Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor work to start soon

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Thursday approved a Japanese soft loan for the Rs.26,124 crore ($5.4 billion) dedicated railway freight corridor stretching 1,483 km from Navi Mumbai to the national capital, an infrastructure project that has been described as iconic. The cabinet today (Thursday) approved the proposal for availing Japanese ODA (overseas development assistance) for implementing the western corridor of the DFC (dedicated freight corridor) project, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

September 12th, 2009 MUMBAI - Jet Airways resumed operations on a modest scale with 37 flights Sunday after a crippling five-day strike by pilots ended overnight. Two of the flights - Mumbai-Dubai and return - were operated on an international route.

August 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two men were injured in the capital early Sunday morning after their motor-bike fell into a big pothole in the middle of the road near Moolchand flyover on the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) corridor. A short stretch of the BRT corridor from Defence Colony to Lajpat Nagar caved in Saturday-Sunday night as the mud below the road turned soft following underground water seepage.

July 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's private carrier Kingfisher Airlines is planning to launch flights on eight international routes this year, it said Saturday. We have planned a roadmap for the next phase of international routes.

July 3rd, 2009 TOKYO - India and Japan on Friday agreed to take steps to fast track work on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project. The decision was announced at a joint press conference by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries-Hirofumi Nakasone and S.M.

May 26th, 2009 BHOPAL - The Madhya Pradesh government has signed an agreement with IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corp (IIDC) for the development of three industrial zones under the central government's ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project. This project will prove to be a milestone in the future industrial development of the state, Minister for Commerce, Industry and Employment Kailash Vijayvargiya said Tuesday.

March 24th, 2009 MUMBAI - The following is the price list of Tata Nano variants in Delhi and Mumbai: Nano Standard - Non-AC (BS-III) Ex-showroom Delhi: Rs.123,360 Ex-showroom Mumbai: Rs.134,250 Nano CX - Solid Paint/AC (BS-III) Ex-showroom Delhi: Rs.148,360 Ex-showroom Mumbai: Rs.160,320 Nano CX - Metallic Paint/AC (BS-III) Ex-showroom Delhi: Rs.151,360 Ex-showroom Mumbai: Rs.163,320 Nano LX - Metallic Paint/AC (BS-III) Ex-showroom Delhi: Rs.172,360 Ex-showroom Mumbai: Rs.185,375 The cheapest Nano variant - BS-II compliant - will cost Rs.112,735 ex-showroom in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, the location of a Tata Motors factory that will manufacture the small car in the initial phase. However, this model will not be available in Delhi and Mumbai on account of emission norms in place in these cities.

March 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Helicopters will soon get separate corridors for landing at all major airports in the country, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Monday. 'This would minimise traffic chaos at the airports, where wide-bodied aircraft share their space with choppers also,' the official said.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways will likely get Rs.200 billion (Rs.20,000 crore/$4 billion) from Japan for their rail freight corridor project, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad said here Friday. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will release the funds by the end of 2009, Lalu Prasad told reporters after presenting the interim railway budget.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * Frequencies of a host of trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

February 8th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday blocked the way to a train in this Punjab city to protest the non-inclusion of Amritsar in the railway freight corridor plan. Sporting black flags and banners against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Sidhu, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Amritsar, and his supporters squatted on the railway track at the Amritsar station, delaying the departure of the Amritsar-Ambala train.

January 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Vishwavidyalaya-Jahangirpuri corridor of the Delhi Metro that was to be flagged off Jan 30 would now be operational from Feb 3, an official said Thursday. The ceremony was postponed in view of the state mourning in the wake of death of former president R.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Enthused by an exhilarating ride on a Japanese high-speed train last week during his visit to Japan, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Monday said India would soon have similar bullet trains on selective routes and that his ministry would start scouting for global consultants. 'The day is not far off when the bullet train will run in the country,' Lalu Prasad told reporters here.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Fresh from a ride on a Japanese bullet train, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Monday announced that India would soon have similar high-speed trains on select routes. 'The day is not far off when the bullet train will run in the country,' Lalu Prasad told reporters here.

December 22nd, 2008 AHMEDABAD - Despite the global economic slowdown, Gujarat is still on 'investors' radar' and has the potential to take the maximum advantage of the economic situation, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday. Laying foundation stone for Dishman Pharma's chemicals and engineering special economic zone (SEZ) at Bavala-Bagodara near here, he said: 'Gujarat is marching on the path of progress when global banks, insurance companies and firms are in the grip of economic crisis.' 'The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project is going to change the contours of industrial development maps.