Delhi Metro (DMRC) lost 300000+ straphanger a day after hike in fare from October

New Delhi (DMRC) : The Blue Line loses over 30 laces straphanger while the fall in Yellow Line is over 19 laces.

Delhi Metro lost over three lakh plus straphanger a day after a steep fare hike came into effect in October, an RTI query has revealed.

The metro’s daily average ridership came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September, translating to a fall of around 11%.

The Blue Line, considered the metro’s busiest, lost over 30 lakh commuters, according to data shared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in response to an RTI query by a PTI correspondent.

The 50-km corridor connects Dwarka to Noida. The metro currently has 218-km network across Delhi-NCR.

The fall, in terms of absolute numbers, was over 19 lakh on the Yellow Line, another busy corridor which connects Gurgaon to north Delhi’s Samaypur Badli, DMRC said.

Ridership has come down several notches below the numbers observed in recent years, bucking a trend of rise on the back of launch of newer sections.


News Source : HindustanTimes

Cabinet approves proposal to hike salaries of judges, Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) Employees

Judges and Central PSU workers received a bonanza after the Union cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for a salary revision.

The framework for Central public sector enterprises, approved by the cabinet, is likely to prove beneficial to 12.35 lakh PSU employees, of which 2 lakh are board level and below board level executives, while 9.35 lakh are unionised PSU workers, employed across 320 PSUs.

The wage policy for the eighth round of wage negotiations that was cleared today also introduced the factor of a Central Public Sector Enterprises' (CPSEs) profitability to be taken into consideration while deciding on wage revision of its workers.

“The wage revision shall be subject to the condition that there shall be no increase in labour cost per physical unit of output. In exceptional cases, where CPSEs are already working at optimum capacity, the administrative ministry/department may consult the department of public enterprises considering industry norms,” an official statement said.

The cabinet statement said no budgetary support for any wage increase shall be provided by the government. The entire financial implication would be borne by the respective CPSEs from their internal sources.

“In those CPSEs in which the government has approved restructuring or revival plan, the wage revision will be done as per the provisions of the approved restructuring or revival plan only,” the statement said.

CPSEs will implement the negotiated wages after confirming with their administrative ministry or department that the wage settlement is in conformity with approved parameters.

"This will mean that profitability of the unit would have to be considered for wage negotiations. Also, an added element would be to get approval of the ministry, which earlier would not be required," said Balraj Joshi, chairman National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, a CPSE undergoing a bank-led restructuring process.

Revision of wage of judges had been pending for a long time, and with the recent revisions retired judges, Supreme Court judges and High Court judges would receive a windfall.

"The increase in the salary and allowances etc. will benefit 31 Judges of Supreme Court of India (including the CJI) and 1,079 Judges (including the Chief Justices) of High Courts. Besides, approximately 2,500 retired judges will also be benefit on account of revision of pension/gratuity etc," an official statement said.

The revisions considered by the cabinet include a 130 per cent hike in dearness allowances received by judges. This approval is believed to pave way for the passing of Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958 and High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954.

Undoubtedly, the new amendments, which sources say are now likely to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament, would ensure better pay and living conditions for judges, even as court complexes in the country cry for attention and petitioners wait years to receive justice on their pending cases.

Arrears on account of revised salaries, gratuity, pension and family pension of judges would be paid by the exchequer to them for more than one year with effect from 01.01.2016, as one time lump sum payment.

In keeping with Constitutional norms and a promise made in the union budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the union cabinet has given its nod for forming the 15th finance commission.

"Now the members of the finance commission will be appointed and the terms of reference for the 15th finance commission would be decided in due course of time," said Jaitley, announcing the cabinet decision.

The 14th finance commission was chaired by former RBI governor Y.V. Reddy. The 14th finance commission also set straight the relations and revenue sharing on indirect taxes, which it hiked to 42 per cent as state share from 32 per cent pegged earlier.

The 15th pay commission will have a five year term and will make its recommendations to the government of the day in 2022, seeking to re-order Centre's fiscal discipline as well as its relationship with states.

News Source : TheWeak

Hafiz Saeed walks free ahead of 26/11 Mumbai Attacks Anniversary.

File Photo : Hafiz Saeed

Indian intelligence agencies have decried the sham carried out by Pakistan, in putting 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed under house arrest to evade financial sanctions against the country and with the Lahore High Court paving way for his release on Wednesday.

Saeed was detained days before the plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global watchdog for combating terror financing – which was held in Paris in February 2017, where member-states voiced concern over Pakistan for not honouring its commitments to act against terror financing. The FATF members condemned Pakistan's actions and many members wanted Pakistan to be blacklisted for failing to act against terror financing of groups like Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD) with Hafiz Saeed as its patron.

In October 2017, the FATF met again and let Pakistan off the hooks, after an intervention by China to save its “all-weather-friend.” The move by China gave Islamabad enough time to comply with the concerns raised by member nations, especially India.

The gravest concern for Pakistani authorities was the naming of State Bank of Pakistan (Pakistan's central bank) at the 2017 FATF Plenary in Argentina, for not regulating the flow of funds to the alleged terror financing groups. Given the fact that, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD backed Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) – banned by UN – had bank accounts in Pakistani banks, the FATF had asked SBP to report to it in the next plenary session in February 2018, on actions taken to improve regulation over fund flows. The ban on Habib Bank by the US, for poor regulation over terror financing, also raised the concerns of Pakistani authorities, said an observer.

''It has become clear that Saeed's detention was Pakistan's desperate attempt to prevent any action being taken against it. Entering into the FATF blacklist meant ostracisation from the international banking system, where Pakistani financial institutions would come under cloud. It meant that no banking institution that banks with Pakistan would be allowed to bank with any other bank in the world,'' said a top intelligence official.

With the looming economic threat over the tag – ''sponsor of terror'' – drifting away, the JuD chief has been set free again, said the intelligence official who keeps a tab on the developments in Islamabad.

Saeed's house arrest was about to expire on November 24 and he is set to walk free after the High Court turned down a request by the government seeking an extension of his detention.

Indian intelligence agencies appears to be livid over the decision to release Saeed. Officials said the latest move has exposed Pakistan's double game. ''Not only did Islamabad send a message to the Trump administration in the United States that it was acting tough on terror perpetrators on its soil, it was also simultaneously making a desperate bid to save itself from entering the FATF blacklist, that imposed enhanced surveillance on the country's financial systems,'' they said.

It may be recalled that Pakistan had been put on the FATF blacklist after the 26/11 terror strikes, when investigations revealed that LeT had funded as well as orchestrated the terror strike with Saeed at its helm. But, the LeT and its alleged parent organisation JuD continued to operate freely on Pakistani soil, which prompted FATF to take action against Pakistan. In 2015, Pakistan was removed from the FATF blacklist, after Pakistan made commitments on multiple fronts.

On Wednesday, the review board under the chair of Justice Abdul Sami Khan passed orders to free Saeed, after a senior finance ministry official failed to convince the board that the release of Saeed would bring diplomatic and financial setbacks to the country.

During the last hearing, the Pakistan government had argued that Saeed could not be released because the move would result in financial sanctions and a halt in foreign funding to the country. In response, the board had directed the government to send an official from the finance ministry to explain how release of a single individual would affect the entire country.

Saeed will now be walking free, not only within a month after Pakistan's temporary victory in FATF but also four days ahead of the ninth anniversary of Mumbai terror strikes. It will be a grim reminder of the fact that no action has been taken by Pakistan against the perpetrators and financiers of terror who continue to roam freely on its soil. November 26 brings back horrific memories of Pakistan’s terror siege in Mumbai, where 166 people were killed.

News Source TheWeak