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NHAI agrees to 25 suggestions made by NHBF to ease highway construction

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NHAI agrees to 25 suggestions made by NHBF to ease highway construction

New Delhi, 25 September 2020: In order to resolve issues and increase the pace of construction of highway projects, NHAI has agreed to most of the suggestions made by the National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF) related to project delivery.

The suggestions were made pertaining to nine areas that included Covid Relief, Bidding process, Contract Management, Old & New Model EPC agreements, Improvement of Concession Agreement of Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), Improvement of Concession Agreement Based on BOT (Toll) and Project Preparation.

The suggestions made by NHBF were deliberated by NHAI for proper redressal and the authority has agreed to 25 suggestions which were related to NHAI. NHAI has assured that all good suggestions shall be positively considered in future too.

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Other suggestions pertaining to policy related matters have been sent to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for consideration. Some of the key suggestions accepted by NHAI are highlighted as below:

a. With regard to Covid Relief, Extension of Time to contractor/ concessionaire for construction period without imposition of any cost or penalty shall be granted by the Project Director upto 3 months and Regional Officer for more than three months and up to six months.

b. In order to enable the bidder to have an assessment of road condition at the time of bidding, NHAI shall provide DPR along with Network Survey Vehicle (NSV)/LIDAR data as per availability to the bidders. All survey data collected by DPR consultants will be made available to agencies under one platform through Data Lake.

c. To ensure timely payments to vendors and their monitoring, submission of bills related to project payments shall be done through PMS/Data Lake Portal.

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NHAI in the past has took various initiatives from time to time to support Concessionaires, Contractors and Consultants, which also instilled confidence in the bidders of the Road sector. In March 2020, NHAI disbursed Rs. 10,000 crores through online payments and ensured that no payments remain pending due to closure of office during the lock down.

In the first quarter of current Financial Year, NHAI disbursed more than Rs. 15,000 crores to the vendors. Additionally, steps such as monthly payments to the contractors were taken to ensure cash flow to the contractors. Such moderations resulted in spiraling effect on the growth of the road sector.

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Construction Infrastructure

Equipped to thwart cyber attacks: Banks, insurance firms to Sitharaman

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Equipped to thwart cyber attacks: Banks, insurance firms to Sitharaman

Sitharaman gave banks instructions to keep offering smooth services to customers, even in isolated locations, in cooperation with authorities and security firms as needed. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman received assurances from Indian banks and insurance companies on Friday that they are prepared to stop any cyberattacks by Pakistani outfitted DDoS.

Distributed denial-of-service) systems. “Mock drills covering cybersecurity and disaster recovery scenarios at the highest levels have been held to ensure institutional readiness,” they informed her at a Friday meeting. According to the financial institutions (FIs), they are alert and actively monitoring phishing efforts. In order to guarantee prompt claim payouts.

Continuous customer service, Sitharaman instructed banks to keep offering smooth services to consumers, especially in distant places, in cooperation with regulators and security agencies New Delhi, May 10, 2025 — In a reassuring development for the financial sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that banks and insurance companies in India fully.

Speaking at a cybersecurity summit organized by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and IRDAI, Sitharaman stated that both public and private sector financial institutions have significantly ramped up their cyber preparedness equipped to counter cyber threats and have strengthened their digital security infrastructure safeguard.

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Rising Digital Transactions, Rising Risk

The Finance Minister’s remarks come in the wake of a growing number of cyber threats targeting the banking and insurance sectors, especially as India witnesses a steep rise in digital transactions. According to official data, digital payments in India grew over 76% year-on-year in FY 2024-25, driven by UPI, mobile banking, and digital policy purchases.

With this surge, the risks associated with data breaches, phishing, ransomware, and unauthorized access have also grown exponentially. Sitharaman emphasized the need for constant vigilance and investment in advanced cybersecurity technologies “Representatives from leading banks and insurance companies have assured the ministry that robust systems.

Institutional Safeguards in Place

The Finance Minister highlighted that both the RBI and IRDAI have issued detailed guidelines on cybersecurity protocols. Regular audits, simulation drills, and incident response mechanisms are now mandatory across institutions “Financial institutions cannot afford to be complacent. Cyber threats are evolving, and our preparedness must stay ahead of that curve.

“Banks are operating with 24×7 Security Operations Centers (SOCs), and insurance companies are also mandated to deploy advanced firewalls and data protection policies,” she noted ” she said real-time monitoring, and preventive frameworks are in place to detect, resist, and respond to cyber attacks,” Sitharaman said customers and operations Sitharaman also.

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Consumer Awareness Key

The minister also urged banks and insurers to invest in customer education. “A large number of cyber frauds happen due to lack of awareness. Institutions must proactively inform and empower users to identify and avoid suspicious links, calls, or messages,” she added mentioned that the government is working closely with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to ensure real-time threat intelligence sharing and coordinated.

As digital finance continues to evolve, Sitharaman reaffirmed the government’s commitment to creating a secure and resilient financial ecosystem for all stakeholders response strategies Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said banks and insurance companies have assured the government of their readiness to counter cyber threats. At a recent cybersecurity summit.

Financial institutions confirmed the implementation of advanced security systems, 24×7 monitoring, and compliance with RBI and IRDAI guidelines. Sitharaman emphasized the need for ongoing vigilance, customer And collaboration with CERT-In to ensure a secure digital financial ecosystem amid rising cyber risks of advanced securit Sitharaman emphasized the need for constant vigilance and investment in advanced.

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