Business
Indian Railways plans centrally heated sleeper train, special Vande Bharat chair car for Kashmir – check features
Indian Railways eyes two special trains for Jammu & Kashmir! Indian Railways plans to introduce two new train services to enhance Kashmir connectivity in the coming month.
A centrally heated sleeper train will operate between New Delhi and Srinagar, offering a 13-hour journey through snow-covered mountains and across the 359-m-high Chenab Bridge, which is the world’s highest railway arch bridge. The train will provide premium comfort but will not include second-class sleeper coaches, sources told ET.
Previously it was being speculated that the Vande Bharat sleeper would debut on the Kashmir route, but that doesn’t appear to be the case now.
Vande Bharat for Katra-Baramulla Route in Jammu & Kashmir
- For the Katra-Baramulla route, an eight-coach Vande Bharat train with chair car seating will be introduced, a senior railway official told the financial daily.
- The
Vande Bharat Express for Jammu & Kashmir also incorporates specialised features including silicon heating pads for water tanks to prevent freezing, and toilets with warm air circulation through specially designed ducts. - In a first for Indian Railways, the loco pilots’ front glass contains embedded heating elements to prevent frost formation in sub-zero temperatures.
- The service will reduce the 246-km Katra-Baramulla journey time to three-and-a-half hours, significantly faster than the current 10-hour bus journey. Baramulla railway station lies 57 km beyond Srinagar.
Jammu & Kashmir Train Connectivity
Katra, which serves as the entry point to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and attracts numerous pilgrims, currently has a 16-coach Vande Bharat Express connection to New Delhi operating six days weekly.
The railway official said, “Once the Katra-Baramulla Vande Bharat becomes operational, likely by late next month, passengers will be able to seamlessly journey from New Delhi to Katra in our existing Vande Bharat and then transfer to the new service to reach Srinagar or Baramulla.”
Business
‘Okay to get paid less than Americans’: Entrepreneur justifies lower wages to Indian workers for overseas work
Buenos Aires-based entrepreneur Franco Pereyra has stirred a debate with his perspective on the issue of pay disparities in global remote work.
Pereyra, co-founder of Hire With Near, argued in a post on LinkedIn that paying overseas workers, from countries like India, less than their US counterparts isn’t inherently wrong. “It’s okay for global talent workers to get paid less than Americans,” he said.
India, one of the largest hubs for global remote talent, faces similar dynamics. Skilled workers in fields like IT, customer service, and marketing are often paid significantly less than their counterparts in the US or Europe, despite doing the same work. Critics argue that such pay disparities are exploitative. However, Pereyra offered his conflicting view saying, “A lot of people get upset and say workers in Latin America, India, and the Philippines are being exploited. And yes, there are certainly companies that do exploit global talent. But paying less for overseas work is not inherently wrong.”
Pereyra stayed firm on justifying the pay disparity and added, “So yes, I realize that compared to US salaries we are getting paid less to do the same job. But I get to stay in my country, be with my family, and enjoy a lower cost of living.”
He then took the argument towards economic conditions of different countries. Citing his own experience of living in the Argentina capital the entrepreneur said, “here’s the reality: The opportunity here is limited. Our country’s economy is in bad shape.” “Hopefully, my country’s economic condition will improve one day, and wages will rise,” he further said adding that “In the meantime, those with marketable skills can keep taking advantage of the opportunities that global remote work provides.”
In a separate post the startup founder acknowledged “lot of companies chase the cheapest possible labor” while viewing them as “disposable” while “giving the minimum resources to support the workers”. He claimed that the companies are “not only are they trying to pay the least, they’re also giving the minimum resources to support the workers. I see this happen way too often, especially with talent from India and the Philippines—a revolving door of workers treated as disposable.”
Franco Pereyra’s take justifying the pay-gap received severe backlash from LinkedIn users. Voicing disagreement, a user asked the Argentinian entrepreneur, “Do the people in Argentina or Brazil do less quality work than their US counterparts? Do they work less hours or produce less code? No.”
“Just another post justifying under-payment. Should the under paid worker also under deliver the work (quality or deadline misses)? Would you be happy with that?” said a LinkedIn user while another labeled this opinion as “racism and classism”.
Business
Stock market today: BSE Sensex opens in green; Nifty50 above 23,750
Stock market today: Indian equity benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and Nifty50, opened in green on Tuesday. While BSE Sensex was above 78,500, Nifty50 was above 23,750. At 9:18 AM, BSE Sensex was trading at 78,540.17, up 47 points or 0.059%. Nifty50 was at 23,767.20, up 14 points or 0.058%.
Indian markets showed a slight recovery on Monday following last week’s significant five-day decline. According to analysts, this temporary pause reflects typical market behaviour, influenced by oversold positions in major index stocks.
“Participants are advised to maintain a cautious stance with a negative bias on the index until clear signs of a rebound emerge. However, individual stocks continue to present opportunities on both sides. We reiterate our preference for the pharma and healthcare sectors for long positions, while other sectors are likely to see mixed trading trends,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking
Experts say that the resistance levels remain at 23,850-23,870, with a bearish gap at 24,000-24,150. Support levels exist at 23,600-23,500, with potential decline towards 23,350 if breached.
Major US indices closed higher on Monday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite achieving a third consecutive positive session. The gains were primarily driven by the performance of prominent Magnificent Seven technology companies during a trading day marked by reduced holiday volume.
Trading activity in Asian markets remained constrained within narrow bands, influenced by limited holiday participation. This followed the upward movement in US markets, which was propelled by significant technology company gains.
Gold prices remained stable ahead of Christmas holiday trading. The dollar strengthened as investors anticipated extended higher US interest rates.
FPIs sold Rs 168 crore while DIIs purchased Rs 2,228 crore worth of shares. FII net short position increased to Rs 1.56 lakh crore.
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