Revised Train Fares for Journey in AC-First Class, AC-2 Tier, Executive Class & First Class from Tomorrow.

   The Ministry of Railways has revised passenger fares with effect from tomorrow i.e. 1st April 2012 in AC-First Class, AC-2 tier, Executive Class and First Class only. There is no revision in other classes of travel. The revised fares in these classes would be applicable to all types of trains on Indian Railways network.

   The revised fares will also apply to tickets issued in advance for journeys to commence on or after 1st April 2012. In the case of tickets already issued at pre-revised rates, the difference in fares from 1st April 2012 will be recovered from passengers either by TTEs in the trains or by the booking offices before commencement of the journey by the passengers as per the usual practice in case of such fare revisions.

  The revised list of fares for the information of the public is being displayed at the stations and has been made available to the railway staff well in time. The revised passenger fare table is also available on the website of the Ministry of Railways i.e. indianrailways.gov.in

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Portability in Saving Bank Accounts.

   Damodaran Committee was set up by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 26, 2010 to look into banking services rendered to retail and small customers. The Committee submitted its report to RBI on July 04, 2011. The Committee has recommended that customer should be allowed to maintain the same account number in a bank even when he/she moves to another city or shifts his account to another branch in the same city. RBI has taken action on the recommendations submitted by the Damodaran Committee and in October, 2011 advised Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for implementation of the above recommendation.

   RBI has also stated that provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Rules do not support account portability between banks as records pertaining to identity of a client has to be maintained by the bank establishing relationship with the customer for a period of 10 years from the date of cessation of the transactions between the client and the bank.

   This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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All India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers.

   All India Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) on base 2001=100 for the month of February, 2012 increased by 1 point and stood at 199 (one hundred & ninety nine).

   During February, 2012, the index recorded maximum increase of 5 points in Puducherry centre, 4 points each in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mariani Jorhat centres, 3 points in 4 centres, 2 points in 10 centres and 1 point in 30 centres. The index decreased by 5 points in Quilon centre, 3 points each in Tiruchirapally and Salem centres, 2 points in 2 centres, 1 point in 8 centres, while in the remaining 17 centres the index remained stationary.

   The maximum increase of 5 points in Puducherry centre is mainly on account of increase in the prices of Rice, Goat Meat, Poultry (Chicken), Curd, Snack Saltish, Country Liquor, Refined Liquor, Shirting Cloth (Synthetic), Bus Fare, Auto-rickshaw Fare, Barber Charges, Flower/Flower Garlands etc. The increase of 4 points each in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Mariani Jorhat centres is mainly due to increase in the prices of Rice, Groundnut Oil, Mustard Oil, Goat Meat, Fish Fresh, Vegetable & Fruit items, Tea (Readymade), Electricity Charges, Flower/Flower Garlands, etc. The decrease of 5 points in Quilon centre is due to decrease in the prices of Coconut Oil, Fish Fresh, Onion, Vegetable & Fruit items, etc. The decrease of 3 points each in Tiruchirapally and Salem centres is due to decrease in the prices of Rice, Eggs (Hen), Onion, Garlic, Tamarind, Chillies Dry, Vegetable items, Flower/Flower Garlands, etc.

    The indices in respect of the six major centres are as follows :

1. Ahmedabad	196
2. Bangalore	204
3. Chennai	186
4. Delhi	182
5. Kolkata	186
6. Mumbai	200

   The point to point rate of inflation based on CPI-IW(General) for the month of February, 2012 is 7.57% as compared to 5.32% in January, 2012. Inflation based on Food Index attained the level of 5.08% in February, 2012 as compared to 0.49% in January, 2012.

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