World Bank Releases its Ease of Doing Business Report: India moves up to 100th from 130th position, under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi
With a vision of making Railways a preferred mode of transport with the people at large, Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal has planned a multi-pronged scheme that will make tardy trains a thing of the past.
With a new and innovative time table that comes into force from today, the Indian Railways promises to cut short the running time of more than 600 trains quite dramatically.
The new time-table released shows that from 1 November 2017, more than 600 trains will run faster, substantially reducing the journey period of a passenger from anywhere between one to six hours.
The volume of passengers carried daily is about 2.22 million. “Innovative time tabling is one of the strategies adopted to speed up the trains…..This exercise involved planning and charting of trains afresh. By charting these trains at maximum permissible speed, cutting on the duration of the existing halts and by leveraging advantages accruing due to improved infrastructure including tracks, signalling and rolling stock the running time has been curtailed,” said a senior official.
As a result of this exercise, 51 trains will see a reduction in running time between one to six hours while more than 600 trains will see their journey time cut up to an hour.
Moreover, the Railways has proposed to introduce six new Humsafar Express trains, increase the frequency of two existing such trains, introduce four new Antyodaya Express trains in the new Time Table to meet the aspirations of the local people and provide connectivity to the new areas.
These new services will be in addition to the 10 Humsafar Express trains, seven Antyodaya Express already running on the Indian Railways, officials said. Besides, 19 trains have been extended and nine trains whose frequency has been increased are also included in the new time table.
Indian Railways runs about 3,525 reserved express trains which include Gatimaan Express, Rajdhani Express, Humsaafar Express, Tejas Express, Duronto Express, Antyodaya Express, Garib Rath Express, Shatabdi Express, Sampark Kranti Express, Yuva Express, Janshatabdi Express and other types of trains. This is in addition to about 4,600 Passengers and 5,000 EMU trains.
Officials said that after a review of rakes at destinations it was noticed that rake utilisation can be further improved and that rakes of some trains which were idling at the terminals can be utilised for providing new services, extending existing services and increasing the frequency of some trains.
As of now, the Railways has started nine new services, extending 11 trains and increased frequency of four trains using the lie over rakes. Then on the production of rakes, which is a continuous process on Indian Railways, the production programme for the current year will include about 10 rakes of Humsafar express. Six rakes of Antyodaya Express are also planned for production.
In order to provide sufficient time for the maintenance of the fixed infrastructure like track structure, signalling gears, overhead equipment, the Railways has planned to ensure provision of fixed corridor blocks.
The duration of these corridors blocks will be from two to four hours. This will not only improve passenger safety but also improve punctuality of trains through enhanced reliability of assets.
The Railways is also making concerted efforts to standardise the rakes by integrating the rakes links. It has also standardised the composition of the rakes by amalgamating the rakes. This will lead to further improvement in rake utilisation, improving punctuality, minimising rescheduling of trains and saving of slots in the washing pit lines.
The overall earnings of Indian Railways will improve due to better raked turnaround and improved flexibility of train operations. According to officials, a total of 893 out of 2,717 rakes have been standardised and integrated and they are making efforts to further increase the number of such rakes.
Source: https://swarajyamag.com/infrastructure/ir-gets-new-time-table-piyush-goyals-latest-effort-will-speed-up-600-trains-by-one-to-six-hours
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways
31-October-2017 19:37 IST
India Japan Cooperation in Rail Safety makes further headway.
A Japanese mission is on a visit to India for this purpose from 30.10.2017 to 02.11.2017.
Minister of Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal chairs round-table discussion on “Cooperation for Safety in Rail Operations” with the Japanese delegation.
Shri Goyal stresses on the ‘Total Safety Management’.
Japanese delegation assures of full cooperation in this area based on the expertise available in Japanese Railways & Industry.
Japanese Railways is one of the oldest Rail system in the world. Japan is the pioneer in the High Speed Rail ‘Shinkansen’. Japanese Railways has an impeccable record with Safety. Ministry of Railways (GoI) had requested Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for technical cooperation in Rail Safety.
Responding to Ministry of Railway’s request, MLIT deputed a team of Japanese Railway experts to India to assess incidents of rail breakage and suggest measures to improve safety in train operations. The Memorandum of Cooperation on Railway safety was signed on 17.2.2017 between Ministry of Railways (GoI) and MLIT, Japan.
The MoC envisages cooperation in Rail Safety on area such as maintenance of Track (welding, rail inspection, track circuit etc.) and rolling stock maintenance. ‘Capacity Development’ has been taken as a Technical Cooperation project under the MoC to develop Indian Railways’ capacity in respect of the above identified areas. These areas have been incorporated in the Terms of Reference of cooperation.
A Mission from Japan comprising representatives of Japan’s MLIT, JICA(Japan International Cooperation Agency) and railway operators etc. are visiting India from 30.10.2017 to 2.11.2017.
On 31.10.2017, Hon’ble Railway Minister Mr Piyush Goyal along with CRB and other Board Members has met with the Japanese delegation comprising members of ToR mission and members from the rail related industries. Japanese delegation was headed by Japanese Ambassador in India H.E. Mr Kenji Hiramatsu. During this occasion, a roundtable discussion was held with the Japanese delegation. Hon’ble MR stressed on the total safety management. He also mentioned that IR is striving for ‘zero accident regime’. Japanese Ambassador in India H.E. Mr Kenji Hiramatsu assured for full cooperation in this area based on the expertise available in Japanese Railways & Industry.
The roundtable discussion on railway safety and conventional railways was held with following agenda:
i. Accident Investigation
ii. Track
iii. Railway safety management
iv. Locomotives
Presentations were made by Japanese Industries on their capability in the field. In addition issues of Station Development, Security Systems and Modal shift from truck to rail in transporting new cars & trucks was also discussed.
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AKS/MKV/ENS
Fuel supply to power stations from Coal India’s mines has risen 17% in September to 32 MT (million tonne) from 27.4 million tonne in the year-ago period as the government scrambled to meet spike in demand as a result of thermal power stations stepping up operations to meet shortfall from other sources.
According to the coal ministry’s monthly summary for the Cabinet, Coal India’s supplies to power stations was 6.8% higher at 205.5 MT in the April-September period than the previous corresponding period. Coal India is the anchor source for coal, accounting for 80% of supplies. The latest figures will, thus, come as a relief to the coal ministry, which has found itself on the defensive following low stocks at power stations across the country in spite of double-digit growth in Coal India’s production.
As TOI first reported on August 26, the spectre of coal shortage had returned to haunt power plants across the country after a gap of three years due to a combination of several factors. The Dhanbad-Chandrapura railway line was shut on safety fears just when Coal India was in the middle of reducing its pithead stocks by pulling back production. Next, unprecedented rains hit Central Coalfields Ltd production.
The situation was compounded by September as nuclear generation fell 36%, wind 14% and hydel 12%. Supplies from Bhutan also dropped. Naturally, this unmet demand shifted to coal-fired plants, a fact supported by Central Electricity Authority data showing 17% growth in thermal generation in August. As thermal plants operated at 58% capacity in August against 51.59% in the year-ago period, coal demand spiked by 20 million tonne.
This spike coincided with power stations drawing down coal stockpiles by half in February to reduce inventory costs as timely supply had become the new normal. Just when stocks were pared to about 11 days or less, the sweaty season demand spiked in August and coal supplies got disrupted. Even as coal supplies are rising, the switching of load from other sources put power station back to square one.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/cil-raises-supplies-17-in-sept-as-coal-demand-spikes/articleshow/61178116.cms
The railway ministry has decided to give more powers to its two nodal bodies to redevelop stations and its land, a senior official said.
The two bodies — Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA), and Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) — are set to get powers to deal with all big decisions on the commercial use of railway land and developing stations, the official said.
The ministry has also formed a high-powered committee which will give recommendations on ways to further strengthen the bodies which will, in turn, speed up the execution of projects.
“The issue of exploiting railway land for commercial use is being looked into afresh and the organisation handling this subject – RLDA – is being further strengthened and empowered to take care of this work effectively, especially big land parcels,” Railway Board chairman, Ashwani Lohani, told PTI.
“Similarly, in the case of Station Redevelopment Program (SRP), we have decided to expedite their operations by strengthening the IRSDC further,” Lohani said.
The decisions have been taken based on directions issued by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
The minister has made it clear, in his meetings with the members of the board, that no department can work in silos and strengthening existing bodies and empowering them should be the goal to deliver work faster, an official said.
The committees plan, the official said, will be the blueprint for other such bodies.
“So, now, all the land-related projects will be handled by one department ?- RLDA — and all station-related decisions will be taken by the IRSDC. Basically, there will be clarity in the processes involved,” said the official, adding that this will expedite processes as files will move faster within the departments.
Similarly, the One ICT (information, communication, and technology) plan is working as a core group within the IT Directorate and not as a separate body.
“Now, it will be part of the bigger IT directorate which works on all IT infrastructure-related activities of the national transporter,” the official said.
The One ICT was created to set up an integrated software that would bring various functions of the railways ? passenger reservation, movement of goods trains, asset management and other functional requirements of the national transporter ? under one roof.
“The ministers focus is on strengthening and empowerment of field offices and field functionaries through delegation of powers, simplification of processes, total clarity on the implementation strategy.. These steps to bring related aspects of operations under one nodal body is a step in that direction,” Lohani said.
Goyal has told the officials that streamlining file movement and communication between different departments would ensure that safety projects are completed in time.
In fact, after the Elphinstone bridge stampede in Mumbai, Goyal had also given unlimited powers to the General Managers for 18 months for safety-related issues and questioned why the file for the tender of an additional FOB was delayed.
“The minister has motivated railway employees to adapt new work culture and work in a mission mode to meet the targets and achieve results,” the official said. PTI ASG CHT CHT
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rly-to-give-more-teeth-to-land-andamp-station-redevelopment-bodies/1/1072867.html
Key Takeaways:
How did Coal India fare in addressing this increased demand? Since April 2016, TPPs started reducing their coal stock. This led to a concomitant increase in the pithead stock of Coal India. On April 1, 2017, the coal stock of TPPs was 28 MT; 11 MT less than the stock held a year back. In the same period, there was a substantial rise in pithead stock kept by Coal India — from 38 MT to 68 MT. Incidentally, this was an all-time high level of pithead stock. This reaffirms the broad trends in coal production. In the last three years, there has been a huge increase in aggregate production by Coal India. Thus, it would be misleading to claim a shortage of coal by merely looking at the number of coal plants with low stock.
Concentrated steps by Coal India have resulted in a substantial increase in supply to the power sector over the last two months. In August, coal supplies were 14.4% greater than in August 2016. Similarly, the supply in September grew by 21%. The growth could be even higher for October (29% until October 11). In September 2017, 193 rakes were supplied daily to the power sector, which has further increased to 206 in October. To ensure availability of rakes for long-distance supply, plants within 60 kilometres have been asked to make greater use of roadways for coal transportation.
Overall, until now, the coal offtake of Coal India has grown by 8.3% this fiscal year. This increase in supply for TPPs does not seem to be coming from a massive reduction in pithead stock or transfer from other sectors. In this period, there has also been a substantial growth in coal production. For instance, September saw a 10% growth in production as compared to September 2017.
In the data, it is evident that availability of surplus coal with Coal India has allowed the government to tide over the increased demand.
Sources:
How is Coal India Addressing the Increased Demand for Coal from the Power Sector?
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=171008
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170746
The stardom Narendra Modi and Salman Khan enjoy refuses to fade away as they topped the charts as the living role model of the young and Bollywood’s biggest icon, respectively, the Hindustan Times Youth Survey 2017 has revealed. Modi was also chosen the biggest political icon.
Bollywood Icon
In a country where stars are almost worshipped like gods, it was no surprise when Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan took the top four spots in the survey with 18.3%, 15.3%, 13.3% and 13.2%, respectively. Clearly, people like to stick to conventional choices, even if all of them happen to be plus-50 actors.
Surprisingly, though , Kangana Ranaut and Vidya Balan — who featured in the list some years ago —now seem to have dropped out.
In what suggests the youth prefer the ‘star’ value over acting, Nawazuddin Siddiqui or Irrfan are other surprise omissions from choices. “Nawaz is someone who is an icon in his own rights. He has done some hatke films and I’m so impressed that despite not being the conventional good looking hero, he can give any leading actor a run for his money,” says 23-year-old Shagufta Ali, a master’s student.
Prime Minster Narendra Modi retains the highest-rated living role model position for the fifth year in a row, indicating a preference among the youth for influence, power, money and mass appeal. No longer looking for a short cut to make it big, youngsters are keen to explore success stories that are gripping. In comparison, former US president Barak Obama, who also featured in the survey results for three consecutive years, is no longer in the picture. Replacing him are Bill Gates (25.6%), Sundar Pichai (11.10%) and Malala Yousafzai (6.8%) who take up the three spots after Modi.
Some youngsters HT spoke to are divided on the choices. “Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the living role model that I look up to. The way he is transforming society only through means of peace and his Art of Living teachings, is commendable. A role model is someone who is doing his bit to bring about a change in the society,” says Tripti Babbar, 22, a postgraduate student.
In 2011, when Hindustan Times launched its annual Youth Survey, Narendra Modi was nowhere in the picture. In 2013, he was voted the top political icon and has not looked back since. Salman Khan, chosen India’s sexiest man from 2011 to 2014, is Bollywood’s top icon in 2017
Sexiest man alive
Sex appeal is a heady mix of appearance and popularity. While Salman Khan defines the term sexy for most of the youth — he has topped four surveys — the last two years have put Ranbir Kapoor as the sexiest man alive, going strong with 32.7% this year. Ranveer follows with 21.6% and Justin Bieber with 9.2%. Surprised by Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham, Ryan Gosling or Tom Cruise not making it to the list, Mrinal Madan, 24, an MA second year student, says, “I think Hrithik Roshan is hot and sexy. He’s got a great body, sex appeal plus he’s so good looking despite being a father to two sons.” Even Prabhas’s name is in the running. “I loved him in the film [Baahubali] and even if he is from South film industry, I find him to be sexier than many of our Bollywood heroes,” says Babbar.
Sexiest woman alive
Her Hollywood stint might have worked wonders for Deepika Padukone, who outpaced five-time favourite Katrina Kaif second year in a row as the sexiest woman alive. With nearly one-third of the youth voting for Padukone this year — same as last year — she successfully left behind international actors. “Deepika is just so hot. The way she acts on screen and carries herself is perfect,” says Ali. While Priyanka Chopra takes the second position at 22.9%, Alia Bhatt has hit the third spot with 22.1%.
Sports icon
Virat Kohli emerged as the top sports icon, dethroning MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar who held the spot for three years in a row each. 29.7% of the youth said Kohli was biggest icon, followed by Roger Federer (13.9%) and PV Sindhu (10.5%). “After Dhoni, it is only Kohli, who has that quality to lead a team and keep everyone united. He is young, full of ideas and someone, who knows how to balance things,” says Madan.
Political icon
Overlooking the flaws that Indian political system broadly suffers from, India’s youth unanimously chose prime minister Narendra Modi again as their political icon with a dominating percentage of 47.5%. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi feature in the results with 8.9% and 8.7%. Initially hailed as a game changer, Delhi’s chief minister and the leader of Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal settles for third slot with a tie with Mamata Banerjee at 7%.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ht-youth-survey-narendra-modi-continues-to-capture-the-imagination-of-the-youth/story-5FCFd39qZTD6I9PuKFJs0O.html
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Coal
13-October-2017 19:25 IST
Shri Piyush Goyal expands Diwali joy of Coal India employees.
The Union Coal Minister announces higher one-time advance of “Rs. 51,000 instead of Rs. 40,000” payable to each employee of Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries.
The gesture has been hailed by the trade unions.
10.1% growth in September 2017 and 13% growth in October 2017 registered in coal production.
Shri Goyal exhorts the employees to continue on the path of growth in coal production and break all the previous records.
The Minister extends happy and prosperous Diwali greetings to all the employees.
Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Coal & Railways, much to the joy of around 3 Lakh non-executive employees of Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries, today, i.e. 13th October, 2017 announced that the one-time advance payable to each employee would now be Rs. 51,000 instead of Rs. 40,000, before Diwali by 17th October – the day of Dhanteras.
Shri Goyal’s generous gesture was hailed by the trade unions and brought new-found optimism among the coal workers furthering their Diwali cheer. The one-time advance would be paid to the employees currently on the rolls of the company.
The Union Coal Minister complimented the employees of CIL for their diligence and perseverance for achieving 10.1% growth in coal production for September 2017 and 13% growth in October 2017 so far. He exhorted the employees to continue on the same path and break all the previous records.
Shri Goyal enthused the coal workers by stating that it was heartening to note that the growth in coal dispatch to power sector moved into high orbit with 21% in September 2017 and around 22% till 12th October. He extended happy and prosperous Diwali greetings to all the employees.
It may be recalled the year-long wage negotiations were concluded between CIL Management and Trade Union representatives much to the satisfaction of the employees and management who received a 20% increase on wages.
The main thrust of the wage negotiation was to make available ‘reliable and affordable power to all’ and social security for workers.
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