78 pc of seats in India’s trains are non-AC to facilitate travel for poor: Vaishnaw

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Indian Railways has significantly enhanced the travel facilities for the benefit of economically weaker passengers with the number of seats available for non-AC passengers increasing to 54 lakh, which constitutes 78 per cent of the total, while AC seats comprise the remaining 22 per cent, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.Due to the higher availability of general coaches, the number of passengers travelling in general unreserved coaches has shown an increasing tren…

BharatGen AI to support all 22 scheduled Indian languages by June 2026: Minister

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) The government’s BharatGen AI initiative will cover all 22 scheduled Indian languages by June 2026, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.The move is part of a roadmap to create sovereign foundational AI models tailored to Indian languages and societal contexts.“BharatGen currently supports nine Indian languages — Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Kannada,” Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology …

Over 1,700 global capabilities centres employ over 19 lakh people in India: Minister

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) There are more than 1,700 global capabilities centres (GCCs) currently operating in India, employing more than 19 lakh people, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.The total revenue generated by these GCCs in last 5 years has grown from $40.4 billion in FY19 to $64.6 billion in FY24 with CAGR of 9.8 per cent, Jitin Prasada, Minister of State of Electronics and Information technology, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha, citing National Association of Software and Ser…

Airbus names Jurgen Westermeier as new India and South Asia head

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Airbus on Wednesday announced the appointment of Jurgen Westermeier as its new President and Managing Director for India and South Asia. The 53-year-old, who is currently serving as Executive Vice-President and Chief Procurement Officer at Airbus, will take charge on September 1.Westermeier will replace Remi Maillard, who has been named Executive Vice-President Engineering for Commercial Aircraft and Head of Technology at Airbus.India is an important market for Airbus, wi…

US tariffs likely to impact just 0.19 pc of India's GDP: Industry

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) The proposed US tariffs on India will have a “manageable” impact on India’s economy, affecting just 0.19 per cent of the country’s GDP, industry leaders projected on Wednesday.The tariff will affect exports to the US worth approximately $8.1 billion, industry think tank PHDCCI said in a report. “Our analysis estimates an impact of only 1.87 per cent on India’s global merchandise exports and a negligible 0.19 per cent on India’s GDP due to US tariffs on India,” it ad…

Production of electronics goods up six times in last 11 years, exports up 8 times

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) The production of electronics goods in the country saw six-time growth in the last 11 years — from Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11.3 lakh crore in 2024-25, as exports surged eight times from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 3.27 lakh crore in the same period, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.India now has 300 mobile manufacturing units, from just two in 2014-15, while production of mobile phones has increased a whopping 28 times in the last 11 years — from Rs 18,000 cror…

11,535 coaches fitted with CCTV cameras to enhance passenger safety: Ashwini Vaishnaw

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Indian Railways has so far fitted 11,535 coaches across zones with CCTV cameras to improve the safety and security of passengers, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.According to Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, CCTV cameras will be installed in approximately 74,000 coaches and 15,000 locomotives.”Each coach will be provided with four CCTV cameras – two in each entrance way. Each locomotive will have six CCTV cameras, one camera each at the front, rear and on both…

India Post undertakes nationwide rollout of advanced postal tech under IT 2.0

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) As part of its digital transformation under IT 2.0, India Post has undertaken a massive nationwide rollout of the Advanced Postal Technology (APT) application, the Ministry of Communication said on Wednesday. This transition from the legacy system marks a major step toward delivering faster, smarter, and more customer-centric postal services.Meanwhile, given the scale and complexity of this migration, spanning over 1.64 lakh post offices across urban, rural, and remote ar…

NSDL shares list at 10 pc premium over issue price, touch intraday high of Rs 920

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) Shares of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) debuted on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday at Rs 880, reflecting a 10 per cent premium, or Rs 80 above the issue price of Rs 800 per share. NSDL’s IPO share listing fell short of expectations in the grey market, which had anticipated that the scrips would be listed at a premium of around 16 per cent.Shortly after listing, the stock reached an intraday high of Rs 920. As of 11.45 A.M., NSDL shares were tradin…

RBI MPC: Home Loan EMI, interest rate to remain unchanged as Central Bank retains repo rate

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New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (RBI-MPC) on Wednesday decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.50 per cent after its bi-monthly meeting. Keeping the repo rate steady means the Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI) and interest burden on the home loan will not change.In its last meeting, the MPC had lowered the repo rate by 50 basis points, bringing it down to 5.50 per cent from 6 per cent.The RBI has cut the repo rate by 100 BPS between February and …