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Live news updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged off the 100th "Kisan Rail" from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal via video-conferencing. The multi-commodity train service will carry vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumstick, chilli and onion as well as fruits like grape, orange, pomegranate, banana and custard apple.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi also inaugurated India's first-ever driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden). He also launched the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on the Airport Express Line via video conferencing.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has released the ninth weekly instalment of Rs 6,000 crore to the states to meet the GST compensation shortfall.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day

11:43 PM

Process to get new mandatory number plates, colour-coded stickers for vehicles simplified

The HSRP and colour-coded sticker booking process has been simplified to help vehicle owners, with the number of fields to be filled in the application form reduced by half, said a spokesperson of Rosmerta Safety Systems on Monday. The process to book High Security Number Plates (HSRP) and colour-coded stickers has been simplified and the number of fields that are required to be filled in by customers on the booking portal www.bookmyhsrp.com has been reduced, he said.

Now, once a customer enters the vehicle number the application fetches duly verified data for the vehicle's class, fuel type, chassis number (VIN Number) and engine number from the Vahan database, as the website has been integrated with it. "This has cut down the steps from 12 to only six and thus reduced time takenwhile applying for HSRP and colour-coded sticker," said the spokesperson of Rosmerta Safety Systems (RSSPL), the manufacturer of the HSRP. Also, the customers will now have to enter only the last five digits of the chassis and engine number while booking the HSRP, he said.

"In case of any mismatch of data, the customer now has the option to upload the photograph of RC and front and rear number plates (for laser code while booking colour-coded sticker)," he said. Since November 14, the company has received 3.8 lakh orders for HSRP and 1.90 lakh for colour-coded stickers. A total 52,709 home delivery orders have also been received, 47,380 of which have been fitted so far.

11:37 PM

Car designer Dilip Chhabria arrested in forgery, cheating case

Car designer Dilip Chhabria arrested in connection with an alleged cheating and forgery case: Mumbai Police

10:48 PM

Govt lifts ban on onion export, permits trade of all varieties from Jan 1

The central government on Monday removed prohibition for the export of all varieties of onions with effect from January 1, 2021. Earlier, the Centre had imposed a ban on the export of onions on September 14, 2020. The onions, including Bangalore Rose onions and Krishnapuram onions, have been allowed to be exported from January 1, 2021. 
 

10:15 PM

Anita Pfaff welcomes committee to commemorate Netaji's 125th birth anniv

Daughter of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Emilie Schenkl, Anita Bose Pfaff Monday welcomed the Centre's announcement to form a high level committee to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the nationalist leader in 2022. Pfaff in a statement expressed happiness that members of Bose family have been invited to the committee to join experts and members of Indian National Army which had been founded by Netaji. This committee, which will be chaired by the Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, will meet and decide on a one-year long programme to mark the occasion.

"On behalf of the family of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, we join the people of India in welcoming the recent announcement by the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of the formation of a High Level Committee to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji on 23 January 2022", she said. The 78-year-old German economist said that she was pleased that the Bose family has been invited to the Committee and to join eminent citizens, historians, experts, and those associated with the Indian National Army.

She expressed happiness that the committee will guide commemoration activities not only in India but also in south east Asia, Germany and Japan, places where Netaji went in the quest for the country's freedom. Pfaff also hailed other recent initiatives by the government of India, including the release of classified files on Netaji which was a long-standing demand by the Bose family.

8:55 PM

Centre releases Rs 6,000 crore loan to states to meet GST shortfall

The Finance Ministry has released the ninth weekly instalment of Rs 6,000 crore to the states to meet the GST compensation shortfall.

 

Out of this, an amount of Rs 5,516.60 crore has been released to 23 states and an amount of Rs 483.40 crore has been released to the three Union Territories (UT) with Legislative Assembly (Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry) who are members of the GST Council. The remaining 5 states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim -- do not have a gap in revenue on account of GST implementation.

 

The government had set up a special borrowing window in October 2020 to meet the estimated shortfall of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in revenue arising on account of implementation of GST. READ MORE...

8:38 PM

Section 144 in Bengaluru from Dec 31 till Jan 1

8:02 PM

Latest News LIVE updates: Section 144 in Bengaluru from Dec 31 till Jan 1

Latest News LIVE updates: Section 144 in Bengaluru from Dec 31 till Jan 1

7:53 PM

Kisan Rail will benefit lakhs of small farmers in Bengal: PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Kisan Rail is a cold storage on wheels, especially for perishable products, which will benefit lakhs of small farmers in West Bengal and enable them to access big markets outside the state.

 

Flagging of the 100th Kisan Rail, which will run between Sangola in Maharasthra and Shalimar in West Bengal, he said with the availability of rail services like Kisan Rail, lakhs of small farmers in West Bengal will get a big alternative in terms of transportation of their produce. Transportation through road usually takes many days, but with a dedicated train service, like Kisan Rail, the transit time will be reduced to 40 hours.

 

"This alternative along with farmers will also help small businessman too, as they can send large quantity of produce to other states," said Modi.

 

He emphasised that Kisan Rail service is a big initiative towards increasing income of farmers in the country and it will also benefit the economic conditions of farmers, and strengthen the cold chain supply in the country.

7:42 PM

Over 1,500 telecom towers damaged in Punjab

More than 1,500 telecom towers in Punjab have been damaged by farmers protesting against the three farm laws, disrupting services in some pockets, sources said. Power supply to towers that relay telecom signals was snapped and cables cut in several parts of the state as farmers vented their anger on the infrastructure owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's firm Jio as they saw him along with infrastructure tycoon Gautam Adani as major beneficiaries of the new laws.

 

Neither Ambani's Reliance group nor Adani's companies are into the business of procuring foodgrainsfrom farmers.

 

"Till yesterday, 1,411 towers were damaged and today the count has gone well past 1,500," a source with knowledge of the matter said. In Jalandhar, some bundles of Jio's fibre cable were also burnt.

7:29 PM

Assam says neighbouring states encroached on its land 56 times in 2020

The Assam government on Monday informed the assembly that the state has faced 56 instances of land encroachment by the neighbouring states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram in 2020. In a written reply to a query by Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that these 56 cases of land encroachments were reported across 11 districts since January 1 this year.

 

The highest 17 cases were reported from Cachar, which faced violent clashes between the people of Assam and Mizoram, Patowary said on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the Home portfolio. One person was killed in clashes in Cachar, he added. READ MORE...

6:55 PM

India's first fully indigenous pneumococcal vaccine launched

Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world by doses, on Monday announced the launch of India's first indigenously developed pneumococcal vaccine -- Pneumosil -- in the presence of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

 

Pneumosil has been developed through collaboration spanning over a decade among the Serum Institute, PATH and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This significant milestone is aimed at improving pneumococcal conjugate vaccine affordability and enabling sustainable access for low-and middle-income countries.

 

The vaccine will provide effective and long-lasting protection for children against pneumococcal diseases. The vaccine makes the Serum Institute the world's third supplier of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) under the pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC), and the first developing country vaccine manufacturer to access the global PCV market. READ MORE...

6:14 PM

PM Modi flags off 100th 'Kisan Rail', says govt will continue to work to strengthen farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Monday that his government has undertaken historic reforms in the farm sector to boost agriculture and strengthen farmers. Flagging off the 100th "Kisan Rail" from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal via video-conferencing, Modi said his government's policies are clear and intentions transparent in reforming the agriculture sector.

 

It will continue to work to strengthen farmers and agri sector with full force and dedication, he said. His remarks came amid continuing protests by a section of farmers against the Centre's three farm reform laws. Modi did not directly refer to these laws on Monday, but he has often asserted that they are in the interests of farmers and accused opposition parties of misleading them.

 

The 'Kisan Rail', a service started by his government, will help small and marginal farmers, who are over 80 per cent of the peasantry, in supplying their produce to far-off markets, the prime minister said, adding that a big demand for its services led to a rise in its frequency.

5:53 PM

Kisan Rail hugely strengthened small and marginal farmers who account for 80% of peasantry in India: PM Modi

5:43 PM

We are committed to creating top quality infrastructure for our national capital: PM Modi

5:31 PM

Will continue to work to strengthen farmers, agri sector with full force and dedication: PM Modi