New Delhi, October 12: The government on Wednesday approved the payment of Productivity-Linked Bonus, which is equivalent to 78 days of wages, to railway employees for the financial year 2021-2022.
The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday informed that the Productivity-Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days of wages will be paid to non-gazetted railway employees, excluding RPF/RPSF personnel, for the financial year 2021-22.
According to available data, about 11.27 lakh non-gazetted railway employees are likely to benefit from the decision.
The financial implication of payment of 78 days’ PLB to railway employees has been estimated to be Rs 1,832.09 crore. The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB is Rs 7,000 per month. The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days.
The Railway Ministry had earlier said railway employees played an important role in the performance of Passenger and Goods services which also acted as catalysts for the economy. In fact, Railway employees ensured uninterrupted movement of essential commodities like food, fertilizer, coal and other items even during the lockdown period. The Railways has ensured there is no shortage of such commodities in the area of operations. (Agencies)

Fit India Freedom Run 3.0 was organized on 12.10.2022 by NHPC Dulhasti Power Station as per directives of Ministry of
Youth Affairs Sports, Government of India. On this occasion, Sh. M K Kashyap, Group General Manager (In-Charge),
Dulhasti Power Station flagged off the Fit India Freedom Run 3.0 wherein Dr. Nisha Sharma, General Manager (Medical
Services), Sh Mithilesh Prasad Dinkar, General Manager (Power), Sh Surendra Kumar Mishra, General Manager
(Electrical), Sh Sharad Jaikar, General Manager (Civil), Dr. R P Singh, Group Deputy General Manager (H.R.), senior
officers and employees participated with great zeal and enthusiasm.
On this occasion, Sh. M K Kashyap, Group General Manager (In-Charge) while addressing all the runners said that the
main objective of this run is to inculcate the habit of walking and running in employee in the quest for better health and
fitness. He further added that as part of the celebrations of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), the 3rd edition of the
Fit India Freedom Run is commencing on 2nd October, 2022 with the theme “Azadi ke 75 saal, fitness rahe bemisaal”. As
a Janbhagidari in this run, CISF personnel, contract workers and drivers also participated. The freedom run started from
the Administrative Building of Dulhasti Power Station and ended at the Executive Field Hostel.
On this occasion, Sh Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy General Manager (Finance), Sh Divakar Awadhiya, Group SM (IT),
Sh Sanjay Kumar Gupta, Group SM (Electrical), Sh Rajit Kumar Srivastava, Group SM (Civil), Sh Ashok Kumar Dhanwal,
Senior Manager (HR), Sh Sachin Vishwakarma, Sr. Manager (IT), and other officers and employees were present.

New Delhi, Oct 12: Any expansion, particularly of geographical boundaries, involves violation of human rights, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Wednesday, and asserted that India as a nation never believed in such a policy.
In his address at the foundation day event of the National Human Rights Commission here, he said Indian ethos is such that the country’s concern is not limited to itself but cares for the world.
We are yet to have another nation that can match our unrivalled record,” Dhankhar said.
We never believed, as a nation, in expansion. Any expansion, particularly of geographical boundaries, involves violation of human rights, of an extreme degree. This nation (India) has never done so,” he said.
In his address, the Vice President also emphasised that human rights, as a concept, cannot be reckoned only in the narrow sense of preservation of personal liberties and dignity. They have to be understood in a broader context, he added. (Agencies)

New Delhi, Oct 12: As India rolls out 5G in a phased manner starting with key metro cities, Apple on Wednesday said that 5G on its iPhones in the country will be made available in December.

In a statement to IANS, the tech giant said it is working with its carrier partners in India to create the best 5G experience for iPhone users.

“We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed,” the company told IANS.

“5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December,” Apple added.

Those using iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (third generation) models will get an upcoming software update on 5G.

Apple does extensive testing with carrier partners to ensure a great experience for iPhone users.

iPhone offers users super-fast downloads and uploads, better streaming, and real-time connectivity with 5G to help them stay in touch, share, and enjoy content.

The support for 5G on iPhone has now extended to over 250 carrier partners in over 70 markets around the world, with expanded support for standalone networks.

Meanwhile, with 5G services having been launched in the country earlier this month, the government convened a meeting of handset manufacturers and telecom service providers to ensure a smooth transition towards the new technology.

Prioritising software upgrade would enable early adoption of 5G in India.

Airtel and Jio have rolled out their 5G services in key metros in a phased manner.

New Delhi, Oct 12: A MiG 29K fighter jet of the Indian Navy crashed off the Goa coast on Wednesday morning after developing a technical malfunction.
The pilot ejected safely, the Navy said.
The naval headquarters has ordered a Board of Inquiry (BoI) into the incident.
“A MiG 29K on a routine sortie over sea off Goa developed a technical malfunction while returning to base. The pilot ejected safely and has been recovered in a swift search and rescue operation,” the Navy said in a brief statement.
“The pilot is reported to be in stable condition. The Board of Inquiry (BoI) has been ordered to investigate the cause of the incident,” it said.
The MiG-29K is an all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed by Russian aerospace company Mikoyan (MiG).
The Indian Navy had procured a fleet of 45 MiG-29Ks from Russia over a decade back at a cost of around USD 2 billion (one billion=100 crore) to operate from INS Vikramaditya.
In November 2020, a MiG-29K aircraft of the Navy crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast after taking off from aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
A MiG-29K twin-seat fighter aircraft had crashed in South Goa district in November 2019 and both the pilots had ejected safely.
Another MIG-29K crashed into the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast on February 23, 2020 after taking off from INS Hansa, a prominent naval air station at Vasco in Goa.
The pilot of the aircraft had managed to eject safely. (Agencies)

NEW DELHI, OCT 12: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) improved its position in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 and was the only Indian university in the top 300 list, even as several IITs boycotted it for the third consecutive year raising doubts over its parameters and transparency.
Seventy-five Indian institutes were part of the rankings in 2023 as compared to 56 in 2020 and just 31 in 2017.
Universities ranked lower in the India Rankings by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) as well as the QS World University Rankings 2023 have raced ahead of higher education institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Benaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University in the Times Rankings, raising more questions on its parameters and transparency.
The Times Higher Education (THE) and QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), both of which are based in London, are two of the most prominent higher-education surveys in the world.
India is the sixth most represented country in the 2023 rankings with 75 ranked universities. Six Indian universities have made their rankings debut this year, with Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences the highest ranked of the newcomers, ranked at 351-400.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati was last featured in the 2020 edition and returns this year in the 1001-1200 band.
India’s policy leaders have fully embraced the vital need for India to join the global knowledge economy network and to ensure that the nation’s universities compete with, collaborate with, and benchmark themselves against the very best universities in the world.
“This will all be vital to realising India’s full potential as the world’s largest democracy and the key to unlocking the full economic might of India’s vast youth population – improving training in high-level skills and enabling new knowledge creation and innovation. And the data shows that the policy is succeeding and delivering real change,” said Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer, Times Higher Education.
While the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc), IITs, NITs and universities such as JNU, Jamia or Delhi University traditionally top among Indian institutions in majority of the global as well as national rankings, the Times Higher Education rankings since 2000 has seen the top technical institutions missing in the lists.
Seven IITs – Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee – had in 2020 opted out of THE World University Rankings raising doubts over transparency and parameters of the rankings.
“The seven IITs will not participate in the ranking this year. They will reconsider their decision next year if Times Higher Education is able to convince them about the parameters and transparency in their ranking process,” the institutes had then said in a joint statement.
IIT-Guwahati rejoined the ranking this year.
For Indian institutions, in this year’s THE rankings, higher education institutions such as IIT-Indore, JNU and AMU are ranked below institutions which have been ranked significantly lower in NIRF rankings.
Globally, the University of Oxford retains the top spot for the seventh consecutive year.
A record number of 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions are ranked, 137 more than last year. The number of U.S. universities represented in the top 100 continues to fall, from a peak of 43 in 2018 to 34 this year.
“We are not just seeing more representation for India in the rankings, we’re seeing a rise up the rankings: the leading institution, Indian Institute of Science, has risen to make the world top 300 this year, and we now have nine Indian institutions in the world top 600, up from just six last year,” said Mr. Baty. (Agencies)