Operation Namaste: Indian Army – Economics

Table of Contents

CURRENT AFFAIR

The Indian Army has code-named its anti-COVID-19 campaign as Operation Namaste to help the government in its fight against the pandemic.

Soldiers are advised to follow the lockdown, wherever they do not have any operational role, and stay fit. They are assured that their families will be well taken care of.
Leave extension of those on leave as well as curtailment of leave to bare minimum have been imposed.
Segregation facilities have been set up to observe troops already back from leave from various states.
So far six quarantine facilities at Manesar, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Chennai, Hindan and Mumbai have been established where 1,463 people evacuated from coronavirus-affected countries have been accommodated.
The forces are setting up more such facilities at Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Dundigal, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Jaisalmer, Jorhat and Gorakhpur which can be ready within 72 hours, if needed.
28 Armed Forces hospitals have been earmarked as COVID hospitals.
These hospitals will include armed forces patients as well as civilian patients transferred from state health authorities.
Five hospitals from the Army, Navy and the Air Force are conducting coronavirus tests using the RT-PCR methodology and more hospitals will be equipped soon with the resources.
62 Cantonment Boards have been instructed to identify beds in hospitals and health centres and guesthouses for any eventuality.

Recently, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) also came forward to help by developing ventilators and providing other medical equipment.
Indian Navy also contributed by delivering 60,000 face masks ordered by Indian Medical Association, Goa which were stuck in Delhi due to the lockdown.
Ilyushin 38 SD departed INS Hansa for Palam Airport, New Delhi and returned on the same day with the masks.

Ilyushin 38 Sea Dragon (IL 38 SD) Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircrafts are currently in service with the Russian Navy and the Indian Navy.
These are maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircrafts designed by the Russia-based Ilyushin Aviation Complex.
In India, these are based at Goa and can be deployed in surveillance, search and rescue, maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare operations.

INS Hansa is an Indian naval air station located near Dabolim in Goa.
It was commissioned in September 1961.
It serves as the Indian Navy’s one of the largest air bases and has grown to become a full-fledged airfield that handles both domestic as well as international flights round the clock.

DRDO works under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
It is working to establish world class science and technology base for India and provides our Defence Services decisive edge by equipping them with internationally competitive systems and solutions.

It is the only representative, national voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well being of the community at large.
Indian Medical Association is the founding member of the World Medical Association (WMA).