Jyotiraditya Scindia asks chief ministers of five states to strengthen aviation infrastructure

The civil aviation minister also asked the chief ministers of Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat to deposit Rs 7.55 crore, Rs 1.44 crore and Rs 47 lakh, respectively, with the Regional Air Connectivity Fund Trust.

August 26, 2021 / 09:26 PM IST

Representative Image (Reuters)

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on August 26 wrote to chief ministers of five more states – Karnataka, Jharkhand, Goa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh – seeking personal intervention in matters related to land allocation and funding to boost aviation infrastructure, the central government said in a press release.

In his letters dated August 26, the civil aviation minister asked the chief ministers of Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat to deposit Rs 7.55 crore, Rs 1.44 crore and Rs 47 lakh, respectively, with the Regional Air Connectivity Fund Trust.

Furthermore, Scindia has asked these five states to expedite land acquisition to the Airports Authority of India to ensure expansion can start at airports in respective states.

In a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Scindia said that a total of around 3,480.35 acres of land is required around six airports in the state to carry out various greenfield and brownfield expansions at those airports.

Similarly in a letter to Jai Ram Thakur, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, the minister requested to extend support for removal of obstacles and provide requisite land for making Shimla airport compatible for the operation of ATR-72 type of aircraft.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show