A benchmark index for Indian equities markets was trading more than half a percent down in the 11.00 a.m. trade session Tuesday, just before the presentation of the railway budget for 2013-14 in parliament.
Automobile, capital goods and bank scrips declined. However, information technology (IT), fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and media, entertainment and technology (TECk) stocks rallied.
With no fare hike, 106 new trains and a host of proposals for travel safety and comfort, such as escalators at key stations, a new e-ticketing system and a swanky coach in select trains, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal presented his maiden annual budget for his ministry on Tuesday.
“The growth of Indian Railways is inextricably linked with the growth of the country,” Bansal said in his 80-minute budget speech in Lok Sabha, that bordered on populism with a fair dose of measures on fiscal discipline.
Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal Tuesday announced 106 new trains, including 67 express trains and 26 passenger trains, in the railway budget for 2013-14.
Some of the new express trains are between Ahmedabad and Jodhpur, Ajni (Nagpur) and Lokmanya Tilak (Mumbai), Amritsar and Lalkuan (Nainital), Bandra Terminus (Mumbai) and Ramnagar (Uttarkhand) and Bandra and Jaisalmer.
Giving back through volunteering is good for the human heart, researchers at the University of British Columbia have found. Researchers from UBC”s Faculty of Education and Department of Psychology wanted to find out how volunteering might impact physical health among adolescents.
The ruling Congress and its union ministers Tuesday praised the railway budget as “commendable” but the opposition parties, including the BJP and the BSP, slammed it, describing it as “disappointing”.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s maiden budget has done a “remarkable job on new lines and extension works…It is a very commendable budget.”
Hockey India (HI) was forced to withdraw the men’s team from the 22nd Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) refused to pay for the air travel for the tournament to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia March 9-17.
HI said SAI has made it clear that the men’s team will play the tournament at no cost to government.
“Hockey India has been forced to withdraw its participation from the tournament. Government has always covered the airfare of the team for this tournament till date,” HI said in a statement.
An educational tourist train ‘Azadi Express’ will be started to enable youths to travel to important places connected with the country’s freedom movement, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said Tuesday.
“The role of Indian Railways in unification of the country during the freedom struggle is historical. I propose to run an educational tourist train called ‘Azadi Express’ to enable our youths to travel to important places connected with the freedom movement,” said Bansal, while presenting his maiden budget 2013-14.
US biologists have studied the behaviour in the swamp sparrow species by creating a robot from a dead bird.
Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina worked with engineering students and a taxidermist to operate the wings of a deceased swamp sparrow.
They programmed simple Picaxe computer chips, and built a tiny linear motor to fit inside the cavity of the bird they named Robosparrow.
They were studying male aggressive behaviour among the species.
A day after three suspicion-evoking bags created panic in the capital at separate places, security officials at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport were in a tizzy Tuesday after receiving a warning about a bomb on an Indigo airlines flight. The call turned out to be a hoax.
“The call was received around 12 noon Tuesday. The caller told security officers on phone that there is a bomb on the Delhi-Patna Indigo flight,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police R.A. Sanjeev.
The Telugu Desam Party leaders have said that Andhra Pradesh got a raw deal the Railway budget presented by Union Minister Praveen Kumar Bansal.
TDP floor leader Nama Nageshwar Rao said that the State did not get due share in the allocation of funds for the ongoing works. Speaking to reporters he said, while the Centre has promised to lay railway lines in an extent of 1,000 km during the previous year, it has reduced it to 750 km this time.
The Pentagon has decided to keep secret the details of its investigation into Marine Gen. John R Allen, the former commander of US troops in Afghanistan, citing privacy concerns.
According to The Washington Post, the Defense Department Office of the Inspector General formally denied a request from the newspaper, filed under the Freedom of Information Act, to disclose records of its probe into Allen’s relationship with Jill Kelley, a Tampa socialite with whom he exchanged thousands of pages of e-mails and other documents.
MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was admitted to the Apollo Hospital at Jubilee Hills on Tuesday after he complained of severe stomach ache.
Akbar Owaisi had earlier appeared before the Nizamabad Court in the alleged hate speech case. However, while returning to Hyderabad, he complained of severe stomach pain and was taken directly to the Apollo Hospital.
Two TRS-backed candidates have emerged victorious while the Congress-supported nominee won in one of the six Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council seats for which elections were held on February 21.
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti’s efforts to spread its wings to southern Telangana and showcase that the statehood sentiment is strong in the entire region received a setback as it could not win the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council seat from the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgoda Teachers’ constituency.
The TRS, however, managed to secure victory for the two candidates it supported in north Telangana.
The Gulabganj railway station in Madhya Pradesh was ransacked on Tuesday by an angry mob and property there set on fire after two children were run over by a goods train at the station, reports said.
Gulabganj railway station is located some 20 km from here and about 75 km from Bhopal.
The incident occurred after a wrong announcement was allegedly made about the train.
The railway station has no foot over bridge, because of which people mostly cross the tracks to reach the station.
Madhuri Dixit has launched an online dance academy and the actress says it is her way to get closer to her fans who have always loved her dance.
“The first step was when I made my website and second was when we created the apps. This is my way to get closer to my fans. I wanted to do something for my fans who have always loved me. I wanted to do something for them,” the 45-year-old said here at the launch.
The website is called dancewithmadhuridexit.com and Madhuri wants to teach her fans all sorts of dance styles through the site.
The NIA has moved a Delhi court seeking custody of two alleged operatives of banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen to interrogate them in connection with the twin blasts in Hyderabad which claimed 16 lives.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) moved a plea before District Judge I S Mehta, who issued production warrants for tomorrow against Syed Maqbool and Imran Khan.
The two are lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody after being arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police in connection with the August 2012 Pune blasts.
In the aftermath of Dilsukhnagar twin blast some media circles presented bizarre and sensational news reports to influence the minds of investigative agencies and create suspicion among public. A Telugu Television channel reported that the blasts were reportedly planned from a lodge named Shilpi in Dilsukhnagar area. They claimed that Raju bhayya alias Akhtar stayed at room number 303 in Shilpi lodge. They also linked Akhtar with Indian Mujahideen chief Yasin Bhatkal in SIMI.
The election programme for biennial election to fill up upcoming ten vacancies in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council has been announced yesterday night. As per the programme, notification for the election would be issued on March 4, last date of filing nominations is March 11. Scrutiny of the nominations takes place on march 12. Last date for withdrawal of candidatures is 14th March, 2013. The election for ten vacancies will be held on march 21 from 9 am to 4 pm. Counting of Votes will begin at 5 pm the same day.
Mohtarma Syeda Najam Fatima alias Bushra Begum w/o Khalid Kamal and mother of Dr. Ahmed Kamal (presently in London) died on February 25.
Namaz-e-Janaza is fixed after Namaz-e-Zohar at Masjid Aliya, Gun foundry on February 26 and burial will take place at Masjid Ibadullah, Chanchalguda, near Flyover Bridge, Dabeerpura. Further information can be had on 8712864328 and 8142235026.
*****************************************************************************
While the recent bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar have resulted in life and property losses on local level, on the other hand the heinous act has put a question mark on the peace and safety of the city. The twin blast have tarnished Hyderabad global image as well. The non-local people and foreigners are not looking at Hyderabad as the safe place to study or do business.
At least 19 foreign tourists lost their lives on Tuesday as a hot air balloon crashed near Egyptian town of Luxor, reports said.
British and French citizens are said to be among those dead.
An Egyptian security official said that there was a fire and an explosion and that the balloon then plunged from the sky and crashed into sugar cane fields west of Luxor on Tuesday. Luxor is 510 kilometers (320 miles) south of Cairo.
More details are awaited yet.
A powerful country-made bomb was recovered from a bag near the main gate of the Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) oil refinery on Monday.
The bomb was kept in a bag in front of the gate of the refinery in Noonmati area of the city, police said.
Bomb disposal squad safely defused it, they said.
Amonium nitrate and cycle bombs were found inside the bag that could have caused largescale destruction, they said.
A massive search operation has been launched for the culprits and security measures tightened in and around the refinery area.
—PTI
Woman brutally murdered
(Siasat News): An aged woman brutally murdered at Maula Ali, on the outskirts of the city. The murderers took away the gold ornaments from the body of the deceased.
This incident occurred at Vaddar Basthi where Laxmi, 50, was killed. She was a labourer and used to do odd jobs for her livelihood.
Police suspect that the killers might have killed her for the ornaments. A case has been registered and further investigations are on.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was today modest in admitting that he never dreamt of playing for the country, leave aside scoring a double hundred in Test cricket ever in his career.
Dhoni smashed 224 for off 265 deliveries in India’s first innings score of 572 in reply to Australia’s 380 to lay the foundation for the hosts’ convincing eight-wicket victory in the opening cricket Test of the four-match series here.
The Indian Navy rescued nine crew members of a sinking fishing vessel off Goa in the Arabian Sea, an official said here Tuesday.
Acting on a distress signal sent by trawler ‘Kadal Matha’ around 11 a.m. Monday, the navy deployed warship INS Nashak for the rescue operation.
The distressed vessel was located within two hours around 24 nautical miles off north Goa.
The trawler, with nine fishermen aboard, had developed a machinery breakdown and was in danger of sinking due to ingress of sea water.