INFRA

Economic activity in many states has been hit hard due to the second wave of Covid-19 in India and some important sectors have started facing losses due to the prevailing situation. Real estate is one such sector that has been affected.

For a sector that staged an impressive recovery after the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the second wave came as a rude shock. There has been a dip in property sales, new project launches and commercial rentals since last month due to semi-lockdowns and other localised curbs imposed by states to contain the virus spread.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Tuesday said its fully owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) DME Developers (DMEL) has raised `9,731 crore to part-fund the 1,276 km, greenfield Delhi-Mumbai expressway.

“The major share of the funding came from the largest bank in India, the State Bank of India, which contributed Rs 5,000 crore. Punjab National Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Axis Bank are the other investors in the SPV,” NHAI said in a statement.

The total estimated cost of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway project is about Rs 87,453 crore, including land acquisition cost of about Rs 20,589 crore.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that the government has constructed a record 11,035 kilo meters of roads and highways till date in the current financial year, which translates into paving of 33 km a day.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gadkari said, "We have constructed 11,035 km of highways till date in the current financial year. This is the highest length of roads and highways built in the country till date. With this, we have achieved the construction of 32.85 km of roads and highways per day."

India is considering easing foreign investment rules for sectors ranging from construction to animation to lure overseas capital needed to create jobs in an economy cratered by the pandemic, people with knowledge of the matter said.

A proposal to allow limited liability partnerships to invest in the construction of townships, roads, hotels and hospitals is under discussion, the people said, asking not to be identified citing rules. A plan to allow 100% foreign direct investment in animation, visual effects, gaming and comics sector may also find mention in the government’s budget to be presented Feb. 1, one of the people said.

Allowing LLPs will open a new investment avenue at a time when the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is struggling to revive the economy from its worst annual contraction on record and generate employment in a country still shedding jobs months after the pandemic-induced lockdown. The government estimates India will require investment worth $777 billion across infrastructure for development by 2022.

After the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee passed a resolution demanding a share of revenue from the non-fare box revenue source - on property leased to the Pune Metro rail - the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (Maha-Metro), implementing the Pune metro rail project, said the decision on revenue sharing with the civic body will be taken by the Union and the state government.

Congress leader Ulhas Bagul had proposed that the PMC should demand a 50 per cent share in revenue that will be raised by Maha-Metro from the multi-modal hub with commercial establishments at the PMC-owned Swargate land. “The PMC forwarded the proposal to Maha-Metro and sought its response on the proposal. Thus, the civic body has to take a decision,” said Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar.

Officials at the Maha-Metro said the Pune metro project is to provide faster and comfortable commute for residents of the city through the public transport system. The PMC is a partner in the project by contributing its land and finances. The project has been proposed by PMC and Maha-Metro is executing the project.