Infrastructure

Context: Recent incidents like the Mysuru-Darbanga Express collision highlight the persistent safety and operational challenges facing Indian Railways. Challenges of Indian Railways: Frequent Train Accidents: High-profile accidents such as Balasore (2023) and Kavaraipettai (2024) point to significant safety gaps, with human error (55.8%) and signaling issues being the primary causes. …

Introduction: The Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model introduced by the Government of India in 2016. It aims to address the funding challenges in infrastructure development, particularly in the road sector. HAM combines elements of two existing models: Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC): Under EPC, the …

Syllabus: Infrastructure Context NHPC signs MoU with RITES, Ministry of Railways for construction of railway siding for Dibang Multipurpose Project, Arunachal Pradesh NHPC Limited India’s premier hydropower company, has signed an MoU with RITES, a Miniratna Schedule ‘A’ Central Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Railways,for construction of railway siding at Pasighat, …

Syllabus: Infrastructure Context West Bengal, Punjab, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Bihar and Rajasthan wherein some of the districts are yet to achieve the target of 75 Amrit Sarovars per district Background: Mission Amrit Sarovar has been launched by the Prime Minister on 24th April 2022 with an objective to …

Syllabus: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. Context With a view to improving rail connectivity and ease travel for commuters, the Union Cabinet approved seven railway projects estimated at around ₹32,500 crore. About the Project Spanning 35 districts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, …

Syllabus: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. Context Digi Yatra facility will be launched at 6 more airports namely Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Guwahati airports in the month of August 2023. The implementation and installation of Digi Yatra infrastructure at these airports will take place in a …

Context:   Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway stations spread across the country. Under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, construction work is progressing on 24 stations in 10 States – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Amrit …

The Indian Railways is taking a slew of measures to ensure safety in operations following the Balasore triple train tragedy which left 295 persons dead and over a thousand injured, Union Railway Minister told the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Context The Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) was introduced in 2017-18 …

Semi-high-speed trains operating at an average speed of 125 km per hour will be able to cover the approximately 420-km Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur distance in three-and-a-half hours through standard gauge tracks in another six years The trains would be able to attain a maximum speed of 200 kmph and would halt at …

Cabinet approves City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) from 2023 to 2027 What is CITIIS 2.0? CITIIS 2.0 is a program conceived by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in partnership with: the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and National Institute …

India and Indonesia have completed a joint feasibility study on the development of strategically valuable Sabang port. Sabang port is roughly 700 km from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is located in the Aceh, province of Indonesia. The successful development of Sabang Port would allow India easier access to the Malacca …

Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways has launched ‘Harit Sagar’ the Green Port Guidelines. Harit Sagar Guidelines – 2023 envisages ecosystem dynamics in port development, operation and maintenance while aligning with ’Working with Nature’ concept and minimizing impact on biotic components of harbor ecosystem. It lays emphasis on: use of Clean / Green energy in Port operation, developing Port capabilities for storage, handling and bunkering Greener …

The findings of the first-ever water body census, conducted by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, was published recently. Need for a water body census India is facing a water crisis with groundwater decline, biodiversity loss, and climate change increasing the frequency of floods and droughts. Water bodies buffer against climate variability, holding flood waters for use in …

Aircraft lessors (in the Go First Airlines case) sought deregistration and repossession of 20 aircraft leased to the Wadia Group airline by filing applications with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) using their Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA). Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation, or IDERA, empowers lessors to get their …

The Prime Minister has praised the initiative by Border Roads Organisation Project Dantak to commemorate 64th Raising Day. Project DANTAK is commemorating its Diamond Jubilee in Bhutan. Project DANTAK was established on April 24, 1961 by the Third King of Bhutan and then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. DANTAK was tasked to construct the pioneering motorable roads in Bhutan. Over the years, …

India’s first undersea twin tunnels in south Mumbai are close to completion. The tunnels start near Girgaon, extend north under the Arabian Sea, Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hill, and end at Breach Candy’s Priyadarshini Park. It is 2.07-km long which are are a part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) being built by the Brihanmumbai …

Trial runs are underway on India’s first underwater transport tunnel. The 16.55-km East-West corridor is the second line of the Kolkata Metro network. The East-West Corridor of the metro was approved in 2009. The line, called the Green Line, will link Howrah station to Sealdah station, which is the hub of Kolkata’s suburban railway network. …

A recent working paper from Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) extends the earlier minerals assessment for 23 minerals by assessing the criticality levels of 43 select minerals for India based on their economic importance (demand-side factors) and supply risks (supply-side factors) which are determined through the evaluation of …

Chile is keen to partner with India on tapping into the lithium value chain by extending technical expertise in exploiting the newly established “inferred” lithium resources of 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir. Key details: The ‘inferred’ reserves of 5.9 mn tonnes in J&K’s Reasi are …

The closure of the Indira Gandhi Canal, considered the lifeline for northern and western Rajasthan districts, for repair and relining of feeders, is set to have an impact on the drinking and irrigation needs of 1.75 crore people in the State. Indira Canal: The Indira Gandhi Canal, originally called, Rajasthan Canal is …