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Ola and Uber drivers allege their earnings are not enough for them to make ends meet Do you use Ola and Uber for your daily commute? If yes, you may want to find other modes of transport as Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has called for an indefinite strike of drivers of cab aggregators Uber and Ola starting Monday midnight. The strike, which will be observed in key cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, aims to voice the drivers’ woes of not being able to cover rising costs due to falling business. They are currently being paid Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month, according to media reports. “Ola and Uber had given big assurances to the drivers, but today they are unable to cover their costs. They have invested Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 and were expecting to make Rs 150,000 a month. But drivers are unable to make even half of this because of the mismanagement by these companies,” said Sanjay Naik of Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena, repor...

Real policy is not defensive short term emergency measures but something proactive spanning multiple years Every Diwali, a billion people in India wake up to the news of smog-ridden cities in the aftermath of celebratory fireworks. And much like the hangover after a night of drinking, we promise ourselves, never again!; that moderation will be the key next time around!, etc. Yet, we once again find ourselves in a similar (if worse) situation. And in 2016 again, a year after three infants challenged the Supreme Court to curb air pollution from firecrackers (one of the families has since migrated away from Delhi), we are faced with yet another hangover. For the first time, more than 1,800 schools have been closed in the national capital region in response to high   Delhi Air Pollution   levels originating from a complex mix of emissions: from the Diwali fireworks burning, stubble burning in Indo-Gangetic states, wintertime meteorological changes and the ever-present urba...

ACB officials question DCW chief Swati Maliwal A team of Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) officials on Moday, questioned DCW chief   Swati Maliwal   in connection with a complaint of illegal recruitments in the women's panel. A team comprising five ACB officers reached the office of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) at 11 am to question Maliwal, a senior ACB officer said, adding the questioning is still going on. The ACB had sent a notice last week to Maliwal informing her that she would be questioned on September 19. Also Read:   ACB registers case against DCW chief Swati Maliwal The probe has been taken up by the ACB on a complaint by former DCW chief Barkha Shukla Singh. In her complaint, Singh had claimed that several AAP supporters were given plum posts in the women's panel. Singh, in her complaint, listed names of 85 people who, she claimed, got jobs "without requisite credentials". Earlier, Maliwal had rubbished the allegations, saying the staf...

India cuts RBI governor shortlist to four, officials say By Douglas Busvine and Rupam Jain NEW   DELHI   (Reuters) - The government has narrowed down its list of candidates to become the next   governor   of the Reserve Bank of   India   to four, a senior government official told Reuters. A new Monetary Policy Committee also will be chosen soon, the official said. The moves seek to ensure policy continuity after   RBI   chief Raghuram Rajan shocked markets 10 days ago when he announced he would not seek reappointment in September. The failure of negotiations on his possible return had sparked fears that Rajan's departure could put at risk the inflation-targeting central banker's gains in stabilising Asia's third-largest economy over the past three years. Sending a reassuring message to markets, the official said that the list of candidates to replace Rajan had been whittled down to four - three of them central bank veterans, with t...

Fire at Times of India building in Delhi A fire broke out at the   Fire At Times of India   building in central Delhi's ITO area on Wednesday, and 21 fire tenders were sent to douse the flames, fire officials said. The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the building, situated near the Income Tax Office, at around 2.20 p.m., a fire official told IANS. Delhi Fire Services director G.C. Mishra told IANS, "It is a medium category fire. Keeping in view the safety of the number of buildings in the area we have sent 21 fire tenders to the spot to douse the flames." The building has been evacuated and no one was injured in the incident, said a fire officer. The reason for the fire is not known. Fire officials said they initially sent six fire tenders when they were informed about smoke emanating from the building. Later, more fire tenders were pressed into service as it turned out to be a big blaze.

Asia's oil markets are being upended as India's and China's refiners overtake once-dominant buyers likeJapan and challenge the United States as the world's biggest consumer. The shifts are not only establishing new trade routes but are also challenging the way oil is priced in the region as the new players push for more cash cargoes and fewer long-term deals. Read Full Article Over Here :  Business Standard News Read more from our special coverage on "OIL" Oil falls as OPEC squabbles over output targets, crude stocks swell Dont reimpose customs duty on crude: Oil firms Oil prices stabilise on lower US rig count, but global glut still weighs Oil story: theres a new world order to talk about at the Davos of energy Saudi, Iraq sell more oil to India, elbow out Latin America crudes

The car rationing formula by the Delhi Government officially ends today as the odd-even plan has completely its 15-day trial period. The Delhi government had said yesterday said that, the decision for the second phase of the experiment is likely to be taken in the review meeting scheduled for Monday.  Read Articles

The Indian Premier League’s two-day franchise workshopfrom January 13 is today shifted from Srinagar and Gulmarg to Mumbai owing to the death of  Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister  Mufti Mohammad Sayeed here. “IPL Franchise workshop & meet shifted to Mumbai on13&14 jan from Srinagar & gulmarg because of mufti saheb’s demise,” IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla tweeted.  Read Articles   

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday condoled the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister  Mufti Mohammed Sayeed , who breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here due to multiple organ failure. “Deeply saddened to hear of Mufti Sahib’s demise. My condolences to his family and supporters,” tweeted Nitish. Kejriwal also took to twitter to express his grief. Read More

The automobile manufacturers, who had moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of the court’s December order banning registration of diesel vehicles in the capital, did not get any immediate relief. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Aryama Sundaram contested the premise that diesel vehicles are polluting by nature and argued that it depended on the technology. Sibal and Singhvi appearing for the SUV manufacturers also argued that the larger vehicles account for just 0.2% pollution and that smaller vehicles contribute more to the pollution.   Read More

With Delhi only a few hours into the AAP government’s  odd-even scheme , car traffic at one of the busiest intersections in the city near the Income Tax Office – popularly known as ITO – appeared to be relatively sparse. While trans-Yamuna commuters using cars still appeared to be present in normal numbers, traffic from the South Delhi side appeared to be thin. Speaking to Business Standard, a policeman posted at the intersection said, “Personally, I haven’t seen as many offenders as I thought there would be today.” However, volunteers, pressed into action to ensure the smooth enforcement of the scheme, were present in strength at the intersection, not to mention a sizeable contingent of reporters from various agencies, reaffirming ITO’s status as the pre-eminent bottleneck of Delhi Auto-rickshaws were scarce going towards Mayur Vihar in the morning, according to a Business Standard reporter. However, the commute to office, via an Ola cab, was smooth with little or no...