For the last few days, Central Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh has been in Tiruppur. He stated that the country has set a target of $100 billion in textile exports by 2030–31. He expects Tamil Nadu to contribute $21 billion of that.
He encouraged the state to make full use of the ₹11,000 crore allocated under the Centre’s PLI scheme for textiles.
A lot of people have appreciated Tamil Nadu’s move to procure only air-conditioned buses going forward. Some have questioned the economic burden this would place on the state and the public.
As I explained a few days ago, our transport corporations follow the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model.
Under the GCC model, private operators (concessionaires) procure, own, operate, and maintain the buses. They appoint employees and handle operations, while the transport corporation typically collects fares and pays the operator a fixed rate per kilometre operated.
The operating cost is approximately ₹77 per km for non-air-conditioned electric buses and ₹81 per km for air-conditioned electric buses (rates are revised annually based on CPI and wages).
That’s just a ₹4 per km difference. This is per bus per trip, not per passenger. I therefore don’t see how moving to 100% EV AC buses imposes any significant economic burden on either the state government or the public.
If you ask why the difference is only ₹4, you’ll have to ask the Transport Minister. The headline rates are in the public domain, but the detailed workings and break-up are not.
Post-market closure on Friday, Trump posted that the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist. Before futures market opening today, the US said dialogue with Iran has been going well and a resolution is expected in the next few days.
Same pattern. Same market moves. Week after week, month after month. Will this conflict really be resolved? And by when?