Friday, May 26, 2017
All you need to know about Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, India’s longest river bridge
The Dhola-Sadiya bridge inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Spanning 9.15 km, the bridge is built across the Lohit river which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra river.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge in Assam, which is India's longest river bridge.
Here are 10 things to know about the bridge:
1. Spanning 9.15 km, the bridge is built across the Lohit river, which is a tributary of the Brahmaputra. It will connect Assam and eastern Arunachal Pradesh. The total length of the project, including the approach roads on each side, is 28.50 km.
2. The bridge is located 540 km from Assam’s capital Dispur and 300 km from Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar. It connects Sadia town in Assam’s Tinsukia district with Dhola village in Arunachal Pradesh.
3. The bridge will reduce the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from six hours to just one hour as the distance will shrink by 165 km.
4. It is 3.55 km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai. The sea link has now become the second longest river bridge in the country.
5. The construction of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge began in 2011 by the Ministry of Road Transport along with Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd., under the public-private-partnership agreement
6. A sum of ₹ Rs 2,056 crore has been spent on the bridge that can withstand 60 tonnes of weight, including battle tanks.
7. The bridge, which has a three-lane carriage way, will also cater to the strategic requirements of the country in the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh, besides facilitating numerous hydro power projects coming up in the State, as it is the most sought after route for various power project developers.
8. The bridge will make it much easier for Army convoys to reach outposts near the China border. It is also expected to boost tourism as there is no civilian airport in Arunachal Pradesh and this will make the road transport smoother.
9. The bridge will increase industrial investments with better border trade between the Northeast and South Asian countries.
10. State-run SAIL is the largest supplier of steel for the bridge. The PSU has supplied around 90% or around 30,000 tonnes of steel, including TMT, structurals and plates, for the bridge.
Friday, May 12, 2017
e-facility to link Aadhaar with PAN launched
I-T Department asks people to ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly the same, to ensure linkage without failure.
The Income Tax Department has launched an e-facility to link Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN), a mandatory procedure for filing IT returns now.
The department’s e-filing website (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/) has created the link on its homepage.
The link requires the PAN, the Aadhaar number and the “exact name as given in the Aadhaar card”.
“After verification from the UIDAI [Unique Identification Authority of India], the linking will be confirmed. In case of any minor mismatch in the Aadhaar name provided, Aadhaar OTP [one time password] will be required,” the department said in an advisory to taxpayers and individuals.
OTP would be sent on the registered mobile number and email of an individual, it said.
The department urged people to ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly the same, to ensure linkage without failure.
“There is no need to login or be registered on the e-filing website. This facility can be used by anyone to link their Aadhaar with PAN,” it said.
The government, under the Finance Act 2017, has made it mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar or enrolment ID of the Aadhaar application form for filing income tax returns (ITR).
Also, Aadhaar has been made mandatory for applying for PAN with effect from July 1, 2017.
The department, till now, has linked over 1.18 Aadhaar with its PAN database.
While Aadhaar is issued by the UIDAI to a resident of India, PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number issued in the form of a laminated card by the IT department to any person, firm or entity.