The number of foreign tourists coming to India grew a modest four per cent between January and December 2013, coinciding with women travellers' perception on the country as a safe destination hitting rock bottom.
While the home ministry has approved the new visa regime, the ministry of external affairs is soon expected to give its approval on the fee aspect, officials said.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) are in talks for a partnership to run private trains. According to officials in the know, the two public sector undertakings (PSUs) are planning to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to run passenger trains on routes for which IRCTC has put in bids. "BHEL will be putting in the money required for private rail service, while IRCTC is going to focus on operational requirements," an official said. "IRCTC's business model has not been capital expenditure-focussed. It has built only operational enhancements," he added. Bids for public private partnerships (PPPs) in passenger train operations were opened last month.
In a relief for people travelling long distances, the Indian Railways is set to resume serving cooked meals on trains, a service which was discontinued in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Azerbaijan said on Thursday that it is open to dialogue with Armenia and if India comes up with some proposal to bring stability in the region, Baku will welcome such initiatives, hours after the two arch-rivals believed to have negotiated a cease-fire to end the recent hostilities between them.
The Republic Day parade, which will begin at around 1030 am, will be a unique mix of the country's military prowess and cultural diversity, depicting the country's growing indigenous capabilities, Nari Shakti and emergence of a 'New India'.
Travellers from these 99 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and Russia, which have been listed under 'Category A', have to submit a self-declaration form on the Air Suvidha portal (newdelhiairport.in) before the scheduled travel, apart from uploading a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report, according to the revised Guidelines for International Arrivals released by the Union health ministry on November 11.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his maiden Independence Day address, various ministries have been asked to furnish by this month end details of programmes in different sectors which could form part of his speech, possibly in the form of announcements.
In his second term in office, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has retained 34 portfolios.
The passengers included 10 foreigners, according to the state-run Nepal Television.
Congress local leader Rashid Khan on Tuesday claimed that prayers were earlier held at the Charminar, an Archeological Survey of India protected site, however, Muslims were debarred from offering prayers at the site two decades ago.
The government has decided to name 21 uninhabited islands in the Union territory of Andaman & Nicobar after recipients of Param Vir Chakra, the country's highest wartime gallantry award.
A committee, which was constituted by the government to investigate the matter, had found the documents submitted by Yadav to be fake.
Several countries like the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Singapore have already banned travellers from India as well as other South Asian countries.
Hit by Covid waves and slowdown, the Indian Railways has still not been able to return to its pre-pandemic passenger traffic, data by ministry of Railways has revealed. In February, the national transporter received 413 million ticket bookings - 43 per cent higher than the previous year, but only 61 per cent of the 675 million in February 2020. According to the statistics, that was the last time the Railways saw more than 500 million bookings in a single month.
In his address after more than 75,000 people were given appointment letters for various government jobs in the first tranche, Modi acknowledged the challenges facing the economy the world over with many countries hit by a record inflation and unemployment and said India is making every effort to come out of the situation unscathed.
The expansion was the first by Sarma since he assumed chief ministership of the state about 13 months ago.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani might have made news for purchasing the most expensive beach-side villa in Dubai recently, but he is not the only Indian eyeing the city for investment. Since Dubai allowed foreign investors full ownership in specific sectors in June 2021, a horde of Indian companies have moved or expanded into the desert city. The list even includes a kindergarten, an elementary and middle school, and a hotel that has sought 100 per cent ownership.
Over the years, a type of caste system has also made its way into the way the political (and bureaucratic) leadership looks at different sectors of the Indian economy and then allocates its attention.
Only NIIF has stayed the course as a viable infrastructure financing institution.
While the meetings on Friday were preliminary discussions, it is learnt that sectors like tourism; hospitality; aviation; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and livestock have sought deferring loan repayments and temporary tax holidays in specific cases to help them tide over the steep fall in economic activity.
El-Sisi welcomed Modi, who is on a two-day state visit to Egypt, at the Presidential Palace where the two leaders were closeted for one-on-one meeting after which the two sides signed a memorandum of understandng.
A statement from the finance ministry said, 'it shall be the policy of the Sri Lankan government to suspend normal debt servicing...shall apply to amounts of affected debts outstanding on April 12, 2022'.
Tourist arrival growth down to 1.9% over poor marketing and terror threats. Airlines, too, have been forced to reroute following airspace closure. UK and Australia advised their citizens from travelling to Srinagar following the Pulwama attack.
Democratic Left Front politician Nanayakkara was among the 42 members who declared independence in Parliament from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition.
Exporters on Thursday demanded fiscal incentives, tweaking in customs duties on certain products and credit at affordable rates in the forthcoming Budget to boost exports and create jobs. In a pre-budget virtual meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar is affecting exports' competitiveness and the sector requires more support. "Creation of employment is the biggest challenge faced by the country...We would urge the government to provide fiscal support to units which provide additional employment in the export sector," the exporter's body said.
Due to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent unprecedented lockdown, e-catering services were suspended on March 22, 2020.
Israel has broken its tourism record of Indian arrivals for the second consecutive year!
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
The stall is located on one of the platforms of the Vadnagar Railway station.
Wani is a part of the six-member Indian delegation at the Winter Olympics where Jammu and Kashmir skier Arif Khan is the only athlete from the country to have qualified this time.
The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveer' like priority in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam rifles but that failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress which warned the 'transformative' 'Agnipath' scheme will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran was to attend the United Nations World Tourism Organisation meet in Chengdu between September 11-16.
He accused the previous governments of being sluggish on implementing railway projects and said the work of ambitious eastern and western dedicated freight corridors expedited only in the last six-seven years.
These measures are part of initiatives by these nations to attract Indian tourists, says Aneesh Phadnis.
Of these 8.5 million additional people employed in September, 6.5 million were in rural India, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
While the 6.5-km the Z-Morh tunnel is expected to be completed by next year, ahead of the target date of December 2023, the 14.15 km Zojila tunnel is also scheduled to be completed ahead of the target date of 2026, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited officials said.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other ministers took charge of their respective offices on Thursday, a day after taking oath at a ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Patel was administered the oath as the 18th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be the mascot of 'Incredible India' campaign with the Tourism Ministry finally deciding to do away with plans to rope in any Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, for the role which was lying vacant after ouster of Aamir Khan earlier this year.
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