A high definition format for television viewers to enjoy the Commonwealth Games and efforts for auction of 3G spectrum were some matters that kept the Information and Broadcasting Ministry busy in 2009.
The Samajwadi Party on Friday termed its decision to support the government at the Centre, during last year's trust vote over the India-United States civil nuclear agreement, as a 'historical blunder'. On whether the Congress has betrayed his party, he said, "I don't want to use such strong words against the Congress, but we are disenchanted with it".Singh said he had received a lot of flak within his party for supporting the United Progressive Allaince.
The Third Front, which has a history of mutative existence, hops into the new year with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgham joining the group of disparate parties ganging up on a non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party platform.
According to senior ministry officials, the loan is expected to be approved within six months. The plan is to construct two rail corridors between Delhi-Mumbai (western corridor) and Delhi-Kolkata (eastern corridor). These would be exclusively for freight trains and run parallel to the national highways connecting the four metros.
The project, which is being implemented on build-operate-transfer basis by the concessionaire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, is expected to be completed by February 2010, before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games. A special purpose vehicle by the name Jaypee Infratech Ltd has been incorporated recently to implement the project by the concessionaire.
The Delhi government has already cleared the first of these, the 16.3-km Ambedkar Nagar-Delhi Gate corridor, under its proposed high-capacity busy system project.
State governments are gradually taking initiative as far as developing highways is concerned.
Currently, the IRCTC runs region-specific package tours for tourists. The corporation has to book tickets for passengers in regular trains running on the these routes. By running a dedicated train, the state-owned company expects to enhance revenues.
Shipping ministry officials said a new alignment for the canal would require fresh geological studies like soil testing, wave and sedimentation testing and, most importantly, an environmental impact assessment.
After twice revising its deadline from the original December 2004 to the latest December 2006, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials say that till date it is only 94.4 per cent complete.
The Japanese and the French are the world leaders in high-speed train technology. While the Japanese are known for their superfast Bullet train, the French have high-speed trains under the TGV brand.
Railways to introduce touch-screen TVs for individual seats.
Hong Kong-based architectural firm, Terry Farrell and Partners would be signing the agreement with the railway ministry next week for preparing the concept plan for the modernisation of New Delhi railway station.
The railway ministry has decided to sell a 20 per cent stake in RITES Ltd, an undertaking of the ministry which, among other activities, operates railway networks in some African countries, in an initial public offer.
The ministry was supposed to send the policy for Cabinet clearance by February end.
Under the plan, the Railways would acquire and lease out the land to the private concessionaire.
The much-hyped public private partnership motto of the railway ministry seems to have gone nowhere, as the ministry continues to sit over proposals from at least three state governments to start luxury trains.
Contentious issues like land acquisition and sharing of toll seem to have put the approval of the new Model Concession Agreement for highway projects on hold.
To give a new thrust to the National Highway Development Programme, the government has decided to pump in Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) for six-laning of 3,000 km highways under phase-V of the programme in 2007-08.
Hero Honda is being egged on by the government's "unannounced concessions" in its 10-year vision statement, the Automotive Mission Plan, which envisages the development of low-cost vehicles.
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