Deadline matters

At an event to mark the signing of a licence agreement between France-based Gaztransport & Technigaz and state-owned Cochin Shipyard for building liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping vessels, Union Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari asked officials of Cochin Shipyard how much time it would take for them to build an LNG ship in India. Six years, said an official. The minister, who calls himself a "bulldozer", told the official that since the prime minister (Narendra Modi) had asked him to complete a certain project in half the scheduled time, would it be possible for Cochin Shipyard to cut the time window in a similar manner?