‘Restless’ minister U T Khader hospitalized in Bengaluru

Jan 27: Bidders for Air India Ltd. will need to absorb $3.26 billion of its debt, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration tries once again to sell the national carrier.

The entire company will be sold but effective control needs to stay with Indian nationals, according to preliminary terms published Monday. Bids are invited by March 17 with Ernst & Young LLP India as transaction adviser.

Air India, which started in 1932 as a mail carrier before winning commercial popularity, saw its fortunes fade with the emergence of cutthroat low-cost competition. The state-run airline has been unprofitable for over a decade and is saddled with more than $8 billion in debt.

Indian regulations allow a foreign airline to buy as much as 49% of a local carrier, while overseas investors other than airlines can buy an entire carrier. The government didn’t find a single bidder when it tried to sell Air India in 2018.

New Delhi, Feb 4: Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday accused Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party of not implementing the central government's schemes in the national capital.

Addressing an election rally in Moti Bagh, he also sought to allay fears over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), assuring the gathering that the legislation will not take away anyone's citizenship.

Singh alleged that the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government did not do anything in the last five years.

The AAP had promised to add 5,000 buses to the fleet of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), but instead the number has come down by 1,000, he claimed.

The Union minister said the AAP dispensation did not implement central schemes in Delhi fearing that the popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will grow among Delhiites.

Pension schemes and the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, are some of those that the Kejriwal government did not allow to be implemented in Delhi.

On the anti-CAA protests, Singh said that the opposition parties have been spreading "lies" about amended citizenship law and the National Population Register (NPR).

"The CAA will not take away anyone's citizenship. The opposition parties are spreading lies about the CAA. There should be no such politics over this. Some people are trying to write the history of the country with the ink of hatred," he said.

The culture of India is such that it considers the entire world one family, he said.

Delhi goes to polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.

Bengaluru, Jun 25: Former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday claimed that there are shortage of beds and ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients in the state.

In a series of tweets, he targetted the Karnataka government on COVID-19 management.

"The state government has failed to provide adequate treatment to those infected with corona. There are no beds and no ventilators to treat more than four thousand patients. Self-induced lockdown is the only solution," he tweeted.

In his subsequent tweet, he said, "Residents of the state, including Bangalore, now have only one way to escape from COVID-19. Stay at home and celebrate yourself as a self-proclaimed lockdown. Money is not more important than life. Your life is in your hands now."

In another tweet, former Chief Minister alleged that the government has fixed Rs 10-15,000 per day for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals.

"The state government is also saying this indirectly. The 'home remedy' in the home is to stay at home and be safe. The government has fixed Rs 10-15,000 per day for the treatment of this infection in private hospitals. How poor can afford it while upper class can't afford," he tweeted.

"If four members of a family infected with corona, the cost of treatment for a 15-day treatment at a private hospital is Rs 5-6 lakh. Where do the poor bring that Much money? We must save our lives while the government is sitting incapable. This is my concern for the people of the state," he said in another tweet.

In a video message that HD Kumaraswamy demanded the state government to give all kinds of safety and security to the students who are writing the SSLC exam tomorrow.
HD Kumaraswamy also urged students to be careful.

About 8,48,203 students will appear in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination tomorrow, said Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu on Wednesday.