New Income Tax Bill 2025 proposes major simplification; Reduces sections, chapters, and word count
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Business Standard
4 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Ensured minimum disturbance while building Chenab, Anji bridges: LS told
To ensure minimum disturbance to Himalayan ecology, due care was taken for slope stabilisation and the best institutes were roped in for execution of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, including Chenab and Anji Bridge, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. On questions whether the government has conducted any environmental impact assessments of the Chenab and Anji Khad bridges in fragile Himalayan zones, the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw provided an elaborate response on Environmental Impact Assessments of the project. Vaishnaw said that Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project having a total length of 272 km has been recently commissioned and it covers Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur, Reasi, Ramban, Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla districts. The USBRL project is one of the most difficult new railway line projects undertaken in the country post-independence. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems, he said. The minister added that in this project, the Indian Railways have made the world's highest Rail Bridge over Chenab river in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The iconic Chenab Bridge is 1,315 meters long having an arch span of 467 meters and height of 359 meters above river bed. Indian Railway's first cable-stayed bridge has been constructed over Anji Khad in this project. Its bridge deck is 331 meters above the river bed level and height of its Main pylon is 193 meters, he informed the Lok Sabha. Talking about its social significance, Vaishnaw stated that the USBRL project has made substantial socio-economic contributions to the region, with employment generation being a significant aspect of its impact as the project has generated more than 5 crore man-days of employment. To ensure minimum disturbance to Himalayan ecology, due care has been taken for slope stabilisation and the best institutes of the world were roped in for execution of this project. Comprehensive schemes for slope stabilisation have been adopted as per NEERI guidelines and Detailed Design Consultants' suggestions to prevent erosion and damage to natural terrains, Vaishnaw said. He added, Slope stability at Chenab Bridge was designed by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore & IIT/Delhi. Other global firms having experience of such works were also engaged for independent check for slope stability for Chenab Bridge. Slope stability at Anji Bridge was also designed and proof checked by experienced global firms, the Railway minister said. Outlining the project's environmental measures, he said, Further, Environmental Impact Assessments due to construction of Katra-Qazigund new rail line, including Chenab and Anji Khad bridges have also been conducted through National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur. Extensive safeguards and mitigation measures have been implemented based on the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) prepared by NEERI, he said. Sedimentation tanks have been constructed at tunnel outlets before discharging into natural nallas to manage tunnel excavated material. Alternative water sources were provided to villages where natural sources were disrupted by resorting to reverse pumping, Vaishnaw said. Proper lined drains and stepped chutes were constructed at required locations to ensure smooth flow of surface water and prevent erosion at muck yards, he added. According to the Railway Minister, advanced techniques of controlled blasting were adopted during tunnelling to minimize vibrations and environmental damage. Sensors have been installed in all tunnels in the Katra-Banihal section to monitor the Air Quality during the operational phase also, he said. The entire rail project is electrified using an overhead conductor system in tunnels and in open stretches. Rail transportation is the most environment friendly transportation mode, significantly reducing carbon footprint compared to diesel traction, he added. He also highlighted that the specific measures for biodiversity conservation are delineated in the EMP, the overall environmental mitigation efforts contribute to protecting local ecology. Guidelines for site preparation for plantation activity on dumping sites include planting native species and turfing with grass for eco-restoration, Vaishnaw said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Express
4 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Renowned historian Rajat Kanta Ray passes away at 79
Eminent historian Prof Rajat Kanta Ray, the former head of the Department of History at Kolkata's Presidency University (earlier College), passed away in Kolkata on Wednesday at the age of 79. Ray was one of the longest-serving faculty members at Presidency College (it became a university in 2010), teaching there from 1975 to 2006 when he was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of Visva-Bharati. He remained in the post till 2011. A scholar of exceptional academic output, Ray was a historian of modern Indian history, with a focus on colonial Bengal, and also wrote a book on Rabindranath Tagore. Among the books he authored are India: Growth and Conflict in the Private Corporate Sector, 1914-47 (1979), Mind, Body and Society: Life and Mentality in Colonial Bengal (1996), Exploring Emotional History: Gender, Mentality, and Literature in the Indian Awakening (2001), The Felt Community: Commonality and Mentality Before the Emergence of Indian Nationalism (2007), and Behind the Veil: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore Reminiscent of Jivanadevata (2010). He was so popular a teacher that Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who was the Governor at the time, once went to Presidency to attend his class. Ray was born in 1946 to Kumud Kanta Ray who became the Home Secretary of West Bengal in the 1960s. After completing his schooling at Ballygunge Government High School, he enrolled in BA (Honours) in History at Presidency College, where he was taught by Ashin Dasgupta, a leading historian of modern India. Ray completed his PhD from the University of Cambridge. He taught at IIM Kolkata for a time before moving on to Presidency. Expressing condolences, State Education Minister Bratya Basu wrote on X, 'I am deeply saddened by the passing of respected and beloved professor and historian Rajat Kanta Ray. He taught at Presidency College for more than three decades and nurtured many internationally renowned students. His contribution to the socio-economic history of Bengal plays an important role in understanding our past.' Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Govt says no debate on SIR due to rules
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday turned down the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and said in the Lok Sabha that matters pending before the judiciary cannot be discussed on the floor of the House. Opposition MPs create ruckus in Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI) Some Opposition leaders said that instead of SIR, they have proposed a debate on 'electoral reforms' as a way to end the deadlock in Parliament. However, government managers indicated the ruling side is unlikely to accede to any such debate. 'The government has been very open to taking up discussion on any matter... However, any discussion in the Parliament has to be in accordance with constitutional provisions and also in accordance with the rules as prescribed in the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Lok Sabha,' parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha. 'On the issue of intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar for which they (opposition members) are disturbing the House from first day of the session, we all know that the matter is under consideration of the Supreme Court and as such it is sub judice and a hence a discussion cannot be held on the subject,' he added. The minister also cited a 1988 ruling by then Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar that under the existing constitutional provisions, the House cannot comment upon the actions of the Election Commission. Jakhar, according to Rijiju, had said that he cannot break the rules by allowing a discussion on the functioning of EC. The Supreme Court is hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the ongoing SIR exercise in Bihar. On Wednesday, the top court directed EC to file a reply by August 9 in response to allegations that over 6.5 million names were deleted from Bihar's draft rolls. Rijiju underlined that the issue relates to the functioning of EC, which is an autonomous body. The minister also urged the Opposition members to participate in the debates for the passage of key legislations. 'I urge the members not to disrupt the House. There are important bills to be taken up,' he added. Meanwhile, several opposition party leaders urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer two bills — the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — to a joint committee of Parliament for further scrutiny. In a joint letter to the Speaker, the opposition leaders said there is a need for a broader consensus on the two significant bills, listed for consideration and passage in the House, considering their national importance. Proceedings in both houses have been disrupted by the Opposition, which has been creating uproar in Parliament on their demand for a discussion on SIR, which they allege is aimed at disenfranchising a large number of voters. Addressing a joint press conference of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge rejected the argument that the functioning of EC cannot be discussed in Parliament as it is an independent constitutional body. Kharge cited former Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar's July 21, 2023 ruling that the House is authorised to debate anything under the sun and under the planet. 'We have been urging the speaker, chairman and the government again and again that the voting rights of people should not be stolen... That is what is happening in the SIR exercise,' the Congress chief said. Alleging that government was manipulating the electoral system according to its own convenience, Kharge said that while a huge number of voters were added in the electoral list in Maharashtra, the names of voters are being deleted in assembly poll-bound Bihar.
