New train timetable for Railways comes into effect today

The new railway time table would be introduced from Friday. Lucknow- Allahabad Intercity Express has been extended upto Vindhyachal, while Lokmanya Tilak (Terminus)-Allahabad Express has been extended upto Faizabad. About 11 new trains would be introduced that would pass through the North Central Railway region. Their timings have been declared, but the date of starting these trains barring two would be notified later.




These trains include the much awaited 12293/12294 Allahabad-Lokmanya Tilak terminus AC Duranto Express (bi-weekly); 22209/22210 Mumbai Central- New Delhi AC Duranto Express (bi-weekly); 12035/12036 Jaipur-Agra Fort Shatabdi Express; 19709/19710 Jaipur-Kamakhya Express; 15023/15204 Gorakhpur-Yeshwantpur Express; 12593/12594 Lucknow-Bhopal Express, Kolkata-Agra Cantt Express; 13346/13347 Singrauli-Varanasi Express; 13423/13424 Bhagalpur-Ajmer Express; 22404/22403 New Delhi-Pudocherry Express and 22410/22409 Anand Vihar Terminal-Sasaram Express (weekly).



Train number 22404/22403 New Delhi-Pudocherry Express would start its journey from New Delhi on July 3 onwards, while 22410/22409 Anand Vihar Terminal-Sasaram Express would commence its journey from Anand Vihar terminal from July 2.



According to the new timetable, train number 12293/12294 Allahabad-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus AC Duranto Express would be a bi-weekly train. This train would leave Allahabad every Tuesday and Saturday at about 7:30 pm and reach LTT next day at about 3:00 pm. During the return journey, the train would leave LTT every Monday and Friday at about 5:25 pm and reach Allahabad at about 12:25 pm. However, the date of introduction of this train would be announced later on.



Train number 14210/14209 Lucknow-Allahabad Intercity has been extended upto Vindhyachal with commercial stoppage at Meja Road and Manda Road from July 1. Further, 12563/12564 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Allahabad Express has been extended upto Faizabad with stoppage at Janghai, Jaffarabad, Jaunpur and Akbarpur. The date of extension would be notified later on.

PAN mandatory for Rs 5 lakh and above jewellery purchases

Be ready to mandatorily flash your PAN card, for any purchase of jewellery worth Rs five lakh or more from tomorrow -- a move that would help the tax department keep an eye on such high value transactions.




As per the amendments in the income tax rules, coming into effect from July 1, quoting PAN (Permanent Account Number) will be mandatory for any payment of Rs five lakh or more for purchase of bullion or jewellery.



High-value purchase of jewellery, among valuables, have often been feared to be a much favoured route for circulation of black money and quoting of PAN would help the tax authorities in tracking such transactions.



Recently, RBI had also asked the banks to consider the jewellers and bullion dealers as high-risk customers and to keep an enhanced vigil on their transactions.



The business transactions of jewellers and bullion dealers are highly cash intensive in nature and it is feared that they could be used for flow of black money into the system.



In order to check any possible money laundering, the banking sector regulator in January wrote to banks and financial institutions to treat the accounts of entities dealing in the jewellery and bullion trade as 'high-risk'.



Besides jewellery purchase of Rs five lakh and above, furnishing of PAN would be mandatory for some other transactions also with effect from tomorrow.



These include issue of a debit card by any bank, as against the current practice of the PAN being asked for issuing credit cards only.



The payment of Rs 50,000 or more in a year for life insurance premium would also require PAN from tomorrow.



The transactions that already require PAN include sale or purchase of any immovable property valued at Rs five lakh or more, sale or purchase of motor vehicles other than two- wheelers and bank deposits exceeding Rs 50,000.



These also include telephone connection applications, opening of bank accounts, hotel an restaurant bills of over Rs 25,000 and mutual fund investments of Rs 50,000 and above, among others.

Sony Launches New Projector Handycam

We knew that a camcorder could shoot movies, but this one has surprised us because it can even project them! Sony has launched its Handycam HDR-PJ50, which can not only record Full HD (1920x1080) movies, but can also project them on a screen as large as 60" (diagonally) at a distance of 3 metres in a dark environment.

The beauty of this high-contrast projector is that you are spared the additional expenses of a separate projector, as well as the messy wiring involved. It also features Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and clear phase stereo speakers that claim to produce "true-to-life" sound.




The HDR-PJ50 sports a 12x optical zoom, which can be extended to 17x, allowing you to shoot close-ups from afar, while the zoom microphone can record amplified audio at the same time. Sony's patented SteadyShot optical image stabilization reduces the chance of blurry shoots, compensating for camera shake with its moving lens elements. It also works as a digital still camera, capable of capturing at 7.1 MP. It comes equipped with a 220 GB hard drive inside, so you will never run out of space in the middle of a shoot.



Setting a new standard for convergent devices, the Sony Handycam HDR-PJ50 comes at an MRP of Rs 59,990, and is available across all Sony Centers, dealers, national retailers, and key photo channel partners.