Category: National

PTI

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Friday said the suspension of scheduled international flights to and from the country has been extended till August 31 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The suspension of scheduled international commercial services was till July 31. In the wake of the pandemic, overseas flights were suspended in late March, while cargo flights and those approved by the DGCA have been permitted to operate.

In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the government has decided to “extend the suspension on the Scheduled International Commercial Passenger Services to/from India up to 2359 hours IST of 31st August”.

However, this restriction would not applicable for international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.

During the suspension period, more than 2,500 repatriation flights by foreign carriers to uplift stranded passengers to/ from India have been approved, the statement said.

Under the Vande Bharat Mission, Air India and Air India Express have uplifted 2,67,436 stranded passengers, and other charters have uplifted 4,86,811 stranded passengers during May 6 to July 30 period, it added.

As part of allowing gradual movement of passenger traffic amid the pandemic situation, ‘Transport Bubble’ agreements have been signed with the US, France, and Germany.

“Recently, ‘Transport Bubble’ agreement has also been signed with Kuwait to uplift stranded passenger both to/ from India. More similar arrangements are likely to fructify and ease passenger movements from different countries,” the statement said.

Such bilateral agreements allow operation of flights between the two countries subject to a set of regulations.

International flight services to and from India remain suspended since March 23 due to the pandemic.

PTI

Chhattisgarh: A 21-year-old tribal woman was allegedly raped by a CRPF jawan in Chhattisgarhs insurgency- hit Sukma district, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Dulichand, a constable, was arrested on Thursday based on a complaint lodged by the victim and her parents, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.

The alleged incident took place near Dubbakota camp of the paramilitary forces under Dornapal police station area on July 27 when the victim had gone to graze cattle, he said.

A case was lodged on Wednesday, the IPS officer said, adding an investigation was underway.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is deployed in Sukma for anti-Naxals operation in Sukma.

PTI

New Delhi: India on Thursday said the process for disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh has not yet been completed though some progress was made, an assertion that came two days after China claimed frontline troops of the two countries have “completed” this exercise at most locations along their border.

China had also said that the situation on the ground was easing.

“There has been some progress made towards this objective but the disengagement process has yet not been completed,” Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told an online media briefing when asked about the Chinese claim on Tuesday.

He also said the senior commanders of the two militaries will be meeting in the “near future” to work out steps to complete the process of disengagement.

“As we have stated earlier, the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is the basis of our bilateral relationship,” Srivastava said.

“Therefore, we expect that the Chinese side will sincerely work with us for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas at the earliest as agreed to by the Special Representatives,” he added

PTI

Mumbai: The crime branch of Mumbai Police has seized duplicate N-95 and V-410 V masks worth Rs 21.39 lakh from Lower Parel area here, an official said on Wednesday.

These masks were going to be sold at higher prices, he said.

Such masks, which are mainly meant for healthcare personnel, are in high demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Acting on a tip-off, the Unit -3 of the crime branch laid a trap near Poddar Mills Compound on Tuesday evening and intercepted a tempo which was transpiring masks, the official said.

Safdar Hussain Mohammad Jafar Momin (42), a resident of Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane was arrested.

Bengaluru: India has drawn up a list of 275 Chinese apps that it will examine for any violation of national security and user privacy, signalling heightened scrutiny and the possibility of more Chinese internet companies being banned in the country, according to people aware of the developments.

This follows the high-profile ban of 59 Chinese apps last month, including short video app TikTok, amid simmering geopolitical tensions between the two Asian giants.

The list, reviewed by ET, includes gaming app PubG backed by China’s most valuable internet major Tencent, Zili by phonemaker Xiaomi, AliExpress by ecommerce giant Alibaba as well as apps like Resso and ULike from TikTok-owner ByteDance.

“The government may ban all, some or none from the list,” said one person cited above.

A spokesperson for the union home ministry did not respond to queries from ET on the developments. However, official sources said reviews aimed at identifying more Chinese apps and their funding is underway. “Some of these apps have been red-flagged due to security reasons while others have been listed for violation of data sharing and privacy concerns,” an official explained.

This is in addition to examining the alleged flow of data from these apps to China that poses a threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, according to officials who pointed to what they termed as China’s data-sharing norm that requires companies of Chinese-origin to share data with the home country, irrespective of where they operate.

Companies With Chinese Investments

While banning the 59 Chinese apps — following a violent faceoff between the armed forces of the two countries on June 15 — India cited threats to national security and public order. China criticised the move, saying it was “strongly concerned” about the ban.

Email queries from ET on the latest developments sent to Tencent, Kuaishou, Xiaomi, Bytedance and Alibaba remained unanswered till press time.

Chinese Internet companies have about 300 million unique users in India, indicating that nearly two-thirds of smartphone users in the country have downloaded a Chinese app, according to industry estimates.

Among the Chinese apps being scrutinised now are 14 MI apps by Xiaomi as well as lesser-known ones such Capcut and FaceU. Apps from other Chinese internet and tech majors like Meitu, LBE Tech, Perfect Corp, Sina Corp, Netease Games, Yoozoo Global are also present.

Also in the list are companies such as Helsinki-based Supercell that have investments by Chinese technology companies. Tencent bought a majority stake in the gaming company last year.

Another senior government official told ET that the government is looking to formalise a process for such bans and the concerned ministry has been asked to frame a law or circular or some form of a regulation for constant scrutiny of the apps operating in India. “A set of rules or defined procedures may take time but is the correct process to go about it in the future,” the person said.

Responding to queries from ET, an official from the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) said the Indian government will follow due process before undertaking any ban. “There is a process involved, there is a committee in place for such ban orders. If there is such an order, then MeitY will act,” the person said.

Meanwhile, a government committee set up to examine the data practices of the 59 Chinese banned apps will review the companies’ responses — the deadline for which expires this week — and initiate further action, officials told ET.

The committee has representatives from the ministries of home affairs, electronics and IT, information & broadcasting and law & justice, along with officials from CERT-In.

Asia’s fifth-largest economy is now the battleground for Chinese and American internet majors that are vying to dominate one of the world’s largest and most open internet markets, with an estimated base of 450 million smartphone users.

ET reported last week that Zili and Snack Video had moved into the top10 list on Google Play, as the two Chinese apps emerge as contenders to replace the banned short video app TikTok.

Wildly popular across India’s hinterland, TikTok had snagged 200 million registered users in the country and had been downloaded 660 million times since its launch two years ago, accounting for 30% of its overall global downloads.

For PubG, India is its largest market, according to app intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates, generating about 175 million installs to date, or 24% of the total downloads. (ET)

In a bizarre incident, the Kanpur police ‘arrested’ a goat that was roaming in the Beconganj area here ‘without wearing a mask’.

The incident took place over the weekend and the Beconganj police picked up the goat and took it to the police station in a jeep.

When the owner of the goat learnt that the police had taken it away, he rushed to the police station.

He pleaded with the cops and the police finally let him take back his goat but warned him not to allow the animal to roam on the road.

Circle officer, Anwarganj police station, Saifuddin Beg, however, said that the police had found a youth without a mask, taking the goat along.

“When he saw the police, he ran away leaving the goat behind so the policemen brought the goat to the police station. Later, we handed over the goat to its owner,” he said.One of the policemen who had brought the goat admitted that they found a lockdown violation because the goat was without a mask.

“People are now making their dogs wear a mask so why not a goat?” he asked.

The police apparently changed its version after it became the butt of jokes on social media.

PTI

Ghaziabad: Police have busted an alleged sex racket operating in Sahibabad and arrested 15 people, officials said on Sunday.

Acting on a tip off, police raided a flat and arrested eight women and seven men, Sahibabad Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahipal Singh told PTI.

The sex workers also used to visit hotels in Paharganj, Nizamuddin and Jahangirpuri, he said.

The 15 people were arrested under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, Singh added.

Cautioned the people to remain extra vigilant as the hazards of Corona are far from over

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry Sunday said that India recorded the highest number of recoveries in a single day since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

“A record 36 thousand 145 people recovered in 24 hours pushing the recovery rate to 63.92 per cent. The case fatality rate has further declined to 2.31 per cent in the country,” the health ministry said as per news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

It also said that total recovered cases climbed to eight lakh 85 thousand 577 while active corona cases in the country reached four lakh 67 thousand 882.

“A total of 48 thousand 661 new Covid-19 cases have been reported in the country within 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 13 lakh 85 thousand 522. In a single day, 705 deaths have also been reported taking the nationwide toll to 32 thousand 63,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research said that a record four lakh 42 thousand 263 tests were conducted by various laboratories in a single day. “So far, one crore 62 lakh 91 thousand 331 tests have been conducted in the country. ICMR is continuously ramping up the testing facilities and at present, one thousand 307 laboratories across India are conducting Covid19 tests that includes 905 government laboratories and 402 private laboratory chains”.

Delhi stands at top position with 87.29 percent recovery rate. “Ladakh, Haryana, Telangana and Assam are other top performing States and Union Territories wherein the recovery rate is above 74 per cent. 16 States and Union Territories have better recovery rates than the national average of 63.91 per cent. Maximum numbers of people have recovered in Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh,” said the officials.

They said that in terms of fatality rate, there are 30 States and Union Territories which have lower fatality rate than the national average. In the total active cases, 68.46 per cent caseloads are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.(KINS)

PTI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes to armed forces to mark the 21st anniversary of India’s victory over Pakistan in the Kargil war, saying their valour continues to inspire generations.

The Kargil war was declared over on July 26, 1999, after Indian soldiers pushed back Pakistani troops, a bulk of them drawn from the neighbouring country’s Northern Light Infantry, from the captured peaks in Kargil.

The day is observed as ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ to commemorate India’s victory.

“On Kargil Vijay Diwas, we remember the courage and determination of our armed forces, who steadfastly protected our nation in 1999. Their valour continues to inspire generations,” Modi tweeted, adding that he would speak more about it in his Mann Ki Baat address.

The prime minister used the hashtag #CourageInKargil.

PTI

Hyderabad A 15-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide here after being scolded by her parents for watching TV too much, police said on Saturday.

The girl, a 10th standard student, hanged herself from a ceiling fan on Friday by using her mothers saree, the police said.

Her parents were away at work when she took the extreme step, they said.

In a note purportedly written by her, the girl said her parents would do well if she died, they said.

A case was registered based on a complaint lodged by her father, the police said.