New Delhi, Jan 18: Delhi continued to grapple with a severe air pollution crisis on Sunday morning as air quality in the national capital remained in the ‘severe’ category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 439 at 7 am, according to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The situation worsened overnight, with the AQI recorded at 432 at 10 pm on Saturday, placing it in the ‘severe’ category, before deteriorating further by early Sunday morning. The persistent high pollution levels have raised serious health concerns, particularly for children, the elderly and people suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.

Several areas across the city reported alarmingly high pollution levels, reflecting the widespread nature of the pollution crisis. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 489, Ashok Vihar 463, Bawana 467, Chandni Chowk 464, Dwarka Sector 8 469, ITO 448, Narela 412, Punjabi Bagh 476, RK Puram 467 and Wazirpur 478. All these locations fell under the ‘severe’ category, indicating extremely poor air quality and heightened health risks.

As per AQI classification, a reading between 0 and 50 is ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

Furthermore, visibility across the city remained poor as cold wave conditions continued and dense fog covered large parts of Delhi. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that dense fog persisted in the morning hours, with moderate fog observed at several locations and dense fog at isolated spots. Minimum temperatures on Sunday hovered between 5 and 7 degrees Celsius, remaining below normal by 1.6 to 3 degrees Celsius.

In response to the deteriorating air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Saturday reinvoked Stage-IV measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

“Keeping in view the prevailing trend of air quality and relevant factors and in an effort to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the region, the CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP unanimously decides to invoke all actions as envisaged under Stage-IV of the extant GRAP – ‘Severe+’ Air Quality (DELHI AQI > 450), with immediate effect, in the entire NCR, as a proactive measure. This is in addition to the actions under Stages I, II & III of the extant GRAP already in force in NCR,” the order from the CAQM read.

The order further added, “NCR Pollution Control Boards and other agencies concerned have been asked to escalate the preventive measures to prevent further deterioration of air quality in the region.”

With severe pollution, cold wave and dense fog persisting, authorities have urged citizens to limit outdoor activities, follow health advisories, and take precautions against the hazardous air quality.

New Delhi, Jan 17:: Director Census Operations (DCO) and Director Citizen Registration (DCR), Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Amit Sharma, on Saturday, termed the Census 2027 as the founding pillar of Viksit Bharat.

During the 6th Digital Transformation Summit and Awards organised by Governance Now Group in the National Capital, New Delhi, he elaborated about the unique and novel features of the upcoming Digital Paperless Census 2027 and called it the founding pillar of Viksit Bharat.

Sharma was exclusively invited as a keynote speaker and a special guest as an e-Governance expert to share his perspectives about the upcoming Census 2027.

He was requested to talk on the topic of ‘Building Digital-First Governance’.

Sharma shared special features of the upcoming Census 2026-27, like self enumeration facility for the citizens to fill their own data using Geo-tagging feature, 100 percent paperless census to be recorded by enumerators and supervisors on their own devices in unique application developed by C-DAC for it, fast processing of Census data in indigenous Data Centres of ORGI and earliest release of reports thereafter.

He said it would be error-free, transparent, and clean data Census with the extensive usage of technology and e-Governance tools, Census as a Service (CaaS) feature declared by the Government of India for the upcoming Census and many others.

It was highly appreciated by the gathering comprising senior bureaucrats, technology specialists, PSU lead teams like C-DAC, NICSI, IT giants, policy makers, and national digital governance awardees.

Sharma, apart from sharing the novelties of the upcoming Census in the nation, also described it as an important founding pillar of Viksit Bharat Mission of the Centre, which would have a far-reaching impact upon the Indian economy, demography and politics and would also help in redefining the EXIM Policy of the nation.

He also utilised this opportunity to request all the audience members to become active messengers of the first-of-its-kind Digital Census, which was going to take place in India since the inception of Census activity, much earlier than becoming an independent nation in 1947, being the second most populous nation and largest democracy of the world.

Sharma also invited Governance Now Group to take a lead in organising the first national-level Census Awareness-cum-Sensitisation Programme in J&K amongst all states and UTs, wherein top experts on the subject could be invited to shed light over varied aspects of the upcoming Census 2026-27 for the general public awareness, thereby highlighting the importance and criticality of participation in the same.

In the last phase of this national event, top e-Governance related practices all across the country were duly recognised and awarded wherein Sharma’s recent role as ICT Secretary Mizoram was also highly appreciated especially recalling his initiatives in introducing e-Offiice, Bhashini, DigitLocker, Mizo Fibre Grid Network Project and many alike IT initiatives which had never seen light of day in that part of the nation previously.

He also joined the J&K team in receiving an e-Governance related award in the Rural Development sector.

The packed-house gathering and the organising team thanked Sharma for his eloquent address during the summit, enlightening everyone there about the novel features of Census 2027 and they in-turn, assured him towards becoming active stakeholders for fully backing-up upcoming Digital Census led by Ministry of Home Affairs through Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India in the coming months all across country till its culmination in February 2027.

New Delhi, Jan 17: India’s railways, long regarded as the backbone of mass mobility, are undergoing one of their most consequential transformations in decades. At the centre of this shift is the Vande Bharat Express, an indigenously designed, semi-high-speed train platform that is steadily redefining inter-city and long-distance rail travel across the country.

On Saturday, the transformation entered a new phase when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the country’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper train between Howrah and Guwahati (Kamakhya) from Malda Town station in north Bengal.

He also virtually flagged off the return Guwahati–Howrah Vande Bharat Sleeper service. During the event, the Prime Minister interacted with children and school students onboard the train, underscoring the symbolic and generational significance of the next stage of rail modernisation. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), 164 Vande Bharat trains are operational nationwide as of December 2025, connecting 274 districts across major rail corridors and carrying more than 7.5 crore passengers. What began in February 2019 on the New Delhi–Varanasi route has since evolved into a nationwide network symbolising speed, comfort and technological self-reliance.

Unlike conventional locomotive-hauled trains, Vande Bharat is a self-propelled trainset, marking a structural shift in Indian Railways’ approach to passenger services. Earlier premium trains, such as the Rajdhani Express and the Shatabdi Express, redefined overnight and daytime travel in their time. Vande Bharat, however, is designed for contemporary mobility needs, delivering faster acceleration, shorter journey times and a more seamless passenger experience. Several corridors have seen journey-time reductions of up to 45 per cent. The New Delhi–Varanasi route, for instance, now takes about eight hours, making it nearly 40–50 per cent faster than earlier services on the same corridor.

Vande Bharat trains feature centrally controlled automatic plug doors, fully sealed wider gangways, modern air-conditioning systems with UV-C-based disinfection, CCTV cameras, emergency alarm systems, and GPS-based passenger information displays. Passenger comfort is enhanced through improved suspension systems, jerk-free couplers and ergonomically designed seating. A critical safety element is KAVACH, India’s indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system. The system continuously monitors train movement and automatically applies brakes to prevent collisions, overspeeding and signal-passing at danger.

Manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) with nearly 90 per cent localisation, Vande Bharat trainsets align with the Make in India initiative. Indigenous design and integration of key systems have helped improve energy efficiency through features such as regenerative braking. In 2024, ICF received the National Energy Conservation Award for Vande Bharat manufacturing, reflecting the emphasis on sustainable rail mobility. High occupancy levels underline strong public acceptance. PIB data shows occupancy at 102.01 per cent in 2024–25, rising to 105.03 per cent in 2025–26 (up to June), indicating a broad-based shift in passenger preference towards faster and cleaner rail travel.

The newly flagged-off Vande Bharat Sleeper marks the platform’s expansion into long-distance overnight travel. The Howrah–Guwahati corridor connects eastern and north-eastern India and serves a diverse mix of students, workers, traders, and families. The sleeper service is expected to reduce travel time from about 17 hours to roughly 14 hours. The 16-coach, fully air-conditioned trainset includes AC First Class, AC Two-Tier and AC Three-Tier coaches, with a total capacity of around 823 passengers. It has undergone extensive high-speed and endurance trials, demonstrating stable operations at speeds of up to 180 kmph.

Beyond the sleeper variant, Indian Railways continues to roll out upgraded versions of the platform. Vande Bharat 2.0 and 3.0 trainsets offer lighter construction, faster acceleration, and improved energy efficiency. Future iterations, including the proposed Vande Bharat 4.0, are expected to raise benchmarks in safety, interior quality, and performance, with provisions for next-generation KAVACH systems. PIB says the long-term vision is to scale the Vande Bharat fleet to around 800 trainsets by 2030 and nearly 4,500 by 2047, aligning rail modernisation with India’s broader development goals. The flag-off of the first Vande Bharat Sleeper is not just the launch of a new train, but a marker of how Indian Railways is rewriting its own history.