Page 18 - Jyotiraditya Scindia

Country fully prepared to deal with coronavirus situation: Scindia

The country is fully prepared to deal with the coronavirus situation, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday. In the wake of rising coronavirus infections in China and some other countries, the government is taking various measures, including random testing of arriving international passengers, to curb possible spread of infections. Scindia, who is in charge of the ministries of civil aviation and steel, said the country is fully prepared to deal with the coronavirus situation. Briefing reporters here about the healthcare initiatives taken by the BJP-led central government since 2014, he also expressed confidence that the country will achieve universal healthcare coverage. According to the minister, medicines have become more affordable and the out-of-pocket expenditure for medicines has come down. The share of out-of-pocket health expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure has declined from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 48.2 per cent in 2018-19. The pillars of

Coking coal, iron ore may not be viable for steel making in future: Scindia

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday urged the domestic steel industry to adopt low-carbon emitting steel-making processes, while cautioning that key raw material coking coal and iron ore may not be a viable option in the future based on an ESG parameter. The comments have come at a time when India moves to double its steel-making capacity to 300 million tonnes (MT). "From the second largest producer of steel, we must also become responsible producers of steel in the world. There will come a time in the near distant future when today's raw materials be it iron ore or coking coal will no longer be a viable option not necessarily from a cost structure parameter but from an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) parameter," Scindia said at an event here. The minister said that environmental concerns could arise in future and the government and the private sector will have to work together to prepare for that "eventuality today". "The industry can look for options like t

Rise in X-ray machines for checks eased T3 congestion: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said increasing the number of X-ray machines for baggage checks to 18 is a "major reason" for easing congestion at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport. In recent weeks, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital has been grappling with congestion, resulting in long waiting hours for passengers and many of them have been complaining about the situation on social media. Against this backdrop, all agencies concerned are taking action, including increasing the number of security personnel at the gates, to reduce the congestion amid rising domestic air passenger traffic. "Within 9 days, @DelhiAirport has installed 5 x-ray machines at the security-check area, taking the total to 18 ATRS/x-ray machines a major reason behind ease in congestion at T3," Scindia said in a tweet. On Thursday, members of a Parliamentary panel questioned officials of Delhi airport operator DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) about

Govt working on last-mile air connectivity to Tier-III cities: Scindia

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said the government is concentrating on last-mile connectivity to Tier-III cities to ensure democratisation of civil aviation in the country. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Scindia said India has tremendous connectivity between Tier I-II cities. "What needs to be strengthened is last-mile connectivity to Tier-III cities. Our government is concentrating on last- mile connectivity to make sure the democratisation of civil aviation does truly take place in the country," Scindia said during Question Hour. The minister said the government is looking at the small aircraft scheme launched last year under which sub-20 seater aircraft are being used to provide last-mile connectivity. In the last round of UDAN -- UDAN 4.2 -- 132 routes have been awarded of which in the major sectors, 16 are helicopter routes, and almost 50 are seaplane routes, Scindia said. To a question on aerosports, Scindia said it is a new area and has .

Need wide-body planes for capturing long-haul segment: Jyotiraditya Scindia

India's civil aviation market is poised for a double-digit growth in the next decade and the country's carriers should have more wide-body planes to capture the long haul segment, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. At the event for inaugurating Air India's direct flight from Mumbai to San Francisco, he also said that discussions have happened with airlines and the effort is to make Delhi the country's first international hub. "We have 86 international carriers coming into India and only 5 national carriers taking people to international destinations outside India. However, these 5 carriers that fly overseas hold 36 per cent market share. We have to look at increasing international to international traffic. That is why I have been urging all our carriers that we need to have more wide-body aircraft so that we can capture the long haul route market," he said here. He also said that Indian carriers' share of international to international traffic is only ...

Scindia inaugurates Air India's direct flight between Mumbai-San Francisco

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday inaugurated Air India's direct flight between Mumbai and San Francisco. The flight will be operated thrice a week. After the Tata group took over the loss-making Air India in January this year, the airline has been working on expanding its services and fleet. After inaugurating the flight, Scindia said the country's civil aviation sector is on the cusp of transformation and boom. "We need to push further, stronger, faster...," the minister said. Last month, Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson said the airline will increase its market share to 30 per cent in both domestic and international routes.

All agencies taking actions to mitigate congestion at airports: Scindia

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said all agencies have swung into action in the last 24-36 hours to mitigate congestion at all major airports. "Congestion at entry points and check-in counters at T3 has eased. Four additional X-ray machines have been added at the Security Hold Area; display boards showing wait time have come up. Deployment of CISF manpower has already kick-started, and will progressively increase in the next few days," he said. Scindia, in a LinkedIn post, said these steps will be emulated at the Bengaluru and Mumbai airports as well. In recent weeks, air passengers have been complaining about long waiting hours at airports, especially at Terminal 3 (T3) of Delhi airport, and authorities have been taking steps to reduce the congestion. "In the last 24-36 hours, all agencies have swung into action to mitigate congestion at every checkpoint at all major airports," he said. At Bengaluru airport, two additional X-ray machines were operational

Delhi airport congestion: AAI asks DIAL to explain "deficiency in services"

Under the contract, AAI can penalise DIAL for not maintaining service quality standards

Aviation ministry lists five-point action plan to decongest Delhi airport

A surge in air travel has strained the infrastructure at the country's busiest airport and forced the civil aviation ministry to order a reduction and shifting of peak-hour flights

Fixing India's airports

It needs more world-class terminals

Holiday rush sparks chaos at Delhi IGI airport as passengers miss flights

The chaos at Delhi airport also puts the focus back on a proposed second airport for Mumbai

Aviation minister Scindia visits Delhi airport amidst complaints of chaos

IGIA, also the country's largest airport, has three terminals, T1, T2 and T3 and All international flights, as well as some domestic services, operate from T3

Cong forced to look for existence after BJP's record win in Guj: Scindia

The Congress has been "forced" to look for its existence after the record victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the just concluded Gujarat Assembly polls, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday. The BJP has won 156 seats in the 182-member Assembly in the western state, the highest tally garnered by any party in Gujarat's 62-year-old history. The Opposition Congress managed to emerge victorious on just 17 seats, down from 77 it had won in 2017. "Today, the condition of Congress is such that it is forced to look for its existence," Scindia, who arrived here to take part in various programmes, told reporters. Speaking about Assembly poll result in Himachal Pradesh, another state where elections were held recently, he said though the Congress has got a majority in the 68-member House and unseated the BJP, the difference in vote share between the two parties was miniscule. "Earlier, whenever governments changed in Himachal Pradesh, the difference in vote share woul

Top Headlines: IDBI stake sale, comprehensive package for Vi, and more

Queries shows a strong interest in the proposed IDBI transaction

Airports rearranging departures, arrivals to avoid congestion: Scindia

A lot of this congestion is today taking place in Delhi and to a certain degree in Mumbai, and not so much in other airports

Jyotiraditya Scindia flags off direct flights between Pune and Singapore

The Vistara flight which started from 2nd December will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

DigiYatra data will be saved in decentralised manner, says Scindia

Passenger data shared for DigiYatra will be saved in an encrypted format in a decentralised manner, according to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The government on Thursday launched DigiYatra, which is based on facial recognition technology for air passengers, at Delhi, Bangalore and Varanasi airports. DigiYatra will be launched at four more airports -- Hyderabad, Pune, Vijayawada and Kolkata -- by March next year. Later, DigiYatra will be rolled out at other airports in the country, Scindia said at a briefing here. It will be available for passengers taking domestic flights. At Delhi airport, DigiYatra will be available for passengers taking domestic flights from Terminal 3 (T3). Scindia said DigiYatra data is stored in a decentralised manner. The minister was responding to queries about the privacy of data shared for DigiYatra. The data will be saved in an encrypted format and blockchain technology is being used. The data is stored in passengers' phones and the d

Flights start from Itanagar airport; Scindia says boosting NE connectivity

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday flagged off IndiGo's flight from Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata and said efforts are on to enhance air connectivity in the North East. This is the first flight from Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. Scindia virtually flagged off the flight from New Delhi. The flight operated from Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata. Itanagar is the 75th domestic and 101st overall destination in the IndiGo network. In a statement, IndiGo said the second frequency between Kolkata and Itanagar will commence on December 3. Among others, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju attended the event virtually. "We are pleased to commence operations from Itanagar which will be our 10th destination in the northeast... over the last few years IndiGo has focused on increasing accessibility in the northeast and now connects seven out of eight states in the region," IndiGo's Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjay Kumar said. Meanwhile, Scindia

Pune airport to get new terminal building by May, says Jyotiraditya Scindia

The Pune airport will get a new terminal building by May next year, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said here on Friday. He was speaking after inaugurating a multi-level car parking at the airport. "A direct flight from Pune to Bangkok has already started. Flight operations between Pune and Singapore will start from December 1," the minister said. "A new terminal will be constructed by May 2023 at the Pune airport. Seventy-five per cent of the new building has been completed," Scindia added. There is a plan to set up an integrated domestic and international cargo system in Pune and flight operations at the airport will also increase, he said. The BJP leader also said that he has a "very personal relation" with Pune city. "Though I live in Gwalior, my heart still remains in Pune. The city holds top rank in arts, culture, history, business, IT and much more," he added.

Govt preparing 'coking coal mission' to diversify raw material sources: Min

The government is preparing a 'coking coal mission' to diversify the sources of key steel making raw material, for which the country is heavily dependent on imports, according to Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The mission is part of the government's efforts to reduce dependence on imports for coking coal and increase use of locally available coal in the steel making through gasification process, the steel minister told PTI in an interview. "We (the government) are in the process of making it (coking coal mission). It is the coal ministry's purview," Scindia said in response to a question on the government's initiative towards increasing the availability of raw material in the country. India imports around 90 per cent of its coking coal requirement. The coal produced within the country has high ash content, the minister said. Coal with high ash content is not suitable for steel making through the blast furnace route. "So what we are looking at through the coking coal mission