Railway Minister Declares Commencement of 20 Budget announced Train Services

                        The Minister of Railways, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, declared the commencement of twenty Budget announced train services at a press conference here today.  These train services include introduction of some new trains, extension of some existing trains and increase in frequency of some existing trains.

                        The new trains will be flagged off from respective railway stations within next seven to ten days whereas extension and increase in frequency will be introduced with immediate effect as operationally feasible after today i.e. 21.11.2012.  Following is the list of the train services:-

NEW TRAINS :

	Railway Budget 2012-13
S.No.	Train No. and Name	Station for inauguration
1.	13137/13138 Barrackpore-Azamgarh Express (Weekly)	Barrackpore
2.	15111/15112 Chhapra-Manduadih Intercity Express (Daily)	Manduadih
3.	51437/51438 Miraj-Kurudwadi Passenger (Daily)	Miraj
4.	68061/68062 Adra-Asansol MEMU (Daily)	Adra
5.	68083/68084 Adra-Bishnupur MEMU (Daily)	Adra
6.	22870/22869 Visakhapatnam-Chennai Express (Weekly)	Visakhapatnam
7.	22801/22802 Visakhapatnam-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express (Weekly)	Visakhapatnam
8.	12761/12762 Karimnagar-Tirupati Express (Weekly)	Tirupati
9.	12775/12776 Kakinada-Secunderabad AC Express (Tri-weekly)	Kakinada
10	11651/11652 Jabalpur-Singrauli Intercity Express (Daily)	Jabalpur
11.	Anandnagar-Barahani Passenger (Daily)	Anandnagar
12.	Gorakhpur-Siwan passenger (Daily) via Kaptanganj, Thawe	Gorakhpur
	Railway Budget 2011-12
13.	22205/22206 Chennai-Madurai AC Duronto (Bi-weekly)	Chennai
14.	22207/22208 Chennai-Trivandrum AC Duronto (Bi-weekly)	Chennai
15	12035/12036 Jaipur-Agra Shatabdi Express (6 days a week)	Jaipur
16.	66304/66305 Kollam-Nagercoil MEMU (6 days a week)	Kollam

EXTENSION:

	Railway Budget 2012-13
1.	15013/15014 Kathgodam-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Express upto Jodhpur	Delhi Sarai Rohilla
2.	12037/12038 New Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi Express upto Moga (2 days).	Ludhina

INCREASE IN FREQUENCY:

	Railway Budget 2012-13
1.	12457/12458 Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Bikaner Express from 3 days to daily.	Bikaner
2.	Increase in frequency of 12731/12732 Secunderabad-Tirupati Express with new no. and route (via Kacheguda, Dhone, Gooty, Dharmavaram)	Secundrabad

Staff Selection Commission will Assist MHA for the Recruitment of about 40,000 Constables (GD)

Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will assist Ministry of Home Affairs for the recruitment of about 40,000 Constables (GD) for the Central Para Military Forces (CPMFs) namely, BSF, CISF, CRPF, SSC and ITBPF and Riflemen in Assam Rifles.  The scheme of this recruitment will be on the basis of merit list drawn for each State as per vacancies communicated by the Ministry of Home Affairs State-wise and category-wise.  Large number of vacancies are also earmarked for border districts and areas affected by left wing extremism and militant activities in different states.

The programme of the recruitment will be as below:

(a)  Date of Advertisement                              15.12.2012

(b)  Last date of applications                           11.01.2013

(c)  PST/PET                                                   February-April, 2013

(d)  Written Examination                                 12.05.2013

(e)  Medical Examination                                August, 2013

(f)   Declaration of Results                              30.09.2013

Commodity-Wise Freight Revenue by Railways goes up by 23.76 per Cent during April-October 2012

The Railways have generated Rs. 47063.59 crore of revenue earnings from commodity-wise freight traffic during April-October 2012 as compared to Rs. 37392.97 crore during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 25.86 per cent. Railways carried 565.37 million tonnes of commodity-wise freight traffic during April-October 2012 as compared to 536.92 million tonnes carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 5.30 per cent. The Net Tonne Kilo Metres (NTKM) went up from 357750 million during April-October 2011 to 363834 million during April-October 2012, showing an increase of 1.70 per cent.

Out of the total earnings of Rs. 7174.64 crore from commodity-wise freight traffic during the month of October 2012, Rs. 3134.64 crore came from transportation of 41.37 million tonnes of coal, followed by Rs. 523.67 crore from 8.67 million tonnes of iron ore for exports, steel plants and for other domestic user, Rs. 714.14 crore from 8.91 million tonnes of cement, Rs. 569.17 crore from 3.87 million tonnes of foodgrains, Rs. 415.21 crore from 3.54 million tonnes of petroleum oil and lubricant (POL), Rs. 417.42 crore from 2.66 million tonnes of Pig iron and finished steel from steel plants and other points, Rs. 580.98 crore from 5.20 million tonnes of fertilizers, Rs. 87.55 crore from 1.24 million tonnes of raw material for steel plants except iron ore, Rs. 305.03 crore from 3.41 million tonnes by container service and Rs. 426.83 crore from 5.07 million tonnes of other goods.

Winter Session of Parliament Commencing on 22nd November 2012

The Winter Session, 2012 of Parliament (12^th Session of Fifteenth Lok Sabha and the 227^th Session of the Rajya Sabha) is scheduled to commence on Thursday, the 22^nd of November, 2012 and subject to exigencies of Government Business, the Session will conclude on Thursday, the 20^th of December, 2012.  The Session will provide 20 sittings spread over a period of 29 days.   

          The Session will mainly be devoted to essential Government legislative and other business, including financial business relating to Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2012-13 in respect of General Budget.

To finalise the Government Business for the Winter Session, 2012, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Shri Kamal Nath held a meeting with the Secretaries/Senior Officers of the various Ministries/Departments on Friday, the 16^th of November, 2012. The Ministers of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs co-chaired the meeting.  Shri Kamal Nath addressed a Press Conference on the ensuing Winter Session of Parliament in New Delhi today. He said that the Government will attempt to arrive at political consensus on the business to be transacted during the coming session of the Parliament. The following Business is likely to be taken up during the 12^th Session of Fifteenth Lok Sabha and the 227^th  Session of the Rajya Sabha: -

I – Bills for Consideration and Passing

S. No.	Title of the Bill
1	The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010
2	The Warehousing Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2011
3	The Companies Bill, 2011.
4	The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011.
5	The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008.
6	The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011
7	The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2011
8	The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011.
9	The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2011.
10	The North Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Amendment Bill, 2012, as passed by Lok Sabha.
11	The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2011
12	The Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010
13	The Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010, as passed by Lok Sabha.
14	The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010.
15	The Architects (Amendment) Bill, 2010.
16	The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth  Amendment) Bill, 2010, as passed by Rajya Sabha .- reservation of women in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies
17	The Constitution (One Hundred and Tenth Amendment) Bill, 2009.- reservation of women in Panchayati Raj
18	The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011, as passed by Lok Sabha.
19	The Lokpal and Lokayuktas’ Bill, 2011, as passed by Lok Sabha – presently with Select Committee, Rajya Sabha.
20	The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organizations Bill, 2011
21	The Constitution (One Hundred and Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 2012 – Reservation in services to SCs/STs
22	The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2012.
23	The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012, as passed by Lok Sabha.
24	The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2012, as passed by Rajya Sabha.
25	The National Highways Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2012, as passed by Lok Sabha.

II – Bills for Introduction

S. No.	Title of the Bill
1	The Agricultural Bio- Security Bill, 2012
2	The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2012
3	The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2012.
4	The Governor’s (Emoluments, Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Bill, 2012
5	The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012
6	The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2012
7	The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2012
8	The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2012
9	The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2012
10	The Coal Mines (Conservation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2012

III – Financial Business

S. No.	Item of Business
1	Discussion and Voting on Supplementary Demands for Grants (General) for the year 2012-13.

J&K Youth a Part of Indian Growth Story

The UDAAN programme , a special industry initiative of the Centre for the youth of Jammu & Kashmir was launched by Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia , Minister for Power today. The youth from Jammu and Kashmir have been inducted by NTPC for training in thermal plant engineering . Addressing the youth , Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the spirit of entrepreneurship, democratic and demographic dividends are the three important lifelines of India and Udaan programme is expected to strengthen these. He added that this initiative provides an excellent platform for the J &K youth for associating with one of the largest corporate in the country. He congratulated NTPC for being the first PSU to launch the programme which shall be an enabler to make the J &K youth part of the growth story of the country. The Minister underlined the importance of training the youth of J & K in different regions of the country and help them integrate in the mainstream.

The largest power producer of the country, NTPC is the first public sector undertaking to implement the UDAAN, a special industry initiative of the centre for the youth of Jammu & Kashmir. Under this, NTPC will select and train youths from J&K every year for a period of five years. NTPC management has taken all the steps on a priority footing leading to the speedy implementation of the programme.

This will be a 36 week training programme in thermal power plant engineering. In the first year, NTPC has chosen candidates from Jammu and Srinagar regions. After the induction programme, the participants will be sent to four locations- Rihand, Singrauli, Vindhyachal and Talcher where they will be stationed in the executive trainees hostel.

As per the NTPC programme, the young trainees from J&K will be provided lodging, boarding and a stipend for the training period of nine months. After the training, they will be given a certificate of having qualified as operation & maintenance professionals of the power sector. They will be free to look for employment opportunities in the power sector and consultancy.

Through Udaan the government intends to involve heads of Corporates belonging to both public and private sector for training of youth from J & K.

Colourful start to the 43rd International Film Festival of India in Goa Govt taking many steps to nurture Indian film industry: Manish Tewari IFFI will be made truly international: Manohar Parrikar
Renowned Polish filmmaker Zanussi gets Lifetime Achievement Award

The 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2012) was declared open here amidst festivities, glitz and with a promise to make India an international destination of good cinema. Information and Broadcasting Minister Shri Manish Tewari assured the august gathering that Government on its part is taking a number of steps to nurture the Indian film industry and to promote India as a destination for film shooting. He said that Government is embarking on an ambitious National Film Heritage Mission during the 12th five year plan to preserve India’s film heritage. Moreover, with a view towards encouraging co-production between India and other countries, India has entered into co-production agreements with various countries.

Chief Minister of Goa Shri Manohar Parrikar said that the journey which was started by him 8 years ago has yielded positive results and Goa has been awarded as a best film destination. He, however added that a collective endeavour will be made to take this festival to newer heights and to make it truly international.

Shri Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, I&B Ministry said that IFFI has grown from strength to strength incorporating new themes and all efforts will be made to imbibe the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family) through IFFI.

The Chief Guest of the event and the Bollywood heartthrob Akshay Kumar said that cinema is very-very important not only for him but for his entire family. Pitching for good and wholesome cinema, he felt proud that the festival is happening in the centenary year of Indian Cinema.

Renowned Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi was conferred upon the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on the occasion by Shri Manish Tewari, which carries an amount of Rs10 lakh, a scroll, a shawl and a certificate. Known for producing acclaimed films like Camouflage, Family life, and The Silent Touch, Zanussi said amidst standing ovation that this is the most moving moment of his life that he is being awarded for some achievement and promised to make more films in future. He said, 21st century will be Asia’s Century and it is his deep belief that it will be India’s Century.

Gautam Ghosh, Chairman of the International Jury and all the Jury members were felicitated by the IFFI. Shri Ghosh said, IFFI has gone through many ups and downs but it’s still glowing. He also called for more autonomy for the film body to function in an efficient way.

Hosted by Kabir Bedi and Perizaad Zorabian, the event showcased the evolution of 100 years of Indian Cinema through a brilliant combo of music, dance and videos conceived and directed by Jahnu Barua, Saroj Khan and Sajjad Ali. Nearly two-hour cultural extravaganza came to a close with the spell-bound renditions of Kailash Kher.

With the galaxy of stars like Akshay Kumar, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Om Puri, Jackie Shroff, Vinay Pathak, the opening ceremony was a bit different from the previous festivals. As a part of the international presence, the cine lovers were treated to the company of renowned film personalities like Kim Ki-duk, Michael Winterbottom, Susanne Bier amongst others.

Academy Award winning Director Ang Lee’s much acclaimed 3D film “Life of Pi” is being screened this evening as the opening film of the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2012). The cast and crew of the film including Irrfan Khan and Tabu are present on the occasion.

In the 43rd edition of IFFI, over a hundred movies will be screened as a part of the Indian Cinema and the World Cinema segments. The Indian Section will bring to the audience movies from across the country in the Indian Panorama (Feature and Non-Feature Section) which is selected by a core jury headed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta for the Feature and M R Rajan for the Non-Feature section. The Indian Panorama will screen twenty feature films with ‘Baandhon’ director by Jahnu Barua as the Opening film, and nineteen films in the non-feature section with ‘Celluloid Man’ directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur as the Opening film.

Apart from the International Competition, the cine lovers at the 43rd IFFI will be treated to a varied line-up of world cinema which will be showcased in sections like ‘Cinema of the World’ which will have a showcase of fifty-one films from forty-two countries with Ang Lee’s 3D film ‘Life of Pi’ as its Opening Film and Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ as its Closing Film. Other sections in the International section include ‘A Cut Above’, ‘Masterstrokes’, ‘Festival Kaleidoscope’, ‘Turkish Currents’, ‘Sketches on Screen’, ‘Retrospective: Susanne Bier’, ‘Special Tribute: Ashok Amritraj’, ‘In Focus: Kim Ki-duk’, ‘Soul of Asia’, ‘Documentaries’ and ‘Homages’.