NEW DELHI: The aviation ministry has asked all airports in the country to install solar energy plants on the lines of the Kochi airport, the world first aerodrome that runs completely on solar powe

It is not just cars and bikes that auto enthusiasts will witness at the Auto Expo to be held next month. The twelfth edition of the expo is planned to be of much bigger scale, in terms of the size of the venue as well as launches.

The event will see launches of over 70 vehicles - the highest ever - 15 of them being global launches. In addition, there will be sidelights in line with the global trend.

The troubled roads sector can expect a relief package from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which has called a meeting of the road transport ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday.

Government sources say that the meeting is likely to discuss the bottlenecks that have led to a slowdown in road projects and may work out an interim relief to projects that were awarded on premium to make them viable.

The troubled roads sector can expect a relief package from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which has called a meeting of the road transport ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Monday.

Government sources say that the meeting is likely to discuss the bottlenecks that have led to a slowdown in road projects and may work out an interim relief to projects that were awarded on premium to make them viable.

With radiation scare leading to a clampdown on mobile tower installations, the most discernible fallout is the rising incidence of call drops in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

Ironically, the more serious worry is that weaker signals are forcing mobile handsets to compensate by ramping up transmission power, effectively resulting in higher radiation exposure for users from the phone itself.

The National Highways Authority of India has asked the environment ministry to clear 25 road projects that are stuck for want of approvals.

The decision by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to move the Supreme Court seeking exemption for delinking environment and forest approvals for road projects had the approval of the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), it has emerged.

Government sources in the know say that the PMO’s approval came in a meeting held on October 31, 2012. The meeting was chaired by Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji and attended by representatives from NHAI, and the ministries of road transport, environment and law.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has seen an increase of over 47 per cent in its land acquisition cost in the current financial year. The highways authority now plans to use about 70 per cent of the proceeds raised through Rs 10,000-crore tax-free bonds in acquiring land for various projects.

A senior NHAI official said land acquisition cost to build one km of road has increased from Rs 85 lakh to Rs 1.25 crore in the current year. "Land rates across the country have increased. Many states are compensating more than the circle rates.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has planned to construct 1,000 km of expressways on the BOT (toll; build-operate-transfer) model.

Expressway construction is part of the sixth phase of the National Highways Development Programme. The official said they would need to expand the ambit of the award structure, by adding more incentives for the developer in the concession agreements. NHAI estimates a km of expressway would cost around Rs 55 crore to build. It is discussing models to offer longer concession periods and land pockets for real estate development along the stretches, to attract developers for the project.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) hopes to exceed its annual target of 7,300 km road projects by 13 per cent to 9,000 km for the current financial year — almost double of what it had awarded last year.