Nine killed in a rail accident in West Bengal
Nine persons , two of them railway crew members , were killed on Monday when a goods train collided with train no 13174 Agartala Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express between Rangapani and Chattar Hat station in Darjeeling district of West Bengal .
Nine persons were grievously injured and 32 sustained minor injuries .
The accident took place about 10 km from Jalapiguri station at 8:55 AM.
The goods train hit the stationary Kanchenjunga express from behind on the same track with speed .
Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishanw reached the site and took stock of relief work . He announced compensation for the victims .
West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee also visited the site , and criticised the railway ministry .
How accident happened :
The loco pilot of the train had the authority to cross all the signals in danger , according to the documents available with the Hindu.
Stationmaster of the Rangapani railway station had authority to cross all signals in danger .
Permit is issued only when there is no obstruction or section is clear . It is not known how clearance was given when the express train had not crossed the section.
Goods loco pilot violated speed curbs : –
The railway board said on Monday that the goods train violated speed restrictions it had to follow given the “ defective “ automatic signalling system . The train was speeding after getting clearance to cross all the signals.
Gupta extradited to US for murder plots , please not guilty
Nikhil Gupta , an Indian National accused by US to be involved in assassination plot of Gurupatwant Singh Pannun was extradited to USA from Czech Republic on Monday .
The Czech Republic had arrested Mr Gupta last year over allegations by the USA on charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Gurupatwant Singh Pannun in New York .
The US government had alleged that Mr Gupta was working under the direction of some Indian government officials . India has denied its involvement in such cases .
India has said that such acts do not come under its policy .
Doval , Sullivan review iCET cooperation
USA NSA Jake Sullivan is on a two day visit to India .
NSA Ajit Doval chaired the second meeting on Intiatialtve on Critically Emerging Technology ( iCET ) . During the meeting NSA
National Security Advisor ( NSA ) , Ajit Doval and his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan on Monday chaired the second meeting of the initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology ( iCET ) .
The fact sheet of joint communique said :
● That the two countries understand the commitment to co operate in leading edge innovation .
● Talks on the purchase of MQ 9 B unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV ) are in the advanced stage of talks .
● Licence manufacturing of General Electric ( GE 414 ) jet engines as well as Stryker infantry vehicle .
● A new partnership over semiconductor was announced : Under this General Atomics and Indian firm 3rdiTech will develop semiconductor design and manufacturing of “ precision guided ammunition and other national security focussed electronics platform “ .
● To On semiconductor the partnership between General Atomics and Indian tech firm 3 Rd I Tech to co develop semiconductor design and manufacturing of “ precision guided ammunition and other national security focussed electronics platform “ .
● The fact sheet also outlines the steps to be taken to overcome dependency on China .
iCET – United States – India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology ( iCET ) is a collaborative framework to enhance cooperation in the developing fields of Technology .
It was announced in 2022 ,by PM Modi and Joe Biden on the sidelines of the QUAD summit .
It includes areas of space , semiconductor. advanced telecommunication , artificial intelligence , quantum science , biotechnology , and clean energy . The areas included were biotechnology , critical minerals , rare earth minerals , digital connectivity , digital public infrastructure and advanced technology .
Shah chairs meet to review status of Manipur conflict , ‘bridge ethnic divide ‘ : Biren not invited
Union Home minister Amit Shah chaired a high level meeting on Manipur on Monday . CM Biren Singh was not present in the meeting. The meeting was solely restricted to “ security officials “ .
The “ current status “ of ethnic conflict and the “ way forward “ was discussed.
The home minister sought “ to bridge the ethnic divide at the earliest “ .
Manipur is currently under tension after violence in Jiribam . NH37 is the bone of contention .
HAL received request for proposal of 156 light combat helicopters
HAL has got a Request for Proposal ( RFP ) for 156 indigenous light combat helicopters ( LCH ) estimated to cost ₹45,000 crore .
LCH Prachand is India’s first indigenous attack helicopter .
Congress slams book revision , says NCERT is working as an ‘ RSS affiliate ‘.
NCERT recently revised topics of Babari Masjid Demolition topics .
The Babri Masjid Demolition and riots after that has not found a place in the book .instead book talks about Ram Janambhoomi movement , Supreme Court verdict and building ot Ram Temple after that.
Rahul keeps Rae Bareli ; Priyanka for Wayanad
In the recently held Lok Sabha election , Rahul Gandhi won from both Wayanad and Bareilly seats . He had to announce which seat was he going to retain . On Monday it was announced that Rahul Gandhi will retain Bareilly Lok Sabha seat leaving Wayanad for by-election .
Congress on Monday announced that Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra will make debut from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in by-elections.
“Digi Yatra could be expanded to hotels , rail travel , public places “
Digi Yatra a check in service at airport based on facial recognition can be implemented at hotels and public places such as historical monuments , says CEO of digi yatra.
The CEO said that he is in talk with the railway ministry and other stakeholders in this regard .
Currently about 14 airports in India is linked with Digiyatra .
Digiyatra was launched in 2022 . It uses biometrics such as facial recognition instead of boarding pass to enable paperless movement at various checkpoints at the airport .
World
Netanyahu dissolves war cabinet after after Grantz exit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential war cabinet , tasked with steering the war in Gaza .
The move was expected after the exit of Benny Grantz , a former military chief and one of his coalition partners . Mr Netanyahu is now expected to hold a smaller forum with ministers to take sensitive decisions on war .
Benny Grantz had a disagreement with Netanyahu regarding the conduct of war .
In appeal to UK Muslim voters , Tory candidate sites govt actions in Kashmir
Marco Langthi a conservative politician and current MP, addressed British Pakistani / Kashmiri voters that they should vote for him otherwise rights of Kashmiri would be compromised .
China blamed Philippines for ship collision
In another event of conflict between China and the Philippines in the South China sea , China has accused the Philippines of the collision of a vessel with a Chinese ship .
The incident occurred near second Thomas Shoal island . The Philippines vessel was carrying supply materials for Second Thomas Shoal .
Second Thomas shoal id under Phillipines control .
G 7 statement ‘ full of arrogance , prejudice and lies ‘ , says China
G7 leaders had warned China against sending weapon components to Russia .
China hit back on Monday saying the allegations were “ full of arrogance , prejudice and lies “ .
