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PM interacts with SAARC leaders to combat COVID-19 in the region

Published By : Admin | March 15, 2020 | 18:18 IST
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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with the leaders of the SAARC countries through video conference to chart out a common strategy in order to combat COVID-19 in the region.

Shared History - Collective Future

Prime Minister thanked the leaders for joining the conference at such short notice. Stressing on the ancient people to people ties and interconnectedness of societies of the SAARC countries, he said it is imperative for the nations to prepare to face the challenge together.

The Way Forward

In the spirit of collaboration, Prime Minister Modi proposed creation of a COVID-19 Emergency Fund based on voluntary contributions from all the countries, with India making an initial offer of US $10 million for the fund. The fund can be used by any of the partner countries to meet the cost of immediate actions. He informed that India is assembling a Rapid Response Team of doctors and specialists, along with testing kits and other equipment, which will be on stand-by, to be placed at the disposal of the countries, if required.

Prime Minister also offered arranging for online training capsules for the emergency response teams of the neighbouring countries and sharing of software behind India’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal to help trace possible virus carriers and the people they contacted. He suggested that existing mechanisms like  SAARC Disaster Management Centre can be used to pool in best practises.

He also suggested creation of a common Research Platform to coordinate research on controlling epidemic diseases within the South Asian region. He suggested further brainstorming by experts on the long-term economic consequences of COVID-19, and how best to insulate internal trade and local value chains from its impact.

The leaders thanked the Prime Minister for the proposed initiatives. Prime Minister reiterated the resolve to battle together and said that neighbourhood collaboration by SAARC countries should serve as a model for the world.

Sharing Experience

Prime Minister said the guiding mantra for India has been “prepare, but don’t panic”. He laid down the proactive steps taken, including a graded response mechanism, screening those entering the country, public awareness campaigns on TV, print and social media, special efforts to reach out to the vulnerable groups, ramping up of diagnostic facilities and developing protocols for each stage of managing the pandemic.

He said that India has not only successfully evacuated almost 1400 Indians from different countries but also evacuated some of the citizens of the neighbouring countries in accordance with the ‘neighbourhood first policy’.

President Ashraf Ghani said that the greatest vulnerability of Afghanistan is an open border with Iran. He proposed modelling diffusion patterns, creation of common framework for telemedicine and greater cooperation amongst the neighbouring countries.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih thanked the Indian government for the medical assistance from India to deal with COVID-19 cases and for evacuating nine Maldivians from Wuhan. He highlighted the negative impact of COVID-19 on tourism in the country and its impact on the nation’s economy. He proposed closer cooperation between the health emergency agencies of the countries, formulation of economic relief package and long term recovery plan for the region.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa recommended that SAARC leaders work together to help economy tide over the difficult period. He also recommended establishment of a SAARC Ministerial level group to share best practises and coordinate regional matters on combating COVID-19.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked Prime Minister Modi for bringing 23 Bangladeshi students back from Wuhan along with Indian students during the quarantine period. She proposed continuance of the dialogue at technical level through video conference between Health Ministers and Secretaries of the region.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli apprised the SAARC leaders of the steps taken by Nepal to combat COVID-19 . He said that the collective wisdom and efforts of all the SAARC nations could help in devising a robust and effective strategy to deal with the pandemic.

Prime Minister Doctor Lotay Tshering said the pandemic does-not follow geographical boundaries, hence it is all the more important for the nations to work together. He said the pandemic will affect the smaller and vulnerable economies disproportionately, talking about the economic impact of COVID-19.

Doctor Zafar Mirza proposed that SAARC Secretariat be mandated to establish a working group of national authorities for health Information, data exchange and coordination in real time. He proposed hosting SAARC Health Ministers’ conference and development of regional mechanisms to share disease surveillance data in real time.

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Cabinet approves three new corridors as part of Delhi Metro’s Phase V (A) Project
December 24, 2025

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved three new corridors - 1. R.K Ashram Marg to Indraprastha (9.913 Kms), 2. Aerocity to IGD Airport T-1 (2.263 kms) 3. Tughlakabad to Kalindi Kunj (3.9 kms) as part of Delhi Metro’s Phase – V(A) project consisting of 16.076 kms which will further enhance connectivity within the national capital. Total project cost of Delhi Metro’s Phase – V(A) project is Rs.12014.91 crore, which will be sourced from Government of India, Government of Delhi, and international funding agencies.

The Central Vista corridor will provide connectivity to all the Kartavya Bhawans thereby providing door step connectivity to the office goers and visitors in this area. With this connectivity around 60,000 office goers and 2 lakh visitors will get benefitted on daily basis. These corridors will further reduce pollution and usage of fossil fuels enhancing ease of living.

Details:

The RK Ashram Marg – Indraprastha section will be an extension of the Botanical Garden-R.K. Ashram Marg corridor. It will provide Metro connectivity to the Central Vista area, which is currently under redevelopment. The Aerocity – IGD Airport Terminal 1 and Tughlakabad – Kalindi Kunj sections will be an extension of the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor and will boost connectivity of the airport with the southern parts of the national capital in areas such as Tughlakabad, Saket, Kalindi Kunj etc. These extensions will comprise of 13 stations. Out of these 10 stations will be underground and 03 stations will be elevated.

After completion, the corridor-1 namely R.K Ashram Marg to Indraprastha (9.913 Kms), will improve the connectivity of West, North and old Delhi with Central Delhi and the other two corridors namely Aerocity to IGD Airport T-1 (2.263 kms) and Tughlakabad to Kalindi Kunj (3.9 kms) corridors will connect south Delhi with the domestic Airport Terminal-1 via Saket, Chattarpur etc which will tremendously boost connectivity within National Capital.

These metro extensions of the Phase – V (A) project will expand the reach of Delhi Metro network in Central Delhi and Domestic Airport thereby further boosting the economy. These extensions of the Magenta Line and Golden Line will reduce congestion on the roads; thus, will help in reducing the pollution caused by motor vehicles.

The stations, which shall come up on the RK Ashram Marg - Indraprastha section are: R.K Ashram Marg, Shivaji Stadium, Central Secretariat, Kartavya Bhawan, India Gate, War Memorial - High Court, Baroda House, Bharat Mandapam, and Indraprastha.

The stations on the Tughlakabad – Kalindi Kunj section will be Sarita Vihar Depot, Madanpur Khadar, and Kalindi Kunj, while the Aerocity station will be connected further with the IGD T-1 station.

Construction of Phase-IV consisting of 111 km and 83 stations are underway, and as of today, about 80.43% of civil construction of Phase-IV (3 Priority) corridors has been completed. The Phase-IV (3 Priority) corridors are likely to be completed in stages by December 2026.

Today, the Delhi Metro caters to an average of 65 lakh passenger journeys per day. The maximum passenger journey recorded so far is 81.87 lakh on August 08, 2025. Delhi Metro has become the lifeline of the city by setting the epitome of excellence in the core parameters of MRTS, i.e. punctuality, reliability, and safety.

A total of 12 metro lines of about 395 km with 289 stations are being operated by DMRC in Delhi and NCR at present. Today, Delhi Metro has the largest Metro network in India and is also one of the largest Metros in the world.