Pvt airlines asked to offer planes for drills

The Union home ministry has told private airlines in the country to regularly provide their aircraft to the National Security Guard (NSG) for antihijacking drills that the force regularly conducts.

The issue came up during a review of the elite counter-terror and anti-hijacking commando force’s working by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

“It is beneficial for the private airlines if the NSG remains familiar with all kinds of planes used by them. The issue is by and large settled,” said a senior home ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

So far, mostly planes of government owned airlines were used by the NSG.

The ministry has also asked the Border Security Force(BSF), which has its own air wing, to provide a chopper to the NSG . “The NSG urgently needs a helicopter. The chopper may be given from the existing fleet of the BSF or from the Indian Air Force,” the official said. The ministry also said it will allow commercial airlines to provide on board internet service only if they adopt strict safety measures.

“There is a high probability of internet service being misused if allowed without any safety features. We have told the civil aviation ministry to implement the proposal only after taking security measures,” said a senior home ministry official.

Though, many international airlines offer on board internet , they have to switch it off in Indian skies .

At least 24 people were charred to death and several others were injured when a passenger bus caught fire after colliding with a truck on national highway 24 in Bareilly on Monday.

The accident occurred on an under-construction stretch of the highway between Bareilly and Shahjahanpur. The bus driver was reportedly speeding past a junction. According to witnesses, the bus caught fire moments after the collision. Most passengers were asleep.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed and ₹50,000 for the injured

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath also announced a compensation of ₹50,000 for the kin of the dead and ₹25,000 for the injured.