Select petrol pumps to dispense cash up to Rs 2,000 from today

November 18, 2016

New Delhi, Nov 18: Frustrated by long queues outside banks and ATMs? You can now drive into a petrol pump to draw cash. Swipe your debit card at petrol stations run by state-run oil companies and you will get Rs 2,000.

petrol
The facility will initially be available at 2,500 petrol pumps across the country that have card swipe machines from State Bank of India, the country's largest bank. Over the next three days, the facility will be extended to 20,000 outlets that have card swipe machines from HDFC Bank, Citibank and ICICI Bank.

The move, initially suggested by the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, is part of the Centre's efforts to ease the rush for new currency notes at bank branches and functional ATMs (cash dispensing machines) following withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bills.

But, there are also fears of a rush at petrol pumps, which could inconvenience customers seeking to tank up.

The details of the plan to use pumps to dispense cash were worked out on Thursday at a meeting between senior executives of Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum and SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya.

The facility to dispense cash from petrol pumps will continue even after November 24, the time till which old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 can be used to pay for essential services. The withdrawal will be restricted to Rs 2,000 per debit card per day.

"We are very happy that the government has accepted our proposal. We wrote to the prime minister on November 14 to apprise him of the situation at petrol pumps and our willingness to help mitigate people's cash woes. We have never shied away from serving any national cause. We are happy to assist the government in its fight against black money and terror funding," AIPDA president Ajay Bansal said.

According to Bansal, the move would help restore order at petrol pumps and avoid heated arguments with customers.

Since the withdrawal of the notes, fuel stations have seen long queues and heated arguments with pump attendants as consumers paid with old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes --even though they had bought fuel worth far less, in the hope of getting bills of Rs 100 or lower denomination as change.

Due to shortage of smaller denomination notes, pumps have been selling fuel for round figures.

"Our pump attendants are as good as, if not better than, bank tellers when it comes to handling cash. In banks they have to make several entries.At petrol pumps, we will swipe and once the transaction is cleared, hand over the money .So it will be quicker and people can come to get cash even after work," Bansal said.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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Budget carrier Air India Express has launched a new fare family, offering travelers the option to save on flight tickets by traveling light, with an increased baggage allowance of up to 40kg or no check-in luggage at all.

The new fare categories, applicable to flights to and from the UAE and other international destinations, are:

•    Xpress Lite
•    Xpress Value
•    Xpress Flex
•    Xpress Biz

Xpress Lite offers cabin baggage-only fares, making it the most economical option for passengers traveling with the airline.

Xpress Value fare includes 15 kg check-in bag fares, while Xpress Flex offers unlimited changes with no change fees. Xpress Biz features business class seats, complimentary meals, and priority services.

A subsidiary of Air India and a part of Tata Group, the airline introduced Xpress Lite on February 20 for UAE passengers who prefer traveling without check-in baggage.

Xpress Biz fares are accessible on all the new Air India Express Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Travelers can benefit from increased baggage allowances of 25kg for domestic flights and 40kg for international flights when booking Xpress Biz fares. This fare offers priority check-in, baggage, and boarding services.

Air India Express is already operating aircraft with Biz seats across 70-plus routes in India.

In a previous interview with a news channel Aloke Singh, managing director of Air India Express, stated that the carrier was looking to increase capacity to the Gulf region, including the UAE, as well as to provide better connectivity to Gulf travelers.
 

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News Network
March 21,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 21: Election Commission (EC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of Narendra Modi-led government to put an end to bulk WhatsApp messages labelled 'Viksit Bharat Sampark.' It has also sought a compliance report immediately from the ministry.

EC had received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct (MCC) entering into force.

In response, the govt informed the commission that although the letters were sent out before MCC came into force, some of them could have possibly been delivered to recipients with a delay because of systemic and network limitations.

In the past few days, several WhatsApp users have received messages from 'Viksit Bharat Sampark' seeking feedback and suggestions from the public. 

The message comes with a PDF that has a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana, etc, and seeking suggestions from the citizens over government initiatives and schemes.

The letter which addresses users as 'my dear family members' had sparked political controversy. Congress has called the PDF file attached with the message a ‘political propaganda’.

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News Network
March 19,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 19: The Supreme Court today came down heavily on Patanjali Ayurved for failing to respond to a contempt notice for issuing misleading advertisements and ordered yoga guru Ramdev to appear before it.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah also summoned Patanjali managing director Acharya Balkrishna.

The Supreme Court last month pulled up Patanjali for prima facie violation of its assurances about its products and statements claiming their medicinal efficacy. The court had issued a notice to Patanjali and Balkrishna, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.

It noted today that Patanjali did not file a response even though it had held a press conference after its previous order. "Why haven't you filed your response yet? We will ask the managing director to appear in the court during the next hearing," the court said.

The order states both Ramdev and Balakrishna were prima facie in violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Drugs and Remedies Act, which deal with misleading ads of medicines.

The court also issued a contempt notice to Ramdev, co-founder of Patanjali, and asked him to explain why he should not face action for contempt of court.

Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali Ayurved, opposed the move and sought to know, "How Ramdev comes into the picture?"

"You are appearing. We will see on the next date. Enough," the court replied.

"We had our hands tied earlier but not now. As an officer of the court, you (Mr Rohatgi) should know your position," said Justice Amanullah.

The court was hearing a petition by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the vaccination drive and modern medicines.

On February 27, it had issued a contempt notice to Patanjali and cautioned them against from making any statements against any system of medicine in the media. It had also pulled up the centre for not taking action and said they were sitting with their eyes closed.

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