Top News: PM Modi to flag off new Vande Bharat trains in Jharkhand, visit Gujarat; Farmers to hold mahapanchayat; more

In Today's Top News, we have Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Jharkhand and Gujarat; farmers to take part in mahapanchayat in Jind, Haryana; Air India To Begin Flights From Delhi To Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and more.

1. PM Modi to flag off new Vande Bharat express trains in Jharkhand

Prime Minister Modi will launch three new Vande Bharat Express trains on September 15 in Jharkhand, connecting Tatanagar to Patna, Deoghar to Varanasi, and Tatanagar to Berhampur. PM Modi will also deposit the first instalment of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the accounts of 1,13,195 poor people.”

This expansion follows the recent inauguration of three other Vande Bharat routes linking Meerut to Lucknow, Madurai to Bengaluru, and Chennai to Nagercoil. Patna, which already benefits from Vande Bharat connections to Ranchi, Howrah, New Jalpaiguri, and Lucknow, will see enhanced connectivity with these new additions. Read more here

2. Transfer ₹5 lakh in a single UPI transaction

NPCI – which runs Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – raised the limit of ₹5 lakh per transaction for a particular category of transactions. The limit has been raised with regards to tax payments only. The enhanced limit will be applicable to ‘verified merchants’. This, effectively, means one can use UPI for making tax payment of upto ₹5 lakh in a single transaction.

Now, consumers will be able to make UPI payments of ₹5 lakh per transaction for these categories: a) Tax payments, b) hospitals and educational services, c) IPO and G Sec. Read more here

3. PM Modi's two-day visit to Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat from September 15, during which he will inaugurate a metro train service as well as the 4th edition of Global Renewable Energy Investors Meet and Expo (RE-INVEST 2024), state minister Rushikesh Patel said on Thursday. This will be his first visit to Gujarat after being sworn in as PM for a third straight term, said Patel, who is health minister as well as the spokesperson of the Gujarat government.

4. Farmers to hold mahapanchayat

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the farmer's agitation has been going on since February 13 in Delhi and they are going to have a mahapanchayat in Jind on September 15 and in Pipli on September 22.

Farmers are protesting at the Shambhu border near Ambala and have been camping there since February 13. Pandher accused the Centre of misusing central agencies and as the election is scheduled in Haryana, the BJP is scared of the farmer's protest. Further making demands, Pandher asked the centre to open the border as they will advance towards Delhi on the completion of 200 days of farmers' protest.

5. Air India to begin flights from Delhi To Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Air India has started direct flight services from Delhi to Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur. Interested passengers will be able to enjoy the seamless non-stop flight from 15 September 2024.

6. Prasar Bharati OTT likely to be launched on September 15

Prasar Bharati is most likely to launch its over-the-top (OTT) platform on September 15, sources close to the development revealed to Storyboard18. The much-awaited family-friendly OTT platform was first announced in 2023, Storyboard 18 reported.