New Delhi: Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that 100 vehicle scrapping centers will be set up in the country. Vehicle parlors will have only simple registration procedures in the one-stop-shop. However, environmental pollution control regulations must be followed.

Private vehicles older than 20 years and commercial vehicles older than 15 years will be affected. A fitness certificate will be mandatory when renewing the registration of vehicles. Automated centers will be opened at the state level to issue fitness certificates to vehicles on a public-private partnership model. Through all this, an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and 35,000 jobs are expected. There will also be an increase in GST revenue of Rs 40,000 crore.

Kabul: A military helicopter has crashed in Afghanistan, killing nine people, including five crew members and four soldiers. The helicopter crashed in Maidan Wardak province in Behsood district.

The Afghan Army’s MI-17 helicopter crashed due to a technical fault. Four days ago, six soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack in the northern province of Kunduz. 

New Delhi: Toll booths will be abolished in the country within a year, said Nitin Gadkari, Minister of State for Central Transport. Instead of the toll plaza, collection of toll using the GPS will be introduced, he said in Lok Sabha.
The toll money will be collected through vehicle GPS imaging. Currently, 93 percent of vehicles pay money at toll plazas using Fastag, Gadkari added. 

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Health has said that there is no need to worry about the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being manufactured in India under the name Covishield. “The vaccine distribution program will continue to be strong in the country, Dr. VK Paul said. He was responding to the suspension of the vaccine by some European countries due to health problems associated with blood clots in some of those who received the vaccine.

The European Medical Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization have stated that the vaccine has better side effects. An agency in India, equivalent to EMA, is examining the adverse effects of the vaccine. But so far nothing of concern has been reported in India.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the Kerala High Court’s order barring aided school teachers from contesting local body, assembly, and parliamentary elections. A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde directed the teachers to file the petition. He also directed to send notices to the state government. The decisive intervention was in the petition of the aided school teachers.
The plaintiffs argued that aided teaching was not included in the definition of ‘office of profit’ as it was paid by the government. He explained that the contesting of teachers would not affect the right of children to learn in any way. Senior advocate V Giri pointed out that the deadline for filing nominations in Kerala is Friday and many people will not be able to contest due to the High Court verdict. The apex court then stayed the February verdict and ordered the teachers to contest the elections.

New Delhi: The pilot of a MiG-21 fighter jet has died in an accident, the Air Force has said. Group captain A Gupta was killed in an accident in central India. The Air Force confirmed this on Twitter.

The accident happened while taking off from an airbase as part of a training mission.

“The Air Force lost Group Captain A. Gupta in a tragic accident. The Air Force extends its condolences and shares the grief of the family members. An investigation has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident, “the Air Force said in a tweet.

Bengaluru: Waqf board bans loudspeakers in the mosques in Karnataka. The ban will be in place from 10 pm to 6 pm.
Restrictions on the use of loudspeakers during banking in mosques. Loudspeakers from mosques and dargahs can cause noise pollution. It affects the physical and mental health of the people. The order, therefore, bans the use of loudspeakers in mosques and dargahs from 10 pm to 6 am.

During the day, the loudspeaker can only be used for bank calls, death notifications, and birth announcements. At the same time, the order states that prayers, salat, Friday khutbah, and other religious ceremonies should be conducted using the speakers only inside the mosque.