Estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore, this will be India's first such rail corridor.

Railway minister Lalu Prasad, had in his budget speech, proposed an elevated corridor with air-conditioned bogies to ease congestion along the 60-km western suburban line, which carries 35 lakh passengers every day.

On May 13, S K Vij, member, engineering department of the ministry of railways, and Gajendra Haldea, advisor to the planning commission, met chief secretary Johny Joseph to take the proposal forward. T C Benjamin, principal secretary, urban development, made a presentation to the cabinet on Wednesday, following which the plan was given inprinciple approval, and the state government has promised to extend its cooperation.

"The plan is for an elevated corridor, at a height of 12 to 15 metres above the ground. Where there are railway overbridges, the corridor will go over the ROBs,'' said Benjamin, adding, there is no more land to build terrestrial rail lines.

There will be stations and booking offices, just like in the terrestrial rail network, and the elevated corridor is projected to transport 15 lakh passengers per day. The railways intend to extend the line to CST, Nariman Point and Mantralaya from its Churchgate end.

The railways will construct columns along the length of the existing suburban track, and in some cases, especially between Mumbai Central and Charni Road, these columns may have to be constructed a little way from the tracks and on to the road, said Benjamin. The state government has said it will help the railways with rehabilitation of the Project Affected Persons (PAPs).

The state government will have no financial involvement in the project which is to be funded on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with the private party likely to be allowed to run the rail line for 35-40 years before it is handed back to the government. The average fare per passenger is expected to be Rs 20 per day, which will allow the private party to collect Rs 3 crore per day.

Secretary (special projects) and managing director of MUIDC Sanjay Ubale said, "We floated expression of interests from global players last month and have received various suggestions. We will soon take a decision on the manner in which the aquarium will be modernised."
"Rs 150-200 crore would be spent on the aquarium and the bidding would commence within the next four months," he added.

The modernisation project for the Taraporewala aquarium at Marine Drive, which was earlier awarded to Singapore-based Alliance Technology and Development Ltd (ATD), is being taken up again after the company reportedly failed to meet standards.
Plans for the modernised aquarium included a transparent tunnel that will allow people to walk through and catch a closer glimpse of marine life.
Ubale said, "The INS Vikrant museum will be developed at a cost of Rs 200 crore. The amount earmarked for the first stage of the project is Rs 60 crore. The Centre will pump in Rs 45 crore while the state will contribute the remaining Rs 15 crore.

"An apex committee consisting of representatives of the state and Indian navy officials will be formed to oversee the project."The museum will be designed by the Indian Navy while proposals would be made to the private sector to develop other attractions in the premises such as restaurants, commercial centres etc.
Since the Vikrant is spacious, ancillary services such as providing space for helicopters to land and take off are also being considered, said Ubale.

The three month old MUIDC will have a 51 per cent investment from the private sector and the state will chip in the remaining 49 per cent. The state has already allocated a corpus of Rs 51 crore towards the corporation which will be housed in the INOX building.

The MUIDC chairman will be from the private sector while the managing director will be a candidate representing the state government. The aim of MUIDC is to invite private sector participation in infrastructure projects.

The company, which markets 11 models in India, launched the Fabia hatchback earlier this month. All of these are currently made from assembling CKD kits at the Aurangabad plant. Skoda is trying to cut prices to remain competitive. “We will be setting up a vendor base and looking for suppliers from India while critical components will be sourced from our parent facility,” Mr Kuehl said.

Mumbai: Four Seasons, a Canada-based high-end luxury hotel chain operator, will launch its first Indian property in Mumbai in March.
The property has been developed by Magus Estates and Hotels, part of the Jatia group which holds 74 per cent stake and private parties hold the remaining. The group has invested $100 million in the Mumbai property; Four Seasons envisages an investment of $7.5 million.
Located in central Mumbai, property is spread over 6,53,000 sq ft with 33 storeys and 202 guest rooms and a rack rate starting from Rs 20,500.
With the USP of largest average room size in Mumbai, Indian and western spas and a fleet of BMW sedans for airport transfers, the brand is positioning itself as a competitor to the Taj and the Oberoi.

Expecting a mix of international and domestic clientele, Four Seasons is banking on its formidable reservation networks abroad and the tie-ups it has with multinational corporations.

To the shortfall of 100,000 rooms in the country, Four Seasons is eyeing major metros in the country. "We may develop other properties for Four Seasons in the country," said Adarsh Jatia, director, Magus Estates and Hotels.

Magus is currently setting up the Hyatt Regency property in Pune and is slated to make fresh investments in the luxury hotel segment in other metros.
These properties will be completed in three years, while Four Seasons is planning 12 properties more in the country in the next six years.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra economy is projected to be growing at a higher pace than the national economy with the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth of 9.30 per cent in 2006-07. The national economy is growing at 9 per cent.

The state economy registered a growth rate of 9.20 per cent in 2005-06. It is for the first time in the history of the state that the growth rate has been in excess of 9.00 per cent and is expected to be sustained at a marginally higher rate this year.

The recovery in the agriculture and allied activities' sector with a growth of about 6.60 per cent each in the last two years of 10th five-year plan in succession, from a negative growth of 5.40 per cent in 2004-05, appears to be the main driver of higher growth.

The state economy achieved an average annual GSDP growth rate of 7 per cent during the first two years of the 10th five-year plan (2002-03 & 2003-04), after which it accelerated to 8.30 per cent in the third year and to more than 9.00 per cent in the last two years (2005-06 & 2006-07).
The state economy has potential to grow at a higher rate and could achieve the magical figure of double-digit GSDP growth in near future, given the proper thrust to create sector specific, need based and quality infrastructure.

The fiscal deficit of Maharashtra was 2 per cent of GSDP in 93-94, which thereafter rose almost continuously to reach a figure of 5.30 per cent in 2003-04.

Since then, it has come down with the state having envisaged major corrections. As per the budget estimates for 2006-07, it is likely to decline to 1.70 per cent.

Increased spendings on salaries and pensions, heavy subsidies on power, huge expenditure on State-owned corporations etc. are the main reasons of the high fiscal deficit.

The revenue deficit of the State as a proportion of GSDP is expected a 0.30 per cent in 2005-06 (RE).
The increasing debt of the government and rising interest payment burden is a major concern for the State. The overall debt of the state is expected to be Rs 1,32,969 crore in 2006-07. The debt to GSDP ratio is 26.70 per cent and interest payment to GSDP ratio 2.40 per cent and are rising continuously.

The agriculture needs to be given an impetus. The problems are relate to small and marginal farmers who need special attention. Providing adequate credits, new seeds, agro technology, establishing agro processing units etc. are the thrust areas.
Decentralisation of industry, easing the pressure on urban infrastructure, creating employment opportunities in such a way that will arrest the influx to the big cities are the main challenges for the State, which need to be met with a proper vision and by proper implementation of appropriate programmes.

Restructuring government expenditure in favour of greater public investment, both physical and social, assumes special significance in this context.

The new plan envisages the creation of 27 metro and suburban railway lines, bus lanes and PWT systems

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government plans to spend in 20 years or more, starting 2011, around Rs2 trillion in transport systems for Mumbai in an attempt to improve the city's poor transportation infrastructure.

Transportation is the theme of the new master plan-a document laying out the infrastructure building priorities of the local administration-that is ready and, according to Sanjay Ubale, secretary, general administration, government of Maharashtra who is in charge of projects related to the city, is expected to be approved by the government within the next two months. "We are ready to present it to the state cabinet and once the cabinet approval comes, it will become effective," said Ubale.

The master plan, termed Mumbai Business Plan 2031, was drawn up by Canada-based consultants LEA International Ltd and LEA Associates South Asia Pvt. Ltd. The current master plan, which is focused on land use patterns, expires in 2011.

The new plan envisages the creation of 27 metro and suburban railway lines, passenger water transport (PWT) systems and exclusive bus lanes. According to the draft plan, by 2031, Mumbai will be home to 34 million people, up from the current 12 million, with the working population increasing to around 15 million. "The biggest challenge in the city is to map the movement of these people and to provide transportation avenues for such massive numbers," said Ubale, who has closely been involved with the drafting of the plan.

"The new master plan with its emphasis on transportation infrastructure will give Mumbai the teeth it lacks in competing with other destinations in India for investments. Once these projects become operational, commuting in the city will no longer be a logistics nightmare," said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of Hiranandani Developers Ltd.

The new plan is based on a survey of 66,000 households across the 4,355 sq. km Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and it estimates that nearly 15-20% of the city's population will be living in what is known as the "cross harbour" area by 2030.

The master plan envisages extending the reach of the city's transport system to Alibag and Rewas. Six of the railway lines it plans will run in the "cross-harbour" area.

The master plan also envisages the creation of 1,572km of eight-lane highways, 300km of exclusive bus lanes (to help buses move rapidly through traffic), and an inland water way project, which will be ready for use by 2016 and ferry 10,000 passengers each way during peak traffic hours.
Some of the projects are in the work-in-progress stage. "Though these projects were conceived independently of the master plan, they have now been incorporated into it since the focus of the new plan is transport infrastructure," said Ubale.

While 40% of the funding for the projects are expected to come from the private sector through the public-private partnership model, 12-15% will come from market borrowings by urban local bodies. There are five municipal corporations and 15 municipal councils in the extended MMR region in addition to the Mumbai Corporation of Greater Mumbai, which has jurisdiction over 468 sq. km.

The state government is expected to contribute around 25% of the project cost through the urban renewal fund being set up by the state government, while 20% will come from Union government funding. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the World Bank have already conducted feasibility studies on several of these projects.

More than 300 A6 sedans will be assembled in a single-shift operation in 2008 in Aurangabad, Audi's second production unit in Asia after Changchun in China

Mumbai: Automaker Audi AG said Thursday that it had started production on its midsize A6 luxury sedan in India, with the aim of producing more than 2,000 cars a year by 2015 at the plant in the state of Maharashtra

Volkswagen's premium unit confirmed that it will invest 20 million euros by 2015 in India and also begin assembly of its A4 model as it seeks a bigger share of the fast-growing market.

Audi, which recently began assembling the A6 sedan from completely knocked down kits imported from Germany, will roll out more than 2,000 units of the A6 by 2015, it said in a statement.

Audi has already invested 10 million euros in its assembly line in the group facility in western Aurangabad in Maharashtra and will invest another 20 million euros to enhance production.

More than 300 A6 sedans will be assembled in a single-shift operation in 2008 in Aurangabad, Audi's second production unit in Asia after Changchun in China. The new Audi 4 will be assembled from late 2008, it said.

"Starting our own production is the best way to adequately serve such a promising growth market," Rupert Stadler, chairman of Audi's board of management, was quoted as saying.

India is "one of the components" of its Strategy 2015, which is aiming at sales of 1.5 million automobiles a year worldwide, the statement said.
Audi also imports the A8, Q7 and TT models, and has said it expects to sell around 3,000 cars by 2010, when passenger vehicle sales in India.

Mumbai: Despite stiff competition from Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, the Congress-led government in Maharahstra has not given up its efforts to attract investments. The government's move to release an investor-friendly mega project policy in June 2005 and the industrial policy in 2006 has, by and large, been instrumental in attracting investors, despite acute daily power shortage of nearly 5,000mw.

From traditional engineering and manufacturing to IT and ITES, automobile and auto components, textiles and processing to wine and food processing, Maharashtra has received at least 80 proposals with investment of over Rs 80,000 crore after the mega project policy was brought in. With the decision of Islamic bank, Gulf Finance House, to scale up its investment to $10 billion from the original $2 billion, the total investment commitment has risen to Rs 1,12,000 crore till now.

"Maharashtra has always been the vanguard in introducing investor-friendly policies. The emphasis is on the red carpet replacing red-tapism. With an inherent strength like strategic location, availability of workforce, it has been the number one state in industrial development," says chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Under the policy, projects with investment between Rs 250 crore to Rs 500 crore or with employment potential between 500 to 1,000 persons, depending on location, are granted "mega project status." Besides, customised packages for industry are offered.
According to industries minister Ashok Chavan, the Industrial, Investment, Infrastructure Policy, 2006, aims at ensuring sustainable industrial growth through innovative initiatives for potential sectors.

Besides, the government has moved a draft special economic zone (SEZ) Bill and the Centre has approved 119 SEZs across the state. State industries secretary VK Jairath said, "The proposed 119 SEZs are the highest in the country. Of these, 13 are in Marathwada and nine in Vidharbha. Prominent among these are Navi Mumbai, Mahindra, MIHAN, Bharat Forg and Bajaj Auto," he said.
However, Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party refuse to buy the state government's argument. They claim that it is Gujarat, under the chief ministership of Narendra Modi, which has overtaken Maharashtra in attracting invesments.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government's industrial infrastructure arm MIDC will jointly develop an integrated township with a New York-based realty firm Vorando Reality Trust at Hinjewadi on the outskirts of Pune.

Hinjewadi is known for housing some of well known IT companies like Infosys, Wipro, Oracle, IBM and others. Voreando will invest $200 million on the township which will be developed over the next five years.

The project will be developed jointly by MIDC and Vorando and a special purpose vehicle has been floated to execute the project - Vorandeo-Hinjewadi Township Pvt Ltd.

The shareholders agreement was signed by Rajiv Jalota, CEO, MIDC, Maharashtra, India and Michael Fascitelli, President, Vornado Realty Trust, USA at New York on Monday, on the sidelines of Maharashtra Investment Forum's two-day meet.

Mumbai/Nashik: Investment in Maharashtra's wine industry has increased by 74.31 per cent to Rs 247.71 crore in the fiscal year 2006-07, compared to the previous fiscal, with the establishment of eight new wineries.

Eight new wineries, including six in Nashik and one each in Pune and Buldhana, were set up in Maharashtra in the fiscal year 2006-07.

Around Rs 87.40 crore were invested in the state wine industry during the, recording 74.31 per cent rise as compared to that of last year. In the FY 2005-06, around Rs 50.14 crore were invested in the state wine industry with the establishment of 7 new wineries. Today, the state has 52 wineries.
Six new wineries, which were set up in Nashik district in FY 06-07, include India Food Company Pvt Ltd, Sunmeera Winery Pvt Ltd, Balaravi Winery Company Pvt Ltd, Mercury Winery Pvt Ltd, A D Wines and Dindori Winery Pvt Ltd. Swirl Wines was set up at Narhe in Haveli tehsil of Pune district, while Aditya Winery was set up at Bhankhed in Chikhali tehsil of Buldhana district.

The state's grapewine industry got a big boost with the coming into effect of Maharashtra grape processing industrial policy in 2001. The number of wineries in Maharashtra, which were only four in 2001, has reached upto 52 by March 2007.

The total investment in the state wine industry has also tripled in the last four years from Rs 77.75 crore in FY 2003-04 to Rs 247.71 crore in FY 2006-07.

Total investment in the state wine industry was Rs 110.17 crore in FY 2004-05 and Rs 160.31 crore in FY 2005-06.

There are 54 wineries across the country. Out of them, 52 wineries are in Maharashtra, including 28 wineries in Nashik district, 8 in Sangli, 9 in Pune, 3 in Solapur, 2 in Buldhana and one in Usmanabad.

Today, Maharashtra accounts for almost 94 per cent of the country's

Mumbai: For the first time in its history, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has surpassed the 50 million tonne mark in cargo handling for the financial year 2006-07.

With this, Mumbai Port has joined the 50 million tonne club with other ports such as Kolkata Port, Chennai Port, Kandla and Visakhapatnam Port.

Mumbai Port has registered 18.48 per cent growth in cargo handling at 52.36 million tonne in 2006-07 against 44.19 million tonne in 2005-06.
"This is the highest ever growth registered by the Mumbai Port since its inception. This shows the efficiency of Mumbai Port as a multi-purpose port," said Ashok Bal, Deputy Chairman, Mumbai Port.

Bal pointed out the significant growth in POL - petroleum, oil and lubricant - has resulted in the port surpassing the 50 million tonne mark. The share of POL was 32.15 million tonne last financial year against 27.78 million tonne.

"Cargoes such as crude oil, automobiles, break bulk, iron and steel, and project shipment were the highlight of Mumbai Port's cargo-handling capabilities. The port has handled the maximum number of passengers from cruise vessels," he added.
Automobiles major Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Maruti have increased their shipments from Mumbai Port. Iron and steel has also increased from the port with 4,88 million tonne.

However, container traffic continued a declining trend at the Mumbai Port. The container throughput declined to 138,000 twenty foot container during the last fiscal against 156000 twenty foot container in 2005-06.

"The scene of container handling would pick up once the Rs 1,200 crore offshore container terminal is constructed. Gammon India has won the contract to build the container terminal. Mumbai Port's board has approved the contract of Gammon India and is now awaiting the final clearance from Ministry of Shipping (MoS)," Bal said.
Senior port officials said that the Mumbai Port is positioning itself as a multi-purpose port with more trade facilitation measures.

"The port has introduced additional storage facilities to attract new cargoes to the port. The port has also raised its productivity measures with cost reduction as thrust area," they added.