Paytm Payments Bank says it gave 600,000 FASTags in November

PPB said it sold 6 lakh labels in the long stretch of November, and guaranteed that it has prepared over 1.85 million vehicles with FASTags

Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) on Monday said it gave 6 lakh FASTags in the long stretch of November. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had declared that cost installments on interstates would be acknowledged through FASTags just from December 1. This was later reached out to December 15.

In an announcement, PPB said it sold 6 lakh labels in the long stretch of November, and guaranteed that it has prepared over 1.85 million vehicles with FASTags. The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program, the leader activity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has been executed on a container India premise so as to expel bottlenecks and guarantee consistent development of traffic and assortment of client expense according to the advised rates, utilizing uninvolved radio recurrence distinguishing proof (RFID) innovation.

As on December 3, 2019, a sum of 82.55 lakh FASTags have been given. PPB said it has likewise banded together with car makers, for example, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars India, Kia Motors India Pvt Ltd, MG Motor India and others to offer pre-fitted Paytm FASTags at the hour of vehicle buy itself.

“While more than 250 camps have been set up at cost courts, another 500 have been organized in corporate workplaces, private social orders and parking garages in the best 20 urban areas, including Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Chennai and Jaipur,” it included. PPB is further boosting the closeout of FASTags by sending 3,500 business reporters in every single significant city and towns, it said.

Elections 2019: From Pulwama to MSP, in west UP, the devil is in the detail

In UP’s Jat belt, closer to Delhi, it’s Pulwama, Modi but in the hinterland, it’s back to economic basics

Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Jawli village in Ghaziabad district is about 34 km to the east of Delhi and Khanupur in Muzaffarnagar district is 133 km away. The distance is a signifier at least in one aspect: closer to Delhi, the inhabitants of the rural pockets had the “national” picture in mind when they discussed elections. Pulwama, the air strikes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘valour’ occupied the mind space. 

Further away from the National Capital Region (NCR), the issues were basic, impinging on people’s livelihoods and quotidian concerns. Although both the districts — Jat-dominated Muzaffarnagar more so — have families with historical links to the military and one or more members working in the armed forces, the perceptions about the India-Pakistan conflicts varied.

If Jawli celebrated Modi’s “courage”, at Shahpur Badoli, nearly 50 kms away, the students of Baghpat colleges asked tough questions. Amit Tomar, a 21-year Commerce student, said, “Till today, the government has not showed proof that 300 persons were killed by our Air Force in Pakistan. I have two brothers in the military, one in Srinagar and the other on the Punjab border so nobody can accuse me of being anti-national.”

Gyanendra Kumar and Bijendra Kasana are farmers from the Gujjar backward caste, owned land and a small dairy business in Jawli. “Note ‘bandi’ has finished off the once prosperous real estate business in these parts. Everything is done in white (money) so nobody wants to buy or sell property. Didn’t you see hundreds of unoccupied apartments in Ghaziabad?” asked Kasana.

Yet none of them blamed the Modi government for the market stagnancy. “We are looking only at Modi. Demonetisation was good because it eliminated the fly by night operators and dubious dealers. They thrived in our region, living in huge mansions with a fleet of SUVs. Where did the money come from? Modi wiped it out. It gives people like me who earn modestly, a good feeling,” said Sardar Singh, a Jawli diary farmer.

SC refuses to impose complete ban on firecrackers, but sets some conditions

The court order on firecrackers is not limited just to Diwali; it has fixed a duration for bursting of crackers on other events and festivals as well

Refusing to impose a blanket ban on the sale and use of firecrackers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said only green firecrackers, which are less polluting, will be allowed to be sold in the country.

The Court, however, banned the sale of firecrackers on e-commerce websites. The court order is not limited only to Diwali; durations have been fixed for bursting of crackers on all events and festivals. On Diwali, crackers are allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm. On Chirstmas eve and New Year, it will be allowed only between 11.45 pm and 12.45 am.

The Bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan had, after hearing the petitioners, firecrackers manufacturers, the Centre and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on August 28, reserved its order on the plea for a countrywide ban on firecrackers to curb the deteriorating air pollution.

The Bench had earlier said that there was a need to strike a balance between the right to health and the right to carry on a trade or profession. The firecracker manufacturers had told the court that crackers were not the sole cause of rising pollution during Diwali. It was one of the contributing factors and that an entire industry could not be shut down on this count.

Read More : Fire Crackers Ban

71% Indians suffer from poor muscle health: Study

Often ignored and misunderstood as an area of relevance only to a sportsperson or a gym goer, muscle health of seven out of 10 Indians is poor, said a new study on Wednesday.

“As per the study, 71 per cent Indians suffer from poor muscle health and need to gain muscle mass. Poor muscle mass could lead to impaired muscle function, fatigue and poor metabolic health,” said the joint study conducted by InBody and Ipsos.

InBody is a leader in body composition analysis and Ipsos is a market research firm.

“Not many Indians know about its overall impact on health and wellness. Good muscle health is not only a key for an active lifestyle but also for carrying out our daily physical activities to maintain a healthy life,” said the study.

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The study was conducted across eight cities — Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna and Hyderabad covering 1,243 people. The respondents were a mix of working and non-working individuals of 30 to 55 years.

Lucknow had the highest percentage of males and females having poor muscle mass, with 82 per cent males and 80 per cent females. Delhi-NCR had a lower percentage of people with poor muscle mass, with 64 per cent of both males and females.

The study also analysed the body protein level and the trend was similar to that of the poor muscle mass levels…Click here

BS-III deals a blow to automakers sitting on inventory worth Rs 7,000 cr

Second body blow after diesel ban on engines of 2,000 cc and above in NCR

 

The decision leaves automobile makers, primarily Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Hero, saddled with a large inventory of BS-III vehicles estimated to be worth Rs 6,000-7,000 crore at the end of the month. Companies were seeking time beyond April 1 to dispose of the existing stock. They now will have to offer steep discounts, ship products to BS-III export markets or invest to upgrade their products to BS-IV. 

This is the second major blow for the industry from the apex court in the past 15 months. In December 2015, the court had imposed a ban on sales of diesel vehicles with an engine of 2,000 cc and above in the National Capital Region. The ban, which primarily impacted Toyota and Mercedes, was lifted in August last year. Wednesday’s order also impacts others like SML Isuzu, VECV and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.

Wednesday’s order was passed by a division Bench consisting of Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta after a hearing over several days. 

At the end of the month, companies, along with their dealers, might be left with an unsold inventory of 500,000-600,000 BS-III vehicles, mostly two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. The government, which had brought out the notification on BS-IV, had told the court that sales could continue after March 31. The notification had stated that manufacturers should comply with BS-IV norms from April 1, 2017, but was silent on the fate of vehicles manufactured before March 31 as far as sales and registration were concerned.

Bajaj may be left with a small number of BS-III two-wheelers at the end of this month. S Ravikumar, president (business development) at the company, told Business Standard that one of the options before the firm was to take back the unsold stocks from dealers and divert them to export markets. “We are the largest exporter of two-wheelers. So, that should not be an issue.” 

However, export is not a simple option for every company. Manufacturers will need to suitably modify the vehicles to meet the local regulatory requirements in export markets. Over the next three days, dealers are expected to dole out heavy discounts to clear as much inventory as possible.| read more...