Good news for delhi metro commuters, now they can buy book, travel accessories, eatables with wide range of food and beverages, electronics and other items at the metro stations. The café shops will come up in the next six months at major delhi metro stations across the National Capital Region. InterGlobe Retail Pvt. Ltd, the retail arm of InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd and Switzerland-based Dufry International AG, has signed an agreement to open retail stores at airports, and metro and train stations in India.

Dufry operates around 500 Hudson News shops in 10 countries around the world which offers a selection of food and beverages, newspapers, magazines, books, confectionery, health and beauty aids, electronics, and mobile recharge and travel accessories.
It is the first time that the Hudson News Cafe, globally-renowned retail chain brand, is making its foray into the growing Indian market. The two will open 48 Hudson News Café in metro stations in Delhi in association with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Dufry International has acquired Hudson News, which is leading travel news, books and convenience retailer in the US.
The metro cafe shops will be located at stations with high footfall; will have a comprehensive and wide selection of food and beverages, newspapers, magazines, books, health & beauty aids, electronics, mobile recharge and travel accessories.

“The cafe area will provide food and beverages ideal for commuters such as quick breakfasts, light meals and so on,” said a DMRC spokesperson. The total contract period will be 15-years and space of about 2,000 square meters has been provided them. “A joint team of InterGlobe Retail and Dufry will work with DMRC to develop the space over the next six months,” added a Delhi Metro official.
Among the 57 shops allotted, 20 are built-up shops while another 37 will be bare sites within the Metro station premises. As part of its property development initiatives, the Delhi Metro has been wooing many other establishments, like McDonalds, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and others, to set up operating kiosks, shops and restaurants in the metro network.

The Hudson News Cafe currently operates more than 500 shops across ten countries across the globe.
Among the 57 shops allotted, 20 are built up shops while another 37 will be bare sites within the Metro station premises.
“The total contract period will be 15 years and about 2,000 square metres have been provided as space to them. A joint team of InterGlobe Retail and Dufry will work with DMRC to develop the space over the next six months,” Dayal said.
Hudson News Café is the first major travel retail brand at the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation network.

Good news for Delhi’s sport loving person, Commonwealth games stadiums are open for public with a nominal charge. The sport’s ministry opens the gate of capitals major world class stadiums including Jawahar lal Nehru stadium, Karni Singh Shooting range, SP mukharjee swimming pool, Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, INdira Gandhi Indoor stadium, KD Jadhav Wrestling stadium, the cucling satium and IG sports comples, to the public under the scheme called “Come and Play”. All the stadiums are under sports authority of India. The stadiums offer specific sport under the guidance of coaches and to avail this facility you have to register yourself with SAI on first-come-first-serve basis.

Here is the List of schedule for different games, their scheduled stadium and fees: -


SAI would provide coaches in all the above mentioned disciplines. The monthly progress of each trainee should be tracked. Those found lacking in progress or conduct or not serious in the younger age group after three months of coaching could be cautioned. If no progress is shown by the trainee in successive quarters he/she could be removed from the coaching and the membership card withdrawn.
The application forms are available on the SAI website. There is no online submission of form. You can download and fill your particulars and submit to SAI office.

SAI (Sports authority of India Website) : www.sportsauthorityofindia.nic.in
Contact Persons

• Administrator, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

Commuters using the Gurgaon expressway will have to pay more from April 1 this year. It is for the fifth time that toll charges for the 27.7 km expressway have been increased by the authorities in the past three years.

According to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials, this is an annual practice and it was increased in 2010 as well at the same time.

According to the new rate, the cars would have to shell out Rs 21 per trip at the 32-lane toll plaza. At present, car commuters pay Rs 20 per trip at this toll plaza. Executives of DSC Limited, which collects the toll, said the user fee for cars would also increase at Kherki Dhaula and IGI toll plazas.

“The toll charge for cars at Kherki Dhaula would be Rs 27 against the present fee of Rs 25. Similarly, we propose to increase the toll at IGI plaza from Rs 13 to Rs 14 per trip,” an executive said.

A DSC spokesperson said commuters can buy discounted smart tags at Rs 1200 as against their normal price of Rs 1500. The scheme is now available till April 15, 2011. During this period, the company would also provide a free replacement of all faulty tags provided they have not been damaged or tampered with, he added.

The calculation for revised toll has been done based on the provisions of the concession agreement.

Source : Mail today

Delhi – Capital of India, wears the garbage capital crown, as city produces highest solid waste – 9000 tones per day, sources said.

On occasion of World Water Day, March 22, water resource ministry claimed that city generates more than 9000 tones garbage in the form of solid waste per day, the highest by any Indian city.

The paper by Jakir hussain, an assistant research officer in the Central Water Commission, “Ground water pollution threat by dumping of solid waste in urban areas – A case study”, notes that 17 waste disposal areas in Delhi have been filled and closed most of them with all sorts of non-biodegradable waste. Most of the landfills are llocated near Yamuna River, leading to the pollution of river in a significant way in the form of surface runoff from these sites during the rainy seasons.

These sites do not have any concrete base, resulting the ground water contamination. A survey of ground water samples collected from 10 bore near Gazipur landfills in 2009 showed that it affecting ground water quality in surrounding areas because of percolation of waste into the ground water.

Existing landfill Sites in Delhi:
1) Ghazipur – 28 hectare – site has a lifespan till 2014
2) OKHLA – 7.2 hectare
3) Bhalswa – 7.2 hectare

Proposed landfill Sites in Delhi:
1) Near Bawana – 60 Hectare
2) Bawana Kanjhawala – 40 Hectare
3) Puth Khurd – 56 Hectare
4) Kair – 4 Hectare
5) Deorala – 4.8 Hectare
6) Jaitpur – 9.8 Hectare

Steps to make Delhi a Cleaner Place to live –
1- Two lka rag-pickers, who, collect nearly 2,500 tones of waste daily, segregate them and sell it off. The MCD can use these rag-pickers skills to segregate waste.
2- MCD is planning to recycle waste to generate electricity. If, by any case , it implemented, then the waste will no longer be dumped on landfill sites.
3- Like and NGO, Conserve India, we can recyle the waste like plastic bags , washing and drying waste into designer bags, seat belts etc.

Source: Mail Today

The Delhi metro will soon add 103km in its existing network of 186km as the Delhi metro phase III project will start this year. Delhi’s CM Sheila dikshit allocated Rs 1,071 crore for the Delhi metro during 2011-12. The central govt already released Rs. 1,453 Crore last moth for this ambitious project.

Delhi CM announced that the third phase of Metro would involve the total cost of about Rs. 32,000 Crore. Of the Rs 1,071 cr allocated by the Delhi government, Rs 708 cr will be utilized for the Phase – III development while the remaining Rs 363 Cr will be the balance for Phase – II.

Delhi Metro will go around the city in a circular network with multiple interchanging stations. It not only touch the outer area like Bawana but alos the congested one like jamia nagar. Metro pahse III is schedule to start this year with extension of HUDA City Center – Central Secretariat line to red Fort.
One of the important features of Phase-III will be that their will be 23 interchange stations to ensure seamless connectivity.
Delhi Metro’s Phase-I and II were funded by the Delhi government, the Central Government and the JICA.
Some 16 lakh passengers travel daily by the Metro.

The year 2010 was a huge hit as daily ridership doubled during the Commonwealth Games Delhi hosted in October, particularly after the authorities dedicated separate lanes for the Games vehicles, leading to traffic jams. Thousands of people switched over to the Metro at that time, a Delhi Metro official said.

Phase III will have two additional big lines – Lines 7 and 8 – while others are only extension of existing lines. The Kalindi Kunj line will be extended till Noida (Botanical Garden). The Noida extension will be taken care of by the Noida authority.

The biggest addition on Phase III is the coverage of Jamia Milia Islamia University, which will extend from Nehru Place and will cover the outer Ring Road.
Kalkaji will be one of the interchange stations on this line and it will attract a lot of commuters as it covers the university and many schools.

After the commonwealth games, Delhi’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday presented the Delhi Budget for the coming fiscal with focus on the social infrastructure, health, education and without too many heavy tax proposals.

The Rs 27,067-crore Budget’s plan, proposes 12.5 per cent VAT on raw tobacco, bidis. Sheila Dikshit wants delhiites more health cautious and environment friendly so she makes make diesel cars, sweets and namkeen costlier. Keeping in mind the diabetic husbands, value added tax (VAT) on sweets increased from 5% to 12.5%; sweets are heavier on your pockets.

The additional levies on diesel will mean that cars and SUVs using diesel fuel could cost extra Rs 4,000 at the bottom end of the scale and upwards of Rs 25,000 more at the premium end.

The most ambitious of the welfare measures is a scheme for free healthcare for all children under the age of 14 in government schools, government-aided schools and those run by the MCD, the NDMC or the Cantonment Board. That’s an estimated 27 lakh kids to be covered by what has been dubbed the Chacha Nehru Sehat Yojana.

Now you have to pay additional registration charges of 25% for every diesel run vehicle purchased in national capital from 1st April 2011. With the slogan “Congress ka hath, Aam Aadmi ke sath”, Sheila dikshit withdrawn value added tax on bicycles priced up to Rs 3,500, kerosene stoves, lanterns and petromax — items that Dikshit said mattered to the aam aadmi — will become slightly cheaper.

Delhi govt. also hiked the VAT on unprocessed tobacco by 12.5% which will increase the rates of other tobacco products. Currently the VAT of 30% is levied on tobacco products.
Delhiites will also have to pay an additional 5% VAT on suitings and furnishing.

Delhi government allotted almost 25% of the total planned allocation or Rs 3,348 Cr to the Delhi’s most troublesome transport sector. Other sector which received substantial allocation in Sheila’s self confessed “forward looking budget” were medical and public health (12.67%), Water supply and sanitation (12.13%), energy (11.59%) and urban development (10.78%)

Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely announced after a meeting with blueline bus operators that the delhi’s killer blueline buses will be off the Delhi roads completely from December 14.There are around 2,400 blueline buses operating in the capital of which 1,600 where shunted out ahead of the Commonwealth Games earlier this month. Around 8,000 employees were dependent on these buses for their livelihood.

Out of the 1,600 buses to be shunted out, 835 were allowed to ply in non-NDMC areas from last week but its permit will also be revoked by this weekend. This leaves only around blue line 800 buses to ply in the capital till December 14.

Asked about the pending case in Delhi high court regarding phasing out of blueline buses, he said the government was confident that the court will accept its decision.
The Delhi high court had stayed the Government’s move to phase out the blueline buses in February this year arguing that the DTC alone was not capable to meet the requirement of public transport.

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/25/slide-show-1-end-of-the-road-for-delhis-killer-buses.htm

Good news for the Delhiites and the tourists who is coming to Delhi on occasion of CWG games, the colorful, air-conditioned bus services called HOHO bus was launched by Delhi’s CM Shiela Dikshit on Monday.

Delhi’s first hop-on hop-off bus service has fourteen buses, arranged by Delhi Tourist and Transport Corporation in partnership with Purple UMTC Transit Pvt Ltd. The officials said that passenger can hop on and hop off in any of the stop according to their convenience.

The buses will start plying for general public from October 1, 2010. From September 28 to 30 it will run free of cost for underprivileged kids and senior citizens. HOHO buses will not only cover the Delhi’s monuments and museum but also it will cover Delhi’s popular food joints, parks and markets etc.

Route of Delhi’s first HOHO bus service:
The bus service starts at Coffee Home in Baba Kharag Singh Marg and will have stoppages at Delhi Gate, Red Fort, Rajghat, National Gallery of Modern Art, India Gate, Purana Quila, Humayun Tomb, Defence Colony Metro Station, Lotus Temple, Metropolitan Mall Saket/Select City Walk, Qutab Minar, Hauz Khas Village, Dilli Haat (INA), Safdarjung Tomb, Santushti near Hotel Samrat, Teen Murti Marg-Nehru Museum, National Museum Janpath and Jantar Mantar.
With this route, people will get to visit sites like Khooni Darwaza, Ferozeshah Kotla, Gandhi Museum, Ambedkar Stadium, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, Salimgarh Fort, various samadhis around Rajghat, National Stadium, Children’s Park, India Gate, Pragati Maidan, Crafts Museum, National Zoological Park, Isa Khan Tomb, Nizamuddin Dargah, Gole Gumbaj, Sunderwala Burj, Defence Colony Market, Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Kalkaji District Park, ISKCON Temple, Hotel Intercontinental Eros, Hilton Garden Inn, Garden of Five Senses, Qila Rai Pithora, Ahimsa Sthal, Butterfly Park, Indian Handicraft Emporium, Deer Park, Hauz Rani monument, Hauz Khas Market, Dilli Haat, INA Market, Lodi Garden, Jaipur Polo Ground, Nehru Planetarium, Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, Janpath Market, Crafts Emporium, etc.

Where to buy Tickets for HOHO bus service:

The passenger can buy their tickets from bus itself or online from http://www.hohodelhi.com.
The tickets have been priced at Rs300/- for adults and Rs 150/- for children. The buses will ply at every 30 minutes from 8AM to 8PM every day.
Passengers will buy one ticket and they will be allowed to hop on and hop off from any of the stoppages after visiting nearby monuments, markets, etc.

Every HOHO bus will have a guest relations executive who will give information about all the sites which are part of the tour.

Image from: TheHindu.com

MELBOURNE: India bribed 72 Commonwealth countries $100,000 each to get the hosting rights for the scandal-hit 19th edition of the Games which will start in Delhi from October 3-14, a media report claimed.

A report in the Daily Telegraph claimed that Delhi pipped Hamilton in the bid after offering huge sums of money to the 72 Commonwealth countries during the final presentation in Jamaica.

The report also said that Australia received a kickback of $125,000 from India.

“Delhi sealed the right to host the Games when their delegates emerged at the final presentation in Jamaica and offered all 72 nations $100,000 (then about $140,000) each for athlete training schemes if they were the successful bidders,” the newspaper reported.

“The money, subsequently paid to all nations, was not significant to Australia because it had already decided to vote for India and the payment was not an exceptionally large one.

“But for small nations who have minimal interest in the Games, it clinched their vote and India went on to beat Canadian city Hamilton 46-22 in the final poll. Hamilton had offered the nations about $70,000 each,” it said.

News Source : TOI

Good news for the MBA aspirants who seeks admission in Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, in 2010-11 will now be able to register them online. The FMS has also decided to integrate the two-year full-time MBA in management of services (MBA-MS) with its flagship MBA (full-time) programme the new degree will now be known as MBA (FT).

There will entrance test for part-time healthcare administration programme and FMS, Delhi also added new test center in it list, these include Varanasi, Roorkee and Baroda. The total seats for MBA (full-time) will be 226, 15 seats less than the cumulative intake for both the courses in the 2010 admissions. There were 166 seats in MBA (full-time) and 75 seats in MBA (MS) in 2010 admissions.

Getting into the three-year MBA (part-time) healthcare administration programme will become tougher as the B-school plans to conduct entrance test for the course from this year. Till last year, selection was done based on interviews. FMS is also selecting PhD scholars on the basis of entrance test.

The date for entrance test for MBA (full-time) and PhD is December 5, 2010, while the entrance for part-time programmes will be held on January 23, 2011. Earlier, the entrance tests for full-time program were held in January.

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi was founded in 1954 and FMS was the first school in country to offer management training for professional managers in the form of a part time MBA program.

For online registration Logon to: FMS online registration link http://www.fms.edu/OnlineRegistration/Admissions_2011.php