BUSINESS OUTLOOK
GADKARI RECOMMENDS COMMITTEE TO REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON STEEL, CEMENT
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he Union Road Transport Ministry has planned to set up a committee under the chairmanship of K. Venkataramanan to reduce the dependency on steel and cement. It would also reduce the cost of construction and look for alternatives, said the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) and the Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Nitin Gadkari. He was speaking at a webinar - Challenges and Opportunities in HAM & BOT Projects organized by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Gadkari stated that all steel - whether produced from ore, billets, pellets, or melting of scrap - would be allowed to be used for National Highway construction, as long as it meets the standards required for specific grades of steel. He said that steel that was proposed to be used would be tested in NABL-accredited laboratories as a third-party check before approval. He informed that his ministry has managed to achieve three world records recently. “Firstly, we have managed to achieve a record by constructing 37 Kms of road per day during 2020-21. Secondly, the construction of a 2.5 Kms four-lane concrete road was achieved in a matter of 24 hours. Our ministry also achieved a record by constructing a 26 Kms one-lane road in 24 hours flat. This is due to the efforts put by our engineers, contractors, and workers”, he said. Gadkari added that the Ministry has constructed 13,327 Kms of National Highways up to March 2021 as compared to 10,237 Kms in March 2020. “The award figure is 10,965 Kms during this period as compared to 8,948 Kms in the previous year. This kind of performance was never done earlier”, he informed. He informed that the Ministry has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza” with effect from midnight of 15th February 2021. Vineet Agarwal, President, ASSOCHAM stated that the Complexities of infrastructure development need to be understood to ensure that the supporting frameworks are effective.
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DAWN
June 2021
INDIA GEARS UP FOR WHEAT PROCUREMENT AT MSP
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he country has now geared up for record wheat procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the current rabi season. Soon after the season began, the purchases of wheat, the key rabi cereal, by the official procurement agencies crossed the halfway mark against the target set for the season. If we look back, we find the pace of procurement and prevailing low market rates, the government may end up buying more than the target, which will put pressure on it to liquidate the stocks. This time around, the funds are being transferred directly to the farmers’ bank accounts, throughout the country. Even Punjab joined the system, ending initial confusion over the manner of paying MSP to farmers in the state due to the state government’s reluctance to embracing the direct bank transfer system. As of now, the FCI and state agencies have purchased 22.23 MT of wheat, as against 7.76 MT during corresponding period of last year, sources from the concerned Ministry said. The purchases, as is the pattern, have been the highest in Punjab despite a late start from April 10, followed by Haryana and MP. The procurement in Uttar Pradesh, the biggest producer of wheat, stands at 0.77 MT, higher than year-ago period. Wheat procurement last year started a fortnight late from its normal schedule of April 1, 2021 due to the lockdown and pace was slow because of social-distancing norms. Almost INR 8,180 crore has been transferred into the bank account of farmers in Punjab and about INR 4,668 crore in Haryana. As per record, a record wheat production of 109.24 MT in the country during 2020-21 crop year, the government has set a target to buy 42.74 MT for the central pool that is almost 10 per cent more than actual quantity that was purchased in 2020. This year the wheat procurement started about 15 days earlier than that of the previous records especially in MP, Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, the procurement would probably by June.
