Indian Railways to join hands with Malaysia to modernise and redevelop 20 stations across country
The Dollar Business Bureau The Indian Railways is making plans to join hands with Malaysia to redevelop about 20 stations in Tier-II cities across the country. This project could attract nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in private investment the railways said. The redevelopment project entails infrastructure revamp at platforms and in the circulating areas. The project also encompasses development of station areas for commercial purposes. The government has plans to construct hotels, eateries, shopping malls, office complexes and multiplexes in the excess land that railways has, for the developers to be used for 45 years. For facilitating growth of Tier II cities such as Faridabad, Cuttack, Amritsar, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Jammu, and Bikaner, the Centre, state and local governments ...
Govt to announce first 20 smart cities by year end
Deepak Kumar | The Dollar Business The government on Thursday announced that it will declare names of the first 20 smart cities by the end of this year. “Twenty smart cities are going to be selected by the end of this year. Next year 40 cities, and the remaining 40 cities will be picked next to next year (in 2017),” said Union Minister of Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu. Speaking at the “Smart Cities Summit 2015” in New Delhi, Naidu said, “Companies from 14 countries; the US, Canada, UK, France, the Netherlands and Spain, have been selected for the preparation of cities level plan for 42 mission city. This shows the global interest of the Smart Cities programme.” Indian as well ...
International Tourist Arrivals on e-Visa records 893% growth during Jan-Aug 2015
The Dollar Business Bureau Since the government rolled out Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) scheme on November 27, 2014, India has witnessed an upsurge in international tourists arriving on e-Tourist Visa. During January-August 2015, the number of international arrivals has recorded a staggering growth. India attracted nearly 1.7 lakh international tourists, up 892.9% from 17,120 during the same period in 2014. “This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 113 countries as against coverage of earlier TVoA scheme for 12 countries,” said the Ministry of Tourism in a statement. Last month, 22,286 tourists travelled to India on e-Visa as compared to 2,705 during the same period last year. It registered a growth of 723.9% over August 2014. ...
