Tag: Maharashtra

Gujarat, Maharashtra on massive drive to check milk adulteration, others to follow

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Every year the onslaught of summer plays a role on the demand-supply dynamics of milk and milk products. Owing to the limited availability of fresh milk or dairy, there are high chances of milk adulteration, say state food safety officers.

To address this issue, state food and drug administrations are embarking on massive drive to check milk adulteration.

The two states that have been first movers in this are Gujarat and Maharashtra.

According to sources, state FDAs of Gujarat and Maharashtra will be collecting random loose and packaged milk samples from across the states. These samples will not only include branded products but also loose milk sold by the unorganised sector. Special checks will be conducted in selected grey areas where food safety officers have tip-offs with regards to milk adulteration.

Data from Euromonitor International has revealed that Amul and Mother Dairy are leaders in the ‘drinking milk products’ space. They are followed by milk players like Nandini, Aavin and Vijaya.

Checks will be conducted on several parameters including fat content, urea content as well as the presence of foreign objects in milk. There will also be special checks for the presence of synthetic milk that could perhaps be available in the state, say sources.

Surveillance of milk collection centres will be conducted to check on parameters like hygiene and procedures.

Surveillance is likely to be conducted in intervals over the next few weeks to keep a check on milk adulteration. Samples will then be sent to testing laboratories and stringent action could be taken depending on the outcome.

Penalties would be decided at a later date and would depend on the severity of the action. It could involve fine or even imprisonment. Several other states are also likely to follow suit in terms of carrying out checks.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Maharashtra mulls PPP model to acquire land for low-cost homes

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The state government is mulling a public private partnership policy under which it plans to acquire land parcels in the MMR region and develop low-cost homes, giving further impetus to its affordable housing programme.

The policy is likely to be presented in the cabinet in a month’s time, state housing minister Prakash Mehta told reporters on the sidelines of CII event here today.

“There are large land parcels like 100 to 500 acres in the MMR region where the owners want to develop them but don’t have finances. Also, even if they develop on their own they may get an FSI of 1 or maximum 2.5 and will have to pay premium on that FSI. Now, under the new policy, we are proposing that we will acquire these land parcels through Mhada and develop affordable homes and compensate the land owners,” Mehta said.

He said currently discussions on how to compensate these owners, are on.

“It could either be by paying the beneficiary the cost of land as per the ready reckoner rates or build homes for them as compensation. We are yet to come to a conclusion regarding the compensation and are hopeful that we will be able to finalise it in the next 10-15 days. We will then present the policy before of the cabinet for its approval,” Mehta said.

The minister added that nearly 10 lakh affordable homes can be built once this policy is in place.

He further said Mhada would be the overall planning authority for affordable housing development in the state.

“To avoid any confusion between various government agencies and to streamline the process for creating affordable homes in the state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has made it clear that Mhada will be the nodal planning authority. The development will happen as per the development control rules of that particular region but to avoid any conflicts, Mhada will be a part of the planning team and oversee the development,” he added.

Currently, Mhada is also the planning authority for projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna implemented in the state.

Regarding Dharavi redevelopment, Mehta said the government has decided to separate commercial and residential development on the land.

“Initially we had created five sectors for Dharavi redevelopment, but we did not get any response for it as people thought they were too big to develop. So later we divided it into 12 sectors. This too did not get any response.

So now we have decided to make it one sector and commercial development will be separated from residential,” he said.

He said the government will invite global tenders for this development and a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed where government will be 51% stake holder.

“By taking 51% stake, we take the major responsibility and help mitigate the risk. We are hopeful that in the next two months the proposal will be finalised,” he said.

Mehta further added that the persons affected by the project will be the first to be rehabilitated on the open spaces at Dharavi and only then will redevelopment be taken up.

He further added that the state government is committed to meet its target of building 11 million affordable homes by 2022 and the entire plan will be in place by end of 2018.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Maharashtra eyes Rs 10,000 crore investment for electric vehicles

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Maharashtra government, which recently launched a policy on electric vehicles, has coaxed a bunch of players such as M&M, Tata Motors and JSW Energy to submit proposals worth Rs 10,000 crore to build plants in the state.

“We have almost 5-6 players who have submitted their proposals and we are evaluating all of them,” said a senior government official asking not to be named.

The policy, which was approved in February this year, aims at manufacturing 500,000 EVs in the state within the next five years. The state government has also proposed exempting e-vehicles from road tax and registration charges.

Additionally, first 100,000 buyers of EVs registered in the state will be given a 15 percent subsidy.

In March, centre decided against formulating an electric vehicle (EV) policy. “There is no need for any policy now,” said Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport.

However, a month after centre took a U-turn from its stand on the electric vehicle policy, the government’s think-tank NITI Aayog asked seven ministries to frame guidelines to encourage the use of EVs.

Players like M&M, Tata Motors, JSW Energy are in talks with the government to set up capacities. Mahindra has already announced additional investments of 500 crs in the EV space. Mahindra has already invested in the EV space before the policy was announced.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Airport in Sindhudurg to be completed by June, says Civil Aviation Ministry

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The work for the new airport in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, estimated to cost Rs 520 crore, is expected to be completed in June this year, according to the civil aviation ministry.

The airport is to come up at Parule Chipi in Sindhudurg district. It is being constructed by IRB Sindhudurg Airport Pvt Ltd on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis for the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

“Work on the project is expected to be completed in June this year, before the onset of monsoon and the Ganesh Festival, which will begin in September this year,” the ministry said in a release today.

Being constructed at an approximate cost of Rs 520 crore, the aerodrome will have a 2,500-metre runway, it added.

The release said the airport will have a capacity to handle 200 departing and 200 arriving passengers during peak hours.

“An airport in Sindhudurg was necessary in order to provide better connectivity to the Konkan region of Maharashtra, parts of Goa, North Karnataka and Western Maharashtra,” the release said.

At present, Maharashtra has three functional international and 13 domestic airports.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Union minister lauds Fadnavis govt’s Mumbai Development Plan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri today praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ new Development Plan (DP) 2034 for Mumbai, saying such a step will ensure the “ultimate transformation”.

The steps taken by Fadnavis will bring about a qualitative change not just in the metropolis but all across the state, the housing and urban affairs minister said.

In the new DP announced last week, the state government has ensured infusion of new land that can be developed and increased the Floor Space Index (FSI) in the island city up to 3 for residential properties and up to 5 for commercial properties from the earlier 1.33.

“A few days ago, under the leadership of Fadnavis, a decision was taken to increase the FSI for residential and commercial projects coming up in Mumbai. We need such a kind of dynamic leadership which will ensure the ultimate transformation,” Puri said at the MahaRERA Day event here.

For suburbs, the new FSI will be up to 2.5 and 5 for residential and commercial properties, respectively. The existing FSI for the two categories is 2 and 2.5, respectively.

The FSI is the ratio of the total built-up area to the total area of a plot. It is basically a tool that defines the extent of construction permissible on a plot.

Comparing Mumbai with Shanghai, the biggest city in China and a global financial hub, Puri said, “Till many years ago the two cities were at par. But, now look where Shanghai has gone.”

“With the steps that Maharashtra has taken under Fadnavis, we will now see a qualitative change not just in Mumbai but throughout the state,” he said at the event organised by the MahaRERA Conciliation Forum.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Biggest challenge is to keep builders compliant, says Maharashtra Rera chief

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Authority Act completes one year of implementation, the biggest challenge is to keep the builders compliant of the law, said Maharashtra Rera Chairman Gautam Chatterjee.

Maharashtra was the first state to implement the Act in the country from May 1, 2017.

“Being the first state to implement the Rera Act, there is certainly a feeling of satisfaction as we complete a successful maiden year. But at the same time, there are many areas of concern which we will have to address such as ensuring that builders who have become compliant of the laws remain compliant,” Chatterjee told PTI in an interview over the weekend.

He said challenges the Act poses are quite serious, which all the stakeholders will have to deal with.

“The initial task before me was to get the projects languishing for years for whatever reasons, registered. Since the Act is confined to only those projects which are registered with the authority, it was necessary to communicate with all the stakeholders,” recalls Chatterjee.

Nearly 13,000 projects were registered since May 1 last and almost 11,000 of them came online in the first 90 days itself.

“Today there’s satisfaction that builders are compliant with the provisions of the law, which is one of the fundamental principles of this Act and also a major challenge for us.

“But this satisfaction leads to further challenges. As you get more projects into your fold, your workload goes up. We will now have to see that these projects get completed in the timelines mentioned, failing which there will be serious consequences, Chatterjee said.

Of the 13,000 projects registered with the authority, nearly 8,000 were those which should have got completed before the Act came into force.

“We also need to ensure that the compliant behaviour on the part of the developer need be continued throughout the lifeline of the project,” the chairman added.

On the number of complaints received by the authority during the year, he says, “we received around 2,387 complaints of which over 2,000 appellants have completed the appeal process and around 1,200 cases were resolved”.

Maharashtra Rera, along with developers’ bodies such as the Naredco, Credai and MCHI and representatives of the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, has formed MahaRera Conciliation and Disputes Resolution Forum as an alternate dispute resolution mechanism under the Act.

“The purpose of setting up this forum was to create a level-playing field where both the parties should be able to discuss and negotiate on terms equally, before coming to us. So, the basic objective was to rebuild trust between the buyer and the developer,” Chatterjee said.

The forum received nearly 130 applications and 45 of them were registered and 31 of them were resolved till April 15.

“Rera has not just addressed the issues of compliance and transparency, but it has also brought back consumer confidence. As projects are now registered, buyers can now make an informed choice. For any grievance, they have a quasi-judicial redressal platform,” he added.

When asked about the claims of certain developers that the number of launches have come down after the implementation of the Act, he said, “of the total 16,000 projects registered, 3,000 are new projects and this is not a small number. I think they needed some time to consolidate the ongoing projects before they launch new ones. So, I don’t think it has deterred the developers.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

United Breweries sees double-digit growth in super premium brands; plans to launch own craft beer

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Shekhar Ramamurthy, Managing Director of United Breweries (UB), spoke to CNBC-TV18, says industry volume should grow between 5% and 8% over the next 12 months.

“We hope that this year the industry will grow mid to high single digit and that is a positive,” Ramamurthy said.

“It has always been our objective to grow ahead of the market and we have introduced a few new brands over the last couple of years. We are seeing very strong double-digit growth in our super premium brands,” Ramamurthy added.

“We have plans to launch our own craft beer variety hopefully by the end of this year. We have plans to enter the non-alcoholic beverage space. We hope to be in the market by end of the year,” he further mentioned.

Speaking on regional markets, he said in West Bengal the industry is in steep decline of 30-40% and in Maharashtra after the duty hike happened around October-November last year, industry still not stabilised.

He said steep price increase of beer has been a dampener for the company.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PM asks Finance Commission to reward states that worked to control population

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked the 15th Finance Commission to incentivise the states that have worked to control population after south Indian states strongly opposed the terms set by the constitutional body to divvy up revenues.

The Union Government has suggested to the Finance Commission to consider incentivizing States who have worked on population control. Thus, a state like Tamil Nadu, which has devoted a lot of effort, energy and resources towards population control would certainly benefit: PM

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 12, 2018

The Prime Minister’s statement comes as states such as Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, among others, have accused the central government of being partial towards states from the north. The chief ministers and political parties of these states said the southern states that have diligently followed population control and development policies and are therefore in a better position than the rest of the country receive lower revenue share compared with northern states.

The bone of contention for the southern states is  the terms of reference that the 15th Finance Commission has set. According to these terms, the 2011 Census – and not the 1971 Census as has been the norm – has been set as the base year to determine how revenue is divided.

Southern states fear that the new base year will harm their interests.

The BJP, which leads an alliance to run the central government,  has been elected to power in several north Indian states.

On Thursday, Modi denied that his government was biased against the southern states, and said these were baseless allegations.

Earlier, Karnataka chief minister K Siddaramaiah opposed the terms of reference of the Finance Commission and asked the southern states to oppose it. “This will further affect the interests of the south, we need to resist,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.

He also asked chief ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Puducherry to resist the move by the commission.

On Tuesday, finance ministers and officials from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka and Puducherry met in Thiruvananthapuram to strongly oppose the terms of reference. Andhra Pradesh finance minister Y Ramakrishnudu had said the Centre arbitrarily decided the terms of reference for the new policy, without consulting state governments.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it’s time states stood together to demand recasting the terms of reference, as it was necessary to save the federal structure of the Indian Union.

On Wednesday, Kerala finance minster Thomas Isaac told NDTV the South will lose Rs 80,000 crore under the new Finance Commission.

Karnataka agriculture minister Krishna Byre Gowda said all states that performed their duty of bringing down the population in their respective jurisdictions were set to lose out because the plan is to shift the base from 1971 to 2011 Census.

With elections in Karnataka fast approaching and a storm of protests raging in other states, only higher revenues to southern states could defuse the tension.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Maharashtra FDA to sample loose edible oil

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

In a bid to keep a check on adulteration levels in food, the central food regulator FSSAI has directed the Maharashtra state FDA to conduct a large scale surveillance and sampling for loose edible oil available in the market. Interestingly, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are the only two states that allow the sale of loose edible oil at all levels in the retail chain.

This means that Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are the only two states that allow manufacturers to sell loose edible oil to wholesalers who in turn sell it loose to retailers and end consumers.

This decision and approval was purely granted by the state taking into account the rural population and the affordability factor. However, the sale of this edible oil in loose format is also more susceptible to adulteration. Keeping this in mind, we learn that the Maharashtra FDA is now in the process of conducting random sampling in pockets across the state.

In other states, edible oil is sealed in tamper proof dispensers and sold to consumers as per their requirement. If the surveillance by the state FDA throws up negative findings or traces of adulteration in the chain, agencies could consider taking some serious action.

We learn from sources that the Maharashtra FDA will compile the findings of this surveillance and send it to the FSSAI at the earliest. The central food regulator then has the option of referring the report to the state government and suggesting the way forward.

However, it is completely upto the state government to decide on the approval or extension of permission to sell loose edible oil in the state at all levels.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Exports cannot improve if states don’t participate: Suresh Prabhu

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

A three day Global Investor Summit, Magnetic Maharashtra Convergence 2018 was held on Feb 18th and 20th in Mumbai.

Lauding the Maharashtra government’s objective of focusing on export oriented industrialization, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said, “I had called a meeting of trade ministers, chief ministers to discuss how states can drive exports of India. If the states don’t participate in it, it is not going to happen in a big way. I am happy that Maharashtra is the leading exporter of goods and services but I want to see the state playing an even bigger role.”

The minister said that apart from production, there are two other major factors required for better exports which are transport connectivity as well as digital connectivity.

The objective of the summit was to attract business investments, both global and domestic so as to transform the state’s economic landscape and in the process, achieve government’s vision of making it a trillion dollar economy.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow