Hybrid vehicles crucial for future mobility: Niti Aayog member
NEW DELHI: Hybrid vehicles should be considered as key aspect in India’s journey to future mobility, Niti Aayog member V K Saraswat said Sunday. Moving towards electric vehicles directly from internal combustion engine (ICE) need proper infrastructure, and it will take time, Saraswat further said. Introduction of EV technology should begin with two-wheelers and three-wheelers […]
IAF plans to make Andhra Pradesh strategic base
AMRAVATI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has come up with major plans for Andhra Pradesh to make it a ‘strategic base’. Prime among them are IAF’s plans to set up a major helicopter training facility at Donakonda in Prakasam district. The other plans put forth before the AP government are establishing a drone manufacturing facility […]
CBI charge sheet against Vijay Mallya likely in a month, bank officials may be included
NEW DELHI: Many senior bank officials who had dealt with loans given to liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines may be named as accused in a CBI charge sheet which is likely to be filed within a month, sources said. This would be first charge sheet in the case pertaining to loans of over Rs […]
Nabard approves Rs 65,635 crore loan for 93 irrigation projects
NEW DELHI: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has approved Rs 65,634.93 crore loan so far to 93 prioritised irrigation projects under the government’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), its chairman H K Bhanwala said. The Nabard is funding the central and state share of 99 prioritised irrigation projects […]
20 lakh people join modified JanDhan scheme, total account holders 32.61 crore
NEW DELHI: As many as 20 lakh people have joined the modified Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), taking the total number of account holders in the flagship financial inclusion programme to 32.61 crore as on September 5, according to finance ministry data. The government earlier this month relaunched PMJDY as an open-ended scheme with […]
Mamata Banerjee leaves for 12-day trip to Germany, Italy
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday left for a 12-day trip to Germany and Italy to attract more investments to the state. Banerjee, accompanied by Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Finance Secretary H K Dwivedi and Chief Secretary Malay Dey, left for Frankfurt and Milan at around 9.45 am, official sources said. The […]
Union Bank of India exits Antwerp diamond market
NEW DELHI: State-owned Union Bank of India has decided to quit Antwerp diamond hub in Belgium as the branch did not generate expected business, a senior bank official said. The finance ministry had advised all the public sector banks to review their overseas business and close branches which are not profitable as part of strategy […]
Coal India wants a coal export policy
KOLKATA: Coal India wants a policy on coal exports before it could finalise commercial contracts for exporting the dry fuel, a senior CIL official said. “There is need for a policy. But, we are not aggressive as we are facing high demand in the domestic market and the initial aim is to fulfil that,” the […]
Indian billionaire buys GBP 2 million mansion for his daughter
By Aditi Khanna LONDON:An unnamed Indian billionaire has acquired a 2-billion pound mansion in the Scottish countryside as a home for his daughter who is set to begin her course at the University of St Andrews in Scotland next week, according to a media report Saturday. The Eden Mansion, which was built in 1860 as […]
Licence of land sold by Skylight to DLF “deemed to have lapsed”
CHANDIGARH: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said the licence of a piece of land in Gurgaon’s Sector 83 which was sold by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra’s firm Skylight Hospitality to realty major DLF was “deemed to have lapsed”. The licence of the piece of land has not been renewed, […]
Enforcement Directorate chargesheets Pearls Group in Rs 45,000 crore ponzi scam
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a charge- sheet against Pearls Group and its chief Nirmal Singh Bhangoo in connection with a ponzi scam involving over Rs 48,000 crore. Apart from Bhangoo, who is in judicial custody, three of his colleagues and several of his commission agents have also been named in […]
Centre to establish web-based ‘knowledge lab’ to share technologies for affordable housing
NEW DELHI: To meet its vision of housing for all by 2022, the government will launch an online knowledge lab for states and union territories, detailing ways to execute affordable housing projects through new technologies and innovative designs. According to the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry, the laboratory will act as a source of […]
Supreme Court of India appoints NBCC to construct stalled projects of Amrapali Group
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday appointed state-run NBCC to develop the stalled projects of the Amrapali Group and directed the Debts Recovery Tribunal to sell the unencumbered commercial properties of the real estate firm. The top court directed the opening of an escrow account in the apex court in which the […]
Barclays and UK government launch house-building fund of $1.3 billion
By: David Milliken LONDON: Britain’s government and Barclays launched a fund on Wednesday to provide up to 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) in finance to small house-builders in an attempt to tackle England’s housing shortage. Barclays said it would offer 875 million pounds of finance while Homes England, a government agency created at the start […]
Supreme Court of India vacates order staying constructions in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday vacated its order staying construction activities in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh for not framing a policy under the Solid Waste Management Rules. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta passed the order after the counsel appearing for Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh […]
South Korea imposes tougher taxes on properties to curb price surge
By: Cynthia Kim SEOUL: South Korea on Thursday laid out plans to impose tougher taxes on property ownership to rein in owners of expensive homes blamed for stoking a speculative housing bubble in the main regions across the nation. The proposed 0.5% to 2 % ownership tax that would kick in on properties valued over […]