The NHAI is also looking to create independent teams from its headquarters to carry out frequent quality checks of works at sites for projects which private players have bagged.

The regulator will also put in place a system for random quality checks, once in every 2-3 months, during the construction period, the official said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Road Transport Minister Nithin Gadkari on July 9 said that the rising competition in the sector will not lead to lower quality construction. He said that the rising competition will lead to the use of better technology and will also lower the cost of construction in India.

He added that his ministry will ensure that the quality of roads is maintained and that projects also don't face delays.

Gadkari also urged the road sector to reduce the use of cement in construction, as the prices of cement were very high, and instead use alternatives like steel or plastic fibre.

As an aftermath of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) relaxing eligibility criteria for bidding in highway projects in November, competition in road projects has shot up in the past few months, leading to a fall in bids for road projects.

The MoRTH relaxed technical qualification criteria for road projects, which has led to private players from other infrastructure verticals like tunnel and port construction bidding for highway projects.

A look at the NHAI's projects between January and May shows that many bidders are quoting at a discount as high as 30-35 percent to NHAI’s base price.

In terms of the number of bidders, the number has also surpassed 40 in some engineering, procurement and construction projects, when compared to a maximum of 18-20 earlier.

Similarly, in hybrid annuity model projects, participants have increased to 10-15, when compared to 5-10 earlier.