India News July 17, 2004

Drugs and Cosmetics Act Amendment to award death penalty for offences related to spurious drugs

July 16: Rajya Sabha

The government proposes to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act on the basis of recommendations made by Mashalkar Committee. This was stated by Smt. Panabaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

The salient amendments proposed under the bill are: It has been proposed in the Bill to enhance the punishments relating to spurious drugs up to a maximum of death penalty or imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 10 years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine of one lakh rupees or up to three time the value of the goods seized, whichever is higher; Penalties for subsequent offences to be enhanced up 10 years and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees; Offences relating to spurious drugs to be made non-bailable and cognizable; Provision for setting up of special courts for speedy trial of offences relating to spurious or adulterated drugs; To confer powers upon police officers not below the rank of Sub-Inspector or other designated officer to institute prosecutions under the said Act; Provision for compounding of offences for minor offences under the Act.

The Minister said that the proposed amendments will make the law deterrent to the offenders involved in the manufacture or sale of spurious drugs. The involvement of enforcing agencies like Police will help in speedy investigations to book the culprits and in controlling anti-social elements involved in such activities. -Keralamonitor.com

Free supply of anti-retroviral medicines to AIDS patients started in eight hospitals – Shri Anbumani Ramdoss

July 16: Rajya Sabha

The treatment of AIDS cases with anti-retroviral drugs, free of cost was started in India with effect from 1st April 2004. In the first phase, it has been introduced in six high prevalence states and national Capital Territory of Delhi through eight government hospitals. This was stated by the Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Shri Anbumani Ramdoss in Rajya Sabha today.

The hospitals are: Institution of Thoracic Medcine, Tambaram in Tamil Nadu; Regional Institute of Medical Science, Imphal, in Manipur; Sir J.J. Hospital, Mumbai in Maharashtra; Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh; LNJP Hospital, and RML Hospital in Delhi; Banagalore Medical College, Bangalore in Karnataka and Naga Hospital, Kohima in Nagaland. These medicines are being given to 1047 patients free of cost. It is proposed to start treatment in 16 more hospitals during this year. The Minister said that at present it costs about Rs.1500/- per month per patient. He also said that the Ministry is talking to the pharmaceutical companies to bring down the prices of medicines substantially. -Keralamonitor.com

Setting up of Consumer Information Centres

July 16: District Consumer Information Centres have been approved for 102 districts in the country from the Consumer Welfare Fund out of which grant has been released to 79. The Districts for which grant has been released for setting up the Centre include 20 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Orissa, 7 in Manipur, 6 in West Bengal, 5 in Gujarat, 4 in Madhya Pradesh, 3 each in Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Sikkim, 2 each in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Pondicherry and Karnataka and 1 each in Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Haryana, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. This information was given by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Taslimuddin in a written reply to a question by Shri Motilal Vora in the Rajya Sabha today.

The scheme to set up a District Consumer Information Centre in each district of the country in a phased manner was launched in October, 2000. These Centres are set up and run by Zilla Parishads, Voluntary Consumer Organizations and educational institutions of repute on a continuous basis. The main functions of these centres are to disseminate information on consumer protection not only to direct users, but to all local bodies and institutions, act as watchdogs for consumers, facilitate filing of complaints, liaise with the District Weights and Measures authorities and raise consumer awareness. The total amount of grant given under the scheme for setting up of a District Consumer Information Centre is Rs.5 lakh. -Keralamonitor.com

India can become integral part of the global manufacturing chain - Elangovan

July 16: Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry has said that India could become an integral part of the global manufacturing chain. Speaking at the National Seminar on ‘Indian Manufacturing-the Road Ahead’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), here today, the Minister said that the Indian manufacturing had to focus more on both the quality and cost to achieve this. “India, with its diverse manufacturing base, its pool of trained manpower and raw material resources, can become an integral part of the global manufacturing chain as in the case of IT”, he said. Shri Jairam Ramesh, Secretary, All India Congress Committee and Shri Rajesh Shah, Chairman, Manufacturing Council, CII were present at the inaugural function along with the representatives of the trade and industry.

Shri Elangovan emphasised the need to review the policy environment in order to step up the export of manufactured products from India from its present level. “We believe that India is poised to see a steep increase in outsourcing opportunities. There are many global companies who are looking at lower cost, but with higher quality suppliers for their components”, he said. He called upon the Indian manufacturing companies to upgrade their technologies and acquire the global benchmarks so as to face the competitive pressures. The Minister pointed out to the difficulty in getting developmental finance for meeting capital expenditure and uncompetitive export finance as the areas where policy initiatives were required.

In his speech, the Minister referred to 8.2% GDP growth rate attained in the financial year 2003-04 and said that should government and industry work in partnership the manufacturing exports would rise substantially in order to help in attaining the overall rate of growth of 11% annually. The major issues discussed in the day-long seminar were implementation of VAT-A Roadmap, Import Tariff Restructuring & Impact of FTAs and Pricing and Availability where eminent experts from trade & industry as well as senior government officials took part. -Keralamonitor.com

Statement of the Home Minister on the Seoni gang rape

July 16: Following is the statement made by the Home Minister Shri Shivraj Patil in the Lok Sabha today regarding gang-rape of three dalit women on 8.7.2004 in Bhomtola Village, Seoni Distt., Madhya Pradesh :

On 12th July, 2004, Shri Ramji Lal Suman had raised in the Lok Sabha concern about a recent incident of gang-rape of three women in Madhya Pradesh. In deference to the sentiments expressed by the Hon’ble Member, I have obtained a report from the State Government.

As per the report received from the Madhya Pradesh Government, three women belonging to the dalit community were allegedly gang-raped on 8.7.2004 between 1.00 P.M. to 12.30 AM at night in Bhomatola village, Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh. A number of men belonging to another community barged into the house of Shri Dhan Singh, allegedly forcibly dragged three women out of the house, then took them out of the village and gang-raped them. This was apparently in retaliation to an allegation that son of Shri Dhan Singh had run away with a girl belonging to their community, about which a missing person report was registered at Kanhipara police station on 6th July, 2004.

After the incident, the accused persons brought the victims in a procession into the village. When this dastardly act was being committed, all the accomplices were witnessing this evil deed and encouraging the accused persons. They neither protested against this incident nor lodged any complaint with the police. An ex-sarpanch who happened to be passing through the village informed Kanhipara police station about the incident over the telephone. The police reached the spot immediately thereafter and took the victims under their shelter. A Crime case No.173/04 under Sections 456, 376(2) (g), 366/IPC and Section 3 under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been registered by the local police, against nine known accused and 20 to 25 unidentified persons.

Eight out of the nine named accused have been arrested so far. In addition, three accused not named (unknown) in the FIR have also been arrested so far. The case is under investigation by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. Efforts are on to apprehend the rest of the accused. All the victims have been provided a financial relief of Rs.50,000/- each. The Superintendent of Police has also been directed to constitute a separate team to trace out the missing girl and the boy.

The Madhya Pradesh Government is taking action to impose a collective fine on the persons who encouraged the crime rather than preventing it. One Sub-inspector and one Head-Constable have also been suspended for negligence of duty in the matter relating to the missing persons and departmental proceedings have been initiated against them. -Keralamonitor.com

Statement made by Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil in the Rajya Sabha regarding the allegation against Shri Shibu Soren, Minister of Coal and Mines of his involvement in a murder case

July 16: Following is the Statement made by Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil in the Rajya Sabha today regarding the allegation against Shri Shibu Soren, Union Minister of Coal and Mines of his involvement in a murder case and issue of a warrant of arrest against him recently:

It has been reported in a section of the Press and Shri Shibu Soren, Union Minister of Coal and Mines had been involved in a murder case and that a warrant of arrest has been issued against him recently.

It has been reported by the State Government of Jharkhand that Shri Shibu Soren is one of the accused persons in Narayanpur P.S. Case No.7/75 dated 24.1.1975 (G.R. 30/75) under sections 147/148/149/302/436 IPC. It is further intimated by the State Government that the first information report in the above case was filed on 23.01.1975.

As many as 69 persons were accused in the above case. All of them were charge-sheeted together on 25.12.1979. Three persons were committed to Session Court for trial on 18.7.1986. Later, 56 persons were committed to Session Court for trial on 6.9.1986. These 59 persons did not include Shri Shibu Soren. All these 59 persons are facing trial in the court of learned Additional District and Session Judge (ADJ). Shri Shibu Soren is not facing trial in this case since he was not committed to Session Court for trial.

It is further reported that learned trial court ordered arrest warrant vide order dated 21.2.2003 against all accused persons. On 5.9.2003, on behalf of Shri Shibu Soren, a petition was filed by his defence lawyer stating that he was not committed to trial to that court and hence the arrest warrant against him was not justified. Considering his petition, arrest warrant against Shri Shibu Soren was recalled by learned ADJ on 5.9.2003. -Keralamonitor.com

Producer share in prices of agricultural commodities

July 16: Studies conducted by the Directorate of Marketing & Inspection, Faridabad, an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture have revealed that the producer share in the consumer price of foodgrains and oilseeds ranges from 65 to 70%, while in the case of vegetables such as potato and onion, it ranges from 45 to 60%. A recent study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industries has revealed that in the case of fruits and vegetables, the farmer realizes less than 30% of the final consumer price. The difference between the price received by the producer and the consumer’s price for agricultural commodities depend on various factors such as the type of a commodity, its perishability, distance from the consumer market, etc.

The agricultural marketing system in the country needs to be integrated and strengthened to enhance the share of farmers in the ultimate price of agricultural produce. Towards this end, States have been advised to liberalize their APMC Act, the law governing agricultural markets, to facilitate development of competitive markets by private and cooperative sectors, allow procurement of agricultural commodities direct from the farmer’s field and establish effective linkage between the farm production and the retail chain and food processing industries. States have also been advised to provide institutional support to contract farming arrangements in which national and multi-national companies enter into contracts for marketing of agricultural produce as an effective method of linking small farmers to source of extension advice, seed, credit and to assured and profitable markets. All the State Governments have agreed to review their respective APMC Act for implementing the suggested reforms. This information was given by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Taslimuddin in a written reply to a question by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Rajya Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com

 

Currency Note Press, Nasik to continue as public utility service

July 16: The services in the Currency Note Press, Nasik Road will continue as a public utility service under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 for another six months with effect from 15th July 2004. In a notification issued here, the Labour Ministry said that this has been done in public interest. The Central Government had earlier declared the services in the Currency Note Press as a public utility service for six months from 15th January this year.

The employees in this industry, as a result, would among other things be required to give notice to their employer six weeks in advance of proceeding on strike so that conciliatory proceedings could be started. During the conciliatory proceedings and seven days after their completion, the employees cannot go on strike. -Keralamonitor.com

Renewal of mining lease by coal companies

July 16: Lok Sabha

Coal mines were acquired under Coking Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 and Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 and were subsequently vested in the coal companies under the provisions of the said Acts. Thus Eastern coal fields Limited (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) became the deemed lessees for the nationalised coal mines for 30 years. The 30 years period has already elapsed in case of BCCL mines. In case of mines with ECL and CCL this period would elapse in 2005. The mining leases are due for renewal.

These coal companies are not in a position to comply fully with the procedural formalities laid down in the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 for renewal of mining leases on account of non-availability of relevant documents of lease, surface rights, consent of land owners, lack of updated records on account of re-organization of mines, disputed dues etc. The department of Coal has taken up the matter with the concerned State Governments for early resolution.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com

Modernisation of coal mines

July 16: Lok Sabha

The coal companies in India have a capital provision of Rs. 9175.83 crore for modernization of coal mines during the Tenth Five Year Plan. A sum of Rs. 1631.97 crore was provided for mechanization/modernization of coal mines during 2003-04 and an allocation of Rs. 1606.95 crore has been provided in 2004-05 Budget.

Modernisation of coal mines is a continues process which involves re-organisation of existing mines, introduction of modern technology and opening of new mines for enhancing production and productivity. This plays a great role to ensure that the targets set in the annual plan and annual action plan for the coal companies are fully met.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com

 

 

 

 

Kerala News

No more dowries for government employees; Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 amended

Thiruvananthapuram July 16: Following an amendment to the Dowry Act by the Kerala government last week, government employees will be forbidden to take dowry. No more a government employee or his family will not be able to take dowry for marriage. All the state government employees in the state will have to give a declaration after marriage stating that they have not accepted any kind of dowry. Father, father-in-law and wife of the overnment employee should sign the declaration. The amendment is made on the Kerala Dowry Prohibition Rules under the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 and as a part of the move towards removing dowry from society in Kerala in a notification of the state government last week.

The government has re-designated the Director, Social Welfare Department, as the Chief Dowry Prohibition Officer and three officers of the rank of Assistant Director in the department as Regional Dowry Prohibition officers for Southern, Central and North Kerala. The Regional Dowry Prohibition Officers would be authorized to receive any complaint regarding violation of the Dowry Prohibition Act. If, after a preliminary inquiry, the officer finds any point in the complaint received, he or she can launch prosecution against the accused in a magistrate's court. Based on the number of complaints received and the action taken, the Regional officers would send quarterly reports to the Chief Dowry Prohibition Officer, who in turn would prepare an annual report on this and submit it to the government. According to the rules, the Regional Dowry Prohibition Officer's approach shall be primarily preventive and remedial and prosecution shall be recommended or resorted to only if all other measures and directions are found ineffective or when the parties fail to comply with the orders of directions within the stipulated time. -Keralamonitor.com

Governor gives consent for Self Financing College Bill

Thiruvananthapuram July 16: R L Bhatia, the new governor of Kerala has given consent for the Self Financing Colleges Bill passed by the state assembly last week. Governor would seek legal opinion from the Advocate General before signing the Bill.

The Kerala Unaided Professional Colleges (Prohibition of capitation fees and procedures for admission and fixation of fees) Bill has been send to Chief Minister's office yesterday and the Law Ministry issued an extraordinary gazette making the bill as an Act. According to sources, Governor R L Bhatia himself recommended to schedule the Act under 9th section of Constitution following which it would be quite tough to challenge it in any court.

Even though, the Christian Arch Bishops had earlier met Governor and demanded not to give consent for the bill, Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony personally met Governor and asked him to grant the bill immediately to avoid more problems that could arise in the education sector.

The Self Financing Engineering College Managements Association would soon be launching agitation and has decided to close down the colleges. According to the association leaders, the present Act is against the norms of Supreme Court directions and against the existence of the self-financing colleges. -Keralamonitor.com

Legal awareness classes for around 1,00,000 college girls

Kochi July 16: As a step towards empowerment of women, the Kerala State Legal Services Authority, (KELSA) has decided to start legal awareness classes by experienced lawyers for around 100,000 colleges girls. According to KELSA Chairman Justice KA Abdul Gafoor, arrangement would be made for a full day legal education class to the second and third year degree students in around 250 Arts and Science colleges under four universities in the state.The classes would be conducted on any day between July 17 to August 8. There would be batches of 250 students in cooperation with NSS volunteers and women's cell in respective colleges and under the supervision of the district level legal services authority and the taluk legal service committee . He also said that, a text book in English on Lessons in Law would be distributed to the female students free of cost.-Keralamonitor.com

CBI News

CBI files the first chargesheet in the DDA scam cases

July 16: CBI had registered a case against the six on 03.04.2003 for criminal conspiracy and misuse of official position and fraudulently and dishonestly showing undue favour to M/s APY Holteliers and Developers in lieu of illegal monetary considerations thereby causing wrongful loss to the Govt. and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves and others. CBI could file the charge sheet after it received the sanction for prosecution against the public servants recently.

According to the FIR, M/s Jaina Properties Pvt. Ltd. purchased two plots at the Community Centre, Paschim Vihar through open auction of DDA in 1983. The third floor of the building on the plot was licensed to M/s APY Hoteliers and Developers who were planning to start a restaurant and bar there. Without requisite permission from DDA, APY Hoteliers and Developers started construction of the lift on the adjacent plot which is a DDA land. On receipt of complaints from neighbours, DDA officers visited the site and issued notice to Jaina Properties to discontinue the illegal and unauthorised development and the matter was also brought before the then Vice-Chairman of DDA, Shri Subhash Sharma, who ordered removal of the encroachment.

Subsequently, at the instance of Shri Subhash Sharma, Shri Dharamvir Khattar established contact with Shri Pradeep Kapoor and offered to sort out the matter in favour of APY Hoteliers and Developers for a sum of RS.20 lakh. Shri Pradeep Kapoor also got in touch with Shri Subhash Sharma through Shri Ved Prakash Kaushik @ Panditji. A deal was struck between Shri Subhash Sharma and Shri Pradeep Kapoor through the mediation of Shri Ved Prakash Kaushik and Shri Dharamvir Khattar and it was decided that in lieu of Rs.10 lakh Shri Subhash Sharma would not allow the demolition of the unauthorized construction of the lift. But, as decided earlier, the demolition party reached the spot for demolition. However, the party was called back by Shri Subhash Sharma and the unauthorised construction was not demolished.

CBI filed the first charge sheet in the DDA scam cases in the court of Smt. Pratibha Rani, Spl. Judge against six persons including S/Sh Subhash Sharma, former VC of DDA, Dharamvir Khattar, a property dealer and Ved Prakash Kaushik, an NDMC employee under section 120 (B) of IPC and various sections of PC Act. -Keralamonitor

IT enabled services-BPO Sector grow by 54 per cent

Software and services exports estimated at Rs. 55,510 crore during 2003-04

Annual report of Department of Information Technology released

July 16: The software and services industry continued to be the dominating factor in the overall growth of the Indian IT industry during 2003-04. The total value of software and services exports is estimated at Rs. 55,510 crore (US$ 12.2 billion), thereby showing an increase of 20.4 per cent in rupee terms and 28 per cent in dollar terms. During the same period, the Indian IT enabled services-Business Process Outsourcing (ITES-BPO) Sector has also emerged as a key driver of growth for the Indian software and services industry. The IT enabled services-BPO Industry is estimated to have grown by about 54 per cent with export revenue of US$ 3.6 billion during 2003-04 indicating that the sector is showing upward spiral growth on service lines like customer care, finance, HR, administration, billing and payment services, etc.

According to the Annual Report of the Department of Information Technology (DIT) for the year 2003-04, the Indian IT software and services industry is expected to account for about 2.64 per cent of India’s GDP and 21.3 per cent of exports during 2003-04 and is projected to grow to 7 per cent of India’s GDP and 35 per cent of exports by 2008. India’s vibrant IT software and services industry has been projected to reach an export potential of $57-65 billion for the software and services sector by 2008. This implies a share of 6 per cent of the relevant global market. The ITES-BPO sector exports is likely to reach US$ 21-24 billion by 2008.

The Annual Report indicates that India has become one of the most preferred destinations for sourcing software and IT-enabled services. The number of professionals employed in India by IT and ITES sectors is estimated at 813,500 by March 2004 of which 260,000 were in the IT software and services export industry, nearly 245,500 in ITES-BPO sector, 28,000 in the domestic software market and over 2,80,000 in user organisations.

During the year, the Department of Information Technology took various initiatives which included, among others, the National Action Plan for e-Governance covering ten major components like core e-Projects, core Infrastructures, Integrated service projects, Support infrastructure, Core policies and Human resource development, etc. The Government has also recommended that each ministry/department should allocate 2-3 per cent of its budget on IT promotion. This is a step for development of domestic software industry and move towards electronic Governance.

With a view to integrate ICT in the learning environment in the Government and Government aided Schools and higher learning institutions in the country, DIT has formulated ‘Vidya Vahini’ and ‘Gyan Vahini’ programmes in order to provide connectivity and IT infrastructure to schools and higher learning institutions. Under this, pilot projects have been implemented to connect 140 Senior Secondary Schools and 7 training centres in seven districts in the country and campus-wide network at Delhi University.

The concept of digital library has been evolved as an effective mechanism to digitize, store and disseminate the information on the network to interested users in distant areas. It has added a new dimension to provide education through a distance mode on wide subjects of interest. It has also been successfully used to allow access to the rich information on culture and heritage of a country to all its users. India has participated in the international Universal Digital Library project managed by the Carnegie Mellon University, USA. Under this project, 30,000 books have been digitized, serving the needs of researchers, analysts and common users. The President of India inaugurated the digital library Portal of India on September 8, 2003.

Information Security is assuming vital importance with the wide spread of IT applications in commercial, strategic and other sectors in the country. Under e-Commerce and Information Security Programme of the Department, five new projects have been initiated covering areas of steganography, cryptanalysis and security management tool development. With a view to protecting country’s interests an Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has been established at Delhi with a mirror location at Bangalore to ensure that India’s IT assets are appropriately and adequately protected.

India is a multi-lingual and multi-script country. Knowledge networking between the resource centres and the industry, and enterpreneurship in language technologies are being promoted by the DIT with a view to address the issues relating to linguistic data resource, content creation, language processing tools, optical character recognition, text-to-speech, speech recognition cross-lingual information retrieval and machine translation in multi-lingual environment.

In recent times, various countries are increasingly recognising India’s achievements in the IT sector. To boost this process, the Department have entered into MOUs with six countries viz., Armenia, Hungary, Myanmar, Maldives, Syria and Tajikistan during 2003-04 for increasing government-to-government cooperation and facilitating trade in the IT sector. -Keralamonitor.com

 

Proposal to run a Bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad

July 16: Rajya Sabha

A Techno-economic Feasibility Study for running High-Speed Train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has been initiated. The proposal will be considered on receipt of the report.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri R. Velu in a written reply to a question from Shri R.P. Goenka in the Rajya Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com

 

Measures for Railway safety

July 16: Rajya Sabha

Safety is the prime concern of Indian Railways and adoption of new measures to improve safety is a continuous process. The measures being taken by Indian Railways to improve safety include adoption of suitable and modern technology for interlocking and signalling system, upgradation of standards of track and rolling stock, modernization of maintenance practices, replacement of overaged assets, upgradation of training aids like simulators, checks on observance of safety precautions and provision of Anti Collision Device. Indian Railways have also formulated a Corporate Safety Plan for the period 2003-2013, which has already been presented to the Parliament.

The number of train accidents has decreased.

As a result of the measures taken by Indian Railways to improve safety, the number of consequential train accidents have steadily come down from 2131 in 1960-1961 to 351 during 2002-2003. During 2003-04, 325 consequential train accidents occurred which were the lowest ever.

“Human failure” constitutes the single largest factor for accidents on Indian Railways. Accidents on account of “failure of staff” and accidents due to “failure of persons other than railway staff” account for around 55 per cent and 30 per cent of the total accidents, respectively. All accidents at unmanned level crossings and some at manned level crossings occur on account of “failure of persons other than railway staff” i.e. road users. Incidental factors like falling of boulders, sinkage of track also contribute to accidents on Indian Railways.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri R. Velu in a written reply to a question from Smt. Jamana Devi Barupal and Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy in the Rajya Sabha today.-Keralamonitor.com

 

Improving Railway enquiry service

July 16: Rajya Sabha

Railways have initiated a two pronged action to improve the system and to provide a satisfactory telephone enquiry service by minimizing the human interface through installing high capacity integrated computerized enquiry systems, and by also providing other means of non-telephone based enquiry systems, in order to off-load the telephone enquiries e.g. enquiry through Internet and SMS (Short Messaging Service) on mobile phones.

It is a fact that a large number of people call upon railway enquiry telephonically to get trains related information. Complaints about telephones not being attended have also come to notice.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways Shri Lalu Prasad in a written reply to a question from Smt. Savita Sharda in the Rajya Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com

Trains linking Delhi and Mangalore

July 16: Rajya Sabha

At present 2431/2432 Nizammudin-Trivandrum Rajdhani, 2617/2618 Nizammudin-Ernakulam Express and 6687/6688 Jammu Tawi-Mangalore (weekly) trains are serving Delhi-Mangalore sector.

Introduction of additional trains between Delhi and Mangalore is not feasible, at present, due to operational and resource constraints.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri R. Velu in a written reply to a question from Shri Janardhana Poojary in the Rajya Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com

 

Use of plastic tumbler, cups and carry bags

July 16: Rajya Sabha

Zonal Railways, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited and Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. have been instructed that to prevent environment pollution, no plastic cups are to be used in railway premises and these should be replaced with Kulhars. Action against three licensees on Central Railway and 33 licensees on Southern Railway has been taken for using plastic bags.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri R. Velu in a written reply to a question from Shri Balwant Alias Bal Apte in the Rajya Sabha today. -Keralamonitor.com