News Analysis India

Tag: Vadodara

  • Gujarat ATS raids factory near Vadodara, recovers drugs worth Rs 500 crore

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has raided a manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Vadodara city and seizes a huge cache of the banned MD drug worth around Rs 500 crore, an ATS official said on Wednesday.

    During the raid at the small factory-cum-godown near Vadodara on Tuesday night, the ATS also apprehended five persons from the spot, he said.

    A preliminary investigation revealed the accused were making the MD drug, a narcotic substance, in the guise of manufacturing chemicals legally, the official said.

    The operation is still on to bust the entire network, he said without giving more details.

    In August this year, the ATS had seized more than 200 kilogram of party drug mephedrone worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore from a warehouse near Vadodara city, officials earlier said.

    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has raided a manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Vadodara city and seizes a huge cache of the banned MD drug worth around Rs 500 crore, an ATS official said on Wednesday.

    During the raid at the small factory-cum-godown near Vadodara on Tuesday night, the ATS also apprehended five persons from the spot, he said.

    A preliminary investigation revealed the accused were making the MD drug, a narcotic substance, in the guise of manufacturing chemicals legally, the official said.

    The operation is still on to bust the entire network, he said without giving more details.

    In August this year, the ATS had seized more than 200 kilogram of party drug mephedrone worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore from a warehouse near Vadodara city, officials earlier said.

  • PM lays foundation stone of country’s first military transport aircraft manufacturing unit in Vadodara

    Express News Service

    VADODARA: In a major step, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the joint manufacturing facility of the Airbus and TATA Consortium of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led by TASL here. 

    The facility will manufacture C-295 medium transport planes for the Indian Air Force, the first time that the C-295 aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe and by a private company. The total cost of the project is Rs 21,935 crore. 

    The manufacturing unit will also cater for the export of the premier transport aircraft as well as for additional orders by the Indian Air Force.

    Calling it transformative, the Prime Minister said, “The transport aircraft that will be manufactured here will not only give power to our Armed forces but also develop a new ecosystem of manufacturing aircraft… Soon, India will witness the passenger aircraft that will be made with the tag of ‘Make In India’.”

    “Today, India is one of the fastest-developing aviation sectors. We are soon to enter the list of the top three nations in terms of air traffic. In the coming 10-15 years, India will require over 2000 passenger and cargo aircraft. This reflects how fast we’ll be developing.” PM Modi added.

    Over 100 MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) spread over seven states will be linked to this project said Prime Minister Modi.

    Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India.

    The first 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025.

    The first Made in India aircraft is expected in September 2026 and the remaining 39 will have to be produced by August 2031. Every year, a total of 8 aircraft will be produced at the facility.

    There are 34 other countries which operate the C-295 aircraft. Till date, more than 200 aircraft have been delivered.

    The approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security for the procurement of fifty-six C-295 MW transport aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain for the Indian Air Force was accorded in September 2021.

    The aircraft can be used for civilian purposes as well.  

    The foundation laying ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel among others.

    Speaking on the occasion, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons said, “With the setting up of the Final Assembly line (FAL) in Vadodara, the Tata Group will now be able to take aluminium ingots at one end of the value stream and turn it into a C-295 aircraft for the IAF.”

    After the completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to the IAF, Airbus Defence and Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries which are cleared by the Government of India.

    Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar three days back said the indigenous content in the plane will be the highest ever in India, and that 96 per cent of the work that Airbus does in Spain to produce the plane will be done at the manufacturing unit in Vadodara.

    Officials said the project offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into the technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.

    (Photo | PTI)

    ALSO READ | Pact to set up Tata-Airbus aircraft project in Gujarat inked during MVA rule: Maharashtra minister

    The C-295MW aircraft has a 5-10 tonne capacity and possesses contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of IAF.

    The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo. The short take-off/land from semi-prepared surfaces is another of its features. 

    The aircraft has a maximum speed of 480 kmph.

    The aircraft will strengthen the logistic capabilities of the IAF. It can carry either 71 passengers or 44 fully equipped paratroopers or 24 stretchers.

    More than 13400 detail parts, 4600 sub-assemblies and all seven major component assemblies, including nose fuselage, outer wings, centre wing box, centre fuselage, rear fuselage, doors and empennage will be manufactured at this facility. 

    Final assembly work like integration of systems and assembly of aero systems of the C-295MW will also be carried out at the facility.

    IAF officials said the C-295 aircraft would be able to operate from Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) and even unprepared runways.

    All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an indigenous electronic warfare suite to be developed by the state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.

    The project is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector.

    Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain for the project.

    (With online desk inputs)

    VADODARA: In a major step, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the joint manufacturing facility of the Airbus and TATA Consortium of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led by TASL here. 

    The facility will manufacture C-295 medium transport planes for the Indian Air Force, the first time that the C-295 aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe and by a private company. The total cost of the project is Rs 21,935 crore. 

    The manufacturing unit will also cater for the export of the premier transport aircraft as well as for additional orders by the Indian Air Force.

    Calling it transformative, the Prime Minister said, “The transport aircraft that will be manufactured here will not only give power to our Armed forces but also develop a new ecosystem of manufacturing aircraft… Soon, India will witness the passenger aircraft that will be made with the tag of ‘Make In India’.”

    “Today, India is one of the fastest-developing aviation sectors. We are soon to enter the list of the top three nations in terms of air traffic. In the coming 10-15 years, India will require over 2000 passenger and cargo aircraft. This reflects how fast we’ll be developing.” PM Modi added.

    Over 100 MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) spread over seven states will be linked to this project said Prime Minister Modi.

    Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India.

    The first 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025.

    The first Made in India aircraft is expected in September 2026 and the remaining 39 will have to be produced by August 2031. Every year, a total of 8 aircraft will be produced at the facility.

    There are 34 other countries which operate the C-295 aircraft. Till date, more than 200 aircraft have been delivered.

    The approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security for the procurement of fifty-six C-295 MW transport aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain for the Indian Air Force was accorded in September 2021.

    The aircraft can be used for civilian purposes as well.  

    The foundation laying ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel among others.

    Speaking on the occasion, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons said, “With the setting up of the Final Assembly line (FAL) in Vadodara, the Tata Group will now be able to take aluminium ingots at one end of the value stream and turn it into a C-295 aircraft for the IAF.”

    After the completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to the IAF, Airbus Defence and Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries which are cleared by the Government of India.

    Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar three days back said the indigenous content in the plane will be the highest ever in India, and that 96 per cent of the work that Airbus does in Spain to produce the plane will be done at the manufacturing unit in Vadodara.

    Officials said the project offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into the technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.

    (Photo | PTI)

    ALSO READ | Pact to set up Tata-Airbus aircraft project in Gujarat inked during MVA rule: Maharashtra minister

    The C-295MW aircraft has a 5-10 tonne capacity and possesses contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of IAF.

    The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo. The short take-off/land from semi-prepared surfaces is another of its features. 

    The aircraft has a maximum speed of 480 kmph.

    The aircraft will strengthen the logistic capabilities of the IAF. It can carry either 71 passengers or 44 fully equipped paratroopers or 24 stretchers.

    More than 13400 detail parts, 4600 sub-assemblies and all seven major component assemblies, including nose fuselage, outer wings, centre wing box, centre fuselage, rear fuselage, doors and empennage will be manufactured at this facility. 

    Final assembly work like integration of systems and assembly of aero systems of the C-295MW will also be carried out at the facility.

    IAF officials said the C-295 aircraft would be able to operate from Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) and even unprepared runways.

    All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an indigenous electronic warfare suite to be developed by the state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.

    The project is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector.

    Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain for the project.

    (With online desk inputs)

  • After Mumbai, Vadodara reports case of XE variant of Omicron

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI//AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government on Saturday reported the first case of Omicron’s sub-variant XE in the state. Said to be 10 per cent more transmissible, this was detected in a man from Mumbai who tested positive for Covid-19 during his visit to Vadodara. He has gone back to Mumbai and is said to be in stable condition.

    This is the second reported case of the variant in India, after one in Mumbai earlier this week. The Central government, which denied that the case in Mumbai was one of XE, did not comment on the Gujarat case till late in the evening. Experts have advised not to panic, saying that this combination of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains of Omicron will not be dangerous for a vaccinated population.

    Officials at the Indian Sars-coV-2 Genome Consortium (INSACOG), a network of labs that tracks sequences, and the Union health ministry are yet to confirm if the Gujarat case is actually an XE variant.

    According to Gujarat health department officials, a test was conducted on a 67-year-old man who came to Vadodara from Mumbai last month. He took a Covid-19 test after complaining of fever. The report was positive. This was around March 15. His samples were sent for genome sequencing to Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre in Gandhinagar for testing as per ICMR guidelines. The report came on Friday night.

    Those who came in contact with the man from Mumbai have tested negative. “Covid test reports of three persons who came in contact with the patient are negative,” the Gujarat health department said. “Condition of the patient was stable when the health department had a conversation with him over the phone. As precautionary measures, action has been taken in that area in Vadodara as per Covid guidelines,” said the health department in a media statement.

    Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary of Health, Manoj Agarwal said, “Transition capability of the XE variant is higher than Omicron. The hospitalisation process is the same. The Centre will continue to provide guidance.” The current variant has generated concern worldwide and in India, which has just lifted all Covid-related restrictions, with many states making it not mandatory to wear masks anymore.

  • Two medical students drown in river in Vadodara district

    By PTI
    VADODARA: Two medical students, who were out on a picnic, drowned while swimming in a river in Gujarat’s Vadodara district on Saturday, police said.

    The incident took place in the morning when a group of eight students from Baroda Medical College had gone to the river for a picnic near Lachhanpura village in Savli taluka, an official from Savli police station said.

    The victims Riddhi Shah and Amodh Goyal, both 20 years old, had ventured into the river and drowned while swimming, he said, adding that locals had tried to rescue the duo.

    The duo was eventually fished out and rushed to the civil hospital in Vadodara, were doctors declared them dead, the official said.

    Shah is from Wadhwan in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, while Goyal is from Surat, he added.

  • COVID-19: ‘Minor’ oxygen leakage at Vadodara hospital, patients safe

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: A “minor” leakage of medical oxygen took place in the SSG Hospital at Vadodara in Gujarat on Monday morning after a pipe carrying the life-saving gas for COVID-19 patients got punctured, an official said.

    Nearly 600 COVID-19 patients are on oxygen support at the government-run hospital, but the supply was not hindered as the leakage was plugged within 20 minutes, Dr Ranjan Aiyer, the medical superintendent of the facility, told PTI.

    The leakage took place in the ‘New Surgical Block’ premises of the Sir Sayajirao General (SSG) Hospital when the copper pipe, which transports oxygen from the main tank to different wards, got damaged.

    “It was a minor leakage as the copper pipe got punctured at one place. A small amount of oxygen leaked. The issue was resolved by our staff within 20 minutes,” Dr Aiyer said.

    Of the total 766 COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment at the hospital, around 600 are on oxygen support, the official said.

    “The leakage had no impact on the oxygen supply to our patients. They didn’t even get to know that such a thing had happened,” he said.

    On April 21, 22 COVID-19 patients suffocated to death when their oxygen supply stopped suddenly because of a malfunction in the main storage at a civic-run hospital in Nashik city of Maharashtra.

  • Newborn twins tests positive for COVID-19 in Vadodara

    By ANI
    VADODARA: A set of newborn twins have tested positive for Covid-19 infection in Gujarat’s Vadodara.

    According to Dr Sheel Iyer, Head, Department of Paediatrics, SSG Hospital, Vadodara, the newborns are currently stable and are being given supportive treatment in the hospital.

    “The babies were brought back to the hospital after 15 days of being discharged with severe diarrhea and dehydration. We initially looked for all the normal causes of infections, but later when we got them tested for Covid-19 infection, and their reports came positive,” the doctor said on Thursday.

    She also informed that both parents of the newborn had also tested positive for coronavirus infection and are being treated for it.

    “Both their caregivers also tested positive for Covid-19. Now both babies are stable. We are giving supportive treatment for the babies,” Dr Iyer said. 

  • Chhattisgarh team reached Vadodara, quarantine will be six days, first match on January 10

    The team of Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association (CSCS) has reached Vadodara after playing five T20 practice matches from Madhya Pradesh. Six-day players have been quarantined following Corona’s guide line. On January 8 and 9, the team will go to practice. After this, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy will be played from January 10. Earlier, five practice matches were played between Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in Indore. In which Chhattisgarh faced victory in two matches and lost in three. Significantly, the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy is starting from January 10. BCCI has released the schedule of the match. Chhattisgarh team will be played in Vadodara. The team’s command has been handed over to Harpreet Singh Bhatia. After the practice match, the team left for Indore to Vadodara. Where all players are placed on quarantine.

    Players will examine the corona in three stages. The report will be submitted to BCECE. Players will get a chance to practice only after three stages are reported. Right now the players have been stopped at different hotels.