-
1. Ola Shuttle to offer free rides in Delhi-NCR: Facing severe criticism from Delhi government, taxi aggregator Ola today said it will offer free rides for its 'Shuttle' bus service on April 22 and 29, under the second phase of odd-even scheme. This comes days after the company temporarily suspended surge pricing after the state government threatened to cancel permits for charging higher than prescribed fares. "While tens of thousands of people are using Ola Shuttle on a daily basis, we would like to extend this service free of cost on select days for citizens, in our support of vehicle rationing scheme and contribute to the shared vision of a greener and cleaner Delhi," Ola Vice President New Initiatives Sundeep Sahni said in a statement. (Reuters)
-
2. Vijay Mallya convicted in cheque-bouncing case: A local court today convicted industrialist Vijay Mallya in a cheque-bouncing case filed against him by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. The court, however, did not pronounce the quantum of punishment as the Rajya Sabha MP, who left the country last month, was not present in the court, Mallya's lawyer H Sudhakar Rao said. The quantum of punishment is expected to be pronounced on May 5 by the court, GMR lawyer Ashok Reddy said. "Two cases pertaining to cheque-bouncing were going on against Kingfisher Airlines in the court and the matter was posted for arguments. After the arguments today, the court convicted Mallaya, Kingfisher and a senior official of the airline under section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act. (Reuters)
-
3. Complaint against Baba Ramdev's product filed in Rajasthan court: A local court of Sriganganagar district today admitted a complaint against the advertisement of toothpaste of Patanjali Ayurved company of Baba Ramdev and posted the matter for hearing on May 19. The complainant Ashok Gupta, a doctor, had submitted the complaint to the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Raisingh nagar) Mahendra Singh Beniwal on April 18 which was accepted today. In the complaint, Gupta has raised doubts on the quality of the toothpaste. "The complainant was also hurt by the advertisement which questions doctors," said Jitendra Soni, counsel for the complainant. The complaint was filed against Baba Ramdev and Balkrishna under sections 419 (419- Punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (Cheating), 500 (defamation) and 501 (Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory). (Reuters)
-
4. India's Rafale jet fighter deal with France finalised at Rs 80,000 crore, says BJP: The government may have not made a final announcement on the Rafale deal yet but for the BJP it has been "finalised" and the Modi government has saved over Rs 21,000 in the "re-negotiation" with the French government. "The deal to buy 36 state of the art Rafale aircraft from France at 12 billion dollar (Rs 80000 crore) was re-negotiated and finalised at 8.8 billion dollar (Around Rs 59000 cr)," a tweet by the BJP said. The government "saved" public money and the deal resulted in gain of "technological knowledge" and "strengthening the air power to defend the border", it said. Officially, the negotiation between India and France are at an advanced stage. (Reuters)
-
5. LeEco launches driverless electric concept supercar: Chinese technology company LeEco unveiled what it claimed to be the world's first driverless electric concept supercar. The company, which has an aggressive strategy for Indian smartphone space, also launched three smartphones — Le 2, Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2, and two premium televisions Le Super 4X50 and Pro/X50. The LeSEE supercar encompasses a unique 'internet' design, with a large and flamboyant LED screen. The car works on the idea of "inter-connection" and offers fully-automatic driving functions. It can also learn on its own with facial recognition, emotion recognition, system recognition and path recognition. The company did not share details of the car with regard to commercial launch, time and money invested in developing and price tag, among others. All it said was it will offer a top speed 130mph and is completely developed by LeEco. (Reuters)
-
6. Experts develop new method for predicting India's monsoon: Climate researchers in Germany today said they had found a way to more accurately predict the Indian monsoon, which could help maximise the subcontinent's food and hydro-power supplies. Improved forecasts of when the heavy summer rains start and end could help millions of farmers plant crops at the right time, and allow energy providers to estimate when dams and reservoirs fill up, they said. Global warming already affects monsoon stability and will make accurate forecasting ever more important, as deviations can spark droughts and floods, said the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "The timing of Indian summer monsoons, on which the livelihoods of many millions of people depend, is likely becoming more erratic," said project leader Juergen Kurths. "This makes early and accurate forecasting ever more crucial." (Reuters)
-
7. Rameswaram nominated as 'Green station' Rameswaram Railway station falling under Madurai division, has been nominated as a 'Green station' with full compliment of bio-toilets in all coaches leaving from the town, a top railway official said today. Addressing the 61st railway week celebrations here,Sunil Kumar Garg, Railway Divisional manager, said Madurai Junction had been ranked One among the 10 top cleanest stations under "A1" category in the country. Kovilpatti and Virudhunagar figured top 10 clean stations in "A"Category. He said a mechanised BOOT (Built, Own, Operate, Transfer) laundry of four ton capacity would be commissioned here soon to improve quality of linen supplied to passengers. In terms of earnings, the Division’s originating earnings for 2015-16 was Rs 735.14 crore as against last year's Rs. 723.36 crore.The passenger earnings was Rs.440.82 crore as against Rs 414. 66 crores of last year. In freight transport, the division loaded 2.1035 million tons last year and earnings was Rs 237.30 crore, he said. (PTI) (Representational image)
-
8. TFS selected for providing onboard catering in Gatiman Express: Travel Food Services (TFS) has been selected for providing onboard catering service in the Gatimaan Express, the first semi-high speed train of the country. Running at a maximum speed of 160 kmph, the Nizamuddin-Agra Gatimaan Express takes about 100 minutes to cover 188 km distance and the service is primarily aimed at catering to the tourists traffic for Taj Mahal. TFS has been given the job of food and beverage concessionaire for the Gatimaan, said a senior IRCTC official said adding "the contract is for six months and further decision will be taken only after this period." IRCTC, railways' catering arm, has been given on-board catering responsibility for the Gatimaan Express. Since the Gatimaan fare is 25 per cent higher than the Shatabdi Express, railways aim to provide better quality food to the passengers matching airline catering service.
-
9. Pune flat fraud: EOW begins probe, says 20k buyers registered: The Economic Offences Wing today said close to 20,000 prospective buyers seem to have registered in Maple Group's controversial project which promised one-bedroom flats for Rs five lakh, a day after a case of cheating was registered against senior executives of the firm. The EOW appealed people, who have registered with the housing project by believing in "misleading" advertisements, to come forward and lodge their grievances with the agency. The case of cheating and criminal conspiracy against Maple Group's CMD Sachin Agarwal, MD Naven Agarwal, Sales Manager Priyanka Agarwal and other office staff lodged by police yesterday has been transferred to EOW. (Representational Image)
-
10. AirAsia India rolls out self check-in facility at BLR airport: Passengers of budget carrier AirAsia India flying out of the Kempegowda International Airport here can now avail the self check-in facility, which will enable the passengers to head directly for boarding. With 30 self check-in kiosks available at the airport, AirAsia India now gets closer to enhanced guest satisfaction by easing the process of check-in, the airline said in a statement. Guests checking in through these kiosks can directly proceed for seamless boarding, it added. "At AirAsia, it is our constant endeavor to enhance our guests' experience and this is a beginning among many other initiatives to serve our guests better," the airline said. (Reuters)
