Jal Jeevan Mission

The Asian Development Bank will provide additional financing to support the Rajasthan Secondary Towns Development Sector Project to improve water supply, sanitation systems, and urban resilience

Naveen Patnaik, Odisha CM

The Odisha government on Monday approved a policy to remove the urban-rural divide and address unplanned urbanisation with a growing population in cities.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik green-lighted the "Odisha Rural-Urban Transition Policy", which allows special budgets for the implementation of infrastructure projects and delivery of civic services in peri-urban areas.
The policy provides for the constitution of steering and implementation committees with top officials of the state government, including the chief secretary, and experts in urban planning, finance, engineering, management, IT and others.
This is a first-of-its-kind initiative that intends to introduce a series of progressive and pragmatic measures such as essential infrastructure, amenities and services to all citizens, residing in the fast-growing rural areas adjoining cities, an official of the housing and urban development department said.
"The existing system of notification of declaring a rural area as an urba

N Chandrasekaran

The demand for steel in the country is expected to grow owing to infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation, and supportive policy reforms, Tata Steel Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the company's 116th annual general meeting, he said that domestic steel consumption rose 10 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 117 M in FY23.
The steel industry was also impacted by the volatility in the global environment, which affected the steel demand-supply balance and resulted in volatility in steel prices.
However, India appears to be an exception in the global steel arena, primarily owing to robust government spending and vibrant consumption, he said.
"India's steel consumption grew by over 10 per cent y-o-y to 117 MT (Million Tonnes) in FY23.
"India will continue to remain a major consumer within the global steel industry owing to infrastructure development, rapid urbanisation, and supportive policy reforms. We expect the steel demand growth to keep pace with the GD

Indian G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant

High growth of 8-9 per cent could be driven by focus on manufacturing and urbanisation, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
About 5,500 census towns need to have master planning, and sustainable urbanisation is the way forward, which is a huge opportunity to drive growth in India, he said speaking at an event for release of report titled 'The Rise of India's Middle Class'.
The bulging middle class holds immense power to drive sustained economic, political and social growth in India, he said.
As the number of middle class rises, he said, this will drive demand for quality healthcare, education, housing, consumer goods and many other things.
The government increasingly will have to focus on education and health as well as creating job opportunities.
The vision of India becoming a fully developed country by 2047 really implies that the middle class needs to be the key driver of India's growth story, he said.
"Rise of the Indian middle class is also indicative of economic ...

growth, profit, loss, currency, debt, reforms, investment, recovery, revival, revenue, share, value, stock, economy, returns, investment, gdp

One can also identify small but significant cultural changes in how markets in towns have transitioned

city

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday that India is likely to have 850-900 million people living in urban areas by 2050, pointing out that urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace.
The Union housing and urban affairs minister said the challenges for urban sectors are changing.
"Urbanisation is taking place at a faster pace. Every minute, 20-30 people are coming (to urban areas). By 2050, India is likely to see 850-900 million people living in urban spaces," Puri told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
He said that a lot of this will happen autonomously with private investments, but housing finance assumes greater importance.
On Tuesday, he addressed a gathering at the 53rd foundation day of the Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO).
The minister also stressed that urban schemes such Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Swachh Bharat Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) are nearing maturity and all of them are ..

Delhi metro

As cities face increasing vulnerabilities due to natural disasters, the need for enhancing urban resilience through adaptive models of governance and comprehensive planning has never been greater

Cities need a newer vision of urban prosperity - one that goes beyond GDP - and addresses the pillars of sustainable development

construction, realty, real estate, concrete, cement, buildings, high rise

With increasing urbanisation from 12 to 30 per cent, the next 20 years could see more development than in the last 50 years

Cities are not just an economic landscape. In the post-Covid world there is a need to understand the role culture plays in how a city grows beyond its economic allure

Parameswaran Iyer

NITI Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer on Thursday said that urbanisation is going to be the key as 50 per cent of India's population will live in urban areas by 2047.
Addressing an event organised by industry body FICCI, Iyer said many states have done wonderful work in solid waste management.
"Urbanisation is going to be the key. By 2047, 50 per cent of the population will live in urban areas, if you don't have basic services in urban areas, then it is going to be a big challenge," he noted.
He said the circular economy is now also becoming increasingly important.
Replying to a question on issues of cleanliness of India's tourist destinations, Iyer said," If you want to promote tourism in India aggressively, you better have clean places around, you better have better behaviour by tourists and by the locals."
Most beautiful tourist destinations in India are littered.

A governance ambiguity widens the gaps between the core of a city and peri-urban areas, resulting in a highly scattered and unorganised urbanisation

With an expected urban population of close to 630 million by 2030, the emphasis should not be on urbanisation alone but on planned urbanisation

The block or area that the Centre will identify for 'regeneration' will have to be mandatorily redeveloped, and all the property owners will have to participate in the plan

The waves of urbanisation have been uneven around the world and are intrinsically tied to the level of development and industrialisation in a country

The logic of developing a city should be to foster ease of living for its people and not profits for its developers

To address appropriate C&DW utilisation, elements of the existing policy framework need to be revisited

Delhi trees

Urban planning must be more eco-sensitive

supply chain

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Thursday

The rate of urbanisation needs to be moderated in a way that the influx of population is not concentrated in bigger cities only

The relation between economic growth rate and the degree of urbanisation is mutually reinforcing, as higher economic growth results in high incomes that influence the rate of urbanisation

RBI imposes penalty on SBI, Indian Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank

The scheme will offer an annual interest subsidy of between 3-6.5% on up to 0.9 million rupees of the loan amount

home loan, loan interest

Das asserted that directors in UCBs, who are elected to their positions, must possess expertise in diverse banking functions, including risk management and information technology

Shaktikanta Das

In Feb 2018, the MoD established two defence industrial corridors to serve as engines of economic development and growth of defence industrial base in the country

An exhibit of Su 30 MK-I fighter aircraft at the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) pavillion during the 12th edition of DefExpo, in Gandhinagar on Tuesday

Defence Expo 2022

Weak demand, global slowdown add to their woes

Crude oil

Tata Projects on Saturday announced its collaboration with Micron Technology to construct an advanced semiconductor assembly and test plant in Sanand, Gujarat.
The company in a statement said the contract awarded to Tata Projects solidifies the company's proficiency in large-scale, sustainable infrastructure development in the Indian manufacturing landscape.
According to the statement, situated in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation area of Chaarodi, Sanand, the project spans an expansive 93 acres of land.
"This enduring project is a significant milestone and the largest investment under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)," the statement said, adding that the construction of Phase 1 will include a 500,000 square feet cleanroom space, scheduled to be operational by late 2024.
The statement said the project encompasses the design and construction of a first-of-its-kind DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and NAND (non-volatile flash memory) assembly and test facility in

tata, tata group

Protests were held across Pakistan against the rise in the power tariff and the inclusion of excessive taxes in the electricity bills

New electricity tariff rules

If one imagines 'Ram Rajya', it should have good and free education and healthcare for all, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.
Addressing a gathering at an event here, he also said that everybody should have access to good education and healthcare and the AAP-led Delhi government is trying to work in that direction.
He inaugurated a new OPD building of the Delhi government-run Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital on Saturday and also interacted with the patients there.
Healthcare and education are the focus areas of the Delhi government and expansion is going on in a major way, he said, adding that there are currently around 10,000 beds at all city government-run hospitals put together.
Eleven new hospitals are being built and the infrastructure of old facilities is being upgraded, he said, adding 16,000 new beds will be added.
Referring to the upcoming Dusshera and Diwali festivals, the Delhi chief minister said, "We worship Lord Ram."
"'Ram Rajya' is being spoken of. I cannot 

Arvind Kejriwal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday flag off nine Vande Bharat trains connecting religious and tourist destinations across 11 states.
The nine trains will provide faster connectivity across 11 states -- Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Gujarat.
The Prime Minister will flag off the trains through video conferencing.
The new Vande Bharat trains will run between: Udaipur  Jaipur; Tirunelveli-Madurai- Chennai; Hyderabad Bengaluru; Vijayawada  Chennai (via Renigunta); Patna  Howrah; Kasaragod - Thiruvananthapuram; Rourkela - Bhubaneswar  Puri; Ranchi  Howrah; and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad.
These trains are a step towards realising Prime Minister's vision of improving connectivity across the country and providing world class facilities to rail passengers, an official statement said.
"The Vande Bharat trains will be the fastest train along the routes of their operation and will help save considerable time of t

PM Modi, Narendra Modi

A Kashmir-based Sikh body on Saturday said the India-Canada row was "a political gimmick" by the establishment to garner votes in the elections and that the community was an integral part of the country.
"Everything is politically exploited. Sikhs are an integral part of this country. Since RSS came into power, the only agenda it has is that they will talk about 'gharwapsi' whether it be in Muslims, Sikhs or anybody. We are not going to tolerate it," All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee Chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina told reporters here.
"The India-Canada situation is a political gimmick as elections are coming up. It is to garner votes during elections and nothing else. The community is progressive, it is working hard for the country and it will continue working like that," he said.
He alleged that the Khalistan issue was a narrative, built on lines of Kashmir issue for political mileage. "A political scenario has been created like for Kashmir, Pakistan scenario has been formed a

India Canada

International credit agency Moody's Investors Service has made sweeping assertions against Aadhaar without citing any evidence, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Monday.
The UIDAI issued a strong rebuttal to Moody's Investors Service which claimed that the Aadhaar system often results in service denials and the reliability of biometric technologies, especially for manual labourers, in hot and humid climates is questionable.
"A certain investor service has, without citing any evidence or basis, made sweeping assertions against Aadhaar, the most trusted digital ID in the world. Over the last decade, over a billion Indians have expressed their trust in Aadhaar by using it to authenticate themselves over 100 billion times," the UIDAI said in a statement.
The unique id Aadhaar's custodian said that the report in question does not cite either primary or secondary data or research in support of the opinions presented in it.
"The investor service did not make any

Adhaar, UIDAI

The Nijjar murder is fast unfolding into treacherous scenarios that could have tragic consequences for both nations. No one stands to gain from the ongoing face-off

India's rage is misplaced and hardly serves to endear the country to those appalled by the idea that it may have had a Canadian citizen killed

The leaders of both countries should encourage bilateral trade and people-to-people exchanges that can help build bridges

Canada has updated travel advisory for its citizens in India asking them to "stay vigilant and exercise caution" in the context of recent developments as there are calls for protests and some "negative sentiment" towards Canada on social media.
Tensions flared between India and Canada following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, on his country's soil on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
India angrily rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.
"In the context of recent developments in Canada and in India, there are calls for protests and some negative sentiment towards Canada on social media. Please remain vigilant and exercise caution," the Canadian government said in an

Alleged details related to the upcoming Google Pixel 8 series has surfaced on the web, revealing key information about the duo of the smartphone that are slated to launch on October 4

Google Pixel 7 series

Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, moved Supreme Court challenging Allahabad High Court which denied bail to him in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case

Supreme Court, Manipur violence

ICMAI CMA Result 2023 has been released today, September 26, 2023. Alongside the ICMAI CMA July Session result, the Institute will announce the CMA pass rate at icmai.in

ICMAI CMA Result 2023

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said dreaming has become a habit of the Congress and the people of Madhya Pradesh will decide in the next 60 days who is nervous in the elections.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its second list of 39 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls due this year-end, fielding seven Lok Sabha members including Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste.
It also fielded BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
The election schedule is yet to be announced.
With the second list, the BJP has named its candidates for 78 out of the total 230 assembly seats in MP.
The Congress claims the BJP has fielded its senior leaders because it is scared of defeat.
Asked about it, Scindia told reporters here, The people of the state will decide in the next 60 days who is nervous in the elections. Dreaming has become a habit of the Congress. The prime minister has already giv

Dreaming has become habit of Congress: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki will clash with Prabhas's Salaar this Christmas. SRK's last two movies were blockbusters, and this movie is also expected to do good

Urbanisation

ADB, India Sign $200 million loan to expand urban services in Rajasthan

Odisha's new policy to check urban-rural divide, unplanned urbanisation

Steel demand to grow on supportive policy reforms: Tata Steel Chairman

High growth of 8-9% to be driven by manufacturing, urbanisation: Kant

The cultural markers of urbanisation

850-900 million Indians likely to live in urban areas by 2050: Minister

Looking into urban resilience

Notes on urban prosperity

Urban centres to double in 25 years, helping real estate: Civil servant

Urbanisation and urban dynamics

Urbanisation set to be key with 50% population in cities by 2047: NITI CEO

Urbanisation without chaos: How to plan and govern our cities

India@100: What's ahead for urbanisation?

Delhi urban regeneration policy to give sweeping powers to Centre: Report

Urbanisation's different strokes

Urban woes and construction catastrophe

Urban mining

Unnatural urbanisation

Best of BS Opinion: Global supply crunch, India's urbanisation and more

Increasing the pace of India's urbanisation