New Delhi: North India’s first nuclear plant is coming up at Gorakhpur in Haryana’s Fatehabad district, which is about 150 km north of the national capital.
Disclosing this on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, one of the major achievements would be the installation of nuclear or atomic energy plants in other parts of the country, which were earlier confined mostly to the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh or in the west in Maharashtra.
The Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana’s (GHAVP) two units of 700 MW capacity each are under implementation near the Gorakhpur village. Till date, an amount of Rs 4,906 crore has been spent out of the total allocated funds of Rs 20,594 crore for the project.
Construction of the main plant buildings/structures viz. fire water pump house (FWPH), safety related pump house (SRPH), fuel oil storage area, ventilation stack, overhead tank, switchyard control building, retaining walls and garland drain is progressing well.
Ground improvement in Turbine Building 1 and 2, 220 kV Switchyard and IDCT-1A is completed. Ground improvement in other areas are in progress. The contractors for the IDCT package and turbine island package have mobilised the site.
Purchase orders for major long manufacturing cycle equipment and components like primary coolant pumps, calandria, reactor headers, refuelling machines heads, moderator and other D20 heat exchangers etc. are already in place.
Construction of water duct from Tohana to GHAVP for meeting operational cooling water requirements has been taken up through the Haryana Irrigation & Water Resources Department (HI&WRD) as deposit work and is progressing well.
Singh said that keeping in line with the priority to increase India’s nuclear capacity, a number of path breaking decisions were taken in last over eight years.
He added that a bulk approval of installation of 10 nuclear reactors has been given a nod by the government.
The minister said that the Department of Atomic Energy has also been given permission for forming joint ventures with PSUs for opening atomic energy plants, which is an upcoming and promising sector, having potential to fulfil India’s energy needs in times to come.
The current budget has allocated a higher share to capital expenditure which is a step in the right direction. Besides, the recent budget is optimistic about meeting its fiscal target in the coming year.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha lit a lamp during the inauguration of the new Income Tax Office ‘Chinar’, in Srinagar on Monday, November 22, 2021. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
In a developing country like India, the role of the state is more nuanced. On one hand, the state must meet the development aspirations of the diverse population, but it also has to ensure macroeconomic stability to avoid situations like the 1991 crisis or the more recent 2013 fragile five. Striking a balance between the two remains not only a critical question but also imperative for a state like India.
After the disintegration of the USSR, there emerged a kind of consensus that markets are the primary drivers of prosperity and economic growth. This, however, does not mean that there is no role for the government, which continues to play its role through regulatory, monetary, and fiscal policies. But the government’s intervention in the monetary sphere should be transparent. In light of this view, rule-based policies started gaining traction in both monetary and fiscal aspects.
In the fiscal sphere, broadly four main types of rules exist- the expenditure rule, the revenue rule, the budget balance rule, and the debt rule. The countries either adopt all four rules or a few among them. While the budget balance rule focused on the balance between total revenues and expenditures, the debt rule imposed an explicit limit on public debt. The expenditure rule placed a limit on overall spending. The revenue rules are primarily concerned with the appropriate use of excess revenues.
India adopted the Fiscal Deficit and Budgetary Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 (balance budget rule) on the recommendations of the Sarma committee. The act specified three main objectives- ensure intergenerational equity, fiscal sustainability and transparency in fiscal operations.
To achieve these objectives, the act proposed that the fiscal deficit be progressively reduced to 3 per cent of GDP for each central and state government. The rule did indeed help to contain the fiscal deficit, which was 6.2 per cent of GDP in 2002-03 but decreased to 4 per cent (of which the central government deficit was 2.54 per cent) at the end of 2007-08. The global financial crisis disrupted the fiscal consolidation plan and subsequently, the fiscal rules were suspended until 2011–12. As a result, the combined fiscal deficit in 2009-10 increased to 9.3 per cent. In 2010–11, it declined to 4.8 per cent but again increased in the next year to 5.91 per cent.
The Vijay Kelkar committee(2012) was constituted to recommend mid-term corrections and reforms for medium-term fiscal consolidation. The committee recommended the fiscal deficit of 4.8, 4.2, 3.6 and 3 per cent targets for the next four years starting from 2013-14 onwards. In 2013-14, the fiscal deficit was within the target as laid down by the fiscal consolidation plan. But a closer look reveals that it was more of an arithmetic trick than actual consolidation. The fiscal deficit target was achieved by reducing planned expenditures and deferring the payment for oil subsidies to the next fiscal year.
From 2014-15 to 2017-18, the fiscal position improved considerably due to improvements on the revenue side also. The income tax-to-GDP ratio witnessed an increase from 2.1 to 2.6 per cent. Moreover, the sharp decline in crude oil prices enabled the government to find a new way to raise money by raising the excise taxes on petrol and diesel. Further, the subsidies, on diesel were reduced. It was due to these measures that the fiscal deficit in 2017 declined to 3.46 per cent as reported to Parliament. However, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) notified the Finance Commission that the fiscal deficit (centre) in 2017-18 was 5.85 per cent. The government has relied on off-budget borrowings to contain the fiscal deficit.
The fiscal rules have also undergone changes as it was felt that a single rule cannot help to achieve various objectives like fiscal sustainability, economic stabilisation and size of government debt. To keep pace with best international practices, Finance Minister in 2016, while presenting the budget, informed the parliament that there was a need for a review of the FRBM Act, saying, “While remaining committed to fiscal prudence and consolidation, a time has come to review the workings of the FRBM Act, especially in the context of the uncertainty and volatility that have become the new norms of the global economy. I, therefore, propose to constitute a committee to review the implementation of the FRBM Act and give its recommendations on the way forward”.
Subsequently, the committee under NK Singh was constituted. The committee recommended using debt as the primary target of fiscal policy, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 per cent (40 per cent for the centre and 20 per cent for states) to be achieved by 2022-23. It also suggested reducing fiscal and revenue deficits to 2.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, by the same period, with an escape clause for temporarily relaxing or suspending the target, but with clear specifications and restrictions on government notifications.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and governments all across the world adopted expansionary fiscal policies, including India. The fiscal deficit (centre) again increased and reached an all-time high of 9.18 per cent in 2020–21; it is now on a declining trend but still higher than the combined target of 6 per cent. The government is mentioning the much-touted “glide path”. Yet, throughout the past two decades, such a glide path has been nowhere in sight. Instead, the path looks more erratic, like the snake and ladder game, except that here the snake (bad times) takes you higher and the ladder (good times) helps you to come down, but nowhere to the target.
Similarly, the unequal targets for states and the centre for debt but with a similar target for deficit are creating tensions, as highlighted by Roy and Kotia. This has made the debt sustainability of states an issue. This is evident from the current debt levels. Except for Maharashtra (17.9 per cent), Gujarat (19.0 per cent) and Odisha (which is 18.8 per cent), every state has a higher than 20 per cent debt-GDP ratio, with the highest ratio in Punjab (53.3 per cent ). The current central government Debt-GDP ratio is 56.7 per cent and that of the general government (centre and state combined) debt-GDP ratio is 84 per cent. Therefore, there is a need to address this anomaly on an urgent basis and in consultation with states.
Conclusion
The containment of fiscal deficit targets can be achieved by cutting unnecessary expenditures. Also, fiscal consolidation can be realistic and meaningful only when revenues are increased. Otherwise, as stressed by the Sarma Committee (2000), without this golden rule, fiscal consolidation could lead to a disproportionately large compression of capital assets.
The under-reporting of the fiscal deficit needs to avoid, as it gives a false sense of security. Additionally, it conveys the wrong message to foreign investors for being uncertain and opaque on key policy measures. The current budget has allocated a higher share to capital expenditure which is a step in the right direction. Besides, the recent budget is optimistic about meeting its fiscal target in the coming year. Only time will tell whether these targets are overly optimistic or achievable.
(Authors are research scholars at the Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of TheNewsCaravan.)
New Delhi: North India’s first nuclear plant is coming up at Gorakhpur in Haryana’s Fatehabad district, which is about 150 km north of the national capital.
Disclosing this on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, one of the major achievements would be the installation of nuclear or atomic energy plants in other parts of the country, which were earlier confined mostly to the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh or in the west in Maharashtra.
The Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana’s (GHAVP) two units of 700 MW capacity each are under implementation near the Gorakhpur village. Till date, an amount of Rs 4,906 crore has been spent out of the total allocated funds of Rs 20,594 crore for the project.
Construction of the main plant buildings/structures viz. fire water pump house (FWPH), safety related pump house (SRPH), fuel oil storage area, ventilation stack, overhead tank, switchyard control building, retaining walls and garland drain is progressing well.
Ground improvement in Turbine Building 1 and 2, 220 kV Switchyard and IDCT-1A is completed. Ground improvement in other areas are in progress. The contractors for the IDCT package and turbine island package have mobilised the site.
Purchase orders for major long manufacturing cycle equipment and components like primary coolant pumps, calandria, reactor headers, refuelling machines heads, moderator and other D20 heat exchangers etc. are already in place.
Construction of water duct from Tohana to GHAVP for meeting operational cooling water requirements has been taken up through the Haryana Irrigation & Water Resources Department (HI&WRD) as deposit work and is progressing well.
Singh said that keeping in line with the priority to increase India’s nuclear capacity, a number of path breaking decisions were taken in last over eight years.
He added that a bulk approval of installation of 10 nuclear reactors has been given a nod by the government.
The minister said that the Department of Atomic Energy has also been given permission for forming joint ventures with PSUs for opening atomic energy plants, which is an upcoming and promising sector, having potential to fulfil India’s energy needs in times to come.
New Delhi: India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $8.3 billion to $566.95 billion in the week ended February 10 its biggest weekly fall in 11 months.
According to data released by RBI on Friday, the reserves are at their lowest level since January 6, 2023.
The fall for the second straight week was mainly due to a decline in foreign currency assets, which dropped $7.1 billion to $500.59 billion.
In the week ended February 10, the rupee lost 0.8 percent to close at 82.51 per dollar as US jobs data sparked worries about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates for longer than was earlier anticipated.
New Delhi: Almost half of the indigenous livestock breeds in the country are yet to be classified and there is a need to identify them in order to further boost the farm sector, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Thursday.
He also said the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was working in this direction and a special campaign has also been launched to identify such breeds in the country.
“Almost half of the livestock of the country is still unclassified. We have to identify such unique breeds as soon as possible so that these unclassified breeds can be saved,” Tomar said after giving away animal breed registration certificates at an event organised by the ICAR here.
There are a large number of indigenous breeds of livestock in the country, which need to be identified in all regions, he said, adding that this will help make the farm sector prosperous.
Lauding the ICAR for working in this direction, the minister said, “such a task is not an easy one and cannot be accomplished without the cooperation of state universities, Animal Husbandry Departments, NGOs, etc.” The ICAR has initiated documentation of all animal genetic resources of the country in a mission mode in collaboration with all these agencies, he added.
The whole world is currently looking at India’s grand diversity in the livestock and poultry sector. Efforts to document animal genetic resources in the country and preserve their genetic diversity have also been lauded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at the international level.
On Thursday, breed registration certificates of 28 newly registered breeds were distributed. These include 10 breeds of cattle, 5 of pig, 4 of buffalo, 3 each of goat and dog, one each of sheep, donkey and duck.
In order to claim sovereignty over these indigenous breeds, the government has started notifying all registered breeds in the Gazette from the year 2019, according to an official statement.
Indore: Indore may have earned the prestigious tag of being the cleanest city India, but its air quality is worsening due to rapid development in the transport, construction and industrial sectors, said experts on Wednesday stressing the need for intensifying efforts to control the situation.
As per the data shared by the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality of Indore on Wednesday was “moderate”, which can cause breathing discomfort to people with lungs, asthma and heart diseases.
Indore has been selected by Clean Air Catalyst, a global alliance working to improve air quality, apart from Jakarta (Indonesia) and Nairobi (Kenya) for one of its projects.
As part of the project, three air pollution monitoring stations have been set up in Indore to record data on pollutants like fine particulate matter or PM2.5, carbon monoxide and black carbon, an official of the Clean Air Catalyst said.
“Indore is not among the most polluted cities in the world, but it is not even one of the cleanest cities in the world in terms of air quality,” Hisham Mundol, chief advisor in India for the Environmental Defense Fund associated with the Clean Air Catalyst, told PTI.
He said that the air quality in Indore is being affected due to the rapid activities taking place in the transport, construction and industrial sectors.
Mundol said that under the ‘Clean Air Catalyst’ project, the data on air pollution in the city will be studied for the next two years and after that appropriate solutions will be provided to the local administration.
According to Dr Dilip Vaghela, an environmental expert associated with the Clean Air Catalyst and a former officer of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the challenges of air pollution in Indore are increasing continuously.
“In Indore, the amount of pollutants like PM10 and PM 2.5 increases a lot, especially during the winter season and lack of wind,” he said.
Vaghela said that most of the roads in densely populated Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, are not very wide, while the density of vehicles on them is very high.
“The population of the city is between 38 to 40 lakh, while the number of vehicles is estimated to be between 18 to 20 lakh, which means, there is a vehicle for every two people in the city. This ratio is probably the highest in the whole country,” he said.
“Efforts need to be intensified to improve the air quality to prevent the situation in the city from deteriorating,” he said.
Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said the traffic and air quality problems in the city were like a “spot on the beautiful moon”.
“We have taken up the task of solving both these problems in a major way with the help of the Clean Air Catalyst,” he added.
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday criticised the Centre for the Income Tax department raids on BBC offices, and alleged that due to its high-handedness the press freedom index has fallen to 150.
Addressing a press conference here, Pawan Khera, party’s media department chairman said, “Infact, India has a dubious position of 150th in the Press Freedom Index. 135 journalists in India were arrested, interrogated, or detained from 2014 to 2020. (As per Free Speech Collective) 37 Journalists have been killed in India since 2014 as UNESCO observatory of killed journalists.”
He said that the Indian media has been “repeatedly strangulated, muzzled and bulldozed by the Modi government just because some of them (and a very small minority of them) have refused to toe the line of the BJP”.
“When Modi ji was dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister of this country, then he was a dedicated follower of the same BBC.
“When the Prime Minister gets an award then you boast about it using your PR machinery to the whole wide world! And if the same media outlets, if the same international media sets your “record” straight, then you unleash your arrogance of power
“The party which licked the soles of the British, the party whose ideological flag bearers acted as British informers, those who pleaded clemency to the British crown, whilst Indian people were on streets peacefully fighting them, – has now suddenly started speaking against the British? Why? Is it because the real truth of Modi ji’s role in the Gujarat riots, known to every Indian, now stands exposed, yet another time!”
Hyderabad: The Warangal centre of Oasis Fertility recorded the birth of the first CAPA IVM (drug-free IVF) healthy baby in India on February 1.
CAPA in vitro maturation (IVM), a unique technique, being offered by very few centres in the world is the latest addition to traditional infertility treatment practices.
The CAPA-IVM treatment involves fewer hormone injections than traditional IVF, at a significantly lower cost.
Oasis is reportedly the only centre in the country to have expertise in CAPA IVM.
Clinical head and fertility specialist at the centre, Jalagam Kavya Rao said, “CAPA IVM or drug-free IVF is a groundbreaking technique and it is a boon to women with PCOS, thrombophilia, resistant ovary syndrome, oocyte maturation problems and women who have cancer and need immediate treatment.”
“We need everyone to understand that there are exclusive treatment options for every infertility issue and IVF is not the only one. CAPA IVM is less invasive and more economical,” added the doctor.
People should overcome their fears and embrace parenthood through assisted reproduction technology if they are unable to conceive naturally, urged Dr Kavya.
The technique is a boon to women with PCOS, Thrombophilia, Resistant ovary syndrome, Oocyte maturation problems, and women who have Cancer and need immediate treatment.
New Delhi: The country’s first rapid rail with amenities similar to an airplane will start running from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad to Duhai Depot from March, 2023.
It will be run on 17-km stretch of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai and Duhai depot at a speed of 180 km per hour and tickets for the journey can be availed through mobile phones and card.
The track on the section has been laid and the work of installation of overhead line equipment is almost done.
A unique facility that the train will be extending is that a stretcher has been arranged in its last compartment. If a patient is referred from Meerut to Delhi, then a separate coach will be arranged for the same, so that they can be transported at a lower cost of travel.
Along with this, separate coaches have been arranged for women and separate seats have been prepared for the disabled, which can be folded when not in use.
The train has adjustable chairs and special arrangements have been made for standing passengers.
Facilities on board the train include Wi-Fi, mobile-USB charger, large windows, integrated AC system, automatic door control system, luggage storage, driver interaction system, dynamic route map, CCTV and infotainment system.
Arrangements have been made for parking 13 trains in Duhai yard, so preparations are being made to operate only 13 rapid trains in the first phase, whereas after the construction of the entire route between Delhi and Meerut, a total of 30 rapid trains will be operated.
The Operation and Command Control Centre of the Rapid Rail Corridor is being made at Duhai Yard in Ghaziabad. Operation and control of all rapid trains running on the entire route will be commanded from the operations centre.
The objective of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) corridor project is to decongest the National Capital Region and to curb vehicular traffic, air pollution and ensure balanced regional development.
Entire Delhi to Meerut stretch is scheduled to be completed by 2025 in three phases with the first from Sahibabad to Duhai depot to be operational from March, from Sahibabad to Meerut by March 2024 and from Modipuram in Meerut to Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi by 2025.
The Delhi-Meerut RRTS is a Rs 30,274-crore joint venture of the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Uttar Pradesh government had allocated Rs 1,326 crore for the project in the current financial year.
According to the RRTS project, 24 stations will be built along the entire corridor.
Recently in a media interaction, Vinay Kumar Singh, MD, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) had said that they expect around 8 lakh passengers to travel by this rapid rail daily by 2025.
Singh said: “Our target is that in 2025, passengers of Delhi will be able to reach Meerut in one hour by rapid rail.”
As per Detailed Project Report (DPR) estimates, the train fare will be fixed at around Rs 2 per km. The private agency will not have the right to increase the fare later.
Similar to Metro, the fare will be decided by the committee which is formed under the chairmanship of the judge.
There will be rapid line connectivity on seven lines of Delhi Metro which will be connected to Munirka, INA and Aerocity.
According to RRTS, approval has been received from Haryana and Delhi government for the 106 km route from Sarai Kale Khan to SNB for the rapid rail to be built from Sarai Kale Khan to Alwar.
The Centre’s approval is also expected soon.
At present, the pre-construction work is underway, so that the construction work can be started soon after getting the approval.
Formula E world championship race thrills Hyderabad [Photo: Shaik Nizamuddin Laeeq]
Hyderabad: The city of Nizams is hosting the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, and passionate fans filled the grandstands as 22 drivers raced the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient electric race car ever built – the GEN3 – on a street track constructed around the scenic Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad.
The ABB FIA Formula E World is the world’s first all-electric FIA World Championship and the only sport certified net zero carbon since inception.
It is being organised in India for the first time with the 2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix, and understandably the event is arousing curiosity among commoners and celebrities.
The race has attracted a number of famous names including global cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar, and the Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan said: “This was my first time attending a Formula E race and I am thrilled to have been part of this historic event. I have an affinity for fast cars and seeing these GEN3 cars racing on the street track was really exciting. The fact that this is the first sport certified as net zero carbon makes it even more appealing.”
Earlier in the day, Dhawan experienced a hot lap of the track in the Porsche Taycan Safety Car, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and reaching a top speed of 260 km. Joining Shikhar was Deepak Chahar who said: “Everyone talks about carbon footprint and motorsport has a direct impact on it. With the way electric vehicles are get more popular, I think it’s a guilt-free and innovative version of the sport that will resonate with the audience and pave the way for the future.”
Fans attending the 2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix will get to see home favourites Mahindra Racing and Jaguar TCS Racing compete against two iconic motorsport names – NEOM McLaren Formula E and Maserati MSG Racing – who join the Formula E grid for the first time from this season.
