Category: Transport

** Industrialist Rahul Bajaj to be given state funeral in Pune

ountry has lost a socially aware, fearless individual: Uddhav

‘Hamara Bajaj’ was the iconic jingle that resonated with the aspirations of the middle class in a pre-liberalised India. And the man behind that brand was one of the biggest and bravest industrialists — Rahul Bajaj. The Chairman Emeritus of the Bajaj Group died at a hospital in Pune on Saturday afternoon. He was 83. The last rites will be held on Sunday.

Bajaj will be accorded a state funeral, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday as he and Governor B.S. Koshyari condoled the demise of the veteran industrialist. They said Bajaj’s contribution to industrial development in the country was unparalleled.

** South Eastern Railway becomes fully electrified zone as work on Rupsa-Bangriposi section completed

The Kolkata-headquartered SER is the second railway zone in the country after West Central to fully electrify its route.

** Y-shaped safety belts to be mandated for all seats in car

Road Transport Ministry seeks stakeholder feedback

Soon, all seats in a car will be required to have a “three-point” or Y-shaped seat belt, including middle-rear seats, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

The Ministry will issue a draft notification in a day or two to invite stakeholders’ comments following which the new rule will be notified, the Minister said at a press conference.

“Automobile manufacturers are given a choice between two-point and three-point seat belts. Now, we plan to make three-point seat belts mandatory as they are known to ensure better safety,” a senior government official explained. He added that all “front-facing” seats will be required to have this provision, including middle-rear seats.

** 10,000 km of routes mapped in Greater Kochi area

The app-based survey aims at rationalising public transport

A total of 250 of the 360 active bus routes in the Greater Kochi area have been mapped by Systra Consortium, a French transport planning agency that was deputed by the Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA) to ready a report on rationalising bus routes in the Greater Kochi area.

This has helped map bus routes and bus stops in around 10,000 km of different bus routes that are located as far away as Munambam, N. Paravur and Angamaly on the city’s north, Perumbavoor, Kakkanad, Pookattupady, Ambalamugal, and Poothotta on the east, Aroor and Chellanam on the south, and the densely populated West Kochi region. Muvattupuzha too might be brought under the ambit, it is learnt.

** Navy’s largest exercise Milan to bring together over 35 countries

Exercise Milan is scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 4 for which 46 countries have been invited

The Navy is set to hold the 12th President’s Fleet Review (PFR) on February 21 at Visakhapatnam and few days from that it will host the largest multilateral exercise in this region, Milan 2022, which will see participation of all major Navies including Quad countries, Russia and from West Asia amid tensions in Ukraine and developments in West Asia.

** India flight tests Rafale-Marine for INS Vikrant

India’s new aircraft carrier has been designed as a ski-jump launch ship, different from many other such carriers, which use a catapult launch for their jets

The marine version of the French-made Rafale fighter jet has been successfully flight-tested at a shore-based facility in Goa where conditions similar to that on the indigenously-developed aircraft carrier INS Vikrant were simulated, a top diplomat said.

The Rafale-M is pitted against the U.S.-made Super Hornet — both of which are being evaluated for a possible purchase by the Indian Navy for deployment on the 44,000-tonne INS Vikrant that is undergoing trials in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal for likely commissioning in August.

** 1,000 drones to lasers: Many firsts at Beating the Retreat ceremony

s the sun set over Raisina Hill on Saturday, the bands of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Central Armed Police Forces marched down Vijay Chowk playing 23 songs, before they retreated to the tune of Sare Jahan Se Accha in a quick march.

** 14 among women daredevils joined BSF after death of kin

This Republic Day, at age 38, Sunita was live on television from Rajpath, performing acrobatics on a motorcycle as a member of the BSF’s Seema Bhawani team which mesmerised the audience that included the President and the Prime Minister.

** First goods train chugs into Manipur 75 years after independence

A freight train chugged into the Rani Gaidinliu Railway Station in Goinanglong of Tamenglong district, thereby putting Manipur on the country’s railway map.

“In yet another milestone, the first ever Goods Train reached Rani Gaidinliu Railway Station, Tamenglong. The improvement in railway connectivity, under the close supervision of Hon’ PM Sh @narendramodi Ji, will immensely improve the socio-economic condition of Manipur,” Chief Minister N Biren Singh tweeted.

Manipur