My association with the Parliament also comes to an end: Pranab Mukherjee

                

President of India Attends Farewell Function at Central Hall of the Parliament

 The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the farewell function at Central Hall of the Parliament today (July 23, 2017).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that for 37 years he served as a Member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Listening to the stalwarts for hours and days in Parliament sitting in the Treasury or Opposition Benches, he felt one with the soul of this living institution. He understood the real value of debate, discussion and dissent. He realized how disruption hurts the opposition more than the government as it denies them the opportunity to raise the concerns of the people. It was unfortunate that the parliamentary time devoted to legislation has been declining. With the heightened complexity of administration, legislation must be preceded by scrutiny and adequate discussion. Scrutiny in committees is no substitute to open discussion on the floor of the House. When the Parliament fails to discharge its law-making role or enacts laws without discussion, it breaches the trust reposed in it by the people of this great country. He stated that the recent passage of Goods and Services Tax and its launch on 1st July is a shining example of co-operative federalism and speaks volumes for the maturity of Indian Parliament.

The President said that it was in July 2012 that his membership in Lok Sabha came to an end when he was declared as the 13th President of the Republic. Even though thirty-seven years of his life in Parliament came to an end on that day but he still continued to have a tenacious link with this institution, in fact he became an integral part of it, as President of Republic, as per the Constitution. In these five years, his principal responsibility was to function as the guardian of the Constitution. As he had said on oath, he strived to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution, not just in word but also in spirit. In this task, he greatly benefitted from the advice and co-operation extended by Prime Minister Modi at every step. With passion and energy, he is driving transformational changes in the country. He would carry with him fond memories of their association and his warm and courteous behaviour. 

The President said that as he retired from the Office of the President of the Republic, his association with the Parliament also comes to an end. He will no longer be a part of the Parliament of India. He stated he was leaving with a sense of fulfilment and happiness of having served the people of this great country through this institution- as their humble servant.

Slum Yuva Daud is part of the Adopt Slum Campaign

Union Ministers Vijay Goel, Prakash Javadekar and V. K. Singh flagged off Slum Yuva Daud

 Union Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports shri Vijay Goel here today flagged off the 11th Slum Yuva Daud with HRD Minister shri Prakash Javadekar and MoS for Ministry of External Affairs Gen.(Retd.) VK Singh. Also present in today’s Daud was Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and Mahesh Girri, MP. 

Today’s Daud started from Vijay Chowk and ended at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium. More than 3000 youth from various Delhi slums participated with tricolor in their hands. Each participant was awarded medal and certificates.

Shri Goel interacted with the participants and himself took part in the run with the tricolor. The youngsters from various Delhi slums appreciated the Ministry’s efforts to provide them a platform like this. Addressing the participants shri Goel said his aim is to motivate the youth to work for a better tomorrow and therefore he wants them to engage in positive activities to deter them from drug abuse and criminal activities.

Shri Goel added that his Ministry would also form mini-youth clubs in slums areas to work for the development and cleanliness of their own surroundings. He said the ministry will also organize competitions in football, volleyball etc. which would enable to spot hidden sporting talent from these slums.

Shri Prakash Javadekar praised the initiative of Slum Yuva Daud and said, “Youth must give equal importance to studies as well as sports”. He urged the youngsters to utilise their skills for a “New India”. Gen.(Retd.) VK Singh interacted with the participants and motivated them to join the armed forces and work towards “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat”.

The Slum Yuva Daud is part of the Adopt Slum Campaign initiated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan. Total 11 Slum Yuva Runs have been organized across Delhi so far with a mammoth combined participation of about 50,000 youth.

Defence Minister Inaugurates Sainik Rest House in New Delhi

Defence Minister Inaugurates Sainik Rest House in New Delhi

 Defence Minister Shri Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Sainik Rest House here on Sunday. It is the 315^th Rest House of the Kendriya Sainik Board (KSB), which is built at a cost of around ₹ 8 crore. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jaitley expressed hope that this is the beginning of an initiative and the KSB will be able to expand on these in the years to come so that such facilities become an integral part of facilities for Ex-Servicemen.
He praised the Armed Forces for upkeep of the facilities which have been created for such purpose. He further said, “The facilities which have been created are extremely hygienic and very liveable. The Armed Forces have a tradition of maintaining their properties and preserving them well. And I am sure that the kind of modest charges which have been fixed, will be of a great assistance and value to all Ex-Servicemen.”
Booking of the Rest House, located at Naraina tri-junction near Delhi Cantt., would be done online. The new portal of SRH was also launched by the Minister. Developed in-house by the KSB, the portal lists out details, facilities, restrictions for use of the Rest House and would soon provide facility for online payment. 
Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare) Shri Prabhu Dayal Meena, Secretary (KSB) Brig. M H Rizvi, senior officials of Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence were present on the occasion.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi flags off 1st batch of 300 Haj pilgrims from New Delhi Airport

Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi flags off 1st batch of 300 Haj pilgrims from New Delhi Airport

The Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today morning flagged off the first batch of 300 Haj pilgrims from New Delhi Airport with prayers of country’s safety and prosperity.

Shri Naqvi congratulated to Haj pilgrims and extended best wishes to them for their pilgrimage. Shri Naqvi said that the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in cooperation with Haj Committee of India and other concerned agencies, had completed preparations for Haj 2017 well before in time to ensure smooth Haj pilgrimage.

Shri Naqvi said that new Haj Policy 2018 will be finalised soon and Haj from next year will be organised according to this new Haj policy. A high-level committee constituted in this regard will soon submit its report. The new Haj policy is aimed at making Haj process transparent and smooth. 

Shri Naqvi also said that reviving the option of sending Haj pilgrims through sea route also is part of the new Haj policy. Sending pilgrims through ships will help cut down travel expenses by nearly half as compared to airfares. It will be a revolutionary, pro-poor, pilgrim-friendly decision. The practice of ferrying Haj pilgrims between Mumbai and Jeddah by waterways was stopped from 1995.

Shri Naqvi said that another advantage with ships available these days is they are modern and well-equipped to ferry 4,000 to 5,000 persons at a time. They can cover the 2,300-odd nautical miles one-side distance between Mumbai and Jeddah within just two-three days. Earlier, the old ships used to take 12 to 15 days to cover this distance.

Saudi Arabia has increased annual Haj quota of India by 34,005. After significant increase in India’s Haj quota by Saudi Arabia Government, a total of 1,70,025 people have been going to Haj pilgrimage this year from India out of which 1,25,025 pilgrims will go through Haj Committee of India while 45,000 people will go through Private Tour Operators from 21 embarkation points. 1628 Haj pilgrims will go from Delhi. A total of 16,600 people will go from Delhi embarkation point which include Haj pilgrims from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Besides Delhi, Haj pilgrims are going to Saudi Arab today from embarkation points in Goa, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mangalore, Varanasi, Srinagar and Kolkata today. Haj Flights will also go from Gaya (27 July), Ranchi, Kolkata, Bhopal and Bangalore (08 August), Nagpur (10 August), Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Chennai, Cochin & Jaipur (13 August) and Indore and Hyderabad (14 August).

The 21 embarkation points include- Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mangalore, Varanasi, Srinagar, Kolkata, Gaya, Ranchi, Bhopal, Bangalore, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Chennai, Cochin, Jaipur, Indore, Hyderabad.

A total of 10958 Haj pilgrims from Ahmedabad, 11657 from Cochin, 12380 from Lucknow, 5605 from Mumbai, 2729 from Aurangabad, 4641 from Bangalore, 3370 from Chennai, 4483 from Guwahati, 6273 from Hyderabad, 4777 from Jaipur, 10348 from Kolkata, 2187 from Nagpur, 3159 Haj pilgrims from Ranchi have been going to Haj this year.

Ceremony of assumption of office by the President-elect on Tuesday

Ceremony of assumption of office by the President-elect

The Ceremony of assumption of office by Shri Ramnath Kovind, the President-elect will be held on Tuesday, the July 25, 2017, at 12.15 PM in the Central Hall of Parliament House, New Delhi.
The Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Members of Council of Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Members of Parliament and principal Civil and Military Officers of the Government of India will assemble in the Central Hall for the Ceremony.
The President and the President-elect will arrive in the Central Hall in a ceremonial procession. After the President-elect takes the Oath of office in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, a 21-Gun Salute will be fired. The President will then deliver an address. On the conclusion of the Ceremony in Central Hall, the President will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan where an inter-services guard of honour will be given to him in the forecourt and courtesies will be extended to the outgoing President.

Initiatives to improve catering services for 23 million train passengers

Ministry of Railways undertakes various Initiatives to improve Catering Services

 23 Million passengers travel on Indian Railways on a daily basis.  Indian Railways provide approximately 1.1 million meals to passengers every day out of these 1 million are provided on board itself.

Catering services on Indian Railways can be classified into two broad categories viz. Mobile catering and static catering services.  At present, there are 360 pairs of trains with pantry cars, which include 22 pairs of Rajdhanis, 25 pairs of Shatabdis, 18 pairs of Duronto trains and 295 pairs of mail/express trains. There are about 9686  Major and Minor Static Units on Indian Railways, which include 50 Jan Ahaars outlets, 224 Food Plazas/Fast Food Units.

Provision of catering services to its passengers having diverse tastes and choices, on such a large scale, is an onerous task.  There have been challenges to improve the catering services over Indian Railways and for the last three years not only an in-depth analysis has been undertaken to identify the root causes but also structural reforms have been initiated to solve the problem institutionally. The in depth analysis revealed that unless the current policy was changed and contract frameworks completely overhauled, things would not change permanently. It was also realised that unless the quality of food at source is not controlled, onboard quality would not change. Hence Hon'ble Minister announced unbundling of Food production and Food disbursement through a revamped New Catering Policy. Under this policy, ultra modern kitchens ranging from mega to nano with partnership of private sector would be established which would use the most hygienic and latest equipment for food preparation. Hon’ble Minister in his first budget speech, had also announced the launch of E Catering services on train, which would allow passengers to order food from the brands of their choice. Now you can order Pizzas or Burgers or even Dal Makhani on train. Interestingly such a service is not available in many railways of the developed world. Hon'ble MR also instituted a Zero Tolerance policy towards catering. In the last six months itself, we have terminated 7 contracts, blacklisted 16 contractors, taken action against 21 officers and imposed fines in excess of Rs 4.5 Crores.

In order to achieve the objective of improving quality of catering services in Indian Railways various steps have been undertaken in recent years. Here is a brief summary of the initiatives.
       

1. New Catering Policy, 2017

New Catering Policy has been issued on 27^th February 2017 with the objective to provide quality food to rail passengers by unbundling of catering services on trains. IRCTC has been mandated to carry out the unbundling by creating a distinction primarily between food preparation and food distribution. In order to upgrade quality of food preparation IRCTC will set up new kitchens and upgrade existing ones.

The salient features of the new Catering Policy 2017 are as under: -

• IRCTC to manage catering service on all mobile units. Pantry car contracts awarded by zonal railway to be reassigned to IRCTC.

• Meals for all mobile units to be picked up from the nominated kitchens owned, operated and managed by IRCTC.

• IRCTC not to outrightly outsource or issue licenses for provision of catering services to private licensees. IRCTC to retain the ownership and be fully accountable for all the issues pertaining to setting up and operation of the Base Kitchens and quality of food.

• IRCTC to engage service providers from hospitality industry for service of food in trains.

• Kitchen structures/land/space to be handed over by zonal Railways to IRCTC, for a period of 10 years extendable for another period of 5 years, on a token license fee.

• IRCTC to be responsible for management of Food Plaza, Food Courts, Fast food units within the ambit of this policy.

• The setting up/ development / refurbishment of new or existing Base Kitchens/Kitchen units to be undertaken by IRCTC. These kitchens are to be owned, operated and managed by IRCTC. The new base kitchens would be set up through PPP ensuring best in class vendors and practices to get incorporated. International consultants Price Water House Coopers has been engaged to developed the concessionaire agreement document for Base Kitchens and Services on board trains. The main features of the new contract are:

• a) Two packet system is being strictly implemented to allow only those vendors which have good credentials.
• b) The eligibility criteria for vendors have been re-looked to allow more reputed vendors to participate.
• c) Licensing model for catering contracts is being relooked to make the mobile vending viable and with right incentives and penalties to eliminate overcharging
• d) Economic viability of base kitchens is being worked out to make vendors avoid short cuts.
• e) Training of staff of the vendors being made mandatory
• f) IRCTC to supervise the base kitchens by recruiting professionals
• g) Route approach is being adopted to ensure good quality on the entire route.
• h) Unbundling in food preparation and food distribution is being implemented in the SBD
• i) Use of Technology is being mandated to prevent overcharging by issue of electronic receipts and tracking of food
• j) Prior approval of IRCTC is being mandated to ensure food from reputed brands and at the right price is supplied.
• k) Document mandates supply of Janta khana to cater to the demand of the poor
• l) Mandating pre booking of food in all trains to avoid overcharging
• m) Mandating regular feedback from passengers and linking the performance to payment to the vendor

• IRCTC to involve/empanel Self Help groups for providing catering related services.
• Zonal railway to manage static unit (catering stall /milk stalls/ trolleys etc.) except base kitchens and kitchen units to be handed over to IRCTC at A-1 and A class stations.
• Provision of perpetual renewal has been done away with. Now it has been envisaged that tenure of all static units (except kitchen units and Food Plaza) shall be 5 years only. Tenure of Food Plaza shall be for a period of 9 years.
• Allotments of General Minor Units at all category stations to be done through open, competitive, two-packet tendering system from the eligible bidders by divisions.
• For the first time, it has been envisaged that allotment of Special Minor units (reserved category) at all category stations will be done by divisions through open tendering system within the similar reserved category. The technical eligibility criterion has been simplified.
• 33 % sub quota for women in allotment of each category of minor catering units at all category of station to be provided.

2. E-Catering

• E-catering service on IR is managed by IRCTC. Initially, e-catering service was train specific and made available in 1350 trains which did not have services of Pantry car or Train Side Vending. As a major initiative during September 2015, this scheme has been reoriented to make it ‘Station Based E-Catering’ in place of train specific e-catering. In the first phase, a pilot project has been undertaken on 45 major stations and subsequently extended to all ‘A-1’ & ‘A’ category of stations which is presently under implementation. E-catering service is now available on 357 railway stations and the average supply of meals under this scheme is around 6000 meals per day which was around 400 meals per day during Oct’ 2015.

• Revamp of E-Catering services in September 2015 also permitted Food Aggregators to join the E-Catering initiative. Aggregators like, Railrestro, Zoop, Comesum, Mera Food Choice, Rail Darbar have been integrated through API covering 529 vendors and 244 offline vendors have also been incorporated for e-catering services across 357 stations.
• Passengers travelling from these stations are now able to access E-Catering facilities for all trains passing through these stations. IRCTC is facilitating booking of meals through a specified phone number/ website / SMS / Mobile Apps etc. Passengers having mobile number are able to book meals under this scheme. CoD facility to passengers under this scheme has also been made available.      

• The Payment gateways integrated on E-Catering Portal:-

PAYTM	E-wallet, Net Banking and Credit/Debit cards on Portal and Mobile app
HDFCPG	Credit/Debit Cards on Portal and Mobile app
COD	COD
Mobikwik	Wallet in Mobile app

  Mobile App along with four digit (1323) all India Toll Free number has also been launched by IRCTC. Mobile app – ‘Food on Track’ is available on Android and IOS.

• IRCTC has been further advised to reorganise and revamp marketing strategies to popularise e-catering and achieve the target of 1 lakh meals per day which is presently around 5000 to 6000 per day.
• IRCTC has established a call centre and has also operationalized E-catering website www.ecatering.irctc.co.in for this purpose. Passengers can pre-order the meal from the different options available as per the choice, for delivery at the opted stations through the e-catering (website & phone/SMS call centre). The mode of payment in e-catering shall be Pre-paid i.e. online payment as well as Cash on delivery (CoD) basis. The shortlisted vendor shall deliver the pre-ordered meal to customer on stationary train at the opted station. The opted meal is communicated to the Vendor through SMS as well as email at the time of booking and also again at about 2 hours in advance of delivery time (Delivery time is the train arrival time on a particular station). The Short-listing vendor can provide meals through his catering units on all India basis. Each unit/location, requested by vendor, to be included for e-catering project is required to have all statutory licences as required under the central/state laws and should comply with the laws of the land. The shortlisted entity may request for addition of more locations/units during the currency of the Short-listing. The shortlisted entity may supply food items under e-catering project only from its approved (by IRCTC) locations/units to the stations in the reasonable vicinity of the said units.

        

3. Water Vending Machines

• The project of setting up WVM was launched on 7.12.2015. With an objective to provide potable water at nominal rates, water vending machines have been installed at stations.  Clean R.O. water is dispensed through these water vending machines to travelling passengers at affordable rates.
• IRCTC has been mandated to set up water vending machines on railway stations. 1106 WVMs have already been commissioned at 345 stations. 1000 more WVMs are to be installed at stations shortly.
• Selling price of the dispensed water through these machines is much cheaper than bottled mineral water. The rates of dispensed water are as under:-

Quantity	Refill (Amt. in Rs.)	With Container (Amt. in Rs.)
300ml	1	2
500ml	3	5
1 ltr	5	8
2 ltr	8	12
5 ltr	20	25

Present status of WVMs

Total No. of stations where WVMs are in operation	Total No. of WVMs in operation	Estimated Employment generated through WVMs	Average annual License fee per WVM	Total No. of WVMs planned o be installed during 2017-18	Total No. of Stations where WVMs are planned to be installed during 2017-18
345	1106	2000	74,000	1100	450

4. Ready to Eat (RTE) Meals: -

• In order to provide more options to passengers in trains RTE meals like Veg biryani, Masala Upma, Poha, Idli Samber etc are being provided to passengers. These RTE meals have long shelf life and are very useful in meeting the exigencies like late running of trains due to fog etc.

• As a pilot, the ‘Dehydrated Meal Technology’ being used in Airlines is being introduced in Railways. This technology will ensure provision of hot food to passengers merely by adding hot water.

• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) for transfer of technology of Retort Pouch Processed Foods on 27.06.2016.

• During the course of this process, IRCTC has prepared approx 36,000 Ready to Eat (RTE) packets and distributed /sold it through IRCTC managed departmental/licensee mobile/static units and other CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility) activities.

• Further, as per new Catering Policy 2017, the mobile catering will be unbundled by having separate contracts for onboard service & food production /supply. Hence, IRCTC will be setting up a grid of base kitchens across Indian Railways network, facilitating supply of hot & hygienic food in trains.

5. Janani Sewa &Children’s menu

• Hon’ble MR in Rail Budget Speech 2016-17 announced as under:-

“75.We would like to mitigate the hardships that mothers undergo while travelling with their infants and, for this purpose, we will pilot availability of children’s menu items on trains. Further baby foods, hot milk and hot water would be made available on stations and changing boards for babies would be provided in train toilets.

• In compliance with the above Budget Announcement, to mitigate the hardships faced by travelling mothers, Janani Sewa has been introduced on 27.4.2016 to ensure provision of baby food, milk and hot water from nominated catering stalls.

• Further, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been advised on 20/05/2016 to ensure availability of children menu through e-catering.

• New Delhi, Lucknow Jn., Lucknow, Jaipur, Ajmer, Howrah, Chennai Egmore, Pathankot Jn. and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Nagpur, Pune, Surat,   Moradabad etc stations are few of the stations which were pioneers in providing the service over IR

6. Self Help Groups (SHGs)

Empanelment of Self Help Groups (SHGs) to provide healthy, wholesome regional cuisine at an affordable cost to the travelling public through e-catering has been initiated and 9 SHGs have been empanelled at 10 stations. The groups empanelled are as follows:

• 4 in Andhra Pradesh:

o   Shri Vani (Vijayawada)
o   Sri Srinivasa (Vishakhapatnam, Anakapalle and Tuni)

• 1 in Karnataka

o   Spoorthy Janaabhivrudhi Samsthe (Mysore)

• 2 in Kerala

o   Café Kudumbashree (Ernakulam and Ernakulam Town)

• 3 in Madhya Pradesh

o   Laxmi Mahila Mandal (Saugor)
o   Sanskar Mahila Mandal (Saugor)
o   Prayas Swa Sahayata Sangatham (Saugor)

• 1 in Maharashtra

o   Maher Lok Sanchalit Sadham Kendra (Savantwadi)

• 1 in West Bengal

o   Manorma Pariseba Sambay Samity (Adra)

SHG at Savantwadi - MAHER LOKSANCHALIT SADHAN KENDRA

• Started on 3^rd December 2016.
• Kitchen at Malgaon, Sawantwadi
• SHG comprises of 15 women
• Menu specialty - Malvani Cuisine
• Meals per day – Approx. 8 to 10 priced at Rs. 25 to Rs.515
• Mode of transportation for supply of food from kitchen to train - Bike or Auto.

Proposed Initiative to proliferate SHGs
IRCTC has been asked to create an IT portal on its website for empanelling more and more SHGs across Indian for sale of catering items and handicrafts, artefacts etc.

7. Optional On Board Catering

• On an in depth analysis over complaints made on catering services provided by Railways it was felt that a ‘Vikalp’ should be given to travelling passengers in terms of option of opting out of mandatory food service in Rajdhani/ Shatabdi trains. The trial of optional catering services to passengers has been started on the following two trains w.e.f  09.06.2016 onwards for journeys to commence on the opening day of ARP.

o   Train No. 12954-53 AG Kranti Rajdhani;
o   Train No. 12025-26,  PUNE – SC Shatabdi Exp.

• Catering services are included by default

• Passengers have to ‘opt out’ from the mandatory food option

• The catering apportionment charges are excluded from the total ticket fare accordingly. This facility is available in all tickets such as tickets from PRS counters, e-ticketing portals of IRCTC and such tickets shall be issued with reduced fare

• This scheme has been started from 09/06/2016 onwards for journeys to commence on the opening day of ARP i.e. 7.10.2016 to 20.11.2016 (for 45 days).

• Percentage of passengers opting out of mandatory catering services on the above mentioned two trains during the trial period was 5.15%.

• The issue of further implementation of optional catering on other trains managed by IRCTC is to be issued shortly.

• Though only 5% passengers opted out of the mandatory food service however, it is again being proposed that in trains where catering service is provided by IRCTC the ‘Vikalp’ should be re-introduced.

• This opt out option has been recently provided in Tejas Train between Mumbai and Goa

• It has been further decided that Optional on board catering would be rolled on all Mail express trains. This would help in better calibration of meals required and hence lesser wastage.

8. Third Party Audit

• All Zonal Railways have a detailed institutionalized mechanism for monitoring of quality and hygiene of catering services through regular, surprise and periodical inspections. If any deficiency is found, corrective actions are taken including penal actions like imposition of fines, termination of contract according to the gravity of the offence. Third Party Audit of catering services are to be conducted at periodic intervals by independent and reputed auditing agencies accredited by NABCB (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies) as empanelled by the Zonal Railways. The parameters for audit include all aspects of catering services like personal hygiene, infrastructure facilities, cleaning and sanitation, food safety, storage facilities, implementation of regulatory, statutory and safety regulations, quality of presentation etc.

• The third-party audit of the catering service to examine the quality of food, hygiene and cleanliness in the pantry car and base kitchen, which will be carried out alongside the in-house audit.

• Food safety & Hygiene audits are being conducted regularly in

Base Kitchens, both Departmental & Licensee owned, Food Plaza/Fast Food Units and Pantry Cars of IRCTC managed Trains by Third Party Auditors.

• Third Party Audit of catering services are also to be conducted at periodic intervals by independent and reputed auditing agencies accredited by NABCB (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies) as empanelled by the zonal railways.

• Empanelment of Food Audit Agencies has been completed on Western Railway.

  

9. Menu and Tariff Committee

As per New Catering Policy 2017, a Menu and Tariff Committee has been constituted with following Terms of References (TOR):

• Fixation of tariff for standard menu/food items on the list of menu items given by IRCTC.
• Calculation of empirical formulae so as to calculate annual or periodical escalation w.r.t. increase in price of the components leading to preparation of meal.
• Components like ensuring hygiene, hiring of professional agencies, ingredients as per laid down norms, etc. to be taken into consideration so as to ensure quality and hygiene of food prepared.

The committee is likely to submit its report by July 31, 2017.
  

10. Proliferation of Train side vending

• Train side vending is a concept where a licensee staff boards the train takes order and conveys the same to the kitchen (falling before meal time) picks up the food as per order from the station and serves. Earlier when the scheme was to be implemented by zonal Rly there was problem of coordination and originating railway  would not take the call (as meal time did not fall in its zone ) and other ZR could not get the 'no due'  for floating tender in its zone.
• As per 2017 policy TSV has been given to IRCTC. Since the grid of kitchens will be available with IRCTC, this will prove to be a good model to cater travelling passengers and will take care of problem of storage of food in train

11. CENTRALIZED CATERING GRIEVANCE AND COMPLAINT MONITORING CELL

• A Centralized Catering Services Monitoring Cell (CSMC) has been set up in Board’s office having a toll free number 1800-111-321 for prompt redressal of the passenger grievances related to the catering activities for real time assistance to travelling public. Further, on the same pattern Catering Monitoring Cells have been set up at Zonal and Divisional level for daily monitoring of the catering activities.

Operation of all India helpline number 138 for rail users in the moving train. A twitter handle with the address of @IRCATERING has also been established to cater to the complaints/Suggestions. Indian Railway has been providing assistance to passengers on real time basis and prompt disposal of their grievance through social media is being taken.
  

12. Zero tolerance Policy

• A policy of zero tolerance towards bad quality of food served to passengers and overcharging is being followed and during last six months, 7 contracts have been terminated. 16 contractors have been blacklisted for breach of contract term in last one year
• A fine of Rs. 4.56 crores has been imposed during Jan to June’17 as compared to Rs. 4.05 crores imposed during 2016, Rs. 2.61 crores in 2015 and Rs. 1.73 crores in 2014.
• Disciplinary action has been taken against 21 railway officials in the last one year.
• More than 40,000 inspections done by railway officials to improve the catering services.

TET over all eyes on results

बिहार विद्यालय परीक्षा समिति, पटना

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कमल नाथ तिवारी के जीवन पर आधारित फिल्‍म शहीद -ए- आज़म, एक अनकही कहानी

कमल नाथ तिवारी के जीवन पर आधारित फिल्‍म शहीद -ए- आज़म, एक अनकही कहानी

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आजादी की लड़ाई में देश के जाबाज सपूतों को स्‍मृति से हिंदी फिल्‍म ‘शहीदे – ए – आजम, एक अनकही कहानी’ 15अगस्‍त को रिलीज हो रही है। काजल क्राफ्ट एंड विजन के साथ साईं रिकार्ड्स एंटरटेनमेंट व कृष राज एंटरटेनमेंट के बैनर तले बन रही इस फिल्‍म का पोस्‍ट प्रोडक्‍शन अब अंतिम समय में है।

बिहार के चम्पारण निवासी अरुण कुमार पाठक के द्वारा निर्देशित यह फिल्म इतिहास के कई अनछुए पहलुओं को उजागर करती नज़र आएगी, जो देशभक्ति के नए प्रतिमान स्‍थापित करेगा। स्वतंत्रता संग्राम में क्रांतिकारी भूमिका में रहे कमल नाथ तिवारी के जीवन पर आधारित इस फिल्‍म में शहीदे आजम भगत सिंह के शहादत के बाद 1931 से 1947उनके जलाए आजादी के लौ को उनके साथी क्रांतिकारी कमल नाथ तिवारी ने आगे बढ़ाया.

यूं तो देशभक्ति और सरदार भगत सिंह के पर कई फिल्‍में बनी हैं, मगर भगत सिंह के बाद उनके साथियों की कहानी पर किसी का ध्‍यान नहीं गया. ऐसे ही एक अनछुए स्वतंत्र क्रन्तिकारी कमल नाथ पर फिल्म निर्माण, निर्देशक अरुण कुमार पाठक का प्रयास सराहनीय है। फिल्‍म के सभी कलाकार नए हैं। फिल्‍म में मुख्‍य भूमिका में हैं निखिल सिंह, राहुल, शिबू गिरी, राजवीर, प्रशांत, रुद्रा, सुनील सिंह। फिल्म में संगीतकार दामोदर राव के संगीत से सजी एक से बढ़ कर एक गाने हैं, जो आप लोगों को खूब मनोरंजन करेगी।

फिल्‍म के बारे में निर्देशक अरुण कुमार पाठक ने बताते हैं कि ये देश आजाद हुआ था 1947 में, और सरदार भगत सिंह जी की शहादत हो गयी थी 1931 में। उनकी शहादत के बाद 16 साल में क्या हिंदुस्तान में अंग्रेजों के खिलाफ क्रांति नही हुई ? अगर हुई तो किसने की ? शहीद ए आज़म को फाँसी हुई किसकी गवाही पर हुई ? उस गद्दार का क्या हश्र हुआ ? उस हश्र को अंजाम किसने दिया ? आज तक सभी फ़िल्म मेकर शहीद ए आज़म के जन्म से फ़िल्म शुरू करते आये हैं और उनकी शहादत के बाद फ़िल्म खत्म।

उन्‍होंने कहा कि देश की आज़ादी के बाद क्यों सरदार भगत सिंह जी के प्रमुख मित्र और उनके प्रमुख क्रांतिकारी रणनीतिकार को गुमनाम रखा गया, इस पर से पर्दा उठती है फिल्‍म ‘शहीद-ए-आज़म, एक अनकही कहानी’। यह एक ऐसी फिल्म है जैसी न किसी ने देखी होगी न इसकी कल्पना तक की होगी। 4 साल के रिसर्च के बाद आपके सामने 15अगस्‍त को आपके सिनेमा घरों में प्रदर्शित होगी।

बता दें कि फिल्‍म के निर्माता-निर्देशक और कथाकार अरुण कुमार पाठक हैं। फिल्‍म में पटकथा अविनाश पांडे फतेपुरी की है, संगीत दामोदर राव, गीत फणींदर राव, अभिनाश पांडेय, सतेंदर मिश्रा, पवन शर्मा के हैं। गायक विनोद राठौर,कल्पना, खुशबू जैन, यस वडाली, मोहन राठौर, ममता राउत, मनोज मिश्रा, रुपेश मिश्रा और प्रचारक रंजन सिन्‍हा और संजय भूषण पटियाला है।

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रानी चुनी गईं क्‍वीन ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा तो चिंटू बने प्रिंस ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा

रानी चुनी गईं क्‍वीन ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा तो चिंटू बने प्रिंस ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा

लंबे समय से भोजपुरिया इंडस्‍ट्री में लोगों के दिलों पर राज करने वाली अदाकारा रानी चटर्जी को क्‍वीन ऑफ भोजपुरी का खिताब मिला है तो वहीं, भोजपुरिया सुपर स्‍टार प्रदीप पांडेय चिंटू को प्रिंस ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा चुना गया है। यह अवार्ड रानी और चिंटू को भोजपुरी सिनेमा में दमदार अभिनय और भोजपुरी इंडस्‍ट्री में उनके महत्‍वपूर्ण योगदान के लिए समय न्‍यूज चैनल द्वारा मुंबई में आयोजित एक सम्‍मान समारोह में दिया गया। दोनों भोजपुरी स्‍टार को यह अवार्ड अरुण गुप्ता ने दिया।

बता दें कि भोजपुरिया क्‍वीन रानी चटर्जी को इंडस्‍ट्री में आये करीब 13 साल हो गए।  इंडस्‍ट्री में आते ही भोजपुरिया दर्शकों के दिलो दिमाग में छा गयी थी रानी। उनका यह जलवा कायम आज भी है। रानी काफी मेहनती हैं और अपने दम पर बिना किसी स्पोर्ट के इंडस्‍ट्री में ये मुकाम पाया है। आज वे अपने दम पर भी फिल्‍में हिट कराने की क्षमता रखती हैं। यह क्षमता उन्‍हें दूसरी भोजपुरी के किसी दूसरी अभिनेत्री से अलग बनाती है।

रानी ने फिल्‍म ‘ससुरा बड़ा पैसावाला’ से अपने करियर का आगाज किया था, उसके बाद से अब तक रानी तकरीबन सौ से भी ज्‍यादा फिल्‍में कर चुकी हैं। फिल्‍म ‘ससुरा बड़ा पैसावाला’ वही फ़िल्म थी, जिससे  भोजपुरी फ़िल्म उद्योग पुनःजीवित हुआ। तब रानी मात्र 16 साल की थी। तब से लेकर आज तक हर साल रानी ने हर चुनौतियों का डट कर सामना किया और लोगों के दिल में गहरी बसती चली गईं। अपने मेहनत और लगन से रानी आज इंडस्‍ट्री में आने वाली नई अदाकारा के लिए प्रेरणा हैं।

वहीं, बतौर बाल कलाकार भोजपुरी में इंडस्‍ट्री में आए प्रदीप पांडेय चिंटू आज किसी पहचान के मोहताज नहीं हैं। अपने लाजवाब एक्‍शन और अदाकारी से भोजपुरिया बॉक्‍स ऑफिस पर चिंटू ने जो मुकाम हासिल किया है, वह वाकई तारीफ के काबिल है। चिंटू ने भोजपुरी सिनेमा के कई चाइलेंजिग किरदार के जरिए लोगों के दिलों में उतरते चले गए और आज दर्शकों को उनकी फिल्‍म के इंतजार रहता है

अभी हाल ही में चिंटू की फिल्‍म ससुराल ने भोजपुरिया बॉक्‍स ऑफिस पर धमाल मचाया है और अभी पांचवें सप्‍ताह में भी सिनेमाघरों में पसंद किया जा रहा है। चिंटू के बारे में कहा जाता है कि वह अपने काम के प्रति समर्पित अदाकार हैं और अपने काम में बिना किसी कंप्रोमाइज के हंड्रेड परसेंट एफर्ट लगाते हैं। उनके साथी कलाकार भी उनके साथ काम करने में काफी सहज महसूस करते हैं।

यही वजह है कि आज रानी चटर्जी और प्रदीप पांडेय चिंटू भोजुपरी इंडस्‍ट्री में एक आइकॉन की तरह उभरे हैं, जिसे आज समय चैनल ने क्रमश: क्‍वीन ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा और प्रिंस ऑफ भोजपुरी सिनेमा के अवार्ड से नवाजा है।

रंजन सिन्‍हा की रिपोर्ट     

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Clarification on media reports regarding Swacch Bharat Mission (Gramin) progress

Clarification on media reports regarding Swacch Bharat Mission (Gramin) progress

Some recent reports in certain sections of the media have raised questions about certain aspects of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin. They have quoted, and at times misquoted, national surveys to infer misleading findings. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation would like to clarify these issues raised in the factually incorrect and misleading reports:

Claim: Swachh Bharat Mission is essentially a toilet construction-led programme, and does not focus on toilet usage

Facts: The metric “Open Defecation Free”, which was defined in 2015 shortly after the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), is essentially a measure of toilet usage. Unless every member of every household of a village uses a toilet for defecation, the village cannot be declared ODF. (Latest ODF figures may be found on the SBM dashboard: sbm.gov.in/sbmdashboard/)

Sanitation coverage in rural India has gone up from 42% to 64% since the launch of SBM, and the Rapid Survey of Swachhta Status of the NSSO conducted in May-June 2015 says that 95.6% of people who had toilets, used them.

Claim: There is no independent monitoring of the SBM, resulting in the non-disbursement of the World Bank loan amount, which is adversely affecting the implementation of the SBM.

Facts: There are, in fact, several independent verification mechanisms in place for SBM. The NSSO carried out the Rapid Survey of Swachhta Status in May-June 2015. The Quality Council of India is presently carrying out a similar exercise covering nearly 100,000 households. Additionally, the Ministry has instituted National Level Monitors who verify all ODF districts, with a special focus on the villages on the banks of the Ganga. All of these are in addition to the Independent Verification Agency (IVA) which has been hired as part of the World Bank loan.

It is also important to note that the World Bank loan agreement is only a small component of the overall budget available for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)– less than 10% of the total projected government outlay (Centre and States). It must also be clarified that the Bank loan is included in the overall budget and is not an additionality, and hence it has no adverse financial bearing on SBM progress.

Finally, the loan agreement was signed only on March 30, 2016, and not in 2015 as claimed in some reports.

Claim: A large percentage of self-declared ODF villages remain unverified.

Facts: There is a multi-stage verification system at the district and state level. The SBM-G guidelines recommend that a village be verified within three months of declaration of ODF. Of the 2 lakh ODF declared villages, nearly 1.5 lakh have been declared ODF only in the last year. Over 1 lakh villages have already been verified, and the Ministry is laying a strong emphasis on the States for verifying the remaining villages at the earliest. Completion of verification of all villages which have been ODF for more than three months is now a pre-condition for release of funds to States from the next second installment onwards of 2017-18.  

Claim: Information, education and communication (IEC) is neglected under SBM as the IEC budget spends are low.

Facts: Behaviour change through IEC is the cornerstone of SBM. There is a major focus on IEC at the national, state and district levels. The Centre spends 3% of the Union SBM budget on IEC, while the States are supposed to spend 5% of their respective State+Centre budgets on IEC. As per a recent order issued by the Ministry, spending the stipulated amount by States on IEC will be a pre-condition for release of funds to States from the next second installment onwards of 2017-18.

That said, it is important to realize that apart from the money spent by states on IEC, the Ministry and States mobilize tremendous support from development partners and carry out IEC activities through them, which don’t reflect in the official IEC spending. It must also be emphasized that change in deep-rooted habits is not merely a function of amounts spent on IEC, but is brought about by wholesome behaviour change communication efforts.