In an effort to resolve a persistent concern of the U.S., India will make exceptions for American airlines on its ground handling regulations that prohibit international carriers from operations beyond the check-in area.
However, these airlines will have to allow a security audit by Indian agencies, and ensure that Indian employees are tasked with sensitive operations.
Following the changes, U.S. airlines will have access control to the aircraft, can screen unaccompanied baggage, conduct secondary check of passengers at the ladder point and have security control of cargo.
Until now, foreign carriers had to enter into an agreement with an Indian airline for performing these activities.
Jan 09, 2020
Government Panel Approves Rolling Out Of 150 Private Trains
A high-powered panel set up by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has approved the rolling out of 150 private trains on 100 routes, including Mumbai-Delhi and Howrah-Delhi sectors.
According to the plan, private operators will be free to fix the fare, decide on halts and procure coaches and engines from any source as long as they comply with the Railways' standards. The private players will have to deploy all the trains within five years of award of contract, and the time taken by a train to complete a journey will be comparable with the fastest train operated by the Indian Railways on that route.
IRCTC To Run Two Bharat Darshan Trains From Tirunelveli
Two Bharat Darshan Special tourist trains from Tirunelveli covering Jyotirlinga temples and Ramayana related places across the country would be operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC.
The 13-day Mahashivratri Nava Jyotirlinga Special Express will leave Tirunelveli on February 19.
The 14-day Ramayana Yatra Special Express will leave from on March 5, IRCTC South Zone South Zone Joint General Manager P Sam Joseph told reporters.
Railways To Test Facial Recognition Tech At Bengaluru, Manmad Stations
Facial recognition technology backed by artificial intelligence has been installed at Bengaluru, Manmad and Bhusawal stations as test cases to identify and nab criminals.
The objective of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) is to link the facial recognition system with existing databases such as the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and systems to identify criminals who may be roaming the railway stations. The real-time face recognition software will alert the RPF command centre of any known offenders.
Jan 07, 2020
Room ACs to have default temperature setting of 24 degrees celsius from Jan 1
The Centre has made mandatory the default temperature settings for room air conditioners, of all makes and types, from January 1, which had been formed after consulting with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
"The Centre in consultation with BEE had notified new energy performance standards for Room Air Conditioner (RACs) on October 30, 2019. The 24 degree Celsius default setting has been made mandatory from January 1, 2020 for all room air conditioners covered under the ambit of BEE star-labelling program vide this notification," according to a press release by PIB.
"Additionally, the Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) as per the new standards will range from (3.30 - 5.00) for split and (2.70 - 3.50) for window air conditioners, which will be applicable from 1st January 2021 onwards," the release added.
Jan 06, 2020
Navigation facilities for visually impaired inaugurated at Chandigarh railway station
Navigation facilities for visually impaired were inaugurated at Chandigarh railway station in Punjab. This facility has been introduced by the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation through NGO 'Anuprayaas'. Chandigarh is fifth Railway station in the country and first in North India to have this facility.
This step will help visually impaired passengers to know about the passenger amenities at the Chandigarh Railway Station. In addition to Braille Tactile Map, signages are also installed for all the facilities and offices in the premise like Enquiry, Station Manager, waiting rooms, lifts, and toilets etc.
Visually impaired people can identify these facilities independently. With this, the common challenges faced by the visually impaired people at railway stations like missing trains because of wrong guidance will be minimized and they will be empowered to travel independently.
Jan 03, 2020
Hotels and Restaurants to be Audited
The Delhi government and the municipal corporations have been ordered to carry out an audit at all hotels and restaurants in the capital to check how accessible they are to persons with disabilities. Besides infrastructure such as ramps and lifts, hotels and restaurants are also required to have special menus printed in large fonts and Braille.
The audit has been ordered by the Delhi state commissioner for persons with disabilities, a quasi-judicial body.
In Delhi, there are more than 400 hotels and restaurants that are associated with the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.