logo
Nitin Gadkari to speak at The Hindu MIND today

Nitin Gadkari to speak at The Hindu MIND today

The Hindu4 hours ago
Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will be the guest on Wednesday for The Hindu MIND, a conversation series featuring leading newsmakers.
Popularly known as the 'Expressway Man of India', Mr. Gadkari is a strong advocate of biofuels and non-conventional energy sources to enhance India's energy security. His appearance comes amid the government's aggressive push for ethanol-blended petrol and electric vehicles.
The Minister is expected to address issues such as the toll tax hikes on national highways, which have raised concerns among commuters.
A firm believer in safer road travel, Mr. Gadkari has set an ambitious target to reduce road accidents by 50% by 2030.
His Ministry recently rolled out the Bharat New Car Safety Assessment Programme to evaluate vehicle crash safety. Mr. Gadkari has also been a vocal critic of poor road engineering, substandard project reports, and negligent concessionaires, factors he says contribute significantly to India's road fatalities.
The full interview will be available on www.thehindu.com.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

From Russia…
From Russia…

Time of India

time11 minutes ago

  • Time of India

From Russia…

Washington is no slouch when it comes to buying from Moscow. So what's India doing wrong When Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014, US punished it with sanctions. US-Russia trade, which was worth over $38bn in 2013, slipped to under $35bn in 2014, $23bn in 2015, less than $20bn in 2016, and then started rising again from 2017, although Crimea remained with Russia. What changed was that Obama left White House and Trump came in. In 2021, the last year before Putin invaded Ukraine wholesale, Russian exports to US amounted to $29.6bn – almost the same as in 2012. This recap is important when Trump is threatening to make an example of India with 'substantially' higher tariffs for buying Russian oil. The same Trump who, in Feb, said Ukraine 'should have never started' the war. Look at Europe, too. EU's own data shows it supplied 10.3% of Russian imports last year, and bought 7.3% of its exports. Total goods trade between the 'virtuous' and the sanctioned amounted to a not insignificant $78bn – much more than the $69bn India-Russia bilateral trade last year. And data from the nonprofit CREA shows EU's spending on Russian energy last year – $25.3bn – was more than its financial assistance to Ukraine – $21.6bn. That's why the West's moral grandstanding on the Ukraine war fails to convince. For Trump officials to accuse India of financing Putin's war, while ignoring EU's Russia trade, and America's own $3bn worth of Russian imports, is nothing but hypocrisy. How is it kosher for US to continue buying enriched uranium from a sanctioned Russia to meet its energy needs, while frowning upon India's purchase of Russian oil to fuel its growing economy? MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal pointed out in a tweet on Monday that US had nudged India to buy more Russian oil at the start of the war 'for strengthening global energy markets' stability'. Europe was the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas then, and for it to take a righteous stand, 'traditional supplies were diverted to Europe'. India at that time sourced less than 1% of crude from Russia. By making the switch, it spared the world an inflationary wave so soon after the pandemic. As things stand, India's saving not more than $2bn a year by buying discounted Russian oil. It can pivot to West Asian suppliers again, but everybody – including US – will then feel inflationary pain. Trump shouldn't forget that while trying to armtwist India into a trade deal. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.

Rupee hits another low at 87.8/$ as Trump's threats escalate
Rupee hits another low at 87.8/$ as Trump's threats escalate

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

Rupee hits another low at 87.8/$ as Trump's threats escalate

MUMBAI: The rupee fell to a new closing low of 87.8 against the dollar on Tuesday, down 14 paise from Monday's 87.66, as escalating trade tensions with the US kept markets on edge. The currency slipped to 87.89 during the day, close to the record low of 87.95 hit in Feb, before likely RBI intervention via state-run banks helped limit losses. The slide followed US President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs further on Indian goods over Russian oil purchases. This came on top of last week's announcement of a 25% duty on all Indian imports and penalties for buying Russian oil and military equipment. Govt said it would take all necessary steps to protect its national interests and economic security. Equities weakened for the second day, with the sensex ending 308 points lower at 80,710 and Nifty down 73 points at 24,650. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 2,567 crore on Monday. Oil & gas and banking stocks led the decline, while auto shares gained on strong July volumes. Persistent foreign outflows and uncertainty over a possible India-US trade deal added to the rupee's weakness, though lower crude prices and a softer dollar provided some cushion. Brent crude fell nearly 1% to $68 a barrel after OPEC+ agreed to a large output increase for Sept. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Secret Lives of the Romanovs — the Last Rulers of Imperial Russia! Learn More Undo While the sharp depreciation signals strain in the currency market, economists say it could partly cushion the economy against the tariff impact. A weaker rupee makes Indian goods cheaper in dollar terms, offsetting some of the loss in competitiveness from higher US duties. Exporters gain pricing flexibility, while the recent slide has also unwound the rupee's earlier overvaluation - its real effective exchange rate was over 8% above fair value late last year. RBI data show the REER stood at 100.36 in June, close to its long-term average. The downside of a weaker currency is higher import costs, particularly for oil and electronics, which can feed into inflation and raise the burden of dollar-denominated debt. Against other Asian currencies, the rupee remains this year's weakest performer, down 2.6% compared with 6-10% gains in the Korean won, Singapore dollar and Thai baht. The dollar index was at 98.97, down 0.3% on Tuesday. Markets are now watching the RBI's monetary policy decision on Wednesday for cues. The MPC, headed by governor Sanjay Malhotra, began its three-day meeting on Monday, with traders looking for signals on interest rates and liquidity management. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays .

Day after SC rap to lok sabha LoP over comments on Army, Opp bloc backs Rahul: ‘Judges can't decide who is true Indian'
Day after SC rap to lok sabha LoP over comments on Army, Opp bloc backs Rahul: ‘Judges can't decide who is true Indian'

Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • Indian Express

Day after SC rap to lok sabha LoP over comments on Army, Opp bloc backs Rahul: ‘Judges can't decide who is true Indian'

A day after the Supreme Court censured Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks against the Army in the wake of the 2020 Galwan clash with the Chinese, saying, 'If you are a true Indian, you would not say all these things', Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and the INDIA bloc parties Tuesday rallied behind him, asserting it is not up to the judges to decide who is a 'true Indian'. Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Priyanka said that as the LoP, Rahul was doing his duty to ask questions of the government. 'Who is a true Indian and who is not. With all due respect, I am saying that this doesn't fall under the judiciary's ambit. No justice will decide this. The second is that Rahul Gandhi has always respected the Army, the forces and its officers… The LOP's duty is to ask questions of the government. He is doing his duty. He asks questions of the government, which doesn't like them and doesn't want to answer those questions,' she said. Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said Rahul Gandhi's remarks are the thoughts of every Indian. 'When we ask questions inside the House or outside, they (the government) do not answer. We are termed anti-national for asking questions. But we are the true Indians who demand answers,' he told reporters in the Parliament House complex. The issue of the court's observation was also discussed during a meeting of the INDIA bloc floor leaders on Tuesday, after which the Congress said 'all the leaders of the INDIA bloc parties agreed that the sitting judge has made an extraordinary observation which is unwarranted on the democratic rights of political parties'. Asked about impasse in Parliament over opposition demand for a debate on the electoral roll revision, Vadra put the blame on the government. 'The Parliament is not functioning. They (government) should hold talks, and say they will have a discussion. How difficult is it to run Parliament? Have they become so weak that they can't run the House? … It is their failure that the Parliament is not functioning.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store