Business
PM Modi Likely To Launch New Trains Linking Aizawl With Delhi, Kolkata And Guwahati
Guwahati/Aizawl: After the expected inauguration of the Bairabi–Sairang new railway project on September 13 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Railways is set to introduce three pairs of new train services connecting the Mizoram capital Aizawl with the national capital, Guwahati and Kolkata, officials said on Thursday.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that Indian Railways is pleased to announce the introduction of three new pairs of train services from the newly built Sairang station in Aizawl.
A senior Mizoram government official said that the Prime Minister accompanied by state Chief Minister Lalduhoma and a few Central Ministers would flag off the three new trains after the inauguration of the Bairabi–Sairang new railway project on Saturday.
The NFR CPRO said that these trains would greatly enhance rail connectivity between the state capital of Mizoram with important destinations across the country.
The inaugural runs of all three pairs of trains will take place on September 13 (Saturday), followed by the commencement of regular services on the notified dates.
The three trains are Sairang-Anand Vihar (Delhi) Rajdhani Express (weekly), Kolkata-Sairang-Kolkata Express (tri-weekly) and Guwahati-Sairang-Guwahati Express (daily).
The Sairang-Anand Vihar Rajdhani Express will run via Badarpur junction, Guwahati, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Bhagalpur during its journeys while the Sairang-Kolkata Express (tri-weekly) trains will run via Badarpur junction, Guwahati, Goalpara Town, Golakganj, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town to reach its destinations in Kolkata.
The details of stoppages and timings of these trains are available at IRCTC website and are also being notified in social media platforms of Northeast Frontier Railway, Sharma said and requested the passengers to verify the details before undertaking their journey.
The 51.38 km Bairabi (near Assam’s Hailakandi district)-Sairang (near Aizawl city) railway project will make Aizawl the fourth capital city in the Northeast region to be connected by railways after Guwahati, Agartala and Itanagar.
Senior officials of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), led by General Manager (Construction) Arun Kumar Chaudhary, are making hectic preparations to give final touches to the railway project and arrangements for the inauguration.
Union Ministers and senior officials of several ministries, including the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Tribal Affairs, Road Transport and Highways, would be present at the events.
The NFR CPRO earlier said that the 51.38-km-long Bairabi-Sairang new line railway project is considered an engineering marvel of Indian Railways, built at an estimated cost of Rs 8,071 crore.
The project consists of 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges and 87 minor bridges and includes tunnels with a total length of 12,853 metres, with the longest tunnel (Tunnel No. 3) spanning about two km.
The height of bridge number 196 is 114 metres, which is 42 metres taller than the Qutub Minar, the CPRO added.
The project also includes five Road Over Bridges and six Road Under Bridges. This new line project also includes construction of four new stations — Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang and Sairang.
Despite the challenging terrain, the NFR has accomplished remarkable work in extending rail connectivity to Aizawl, overcoming significant geographical and engineering hurdles to make this long-awaited project a reality, CPRO Sharma said.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on September 9 held a meeting with senior officials to review preparations for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Bairabi–Sairang new railway project on September 13.
An official of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the Prime Minister would also likely address a public gathering at the Assam Rifles ground on September 13 and the public meeting would be organised in connection with the inauguration of the Bairabi–Sairang new railway project.
However, the Prime Minister’s final schedule of Mizoram visit has not yet been announced by the PMO.
From Aizawl, the Prime Minister is likely to visit Manipur capital Imphal and tribal inhabited Churachandpur and address the gatherings in both the places.
Security and other necessary arrangements are in full swing both in Imphal and Churachandpur.
But Spencer says his business is being squeezed from every angle – as well as minimum wage, he has had increases in business rates, national insurance, and statutory sick pay. He also expects energy bills to go up because of the war in the Middle East.
Visa Inc. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Visa is launching six new tools using artificial intelligence to modernize the process of disputing credit card charges, the company told CNBC exclusively.
The digital payments company said the tools are designed to reduce the costs and frustration of “outdated” dispute processes for multiple entities involved in the payments process: merchants, issuers and acquirers.
“Some of the challenges are these back-office systems are still largely manual,” Andrew Torre, Visa’s president of value-added services, told CNBC. “We really had to think differently about how we approach this at scale.”
In 2025, Torre said, Visa processed more than 103 million charge disputes globally, marking a 35% increase since 2019.
“Our goal is to streamline this as much as possible,” Torre said. “We’d love to be able to see that growth rate come down.”
Visa’s new tools are part of a larger push by major banks and financial institutions to incorporate AI into their businesses — both internally and in consumer-facing applications. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have both said they’re already using AI to hire fewer people. BNY spent $3.8 billion on technology in 2025, or about 19% of its revenue.
Visa said three of its six new tools focus on merchants, allowing them to address potential disputes before they escalate, managing disputes with generative AI responses and providing a deeper level of detail on order insights to manage confusion over unfamiliar charges.
For example, Torre said, many disputes are borne out of cardholders not recognizing a specific charge on their statements. With the new tool, Visa will be able to provide further details to financial institutions to show cardholders that data at a deeper level, according to the company.
The other three tools are built for issuers and acquirers, using predictive AI models to aid in case-by-case analysis, analyzing documents for summaries and auto fill and establishing an AI-powered dispute platform to manage the entire process in one location, Visa said.
“We’ll be able to get them insights and data so they can move from being reactive to proactive,” Torre said.
Torre said Visa’s new AI tools are part of a broader host of solutions for consumers, including a subscription manager announced last week that allows cardholders to cancel unnecessary subscriptions directly on the manager.
The automation will save time, money and unnecessary confusion for both parties, he added. Most of the tools will be generally available later this year, the company said.
“We really believe that disputes in this solution makes it much easier to manage and resolve,” Torre said. “We think it has better outcomes for everyone.”
Business
Stock market today (April 1, 2026): Which are the top gainers and losers in Nifty50 and BSE Sensex today? Check list – The Times of India
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly 2 per cent higher on Wednesday, starting the new financial year on a firm footing as global markets rallied on hopes of a potential de-escalation in the ongoing West Asia conflict.The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,186.77 points or 1.65 per cent to settle at 73,134.32. During intra-day trade, it surged 2,017.03 points or 2.80 per cent to 73,964.58.The broader NSE Nifty rose 348 points or 1.56 per cent to close at 22,679.40. A decline in crude oil prices also supported investor sentiment.
Nifty50 top gainers
- Trent (+7.00%)
- InterGlobe Aviation (+6.02%)
- Kwality Wall’s (+5.79%)
- Adani Ports SEZ (+5.55%)
- BEL (+4.51%)
- SBI (+3.93%)
- Eicher Motors (+3.64%)
- Jio Financial Services (+3.50%)
- Eternal (+3.30%)
Nifty50 top losers
- Dr Reddy’s (-3.61%)
- HDFC Life (-2.99%)
- Cipla (-2.32%)
- Sun Pharma (-1.64%)
- NTPC (-1.62%)
- Apollo Hospitals (-1.53%)
- Power Grid (-1.12%)
- Max Healthcare (-0.36%)
- UltraTech Cement (-0.29%)
Sensex top gainers
- Trent (+7.00%)
- InterGlobe Aviation (+6.02%)
- Adani Ports SEZ (+5.55%)
- BEL (+4.51%)
- SBI (+3.93%)
- Eternal (+3.30%)
- L&T (+2.96%)
- Titan Company (+2.89%)
Sensex top losers
- Sun Pharma (-1.64%)
- NTPC (-1.62%)
- Power Grid (-1.12%)
- UltraTech Cement (-0.29%)
- Bharti Airtel (-0.03%)
“Indian equity markets opened the new financial year on a positive note, with stocks soaring on fresh optimism surrounding a potential de-escalation of the Middle East conflict and easing of energy supply disruptions,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.He added that US President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting the US could withdraw from Iran “whether we have a deal or not” within the next two to three weeks provided the trigger for a broad rally in global risk assets.“Indian equity markets opened FY27 on a strong note, driven by improving risk appetite following US President Donald Trump’s remarks hinting at a potential resolution to the West Asia conflict,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited.In the US, markets ended significantly higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite surging 3.83 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 2.91 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 2.49 per cent.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.22 per cent to USD 103.7 per barrel.Stock markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Shri Mahavir Jayanti.Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 11,163.06 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 14,894.72 crore, according to exchange data.
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