businessfortnight

The Indian Railways has suffered losses of around ₹ 2,400 crore due to the ongoing farmers’ protests against the farm laws at various places in Punjab, said Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal. “Currently, a section of Railways between Beas and Amritsar has been blocked. We are using an alternate route that passes through Tarn Taran district. But, we are not able to run as many trains as required because this is a long section and having less capacity. Our estimate of the loss is around ₹ 2,400 crore,” Mr Gangal said. “We have cancelled two trains. Three trains have been short terminated and seven have been diverted towards Tarn Taran. Freight trains have also been affected as they are taking time due to diversion caused by the farmers” protest,” he added. “Currently, a section of Railways between Beas and Amritsar has been blocked. We are using an alternate route that passes through Tarn Taran district. But, we are not able to run as many trains as required because this i

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had an intuitive understanding that the post Cold-war world required India to drastically rework its relationships and this vision led to a new beginning in ties with the United States, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. Paying rich tribute to Mr Vajpayee on his 96th birth anniversary, Mr Jaishankar said the eminent leader warmly reached out to various regions and continents that laid ground for expansion of India’s overall external engagements, particularly with Europe, Africa, Latin America and countries in the ASEAN region. He said India’s principled approach of engaging China on the basis of mutual respect and mutual sensitivity also reflects Mr Vajpayee’s thinking. In the neighbourhood, Mr Jaishankar said, Mr Vajpayee “radiated goodwill and friendship” while being clear that terrorism and trust would not co-exist. The external affairs minister described Mr Vajpayee’s decision to carry out the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday allayed fears that private firms might grab farmers’ land under a new contract farming law enacted by the Centre, as he listened to success stories about benefits of the new Acts while interacting with peasants from seven states. After releasing ₹ 18,000 crore funds to 9 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme, PM Modi held interaction with farmers from Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Haryana. In their interaction with the PM, the seven farmers shared their success stories and also highlighted the benefits of recently enacted agri-laws. They also shared their good experience of working with private players under contract farming agreements. “Sitting in Arunachal Pradesh, you are sure that your land is safe. But some people are spreading a myth that those who enter into a contract (agreement) with a company for sale of crops will also lose their land. So many lies are being spread. I am happy th

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya took to Instagram to wish his followers “Merry Christmas”. Hardik posted a couple of pictures with his partner Natasa Stankovic and son Agastya. While Hardik was wearing a Santa Claus outfit, Natasa was looking dapper in a sliver and black dress. In one of the pictures, Hardik was even sporting an artificial Santa Claus beard, while also carrying his son in his arms. “Merry Christmas,” Hardik captioned the pictures on Instagram. Earlier in the day, some of the most famous athletes in the world like Cristiano Ronaldo, Virat Kohli , among others also posted messages for their followers, wishing them a Happy Christmas . Ever since returning from Australia after featuring in the limited-overs series, Hardik has been spending quality time with his family . Recently, he and his partner went on a dinner date and they both shared the pictures of the same on their Instagram stories.

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Friday tweeted to wish a swift recovery to megastar Rajinikanth, who was today admitted to hospital in Hyderabad over “severe fluctuations” in his blood pressure. “Wishes for Rajinikanth’s speedy recovery,” Mr Haasan tweeted in Tamil. Rajinikanth, 70, was in Hyderabad for his film “Annathe” but the shoot was cancelled earlier this week after four members of the crew tested positive for Covid. Rajinikanth had tested negative for Covid on Tuesday, Apollo Hyderabad informed. “Though he did not have any symptoms of Covid-19, his blood pressure showed severe fluctuations and needed further evaluation for which he has been admitted to the hospital. He will be investigated and monitored closely in the hospital till his blood pressure settles down before being discharged,” the statement said. The actor is stable and will spend the night in the hospital, Apollo Hyderabad said in an update this evening. “Rajinikanth is being monitored closely and medications to c

State-run oil marketing companies kept the petrol and diesel rates unchanged for 17th straight day on Friday, December 25. In the national capital, the price of petrol remained unchanged at ₹ 83.71 per litre, and diesel also remained the same at ₹ 73.87 per litre — the same level as on Thursday, according to Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer. In Mumbai, petrol and diesel rates were ₹ 90.34 per litre and ₹ 80.51 per litre respectively. The fuel prices in Mumbai are the highest among the four metros across the country. The oil marketing companies in India namely, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum align the domestic fuel prices with that of global benchmarks by taking into account any changes in the foreign exchange rates. Any alterations in fuel prices are implemented with effect from 6 am every day. The fuel rates vary from state to state due to the value-added tax (VAT). Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.35 pe

A Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech called CoronaVac is 91.25 per cent effective, according to preliminary data from a late-stage trial in Turkey, a potentially much better result than reported from a separate trial of the vaccine in Brazil. Researchers in Brazil, which is also running a final Phase III trial of the vaccine, said on Wednesday the shot was more than 50 per cent effective, but did not disclose full results at the Sinovac’s insistence, raising questions about transparency of the process. The Beijing-based biopharma firm’s vaccine for Covid-19, CoronaVac, is an inactivated vaccine. CoronaVac functions by using killed viral particles to expose the body’s immune system to the virus without risking a serious disease response. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines being developed in the West are mRNA vaccines. This implies that part of the coronavirus’ genetic code is injected into the body, triggering the body to begin making viral proteins, but not the whole vi