many more such projects were needed to help India provide power to all, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in May won India's strongest election mandate in 30 years on promises of growth. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ind ... 247670.cms Economy Infrastructure


49 Centre to shield businesses from dreaded 'inspector raj' with new system

Even as the Centre holds consultations with stakeholders to amend various contentious labour legislation, the NDA regime has decided to strike at the much-dreaded inspector raj introducing a new inspection system that will shield business establishments against frequent harassment and rent-seeking. Under the new system, which is likely to come in force from September, inspectors will not be authorised to visit factories or business units unless there exists a “prima facie evidence” of wrong-doing. Besides, if the inspectors fail to upload their inspection report within 72 hours on a unified portal, which is being developed, it will “not be deemed legitimate”, according to sources. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ce ... em/1270288 Administration
50 Railways' 'silent killers': Now, trains won't stop at 'MP stops' A LONG list of additional train stoppages, mostly cleared after pressure from local MPs, costs the Railways department about Rs 1 crore daily. Now, the cash-strapped ministry has decided to scrap as many as 1,250 such stoppages across the country.While the ministry has told Parliament that the stoppages are being reviewed, sources confirmed that these will cease to exist by September.An internal costing exercise done as part of the Rail Budget found that each additional stop was costing the Railways about Rs 8,000 on account of fuel and other operational expenses. On the other hand, the Railways was earning less than Rs 500 per stoppage.The net revenue loss per year was estimated to add up to a whopping Rs 300 crore. The ministry’s bookkeepers unofficially refer to these stoppages as “silent killers”.Trains linking Bihar and Kerala are among those which have the highest number of such stoppages. Of the total 2,400 such stoppages, 1,250 have been listed as commercially “unwanted and unaffordable”.These stoppages were generally approved after MPs cited demand from residents. Most of these MPs have not been re-elected. Many of them had agreed that the stoppage would be cancelled if it did not have the desired effect on ticket sales. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/tr ... ps/1270285 Economy Administration


51 Economy report after one month of Modi government: Growth looks up, inflation cools
The first full month under the Narendra Modi government's watch turned out to be a good one for the economy with macro indicators looking up and inflation lower despite lingering monsoon doubts, suggesting that growth could have finally bottomed out. Exports rose 10.2% in June from a year ago, the government said on Wednesday, marking yet another positive development following a series of good numbers in recent days that suggest the economy is picking up from decade-low growth http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst Economy Foreign policy

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:59 am
by jamwal
There are more than 700 links presently. Some help with posting them here will be appreciated

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 6:03 am
by jamwal
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... s?from=mdr

Calls at Re 1/minute: Government's 'Diwali gift' for soldiers
The Ministry of Communications on Wednesday announced a "Diwali gift" for the armed and para-military forces, in the form of reduced call rates on Digital Satellite Phone Terminal (DSPT), to ensure that they can speak to their loved ones for "longer durations."
"It's a Diwali gift from the ministry to soldiers. They can now talk to their families for longer durations without worrying about the charges,"Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said.
Earlier, soldiers paid a monthly sum of Rs 500 and Rs 5 per minute as call charges on most connections on DSPT.
The government's move drastically reduces call rates, from Rs 5 to Re 1 per minute.
"Starting tomorrow, the monthly charge on DSPT will be completely discarded. For phone calls, instead of Rs 5 per minute, soldiers will now have to pay Re 1 per minute," the minister added.
देश की विभिन्न सेना के जवानों और अधिकारियों द्वारा उपयोग की जाने वाली डीएसपीटी सेवा(Satellite सेवा) पर कोई भी मासिक... https://t.co/e8TVQ3eY8p
— Manoj Sinha (@manojsinhabjp) 1508324423000
Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said the move will cost the government Rs 3-4 crore per annum.

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 7:21 am
by jamwal
https://twitter.com/ask0704/status/923259695653105664
This is vintage narendra bhai :) .: listen to @narendramodi s conversation with a BJP worker in Gujarati (via IT)

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:52 am
by Gus
https://www.quora.com/What-development- ... ?srid=m0hg

The village had continuous electric supply during my stay. Villagers told me they experience 24X7 electricity for most days of the month.

There were solar powered LED streetlights in the village.
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Friend’s house which was made from wooden roof and cow dung floor had LED blubs. I asked his father at what price did he purchased them, to which he replied that the Govt’s people distributed free LED bulbs in the village
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LPG Gas Cylinder and Gas Stove:
My friend promised me Rice Bhakris made on a wood stove for dinner. When I entered the kitchen I was surprised to see them owning a gas stove and an LPG connection. I was told the Govt gave them a free LPG Cylinder and after paying Rs.400–500 they even got the gas stove.
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This was a toilet built by the government but it didn’t had a water connection. I took a bucket , it was still a lot better than taking a “lota” to the woods.
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The main occupation of the village people was Rice farming. It was the harvest season going on. My friend’s father told me they don’t have enough man power to harvest their crop , so we all friends decided to volunteer in harvesting. The crop was full and healthy, they were getting a bumper crop since past few years , thanks to Rain Gods and access to proper fertilizers.
I came to know from the farmers whom I interacted with that once the Urea which very difficult to get and the farmers had to pay twice the price is now available cheap and is in surplus but comes with neem coating.

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:21 pm
by jamwal
Three Years In, Modi Remains Very Popular
Broad public satisfaction with economy; declining support for U.S.


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Indians’ approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their satisfaction with both their country’s direction and the state of its economy have grown in recent years. Three years into Modi’s five-year tenure, the honeymoon period for his administration may be over but the public’s love affair with current conditions in India is even more intense.

Nearly nine-in-ten Indians hold a favorable opinion of Modi, comparable to their view of him in 2015, after a year in office. Roughly seven-in-ten say they have a very favorable view of the prime minister, again similar to public views in 2015.

These are among the main findings of a Pew Research Center survey conducted among 2,464 respondents in India from Feb. 21 to March 10, 2017.
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Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:33 pm
by Indrad
Due to GD political drama thread getting hijacked by whiners we need to post achievements here it seems...

Kuwait waiver

Modi govt sent a delegation to Kuwait under Gen V K Singh recently. Kuwait was threatening to throw out Indians who have over stayed or who are employed in jobs not included in their visa. Also imposing hefty fine on low wage workers before expulsion.
After talks w Gen Singh Kuwait has agreed to grant amnesty, also given chance to workers to apply for appropriate visa and no fine.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri ... 622085.cms

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 10:14 am
by Indrad
New Anti-Maoist strategy delivers results, Red Corridor shrinks to 58 districts https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... s?from=mdr

Latest data compiled by CRPF shows that the number of districts under the grip of Maoist violence has dropped significantly since 2015, with over 90% of attacks being reported from only four states — Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

While 75 districts across nine states reported violent attacks by Naxals in 2015, the number came down to 67 in 2016 and dropped to 58 in 2017, touted as the best year for the security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations.

Officials attributed the success to the revamped strategy to target senior Maoist leaders and their informers with enhanced and precise intelligence. Officials said there are more joint operations by the CRPF, the IAF, the BSF, the ITBP and state forces. Along with the operations, the administration is speeding up development work, including installation of mobile phone towers and construction of roads, besides setting up police stations in remote villages.

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 10:18 am
by Indrad
For the FIRST time since Credit Suisse/Oxfam reports on Global Wealth/Inequality began, India registers a SHARP reduction in Income Inequality
https://twitter.com/ARanganathan72/stat ... 4780845056

income inequality widely reported in media is incorrect.
1% of India's richest hold 45% of her wealth, and not 73%. That figure, 73%, is held by 10% of India's richest. In fact, India fares better than China and the World as a whole http://publications.credit-suisse.com/t ... F7EE506040

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:54 am
by Primus
Got my issue of 'Science' today. Surprised to see the top news item being 'India Plans to Land Near Moon's South Pole'.

Apparently ISRO plans to launch a mission to the moon this summer, named Chandrayaan-2 which will attempt to make a soft landing 600KM from the south pole and then release a rover to explore the area, looking for how much water there is and so on. This area has never been explored before since almost all the previous missions focused on the equatorial zones. It is much more complicated a task to land here since it is difficult to control from Earth and there is poor light, reducing the amount of solar power that can be generated.

The article also reminds the reader that it was India's Chandrayaan-1 in 2009 that first discovered water on the moon whereas prior to that it was simply speculation.

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 7:56 am
by Lilo
India shows neighbours the way out of tax trap - FT

Demonetisation drive and GST push up income tax filings to record high

Narendra Modi’s occasionally fumbled attempts at economic reform have achieved one big success: for the first time in its post-independence history, India appears to be building a stable tax base to fund its long-neglected public services.

Since India’s prime minister announced the abrupt cancellation of 86 per cent of the country’s cash in late 2016, tax officials have reported that millions of people have registered to pay tax for the first time.

According to India’s latest economic survey, 10.1m people filed income tax returns for the first time between November 2016 and November 2017, compared with an average of 6.2m in the preceding six years.

Since then, small businesses have flocked to sign up for the country’s new national goods and services tax, which has boosted its indirect tax base by 50 per cent.

The numbers are so stark that some say it will go down as Mr Modi’s greatest economic legacy, while others are offering India as a model for other developing countries looking to tackle widespread tax evasion.

Sudhir Kapadia, a tax partner at EY in India, said: “Both demonetisation and the GST have led to a jump in the number of people filing income-tax returns, though it has taken a while for the results to filter through. Along with the new insolvency code, this will go down as the most effective reform Modi has implemented.”

India has long suffered from a narrow tax base, with many of the country’s richest people finding ingenious ways to avoid declaring their income to the government. 

Total tax revenues in 2016 amounted to about 17 per cent of gross domestic product, according to the country’s annual economic survey. That is only 4 percentage points above where it was in the mid-1980s. Economic growth has averaged 6.5 per cent since then.

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India’s tax-GDP ratio is the lowest of all the Brics countries, with China at 20 per cent, Russia at 22 per cent, South Africa at 26 per cent and Brazil at 32 per cent. The average for OECD countries is 34 per cent, according to data from the IMF and the OECD.

As a result, India suffers from underfunded public services, leading to lower literacy rates and lower life expectancy than most of its fellow middle-income countries. Other South Asian countries are in an even worse position: Pakistan’s tax-GDP ratio for 2016-17 was 12.5 per cent, while that in Bangladesh is about 11 per cent.

But there are signs that might be about to change for India.

When Mr Modi announced his “demonetisation” experiment, he listed tackling tax evasion as one reason, with many Indians hiding their wealth in banknotes at home. 

The immediate evidence was that the policy had not achieved its goal of filtering out untaxed cash — 99 per cent of outstanding notes were successfully deposited back into the banking system. But since then, tax officials have reported a jump in the number of tax returns being filed, as account holders have been forced to declare previously hidden money to the authorities.

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Last year’s introduction of the GST has also helped boost the number of people and businesses filing returns.

Under the new system, every business, down to the smallest market stall, must register for the tax if it wants to claim tax credits on its supplies. As a result, the number of businesses registered to pay indirect tax has risen more than 50 per cent to about 10m.

So far, GST collections have not been as high as the government had hoped, indicating that many of the new registrants are falling below the threshold to pay it. 

But merely the fact that they have had to register means that many small business owners are now no longer able to hide their income from the tax authorities. Partly as a result, the number of personal income tax returns filed in 2017-18 jumped by 26 per cent.

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“There has been an increase in tax compliance — that is being seen in the number of firms registered for GST and a big pick-up in income tax collection,” said Sonal Varma, an analyst at Nomura.

While the overall number of individuals registered for tax remains low at just 61m in a country of 1.3bn, the 2018 economic survey estimates demonetisation and GST alone have already contributed to an additional 1.8m registrations.

Arvind Subramanian, the government’s chief economic adviser, said he thought the flood of new tax filers should boost the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio by 1.5 percentage points over the next two to three years.

The benefits could be undone if the government chooses to raise the minimum salary for paying income tax, as previous governments have often done. But Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, chose not to do so in the last Budget, and Mr Subramanian has said: “I don’t think we’re going to err on that again.”

He told the Financial Times: “Having a consistently buoyant source of revenue will help the fiscal outlook in the medium term, and can provide more room for spending on human capital such as health and education.

“But more importantly, the more people pay tax the more people feel a connection with the state. It provides a democratic boost as well as an economic one.”

He added: “What India has done especially with the complexity and scale of the GST offers a model for other developing countries.”
Now as fresh GST data keeps coming in even FT(which had previously pooh poohed DeMo) now hails DeMo and GST as runaway successes when it comes to increasing India's abysmally low tax base and prescribes the same to India's neighbors .

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 2:51 am
by Hari Seldon
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Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 4:06 am
by Hari Seldon
Copy pasting a few excerpts of this commendable dhaga by sanjeev sanyal. https://twitter.com/sanjeevsanyal/statu ... 8100878336
A historic moment! Tata buys Bhushan Steel for Rs 36k crores + 12 pc equity. Cheque handed over. First big case fully resolved under IBC. This is as important as 1991 in our economic history 1/n

Till 1991 we had socialism without entry (except those who could procure a license). Then we had capitalism without exit. Finally we have a market based system that allows creative destruction. 2/n

Not only did Tatas buy Bhushan, the recovery amount is over 90pc of the principal amount. Most of this will now go back to the banks and start their recovery. Expect more resolutions soon 3/n

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:55 am
by Lilo
India jumps to 6th from 9th in top-10 manufacturers list: Report

NEW DELHI, APR 2

With its ranking going up by three places, India has now been ranked sixth among the world’s 10 largest manufacturing countries, a UNIDO report has said.

The country previously held the 9th rank.

The Yearbook, published by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), finds that in India, the Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) grew by 7.6 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year.

It also said that the quarterly index of industrial production (IIP) shows 1 per cent growth of manufacturing output in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of previous year.

“India is now the sixth largest manufacturer in the world,” the report said.
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Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:11 am
by Lilo

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:13 pm
by Lilo
WHO report:India able to prevent over 3 lakh deaths due to sanitation-related infectious diseases during 2014 and 2018.

The positive impact on an overall reduction in deaths due to sanitation-related diseases like diarrhoea and protein-energy malnutrition is being attributed to a drastic decrease in open defecation in villages of the country and the phenomenal increase in the number of households with toilets. WHO has reportedly analysed rural health and sanitation data and the health impacts of the Swachh Bharat Grameen mission.

The WHO report also reportedly includes data on the number of deaths over the years due to diarrhoea and protein-energy malnutrition and the decrease in numbers after an increase in household access to toilets in rural India.

19 states and Union Territories have declared themselves ODF so far. According to the WHO report, rural sanitation in India has gone to 89.07% from a mere 45% in 2014. Previously, the state of Uttar Pradesh had registered the highest growth in the number of toilets built in 2017. With the continued pace, the state is now aiming to achieve the ODF status a year ahead of the national target of 2nd October 2019.
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Under Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) progress report by WHO for Ministry of Drinking Water&Sanitation, Rural Sanitation Coverage escalated to 89.07% (till Aug 02, 2018). 19 states&UTs declared ODF,7.9 crore toilets built,421 districts & over 4.9 lakh villages declared ODF.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1025279846216347648
People who have taken a train journey for example would have noticed a new topographical feature hitherto unseen dotting the lower class housing in villages or urban outskirts - i.e single stand alone toilets like below adjacent to each house.

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Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:29 pm
by Lilo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-10qzAngFc
Impressive UDAY Report Card: Energising State-Owned Power DISCOMs

Losses of the state power distribution companies (DISCOMs) down 70 per cent, marked reduction of 5 per cent in the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses, and a near 60 per cent improvement in the most important operating ratio of DISCOMs – the unitised gap between the average cost of supply and average revenue realisation: that’s the impressive report card of UDAY, or the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana announced by the then power minister, Piyush Goyal, in early November 2015.

The three key improvement areas are a culmination of this multi-pronged operational efficiency improvement focus.

The accumulated losses are down 70 per cent to about 1.73 lakh crore in 2017-18 because of two factors. Firstly, as the DISCOM debt was moved to state government books, the cost of debt servicing for DISCOMs has significantly reduced. Secondly, due to reduction in the unitised gap between the average cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realisation (ARR), the pace of making new losses has reduced.

The AT&C losses, often a euphemism for power theft reflecting poor power infrastructure, DISCOM governance, and state policing are now at 18.74 per cent. This figure was almost 24 per cent when UDAY was launched.

As the benefits of UDAY-driven efficiency improvements kick in, the good news for DISCOMs is that there is still a large room for further progress.

The central government firm Energy Efficiency Services Limited is working to procure almost 250 million smart meters and help DISCOMs install them for their large customers. Billing efficiency and potential time of day billing structures can help both DISCOMs and the end customers. Smart metering was also a key aspect of UDAY design, but the progress on this front has been slower compared to other areas. So far, less than 1 per cent of the target for smart metering has been achieved, but pace should pick up in the current financial year.

The central government also wants any state government power subsidies to directly go to the customer accounts via direct benefit transfers (DBT). Currently, states promise cheap per unit power to the consumers and then delay the subsidies to the DISCOMs, which get paid by the end customers at a lower rate. If DBT is used, the state governments will have to pay the consumers directly, who will then pay a fraction of the transferred amount to DISCOMs. This measure will ensure that political parties do not make unreasonable promises to the citizens, and later avoid paying subsidy differentials to the discoms.

The power distribution sector clean up is well and truly on. Bulk of the credit for this goes to Minister Piyush Goyal, who pushed through transformational ideas which made states more accountable both financially and operationally. He ensured that state governments did not leave their respective DISCOMs orphaned, while making unreasonable promises to the voters. There’s still a big distance to cover but the central government has lined up a series of levers to employ as this DISCOM clean up continues.

All these measures will still only bring DISCOMs to a capability level, where they can keep their lights on and strike a balance between their utility role and running a consumer business. The elephant in the room is to ensure round-the-clock, round-the-year power availability to all consumers – residential, industrial and agricultural – in a reliable and affordable manner.

Despite India reducing the gap between power demand and power generation to just 1 per cent, our cities still do not get 24x7 power. The reason is the creaking urban power infrastructure. The DISCOMs have hardly any money to invest in maintaining, let alone completely renovating the power equipment which makes the last-mile supply possible. Currently, the UDAY induced improvements are guiding DISCOMs towards bare minimum operating profitability. Their capacity to invest afresh and invest big is still and will remain poor, even with the full UDAY benefits kicking in.

This next problem has two potential solutions – large scale privatisation of DISCOMs across states and creation of a national DISCOM for improving investment efficiencies with greater gentral government say. The former is a political non-starter as the experience of the past 15 years shows. The latter is another new idea that is doing rounds in Delhi.

Further improvement of state DISCOMs' health can help the central government expedite a movement towards this national DISCOM. A follow up article will explain how this national DISCOM can transfer the power generation, transmission and distribution improvements made by this government to the end customer.

That we have reached this point is a testimony to the success of the central investments and a participatory and federal environment created by the Narendra Modi government under the UDAY programme.


Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 11:15 pm
by Lilo
'Aadhaar-enabled DBT savings estimated over Rs 90,000 crore'

HYDERABAD: The estimated savings and gains since the inception of Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) stood at over Rs 90,000 crore as on March 31 this year, a top official of UIDAI said here today.

"We have not spent even Rs 10,000 crore on Aadhaar cards and related systems so far.But the savings are enormous. We were able to save Rs 90,012 crore as on March 31 this year by using Aadhaar in some of the schemes such as PDS.

"We were able to weed out bogus and duplicate beneficiaries by using Aadhaar,"J Satyanarayana, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said in a programme at India School of Business (ISB).

He said 121 crore residents have so far enrolled for Aadhaar card and on an average over 30 million e-transactions are done using the identification system.

It has also helped curb tax evasion, money launderers, benami accounts and shell companies.
A recent short clip dwelling on above. "If govt gives 1 Re - 100 paise reach directly to your bank."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ziq7PyKkVM

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 12:45 am
by Lilo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGsgXJLlHCQ
DFC rakes are 1500m long as opposed to IR rakes that are 800m long. So loop lines in DFC stations have to be much longer than IR loop lines as they have to accommodate 1500m rakes. Since the DFC rakes will have to switch over to IR tracks now as the DFC is partially complete, the full potential of the DFC will not be realized till all sections are complete. DFC rakes will be 13,000 tonnes as opposed to an IR rake that is usually 5,000 tonnes. So you have 13,000 tonnes of weight traveling at an average speed of 75kmph on the DFC while IR has 5,000 tonnes traveling at 25kmph average speed.

All bridges etc on DFC have been constructed to International standards to take 32.5 ton axle loads. However in the beginning DFC freights will operate at 25 ton axle loads till I suppose the new earthworks settle and compactify. IR operates freights at 22 ton axle loads. Under Lalu Yadav freight rakes were being overloaded and this has taken a terrible toll of bridges and rail which were also not replaced in the face of running massive amounts of new passenger trains towards Bihar and Bengal(when Mamata was rail mantri). Slowly the damage done during those years of such populist measures is being rectified with Sunday traffic blocks.
There are six DFC stations in the Ateli-Phulera section. The Indian Railways carried out the first trial run on the western section between Ateli and Phulera on March 27, 2018. In the trail run, the locomotive had clocked 100 kmph speed, a significant rate as this would facilitate faster movement of goods.

DFCCIL managing director Anshuman Sharma told Governance Now that 99 percent of the land of the total 10,587 hectares has been acquired successfully. He exuded confidence in making the 190 km-long Ateli-Phulera section operational on the Independence Day and Khurja-Kanpur section(365 KM) by November 2018.

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 1:22 am
by Lilo
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We are proud of India's rising global prestige under the leadership of PM @NarendraModi. Results speak for themselves for the fastest growing large economy of the world.
https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/ ... 2501523456

Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 1:27 am
by Lilo
NDA meets 50 million LPG for poor target ahead of deadline
The government on Friday met its target of giving 50 mn LPG connections to poor households without upfront charges under the Ujjwala scheme launched by PM Narendra Modi in May 2016

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Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan handed over an LPG connection to a beneficiary at Parliament House, completing the 50 million target, an official statement from the oil ministry said. State-owned oil marketing companies have met the 50 million target ahead of the March 2019 deadline.

The statement said that Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the biggest beneficiary with 8.7 million connections, followed by West Bengal with 6.7 million, Bihar with 6.1 million, Madhya Pradesh with 4.5 million and Rajasthan with 3.7 million. Odisha, the home state of oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who led the scheme’s implementation, received 3 million connections.

To cover more poor households, the government earlier this year revised the target to 80 million. The scheme enables the government to address indoor air pollution, which accounts for nearly a million deaths in the country, said the statement. It also helps in developing the market for LPG at a time policy makers are trying to increase the share of gas in the country’s energy mix as it is cleaner than other cooking fuels such as kerosene and fire wood.


Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 1:59 am
by Lilo
NDA government in its first 4 years built 73 pct more highways than UPA’s last 4 years

  • The Narendra Modi government has built around 73% more national highways in its first four years till 2017-18 compared with the last four years’ in office of the previous UPA dispensation beginning 2010-11.
  • The present government has constructed a total of 28,531 km national highways in its four years since 2014-15 as against 16,505 km by the previous government in four years till 2013-14.
  • While the NDA government’s construction averaged at 19.5 km a day since 2014-15, the UPA’s average was 11.27 km from 2010-11 to 2013-14.
  • When the Narendra Modi government took over in May 2014, the construction rate stood at 11.67 km per day. Under the new regime, it grew to 12 km per day in 2014-15, 16.6 km per day in 2015-16, touching a record 22.5 km per day in 2016-17 and even better at 26.9 km in 2017-18.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bnz18Mkbc
Union Minister for Shipping and Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari talks to Swarajya about progress on India’s highway expansion programme, inland waterways, cleaning up the Ganga and more.

You can play the video above and continue on to the transcript (slightly modified for easier reading) available below.
Question: This conversation [is] with the minister Nitin Gadkari. Nitin Gadkari is currently the minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. He is perhaps the most watched minister of the government today because the very corn`erstone of… Prime Minister Modi’s promise of new India rides upon his hard work… the challenge of building a next generation infrastructure for a new India. I welcome you on behalf of the team Swarajya and we thank you for giving your crucial time for this discussion with the readers and the audience of the Swarajya.

Sir, coming back to your ministry, the highways and the shipping, their projections that India will need more than 50 lakh crore in the coming years to be invested in the infrastructure. Now if you take the example of the road infrastructure in this country, the two major issues plaguing the road infrastructure -- one is the land acquisition and the other one is the lack of the financing, the capital markets in India not deep enough to finance them. So, how are you moving about ensuring that such an enormous amount of investment can actually be tapped for the purpose of building roads, waterways now, especially when the PPP model which we have tried for the last couple of years has not worked very satisfactorily, in a very satisfactory manner? So, you have been moving away from the PPP towards the EPC contracts and now you have brought in the Hybrid Annuity Model, so what do you think is the way forward to mobilize the resources for the infrastructure?

Nitin Gadkari: In our country, we have 52 lakh kilometre of road length. Out of which only 96,000 kilometre was National Highway and …40 per cent of the country’s traffic is on 2 per cent of road. So, we have taken a decision to increase it from the length of the National Highway from 96,000 kilometre to 2,00,000 kilometre, out of which 1,70,000 kilometre has been declared. 80 per cent traffic of the country will run on National Highway. Now, automobile industry has increased by 22 per cent. Presently, we have a budget of Rs 71,000 crore.

Now, neither we have a money problem, [nor] we have a land acquisition problem. We have a system problem, a problem of mindset best reflected in the way in which you are asking the question. No money problem is there. Now I’m telling you how it can be possible. You are correct as far as PPP model is concerned in the previous UPA government. When I took [charge] as a minister, there [were] 403 stalled projects, the total cost involved was Rs 3,85,000 crore.

Today i think it would be fair to say that 99.99 [per cent] problems have been solved. My ministry saved Indian bankers from a potential NPA of Rs 3,00,000 crore. We made the research yesterday of it, everything is moving fast now. We have changed 22 cabinet decisions. And [the] reason is [that] people are moving fast.

In land acquisition alone we have spent Rs 68,000 crore. Only for land acquisition. Our cost has increased. Once upon a time in a road project 15 per cent cost was land acquisition. Now it comes to 35 per cent and some instances can be as high as 50 per cent. Either you like it [or] may not like it, [it is] political compulsion, it is good or bad -- we have to accept it. So, now as a farmer I’m happy that the farmers are getting more prices for that, but land acquisition is not a problem. That is the reason that when I had taken charge as a minister it was 2 kilometre per day… and today it is coming to 28 kilometre per day and up to March… we will maintain that. And next year it will be 40 kilometre per day. Last year we… awarded road constructions – [some] 16,000 kilometre. For this year we are trying to make it 1,000 kilometre more for that.

So, we have already decided [that] without 80 per cent of land acquisition, we [would] not give appointment letter. That is the reason that I do follow ups everyday. I have a six-hour meeting with UP Chief Minister and all his officers in Lucknow. Seven-hour meeting with Uttarakhand Chief Minister in Dehradun, then seven-hour meeting with Nitish Kumar-ji in Patna and nine-hour meeting with Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra, with video conferencing, making follow-up for every project. So I’m pursuing. The reason we are awarding the contract [is] that we are acquiring the land, because without 80 per cent actually we are not giving the appointment letter. It is difficult, but not impossible.

Question: But as you said that when you came to the office there were lots of projects which were stalled and you basically revived those projects. How exactly you did so? What exactly was the problem facing those projects, especially the PPP projects and…

Nitin Gadkari: Actually in all the projects… the people who [were 80 per cent] responsible for this was [the] government. Land acquisition was not there. Environment, forest clearance was not there. Even two and a half years at that time the minister [did] not sign a single file. If the project involves tree cutting, it will need environment and forest clearance. How [can you] expect… the contractor to complete the work? No land acquisition. On encroachment decisions were not taken, and so 80 per cent is because of government. But we will hear government people say -- I’m very frank and fair -- every government officer says, “Sir, sir, this is because of this contractor”. Because in my department when every accident [takes place], the policy is very clear – the driver is responsible for the accident. But for the first time I [found] out it is… who prepares DPR or road agency -- are responsible too. Because of wrong engineering we are facing problems.

So now it is not with the contractor, it is not with the bankers, so we have taken a decision – the Prime Minister appointed a committee under my chairmanship for clearing infrastructural projects. We have taken a lot of meetings, we clear the projects, we solve the problems, we complete the land acquisition, make the follow-up. We call the bankers and we make the settlement with the bankers. We take 22 decisions in the cabinet with the help of [the] Prime Minister and [the] Finance Minister and on the basis of that we solve the problems. And… lastly we have taken [the decision] – if the project is completed [more than] 50 per cent... we will finance them, and many of the projects [are being financed by] NHAI… now, and by [this] way, we found… the way out and now everyone is moving.

And I’m giving you only one example of a company… L&T. I want to quote it directly because you can understand. Mr. Naik once came to me. And he was chairman at that time at L&T. “Sir, we are sorry. We are not at all interested to make any roads. We want to close this section and we are facing huge losses and it is difficult for me to complete the projects. Please, sorry.” I requested them… [told them] one of the projects from Amravati to Surat in my area was very important -- [there was state assembly] election, I was there at that time… but he said, “No sir. We will go back.” And today that L&T is working with me, having works more than Rs 15,000 crore and making 11 projects.

Question: Oh, it’s a great news.

Nitin Gadkari: And everyone is doing good and actually it is a credit for me. We are transparent, corruption-free, time-bound -- that is the result. In the whole industry, no one can charge any type of corruption charges against the ministry. We have signed… contracts [of] more than Rs 8 lakh crore, but no contractor needs to come to my office. And today the position of contractors is… good and that was the reason… they were not in [a] position to court for PPP – [for] 17 tenders no one was there. So, we planned a new model, named it as Hybrid Annuity Model.

The Hybrid Annuity Model means land acquisition will be our responsibility, utility shifting will be our responsibility -- then out of the cost of the project, 40 per cent we will give as a guarantee need, 60 per cent he has to raise, out of which 30 per cent from him and the other part he will take… from the bank. Toll will be collected by the NHAI and we will return his money back on annuity basis with bank interest plus 3 per cent profit. So, in the construction he is getting 15-20 per cent profit and on annuity basis he gets 3 per cent profit on annuity. So, on the way already we have signed more than 80 to 90 projects of Rs 2 lakh crore and the projects are moving fast.

Now, we are again moving to think on PPP model, but now I’m telling you a thing, very simply. Now I’m not for any investment from foreign aid-- okay they are welcome, but… suppose with my own money I’m going to complete one project. Immediately I go to bank and make it monetize for 20 years. I trusted the project cost is Rs 2,000 crore. By monetizing, I will be getting Rs 3,000 crore -- so it’s my good profit and I’m giving work to the Indian contractors. So I can raise Rs 10 lakh crore from the capital market. I’m telling you just because when I was minister in Mumbai, I started to raise the money from capital market for Mumbai-Pune express highway, Worli-Bandra sea link project and fifty-four flyovers in Mumbai.

And [from] today I’m giving an example -- I had just gone to capital market for Cochin shipyard. I was there at 9 o’clock, [when] my private secretary [told] me – “Sir, there is a problem. Cancel the programme today – postpone it. I asked why. He said, “Stock exchange index has gone down by 300 points. Today it’s not a good day.” “Nothing doing, whatever happens we will see.” I went. After I reached, photos of my holding the bull were taken. I went upstairs… and at 10 o’clock I rang the bell. At 10:36, there were 76 over-subscriptions and I got Rs 1,26,000 crore. Now I’m making scheme that all journalists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, constables -- from their money I want to make roads. I will give priority to that. More than foreign investment I want to give priority to them. Bank gives 6 per cent interest. I said, “For 10 years I will give you 8 per cent interest and will give on monthly basis. NHAI has AAA rating -- world agency has given it -- and I’m giving you guarantee that I require 10 years.” And I ask investors, “Do you want returns on daily basis? Then I will give on daily basis. If you want weekly, then I will give weekly. If you want monthly I will give you on monthly basis. No problem of money, the money is lying.

Now I will monetize 105 projects -- Rs 1,25,000 crore -- like selling gold, money is ready. I have Rs 10,000 crore toll income. I will get Rs 1,75,000 crore immediately, money is ready. In port, Rs 5,000 crore turns into dollars -- I can get Rs 50,000 crore with less than 2 per cent interest.

Now, for making Panvel and JNPT eight-lane roads, I have taken money from DBS Singapore and State Bank Capital with 2 per cent interest -- without hedging got at 2 per cent Rs 3,000 crore. No shortage of funds. The people who work in government - the mindset. This planning, that planning, ‘it has gone outside budget’ -- they waste time in this only. No shortage of funds. We can do 4 times more work than this, we can do Rs 25 lakh crore work. Today, we have crossed Rs 8 lakh crore.

Rs 2,000 crore is my shippingsector budget, but I’m doing Rs 16 lakh crore work. Now, I will tell you how I’m doing. Now I’ve Rs 2,60,000 crore work. In Sagar Mala project, Rs 4,00,000 crore for port-road connectivity, port-rail connectivity and modernization… of ports. In that, Rs 2,60,000 crore work has been given. Now I’m making 40 industrial clusters. One electronic company, purchasing land in JNPT, asks for 200 acres. In first phase Rs 6,000 crore, in second phase Rs 12,000 crore investments they will do. In first phase, 40,000 people will get jobs, in second phase 1,20,000 people will get jobs. I told them, “Sign the affidavit -- then only will give you land.” Automobile cluster, industrial cluster, chemical cluster, coal sale, all 14 clusters, economic zone, Rs 12 lakh crore investment, I’m making 5 Smart City. What port model we have today is like landlord model -- we do only land acquisition and construct breakwater. Rest all in PPP. Where are we investing? And our profit margin is Rs 7,000 crore this year.

Question: Why is the government charging tolls on the highways and other utilities? Because if you see from the other side, the pre-construction cost of any project is borne by the government -- the land acquisition, the utility shifting and then you also give viability gap funding to the private player. So a very big portion of the project is basically borne by the government and then private player is making a profit over it, So there is a political question regarding this thing -- then why the toll collection if money is not a problem?

Nitin Gadkari: First thing is that if you want good services you have to pay for it. You can take your programme in five-star hotel or if you don’t want to pay the money then sit in Ramlila Maidan. If you want to sit for free, then have chai-pani and sit there. You want good roads. If you want good services, you have to pay for it.

Distance between Mumbai [and] Pune -- it [used to take] 7 to 8 hours when there was no express highway. Now it takes only 2 hours -- so saving of 4 hours is saving of time and saving of fuel. You have to pay the toll and I’m talking confidently only because of my toll income. If you are going to stop my toll income then I have to only talk about Rs 71,000 crore from budget. Why I’m making all these projects? It is because of my getting my toll income. That’s why I’m monetizing that income and I’m doing the thing -- that’s why I’m talking about Rs 25 lakh crore. If you cancel the toll, my income will be Rs 4,00,000 crore. Nothing doing, because it is only from the budget I can do it. So, best way to understand -- if you want good services, you have to pay for it.

And second thing, now this is the project of 50 km. Cost of the project is, suppose, Rs 400 crore with the bridges and everything. Now, we are going for the tender process and there are a lot of people who are still in losses, somewhere they are in profits. It’s a business because of the contractors and the PPP investments -- they are not the social worker, they are not priests, they are doing it to earn money. When they fill the tender, A says, “I will complete this project as per your standards and for 9 years, with my rates, will take toll.” B says, “I will take toll for 10 years”, C says, “I will take toll for 11 years”. Whoever gives least offer we give tender to them, and sometimes it is less than our EPC cost. Competition is there…

You know there is one tunnel named Zojila Pass tunnel. 3 times we called for tender -- only 2 companies used to come for tender. I have sat down and changed financial and technical qualification of that tender -- 7 companies participated On a Rs 6,000 crore proposed cost for the tunnel, we could save Rs 1,400 crore. Because of competition, we have saved Rs 1,400 crore. In Maharashtra, I have changed qualification and could save Rs 6,000 crore.

In financial and technical qualification team, only 70-80 people used to work earlier. Now I have increased it to 300-400 people. Naturally, our cost has reduced.(due to better technical and financial reviews).

Now, our work is -- quality of construction has to be improved and cost of construction has to be reduced using new technology. Now, tar is Rs 45 per kg, waste plastic is Rs 7-8 per kg. 8 per cent plastic you can put in to the mix. You can reduce the cost. With oil slag in Jamshedpur, airstrip we have built, roads we have built. Using oil slag we are constructing 150 kilometre road between Hospet and Bellary. You can save the cost of construction and you can increase the quality of construction.

I have booked 285 lakh tonnes of cement. Can you imagine, what is the rate? Rs 120-130-140 per bag. Tax extra, transport cost extra. In market it is 350. I have warned them, 40 per cent of country’s cement is used by our department. 68 per cent improvement in construction material is because of us. I warned them, “I would evoke the Essential Commodities Act -- then you will be in trouble if you increase the rate”. So decreasing cost of material, improving quality of construction, new innovations, new technology, using new code, using precast. Land acquisition we can’t do anything, we have to pay.

Question: Coming to this new technology thing, that to complete the projects on time and to improve the quality of the construction we have to bring in new technology, more automation most likely, but that reduces the employment elasticity of the projects, right, because the employment is a big debate today. But if you are bringing in new technology, let’s say driverless car in the future, what will happen to the employment in that scenario?

Nitin Gadkari: This is not [the] case with every new technology. I’m supporter of the technology, but I’m not going to allow the driverless car. I’m not going to allow. that my statement [will be] criticised in social media, but I’m not going to allow. We have a shortage of 22 lakh drivers in the country presently. Now we are opening 2,000 driving training centres… We don’t open centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata -- we want to open in rural area, tribal area, giving employment to youth of that area. And already one report we have from IIT -- when there is a Rs 1,000 crore of investment in road sector it is going to create direct, indirect job for 1,00,000 people. So the jobs are there.

Question: But as you adopt new technology this is going to…

Nitin Gadkari: This is a totally wrong concept that technology is going to reduce the cost. This is like computer. There was an opposition for computer, that it was going to make you lose your jobs, but today the people who are software engineers they are going… abroad, to the different parts of the world, and they are giving us the foreign exchange income for India -- more than tax.

Question: So basically we can expect more automation in the coming days in the…

Nitin Gadkari: But not driverless car -- for that I’m not going to allow. We have to find… the way out… which type of technology we can select, precast. We have to use it. Now pollution is a big problem. By making the bridge, that concrete, sand, cement on the road in place of that somewhere in the factory, we can construct the bridge and take it and assemble there. So the technology should be cost effective, import substitute, pollution-free and useful for the people -- that is important -- and we have to create employment potential. We should not accept any technology which is going to kill our employment potential.

Question: Let me ask you the state of the Ganga mission because there [are] lots of complaints regarding this mission -- that it is not moving ahead as fast as it was supposed to be?

Nitin Gadkari: My problem is -- communication is a problem. I don’t have any liasioning officer and PR relations -- even I don’t want to go for that.

Question: You have a Twitter account -- you can tweet.

Nitin Gadkari: This has been my weak side. I always remember the Principle of Archimedes. Anything -- take it to the water… whatever the weight of a particular part -- that will increase -- that is the thing. So I’m going to do the work... Now I’m telling about Ganga.

We have 189 projects. Nirmal Ganga is one mission, out of 189 projects. 47 has already been completed. Two or three days before on front page in Hindustan Times, there was a news – [the] improvement of this water purification in Ganga… all details [were] there. Now 47 we have completed and before [the] end of March we are going to allot all the projects. Then we are also making 40 new projects for 5 mld to 10 mld where the nalas and tributaries are there -- we want to make… recycling of water. Now, in Nagpur, 5 years before, we sold the toilet water of Nagpur to Maharashtra government. We are getting Rs 18 crore as a royalty and 8 days before we signed the contract by which we are getting Rs 78 crore by selling off toilet water of our city to [the] government of Maharashtra.

So, now I’m planning -- there are 12 NTPC projects -- railway station – [I’m planning] to make the recycling of water and sell it to the power projects and sell it to the railway stations for that. Third thing is from this water we can get methane and from methane – bifurcate methane from CO2 -- get bio CNG -- at least we can run 8,000-10,000 buses from getting methane from that bio-digester, getting bio CNG from that… working on that and before March we will start all the work and my promise is 80 per cent -- up to before March ’19 Ganga will be cleaned. We are working on, we are collecting Rs 10,000 crore sponsors for making ghats, mokshadhams and light and sound show, gardens, improvement of lakes, roads, parking system and already we have received the promises of Rs 3,000 crore and now we are trying to get money from the people -- Ganga Mission, Namami Gange -- and my idea is taking at least -- it may be Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 100 from 1 crore people for this Ganga -- then we have 4,500 villages.

Now I’m telling you what the people… Shiv Nadar ji from HCL -- today I received 2 [phone calls] from him -- he wants 100 villages in CSR. So, now we are developing these Ganga Gram villages… today at 12 o’clock I have a meeting [with Uma Bharati], and we are trying to give it to the good social organization -- Ramdev Baba, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, corporate, educational institutions, NGOs that… can take [the] village and develop a Ganga Gram. Integrated development of the area. We are planning for plantation of 10 crore trees, we are taking help from Sudhir Mungantiwar who is Forest and Finance Minister of Maharashtra. Last year their plantation number was 50 lakh. This year it was 4 crore and everywhere there is [an] eTag.... So, on that basis we are making this scheme on the riverfront side. Then I’m confident that in March ’19 at least we are going to complete all these things.

But what the problem is -- now you go in Ganga and see in Ganga -- we are spending Rs 5,500 crore on Jalmarg -- we are making 4 multimodal hubs, Varanasi, Haldia, Sahibganj and Gazipur -- making 60 river ports. We have inaugurated the system of river traffic control -- just like air traffic control -- from Haldia to Patna. We are starting 8 ferry services, 9 rural services. We are starting dredging in Brahmaputra. We have already given contract of Rs 1,600 crore for maintaining of 3 metre of drop in Ganga... From Ganga they can go to Bengal Sagar and they can go to Brahmaputra and we are making dredging in Barak and also in Bangladesh, spending Rs 2,050 crore on that. So it is going to start a good economic transformation in that area. But now you can go and see. Problem is that… we are not presenting properly to the people -- for their knowledge -- that is the thing… Now the Varanasi terminal… only the road is a problem. Otherwise we can inaugurate that. Even Farakka [to] L&T, we have given a work of Rs 450 crore… Within 4-5 months they will complete that work. We are going for seaplane, catamaran… 8 days before we…signed the agreement with the biggest company of Russia – [a] shipbuilding company -- with Cochin shipyard. We are making catamaran, we are preparing the rules and regulations for seaplane. [Within] next 6 months we will start seaplane… so everything is going on. We have already 5 star, 7 star cruise in Ganga.


Re: Modi Sarkaar Achievements - Reference Thread

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 2:08 am
by Lilo
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Saaf Niyat Sahi Vikas

48months Performance Dashboard https://48months.mygov.in/
Some basic stats on India:

1) 6 lakh villages
2) 130 Crore people
3) 27 Crore households