The finance ministry on Wednesday reimposed expenditure curbs on ministries and government departments for July-September quarter. There will be no spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and railways as part of a two-pronged strategy. "The existing guidelines for expenditure control have been reviewed. "Keeping in view the evolving situation arising out of Covid-19 and anticipated cash position of the government, it is felt essential to regulate Quarterly Expenditure Plan (QEP)/Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) of specific ministries/departments for July-September, 2021," the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry said in a notification.
Air India will very soon get funds from the government for its day to day operations and will even place orders for a couple of aircraft
The next step is the charter, which aims to safeguard consumer rights and address criticism about the government not doing enough for passengers.
This was in response to the assertion of some officials of the finance ministry and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion that a strategically placed comma in DIPP's press note on FDI in civil aviation meant foreign airlines were allowed to hold up to 49 per cent stake in existing Indian carriers, as well as new airline companies being set up.
This announcement comes a day after the DGCA asked IndiGo to take 'appropriate action' after it found alleged violation of safety and social distancing protocols by mediapersons in the airline's Chandigarh-Mumbai flight that had actor Kangana Ranaut as a passenger.
The defence ministry said Maharashtra was voted as the best tableau among the states/union territories in the popular choice category.
Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to acquire the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also decided to waive off around Rs 250 crore unrealised income and interest on the property, an official said.
Fearing poaching from the BJP, the MLAs were moved and expected to be lodged in five-star hotels or resorts.
This is part of the initiatives that the ministry is undertaking to use technology in order to make airport check-in seamless and formation of a no-fly list.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
The aviation ministry stated it has decided to review the on-board meal services in domestic flights considering "the increasing threat of COVID-19 and its variants".
Ajay Singh will team up with two blue-chip investors to bail out the airline
The government has decided to restart scheduled international flight services from March 27 after a two years hiatus due to COVID-19, according to civil aviation ministry officials.
Of 1,400 pilots the airline has, 200 have quit in the past few months because of salary delays.
India may make peak-time allocation of airport slots for its airlines an essential part of any bilateral signed in future. Arindam Majumder reports.
'The DGCA, the ministry of civil aviation, Air India, the Airports Authority, all of them together form what I call an organised syndicate' 'In India, it is a fashion to blame the pilot because then nobody asks questions about the incompetence and grave negligence of this State-run syndicate.'
The moves comes as novel coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.
The airline's accounts are yet to be audited.
Scheduled international passenger flights have remained suspended since March 23, 2020 in the wake of the pandemic and they will now restart from Sunday.
"We are waiting for any input from any quarter," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said, adding, "We have not received anything so far".
The issue of fog and low visibility primarily impacts airports in northern India and Bengaluru.
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
A total of 406 aircraft are in the fleet of eight scheduled airlines in the country, most of which were suffering losses, Lok Sabha was informed.
Air travel will now become a little expensive as the government has decided to increase the lower limit on airfares by five per cent amid rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday. The upper limit on airfares will remain as it is for now. Just a month back, the Centre had increased the lower and upper limits on domestic airfares by 10-30 per cent due to rising ATF prices. While announcing resumption of scheduled domestic flights in May last year, the aviation ministry had placed limits on airfares through seven bands classified on the basis of flight duration.
Overseas airlines can operate unlimited number of flights into and out of India.
Govt has no plan to divest stake in Air India.
Three passengers who travelled on Delhi-Jammu flight on Tuesday, six passengers who were on Bengaluru-Coimbatore flight on Wednesday, two passengers who were on Delhi-Coimbatore flight on Wednesday and one passenger who was on Bengaluru-Madurai flight on Wednesday tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the airline said.
The number of forms to be filled to operate drones in the country have been reduced to six in draft 'Drone Rules, 2021' in comparison to 25 forms mentioned in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rules, 2021, it said.
All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to contain the novel cornavirus pandemic.
The move is expected to give a major relief to Air India, which suffered a huge financial loss of around Rs 491 crore.
Under flak from several MPs over the Jet-Etihad deal, government on Monday said it had "no role to play" in the sale of Jet's slots at London Heathrow airport to the Abu Dhabi-based airline.
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