PM Modi

As many as six infrastructure projects of roads and railways worth Rs 52,000 crore have been recommended for approval under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, an official statement said on Thursday.
This takes the total number of projects assessed by NPG to 112 with a total value of about Rs 11.53 lakh crore, since the launch of PM Gati Shakti, it said.
These six projects were assessed in the 56th Network Planning Group (NPG) meeting on September 27.
The "Group meeting under PM Gati Shakti six project proposals, including four projects of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and two projects of Ministry of Railways with the total project cost of about Rs 52,000 crore were assessed," the commerce and industry ministry said.
The inter-ministerial NPG meets every fortnight and appraises infra projects to ensure multi-modality, synchronisation of efforts, and comprehensive development in and around the project location.
The initiative was launched to develop an integrated infrastructur

road construction

Flagging "poor quality" of many roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a parliamentary panel has said that such compromise was "completely unacceptable" and suggested that the thickness of roads under the scheme be increased from existing 20 mm to 30 mm.
In its report tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Department Related Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj also stressed on the need for better centre-state cooperation to properly implement the scheme.
The panel, which is headed by DMK MP Kanimozhi, stated that it is "constrained to note that the quality of road construction under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) is an important issue affecting the entire country".
"This glaring issue which casts aspersions on the marquee scheme of the central government has wider ramification on the hopes of rural populace of the country," the committee said.
It also said the compromise in the quality of construction of roads was completely unaccepta

road financing

In a push towards strengthening rural road connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh, the Centre has released Rs 22.74 crore to the northeastern state under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) as grant-in-aid, an official statement said on Tuesday.
The incentive has been given for the "best performance" of the state in the implementation of the rural road development scheme during the 2022-23 financial year.
The fund would be used for periodic maintenance of rural roads already constructed under PMGSY, the statement said.
During FY'23, roads covering 1096.24 km, including 61 bridges, were constructed in the state under the PMGSY scheme.
Efforts of the state government to improve quality with new technology and fund spent on the maintenance of roads are considered for the financial incentives, the statement said.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu thanked the Centre and assured that the grant would be "optimally and judiciously utilised".
He said rural connectivity is a top priority of t

Data shows that only 41% could be completed during the stipulated period

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

The Congress on Thursday demanded a CBI inquiry into what it alleged was a Rs 1,700 crore Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana "scam" in Manipur and demanded strong action against ministers involved in graft.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Manipur Congress chief K Meghachandra said the PMGSY "road scam" in Manipur is still being unearthed by a Congress team under his leadership and they, along with the media, have been visiting interior parts of the hills for the last few months in districts such as Churachandpur, Noney and Kamjong.
He alleged that after inspecting several roads, it was found that no work had been done despite allocation of funds and completion of their work already recorded.
Under the BJP's glorified double-engine government in Manipur, Rs 1,700 crore intended for PMGSY has been siphoned off, Manipur Congress spokesperson Ningombam Bupenda Meitei alleged at a press conference here.
AICC in-charge of the state Bhakta Charan Das alleged that the funds have

Rahul gandhi,

Guidelines under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) need more flexibility based on individual needs and circumstances of every state

Yashwant Sinha

Though "hurt" that others tried to take credit of what was originally his ideas, Sinha in the autobiography, makes it clear that never once did he mind Vajpayee taking credit of it

Road, Highway, Road projects

This will ensure better maintenance of roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

Centre to involve self-help groups for upkeep of PMGSY roads

So far, more than 5.13 lakh km of road length has been constructed in rural areas under the PMGSY

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Indus Towers and IOC Phinergy (IOP) have inked a pact for the deployment of 300 zero-emission energy systems to optimise diesel consumption at Indus' telecom tower sites.
This move accelerates Indus Towers' progress towards its sustainability priorities, according to a release.
"Indus Towers Limited and IOC Phinergy Private Limited (IOP) have signed an agreement for deployment of 300 zero-emission energy systems based on aluminium-air technology, to optimise diesel consumption at Indus' telecom tower sites," the release said.
Indus Towers' CEO Prachur Sah said as part of the company's ESG vision, Indus Towers believes in nurturing environmental stewardship, being socially responsible and having robust governance.
"Indus Tower's agreement with IOP is a testimony of the company's commitment to build eco-friendly telecom tower sites by investing in solutions for resource optimisation," Sah added.
IOP is a joint venture company formed by IOCL and Phinergy Ltd, Israel to manufacture, s

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New research has revealed an inherent gender bias in the content - text, images, other media - generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
Analysing AI-generated content about what made a 'good' and 'bad' leader, men were consistently depicted as strong, courageous, and competent, while women were often portrayed as emotional and ineffective, researchers at the University of Tasmania, Australia, and Massey University, New Zealand, found.
Thus, AI-generated content can preserve and perpetuate harmful gender biases, they said in their study published in the journal Organizational Dynamics.
"Any mention of women leaders was completely omitted in the initial data generated about leadership, with the AI tool providing zero examples of women leaders until it was specifically asked to generate content about women in leadership.
"Concerningly, when it did provide examples of women leaders, they were proportionally far more likely than male leaders to be offered as examples of bad leaders, .

AI, google, Artificial Intelligence

Communal tension erupted in Ramganj and nearby areas here on Saturday after a man died allegedly due to thrashing by a group of men over an accident between two motorcycles, police said.
Two motorbikes collided in Subhash Chowk after which a group of men with one of the two riders thrashed the other rider, Iqbal, late Friday night, police said. He was rushed to SMS hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, they said.
Several shops in the Muslim-dominated areas were shut down, and family members of the deceased and locals gathered there are demanding action against the other side.
Additional forces have been deployed around the area and efforts were being made to diffuse the tension, police said. Shops in Ramganj, Subhash chowk and nearby areas have been closed in view of the tension.

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Social media or mass media have become weapons of mass distraction, but there are no concerted efforts yet to tackle them, Justice Mahesh Sonak of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court said on Saturday.
Addressing the students of G R Kare College of Law in Margao town during a lecture series 'GRK-Law Talks', Justice Sonak also said that he prefers to remain "uninformed" about several issues by not reading or seeing the news, which he thinks is "better than being misinformed".
"Today, we live in an age where we adore and glorify machines like computers and smartphones that think. But we are extremely suspicious or even wary of the human beings that attempt to think," he said.  "Artificial intelligence has its own merits, but it would be a sad day and sad world if we were to mortgage our ability to think, our ability to make intelligent and, moreover, sensitive choices, to a machine or an algorithm, however intelligent it may be," Justice Sonak said.
"We should not want to atrophy ou

bombay high court

Godrej Agrovet Ltd (GAVL) on Saturday said it will set up an integrated palm oil complex in Telangana with an investment of Rs 300 crore over the next 3-4 years.
The palm oil complex, to be set up in the Khammam district of Telangana, is spread over 125 acres and will consist of a crude palm oil mill along with the provision of setting up a refinery in the near future, GAVL said in a statement.
The company will also establish a nursery with a capacity of up to 7 lakh saplings per year in addition to the seed production and research unit, it added.
"Telangana's ambitious oil palm mission aims to bring 20 lakh acres under cultivation across the state. The mission will improve income for more than 5 lakh farm households, while at the same time contributing to the nation's deficit for edible oils.
"Along with being the rice bowl for the country, Telangana is all set to become the largest edible oil producer in India," Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries

PMGSY roads

PM Gati Shakti: 6 infra projects worth Rs 52K cr recommended for approval

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