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‘Centre Decided To Hike Bengaluru Metro Prices’: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Passes The Buck Onto BJP Government Amid Outrage

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Amid outrage and protests over a recent hike in metro fares in IT capital Bengaluru, the Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has issued a clarification on the matter.

CM Issues Clarification

In a post on his official X account, the state CM said, “Clarifying the facts on Bengaluru Metro fare hike.”

He went to attribute the rise in fares to the central government in Delhi, and said, “The fare revision was decided by a Union Government-appointed committee, and BMRCL is legally bound to implement it. The Karnataka Government had no role in this decision.”

The CM also added, “BJP must stop misleading the people and take responsibility for its actions.”

The CM’s clarfictaions highlighted the following points

Since 2017, metro fares were not revised, and BMRCL itself wrote to the Union Government requesting a revision.

If the Karnataka Government had the power to decide fares, why did BMRCL write to the Centre instead of the State Government?

Responding to BMRCL’s letter, the Union Government constituted a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) under Justice R. Tharani (Retd.), former Madras High Court judge. This committee included representatives from both the Union and State Governments.

The Union Government directed the committee, which began functioning on September 16, 2024, with a three-month deadline.

The committee consulted BMRCL officials, visited Delhi and Chennai Metro authorities, studied operations, and analysed fare structures.

The post also said, “Except for the Delhi Metro, the initial phase fares in all other states were determined by the respective state metro corporations. However, fare revisions are now decided by a committee appointed by the Union Government. As per Section 37 of the Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, metro corporations (in this case, BMRCL) are legally bound to implement the fare recommendations made by this committee.”

What Are These New Fare Hikes?

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the body that runs the 2-line metro system (Green Line and Purple Line), has revised the fees, which will result in a 40-50 per cent hike in fare.

Post the revision, the maximum fare has shot up from the previous Rs 60 to the new Rs 90. Here, it is to be noted, that the minimum fare will continue to remain at Rs 10.

In addition, the minimum balance required on smart cards has also been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 90.

What’s Reaction So Far?

This move has irked Bengalurians, many of whom have attributed its hike as side effect of the freebies of the governmental schemes of the incumbent Congress government of Karnataka. This has only made public transport in the IT hub more exorbitant, as the recent comes at the back of 15 per cent hike in bus fares in the city.

Opposition leaders have reacted staunchly to this new development. The city MP (Bangalore South constituency) Tejasvi Surya took the matter up in the ongoing budget session of the parliament.

Surya shared a post on X, in which he said, “At the Zero Hour in Parliament today, I spoke on how the hike in Metro Prices is affecting the middle class in Bengaluru.

Highlighted how this fare hike has led to a 100% increase in the short-distance commute across several metro stations in Bengaluru, making Bengaluru Metro the most expensive metro network & defeating the purpose of creating a sustainable public transport solution for the city.

Urged the concerned authorities to review the anomalies in the fare structure and rationalize the ticket prices to make it more affordable for the common man.”

Although the CM has issues a supposed clarification, no decision on any rollback of the revised fares have been made.

Business

HM Amit Shah congratulates Amul, IFFCO for landmark achievement among world cooperatives

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New Delhi, Nov 5: It is a testament to the boundless potential of the cooperatives, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, congratulated daily giant Amul and Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) for occupying the first two ranks among the top 10 cooperatives in the world.

In a landmark achievement for India’s cooperative sector, two of India’s leading cooperatives, Amul and IFFCO, have secured the first and second ranks in the global ranking for cooperatives, respectively.

In a post on X social media platform, HM Shah said, “A proud moment for Bharat! Heartiest congratulations to Amul and IFFCO for occupying the first two ranks among the top ten cooperatives in the world”.

“It is an honour to the tireless dedication of millions of women associated with Amul and farmers contributing to the IFFCO. It is also a testament to the boundless potential of the cooperatives, which is being transformed into a global model of empowerment and self-reliance by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” HM Shah posted.

Meanwhile, the India’s dairy sector is the backbone of rural livelihoods and a symbol of inclusive growth. As the largest milk producer in the world, India has combined farmer-led cooperatives, women’s participation and scientific practices to achieve remarkable progress.

Notably, while safeguarding existing gains, there is continued support to the sector through subsidies, credit facilities, R&D in fodder and animal health, among others, to ensure India’s dairy sector remains resilient, inclusive, and capable of meeting future domestic and international demand.

Moreover, the National Co-operative Exports Limited (NCEL), set up by the Government in 2023, has achieved the impressive milestone of exporting Rs 5,403.01 crore worth of agricultural commodities, including rice, fresh red onion, sugar, baby food, processed food, spices and tea.

Also, NCEL has been promoted by five leading co-operatives — Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO), Krishak Bharati Co-operative Limited (KRIBHCO), National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED), Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF–Amul) and the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC).

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Indian stock markets closed on Nov 5 for Guru Nanak Jayanti; trade to resume tomorrow

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Mumbai, Nov 5: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) remained closed on Wednesday on account of Prakash Gurpurb Sri Guru Nanak Dev, also known as Guru Nanak Jayanti.

Trading across segments, including equities, derivatives, securities lending and borrowing (SLBs), currency derivatives, and interest rate derivatives, stayed shut for the day.

The commodity derivatives market was also closed in the morning session between 9 am and 5 pm but will open for the evening session from 5 pm to 11:30/11:55 pm.

Regular trading on both exchanges will resume on Thursday (November 6).

On Tuesday, Indian stock markets ended lower, with the Nifty slipping below the 25,600 mark amid broad-based selling pressure.

The Sensex fell 519.34 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 83,459.15, while the Nifty dropped 165.70 points, or 0.64 per cent, to end at 25,597.65.

The BSE Midcap index declined 0.2 per cent, and the Smallcap index fell 0.7 per cent.

Among major Nifty stocks, Power Grid Corp, Coal India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bajaj Auto, and Eternal were the top losers.

On the other hand, Titan Company, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life, and M&M gained during the session.

Barring telecom and consumer durable sectors, all other indices ended in the red. IT, auto, FMCG, metal, power, realty, and PSU indices slipped between 0.5 to 1 per cent.

Market analysts said that the Nifty has retested its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA). A sustained move below this level could weaken the positive sentiment and extend the correction toward 25,400.

“On the higher side, 25,800 is likely to act as an immediate resistance level. Traders have been advised to remain cautious and focus on risk management until a clear market direction emerges,” experts said.

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Indian Hotels clocks 48.6 pc drop in Q2 net profit to Rs 285 crore

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Mumbai, Nov 4: Tata Group’s hospitality arm, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), on Tuesday reported a 48.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in net profit to Rs 285 crore for the quarter ended September 2025 (Q2 FY26).

The company had posted a profit of Rs 555 crore in the same quarter last financial year (Q2 FY25), according to its stock exchange filing.

Despite the fall in profit, IHCL’s revenue from operations rose 11.8 per cent to Rs 2,040.8 crore, compared with Rs 1,826 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) also showed improvement, rising 14.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 572 crore from Rs 501 crore a year ago.

The EBITDA margin improved slightly to 28 per cent, compared with 27.4 per cent in the same quarter last financial year.

On the market front, IHCL shares ended at Rs 743.75 on the BSE, down Rs 3.30 or 0.44 per cent on Tuesday.

Over the last five days, the stock gained Rs 2.35 or 0.32 per cent, while in the past month, it rose Rs 20.65 or 2.85 per cent.

However, over a longer period, the stock has faced some pressure. In the last six months, IHCL shares fell Rs 57.60 or 7.18 per cent, and on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, they are down Rs 129.40 or 14.81 per cent.

Still, over the past one year, the stock has gained Rs 77.65 or 11.65 per cent.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is South Asia’s biggest hospitality group. It was founded in 1903 by Jamsetji Tata, who started it with the opening of The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai.

The company is best known for its Taj hotels and its unique culture called “Tajness,” which combines Indian tradition with modern hospitality.

Today, IHCL runs more than 550 hotels across four continents and focuses on being both innovative and sustainable.

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