New Delhi, June 15: In a major step towards strengthening railway safety, Indian Railways has approved the installation of Kavach on the remaining 811 km broad gauge sections of the Ambala Division of the Northern Railway with an investment of Rs 201 crore, according to an official statement issued on Monday.

The sanctioned work will cover important rail routes in the Ambala Division, including Ambala Cantonment–Ludhiana, Kalka–Chandigarh–New Morinda–Sahnewal, Sirhind–Daulatpur Chowk, Rajpura–Bathinda–Shri Ganganagar, and Ludhiana–Dhuri–Jakhal sections.

These routes serve as key rail corridors connecting the states of Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh. They handle substantial passenger and freight traffic and play an important role in the movement of people and goods across the region.

The work has been approved under the umbrella programme for the provision of Kavach with LTE-based communication backbone on balance routes of the Railways.

Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance operational safety. It helps prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD), automatically applies brakes when required to avert unsafe situations, controls train speed in critical conditions, and significantly reduces the risk of collisions.

Indian Railways is progressively expanding Kavach across its network as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safety, reliability and capacity on high-density and strategically important routes.

Multiple projects worth Rs 1,364.45 crore have been approved to strengthen safety, signalling and communication infrastructure across its network. The sanctioned works include the provision of Kavach on locomotives, the expansion of optical fibre cable network, and the replacement of panel interlocking with electronic interlocking systems across various railway zones.

Indian Railways earlier sanctioned three itemised works in the Northern Railway at a total cost of Rs 400.86 crore for strengthening the communication backbone infrastructure. These works are part of a separate umbrella project approved at a cost of Rs 4,871 crore.

A sub-umbrella provision of Rs 871 crore has been allocated for Northern Railway for the laying of fibre cables along 926.05 route km in Ambala Division, along 1,204 route km along with Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) rooms at stations in Delhi Division, and along 1,074 route km in Lucknow Division. These works aim to enhance the capacity and reliability of communication systems across divisions, which are critical for modern signalling and Kavach deployment.

New Delhi, June 15: The financial burden on oil marketing companies (OMCs) has eased significantly following a series of fuel price hikes and government support measures, with under-recoveries on petrol and diesel witnessing a sharp decline, according to data shared by Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Monday.

The latest figures show that under-recoveries on petrol have fallen by 83 per cent to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 24 per litre recorded on April 1.

Similarly, diesel under-recoveries have declined by 75 per cent to Rs 27 per litre from Rs 105 per litre during the same period.

The reduction reflects the impact of four fuel price revisions undertaken by the Centre in May, along with fiscal support extended to oil retailers amid elevated global crude oil prices.

Under-recoveries had come down to around Rs 600 crore per day in May after the fourth round of fuel price increases.

This marked a further improvement from nearly Rs 750 crore per day reported on May 18.

In the last week of May, the government approved an average fuel price increase of Rs 2.7 per litre, a move that was expected to help OMCs reduce their overall losses by at least 44 per cent.

The four phased revisions, implemented on May 15, 19, 23 and 25, increased petrol prices in Delhi from Rs 94.77 per litre to Rs 102.12 per litre.

Diesel prices in the national capital rose from Rs 87.67 per litre to Rs 95.20 per litre during the same period.

The improvement in OMC finances comes after the Centre absorbed a significant portion of the burden by reducing excise duties on petrol and diesel.

According to the government, the move resulted in a revenue sacrifice of approximately Rs 1.23 lakh crore over a period of 78 days, helping shield consumers from the full impact of rising global fuel prices.

Meanwhile, global crude oil prices declined by nearly 5 per cent on Monday after the United States and Iran reached an agreement and announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over disruptions to global energy supplies.

New Delhi, June 15: India’s automobile industry recorded its strongest-ever performance for the month of May, driven by robust demand across passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Monday.

Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales surged 27.3 per cent year-on-year to a record 4,38,854 units in May 2026, compared to 3,44,656 units in the same month last year.

The two-wheeler segment also posted strong growth, with sales rising 14.8 per cent to 19,02,209 units, while three-wheeler volumes climbed 31.1 per cent to 70,720 units.

SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said all three major vehicle segments recorded their highest-ever sales for the month of May.

He attributed the growth partly to the lower base of May 2025 and the demand boost generated by reduced GST rates and easier financing options.

“These factors continue to support higher vehicle off-take across categories,” he explained.

The strong wholesale numbers come on the back of a robust retail performance. Earlier, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) reported that passenger vehicle retail sales crossed the 4 lakh mark for the first time in May, rising 23.25 per cent year-on-year to 4,02,591 units.

FADA had credited the growth to strong rural demand, a revival in the entry-level car segment and sustained demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

The two-wheeler segment delivered its best-ever May sales performance, led by a sharp increase in scooter demand. Scooter sales rose 27.4 per cent year-on-year to 7,39,667 units.

Motorcycle sales grew 7.2 per cent to 11,13,973 units, while moped sales jumped 30.3 per cent to 48,569 units during the month.

Passenger vehicles continued to benefit from improving affordability and positive consumer sentiment, helping the segment achieve its highest-ever sales volume for May.

The three-wheeler segment also maintained its growth momentum. Sales increased to 70,720 units from 53,942 units a year ago.

Passenger carriers remained the dominant category, with sales rising 30 per cent to 57,649 units, while goods carriers posted a stronger growth of 35.3 per cent to reach 11,802 units.

Electric three-wheelers also witnessed healthy growth. E-rickshaw sales increased 38.9 per cent to 1,000 units, while e-cart sales jumped 81.8 per cent to 269 units, albeit on a relatively small base.