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Indian Railways Expands Kavach 4.0 On Another 738 Km Route: Check Details

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Indian Railways Expands Kavach 4.0 On Another 738 Km Route: Check Details


NEW DELHI: After extensive and elaborate trials, Kavach Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 738 Route km on Palwal – Mathura- Nagda section (633 Rkm) on Delhi – Mumbai route and Howrah-Bardhaman section (105 Rkm) Delhi – Howrah route. Kavach implementation has been taken up in balance sections of Delhi – Mumbai & Delhi – Howrah corridors, the Ministry of Railways said.

Further, track side Kavach implementation work has been taken up on 15,512 RKm covering all GQ, GD, HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways.

Bids have been invited for equipping another 9,069 locomotives with Kavach version 4.0. Kavach is being provided progressively in a phased manner in locomotives.

Specialised training programmes on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials. By now more than 40,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology. This includes 30,000 Loco Pilots & Assistant Loco Pilots. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET.

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The cost for provision of Track Side including Station equipment of Kavach is approximately Rs. 50 Lakhs/Km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on locomotives is approximately Rs. 80 Lakh/Loco. The funds utilised on Kavach works so far up to Oct’ 25 is Rs 2,354.36 crores. The allocation of funds during the year 2025-26 is Rs. 1673.19 Crores. Requisite funds are made available as per the progress of works.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4).

Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of trains within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather. The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Ver 3.2. Kavach was adopted as the National ATP system in July 2020.

Implementation of Kavach System involves installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section, Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length, installation of telecom Towers throughout the section, laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track and provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.

Based on deployment of Kavach version 3.2 on 1465 RKm on South Central Railway and experience gained, further improvements were made. Finally, Kavach specification version 4.0 was approved by RDSO on July 16, 2024. Kavach version 4.0 covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.

Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy, Improved Information of Signal Aspects in bigger yards, Station to Station Kavach interface on OFC and Direct Interface to existing Electronic Interlocking System. With these improvements, Kavach Ver.4.0. is planned for large scale deployment over Indian Railways.



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FDI flows to India surged by 73% in 2025: UNCTAD

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FDI flows to India surged by 73% in 2025: UNCTAD


New Delhi: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India surged by 73 per cent last year, bringing in USD 47 billion, according to UNCTAD. 

The increase was “mainly due to large investments in services — including finance, IT (information technology), and R&D (Research and Development) — as well as manufacturing, supported by policies aimed at integrating India into global supply chains”, the UN trade agency said in a report released on Tuesday.

India’s FDI growth rate was among the highest.

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Investments in data centres in India totalled USD 7 billion during the first three quarters of last year, according to the latest issue of the Global Investment Trends Monitor. That put India in seventh place among the countries receiving investments for data centres during that period.

However, in the fourth quarter, FDI in the sector jumped significantly, making the sector ever more dynamic.

Google announced in October that it was investing USD 15 billion in an AI hub in Andhra Pradesh.

In December, Microsoft announced USD 17.5 billion investments in AI and cloud infrastructure, and data centres.

And also in December, Amazon said it would invest USD 35 billion in AI and other sectors.

These investments are likely to be spread over a few years.

Globally, the report said FDI increased last year by 14 per cent to USD 1.6 trillion.

“Industry trends in 2025 show that data centres now shape the FDI landscape; they accounted for one-fifth of global greenfield project values,” the report said.

With demand driven by AI infrastructure and proprietary digital networks, announced investments in the area exceeded USD 270 billion, according to the report.

Semiconductors was another area showing high growth, with the value of newly announced projects increasing by 35 per cent, it said.

In areas that were exposed to tariff risks, project numbers fell sharply by 25 per cent, according to UNCTAD.

Textiles, electronics, and machinery were among the sectors hardest hit, the report said.

Globally, most of the FDI flows went to developed economies, where collectively the increase was 43 per cent, amounting to USD 728 billion, according to UNCTAD.

With India being an outlier, developing economies saw a decline in FDI by 2 per cent to an estimated USD 877 billion, the report said.

UNCTAD said that for the third consecutive year, FDI in China declined.

It fell by 8 per cent to an estimated USD 107.5 billion, with the majority of investment concentrated in strategic and high-growth sectors, it added.

Overall, investor sentiment remained weak, UNCTAD said.

“The message is clear: headline growth overstates the recovery. Policymakers should focus on reviving real investment, not just financial flows,” it said.

Indicative of weak investor sentiment, the report said the value of international mergers and acquisitions fell by 10 per cent.

International project finance declined for the fourth consecutive year by 16 in value and by 12 per cent in the number of deals, falling to levels last seen in 2019, the report said.

The number of greenfield project announcements dropped by 16 per cent, even though a small number of mega-projects drove the high total project values, according to the report.



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Jamie Dimon issues rare CEO criticism of Trump’s immigration policy: ‘I don’t like what I’m seeing’

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Jamie Dimon issues rare CEO criticism of Trump’s immigration policy: ‘I don’t like what I’m seeing’


Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., during the 2025 IIF annual membership meeting in Washington, Oct. 16, 2025.

Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday that he disagreed with President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration, offering a rare public rebuke by a U.S. corporate leader of one of Trump’s signature policies.

Dimon, speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, initially praised Trump’s moves to secure the borders of the world’s largest economy. Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border fell to the lowest level in 50 years for the period from October 2024 to September 2025, the BBC reported citing federal data.

But Dimon, who has long advocated for immigration reform to boost U.S. economic growth, also made an apparent reference to videos of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers rounding up people alleged to be undocumented immigrants.

I don’t like what I’m seeing, five grown men beating up a little old lady,” Dimon said. “So I think we should calm down a little bit on the internal anger about immigration.”

It’s unclear if Dimon was speaking about a specific incident, or more broadly about ICE confrontations.

In the first year of his second term, Trump has overhauled U.S. immigration policy with a focus on mass deportations, tightened asylum access and ramped-up spending for ICE personnel and facilities. Among a torrent of new policies that changed the landscape for seeking American citizenship, the administration also rescinded guidance on where ICE arrests could happen, leading to raids at schools, hospitals and places of worship.

Unlike during Trump’s first term, American CEOs have mostly avoided public criticism of his policies. Wall Street analysts have speculated that business leaders fear retribution from the Trump administration, which has sued media companies, universities and law firms, and instead choose to appeal to the president out of the public spotlight.

On Wednesday, Dimon said that he wanted to know more about who is being swept up in ICE raids: “Are they here legally? Are they criminals? … Did they break American law?”

“We need these people,” Dimon added. “They work in our hospitals and hotels and restaurants and agriculture, and they’re good people .… They should be treated that way.”

‘A climate of fear’

For years, in annual shareholder letters and media interviews, Dimon has cited an immigration overhaul as one of the main avenues to unlock higher U.S. economic growth.

The veteran CEO of JPMorgan, the world’s largest bank by market cap, has previously supported a merit-based system for green cards as well as citizenship for people brought to America as children, and pushed back on proposals to limit H-1B visas.

On Wednesday, Dimon urged Trump to allow citizenship “for hardworking people” and “proper asylum” opportunities.”

“I think he can, because he controlled the borders,” Dimon said.

Later in the wide-ranging interview, The Economist Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, told Dimon that she was surprised at how careful he and other CEOs were in speaking about Trump.

“You are one of the more outspoken business leaders,” Beddoes said. “I’m genuinely struck by the unwillingness of CEOs in America to say anything critical. There is a climate of fear in your country.”

Dimon pushed back, saying that he let his views be known about Trump’s tariffs, immigration policies and stance towards European allies.

“I think they should change their approach to immigration,” Dimon said. “I’ve said it. What the hell else do you want me to say?”



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Netflix’s advertising strategy shift is starting to pay off

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Netflix’s advertising strategy shift is starting to pay off


A drone view shows Netflix logos on buildings in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, U.S., Jan. 20, 2026.

Daniel Cole | Reuters

Netflix jumped into the advertising business later than its media peers, but its strategy shift is starting to pay off.

This week Netflix reported its fourth-quarter earnings, which were mostly overshadowed by the company’s recent pursuit to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets. However, beyond the headlines, metrics like customer engagement, subscriber numbers and advertising revenue paint a promising picture.

The earnings report provided some long-awaited clarity on the progress of Netflix’s advertising strategy, and how it has been factoring into the overall business. On Tuesday Netflix said 2025 advertising revenue exceeded $1.5 billion — about 3% of total full-year revenue for the streaming giant — and is expected to double this year.

Overall company revenue jumped almost 16% percent for 2025, while net income rose 26%.

“We’re making good progress and the opportunity ahead of us is massive,” Co-CEO Greg Peters said on Tuesday’s call with investors.

Wall Street analysts, however, noted that ad revenue disclosure fell short of their previous forecasts, indicating that it could be taking longer than expected to get the ad business off the ground.

“The last couple of years were slower out of the gate than we had estimated. However, advertising revenue growth is hitting its stride and should yield a similar contribution to revenue growth as we had estimated in our pre-4Q forecast,” analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a research note Wednesday.

Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson noted total ad revenue was lower than the research firm had forecast but welcomed the fresh insights into the company’s ad business.

“At least now we can finally have a better understanding of the contribution from advertising to total growth and can back into core subscription revenues,” Fishman said in a note on Wednesday.

Netflix’s stock fell about 2% on Wednesday.

Advertising has come front and center for media companies after it became clear that a subscription-only streaming model wouldn’t be enough to support profitability.

Advertisers, despite various headwinds, have been eager to find a place on streaming platforms, especially Netflix.

Yet the industry leader was late to the advertising game after leadership long rejected the business model. It launched its cheaper, ad-supported tier in late 2022, coinciding with a brief slowdown in subscriber additions.

Advertising and a crackdown on password sharing were put forth as measures to drive growth. And it has, even if slowly.

Netflix said Tuesday it had 325 million global subscribers at the end of 2025. That marks an increase of roughly 23 million from the end of 2024, when Netflix last disclosed its global paid memberships.

For comparison, Netflix added roughly 41 million subscribers in 2024 and almost 30 million in 2023.

Against a backdrop of consistent price increases for streaming services, companies are increasingly leaning on the belief that consumers will opt for cheaper, ad-supported plans rather than drop out altogether.

Peters said Tuesday that while there remains a gap between average revenue per membership of the company’s standard, no-ads plan subscription and its ad-supported plan, “that gap is narrowing.”

“And while, because there’s a gap, it means we’re under-realizing revenue growth in the near time, it also, therefore, represents an opportunity for us,” Peters said, pointing to upgrading the tech stack and ad capabilities to help drive growth.



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