Chopper Services To Ayodhya Delayed Due To Bad Weather

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The launch of helicopter services from Lucknow to Ayodhya, initially scheduled for January 19 and later postponed to January 26, has been continuously delayed due to persistent bad weather conditions.

Lucknow, Feb 13: The launch of helicopter services from Lucknow to Ayodhya, initially scheduled for January 19 and later postponed to January 26, has been continuously delayed due to persistent bad weather conditions.

Principal secretary, tourism and culture, Mukesh Meshram said, "The service will start soon, we are waiting for some more time as we don't want to take any chances."

He said that three choppers are already stationed in Ayodhya, with an additional three operating from Lucknow.

Furthermore, plans for helicopter services connecting Ayodhya with Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Mathura and Prayagraj are on track.

As travellers eagerly await the commencement of these services, the tourism department remains optimistic about their positive impact on pilgrimage tourism and the overall economic landscape of the state.

Meshram said that the proposed helicopter journey would have an estimated travel time of 30-40 minutes from Lucknow to Ayodhya, with each helicopter accommodating six to eight passengers.

"The helicopter service would be a game-changer for the tourism sector of the state, particularly for religious tourism,' he said.

The pricing structure for different routes includes Rs 11,327 per person for the 40-minute flight from Gorakhpur to Ayodhya, Rs 14,159 per person for the 55-minute flight from Varanasi, Rs 14,159 per person for the 45-minute flight from Lucknow, and Rs 14,159 per person for the 50-minute flight from Prayagraj.

Meanwhile, officials have set the fare for the aerial darshan experience at Rs 3,539 per person, striving to make it an affordable and inclusive endeavour.

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Passengers seeking aerial darshan are required to make advance bookings, with the tour lasting a maximum of 15 minutes and covering key landmarks.
(IANS)

Government Extends Subsidy On Two And Three-Wheeler EVs Until September 30

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

New Delhi, July 27: The central government has extended the 'Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024' by two months, i.e., until September 30, said the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

A statement by the ministry Friday also added that the total outlay of the scheme has been enhanced to Rs 778 crore.

The Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 (EMPS 2024) was launched by the Ministry March 13, 2024, through a gazette notification. The scheme aims to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) across the country. It was originally set to run from April 1st to July 31st, 2024, with a total outlay of Rs 500 crores, but has now been revised.

Under the scheme, buyers can get a subsidy benefit of up to Rs 10,000 for two-wheeler EVs, up to Rs 25,000 for a small three-wheeler EV, and up to Rs 50,000 for large three-wheeler EVs.

The ministry also added that the scheme now targets supporting 560,789 electric vehicles (EVs), comprising 500,080 electric two-wheelers (e-2Ws) and 60,709 electric three-wheelers (e-3Ws). This includes 13,590 rickshaws and e-carts, as well as 47,119 e-3Ws in the L5 category. To promote advanced technologies, incentives will be available only for EVs equipped with advanced batteries. The scheme is fund-limited, and the EVs are also restricted to targeted numbers for each category.

The ministry said that with greater emphasis on providing affordable and environmentally friendly public transportation options for the masses, the scheme will be applicable mainly to those e-2Ws and e-3Ws registered for commercial purposes. Further, in addition to commercial use, privately or corporately owned registered e-2Ws will also be eligible under the scheme.

(ANI)

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Paris Olympics: Rower Balraj Panwar Finishes Fourth In Heats, Stays Eligible For Repechage Round

by Hemanta Pande

Paris, July 27: India's Paris Olympics campaign in rowing was off to a shaky start as Balraj Panwar finished at fourth spot in the first heat race on Saturday.

Balraj clocked timings of 7:07:11 minutes to finish at number four out of six competitors in his heat. Only three players from each heat race could make it to the quarterfinals directly.

However, all hope is not lost for Balraj, as he is still eligible to compete in the repechage round that will take place on Sunday.
In heat one, New Zealand's Thomas Mackintosh finished at number one spot with timings of 6:55.92 minutes. Greece rower Stefanos Ntouskos earned second place with a time of 7:01.79 minutes. The third place was bagged by Egypt's Abdelkhalek El-Banna, who clocked 7:05.06 minutes.

India has fielded only one rower in Paris 2024 Olympics.

Back in April, Panwar secured India's first Paris Olympics quota in rowing by finishing third in the men's single scull event of the Asian Olympic qualifiers in Chungju, South Korea.

India's campaign in shooting in the Paris 2024 Olympics started with a disappointment as two Indian teams in action during the qualification round in the 10 m air rifle mixed team events failed to make it to the medal matches on Saturday.

Two Indian pairs, Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh and Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal, took part in the 10 m air rifle mixed teams qualifiers. Only four teams out of 28 had the privilege of qualifying further for the knockout stages, i.e., a gold medal match for the top two teams and a bronze medal match for teams ranked third and fourth. India could not make it to the final four.

Ramita and Arjun finished in sixth place with a total of 628.7 points after three series, out of which Ramita managed 314.5 and Arjun got 314.2 points. They fell just one point short of Germany, who finished at number four with 629.7.

On the other hand, the pair of Elavenil and Sandeep finished in 12th place with 626.3 points, with Elavenil scoring 312.6 points and Sandeep got 313.7 points.

Germany will be playing in the bronze medal match with Kazakhstan, whose team consisting of Le Alexandra and Satpayev Islam finished at number three with 630.8 points in three series.

The gold medal match will be between the defending champions, China, who finished at the top spot with 632.2 points and South Korea, who finished at number two with 631.4 points.

However, there is still hope for India as shooting action will continue with 10 m air pistol qualification rounds for men's and women's categories, which will feature stars like Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Cheema, Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan in action. These will take place at 2 pm and 4 pm respectively. (ANI)

Read More: Sports News

Stock Market In Top Gear After Budget, Logs Best Weekly Streak In Last 6 Years

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Mumbai, July 27: Indian stock market witnessed a stellar rally in the Budget week. Last week, Sensex and Nifty surged by 728 points or 0.90 per cent and 303 points or 1.24 per cent respectively. This was the eighth consecutive week when the market closed with gains.

This is the first time since January 22, 2018 that the market has continued to rise for such a long period.

On a weekly basis, Tata Motors (13 per cent), HDFC Life Insurance (10.6 per cent), Sun Pharma (9.3 per cent), NTPC (8.7 per cent), BPCL (8.2 per cent), Titan (7.2 per cent), SBI Life Insurance (6.3 per cent) and Cipla (6 per cent) were the top gainers in the Nifty pack.

During this period, no Nifty stock posted negative returns.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Pharma soared by 5.77 per cent, Nifty Media saw a gain of over 5.5 per cent, Nifty Auto surged by 5.16 per cent, Nifty Energy climbed by 2.79 per cent and Nifty FMCG posted 2.69 per cent weekly gains.

However, Nifty Bank (1.86 per cent), Nifty Realty (1.69 per cent), Nifty Finance (1.19 per cent) and Nifty PSU Bank (0.44 per cent) were the major laggards.

Nifty made a new all-time high of 24,861 and Sensex closed near its lifetime high Friday. Sensex closed at 81,332, up 1,292 points or 1.62 per cent, and Nifty closed at 24,834, up 428 points or 1.76 per cent.

According to market experts, "The market has now recovered its losses from budget day, driven by positive US GDP data and expectations of improved global demand. Moving forward, the direction of the domestic market will likely be influenced by the progress of the earnings season."

"DIIs continue to employ a 'buy on dips' strategy, which contributed to market gains on the week's last trading day, particularly in the pharma, auto, metal, IT, and FMCG sectors," they added.

(IANS)

Chopper Services To Ayodhya Delayed Due To Bad Weather

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