Tata Communications has been selected by global OTT solutions provider BlaBla Connect to underpin a first-of-its-kind OTT service that integrates its existing mobile wallet and voice services together with borderless connectivity.

As a result, BlaBla Connect subscribers will enjoy peace of mind while on the move through seamless access to over 64 million secure hotspots in over 160 countries – integrated through one mobile application.

With Tata Communications Wi-Fi+, BlaBla Connect can address the security risks and hidden costs sometimes associated with accessing unsecure public Wi-Fi networks.

Through this added feature, app subscribers can automatically connect to pre-determined secure hotspots with a single sign-in experience and no hidden charges – no matter where the subscriber is in the world.

According to Ericsson Consumer Lab, roamers are not purchasing travel packages as often. Instead, they are turning off their phones while away resulting in missed calls and messages, a struggle to find open Wi-Fi hotspots and overall frustration at the lack of connectivity.

This is why 7 out of 10 travelers with smartphones find Wi-Fi calling appealing. Thus, adding Tata Communications Wi-Fi+ to the BlaBla Connect app keeps travelers connected.

“BlaBla Connect will be the first OTT voice and mobile wallet provider to offer bundled voice and data services globally.” said Ragheb ElSergani, Chairman, BlaBla Connect.

“This latest development supports our global growth ambitions by helping us ensure that our customers can enjoy a seamless, secure and reliable experience, thanks to our partnership with Tata Communications and its established global network presence,” said ElSergani.

This partnership is the latest example of how Tata Communications is helping to enable a truly global, borderless mobile experience for people and things. It is underpinned by Tata Communications’ global network which today connects 4 out of 5 mobile subscribers and carries 25% of the world’s Internet routes. fii-news.com

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Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya in the North East, has been selected as 100th Smart City, taking the total proposed investment to Rs.205,018 crores.

So far, 99 cities were selected under the Smart Cities Mission.

Previously, 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and 9 cities in January 2018.

With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores.

Meanwhile, Surat Smart City Selected is being given a ‘City Award’ for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.

Nine awards in three categories, i.e., Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award have been announced under the India Smart Cities Awards, which was launched on 25 June 2017.

The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach towards achievement of sustainable integrated development.

Joint winners in this category are Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project.

The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in seven categories that have been completed by 1 April 2018.

The Projects are:

PMC Care from Pune under ‘Governance’ category,
Smart Place Making from Pune under ‘Built Environment’,
Smart Class rooms from NDMC and Jabalpur, Smart Campus from Visakhapatnam, Lighthouse from Pune under ‘Social Aspects’ category,
B Nest Incubation Centre from Bhopal and Conservation of Rajasthan School of Arts from Jaipur under ‘Culture and Economy’ category,
Public Bike Sharing from Bhopal, Pune, Coimbatore and Waste to Energy Plant in Jabalpur under ‘Urban environment’ category,
Integrated Transit Management System (TMS) from Ahmedabad and Surat under ‘Transport and Mobility’ category and
Smart Water Management through SCADA from Ahmedabad under ‘Water and Sanitation’ category. fii-news.com

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Tenders will be called on sewerage projects in Bihar’s Munger, Hajipur, Begusarai and Bhagalpur by the end of this month.

This was decided following a review of projects under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in New Delhi on 19 June 2018.

NMCG Director General, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, reviewed 29 projects that are at various stages of implementation and were sanctioned at a cost of Rs.4,942.13 crore.

Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) are being prepared for projects at Supaul, Madhepura, Samastipur, Arwal, Gopalganj, Bagaha, Lakhisarai and Jamui.

These projects will be taken up on Kosi, BurhiGandak, Mahananda, Sone, Gandak, Kiul and Bagmati tributaries of Ganga.

Mishra exhorted the contractors to expedite the work and keep to the projects timelines and deadlines. fii-news.com

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Smart India Hackathon 2018 is proving to be an important vehicle for scouting new ideas and help convert them into products and businesses, said Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar.

He made the observations at the inauguration of 5-day Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2018 – Hardware edition through Video conferencing in New Delhi on 18 June 2018.

“It is our priority to create a conducive environment for innovation and research as prosperity and development of any country is incomplete without it,” he stressed.

“The Government is encouraging opportunities for successful innovation experiments as these are important for economic growth and welfare.

“It is a chance for the students to convert their innovative ideas into various products and eventually help them in their Startup initiatives,” the minister said.

Javadekar assured participants of Hardware Hackathon that this endeavor will be carried forward to a logical end.

Hardware edition is the first of its kind innovative initiative by HRD Ministry to provide national platform to young technical minds of India to showcase their disruptive innovations and creative products which can bring out revolutionary changes in crucial sectors like agriculture, health, clean water, waste management, automotive, smart communication, and education.

The Hardware edition is the sub-edition of Smart India Hackathon 2018.

The Grand Finale of the Hardware Hackathon is taking place simultaneously at 10 prestigious institutions (Nodal centers) across India – IIT Kanpur (Drones theme), IIT Kharagpur (Agriculture theme), IIT Guwahati (Rural Technology theme), CEERI Pilani (Smart Communication theme), CSIO Chandigarh (Healthcare theme), IISc Bengaluru (Smart Vehicles theme), IIT Roorkee (Clean water theme), NIT Trichy (Waste Management theme), COEP Pune (Security theme), and Forge Coimbatore (Import Substitution theme). fii-news.com

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Minister Goyal.

India needs to accelerate the move from commodity-based to higher value production economy, increased pace of digitization and have strong private sector participation in utilities for double-digit economic growth, said Claude Smadja, Founder and Chairman, Smadja & Smadja.

The former managing director for World Economic Forum suggested these three essential requirements for India to satisfy to score double-digit growth at the 6th Annual Growth Net Summit jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Ananta Centre and Smadja & Smadja in New Delhi on 18 June 2018.

His call followed Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s projection that India may be poised to achieve double-digit economic growth by the fourth quarter of this year.

There was a demand uptick in the economy and the goal of achieving double-digit growth by the fourth quarter of the year is plausible, he said at the summit.

Highlighting the ongoing developments, Goyal said the government is simultaneously dealing with the third imperative of engaging with modern technology such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

In an era of rapid technological transformation, with the emergence of automation, big data and AI, it is critical to address the most compelling challenges in the economy, added Harshvardhan Neotia, Chairman, Steering Committee, The Growth Net Summit and Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group.

With India emerging as the fastest growing large economy in the world, India’s role as an economic power has increased, he said.

While the Government has addressed both domestic and global challenges of the economy, it was important for the Government to pass on the costs that they incur in the development process, said Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd & Chairman, Ananta Centre. fii-news.com

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Project delays are one of the most alarming issues historically dogging the Indian real estate sector, writes Prashant Thakur (above), Head – Research, ANAROCK Property Consultants .

The dearth of effective planning and execution of construction activities, escalating construction costs, approval delays, diversion of allocated funds to other projects and tepid sales are some of the predominant factors resulting in project delays.

The homebuyer is, of course, at the losing end.

To put it in numbers, during 2017, out of the total 5.8 lakh residential units slated to be completed across the top 7 cities in India, only 1.5 lakh units were delivered until December 2017. This indicates that around 4.3 lakh units missed their stipulated completion deadlines.

The National Capital Region (NCR), one of the country’s largest residential markets, was seriously wounded by sudden policy changes, structural reforms – and the dubious practices of unscrupulous developers.

As a result, it topped the list of cities with maximum project delays. Around 1.5 lakh units in NCR missed the 2017 deadline. The story in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) was no different with nearly 1.1 lakh units missing the said deadline.

NCR: Where project delays are the order of the day

In NCR, out of the total 1.9 lakh units expected to be delivered in 2017, only 42,500 units were given for possession as promised.

Approximately 49% (~73,000 units) of the undelivered residential units were in Greater Noida, followed by 17% (~25,300 units) in Ghaziabad, 13% (~19,400 units) in Gurgaon and 11% (~16,000 units) in Noida.

Greater Noida: A deeper analysis of the construction activity scenario in Greater Noida reveals some glaring issues. Developers in Greater Noida were expected to deliver around 84,200 units in 2017, of which only 13% were delivered and an additional 39,000 units (46%) are committed for completion by 2018 year-end. Due to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive, projects in Greater Noida have been stalled for years due to land litigations between farmers and the developers.

Ghaziabad: Of the 29,300 units which were to be delivered in 2017, nearly 86% failed to meet their deadline. Only 14% have been handed over to buyers, and around 8,100 units (32%) are envisaged to be completed by year-end 2018. While a few projects have been sealed for recovering the Ghaziabad Development Authority’s (GDA’s) development charges, others face difficulties in obtaining completion certificates.

Gurgaon: The Millennium City was also not able to deliver around 19,400 units in 2017; the delivery of these units was shifted to future dates. Out of 27,300 units committed for delivery in 2017, only 29% were handed over to buyers and around 14,400 units (53%) are being pushed for completion by year-end 2018. The good news is that most of the delayed units are likely to be completed in 2018, and the delivery of only limited units is being pushed to the subsequent years.

Noida: Barring of construction activity within a 10-km radius from Okhla Bird Sanctuary between 2013-15 has stalled many projects in Noida region. Out of the 23,900 units committed for delivery in 2017, 67% were unable to meet the deadline. Around 7,900 units (49%) of the delayed units are projected to be completed by December 2018.

In addition, a severe cash crunch due to syphoning of funds by developers for other projects, tweaked project details to bypass environmental, regulatory clearances, changing norms, water/sand crisis and red-tapism became some of the common causes of the long-delayed projects of NCR. Consumer sentiment was severely shaken by these delays and finally brought the sector to a standstill. Developers’ profits took a massive hit and their negative cash flows increased the delays even more.

Can NCRs developers beat the odds in 2018?

The above analysis talks only about the delayed projects that are anticipated to be delivered by the end of 2018. There is more to the story – namely the planned deliverables for the year 2018. Besides the delayed 79,400 units whose revised possession timelines are now December 2018, there are planned deliveries of around 86,600 units for this year. Altogether, NCR developers are expected to deliver around 1.66 lakh units (3.9 times the units delivered in 2017) by this year-end.

Will developers in NCR be able to deliver such a large number? That is certainly something that bears watching closely. With RERA expected to streamline residential real estate, homebuyers are hopeful that projects that have been stalled or slowed down over the years will pick up momentum and finally be delivered.

The Government authorities are certainly scrutinizing the issue by auditing long-delayed projects to chalk out initiatives and ensure their completion.

All-in-all, with a massive number of residential units due for completion, year 2018 is a tough one for the NCR property market.

(The views and data in this report is from the author and his company). fii-news.com

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PM with CMs and Lt. Governor at NITI Aayog meeting on 17 June 2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the States to pay special attention to expanding their exports and attracting export-oriented investment while organizing investments summits and trade events.

He also encouraged States to explore opportunities to increase corporate investment in agriculture, such as in food processing, warehousing and logistics.

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog will soon invite States for consultations on how to improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in India and to improve the ‘Ease of Living’ for the common man, said the Prime Minister at the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

He called on states to adopt good practices such as reducing wasteful expenditure and increasing technology use.

The Chief Ministers, responding to the Prime Minister’s calls, highlighted issues such as adaptation to climate change, the need to design and implement State-specific schemes to suit local needs.

The meeting, held in New Delhi on 17 June 2018, was attended by 23 Chief Ministers and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, apart from Union Ministers, who are ex-officio members and special invitees. fii-news.com

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The Prime Minister greeting chief ministers at the meeting, along with Home Minister Rajnath Singh as well as Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the challenge to take the economic growth to double digits, as many more important steps have to be taken.

The economy has grown at a healthy rate of 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

Modi delivered the opening remarks at the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, in New Delhi on 17 June 2018.

“The vision of a New India by 2022, is now a resolve of the people of our country,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that schemes such as Mudra Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana and Stand Up India, are helping in greater financial inclusion.

He emphasized the need for tackling economic imbalances on priority.

The Prime Minister said India has no shortage of capabilities, capacities and resources. fii-news.com

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Tendering process is underway for two sewerage management projects in Delhi while six have been awarded, River Development Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

Announcing this, Gadkari reiterated his commitment to clean Ganga, and assuring his priority for Yamuna and other tributaries for which many steps have been taken with 14 projects going on.

These include 10 in Delhi, 2 in Uttar Pradesh and 2 in Haryana – at Sonipat and Panipat. In addition, 20 new towns on Yamuna and its tributaries (Hindon and Kali) have been identified for pollution abatement, said the Minister in project updates given on 13 June 2018 in New Delhi.

Eight of these towns are on Yamuna (Kalpi, Loni, Auriya, Kairana, Etawa, Bagpat, Tundla and Firozabad), 4 on Hindon (Saharanpur, Muazaffarnagar, Khora and Muradnagar) and 6 on Kali river (Meerut, Hapur, Deoband, Modinagar, Budhana and Autrauli).

“It is my vision to develop a world class ecological and environment friendly River Front park on 35km stretch of river Yamuna in Delhi,” he said.

The Minister also expressed his satisfaction at the performance of the STP at Sisamau drain in Kanpur which is one of the biggest sources of pollution of Ganga.

Gadkari said that 140 MLD of waste water was flowing into Ganga from this drain out of which 80 MLD has been tapped and it is being diverted to STPs for treatment.

“Very soon the remaining 60 MLD untreated water will also be tapped and no sewage water from Sisamau drain will go into river Ganga,” he said.

He also mentioned that one STP for Ayodhya has been sanctioned and we have begun the process of cleaning river Saryu.

The Minister said that strict action will be taken against anyone, including industries, who is polluting Ganga and its tributaries.

The Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) marks a paradigm shift in the sewerage sector, he pointed out.

An important feature of HAM is that both the Annuity and Operation and Maintenance payments are linked to the performance of the STP, which was not the case earlier when the projects were implemented under EPC or DBOT mode.

This would ensure continued performance of the sewage infrastructure assets created due to better accountability, ownership and optimal performance. More sewage treatment projects under Hybrid Annuity mode (HAM) are to be awarded soon.

The upcoming projects which are at various levels of implementation under HAM are STPs at Naini, Jhusi, and Phaphamau at Allahabad (72 MLD), STPs at Unnao, Shuklaganj, and Bithoor along with Kanpur (21.4 MLD), STPs at Digha and Kankarbagh in Bihar (150), STPs at Kolkata and Howrah (141 MLD) STPs at Farukhabad (30 MLD), STP at Bhagalpur (65 MLD).

Meanwhile, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has partnered with YES Bank for display of Clean Ganga messages on their ATMs and branches across the country.

YES Bank has more than 1,700 ATMs across the country and a good number of them are in the Ganga basin. Country-wide, YES Bank has 40 branches on which Namami Gange messages will be displayed through an arch on the main entry of each branch.

This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by NMCG to have partnered with the banking set-up to reach out to people at large through the bank’s extensive reach to engage them in the Clean Ganga Mission. fii-news.com

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Gadkari on use of treated water by industries.

A tripartite Concession Agreement between National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), UP Jal Nigam and Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd. for developing an Integrated Sewage Infrastructure for Mathura on the Hybrid Annuity-based PPP mode, in New Delhi on 13 June 2018.

An agreement was also signed between NMCG and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for the reuse of 2 crore litres per day of treated sewage water by IOCL’s refinery in Mathura, which has so far been using water from the over stressed Yamuna river.

The Mathura sewage project is special in three respects. This is the country’s first Integrated Sewage Infrastructure project based on “One-City – One-Operator” concept, which means that the project integrates building of new STPs and maintenance of the existing infrastructure under one operator for the whole city.

Secondly, under this project the treated sewage water is going to be reused by IOCL, and thirdly, the project is based on Hybrid Annuity Mode, the third of this kind in this sector after the HAM based STPs being developed in Haridwar and Varanasi.

The components of the Mathura project include construction, operation, and maintenance of a 30 MLD STP in Masani, the work for which has been awarded to the Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd at an estimated cost of Rs.437.95 crore on Hybrid Annuity Mode.

Other components of the project include development and rehabilitation of Masani Sewerage Infrastructure, upgradation and rehabilitation of the existing Masani STP with a capacity of 6.8 MLD, upgradation and rehabilitation of two existing STPs (14.5 MLD and 16 MLD) in the Trans-Yamuna region of Mathura, leading to a total sewage treatment capacity of 67.3 MLD.

A 20 MLD Tertiary Treatment Plant (TTP) will also be set up for the supply of treated wastewater to IOCL’s Mathura refinery. The cost for the development and operation of the TTP for 15 years is Rs.162.38 crore.

IOCL will bear the entire operations and maintenance cost of the TTP amounting to Rs.82.38 crore for a period of 15 years.

Over and above this, IOCL will pay Rs.8.70 per kilo litre towards the partial capital cost for the development of the TTP.

This will save 2 crore litres per day in the water-stressed Yamuna river which was earlier being used by IOCL.

This will also promote the market for recycle/reuse of treated waste water in India, which will further help in sustaining the operation of the infrastructure created, a need-of-the-hour in the sewage

The Power Ministry is making it mandatory for the electricity plants along Ganga to use treated waste water while Indian Railways is being asked to treated waste water to wash their wagons, said Minister of River Development Nitin Gadkari. fii-news.com

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