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Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
EXPANSION ON, ISSUES REMAIN
On May 24, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced an ambitious plan to boost Odisha's urbanisation rate from the current 17% to 40% by 2036 and 60% by 2047. The announcement, made during the 10th governing council meeting of NITI Aayog in New Delhi, detailed the govt's urbanisation plan which includes developing a massive 7,000sqkm metropolitan region – comparable to the size of the Hyderabad Metropolitan region – encompassing Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Jatni, Cuttack, Paradip and Puri. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now When it comes to urbanisation, of all the infrastructural facilities that require attention and expansion, an airport is one of most important structures that plays a key role. And in the aftermath of the plane crash in Ahmedabad airport last week, focus on aviation-related infrastructural facilities has become paramount. "The existing airport in Bhubaneswar, despite recent upgrades, is approaching saturation, struggling to accommodate growing passenger traffic and bigger aircraft and large cargo operations. The proposed metropolitan area's economic potential, coupled with increasing tourism and business activities, demands a new and strategically located airport outside Bhubaneswar," former Air India pilot and BJD leader Manmath Routray said. The state budget in Feb had proposed to establish a greenfield airport in Paradip to accelerate growth in industry and to further expand the aviation map across industrial clusters in coastal areas. A greenfield airport in Puri has also been planned. The previous BJD govt had planned the Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri. As per the plan, considering Bhubaneswar's saturation, Puri was planned to become fully an international airport and Bhubaneswar fully domestic. Recently Majhi also discussed expediting work on the proposed airport in Puri and upgrading the existing one in Rourkela. Routray added that a new airport would not only decongest the existing facility but also catalyse economic growth across the planned metropolitan region. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It would enhance connectivity, boost tourism, and support the region's industrial development. "The project aligns with Odisha's vision of becoming an economic powerhouse in eastern India," he said. The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) operates over 100 flights daily on an average and more than 35,000 flights annually. In 2013, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had planned a comprehensive expansion plan requiring 64 acres of additional land. The primary objective was to extend the runway from 9,000ft to 10,500ft, which would have enabled the airport to accommodate bigger aircraft like Boeing 777, 787 and 747, along with special cargo planes. Despite multiple negotiations spanning several years, the state govt's offer in March 2017 fell short of the requirement. It proposed allocating only 47 acres of land, currently under the control of Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), against the required 64 acres. This land shortage then prompted AAI to reconsider its expansion strategy. Airport authorities have indicated that the existing runway is sufficient for current commercial operations, leading the AAI to shift its focus towards improving infrastructure and passenger services instead. "To expand the existing runway from 2274 meters to over 3000 meters, we need land in length and not in width. We can get 47 acres from OUAT but require another 17 acres that need to be acquired by displacing a part of Baramunda village," BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan said. But even if a new airport comes up, there will be mushrooming of houses and towers and other structures - which may pose a threat to aircraft - around it. "Expanding an airport or constructing a new one will boost growth and that will also lead to growth in other sectors, like real estate for instance. In case of Delhi's IGI airport as well, there are residential areas along Dwarka and Vasant Kunj end. Even the airport in Bengaluru, which is situated around 40 km from the township, now has houses coming up near it," hotelier Debashis Patnaik said. While the runway expansion plan is facing a dead end for now, BPIA is set to get a third terminal to enhance domestic operations. The proposed terminal (T3), to be constructed over a 30,000 square metre area, may pave the way for segregated handling of arrivals and departures. Currently, BPIA operates with two terminals - T1 for domestic flights and T2 for international operations.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Shah-led panel approves Rs 2K crore to rebuild Himachal after flood damage
NEW DELHI: In a significant move aimed at rebuilding disaster-affected regions in Himachal Pradesh, a high-level committee, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Wednesday approved Rs 2,006.40 crore as central assistance to the state, officials said. According to them the financial assistance is given for the recovery and reconstruction activities in the wake of the devastating floods, landslides, and cloudbursts that struck the state in 2023. The committee, composed of the Finance Minister, the Agriculture Minister and the Vice Chairman NITI Aayog as members considered the proposal for financial assistance to the state under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the officials said. A senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official said, 'The high-powered panel has approved the recovery plan of Rs 2,006.40 crore to Himachal Pradesh, which will help the state in carrying out recovery and reconstruction activities, arisen due to damage and destruction that occurred in 2023 monsoon due to floods, cloudbursts and landslides.' According to him the sanctioned fund will comprise of Rs 1,504.80 crore as Central share from recovery and reconstruction funding window under the NDRF. 'Earlier, on December 12, 2023, the MHA had approved additional financial assistance of Rs 633.73 crore from the NDRF for the state, which was affected by this disaster,' he said.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Kerala to G20, face of key govt schemes Amitabh Kant calls it a day
After serving the government for 45 years, Amitabh Kant has now stepped down as India's G20 Sherpa, bringing to a close a long innings in bureaucracy that saw him play a significant role in multiple government initiatives, both at the state and central levels, to shape its reform agenda. In July 2022, barely a month after completing a six-year stint as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NITI Aayog, India's apex policy think tank, Kant was handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as G20 Sherpa to represent India in the lead-up to its G20 presidency in 2023. 'I am deeply grateful to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for accepting my resignation as India's G20 Sherpa and for the trust he placed in me to drive developmental initiatives that shaped India's growth trajectory,' Kant said in a LinkedIn post Monday. Known for his time-bound delivery and communication skill, Kant led the process to hammer out the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration that was adopted by the G20 with consensus in September 2023 despite deepening geopolitical divides amid the Russia-Ukraine war. A retired 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, Kant, 69, said he would now deepen his engagement with 'free enterprise, startups, think tanks and academic institutions'. He is known for his interest in deep tech startups and electric mobility, and is considered among those bureaucrats who could connect with leaders in business and government alike. Ahead of his resignation, Kant took to social media to advocate for a large Fund of Funds (FoF), announced in the Union Budget 2025, to strengthen deep tech innovation. He also made a strong pitch for the cause of pure electric vehicles (EVs), likening investment in hybrids or internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to 'investing in typewriters during the era of AI & smart phones'. In his stint with the central government, Kant had been Secretary of the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (2014–16), CEO of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (2009-14), and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism (2001–07). He played a notable role in some major government initiatives such as Startup India, Make in India, and Incredible India. Earlier, during his tenure in the Kerala government, Kant was credited with steering the campaign, 'Kerala: God's Own Country', to promote tourism in the state. Kant had been close to the Narenda Modi dispensation. In 2016, a year after PM Modi scrapped the Planning Commission and established NITI Aayog, Kant was named as its second CEO, where he served till June 30, 2022 to become its longest-serving CEO so far. During his tenure at the NITI Aayog, Kant drove some politically sensitive initiatives like the Aspirational Districts Programme and helped push the policy agenda across sectors—from manufacturing through the PLI (production linked incentive) scheme to innovation via the Atal Innovation Mission. He also led one of the empowered groups of officers tasked with formulating the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kant was known for his rapport with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, which helped the former navigate his diplomatic assignment as the G20 Sherpa. A bureaucrat-turned-politician, Jaishankar is a retired officer of 1977 Indian Foreign Service (IFS) batch. Jaishankar and Kant went to the same college and university – St Stephens, Delhi, and JNU. Both Jaishankar and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who also studied in JNU, were mentioned by Kant in his resignation post for their 'guidance and support'. In the course of his long stints in Delhi, Kant's office addresses changed from Samrat Hotel to Udyog Bhawan to NITI Aayog to Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, but there were a few things that remained constant. First, there would be a glass door in his office, where anyone could see him before walking in. Second, his favourite playlist of ghazals including those sung by Chitra Singh, such as 'Ham ko dushman kee nigaahon se na dekha keejiye pyaar hee pyaar hain ham, ham pe bharosa keejiye'. Third, his team of private staff, who always worked with him. Kant has also been no stranger to controversy. In December 2020, he triggered a row by saying that 'tough' reforms are 'very difficult in the Indian context' as 'we are too much of a democracy' but the government has shown 'courage' and 'determination' in pushing such reforms across sectors, including mining, coal, labour and agriculture. His remarks came when farmers had taken to streets to hold protests against the three contentious central farm laws, which the Modi government was eventually forced to repeal. In March this year, Kant waded into the work-life balance row when, addressing an event, he batted for a 80-90 hour work week for India to move from a $4 trillion to $30 trillion economy by 2047. He said India needs to inculcate a good work ethic like Japan, South Korea, and China, which have attained high economic success through hard work. Kant's comments came after L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan and Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy had expressed similar views. As regards his future innings, Kant had earlier ruled out taking a plunge into public life. 'I've had a very long innings in government. I've been working for almost 44 years now. So, I have no ambition to get into politics or any such thing,' he told The Indian Express in October 2023. Earlier that year, Kant, a fitness enthusiast, had also said, 'I'm not ambitious. I just want to quit after December and play some good golf.' Kant has written several books, including 'How India Scaled Mt G20: The Inside Story of the G20 Presidency'.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
India as the world's fourth largest economy: What the numbers tell us
According to the latest projections by the IMF, India is now the world's fourth-largest economy. Government officials, including the CEO of NITI Aayog B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, have expressed confidence that India could soon overtake Germany to claim the third spot. Adding to the optimism, the World Bank recently reported that extreme poverty in the country fell to 5.3% in 2022–2023. A recent report by SBI noted that the poverty rate in India could now be in the range of 4%. But what do these numbers mean for the broader population? Guest: Partha Chatterjee, Dean of Academics at Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR, and Professor, Department of Economics, Shiv Nadar University. Host: Nivedita V Edited by Jude Francis Weston For more episodes of In Focus:
Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Himachal Pradesh: Centre approves Rs 2,000 crore assistance aid for flood, landslide damages
The committee, comprising Union Finance and Agriculture Ministers and the Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog as members, considered the proposal for financial assistance to the state from the recovery and reconstruction funding window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
