V Somanna appointed as Railway State Minister

Panel Urges Zone-Wise Freight Plans and Crew Strengthening

A Parliamentary Standing Committee has urged the Railway Ministry to prepare zone-wise plans to enhance freight traffic in regions with limited mineral movement and industrial activity, according to its ninth report tabled in Parliament on 10 August. The Committee commended efforts to augment network capacity through multitracking, operationalisation of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) and modernisation of yards. It noted that the Ministry has said periodic data-driven assessments are carried out with inputs from Zonal Railways, Divisional Railways and Business Development Units to support po..

Coal India Weighs Buying Wealth Minerals Unit For Chile Lithium

Coal India Limited is evaluating a proposal to acquire the Chilean lithium assets held by the Wealth Minerals unit in Canada as part of a strategic move into battery materials. The company is assessing the asset portfolio, regulatory landscape and integration challenges while retaining coal operations as its core business. The potential interest reflects a shift by a state-owned miner towards minerals critical to the low emission transition. Wealth Minerals, a Canada-based exploration company, holds licences and exploration agreements in Chile that involve hard rock and brine lithium prospects..

Bajel Projects Wins Ultra?Mega Transmission Line Contract

Bajel Projects Limited has secured an Ultra?Mega engineering, procurement and construction order for a transmission line package TL05 from PowerGrid Corporation of India Limited on behalf of its special purpose vehicle. The award forms part of the Western Region–Eastern Region inter?regional network expansion scheme Part A procured under the tariff based competitive bidding route. The contract covers construction of a 765 kV double circuit transmission line. The scope includes bypassing of the Raigarh (Tamnar)–Dharamjaygarh (Sec?B) 765 kV double circuit line and reconfiguration to form the..