Aam Aadmi Party Reaction on Rail Budget
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From: Media Cell AAP <mediacellaap@gmail.com> Tue, 8 Jul ’14 4:05p
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
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Tuesday, July 8
The AAP is of the view that the first rail budget of the BJP-led NDA government turned out to be a missed opportunity. The Narendra Modi government could have used its maiden rail budget to spell out its long term vision for the improvement of the health of railways, but it is unfortunately missing.
The people of the county had expected that the new government to lay down its roadmap to improve the efficiency of the railways by curbing the price distortion and corruption, two major problems currently plaguing this critical sector, but the budget appears to be silent on addressing these long term concerns and belies expectations of a long term vision.
There is nothing concrete in this budget on the improvement of safety and maintenance of the massive railway network across the country. Nearly 2.5 lakh posts are lying vacant in the railways and out of these 1.6 lakh posts are in departments directly concerned with the railways safety, but nothing has been done to fill up these posts.
The common man (aam aadmi) forms the bulk of railway passenger traffic, but the focus on such passengers is missing. Infact, the focus of the budget provides a reason for alarm in this aspect – the trend in the budget is to focus on the upper class of commuters, whose number is miniscule in terms of passenger traffic.
Facilities should be provided to all categories of passengers, but the focus on those who can spend more for facilities does not set a healthy trend.
The railways minister has made an honest confession about the large number of pending projects. The AAP agrees with the government that the focus should be on execution of existing projects, but in this respect too, the minister did not mention any roadmap on how the government plans to complete the job.
The AAP, in principle, does not oppose Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in railways, but the minister’s announcement did not specify in which field does the NDA government propose to invite the FDI. The impression created is that the government is ready to go ahead with the FDI in all fields, except in operations. There are many sensitive sectors in Railways, like the one handling the spectrum that cannot be opened to foreign investors.
The hurry to attract FDI in Railways could create a dangerous situation and the government should hold widespread consultations before going ahead with the introduction of FDI in railways.
The thrust on implementing the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in railways is a dangerous trend. The concept of PPP model so far in the country has been that the public sector bears the risk and the private sector walks away with profit, such a model can spell disaster for the railways.
The AAP does not agree with the minister’s announcement about the proposal to restructure the Railway Board. It is one of the rare board/corporation in the government sector which is not controlled by the IAS officers, and is run by professionals.
Unless the government clearly specifies what kind of restructuring it wants, the announcement appears to be an attempt to undermine the Board’s autonomy. Restructuring for improving the fiscal health of railways and bringing professionalism is welcome, but it cannot be allowed to become ministry Vs board fight.
The Aam Aadmi Party also sees a regional imbalance in announcement of new train services. A government cannot ignore the requirements of one region appease the other.
Regards
AAP Media Cell
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Categories : Business
AVJ Group desires a transforming budget for real estate sector
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Mr. Vinay Jain (CMD, AVJ Group)
“Now a stable and full majority led NDA Govt. is at the centre and we expect the inflation to be control in 2014.The sector is expecting number of policy initiatives, along with an analysis of FDI rules in housing, REIT. The focus of government should be on single window clearance system as it would help boost the sector in long run, tax incentives for affordable housing. Government should raise the tax exemption limit for interest payment on housing loan from 1.5 lakhs to 2.5 lakhs p.a. The sector must be given an industry status by the RBI, since it is the second largest employment provider in the country. The government must scrap the service tax on under construction properties from buyers prospective, as it adds to the overall cost of the property. Adding to this, the government must restore ATIB for affordable housing which allowed profits under it not to be taxed at the corporate level.”
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Categories : Business
India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
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India today successfully test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from Chandipur-on-Sea off Odisha coast. The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex number three of the Integrated Test Range(ITR) at about 10.38 this morning. The missile is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg. BrahMos, one of the fastest cruise missiles in the world, has a top speed of Mach 2.8 and can be launched from ships, aircrafts and submarines. The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the Army and the Navy and the Air Force version is in final stages of trial. The induction of the first version of Brahmos system in the Indian Navy commenced from 2005 with the missile being deployed on-board warship INS Rajput, it is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army. Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture company, is also working to develop the air as well as the
submarine-launched versions of the missile system and work on the projects is in progress. The Army has so far placed orders for the Brahmos missile to be inducted by three of its regiments and two out of them have already become operational.
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Categories : culture, Energy, Environment
Railway Reservation System to be Revamped
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D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that Indian Railways is on its way to fulfill the long cherished dream to run a Bullet Train. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, he said, the Railways proposes bullet trains by starting off with an already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector, where a number of studies have been done.
The Minster said, under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji, the Railways is embarking on an ambitious plan to have a Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail, connecting major Metros and growth centers of the country. A provision of Rs.100 crore has been made in the Budget for high Speed project to RVNL/HSRC (High Speed Rail Corridor) for taking further steps.
He said, while bullet trains would require completely new infrastructure, higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present network. The Minister said, hence, an effort will be made to increase the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select sectors so as to significantly reduce travel time between major cities. The Minister said, the identified sectors are:
i) Delhi-Agra
ii) Delhi-Chandigarh
iii) Delhi-Kanpur
iv) Nagpur-Bilaspur
v) Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai
vi) Mumbai-Goa
vii) Mumbai-Ahmedabad
viii) Chennai-Hyderabad and
ix) Nagpur-Secunderabad.
The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that Railway Reservation System will be revamped into Next Generation e-Ticketing System. Ticket booking through mobile phones and through Post Offices will be popularized.
ii) Delhi-Chandigarh
iii) Delhi-Kanpur
iv) Nagpur-Bilaspur
v) Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai
vi) Mumbai-Goa
vii) Mumbai-Ahmedabad
viii) Chennai-Hyderabad and
ix) Nagpur-Secunderabad.
The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that Railway Reservation System will be revamped into Next Generation e-Ticketing System. Ticket booking through mobile phones and through Post Offices will be popularized.
Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, the Indian Railways will improve the system capabilities in e-ticketing to support 7200 tickets per minute as against 2000 tickets per minute and allow 1,20,000 simultaneous users at any point in time.
The Minister said, facility of Coin Operated Automatic Ticket Vending Machines will be experimented.
He said, efforts will also be made to provide facility of buying Platform Tickets and unreserved tickets over internet. Parking-cum-Platform Combo Tickets will be launched to facilitate the passengers and to save their time.
He said that online booking facility of Railway Retiring Room will be extended to all the stations during the course of the year. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, the Indian Railways is expanding the scope of online booking for people to book a Train, book a Coach, book a Berth and book a Seat in Chair Car.
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Categories : Uncategorized
Ghani wins Afghan election on preliminary results
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Former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani won Afghanistan’s presidential election, according to preliminary results released on Monday, with 56.4 percent of the run-off vote to Abdullah Abdullah’s 43.5 percent.
Officials said the turnout was more than eight million in the June 14 vote out of an estimated electorate of 13.5 million voters — far higher than expected, and a figure likely to trigger further allegations of fraud from both sides.”The IEC (Independent Election Commission) admits that despite best efforts for a better election, there were some technical mistakes and shortcomings in the process,” IEC head Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani told reporters.
“We can not deny fraud and violations in the process, in some cases some security forces were involved, in other cases senior government officials like the governors or lower-level officials were involved.”
Last-minute talks delayed the release of the results by nearly five hours today, as the two campaigns tried to thrash out a deal over fraud allegations that threaten to fuel instability.
Abdullah has vowed to reject the preliminary result, alleging he was the victim of “industrial-scale” ballot-box stuffing, while Ghani has said he won fairly.
Central to the talks is how many of the total 23,000 polling stations will now be put through an anti-fraud audit.
“We agreed for an audit of 7,000 polling stations, but they had other conditions that we couldn’t agree with, so for now there is only partial agreement,” Ghani’s spokesman Daud Sultanzoy said before the result.
Abdullah’s spokesman Fazel Sancharaki said: “Our main demand was for the inspection of 11,000 polling stations under the close supervision of the United Nations.
Seven thousand polling stations is not enough.
“The negotiations are still ongoing. If they produce a result, we will enter the process, otherwise… we will not recognise it.”
Both sides said the UN was involved in the talks, but its spokesman declined to give further details.
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Categories : world News
RSS leader Ram Madhav deputed to BJP
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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has decided to depute its spokesperson and member of its Akhil Bhartiya Karyakari Mandal Ram Madhav to the BJP. The decision was taken by top RSS leaders during its ongoing brainstorming session from July 1-8, at the Jain pilgrimage centre of Mohankheda in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. Madhav has confirmed that he would join BJP formally next week and serve the party.
Top RSS leaders including Mohan Bhaghwat, Bhaiyaji Joshi, Suresh Soni, Dattatray Hosabale and Krishna Gopal were huddled in Mohankheda to deliberate on its future strategies. The session will conclude on Tuesday.
According to sources, another RSS leader Shiv Prakash has also been deputed by the Sangh to work for the party now.
Prakash was a regional ‘pracharak’ of RSS in western Uttar Pradesh, a state where BJP had put up a splendid show in recent Lok Sabha elections.
The Sangh, the ideological mentor of BJP, had earlier too deputed many of its leaders from time to time, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had been a full-time RSS ‘pracharak’ (organiser), in the party.
The party seeks to revamp itself ahead of assembly elections due in states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand later this year and early next year.
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Categories : Business, CSR, Media, Politics
Bullet, high speed railplan, derails Sensex Sinks 600 Pts after Budget
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BSE Sensex retreated from record highs by falling 600 points to dip below the 26,000 mark in mid-session trade on Tuesday after the rail budget failed to impress investors.#Sensex Sinks 600 Points after #Railway Budget
Introduction of bullet trains starting off with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector and an ambitious plan to have a Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres are on the anvil.
The announcement was part of the Rail Budget presented by Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda in Lok Sabha on Tuesday which also spoke of efforts to increase the speed of trains in select sectors to up to 200 km per hour.
The Rail Budget has identified nine sectors in this regard that includes the prestigious Delhi-Agra rail line and the busy Delhi-Chandigarh and Mumbai-Ahmedabad sectors.
Besides, the speed of trains is to be increased to 160-200 km in the Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mysore-Bengaluru- Chennai, Mumbai-Goa, Chennai-Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secuderabad sectors.
A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made in the Budget for High Speed project to Railway Vikas Nigham Limited/High Speed Rail Corridor for taking further steps.
“It is the wish and dream of every Indian that India runs a bullet train as early as possible. Indian Railways is on its way to fulfil that long cherished dream,” Gowda said.
The Minister said while bullet trains will require completely new infrastructure, higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present network.
“Hence, an effort will be made to increase the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select sectors to significantly reduce travel time between major cities,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it is for the common people as it aspires for better service, speed and safety with focus on development of the country.
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He said the Rail Budget presented in Parliament by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda shows where his government wants to take India through the railways as it focusses on strengthening institutional mechanism, transparency and integrity.
“Congratulations to the Railway Minister for presenting a futuristic & growth oriented budget. It is a budget for the common people,” Modi tweeted.
He said the Rail Budget “aspires for better service, speed and safety. It is an effort to create a modern Railways contributing towards a developed India.”
In a series of tweets, Modi said, “Rail Budget shows the important role of Railways in India’s development journey.” He said the Budget keeps in mind the development of India.
“This Budget shows where we want to take the railways and at the same time where we want to take India through the railways,” Modi said, adding, “We can see the great use of technology also.”
Hailing the Railway Budget, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said it is “realistic and comprehensive” as honest analysis had been made about the state of affairs and health of Indian railways.
“The way forward has been clearly outlined in the Budget. Safety, security and service…all these three aspects have been taken care of and the Railway Minister has also made a realistic assessment about the need to complete the ongoing projects,” Naidu told reporters outside Parliament House.
He said hundreds of projects were announced in the previous budgets but the works have not been completed.
“So this government has taken up that responsibility of completing all ongoing projects on priority,” the Minister said.
“Instead of going populist and becoming unrealistic and creating hardship to the people in the long run, the Railway Minister has made efforts to see that the safety, security and service aspect is given high priority and also completion of ongoing projects have taken on a priority,” Naidu said.
The high speed trains, bullet trains they all are “indication of the thinking of the government”, he said.
“The entire India is connected and I am more happy about the emphasis given on the projects in the northeastern region of the country. No region has been discriminated, every state has been given its due attention,” Naidu said.
The Minister also alleged that the opposition was trying to “politicise and trivialise” the budget.
“People of the country are watching….It is expected of the members of Parliament to hear the budget with attention and subsequently utilise the opportunity to comment on the budget when the occasion come for the discussion of the budget proposals in details,” Naidu said.
“If some people have chosen not to hear the proposal, that means they are doing injustice to the people who have elected them to this House,” he said.
“Some people seems to be not able to digest the fact that the new government has come, a new approach has been taken and a true national budget has been presented,” Naidu added.
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Categories : Business
Record plan outlay for railways
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The Government on Tuesday proposed highest ever plan outlay of Rs 65,445 crore to the railways for the current fiscal, with a budgetary support of over Rs 30,000 crore.
Presenting the Railway Budget for 2014-15, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said the “highest ever plan outlay” would include market borrowing of Rs 11,790 crore and internal resources of Rs 15,350 crore.
Another Rs 6,005 crore would be mopped up through public private partnerships (PPP) mode, while railways would create a safety fund of Rs 2,200 crore.
As per Budget Estimates for 2014-15, total receipts are projected at Rs 1,64,374 crore, while total expenditure at Rs 1,49,176 crore.
Operating ratio would be 92.5 percent, which is an improvement of 1 percent over the last fiscal.
While passenger traffic grew by 2 percent, passenger earnings stood at Rs 44,645 crore after revenue foregone of Rs 610 crore on account of rollback in monthly season ticket fares, Gowda said, adding freight earnings are estimated at 1,05,770 crore for this fiscal.
The expenditure on pension is pegged at Rs 28,850 crore, while Rs 9,135 crore would be spent on dividend payment.
On the challenges facing railways, Gowda said, “Surplus revenues are declining. There is hardly any adequate resources for development works.”
The surplus resources, which stood at Rs 11,754 crore in 2007-08, is estimated to be only Rs 602 crore in the current financial year, he added.
He also said Rs 5 lakh crore was required to complete the ongoing projects alone as only 317 of the 674 projects sanctioned in last three decades could be completed.
Completing the unfinished projects would require Rs 1,82,000 crore, he said.
Observing that most of gross traffic receipts was spent on fuel, salary and pension, track and coach maintenance and on safety works, Gowda said that Rs 1,39,558 crore was the gross traffic receipts and total working expenses were at Rs 1,30,321 crore last year.
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Categories : Business, Trade
India Railways to attract FDI
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Sparing passengers of any further fare hike, Railway Budget for 2014-15 proposes to attract private domestic and FDI in infrastructure projects and pursuing private-public partnership to boost the finances of the cash-strapped railways.
Having hiked fares to the tune of 14.2 percent recently, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda who presented the new government’s first budget in Lok Sabha on Tuesday said he plans to leverage railway PSU resources by bringing in their investible funds in infrastructure projects.
He announced plans to introduce a bullet train in Mumbai- Ahmedabad sector and setting up of a Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been provided for initiating the project.
Increasing the speed of trains to 160 to 200 kms per hour on nine select sectors was another highlight of the budget, which proposes to allow all experimental stoppages to lapse after September this year.
The Budget disclosed that traffic growth declined and expenditures went up in 2013-14 as compared to the revised estimates of previous financial year.
Gross traffic receipts stood at Rs 1,39,558 crore, short of revised estimates by Rs 942 crore over the previous year. The ordinary working expenses and pension outgo were also higher.
The budget estimates for 2014-15 assumes a freight loading 1101 metric tonnes, 51 metric tonnes more than the previous year, growth in passenger traffic at 2 percent and freight earnings at Rs 1,05,770 crore.
Passenger earnings will be Rs 44,645 crore after a revenue sacrifice of Rs 610 crore on account of monthly season ticket fares.
Total receipts for the current year have been pegged at Rs 1,64,374 crore and expenditure at Rs 1,49,176 crore.
Disclosing that he needs more than Rs nine lakh crore to completing the Golden Quadrilateral Network and Rs 60,000 crore for introducing one bullet train alone, Gowda told the House, “Can I depend only on hiking fare and freight rates and burden the public to realise these funds? This is unrealistic. I need to explore the alternate means of resource mobilisation.”
He proposed to launch a scheme to bring in investible surplus funds of railway PSUs in infrastructure projects which can generate attractive returns.
Proposing private investment in railways through domestic and FDI, Gowda said growth depends heavily on availability of funds for investment in rail infrastructure.
Internal revenue sources and government funding are insufficient to meet the requirement, the Railway Minister said, adding the ministry is seeking Cabinet approval for allowing FDI in rail sector.
FDI, however, will be limited to infrastructure development and not allowed in operations, he said.
He said the concept of PPP has not been successful in raising substantial resources for railways.
“It is my endeavour to pursue this in right earnest. It is our target that bulk of our future projects will be financed through PPP mode, including the high-speed rail, which requires huge investments.”
Apart from mobilising resources, Gowda said he needed to strategically manage other aspects of planning and administration by adopting a near-holiday approach, setting timelines for ongoing projects, strategic partnership and aggressive indigenisation of imported projects.
The annual plan for 2014-15 has been fixed at the highest ever outlay of Rs 65,445 crore with gross budgetary support at Rs 30,100 crore, Railway Safety Fund Rs 2,200 crore, internal resources Rs 15,350 crore, external market borrowing Rs 11,790 crore and EBR-PPP Rs 6,005 crore.
The budget provides higher funds for ongoing projects in North East, including 11 national projects. Rs 5,116 crore earmarked for projects in North East, which is 54 percent higher than the previous year.
While Udhampur-Katra rail link in Jammu and Kashmir has been dedicated to the nation, the focus will now be on completion of the missing link between Banihal and Katra.
18 new line surveys have been announced, which include rail connectivity to ‘char dham’ — Kedarnath, Badrinath, etc, and Shimoga-Sringeri-Mangalore.
Five Jansadharan trains are being introduced along with five premium trains, six AC express trains and 27 express trains and eight passenger trains.
The premium trains are between Mumbai Central and New Delhi, Shalimar-Chennai, Secundarabad-Hazrat Nizamuddin, Jaipur-Madurai and Kamakhya-Bangalore.
In order to strengthen security in trains and stations, the budget proposes to recruit 4000 women RPF constables. Already 17000 RPF constables have been recruited and shall be available for deployment shortly.
Gowda said safety of passengers is of paramount importance and it is estimated that over Rs 40,000 crore would be needed to be invested in track renewals, elimination of unmanned railway crossings and road overbridges and underbridges.
A provision of Rs 1,785 crore has been earmarked for railway overbridges and underbridges.
Outlining IT initiatives, the minister said the railway reservation system is being revamped to move into next generation E-ticketing system, which will support 7200 tickets per minutes to allow 1,20,000 simultaneous users.
Railways will move to paperless offices in five years, provide wi-fi services in A-1 and A category stations and in select trains, real-time tracking of trains and rolling stock, mobile-based wakeup call system for passengers and mobile- based destination arrival alert.
Following are the highlights of the Railway Budget 2014-15:
* No new increase in passenger fares and freight charges * Bullet train on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Sector
* Diamond quadrilateral for high speed trains
* Plan to hike speed of trains to 160-200 km/hr in 9 sectors
* Online booking to support 7,200 tickets/minute; to allow 1.2 lakh users log in simultaneously
* Reservation system to be revamped, ticket-booking through mobile phones, post offices to be popularized
* Online platform, unreserved tickets * Combo parking-platform tickets at stations
* Women RPF Constables to escort ladies coaches; 4,000 women constables to be inducted
* Retiring room facility to be extended to all stations
* Battery operated cars for differently abled and senior citizens at major stations
* Feedback services through IVRS on quality of food
* Food can be ordered through SMS, phone; Food courts at major stations
* Cleanliness budget up by 40 pc over last year
* CCTVs to be used at stations for monitoring cleanliness
* Setting up of corpus fund for stations’ upkeep; RO drinking water at stations and trains
* Automatic door closing in mainline and sub-urban coaches
* 58 new trains and extension of 11; 864 additional EMUs to be introduced in Mumbai over 2 years
* FDI in railway projects, except in operations.
* FDI, domestic investments in rail infrastructure
* Office-on-Wheels: Internet & Workstation facilities on select trains
* Wi-Fi in A-1, A category stations and in select trains
* Rail university for technical and non-technical subjects
* Some stations to be developed to international standards through PPP model
* Parcel traffic to be segregated to separate terminals to make passenger traffic unhindered
* Loss per passenger per kilometre up from 10p (in 2000-01) to 23p (2012-13)
* Solar energy to be tapped at major stations
* Highest ever plan outlay of Rs 65,455 crore for 2014-15
* Expenditure in 2014-15 pegged at Rs 149,176 crore.
58 New Trains to be Introduced 11 Existing Trains to be Extended
Railways proposes to introduce 58 new trans which includes five Jansadharan Trains, five Premium Trains, six AC Express Trains, 27 Express Trains, eight Passenger Trains, two MEMU services and five DEMU services this year.
Announcing this in Parliament today while presenting the rail budget, the Minister of Railways D. V. Sadananda Gowda also proposed to extend the run of 11 existing trains.
Gowda said these services would be meeting the demand surges which manifest themselves on special occasions.
He said that special trains would continue to run to meet the holiday and festival rush including services for Melmaruvathur, Velankanni, Jhalawar etc.
NEW TRAINS
Jansadharan Trains i) Ahmedabad–Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat Ii Jaynagar–Mumbai Jansadharan Express ii) Mumbai–Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express iv) Saharasa–Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari v) Saharasa–Amritsar Jansadharan Express
Premium Trains i) Mumbai Central–New Delhi Premium AC Express ii) Shalimar–Chennai Premium AC Express iii) Secunderabad-¬ Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express iv) Jaipur–Madurai Premium Express v) Kamakhya–Bengaluru Premium Express
Bullet Trains and Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail
The Minister of Railways D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that Indian Railways is on its way to fulfill the long cherished dream to run a Bullet Train.
Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament on Tuesday, he said, the Railways proposes bullet trains by starting off with an already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector, where a number of studies have been done.
The Minster said, under the leadership of Narendra Modiji, the Railways is embarking on an ambitious plan to have a Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail, connecting major Metros and growth centers of the country.
A provision of Rs.100 crore has been made in the Budget for high Speed project to RVNL/HSRC (High Speed Rail Corridor) for taking further steps.
He said, while bullet trains would require completely new infrastructure, higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present network.
The Minister said, hence, an effort will be made to increase the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select sectors so as to significantly reduce travel time between major cities.
The Minister said, the identified sectors are:
i) Delhi-Agra
ii) Delhi-Chandigarh
iii) Delhi-Kanpur
iv) Nagpur-Bilaspur
v) Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai
vi) Mumbai-Goa
vii) Mumbai-Ahmedabad
viii) Chennai-Hyderabad
ix) Nagpur-Secunderabad.
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Categories : Trade, world News
Ukraine’s gas bill rises another $838mn, exceeds $5bn
8072014- has-cards
has-native-media
with-media-forwardauto-expandedmedia-forward“>#Ukraine’s gas bill rises another $838mn, exceeds $5bn (DETAILS)http://on.rt.com/jkoka2 pic.twitter.com/UoGSa9FpDc
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Morning Post
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To Me
Jul 7 at 8:35 PM
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Categories : Legal, Media, Politics
Take action against Shiela Dikshit for unauthorised colonies scam
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From: Media Cell AAP <mediacellaap@gmail.com> Mon, 7 Jul ’14 5:32p
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Show full Headers
Monday, July 7
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demands strict action against former Delhi chief minister Mrs Shiela Dikshit for her involvement in the Rs 3,000 crore unauthorised colonies scam.
The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) now with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, corroborates the findings of the former Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin on the issue.
The AAP government headed by Arvind Kejriwal, had on February 3 this year, recommended to the President strictest possible action against Mrs Dikshit for the fraud committed by her government on the poor people.
The President had sought the state government’s views on the findings of the Lokayukta report, submitted in November 2013.
The Congress-led UPA’s central government, during its last days in office, shockingly appointed Mrs Dikshit as governor of Kerala, in place of taking action against her for fooling poor people living in unauthorised colonies by providing them regularization certificates without ensuring basic amenities like water connections, roads, sewers and drainage lines between during her tenure. This was done by Mrs Shiela Dikshit’s Congress government in complete violation of the Supreme Court judgment of 2006, in which it was clearly laid down that no government can regularise unauthorised colonies without providing basic facilities.
The Shiela Dikshit government played with the lives of around 40 lakh people residing in such colonies, by cheating them before every assembly election by distributing regularisation certificates which had no legal sanctity.
It also needs to be investigated where actually this Rs 3,000 crore which has been shown in official papers as having been spent on providing basic facilities, has been siphoned off.
According to the CAG, there are virtually no sewer lines in around 895 colonies and nearly half of these are without roads and drainage lines. Where has this money been spent ?
When an elected government had recommended action to probe this fraud, it is the duty of those currently running the Delhi administration to promptly ensure that the CAG report is placed in Parliament during the ongoing budget session itself so that the people of Delhi can see how they were cheated during the 15 years of Shiela Dikshit rule.
Can the Congress answer the question why it hurriedly appointed a person as a governor who had been indicted by the Lokayukta for this scam and against whom the AAP government had recommended strictest possible action ?
Was she not appointed a governor to allow her to escape prosecution for her acts of omission and commission during her tenure as chief minister?
Regards
AAP Media Cell
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Categories : agreement, Legal, Media, Politics
Invitation to Korean B2B Trade Meet ( Mumbai & Delhi)(2)
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shubhangi gurav Dear Sir, We are pleased to invite you to an INDO-KOREAN TRADE MEET (buyer seller meeting) between Indian companies and Korean suppliers listed below. The objective of the one to one meet is to enable
Today at 11:39 AM
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Categories : agreement, Business, culture
Highlights of the Indian Railway Budget 2014-15
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Union Railways Minister, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda interacting with media persons after presenting #RailBudget2014 pic.twitter.com/3a0hkNoeDK
PHD Research Bureau
To sunitag@phdcci.in
Today at 2:25 PM
Highlights of the Railway Budget 2014-15
Focuses on Investments, Cleanliness and Safety
Railway Budget 2014-15 emphasizes on boosting investments, capacity utilization, cleanliness, safety and provision of better amenities for the passengers. It is a progressive budget which promises to launch network of high speed trains in the country. The Budget has given priority to raise surplus funds for the Railways through improving infrastructure by public private partnerships (PPPs), mobilizing foreign direct investment flows, allocating substantial outlay for safety and bringing transparency in execution of projects. Some remarkable initiatives have been introduced keeping different sections of society into consideration.
Achievements / Initiatives
Major landmark achievement in National Project of Kashmir –
· XIth Five Year Plan Targets exceeded in New Lines (2,207 km) , Doubling (2,758 km) and Electrification (4,556 km), Production of Diesel (1,288) & Electrical (1,218) Locos and Acquisition of Wagons (64,875)
· Dedicated Freight Corridors on the Eastern and Western Routes – leading to strategically critical capacity augmentation.
· Railways met from its own means the total additional impact of Rs one lakh crore due to implementation of 6th Pay Commission
· In 2013-14, 1532 km of New Lines, Doubling and Gauge Conversion commissioned.
· Production commenced at the new factories – Rail Wheel Plant, Chhapra ; Rail Coach Factory, Rae Bareli ; and Diesel Component Factory, Dankuni.
Measures for improving Safety & Security
· No unmanned Level Crossing. A total of 5,400 unmanned level crossings eleiminated – 2,310 by manning it and 3,090 by closure / merger / construction of ROBs or RUBs.
· Improved audio – visual warning to road users in advance of approaching trains.
· Induction of indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System
· Development of ‘crashworthy’ coaches
Financial Health
- Rail infrastructure by cost sharing arrangement with State Governments; Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh and Haryana agreed to several projects
- Several Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects are in the pipeline.
- FDI being enabled to foster creation of world-class rail infrastructure.
- Rail Land Development Authority raised Rs 937 crore so far.
Modernisation and Technology Induction
- High Speed Trains
I. Joint feasibility study by India and Japan for Mumbai – Ahmedabad Corridor to be co-financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency
II. Business Development Study by SNCF for Mumbai – Ahmedabad corridor.
- Semi- High Speed Projects
I. Exploring low cost option of speeds 160- 200 kmph on select routes
Green Initiatives
· Railway Energy Management Company becomes functional. Windmill and solar power plants to be set up with 40% subsidy from Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.
· 200 Stations, rooftops of 26 buildings and 2,000 level crossing gates to be covered.
· Railways bagged 22 out of 112 awards given by the Government.
· ‘Green Curtains’ along the track close to major stations; Pilot work at Agra and Jaipur
· Coverage of Bio-toilets in 2,500 coaches and would be increased progressively.
Passenger Friendly Initiatives
- Overwhelming public response to e-booking of ticket
- On-line tracking of exact location and running of train movements
- 51 Jan-Ahaar outlets for Janta Meals ; 48 passenger escalators commisionsed at stations and 61 more being installed ; air-conditioned EMU services in Mumbai from July 2014 ; information display system in important trains to indicate stations & arrival time.
- ‘Upgradation’ scheme extended to AC Chair Car and Executive Chair car passengers.
Revenue Freight Traffic
- Loading target of 1047 Million Tonnes for 2013-14 would be surpassed
- Empty Flow Discount Scheme to be implemented
- Carrying Capacity + 9 tonne + 1 tonne routes being planned
- Easing of some restrictions on movement of imported commodities through Containers
- Carrying capacity of 20 feet containers increased by 4 tonnes
- Parcel Terminals & Special Parcel Trains with scheduled timings.
- New policy on parcels to encourage transportation of milk.
- New concept of ‘hub and spoke’ for parcel business
- Third party warehousing in Special Parcel Terminals envisaged.
Budget Estimates 2014-15
- Loading target of 1,101 Million Tonnes
- Gross Traffic Receipts targeted at Rs 1,60,775 crore with Passenger Earnings (Rs 45,255 crore), Goods (Rs 1,05,770 crore), Other Coaching & Sundry Earnings (Rs 9,700 crore)
- Ordinary Working Expenses placed at Rs 1,10,649 crore, higher by Rs 13,589 crore
- Pension Outgo budgeted at Rs 27,000 crore against Rs 24,000 crore for 2013-14
- The entire Dividend of Rs 9,117 crore to General Exchquer will be paid
- Fund Balances likely to be Rs 12,728 crore.
- Operating Ratio budgeted at 89.8%
Annual Plan 2014-15
- Annual Plan envisaged at Rs 64,305 crore with a Budgetary Support of Rs 30,223 crore , Internal Resources of Rs 10,418 crore and Extra Budgetary Resources of Rs 19,805 crore
- New Surveys: 19 New Lines & 5 Doubling
New Services
New Trains
- 17 Premium trains
- 38 Express trains
- 10 Passenger trains
- 4 MEMU
- 3 DEMU
Extension and Increase in frequency
- 3 Extension of trains
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Categories : Business, Education, Finnance, Media, Politics, Science
FIFA WORLD CUP @The Italian Cultural Institue! Semifinals,
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Cultural Program
To Undisclosed Recipients
Jul 7 at 3:58 PM
FIFA WORLD CUP 2014
@
The Italian Cultural Institute!
Semi-Finals, Third Place Game & FINAL
9 – 14 July 2014
MATCH
|
DATE [IST]
|
TIME [IST]
| |
Brazil vs Germany
|
Wednesday, 09-07-2014
|
01:30
| |
Netherlands vs Argentina
|
Thursday, 10-07-2014
|
01:30
| |
Third Place Play-Off
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(SATURDAY NIGHT)
SUNDAY, 13-07-2014
|
01:30
| |
FINAL
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(SUNDAY NIGHT)
MONDAY, 14-07-2014
|
00:30
| |
For more information, please visit our website www.iicnewdelhi.esteri.it/IIC_Newdelhi
Regards,
Italian Embassy Cultural Centre
50-E, Chandragupta Marg
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110 021
Phone: 0091-11-26871901/03/04
Fax: 0091-11-26871902
50-E, Chandragupta Marg
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110 021
Phone: 0091-11-26871901/03/04
Fax: 0091-11-26871902
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Categories : sports, world News
IR – Bullet Train Revenue, Gutter Grade Service
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Categories : Business, CSR, Energy, Environment, Finnance, Funds, Media, Politics, world News
Tanu Sharma in the FIR alleges that she was harassed and “mentally tortured”.
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Categories : Business
Talk on “Democracy and Expertise”
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Dear Friends:
The Centre for Policy Research is delighted to invite you to a talk by
Prof. Robert C. Post
Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law at Yale Law School
On
Democracy and Expertise
Date: Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Venue: Conference Room, Centre for Policy Research, DharamMarg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021
Brief Bio: Robert Post is Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Before coming to Yale, he taught at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall). Dean Post’s subject areas are constitutional law, First Amendment, legal history, and equal protection. He has written and edited numerous books, including Democracy, Expertise, Academic Freedom: A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State (2012); For the Common Good: Principles of American Academic Freedom (with Matthew M. Finkin, 2009); Prejudicial Appearances: The Logic of American Antidiscrimination Law (with K. Anthony Appiah, Judith Butler, Thomas C. Grey, and Reva Siegel, 2001); and Cons titutional Domains: Democracy, Community, Management (1995). He publishes regularly in legal journals and other publications; recent articles and chapters include “Theorizing Disagreement: Reconceiving the Relationship Between Law and Politics” (California Law Review, 2010); “Constructing the European Polity: ERTA and the Open Skies Judgments” in The Past and Future of EU Law: The Classics of EU Law Revisited on the 50th Anniversary of the Rome Treaty (Miguel Poiares Maduro & Loïc Azuolai eds., 2010); “Roe Rage: Democratic Constitutionalism and Backlash” (with Reva Siegel, Harvard Civil-Rights Civil-Liberties Law Review, 2007); “Federalism, Positive Law, and the Emergence of the American Administrative State: Prohibition in the Taft Court Era” (William & Mary Law Review, 2006); “Foreword: Fashioning the Legal Constitution: Culture, Courts, and Law” (Harvard Law Review, 2003); and “Subsidized Speech” (Yale Law Journal, 1996). He is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Law Institute and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has an A.B. and Ph.D. in History of American Civilization from Harvard and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
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Categories : CSR, Education
Popular TV actor Vishal Kotiyaan launches Big Magic’s new mini-series, Chota Birbal
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~The actor who will be hosting the quiz series was present along with the other contestant kids~
BIG MAGIC, India’s comedy destination recently launched the mini-series, Chota Birbal in presence of TV actor, Vishal Kotiyaanand child artist Saloni Daini. Vishal Kotiyaan, who currently is seen as the witty minister, Birbal on BIG MAGIC’s popular show ‘HAR MUSHKIL KA HAL – AKBAR BIRBAL’ will be hosting this new quiz show for kids. Child artist, Saloni Daini will be seen as one of contestants who will be competing with other kids to win the coveted title of ‘Chota Birbal’
The two week- long series has been conceptualized as an extension to the Historical Comedy ‘HAR MUSHKIL KA HAL – AKBAR BIRBAL’. The series begins with a small enactment of the almighty Akbar, who throws a challenge to his witty minister, Birbal to find a kid equivalent to his intelligence. Resulting out of the challenge, CHOTA BIRBAL is a special series that will not only tickle the funny bone of the audience but will also put kids’ logic to test. All the contestants on the show will be below 9 years of age and in the finale week; only two contestants will contest each other to win the most respectful title of ‘CHOTA BIRBAL’.
Catch Chota Birbal every weeknight exclusively on Big Magic at 7:00 pm!
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