Egypt president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to be chief guest at Republic Day celebrations
New Delhi (PTI): Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in January, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday.
"This is the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt will be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day," the MEA said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent a formal invitation to al-Sisi which was handed over to the Egyptian president by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on October 16.
Both countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
Egypt has been invited as a 'Guest Country' during India's Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23, the statement said.
"India and Egypt enjoy warm and friendly relations based on civilisational and deep-rooted people-to-people ties," the statement said.
Leaders of friendly nations have graced the Republic Day celebrations since 1950, when the then Indonesian President Sukarno was invited as the chief guest.
In 1952, 1953 and 1966, the Republic Day celebrations were held without a foreign leader as chief guest.
In 2021, the then British prime minister Boris Johnson was invited as the chief guest but his visit had to be cancelled due to the rising COVID-19 cases in Britain.
This year, India had invited leaders of the five Central Asian Republics, who were to visit Delhi for the India-Central Asia Summit, as chief guests for the Republic Day celebrations.
However, the visit was cancelled due to rising COVID-19 cases in India. The India-Central Asia Summit was held in the virtual format.
In 2018, the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leadership comprising 10 heads of state was present at the Republic Day parade.
In 2020, the then Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest.
Former US President Barack Obama (2015), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2007), former French presidents Nicholas Sarkozy (2008) and Francois Hollande (2016) have also been chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations in the past.
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GRAP-III restrictions in Delhi as air quality remains 'severe' for third consecutive day
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi woke up to GRAP Stage III restrictions on Friday, as the city's air quality remained in the 'severe' category for the third consecutive day, prompting strict measures to curb pollution levels.
According to the Sameer aap , the Air Quality Index at 9 am was recorded in the 'severe' category (400 to 500), with a reading of 411.
The CAQM imposed GRAP Stage III as the national capital recorded the worst pollution levels in the country, with the air quality remaining in the 'severe' category for two consecutive days.
Prior to entering the 'severe' category, Delhi's air quality had been in the 'very poor ' range for 14 consecutive days.
It directed the authorities in Delhi-NCR to invoke curbs under stage III of the anti-pollution plan with immediate effect.
Curbs under Stage III include a ban on non-essential construction and demolition, closure of stone crushers and mining activities in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).
Under the Stage-IV restrictions of GRAP, all inter-state buses from NCR states 'except electric vehicles, CNG vehicles and BS-VI diesel buses' will be prohibited from entering Delhi, alongside a stringent ban on construction and demolition activities, suspension of mining-related activities, consideration of shifting to online classes for students up to Class V and daily water sprinkling on major roads.
Meanwhile, out of 39 monitoring stations in Delhi, a total of 27 stations recorded air quality in the 'severe' category, with readings above 400.
These stations include Alipur, Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Aya Nagar, Bawana, CRRI Mathura Road, IGI Airport, ITO, Jahangirpuri, Mandir Marg, Mundka, Najafgarh, Nehru Nagar, North Campus, Okhla Phase 2, Patparganj, Punjabi Bagh, Pusa, RK Puram, Rohini, and several others.
The city recorded its lowest minimum temperature (night time temperature) of the season at 15.6 degree Celsius, 2.6 notches above normal, according to the weather department.
The night time temperature on Thursday was recorded at 16.1°C, the second highest of the season so far. A thick veil of fog blanketed the city, reducing visibility at Safdarjung to 400 meters at 7 am on Friday.
Humidity was recorded at 98 per cent at 8:30 am.
The weather department has forecast very dense fog for the day, with the maximum temperature expected to settle at 29 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, Delhi's air quality has been recorded as the worst in the country for the past two days.
