It has also been decided to suspend the interstate bus services till March 31, the officials said. The decisions have been taken at a high-level meeting attended by chief secretaries of all states and the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister.
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.
Only a few thousand chargers dot the Indian landscape, some in working condition, others not, with some held hostage to the power supply vagaries of local utilities, reports S Dinakar.
Facing a tough electoral battle, Congress on Friday made an array of promises in its manifesto like significant cut in power rates, Wi-Fi facilities in public transport, waving off pending water bills and ensuring a graft-free administration if voted to power in Delhi.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra warned that 'the more the government tries to suppress the voice of people, the louder it will become'.
Consumers can expect a 5G launch in the country soon. Telecom companies (telcos) say if auctions take place on time - the target is July - they would be able to offer some services in a few cities by the end of this year and a full roll-out from 2023. But the question is: will 5G turn the tables for telcos financially? Will average revenue per user (ARPU) improve? Will mobile consumers upgrade to 5G quickly and pay more? Will the expanded functions that 5G enables drum up sufficient revenues? In simple terms, will telcos make more money?
Mumbai, India's financial capital, is set for a mega transformation with a massive patch of land opening up for redevelopment; a new metro railway ready to start services by the year-end; and the country's oldest railway station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, going for modernisation with private sector participation. Work on Mumbai's second airport will start from next month, while construction of the sea link connecting central Mumbai to Navi Mumbai has already moved into a fast lane despite Covid-induced lockdowns. Also, a coastal road project, connecting Nariman Point to Worli, is under way and will help decongest the city to quite an extent. Of all these mega infrastructure projects, the one that has a huge potential to change the city's skyline is the Eastern Waterfront project - to be built on the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) land.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and discussed issues related to the Maratha reservation, pending GST compensation and the proposed Metro car shed in Kanjur.
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers and others leaders urged the people to follow the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm, noting that "social distancing" was key to breaking the chain of infection, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 283 after 60 new cases were detected on Saturday, the highest so far in a day, and states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar imposed partial lockdown till month end.
'India is the only large nation along with Argentina whose numbers have continuously and without a break risen from March,' observes Aakar Patel.
Hiring activity in the country, which was hit by the second COVID wave, bounced back with a 15 per cent growth in June compared to May, according to a report. The activity was led by the IT-software/software services sector. The latest Naukri JobSpeak report on Thursday said that India's hiring trends grew 15 per cent in June with 2,359 job postings from 2,047 in May.
One hundred and forty nine new individuals joined the rich list club of 1,103 Indians across 122 cities who cumulatively accumulated a wealth of Rs 100 trillion. Bengaluru -based Kaivalya Vohra, 19, of grocery delivery application Zepto is the youngest self-made and the youngest rich individual, according to IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022. The report found 1,103 Indians with a networth of Rs 1,000 crore each - an increase of 62 per cent over five years. There are 221 billionaires (Rs 100 crore networth) in India on the 2022 list - down 16 compared with last year, while 13 people born in the 1990s made it to the list, all self-made.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third Budget on February 1.
Various state governments had announced free transportation and accommodation, including West Bengal that ran special metro service for candidates.
The recurrent increases in fuel prices over the past 10 days are eating into the margins of transporters, who will be forced to pass on the hikes to their customers. This, in turn, is set to make the prices of daily consumables and other goods dearer, affect consumption, and slow economic growth, said transporters and analysts. Freight rates on grand trunk routes have shot up 3-4 per cent month-on-month in the past few days, according to the Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training (IFTRT).
Smart cities must be very well equipped with technology and security systems alike.
On a busy corporate route like Delhi-Mumbai, hand luggage fare can be cheaper by at least Rs 500-Rs 800.
Opposition parties on Thursday alleged that an "undeclared Emergency" has been imposed in the country in the light of restrictions and detention of thousands for defying prohibitory orders to deal with the mounting protests against the new citizenship law in multiple cities. Rejecting the charge, the Centre and the Bharatiya Janata Party said no government can tolerate violence and alleged that the opposition parties were fuelling the protests for vote bank politics.
Suspension of Internet services in ten districts of Assam was extended for 48 hours on Thursday
'In difficult times as now, the call of the village is all that these migrants can hear,' observes Vijaya Pushkarna.
Hiring demand for the month of October 2021, witnessed a dip of 3 per cent, as compared to September 2021. However, job demand grew 9 per cent sequentially in the past six months showing an optimistic outlook to recovery, said the Monster Employment Index. There has also been a strong year-on-year recovery with a 9 per cent uptick in October 2021 (Oct 2021 vs Oct 2020).
While Oslo, Zurich and Tokyo are the world's most expensive cities in the world, New Delhi and Mumbai are the cheapest cities.
The plan is to start with 20-25 per cent capacity by early next month as part of Unlock 5.0, before moving to 50 and then 100 per cent.
The Adanis', which already has won the bids to run six Airport Authority-built non-metro airports in Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore, bid to enter the country's second busiest airport by buying out Bid Services Division Mauritius from MIAL was stalled after GVK chose to exercise its first right of refusal, and matched the Rs 1,248-crore offer that the Adanis made to the Bidvest in March.
The earthquake epicentred in the Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan struck at around 2.40 pm, sending ripples across several states like Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi- National Capital Region, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
The Unlock 3 guidelines will come into force from August 1 and strict enforcement of lockdown in containment zones will continue till August 31.
Over two years since the Nirbhaya rape shook the nation women in New Delhi feel no safer than they did before. With safety apps to self-defence classes on the rise, Ritika Bhatia takes a look at what working women in Delhi are doing to keep themselves safe.
The prime minister thanked the people but said it was the start of a long battle, as he urged them to follow social distancing to stop the chain of transmission of Coronavirus which has infected 360 people and claimed seven lives in India.
The Centre has announced an extension for two more weeks in the nationwide lockdown. However, several relaxations will be allowed as per zones.
'The need for added safety has bolstered demand for charter flights in the last year and is expected to continue.'
The 'Age of Rage' survey by Tata Salt Lite revealed some startling facts about the causes of stress and anxiety among urban Indians.
'I want to show that we are also part of this society and want to participate just as much, whether it is for security or whatever community work there.'
It is a pity that the Modi government, which began on the right note when it came to pricing issues, has changed colour and become interventionist in its impulses, says T N Ninan.
'Both of us are not politicians. We were forced to enter politics to counter corruption that is looting the country.'
Petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday touched fresh highs as rupee dipped to a record low of 71.54 against US dollar, making imports costlier
The analyst said since servicing of principal and interest on loans will beome challenging for mall operatos in the next couple of months.
Filmmakers Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and Aditi Rao Hydari were among the prominent faces from the Hindi film industry to join the public protesting against the Citizenship Act at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan on Thursday. The gathering included workers of political parties, students and also a smattering of Bollywood personalities, who made out a strong case against the Act and the National Register of Citizens.
Defying prohibitory orders, protests were held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and several other cities. Protesters, mostly students and activists, were detained on a large scale in national capital and other places.