Railways have suspended two senior officials following searches carried out by CBI and recovery of Rs 20 crore in cash in connection with alleged corruption in supply of packaged drinking water in premium trains.
Key infrastructure sectors -- from railways to power, and from coal to petroleum -- will not only be part of the achievements but promises too, as the BJP fights to get a third term at the Centre.
The report said people with heavy luggage lost their balance because of which the stampede may have occurred.
There was a plan to increase the Railways' revenue by augmenting carrying capacity. This target has, however, become the source of a bitter battle between two ministries - the railways and steel - and provoked serious arguments over the "Make in India" programme.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday urged job aspirants not to destroy public property and assured them that their grievances would be resolved as candidates went on a rampage over alleged irregularities in a recruitment exam by the public transporter.
Indian Railways last month issued an order to end the British-era practice of using Dak Messengers, or personal messengers, for official communications and move towards video conferencing in a bid to save costs.
Freight earnings accounted for 65 per cent of IR's total earnings of Rs 144,167 crore (Rs 1,441.67 billion) in 2013-14.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
As many as 12,394 complaints of alleged corruption were received against railway employees.
The ministry cancelled the caterer's contract following tweets surfaced of the incident.
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.
Violence erupted in the central Maharashtra city of Parbhani after a replica of the Constitution was vandalized. Around 50 people have been detained for the protests, while a man with mental health issues has been arrested for allegedly damaging the replica. Opposition leaders condemned the incident, calling for strict action against those responsible. The situation is under control, but tensions remain high in the city.
During a five-hour meeting with his entire Council of Ministers, Modi specifically asked for faster and better communication of the government's decisions.
'... that it once again shies away from renewing its commitment to strategic divestment,' points out A K Bhattacharya.
'The government must understand that the Indian Railways is like a Kamdhenu cow. It can look after your GDP, it can look after the health of the nation. But the Kamdhenu cow also needs nourishment.' 'You have not at all looked after the Indian Railways, you have ill treated the Indian Railways, you have mistreated the Indian Railways and you have given the Indian Railways step motherly treatment.' 'I don't think this government has understood the Indian Railways.'
Rising energy demand could tilt India's energy basket towards fossil fuels from coal to oil, natural gas.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that a final decision would be taken in consultation with the Railways, Delhi Government and the Urban Development Ministry.
A source in the know said realistically two-three of the seven bullet train corridors could be included as a practical election promise.
The change in leadership at the railway ministry comes at a time when the national transporter is grappling with low passenger earnings even as it is trying to increase freight loading and open up its doors to private investment. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge from Piyush Goyal who got the railway portfolio in 2017 after Prime Minister Narendra Modii dropped Suresh Prabhu from the Union Cabinet. Completing freight corridors, negotiating land for the bullet train, and speeding up monetisation plans would be some of the major focus areas for Vaishnaw.
The Union Ministry of Railways runs a canteen inside Parliament, and provides subsidised food items for elected representatives.
At least nine passengers were reported dead on May 27 over a span of 48 hours on board the migrant trains, with the railways stating that all of them had health conditions.
The only time in recent history when the railways undertook such a move was in 2016-17 when four officers were prematurely retired.
The second wave of the coronavirus has put huge pressure on the country's health system, with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen, medicines and equipment to treat COVID-19 patients, besides beds.
Ranajit Giri, Biprada Bag, Asha Behera and Ashok Bera, all residents of Bahanaga Bazaar station area in Balasore district where the crash took place, were among the first to rescue the injured.
A railway ministry official told Business Standard that the major part of this would go into expanding ticketing facilities, with the aim of taking it to the passenger's doorstep.
The Centre has taken a major step towards increasing efficiency in decision-making by empowering joint secretaries to report to secretaries directly, officials said on Wednesday.
While the corporate sector has benefited from massive capital expenditure, leading to sky-rocketing stock prices, investors would do well to keep an eye on the macroeconomic picture and government finances, not just corporate profits, for signs of trouble, alerts Debashis Basu.
Dearness Allowance for central government employees has been hiked to 31 per cent of the basic pay from 28 per cent with effect from July 1, 2021, the Finance Ministry said. In an office memorandum, the Department of Expenditure, under the Finance Ministry, said the term 'basic pay' means the pay drawn as per the 7th pay commission matrix and does not include any other type of pay like special pay, etc. "....the Dearness Allowance payable to central government employees shall be enhanced from the existing rate of 28 per cent to 31 per cent of the basic pay with effect from July 1, 2021," said the office memorandum dated October 25.
The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 1,642 crore.
'Efforts are on to make the data readily available so that it proves useful for policymakers.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party said on Monday the railways has subsidised 85 per cent of ticket fare for special trains being run to transport migrant workers and the state government has to pay the remaining 15 per cent, soon after the Congress attacked the central government over the issue.
Balasore district hospital looked like a war zone with the injured lying on stretchers in the corridor and rooms bursting at its seams with extra beds propped up.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
For Yogi Adityanath the successful management of the fair is a crucial part of building 'Brand UP' and making the state a $1 trillion economy.
While the SECR has cancelled 22 mail or express trains and 12 passenger trains, the Northern Railways has cancelled four mail or express trains, and as many passenger services.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday directed X Corp and Google Inc to remove prima facie defamatory social media posts against Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) officer and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's daughter Anjali Birla.
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Railways has made windfall gains with the introduction of dynamic fares in the special Rajdhani type trains in the Delhi-Mumbai sector, which saw up to a 30 per cent jump in fares in AC-2 and 35 per cent in AC-3.
There will be four trips from December 24, 2013 till Januray 2, 2014 of the premium AC special trains on the busy New Delhi-Mumbai sector, said a senior Railway Ministry official, adding 'the tickets will be sold on higher rate than the existing rate as per the dynamic pricing policy.'
