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Forced to act after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad’s assault on an Air India staff member, the civil aviation ministry on Friday announced new guidelines for the unruly behaviour of passengers on flights, news agency ANI reported. Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey while addressing a press conference announced that the ministry has put instances of unruly behaviour into 3 categories and falling in these brackets can lead to flight bans for passengers. According to the news agency Reuters, the step has been taken as India is looking at creating a national no-fly list of unruly passengers. The list will be maintained by the country’s civil aviation regulator, Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said. Here is what can get you no-fly list on flights: –  Disruptive Behaviour:  Level 1 will be disruptive behaviour like physical gestures etc. The punishment in this category is a suspension for 3 months. –  Physical Abuse:  level 2 offences will include p...

Anxious PMO to soon hold meeting ahead of Abe visit to resolve issues with JICA The ambitious Rs 15,000 crore North East connectivity project is struggling to take off even one year after an agreement between India and Japan to jointly work on it for quickly transforming the region into a manufacturing hub with the help of better road infrastructure. India had chosen Japan as a partner in the project due to the latter's renowned expertise in building durable and environmentally sustainable roads on tough mountainous terrain, like those found in the North East. The government also wanted Japanese help due to their prowess in manufacturing. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost around Rs 5,000 crore for improving two highways (380 km of NH54 in Mizoram and 50 km of NH51 in Meghalaya) and an additional Rs 1,700 crore for activities including compensation for land acquisition. About 500 hectares is to be acquired for the first phase. This is expected to be fun...

Cancellation charge for a railway ticket has been doubled while the refund option can now be availed only till four hours before the scheduled departure of a train as new rules came into effect on Thursday which railways said was aimed at thwarting touts. According to the new refund rules, railways has doubled the ticket cancellation charge with the aim of helping genuine passengers get confirmed tickets. "There will be no refund after the departure of a train and one has to get the refund four hours before the scheduled departure as per the revised refund rules," said a senior railway ministry official. "The rules were revised to discourage touts and ticketing agents who engage in black marketing of tickets," said the officials.  The official said that the purpose behind amending the Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Ticket and Refund of Fare) Rules, 2015, is to plug the scope of misuse. According to the new rules: -- While the cancellation fee of a second-...

As the Japan government funds the pre-feasibility study of the first-ever bullet train corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Railways has gone ahead and revived plans for a second one on the Delhi-