HDK bats for tunnel roads in Bengaluru, seeks central assistance for the project
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, in a letter to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, termed the project the 'backbone of Bengaluru's future transport infrastructure, addressing current bottlenecks, improving connectivity, and enabling long-term sustainable growth', and sought Union government assistance for the same.
The Karnataka Cabinet recently approved ₹17,780 crore for the project from Hebbal to Silk Board. Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited, a SPV floated to implement key big-ticket infrastructure projects, including tunnel roads, is all set to call global tenders for the project.
Mr. Kumaraswamy also urged the Centre to support the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project to decongest Bengaluru's core areas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Traditional bonfire ceremony marks Auroville's twin celebration of Sri Aurobindo's birth anniversary and Independence Day fete
A traditional bonfire ceremony marked Auroville's twin celebration of 153rd birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo and the nation's 79th Independence Day. The event was marked by a virtual address from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and elaborate celebrations across Auroville's International township. In his address to a gathering that included Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan and Auroville Foundation Secretary Jayanti S. Ravi, Mr. Pradhan drew powerful connections between Sri Aurobindo's revolutionary ideas and contemporary-India's development goals. 'Sri Aurobindo saw Independence not as the end of a struggle but as the start of a new journey where India would lead the world with its spiritual wisdom and strong values,' the Minister said adding this vision was in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat 2047 mission. Mr. Pradhan also joined the celebrations and held discussions with Ms. Ravi and G. Seetharaman, Officer on Special Duty, Auroville Foundation about the township's growth and educational contributions. Earlier, flag hoisting ceremonies took place at multiple venues in Auroville. The event brought together teams from key institutions, including Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC), Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) and Fund and Management Committee.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Govt. embarks upon swapping high interest loans with low interest ones
Faced with the mounting interest burden of high-cost loans obtained in the past, the Telangana Government has reportedly decided to swap the high-interest loans with low-interest borrowings so as to ensure that it can save significant amounts in the coming days. The effort can be seen from the fact that the Government has opted for low-interest open market borrowings through the auction of securities conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the past few weeks. The State Government raised a huge ₹5,000 crore through the auction of securities on August 5, with interest rates pegged around 7.1%. It has raised ₹3,500 crore on July 29 with interest rates of 7.15% to 7.16%, and the same is the case with ₹2,500 crore raised on July 15 with interest rates pegged at 7.1%. Though the tenure of the borrowings is longer, they are likely to come in as a cushion to the Government owing to their low interest rates. The development follows the huge loans obtained by the BRS Government at high interest rates, which have become a burden on the State Government that is forced to pay interest of around ₹25,000 crore since the last two fiscal years. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said, during his Independence Day address on Friday, that the Government completed debt servicing of ₹2.2 lakh crore, which included principal of ₹1.32 lakh crore and interest component of ₹88,178 crore since the Congress assumed power less than two years ago, indicating the seriousness of the issue. Senior officials said the low-interest loans will help set off the high cost of government debts, but not the off-budget borrowings. OBBs are primarily financed by the financial institutions which cannot be swapped, senior officials said. Keeping this in view, the government addressed a communication to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking her approval for the restructuring of high-interest loans. The communication cited the loan of ₹31,795 crore raised by the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme SPV from the Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation with interest rates ranging from 10.75% to 11.25%. 'Additionally, I would like to bring to your notice that several projects initiated with high interest loans remain incomplete due to various reasons resulting in sub-optimal yields compared to their original projection,' the CM said, seeking the Union Finance Minister's intervention in directing the financial institutions like PFC and REC to restructure loans that were extended to the SPVs/corporations.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
Congress criticises PM Modi's RSS praise in I-Day speech, says violation of secular republic
New Delhi: Congress MP and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for praising Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh -- the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP -- in his Independence Day speech. Soon after PM Modi acknowledged the social contribution of the RSS -- 'world's largest NGO', Ramesh said, 'The Prime Minister's speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort today was stale, hypocritical, lacklustre, and alarming.' Calling the PM's 103-minute address a 'dull mix of self-praise', Ramesh wrote on X, 'The most alarming aspect of the Prime Minister's speech today was mentioning the RSS from the ramparts of the Red Fort — a blatant violation of the spirit of a constitutional, secular republic.' The politicisation of a national occasion like Independence Day for personal and organisational gain is deeply harmful to our democratic values, said the General Secretary in charge of Communications of the Congress. Friday's I-Day speech was not the first occasion on which PM Modi has praised the RSS. Earlier this year, in a podcast with AI researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman, he credited the RSS for giving him a purpose in life, inculcating the spirit of a nation first and nurturing him with a service-driven philosophy. 'Through the RSS, I found a life of purpose. Then I was fortunate to spend some time among the saints, which gave me a strong spiritual foundation. I found discipline and a life of purpose,' he said. The PM also showcased the social causes to which RSS, over the past 100 years, has devoted its energy, touching the lives of tribals, women, labourers and youth. Earlier, Ramesh claimed that PM Modi's I-Day speech lacked 'any honest mention of the country's deep economic distress, unemployment crisis, and rapidly growing economic inequality'. He alleged that PM Modi's talk of protecting farmers now sounds hollow and untrustworthy, as they tried to impose three black agricultural laws. 'Even today, there is no concrete announcement regarding a legal guarantee for MSP, fixing MSP with a 50 per cent profit over costs, or loan waivers. On job creation, too, only superficial talk was made, with no solid or credible roadmap,' he said, crediting the Congress government for establishing the country's first semiconductor complex in Chandigarh in the early 1980s. The Congress MP also demanded answers regarding the credibility of the electoral process. 'In Bihar, millions of voters are being deprived through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists,' he said.
