Centre, states owe Air India Rs 498 crore: Hardeep Singh Puri
New Delhi:The Centre and states owe Air India Rs 498.17 crore as on December 31, 2020 for VVIP travel, evacuation operations, travel of foreign dignitaries among other services, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Wednesday.
The governments in states and at the Centre owe the airline Rs 84.57 crore for VVIP travel, Rs 12.61 crore for foreign dignitaries' travel, Rs. 9.67 crore for evacuation operations and Rs 391.32 crore as other outstanding dues, the minister told Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.
The national carrier incurred a provisional loss of Rs 7,982 crore in 2019-20 as compared to the net loss of Rs 8,556 crore in 2018-19, Puri said.
The government is currently in the process to sell its entire stake in debt-ridden airline.
"The total amount of outstanding dues owed by the Central and State Governments to Air India for VVIP travel, evacuation operations, foreign dignitaries travel and other outstanding dues as on 31.12.2020 is Rs. 498.17 crore," Puri stated.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
