Indian national infected with coronavirus in UAE
Dubai: An Indian national has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in the UAE, bringing the total number of confirmed infection cases to eight, the country's health ministry has said.
The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak has gone up to 1,016 while the confirmed cases of infection have soared to 42,638, Chinese health officials said on Tuesday.
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) said on Monday that the Indian national was infected after he interacted with a recently diagnosed person.
"The Ministry of Health and Prevention announced today the eighth confirmed case of new coronavirus in the UAE, which is an Indian national who had interacted with a recently diagnosed person," it said in a tweet.
On Sunday, the ministry said that the two new patients, a Chinese national and a Filipino, had been diagnosed with the disease and were receiving medical care as per the highest health standards available in the country.
It said that all health facilities will continue to report any new cases suspected to have coronavirus.
Last week, a family of four who arrived from Wuhan for a holiday in Dubai were diagnosed with coronavirus. A fifth patient, who also arrived from the Chinese city, was confirmed to have been infected with the virus, but is reportedly in a stable condition.
China and countries around the world are scrambling to contain the spread of coronavirus which fiirst surfaced in Wuhan city in the Central Hubei province of China. Apart from China, two deaths have occurred in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Besides Germany, Britain and Italy, other European nations with cases of the virus include France, Russia, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and Spain.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Railways: FM Sitharaman allocates Rs 2.77 lakh crore for capital expenditure
New Delhi (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday allocated Rs 2,77,830 crore to the Ministry of Railways for capital expenditure in the financial year 2026–27.
The Budget allocation includes the construction of new lines and the purchase of locomotives, wagons, and coaches, among other works.
The ministry had received Rs 2,52,000 crore in FY 2025–26. The current allocation for the upcoming financial year is 10.25 per cent higher, making it the highest ever. Besides, the ministry will get Rs 15,000 crore from Extra Budgetary Resources, the document showed.
According to the Budget document, the railways’ total earnings are projected at Rs 3,85,733.33 crore, while expenditure is estimated at Rs 3,82,186.01 crore, resulting in a surplus of Rs 3,547.32 crore at the end of the financial year.
"Since the railways' earnings are too meagre to fund asset creation and support new works, it receives funds from the government. Accordingly, the ministry has been allocated Rs 2,77,830 crore to undertake activities such as laying new lines, converting narrow gauge to broad gauge, and constructing double lines on single-line routes," a railway official said.
The Budget document has earmarked funds from the Rs 2,77,830 crore allocation for various construction and asset creation projects. These include Rs 36,721.55 crore for new lines, Rs 4,600 crore for gauge conversion, Rs 37,750 crore for doubling, Rs 52,108.73 crore for rolling stock (locomotives, wagons, etc.), and Rs 7,500 crore for signalling and telecom, among others.
The allocation under the signalling and telecom head is significant as the automatic train protection system, Kavach, falls under this department. The ministry has laid strong emphasis on expanding Kavach coverage across the rail network.
The document also presents the actual earnings and expenditure of the railways in 2024–25. During the year, railways earned Rs 3,35,757.09 crore and spent Rs 3,32,440.64 crore, recording a surplus of Rs 3,316.45 crore. The budgetary allocation for the year stood at Rs 2,51,946.56 crore.
"As far as FY 2025–26 is concerned, the actual figures for earnings and expenditure will be available only after the financial year ends,” an official said, adding that largely earnings and expenses are on expected lines with minor changes.
Out of the total expenditures of the railways, the biggest share goes on paying pensions to its employees.
According to Budget documents, expenditure on pensions was Rs 58844.07 crore in 2024-25, which is expected to rise to Rs 74500 crore in 2026-27.
