US Aviation Agency Downgrades Indian Safety Rating

February 1, 2014

US_Aviation_AgencyNew Delhi, Feb 1: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has downgraded India's air safety rating over concerns about pilot training and other issues, the agency said Friday.

The downgrade to the lower of two safety categories means Indian airlines cannot increase the number of flights they operate to the United States or enter into any new code-sharing arrangements with American carriers, said Uday Moray, India's Civil Aviation Ministry spokesman. He said the move will not affect current flights.

India has started training programs to address the problems and should be in line with the FAA's category 1 standards by March, Moray said.

Moray said the FAA raised 33 issues, including beefing up safety training programs, offering better safety documentation and hiring full-time flight operations inspectors.

The FAA said in a statement Friday that the downgrade "signifies that India's civil aviation safety oversight regime does not currently comply with the international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization," a U.N. agency.

The U.S. will work with Indian aviation authorities "to identify remaining steps necessary to regain category 1 status," the FAA said.

India had had a category 1 status since August 1997, the agency said.

A category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping or inspection procedures.

Jitender Bhargava, a civil aviation expert, said the FAA's decision is embarrassing for India but does not mean it's unsafe to fly on Indian carriers.

He said the move will hurt Indian airlines Air India and Jet Airways at a time when foreign carriers are expanding flights to India.

The move will "hit the market share of Indian carriers in our home market," he said.

ICAO conducted an audit in December 2012 that identified safety oversight deficiencies by India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Afterward, FAA began a "reassessment" of India's compliance with international standards, including visits by U.S. inspectors to India in September and early December and meetings this week in Delhi, the FAA statement said.

The Indian government has made "significant progress" toward addressing issues raised by FAA inspectors, the agency said. That progress includes recent government approval for hiring of 75 additional full-time aviation inspectors, FAA noted.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world, averaging about 11 percent growth a year, according to the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

The FAA's decision to downgrade India was made at the same time the U.S. government is making a strong push to encourage the Indian government and aviation industry to buy planes and technology from U.S. companies. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency sponsored a two-day "U.S.-India Aviation Summit" in Washington last October at which government officials, including FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, touted U.S. technology to several dozen Indian officials.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday met JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh here at Kerala House on Saturday.

This meeting comes at the backdrop masked mob violence by miscreants who entered the university campus recently and attacked the students and professors with sticks and rods.

"I thank the Kerela government for standing by us and extending solidarity. Its fight Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) shows how standing is standing for its secular ethos. Students Union takes the inspiration from this struggle," said Students' Union President in a statement after meeting Kerala CM.

She also thanked "the youth and comrades of Kerela" and quoted Pinarayi as saying, "go on we will take this fight ahead."

More than 30 students, including Ghosh, were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch investigating the case of violence in JNU had identified and released photographs of nine suspects, including that of Aishe Ghosh.

Earlier on Monday, Kerala CM had said that the "Nazi-style attack" on the students and faculty is an appalling display of intolerance running amok.

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News Network
June 9,2020

New Delhi, Jun 9: Petrol price on Tuesday was hiked by 54 paise per litre and diesel by 58 paise a litre - the third straight daily increase in rates after oil PSUs ended an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 73.00 per litre from 72.46, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 71.17 a litre from Rs 70.59, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

This is the third daily increase in rates in a row. Oil companies had on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.

Prices were raised by 60 paise per litre each on both petrol and diesel on Sunday as well as on Monday. In all, petrol price has gone up by Rs 1.74 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.78 a litre in three days.

Oil PSUs - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) - had put daily price revisions on hold soon after the government on March 14, hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each.

Oil companies did not pass on that excise duty hike, as well as the May 6 increase in tax on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and Rs 13 a litre hike on diesel by setting them off against the decline in retail prices that should have effected to reflect international oil rates falling to two-decade low.

International rates have since rebounded and oil companies having exhausted all the margin are now passing on the increase to customers, an industry official said.

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News Network
June 4,2020

New Delhi, Jun 4: India on Thursday witnessed a record single-day spike of 9,304 coronavirus cases taking the country's tally to 2,16,919, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The ministry informed that 260 more deaths due to coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 2,16,919 including 1,06,737 active cases, 1,04,107 cured/discharged/migrated and 6,075 deaths.

Maharashtra has so far reported 74,860 cases, more than any other state in the country.

In Tamil Nadu, 25,872 cases have been detected so far while Delhi has reported 23,645 coronavirus cases.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,39,485 samples were tested in the last 24 hours whereas 42,42,718 samples have been tested till date.

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