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Urban Development
The Union Cabinet has approved the launch of the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) with a total central assistance of Rs 1 lakh crore, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. Under the scheme, central assistance will cover 25 per cent of a project's cost, provided that at least 50 per cent of the funding is mobilised from the market. In a statement, the government said the initiative will lead to a total investment of Rs 4 lakh crore in the urban sector over the next five years. The move marks a paradigm shift in India's urban new development approach from grant-based financing to a market-linked, reform-driven and outcome-oriented infrastructure creation, it said. The UCF will leverage market financing, private sector participation and citizen-centric reforms to deliver high-quality urban infrastructure, it said. The fund aims to build resilient, productive, inclusive and climate-responsive cities, positioning them as key drivers of the country's next phase of economic growth,
Choice Consultancy Services, an arm of Choice International, on Thursday said it has secured project management contracts worth Rs 63.47 crore across Maharashtra and Odisha. The company has been awarded a Rs 52.80 crore work order from the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA) under the World Bank-backed MahaSTRIDE programme to set up District Strategic Units in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Division, the company said in a statement. In Odisha, the firm emerged as the top-ranked bidder for a Rs 10.67 crore project floated by the State Urban Development Agency to provide engineering consultancy in 58 urban local bodies, it added. "These project wins further validate our strategic direction and reinforce our positioning as a trusted execution partner in high-value public sector initiatives," Choice International's CEO and Executive Director, Arun Poddar, said. Over the past few weeks, Choice Consultancy Services has secured various government transformation projects worth ov
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday virtually laid the foundation stone of various development projects of more than Rs 7,600 crore in Maharashtra. He laid the foundation stones of the upgradation of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur and the New Integrated Terminal Building at the Shirdi Airport in the state via video conference. The prime minister also virtually inaugurated the Indian Institute of Skills Mumbai and Vidya Samiksha Kendra in Maharashtra and launched 10 new government medical colleges in the state. The upgradation of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur will be done with a total estimated project cost of around Rs 7,000 crore, as per officials. It will serve as a catalyst for growth across multiple sectors, including manufacturing, aviation, tourism, logistics, and healthcare, benefitting Nagpur city and the wider Vidarbha region. The New Integrated Terminal Building at the Shirdi Airport, to be set up at a cost of Rs 6
The government is planning to introduce the 'Golden City Club' initiative aimed at recognising cities that consistently excel in various development indicators, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced on Friday. Khattar explained that this initiative will create a special category for cities which hold top ranks in government assessments across the country. "This year, we have devised a plan where those cities that come first every time will be grouped into a separate category called the 'Golden City Club,'" the union minister said. He further elaborated that only cities securing top positions in their respective categories would be included in the club. Each year, a new city that bags the top ranks in its vertical will be added to this prestigious club. "Every year, the top-ranking city will join the Golden City Club, and there will be separate competitions for this club," Khattar explained. However, the club will not be permanent for its members. Cities that fail to mainta