The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has approved 8 National High-Speed Road Corridor projects with a length of 936 kilometers (km) for Rs. 50,655 crore across India.
i.The implementation of these projects is likely to create an estimated 4.42 crore man-days of direct and indirect employment.
ii.The 8 National High-Speed Road Corridor projects are:
- 6-lane Agra(Uttar Pradesh – UP)-Gwalior(Madhya Pradesh – MP);
- 4-lane Kharagpur-Moregram(West Bengal – WB);
- 6-lane Tharad-Deesa-Mehsana-Ahmedabad(Gujarat);
- 4-lane Ayodhya Ring Road (UP);
- 4-lane Section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur (Chhattisgarh)-Ranchi (Jharkhand);
- 6-Lane Kanpur Ring Road (UP);
- 4-Lane Northern Guwahati Bypass and Widening/Improvement of Existing Guwahati Bypass (Assam), and
- 8-Lane Elevated Nashik Phata-Khed Corridor near Pune (Maharashtra).
6-Lane Agra – Gwalior National High-Speed Corridor:
i.The 88-km high-speed corridor will be developed on Build-Qperate-Transfer (BOT) mode as a fully access-controlled 6-lane corridor at a total capital cost of Rs. 4,613 Crore.
ii.This project will supplement the existing 4-lane National Highway (NH), improving access to key tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
iii.It increases the traffic capacity by more than twice in the Agra-Gwalior section of the North-South Corridor – Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir-J&K)-Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu- TN).
iv.It shortens the distance between Agra and Gwalior by 7% and the travel time by 50%, significantly lowering logistics costs.
v.This greenfield highway will be starting from design 0.000 km (near Deori in Agra) to design 88-400 km (near Susera in Gwalior) in the states of UP, Rajasthan, and MP.
- It includes overlay/strengthening and other road safety enhancements on the existing Agra-Gwalior section of the NH 44.
4-Lane Kharagpur – Moregram National High-Speed Corridor:
i.The 231-km 4-lane access-controlled high-speed corridor between Kharagpur and Moregram will be developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of Rs. 10,247 Crore.
ii.It enhances the existing 2-lane highway capacity by approximately 5 times between Kharagpur and Moregram.
iii.It will link states like WB, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh(AP) to the North-Eastern Regions (NERs).
iv.It cuts down travel time for freight vehicles from 9-10 hours to 3-5 hours between Kharagpur and Moregram, thereby reducing logistics costs.
6-Lane Tharad – Deesa – Mehsana – Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor:
i.The 214-km 6-lane High-Speed Corridor will be developed under the BOT model at a total capital investment of Rs. 10,534 Crore.
ii.It links Gujarat’s key National Corridors – Amritsar-Jamnagar and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, enhancing access for freight from Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to Maharashtra’s major ports.
iii.It connects major tourist sites in Rajasthan and Gujarat and reduces the distance between Tharad and Ahmedabad by 20% and the travel time by 60%.
4-lane Ayodhya Ring Road:
i.The 68-km 4-lane access-controlled Ayodhya Ring Road will be developed in HAM at a total capital cost of Rs. 3,935 Crore.
ii.It will alleviate traffic on NHs passing through Ayodhya, including NH 27 (East-West Corridor), NH 227 A, NH 227B, NH 330, NH 330A, and NH 135A.
iii.It will facilitate faster travel for pilgrims visiting the Rama Mandir and provide seamless access to national and international tourists.
4-Lane Section between Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi National Highspeed Corridor:
i.The 137-km, 4-lane access-controlled section between Pathalgaon and Gumla will be developed in HAM at a total capital cost of Rs 4,473 Crore.
ii.This project aims to improve connectivity between mining areas (Gumla, Lohardaga, Raigarh, Korba, and Dhanbad) and industrial zones (Raipur, Durg, Korba, Bilaspur, Bokaro, and Dhanbad).
iii.The section of NH-43 will start at the end of NH-130A near Turua Ama (Chhattisgarh) and end at Chainage (Ch.) 82+150 of Palma-Gumla Road near Bharda (Chhattisgarh) as part of the Raipur-Dhanbad Economic Corridor (RDEC).
6-Lane Kanpur Ring Road:
i.The 47-km, 6-lane access-controlled Kanpur Ring Road will be developed under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode with a capital cost of Rs. 3,298 Crore.
- The ring road will complete the 6-lane NH ring around Kanpur.
ii.It will separate long-distance traffic on key NHs from the city-bound traffic, enhancing freight logistics between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
iii.It will be starting from Design Ch. 23+325 to Design Ch. 68+650 (Length = 46.775 km), with Airport Link Road (Length= 1.45 km).
4-Lane Northern Guwahati Bypass and Widening/Improvement of Existing Guwahati Bypass:
i.The 121-km Guwahati Ring Road will be developed in the BOT mode at a total capital cost of Rs 5,729 Crore in 3 sections:
- 4-lane Access-Controlled Northern Guwahati Bypass (56 km),
- Widening of the existing 4-lane bypass on NH 27 to 6 lanes (8 km), and
- Improvement of the existing bypass on NH 27 (58 km).
ii.A major bridge over river Brahmaputra will also be constructed as a part of the project.
iii.It enhances long-distance travel on NH 27, connecting major cities like Siliguri (West Bengal), Silchar (Assam), Shillong (Meghalaya), etc.
8-Lane Elevated Nashik Phata – Khed Corridor near Pune:
i.A 30-km 8-lane elevated NHSC will be developed on a BOT basis with a capital cost of Rs. 7,827 Crore.
ii.It provides seamless high-speed connectivity for traffic to and from industrial centers on NH-60 between Pune and Nashik and also alleviates serious congestion around Pimpri-Chinchwad.
iii.An 8-lane elevated flyover at Tier-1 on a single pier includes the upgradation of the existing road to 4/6 lanes with a 2-lane service road on both sides of Nashik Phata to Khed will be completed on Package 1: from 12.190 km to 28.925 km, and Package 2: from 28.925 km to 42.113 km section of NH-60 in Maharashtra.
India’s Infrastructure Development:
i.Infrastructure development is vital for economic prosperity and every rupee spent on infrastructure has a multiplier effect of 2.5-3.0 times on Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
ii.The length of NHs currently increased to 1.46 lakh km from 0.91 lakh km in 2013-14.
iii.The average annual NH contract awards increased to 11,000 km (2014-24) from 4,000 km (2004-14).
iv.The annual NH construction rose to 9,600 km (2014-24) from 4,000 km (2004-14).
v.The total capital investment in NHs including the private investment has increased by 6 times from Rs. 50,000 Crore in 2013-14 to about Rs. 3.1 Lakh Crore in 2023-24.
vi.The corridor-based development approach has identified a 50,000 km network of High-Speed Highway Corridors to support India’s transformation into a USD 30+ trillion economy by 2047.
Union Cabinet Approves Amendments to Banking Laws Allowing up to 4 Nominees Per Deposit Account
The Union Cabinet has approved a series of significant amendments to banking laws, including the increase in the number of nominees per deposit account up to 4, and the introduction of “successive and simultaneous” nominations to allow joint account holders and the heirs to access funds after an account holder’s death.
- Currently, banks allow 1 nominee for savings banks and fixed deposits and there can be more nominees in the Public Provident Fund (PPF), which is run by the central government.
Note: The details of the provisions will only be clear once the bill has been introduced in the Parliament.
Objective: These changes aim to address the issue of unclaimed deposits, which reached over Rs 78,000 crore by March 2024, and reduce customer difficulties.
Addressing Unclaimed Deposits:
i.Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Ministry of Finance (MoF) has directed banks, Mutual Funds (MF), and other financial services companies to transfer unclaimed funds to rightful claimants.
ii.The law is also proposed to be amended to allow the transfer of unclaimed dividends and bonds to the Investor Education Protection Fund (IEPF).
- Currently, only shares of banks are transferred to IEPF.
Other Key Changes:
i.Banks will have greater freedom in deciding remuneration for auditors, previously determined by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
ii.Shareholders with holdings up to Rs 2 crore will now be considered to have substantial interest, up from the previous Rs 5 lakh limit.
iii.The bill will also seek to redefine the reporting dates for banks for regulatory compliance to the 15th and last day of every month, instead of the 2nd and 4th Fridays.
iv.The cooperative banks can appoint directors, other than the chairman and whole-time directors, for up to 10 years if the bill has passed.
Recent related News:
As per data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) presented in the Parliament, the unclaimed deposits in Public and Private Sector Banks (PSBs) reached Rs 42,270 crore as of March 2023.
About the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA):
The CCEA established in 1990 is responsible for high-level economic decision-making.
Chairperson– Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
