Ngp News

The Western Railway (WR) will launch its air-conditioned suburban local train, the first in the country, in Mumbai on Christmas Day, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced. The train will start its maiden journey from Andheri at 2:10 pm and reach Churchgate around 2:44 pm. "Of the 12 air-conditioned local train services, 11 will be fast," a WR official said.

Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy has said that the state is planning to frame a law to award capital punishments to convicts for raping minor girls. This comes after Madhya Pradesh became the first Indian state to pass a bill for awarding capital punishment to those convicted for raping girls aged below 12 years.

Delhi's transport department is planning to penalise owners of cars and two-wheelers that have crash guards fitted in them in an effort to reduce the use of the illegal aftermarket accessory. As per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the accessory is illegal and installing it can attract a fine of ₹1,000 for the first offence and ₹2,000 for subsequent offences.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's garden department has decided to build the city's biggest sports complex in Dahisar. The proposed BMC sports complex will have a lawn tennis court, cricket and football grounds, basketball and volleyball courts, along with an open gym. The complex is expected to be ready by 2019 and will be open to public, civic officials said.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday introduced a bill to criminalise instant Triple Talaq, in the Lok Sabha. Under the proposed law, instant Triple Talaq in any form, including electronic means, would be illegal and will attract a three-year jail term and fine. Further, it would also allow the wife to seek a subsistence allowance for herself and children.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen President Asaduddin Owaisi issued a notice in the Lok Sabha opposing the introduction of Triple Talaq bill, calling it "violation of fundamental rights". The bill, which seeks to criminalise the practice of instant Triple Talaq, was tabled in Parliament on Thursday. The draft bill proposes a three-year jail term for men who practise it.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that it will launch 31 satellites, including India's Cartosat-2 series Earth observation satellite, in a single mission onboard its Polar rocket on January 10. The mission would consist of a combination of 28 nano satellites from foreign countries, and one micro and nano satellite from India along with the Cartosat satellite.

A new law on data protection is in the process of being framed, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday informed the Rajya Sabha. He said while there was no proposal to make internet availability a fundamental right, the government was committed to providing internet connectivity to everyone. A committee has been set up to formulate the law, he added.

Doctors pursuing Indian systems of medicine including Ayurveda and homeopathy may be allowed to practice allopathy after clearing a bridge course, according to a bill introduced in the Lok Sabha. The National Medical Commission Bill, which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India, the apex medical education body, was moved by the government in the House on December 29.

Maharashtra Education Ministry is considering a proposal to have separate board exam papers for students appearing for national entrance exams for medical and engineering colleges. The difficulty level of the board exam papers will be based on whether the students are sitting for entrance exams. Education Minister Vinod Tawde said academicians are currently checking if the proposal is viable.

The tourist unit of Delhi Police is planning to learn foreign languages such as Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and French besides English to provide better assistance to foreign nationals. "Special language classes have been organised for tourist police where...along with English, basic words and sentences of other foreign languages are also being taught," an official said.

The Indian Railways will soon launch its own debit card in association with State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to promote cashless payments, reports said. It reportedly will organise a monthly lottery and give 100% cashback to 10 winning passengers. The decision comes in the wake of IRCTC losing ₹600 crore post demonetisation.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday approved the purchase of 240 precision-guided bombs worth ₹1,254 crore for the Air Force and 131 Barak missiles worth ₹460 crore for the Navy. While the missiles are designed to be used as in ship-borne anti-missile defence systems against ships, the bombs are aimed at addressing the deficiency of precision-guided munitions in IAF's arsenal.

The Uttar Pradesh Transport Department will introduce vehicle registration number portability soon, allowing owners to retain vehicle numbers even if they sell it, according to officials. This proposal had been approved by the previous Akhilesh Yadav-led government. It will reportedly cost ₹25,000 for porting a number from a two-wheeler to another and ₹50,000 for cars.

The Archaeological Survey of India is planning to restrict the number of tourists visiting the Taj Mahal to 40,000 daily in a bid to preserve the heritage site. It has also planned to put a 3-hour cap on each ticket holder to tour the monument. Reportedly, the daily limit will only be applicable for Indian tourists and not foreign tourists.

The Railways is planning to have 22 coaches in all the trains under its network so that they can run on any route, irrespective of the time taken to complete the journey, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has said. Currently, the number of coaches in a train is based on its demand, making it difficult to substitute one train for another.

The RBI will shortly issue new ₹10 notes under the Mahatma Gandhi series with chocolate brown colour as the base, according to reports. The note will reportedly feature a picture of the Konark Sun Temple. The design was approved by the government last week, and the RBI has already printed around 1 billion pieces of this new note, reports claimed.

The government is planning to install GPS devices on 2,700 electric locomotives by December 2018 to provide real-time train information. "A reliable and high level, of about 99.3% of real-time reporting of arrival departure timing updates has been observed," Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said. The project was undertaken in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The government has sought Parliament's approval to issue bonds worth ₹80,000 crore to fund capital infusion into public-sector banks. This forms a part of the ₹2.11-trillion capital infusion plan announced by the government in October last year. The government is expected to issue recapitalisation bonds worth ₹1.35 trillion under the plan.