Latest news: PM Modi to visit Puducherry and Tamil Nadu; Railways increases fares

PM Modi to inaugurate key development projects in TN, Puducherry 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday will visit Puducherry to inaugurate several development projects. PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for 4 landing of NH45-A - 56 km Sattanathapuram - Nagapattinam package of Villupuram to Nagapattinam project covering Karaikal district in Puducherry at around 11:30 am in the morning, as per an official release. He will also lay the foundation stone of the Medical College Building at Karaikal New Campus- Phase I, Karaikal District (JIPMER). PM Modi will also visit Tamil Nadu on Thursday and will dedicate to the nation the Neyveli New Thermal Power Project and several other projects. 

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India begins BRICS 2021 chairship with 3-day-long Sherpas’ meeting

India kicked off its BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Chairship with the inaugural three-day-long Sherpas' meeting, said Anurag Srivastava, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson on Wednesday. Taking to Twitter he wrote that India looks forward to continuing productive discussions with BRICS partners over the next two days. According to the MEA release, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched India’s BRICS 2021 website at the BRICS Secretariat at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan on February 19.

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Pak misusing international platforms for ‘baseless’ propaganda: India at UNHRC

India, on February 24, slammed Pakistan for misusing International platforms for 'baseless and malicious propaganda' against it and advised that before pointing a finger at New Delhi, Islamabad would do well to put its own house in order. In response to a statement by Pakistan's representative, India said it was not surprised that Islamabad's representative misused the UN forum yet again. 

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Railways increases fares for short-distance trains

After concerns were raised over a rise in the ticket fares of short-distance passenger trains, the Indian Railways on Wednesday explained that the hike was only to discourage unnecessary travel. After easing up the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown, the railways started running only special trains. It started with long-distance trains and now, even short-distance passenger trains are being run as special trains. In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the fares of these trains have been fixed at par with the price of unreserved tickets of mail and express trains for the same distance, a statement from the railway ministry said.

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Australia’s new law forces tech firms to pay for news

Australia's Parliament passed landmark legislation on Thursday mandating global digital giants like Facebook and Google to pay for local news content, in a move that is being closely followed around the world. The new law facilitates Google and Facebook to invest millions of dollars in local content deals and could prove a model for resolving the companies' tussles with regulators worldwide. Google will now pay for news content that appears on its "Showcase" product, while Facebook will pay providers who appear on its "News" product, which is to be launched in Australia later this year.

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