INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra ModI Tells Jammu & Kashmir To Choose Between Tourism And Terrorism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Asia's longest bi-directional road tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Sunday.

At the ceremony, Modi urged the youth of Jammu & Kashmir to choose between tourism and terrorism. "I want to tell the people of Kashmir they have two roads to choose from of tourism and terrorism. In the past 40 years, much blood has been spilt, to little avail... If tourism had been the focus, Kashmir would have been a hub today," he said.

The National Highways Authority of India has spent Rs 3,720 crore on this state-of-the-art tunnel. The tunnel, which took seven years to build, will link Chenani in Udhampur district with Nashri in Ramban district.

Here are the top 10 highlights of this project:

1) Reduction in travel time by about two hours: The tunnel will be Asia's longest, which will cut the distance between Jammu and Srinagar to around 250 km from the current 350 km. The distance between Chenani and Nashri will be reduced to 9.2 km from 41 km

2) Safe, all-weather route for commuters: Since it is an all-weather tunnel, it will enable an increase in trade and therefore boost revenue in the state. It will help boost tourism too. It will also bypass 44 avalanche- and landslide-prone spots on the highway.

3) Fuel savings to the tune of Rs 27 lakhs per day: The project will result in a saving of Rs 27 lakh per day based on traffic estimates.

4) Protected with a world-class security set up: The tunnel will be equipped with advanced scanners to ward off any security threat. It also comes with a fully-integrated tunnel control system with ventilation, communication, power supply, incident detection, SOS call box and fire fighting.

5) To boost economic activities and tourism in J&K: Travel will cost a light commercial vehicle Rs 55 for one side and Rs 85 for to-and-fro journey and Rs 1,870 for one-month travel. Bigger vehicles like mini buses will have to pay Rs 90 as one side toll and Rs 135 for both sides.

6) Large workforce deployed: As many as 1,500 engineers, geologists, skilled workers and labourers constructed this tunnel.

7) Enhanced tunnel design: The tunnel comprises two tubes, if you will - the 'main tunnel' and the 'escape tunnel'. The two are internally connected through 29 cross-passages; each is located 300 metres apart.

8) Fresh air for commuters: Such a long tunnel could present the problem of a lack of oxygen. To ensure there's no excessive carbon-dioxide build up inside the tunnel, there are several exhaust meters that will check the air all through the length of the tunnel.

9) Facilities for vehicle breakdowns: The tunnel will also have parking spots in case a vehicle breaks down.

10) Environment-friendly: Large deforestation and tree cutting was avoided during construction of the project.

INDIA: Air India's First Direct Daily Flight From London To Ahmedabad Takes Off

Air India's first direct daily flight between London and Ahmedabad took off from Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, meeting a long-standing demand of the Gujarati community in Britain.

There was a visibly festive mood among the passengers, who were offered Indian sweets on board the Air India's inaugural AI 130 Dreamliner aircraft.

"The flight today is full, including business class, and I hope that continues. It is a great moment for the British Gujarati community," said Tara Naidu, Air India's regional manager for UK and Ireland.

The launch follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the new daily service during his visit to the UK last month to meet a long-standing demand of the Gujarati community in Britain.

"As a national carrier, Air India has always endeavoured to meet service requirements to enhance passenger satisfaction and once again Air India has shown its solidarity with its dedicated passenger base," Air India said in a statement.

Flight AI 130 will depart Heathrow Airport daily at 1330 GMT and after a short stopover of 90 minutes in Mumbai, the same aircraft will fly to Ahmedabad and arrive at its final destination at 0645 local India Standard Time (IST).

On the first landing in Ahmedabad on Wednesday Morning, the passengers are expected to be met by a group of Gujarat ministers and other representatives of chief minister Anandiben Patel's government.

From January 2016, Air India hopes to extend this direct service into a non-stop one without a halt in Mumbai.

INDIA: Bullet Train,India To Get $ 12 bn Project With Japan

A Rs 98,000-crore project to lay India's first bullet train network between commercial nerve centre of Mumbai and Ahmedabad was today finalised at the annual summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

"No less historic is our decision to introduce High Speed Rail on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector through Japan's Shinkansen, known for its speed, reliability and safety," Modi said at a joint media event with Abe.

He also greatly appreciated Abe's extraordinary package of approximately USD 12 billion (approx Rs 98,000 crore) and technical assistance, on very easy terms, for this project

The bullet train network will link India's financial hub Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the capital of Modi's home state Gujarat. Bullet train between the two cities will cut travel time on the 505-kilometre route from eight hours to around three.

"This enterprise will launch a revolution in Indian railways and speed up India's journey into the future. It will become an engine of economic transformation in India," Modi said.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said Japan will provide 80 per cent of the funds for the project at 0.1 per cent interest rate for a period of 50 years.

JAPAN: Japan Poised To build India’s first bullet train

Japan is set to build India’s first bullet train, with Tokyo financing the project through an $8 billion loan to New Delhi.

The Nikkei, which did not cite sources, said the bullet train will link the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad and that the two countries will issue a joint statement about the deal on Saturday during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The report comes after Japan failed to win a high-speed train deal in Indonesia earlier this year, losing out to a Chinese proposal.

A deal with India would be the second successful case of Japan exporting its bullet train technology to a foreign market, following a deal with Taiwan in 2007, Japanese officials said.

Two officials from Japan’s trade and transportation ministries refrained from confirming the contents of the Nikkei article, only that the Japanese government was making “utmost efforts toward such an agreement”.

Abe, who departs Friday for India, is to tell Modi that Japan will provide one trillion yen ($8.1 billion) worth of loans during the next decade that would finance more than half of the approximately 980 billion Indian rupee cost of the project, the Nikkei said.

The introduction of high-speed links and bullet trains were one of the key campaign promises of Modi, who was elected in May 2014.

India’s vast rail network runs 12,000 trains a day, carrying 23 million people and connecting about 8,000 stations, but has suffered decades of neglect at a time of rapid economic growth during which car ownership has surged and low-cost airlines have mushroomed.

Modi’s government said last year it would open up the railways to foreign investment as they struggle to win back freight traffic lost to roads, coastal shipping and planes.

Last year an Indian passenger train set a new national speed record of 160 kilometres an hour (100 miles an hour) — just half the speed of 320 kilometres an hour that the Japanese “shinkansen” can reach.