90% of city-specific clean air plans in India lack budget outlines: Study

The study also found that apart from Delhi's clean air plan, other city-specific clean air plans also do not have a legal mandate for implementation.

Only nine among 102 city-specific clean air plans have a budget outline for implenting their targets, a new study has found.

National capital Delhi is among cities that has no clear budget outline. "About 90 per cent of India's approved city-specific clean air plans do not have a budget outline," said the study, conducted by think tanks Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Urban Emissions.

"....and 75 per cent of them do not contain crucial information on emission from different polluting sources, leading to replication of action points and timelines across many highly-polluted cities," it said.

It said, the cities with a budget outline for pollution-mitigation activities are: Amravati, Badlapur, Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and Solapur (all in Maharashtra), Dimapur and Kohima (in Nagaland), and Patencheru in Telangana.

The study also found that apart from Delhi's clean air plan, other city-specific clean air plans also do not have a legal mandate for implementation.

"As India gradually emerges from a lockdown, air pollution in its cities is again on the rise," said the study titled "How Robust are Urban India's Clean Air Plans?: An Assessment of 102 cities".

The study reveals that multiplicity of agencies is another problem that plagues these plans.

"It was found that pollution control boards are in charge of only 24 per cent of the mitigation activities listed in the plans, while 37 per cent come under the ambit of municipal corporations and urban local bodies (ULBs)," it said.

'A major earthquake may hit Delhi': Geologists on recent tremors across NCR

"We cannot predict time, place or exact scale, but do believe that there is a consistent seismic activity going around in the NCR region and can trigger in a major earthquake in Delhi," says Dr K Sain.

Ten low to moderate intensity tremors shaking Delhi-NCR in the span of one and a half month indicate that a powerful earthquake could strike India's National Capital in near future, warn some of the top geologists of the country.

"We cannot predict time, place or exact scale, but do believe that there is a consistent seismic activity going around in the NCR region and can trigger in a major earthquake in Delhi," said Dr Kalachand Sain, Chief of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, a premier autonomous institute, run under Union Ministry of Science and Technology.

Unfortunately, Delhi falls under high-risk seismic zones and its border towns are witness to mushrooming growth of high rise private buildings, plenty of them which do not adhere to mandatory guidelines of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) set for earthquake-resistant construction.

What would happen if an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or 6.0 hits the NCR? Replying to this frequently asked question, Professor Chandon Ghose of IIT-Jammu, an expert on earthquake engineering said, "Friday's (May 29) twin tremors which shook Delhi were measured at 4.5...but had it been a little more intense, the impact would have been serious. At Richter scale 6.0, the effect of the earthquake in Delhi would be devastating. Many buildings would be razed to dust."

In fact, innumerable high rise buildings in Noida, Gurugram and neighbouring areas of Delhi blatantly violate BIS norms.

"Everyone knows that Delhi-NCR falls under seismic zone-4, and it's prone to tremors but still most of the builders do not conform to the norms of BIS. There is a nexus between architects and builders which somehow compromise the stringent earthquake (resistant) codes. So, on any given day, if an earthquake of higher magnitude strikes here, the consequences would be grievous," said Professor Chandan Ghos

India plays crucial role in Etihad's growth strategy, says airline official

Etihad Airways' Vice President, Indian Sub-continent, reiterated the airline's unwavering commitment to the country over the last 15 years.

India plays a crucial role in Etihad Airways' growth strategy, contributing significantly to the airline's global operations, a top company official said.

Marking the Abu Dhabi-based carrier's 15-years of flying to India, Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways' Vice President, Indian Sub-continent, reiterated the airline's unwavering commitment to the country over the last 15 years, which she said, has resulted in Etihad Airways becoming one of the most preferred airlines for travellers from India.

Etihad began operations in India in September 2004.

A statement released by the airline said Mumbai was the first route in the country to be served by Etihad and today the city ranks highest in terms of total passengers the airline has carried over the years, with the number exceeding 3.5 million.

Owing to passenger demand on this route, Etihad introduced a fourth daily service to Mumbai last year. Delhi and Cochin rank second and third, with the airline carrying over 3.2 million and 2.3 million passengers on these routes, respectively over the years. Etihad has also added a fourth daily frequency on its Delhi - Abu Dhabi route.

As a result of its optimized schedule of non-stop flights between the UAE and India, appealing to greater numbers of point-to-point business and leisure passengers, Abu Dhabi is now the most popular destination for Indian travellers on the Etihad network, said the statement.

Etihad operates 161 return flights per week between Abu Dhabi and 10 key Indian gateways of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, connecting each of these gateways to international destinations.

Etihad Airways remains committed to its largest and busiest market, India. The UAE and India have shared strong commercial, cultural and historic relations and we will continue to honour these excellent trade and tourism ties through closer partnership with our friends in the Indian travel trade," Danny Barranger, Etihad Airways' Senior Vice President Global Sales, said.

Hundreds march from Jamia to Shaheen Bagh as anti-CAA protest continues

Many of them held candles and others marched holding placards that said, 'We reject CAA, NRC and NPR', 'Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai, Aapas Meyn Bhai Bhai'.

Business Standard : Hundreds of people, including women and children, on Sunday evening took out a massive anti-CAA march from Jamia university gate to Shaheen Bagh as the chorus to demand repealing of the amended Citizenship Act grew louder in Delhi.

The march was high on symbolism as some locals dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar, while three men assumed the identity of martyred revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, one of them in prison clothes and tied in chains.

The protesters, chanting 'Azadi' and 'CAA-NCR Par Halla Bol', and other slogans also paraded a mock 'detention camp' portrayed with a cell on wheels inside of which sat little children of multiple faiths and changed slogans.

People have been protesting at Shaheen Bagh, which has become an epicentre of the anti-CAA agitation in the national capital, for the last over 30 days.

Many of them held candles and others marched holding placards that said, 'We reject CAA, NRC and NPR', 'Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai, Aapas Meyn Bhai Bhai'.

After the march ended, protesters gathered from various parts of Delhi, raised slogans against the central government and demanded revocation of the CAA.

Mohammed Shah Rukh, a protester who came from Jaitpur, carrying the national flag spent his time trying to balance on the rail of the highway that runs through the area, while holding the tricolour in his hand in a "freedom fighter pose".

"I feel very overwhelmed by this movement, something we read in school textbooks about our freedom struggle, I feel we are fighting for that liberty again," he said.

Khan, a car mechanic, said some of his brothers also took part in the protest.

Several poets from various parts of the country also have gathered at Shaheen Bagh protest site, reciting patriotic poems, imbued with sarcasm towards the establishment.

Till late night, people had gathered in large numbers to listen to the poets, including women, who watched and chanted slogans way past midnight.

A group of four women, including two college girls, had come from Batla House to take part in the protest.

Healthier air quality in car-free stretch of Karol Bagh: CSE study

The street has been marked with yellow and white stripes demarcating space for hawkers.

Business Standard : A localised study conducted on a car-free stretch of the Ajmal Khan Road in the bustling Karol Bagh market has shown a considerable improvement in air quality.

The Centre for Science and Environment's Anumita Roychowdhury, who conducted the study, said she compared air quality data collected from the traffic-choked Arya Samaj Road, which cuts through the Ajmal Khan Road, with that from the recently pedestrianised 600-metre stretch.

"We monitored roadside exposure to air pollution, which is different from ambient air quality, on the Arya Samaj Road during heavy traffic. We then moved to the car-free zone of the Ajmal Khan Road and collected the data," she said.

Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at CSE, found that while the average "PM2.5 concentration on the Arya Samaj Road is 63.6 micrograms per cubic metre, it is 47.7 micrograms per cubic metre on the Ajmal Khan Road".

The short-term spike of PM2.5 on the Arya Samaj Road could hit 105.4 micrograms per cum 42.8 per cent higher than the highest short-term spike in the pedestrian area, she said.

Not only this, the pedestrian traffic on the road has increased significantly. The number of pedestrians per five minutes on the Ajmal Khan Road was 2.7 times the number on the Arya Samaj Road, she said.

Buoyed by the response from people, the the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) , which carried out the pilot project on decongestion in Karol Bagh, now plans to expand the scheme to other areas to promote use of public transport and make market areas more pedestrian-friendly.

"After seeing the response at Karol Bagh, we are now planning to do similar projects in Kirti Nagar and Kamla Nagar market areas. World over, from London to Shanghai, pedestrianisation of market areas have enhanced shoppers' experience, and we also want people of Delhi to feel that comfort," NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi had told PTI earlier.

The street has been marked with yellow and white stripes demarcating space for hawkers. Besides, bollards have been put at the entry points of Ajmal Khan Road on Pusa Road and Arya Samaj Road to restrict entry of vehicles to the road.

Bengaluru, Gurugram among top 5 locations in APAC for tech firms: Report

The study has ranked 15 cities of Asia Pacific in three categories based on their performance with regard to business conditions, innovation environment, and cost and availability.

Bengaluru and Gurugram are among the top 5 preferred destinations in Asia Pacific to set up offices by technology companies because of better business conditions as well as availability of engineers and real estate for growth, according to a report.

The report by property consultant CBRE said technology companies continue to fuel office demand in the APAC region, despite absence of any principal city or cluster of the same status as Silicon Valley. Technology sector accounted for 23 per cent of total leasing activity in 2018.

Keep Reading : Business Standard

The study has ranked 15 cities of Asia Pacific in three categories based on their performance with regard to business conditions, innovation environment, and cost and availability.

Business conditions and innovation environment were each given a weightage of 40 per cent while cost, a relatively less important consideration for tech firms, was given 20 per cent weightage.

"Leading cities are Beijing, Bengaluru, Shanghai, Singapore and Gurugram. These cities score highly in terms of business conditions and innovation environment, as well as providing costs and availability that are supportive for business growth," the report said.

These cities are preferred destinations for a wide range of traditional and new tech companies seeking to establish a base of operations in Asia Pacific.

Hyderabad figures in the list of five competent cities along with Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tokyo and Seoul. These cities already host tech industry sub-sectors and demonstrate solid performance across most categories.

Five 'supplement cities' are Hong Kong, Hsinchu, Sydney, Taipei and Auckland. These cities rate favourably on certain important aspects, but their most appropriate role is to serve as host for specific functions to complement larger hubs elsewhere in the region.

"India is home to an increasing number of tech unicorns and Asia Pacific is increasingly defined as the region leading in the rapid adoption of disruptive technology.

"However, there is still room for growth in terms of identifying locations where business conditions, innovation and talent come together to form a globally competitive digital hub," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, of CBRE India.

Magazine, who also heads South East Asia, Middle East and Africa business, said improved access to incubator and accelerator programmes and a vast pool of skilled IT talent based in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru have supported the cultivation of new ideas.

3 out of 7 seats in Delhi get more women to vote in this Lok Sabha election

According to the official data, 60.15 percent of women voters came out to vote as compared to 60.82 percent of men. The overall voting percentage dropped to 60.52 from 2014.

Lok Sabha Election 2019 : East Delhi, New Delhi and South Delhi parliamentary constituencies saw more women turning out to vote as compared to men, officials said Thursday.

Delhi recorded a turnout of 60.52 percent in the polls on May 12, five percentage points down from 2014.

According to official data, 60.82 per cent male voters and 60.15 per cent female voters exercised their right this time.

The East Delhi constituency, which is seeing a triangular contest between BJP's Gautam Gambhir, Congress's Arvinder Singh Lovely and AAP's Atishi Marlena, saw 61.80 per cent women exercising their right to vote as compared to 61.50 per cent of male voters.

The New Delhi constituency, which has many VVIP voters, recorded the lowest voter turnout among all seven constituencies in Delhi at 56.86 per cent, but saw a better turnout of women than men. According to the data, 57.21 per cent of women voters cast their votes while 56.58 per cent men exercised their franchise in the seat.

South Delhi, which had the second lowest turnout of voters, saw 58.89 per cent of women voters as compared to 58.60 per cent of male voters.

The Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and AAP'S Dilip Pandey are contesting, recorded the highest voter turnout at 63.67 per cent.

While 64.46 per cent of men cast their votes, 62.72 per cent women turned out to vote.

In a first for the city, as many as 17 booths with all women polling officials were established for the Lok Sabha elections in the seven constituencies of Delhi.

Out of the 17 booths, 10 had been set up in East Delhi constituency, two in Chandni Chowk and one each in North East Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi and North west Delhi.

Business Standard

Brace for 0.5 degree Celsius rise in temperature this summer

Temperatures are expected to be near normal in the rest of the country, the IMD said.

Brace for some serious summer months ahead. The average temperature between April to June is likely to be 0.5 degrees Celsius warmer in north and central India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday in its seasonal outlook for the next three months.

Temperatures are expected to be near normal in the rest of the country, the IMD said.

“The April to June season average maximum temperatures are likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5 degrees Celsius over most of the meteorological subdivisions from central India and some subdivisions from northwest India.

Near-normal maximum temperatures are likely in the remaining subdivisions,” the seasonal outlook said.

The northwest subdivision of the IMD comprises states of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan, while central India subdivision comprises Maharashtra, Chhatt-isgrah, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

“The seasonal average minimum and mean temperatures over west Rajasthan are likely to be above normal by more than one degree Celsius,” the IMD said.

Business Standard

Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi among world's cheapest cities to live in: Report |

Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong are the costliest ones.

Move over Singapore — the world's most expensive city has two new rivals.

After topping the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey for five years, Asia's Lion City has been joined by Paris and Hong Kong in a tie at the top of the table.

Zurich and Geneva rounded out the top five, while New York and Los Angeles reclaimed spots in the top 10 — ranking in seventh and 10th respectively — after slipping to 13th and 14th last year thanks to a weakening dollar.

The survey is designed to help companies calculate cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travelers.

The trio of cities sharing the top spot are 7 per cent more expensive to live in than New York, according to the EIU, which compiles its list from a survey of 160 products and services across 93 countries.

The Japanese port city of Osaka was another re-entry, moving up six spots to number five. Seoul (joint seventh place), Copenhagen (also seventh) and Tel Aviv (10th) round out the top 10 — which actually consists of 11 cities thanks to tied places.

"Weaker local currencies have pushed all five Australian and two New Zealand cities surveyed down in the ranking," the EIU said, accounting for Sydney's absence after it scraped into 10th position in last year's report.

Outside the top 10, the EIU said the cost of living in Chinese cities remains relatively stable, while Southeast Asian destinations were moving up the ranks.

One of the factors behind Asia's strong showing at the top of the table is that some Asian cities are among the world's priciest locations for general grocery shopping, according to the EIU.

But while parts of Asia remain the most expensive places on Earth, the continent also makes several appearances at the bottom of the list.

"Within Asia, the best value for money has traditionally been offered by South Asian cities, particularly those in India and Pakistan," the EIU said. "To an extent this remains true, and Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi and Karachi feature among the 10 cheapest locations surveyed."

Business Standard

Delhi eatery staff arrested for cloning debit, credit cards of customers

The accused used to re-swap cards of the customers and noted down their last four digits, PIN and bank name.

An employee of a central Delhi restaurant has been arrested for allegedly cloning debit and credit cards of customers and duping them of nearly Rs 4 lakh, police said Wednesday.

The accused has been identified as Pankaj Kumar, they said.

On February 14, a private bank filed a case that few of their customers who were having credit and debit cards have reported disputed transactions. Moreover, the cards were in possession of the customers at the time of those transactions, Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi), said.

During investigation, it was revealed that one restaurant in Connaught Place was the common point of purchase for all the cards. Police matched all the dates when the cards were compromised at that restaurant and found that Pankaj, a steward staff, was the person who had attended all the customers whose cards had disputed transactions, the officer said.

Thereafter, police laid a trap at the restaurant and apprehended Pankaj and one screamer was recovered from him, he said.

During interrogation, he told police that he learnt to clone cards from one Rahul, the officer said.

He used to re-swap cards of the customers and noted down their last four digits, PIN and bank name. He handed over the screamer having data of cards and other details to Rahul, police said.

They were acting cleverly and didn't use the cloned card for one month so that no one would doubt about their card being compromised at that restaurant, Verma said.

Total Rs 3,75,300 were transferred from the accounts, Verma said, adding police are looking to nab Rahul.

Business Standard

SC refuses to impose complete ban on firecrackers, but sets some conditions

The court order on firecrackers is not limited just to Diwali; it has fixed a duration for bursting of crackers on other events and festivals as well.

Refusing to impose a blanket ban on the sale and use of firecrackers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said only green firecrackers, which are less polluting, will be allowed to be sold in the country.

The Court, however, banned the sale of firecrackers on e-commerce websites.

The court order is not limited only to Diwali; durations have been fixed for bursting of crackers on all events and festivals. On Diwali, crackers are allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm. On Chirstmas eve and New Year, it will be allowed only between 11.45 pm and 12.45 am.

The Bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan had, after hearing the petitioners, firecrackers manufacturers, the Centre and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on August 28, reserved its order on the plea for a countrywide ban on firecrackers to curb the deteriorating air pollution.

The Bench had earlier said that there was a need to strike a balance between the right to health and the right to carry on a trade or profession.

The firecracker manufacturers had told the court that crackers were not the sole cause of rising pollution during Diwali. It was one of the contributing factors and that an entire industry could not be shut down on this count.

One of the pleas filed by a child, Arjun Gopal, represented by lawyer Gopal Shankarnarayan, had sought a ban on the possession of firecrackers in the National Capital Region as that was contributing to an already alarming level of air pollution in the area.

In 2017, the apex court had prohibited the sale of firecrackers in NCR-Delhi during Diwali.

Business Standard

Delhi Metro 'second-most unaffordable' transport network in world: CSE

Commuters have to spend, on an average, 9% and 14% to use an AC bus or the Metro, respectively.

Delhi Metro that faced flak from the commuters and the Kejriwal government over fare rise last year, is the world’s second most expensive mass rapid transit system, says a report by the Centre for Science and Environment.

CSE did an analysis of what it takes to keep public transport and overall journey costs affordable for all city dwellers while modernising the systems. This is needed to ensure that new investments in modern systems – be it the Metro, or bus rapid transit systems, or modern and electric buses – can lead to an effective shift in ridership from personal vehicles to public transport in all Indian cities.

Delhi Metro saw a sudden drop in ridership following the fare hike (in May and October 2017) – approximately by 420,000 passengers by 2018, the report said.

Even though the report said that there was no absolute threshold to define affordability of public transport but internationally it is generally accepted that about 10-15 per cent of household income can be spent on transport as the upper cap for a system to be accepted as affordable.

For poor people, higher spending on transport leads to lower spending on housing, health and education, which therefore spirals them into greater poverty.

If one were to consider the middle-income groups (30 per cent of the population approximately), which are just above the lower income classes, one finds that after accounting for integrated journey cost (at a conservative estimate of 25 per cent of the system cost – a person using a Metro is likely to spend at least 25 per cent of the cost paid to the Metro to get to the station and then reach the destination from the station), AC buses and Metro are almost unaffordable for them too.

They have to spend, on an average, 9 per cent and 14 per cent to use an AC bus or the Metro, respectively.

It was also observed that it was ironical that when travel demand was exploding in cities the transport service providers were facing a crisis.

“Lack of funding and pricing strategy for integrated public transport systems and services are blocking progress. Public transport ridership is sliding in cities and service providers are running into losses, thereby rendering the services unaffordable,” the report observed.

No cohesive strategy is in place to reverse this trend, it added...Read More

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Govt should help build houses, will pressure it for relief: Rahul in Kerala

Gandhi also reminded people, as the Congress party is not in power both in Delhi and Kerala, they can't do 'big things'.

Congress leaders are going to pressurise the Government so that Kerala people get their compensation as soon as possible and citizens face minimum discomfort, said party president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening while addressing people at a relief camp in North Paravur.

"The Government owes you compensation and Government has to help you build your houses. We are in opposition and it is our job to make them do their duties. Every single Congress leader is going to pressurize the Government so that your compensation is paid as soon as possible and you face minimum discomfort," he said.

Gandhi also reminded people, as the Congress party is not in power both in Delhi and Kerala, they can't do 'big things'. However, he added that the Congress party is raising money to help people rebuild their houses.

Talking of problem being faced by people in camps, the Congress president said, "The immediate problem in all the camps is that people are saying their houses are damaged, there is a lot of mud and dirt in their houses and people have lost their papers.

So I have told all the Congress workers and leaders to help them build their houses, to assist them to clean it and to help with all the papers that have been lost so that people can get the paperwork done."

The Gandhi scion also applauded people for facing this tragedy with unity and strength.

"Every single Keralite should be proud that how the state has reacted to this tragedy. Everyone stood together as one. All religion, all communities, all cast stood together and faced this tragedy. And you are a huge example to the whole country", he said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day visit of flood-hit Kerala. He reached the flood-ravaged state on Tuesday morning and will take stock of the situation in the Wayanad district on Wednesday.

Article Source BS

Congress state units disagree with central leadership over alliances

The trend signals how the party could be going back to the era where its regional satraps used to be influential and could stand up to even such leaders as Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel.

Several of the Congress party state units are currently at odds with the central leadership over the question of striking alliances and seat adjustments.

The trend signals how the party could be going back to the era where its regional satraps used to be influential and could stand up to even such leaders as Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. However, this had changed after Indira Gandhi came to lead the Congress and systematically replaced strong leaders in the state with darbaris and sycophants.

West Bengal

In West Bengal, the Congress state unit is split in two over whether it should align with the Trinamool Congress or not. A section of the party's leadership wants to have a seat adjustment with the Trinamool Congress.

However, senior state unit leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury oppose aligning with the Trinamool. Chowdhury also has the support of the rank and file, which has suffered the brunt of the alleged violence by Trinamool cadres on Congress workers in villages and towns.

Cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Bharatiya Janata Party have also been the target of Trinamool's purported political violence. The Congress workers on the ground want their party to align with the CPI (M) to fight Trinamool unitedly. They argue the cadres of the two parties, the Congress and CPI (M), are already fighting Trinamool's alleged political violence unitedly on the ground.

A three-cornered fight in West Bengal would also better serve the national objectives of the central leadership of the Congress. It would prevent the BJP, which is on the surge, to capture the opposition space in the state. This will help a split in anti-incumbency votes and ensure BJP wins lesser number of seats than it would in a bipolar contest.

The state unit of the Congress met party chief Rahul Gandhi last week. Gandhi met each of them individually to understand the situation.

Story By BS

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