New Delhi, Dec 5: The government has spent Rs 7,253 crore so far (up to October), of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 12,118 crore for 2025–26, on the redevelopment of railway stations across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Friday.

The minister stated in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha that work is in progress at a good pace for the development of stations such as Tirupati, Yesvantpur, Rameswaram, and Safdarjung station in Delhi..

So far, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme since it was launched, of which 155 stations have been completed till now.

Vaishnaw said that the station development projects under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme are primarily conceptualised with budgetary support. However, 15 stations have been identified to be explored for development under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode also and based on the experience gained from the same, further evolution of the scheme is envisaged.

He further stated that the ownership of stations and operations-related activity will be with the Indian Railways. However, for some identified major stations, specific activities or groups of activities may be entrusted to outside sources for specified tenures depending upon the type of activity, requirements of the station, demand, etc. The terms of the contract are decided on a case-by-case basis.

He said that the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for the redevelopment of stations has been launched with a long-term approach.

The scheme involves the preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes improvement of access to the station and circulating areas, integration of the station with both sides of the city, improvement of the station building and improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, and water booths.

The redevelopment plans also include provision of wider foot over bridge or air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic, provision of lifts, escalators and ramps, improvement of platform surface and cover over platforms and provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’.

Besides, the construction of parking areas, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, better passenger information systems, provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings and landscaping is being taken up, keeping in view the necessity at each station, Vaishnaw said.

The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc., as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of a city centre at the station in the long term, the minister added.

New Delhi, Dec 5: Hailing India-Russia ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the friendship between the two countries has remained like a pole star amidst the ups and downs faced by the world in the past 80 years.

While making a joint press statement with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their talks at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday, PM Modi said that the ties between two nations have stood the test of time and thanked Putin for his friendship and unwavering commitment to India while recalling the efforts made by the Russian leadership to elevate bilateral ties.

“Today, I am delighted to welcome President Putin to the 23rd India-Russia Summit today. His visit comes at a time when our bilateral relations are experiencing several historic milestones. 25 years back, President Putin laid the foundation for our strategic partnership. 15 years ago, in 2010, our partnership was granted the status of a Special Privileged Strategic Partnership. For the past two and a half decades, he (President Putin) has nurtured this relationship with his leadership and vision.

“His (President Putin) leadership, under all circumstances, has elevated our ties to new heights. I express my heartfelt gratitude to President Putin, my friend, for this deep friendship and unwavering commitment to India. The world has seen many ups and downs over the past eight decades. Humanity has faced many challenges and crises and amidst all this, the India-Russia friendship has remained like a pole star. This relationship, founded on mutual respect and deep trust, has always stood the test of time,” he added.

Recalling recent heinous terror attacks in both countries, PM Modi said that India and Russia have stood together in the fight against terrorism.

“Today we also discussed regional and global issues. India and Russia have long cooperated shoulder to shoulder in the fight against terrorism. Whether it’s the terrorist attack in Pahalgam or the cowardly attack on Crocus City Hall — the root of all these incidents is the same. India firmly believes that terrorism is a direct attack on the values ​​of humanity and global unity against it (terrorism) is our greatest strength.”

PM Modi announced that India and Russia will cooperate to train Indian seafarers in polar waters. “We will now cooperate to train Indian seafarers in polar waters. This will not only strengthen our cooperation in the Arctic, but will also create new employment opportunities for India’s youth.”

Reiterating India’s stance on Ukraine conflict, he said, “India has advocated for peace in Ukraine from the very beginning. We welcome all efforts to find a peaceful and lasting solution to this issue. India has always been ready to contribute and will continue to do so.”

PM Modi also termed energy security as a strong and important pillar of India-Russia partnership. He stated that cooperation between India and Russia in civil nuclear energy has been crucial in realising shared clean energy priorities.

“Energy security has been a strong and important pillar of the India-Russia partnership. Our decades-old cooperation in civil nuclear energy has been crucial in realising our shared clean energy priorities. We will continue this win-win cooperation. Our cooperation in critical minerals is crucial to ensuring secure and diversified supply chains across the world,” stated PM Modi.

Earlier, taking the India-Russia Special and Privileged Partnership ahead, PM Modi warmly welcomed President Putin at the Hyderabad House to participate in the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.

With both countries sharing a longstanding and time-tested bond, the two leaders are holding comprehensive and detailed discussions aimed at further strengthening the bilateral relations.

Hyderabad, Dec 5: Utter chaos continued at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Friday as IndiGo Airlines cancelled 92 flights for the day.

For the fourth consecutive day, the airline cancelled flights, causing severe inconvenience to thousands of passengers.

A total of 92 IndiGo flights have been cancelled for the day, an airport spokesman said. These include 43 arrivals and 49 departures.

This is the highest number of flights to be cancelled in four days. The airline had cancelled 74 flights on Thursday.

A total of 220 flights have been cancelled since December 2.

The cancellations for the fourth consecutive day triggered a protest by passengers at the terminal building. Angry passengers had heated arguments with the IndiGo staff.

A group of passengers was seen surrounding an official of the airline, seeking replies to their queries. Passengers complained that flights were cancelled after check-in.

The cancellations on key domestic routes severely disrupted the travel plans of the passengers for the fourth consecutive day.

A large number of passengers remained stranded at the airport. Long queues were seen outside and inside the terminal. Tempers were running high in the terminal building as angry passengers confronted the airline staff. Some were asking why the airline scheduled the flights when the staff was not available. Frustrated passengers had a heated argument with the staff and even raised slogans of ‘shame’.

Departures and arrivals on key domestic routes like Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Goa, Madurai and Bhubaneswar severely inconvenienced passengers.

A large number of Ayappa devotees were also stranded due to the cancellation of flights to Kochi. As a mark of protest, the devotees were seen chanting slogans of “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa”.

Andhra Pradesh Minister Kolusu Partha Sarathy, who was at the airport to board a flight to Vijayawada, intervened to help Ayyappa devotees. He spoke to Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu over the phone to arrange a special flight.

The minister, who missed his flight to Vijayawada, later left by road.

Meanwhile, eight IndiGo flights were cancelled at Visakhapatnam airport. With flights to key destinations like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad getting cancelled, passengers lodged their protest with the airline staff.

IndiGo attributed the disruption to ‘a multitude of unforeseen operational challenges’ including minor technology glitches, winter-season driven schedule changes, adverse weather, increased congestion in the aviation system and the implementation of updated Flight Duty Time Limitations for crew.

RGIA authorities have advised passengers to check the latest status of their flights with their respective airlines before heading to the airport.