Measures being taken for ensuring a pandemic free environment for Aero India-2021: Yediyurappa
Bengaluru: Organising Aero India-2021 amid COVID-19 would be a "unique challenge" and the Karnataka government has adopted various proactive measures for ensuring a "pandemic free environment" for the country's premier air show, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Wednesday.
Participating in the Ambassadors Round Table, a virtual summit of foreign envoys in the backdrop of the Aero India- 2021, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, he said, there has been a tremendously positive response with almost 90 percent of the space being provisionally booked/blocked by the exhibitors.
The 13th edition of the Aero India exhibition is scheduled from February 3 - 7 at Air Force Station in Yelahanka here.
Yediyurappa said Karnataka has been the host for the last 12 editions of Aero India and it was a proud moment for it to be chosen again as the venue for the upcoming event.
It was indeed a unique challenge to the Karnataka government and the Ministry of Defence to host this event during the time when the entire world is reeling under the global pandemic, he said.
However, soon after the launch of the Aero India-2021 website for booking of spaces at the venue, there has been a tremendously positive response with almost 90 percent of the space being provisionally booked or blocked, he was quoted as saying by the CMO in a release.
Yediyurappa said his government has adopted various proactive measures for containing the pandemic and was also taking steps to ensure "a pandemic free environment" for the Aero India-2021.
The standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being formulated in order to ensure the safety of international delegates, participating dignitaries, and the general public with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms such as thermal screening, sanitization, and social distancing at all locations inside and outside the venue, he added.
The chief minister highlighted that Karnataka has a prominent place in the Aerospace and Defence map of the country catering to nearly 25 percent of India's Aircraft and Spacecraft Industry.
The state also contributed nearly 65 percent of the country's Aerospace related exports, besides accounting for 67 percent of the helicopter and aircraft manufacturing for defence services.
Karnataka was also the first state in the country to formulate a dedicated Aerospace Policy he said, pointing out that strategic Defence major public sector units like HAL, BEML, and BEL were situated here.
It also has the country's first private Aerospace SEZ in Belagavi, a thousand-acre Aerospace Park at Devanahalli, MRO at Kempegowda International Airport, and a Defence Production Cluster near the HAL Helicopter unit in Tumakuru district, Yediyurappa said.
Multiple financial incentives have also been announced under the New Industrial Policy of Karnataka to create a favorable environment for the investors, he said, adding that the government is also providing a 1.5 million dollar subsidy to anchor industries and special incentives for MRO and Regional Civil Aviation facilities.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
