Kannur a pilgrim centre for BJP: Amit Shah

New Delhi, May 15: The World Bank on Friday approved $1 billion 'Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program' to support the country's efforts for providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the pandemic.

This takes the total commitment from the World Bank towards emergency COVID-19 response in India to $2 billion.

A $1 billion support was announced last month to support India's health sector.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world has required governments around the world to introduce social distancing and lockdowns in unprecedented ways, said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India in a webinar interaction with the media.

These measures, intended to contain the spread of the virus have, however, impacted economies and jobs – especially in the informal sector. India with the world's largest lockdown has not been an exception to this trend, he said.

Of the $1 billion commitment, $550 million will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank's concessionary lending arm and $200 million will be a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a final maturity of 18.5 years including a grace period of five years.

The remaining USD 250 million will be made available after June 30, 2020.

New Delhi, Jan 4: In more troubles for the former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioned him for over six hours in its probe into the Air India aircraft deal case, first time since his release from Tihar jail almost a month ago.

A senior ED official told IANS, "We questioned Chidambaram for over six hours today in the ongoing probe into the Air India deal with Airbus."

According to financial probe agency officials, Air India had planned to buy over 111 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing during the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2009. This is the first time the ED has questioned the senior Congress leader in the Air India deal case.

The questioning of Chidambaram came for the first time since his release from the Tihar jail where he spent 106 days in connection with the INX Media money laundering case. He was released from Tihar on December 4 last year after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court. The former finance minister is also being investigated by the ED in a separate money-laundering cases of Aircel-Maxis deal.

An ED official said the contract to buy 43 aircraft from Airbus was finalised by a panel of ministers headed by Chidambaram in 2009. According to the ED, when the proposal to buy 43 aircraft from Airbus was sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), there was a condition that the aircraft manufacturer would have to build training facilities and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) centres at a cost of Rs 70,000 crore. But later, when the purchase order was placed, the clause was removed.

The name of another UPA minister, Praful Patel, had also come up in the alleged scam in a charge sheet filed by the ED against corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar on March 30 last year. Talwar was arrested last year by the ED after he was deported from the UAE.

The ED is probing the Air India-Indian Airlines merger; purchase of 111 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus at Rs 70,000 crore; ceding profitable routes and schedules to private airlines, and opening of training institutes with foreign investment.

New Delhi, Jul 25: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has made key appointments in its different commands all across the country including formations that look after operations along the borders with China and Pakistan.

Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari has been appointed as the head of the Delhi-based Western Air Command (WAC) which looks after both the crucial borders, with China in Ladakh and all along Pakistan from Ladakh up to Bikaner in Rajasthan.

Chaudhari would be assuming charge of the new office on August 1, replacing Air Marshal B Suresh who is superannuating after a brief tenure of nine months there.

In the Shillong-based Eastern Command, incumbent Air Marshal RD Mathur would be moving to the Bangalore-based Training Command on October 1, he will be replaced by Air Marshal Amit Dev. The Eastern Command looks after the entire Northeastern region including the border with China from Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh.

As per the new appointments issued on July 24, Kargil war gallantry awardee Air Marshal Dilip Kumar Patnaik would be taking over as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at the Prayagraj-based Central Air Command.

On October 1, the Air Force would also get a new in-charge of personnel in Air Marshal RJ Duckworth who is presently the SASO in the WAC.

Air Marshal Vikram Singh would be the next SASO of the WAC. Air Marshal J Chalapati-- the officer who had briefed the Supreme Court on the Rafale issue last year, would be the SASO of the Trivandrum-based Southern Air Command.