Infrastructure (roads, ports, airports and railways) News

News: Government has inaugurated the newly constructed Hisar airport in Haryana from Chandigarh under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN).

Facts:

• • Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme: It was launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The scheme is a component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016.
  • Aim: To develop a regional aviation market. It seeks to connect under-served and unserved airports in India through the revival of existing airstrips and airports.
  • Objectives:
    • Create affordable yet economically viable and profitable flights on regional routes.
    • Development of remote areas and enhancing trade and commerce and tourism expansion.
    • Employment creation in the aviation sector.
  • Duration: The scheme would be in operation for a period of 10 years.
  • Key Features of the scheme:
    • Under the scheme, airlines have to cap airfares for 50% of the total seats at Rs. 2,500 per hour of flight.
    • This would be achieved through (1) a financial stimulus in the form of concessions from Central and State governments and airport operators and (2) Viability Gap Funding– A government grant provided to the airlines to bridge the gap between the cost of operations and expected revenue.
    • The partner State Governments (other than North Eastern States and Union Territories where contribution will be 10 %) would contribute a 20% share to this fund.
    • Regional Connectivity Fund would be created to meet the viability gap funding requirements under the scheme.The RCF levy per departure will be applied to certain domestic flights.
• Phases Under the Scheme:
  • UDAN 1.0 and 2.0: During RCS-UDAN version 1.0 & 2.0, 66 airports were identified and 31 heliports (28 unserved heliports and 3 unserved airports).
  • UDAN 3.0: During UDAN version 3.0, to increase the tourism potential at the coastal areas, Tourism routes in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism and Seaplanes for connecting Water Aerodromes were included.
  • UDAN 4.0: The focus of UDAN 4.0 is on priority areas like North East Region, Hilly States, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Islands.

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Synopsis: The issue of public consultation in the project development process should not be underestimated.

Introduction

In the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, Rajeev Suri v. Delhi Development Authority, Court granted its approval to the proposed redevelopment of the Central Vista in the national capital. 

What are the changes proposed?

• In 2009, the Central Vista was considered as a Grade-I heritage precinct after extensive public consultation, which meant that any development inside the area had to be “regulated and controlled” without damaging its impressive style.
• However, the Redevelopment plan includes taking down a number of post-Independence buildings, including the National Museum.

Read more:

• Issues with Central Vista Project
• Central Vista Judgment

Issues in the judgment on central Vista project

Following were 2 issues in the Central Vista Judgment, as per Suhrith Parthasarathy, the advocate of Madras High Court;

• Court refused to acknowledge the existence of a right to public participation, a right, which ought to be seen as fundamental in a democracy.
• Delhi Development Act, 1957 mandated opportunity to the public to place their objections on the record. Although objections were invited from the public, a mere three-days’ notice was given for the hearing on those complaints
  • However, majority judgment ruled that the law does not make personal hearings mandatory.
  • Issues: 2 issues are involved in this case:
    1. In the past SC itself held that arbitrary state action violates fundamental rights under article 14 i.e. sufficient time should be accorded to the public if any big change is being introduced to imp. Acts like DDA.
    2. For Public to scrutinise the project, authentic technical information on the project was available in the public domain.

Issues in general in the public projects

Public participation and architectural services procurement are 2 of several areas that are in urgent need of improvement; 

The issue of public Participation 

• Horizontal accountability ensures check on government, by creating connected state organizations such as heritage committees and environmental regulators. 
• Vertical accountability requires citizen oversight. Citizens are asking for an improved participatory process.  

• • • Government argues that horizontal accountability is in place. Provisions for consultation although are not absent, but the process of consultation is vague. 
    • Judgment in central Vista is also not clear on the matter of public participation. 
    • Development of Land Acquisition act provides a few lessons that have spelt out consent required from a minimum number of landowners. 

Process of architectural services procurement 

• The process of choosing a designer for a public project needs improvement as there is a lack of evaluation criteria and standards for design. Also, weightage is given to lower fees instead of better designs. 
• The architecture firms face entry barriers as their expertise is judged on the basis of their company’s turnover. The unreasonable revenue conditions make it difficult for many firms to qualify and also reduce the pool of choice. 

Way Forward

• First, according to the dissenting judge, the most basic principles of procedural fairness require the state to make adequate and intelligible disclosures. It becomes more important as the project will have permanent and irreversible consequences.

• Second, for improving consultation, regulations and process have to clearly state what prior disclosures are required, when meetings have to be held and reasons for accepting and declining suggestions should be listed properly. 
• Third, the government adopted the Quality and cost based selection (QCBS) for choosing designers. This method specifies requirements for consultants, places higher weightage on their technical capability and lower weightage on financial proposals. 
• Fourth, in order to reduce the entry barrier, one can consider the suggestions made by the Architects’ Council of Europe. It suggests dropping turnover requirements and emphasized qualitative selection criteria. 

• • Weightage given to design value has to be clear and fixed as more than 65% of the registered architects in India are below 35 years and many firms are medium-sized, such changes are all the more required. 

Synopsis: The issue of Central Vista Project has reiterated the need for holistic solutions for the issues in process of the redevelopment projects. 

Introduction 

The majority ruling decided that the government had followed all processes as required by the regulations and could go ahead with the construction. 

However, it is only the one instance, which is visible, the problem of redevelopment project is much bigger. For instance, issues in the Amaravati project as the proposed capital for Andhra Pradesh.  

• In this project firstly land was acquired through controversial methods and later on the project was abandoned, creating problems for farmers.  

Thus, thoughtful solutions to the issues, is required that can be common for all such projects 

What are the areas require improvement? 

Public participation and architectural services procurement are the 2 of several areas that are in urgent need of improvement; 

The issue of public Participation 

• Horizontal accountability ensures check on government, by creating connected state organisations such as heritage committees and environmental regulators. 
• Vertical accountability requires citizen oversight. Citizens are asking for improved participatory process.  

• • • Government argues that horizontal accountability is in the place. Provisions for consultation although are not absent, but the process of consultation is vague. 
    • Judgment in central Vista is also not clear on the matter of public participation. 
    • Development of Land Acquisition act provides a few lessons that has spelt out consent required from a minimum number of landowners. 

Process of architectural services procurement 

• Process of choosing a designer for a public project need improvement as there is lack of evaluation criteria and standards for design. Also, weightage is given to lower fee instead of better designs. 
• The architecture firms face entry barriers as their expertise is judged on the basis of their company’s turnover. The unreasonable revenue conditions make it difficult for many firms to qualify and also reduce pool of choice. 

What regulatory changes can be made? 

• First, for improving consultation, regulations and process have to clearly state what prior disclosures are required, when meetings have to be held and reasons for accepting and declining suggestions should be listed properly. 
• Second, the government adopted the Quality and cost based selection (QCBS) for choosing designers. This method specifies requirements for consultants, places higher weightage on their technical capability and lower weightage on financial proposals. 
• Third, in order to reduce the entry barrier, one can consider the suggestions made by the Architects’ Council of Europe. It suggests dropping turnover requirements and emphasized on qualitative selection criteria. 

• • • Weightage given to design value has to be clear and fixed as more than 65% of the registered architects in India are below 35 years and many firms are medium-sized, such changes are all the more required. 

Way forward  

• Policymakers maintain that developing countries like India have a quite low state capacity. Therefore, higher standards set in the matured economy and continued by governments with higher capacity cannot be suddenly implanted.  
  • • The dominant argument is that practices will improve as economic growth happens and as the country builds capabilities. However, this incremental approach to be moderated.

News: The Prime Minister of India has inaugurated the Rewari – Madar section on Western Corridor.

Facts:

• Rewari – Madar section: It is a part of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor(WDFC).It falls in Haryana (for approximately 79 Km in Mahendragarh & Rewari districts) and Rajasthan (approximately 227 Km in Jaipur, Ajmer, Sikar, Nagaur and Alwar districts) State.
• Significance:
  • The section would be beneficial to farmers, industrialists and businessmen in the National Capital Region, Haryana and Rajasthan.
  • The ports of Gujarat like Kandla, Pipavav, Mundhra, Dahejetc will have an uninterrupted connectivity to the Northern parts of India.
  • With the dedication to the Nation of the 351-km Bhaupur-Khurja section, and construction of connecting link between Khurja – Boraki-Dadri- Rewari, seamless movement between WDFC & EDFC can ensue.

Additional Facts:

• Dedicated freight corridor(DFC): It is meant to create a safe and efficient freight transportation system in the country.
• Nodal Body: Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India(DFCCIL) is constructing the Western DFC (1506 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1875 route km including Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP Section).
• EDFC: The EDFC is starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. It is being majorly funded by the World Bank.
• WDFC: The Western Corridor is connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra of WDFC. Approx. 40% of WDFC is in Rajasthan. It is being majorly funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA).

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Click here to read more about Dedicated Freight Corridor

News: The Ministry of Railways has launched Freight Business Development Portal.

Facts:

• Freight Business Development Portal: It is an exclusive portal to promote and develop the railways freight business.
• Key Features:
  • It ensures that all operations stay customer centric, reduce the costs for logistics providers, provide online tracking facilities for suppliers and also simplify the process of goods transportation.
  • It aims to replace physical processes with online ones to minimize the need of human to human interaction.
  • The portal has a focus on ease of doing business and to bring more transparency and to provide professional support.

Need for the Portal:

• Indian Railways is the backbone of the country’s logistics sector the portal will improve the logistics capacity of the Railways to the next level.
• Indian Railways embraced a “Freight on Priority” policy to push for aggressive customer-centric approach. The portal will expand the policy further.

Article Source

Supreme Court pronounced 2-1 judgment and cleared the Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

Petition challenging the Centre’s change-of-land-use notification of March 2020 for 86 acres of land was filed in SC.

Following statements were put forward by the majority judgment and dissenting judge:

More about judgment

SC Court in its judgment held that it found no issues in the following orders and found them as per laws and procedures.

• “No Objection” by the Central Vista Committee (CVC);
• “Approval” by the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) as per the DUAC Act, 1973;
• “Prior approval” by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) under Building Byelaws for Delhi, 2016.”
• Exercise of power by central government under DDA (Delhi Development Authority) Act, 1957.
• Environmental Clearance (EC) recommendation for the project by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).

SC in its judgment also made a statement regarding the limits on its powers. As per the bench, development policies of the Government of the day must be debated in the Parliament. The role of the Court is limited to examining their constitutionality and not to govern.

Further, it asks for the creation of smog towns and deployment of smog guns to mitigate the pollution from construction materials and directs that waste management at the site be subjected to constant monitoring. 

What were the issues raised in the petition challenging Central Vista Project?

Supreme Court was hearing the petition on the following main grounds, put forward by the petitioner:

1. Change of land use: DDA in its notification made changes in the land use to facilitate the use of public open spaces such as a district park and children’s play area for the use of government office.
2. Violations of municipal law: consultation with Delhi Urban Commission (DUAC) had to be completed at the plan conception stage itself.
   1. In the absence of a comprehensive consultation, the approvals were granted without proper application of mind.
3. Violations of environmental law: Parliament building was granted environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change without any Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).
4. Change in heritage Status: Heritage Conservation Committee allowed the demolition of post-independence constructions by redefining the ‘Heritage status’.
5. Central Vista Committee(CVC): As per the petitioner, CVC was set up to rush the approvals and it consists of the members, who were proponents of the central vista project. Thus, there is an apparent conflict of interest. 

For more Info. on Issues: Issues with Central Vista Project

What is Central Vista and Central Vista Redevelopment Project?

History of Central Vista development

• Britain’s King George V on December 12, 1911, at his coronation announced the transfer of the seat of the Government of India from Calcutta to the ancient Capital of Delhi.
• This 20 years-long project of Central Vista development was led by architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. It was completed in 1927 and inaugurated by Viceroy Lord Irwin.
• Central Vista is 3.2 kilometre area in Delhi housing Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, North and South Blocks, Rajpath, India Gate, National Archives and the then princes’ houses around India Gate.
• In the 1962 Master plan of Delhi, site was declared a heritage precinct as an “important site to meet the aspirations of a rich culture”.

About the Central Vista Redevelopment Project

• Project was announced by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2019 as a redevelopment project to give a new identity to the ‘power corridor’ of India.
• Redevelopment project includes
  • Construction of a new parliament next to existing one,
  • Prime minister and vice-president’s residences along with 10 building blocks that will accommodate all government ministries and departments.
  • Revamping of the 3-km-long Rajpath — from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.
• Project will change the structure of the 86-acre area in Lutyens’ Delhi that shows off India’s iconic buildings such as South and North blocks of Central Secretariat, Parliament House, and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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  Parliament Complex

• Complete project is estimated to cost around Rs. 20,000 crores. Of this amount, around Rs. 1000 crores is allocated for construction of Parliament Building.
• It will be a triangular-shaped Parliament building and spans across over 64,500 square metres.
• It will be able to accommodate 336 more Lok sabha members and 139 more Rajya Sabha members than the current capacity i.e. 888 Lok Sabha members and 384 Rajya Sabha members.
• Building is projected to complete by 2022, for which Tata Projects won at Rs. 861.90 crores.

Why the Central Vista redevelopment Project has been planned?

• Firstly, the Current Parliament was built in 1927 to house the legislative council and was not intended to house a bicameral legislature that the country has today. The current building will be under more stress when the number of seats to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are raised.
• Secondly, the present Parliament House signifies an imperial origin, whereas India is a successful citizen-led democracy. Thus, the present parliamentary building is not in accordance with the aspirations of independent Indian citizens and the new building will stand out as an institution created by 130 crore citizens.
• Thirdly, there are international examples of building new parliamentary structures after gaining independence.
  • The Capitol Building in the USA was constructed within 25 years of the country’s independence.
  • In Brazil, the National Congress Building was constructed, almost 70 years after Independence, in 1960. 
• Fourthly, Present Parliamentary complex was built by the British on their own patterns and designs. New building’s design and interiors will capture Indian values and the rich diversity of our regional arts, crafts, textiles, architecture, and culture.
• Fifthly, World history proves that Public infrastructure projects playing a key role in reviving economies in distress. For ex; the Tokyo Tower in Japan, built after World War II, provided employment to thousands of workers, instilled a greater sense of nationalism, and contributed to the resurgence of the Japanese economy.
• Sixthly, the existing building does not conform to fire safety norms and is not earth quake proof. Water and sewer lines are also haphazard and this is damaging its heritage nature. 2001 Parliament attack is a fit example questioning the safety.

Although SC has given a green light to Central Vista Project, it also underlined the need for the significance of transparency i.e. if the relevant information is not placed in the public domain, public will be ill-equipped to understand the need and rationale behind such projects.

Government should become more transparent and try to bring in a consultation process at the initial stage of the project developments to maintain a level of confidence among people of the country.

News: Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has announced that it has kickstarted the process of commencing operations of the Seaplane services on select routes.

Facts:

• What is Seaplane? Seaplanes are typically fixed-wing aircraft with a much fewer number of seats and can take off from and land on water.
• How will it work? Sea Planes will utilize the nearby water bodies for take-off and landing and thus connect those places in a much economical way as conventional airport infrastructure like a runway and terminal buildings are not required for seaplane operations.
• Implementation: The services will be under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) framework through potential airline operators and will be executed and implemented through Sagarmala Development Company Ltd (SDCL), which is under the administrative control of the Ministry.
• Proposed Locations for Seaplane Services: The proposed Seaplane Services under Hub and Spoke model include islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, Guwahati Riverfront & Umranso Reservoir in Assam, Yamuna Riverfront / Delhi (as Hub) to Ayodhaya, Srinagar (Uttrakhand), Chandigarh and many other tourist places of Punjab & HP; Mumbai (as Hub) to Shirdi among others.
• Is there any operation Seaplane Service? One Seaplane Service which is already in operation between Kevadia and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in October 2020.
• Significance:
  • Seaplane Service will provide air connectivity to various remote religious/tourist places.
  • It will save travel time and stimulate localized short distance travelling especially in the hilly regions or across the rivers/lakes as well as boost tourism and business activities.
  • It will generate employment opportunities and stimulate tourism in these new locations, which will consequently contribute to the country’s GDP in the long run.

Read  more:-Daily current affairs

Source: The Hindu

News: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs(CCEA) has approved three key infrastructure proposals.

Facts:

What are the three key infrastructure projects approved? The three projects proposed by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) are:

1. Krishnapatnam Industrial Area in Andhra Pradesh
2. Tumakuru (Tumkur) Industrial Area in Karnataka and
3. Multi-modal logistics hub (MMLH) and multi-modal transport hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

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Additional Facts:

• Industrial Corridor Programme: The objective of the Programme is the creation of greenfield industrial cities with sustainable, ‘plug n play’, ICT enabled utilities to facilitate the manufacturing investments into the country.
  • Krishnapatnam Industrial Area and Tumkur Industrial Area are part of Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor(CBIC) project.
  • These corridors will help in attracting investments into manufacturing and positioning India as a strong player in the Global Value Chain.
• Multi Modal Logistics Hub(MMLH) & Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH): The logistics hub at Greater Noida, UP will be developed as a world-class facility that will provide efficient storage/transitioning of goods to/from the Dedicated Freight Corridors(DFC) and offer a one-stop destination to freight companies and customers.
  • The facility will not only provide standard container handling activities but also provide various value-added services to reduce logistics cost with improved efficiency of operations.

Source: The Indian Express

News: Prime Minister has inaugurated a 351-km section between Khurja and Bhaupur in Uttar Pradesh for commercial operations as a part of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor(EDFC).

Facts:

• Dedicated Freight Corridors(DFC): These are freight-only railway lines to move goods between industrial heartlands in the North and ports on the Eastern and Western coasts.
• The DFC consists of two arms.
  • Eastern DFC: It is a 1,839-km line that starts from Sahnewal (Ludhiana) in Punjab and ends at Dankuni in West Bengal.It is being majorly funded by the World Bank.
  • Western DFC: It is around 1,500-km line that starts from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to JNPT in Mumbai, touching all major ports along the way.It is being majorly funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency.
• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited(DFCCIL): It is a Public Sector Undertaking(PSU) corporation run by the Ministry of Railways to undertake planning, development, and mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors(DFC).
• Benefits of DFCs:
  • These freight corridors will help reduce the cost and allow faster transportation.
  • Around 70% of the freight trains currently running on the Indian Railway network are slated to shift to the freight corridors, leaving the paths open for more passenger trains.
  • Tracks on DFC are designed to carry heavier loads than most of Indian Railways.DFC will get track access charge from the parent Indian Railways and will also generate its own freight business.
  • The DFCs will allow much shorter transit times from freight source to destination which means it will reduce the time by up to 50% in some cases.

What is commission for air quality management

Source: PIB

News: The Government of India and the World Bank has signed a $500 million Green National Highways Corridors Project.

Facts:

• Objective: To demonstrate safe and green National Highway corridors in selected States and enhance the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.
• States covered under the project: Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
• Key Features of the Green National Highways Corridor Project:
  • The project supports an in-depth analysis of gender-related issues in the transport sector along with help in creating jobs for women by training women-led micro enterprises and women collectives to implement green technologies in the highway corridors.
  • The project will also strengthen and widen existing structures; construct new pavements, drainage facilities and bypasses; improve junctions and introduce road safety features

Context: Government should take lessons from 2016 spectrum auction failure and take steps to get the present auction right.

Discuss the parameters on the auction of radio spectrum.

• A new round of auction has been cleared by government to be held using the methodology of Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) after 4 years.
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended the auction spectrum in the sub-GHz bands of 700, 800 and 900 MHz along with mid-band frequencies in bands of 1800, 2100, 2300, and 2500 MHz across the 22 Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) of the country.
• The total spectrum to be auctioned is about 2,251 MHz. The potential revenue growth to the government at reserve prices is about $50 billion. Total reserve price of spectrum put on auction in 2016 was about $90 billion.

What are the factors that determine the success of spectrum auction?

• Firstly, the reserve price. Cross country spectrum database shows that the reserve price is positively correlated to the winning bid price. However, a higher reserve price also stops bidders from bidding for more spectrum blocks, resulting in lower amounts of spectrum sold as happened in 2016.
• Secondly, Factor of VoIP subscribers. Over The Top (OTT) providers are providing substitute goods such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and are capturing a greater mind share of customers while remaining somewhat invisible to government regulators.
  • The scraping away of the position of telcos in front of OTTs would impact their relationship in the overall digital value network of devices, connectivity and apps, that could result in a lower willingness to pay.
• Third, allocation of unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi shared the load of carrier network and reduces the demand for mobile network capacity. If government want to expand the Wi-Fi facilities, it needs to keep more spectrum unlicensed. The more the unlicensed spectrum allocation, the lower will be the demand for licensed spectrum.
• Fourth, visibility of spectrum that will be up for auction. The amount of spectrum for 5G auction (namely 3.4-3.6 GHz) that will be made available by the government in late 2021 is not clear. It is creating a confusion among companies, should they acquire the spectrum now, or wait for subsequent auctions.
• Fifth, reserve prices of different bands for the forthcoming auction as recommended by TRAI indicate that the average price per MHz per population (a common metric used for comparing spectrum prices) is around $3 for sub-GHz band and $1.70 for mid-band.

What are the key steps to get the auction right?

As Spectrum is a perishable scarce resource and lose its value if left unused, it is important for the government to ensure that the spectrum put on the block is sold successfully, unlike 2016. Therefore, following steps are recommended before the auction begins:

• First, Government should recheck reserve prices and consider reducing it further, especially of the “golden band” or 700 MHz band, which is important for covering the surrounding areas of the country.
• Secondly, Government should release more unlicensed spectrum in 2.4/5/60 GHz for multiplying Wi-Fi as a suitable supplement to the carrier network. This will increase the placements of the Public Wi-Fi project which got the approval of cabinet recently.
• Thirdly government should provide clarity about future auctions, especially the major chunks of spectrum that can be put on the block in 3.3/3.6/26/28 GHz.
• Lastly, government should release guidelines on how they will regulate the auctions and what will be regulated so that the telcos and OTTs can join hands to provide superior and better services for the benefit of the consumers.

Source: Click here

News: Indian Railways has issued a Draft National Rail Plan.The plan will be a common platform for all future infrastructural, business and financial planning of the Railways.

Facts:

Key objectives of the Plan:

• Create Demand: To create capacity ahead of demand by 2030, which in turn would cater to growth in demand right up to 2050 and also increase the modal share of Railways from 27% currently to 45% in freight by 2030 as part of a national commitment to reduce net zero carbon emission by 2030.
• Forecast growth of traffic in both freight and passenger year on year up to 2030 and on a decadal basis up to 2050.
• Formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase modal share of the Railways in freight to 45% by 2030.
• Reduce transit time of freight substantially by increasing average speed of freight trains from present 22 Kmph to 50 Kmph.
• Reduce overall cost of Rail transportation by nearly 30% and pass on the benefits to the customers.
• Map the growth in demand on the Indian Railway route map and simulate the capacity behaviour of the network in future.
• Identify infrastructural bottlenecks that would arise in future with growth in demand.Select projects along with appropriate technology in both track work, signalling and rolling stock to mitigate these bottlenecks well in advance.

Source: Click here

News: India and Bangladesh Prime Minister has jointly inaugurated a railway link between Haldibari in India and Chilahati in Bangladesh during the virtual bilateral summit.

Facts:

• Haldibari-Chilahati rail link: This rail link was part of the Broad Gauge main route from Kolkata to Siliguri.However, the war of 1965 effectively cut off all the railway links.
• Significance: This rail link is expected to enhance the connectivity to Assam and West Bengal from Bangladesh.
• Other rail which are operational? The other rail links which are operational between India and Bangladesh are — Petrapole (India) – Benapole (Bangladesh); Gede (India) – Darshana (Bangladesh); Singhabad (India)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh); and Radhikapur (India)–Birol (Bangladesh).

Context: PM-WANI has the potential to revolutionise the way India accesses the internet.

What are the key features of Pradhan Mantri Wireless Access Network Interface (PM-WANI)?

• Bring large scale deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots through the country to drive up connectivity options and improve digital access.
• The scheme envisages setting up of public Wi-Fi networks and access points by local Kirana and neighbourhood shops through public data offices (PDO will be set up on the lines of Public Call Offices (PCOs)) that will not involve any licence, fee or registration.

What are the needs of PM-WANI?

• To create value for the consumer.
• To quickly reach countrymen in the remotest areas.
• India’s tele-density of landlines never exceeded 7 per 100 people but due to mobile it exceeded to 90 per 100 people.
• India grew from 302 million internet subscribers to 750 million.
• India is one of the fastest growing internet markets in the world.
• To deliver a resilient and reliable connection to every Indian and reliable access everywhere.
• Despite excellent advances in 4G technology, wired connections still offer superior quality, reliability and throughput.

How PM-Wani can revolutionise access to internet?

• UPI created common payments infrastructure that unbundled whose app you use to pay from which bank your money was in.
• This resulted in 3 Cs — greater convenience, higher confidence and lower costs.
• PM-WANI unbundles whose wired connection you use from who you pay to use that connection.
• It allows them to interoperate and focus on connecting the last user. It is built on unbundling three as — access, authorisation and accounting.

What are the dimensions along which PM-WANI has broken away from the past?

• PM-WANI has liberalised the resale of bandwidth. Earlier only licensed players could become Internet Service Providers and resell bandwidth.
• This has led to the top 5 ISPs owning 75 per cent of the volume of all wired subscribers.
• PM-WANI allows anyone — a kirana shop owner, a tea-stall vendor, or a Common Service Centre to resell internet to its customers without a licence and without fees.
• By installing a wireless router, they can get on the PM-WANI network and start selling connectivity.
• These small vendors will be called Public Data Offices (PDOs), in a deliberate hark back to the Public Call Offices of yore.
• Due to this deregulation, the distribution of endpoints of PM-WANI will be selected by entrepreneurs rather than being decided top-down.

How PM-WANI is forward-looking in its design?

• Presence of robust identity infrastructure in the form of Aadhaar and DigiLocker. It will help to authenticate its users.
• This architecture also allows a central data balance and central KYC, that users can use inter-operably across all PDOs.
• The network operators then settle accounting between them, much like how telecom operators settle call termination charges.
• Indians can log in once and enjoy access on all available WiFi networks.
• It also allows international travellers to take advantage of India’s connectivity, without paying exorbitant roaming charges to their home networks.

Source: Click here

News: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways has inaugurated the three-lane Koilwar bridge.

Facts:

• Koilwar Bridge: It is a bridge constructed over the Sone river in Bihar. This rail-cum-road bridge connects Arrah with Patna, the capital of Bihar state in India.

Additional Facts:

• Son River: It is the second largest of the Ganges southern tributaries after Yamuna River.Its chief tributaries are the Rihand, Kanhar and the North Koel.

Source: Click here

News: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has circulated draft of Indian Ports Bill 2020 for public consultation which will repeal and replace the Indian Ports Act, 1908.

Facts:

• Aim: To enable the structured growth and sustainable development of ports to attract investments in the Port sector for optimum utilisation of the Indian Coastline by effective administration and management of ports.

Key Provisions of the Bill:

• Constitution of Maritime Port Regulatory Authority
• Formulation of the National Port policy and National Port plan in consultation with Coastal State Governments, State Maritime Boards and other stakeholders.
• Formulation of specialised Adjudicatory Tribunals namely Maritime Ports Tribunal and Maritime Ports Appellate Tribunal to curb anti-competitive practises in the port sector and act as a speedy and affordable grievance redressal mechanism.

Amid the controversies surrounding the Central Vista Project, the PM of India laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament building. Objections were raised against the project due to the land-use changes and environmental clearances issue to the project by authorities. The matter is being heard by the Supreme Court.

In its recent order, the Supreme Court barred the government from any further activities related to the Central Vista Project and reserved the judgment. In its judgment, SC stated no construction, demolition, or chopping of trees should take place at the Central Vista project. However, SC allowed the government to lay the foundation stone of the project and carry on paperwork.

About Central Vista Project

The present Parliament building was inaugurated in 1927. It was having three halls, the Chamber of Princes, State Council, and Central Legislative Assembly, known as Library Hall, Rajya Sabha, and Lok Sabha respectively in the post-Independence era. Two floors were added in 1956 to accommodate the enhanced requirements.

Central Vista project includes the construction of triangular Parliament building, common Central Secretariat and revamping of the 3-km-long vista or Rajpath — from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.

Features of New Parliamentary building

• New Parliament Building Complex, will be of triangular shape, spreading over 64,500 square meters with the capacity of housing 1,224 Members of Parliament. By 2024, there will be a chamber for every MP.
• It will have a grand Constitution Hall showcasing an original copy of the Constitution.
• The Central Vista project has a work completion deadline of 2024 and the new Parliament building complex is expected to be complete by 2022 to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence.
• The building will be energy efficient and accessible to all.
• The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Halls will have high-quality acoustics and audio-visual facilities, improved and comfortable seating arrangements, effective and inclusive emergency evacuation provisions, with high-level security for the members.
• There will be Seamless access between the current and new Parliament buildings, the Chamber for Members, the Parliament Annexe, and Library buildings will form a legislative enclave, which will stand as an iconic and modern colosseum of democracy.

What are the issues raised against Central Vista Project?

Notification for the project was issued in April and cleared by the environment ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee immediately when the country was suffering from COVID Pandemic. Critics called the project ill-timed with several loopholes in the approval process were pointed out.

Lack of transparency

• As per the reports, planning for the project is ongoing since 2015, but behind the curtains. There is no information about the tender issued or either the process followed, or the criteria for selection of companies building it. There was no exhibition of the proposed buildings was held, no data revealed, no models or drawings displayed.

Changes in heritage status

• Central Vista has been accorded the highest Grade 1 heritage status by the Unified Building Bye-Laws of Delhi. Grade 1 classified buildings cannot be changed, and “no intervention can be made unless it is in the interest of strengthening and prolonging the life of the buildings”.
• However, later on, Heritage Conservation Committee made a distinction between pre-Independence and post-Independence buildings to redefine the status of ‘heritage’, allowing the demolition of post-independence constructions, built by Indian architects and engineers in the 60s.
• It effectively, allowed the demolition and replacement of buildings like Krishi Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan and Rail Bhavan, in addition to the National Museum and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). 

Land Use Changes

• In 2020 Delhi Development Authority made changes in the land use to facilitate the use of public open spaces such as a district park and children’s play area be changed for use as government offices.
• Before notification, there was a 60/40 split between public/ semi-public (60 per cent) use including museums, galleries, centres of arts, national library, (the Delhi) high court, etc., and government use (40 percent).
• After notification, it was changed to 95 percent for government use and 5 Percent for public and semi-public use.  

Environment clearance

• On April 22, the new Parliament building was granted environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change without any Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).

Cases filed

• Rajeev Suri vs. the Union of India —was filed in the Delhi High Court in March 2020 against this land-use change and another petition was filed regarding violations of the heritage status of Central Vista.
• The petitions were transferred to the Supreme Court and are now in the apex court’s domain.

Why new Parliament complex is required?  

• Firstly, the Current Parliament was built in 1927 to house the legislative council and was not intended to house a bicameral legislature that the country has today. The current building will be under more stress when the number of seats to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are raised.
• Secondly, the present Parliament House signifies an imperial origin, whereas India is a successful citizen-led democracy. Thus, the present parliamentary building is not in accordance with the aspirations of independent Indian citizens and the new building will stand out as an institution created by 130 crore citizens.
• Thirdly, there are international examples of building new parliamentary structures after gaining independence.
  • The Capitol Building in the USA was constructed within 25 years of the country’s independence.
  • In Brazil, the National Congress Building was constructed, almost 70 years after Independence, in 1960. 
• Fourthly, Present Parliamentary complex was built by the British on their own patterns and designs. New building’s design and interiors will capture Indian values and the rich diversity of our regional arts, crafts, textiles, architecture, and culture.
• Fifthly, World history proves that Public infrastructure projects playing a key role in reviving economies in distress. For ex; the Tokyo Tower in Japan, built after World War II, provided employment to thousands of workers, instilled a greater sense of nationalism, and contributed to the resurgence of the Japanese economy.
• Sixthly, existing building does not conform to fire safety norms and is not earth quake proof. Water and sewer lines are also haphazard and this is damaging its heritage nature. 2001 Parliament attack is a fit example questioning the safety.

Conclusion

Central Vista Project should be presented as the project fulfilling the aspirations of people, not something imposed on the people. All the valid concerns should be taken into account and proper assessment should be carried out to ascertain that the project will not have any negative impact.

Context: Ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MOSPI) has released its latest report incomplete infrastructure projects.

What were the problems highlighted in the MOSPI report?

• Inadequate data: The latest report showed that of a current total of 1,661 incomplete infrastructure projects, each costing above ₹150 crore, delays were assessable only for 754 projects on which timing data were available.
• 70% were delayed (539 projects), with an average delay of three-and-a-half years.
• Stated reasons for delay:  Reasons include land acquisition and green clearance.
• Projects are expected to stimulate both supply and demand through wages paid to construction labour.
• Delayed payments: Payments by governments (both Centre and states) to vendors of all types, not just construction contractors, are delayed.  It is commonly estimated that these dues amount to ₹2 trillion at a minimum.
• Domino effect: Fiscal failure to pay on time has a domino effect on the financial sector. The unpaid vendor has to borrow more to cover enhanced working capital requirements.
• For instance, the default of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS) in September 2018, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had to move quickly to prevent a financial meltdown.
• Poor reporting: The MOSPI report mentions the repeated failure of projects to report milestones, which would have helped reveal the true cause of delay.
• Overall effect:
  • The medium-term fiscal plan required under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) legislation has become a mere statement where the fiscal shortage is not the true left over.
  • Governments take on more expenditure commitments for future years than they know can be put up within the fiscal deficit path committed to. If payment dues exceed, they are simply delayed.
  • Many infrastructure companies are unwilling to engage with governments because of payment delays.

What are the steps to be taken?

• The fiscal system is deeply in need of reform, towards multi-year budgeting of committed expenditures, and calculation of deficits as a serious remaining rather than as a priority in itself to which expenditures will be shaped.
• Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has warned that without “relief” payments the potential growth rate of the economy would be seriously reduced. Hence relief payments are required.

Way forward

• Nothing would raise the potential growth rate of the Indian economy as much as a one-time payment of all past dues, and a credible commitment to future payments on time.
• The Centre should give interest-free loans to states with bullet payment after 50 years. The funds “are to be used for new or ongoing capital projects needing funds and / or settling contractors’/ suppliers’ bills on such projects”.

Context: Recently, the Government of India announced few changes to facilitate the sale of Air India.

Background

• As part of the strategic disinvestment, the government initiated for the complete disinvestment process of debt burdened Air India.
• Before the start of the current financial year, Air India had more than Rs 60,000 crore as debt and with the coming of the pandemic, debt burden is getting accumulated.
• Due to increasing debt burden, the Government has been pushing for the strategic sale of Air India.
• Following the failure to receive a single bid in the first attempt the government has initiated the disinvestment process of Air India for the second time.

What are the new changes?

• Earlier, the government had mandated a fixed level of debt i.e. 23,286.50 crore to be taken by buyers along with the sale.
• The government, through its recent announcement will now allow the prospective bidders the flexibility to decide the level of debt they wish to take on while buying the airline.
• Second, the winning bidder will have to deposit at least 15 per cent of the bid amount in cash with the government ahead of the share transfer.
• Also, the government has extended the deadline from October 30 to December 14 to allow potential bidders to carefully evaluate the new terms and conditions.

Whether the latest changes would be enough to attract the buyers?

• Lack of buyers: Most best bidders who are affected by the pandemic are now struggling to survive themselves.
• Unattractive Aviation sector: Estimates suggest that most airlines will struggle to be financially viable even in 2021 fearing the second wave of COVID infections.

Source- The Indian Express

Syllabus – GS 3- Investment models.

Context- Partnerships with various stakeholders in the private sector is required for sustainable infrastructure creation in India

What is PPP investment model?

Public Private Partnership is a cooperative arrangement between public and private sectors. The PPP model displays three essential characteristics:

• Long term contractual arrangement.
• A significant level of responsibility and risk that is transferred from public to private sector.
• Contractual arrangements are built around performance based outcomes.

What are the challenges on ramping up private investments in infrastructure?

• Policy reforms– Refreshing institutions and policies for channeling financing.
• Stable ecosystem– Providing a stable, durable, and empowering ecosystem for private players to partner with government entities in the task of infrastructure-creation.

What are the recommendations of Vijay Kelkar Committee on Revisiting and Revitalizing PPP Model?

Vijay Kelkar Committee Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2015-16 announced that the PPP mode of infrastructure development has to be revisited and revitalized. Committee had put out a timely, practical, and balanced report on overhauling the PPP ecosystem.

Key recommendations of the committee–

1. Contracts need to focus more on service delivery instead of fiscal benefits.
2. Better identification and allocation of risks between stakeholders.
3. Prudent utilization of viability gap funds where user charges cannot guarantee a robust revenue stream.
4. Improved fiscal reporting practices and careful monitoring of performance.
5. Report also included governance reform, institutional redesign, and capacity-building.

How government can redesign the PPP model?

1. Redesign ecosystem–

• Overhaul the culture and attitude towards the conjoining of government entities and private partners for creating specific pieces of infrastructure.
• Plug and play– There needs to be an approach of give and take, instead of government interlocutors trying to adopt a purely transactional approach without adequate focus on outcomes.
• Minimizing risk– Passing on uncertain elements in a project like the land acquisition risk to the private partner.
• Incentives– The private partners also need to be incentivized to focus on project outcomes, with guard-rails in place to discourage rent-seeking behaviour.

2. Regulatory front-

• Secure legislation– Promulgate a PPP legislation which can provide a robust legal ecosystem and procedural comfort to the various actors and stakeholders.
• Revenue flow assurance- The key to a successful PPP is to provide stable revenue flow assurances and a settled ecosystem to investors over long periods by means of policy stability, assurances possibly secured by law.
• Government partners in PPP arrangements need to ensure that open-ended arrangements that might entail unforeseeable risk are minimized for the private investor, including aspects such as land availability and community acceptance.

Way forward-

In a post COVID era, a focus area for public policy has to be the creation of a modern-day, sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Government needs to design a fresh approach and create a stable policy environment that provides comfort and incentives to private investors.