Kerala govt agrees to revised terms on NH-774 Highway Project

13 Feb 2024 CW Team

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the Kerala Government has agreed to shoulder 25% of the land acquisition costs for the NH-774 greenfield highway, connecting Kollam in Kerala to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. This is a departure from the initial agreement of 50%, and Kerala has also waived the state GST of 9% for this purpose.

In response to a query from RSP member N K Premachandran, Gadkari stated that the Chief Minister of Kerala has accepted the proposal, pending a formal response from the state government. Emphasising the need for cooperation from state governments, Gadkari highlighted their essential role in granting permissions for activities like mining.

When asked about the scenario where the state government declines to contribute its share, Gadkari affirmed that the Chief Minister has agreed to the proposal, and they are awaiting an official reply from Kerala. He expressed optimism about completing the Chennai-Bengaluru greenfield expressway by December of the current year.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Gadkari urged the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to assist the National Highway Authority of India in securing construction materials like aggregates and fly ash for their respective projects. He assured the House of their commitment to finishing the highway by December, enabling a two-hour travel time between Chennai and Bengaluru. Additionally, Gadkari mentioned that he had discussed the challenges faced by the NHAI in highway construction with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Real Estate

02 Apr 2026

Indian real estate attracts USD 1.4 bn institutional investments in Q1 2026: Vestian

Institutional investments in India’s real estate sector touched USD 1.4 billion in Q1 2026, marking the highest first-quarter inflow since 2022, according to Vestian. While investments fell 62 per cent quarter-on-quarter due to an exceptionally high base in the previous quarter, they rose 74 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting sustained investor confidence despite rising geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.Commercial real estate remained the key driver of investment activity during the quarter, accounting for 80 per cent of total inflows, sharply higher than 38 p..

VECV crosses 1 lakh annual vehicle sales milestone in FY26

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, has surpassed the 1 lakh annual sales mark in FY 2025–26, recording its highest-ever commercial vehicle sales performance. The company said it sold more than 100,000 vehicles during the year, marking a major milestone aligned with the original vision of the Volvo–Eicher joint venture.The strong performance was supported by demand across categories. Light and Medium Duty (LMD) trucks contributed 47,789 units, accounting for 46.1 per cent of total sales. Heavy Duty (HD) trucks recorded 26,867 units (25.9 pe..

Rodic Digital & Advisory partners SatSure to deploy EO intelligence in public sector

Rodic Digital & Advisory (RDA), the strategic advisory and digital transformation arm of Rodic Consultants, has signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SatSure to jointly pursue opportunities in India’s public sector. The collaboration aims to integrate high-resolution Earth Observation (EO) data and geospatial AI into government workflows to strengthen monitoring, compliance, and operational decision-making across key sectors.The partnership combines SatSure’s Earth intelligence capabilities with RDA’s expertise in government digital transformation and ..