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[ad_1] Industrialist Anand Mahindra has praised Indian Railways and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for setting up the India's first and one-of-its-kind tea stall at the Guwahati Railway Station, operated by the transgender community. In a Twiiter post, Mahindra said that the move is transformational and progressive. "This one small, initiative is, in my view, as significant & transformational as your many other progressive projects. Indian railways carries over 8 billion people. And most important, excludes no one. Bravo @AshwiniVaishnaw," tweeted Anand Mahindra.  Anand Mahindra was replying to a post by Ashwini Vaishnaw, sharing the photos of the India’s first “Trans Tea Stall” at a railway platform. Earlier, in a first-of-a-kind initiative, a special tea stall was inaugurated at the Guwahati train station by the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) to boost the transgender community. NFR General Manager Anshul Gupta inaugurated the 'Trans Tea Stall'

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Afcons Infrastructure has emerged as the lowest bidder for construction of a 21-km-long tunnel, including India’s first 7-km-long undersea tunnel, in Maharashtra for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The tunnel will be constructed in five years, indicating that operation of the first bullet train on the stretch will not be possible before mid-2028. “The financial bids of two technically qualified bidders were opened and Afcons Infrastructure Limited has quoted the lowest bid,” the National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) said in a statement. Afcons has quoted Rs 6,397.3 crore for the project. The tunnel will be built between the underground station at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Maharashtra and the undersea tunnel will pass through Thane Creek. It will be a single tube tunnel to accommodate twin tracks for both up and down trains. As per the project, 39 equipment rooms at 37 locations will also be constructed adjoining the tunnel locati

[ad_1] MUMBAI: Loss-making Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea has sought at least Rs 7,000 crore ($846 million) in emergency funds from local banks, which are however reluctant to extend fresh loans, four sources familiar with the matter said. The company needs the funds to remain in business. But the lenders will wait for either a capital increase by its main shareholders - UK-based Vodafone Group and local investor Aditya Birla Group - or a debt-to-equity conversion by the government before granting the debt-laden operator more funding, the sources told Reuters. "Without that (capital injection) it looks difficult for the company to ...survive," said one top official at a state-owned bank. A news report said in November that the carrier needed to raise about $3 billion in all to avert an immediate financial crunch - with any government rescue package coming on top of that. Vodafone Idea is awaiting a final nod on a government package that would allow it to conver

[ad_1] The Indian Railways will soon launch the new Vande Bharat Express in India, wearing saffron-black livery. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Integrated Coach Factory in Chennai to inspect the new rake and announced that the saffron-coloured semi-high speed train is inspired by the tricolour. It was also announced that the 28th rake of the Indian-built semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express will be 'saffron' in colour, railway officials said on Saturday. A total of 25 Vande Bharat Express trains are operational in India now. The new saffron Vande Bharat Express is not yet operational and is currently stationed at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, where Vande Bharat trains are manufactured, reported ANI. "The colour of this 28th rake is being changed on a trial basis," they said. It is expected that the 28th rake will be made operational on the Independence Day, on August 15.  Inspected Vande Bharat train production at ICF, Chennai