PM Modi to inaugurate India's longest road tunnel in J&K on April

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation, India's longest road tunnel built on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which will cut short the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by nearly 30 km. "The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Chenani-Nashri tunnel on JK highway on April 2," Union Minister of State in PMO, Jitendra Singh told PTI today Modi will also address a public rally after the dedication the tunnel project to the nation, he said. The work on the 9.2 km-long twin-tube tunnel, which is part of a 286-km-long four-lane project on the highway, started on May 23, 2011 in lower Himalayan mountain range, and cost Rs 3,720 crore, officials said. The tunnel, which is located at an elevation of 1200 meters, will be the first in India to be equipped with world class "integrated tunnel control system" through which ventilation, fire control, signals, communication and electrical systems will be automatically actuated. It will reduce the travel time between the two state capitals of Jammu and Srinagar by two-and-a-half hours. 

India jumps four positions on Human Development Index, moves to ‘medium’ category" 

India jumped four positions to rank at 131 out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). With the move India is now classified in the ‘medium’ category, a significant improvement from ‘low’ category in the 1990s. Devised and launched in 1990, HDI is a statistic which ranks countries into four tiers of human development countries on the basis of indicators such as life expectancy, education, and per capita income. A higher lifespan, higher level of education, and higher GDP per capita results in a country scoring higher HDI. Norway holds the number one position on the list, a position it has held consistently since 2009 rankings, followed by countries such as Australia, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark. India, with an HDI value of 0.624, stood far behind its Asian peers such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives on the index. For India, unfortunately, regional disparities in education, health and living standards resulted in a 27 percent fall in HDI value from 0.624 to 0.454.

LS passes Railways appropriation bills" src 

The Lok Sabha today passed Railway Appropriation Bills and supplementary demands for grants for this year. The total proposed outlay for 2017-18 is Rs 131,000 crore which is an 8 percent increase from the 2016-17 budget estimates of Rs 1,21,000 crore. The Railways' revenue for 2017-18 is estimated at Rs 178,350 crore, recording a 9 percent increase from the revised estimates of 2016-17

SEBI mulling guidelines to review mutual fund

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is mulling a review of performance benchmark index for mutual fund schemes, sources told The country's markets regulator is considering a Total Returns Index for benchmarking equity mutual fund schemes. Currently, equity schemes are benchmarked against exchange provided indices Sensex and Nifty. According to sources, SEBI’s argument for bringing a new index is that while computing the net asset value of any scheme it takes into consideration the valuation of security plus and also needs to factor in the dividend or the corporate announcement. Say an equity scheme is benchmarked against the Nifty. Suppose the Nifty has given 8 percent and the scheme has delivered 10 percent return in one year. 

India to attract USD 4.2bn global investment:

 With India emerging as a preferred investment destination, the country is expected to witness nearly USD 4.2 billion new capital in the realty sector in 2017, says Cushman & Wakefield. With India emerging as a preferred investment destination, the country is expected to witness nearly USD 4.2 billion new capital in the realty sector in 2017, says Cushman & Wakefield. According to a report titled 'The Great Wall of Money' by the global consultant, new capital available for global real estate investment in 2017 is estimated at USD 435 billion, out of which India is expected to get nearly USD 4.2 billion. The report states that the total global wall of money in 2017 has fallen by 2 per cent compared to 2016's peak of USD 443 billion, but is the second highest figure recorded since 2009. "India's attractiveness as a global investment destination has strengthened on account of the country's political will to attract and protect investment growths. India's inclusion in the top investment destination is a testament of this confidence," Cushman Wakefield Managing Director, India Anshul Jain said.

"India, Russia to set up $1 bn fund to India and Russia are setting up a 

USD 1 billion fund to promote mutual investments in infrastructure and technology projects, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. Both the countries would contribute USD 500 million to the fund, Sitharaman said while addressing India-Russia Business Forum at the ongoing International Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS) here yesterday. While the Russian funds would be channeled through Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Indian contribution will be accrued from National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. Sitharaman elaborated upon other measures being taken by Russia and India to scale up their economic engagement and to boost bilateral trade and investment. As part of these initiatives, the India Russia CEO Forum will hold its meeting this year at a mutually convenient date. The forum was constituted in St Petersburg in June 2016.Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Russia is estimated at USD 1.2 billion till date while Indian investment in Russia is around USD 4.9 billion. 

'Global tech and India's street-smartness an unbeatable combination'

 Digitisation will play a key role in removing hurdles that mar India’s education sector, according to Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh “India can overcome the challenge of educational infrastructure by digitally delivering high quality education to schools colleges and universities across the country,” Ambani said at the India Today Conclave held in Mumbai on Saturday.delivered the keynote address on 'Why Technology Will Change India - The 21st Century Optimist'. In his remarks, he expressed confidence in fast-growing Indian economy stating that the day isn’t far when India we be the third-largest economy globally. Ambani highlighted much like Make in India, the country needs a ‘Keep in India’ initiative to move to retain talent. India’s street-smartness coupled with technology will be an unbeatable combination.