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As many as 637 projects, including those under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme, have faced delays primarily due to factors like land acquisition issues and financial difficulties faced by contractors, Parliament was informed Wednesday. Besides force majeure events, scarcity of construction materials, etc have also caused delays in the projects, Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in a reply to Rajya Sabha. "The implementation of 637 projects, including those under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme, has faced delays...," the Minister said. To overcome these challenges and expedite project execution, the government has undertaken various initiatives, Gadkari said.. These include streamlining and expediting land acquisition process, revamping Parivesh Portal to facilitate faster forest and environmental clearances, enabling online approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) of Road Over Bridge/Road Under Bridge (ROB/RUB) from the Railways, and conducting review meetings at various levels with all stakeholders, including state governments, he said. On the financial implication, Gadkari said it does not arise in every delayed project. The minister said if delay is not attributable to the contractor, price escalation is paid as per contract conditions, which may or may not result in additional cost, depending upon final value of price escalation determined on actual completion of the project. Further, if delay is attributable to the contractor, damages are imposed, and there is no additional cost due to delay. The government is taking all necessary steps for timely completion of such delayed projects, he said.

The NSE’s semi-annual index rejig is set to take effect on Thursday, March 27, and it's expected to trigger major shifts in stock flows as it coincides with the monthly derivatives expiry. According to Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, this rejig will impact passive fund flows, with notable changes seen in the Nifty Next 50 Index, where the seven new entrants are expected to attract a combined inflow of around $394 million.On the inclusion front, Indian Hotels is expected to see the highest inflow at $108 million, followed by Britannia at $85 million, BPCL at $80 million, and CG Power at $60 million.Other names being added to the index include Hyundai Motor India (with an expected inflow of $31 million), Bajaj Housing Finance (with an expected inflow of $17 million), and Swiggy, which is likely to see a modest inflow of $13 million.As part of the reshuffle, Zomato, Jio Financial, and BHEL are among the most significant exits from the Nifty Next 50, with expected outflows of $211 million, $108 million, and $40 million respectively.Other stocks set to move out include NHPC (expected $37 million outflow), Union Bank (expected $34 million outflow), IRCTC (expected $31 million outflow), and Adani Total Gas (expected $24 million outflow).Also read: Zomato shares drop 5% after BofA downgrades stock to ‘neutral,’ cuts target price to Rs 250These inclusions and exclusions are expected to drive significant volumes from passive index funds, as funds realign their portfolios to match the updated composition of the index.Additionally, a few stocks in the Nifty Next 50 will see weight increases, including Godrej Consumer Products, Torrent Pharma, IndiGo, Cholamandalam Finance, and Vedanta, while there are no weight-down candidates in this reshuffle.With the semi-annual rejig, Zomato and Jio Financial Services are set to enter the Nifty 50 index, driving combined cumulative inflows of $591 million across passive funds.Meanwhile, the exclusion of Britannia Industries Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. (BPCL) is expected to trigger sizeable outflows.The changes, as part of NSE Indices’ scheduled review, will come into effect after the market closes on Thursday.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

India's Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, will halt Venezuelan oil imports after the United States announced a 25% tariff on nations buying crude from the South American nation, three sources said on Wednesday. The Indian conglomerate, which last year obtained approval from U.S. authorities to purchase oil from the sanctioned producer, imports an average of 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude every month, according to LSEG data. It is scheduled to receive a Venezuelan cargo in early April, LSEG trade flows data showed. U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order says that higher tariffs may be imposed on or after April 2 on all goods imported from any country that buys Venezuelan oil. The three industry sources with knowledge of Reliance's purchasing plans said the company would stop buying Venezuelan crude due to the tariff threat. It was not immediately clear, however, if it would still take delivery of the April cargo, added one of the sources, all of whom declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to media. Reliance did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Loading of Venezuelan heavy crude at the country's main oil ports has already slowed this week following the tariff announcement. Reliance's two refineries in western Gujarat state can process about 1.4 million barrels per day of crude oil. The complexity of those plants allows it to process cheaper and heavier crudes such as Merey from Venezuela.