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India set to become second largest steel producer
India is poised to dislodge Japan to become the world's second-largest steelmaker, as mills ramp up production to record levels to feed growing demand for infrastructure, new homes and consumer goods, highlighting the potential for industry's growth outside China.

Output will rise from 103 million tonnes (mt) this year to 110 mt in 2018, and 118 mt by 2019, according to projections released Friday by Australia, the top shipper of steel-making ingredients such as iron ore. The growth will see India draw level with Japan next year and eclipse it after that, according to the report. By 2022, India will pump out 146 mt to Japan's 118 mt.

Steelmakers in Asia's third-largest economy are boosting supplies after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to spend more on infrastructure and power, and policy makers acted to resist a tide of cheap Chinese exports. Shares in local producers including JSW Steel Ltd. and Steel Authority of India, known as SAIL, have surged over the past year, buoyed by plans for expansions.

"Steel-consumption growth is expected to be driven by substantial infrastructure investment, growth in residential construction, and the growth of the shipbuilding, defense, automobile and manufacturing sectors," the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science said in the report, which tracks trends in commodity markets related to Australian resource exports.

While Indian production is set to surge, its output will remain dwarfed by China, the world's biggest producer. Mills in Asia's top economy are seen making 805 mt this year, before supply trends lower to 800 mt in 2018 and 785 mt in 2022, according to the report.

‘Bright spot’

India is the “bright spot” for growth in the global steel industry, according to BMI Research, which said demand from auto and infrastructure industries continues to accelerate. The government has been spearheading a push to boost capacity, with upgrades at existing mills as well as state-owned companies building new plants, it said in a report received on Wednesday.

The potential has been recognised by Australian iron miners, including Fortescue Metals Group, the country's number-three exporter. The company's mines in northwestern Australia are well-positioned to take advantage of expected growth in India, as well as Vietnam and the Philippines, Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Gaines said in an interview this week.

JSW Steel traded 0.9 per cent higher in Mumbai on Friday, taking gains over the past 12 months to 61 per cent. The company reported output data earlier this week to show that it's become India's biggest producer. SAIL rose 0.7 per cent, and Tata Steel advanced 0.2 per cent.
http://www.business-standard.com/ar...nd-largest-steel-producer-117040800888_1.html
 
I was in Vadodara for 10 years. the airport is small. Good to hear about the international airport most probably flights for gulf region

Sir ji, India needs small, non-fancy regional airports which are fast to make, easy to manage and effective in the UDAN scheme that PM Modi has launched. At Rs 2,500 for a 1 hour flight (and subsequent increments), there is little room for the airline or passenger to pay a hefty user fee like what Delhi and Mumbai used to charge before government intervened.

By far, Cochin airport is the most practical and optimised airport in India. It is small, but is effective in managing passengers, has enough local cultural merchandise of Kerala as a state, is low cost and effective and is among the top 10 airports in India.

Whoever planned and constructed the Cochin airport should be given the leadership in constructing similar airports across the country with a homely-yet-cost-effective design.

Remember, India has over 425 airstrips and airports across the country and over 80% of them remain unused. In today's India, last mile connectivity matters a lot. Which means if the government spends more on good quality expressways connecting to a simple airport, it will benefit PM Modi's economic and regional aviation growth plan.
 
Delhi-NCR close to toppling Mumbai as India’s ad capital
Delhi-NCR could soon dislodge Mumbai from the top slot it has enjoyed for decades in the advertising business.

It's a shift that tells the story of the rapid rise of a region and relative stagnation of an undisputed leader.

Even a decade ago, Mumbai generated Rs 3,634 crore in advertising revenues across print, television and radio, which together account for about three-fourths of total advertising expenditure in the country - outdoor, digital and cinema make up the rest.

The same year, the ad spend in Delhi-NCR was Rs 2,780 crore, or only about 75% of Mumbai.

In the past few years, the Delhi-NCR market has surged, and though it is still behind Mumbai, the gap has shrunk to its narrowest ever. If this trend continues, Delhi-NCR might dislodge Mumbai from its perch this year itself.

If Mumbai recovers from the decline of 2016, the displacement will take longer. In fact, last year for the first time, ad revenue for TV news from Delhi-NCR surpassed Mumbai.

What this essentially reflects is how Delhi, the political capital, is slowly becoming the business capital as well. As more companies choose Delhi-NCR as their base, they book ads out of the area.

Satbir Singh, who was once chief creative officer at FCB Ulka in Mumbai and went on to launch Thinkstr, a Gurgaon agency whose focus is on the digital ad space, points out that agencies follow the clients.

"Gurgaon can boast of some of India's biggest spenders today like Airtel, Coke, Pepsi, Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Maruti, Samsung, amongst many others.

Barring a couple of large ones, most agencies in NCR have moved to the Millennium City," he points out.

Ashish Chakravarty, chief creative officer at Contract Advertising, calls it a huge shift.

"When we started out, Mumbai was always the big brother you looked up to. And for us in Delhi, Mumbai was the larger office, the bigger place, what we called the Mumbai office syndrome.

Now, for instance, in my agency, Delhi has become our largest office, and I think that's true for many agencies." This is not surprising.

According to a global city-wise ranking of GDP done by Oxford Economics, Delhi overtook Mumbai in 2015, with a GDP of $370 billion compared with Mumbai's $368 billion.

By 2030, according to the same study, the gap between the cities will widen - Delhi will have a GDP of $1,040 billion, and Mumbai $930 billion.

But while Delhi-NCR may dislodge Mumbai in terms of ad spend, the latter remains the preferred location for shooting TV commercials and digital films.

Indeed, in Bollywood, the western metropolis boasts an irresistible draw. "Ad films will always be shot in Mumbai simply because of the amount of acting talent in the city," says Naveen Gaur, president, Lowe Lintas.

However, Sundar Iyer, a creative consultant who spent around 15 years in Mumbai with the likes of JWT, BBH and Everest and moved to Gurgaon in 2011, is a strong believer in Gurgaon's potential for new and fresh thinking. "When I came to Delhi-NCR, I saw talent that was very raw.

There were no preconceived notions, and there was an element of honesty and truth to the whole scene, which was very refreshing to see," says Iyer.

Shivaji Dasgupta, who heads Inexgro, a brand advisory outfit based out of Gurgaon, says, "In terms of business, Delhi-NCR is definitely a faster growing market, with greater opportunities."

He points to the flight of businesses northwards to set up headquarters, and the e-commerce/startup culture that has taken root in the area.

"Almost everyone who has come to India to set up manufacturing operations in the last 10-15 years has given Mumbai a miss.... As a natural corollary, the advertising industry also has developed a lot more in Delhi-NCR," Dasgupta says.

A good number of agencies now have Gurgaon operations that are larger than their Mumbai operations (but with their HQ still out west). However, the nature of clients differs.
http://m.timesofindia.com/business/...as-indias-ad-capital/articleshow/58100173.cms

Nokia inks MoUs with Airtel and BSNL to bring 5G network in India
While Finnish giant Nokia is prepped up to make a comeback in the mobile space, it is also planning to roll-out 5G connectivity in India along with Bharti Airtel and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

The Economic Times reports that Nokia has signed a memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with Indian telecom giants Airtel and BSNL.

Sanjay Malik, head of India market at Nokia told the paper that the idea behind these pacts is to introduce 5G in the country and see what are the steps required for the same. He said that this is more of a preparatory phase for getting into 5G.

Nokia is also setting up an experience centre within its R&D center in Bengaluru to understand stakeholder requirements for 5G in India and push towards the adoption of the new technology in the country.

5G is expected to launch in developed countries by 2020 and by 2022, in India. While the penetration of 4G in the Indian market has been tepid, there is much scepticism towards the adoption of 5G in India.

Despite the pessimistic outlook, mobile companies, telecom operators and the Centre are working towards ensuring that India comes on board the 5G bandwagon in line with the world.

From the sidelines of the World Mobile Congress, Samsung and Reliance Jio had earlier announced that they together plan to bring 5G network to India and Telecom Secretary JS Deepak had said,"We were late in 3G and 4G and we are very keen that India should not be deprived of 5G. It is not only a communication issue, it is a productivity issue for industry. It has wider applications in smart cities and grids and all kinds of things."
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...snl-to-bring-5g-network-in-india-2255549.html

India's fuel demand fell 0.6% year-on-year in March
India's fuel demand fell 0.6 percent in March compared with the same month last year.

Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 17.36 million tonnes, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed.

Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 2.9 percent higher from a year earlier at 2.11 million tonnes.

Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 1.9 percent to 1.89 million tonnes, while naphtha sales surged 1.8 percent to 1.15 million tonnes.
Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were 12.2 percent lower, while fuel oil use edged lower 23.4 percent in March.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...d-fell-0-6-year-on-year-in-march-2255697.html
 
Extend six-lane project from Beas to Amritsar and Attari: MP
Demanding a wider approach to the holy city of Amritsar, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik today demanded six-laning of the National Highway from Beas to Amritsar till Attari.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, Malik said the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway, which had been six-laned till Jalandhar, was further widened till Beas. However, given the importance of Amritsar as a key religious and tourism centre, the NH needs to be widened up till Amritsar and Attari, he added.

Malik said he had also met the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, in this regard.

“Amritsar is a major religious and tourism centre, attracting a large number of tourists around the year. It has its own international airport and passengers from Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir prefer to board flights from there. However, traffic congestion on the Beas-Amritsar road often creates problems for those headed for the city. In order to provide a safe and hassle-free journey, the road from Beas to Amritsar up to Attari should be six-laned,” Malik said, requesting Gadkari to upgrade the Dhilwan-Amritsar segment of the National Highway.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/am...om-beas-to-amritsar-and-attari-mp/388848.html
 
Sir ji, India needs small, non-fancy regional airports which are fast to make, easy to manage and effective in the UDAN scheme that PM Modi has launched. At Rs 2,500 for a 1 hour flight (and subsequent increments), there is little room for the airline or passenger to pay a hefty user fee like what Delhi and Mumbai used to charge before government intervened.

By far, Cochin airport is the most practical and optimised airport in India. It is small, but is effective in managing passengers, has enough local cultural merchandise of Kerala as a state, is low cost and effective and is among the top 10 airports in India.

Whoever planned and constructed the Cochin airport should be given the leadership in constructing similar airports across the country with a homely-yet-cost-effective design.

Remember, India has over 425 airstrips and airports across the country and over 80% of them remain unused. In today's India, last mile connectivity matters a lot. Which means if the government spends more on good quality expressways connecting to a simple airport, it will benefit PM Modi's economic and regional aviation growth plan.

Can't agree more, regional air connectivity in remote areas like east India, and North-East India needs large number of low cost, no-frills airports
 
Sir ji, India needs small, non-fancy regional airports which are fast to make, easy to manage and effective in the UDAN scheme that PM Modi has launched. At Rs 2,500 for a 1 hour flight (and subsequent increments), there is little room for the airline or passenger to pay a hefty user fee like what Delhi and Mumbai used to charge before government intervened.

By far, Cochin airport is the most practical and optimised airport in India. It is small, but is effective in managing passengers, has enough local cultural merchandise of Kerala as a state, is low cost and effective and is among the top 10 airports in India.

Whoever planned and constructed the Cochin airport should be given the leadership in constructing similar airports across the country with a homely-yet-cost-effective design.

Remember, India has over 425 airstrips and airports across the country and over 80% of them remain unused. In today's India, last mile connectivity matters a lot. Which means if the government spends more on good quality expressways connecting to a simple airport, it will benefit PM Modi's economic and regional aviation growth plan.

UDAN scheme is good but what I believe is a negative point is that the smaller airports are connected to metro airports only. in the Udan scheme 21 of the 33 airports are connected only to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata Hederabad and Bangalore

We need more regional connectivity to ease pressure on these airports

We also need multiple airports in these ciities

Bangalore and Hyderabad already have old airports which can be re started for short haul flights

Mumbai can have second airport at Navi Mumbai

Delhi needs a second airport in Noida/Greater Noida Side

Chennai and Kolkata are still not full but will soon hit their capacity and new airports are needed
 
Centre gives nod to Rs 1,000-crore plan to upgrade Amritsar railway station
The Union railway ministry has chalked out a Rs 1,000-crore redevelopment programme for the Amritsar Railway Station that envisages new platforms, LED lighting system, elevators, Wi-Fi, malls, smart parking.

Tenders for the project, to be carried out with international expertise, will be floated soon, said Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik in the House on Saturday.

Malik added that railway minister Suresh Prabhu has already given a formal approval to this project.

“Preliminary concept plan for the project has been developed and a presentation given to the engineering department of the railways. The advertisement for international design competition is likely to be ready within a month and half,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Centre gives nod to Rs 1,000-crore plan to upgrade Amritsar railway station
punjab Updated: Apr 02, 2017 14:59 IST
HT Correspondent
HT Correspondent
Hindustan Times, Amritsar
Centre
Railway minister Suresh Prabhu.(HT File Photo)

The Union railway ministry has chalked out a Rs 1,000-crore redevelopment programme for the Amritsar Railway Station that envisages new platforms, LED lighting system, elevators, Wi-Fi, malls, smart parking.

Tenders for the project, to be carried out with international expertise, will be floated soon, said Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik in the House on Saturday.

Malik added that railway minister Suresh Prabhu has already given a formal approval to this project.

“Preliminary concept plan for the project has been developed and a presentation given to the engineering department of the railways. The advertisement for international design competition is likely to be ready within a month and half,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Ads by ZINC

“The tourism ministry has also sanctioned Rs 13 crore for the station and it will construct executive lounge on first floor,” he added.

NITI AAYOG OKAYS TO Rs 300CR 26KM FEROZEPURPATTI RAIL LINK

With the railways releasing Rs 300 crore for 25.47-km Ferozepur-Patti rail link — Patti (in Tarn Taran district) to Makhu (a rural town under Zira subdivision in Ferozepur district) — decks have been cleared for shorter travel between the northern states.

The project sanctioned by the Union railway ministry in 2013 had now also got the approval of the Niti Aayog. The link will connect Srinagar, Anantnag, Udhampur, Jammu, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patti, Ferozepur, Guruharsahai, Jalalabad, Fazilka and Abohar to Mumbai via Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan) which would ultimately promote the overall development of the entire backward border belt of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/punja...way-station/story-qlRdjB0AQZhXrj8jZQU17J.html

Bullet train gets past major hurdle over BKC land
The railways have crossed a major hurdle in rolling out the ambitious bullet train project as the Maharashtra government has agreed to give land at the Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC).

The starting point of the Mumbai-ahmedabad high speed corridor at BKC was a bone of contention between the railways and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) as the latter was strongly opposed to giving land to the public transporter.

The proposed bullet train will start underground from BKC and travel 21 km in a tunnel passing through the sea before emerging overground at Thane.

The MRDA had wanted to use the BKC land for the proposed International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at BKC.

The state Urban Development Department had also asked the railways to explore alternatives near Bandra Terminus and Kurla.
However, the railways had rejected the suggestion and managed to convince the MMRDA that India's first high speed rail project should be constructed at an underground terminus at BKC, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

Since the station is planned to be built underground, the above space can be utilised for IFSC construction, the official said.

There are a total of 12 stations on the 508-km route — four of which are in Maharashtra and eight in Gujarat.

A formal announcement is likely to be made by the railways and Maharashtra soon ending the uncertainities over location of the starting point of India's first bullet train project, the official said.

The total land available at BKC is about 67 acres and the project needs about 10 acre land.

Passenger area, platforms, escalators, lifts among others will be constructed underground at BKC.

Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore, 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come by way of a loan from Japan. The project cost includes possible cost escalation, interest during construction and import duties.

Maharashtra and Gujarat will also share 25 per cent cost each for the project.

Currently geo-technical survey is going on to be followed by the final location survey to mark the alignment and exact spots for the pillars on which trains will run at higher speed to reduce the travelling time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad drastically.

It takes about seven hours to travel between the two cities and the bullet train aims to reduce it to about two hours.

Construction of the corridor is expected to start in 2018 and is estimated to be completed by 2023.
http://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/bullet-train-gets-past-major-hurdle-over-bkc-land/1024950

Bullet train project gets past major hurdle regarding BKC land
The railways have crossed a major hurdle in rolling out the ambitious bullet train project as the Maharashtra government has agreed to give land at the Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC). The starting point of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor at BKC was a bone of contention between the railways and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) as the latter was strongly opposed to giving land to the public transporter.

The proposed bullet train will start underground from BKC and travel 21 km in a tunnel passing through the sea before emerging overground at Thane.

The MRDA had wanted to use the BKC land for the proposed International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at BKC.

The state Urban Development Department had also asked the railways to explore alternatives near Bandra Terminus and Kurla.

However, the railways had rejected the suggestion and managed to convince the MMRDA that India’s first high speed rail project should be constructed at an underground terminus at BKC, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

Since the station is planned to be built underground, the above space can be utilised for IFSC construction, the official said.

There are a total of 12 stations on the 508-km route — four of which are in Maharashtra and eight in Gujarat.

A formal announcement is likely to be made by the railways and Maharashtra soon ending the uncertainties over location of the starting point of India’s first bullet train project, the official said.

The total land available at BKC is about 67 acres and the project needs about 10 acre land.

Passenger area, platforms, escalators, lifts among others will be constructed underground at BKC.
Estimated to cost about Rs 97,636 crore, 81 per cent of the funding for the project will come by way of a loan from Japan. The project cost includes possible cost escalation, interest during construction and import duties.

Maharashtra and Gujarat will also share 25 per cent cost each for the project.

Currently geo-technical survey is going on to be followed by the final location survey to mark the alignment and exact spots for the pillars on which trains will run at higher speed to reduce the travelling time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad drastically.

It takes about seven hours to travel between the two cities and the bullet train aims to reduce it to about two hours.

Construction of the corridor is expected to start in 2018 and is estimated to be completed by 2023.
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...past-major-hurdle-regarding-bkc-land-4606151/

Railways clocked best-ever numbers in some segments; road projects too, says Edelweiss
Financial year 2017 witnessed good performance by both the railway and road segments. News reports indicated that as far as the freight business is concerned, Indian Railways (IR) carried 1,107 MT of goods in FY17, the highest-ever in its history; also, originating passengers for IR increased after a hiatus of 4 years while passenger earnings jumped by ~`19 bn versus last year. Broad Gauge (BG) line commissioning at 2,855 km in FY17 was the highest ever; so was electrification of 2,013 km of lines in FY17 (up 16% y-o-y).

Road project awards in FY17 touched ~16,000 km as against ~10,000 km in FY16. With NHAI project awards being flat y-o-y, the entire increase came from state PWDs’ awards. Flat performance by NHAI was a dampener for listed road companies which mainly compete for NHAI projects.

Road construction in FY17 touched ~8,100 km versus ~6,000 km in FY16 and ~4,400 km in FY15 — while NHAI construction was up 32% y-o-y, MoRTH project construction was up 36% y-o-y. The key beneficiaries in the roads space include KNR Constructions (BUY), Sadbhav Engineering (BUY), PNC Infratech (BUY) and Ashoka Buildcon (BUY). The railway sector beneficiaries include KEC International (BUY) and logistic companies like CONCOR (Not Rated).

IR turns corner on freight business

To tackle loss of market share in the freight business, IR has taken several steps to attract more freight on its network. These measures seem to be bearing fruit with IR carrying 1,107 MT of goods in FY17. IR exceeded the revised freight target of 1,094 MT in FY17, despite the tough market scenario and surpassed the 1,102 MT freight carried in FY16. For FY18, IR is targeting 1,165MT of freight loading.
Freight rebates: To make itself competitive, IR withdrew the busy season surcharge and port congestion charges. News reports indicate that annual loading from Coal India in FY17 is expected to be ~223 rakes per day, which is the highest ever.

Expansion of freight basket: News reports suggest that IR achieved this by expanding its basket to include goods like automobiles, stones, vegetable oil, chemical, fly ash, red mud, timber, etc. During FY17, IR carried ~80 MT of these “other goods”. In addition, IR hauled 137 MT of iron ore in FY17 compared to 117 MT in FY16. IR also witnessed highest steel loading of 48 MT surpassing the previous best of 42.5 MT.

Passenger segment sees growth after 4 years

Originating passengers for IR had been declining continuously since FY13. To reverse this, IR had initiated multitude of steps to improve service quality for passengers. These include starting 87 new trains and increasing frequencies of certain trains; also, 586 additional coaches were added in regular trains. News reports suggest that as a result, originating passengers for IR have increased after a gap of 4 years while passenger earnings have spurted by `19 billion compared to last year. We believe this is a huge positive as far as IR’s earnings and profitability are concerned.

Railway capex on an uptrend

IR commissioned 2,855 km of BG lines in FY17; the target for FY18 is 3,500 km of rail lines. IR exceeded its target by electrifying more than 2,000 km of lines in FY17 (up 16% y-o-y). For FY18, the electrification target at 4,000 km is almost double that of FY17.
http://www.financialexpress.com/eco...ents-road-projects-too-says-edelweiss/621846/

Railways supply chain to go digital ?
The Indian Railways will be launching digital contract, a system of digitisation of its entire supply chain across all zones.

The step is aimed at improving the ease of doing business and transparency.

With 100 per cent E-tenders and E-auctions already assimilated into the system, railways are further planning to build on these initiatives to achieve seamless flow of material, finances and information.

Digital contract, a seamlessly integrated digital supply chain, to be launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on April 11, envisages involving stakeholders including industries, financial institutions, internal customers of railways and inspecting agencies to create an efficient, responsive and transparent system.

The system includes digitisation of processes like bill submission, inspection, dispatches, receipt, bill passing and bill payments, warrantee monitoring and enabling use of analytics for increasing supply chain efficiencies in real time.

"Digitisation of supply chain should be seen as a tool for generating efficiencies, reducing entry barriers and transaction costs and increasing transparency," said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Railways have a vast supply chain to maintain, sustain and build its huge asset base, to run the system, and to provide transportation service which is safe, secure and efficient.

The supply chain of railways has a large number of stakeholders and involves huge recurring expenditure of the order of Rs 50,000 crore annually.

This supply chain of railways generates large volumes of business and employment upstream, hence it is critical in railway functioning.

Digitisation of processes can also help in linking budgets directly with the outcomes, a move government is focusing on, the official said.

Such digitization will enable use of analytics for decision-making, reduce inventories and reduce procurement cycle time leading to reduced cost of products/services.

The railways have been stressing on the need for maximising use of ICT for increasing transparency and efficiency of government business processes on the one hand and improving ease of doing business on the other.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had highlighted the commitment of the ministry in his budget speech 2016.

"We intend to usher into a new era by switching over to paperless contract management system, where not only the bids are invited online but the entire process leading to award of a tender is also done electronically.We have completed the trial run for the above and intend to roll it out on all India basis in next financial year."

Since paperless tender finalisation has been implemented and the entire process from publication of tenders to issue of acceptance letter is now digital we are going to launch digital contracting, which is resulting from digital and paperless decision making process, the official said.

The supply chain digitisation would encompass integration of information flows, physical flows, and financial flows between railways and its supply chain partners.

It involves completely digitising the internal business processes of material supply chain and seamlessly integrating processes controlled by different stakeholders digitally to achieve a completely integrated, paperless and digitised supply chain.

The supply chain of Indian Railways is regulated through a single online website, which handles more than Rs 50,000 crore procurement through 100 per cent E-tenders annually.

The supply chain also handles more than Rs 2,500 crore auction sale through 100 per cent E-auctions in a year.

Besides, having more than 52,000 registered vendors for supplies, the vast supply chain handles more than 2,664 registered bidders for sale of scrap material.

This huge supply chain is managed from the headquarters of 17 zonal railways and 8 production units with more than 300 field locations spread across the length and breadth of the country.

Any transformational change in such a huge supply chain, requires innovative and out of the box solutions, while being within the public procurement systems.

In the last few years, the railways have substantially enhanced ICT for digitization of supply chain starting with e-tendering and e-auctions and moving towards paperless decision making process.

The railways' journey towards digital supply chain is now moving towards complete supply chain digitization.

Railways are holding a conference tomorrow which aims at creating a platform for different stakeholders to share their plans and ideas for identifying challenges and opportunities for achieving the vision of completely digitized supply chain.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/8591768_Railways-supply-chain-to-go-digital--.html

For Indian Railways, Santa Claus never came all this while: Suresh Prabhu
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Sunday drew a parallel between the Centre's decision to get railway infrastructure financed from resources outside the Budget to that of Santa Claus coming on Christmas eve.

"Santa Claus comes only when he wishes to. He will not come when you want him to come. The railways has been waiting for Santa Claus for too long," he said addressing a gathering after launching various infrastructure projects of the Konkan Railway simultaneously in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

"Unfortunately, the Santa Claus had many-many other children to take care of, so he did not find railway as a very attractive destination," he said.

The minister was referring to the union government's initiative to have railway infrastructure financed by raising resources outside the Budget.

"We have started financing railway infrastructure by raising resources outside the Budget. I prepared a (infrastructure upgradation) plan of Rs 8,66,000 crore which I presented to the Parliament more than two years ago.

I am happy to say that during the last two and a half years, the amount of capital expenditure we have created is about Rs 3,50,000 crore," he said.

"This year the capital expenditure, the plan outlay is Rs 1,31,000 crore. The finance minister has provided the support of Rs 65,000 crore, so the balance of Rs 66,000 crore is coming from outside the Budget.

So if we don't create infrastructure at the right time and if we still wait for the Santa Claus to come, it will not happen," the minister said.

Prabhu said all these years the lack of funding for railways resulted in several negatives.

"Railways did not get money and it suffered. The suffering of the railways was reflected in the fact that our capacity to add freight was going down, efficiency had gone down, we were not able to upgrade infrastructure... Electrification and all of this had taken a big hit," he said.

Hailing the achievements for last couple of years, Prabhu said "at first we (government) decided to raise the resources."

"The World Bank is keen to finance the railways and the Asian Development Bank has also come up with the proposal to finance the railways as they claim that they have seen so much action in this department," he said.

There will be externally financed projects for the railways which will help boost the infrastructure.
http://www.business-standard.com/ar...-this-while-suresh-prabhu-117040900442_1.html
 
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/bailey-bridge-open-for-traffic/article17911471.ece

CM lauds efforts of Indian Army, KSTP


Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Bailey bridge across the Kallada river, linking Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts, on Monday evening.

The inaugural function was held at Kulakkada on the southern bank in Kollam district in the presence of a huge crowd on both banks.

The Chief Minister lauded the efforts taken by the engineering wing of the Indian Army and the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) for the speedy completion of the steel bridge in the wake of the closure of the 18-year old concrete bridge following detection of damage in its piers four months ago.

Mr. Vijayan said the repair work on the damaged piers of the concrete bridge was progressing well.

He said experts had opined that indiscriminate sand-mining from the vicinity of the bridge piers was what led to the sinking of the piers.

G. Sudhakaran, Public Works Minister, who presided, said the expert team had found the second pier from the Kottarakkara side slighty shifted and the well foundation of the third pier eroded at the bottom.

The KSTP had initially blocked heavy vehicles, permitting only light motor vehicles and two-wheelers on it, from January 10 evening. However, the findings of an expert team led by Aravind, retired engineering expert from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, had recommended the KSTP authorities to prohibit all vehicular traffic on the bridge.

The bridge was closed from January 13 on the basis of a thorough analysis of the video of the bridge piers taken by diving experts, Mr. Sudhakaran said.

The Army Engineering Group from Chennai completed the 58-metre long, three-metre wide Bailey bridge on March 6.

Only light motor vehicle would be permitted, and that too in a single-line system at a time, on the steel bridge weighing 18 tonne, the Minister said.

Kodikkunnil Suresh and Anto Antony, MPs; Chittayam Gopakumar and Aysha Potti, MLAs, and P.K. Satheesan, KSTP chief engineer, spoke.

baily.jpg
 
indians excel only at pharmaceuticals- i know that cos even i myself am buying meds from india
 
Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:24 IST
Supply of Rail Neer



At present, Rail Neer is mandatorily supplied to passengers of all Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto/Suvidha trains. There is also mandatory supply of Rail Neer in 139 pairs of trains and 200 stations as identified by the Ministry of Railways. For remaining trains/stations, other brands of Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) bottles are being supplied to the passengers, as approved by the Zonal Railways. Presently, approximately 6 lakh litres of packaged drinking water is being supplied to passengers all over the Indian Railways, through production in seven Rail Neer plants located at Nangloi, Delhi (2003), Danapur, Bihar (2004), Palur, Tamil Nadu (2011), Ambernath, Maharashtra (2014), Amethi, Uttar Pradesh (2015), Parassala, Kerala (2016) and Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh (2017). However, since the estimated demand for PDW is approximately 25 lakh litres per day, six more Rail Neer plants are planned to become operational in the next two years which will augment the total capacity to approximately ten lakh litres per day. In addition, 1106 Water Vending Machines set up by Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have been installed at 345 stations for dispensing drinking water to passengers at prescribed rates in refills and with containers as under:-


Quantity
Refill (Amount in ₹)
With Container (Amount in ₹)


300 ml
1
2

500 ml
3
5

1 litre
5
8

2 litre
8
12

5 litre
20
25

Another 1100 Water Vending Machines are planned to be installed on other railway stations shortly. Further, all railway stations already have provision of potable drinking water on all platforms to satisfy the needs of rail passengers, free of cost. On most of the important stations, water coolers and chiller plants are also in operation for providing cold drinking water to passengers during the summer season.


This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).

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Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:23 IST
Waste Management Policy in Railways

Policy guidelines have been issued from time to time regarding Waste Management on Indian Railways including the following aspects:

(i) Handling and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste arising in the railway station area.

(ii) Handling and disposal of garbage arising from catering services.

(iii) Segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.

(iv) Disposal of hazardous waste such as batteries and e-waste.

(v) Prohibition of open burning of waste.


Garbage collected from different points is disposed off to the places nominated by local bodies like Municipal Corporation / Nagarpalika. Final disposal of garbage is done by these local bodies.


Railways have also proposed a pilot project for disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) being generated at major railway terminals in an environment friendly manner including segregation of waste and conversion of bio-degradable waste to energy.


Detailed instructions have been issued for provision of separate dustbins for biodegradable (wet) and non-biodegradable (dry) at major railway stations. Apart from vending stalls, separate dustbins for collection of biodegradable (wet) waste and non-biodegradable (dry) waste are to be provided on the platforms and all passenger interface areas. Railways have to provide different coloured dustbins and polythene liner bags for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.


As informed by the zonal railways, segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste is being done at some major stations of railways such as ER, NCR, SR, SCR, SECR and WCR. However, segregation is generally not done at collection and final disposal stage by the local Municipal bodies.


The effluent treatment plant at stations data is maintained by the concerned Zonal Railways. As informed by the zonal railways, effluent treatment plants are installed at 06 stations in CR, 02 stations in ER, 04 stations in SCR, 03 stations in WCR and 01 station each in NFR and SR. In addition, effluent treatment plants are also installed in other railway establishments such as Production Units, Workshops and Diesel Locomotive Sheds.


This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).

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Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:24 IST
New Catering Policy in Railways

New Catering Policy has already been notified on 27th February, 2017 with the objective to provide quality food to rail passengers by unbundling of catering services on trains. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has been mandated to carry out the unbundling by creating a distinction primarily between food preparation and food distribution. In order to upgrade quality of food preparation, IRCTC shall be setting up new kitchens and upgrading existing ones. New Catering Policy, inter-alia, includes the following features for unbundling of catering services (i) IRCTC shall manage catering services on all mobile units. (ii) Meals for all mobile units will be picked up from the nominated kitchens owned, operated and managed by IRCTC. (iii) IRCTC will engage service providers from hospitality industry for service of food in trains. (iv) IRCTC shall not outrightly outsource or issue licenses for provision of catering services to private licensees. IRCTC shall retain the ownership and shall be fully accountable for all the issues pertaining to setting up and operation of the Base Kitchens and quality of food.


33% sub quota for women in allotment of each category of minor catering units at all category of stations has been provided in the new Catering Policy 2017.


In compliance of provision in Budget 2016-17 that IRCTC would begin to manage catering services in a phased manner, new Catering Policy 2017 has come into effect on 27.02.2017 in supersession of Catering Policy 2010. The implementation and roll out plan will have essentially two sub components:- (i) Take over scheme for static /mobile units both departmental and licensee operated units. (ii) Unbundling implementation including identification of sectors and subsequent sequencing for takeover. Accordingly, in the first phase, IRCTC would take over 52 mobile units and 38 static units over the New Delhi –Mumbai (NDLS-BCT) route within the calendar year 2017 wherein contracts awarded by Zonal Railways through Standard Bid Document will be reassigned to IRCTC for starting the unbundling process.


This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).


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Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:23 IST
End to Train Telemetry Device

The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL) is an infrastructure provider. End to Train Telemetry (EoTT) device is an alternative of running trains without guard on an exclusive freight corridor.

EoTT system consists of two units – one unit called Cab Display Unit (CDU) fitted on the locomotive and the other is Sense and Brake Unit (SBU) fitted on the Last Vehicle of the train. Both the units are fitted with radio transmitter which communicates with each other. In case of a train parting, the system is designed to indicate to the driver the parting of the train and to apply brakes to the rear unit, thus averting the collision of the rear portion with the front portion of the train.

Each set of EoTT device is estimated to cost approximately ` 10,00,000/-.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).

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Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:22 IST
Speedy Railway Tracks

Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed between Government of India and Government of Japan for Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project provides for manufacture of rolling stock under ‘Make in India’. Also two train sets having maximum speeds of 160 kmph have been included in production programme for 2017-18 for Integral Coach Factory (ICF).

Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project involving construction of high speed track has been sanctioned with financial and technical assistance from Government of Japan. The project is proposed to be commissioned by 2023. No PPP investments are proposed in the project. Also ‘Mission Raftaar’ announced in 2016-17 envisages doubling of average speeds of freight trains and increasing the average speeds of non-suburban passenger trains by 25 kmph in the next 5 years. Works at a cost of ₹ 18,163 crore have been sanctioned for upgrading the speeds to 160 kmph on New Delhi-Howrah and Mumbai-New Delhi sectors.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).

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Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:21 IST
Outsourcing of some Non-Core Activities in Railways

New Catering Policy has been notified on 27th February, 2017 with the objective to provide quality food to rail passengers by unbundling of catering services on trains. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has been mandated to carry out the unbundling by creating a distinction primarily between food preparation and food distribution. In order to upgrade quality of catering services, IRCTC will engage service providers from hospitality industry for service of food in trains. In the case of tourist trains, products, executive lounges etc. service providers are engaged. Further, in order to provide better and improved services to passengers, Indian Railways has decided to hand over the Retiring Rooms/dormitories and their management to IRCTC. Expression of Interest (EOI) has been called for for Empanelment of Reputed Organizations by IRCTC to undertake the work of Renovate, Operate and Transfer of retiring room in a phased manner.

Railways also propose to outsource the housekeeping of major stations and trains by engaging professional agencies so that integrated cleaning can be taken up as a specialised activity.

Indian Railways is going for development of Commercial Contract Management System (CCMS) for management of internal processes related with commercial contracts to improve the efficiency and performance.

Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed between the Zonal Railway and Railway Board for the year 2016-17 to ensure accountability and improve performance.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).

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Ministry of Railways
12-April, 2017 16:21 IST
Rail Development Authority

Ministry of Railways had brought out a concept paper for public consultation on setting up of Rail Development Authority of India. Based on inputs received from stakeholders, a proposal for setting up of RDA has been approved by Government.

Some of the aims and objectives of Rail Development Authority are: pricing of services commensurate with costs; enhancement of Non Fare Revenue; protection of consumer interests by ensuring quality of service and cost optimization; competition, efficiency and economy; market development; creation of positive environment of investment; benchmarking of service standards against international norms; providing framework for non-discriminatory open access to Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC); absorption of new technologies for achieving efficiency and performance standards; and human resource development to achieve any of its stated objectives. Rail Development Authority’s envisaged functions pertain to the above aims and objectives.

It is envisaged that RDA comprising a Chairman and three Members shall make recommendations to Government for appropriate consideration/decision.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 12.04.2017 (Wednesday).

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Ministry of Railways
13-April, 2017 18:46 IST
Joint Press Release on Railways Cooperation between India and France

On April 13th of 2017, , Minister for Railways Mr Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, held meeting with , Minister of State for Transport, Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of France, Mr Alain Vidalies . They were accompanied by their respective delegation.


On the occasion of this bilateral meeting, both sides exchanged views, recalled the long standing technical cooperation between French National Railways and the Indian Railways (IR) and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening their cooperation in the field of Railways.


India and France are committed to develop this cooperation under the aegis of the Memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between the Ministry of Railways of the Republic of India and the French National Railways (SNCF). This Bilateral Meeting is intended to build upon and deepen the mutual cooperation already existing between the two countries.


India has over 66600 km of railways and over 7000 stations. It focuses its action in particular on priorities : safety speed upgradation, renovation and improvement of stations, passenger amenities, freight transport and network decongestion.


France has 30 000 km of railways, more than 2000 km of High Speed tracks and about 3000 stations. The High Speed network is still expanding. A global reflection on the place and purpose of stations in the city has been carried out recently and led to major renovation works in France. The security and improvement of the facilities is of course a constant concern in France.


In this context, both leaders desired for regular sharing of experience in order to address the common challenges. Both sides agreed that mutual collaboration and exchange of expertise will benefit the stakeholders in the two countries.


This collaboration between the two countries will in particular focus on the following:

High speed and semi-high speed rail ;

Modernisation of current operations and infrastructure ;

Station renovation and operations ;

Suburban trains ;

Safety systems, operations and Security.


On Semi High Speed, the two sides have decided in 2015 to carry out a technical and execution study for upgrading the speed of passengers trains on the current rail corridor between Delhi and Chandigarh (244 km) up to 200 kmph. The study is likely to be completed by Sep’2017.


The relevant partners, including government entities, agencies and companies, scientific and technical research bodies and private companies, will be invited to join the cooperation, when appropriate, and under the umbrella Cooperation program of two sides.

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