Highways Financial News

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Secretary Anurag Jain on Thursday pitched for scrapping of pre-BS era vehicles, especially commercial heavy vehicles, citing pollution and safety issues. Bharat Stage (BS) norms were introduced in the country in 2000. «If look at pre-BS vehicles, these do so much of pollution. The vehicles which are from before 2000 do pollution 15 times (more). Do you think such vehicles should run when there is so much of problems happening in our country due to pollution,» Jain said. In case of such vehicles, he said, the fuel and maintenance costs also go up adding that there has been so much change in the safety features of vehicles in the last 15 years.

road contractors, the ministry of road transport and highways have mandated 100% inspection check of quality tests undertaken by contractors in the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode of contract by authority engineer for all highway projects as well as for the request for proposal (RFP) document for consultancy services for such projects. This will apply to all road and bridge construction under EPC mode and will kick in for new projects. The EPC mode of contract gives the entire responsibility of design and construction to the contractor and therefore has a longer defect liability period cum maintenance period of 5-10 years. “Considering the current practices in highway projects and greater emphasis on meeting strength and serviceability requirements in respect of components of a highway project over respective design periods, modifications have been made to the model EPC agreement and RFP for consultancy services for authority’s engineer for supervision of EPC projects,” the ministry said in a notification on Thursday.

₹2,700 crore. I Squared Capital has also set up a climate solutions platform—Hexa Climate Solutions—with Amplus founder Sanjeev Aggarwal wherein the New York-based private equity fund will invest around $500 million.

SME IPO of Trafiksol ITS Technologies opens for subscription earlier today and will close on September 12. The company aims to raise about Rs 45 crore through the SME IPO and list the shares on BSE SME platform. Here are 10 key things investors need to know about the public offer before subscribing to the issue.

U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating reports that the engines can catch fire on some Jeep SUVs and pickup trucks with the ignition turned off

The U.S. government’s road safety agency wants the auto industry to design new vehicles including SUVs and pickup trucks so they reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries

Parks Canada says the blaze is now officially under control.Landon Shepherd, incident commander with the parks agency, told an online media briefing Saturday the change in status means the fire has been sufficiently suppressed to ensure it won’t spread outside of its defined perimeter.Shepherd says that perimeter is 278 km long.The fire’s status was last changed on Aug. 17 when it moved from being out-of-control to “being held,” which meant it wasn’t expected to spread into any priority areas.That happened one day after residents of the Jasper townsite were allowed to return home on Aug.

highway in the southern US state of Kentucky, authorities said Saturday, as police hunted for a suspect considered «armed and dangerous.» Four to six people had been shot, Kentucky State Police spokesman Scottie Pennington told local media. There were «multiple severe injuries» but no confirmed deaths, local news station WYMT reported, citing the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians began selling marijuana and cannabis products to any adult 21 or over starting Saturday at its tribe-owned dispensary in North Carolina

death toll in the bus accident that occurred in Hathras yesterday has reached 17 after two children succumbed during treatment, officials said on Saturday. Sixteen people — 11 in Hathras and 5 in Aligarh — are still undergoing treatment, District Magistrate of Hathras Ashish Kumar told PTI. Appi (2) and around 12-year-old Gulshan died during treatment at a hospital in Aligarh, the officials said. Fifteen people, including four women and as many children travelling in a van, were killed on Friday after a roadways bus hit the vehicle from behind on National Highway 93, officials had said.

Infra lender National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has said that lack of data on the sector is making it difficult for them to convince the regulator about the need for higher provisioning for project loans in the sector. «For retail, there is credit bureau but similar thing in infra is not available But for the credit bureaus, where would have been the fintechs» said NABFID MD and CEO Rajkiran Rai ." Nabfid is a new organistion and when we were looking at pricing, we were looking for numbers (on losses). Nowhere is it available. Whatever is available is lopsided data, is not correct data" «When we were looking at pricing, we were looking for numbers (on losses). Nowhere is it available. Whatever is available is lopsided data, is not correct data. But for the credit bureaus, where would have been the fintechs. Such data is not available for the infrastructure sector» said NABFID MD and CEO Rajkiran Rai indicating that the sector does not have end to end data like retail or MSMEs .

ministry of road transport and highways has constituted an expert panel to technically review all long tunnel projects before the proposal is submitted for approval, the move aimed at avoiding a repeat of Silkyara tunnel like mishap. The notification, dated September 6, will apply to all tunnels with length more than 1.5 km. The enhanced scrutiny related provisions are being put in place as the ministry plans to build 74 new tunnels stretching 273 km at a cost of Rs 1 lakh crore over the next few years under its mega plan to strengthen India's highway network. As per the notification, the ministry has set up an advisory panel comprising experts from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and THIDCL for tendering expert advice during the appraisal of long tunnel projects.

₹71,112 crore for 2024-25. Out of this, poll-bound Maharashtra gets the highest amount of ₹19,023 crore. States ruled by all-important NDA allies Andhra Pradesh and Bihar get an allocation of ₹7,266 crore and ₹10,720 crore respectively.

₹4,000 crore. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the other final bidder, too had submitted a binding bid for the deal run by JP Morgan. Cube Highways will now be given exclusivity to close the deal for the portfolio of five road assets totalling 230 km.

Thousands of Colombians have been forced to walk to work as truckers in major cities blocked highways to protest a recent increase in the price of diesel fuel

ministry of road transport and highways plans to build 74 new tunnels stretching 273 km at a cost of ₹1 lakh crore over the next few years as part of a mega scheme to strengthen India's highway network, roads minister Nitin Gadkari said. The minister said this will be done while ensuring regular performance audits of all under-construction projects. Addressing the second edition of Tunnelling India conference organised by Ficci on Tuesday, Gadkari favoured giving a majority 51% stake to foreign partners in joint ventures for building tunnels and detailed project reports to improve work quality, saying it will ensure that only serious and technically qualified players bid for tunnel projects.

Nirmala Sitharaman called on various ministries and departments to expedite capital spending and set quarterly targets. On Tuesday, Sitharaman chaired the first of a series of meetings lined up to review the productive spending, and the resultant asset creation, across infrastructure and other ministries. She held meetings with the ministries of road, transport and highways, and communication. She asked them to meet the targets well on time to make up for the decline, witnessed in the first and second quarters of this fiscal, in the third quarter itself, the finance ministry said in a statement.

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Another death is being linked to dangerous Takata air bag inflators by U.S. regulators, the 28th in the United States

Karnataka is expected to pitch for GST exemption on health and life insurance only on such products used by the working and lower middle classes at the upcoming GST Council meeting. The Congress-ruled state is not in favour of a blanket exemption on premium insurance products bought by the higher income groups, according to Krishna Byre Gowda, the state’s revenue minister who represents the southern state on the GST Council. “We are open to the issue,” he told ET, responding to queries on demands for the removal of 18% GST on life and health insurance premium. “We will suggest health and life insurance, which are more of a working class and lower middle class issue, should be looked at positively, regardless of revenue considerations,” Gowda said.

ET Wealth Online. Removal of 18% GST on insurance premiums has been a longstanding demand of the various stakeholders of the insurance industry. Insurance customers also want the government to remove GST as the additional tax increases their financial burden. The debate over the 18% GST levied on life and health insurance premiums came to the forefront last month after various political leaders, including Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to rollback the tax. Will the central government finally remove 18% GST and bring down your life and health insurance premium? Read on to find out what experts are saying.