After every available rating and analyst firm from Nomura to Dun & Bradstreet and India Ratings expressed a negative outlook on IndiaÂ’s infrastructure, the inevitable, unpleasant moment arrived when the advance estimates, officially announced early this month, stated that the nation can only achieve 5 per cent growth the current fiscal, the lowest in a decade, and 0.7 per cent lower than anticipated earlier.
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Category: Roads & Highways
Slowdown or consolidation?
After every available rating and analyst firm from Nomura to Dun & Bradstreet and India Ratings expressed a negative outlook on IndiaÂ’s infrastructure, the inevitable, unpleasant moment arrived when the advance estimates, officially announced early this month, stated that the nation can only achieve 5 per cent growth the current fiscal, the lowest in a decade, and 0.7 per cent lower than anticipated earlier.
mprove PPP structure | Budget 2013-14
Besides the need for enhancing capacity which is being met through major capital works like the DFC project, investment in rolling stock, providing improved terminal access, and improvements and investment in the last leg connectivity between the rail network and the cargo loading and unloading points are likely to be key areas that will need to be addressed through various policy initiatives of the Railways.
Create positive vibes for investments | Budget 2013-14
Abolition of MAT during tax holiday period: Infrastructure company avail tax holiday benefit under 80-IA. Given long gestation and criticality of infrastructure, they are given a 10 year tax holiday. However, it is basically an exemption from paying income tax on the profits and paying MAT on book profits. So, whatever the projects are supposed to have conserved through the 80-IA benefits are being taken away by the MAT levy.
CCEA to decide budget allocation for PPP projects
Cabinet Committee on EcÂoÂnomic Affairs (CCEA) would decide on the proposal to prescribe a suitable cap on budgetary allocations for annuity payments for the PPP projects.If the proposal is cleared, government would set a timeline till which future budgetary options can be foreclosed for making payment to the concessionaire for financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a PPP project.
Uttarakhand to set up committee for PPP projects
Uttarakhand government would take a decision on setting up an Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) and an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to clear key PPP infrastructure projects. Even though the state government announced a new PPP policy last year, it has not yet set up the above bodies.
Goa govt toll collection
The Goa government has notified draft rules which propose charging vehicles for using State highway, district road, village road and bridges, but have exempted Goan private vehicles from this regime. While two wheelers are also exempted, commercial vehicles will have to pay the requisite fees. The draft says that other heavy mechanical vehicles such as mobile crane dozers, earthmovers, road rollers will have to pay Rs 1,000.
L&T faces RS 3,000 cr order cut
Larsen & Toubro faces the prospect of cancellation of one of its biggest road building contracts worth almost Rs 3,000 crore as its client GMR Infrastructure has decided to terminate the toll road project for National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). GMR Infrastructure has pulled out of NHAI's biggest road project
K'taka rural road projects
The Karnataka State Cabinet cleared two rural road improvement projects worth Rs 3,658 crore in 189 Assembly constituencies across the state. Under one scheme, 30 km of rural roads will be developed in each of the 189 Assembly segments at a cost of Rs 42 lakh per km.
Road projects for Arunachal
The Union Government approved the construction of two roads in Arunachal Pradesh - Bameng to Lada (55 km) and Miao to Vijaynagar (157 km) - in principle under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

