Till November 13 this year, 994 bomb threats were received by various airlines in the country and a strong protocol is in place to deal with them. To deal with the menace of such threats, the ministry has planned to amend the Civil Aviation Safety Act, 1982, and the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Aircraft (Safety) Rules, 2023, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol told the Rajya Sabha.
He said that from August 2022 to November 13, 2024, 1,143 calls/messages containing bomb threats were received. From August 2022 to December 2022, their number was 27, which reached 122 in 2023. Whereas from January 2024 to November 13, 2024, their number remained 994.
Mohol said that the recent threats were fake and no threat was found at any airport or plane in the country. However, operation of some flights was definitely affected. A special committee is deployed at every airport to assess the threat of bomb threat, which senses the threat and takes necessary action when a threat is received.
Airfare reduced this year
He further said that air fares decreased in 2024 as compared to 2023 and during the festive season, ticket rates were seen decreasing on many routes. Amidst concerns over increase in air ticket prices in some quarters, the Union Minister said that air fares are not controlled by the government and airlines have the freedom to fix fares as per the existing rules and operational requirements.
However, the government intervenes to prevent exorbitant fares from being charged to ensure the convenience and welfare of passengers. Airlines keep many things in mind while fixing fares keeping in mind the interests of passengers. There was a reduction in fares in many areas, especially during festivals.
Government blocked 6.69 lakh SIM cards
Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that on the basis of complaints received by the police, the Center has blocked 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1.32 lakh IMEI numbers till November 15, 2024. Telecom service providers have created a system that identifies and blocks foreign fake phone calls that appear to be from Indian mobile numbers.
Recently these international calls are made by digital arrest, FedEx fraud and cyber criminals calling as government-police officers. So far, an amount of Rs 3,431 crore has been saved on the basis of more than 9.94 lakh complaints.
36 new coal mines planned in next five years
Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said that state-owned Coal India Limited has plans to develop 36 new coal mines in the next five years. Whereas ACCL plans to develop seven new mines and NLCIL plans to develop two new mines. The Coal Ministry has allocated 175 coal blocks, out of which 54 are currently operating and 65 blocks have received permission to open. India produced 997.8 million tonnes of coal in 2023-24 compared to 893.191 million tonnes in 2023-24.