Air India passengers travelling to UAE can now carry more check-in luggage
Dubai, Jul 16: Passengers travelling to the UAE by Air India can now carry 40 kgs of check-in luggage after the national carrier enhanced the baggage limit by 10 kgs.
The changes will be implemented with immediate effect for those booking their tickets Tuesday onwards, Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ashwini Lohani said Monday night at a reception hosted by the Indian community here.
"As demanded by the people here, Air India will allow passengers to carry 40 kgs as luggage in the check-in besides the usual 7 kg that the traveller carries as hand baggage," Lohani said.
The Indian community during the event demanded from Lohani to raise the limit of the check-in luggage from existing 30 kg to 40 kg.
The Indian community led by Nilgiri Trading LLC CEO Chandrashekhar Bhatia hosted the reception at the India Club here to welcome the launch of the Indore-Dubai and the Kolkata-Dubai flights.
The community honoured Lohani and others on the occasion and welcomed the launch of the direct flight from Indore.
Bhatia and financial consultant, Harish Mishra among others who migrated to Dubai from Indore over two decades back said the direct flight from Indore will reduce the travel time from te earlier minimum 10 hours to just 3:30 hours, providing major relief to the people of Madhya Pradesh.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
