Rs 44 crore spent to assist Indian citizens abroad in view of COVID-19: Govt
New Delhi (PTI): The government on Friday said it spent Rs 44 crore in assisting Indian citizens abroad in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the amount has been spent from the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF).
"Since the spread of COVID-19 pandemic till October, the government of India has spent approximately Rs 44 crores from the Indian Community Welfare Fund," he said in his written reply.
Muraleedharan was answering a question on whether the government has assisted Indians in distress abroad using the ICWF in view of the pandemic.
To a separate question, Muraleedharan said an estimated 1.35 crore Indian nationals were residing in various countries, including 88 lakh in the Gulf region. In response to another question on whether there was a delay in securing the approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Covaxin vaccine, the minister said it is based on a technical process.
"The grant of Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the WHO is a technical process which is undertaken by independent experts appointed by the WHO," he said.
Muraleedharan said the process involves submission of necessary data by the concerned vaccine manufacturing company and its analysis and evaluation by the WHO experts.
"Bharat Biotech International Limited applied for the WHO's EUL for Covaxin in July 2021. Covaxin was granted EUL by the WHO on November 3 after the WHO's expert body so recommended," he said.
Muraleedharan also said that there is no multilaterally agreed upon the requirement of vaccination for travel purposes.
"International travel can also be undertaken with negative RT-PCR and quarantine related health protocols to a large number of countries. " Further, different countries have different requirements for travel, including nature of passports, type of visas, the purpose of travel, duration of stay etc," he said.
The minister said these are sovereign decisions of foreign countries. "Travels including by VIPs are in accordance with the prescribed protocols of the countries concerned," he added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
