-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Big-ticket investment projects worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore, stuck for years for want of myriad government clearances, have finally got the green signal to start operations. The Centre has unravelled last-mile hurdles holding up 28 such projects at a time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has identified the government's primary task as reinvigorating confidence in the Indian economy, with domestic players having virtually abandoned fresh investments. The clearances would...

-PTI The Government will kick-start a number of new infrastructure projects including 8 new airports and two new sea-ports in the coming months to boost sluggish economic growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday. With economic growth slowing to a decade low of 5 per cent, the Congress-led UPA government has further opened the economy to foreign direct investment and now wants to use investments for returning to high growth...

-Outlook The Comptroller and Auditor General has slammed Railways for not effectively implementing Railway Board's guidelines for mechanised cleaning of major stations and not taking effective pest control measures in coaches. Besides the audit body has observed that Railways has failed to provide good quality of linen to passengers which has resulted in increased passenger dissatisfaction. "There was lack of synchronisation between guidelines of Railway Ministry on maintenance of cleanliness and availability of...

-The Economic Times The state-run Rubber Board is turning to the rural employment guarantee programme to increase India's natural rubber output from the present 9 million tonne a year. With rising global demand for rubber, the board is keen to extend the area under cultivation. It has identified 400,000 hectare in the North East, 100,000 hectare in Odisha and 50,000 hectare each in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as areas with potential...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is targeting the award of at least 17 big infrastructure projects during this financial year. These include three expressways, Mumbai elevated rail corridor, a major port, greenfield airport in Navi Mumbai, locomotive projects, two ultra-mega power plants and a number of power transmission works. The projects have been identified by key infrastructure ministries. The progress on intermediate steps will be monitored...