New Delhi, Aug 19: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved four multi-tracking railway projects with a total investment of Rs 9,450 crore, which will be completed by 2030-31.

The projects include the Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranital) 4th Line across a stretch of 173 km covering West Bengal and Odisha; the second project is a 4th line from Bhadrak to Haridaspur across 75 km in Odisha, while the third is the Gummidipundi-Gudur 3rd and 4th line extending across a distance of 90 km in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, a Cabinet communique said.

The fourth project is the Cuttack to Paradeep (Badabandha) 3rd and 4th lines to cover a 72 km route in Odisha.

The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion. The projects are in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of a New India, which will make people of the region “Atmanirbhar” by way of comprehensive development in the area, which will enhance employment opportunities, the statement said.

The projects are planned on the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with a focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity and logistics efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.

The four projects covering eight districts across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 410 km. The proposed multi-tracking projects will enhance connectivity to approximately 6,448 villages with a population of about 60 lakh, the statement said.

The proposed capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika National Park, Maa Bhadrakali temple, Maa Dhamarai temple, Panchalingeswar Temple, Talsari–Udaypur and Chandipur Beach, Pulicat Lake, Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, Lord Veeraraghava Perumal Temple, Gada Kujanga Jagannath Temple, Sarala Temple, Dhabaleswar Temple and Lalitgiri, a Buddhist site.

The proposed projects are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, iron ore, cement, iron and steel, containers, automobiles, food grains, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 76 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways, being an environment-friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import ( around 13 crore litres) and lower CO2 emissions (around 65 crore kg), which is equivalent to the plantation of 2.60 crore trees, the statement added.

New Delhi: Gold prices jumped over 9 per cent this month which is about five times the returns of broader equity markets but investors largely moved gains into safer assets rather than reinvesting in precious metals, a report said on Wednesday.

Precious metal inflows dropped from Rs 8,680 crore in June to Rs 4,084 crore in July, while Rs 1,40,390 crore flooded into money market funds against last month’s Rs 65,530 crore of outflows, the report from Vallum Capital said.

The immediate trigger for gold price gains was the US jobs report that came in far weaker than expected, briefly reducing fears of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike, the report added.

Fixed income reversed too from Rs 53,006 crore of outflows in June to Rs 5,947 crore of inflows in July — a Rs 58,954 crore swing in one month.

Within India, auto and transport had exceptional months on the back of the country’s first‑ever 4‑lakh passenger vehicle in July. Technology recovered sharply as global investors rotated out of Korean semiconductor stocks directly into Indian software companies, but Rs 1,345 crore left technology funds anyway.

Healthcare absorbed Rs 737 crore in fresh money, quietly building on over 16.4 per cent for the year.

According to the report, PSU banks gained over 3.8 per cent on strong quarterly results, while private banks’ shares fell -4 per cent as the flow gap between the two widened sharply.

Micro-cap emerged as the strongest performer, delivering 4.6 per cent in one month, 15.9 per cent YTD and 12.7 per cent over one year, while small-cap returned 2.8 per cent in the month, 11.4 per cent YTD and 13.3 per cent over one year.

Large-cap funds, meanwhile, sit at -3.9 per cent YTD yet absorbed Rs 14,977 crore in July flows, up Rs 5,291 crore from June, the report noted.

Mumbai, Aug 19: Domestic equity market benchmarks opened on a flat note on Wednesday with crude oil prices surging to almost $92 and rising global bond yields dampening appetite for risk assets.

Sensex opened at 77,218.05, down 17.41 points or 0.02 per cent, while Nifty started the session at 24,152.05, declining 2.85 points or 0.01 per cent.

Sectorally, IT stocks led gains among sectoral indices in early trade with Nifty IT rising 0.82 per cent, while most other sectors remained subdued. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom gained 0.59 per cent, followed by Nifty Realty and Nifty REITS & Realty, which rose up to 0.2 per cent each.

Among the declining indices, Nifty Metal fell 0.35 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto which declined 0.14 per cent. Nifty MidSmall Healthcare dropped 0.10 per cent, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Chemicals and Nifty500 Healthcare declined 0.09 per cent each.

Analysts said the ongoing weakness was primarily driven by rising crude oil prices and higher bond yields globally.

They said uncertainty over the Middle East conflict has pushed crude prices higher, raising concerns over inflation and putting upward pressure on bond yields adding that US 30-year yields are at their highest level since 2007.

However, strong domestic fundamentals, improving GDP and earnings growth prospects for FY27 and robust domestic liquidity are helping the Indian market remain resilient.

Long-term investors could use the weakness to accumulate quality growth stocks, particularly as momentum remains stronger in the mid- and small-cap segments, according to the market experts.

Additionally, Asian markets also declined amid continued weakness in semiconductor stocks, while crude oil prices rose to their highest level in more than three weeks as international benchmark Brent crude traded around $92 per barrel after Iran took a tougher stance and said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, while the US ruled out extending the ceasefire.