1.53 lakh people died in 4.12 lakh road accidents in 2021

1.53 lakh people died in 4.12 lakh road accidents in 2021: Report

• A total of 4,12,432 road accidents occured in 2021 calendar year which claimed 1,53,972 lives while 3,84,448 people injured, according to a new report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
• The report titled ‘Road accidents in India — 2021’, said major indicators related with accidents have performed better in 2021 when compared to 2019.
• Road accidents decreased by 8.1 per cent and injuries decreased by 14.8 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019.
• According to the report, in 2020, the country saw an unprecedented decrease in accidents, fatalities and injuries.
• This was due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and resultant stringent nation-wide lockdown particularly during March-April, 2020 followed by gradual unlocking and phasing out of the containment measures.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: Ministry of Railways to renovate 1,000 small stations

• The Ministry of Railways has developed a new scheme to modernize over 1000 small stations over the coming year. 
• The stations will be equipped with facilities inspired by the mega-upgradation of marquee stations. 
• This scheme will be a part of the Ministry of Railways Station Redevelopment Drive and Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
• The stations will include provisions for rooftop plazas, longer platforms, ballastless tracks, and 5G connectivity.
• The scheme will subsume all previous redevelopment projects where work is yet to begin.
• The scheme aims to prepare Master Plans of the Railway Stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facility.

WB's first Vande Bharat Express to cut travel time between Howrah, NJP by 3 hours; PM to flag off train on Dec 30

• The new Vande Bharat Express from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, will save three hours of travel time compared to other trains on the route.
• The new train will cover the distance in 7:45 hours, the officials said, considerably bringing down the run time between Kolkata and Siliguri, the gateway to the northeast.
• This will be the seventh Vande Bharat Express and the first from the eastern region. Such trains are already catering to Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and New Delhi.