expediting critical road infrastructure

Under the Gati Shakti - National Master Plan, the government will prioritise and expedite up to 18 critical road infrastructure projects in the fiscal year 2023-24. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), inaugurated 18 National Highway (NH) projects totalling 550 kilometres in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh. Speaking on the projects valued at ~ Rs.6800 crore, Gadkari pointed at the easy access to tourist destinations in Madhya Pradesh such as Orchha, Khajuraho, Panna, Chitrakoot, Tikamgarh, and Sanchi owing to these. He stated that the construction of the BhopalKanpur economic corridor will ease the transportation of cement and minerals helping to reduce logistic costs. The minister stated that the construction of this corridor will improve connectivity from Bhopal to Kanpur, Lucknow,

FaSTag collection grew in 2022

Electronic toll collection (ETC) through FASTag has seen consistent growth in recent years. The total toll collection on fee plazas, including the state highway fee plazas during the calendar year 2022 was ~ Rs.50,855 crore, which is an increase of an estimated 46 per cent over Rs.34,778 crore in 2021. The average daily toll collection through FASTag on NH fee plazas in December 2022 was Rs.134.44 crore, and the singleday highest collection touched Rs.144.19 crore on December 24, 2022. Similarly, the number of FASTag transactions witnessed a growth of ~48 per cent in 2022 over 2021. The number of FASTag transactions in 2021 and 2022 were 219 crore and 324 crore respectively. With 6.4 crore FASTags issued as of date, the total number of FASTag-enabled fee plazas across the country also grew to 1,181 (including 323 state highway fee plazas) in 2022 from 922 in 2021. Notably, MoUs have been signed with 29 different state entities for on boarding state fee plazas under the program which includes Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

Prayagraj, and Varanasi. The construction of a two-lane road with a paved shoulder connecting Tikamgarh and Orchha will also improve traffic safety. He also announced the construction of a 105 kilometre, four-lane greenfield road from Bamitha to Satna for Rs.2000 crore. Tikamgarh, Panna, Chhatarpur, Khajuraho, and Bandhavgarh National Park tourism will benefit from the construction of this road.

nitin Gadkari addresses global recyclers

Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) hosted the 10th edition of the International Indian Material Recycling Conference (IMRC) from February 02-04, 2023, at Kochi, in Kerala. One of the biggest meets of global recyclers witnessed participation from 1800+ delegates, including 450 foreign delegates. The conclave was aimed at creating a deeper insight into the need for a recycling policy framework to set up circular economy park for creating a conducive ecosystem and address climate change. Such a policy framework will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for commitment to carbon neutrality by 2070. Sanjay Mehta, President of, MRAI shared, “Being the world’s secondlargest steel producer, India needs to become a responsible steel producer and therefore, we anticipate incremental usage of scrap in the coming years.” He further added, “Primary steel industry accounts for about eight per cent of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions every year while it accounts for 12 per cent of all CO2 emissions in India.” The global metal recycling market size reached USD 219.8 bn in 2021. The global market is slated to reach USD 302.4 bn by 2027, at a CAGR of 5.46 per cent between 2021-2027.