PM flags off Mumbai Rail project: Center to provide Rs500-cr viability gap funding
Mumbai: The Rs19,525-crore Mumbai Metro Rail project was flagged-off on Wednesday. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the first phase — the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor at Godrej Lands in northeast Mumbai. The first phase is estimated to cost Rs2,356 crore.

The Central Government has also agreed to provide for the viability gap funding of Rs500 crore for the first corridor of the Mumbai metro rail project. This will be the first metro project in the country to be executed under public-private partnership, said S. Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Urban Affairs.

Viability gap funding is a one-time or deferred grant for infrastructure projects that may have long gestation periods and limited financial returns, so that their viability may be improved through government support. The contract for the Ghatkopar-Versova corridor will be executed through a special purpose vehicle, a joint venture between the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and a consortium led by the Anil Ambani group's Reliance Energy which has Connex of France as partner.

The project's debt-equity ratio will be 70:30. REL's equity contribution at Rs353 crore amounts to 69 per cent equity stake in the SPV; Connex will have 5 per cent stake and MMRDA 26 per cent.

This build-own-operate-transfer project will be completed by 2009 and would start operations in 2009-2010. It would be run by the SPV for 35 years.

The Mumbai Metro Rail is expected to reduce the commuting worries of the citizens of Mumbai. Trains on the Mumbai Metro will have a frequency of one train in every four minutes that would cover a distance of 146.5 km. The trains would have a carrying capacity of 60,000 persons per hour and the travel time between Versova to Ghatkopar will come down from 70 to 21 minutes. The proposed fare structure is Rs6 up to 3 km, Rs8 for 3-8 km and Rs10 for over 8 km. The Metro Rail Project is expected to reduce travelling time for the Mumbaikars.

The railway system at present provides North-South connectivity and the new 11.07-km-long corridor is expected to provide the much needed East-West connectivity. The project comprises nine lines, of which 32.5 km would be underground and 114 km would be elevated rails. The first phase would be fully functional by 2011, the second phase by 2016 and third phase by 2021.

The corridor will have 12 stations: Versova, D N Nagar, Azad Nagar, Andheri, Western Express Highway, Chakala, Airport, Marol Naka, Saki Naka, Subhash Nagar, Asalpha Road and Ghatkopar: locations that are not fully covered by the existing suburban railway.
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16 states to join Centre's new defined contribution pension structure
New Delhi: 16 States more states have joined the Centre's New Pension Scheme (NPS) that is based on the new defined contribution pension structure.

D. Swarup, chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA said he was hopeful that more States would gradually express their willingness to join the new scheme.

While some of the States such as Tamil Nadu adopted the scheme even before the Centre had announced it, the latest ones to join in are Uttaranchal, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Goa, Orissa, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The new pension structure, available to all, is applicable to all fresh employees of the Central Government joining the service after the January 1, 2004 cut off date (except those in armed forces). Sources said West Bengal was interested in adopting the scheme.

Under the scheme, each employee makes a defined contribution of 10 per cent of salary, and a matching contribution is to be made by the respective State Governments. However, there would be no contribution from the Government for those who are not in its service. Contributions from both the Government and non-Government employees would be placed with pension fund managers. The fund managers, who are to be licensed by the regulator, would be responsible for investing the corpus as per norms laid down.
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CeBIT to be partner for Kolkata Infocom
New Delhi: Infocom, an annual ICT conference and exposition, has roped in the world's largest trade fair CeBIT to be an exclusive partner for Infocom 2006 to be held in Kolkata between December 6-10.

The tie-up will enable European ICT companies to enter the Indian market more easily. Big European companies already have access to the Indian market, and hence our target is to bring the small and medium-sized companies to showcase their offerings said Dr Eberhard Roloff, director - Central and Eastern Europe, Deutsche Messe AG, at a conference here.

CeBIT, organised by Hannover, Germany-based Deutsche Messe, showcases digital IT and telecommunications solutions for the home and work environments and is currently held in Shanghai, Hannover, Sydney and Istanbul.

Infocom organised in Kolkata by Businessworld magazine and Nasscom is a congregation of ICT specialists, policy makers and industry leaders in India. In 2005, the three-day conference and 1,50,000 square feet exhibition brought together over 100 speakers, 1,600 delegates, 350 participating companies and over one lakh visitors.
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