Kathmandu — Bangladesh has clinched the title of SAFF U-19 Women’s Football Championship.
Host Bangladesh defeated India by 1-0 in the final match held on Wednesday. In the match, which ended in a goalless draw in the first match, Bangladesh scored a decisive goal in the 80th minute.
Bangladesh is also the defending champion. It had defeated Nepal in the final in 2018.
The match had been played in a round robin format this time.
LONDON– UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that the government has no plans of issuing tougher COVID-19 restrictions despite a surge in cases of the Omicron variant.
“We don’t think today that there is enough evidence to justify any tougher measures before Christmas,” Johnson said in a video address published on his Twitter page.
The government will continue to closely monitor the data related to the spread of the Omicron strain and make efforts to “protect public health,” including a possible toughening of restrictions after Christmas, he added.
The prime minister also urged citizens to follow health rules and get vaccinated given the “uncertainty” of the situation. In recent weeks, the daily average of infections has exceeded 90,000 cases.
As of Tuesday, the authorities have confirmed 90,629 new cases and 172 fatalities. In this regard, the government announced earlier in the day an allocation of $1.3 billion to assist businesses hit by a new wave of the virus. (ANI/Sputnik)
New Delhi — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 34,758,481 on Wednesday, as 6,317 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data.
Besides, 318 deaths from the pandemic have been reported since Tuesday morning, taking the total death toll to 478,325.
There are still 78,190 active COVID-19 cases in the country despite a fall of 907 active cases during the past 24 hours. “India’s active caseload is the lowest in the past 575 days,” said an official statement by the federal health ministry.
A total of 34,201,966 people have been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals, of whom 6,906 were discharged during the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the country’s Omicron tally has reached 213. Delhi and Maharashtra have reported 57 and 54 cases, respectively. Till now, 90 patients have been discharged after recovery, as per the Health Ministry.
Kathmandu — Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Devendra Paudel has directed a Committee formed to monitor foreign universities and teaching institutions being operated in Nepal to submit the field visit report within the next 15 days.
The Committee shall visit the foreign universities and academic institutions in accordance with the existing directives about the operation of higher education.
It may be noted that the five-year renewal of 85 foreign teaching institutions was terminated from last mid-February. Though all institutions have applied for renewing, the monitoring was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis(RSS).
KATHMANDU — The Covid-19 medical equipment support pledged earlier by the British Army to the Nepali Army has arrived in Kathmandu on Monday.
The medical equipment package, which comprises a PCR Machine, Venturi Reservoir Masks and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure will form part of a 25-bed Covid control facility, was transported by UK Royal Air Force (RAF) C-17.
Col. Paul Smith, Commander of British Gurkhas Nepal, today handed over to @thenepalesearmy a 25-bed COVID control facility and PCR testing facility to support its fight again #COVID19. The bond between🇳🇵and 🇬🇧 as strong as always, with military partnership a cornerstone. pic.twitter.com/8j8rMp2Bl7
— UK in Nepal 🇬🇧🇳🇵 (@UKinNepal) December 20, 2021
Colonel Paul Smith, Defence Attaché & Commander British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) handed over the equipment to Technical Colonel Dr Moon Thapa of the Nepali Army, at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Shedding light on the unique Army-to-Army cooperation between the UK and Nepal, Colonel Smith said, “The British Army has long been associated with the Nepali Army and we recognise their responsibility to those that are serving as well as the many veterans and families that depend on their Medical Services. In the spirit of continued cooperation, we are pleased to support them with equipment and stores to make them more resilient in case of any further complications from Covid. This support marks the high regard we have for the Nepali Army and we send our best wishes to the highly professional and dedicated staff of the Nepali Army Medical Corps.”
The British Army has sent a specialist team to advise on their response and work on a proposal to provide this Covid-19 medical support package to the Nepali Army in response to the latter’s request made in May last year, according to a statement issued by British Gurkhas Nepal.
Some other items such as consumables with longer life for the assistance package will be delivered in the latter instalments and handed over to the Nepali Army through British Gurkhas Nepal, Kathmandu, the statement added.
This material assistance follows interactions between the Military Assessment Team (Nepal) (MAT (N)) of the British Army and the Nepali Army in June 2021 where knowledge was exchanged on how each Army has been contributing to its country’s fight against Covid-19 and seeking ways to optimise over 200 years of cooperation between the two Armies in the present situation.
According to the statement, the UK MOD’s head office has also supported this effort from the British Army with Staff Officers and Civilians supporting this work and gaining the personnel sign-off from the Secretary of State for Defence Mr Ben Wallace MP. This delivery also compliments other aid provided by the UK Government to help Nepal to cope with the Covid-19 situation. These include the provision of oxygen concentrators, a direct vaccine contribution and also vaccines made available through the Covax distribution programme.
Going beyond the present event to highlight the wider and long-standing cooperation between the British Army and the Nepali Army, Colonel Smith remarked, “Nepal and the UK have long worked together and continue to do so on UN Operations around the world. This donation of Medical equipment direct to the Nepali Army Medical Services is a long-standing of that close relationship and to support such a long standing ally.”
The Brigade of Gurkhas represents all the units in the British Army which are composed of Nepali Gurkha soldiers. British Gurkhas Nepal (BGN) operates as the British Army unit in Nepal with its Headquarters in Kathmandu and camps in Pokhara and Dharan. BGN works alongside the Gurkha Welfare Trust (Nepal) which provides support to the Gurkha ex-servicemen and their dependants in Nepal. ( From : The Himalayan Times)
New Delhi , PTI —Around 50 Indian companies are taking part in a three-day business exhibition in Nepal, aimed to promote Brand India and enhance bilateral trade and investment by creating awareness about trade opportunities available on both sides.
The December 21-23 Enterprise India 2022 is being held at Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall in Kathmandu.
Namgya Khampa, Chargs d’Affaires, Indian Embassy, opened the exhibition and interacted with the Indian and Nepali companies participating in the event.
“She also encouraged the organisers to explore B2B partnerships with Nepali entrepreneurs in order to strengthen commercial ties between the two countries,” according to a press release issued by the Indian Embassy on Wednesday.
The event is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with the support of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
“The exhibition aims to promote Brand India and enhance bilateral trade and investment by creating awareness on business opportunities available on both sides,” it said.
The exhibition also aims to facilitate joint ventures, technology transfer, marketing arrangements as well as people-to-people contacts between the two countries, it said.
Around 50 Indian companies representing multiple sectors are showcasing their products and services at the exhibition, which is also witnessing participation from Nepali businesses and traders.
India and its neighbours should fully reopen schools to address the interrupted education of more than 400 million children whose classrooms were shut by the coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF says, with a top official warning the consequences could last decades.
Schools in Bangladesh were closed for almost 18 months, one of the longest closures in the world, the UN children’s agency said, while schools in other South Asian countries were shut for an average of 31.5 weeks between March 2020 and August this year, Aljazzera writes.
“This happened in a region where there were no strong conditions for remote learning,” George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF’s regional director for South Asia, told the AFP news agency.
“Access to internet and devices was very uneven. And we see a severe learning deficiency, especially among poor communities and girls – because often boys are more trusted with technology.”
One study in India, cited in the report, showed that the proportion of grade 3 children who could read a grade 1 level text fell from about 42 percent in 2018 to just 24 percent in 2020.
Being out of school also led to students experiencing psychosocial distress, poor mental health and increased risk of violence. Girls were at a high risk of early marriage.
The UNICEF report called on governments in South Asia to safely resume in-person learning and ensure that students catch up, as well as improve connectivity.
“The cost of inaction would be a weaker labour force in a few years, it is going to show,” said Laryea-Adjei. “The consequences will be long term.”
According to a UNESCO database, schools in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan remain only partially open, while those in Pakistan and Sri Lanka are fully open.
The report also warned that child mortality is projected to rise as pandemic disruptions to health services have left millions of children without lifesaving vaccines.
J. Karki, London — British MP Jane Hunt has said that the 206-year-long friendship between Britain and Nepal has built a special relationship and the Nepali community living in the United Kingdom is contributing well to the British economy. She also appreciated the special contribution of Gurkhas and other professionals in Britain.
Addressing an annual meeting of the Britain-Nepal Chamber of Commerce (BNCC) at Hotel Double Tree Hilton, Ealing, the Conservative MP said 4.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine support from the U.K. to Nepal through the COVAX scheme was possible because of this special relationship.
“There are a lot of opportunities to work together in the education, health, and investment sector in Nepal. I would like to appreciate particularly the role of the BNCC and all the professionals working together to promote trade and investment for the mutual benefit of Britain and Nepal,” she added.
Addressing the event, Charge d’affaires at the Nepali embassy in London, Mrs. Roshan Khanal, thanked Her Majesty’s Government for continuous support to Nepal for its socio-economic development. She appreciated the role of BNCC in promoting trade and investment between Nepal and the UK. “The Nepali embassy in London is always keen to help, support, and facilitate trade and investment between the two countries,” she added.
Chairman of BNCC, Dr. Kapil Rijal, said the BNCC organised programmes to support SMEs run by the Nepali business community in the UK during the pandemic. Highlighting historic relations between the two countries, Dr. Rijal said the time has now come to promote economic relations between them for mutual benefit.
The BNCC also recognised and felicitated Nepali community leaders, entrepreneurs, and journalists for their contribution to the community during the COVID crisis.
Among those awarded included President of Buddhist Community Centre UK Kaji Sherpa, President of Buddha Foundation U.K. Mr. Deepak Shrestha , President of Tamu Dhee UK Hit Kaji Gurung , President of Pasha Pucha UK OjeshSingh and Photographer and graphic designer Suman Shrestha. Similarly, prominent Nepali journalists based in the UK, Bhagirath Yogi , Nabin Pokharel , Dhruba Raj Aryal, Shiba Bhandari and Dr. Jagan Karki were also felicitated during the event. Similarly founder of Support Nepal and Sahara UK, Navin Gurung was recognised for his contribution to promoting tourism in Nepal from the UK.
Vice-Chair of BNCC, Biraj Bhatta, conducted the event and thanked all the participants who attended the Christmas event.
Photo: Shiva Bhandari / BNCC Social media page
KATHMANDU: The World Bank today announced a 93 billion US dollars replenishment package of the International Development Association (IDA) to help low-income countries respond to the COVID-19 crisis and build a greener, more resilient, and inclusive future.
The financing brings together 23.5 billion USD of contributions from 48 high and middle-income countries with financing raised in the capital markets, repayments, and the World Bank’s own contributions.
The financing package, agreed over a two-day meeting hosted virtually by Japan, is the largest ever mobilized in IDA’s 61-year history, according to a statement issued by the World Bank Group.
“Today’s generous commitment by our partners is a critical step toward supporting poor countries in their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 crisis,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass.
“We are grateful for the confidence our partners have in IDA as a non-fragmented and efficient platform to tackle development challenges and improve the lives of millions of people around the world.”
The funds will be delivered to the world’s 74 poorest countries under the 20th replenishment (IDA20) program, which focuses on helping countries recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.
In these countries, the ongoing pandemic is worsening poverty, undermining growth, and jeopardizing the prospects of a resilient and inclusive development.
Countries are struggling with falling government revenues; increasing debt vulnerabilities; rising risks to fragility, conflict, and instability; and dropping literacy rates.
A substantial portion of these funds go to tackling climate change, with a focus on helping countries to adapt to rising climate impacts and preserve biodiversity.
The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.
RSS
COLOMBO — The Sri Lankan government is all set to declare 2022 as the “Visit Sri Lanka Year” in line with the integrated five-year Global Communication Campaign (GCC), as its aims to attract 6 million tourists and 10 billion U.S. dollars in earnings by 2025 despite the challenges by the COVID-19 virus, local media reported Wednesday.
“As per our pre-COVID plan, it is critical to embark on an effective and holistic destination marketing campaign. This targeted program will not be altered even amidst the pandemic challenges,” Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga was quoted by local media as saying.
The minister said Sri Lanka aims to generate 10 billion U.S. dollars in income by attracting 6 million tourists by 2025, as set by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his policy statement of “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour.”
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has been recognized as a thrust sector to rebuild the economy and was identified as an export sector.
According to official statistics, 101,872 tourists arrived from Jan. 1 to Nov. 28, which included 41,177 tourists that arrived in the country this month.
Tourism was one of the worst-hit industries by the pandemic in Sri Lanka with the livelihoods of nearly 4 million people, directly and indirectly, affected by the lockdowns and the closing of borders.
London — New evidence compiled by the World Health Organization and the World Bank shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage. The organisations also reveal that more than half a billion people are being pushed into extreme poverty because they have to pay for health services out of their own pockets.
The findings are contained in two complementary reports, launched on Universal Health Coverage Day (12 December), highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 on people’s ability to obtain health care and pay for it.
In 2020, the pandemic disrupted health services and stretched countries’ health systems beyond their limits as they struggled to deal with the impact of COVID-19. As a result, for example, immunisation coverage dropped for the first time in ten years, and deaths from TB and malaria increased.
The pandemic also triggered the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, making it increasingly difficult for people to pay for care. Even before the pandemic, half a billion people were being pushed (or pushed still further) into extreme poverty because of payments they made for health care. The organisations expect that that number is now considerably higher.
“There is no time to spare,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “All governments must immediately resume and accelerate efforts to ensure every one of their citizens can access health services without fear of the financial consequences. This means strengthening public spending on health and social support, and increasing their focus on primary health care systems that can provide essential care close to home.”
He added,“Prior to the pandemic, many countries had made progress. But it was not robust enough. This time we must build health systems that are strong enough to withstand shocks, such as the next pandemic and stay on course towards universal health coverage.”
The new WHO/World Bank reports also warn that financial hardship is likely to become more intense as poverty grows, incomes fall, and governments face tighter fiscal constraints.
‘Poorest people are hit hardest’
“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, almost 1 billion people were spending more than 10 per cent of their household budget on health,” said Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank. “This is not acceptable, especially since the poorest people are hit hardest. Within a constrained fiscal space, governments will have to make tough choices to protect and increase health budgets,” he added.
In the first two decades of this century, many governments had made progress on service coverage. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, 68 per cent of the world’s population was covered by essential health services, such as pre-and post-natal care and reproductive health services; immunization services; treatment for diseases like HIV, TB and malaria; and services to diagnose and treat noncommunicable diseases like cancer, heart conditions, and diabetes.
But they had not made such advances in ensuring affordability. As a result, the poorest groups and those living in rural areas are the least able to obtain health services, and the least likely to be able to cope with the consequences of paying for them. Up to 90 percent of all households incurring impoverishing out-of-pocket health spending are already at or below the poverty line – underscoring the need to exempt poor people from out-of-pocket health spending, backing such measures with health financing policies that enable good intentions to be realized in practice.
Besides the prioritizing of services for poor and vulnerable populations, supported through targeted public spending and policies that protect individuals from financial hardship, it will also be crucial to improve the collection, timeliness and disaggregation of data on access, service coverage, out-of-pocket health spending and total expenditure. Only when countries have an accurate picture of the way that their health system is performing, can they effectively target action to improve the way it meets the needs of all people.
Together, these two new reports offer both a warning and guideposts to all countries as they strive to build back better from COVID-19 and keep their populations safe, healthy, and financially secure, a press statement said.
MEXICO CITY: At least 49 people were killed and dozens more sustained injuries after the truck boarded by them met with an accident in southern Mexico, BBC reported.
Some 100 people, mostly migrants from Honduras, were traveling in the ill-fated truck when it rolled and hit a bridge in the state of Chiapas, authorities said.
The truck reportedly flipped on a dangerous bend and hit a pedestrian bridge on a main road leading to the Chiapas state capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
Chiapas, which borders Guatamala, is a major transit point for undocumented migrants.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Principal Medical Scientis and Head of Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on international malaria control and elimination efforts. According to the latest World Malaria Report, there were an estimated 14 million more cases of malaria in 2020 compared to 2019.
Even more concerning was the marked increase in malaria-related deaths. These were mainly in children under the age of five living in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a sombre finding. Malaria is a preventable disease. Effective point-of-care diagnostic tools (rapid diagnostic tests) and treatments (artemisinin-based combination therapies) are widely available.
Progress towards achieving a malaria-free world had begun stalling – and in some regions reversing – from 2015. But the COVID-19 pandemic, continual Ebola outbreaks and ongoing humanitarian crises have posed additional challenges for national malaria control programmes. These factors have increased the chances that the 2030 targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO) won’t be met. The Global Malaria Strategy goals are to reduce malaria cases and deaths by 90%, and eliminate the disease in 35 countries by 2030.
The WHO warns that without immediate decisive action, all the impressive gains made against malaria since 2000 will be eroded. This will allow malaria to rebound and expose at least half of the world’s population to an increased risk of malaria.
National malaria control programmes across Africa have been commended for acting against the threat that COVID-19 posed to the delivery of essential malaria services. Disruptions did occur. But prompt innovative actions ensured they were not at the scale many experts predicted at the start of the pandemic.
Encouragingly, in 2020 many malaria endemic countries achieved their targets for delivering insecticide treated nets and spraying indoors. The number of children receiving seasonal chemoprevention in Africa exceeded the initial target.
However, more needs to be done to get malaria control efforts back on track. There must be improved access to essential malaria services. This is especially important for populations most at risk. Of particular concern are people in sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, six countries – Nigeria, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Mozambique and Burkina Faso – accounted for over 50% of all malaria cases and deaths reported in 2020.
Both the malaria parasite and the mosquito vector are continually developing mechanisms to evade control interventions.
Malaria parasites resistant to the artemisinin component of the WHO- recommended artemisinin-based combination therapies have now been confirmed in Uganda and Rwanda. This raises concerns over whether the therapies will continue to work.
There are currently no effective alternatives to these drugs. The WHO recommends that national malaria control programmes routinely assess whether drugs are still effective and whether parasites are mutating. Countries are also advised to develop feasible, fully costed containment and response plans to use as soon as they detect resistant parasites.
The widespread use of rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapies enables prompt diagnosis and effective treatment. These actions have made a positive difference to treatment outcomes.
But the current World Malaria Report sounds the alarm over the spread of malaria parasites with genetic changes that make them invisible to the rapid diagnostic tests most widely used in sub-Saharan Africa.
Malaria in pregnancy remains another challenge in Africa. In 2020, about 11.6 million pregnancies were exposed to malaria. As a result, 819,000 infants had low birthweights – which is strongly associated with death in childhood. The WHO recommends making greater efforts to reach pregnant women with interventions. These include insecticide treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment – where pregnant women are treated for malaria whether they have the disease or not. If 90% of women at risk had been treated, it would have prevented at least 200,000 low-weight births in 2020.
Insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying are essential to control and eventually eliminate malaria. The WHO applauded all countries that achieved optimal coverage in these efforts, despite the challenges faced in 2020.
Resistance is a threat here too, however. Over 88% of the countries that contributed to the 2020 World Malaria Report reported mosquito resistance to at least one class of insecticide. Nineteen countries reported resistance to all four classes of approved insecticides.
But it’s not all doom and gloom.
Earlier this year the WHO approved the roll-out of the first malaria vaccine, RTS,S, in highly burdened African countries. This vaccine has the potential to significantly improve outcomes in young African children. This group suffers disproportionately from malaria.
There are also new insecticides which could help sustain the efficacy of nets and spraying. And there is increased funding to integrate genomic surveillance into routine malaria surveillance systems.
These and other novel interventions, together with strong political commitment and sustained funding, have the potential to get malaria control efforts back on track and make malaria elimination a reality in our lifetime.
From : The Conversation
London — Coinciding with the 73rd International Human Rights Day, Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan (GCRPPB) has renewed its call for the early release of Bhutanese Political Prisoners languishing in various prisons of Bhutan for the last several decades.
GCRPPB has sent an appeal to The King of Bhutan appealing him to have mercy on those unfortunate prisoners and grant them Amnesty in order to allow them to live rest of their life peacefully with their beloved. The copy of the appeal has also been sent to Bhutan’s Prime Minister, Ministers and Members of Parliament for their information.
“At present there are more than 100 political prisoners languishing since decades in several prisons of Bhutan. Most of them are booked under National Security Act which demand life sentences and thus are serving life sentences,” said Ram Karki, Coordinator, Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan, based in The Hague, Netherlands. “Their elderly parents, wives and children are now mostly resettled in various developed countries after living for more than 20 years in various UNHCR aided refugee camps in Nepal.”
The GCRPPB has submitted a common memorandum to the government of all the Bhutanese Refugees resettling countries appealing their support for the safe and early release of those political prisoners.
Likewise, GCRPPB has also sent separate appeals to UN Human Rights Council, European Union, US State Departments, Diplomatic missions of USA, UK, Australia, The Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand based in Kathmandu and New Delhi for seeking their attention towards the plight of Bhutanese Political Prisoners, a press statement issued by the GCRPPB said.
ISLAMABAD — China donated 7,000 saplings on Wednesday to support Pakistani prime minister’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program and help Pakistan in its fight against climate change.
In a ceremony held at the Chinese embassy here, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong and Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam jointly planted a tree in the embassy’s premises to mark the event.
Talking to Xinhua on the sidelines of the event, Aslam said that the donation is very significant for Pakistan, and the trees will be planted along major highways in the country, and will be tagged to show the gift of the Chinese government and the Chinese people to commuters traveling along the roads.
Commenting on the relationship between Pakistan and China in the past 70 years, Aslam said “these are 70 years of friendship, brotherhood, and one of the strongest brotherhoods that Pakistan has with any country. We share not only our past but also our future… I am very thankful to China for becoming a part of Pakistan’s green vision.”
Speaking with Xinhua, the Chinese ambassador said that they gifted the trees on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.
The Chinese and Pakistani governments have been supporting each other in nature conservation, and the two sides are practicing the idea of a green Belt and Road to promote the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he added.
New Delhi — General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) died after a military helicopter crashed in Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Indian Air Force said today.
“With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” tweeted IAF.
Gen Rawat, India’s first CDS was on a visit to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course when his chopper crashed near Coonor in the Nilgiris district.
“Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today,” the IAFadded.
Gen Rawat had taken off from Sulur Airbase for Wellington and was accompanied by his wife Madhulika Rawat, his DA Brigadier LS Lidder, SO Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, among other defence officials.
“Around noon today, an IAF Mi 17 V5 helicopter with a crew of 4 members carrying the CDS and 9 other passengers met with a tragic accident near Coonoor, TN,” the Indian Air Force said in a tweet.
Group Captain Varun Singh, SC, Directing Staff at DSSC, the sole survivor of the crash, is undergoing treatment for his injuries at Military Hospital in Wellington.
General Rawat was India’s first Chief of Defence Staff. With his appointment in the topmost position in December 2019, he was the one-point advisor to the government matters related to the military including the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
“Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
“General Rawat had served the country with exceptional courage and diligence. As the first Chief of Defence Staff he had prepared plans for jointness of our Armed Forces,” Singh added.
A veteran of counterinsurgency warfare, CDS Rawat served in the most difficult terrains including northern and eastern commands.
CDS Rawat was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978. He previously served as Chief of the Army Staff from January 2017 to December 2019. (ANI)
