Namo Bharat RRTS crosses 1 lakh riders on first full day after launch
New Delhi (PTI): The NCRTC on Monday recorded the highest-ever ridership on the Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System, with commuter numbers expected to exceed 1 lakh passengers.
This marks the first full day of commercial services after Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the complete 82-km Delhi-Meerut corridor and the new Meerut Metro link.
"On Monday, with the last train scheduled to depart at 10 pm, National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) expects the total ridership to surpass 1 lakh commuters," the corporation said.
This is the highest ridership recorded on the corridor to date, it said.
A video from the Begumpul station in Meerut showed passengers keen to experience the new service.
In the clip, large crowds are seen gathering on the spacious concourse early in the day, with many families and youth taking selfies and photos inside the train and station.
Some commuters in the video could also be seen scattering flower petals on the platform as the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train approached, while others waved enthusiastically.
The visuals showed orderly queues forming at ticket counters and platform entrances, with station staff assisting first-time riders and explaining safety protocols.
Prime Minister Modi on Sunday inaugurated the remaining sections of the RRTS -- the 5-km stretch between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar in Delhi and the 21-km extension from Meerut South to Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh.
Designed for speeds of up to 180 kmph, the Namo Bharat system is aimed at significantly reducing travel time between Delhi and key urban centres such as Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Modinagar and Meerut.
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Union government assumes full control over TV ratings, TRAI role curtailed: Report
New Delhi: The Union government has assumed full control over television audience measurement, removing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from oversight of the ratings system that underpins the country’s ₹36,000 crore television advertising market, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report in Mint said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) now has exclusive authority over the framework governing how television ratings are measured and regulated. TRAI had been entrusted with oversight of TV ratings in 2012 during the UPA government’s tenure. TRAI is no longer mentioned in the relevant policy document, effectively vesting sole authority in the MIB.
The report said TRAI will continue to regulate other aspects of broadcasting, including channel pricing, advertising caps, interconnection and distribution norms, service quality and compliance standards. Its role in determining how ratings agencies track viewing behaviour has been withdrawn.
Television Rating Points (TRPs), which reflect viewership patterns, guide advertisers in deciding where to allocate spending across channels and time slots.
A government source quoted in the report said the ministry could modify TRAI’s decisions even when the regulator oversaw broadcasting.
A former CEO of Prasar Bharati told the newspaper that the MIB has historically regulated rating agencies through licensing and guidelines, and by holding them accountable under existing norms.
During its tenure overseeing ratings, TRAI had taken decisions affecting the broadcast sector, which included capping advertising time at 12 minutes per hour following complaints about excessive commercial breaks and it now remains unclear how these matters will be addressed under the revised arrangement.
Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI, was quoted as saying that merging regulatory functions with policy oversight and removing an independent regulator from the process was a retrograde step.
TRAI’s involvement in broadcasting had earlier attracted criticism as well. In 2012, its consultation paper on quantitative limits on television advertising was viewed by some as overlapping with the Advertising Standards Council of India’s code. Subsequent recommendations covering television audience measurement, ownership of news channels and issues such as paid news had also raised concerns among sections of the industry.
Television ratings have faced scrutiny in recent years, including during the controversy involving the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), where officials of the ratings body were prosecuted over allegations of manipulation of viewership data.
