COVID: No restrictions on inter-state travel, says Karnataka Health Minister
'Covid marshals would be deployed to monitor wedding'
Bengaluru, Feb 22: The Karnataka government on Monday clarified that it had not imposed any restrictions on inter-state travel, but has mandated RT-PCR certificates not older than 72 hours for those arriving in the state from neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra.
Health Minister K Sudhakar, while stating this, also cautioned people against negligence towards observing protocol and of stricter steps if the number of cases increase and said marshals would be deployed to monitor weddings as they were taking place without following any norms or guidelines.
"We have not imposed any restrictions on passengers traveling from Kerala, Maharashtra or any other state to Karnataka.
Let me clarify this, because other states may have got a wrong opinion....For inter-state travelers there is no restriction," Sudhakar said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said Karnataka has made it mandatory for people arriving in the state to have a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours.
This measure was taken last week for those arriving by flights, buses, trains, personal transport from neighboring Maharashtra and Kerala, following the recent spike in COVID cases in those states.
To a question on people staging protests at the Kerala borders demanding withdrawal of "restrictions", Sudhakar said no restrictions had been imposed, but checking negative test reports could have caused some inconvenience to travelers.
"According to Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, there is movement of about 2-3 lakh people between both states every day.
If test reports of such a large number of people has to be done, it definitely causes inconvenience, so we may not be able to do it 100 per cent, but we are trying random at least," he said.
Sudhakar also said he would speak to the Health Ministers of Kerala and Maharashtra in a couple of days and request them to issue strict circulars to travelers in their states.
"Many people travelling from those states don't have information. We have issued a circular in our state. But if circulars are issued in those states also, it will benefit both," the minister said.
He noted that events, fairs, marriages and agitations with large crowds were being held despite repeated appeals by the government, all of which were against the guidelines issued by the COVID technical advisory committee.
"Civic sense and responsibility is also important. If we don't understand it, in the days to come, if the cases increase, you (people) will be responsible for forcing the government to take strict measures.
At a few places in Maharashtra there is lockdown...you decide if such a situation has to come in Karnataka," he said.
The Minister said marshals would be deputed at weddings to ensure that not more than 500 people gather at the events, wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Further, if five people in a place test positive, the area would be designated as a containment zone, he said, adding there is already a circular in this regard.
Stating that more than 4.24 lakh health department employees and 1.20 lakh front line warriors have been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine,Sudhakar said the government was cleaning up registration data by eliminating duplicate entries.
"We have a target of 80 per cent and 90 per cent coverage for Health department staff and front line warriors respectively by the end of this month.
All officials have been requested to get the dose."
"Bengaluru is lagging in vaccination... instructions have been given to all districts to achieve 80 per cent target," he said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
