Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC)-III project gets world bank funding

The  Union Government and the World Bank signed a $650 million loan agreement for construction of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC)-III project.The project aims to enhance rail transport capacity, improve service quality and boost freight carriage on the 401-km- long Ludhiana-Khurja section of the EDFC. This project will provide the power and heavy manufacturing industries located in the Northern and Eastern parts of India. A smooth railway network for efficient transportation of their raw materials along with distribution of processed and consumer goods.

"Aryaman and Atulya"

Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGS)"Aryaman and Atulya" designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, were commissioned on Oct 21 at Kochi. Aryaman literally means ‘Possessor of Greatness’ and Atulya meaning is ‘Unrivalled’. These ships are the eighteenth and nineteenth in the series of twenty Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.Both FPVs are 50m long and have displace of 317 tonnes of water. They can achieve a maximum speed of 33 knots with range of 1500 nautical miles.And are ideal platform for undertaking multifarious close-coast missions such as surveillance, interdiction and search and rescue.

Aryaman will be based at Kochi under the administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (West). Atulya will be based at Visakhapatnam under the administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (East).

UDAN

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi has launched the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) which seeks to get more people to fly in the smaller towns.It rolled out on January, 2017 and will be in operation for a period of 10 years.UDAN is an innovative scheme to develop the regional aviation market. It is a market-based mechanism in which airlines bid for seat subsidies. This first-of-its-kind scheme globally will create affordable yet economically viable and profitable flights on regional routes so that flying becomes affordable to the common man even in small towns.