Border game changer: Strategic 'China-proof' road near LAC to be ready next year
This will not only allow India to mobilise troops without being exposed to Chinese observation, but will smoothen logistics movement in the critical border area.Daulat Beg Oldie houses the world's highest airstrip at 16,614 feet, and holds immense strategic value due to its proximity to the Karakoram Pass and the contentious Depsang region, where China has frequently challenged Indian claims.Defence sources said the BRO has upgraded nine bridges on the new route from 40-tonne to 70-tonne load capacity to facilitate the movement of heavier vehicles and artillery. Trials with Bofors and other systems have already been conducted successfully.The road originates from Sasoma in the Nubra Valley, close to the Siachen base camp. It will allow direct connectivity to DBO without needing to cross Leh.BRO's 'Project Vijayak' is undertaking the construction from Sasoma to Saser Brangsa, while 'Project Himank' is looking after the project to DBO. The total estimated budget is Rs 500 crore.ENGINEERING CHALLENGESThe terrain and extreme weather conditions presented formidable engineering challenges.Located at an altitude of over 17,000 feet, the region is prone to heavy snowfall and oxygen scarcity, limiting the construction window to just 5-6 months annually.To aid the construction workers, the BRO set up special "oxygen cafes" to ensure efficiency and safety. Several other strategic projects are going on in the region to enhance troop mobility.Moreover, a detailed report is being prepared for an 8-km tunnel at Saser La (17,660 feet) to enable all-weather access. Once built, it will further enhance the road's strategic utility.- EndsMust Watch
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Indian Express
16 minutes ago
- Indian Express
India-UK Free Trade Agreement: A $34 billion game-changer for exports and employment
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Delhi-based venture capital fund raises stake in this LIC-owned NBFC stock. Check details
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Economic Times
16 minutes ago
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Mark Matthews on why FTA with UK, US trade deal shouldn't matter much for India
Live Events You Might Also Like: Most excited about these business segments in next 1-2 years: Raamdeo Agrawal (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel MD,, believes the India-UK FTA will have a small impact on India. He hopes it will encourage a US trade deal before August 6. A US deal could boost the stock market. Matthews anticipates a US tariff for India between 15% and 20%. He considers US trade less crucial for India than for other nations.: I do not know what the impact will be for the UK economy, but it is not big for India as you know UK trade is an extremely small part of India's overall economy. But what I would say is that it should be a boost for sentiment because they have been doing these talks for about three months and hopefully will put pressure on the government to do the trade deal with the United States before the August 6th deadline. That would be a much needed boost for the stock market if that comes I would expect it to come in somewhere between 15% and 20% with 20% being the ceiling for the Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. They are at 19% and then 15% was the recent trade deal with Japan. So, that is the range I am looking for. If it was above 20%, then I would be disappointed, I do not know about the market. Unlike Japan or the Philippines, trade with the US is not material for the Indian economy. I find this is frankly more noise than substance.: I like two things. First, I like the fact that the sector is down almost 20% so far this year. It is not across the sector but there are pockets of very deep value. This is a place in India where you can find deep value. And the second thing is that the guidance from management in the most recent quarterly results was largely positive, looking for better times ahead. So, those are the two reasons why we like it.I am sorry I do not have a view on that, but I can tell you what we think about the consumer space. It will be a beneficiary of the Rs 1 lakh crore tax breaks that were announced in the Budget back in February and we should start to see that filter through, but also the one percentage point cut in the RBI's rate since the last five months – these two forces should be beneficial for the entire space, especially for bigger ticket items like autos and property.I think I was wrong and I remember that conversation. It is probably higher than when we last spoke. I felt that it was overbought because at that time it was up about 25% from the beginning of the year. Now, it is up about 28%. I think what I told you at the time is I preferred the idea of buying stocks in Hong Kong relative to gold. So, I suspect on that basis, it might have been the right call. Hong Kong stocks have done better than gold since we last met. But yes, if you look back over the last 100 years, gold's return is on average 5% a year in US dollars. So it has been a very fine investment, but it does move in spurts and we have just had one of those big spurts over the last two I would have thought it was due for a break, and it continues to go up. Long-term, the thing that speaks in favour of gold is that most central banks do not have enough of it and they would like to diversify away from a very heavy concentration in dollars. In fact, there was a survey that came out last month that showed off all the assets that the major central banks of the world said they intended to increase their allocation to over the next 5 to 10 years, gold had the largest vote in there will be a steady buyer of gold from central banks, but they do not tend to chase the price. They tend to be very calm and steady in their buying of it. I do not want to ramble, but what I am trying to say is I still feel that it is overbought in the short term, but longer term it should continue to demonstrate that attribute of going up about 5% per year over the long term.
