Raut said the public was aware how "caged parrots were being released for political vendetta". "My family's name is mischievously being linked to the PMC Bank and HDIL scam. I challenge them to prove it or face legal action. Enough is enough," he added.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had served a notice to Raut's wife Varsha, asking her to appear before it on Tuesday for an inquiry in connection with a loan of Rs 55 lakh that she took from a friend to buy a house. She, however, sought time from the ED and is likely to appear before it on January 5.

Since then, BJP leaders have linked her loan with the PMC Bank scam. On December 28, Raut attacked the BJP stating that the ED had not mentioned or referred to the PMC Bank scam in their letters to his wife. "Then, who told BJP leaders that it is related to PMC Bank scam? Do they have an agreement with the ED?" asked Raut.

In a landmark moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first fully operational section of Dedicated Freight Corridor on Tuesday via video conferencing. The 351-km section, which has been built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore, will open new avenues for local industries in Uttar Pradesh.

"Till 2014, not a single km track for dedicated freight corridor was laid. When work was restarted, the budget had gone up by 11 times," PM Modi said. "On coming to power, we changed work culture with focus on improving rail infrastructure. Reforms have been carried out at all levels," PM Modi added.

EDFC's Bhaupur Khurja section where Alstom has designed and delivered as an integrated System, the Electrification (Power Supply and OHE + OHE components), Signalling and Telecommunication systems. Execution of civil works, as well as site installation and commissioning were part of the overall delivery.

The UK's National Health Service is lining up thousands of medics and volunteers on Monday to be ready to deliver jabs up and down the country as the Oxford University vaccine against COVID-19 is on the brink of getting regulatory approval. The vaccine, which is being produced by bio-pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, is being evaluated by the UK's independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after the final cut of data was submitted by the government last Monday.

According to 'The Daily Telegraph', officials have pinpointed January 4, 2021, as the date the rollout of the mass vaccination programme will begin with so-called trained vaccinators administering the first of two jabs across stadiums, conference centres and race courses among some of the large venues being prepared for the complex task. "At the moment, we are operationalising everything for January 4 for the first Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs in arms. You'll see it everywhere, while we'll also be carrying on with Pfizer," the newspaper quoted a government source as saying.

In a letter to Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Air India Employees Union (AIEU) has demanded that medical scheme, leave encashment and provident fund benefits must continue even after the successful disinvestment or privatisation of the airline.

The union said the existing medical scheme in Air India should be continued as it is for serving and retired employees. On provident fund, the airline's employee union said that the two provident fund trusts must be continued which are governed by the 1925 PF Trust Act. On leave encashment, the AIEU said there is a practice of availing the benefit of leave encashment at the time of retirement.

"Several employees depend on this benefit to lead a decent retired life. We fear this benefit may be discontinued in case of privatisation of Air India and employees will suffer huge financial losses. Therefore, AIEU would like to propose that the employees should be paid leave encashment allowance till March 31, 2021," the letter said, according to a report by IANS news agency.

The toll collection through FASTag first time crossed ₹80 crore per day on 24 December 2020 withrecord 50 lakh FASTag transactions per day, a historical landmark, said government on Friday.

"With more than 2.2 crore FASTag issued till date, adoption of FASTag by the Highway users has seen unprecedented growth. With FASTag being mandatory for vehicles from 1st January 2021, the NHAI has made all necessary arrangements to provide seamless movement of vehicles at fee 

Adoption of FASTag has helped highway users to save time and fuel at the toll plazas, addeed the ministry. The digital transaction has got necessary push through the recent amendment in Central Motor Vehicle Rules.