Indian classical music concert in Riyadh highlights India-Saudi Arabia cultural ties

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) The government on Wednesday said India’s tunnel infrastructure reflects a clear shift toward smarter and more resilient development, solving long-standing connectivity challenges while supporting economic growth and national priorities.

With landmark projects like the Atal Tunnel, India is rapidly expanding its tunnel infrastructure. Tunnels in India represent more than infrastructure development; they reflect the nation’s determination to overcome geographical challenges.

By cutting through mountains and terrain that once limited connectivity, tunnels have enabled year-round transportation. They have also improved access to remote regions and strengthened links between communities, according to an official statement.

India’s tunnelling boom is being propelled by national highway expansion, alongside strategic border infrastructure, metro rail growth, bullet-train corridors, and all-weather connectivity initiatives in remote regions.

As infrastructure scales up, tunnelling has become one of the fastest-growing construction domains.

Tucked beneath the snow-laden peaks of the Pir Panjal ranges, the Atal Tunnel stretches 9.02 km, providing a high-altitude passage that bypasses Rohtang Pass.

“It is officially recognised as the World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 feet in 2022 by the World Book of Records UK. The tunnel has cut the Manali–Sarchu distance by 46 km and reduced travel time by four to five hours,” the statement added.

Another example is the Sonamarg Tunnel, a 12-km engineering feat carved through mountains at an altitude of over 8,650 feet above sea level, is set to transform travel in Jammu and Kashmir.

Built at a cost of Rs 2,700 crore, it includes a 6.4-km main tunnel, an egress tunnel, and modern approach roads creating an all-weather lifeline between Srinagar and the golden meadows of Sonamarg, and further towards Ladakh.

Once paired with the upcoming Zojila Tunnel (2028), the journey will shrink from 49 km to 43 km, with speeds rising from 30 km per hour to 70 km per hour, boosting defense logistics, winter tourism, adventure sports, and the livelihoods of the people who call these mountains home.

Moreover, the Zojila Tunnel is emerging as a monumental achievement in India’s infrastructure landscape, cutting through some of the most formidable Himalayan rock formations to establish a dependable, all-weather link between Ladakh and the rest of the country.

With nearly 12 kms already completed, the project integrates advanced safety measures and a semi-transverse ventilation system designed to maintain steady airflow deep within the mountains, said the government.

India’s Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor has marked a futuristic leap with the breakthrough on its 4.8-km undersea tunnel section.

–IANS

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New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) India granted women universal suffrage at the time of Independence in 1947, a step that came much earlier compared to many of the world’s oldest democracies, where women had to struggle for decades to secure voting rights. The historical milestone was highlighted in a video shared by the social media handle ‘Modi Archive’ on International Women’s Day.

According to the Modi Archive post on X, “While some of the world’s oldest democracies took over a century to grant women the right to vote, India gave women universal suffrage in 1947 itself. This was before the legislation, the national mission, the policy frameworks, and the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which reserved 33 per cent of Parliament’s seats for women.”

The post noted that even in 2003, as the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, PM Modi had raised an important question about the role of women in public life.

“Twenty years ago, a Chief Minister was already asking: Why should women’s power remain confined to the family? Why not the Gram Sabha, the district, or every room where decisions are made? The year was 2003. The day was Women’s Day. The leader was Narendra Modi,” the post added.

The video clip shared by ‘Modi Archive’ features the then CM Modi addressing the status of women in India and challenging common narratives that portray women in Western countries as being far more empowered.

“There is a narrative spread in our country about different nations of the world, suggesting that women there are far ahead and can do anything they wish,” he said, adding that many people in India who do not fully understand the strength and traditions of the country often get influenced by such narratives.

“Those who do not recognise the strength of this nation also get carried away by this perception and begin to believe that the status of women in India is extremely poor,” he said.

Highlighting historical developments, PM Modi pointed out in the 2003 speech that women in several established democracies received the right to vote only after long struggles.

“Sisters, we became independent in 1947. With independence, women in our country naturally received the right to vote. The whole world was surprised by this,” PM Modi said.

He further noted that in countries like the US, women had to fight long battles to secure their voting rights, even after more than a century of democratic governance.

In contrast, India not only granted voting rights to women at the time of Independence but also ensured their participation in grassroots governance. Women have been able to hold positions such as Sarpanch, as well as leadership roles in Taluka Panchayats and District Panchayats.

The post also referred to the more recent passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Legislative Assemblies.

In his 2003 address, CM Modi emphasised that women’s strength has always played a vital role in India’s social fabric. However, he stressed that this strength should extend beyond the household and become a powerful force in public life.

“In India, women’s power is a great strength in social life. But in the coming days, this strength must be transformed into a broader social force,” he said.

He added that while women are an important source of strength within families, their capabilities should not remain limited to domestic roles. Instead, their participation in decision-making processes would help strengthen society.

PM Modi also spoke about empowering women through self-help groups and community initiatives, stating that such efforts could create a movement of women’s leadership across villages.

The aim, he said, was to build awareness and ensure that the benefits of social welfare and prosperity reach every section of society through the active participation of women in governance and public life.

–IANS

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Chandigarh, Dec 25 (IANS) In a New Year bonanza for residents, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday gave the green signal to the Health Department to launch Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna from January to enable cashless treatment of Rs 10 lakh to every family in the state.

Reviewing a meeting of the Health Department here, CM Mann said Mukh Mantri Sehat Beema Yojna is a step towards providing universal healthcare facilities to people without spending even a penny on it.

“This is a step towards providing universal healthcare and ensuring that people get cashless treatment of Rs 10 lakh. Punjab will be the first state in the country where every family will be entitled to cashless treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the yojna is a flagship health assurance initiative of the government aimed at providing financial protection and assured access to quality healthcare to all eligible residents of the state.

“The scheme is a major step towards universal health coverage, under which each enrolled family is entitled to cashless medical treatment up to Rs 10 lakh per year,” he added.

CM Mann said, “The scheme covers major illnesses, critical care, surgeries, and life-saving treatments at a wide network of empanelled government and private hospitals across Punjab and Chandigarh, ensuring equitable access to healthcare services.”

The key objective is to ensure cashless and paperless healthcare at empanelled hospitals and to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on secondary and tertiary healthcare.

“Likewise, it will strengthen equitable access to healthcare services across urban and rural areas and provide timely grievance redressal and beneficiary support through digital platforms,” the Chief Minister said.

He said all the expenses like hospitalisation costs, surgeries and medical procedures, ICU and critical care services, diagnostics, medicines, and consumables as per approved packages, pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses and others will be covered under it.

–IANS

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