Chopper deal: India likely to seek more info during Cameron visit

February 17, 2013

New Delhi, Feb 17: Arriving here within days of exposure of the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP helicopters scam involving Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to be pressed for more information in this regard during his meetings with the leadership on Tuesday.

The visit also comes in the wake of India taking steps to scrap the contract after Italian investigators probed allegations that aerospace group Finmeccanica, the parent company of AgustaWestland, had broken the law by paying bribes to foreign officials.

The helicopters, three of which have already been delivered, are manufactured in southwest England.cameron

India has already issued a note verbale and met with UK Foreign Office officials to get information and assistance in probing the allegations of corruption in the deal, an official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Noting that the UK has provided an interim response, the spokesperson also said, "Nobody is ever satisfied with an interim response. Everybody would want a full-fledged response. So, I mean it is pretty obvious that we would like a full-fledged response."

Westland used to be a UK firm and was taken over by Italian defence giant Finmeccanica.

Cameron, accompanied by a large official business delegation, will hold comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues.

Apart from the defence deal, other major issues expected to figure during Cameron's three-day visit would include the Rs 12,000-crore Vodafone tax dues matter and the UK hosting a meeting between the Pakistan and Afghanistan Presidents.

While the Vodafone issue also figured during the recent visit of Finance Minister P Chidambaram to the UK, details of the UK-Pak-Afghan trilateral meet was being "finely studied" by New Delhi.

According to reports from the UK, Cameron also wants to use the trip to correct any misunderstandings about his government's move to bring immigration numbers under control amid concerns that young Indians could be deterred from applying to study in Britain.

Cameron's trip also comes close on the heels of a visit by French President Francois Hollande here to drum up trade, underlining the growing importance of the Indian economy.

Ahead of the visit, the UK Prime Minister said he wanted the relationship between Britain and India to be "one of the great partnerships of the 21st century".

Before landing here on February 19, Cameron along with his delegation would be spending a night in Mumbai where he will attend a business meet and place a wreath on police memorial.

Cameron's India visit is being billed in the UK as the biggest trade trip ever organised by his office.

India and the UK have vibrant economic ties and the two- way trade rose to about USD 16.157 billion in 2011-12 from USD 12.56 billion in 2010-11.

Total British FDI in India, as of October 2012 from April 2000, was about USD 17.08 billion, which is about 9 per cent of the total foreign direct investment in India. There are about 700 Indian companies which have operations in the UK out of which over 70 are listed on London Stock Exchange.

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March 26,2020

Panaji, Mar 26: Three persons, all with travel history abroad, tested positive for coronavirus in Goa on Wednesday, health department officials said, as the tourist haven joined the states which have reported COVID-19 cases.

This is the first time the tourist state has reported coronavirus positive cases.

The Directorate of Health Services, in a late night press statement here, said three suspected cases of COVID-19 from Goa, whose test results were awaited, have turned out positive.

All three are male patients of ages 25, 29 and 55 years. They have travel history of returning to Goa from Spain, Australia and the USA, respectively, the officials said.

The condition of the trio, admitted in Goa Medical College and Hospital near here, is stable, the officials added.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the state is providing the best healthcare facility to the diagnosed patients.

I have been informed by the state Directorate of Health services that three individuals have been tested positive for #COVID19 in Goa.

"We are providing the best healthcare facility to the diagnosed patients, he said.

Their condition is stable at present. e have also traced their contacts and are quarantining them, Sawant added.

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said the government is taking all precautions and following guidelines related to the viral infection.

In view of the three positive coronavirus cases in Goa, we are following all guidelines laid down by the central government and taking all precautions with the support of chief minister Pramod Sawant, he said.

Our testing facility will be up and running in the next two days. Our team of doctors is doing its est to make sure we contain the spread of virus in the state, Rane added.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday paid tribute to the senior doctor of city government-run LNJP Hospital who died battling COVID-19, saying the society has "lost a very valuable fighter".

The 52-year-old doctor served in the front line of the war against the pandemic at the government facility, and died of novel coronavirus infection in an ICU of a private hospital on Sunday.

"Dr Aseem Gupta, a senior doctor of LNJP Hospital succumbed to Covid yday. He was known for going out of his way to serve his patients. We have lost a very valuable fighter. Delhi salutes his spirit and sacrifice...," Kejriwal tweeted.

The chief minister also said in his tweet that he has spoken to Dr Gupta''s wife and "offered my condolences and support".

LNJP Hospital is a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government. It recently completed 100 days of being declared a coronavirus facility.

"LNJP Hospital has displayed great fortitude in the face of acute challenges. It''s recovery rate is going up, death rate is reducing, ICU capacity is being ramped up - the hospital is saving so many lives," the chief minister said.

A condolence meeting to pay respect to Dr Gupta has been scheduled at 1 pm in the office of the Medical Director of the hospital, a senior official said.

The doctor, a consultant anaesthesiologist died at the Max hospital, Saket in south Delhi, a private dedicated COVID-19 facility.

"He was a front line anaesthesia specialist who contracted COVID-19 infection while on duty. He tested positive on June 6, when he had mild symptoms and was shifted to a quarantine facility. His symptoms aggravated on June 7 and he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the LNJP Hospital," the LNJP Hospital said in a statement on Sunday.

He was shifted to Max Hospital, Saket on June 8 on his request, it said.

The doctor was battling the disease for the last two weeks at Max Hospital, where he succumbed to the illness on Sunday, the statement said.

He was Specialist, Grade I, in the Department of Anaesthesia at the LNJP Hospital, the statement said.

Several hundreds of healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 till date in Delhi.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 10: Congress' Rajya Sabha candidate from Karnataka and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and his son received threat calls on Sunday, with the latter filing a complaint with the state police chief. Kharge, a former Union Minister, received the call in the wee hours of Sunday on his landline while his son Priyank later got a call from a private number on his mobile phone.

Priyank lodged a complaint with the Director-General of Police Praveen Sood and former MLC Ramesh Babu shared the copy of the complaint on Twitter on Tuesday. In his complaint, Priyank Kharge stated that at about 1.30 am on Sunday, his father received a call on the landline where the caller spoke in Hindi and English and used invective against the Congress veteran.

The caller, according to the complaint, spoke about the Rajya Sabha election and threatened Kharge. Police are looking into the matter. Kharge is the Congress' pick for the June 19 Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka. JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda and two BJP candidates have also filed nominations for the election to the upper House.

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