Daily News Dose: SilverLine does not have approval yet, says Railways min | Mar 26, 2022

Hello listener, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1) SilverLine does not have approval yet, DPR incomplete, says Union Railway Minister

2) No respite for common man as fuel prices surge 

3) As Ukraine forces counter near Kyiv, Russia scales back goals

4) Kerala coast on high alert against Sri Lankan refugees

5) Govt urges airlines to add more long-haul jets as air travel rebounds

Let’s get into the details.

1) Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the Kerala government's ambitious SilverLine project has not got approval yet. Projects above Rs 1,000 crore needs approval from the Union Cabinet. SilveLine has not got it yet, the minister informed Attingal MP Adur Prakash in response to a question. The approval can only be granted after examining the financial and technical aspects of the project. The detailed project report submitted by the Kerala government remains incomplete, he pointed out. The minister's statement comes amid the Kerala government's efforts to launch a national campaign touting the SilverLine project as a symbol of Kerala's development model despite widespread protests against it in the state. Meanwhile, protests continued at Nattassery in Kottayam and Mamala in Ernakulam as K-Rail and revenue officials tried to plant marker stones in plots falling in the proposed alignment for the mega project.

2) Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on Saturday, the fourth increase in five days as oil firms passed onto consumers the spike in cost of raw material. In Kerala, the price of diesel and petrol rose by 84 paise and 81 paise respectively. Petrol now costs Rs 107.72 per litre in Kochi, while diesel has been priced at Rs 94.81. The consecutive hike in fuel prices comes after a 4-and- a-half month hiatus in rate revision. Around 85% of India's oil needs are dependent on imports. Hence, retail rates will have to be adjusted as per the global movement.

3)   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pushed for further talks with Russia as Moscow signalled it was scaling back its ambition to focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east after attacks elsewhere have been stalled. “The combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been considerably reduced, which makes it possible to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbas,” said Sergei Rudskoi, head of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate. According to military analysts, reframing Russia's goals may make it easier for Vladimir Putin to claim a face-saving victory. 

4) The Kerala coast is on high alert following intelligence warning that refugees fleeing the economic crisis-hit Sri Lanka might sneak into the country by sea. The state has also been warned that operatives of extremist outfits, too, might take the sea route to Kerala. The Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal Police and Fisheries Department have intensified patrolling along the 583-km Kerala coast. Shadow police have been deployed to monitor vessels docking at fishing harbours and fish-landing centres. Intelligence sharing meetings will be held every Saturday in the state's 18 coastal police stations.

5) The civil aviation minister urged airline companies to add more long-haul aircraft to their fleets and to increase flights abroad, as air travel rebounds from a two-year slump due to the covid-19 pandemic. Domestic passenger numbers are expected to exceed pre-pandemic numbers within one year, Jyotiraditya Scindia said during an air show in Hyderabad. Along with our thrust on narrow-body aircraft, we must also increase our fleet of wide-body aircraft. It is not enough to connect all points in India, we need to connect the world to India,” said the minister.

Now, let’s check out the covid update:

6) India on Saturday logged 1,660 new cases, pushing the overall tally to 4,30,18,032, while the active cases dipped to 16,741, the lowest in 702 days.

The death toll climbed to 5,20,855 with 4,100 more fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry. The high death toll was due to Maharashtra reconciling the number of deaths caused by the viral disease in the state.

While the daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.25%, the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.29%.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.