(MC) Share price of railways stocks gained 4-11 percent in early trade on July 2 after the Ministry of Railways invited proposals from the private entities to run passenger trains. The Ministry of Railways has finally walked the talk of opening up the running of passenger trains to private companies, a significant reform that is expected to shake up the creaking infrastructure and foster growth. The ministry on July 1 invited qualification proposals from private entities to run trains over 109 pairs of routes by introducing 151 modern trains. The project would entail private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore, the ministry said…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(ET) Niti Aayog is planning to hire a chief economist at the think-tank under its flexi pool and has sought applications for the coveted post to be responsible for scrutiny of all finance ministry related matters and those of other financial institutions including the Reserve Bank of India. India already has a post of chief economic advisor under the finance ministry and another Bibek Debroy-led Economic Advisory Council to the PM is headquartered at the Aayog itself. The post could be filled either through a contract or on deputation and will attract remuneration of up to Rs 3,30,000 a month. The…
(LiveMint) The government today kept interest rates unchanged for small savings schemes, including that of popular Public Provident Fund or PPF, for the July-September quarter despite a fall in the interest rate in the overall financial system. Post office savings accounts will continue to fetch 4% interest, while the interest rate on post office deposits between 1 year and five years remain between 5.5% to 6.7%. The 5-year recurring deposit will fetch 5.8% interest. The interest rate on Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will continue to fetch 7.4% interest while Monthly Income Scheme or MIS will offer 6.6% interest. Public provident fund…
(PTI) Coal India trade unions will go ahead with the proposed three-day strike from Thursday as talks with the government over opening of the sector to private players have failed, a union leader said on Wednesday. A virtual meeting was held between Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi and representatives of trade unions on Wednesday, Nathulal Pandey, president of HMS-affiliated Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation said. “The minister did not accept the demand of unions to withdraw the decision of commercial mining. Therefore, unions have no other remedy left rather to continue with the decision of three-day strike from 2-4 July 2020,” Pandey said. During the…
(NDTV) India’s coronavirus tally has crossed the six lakh-mark after more than 19,000 new infections and 434 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. More than 3.5 lakh patients have recovered so far. The country’s average positivity rate stood at 8.34 per cent this morning; recovery rate stood at 59.51 per cent. More than 90 lakh samples have been recorded since January when India reported its first coronavirus patient. The country has a population of nearly 130 crores. On Wednesday, around 2.29 lakh samples were tested across the country. It took India – the fourth worst-hit nation by the…
(PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said banning apps will not be enough, asserting that China needs to be given a befitting reply. The Trinamool Congress supremo, however, said she would leave it to the Centre to decide on the issue. “It is a subject of the external affairs department, we will support the central government stand…. But, we have to be very aggressive on one hand and on the other, use the diplomatic channel. “Only banning a few apps will not be a proper reply, we have to give China a befitting reply,” she said while addressing a…
(ET) Indian Oil Corp has agreed to form an equal joint venture with Bangladesh’s Beximco LPG to set up a terminal to import liquefied petroleum gas in Bangladesh. Indian Oil’s Dubai unit IOC Middle East FZE and Beximco’s holding company RR Holdings Ltd, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE have signed an agreement for LPG business in Bangladesh, as per a statement by Indian Oil. The joint venture would begin with acquiring Beximco’s existing LPG assets in Bangladesh. “We intend to set up a large LPG terminal at a deep-water port in Bangladesh, which would facilitate receipt of LPG in Very Large Gas Carriers, leading to reduction in cost of imports.…
(ET) Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) has earned over Rs 109 crore as total additional revenue by exceeding electricity generation targets from its hydel projects in 2019-20. The additional revenue has been calculated on the basis of the national average power purchase cost (APPC) of Rs 3.60 per KWH. Hydel projects like the 126 MW Larji Hydropower Project, 120 MW Sanjay Jal Vidyut Pariyojna, 66 MW Bassi Power House Project and 60 MW Giri Power House Project are major initiatives of HPSEB. These projects, along with others like 22.5MW Ghanvi-I, 16.95MW Andhra, 10MW Ghanvi-II, 6 MW Binwa and 10.50 MW Gaj, have…
(AU) भारत और चीन के बीच मंगलवार को लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल स्तर पर तीसरे दौर की बातचीत करीब 12 घंटे तक चली। मंगलवार सुबह 11 बजे शुरू हुई बैठक रात 11 बजे खत्म हुई। बातचीत के केंद्र में पूर्वी लद्दाख के टकराव वाले क्षेत्रों से सैनिकों को पीछे करने के तौर-तरीकों को अंतिम रूप देना था। वार्ता पूर्वी लद्दाख में वास्तविक नियंत्रण रेखा (एलएसी) के पास चुशूल सेक्टर में भारतीय जमीन पर हुई। पहले दो दौर की वार्ताओं में भारतीय पक्ष ने यथास्थिति की बहाली और गलवां घाटी, पैंगोंग त्सो और अन्य क्षेत्रों से चीनी सैनिकों की तत्काल वापसी पर जोर दिया था। पूर्वी…
(LiveMint) India needs to start using its grounded aircraft and minor airports for cargo handling to bring down logistics costs and make exports of fish, vegetables and fruits more viable, transport minister Nitin Gadkari said. In an online interaction with members of the Domestic Air Cargo Agents Association of India, Gadkari said he will speak with defence minister Rajnath Singh to use assets such as decommissioned Air Force planes for cargo. This, he said, will make exports of certain commodities more viable, enhance incomes of people and benefit the nation. “The government will support your efforts. The point is we need…