Everything you need to know_Indian Cinema

History of Indian Cinema

• One of the most flourishing cinema industries found today is in India. But the pioneers of the industry were actually foreigners.

• In 1896, the Lumiere brothers demonstrated the art of cinema when they screened Cinematography consisting of six short films to an enthusiastic audience in Bombay.

• The success of these films led to the screening of films by James B. Stewart and Ted Hughes.

• The history of Indian Cinema goes back to the nineteenth century.

• In 1896, the very first films shot by the Lumiere Brothers were shown in Mumbai.

• But history was actually created when Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar popularly known as Save Dada, the still photographer, was so much influenced by the Lumiere Brothers' production that he ordered a camera from England.

• His first film was shot at the Hanging Gardens in Mumbai, known as 'The Wrestlers'. It was a simple recording of a wrestling match which was screened in 1899 and is considered as the first motion picture in the Indian Film Industry.

Globally

1. The hierarchy of metropolitan markets and foreign markets over rural India happened during the framework of a right turn in both political and economical sector, with an increase of Hinduva (Indian nationalism) prices.

1. Globalization has four different aspects. As far as the goods' circulation, India's industry has a great history in her presentation in the international market.

1. Bollywood represented the 15% of India film production and justified the 40% of India's income, with an annual growth rate of 10 and 20%. The main cause of this is that Bollywood was the second biggest domain of development in India. The revenues in global markets were skyrocketed.

1. The Indian film industry produces more movies and sells more tickets than any other film industry. Her incomes are only surpassed by the incomes of U.S.A movies. Researches, like Marc Fetscherin (2010) research, have shown that the factors of a movie's success are universal and not limited locally.

1. In 2005, were released 1041 films and were sold approximately 3, 6 million tickets all over the world. India is the biggest film production industry universally. In contrast, the U.S.A in 2005 released 535 films and sold 2.6 million tickets.

1. The Bollywood's annual turnover was calculated at 575 thousand dollars in 2005. Contrary to Hollywood, in which the same year won 23 million dollars. CII and KPMG (2006) estimated that in the period 2006-2007 the incomes of Bollywood will be increased in 16%, while for Hollywood only 7%.

1. The exports until 2007 were increased up to 60%. The United States and Canada are the two main export destinations and are calculated almost to 30%. United Kingdom is following with 25% and the Mauritius and Dubai with 10% each. Other equally big markets are South Africa, Russia, Fiji islands, New Zealand and Australia, where a large number of India Diaspora dwells.

Impacts of globalization

• In the middle of (1980-90), India faced a growing economic crisis because of the stagnant economic growth and the persistent balance of payments deficit.

• This crisis was coped with a loan from the USA of the order of 70 billion dollars making her the third more indebted country in the world.

• Bollywood exploited this chance and decided to utilize the consumers' power of India Diaspora, in order to cope with the Hollywood's challenge.

• Via this way it tried to become the biggest global economic power in the cinema industry.

The impact of economic changes in the films

The decade of 1990 marked the revelation of free market reforms in Indian market, known as economic liberalization. The economic liberation revealed the emergence of a global middle class. This middle class has joined by new rich technocrats, who were affected by the consumption patterns that characterize their counterparts in developed countries, have acquired a social economic mobility.

It's true that economists and other social scientists who have written about the causes of economic liberalization in India have supported their views exclusively on maximizing wealth.  Many factors to be taken into account and have been ignored. For instance, a big ideological change or a culture with completely positive shift in the moral assessment of business and commerce.

Types of Awards

Critics' awards

• Arab Indo Bollywood Awards

• Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards

• Asianet Film Awards

• BIG Star Entertainment Awards

• CineMAA Awards

• Dadasaheb Phalke Award

• Filmfare Awards

• Global Indian Film Awards

• International Indian Film Academy Awards

• National Film Awards (Directorate of Film Festivals)

• Prag Cine Awards

• Screen Awards

• Stardust Awards

• Times of India Film Awards

• Zee Cine Awards

Industry awards

1. Filmfare Awards

1. IIFA Awards

1. National Film Awards

Significant Festival awards

1. International Film Festival of India

1. a) Golden Peacock (best picture)

1. International Film Festival of PUNE

1. a) Golden Crow Pheasant

• Mumbai International Film Festival

1. a) Golden Conch (best fiction and best documentary)

1. International Film Festival GOA

Internationally

1. France - Cannes International Film Festival

1. Canada - Toronto Film Critics Association

Birth of a New Era

The number of films being produced saw a brief decline during the World War II. Basically the birth of modern Indian Film industry took place around 1947. The period witnessed a remarkable and outstanding transformation of the film industry.

Beginning of the Talkies

1. The first ever talkie 'Alam Ara' by Ardeshir Irani was screened in Bombay in 1931 which made the silent era to an end. It was the first sound film in India. The release of Alam Ara started a new era in the history of Indian Cinema. Phiroz Shah was the first music director of Alam Ara. The first song which was recorded for Alam Ara in 1931 was 'De de khuda ke naam par'. It was sung by W.M. Khan.

2. 50s and 60s were considered as the Golden Age of Indian cinema. But the 70s completely changed the way films were made, especially in Hindi film industry. Changing social norms and changing economies influenced movies and the companies that made them.

3. Indian cinema has an identity that is very unique and unmatched. We have moved from the black and white silent films to 3D, but our cinema continues to retain its basic essence - to thrill.

4. It's a miracle that Indian cinema has withstood the test of time despite the vast cultural differences in the past 100 years. Indian cinema, despite all its peculiarities, has been a reflection of the socio-economic, political and cultural changes that took place in the country.

IIFA Awards 2016

National Film Fare Awards 2016

Dadasaheb Phalke Awards

1. This award was introduced in 1969 in respect to honor Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, father of Indian Cinema.

1. He made his first film in the Indian history named Raja Harishchandra in 1913.

1. After this he made 95 films & 26 short films in a span of 19 years.

1. This award is A Life time Achievement Award given to the personality outstanding contribution to the growth & development of Indian Cinema.

1. This award comprises a Golden Lotus (Swarna Kamal) with a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 & a Shawl.

1. The first Dadasaheb Phalke award was given to Devika Rani in 1969 for the movie "Karma" in 1933.

1. Till now 47 people have been awarded this award.

1. Indian Film Industry was not as fast as that of Hollywood.

Everything you need to know post office

Post Office

1. The Postal history of India is related to the times of Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British colonialists gained powered in India. British introduced the idea of postal services in India during eighteenth century.

2. East India Company administered the services & established the first post office in Mumbai, Chennai & Calcutta between 1764 & 1766 & it was named as company mail, but till that time these services were not open to public.

3. Warren Hastings (Governor General of British India from 1773-1784) opened the posts to the public in March 31, 1774 at Calcutta.

4. Prior to this the main purpose of the postal system had been to serve the commercial interests of the East India Company, economic and political needs remained a driving force.

5. Post Office Act (1837) reserved the government the exclusive right to convey letters in the nation of the East India Company.

6. From the late eighteenth century political power began to slip away from the East India Company. The Company was finally abolished in 1858 and India became a Crown colony ruled directly by Parliament.

7. In the early history it was found that the posts was delivered with the help of royal pigeons, camels, horses during the Mughal period & was started by sher shah suri with 3000 miles of communication & for the first time parcels were being carried as part of regular mail service.

8. A large establishment for the transmission of messages is recorded for Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta in 322 BC. Ibn Batuta, the Moroccan traveler to India in 1310 AD had detailed the mail system of Sulatn Mohammed bin Tughlaq but the massive reorganization of this system took place under Sher Shah Suri. It was developed and maintained under the Mogul and later rulers.

9. The horse courier system was also known as mounted post & was the first officially record of the postal system of a kingdom being used for trade and business communication.

10. Postal services are the backbone of the country's communication & had played a crucial role in the country's socio-economic development. Penny postage was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in 1963.

First Post Office in India

Although the Indian Post Office was established in 1837, Asia's first adhesive stamp, the Sinde Dawk, was introduced in 1852 by Sir Bartle Frere, the British East India Company's administrator of the province of Sind who had introduced the penny post.

In July 1879, the Post Office of India introduced a quarter anna postcards that could be posted from one place to another within British India. This was the cheapest form of post provided to the Indian people to date and proved a huge success. The establishment of a large postal system spanning India resulted in unprecedented postal access: a message on a postcard could be sent from one part of the country to another part (often to a physical address without a nearby post office) without additional postage affixed. This was followed in April 1880 by postcards meant specifically for government use and by reply postcards in 1890.

In 1835 a Committee was set up for unification of customs and postal system of all the presidencies. The result was the first Indian Post Office Act of 1837. It not only provided for uniform rates and routes but for the uniform designs and other specifications of the postmarks for each category of post office.

A Commission was setup in 1850 and submitted its report in 1851 that resulted in the post office act of 1854. Under the provisions of this act the monopoly of carrying mail in entire area of British possessions in India were granted to Indian Post office and office of the Director General of Post Offices of India was established.

Mr. H P A B Riddle, till then the Postmaster General of North West Presidency, was appointed the first Director General in May 1854. The adhesive stamps were introduced on October 1, 1854 on all India basis.  Meanwhile in 1852 adhesive postage stamps were issued for use within the province of Sind, now in Pakistan. These were the first adhesive postage stamps in Asia.

Contribution to Economy

Apart from providing regular postal services the post offices in India are also providing financial services to the public through Post Office Savings Bank. The Indian Post starts Postal Life Insurance in the year 1984 as a welfare scheme for the employees of the Post and Telegram Department due to huge demand of the scheme latter on it was opened for employees of other departments and finally in the year 1995 it was opened for all people. In addition to these services post office also provide money transfer services. Post Office Savings Bank which was establish with an objective of encouraging saving habit and thrift among the masses has now become a medium of mobilizing a huge amount of funds.

Difference between Indian Postal Saving & Other Commercial Saving

1. There is a common perception that banks provide financial services, while post offices provide mailing services only.

1. However, many banking facilities are today being provided by post offices such as opening of accounts and saving scheme with better rates of interest than banks.

1. There are many income tax saving schemes offered by post offices, which makes their products very attractive for people.

Role of Post Office in Financial Inclusion

Financial Inclusion is the availability of banking services at an affordable cost to disadvantaged low-income groups. The Indian post offers many financial services throughout all its branches. This includes various post office savings schemes, postal life insurance, mutual fund, money remittance, forex services etc.

As on March 31, 2011, there are nearly 25 crore postal savings bank account under various post office savings bank schemes. The Department of Posts has taken the responsibility to disburse the MGNREGA wages through Post Offices by opening savings bank accounts in the names of MGNREGA beneficiaries.

The Department is also contributing to the efforts in financial inclusion by payment of benefits under various social security pension schemes via. IGNOAPS (Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme), IGNWPS (Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme) and Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY Scheme), a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Maternity Benefit Scheme. Such payments are being effected either through money orders or Post Office Saving Bank accounts.

Stamps

I. The first postal stamp in India was introduced on 1 July 1852 in the Scinde district.

II. In 1854 the introduction of uniform postage rates led to the development of the first postage stamps valid for use throughout India.

III. As with the introduction of uniform postage in Britain this led to a rapid increase in use of the postal system.

IV. The volume of mail doubled between 1854 and 1866, and again between 1866 and 1871.

V. The first pictorial stamps were issued in 1931.

VI. There was a victory issue in 1946, followed shortly by a first Dominion issue. The three stamps in the Dominion issue depicted the Ashoka Pillar, the new flag of India, and an aeroplane.

Indian Post

Indian Post is a bank serving for more than 150 years. It is one of the world's largest mailing network divide out a separate vertical to manage banking services, a move that will help it win RBI indication for interoperability of its ATMs with those of PSU banks. Postal system touches the lives of Indian citizens in many ways: delivering mails, accepting deposits under Small Savings Schemes, providing life insurance cover under Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) and providing retail services like bill collection, sale of forms, etc.

The DoP (Department of Posts) acts as an agent for Government of India in discharging other services for citizens such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) wage disbursement and old age pension payments. With 1, 55,015 Post Offices, the DoP has the most widely distributed postal network in the world.

Saving Schemes in Post office are:-

• Post Office Savings Account

• 5-Year Post Office Recurring Deposit Account (RD)

• Post Office Time Deposit Account (TD)

• Post Office Monthly Income Scheme Account (MIS)

• Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS)

• 15 year Public Provident Fund Account (PPF​)

• National Savings Certificates (NSC)

• Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP​)

• Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts

Kisan Vikas Patra

Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) is a saving certificate scheme launched by the government of India in 1988 but due its misuse the scheme was closed in 2011 & was relaunched in 2014. Benefits of this scheme are as follows:

• Amount Invested doubles in 110 months (9 years & 2 months). Thus the applicable interest rate is 8.7%.

• Certificate can be purchased by an adult for himself or on behalf of a minor or by two adults.

• KVP can be purchased from any Departmental Post office & will be available in denominations of Rs.1,000, Rs. 5,000, Rs. 10,000, and Rs. 50,000.

• Facility of nomination is available & no upper ceiling on investment.

• Certificate can be transferred from one person to another and from one post office to another.

• Minimum lock-in period is 2 years and 6 months.

• KVP can be encashed in eight equal monthly installments after the lock-in period.

• No KYC norms would be applicable at the time of purchase of KVP, PAN details will not be required.

Facalities offered by Indian Postal Department are:-

Financial facilities: These facilities are provided through the post office's savings schemes like Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra, and National Saving Certificates in addition to normal retail banking functions of monthly income schemes, recurring deposits, savings account, time deposits and money order facility.

Mail facilities: Mail services consist of parcel facilities that is trans-mission of articles from one place to another; registration facility to provide security of the transmitted articles and insurance facility to provide insurance cover for all risks in the course of transmission by post.

Allied facilities: Post offices also provide a variety of allied services to customers.

• Greeting post: A range of delightful greeting cards for every occasion.

• Media post: An innovative and effective vehicle for Indian corporates to advertise their brand through postcards, envelopes, aerograms, telegrams, and also through letterboxes.

• Direct post is for direct advertising. It can be both addressed as well as unaddressed.

• International Money Transfer through collaboration with Western Union financial services, USA, which enables remittance of money from 185 countries to India.

• Passport facilities: A unique partnership with the ministry of external affairs for facilitating passport application.

• Speed Post: It has over 1000 destinations in India and links with 97 major countries across the globe.

• E-bill post is the latest offering of the department to collect bill payment across the counter for BSNL and Bharti Airtel.

Postal Services

In 2013 it was revealed that the Indian postal service had formulated plans to enter the banking industry after RBI guidelines for the issuance of new banking licenses were released. They have opened a Post Bank of India, an independent banking service.

Postal Code

Postal Code also known as Postal Index Number or Pin or Pincode is a six digit code used by the Indian postal administration. This system was system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses.

Post Office & First World War

1. By 1914 the Post Office employed over 250,000 people making it the biggest economic enterprise in Britain and the largest single employer of labour in the world.

2. On the eve of war the Post Office not only handled a yearly total 5.9 billion items of post but was responsible for the nation's telegraph and telephone systems, as well as providing savings bank and other municipal facilities at thousands of branch post offices.

3. When war was declared in 1914 an outbreak of national fervour saw huge numbers of men clamour to enlist with the armed forces, including 11,000 Post Office staff.

4. The Post Office also had its own battalion comprised entirely of postal staff: the Post Office Rifles (POR). This infantry force fought on the Western Front suffering heavy casualties at Ypres and the Somme.

5. Receiving hundreds of gallantry awards and one Victoria Cross, approximately 12,000 men joined the colours with the POR. Of these, some 1,800 were killed and 4,500 were wounded.

6. With the onset of trench warfare, all mails bound for troops on the Western Front were sorted at the London Home Depot by the end of 1914. Covering five acres of Regents Park, this was said to be the largest wooden structure in the world employing over 2,500 mostly female staff by 1918. During the war the Home Depot handled a staggering 2 billion letters and 114 million parcels.

7. Finally, the First World War greets the end of the famous Penny Post. The Treasury had been heavily drained by the huge costs of the war and the government needed to raise extra revenue by all possible means.

8. The standard national postage rate of one penny for letters had stood for 75 years and was carefully left in June 1918 when postage was raised by a half penny.

Interesting facts

• After independence the responsibility of the postal services was transferred to the new Indian Government.

• In 1870, the Post Office was given control of the telegraph system. The women who worked as telegraphists became Post Office employees. This was the first time women had been employed in substantial numbers by the GPO and their employment was seen as something novel and experimental.

• In a Pincode the first four digits are common & the last two digits represent the delivery office within the sorting district.

• There are total nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone (for the Indian Army).

• The Victoria Cross (VC) is Britain's highest award for gallantry. It is awarded only rarely, and issued only for the highest possible bravery. Many of the recipients lost their lives in the act that gained them the medal. The award was first conceived by Prince Albert, Consort to Queen Victoria, in recognition of the bravery of men of all ranks during the Crimean War. During the First World War it was awarded 628 times, four of these awarded were to postal workers.

• Total post office in India is 1,54,882 as on 31^st March 2014 out of which 1,39,182 are in the rural areas. At the time of independence, there were 23,344 Post Offices, which were primarily in urban areas.

• The first Post Office in India was opened at Kolkata in 1727 & headquarters of Indian postal system is in New Delhi.

• Hobby of collecting stamps is called Philately. World Postal Day is observed in October 9 & Indian Postal Day is observed in October 10.

• Highest post office in the world is situated at Hikkim (Himachal Pradesh).

National Philatelic Museum

This museum at dak bhawan in New Delhi & was operated by the Indian post. This museum was inaugurated on 6^th July 1968 with the beginning of Philatelic Advisory Committee on 18^th September 1962. Besides the large collection of India Postage stamps designed, printed and issued, it has a large collection of Indian states, both confederate and feudatory, early essays, proofs and colour trials, a collection of Indian stamps "used abroad" and as well as early Indian postcards, postal stationery and thematic collections.

Everything you need to know Indian Railway

Indian Railway

The first train ran from Mumbai to Thane in1853, covering a distance of 34 km. The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran over a distance of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats was first approached by Mr. George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843.

History of Indian Railway

1. The history of Indian railway began in the mid of 19^th In 1844, the Governor-General of India Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India.

• Indian Railways is divided into 17 zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions.

2. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1966 and sixteen in 2003. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. The total number of railway stations in India is estimated to be between 8,000 .

3. Indian Railways is the fourth largest employer in the world, employing over a million people. The trains have a 5 digit numbering system and runs 12,617 passenger trains and 7,421 freight trains daily. As of 31 March 2016, 27,999 km (41.59%) of the total 67,312 km route length was electrified.

Economy

• Railways are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India. Railways also make it possible to conduct multifarious activities like business, sightseeing, and pilgrimage along with transportation of goods over longer distances.

• Railways in India bind the economic life of the country as well as accelerate the development of the industry and agriculture.

• The Indian Railway have a network of 7,133 stations spread over a route length of 64,460 km with a fleet of 9,213 locomotives, 53,220 passenger service vehicles, 6,493 other coach vehicles and 2,29,381 wagons as on March 2011.

• The Government of India earns a revenue of approx. ₹1.6345 trillion annually.

Budget

Theme of Budget

• Overcoming challenges – Reorganize, Restructure Rejuvenate Indian Railways: 'Chalo, Milkar Kuch Naya Karen'

• Three pillars of the strategy i.e. Nav Arjan – New revenues, Nav Manak – New norms, Nav Sanrachna – New Structures.

Financial Performance

• 2015-16- Savings of Rs. 8,720 crore neutralizing most of the revenue shortfall.

• 2016-17- Target to restrict growth of Ordinary Working Expenses by 11.6% after building in immediate impact of 7th Pay Commission, reductions planned in diesel and electricity consumption, revenue generation targeted at Rs. 1,84,820 crore.

Investments and Resources

• 2016-17 CAPEX pegged at Rs. 1.21 lakh crore, implementation through joint ventures with states, developing new frameworks for PPP, etc.

Vision

• By 2020, long-felt desires of the common man to be fulfilled.

Port connectivity

Tuna Port commissioned and rail connectivity projects to ports of Jaigarh, Dighi, Rewas and Paradip under implementation of rail connectivity for the ports of Nargol and Hazira under PPP in 2016-17.

Jammu and Kashmir

Work on Katra-Banihal section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project progressing satisfactorily- 35 kms of tunnelling out of total of 95 kms completed. Decongestion work on Jalandhar - Jammu line in full swing and doubling of two bridges to be commissioned by March 2016, while the other two bridges will be completed by 2016-17.

Make in India -

 Finalised bids for two loco factories, proposed to increase the current procurement of train sets by 30%.

Partnerships –

• Cabinet approval for JVs with State Governments, 17 consented and 6 MOUs signed with State Governments.

• 44 new partnership works covering about 5,300 kms and valuing about Rs. 92,714 crore have been indicated in the Budget documents.

• Railways are preparing a Plan size of Rs. 1,21,000 crore in 2016-17.

Factories Allocated

• Madhepura (Bihar) : Diesel factory will cost Rs 2,052 crore

• Marhowra (Bihar) : Electric factory will cost Rs 1,293.57 crore

• Madhya Pradesh: Diesel Factory will cost Rs 200 crore

Impact of Indian Railways on Economy

1. The Indian Railways contributes to India's economic development, accounting for about one per cent of the GNP and the backbone of freight needs of the core sector.

2. It accounts for six per cent of the total employment in the organized sector directly and an additional 2.5 per cent indirectly through its dependent organisations.

3. It has in vested significantly in health, education, housing and sanitation. With its vast network of schools and investment in training, the Indian Railways plays an important role in human resource development.

Note: 

• The Indian Railways, with nearly 63,000 route kilometers fulfill the country's transport needs, particularly, in respect of long-distance passenger and goods traffic.

• Freight trains carry nearly 1.2 million tonnes of originating goods and 7,500 passenger trains carry nearly 12 million passengers every day.

Ranking

The Indian Railways is the largest public sector undertaking in the country. It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 67,312 km (41,826 mi) and 7,112 stations.

India's Biggest Platform - Gorakpur railway station is the important junction of Northern Indian railway & became the worlds largest platform with the length of 1,366m.

Ministry of Railways

• Cabinet minister: Suresh Prabhu

New Schemes

1. 100 rail stations to get WI-Fi this year.

1. Indian Railways will provide 17,000 bio-toilets on trains.

1. Additional toilets at 475 stations before 2016-17 ends.

1. E-catering services to be extended to 408 stations.

1. Developing Delhi-Chennai, Kharagpur-Mumbai and Kharagpur-Vijayawada freight corridors on a priority basis.

1. To create rail auto hub in Chennai.

1. Watchdog proposed for railways.

1. FM radio entertainment on trains.

1. With new uniforms, railway porter will be called Sahayaks.

1. Half of lower berths reserved for senior citizens.

1. Baby food at stations, child menu on all trains.

1. Local cuisine to be available on trains.

1. Ticket cancellation through phone calls.

1. To install 1,780 automatic ticketing machines.

1. CCTV surveillance in all stations in a phased manner.

1. Local art to be highlighted at railway stations.

1. Dedicated freight corridors envisaged for North-South, East-West and East Coast alignments.

New Trains

There are 4 new trains announced by the Rail minister Suresh Prabhu in his second Railway Budget 2016-17.

• Humsafar: For the middle class

• Tejas: For those in a hurry

• Uday (Double-deckers): For those traveling on busy routes

• Antyodaya: For the economically backward

New App

Under the 'Digital India' programme, Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu is likely to launch a new platform named 'JUMBO Bonanza of UTS on mobile'. Passengers can download a mobile application called 'UTS on mobile', which would not only save time, but also avoid the usage of paper for tickets.

• No of Rajdhani in India: There are currently 22 sets of Rajdhani Express operational

• No of Shatabdi in India: There are currently 60 sets of Shatabdi Express operational

Railway across Border

1. Jogbani-Biratnagar Link -Nepal

1. Samjhauta Express -Pakistan

1. Maitri Express -Bangladesh

1. Bhutan Railway -Bhutan

1. Myanmar Rail -Myanmar

1. Vietnam Link -Vietnam

1. Railway Link - China

1. Thailand Line -Thailand

1. Malaysia Railway Link

1. Singapore Train Link

1. Mannar Line- Sri Lanka

Japan-India Contract

The MOU for co-operation on the proposed 508 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed line was signed on December 12 Japan would provide a 50-year loan worth more than Rs 790 bn, with a 15-year grace period and an interest rate of 0·1%. India's Ministry of Railways said it had been agreed that Shinkansen technology would be adopted, with technology transfer to support the government's Make in India policy. Japan would also provide staff training.

Most beautiful railway stations in India

1. Lucknow Charbagh Railway Station (Lucknow)

1. Barog (Shimla)

1. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai)

1. Ghum (Darjeeling)

1. Howrah (Kolkata)

1. Cuttack (Odisha)

LIC Contract

Indian Railways signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to raise Rs 1.5 lakh crore over the next five years beginning of April 2016.

The investment by LIC, to be made through Rs 30,000 crore of bonds issued annually by rail entities such as Indian Railway Finance Corporation would be channelised by the railways in capacity augmentation projects. The bonds will come with a five-year moratorium on interest and loan repayment.

PPP Model

A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P or P3) is a government service or private business venture that is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. PPP involves a contract between a public sector authority and a private party, in which the private party provides a public service or project and assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk in the project.

 The Government-constituted expert committee named Ajay Shankar Committee to examine the Possibility of Replacing Multiple Prior Permissions with Pre-Existing Regulatory Mechanism submitted.

Committees on Railway

Production Unit of Indian Railways

Other Interesting Facts

1. Nationalised in 1951, Indian Railways is today the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest network operated under a single management. It has 115,000 km of track length. It runs 12,617 trains to carry over 23 million passengers daily – equivalent to moving the entire population of Australia – connecting more than 7,172 stations.

2. Railways runs more than 7,421 freight trains carrying 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight every day.

3. Indian Railways is in constant touch with Railways across the world to bring in state-of-art facilities in its system. Towards this, a Memorandum of Understanding was singed during the Eighth Session of the Indo-Austria Joint Economic Commission held in Vienna.

4. Darjeeling Himalayan Railways attained the World Heritage Status from UNESCO.

5. Fairy Queen, the oldest functioning steam engine in the world, which finds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, got Heritage Award at the International Tourist Bureau, Berlin in March, 2000.

6. Indian Railways achieved a number of recognitions and awards in sports, tourism sector and for excellence in operational matters. In the Common Wealth Games in Manchester, the Indian teams record performance has been mainly due to Railway team's excellence in sports.

7. India became the first developing country and the 5th country in the world to roll out the first indigenously built "state-of-the-art" high horse power three phase electric locomotive when the first such loco was flagged off from Chittranjan Locomotive Works (CLW).

IRCTC

IRCTC stands for Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation, it is a subsidiary of the Indian Railway that handles the catering, tourism & online ticketing operations of the Indian railway.

Headquarters: New Delhi, NCT

Heritage Trains of India

Konkan Railway

One of the important achievements of Indian Railways has been the construction of Konkan Railway in 1998. It is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka. It is considered an engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges and91 tunnels. Asia's largest tunnel which is nearly 6.5 km long also lies on this route. The states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are partners in this undertaking.  It has constructed bridges - engineering marvels across major rivers like the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmputra.

Medical Railway

The Lifeline Express or the Jeevan Rekha Express is the worlds first medical train run by the impact india foundation. This train was started on 16^th July 1991 & had completed its 120 project with the benfits to 6,00,000 rural Indians. Some of the services provided by this train are Orthopaedic surgical intervention, Surgical interventions, Plastic Surgical correction, Epilepsy, Immunisations,Nutritional assessment.

Science Train

Three Ministries, led by their Union Ministers came together to flag off the Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS).  Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Railway, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Union Minister of Department of Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan flagged off the train from Safderjung Railway Station. The Science Express Climate Action Special will travel across the country, covering about 19, 500 kms, initially for about eight months, halting at 64 locations in about 20 states. 

Palace on Wheels

The Palace on wheels is the luxury train of India which was launched in August 2009, in association with Rajasthan Tourism & voted as 4^th Luxurious train in the world. The idea of this train is taken from the past rulers of Gujarat, Rajasthan & Hyderabad & was originally meant to be personal railway coaches.

• There are 23 coaches in the train.

• 104 tourists can travel in train.

• Each coach is named after former Rajput states and matches the aesthetics and interiors of the royal past: Alwar, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Bundi, Dholpur, Dungargarh, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Kota, Sirohi and Udaipur.

• Each coach has four cabins (named chambers or saloons by the company) with luxury amenities and Wi-Fi internet.

• The train has two restaurants, The Maharaja and The Maharani, with a Rajasthani ambiance serving continental, Chinese cuisine, one bar cum lounge, 14 saloons and a spa.

Note:-

World's fastest Train:  Shanghai Maglev,also known as Shanghai Transrapid, is currently the fastest train in the world. CRH 380A running between Beijing and Shanghai. AGV Italo, touted to be the most modern train in Europe, has a maximum operational speed of 360kmph.

World's Latest Technology: The City LYNX Gold Line, formerly known as Center City Corridor, is a 16km streetcar project in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, US. The project, which is a key part of the Charlotte's 2030 Transit Plan, is being developed in phases.