The first high speed train with a speed of 160 kilometer per hour will run on Delhi-Agra section in November this year as Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory (RCF) is all set to roll out first rake of fourteen coaches of the train.
The speed of nine railway corridors will be increased.
The cross-Line of Control surgical strikes, policy towards Pakistan, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, besides One Rank, One Pension and the plight of farmers were also among issues that were raised at the meeting with parties demanding discussion on them.
A senior BEST official expressed hope of the stalemate getting resolved soon.
Diwesh Sharan, a deputy director general of ADB, says beside the PPP model and viability gap funding, there is a 3rd option - value capture - to raise funds for India's ambitious infrastructure projects.
The prime minister also asked senior ministers to hand-hold the new incumbents, sources said after the meeting.
It was not immediately known if Modi acceded to Jaitley's request.
The two major railway unions have proposed to the government an unprecedented alternative to privatisation or inviting foreign investment, to help raise funds and improve revenue.
Jaitley, 66, has become 'very weak' as his health has deteriorated over the past few weeks, sources said, adding that he has developed some throat condition as well that prevents him from speaking for long.
The Covid pandemic has left a question mark on how the central government manages its staff.
Disability activist Virali Modi recounts her life's most challenging moments and how she turned adversities in her favour.
In the four-paragraph letter, Jaitley said he had orally informed Modi about his desire not to be a part of the new BJP government to enable him to concentrate on treatment and health.
'Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering,' Government Spokesman Sitanshu Kar tweeted.
'The middle class stood by the BJP, especially after demonetisation, and they expected something in return.' 'Some section of the BJP believes the middle class is condemned to vote for the BJP as they have no other choice.' 'They think they can treat them any way, still the middle class will run to vote for it.' 'That's what the Budget seems to convey.'
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Smriti Irani are also likely to join the second Modi government after being its members in its first avatar.
The overriding objective of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) must be adequate economic return, not financial return.
Speaking at the inauguration and laying of foundation schemes of various schemes, Modi said, Leh and Ladakh will also be benefited by this.
The civil services examination will be held as per schedule on August 24, the government declared on Thursday in Parliament, while saying that consultations will be held with various parties and stakeholders on the matter after the current session.
Terming the state "pride" of the country, Modi said it is the gateway of the nation as it guards the frontier. It is the duty of the government to develop the state at any cost, he said.
Inclusive growth is about enabling wider participation in the growth story, but the current if fiscal debate is about how to compensate losers using annual Budgets, says Rathin Roy.
Interestingly, PM Modi had thanked his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for offering the support to the rain-battered state on August 18.
The monsoon session of parliament is all set to begin on July 21, but it will be a truncated three-week affair.
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Plan your day trekking, camping, swimming, bird-watching around these spots.
Inaugurations and foundation-stone laying ceremonies might have been low-key but that doesn't mean Tamil Nadu stood still while J Jayalalithaa was out of office, Aditi Phadnis opines
'Governments, democratically elected governments, are custodians for a short- specified time.' 'Parents don't let baby sitters decide the course of their child's future.'
The challenge is to convince productive sectors that a lower general rate would benefit all and remove the prevalent system of favours targeted towards narrow industry and service sector groups.
Arun Jaitley had a tough fiscal hill to climb.
Everything you wanted to know about the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train but didn't know who to ask.
'We have got our permutations and combinations in place.' 'We are also trying to garner support from some NDA allies.' 'Every section of society has suffered during the four years of Modi rule.'
Similarities between NDA and UPA on some key policy issues are now becoming too stark to be ignored, says A K Bhattacharya.
As Modi completes a year in office, his cuts in federal welfare spending on the poorest of India's 1.25 bn people are coming in for sharp criticism.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel -- who covers the Sheena Bora murder trial for Rediff.com -- reports on a day in a Ranchi court.
Decision-making has to be much quicker, the finance minister said.
A political party's manifesto is the first stage of building a compact with the voters in any governance plan. If that compact is dependent on a document that reeks of fiscal imprudence and lacks credibility, it is a serious setback to the country's democracy and governance, says A K Bhattacharya.
The finance minister hiked the total defence expenditure from Rs 203,672 crore in FY 2013-2014 to Rs 229,000 crore for FY 2014-2015. Though the increase appears substantial, it is insufficient to undertake the military modernisation necessary to meet the emerging threats, feels Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took his fight against the contentious land acquisition bill to Punjab as he travelled by train today to visit the National Democratic Alliance-ruled state and see the condition of farmers with his own eyes.
Indians are election junkies, and that includes all of us -- political parties, aspirants for seats, pollsters, pundits parsing straws in the wind, says Shreekant Sambrani
He said the UPA had left the economy in a dire state, with Consumer Price Index and food inflation at double digit, Wholesale Price Index inflation around 6-7 per cent and growth prospects were limited.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain DoPT, Atomic Energy as well as all important policy issues and portfolios not allocated.
