Category: India

Chinese-made air-conditioned hi-tech boats will ferry tourists from Durga Ghat to Punnami Ghat and Bhavani Island in Andhra Pradesh’s Amaravati soon. The AP Tourism Development Corporation has imported the 36-passenger capacity boat by spending Rs 1.19 crore. All the seats have a life jacket facility and foolproof security has been provided inside the boat as per the guidelines of international navigation. The boat will soon be introduced in Krishna River in Vijayawada. The APTDC is awaiting for permission of irrigation and ports departments to introduce the boat in Krishna River for passengers’ travelling purpose. The boat, has advanced facilities like air-conditioning, ... Read more

The tourist inflow to Odisha in 2017-18 (till January) has increased by around 38 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of 2016-17 . Tourism Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, said that as many as 86,162 tourists from abroad visited Odisha in 2017-18 (till January) compared to 62,539 arrivals in 2016-17 in the corresponding period last year, registering 37.77 per cent growth over the previous fiscal. The tourist footfall of 2016-17 was 17.70 per cent more as compared to the corresponding period of 2015-16 where 53,133 foreign tourists had visited the state. The most number of arrivals were from US, England, France, ... Read more

With a vision to curb air pollution and associated health hazards, oil companies have decided to supply clean Euro-4 grade diesel and petrol from 1st April in Delhi. Meanwhile, the move is as part of Supreme Court’s strict order to introduce BS-4 fuels all along the national capital. Indian Oil Corporation runs around 391 petrol pumps in Delhi. “The company is upbeat on the roll out of BS-VI fuels from tomorrow (Sunday) in the NCT (national capital territory). All our outlets in Delhi will be replacing the BS-IV fuels,” said IOC Director, B V Rama Gopal. “Most of the vehicles ... Read more

Ladakh has been awarded as the ‘Best Adventure Tourism Destination’ in Outlook Traveller Awards 2018 held in New Delhi. “The tourism department has taken concerted efforts to promote adventure tourism and sports in Ladakh. Trekking activities like Chadar trek on the frozen Zanskar River, hiking to Stok Kangri (6121 m) and Nun and Kun Peaks (7135 m), besides biking to Pangong Lake are popular activities attracting a large number of travellers. Camping, double hump camel rides and traditional sports of horse polo and archery also attract adventure enthusiast from across the world,” said Mahmood A Shah, Director tourism, Kashmir. The department also ... Read more

IRCTC is planing to launch its own digital payment gateway, which is being initially called ‘ipay’. The new payment gateway, which will be rolled out in phases after testing, is expected to be ready over the next 4-8 weeks. At present, Razorpay, Mobikwik and Paytm lead IRCTC’s railway ticket booking transactions through their gateways. The companies have to pay “a one-time licensing fee to integrate with IRCTC’s website and mobile app and in return share revenues with IRCTC on every transaction that goes through them. The licensing fee ranges from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore. IRCTC has recently completed its ... Read more

The government of Saudi Arabia has decided not to retain the passports of the Indian airline crew members on arrival in the country and issue a bar code instead. The move comes as a big relief to the crew of Air India and Jet Airways, the two Indian airlines which fly to Saudi. The decision not to retain the passports of the crew of Indian airlines came into effect from mid-February this year. The bar code given to the crew members will have limited validity. The development also comes against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia allowing a newly introduced Air India flight ... Read more

Opening its doors to the common man for the first time, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) operated Railway Saloon Coach departed for its maiden tour to Katra from the Old Delhi Raiway Station with six passengers on board. India’s first saloon coach with air-conditioned rooms, attached bathrooms and valet services was earlier available for only top railway officials. It comprise of two bedrooms, a lounge, a pantry, a toilet and a kitchen. The luxury coach has a living room, two air-conditioned bedrooms – one twin bedroom and the other similar to a AC First Class coupe with attached baths, dining area ... Read more

The Hyderabad police department is planning to hand out a very essential ‘cool jacket’, an accessory dedicated to the Traffic cops in the city. The jacket has the ability to lower the body temperature by 6 to 12 degree Celsius for up to 3 to 5 hours. The traffic police were seem to be happy with the new jacket. “These jackets are very helpful as they cool body temperature. We got positive feedback last year, that’s why we will be supplying this year too,” said Anil Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police. Meanwhile, Police department from the neighbouring districts are also ... Read more

The dry, deciduous scrub forest of the Hingolgadh sanctuary, located 180 km from Ahmedabad in Jasdan taluka of Rajkot district, is the perfect choice if you are looking for a peaceful and exciting holiday. Hingolgadh is hilly, rugged and undulating with a magnificent mosaic of grasslands, which creates a ubiquitous manifestation of nature’s glory. The sanctuary area was earlier known as ‘Motisari vidi’ and belonged to the ex-princely state of Jasdan. Back then, the Sanctuary was a hunting reserve for the royal family and was also used for grass collection. The green lush patch of Hingolgadh is spread over an ... Read more

Delhi government is planning to deploy 1000 electric buses in the capital city. It is estimated that each bus would cost around ₹2 crore to ₹2.5 crore. “The buses would be outsourced from China,” said Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, while delivering the budget speech last week. The project’s advisers are yet to be announced, followed by adding new infrastructure facility in the availability of charging stations. Two substations that can accommodate 11kv would be made at East Vinod Nagar and Bawana in Delhi. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier asked the transport department to inaugurate the project in November ... Read more

An earthquake measuring over 4.6 magnitude was measured on the Richter scale, around 4.03 am today at Gujarat. Following the quake, a mild tremor was noted down in Hanjiyasar village of Rajkot district, with no reported casualties or damage. Meanwhile, on 10th March, an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 was noted in the parts of Kutch district with Bhachau city as the epicentre. Moreover, Gujarat has the darkest days in the history of natural disasters. On 26th January 2001, a powerful 7.7 magnitude tremor caused wide damage to life and property and over 20,000 lives and 4 lakh homes were taken ... Read more

ISRO, India’s all-time pioneer in space research is about to launch, GSAT-6A communication satellites in the orbit at 4.56pm today from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Today’s launch have another highlight, as ISRO is back again introducing home-made satellites into mainstream. GSLV-F08 will be the launch vehicle used today to carry the indigenous GSAT6A communication satellites. GSAT-6A, satellites have a high power S-band satellite primarily used for communication with a life of over 10 years. The new mission thus provides a new benchmark in the mobile communication coverage, through the introduction of multibeam technology. ISRO’s GSLV-F08, launch vehicle weighs over ... Read more

Hospitality major Hilton, which has around 17 hotels in the country across five of its brands, plans to double it in the next three or four years. The company is planning to open a hotel and a resort in Goa and a hotel in Ahmedabad in 2019 and has strengthened its partnership with the Bengaluru-based Embassy Group. “When compared to other countries we are under represented in India as we have just 17 hotels in the country and there is a lot of scope to expand further. We plan to have 16 more hotels in the country in the near ... Read more

An IndiGo flight suffered a tyre burst on a flight from Tirupati while landing at Hyderabad Airport. The flight had 77 people on board when it was landing at the airport wednesday evening during which the tyre burst. All passengers were evacuated safely, as per the airlines’ statement. After the aircraft was stuck on the runway, the authorities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport had to suspend the operation. Two flights were diverted to Bengaluru due to the runway closure following the incident. “IndiGo flight 6E 7117 operated by an ATR (aircraft) from Tirupati to Hyderabad suffered a tyre burst ... Read more

Europe’s leading hospitality group AccorHotels said it has plans to launch new hotel brands in luxury and service apartment space. The company is in advanced stage of discussions with a real estate developer in Gurugram to launch its first global apartment hotel brand, Novotel Suites in India. The construction of the project which comprises around 100 apartments is expected to start in the next few months. The company also has plans to launch similar projects in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. AccorHotels owns and runs around 20 brands across 92 countries. In India, it currently operates around 47 hotels under 10 brands, including ... Read more