5 states, 1 UT say incoming fliers to stay in quarantine B’luru, Hyderabad airports re-open from tomorrow

Give loans without fear of 3Cs, FM tells banks

Indian Naval Ship Kesari enters Port Louis, the second destination under Mission Sagar initiative, in Mauritius on Saturday. Kesari is carrying Covid related essential medicines and a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines for the people of the country.

New Delhi, May 23: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said banks have been asked to extend loans automatically to eligible borrowers without fear of 3Cs — CBI, CVC and CAG.

She said clear instructions have been given in a meeting with CEOs and MDs of public sector banks and financial institutions on Friday that the banks should not be scared to extend loans as 100 per cent guarantee is being given by the government.

In case of default, the individual bank or official will not be hauled up, she said in a conversation with BJP leader Nalin Kohli uploaded on the party’s social media platforms.

“Yesterday, I reiterated that by saying, if a decision goes wrong, and if there is a loss, the government has given 100 per cent guarantee now. It is not at all going to be on the individual official and on the bank, and therefore without fear they should take this automatic route in the sense, everybody eligible for additional term loan and additional working capital should be given,” she said.

As part of the `20.97 lakh crore comprehensive economic package, the government announced the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme worth `3-lakh crore for the MSME sector, hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

It is being said that the genuine bonafide decisions in the banking sector are being impacted because of the worry of undue harassment by 3Cs — Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Comptroller and Audit General (CAG).

New Delhi, May 23: With domestic flight operations set to resume from Monday, at least five states and one Union Territory said all inbound passengers would have to undergo a compulsory Covid-19 test and administrative quarantine till the time their report is out.

The governments of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Assam, and the administration of Jammu and Kashmir have decided that arriving passengers will have to stay in quarantine.

“Quarantining would be mandatory for all those who reach Kerala via domestic flights. Whatever be the mode of travel to Kerala, all those who come from outside have to go into quarantine. However, it would not be binding on those who come to the state for 1-2 days for business purposes and then go back. But, this category of passengers will also have to observe necessary preventive guidelines,” Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media.

Kerala, which had only 16 active cases on May 8, has seen 200 new cases in the past two weeks. The surge is attributed to the arrival of evacuation flights from the West Asia and the entry of people from other states.

As per official figures, over 85,000 J&K residents, stranded in different parts of the country due to the Covid-19-induced lockdown, have been brought back over the last fortnight by the UT administration through 24 special trains, three flights and scores of buses.

In Karnataka, domestic passengers from high-risk states — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — will have to stay in institutional

Hyderabad/Bengaluru: The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabd and the airport in Bengaluru are set to resume operation on May 25 after two months.

The airports would provide a safe and healthy environment with a robust contact-less boarding experience for passengers, a press release from the GMR group said on Saturday.

To protect passengers and staff from the risk of Covid-19 transmission, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) that operates the airport has introduced a parking-to-boarding contactless journey.

The ministry of civil aviation had, on May 20, announced that domestic flight operations would recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday.

With greater emphasis on minimum touch and exposure between passengers and airport personnel, the airport aims to minimise all physical contact.

The technology would continue to enable a seamless airport journey with greater emphasis on health and safety, a BIAL press release said. quarantine for seven days, followed by 7 days of home quarantine.

The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have decided to quarantine people arriving on flights as well as other modes of transport.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that people arriving by any mode would have to stay in quarantine for 14 days.