Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India:
1.) No Confirmed Seat in Rajdhani? You Can Fly Air India
If your Rajdhani train ticket is not confirmed then you can fly Air India to your destination at the same fare as AC first class, as the national carrier has entered into an agreement with Indian Railways' ticketing arm to sell those tickets, The Economic Times reported.
“The fares will be AC first fares for AC first class passengers while AC II passengers will be charged AC II fares plus Rs 1,500,“ he said. The facility is, as of now, being launched only for Rajdhani trains, Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani said on Wednesday. Travel analysts welcomed the move, saying this will help the airline fill seats.
2.) Jaish came close to striking Delhi in Dec 2015
In the winter of 2015, when Indian agencies were busy tracking down alQaida modules, two Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorists had quietly sneaked into the capital. Intelligence sources said the duo rented a room in Lajpat Nagar, assembled six improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and recced at least four places for a strike, including the Taj Mahal and two city spots -Iskcon temple and the Select Citywalk mall in Saket.
The IEDs were specially prepared, using ingredients such as shampoo, a highly placed source told The Times of India. By mid-December, the two were ready to carry out the strike. A control room was set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and instructions were being passed by the handler, who was in touch with the mastermind, codenamed MAR.
3.) Modi govt to give Aadhaar in the cradle
Newborns may soon start getting Aadhaar as part of the Narendra Modi government's efforts to provide the unique identification number to all residents by March 2017.
Plans are afoot to click infants in the hospital cradle itself and link their pictures to the details of their parents for generating Aadhaar numbers, UIDAI director general Ajay Bhushan Pandey told The Economic Times.
This follows PM Modi's directive to UIDAI, after the authority crossed the 100 crore mark in April, to expedite Aadhaar enrolments and cover the remaining 28 crore residents.
4.) Juhu Beach is for our runway, says AAI; halts beautification
The plan to beautify Juhu beach is set to become the subject of an ugly spat between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and local politicians, The Mumbai Mirror reports.
The AAI has raised objections to any changes to the beach, saying they would obstruct the planned extension of Juhu airport's runway into the sea, a long-debated project that now seems "certain" for a take-off.
5.) Hot yoga guru back in India as US empire sinks under bad publicity
Bad publicity continues to dog hot yoga guru Bikram Choudhury, who was in the news early this year when he paid $7.5 million as punitive damages to his former lawyer who accused him of sexual harassment. As a string of harassment and rape lawsuits began to sink his yoga empire in the US, the 69-year-old packed his bags and moved to India, making Lonavla’s Aamby Valley his base.
Meenakshi Jaffa-Bodden, the woman who won the lawsuit against Choudhury in January, told MidDay, "Bikram closed his international headquarters and flagship studio in Los Angeles following the verdict in the case, and has moved his teacher training to a resort in India at Aamby Valley. In the US, we understand his teacher training numbers are significantly down, with less than 50 paid attendees.”
6.) Are you waiting for god to solve problems, asks Delhi HC to govt
Pulling up the Delhi government again over the delay in formulating building rules and bylaws, the Delhi High Court Wednesday gave it a 'final opportunity' to file the finalised rules within four weeks, The Indian Express reported.
“These are man-made problems. Are you waiting for god to come down and solve them,” asked the bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva after the government yet again informed the court that it was “working on” the new building bylaws. The government also blamed the municipal corporations for the large number of unauthorised buildings across the city.
7.) Cigarette packs to list penalty for sale to kids?
All tobacco products and liquor bottles may soon carry a label warning sellers and buyers that giving or selling the intoxicants to a child may land them in jail for seven years or bring a fine of up to a lakh, or both, The Times of India reported.
The provisions are part of draft rules under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and come at a time when tobacco companies are resisting a recent directive that mandates them to print pictorial warnings depicting the ill effects of its various products on 85% of the surface area of packets. The draft rules, released by women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday, also mandate that tobacco products or liquor not be sold within 200 metres of a child care institution or Juvenile Justice Board office.
8.) Traffic snarls on DND-Ashram route may continue for 2 days
Commuters in and around DND and Ashram area have spent hours stuck in traffic snarls in the last two days following the dislocation of a gantry crane at an under-construction Metro site at Ashram Chowk during the dust storm Monday evening. Traffic authorities have been forced to cordon off the DND-Ashram carriageway.
Officials said it will take at least two more days to clear the area. Vehicles on their way to Badarpur from Barapullah were also affected by the blocked road, The Indian Express reported.
9.) Pals use ‘CBI officer’ to rob teen of car
In a dramatic incident, four persons were arrested by Byculla police in a kidnapping and extortion case on Wednesday. As per the police, two friends of the complainant are accused in the case as they kidnapped him by sending a fake CBI officer and demanded Rs 10 lakh for his release.
The accused later pretended that he had paid Rs 10 lakh to the CBI officer for his release and to get that money from the victim’s father they took his Skoda car. The car, a police plate and another vehicle, Xylo, used for kidnapping have been recovered, The DNA reported.
10.) 'Banned software used to call don'
Stating that the so-called phone call from the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was made using a banned softwares like CrazyCall, revenue minister Eknath Khadse on Wednesday informed that the Cabinet meeting was also apprised of the same and it has expressed concern over the issue. Khadse revealed that he has received vital call details from Pakistan and he has handed over the details to the investigating agencies.
An IT professional also demonstrated the software in front of the mediapersons at Khadse’s cabin. The software enables one to call anyone from anywhere in the world and phone number of any person can be displayed on the phone which receives the call, The DNA reported.
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