Saturday, July 12, 2014

Launch of HTC Desire 616, HTC One E8 Dual Sim

12 07 2014

HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM  Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS,  5-inch display with HD resolutions (1280 x 720 pixel), a 1.4 GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6592 processor, 1 GB RAM, 4GB inbuilt storage  expandable secondary storage facility, 8MP auto focus rear and 2MP front camera for video calling.  HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM include 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, a-GPS and is packed with 2000 mAh battery on the back.
HTC One E8 Dual Sim a 5-inch Full HD display (1920 x 1080) with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and includes features like 2GB of RAM with 2.5 GHz Quad-Core processor,  4GB onboard expandable up to 128GB , 13MP rear camera with 1080p HD recording, 5MP front facing camera and a 2600 mAh battery.

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Categories : Business

US to develop ‘new model’ of relations with China: Obama

12 07 2014

Updated on : 12-07-2014 11:42 AM

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the US is committed to the goal of developing a “new model” of relations with China defined by increased practical cooperation and “constructive management” of differences.

“The United States welcomes the emergence of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous China,” Obama said here as the annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) began in Beijing.”We are committed to the shared goal of developing over time a ‘new model’ of relations with China defined by increased practical cooperation and constructive management of differences,” he said in a statement.Acknowledging that the US and China will not always see eye-to-eye on every issue, he said that is to be expected for two nations with different histories and cultures. “It also is why we need to build our relationship around common challenges, mutual responsibilities and shared interests, even while we candidly address our differences,” Obama said.
The US President said this year marks a special milestone in the US-China relationship as it is the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
“Today, instead of living detached from each other as we did 35 years ago, the United States and China embrace the benefits of strengthening ties and acknowledge the growing interdependence of our economic destinies,” Obama said.
“This anniversary provides an opportunity to take stock of the deepening exchanges between our two peoples, the range of cooperation between our two countries on shared security and economic challenges and dealing forthrightly with our differences,” he said.
It is an opportunity for the United States and China to reaffirm their commitment to working jointly to build a positive, more secure and prosperous future for their citizens, the US President said.
As the premier mechanism for dialogue between the United States and China, the S&ED offers a chance annually to exchange views on a diverse range of bilateral, regional, and global challenges critical to both the countries, he noted.
“Building on the accomplishments of the previous five rounds of the S&ED, this year’s dialogue promises to further advance our cooperative efforts to identify solutions to problems that no country can address on its own,” Obama said.
“Our efforts to promote economic prosperity, cooperation in Asia, energy security and security in cyberspace, including at the G-20, APEC and the Nuclear Security Summit, have a significant and positive impact for our citizens and for the broader international community,” he said.

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Categories : Uncategorized

Kerry meet with Afghan candidates

12 07 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with rival Afghan presidential candidates for a second day on Saturday as the United States struggles to find a path out of the crisis enveloping the nation’s elections.

The prolonged uncertainty about the outcome of a runoff has jeopardized a central part of President Barack Obama’s strategy to leave behind a stable state after the withdrawal of most US troops at year’s end.
Kerry is meeting on Saturday with the candidates, former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, after discussions on Friday proved inconclusive.
The top American diplomat is looking for a plan acceptable to all that would allow the United Nations to audit extensive fraud allegations in last month’s vote.
The bitter dispute over who is President Hamid Karzai’s rightful successor has alarmed Afghanistan’s US and Western benefactors, creating a political crisis that risks undermining more than a decade of efforts to build an Afghan government capable of fighting the Taliban on its own and snuffing out terrorist groups like al-Qaeda.
Extended instability would have more immediate consequences for Afghanistan. If no process is established and both Ghani and Abdullah attempt to seize power, the government and security forces could split along ethnic and regional lines.
The winner amid the chaos could be the Taliban, whose battle against the government persists despite the United States spending hundreds of billions of dollars and losing more than 2,000 lives since invading the country after the 11th September 2001, terrorist attacks.
Preliminary runoff results, released earlier this week against US wishes, suggested a massive turnaround in favor of the onetime World Bank economist Ghani, who lagged significantly behind Abdullah in first-round voting.
Abdullah, a top leader of the Northern Alliance that battled the Taliban before the US-led invasion in 2001, claims massive ballot-stuffing.
He was runner-up to Karzai in a fraud-riddled 2009 presidential vote before he pulled out of that runoff, and many of his supporters see him being cheated for a second time.
Kerry’s hastily arranged visit appears to have succeeded in its most pressing objective: getting both candidates to pull back from declarations of victory and quieting calls among Abdullah’s supporters, powerful warlords included, for setting up a “parallel government.”
In a series of meetings on Friday that went into the night, Kerry stressed that Washington isn’t taking sides.

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Categories : Media, Politics, world News

FM: Union Budget gives a big boost to MSME sector

12 07 2014

The Union Budget presented by Shri Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, yesterday has a number of proposals relating to the MSME sector.
Following is the text of the speech delivered by the Finance Minister:
SMEs form the backbone of our Economy. They account for a large portion of our industrial output and employment. The bulk of service sector enterprises are also SMEs. Most of these SMEs are Own Account Enterprises. Most importantly a majority of these enterprises are owned or run by SCs, STs and OBCs. Financing to this sector is of critical importance, particularly as it benefits the weakest sections. There is need to examine the financial architecture for this sector. I propose to appoint a committee with representatives from the Finance Ministry, Ministry of MSME, RBI to give concrete suggestions in three months.
Promotion of entrepreneurship and start-up Companies remains a challenge. While there have been some efforts to encourage, one principal limitation has been availability of start-up capital by way of equity to be brought in by the promoters. In order to create a conducive eco-system for the venture capital in the MSME sector it is proposed to establish a ` 10,000 crore fund to act as a catalyst to attract private Capital by way of providing equity, quasi equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies.
To establish technology centre network to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and agro-industry, setting up a fund with a corpus of `200 crore is proposed.
The definition of MSME will be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling. A programme to facilitate forward and backward linkages with multiple value chain of manufacturing and service delivery will also be put in place.
Entrepreneur friendly legal bankruptcy framework will also be developed for SMEs to enable easy exit. A nationwide “District level Incubation and Accelerator Programme” would be taken up for incubation of new ideas and providing necessary support for accelerating entrepreneurship.
Fiscal incentives
Cathode ray TVs are used by weaker sections who cannot afford to buy more expensive flat panel TVs. Proposed to exempt colour picture tubes from basic customs duty to make cathode ray TVs cheaper. The duty concession will help revive manufacturing of TVs in the SME sector and create employment opportunities. At the same time, to encourage production of LCD and LED TVs below 19 inches in India, Proposed to reduce the basic customs duty on LCD and LED TV panels of below 19 inches from 10 percent to Nil. Further, to encourage manufacture of LCD and LED TV panels, Proposed to exempt from basic customs duty specified inputs used in their manufacture.
As a measure of relief to the footwear industry, most of which are in SME sector, Proposed to reduce the excise duty from 12 percent to 6 percent on footwear of retail price exceeding Rs. 500 per pair but not exceeding Rs. 1,000 per pair. Footwear of retail price up to Rs. 500 per pair will continue to remain exempted.

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Categories : Business

Manipur bomb blast

12 07 2014

Seven people, including a six-year- old boy, were seriously injured in a bomb blast carried out by suspected militants in Manipur’s Imphal West district on Saturday.

Police said the explosion took place at Langthanbal, about 10-km from state capital Imphal, and was targeted at security personnel passing through the area.Security forces rushed to the spot immediately after the blast but no arrests have been made yet, police added. Official sources said that all the seven injured have been rushed to a local hospital.

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Categories : Politics

Bezbaruah committee submits report

12 07 2014

A committee, set up to look into the concerns of people from the Northeast living in different parts of the country, has recommended legal measures to ensure their safety and security from any assault on them.

The M P Bezbaruah committee, which submitted its report to Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Friday, quoted a High Court observation which suggested that any attack of racial nature should be made a punishable offence.
However, sources said, no suggestion has been given by the committee for enactment of an anti-racial law but strengthening and proper implementation of existing laws.
When contacted, Bezbaruah, a former IAS officer, said the committee has given various recommendations on the basis of its terms and conditions.
“We have analysed the problem and recommended how to address it,” he said.
After receiving the report, Rijiju said it will be processed on priority.
The Committee was constituted in February, 2014 to look into the various concerns of persons hailing from the North Eastern states who are living in different parts of the country, especially the Metropolitan areas, and to suggest suitable remedial measures which could be taken by the government.
The Terms of Reference of the Committee were:
(1) to examine the various kinds of concerns, including the concerns regarding security, of the persons hailing from the North Eastern states
(2) to examine the causes behind the attacks/violence and discrimination against the people from the North-Eastern states
(3) to suggest measures to be taken by the government to address these concerns (4) to suggest legal remedies to address these concerns.

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Categories : CSR, culture, Education

PM to attend BRICS meet in Brazil

12 07 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves New Delhi on Sunday for Brazil for attending the five-nation summit of BRICS nations on July 14th and 15th which is expected to finalise the setting up of a development bank and seek reforms of the United Nations and international financial organisations.

After a stopover in Berlin on Sunday night, he will leave for Fortaleza, the north-eastern coastal city of Brazil, on Monday for the summit of leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to be held on 15th July, providing him his first opportunity at multilateral engagement.An earlier plan to have a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin was shelved because of Germany’s entry into the Fifa World Cup final, for which she will be in Brazil.
Modi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Adviser A K Doval, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram.
The sixth summit of BRICS, which will follow up on the decisions of the Durban meeting last year, will provide the new Indian Prime Minister his first opportunity at meeting world leaders, including President Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia, and discuss bilateral issues.
A Fortaleza Declaration containing the summit outcome is also on the cards.
Negotiations are already on for which Sujata Mehta, Secretary, Economic Relations, External Affairs Ministry, is Modi’s sherpa.
BRICS accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s land mass, 40 per cent of its population and a combined GDP of USD 24 trillion.
Officials say that India will be hoping for an endorsement of the need for UN Security Council reforms and also those of the Bretton Woods institutions like the World Bank and IMF.
The BRICS Development Bank is expected to take further shape with a decision to concretise its corpus at USD 100 billion, about which there was a broad agreement in Durban.
Discussions are on about the contribution from each member state and where to locate its headquarters whether Shanghai or New Delhi.
It will be a development bank which will give concessional credit to members of BRICS and other developing countries.
There will be a Ministerial meeting ahead of the summit and also a BRICS business council with businessmen from member -countries who will be meeting on July 14th and 15th.
On the sidelines of the summit, he will also be meeting South African President Jacob Zuma besides host President Dilma Roussef of Brazil.
On 16th July, the BRICS leaders will move to the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, where they will meet leaders of South America, who have been invited by the hosts on the lines of Zuma inviting African leaders to Durban.
The Prime Minister will get an opportunity to engage with the Latin American region through meeting the leaders of South America, including heads of state and government from countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
India believes that the Prime Minister’s meetings with these leaders would further strengthen the already close bilateral relations with these countries and will be an opportunity to reinforce them.
On his way back home, the prime minister will make a brief halt in Frankfurt before reaching Delhi on 17th July night.

AirAsia and AirAsia X introduce 139 new Fly-Thru routes!

11 07 2014

>AirAsia and AirAsia X introduce 139 new Fly-Thru routes! (with BM & Mandarin translation)

Nazatul Ekma Bin Mokhtar

To

Today at 2:18 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AirAsia and AirAsia X introduce 139 new Fly-Thru routes! Guests may enjoy multiple-city flights on Fly-Thru routes without transit visas and the added convenience of a single check-in service   SEPANG, 11 July 2014 – AirAsia and AirAsia X introduce 139 brand new Fly-Thru routes, making flying on multiple-city flights a seamless travel experience without the hassle of numerous check-ins, transit visas or multiple baggage transfers.    Effective immediately, AirAsia / AirAsia X Fly-Thru guests will receive an onward flight boarding pass from the first point of embarkation and will be allowed to bypass immigration clearance at the airline’s Fly-Thru hubs—Kuala Lumpur (klia2) or Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK)—with all check-in baggage tagged for automatic transfer to the consecutive flight, all the way to the final destination. With these brand new routes, AirAsia guests could enjoy more than 700 Fly-Thru routes, via the airline’s Fly-Thru hubs in Kuala Lumpur (klia2) and Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK), with the initial and consecutive flights’ connecting time of between 90 minutes to six hours. Among popular AirAsia and AirAsia X Fly-Thru routes includes Phuket – Melbourne, Phuket – Sydney, Melbourne – Ho Chi Minh City,Bangkok-Don Mueang – Melbourne, Bangkok-Don Mueang – Osaka-Kansai, Jakarta – Tokyo-Haneda, Adelaide – Phuket and many more. In Malaysia, Fly-Thru routes include Penang – Taipei, Kota Kinabalu – Beijing, Kuching – Melbourne, Langkawi – Melbourne and others. For a complete list of routes where Fly Thru is available, visit AirAsia’s website at www.airasia.com.

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Categories : Business

Events as happens

11 07 2014

Kerry meets with presidential candidates in Afghanistan

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Afghanistan for meetings with the country’s two presidential candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, as well as current Afghan President, Hamid Karzai. The country’s election results remain in dispute following a second round of voting on June 14, when the Independent Election Commission declared Ghani the winner with 56.44 percent based on preliminary results. A final tally is due on July 22, while Abdullah — who carried the first round of voting — rejected the runoff results as a “coup” against the Afghan people, reports Reuters.

De Mistura replaces Brahimi as UN’s Syria envoy

UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has confirmed the rumored appointment of 67-year-old Arab-speaking Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura as Syria envoy in place of Lakhdar Brahimi, who failed to preside over a significant rapprochement between the warring sides in the conflict during his two-year stint. Unlike his predecessor, De Mistura will only answer to the UN, not the Arab League. The diplomat’s previous destinations as UN envoy included Afghanistan and Iraq.

​UN evacuates dozens of employees from Libya

The United Nations has evacuated more than half of its foreign staff from Libya to Italy over worsening security in the North African country, a UN spokesman said on Thursday. “They will return if the security situation improves,” said Samir Ghattas, spokesman for the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), but he didn’t say how many employees had left the country. The current crisis started in Libya with “the people’s revolution,” which resulted in the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

​Greek far-right Golden Dawn spokesman jailed pending trial

Greek far-right Golden Dawn lawmaker and party spokesman, charged with gun possession, was jailed on Thursday pending trial. Ilias Kasidiaris is the ninth of the party’s 17 lawmakers to be held in captivity while awaiting trial. Criminal investigation into the party and its leaders’ activities was triggered by the killing of a popular anti-racism rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, in September 2013.

12:07

3 Israelis confess to Arab teen killing – police

Three of the six people arrested on Sunday in connection with the murder of East Jerusalem teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir have been deemed not guilty and released to house arrest, Times of Israel website reports. The three remaining suspects were almost certainly behind the fatal assault on the Arab teen, police asserted. An adult from the West Bank settlement of Adam and two minors from Jerusalem have already confessed to the crime, they added. Investigators believe the murder was carried out in revenge for the killing of three Israeli teenagers in June.

11:52

​Drone kills six in NW Pakistan, army now controls most of key city

A US drone killed six suspected militants and injured two in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, security officials said. The Pakistani military said it had “cleared” 80 percent of the regional capital, Miranshah, and its adjoining areas from the Taliban. An air campaign in the remote region of North Waziristan, aimed at driving Taliban militants out, started on June 15, and since then 400 militants have been killed and 130 injured.

​Turkey PM calls on Islamic militants to release diplomats

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on ISIS to release 49 people, who were seized from the Turkish consulate in Mosul, before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Erdogan appealed to Islamic militants late on Wednesday, during a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner. Diplomats, children and special forces police were seized from the consulate on June 11, when the group took the country’s second-largest city, Mosul, in northern Iraq.

​China, US to push ahead with military, counter-terrorism ties

US and China have agreed to cooperate on military-to-military and counter-terrorism relations, China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi said on Thursday. This statement was made at the end of annual high-level talks -‘Strategic and Economic Dialogue’ - between the two countries. The Chinese State Councilor added that there must not be any strategic misjudgments between the partners, as they are establishing a new-model relationship.

01:55

3 dead as Typhoon Neoguri makes landfall on Japan’s Kyushu island

Three people died as Typhoon Neoguri hit Japan’s southwestern Kyushu island early on Thursday, bringing with it heavy rains and raging winds, Japan Today reported. “It landed near Akune City shortly before 7 a.m.,” a Japan Meteorological Agency official said. The typhoon is expected to move through Kyushu and then continue along the Japanese archipelago. The typhoon came from Okinawa, where it injured dozens of people.

Train carrying 1,300 migrants to US derails in Mexico

A train carrying 1,300 migrants towards the United States has derailed in Oaxaca, Mexico, leaving everyone stranded in what could be a storm-related accident. According to Reuters, local officials stated that there have been zero injuries. The nationalities and ages of those onboard is unclear at this point, but there has been a surge of unaccompanied minors making their way towards the US over the last nine months, leaving American officials debating their next move on border control.

Police in standoff with gunman who killed 6 near Houston

At least six people died during a shooting in a Houston, Texas suburb on Wednesday afternoon. The suspected gunman remains in a standoff with law enforcement, KPRC reported. The suspect shot and injured several people – a child and an adult – before fleeing the scene. The shooter is a relative of the seven victims, Harris County deputy constables said. Police believe he was going to another residence to possibly attack more family members when he was spotted, and then led them on a slow-speed chase before driving into a cul-de-sac about three miles from the scene of the shooting, according to the Houston Chronicle. The suspect is currently sitting in a grey Honda sedan, surrounded by deputies with their guns drawn. There are at least a dozen patrol cars around him as well. Authorities are now working to evacuate homes around the cul-de-sac, KTRK reported.

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Categories : Business, world News

TRAI amendment bill introduced in Lok Sabha

11 07 2014

Updated on : 11-07-2014 01:42 PM

Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday introduced Trai amendment bill to appoint its former chief Nripendra Misra as Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi’s principal secretary in Lok Sabha amid chaos in the House.

Misra was appointed as the principal secretary in May after the government promulgated an ordinance to amend a law that could have prevented him from getting the key post. “We are pushing this bill based only on merit,” Prasad told the House while tabling the bill. The Bharatiya Janata Party had issued a whip to its MPs to be present in the House for discussion on the bill. The TRAI Act prohibits its chairman and members from taking up any other job in the central or state governments after demitting office. “The chairperson or any other member ceasing to hold office as such, shall — (a) be ineligible for further employment under the Central government or any state government or (b) not accept any commercial employment, for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office,” says the TRAI Act of 1997 available on the law ministry’s website. To circumvent this section which would have barred Misra from taking up the assignment of principal secretary to PM, the Modi government had promulgated an ordinance amending it. The ordinance amended this section to read as: “The chairperson and the whole-time members shall not, for a period of two years from the date on which they cease to hold office as such, except with the previous approval of the Central government, accept — “(a) any employment either under the Central government or under any state government; or “(b) any appointment in any company in the business of telecommunication service.” Under Misra’s chairmanship, TRAI had recommended in August 2007 that spectrum should be auctioned. After the 2G spectrum scam broke out, Misra had deposed as a prosecution witness before a Delhi court hearing a matter in which former telecom minister A Raja was an accused. Misra will succeed Pulok Chatterjee, who served in Manmohan Singh’s PMO. The principal secretary to the PM is a key post and acts as main link for coordination among Prime Minister’s Office, cabinet secretariat and secretaries of ministries. Misra is a post-graduate in political science and public administration and belongs to Uttar Pradesh. He has served in several key posts in central government ministries during his tenure. Edit : Edit Comments : Leave a comment Categories : CSR, Law, Legal, Media ANANTH KUMAR, On GENERAL BUDGET 2014-15 11 07 2014 GENERAL BUDGET 2014-15 from the office of : SHRI ANANTH KUMAR, UNION MINISTER FOR CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS. Shri Ananth Kumar congratulated Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, for presently a growth oriented and people friendly budget today. He said that the Hon’ble Finance Minister has presented a revival budget which will restore confidence in Asia’s third-largest economy. The Maiden Budget of Shri Narendra Modi’s Government presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitely today, is Growth Oriented, Pro-Poor and Middle Class, giving fillip to Infrastructure and Agricultural Growth, Investment Friendly while addressing the stagnation in a large number of critical development areas such as Education, Health, Upliftment of SCs & STs, Women’s safety, Gender issues and Care of Children and is with special focus on the Agricultural Sector and Rural Economy. It removes the cobwebs that had gathered around economic decision-making and shows that Shri Narendra Modi Government means business and is willing to walk the talk. The previous UPA Government had left the economy in shambles – this Budget is the beginning of an action plan to make the Indian Economy one of the most vibrant in the world. The proposals to contain the fiscal deficit and the CAD to manageable levels, creation of an Expenditure Management Commission, Better Targeting of Subsidies to the poor and the socially and economically backward, curbing the growth of Black Money in the economy, are steps indicating the seriousness and capability of this Government to put things back on track. The increase in FDI limits in the Defence & Insurance Sectors will save much needed foreign exchange. As Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers I am happy about the proposed New Urea Policy, increase in Fertilizer Subsidy and the move to correct the current imbalance of the use of fertilizer mix which will greatly benefit the farmers and soil health. The composite measures of making Crucial Medicines more affordable will provide succor to the poor. The long-pending increase in Income Tax slabs and the reliefs given to the salaried class to promote savings and investments are greatly welcomed. I personally thank the Hon’ble Finance Minister for the same. The new concept of developing smart cities is a welcome step which will cope up with speed of migration which are taking place from the rural areas to the city. Besides meeting the pressure on the existing cities, this concept will give birth to new cities which will facilitate in the growth of the economy of the country and generate employment opportunities. Our country has an ancient artistic and cultural history with substantial manpower. Skill Development is one of the important aspect to generate employment and provide sustainability to budding artists. The Skill India programme announced in the budget will be a good platform which will provide training and support for traditional professions. Karnataka and Bangalore have got a prominent share in this Budget by the allocation of the Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Mumbai Industrial Corridors. Not only will these give a boost to the investment and employment opportunities but the proposal to set up Smart Cities, creation of Expressways will compliment this in terms of requires infrastructure.