The Hindu Editorial Analysis In English | Free PDF Download

Table of Contents

Developing road networks in a timely and cost-effective fashion plays an important role in economic development

Government has adopted PPP model in road development.
In fact, India has the largest PPP program globally in this sector.

Number of projects: 560

Total length: 45,000km
Estimated investment : ₹200,000 crore•

Now let use understand some basics about road development projects
We have 2 categories and 1 new one recently launched by Government.

1) Toll: the road developer collects toll from the users
2) Annuity: developer receives predefined annuity payments from the government.

75% of the PPP projects being implemented using the toll model
A basic difference between the toll and annuity projects is in the risk-reward equation.
In the case of annuity projects, the developer does not assume any demand risk, but the upside is capped.
However, in toll projects, the private developer assumes the demand risk, but would also benefit if the traffic growth is more than what is assumed
While PPP in roads has multiple objectives, the fundamental reason for going for the PPP route in India is that it helps to attract private sector capital.
Entry of private player will reduce the fiscal burden on the public sector.
Toll projects in general are characterized by longer stretches, and therefore higher project costs. They also have more structures as compared to annuity projects, indicating that they could have a higher degree of complexity.
But the estimated unit project costs are lower, indicating that developers are able to achieve economies of scale associated with longer stretches
The average value of state domestic product indicates that toll projects are seen in those states that are more developed and where economic activity is higher, indicating the possibility of higher toll collections.
In the last few years, it has been an open secret that the response from developers to new projects has been poor
Since many of the PPP road projects have begun operations only recently, it is too early to comment on the gap between the actual and projected traffic estimations made by the developers.
However, what has happened is that the estimated project costs have significantly escalated in the case of toll projects, hitting the project economics.
As the government embarks on the next phase of road development by adopting the hybrid annuity model, treating the disease is more important than curing the symptoms
If the objective is to trigger renewed interest for private sector investment in road projects, changing the concession structure should not be the first action taken
It is more important to understand the reasons behind the cost escalations.
The toll projects are not as investment ready at the time of project award as compared to that of annuity projects.
Toll projects takes an average of 12.29 months to begin construction from date of award while the corresponding figure for annuity projects is 10.05 months.
The duration from the request for quotation to project award was 13.84 months for toll projects, whereas it was 10.71 for annuity projects.
These indicate that toll projects are not sufficiently ready at the time of bidding, hinting at insufficient planning.
This results in the private sector assuming or handling much of the pre-development phase risks—such as clearances, land acquisition, and so on, leading to increases in cost overruns.
Ideally, these risks are better managed by public authorities

Cloud over key Tibetan meet as Delhi stalls Karmapa’s return

Govt. is unhappy with Dorje’s decision to acquire Dominican citizenship
Since 1999, when the Karmapa and his sister fled to Dharamshala, the government has hosted him and allowed him to set up his congregation
Since then he has grown in prominence and is now considered as a possible successor to the Dalai Lama’s political clout over the Tibetan refugee population around the world.
The confusion over the Karmapa’s return is now casting a shadow over other issues in the community like the November conference of Tibetan religious leaders, which was postponed ostensibly after the death of a senior monk, Kathok Getse Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma School, in an accident in Nepal.
Around 150 Tibetan leaders and religious figures had been invited to the conference
The Dalai Lama was due to address the gathering on the last day of the conference organised by the CTA in Dharamshala. A discussion on a successor to the Dalai Lama was also expected to be held.

When asked about a date for the conference, officials said the conference has now been “indefinitely postponed” which led to speculation that New Delhi had bowed to Beijing’s sensitivities on the issue.
The Karmapa said he wants to surrender the Identity Certificate (the yellow card issued by India to Tibetans for ease of travel) since he has already acquired Dominica’s citizenship.

Important News

Jawan arrested for Bulandshahr violence

Army soldier Jitendra Malik was arrested in Kashmir by the Army’s 22 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) on Saturday.
He is accused of killing inspector Subodh Kumar Singh during a mob attack in Bulandshahr earlier this week.
The accused soldier will be handed over to the U.P. police’s special task force.

A new wave of protest hits Paris

Armoured vehicles rolled through central Paris on Saturday as riot police clashed with ‘yellow vest’ demonstrators, who set fire to barricades and hurled rocks in the latest demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron.
Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 31,000 people were taking part in protests nationwide, including 8,000 in Paris.

Army set to scale down operations in Kashmir

Army operations in Kashmir are heading towards a point where other processes, especially political ones, can take over so that soldiers could return to the borders, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the strategic 15 Corps Lieutenant General Anil Kumar Bhatt said.
“Results of operations never come in the short term… but we are making headway. The Army can always create conditions of peace and tranquillity for other processes, most importantly the political process, to take over. Presently, we are reaching there. In the long-term strategy, any Army would prefer to do its primary role of protecting the borders.

CWMA: T.N. sees the conflict of interest

Tamil Nadu on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s decision to give Central Water Commission (CWC) chief S. Masood Husain additional charge as chairman of
the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
The State told the top court that Mr. Husain’s appointment smacked of conflict of interest.
Incidentally, Tamil Nadu had, a few days earlier, moved the court seeking contempt of court action against Mr. Husain in person for approving the feasibility report of Karnataka’s proposed Balancing Reservoir-cum-Drinking Water project at Mekedatu with “utter disregard” to the Supreme Court and the Cauvery Tribunal’s decisions to provide ample storage and distribution of water to Tamil Nadu

IAF conducts firing of surface-to-air missiles

In a first-of-its-kind exercise code-named CROSS BOW-18, the Indian Air Force successfully conducted combined guided weapons firing of Surface-to-Air Missiles from the Air Force Station at Suryalanka in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday

Report on ‘toxic’ talc worries India

A risk assessment draft on talc published by Health Canada, the country’s public health department, states that talcum powder is harmful to the lungs when inhaled during breathing and could possibly cause ovarian cancer when used by women in the genital area.
In India, talcum powder is among the most widely known talc-based self-care products. From fighting perspiration and odour, to helping lend the user a ‘fairer’ skin tone, a large number of Indian consumers rely on talcum powder and the market is estimated to be worth about ₹700 crore.
Piers placed for world’s tallest railway bridge

The Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation has put in place tall piers near Manipur’s Noney for the tallest railway bridge in the world. The bridge, across the valley of river Ijai, is part of the 111 km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal project. Once completed, it will have a pier height of 141 m.
The record for the tallest railway bridge is now held by the 139 m Mala Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro. “The total length of the bridge will be 703 m. Its tall piers have been made with a specially designed technique to ensure efficient and continual construction,” said Susen K. Ojah, spokesperson of the NFR Construction Organisation.
CJI spotlights the law on death penalty
A series of Supreme Court decisions after Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took over as top judge has seen the Supreme Court veer away the death penalty and point out lapses in the way justice is administered in death penalty cases.
For one, Chief Justice Gogoi has been heard repeatedly admonishing frivolous Public Interest Litigation (PIL) litigants for wasting the time of the court. The CJI has expressed annoyance at how his court is straddled with such PILs when judges ought to hear the under-100 pending death penalty references.

Download Free PDF – Daily Hindu Editorial Analysis