Maharajas’ Express to begin new circuits 'Southern Sojourn' & 'Southern Jewels'
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to launch two new circuits (Southern Sojourn & Southern Jewels) of its flagship luxury train Maharajas' Express this year.
The ‘Southern Sojourn’ will cover Goa, Hampi, Mysore, Ernakulam, Kumarakom and Trivandrum.
The ‘Southern Jewel’ will cover Chettinad, Mahabalipuram, Mysore Hampi and Goa.
The 23-coach Maharajas' Express has a capacity of 88 guests.
As with the Maharaja Express, seven-night-eight-day trips and guests get onboard dining and excursions and events at each destination.
Tariffs will ransom minor princelings Rs. 5,00,680 (plus taxes) gets you the entry-level deluxe cabin, Rs. 7,23,420 is the price of a junior suite and Rs. 10,09,330 is the bill for a suite.
The Presidential suite will set you back Rs. 17,33,410.
Haryana govt. to offer meals at subsidized rates for workers
The Haryana govt. has decided to open ‘canteens’ at subsidized rates to registered construction workers under the ‘Antyodaya Anna Yojana’ at 23 locations in the state.
The mobile food vans will be started at the sites which have a large number of workers.
The quality meals would be served in these canteens between 8 AM and 2 PM.
Madhya Pradesh assembly declares 'Narmada' living entity
The Madhya Pradesh govt. has passed a resolution granting river Narmada (1312-km-long) the status of a living entity and committed itself to the protection of its legal rights.
Earlier in its judgment, the Uttarakhand High Court had declared Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries living entities with the status of a legal person.
The Narmada (also called the Rewa) is a river in central India and the fifth longest river in the Indian subcontinent.
It is also known as "Life Line of Madhya Pradesh" for its huge contribution to the state of Madhya Pradesh in many ways.
Odisha govt. increases the pension of freedom fighters
The Odisha government has increased the pension of freedom fighters of the State.
The pension of jailed freedom fighters will get 10 thousand rupees per month (earlier 6 thousand rupees).
The freedom fighters who were not jailed and those who took part in the Goa Mukti Andolan will get pension benefit of 9 thousand rupees (earlier 5 thousand rupees).
Now, the state Token pension amount has been increased from 4 thousand rupees to 8 thousand rupees.
The state government had last increased the pension amount for freedom fighters in 2013.
34 MoUs worth Rs 2 lakh crores signed at India Integrated Transport & Logistic Summit
According to the union minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, 2 lakh crore rupee investment has been signed at three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistic Summit in New Delhi.
Total 34 investment pacts committed and more than 15 pertain to setting up multi-modal logistics parks by state governments.
Agreements for port connectivity and land ports were also inked.
Union govt. declares entire Assam as 'disturbed' area under AFSPA
The union govt. has declared entire Assam (besides bordering areas of Meghalaya) as a disturbed area under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) for three more months.
The violence perpetrated by insurgent groups like ULFA, NDFB, and others as the reason for enforcing AFSPA (effected from 3rd May).
AFSPA has been continuing in Assam since November 1990.
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA) are acts of the Parliament of India that grant special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in what each act terms "disturbed areas".
According to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976 once declared ‘disturbed’, the area has to maintain status quo for a minimum of 3 months.
Kerala govt reinstates TP Senkumar as police chief
Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has reinstated Senior IPS officer TP Senkumar as the police chief after Supreme Court order to restore his post.
Senkumar was moved out of the office the day Vijayan assumed office in May last year.
Senkumar is set to retire on 30th June.
Nepal's Supreme Court orders reinstatement of Chief Justice Sushila Karki
Nepal's first woman Chief Justice ‘Sushila Karki’ has resumed office after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered her reinstatement and directed Parliament to put on hold the impeachment motion against her.
The court issued the order saying that the impeachment move was against the spirit of the country's Constitution.
Earlier, Justice Karki was suspended after an impeachment motion was registered in Parliament.
RBI makes substantial changes in norms for dealing with stressed loans
The Reserve bank of India (RBI) has made substantial changes in the norms for dealing with stressed loans and warned the banks they will be penalized for missing Non-Performing Assets (NPA) resolution timelines.
Any non-adherence to these instructions and timelines specified under the Framework shall attract monetary penalties on the concerned banks.
Earlier, the union government has notified an ordinance empowering the Reserve Bank to issue directions to banks to initiate insolvency resolution process in case of a default under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
Lionel Messi's suspension lifted by FIFA
The world soccer's ruling body FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) has lifted a four-match international suspension on Argentina forward Lionel Messi.
Earlier, he was banned for insulting an assistant referee during a qualifier against Chile in March.
The decision based on television images as the incident was missed by match officials.
Lionel Messi (29-year) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team.
