No private buses in Bengaluru for 4 months!
Bengaluru, May 17: Private bus owners have decided not to run their vehicles for four more months.
The last 15 days have seen a relaxation in the Corona lockdown, which is two-month-old. As a result, bus service has been provided in some places, albeit with a restriction in the number of passengers. The private bus owners fear loss due to the reduction in the number of passengers and have preferred not to bring out their buses until the lockdown is opened completely. They have said that the buses will not be brought to the roads till September-end.
“Providing our services now will cause heavy loss for us. If the government insists that the buses be used, it should waiver our road tax for six months,” the members of the private bus owners' association has demanded.
They have expressed a willingness to discuss the matter with the government, but added, “We will still agree to provide service only if our demands are fulfilled. The rates of diesel and spare parts of the vehicles have been hiked. Payment of wages to our staff too adds to our expenditure. Taking all such things into account, we can afford to follow the government guidelines and get our buses to the streets only if we are given a tax waiver.”
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.
FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
ALSO READ: B'desh to hold funeral of slain youth leader amid tight security
"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
