A video explaining the rules laid down by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for domestic air travel
Domestic flights will start operating in India on May 25. Airlines will operate 33% of their flights. But passengers will have to brace themselves for a completely new airport experience.
Watch Video:
Before entering the airport
Passengers should get to the airport two hours ahead of their flights.
They will have to wear masks at all times. It is mandatory for web check-in before reaching the airport.
They will “compulsorily” undergo thermal screening before entering the airport.
Passengers, except children under the age of 14, will have to show officials that they are marked as “safe” on the Aarogya Setu app or produce a self-declaration form.
In the airport
Floor markers in the terminal will guide passengers on where to stand.
This is to maintain physical distancing.
Self check-in kiosks will allow passengers to print boarding passes.
For those who prefer traditional check-in, alternate counters, enclosed in glass, will be available.
After airline staff enter passenger details, passes can be collected from a machine.
Only one check-in bag and one cabin bag will be allowed.
After completing security procedures, passengers can sit in marked seats while waiting to board.
Stamping of boarding passes too will be done away with.
Passengers should collect a safety kit which includes a mask and sanitiser near the boarding gate.
In the aircraft
Passengers are advised to minimise the use of toilets and avoid queuing.
Only one person will be allowed to accompany children and elderly to the toilet.
No meal services, newspapers and magazines will be available.
Only water bottles will be made available. Passengers will not be allowed to consume their own eatables either.
Onarrival, Passengers will disembark sequentially and will undergo temperature screening.
Health protocols as prescribed by the destination States/ UTs would have to be followed by arriving passengers.
Ticket pricing
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a price range for seven categories of flights based on flight time.
The lowest range is flights of less than 40 minutes and the highest is up to 210 minutes.
The price range for the shortest journey is ₹2,000 – ₹6,000.
And for the longest journey is ₹6,500 – ₹18,600.
International flights
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that commercial international flight operations could start as early as the middle of June.
Srinagar: Apni Party president Syed Altaf Bukhari on Sunday dismissed t rumours of him taking oath as the first Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory, saying “it is a good joke.”
“It is a good joke….,” Bukhari told news agency—Kashmir News Observer in an exclusive chat, when asked whether he would be administered oath as first Chief Minister of J&K UT.
Officials in Jammu & Kashmir government told KNO that there is no legal provision for formation of interim government under any law in India. “The Government of Union Territories Act-1963 is not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.
Nor this law provides for formation of an interim government,” they said, adding that legislative framework for J&K is defined under the J&K Re-organisation Act.
They also disclosed that there is no question of appointment of any politician as advisor or Chief Advisor to Lieutenant Governor—(KNO)
These include 2,000 Aadhaar cards and data of 18 million Indian job-seekers
Even as cybercrime agencies and experts are investigating the leak of millions of Indian job-seekers’ personal details on the dark web, two more similar instances have come to light in the last 12 hours.
The fresh leaks include nearly 2,000 Aadhaar cards and details of 18 million Indians, all available for free.
The leak of nearly 2.9 crore job-seekers’ details was discovered by Cyble Inc., a U.S.-based cyber intelligence firm, which has been trying to trace the source of the leak and identify the perpetrators. Cyble founder Beenu Arora said the Aadhaar cards were posted on the dark web some time in the last 12 hours.
Speaking with media personnels Mr. Arora told “We are not sure of how this leak happened. There is a known perpetrator who just decided to drop this. In terms of the leak itself, it has approximately 2,000 Aadhaar cards. A large number of files appear to have originated from 2019, and several IDs were scanned from mobile cameras, and often transferred to other parties via WhatsApp. It’s highly likely that more IDs may have been compromised, and the perpetrator decided to share only a small subset. We are still looking into this further”.
Cyble researchers said the Aadhaar cards and the job seekers’ details were posted by different entities, both with a different level of reputation on the dark net.
Second leak
“The Aadhaar leak actor also published a second leak whereby they dropped details of 18 lakh residents of Madhya Pradesh for free on May 19. We identified this leak during our investigations into the jobseeker data,” Mr. Arora said.
State and Central cybercrime agencies have also initiated their own investigations into the matter, sources confirmed.
Meanwhile, Cyble researchers have received an anonymous tip off according to which the jobseekers’ data leak was the result of an unprotected Elasticsearch instance — a tool that collects data from a wide range of locations on the Internet in accordance with the requirements of the person conducting the search, and allowing the user to analyse large troves of data in real time from all over the Internet.
“The claim made by the anonymous entity that unprotected Elasticsearch instance was the root cause behind the jobseeker data leak is unverifiable at this stage, as we haven’t been given the technical evidence yet. We are approaching other research communities to gather more facts,” Mr. Arora said.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry said the recovery rate in the country stood at 41.28%.
India on Sunday reported the highest single-day spike so far of 7,097 COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 1,38,526, according to reports from the State Health Departments. The number of active cases stood at 76,902, while 57,605 people have recovered. The death toll crossed 4,000, with 150 new fatalities.
Data from Johns Hopkins University show that the total number of cases in India has surpassed that of Iran (with 1,35,701 confirmed infections). India now has the 10th highest number of confirmed cases worldwide.
Maharashtra reported a surge of 3,041 cases — its highest till date — to breach the 50,000-mark. The tally touched 50,231, while 58 more deaths saw the toll surge to 1,635. The number of cases in Gujarat rose to 14,063, with 394 new infections. With 29 new fatalities, the toll rose to 858.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry said the recovery rate in the country stood at 41.28%.
“The testing capacity has been ramped up in both, and as on date, around 1,50,000 tests can be conducted every day,” said the Ministry release.
Centre seeks efficacy of Ayurveda
The Union Health Ministry on Sunday sought results of COVID-19 treatment using Ayurvedic medicines.
This was following a visit by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to a dedicated COVID-19 health centre at the Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan (CBPACS), Najafgarh.
Huge potential
“Ayurveda is a traditional medicinal knowledge source from India and there is huge potential in it. Its inherent strength in holistic healing and wellbeing is being put to good use in treatment of the patients at this centre,” said the Minister.
He said this knowledge and experience would surely prove beneficial to people all over the world, especially in combating the battle against COVID-19.
‘No casualty’
According to figures released by the Ministry, till date 201 patients have been admitted to the CBPACS Centre.
“Of these, 37 have been cured and 100 patients have been advised home isolation. Nineteen patients have been shifted to speciality hospitals on review of their medical condition. There has been no casualty in this centre,” noted the Health Ministry.
Reports had spoken of Indian patrols being prevented in Eastern Ladakh
The Indian Army on Sunday “categorically denied” reports that Indian patrol teams had been detained by PLA troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, during the current standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies.
“There has been no detention of Indian soldiers at the borders. We categorically deny this,” Army spokesperson Col. Aman Anand said, a day after reports referred to the alleged detention of Indian soldiers in three separate incidents. The spokesperson said the reports hurt “national interests”.
Soldiers injured
Tensions between India and China along the LAC have been rising for the past month, since PLA troops tried to disrupt road construction in the Ladakh sector; dozens of soldiers have been injured in incidents of jostling and pushing in at least four points of conflict. Thus far, officials have explained that the skirmishes have been caused by “differing perceptions” of the LAC, which is not fully demarcated.
In three statements last week, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleged that Indian troops had carried out what it called “infringement activities”, “trespassing” into Chinese-claimed territory in Sikkim and Ladakh, and even accused India of “attempting to unilaterally change the status of border control”.
The Ministry of External Affairs had termed the Chinese claims as “inaccurate” and countered that it was the PLA that had “undertaken activity hindering India’s normal patrolling patterns”, also indicating that “established mechanisms” of talks by military commanders were working to resolve the situation.
Satellite images
Both the Army and ITBP operate along the LAC in Ladakh. While there have been no incidents of firing across the LAC in decades, particularly after the agreements on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity signed in 1993, skirmishes in recent years have seen soldiers throwing rocks, violently pushing and punching one another.
In the current standoff, incidents have been reported from three points on the LAC in Ladakh — Pangong Tso (lake), Galwan Nalah and Demchok, and one at Nakula Pass in Sikkim.
According to an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an independent think tank based in Canberra, satellite images made available on Twitter showed that the Chinese build up in Ladakh included the Galwan area inside territory patrolled by the Indian Army. The satellite images of May 22 show about 80 tents set by Chinese soldiers along the Galwan river and also show vehicles and other structures.
India too has increased infrastructure in the area, as it completes the construction and refurbishment of the 255 km Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) road near the river valley. The Indian Army has mobilised additional troops and equipment and dug into positions close to the Chinese troops as tensions continue at the three points, sources told The Hindu.
Kiran Kumar went to the hospital for a medical check-up on May 14, where the Covid-19 test was mandatory. His test result came out positive. The actor is asymptomatic and is home-quarantining.
Veteran film and TV actor Kiran Kumar has tested positive for coronavirus and is currently under home quarantine.
The 74-year-old actor said he is asymptomatic and is doing “absolutely fine”.
“I am asymptomatic. On May 14, I went to the hospital for a medical check-up, where the Covid-19 test was mandatory. So I got myself tested and the result was positive.
“But I had no symptoms then, nor do I have any now. There’s no fever, no cough, I’m fine and have self quarantined at home,” Kumar told PTI.
The actor, who had featured in films like Dhadkan, Mujhse Dosti Karoge, among others, said it has been ten days since the test happened and he still hasn’t developed any symptoms
“My family lives on the second floor of the building and I’m currently on the third floor. On May 26 or May 27, I am going to get my second test done. At the moment I’m absolutely fine,” he added.
As of Saturday, Maharashtra recorded total 47,190 coronavirus cases, with 1,577 death toll, according to the state health department.
NEET 2020 postponed: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate (UG) examination 2020 that was scheduled to be held on May 3, 2020, has been postponed due to coronavirus lockdown.
NEET 2020 Postponed: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate (UG) examination 2020 that was scheduled to be held on May 3, 2020, has been postponed due to coronavirus lockdown.
The HRD Ministry’s National Testing Agency (NTA) postponed the exam in view of the three-week lockdown as well as pending board exams for a few subjects.
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said the decision has been taken to avoid any inconvenience to students and parents who have to travel to different centres across the country to write the exam.
“In view of hardships faced by both parents and students in view of the covid-19 epidemic, the NEET exam scheduled on May 3 has been postponed,” NTA Director General Vineet Joshi said.
He said, “We are hopeful that we would get back to normal situation relatively soon but for now various concerned ministries and examination boards are examining the scenario to evaluate situation that might necessitate any changes in schedule.
“As of now, the examination is proposed to be held in last week of May.
Exact dates will be announced later after assessing the situation,” Joshi said.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 17 in the country on Friday and the number of positive coronavirus cases climbed to 724, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The government has announced a countrywide lockdown till April 14 to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Vidyamandir classes, which provides coaching for engineering and medical entrance exams, is conducting its National Admission Test (NAT) online on Sunday.
Iran’s defense minister had pledged that the military would escort the tankers once they reached Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone due to what authorities described as threats from the United States.
The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela approached the South American country’s waters on Saturday afternoon, despite a U.S. official’s warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment.
As of 4:51 p.m. local time, the tanker – named Fortune – was passing north of the neighboring dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
Venezuelan state television reported that the vessel would arrive in the country’s waters at 7 p.m. local time, and showed images of a navy ship and aircraft preparing to meet it.
The nation’s defense minister had pledged that the military would escort the tankers once they reached Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) due to what authorities described as threats from the United States.
“We welcome the boats from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which will soon arrive at our fatherland’s ports,” Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela’s economy vice president and recently named oil minister, wrote on Twitter.
The tanker flotilla is carrying a total of 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela, according to both governments, sources and calculations by TankerTrackers.com.
The shipments, desperately needed as gasoline is increasingly scarce in Venezuela, have caused a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran and Venezuela as both countries are under U.S. sanctions.
Washington is considering measures in response, according to a senior U.S. official, who did not elaborate on any options.
The United States recently beefed up its naval presence in the Caribbean for what it said was an expanded antidrug operation. But a Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said on Thursday he was not aware of any operations related to the Iranian cargoes.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of retaliatory measures against the United States if Washington caused problems for tankers carrying Iranian fuel to Venezuela, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported.
“If our tankers in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world face trouble caused by the Americans, they (the U.S.) will also be in trouble,” Mr. Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Qatar’s Emir, Mehr reported.