The Union Cabinet on November 24 approved 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail paving the way for global giants like WalMart to open mega stores in cities with population of over one million.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that the leaders of the civil society movement for a Lokpal Bill have given an impression as if they have become legislators.
'People are getting back to work.' 'The worst seems to be over.' 'It is very likely that the recovery is mostly among the informal, self-employed, workers who cannot afford to be away from work for too long,' notes Mahesh Vyas.
Polling began on Tuesday morning for the fourth of the six phase West Bengal assembly election across 63 constituencies spread over Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapur and parts of Burdwan district.
The coverage for coronavirus infection will be available from day one of the infection in all the health insurance policies, says Amit Chhabra.
Amid concerns over increasing number of train accidents, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought a detailed safety plan from the railways.
Over 100 people were injured when 13 bogies of the Kalka Express were derailed near Malwa station in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday afternoon. The train was on its way to Delhi from Howrah station in West Bengal. The rail traffic on the Delhi-Howrah line has been severely affected due to the derailment. Many trains have been diverted or cancelled. Relief operations have started at the accident site and rescue personnel are trying to get the passengers out of the mangled coaches.
In a stern two-page letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said stricter enforcement of lockdown norms was necessary to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.
'When violence spread, it looked as if Mamata was losing control, but soon, she was able to contain the situation.' 'Now, the TMC stands to gain the most.'
People in several states across the country smeared each other with colours, exchanged greetings and savoured sweets to celebrate Holi.
The assurance came hours after the Centre accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of obstructing a central team deputed to assess the coronavirus ground situation.
Twelve persons were killed and ten injured on Saturday when a train ran over them at a railway crossing in Bilaspur district, Chattisgarh, a senior railway police official said. The victims were crossing the tracks when the mishap took place at a spot near Tarbahar area of the town on the Mumbai-Howrah rail route, Inspector General (Railway) R K Devangan said. The gates of the crossing were closed as two trains were approaching the spot on parallel tracks, he said.
The toll in Sunday's derailment in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh went up to 53 with 15 more bodies, including that of a Swedish national, being recovered from the mangled compartments of the ill-fated Delhi-bound Kalka Mail.
Five teenaged boys were Sunday mowed down by a train near Goldenganj station under Sonepur-Chapra section of the East-Central Railway in Bihar, a Government Railway Police officer said.
The passengers of Howrah bound Kandari Express from Digha that reached its destination on Friday wee hour after several hours of scheduled time, were worried about getting back home. But, none of the 325 passengers could imagine that a pleasant surprise was awaiting them from Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped on Howrah-Kurla Express near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh by an unidentified man who gave her a Rs 10 note after committing the crime before dumping her at the railway station, the police said on Sunday quoting her.
Kolkata sheds its white-blue nocturnal hue with pink ball day-night Test.
Five small crude bombs along with some crackers were found lying along the tracks near Jharsuguda in Orissa on Saturday, triggering a bomb scare and briefly disrupting rail services on the Mumbai-Howrah route.
Rediff.com correspondent Indrani Roy Mitra and Photographer Dipak Chakraborty reached the accident site near Jhargram in West Bengal, where a Mumbai-bound train derailed, early on Friday morning. She chronicles the grim situation at ground zero and asks some tough questions.
A high voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal, Assam Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections on Tuesday. The massive polling exercise following COVID-19 health protocol and involving lakhs of personnel began at 7 am and the last hour from 6 pm to 7 pm was set aside for COVID-19 patients and those under isolation. The counting of votes in the states will be held on May 2.
The stations are Secunderabad, Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata, Chennai Central and Anand Vihar, Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Flood situation in West Bengal's six districts remain unchanged, even as the death toll rose to 17 with reports of eight more deaths from different districts on Friday.
Mita said she was not worried about the criticism she faced on social media over her anti-war stand.
2 January 2010: Three accidents involving five trains took place in Uttar Pradesh due to dense fog conditions,killing 15 people. 16 January 2010: Three people died and around a dozen were injured when two express trains -- Kalindi Express and Shram Shakti Express -- collided in thick fog in UttarPradesh. May 28, 2010: Jyaneshwari Express derailed by Naxals killing at least 148 people.
'Why has this turned out to be one of the greatest humanitarian crisis that has caught the Centre and the states in a bind with no answers to this unexpected tsunami?' asks Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Free wifi with a speed of upto 50 mbps was rolled out on Friday across the six stations on Delhi Metro's premium Airport Express line.
CST Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Howrah, Sealdah, Thiruvanathapuram, Chennai, Bhopal, Madhura Junction, New Jalpaiguri and Kochi are some of the stations that will be modernised.
Mangled heaps of bogies lying off the tracks, passengers in bandages and plasters and a row of hearse vans lined up -- the scene at the site of the derailment of the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express near Jhargram virtually resembled a war zone.
"It was pitch dark... when I regained my senses, I somehow managed to scramble out of the coach through the emergency window," said Anil Gupta, who was onboard the Maharashtra-bound Gyaneshwari Express, which came under Maoist attack in the wee hours of Friday.
Floods in West Bengal have claimed over 40, with water levels rising arlamingly in East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Birbhum and Burdwan districts.
Several trains in Jharkhand were either cancelled or diverted to avoid Naxal pockets and security beefed up as the two-day shut down called by the CPI-Maoist in Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal began on Monday.
Six passengers of the 3049 Howrah-Amritsar Express were injured as armed robbers assaulted them and looted cash and valuables worth about Rs 1.5 lakh near Simultala railway station in Bihar's Jamui district on Sunday night, official sources said.
Three new non-stop Duronto trains will be launched on Wednesday, the last day of the current financial year. They are the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar, New Delhi-Howrah, and Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Jammu Tawi Duronto expresses.
As part of efforts to revamp its services, the Indian Railways have decided to take over the catering charge of two prestigious trains from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation.
To begin with, four Jan Ahar outlets are going to be operational at Howrah, Bangalore, Chennai and Secunderabad stations this month. Seven more will be launched at different stations, including Patna, New Jalpaiguri, Lucknow and Mysore next month.
Referring to the arrest of military operations leader Venkatshewar Reddy alias Telugu Dipak on March two from Howrah, Maoist leader Kishenji said: "The arrest will strengthen our resolve to fight state sponsored terrorism. We will make our movement in the country stronger and sharper."
Roopa Ganguly was on Sunday heckled and her convoy attacked allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters near Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.
The Indian Railway plans to launch 101 new suburban trains in Mumbai. The Railways will also launch 10 more Duranto trains.
The railway ministry is planning to launch 15 more Duronto Expresses in the coming budget, as the end-to-end non-stop train has caught the fancy of passengers.
Many anticipate that by the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP may come to power, says Mohammad Sajjad.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances