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Air India opens bookings for foreigners, visa holders on outbound repatriation flights

News Network
May 7, 2020

New Delhi, May 7: Air India has opened bookings for eligible foreign nationals and valid visa holders of the UK, the USA and Singapore for outbound repatriation flights that will be operated between May 7 and May 14 under the Vande Bharat mission, officials said.

Foreign nationals or valid visa holders will be charged the same fare as Indian nationals who want a seat on the inbound repatriation flights, they said.

For all flights between India and the USA under the Vande Bharat mission, Air India is charging a fixed fare of Rs 1 lakh per passenger.

For flights between India and Singapore, the charge is Rs 18,000-20,000 per passenger, and it is Rs 50,000 per person for India-UK flights.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs had clarified that a person who has an Overseas Indian Citizenship (OCI) card, or citizenship of a foreign country, or a valid visa of more than one year of that country, or the green card of that country can travel on repatriation flights leaving India under the Vande Bharat mission.

Air India will be conducting 64 flights to 12 countries between May 7 and May 13 to bring back approximately 15,000 Indians stranded due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had announced on Tuesday.

However, some flights have been delayed and therefore, this set of 64 flights will be operated between May 7 and May 14, the airline officials said.

On Wednesday, an Indian businessman and his cook landed at Delhi airport from Lusaka in Zambia in a plane that was supposed to come without any passengers, senior government officials said.

The private chartered aircraft was scheduled to come empty and take around 40 Zambian nationals to Lusaka in a repatriation flight, they added.

"We had not permitted any incoming passengers. We will seek explanation from the airline (private operator) as to how it happened. BOI (Bureau of Immigration) has a very stringent protocol for dealing with such deviations, which must have been acted upon," said a senior official of aviation regulator DGCA.

It is not clear if the businessman and his cook were deported or sent to a quarantine facility within India.

India has been under a lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended during the lockdown.

However, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights and special flights permitted by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have been allowed to operate during this time.

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News Network
April 3,2020

Washington, Apr 3: The World Bank has approved USD 1 billion emergency funding for India to help it tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 76 lives and infected 2,500 people in the country.

The World Bank's first set of aid projects, amounting to USD 1.9 billion, will assist 25 countries, and new operations are moving forward in over 40 nations using the fast-track process, the bank said on Thursday.

The largest chunk of the emergency financial assistance has gone to India USD 1 billion.

"In India, USD 1 billion emergency financing will support better screening, contact tracing, and laboratory diagnostics; procure personal protective equipment; and set up new isolation wards," the World Bank said after its Board of Executive Directors approved the first set of emergency support operations for developing countries around the world, using a dedicated, fast-track facility for COVID-19 response.

In South Asia, the World Bank also approved USD 200 million for Pakistan, USD 100 million for Afghanistan, USD 7.3 million for the Maldives and USD 128.6 million for Sri Lanka.

The World Bank said it was now working to grant up to USD 160 billion over the next 15 months to support measures to tackle the pandemic which will focus on the immediate health consequences and bolster economic recovery.

The broader economic program will aim to shorten the time to recovery, create conditions for growth, support small and medium enterprises, and help protect the poor and vulnerable.

"The World Bank Group is taking broad, fast action to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and we already have health response operations moving forward in over 65 countries," said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

"We are working to strengthen (the) developing nations' ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and shorten the time to economic and social recovery," Malpass said.

According to the bank, USD 100 million will support Afghanistan to slow and limit the spread of COVID-19 through enhanced detection, surveillance, and laboratory systems, as well as strengthen essential health care delivery and intensive care.

In Pakistan, USD 200 million will support preparedness and emergency response in the health sector and include social protection and education measures, the bank said.

A total of 1,002,159 COVID-19 cases have been reported across more than 175 countries and territories with 51,485 deaths reported so far, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: Preparing for a long haul in the Eastern Ladakh sector in extreme winters, the Indian Army has an edge over the Chinese as it has deployed 35,000 troops there who have already done tenures in high altitude and cold conditions.

The Indian troops deployed there are mentally prepared for tackling the weather and terrain.
In contrast, the Chinese troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are not used to these conditions as they have been brought from mainland China and are not accustomed to high altitude extreme cold weather conditions.

"We are preparing to provide extreme cold weather portable cabins for around 35,000 troops that have been deployed in the Eastern Ladakh sector," government sources said.

"Our soldiers deployed there have already done a tenure or two in Siachen, Eastern Ladakh or Northeast and they are physically and mentally prepared for a longer deployment there," they said.

The Chinese soldiers deployed on the Indian front include mainly conscripts who join the PLA for a period of 2-3 years and then return to their normal lives, sources said.

Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff situation all along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh from sub-sector north with both sides having deployed around 40,000 troops against each other over there.

The two sides have disengaged at three friction points including Patrolling Point 14, PP-15 and PP-17 and PP-17A.

At PP-17 and 17A, the Chinese have now maintained a small element of close to 50 troops and the remaining elements have gone back into their permanent locations.

The sources said the Army is also not much bothered about the Chinese build-up along the LAC as it has got more than two additional divisions from outside Ladakh sector.

India Army has more troops than what the Chinese have brought there, they said.

For the winter deployment, the Army already has a sizeable stock of clothes and habitat for troops as the Indian army deploys troops at the world's highest battlefield Siachen glacier and is prepared.

For additional requirements, the force is in the process of placing orders for additional tents and shelters from indigenous as well as foreign vendors.

The time for summer stocking is on and we are going to get the additional cabins and tents by that time, the sources.

Months of June, July, and August are considered to be the best time for stocking winter rations and ammunition. The snowfall is expected to start soon in the Eastern Ladakh area where the temperature is already low.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has given financial powers of Rs 500 crore per procurement to the defence forces to address any type of shortages of weapons, ammunition, and habitat.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: 18,653 COVID-19 cases have been reported in India in the last 24 hours, taking the country's tally of coronavirus cases to 5,85,493, informed the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Wednesday.

As per the Ministry, there are presently 2,20,114 active cases in the country. The number of patients cured/discharged and migrated stands at 3,47,979.

507 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total deaths due to the virus to 17,400.

According to the ministry, Maharashtra is the worst-affected state by the virus with 1,74,761 cases including 7,855 fatalities.

Tamil Nadu is the second worst-hit state with 90,167 cases including 1,201 deaths. Meanwhile, Delhi has a total of 87,360 cases.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that a total number of 86,26,585 tested up to June 30 of which 2,17,931 samples were tested on Tuesday.

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