Niti Aayog CEO throws 'Swach Bharat' challenge at railways on I-day eve

Amitabh Kant listed the names of five of the dirtiest stations

Amitabh Kant (pictured), CEO of the NITI Aayog, wants to drive the Prime Minister’s pet Swachh Bharat Mission right into India’s railway stations. In a tweet on the eve of Independence Day, he listed the names of five of the dirtiest stations (in the A1 category) in India — Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Kalyan (Maharashtra), Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Gaya (Bihar) and Howrah (Bengal) —and gave a shout to railway officials to take up the challenge to spruce them up. “Will the Railway officials take this as an Independence Day challenge and make them the cleanest in India?” he asked.

A sad commentary

Cow terrorists have made the term mainstream — when the word “lynch” doesn't send shudders down a spine, it is used as a joke. At a conference hosted by the Independent Power Producers' Association of India, Director General Harry Dhaul rued that the stress in the sector had as much to do with mismanagement as with government policies over the years. And private players seem to be at the losing end most of the time, he said, adding, “The country seems to be in the lynch mode now... and the latest to be lynched are private sector-run business”.

Sanitised office

When Union Minister Arun Jaitley (pictured) returns to his North Block office later this week, he would be stepping into a much sanitised space. Ahead of his return, the entire office was refurbished and decontaminated, keeping in mind the high infection risk that the minister faces after his kidney transplant operation in May this year. The office also got a fresh coat of paint. "A lot has gone into ensuring that the minister's chamber and his sitting area do not, in any way, hamper his work," said an insider.