Travelers Financial News

By Maria Caspani

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said this was needed as the country was going through a period of «great injustice» and asserted that a vision of India based on equitability, brotherhood and harmony will emerge from the yatra. This vision will emerge from dialogues during the yatra and it will have no place for hatred, violence and monopoly, he said and added that through this yatra, the Congress wants to listen to people's "Mann Ki Baat" and understand their pain. Gandhi commenced the more than 6,700 km Manipur-to-Maharashtra yatra with a rally at a private ground here after offering tributes to martyrs of Manipur at the Khongjom War Memorial Complex.

Edited excerpts: At the moment, the Indian banking sector remains resilient and robust. Even if you look at the unsecured consumer loans and some segments of personal loans, the numbers that we have before us are not particularly alarming. Even the NPA numbers are also within reasonable limits.

Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep and derogatory remarks by three Maldivian ministers against India and PM Modi have led to a resurgence of interest in visiting the island chain, despite 2023 recording the lowest number of aircraft movements to the archipelago since 2015, excluding the archipelago 2020, according to AAI data. The Agatti Island airport in Lakshadweep registered the lowest number of flights during the April-November 2023 period, the lowest in eight years, according to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

PTI report, healthcare industry body NATHEALTH has advocated for a hike in healthcare spending to 2.5 per cent of the GDP and the rationalisation of the GST framework. “Additionally, we aim to enhance the medical value travel segment by addressing the MAT credit issue and strengthening the healthcare value chain, which is essential for driving economic growth and creating new job opportunities," NATHEALTH MD and CEO Ashutosh Raghuvanshi said.

criticism on social media, a disgruntled passenger, identified as Deedy, shared his harrowing experience with IndiGo, labeling it as the «worst flight experience» of his life. The Kolkata to Bengaluru flight, scheduled for 10 PM, took off at 4:41 AM after a series of six delays, totaling a staggering seven hours.

Surbhi Chandna, known for her roles in popular shows like Naagin 5, Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah, and Qubool Hai, has raised serious allegations against budget airline Vistara, claiming "mental harassment" during her recent travel experience at Mumbai airport. Chandna took to her social media handles on Saturday to express her dissatisfaction with Vistara, specifically targeting the airline for misplacing her priority luggage and criticizing the behavior of the ground staff. In a post on X, she declared, «The WORST AIRLINE award goes to @airvistara.

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, passengers found themselves in a state of disarray as a dense fog blanket wreaked havoc on flight operations. The runway congestion, exacerbated by limited visibility, led to a gridlock where incoming flights had no available parking slots, stranding travelers inside their planes post-landing. Addressing the disruptions, Akasa Air took to microblogging platform X, alerting passengers to the impact on flight schedules across Delhi, Chennai, Varanasi, Bagdogra, and Lucknow.

Revanth Reddy participated in the preparatory meeting for the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' at Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi on Saturday. The Yatra is set to kick off on Saturday from Manipur. CM Reddy is currently on a visit to the national capital.

Delhi residents woke up to thick fog and freezing temperatures on Sunday morning, and it has led to widespread disruptions in daily routines and transportation on a chilly Sunday morning. The RK Puram Area witnessed the mercury drop to a frigid 7 degrees Celsius in the early hours of Sunday. Responding to the harsh weather, individuals on the streets and the homeless sought refuge at government-operated night shelters spread across Delhi.

Indians headed to Santa Claus's home this winter, with Rovaniemi witnessing a 20% uptick in visitors from the country. These comprised high net-worth individuals (HNIs), honeymooners and families looking at the Finnish destination to experience not just a white Christmas, but also the northern lights and Arctic activities. Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, Finland, and is located on the Arctic Circle.

Delhi Weather Update: Delhi on Sunday woke up to a thick blanket of fog, as predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Dense to very dense fog engulfed the city, reducing visibility to a mere 200-500 meters and causing major disruptions to air and rail travel. This foggy spell is expected to linger for three days, casting a chilly shadow over Delhi and its residents.

Ram Temple consecration ceremony, the flight rates and hotel accommodation charges have skyrocketed. Data from travel portals like SOTC, Thomas Cook, EaseMyTrip and others show that people are will to pay even lakhs to attend the ceremony and seek the blessings of Ram Lalla. The "Pran Pratishtha" ceremony will be held on January 22.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said on Saturday that China, largest external creditor to the country, has agreed to consider restructuring the repayment of loans taken by his country and the governments will initiate negotiations soon. He told the media in Male after his return from a five-day high-profile state visit to China that he has directly appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to restructure the loans provided to the Maldives. He said that the loans were direct loans and that a technical team from China's Finance Ministry will travel to Maldives soon «to research and decide the way to offer a grace period in loan repayments over next five years, Maldives news portal Sun online reported.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has announced the cancellation of the plan to send new recruits of the 10th and 11th India Reserve Battalions (IRB) to Assam by road. In a Facebook post, Singh stated, «The plan to send recruits of the 10th and 11th IRB to Assam by road has been cancelled for now.

Google software engineer, who has been with the company for nearly two decades, has been laid off as part of the latest round of job cuts. Earlier this week, the tech giant confirmed that it has cut several hundred jobs across hardware, core engineering and Google Assistant teams.

Arjun Ram Meghwal on Saturday said the Indian rupee has strengthened during the tenure of the Narendra Modi government. He also credited the role played by B R Ambedkar in taking on the then British rulers who tried to weaken the currency. Talking to reporters here after attending a seminar on the journey of the Indian rupee in the last 100 years, he said during the tenure of PM Narendra Modi, the Indian rupee has gained currency. He said 35 countries have agreed to allow the use of Indian rupee and people travelling there do not have to get it converted into local currency or US dollar. The Union minister pointed out that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established in April 1935 following the thesis presented by Ambedkar in the London School of Economics on the Indian rupee. People should know that Ambedkar was also an eminent economist, he added.

Layoffs suck, but in my case... it's fine, because I've needed some kind of change in my life for a very long time. And I have no plans to rush into anything else right now.

Authorities in Idaho on Friday located and retrieved the body of a man who was caught in an avalanche while backcountry skiing with two other men who were rescued the previous day.The two men were located after authorities received a GPS alert of a possible fatality in an avalanche near Stevens Peak close to the Montana border shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday, the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on social media.Authorities established communications using a GPS texting device with the two men. Following a search of the area, the pair were located and transported for medical care, the sheriff’s office said. One of the men suffered a broken arm, KREM-TV reported.

The Indian wellness industry is sized at USD 42.1 billion in 2023 and is slated to cross USD 70 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 28-30%. Increasingly the traditional boundaries between wellness, hospitality, vacations, and serviced living are blurring, as Indians are now prioritizing health and wellbeing, just like their global counterparts.

Russian tourists going on a ski trip will be the first international travelers to visit North Korea since the country’s borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown