How will Budget 2024 do for farmers and rural distress? What may be in store for India’s climate action plan and green energy? Will it be a populist Budget? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

How will Budget 2024 do for farmers and rural distress? What may be in store for India's climate action plan and green energy? Will it be a populist Budget? Watch today's Budget Show to find out

The Budget Show with BS: Rural distress, energy demand

IndiGo has launched daily direct flights between Chennai and Penang in Malaysia on Saturday, becoming the 37th international destination for the private airliner.
The new route caters to the growing demand for travel between the two cities, offering both business and leisure travellers a convenient and affordable option, IndiGo said in a statement on Saturday.
"We are extremely pleased to further expand our network into Malaysia with the launch of direct flights from Chennai to Penang, our third destination in Malaysia, alongside Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi. With the inclusion of these flights to Penang, IndiGo will now operate 28 weekly flights to Malaysia from 2 cities in India" IndiGo Head of Global Sales Vinay Malhotra said in a statement.
At the inaugural ceremony, Chennai Airport director C V Deepak handed over the boarding pass to the first passenger on Saturday.
"Your gateway to Malaysia's crown jewel! The inaugural flight (6E1045) of IndiGo from Chennai to Penang was marked 

The new route caters to the growing demand for travel between the two cities, offering both business and leisure travellers a convenient and affordable option

The Andhra Pradesh government and EdTech company PhysicsWallah have signed an agreement to set up a University of Innovation (UoI) at an investment of up to Rs 1,000 crore.
The UoI is set to emerge as the first institute of eminence in the state and aligns with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's aim to provide the state's youth with education in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.
We are committed to investing up to Rs 1,000 crores by GSV Ventures - US and other investors, the purpose is to create an institution that combines academic learning with industry relevance. The UoI will help learners with the skills they might need in a constantly evolving job market, in an attempt to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, said PhysicsWallah founder and chief executive Alakh Pandey in a press release on Friday.
The UoI will work towards blending academic excellence, innovation, and research, focusing on addressing key challenges in education and ...

The UoI is set to emerge as the first institute of eminence in the state and aligns with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's aim to provide the state's youth with education in AI, other technology

According to Isro, the agreement establishes a framework for cooperative activities in human space exploration and research

Transport Corporation of India on Thursday said its lab set up in collaboration with IIM, Bangalore, has received ISO certification for a digital tool that can track greenhouse gas emissions.
The TCI-IIMB Supply Chain Sustainability Lab at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), founded in collaboration with TCI, has become the first organisation in India to achieve ISO 14083 certification for its groundbreaking digital platform, the Transportation Emissions Measurement Tool (TEMT), it said in a release.
"This certification underscores the platform's ability to accurately quantify and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from freight transportation activities, helping organisations to measure, manage, and ultimately reduce their transportation-related emissions in line with regulatory requirements and sustainability goals," TCI said.
(TEMT) is a comprehensive online platform designed to measure emissions across all modes of transportation.
In India, the transportation

(TEMT) is a comprehensive online platform designed to measure emissions across all modes of transportation

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised the need for three times more efforts on safety, maintenance, quality, and training to modernise infrastructure and provide a world-class experience to commuters.
While conferring the 69th Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar to 101 railway officials and 22 shields to best performing zones in different categories on Saturday at the Bharat Mandapam here, Vaishnaw announced a significant focus on maintenance, innovation, industry collaborations, enhanced inspection systems, and improved training for officers and technicians, incorporating feedback from grassroots levels.
Chairman & CEO of Railway Board, Satish Kumar, Members of the Railway Board, and General Managers of various Railway Zones and Production Units attended he event.
According to a press statement from the Railway Board, Vaishnaw highlighted the transformative progress achieved by the Railways over the past decade.
He emphasised the rapid construction pace, completing projects ...

Vaishnaw announced a significant focus on maintenance, innovation, industry collaborations, enhanced inspection systems, and improved training for officers and technicians

At least three schools hit by bomb threat emails have turned out to be a victims of their own students, Delhi Police has discovered.
One of the several schools that received bomb threats was Venkateshwar Global School, which received a threatening email a day after a mysterious blast occurred at the Rohini Prashant Vihar PVR Multiplex on November 28.
A police officer said the email was sent by two siblings enrolled in the school because they wanted the exams to be postponed.
During counselling, both students revealed that they had got the idea from previous incidents of bomb threats being made to schools, the officer said.
They were allowed to go after their parents were given a warning.
After the email was reported, police conducted a thorough check of the school and declared the threat to be a hoax.
According to another police officer, two more schools located in Rohini and Paschim Vihar were sent threatening emails by their students.
The reason was same  the students wanted s

During counselling, both students revealed that they had got the idea from previous incidents of bomb threats being made to schools

The GST Council, in its meeting on Saturday, is likely to decide on reducing tax rates on life and health insurance premiums, but a decision on big-ticket rate rationalisation, including a higher tax on sin goods, may be deferred.
The GoM on GST rate rationalisation had proposed rate rejigs in 148 items in its recommendations, but sources said that consensus is needed to be built on some of the tax changes that the panel has suggested and some more time may be needed for that.
The 55th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, is also likely to deliberate on bringing Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), a major component for airline industry's operation cost, in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) fold.
The GST rate is also proposed to be cut on food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato, to 5 per cent (without input tax credit), from the current 18 per cent (with ITC).
However, the Fitment Committee (comprising tax

Also, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST compensation cess is likely to get a six month extension till June, 2025, to submit its report. The compensation cess regime comes to an end in March, 2026

Funds devolved to states under the 15th Finance Commission (2021-2024) is more than what was devolved under the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20), finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.
In a pre-budget meeting with states, Sitharaman remarked that because of healthy macroeconomic environment, buoyancy and efficiency in the tax collections, the devolution has increased.
"The funds devolved to the states in the last 45 months (April 2021 to December 2024) under the 15th Finance Commission is more than what was devolved in 60 months under the 14th Finance Commission (2015-20)," an official statement quoting Sitharaman said.
The Union finance minister also referred to the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), which was first announced in the Union Budget 2020-21, and acknowledged that it has received a very good response from states.
States have been requesting the Central government to enhance the outlay under the scheme as it is leading

In addition to this, the Union finance minister stated that the Centre has created an additional dispensation under SASCI for the states affected by disaster of a severe nature as assessed by the Inte

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The Budget Show with BS: Rural distress, energy demand

How will Budget 2024 do for farmers and rural distress? What may be in store for India’s climate action plan and green energy? Will it be a populist Budget? Watch today’s Budget Show to find out

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