The SOP said the train schedule, protocols for entry and movement of passengers, services to be provided in coaches, and arrangements with states and UTs for booking of tickets shall be publicised by the MOR.
Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state due to the virus with 33,053 cases, including 1,198 deaths. It is followed by Gujarat (11,379), Tamil Nadu (11,224) and Delhi (10,054).
Student bodies like the Left-affiliated All India Students' Association and the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India have been raising the issue and have demanded the postponement of the two exams.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of chief secretaries of all states and the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister. The districts where lockdown was announced include 10 districts each in Maharashtra and Kerala, six districts each in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, five each in Karnataka and Haryana, three each in Tamil Nadu and Punjab.
Mr Prime Minister, good economics and the welfare of the people are always good politics. If you follow my advice, you will be enthusiastically rewarded come election time. If you fail, history will hold you responsible, warns Kalyan Singhal.
Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicle (SMEV) on Thursday said sales of EVs in India fell 20 per cent in the financial year 2020-21 to 236,802 units. In 2019-20 sales of electric vehicles (EVs), including electric two-wheelers (E2W), electric three-wheelers (E3W) and electric four-wheelers (E4W), stood at 295,683 units. For FY21, the E2W segment sales declined by 6 per cent to 143,837 units, as compared to 152,000 units in FY20, SMEV said in a statement, adding that the FY21 E2W sales included 40,836 high-speed and 103,000 low-speed E2W. The E3W segment registered sales of 88,378 units as against 140,683 units sold in FY20.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the lowering of rates for the tests would provide a relief to the people.
Several Union ministers and chief ministers voluntarily removed the red beacons from their vehicles even before the notification of it came into effect.
India has lost almost the entire buffalo meat export market to Brazil, Australia and the US.
The strict curbs, including a curfew from 8 pm till 7 am, and prohibitory orders during the daytime on weekdays came into force from Monday in the state.
'The government needs to think if a draconian, outdated and colonial law is needed in a democratic, multi religious, diverse country governed by a democratic government.'
What engineering problems make it hard to use 17th century physics to move lots of people quickly across serious distances? Devangshu Datta has the answers.
The oxygen shortage was inevitable to an extent given the tsunami of Covid cases, but the problem is the lack of even basic preparation by both the Centre and states, notes Shyamal Majumdar.
While 287 trains have already reached their destinations, 79 trains are in transit, officials said. Out of these 287 trains, 127 terminated in Uttar Pradesh, 87 in Bihar, 24 in Madhya Pradesh, 20 in Odisha, 16 in Jharkhand, four in Rajasthan, three in Maharashtra, two each in Telangana and West Bengal, and one each in Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, the officials said.
As fuel prices continue its northward march with petrol and diesel being sold at Rs 80.73 and Rs 72.83 per litre in the national capital, at least 21 opposition parties, led by the Congress have staged a Bharat Bandh protesting the rise in fuel prices and depreciation of the rupee.
Activists and leaders of the opposition -- Congress and Nationalist Congress Party on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's order restraining authorities from cutting anymore trees in Aarey Colony in Mumbai to make way for a Metro car shed.
Ahead of the elections, a lot had been spoken of the large number of leaders defecting from the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena. In fact, a month before the polls, more than two dozen Congress-NCP leaders quit and joined the BJP in hopes of riding high on the Narendra Modi wave. While for some the shift has brought in good fortune, for others it has brought loss. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com analyses how these defectors have fared.
In order to maintain social distancing, the NTA has increased the number of exam centres from originally-planned 2,546 to 3,843, while the number of candidates per room has been reduced from earlier 24 to 12.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Transport Kamal Nath on Tuesday claimed that the Congress would form the government in Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra.
Water, mats and chairs, among others things, have been arranged for commuters at these schools which are located close to railway stations, he said.
Agency sleuths claimed he was arrested after they obtained some "vital leads" into the narcotics case registered against Rajput's live-partner Rhea Chakraborty and others.
The government will chart out a plan for the evacuation of seafarers stuck on international waters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Union Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya has said. Thousands of Indian seafarers are currently stuck aboard cruise ships and cargo vessels in far off waters, and maritime bodies have been demanding from the government strategies for bringing them home fearing that delays might result in disruption in supply chain.
In order to maintain social distancing, the NTA has increased the number of centres from 2,546 to 3,843 for the NEET while the number of candidates per room has been reduced from earlier 24 to 12.
As the COVID wave gradually shifts to rural areas, several states are gearing up to check its spread through self-proclaimed lockdowns by Panchayati Raj institutions, creating a database of migrants and providing free online medical consultation to the sick.
'Approach people with respect, mindful that they know their job better than you do, and that you're not superior to them just because you may be better educated or their boss.' Skoda Auto VW India MD Gurpratap S Boparai cites his management credo to Pavan Lall.
While majority of the state governments and union territory administrations have made at least seven days' quarantine compulsory for anyone arriving in their jurisdiction, a few of them have opted for home quarantine for those reaching their administrative limits. According to an official estimate, as on May 26, a total of 22.81 lakh people were in quarantine facilities arranged by different states and union territories -- almost double from 12 days ago (May 14) when the people put under quarantine were 11.95 lakh, a government official told PTI.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari known for promoting innovative ideas in transportation, created a stir some time back when he pitched for 100 per cent electric mobility by 2030. In an interview with Megha Manchanda & Jyoti Mukul, he talks about the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and electric vehicles.
The Centre and state governments bonded and then fell apart during the longest lockdown walk.
According to officials, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam and Telangana wanted the lockdown to be continued, some of them wanted the powers to decide the zoning of districts -- green, orange and red -- as per the COVID-19 situation.
Farmers in the two states have reportedly begun culling chickens, while the state governments have restricted supply of chicken across their borders.
Waze's letter claimed that in January 2021, another state minister Anil Parab asked him to look into an inquiry against "fraudulent" contractors listed in the BMC and collectat least Rs 2 crore from about 50 such contractors.
British billionaire Richard Branson on Wednesday said he will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to clear "misunderstandings" and gauge the new administrations interest in the $10 billion Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop project.
Prohibition of all types of gatherings, reduced size of weddings and funerals, running of public transport at half seating capacity and scaled down presence in government offices were some of the restrictions imposed by the Delhi government on Saturday amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
From Jammu and Kashmir to Andhra Pradesh, consumers are facing power cuts ranging from 2 hours to 8 hours.
Nationalist Congress Party leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar tells Sanjay Jog the allegation of corruption against his party is a political conspiracy. Edited excerpts:
This is the Indian Navy's first massive evacuation exercise from foreign soil during the COVID-19 lockdown.
'Your faith in the system, and in the fact that you are a citizen of this country and have rights, starts eroding.'
In one case, the folks at SWAN discovered that of the Rs 1,500 they'd transferred as relief in the account of a stranded worker, the bank had deducted Rs 800 as penalty for not having minimum balance!
The Assam government has requested the Northeast Frontier Railway authorities in Guwahati to arrange for special trains to transport persons from the state and other NE states who had recently fled their work place in Southern States and Maharashtra out of fear of persecution as threatened through SMSs that were doing rounds in those areas.
With almost all opposition parties and several trade unions backing the 'Bharat Bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing all the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure COVID guidelines are followed.
