News Analysis India

Tag: Coronavirus

  • India logs 1,233 fresh cases of COVID-19, 31 deaths reported

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 1,233 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,23,215, while the active cases dipped to 14,704, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

    The death toll climbed to 5,21,101 with 31 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

    A reduction of 674 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.20 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded as 0.25 per cent, according to the ministry.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

  • India has ‘lowest’ 374 COVID-19 deaths per million population: Centre

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India has one of the “lowest” 374 COVID-19 deaths per million population, according to the World Health Organisation, compared to similarly affected countries like the USA, Brazil, Russia and Mexico, the government said on Tuesday.

    In a written reply, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that at times, certain reports have speculated excess deaths, that is, higher than the official number of COVID-19 fatalities reported by India.

    “These reports have mostly relied on unvalidated methodologies, or data sources used to derive ‘estimates’ are not reliable. In most of these studies, the results have been obtained using mathematical modelling techniques from a limited sample of small sub-population subgroups which is extrapolated to the entire country,” she said.

    The minister was responding to a question on recent reports showing India having the highest number of deaths during the Covid pandemic and whether the official death toll does not match the data on the civil registration system.

    “According to the data available with World Health Organisation (WHO), India has one of the lowest deaths per million (374 deaths per million population) which is much lower compared to similarly affected countries like the United States of America (2,920 deaths per million population), Brazil (3,092 deaths per million population), Russia (2,506 deaths per million population) and Mexico (2,498 deaths per million population),” she mentioned in her reply.

    In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union health ministry to all states and Union territories (UTs).

    The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) had on May 10, 2020 issued ‘Guidance for appropriate recording of COVID-19 related deaths in India’.

    Accordingly, all states/UTs report cases and deaths to the health ministry and the same is also put in public domain on a regular basis.

    A large number of states have regularly reconciled their death numbers and have reported arrear deaths in a broadly transparent manner, Pawar said.

    Furthermore, it must be noted that there is a monetary incentive in India to report COVID-19 deaths as they are entitled to ex-gratia compensation.

    India has a robust Civil Registration System (CRS) and Sample Registration System (SRS) which predates the COVID-19 pandemic and covers all states/UTs.

    The registration of deaths in the country is done under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 by functionaries appointed by the state government, she added.

  • COVID-19: India records 1,259 fresh case, 35 more fatalities

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 4,30,21,982 on Tuesday with 1,259 fresh cases, while the number of active cases of the infection further declined to 15,378, according to the Union health ministry.

    The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,21,070 with 35 more fatalities, the ministry’s data updated at 8 am stated.

    The active cases account for 0.04 per cent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said, adding that a reduction of 481 cases was recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.22 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.25 per cent, according to the health ministry.

    A total of 5,77,559 tests were conducted to detect the infection in the last 24 hours. India has so far conducted over 78.79 crore COVID-19 tests.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 4,24,85,534, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent. The number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far has exceeded 183.53 crore.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 2020, 40 lakh on September 5, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16, 2020.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 2020, 70 lakh on October 11, 2020, 80 lakh on October 29, 2020, 90 lakh on November 20, 2020 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.

    The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4, 2021 and the three-crore mark on June 23, 2021.

  • India records 1,270 new COVID-19 cases

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 1,270 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,30,20,723, while the active cases further declined to 15,859, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The death toll climbed to 5,21,035 with 31 daily fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

    The active cases constitute 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the health ministry said.

    A reduction of 328 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.29 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 0.26 per cent, according to the health ministry.

  • Chouhan government’s two-day brainstorming starts at Madhya Pradesh’s Pachmarhi

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: During the British colonial era, the hill station Pachmarhi was the most favoured retreat of the colonial rulers during summers. The same hill tourism hotspot of Madhya Pradesh is now the venue for two-days brainstorming by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

    The two-days brainstorming which started on Saturday led to a series of important decisions, including the resumption of the Mukyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana from next month.

    Detailing the decision to resume the flagship pilgrimage scheme (which was suspended due to the COVID pandemic), state government’s official spokesperson and home minister Narottam Mishra informed that scheme would be resumed from next month, starting with a trip to Kashi (Varanasi).

    “Four trains, including one boarded by the CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other members of the council of ministers will visit Kashi, where besides pilgrimage to the grand Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor and sacred bath in the Ganga river, the pilgrims will also visit Kabirchaura, the principal seat of Sant Kabir’s,” Mishra said.

    Consensus has also been reached on including bus travel for small groups and air travel for pilgrimage to remotest religious places in the country under the pilgrimage scheme later.

    At the ongoing brainstorming, it was also decided re-launch the Mukya Mantri Kanya Dan Yojana (community marriage scheme) in more comprehensive manner. The scheme in its new avtar will have new additions, including a full-fledged advance annual calendar of district wise details of the scheme’s program.  

    Further, the brainstorming meet also resolved to re-launch the state government’s flagship Ladli Lakshami Yojana in a more broad-based manner at the state level Ladli Lakshami Utsav on May 2, followed by related events across the state between May 3 and May 11. Under the re-launched form of the scheme, vocational training of Ladlis (beneficiary girls) and constitution of Ladli Laxmi Clubs at village level would be carried out in a focused manner.

    Chaired by the CM, the brainstorming meet also decided to adopt zero tolerance against corruption and pilferage in the public distribution system. For making the PDS system more transparent and effective, it was decided to install GPS trackers in the PDS vehicles as well as make the fair price shops more multipurpose, including provision of providing soaps and hair oils from the same shops.

    Among the other important decisions and discussions, the meeting focused on the start of the model CM Rise Schools across the state and further streamlining the health and medical education-health infrastructure in the state.

    A final draft of the brainstorming meet’s outcome will be out by Sunday evening.

  • Total Covid vaccine doses administered in India crosses 183 crore: Health Ministry

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 183 crore on Saturday, the Union Health Ministry said.

    Over 26 lakh vaccine doses have been being administered on Saturday till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports by late in the night.

    More than 1.20 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the 12-14 years age group so far, the ministry said.

    Also, over 2.25 crore precaution doses have been administered to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged above 60 years.

    The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year, with the healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

    The next phase of Covid vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people above 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 years from April 1 last year.

    The Centre then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.

    The next phase of Covid vaccination commenced from January 3 this year for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

    The country began administering precaution doses of the vaccines to the healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 years and above with comorbidities from January 10. The inoculation of children aged 12-14 years started from March 16.

  • Over 1 crore children 12-14 years age group administered Covid vaccine first dose

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Over one crore children in the age group of 12-14 years have been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, taking the cumulative doses given in the country to over 182.83 crore, according to the Union health ministry.

    More than 25 lakh (25,81,126) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm, it said. The vaccination for the 12-14 years age group started on March 16 with Biological E’s intramuscular vaccine Corbevax, two doses of which are to be administered 28 days apart.

    As of March 1 last year, there were 4.7 crore children aged 12 and 13 years in the country. “Over one crore children between the age group of 12-14 have received their first dose of #COVID19 vaccine. Congratulations to all my young warriors who got vaccinated. Let’s continue this momentum!” Mandaviya tweeted.

    More than 2.23 crore (2,23,98,041) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged above 60 so far, the ministry said.

    The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, it said.

    The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

    The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

    India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1 last year.

    The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.

    The next phase of vaccination commenced from January 3 for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

    India began administering precaution doses of vaccines to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10. The country began inoculating children aged 12-14 from March 16.

  • Efforts are on to hold winter session in new Parliament House

    By Express News Service

    The construction work of the new Parliament House has been expedited to meet the deadline so that the upcoming winter session can be held in the building as planned by the Government, said the minister of state for housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) Kaushal Kishore.

    “The work is going on. Coronavirus pandemic slowed down the progress but it has been accelerated. We are making efforts to complete the project at the earliest. We are hopeful that the winter session will be conducted in the newly built Parliament House. Efforts are being made for the same,” Kishore told The New Indian Express (TNIE).

     Responding to the questions about the progress on the Central Vista project in the Rajya Sabha earlier this week, the minister said that 44 percent of physical progress had been achieved on which the Government has spent Rs 480 crore so far.

    “All the projects are monitored by MoHUA and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) regularly on a weekly basis to avoid delays and any inconvenience to the general public,” the minister said in the House.

    ALSO READ: DMRC sign pact with CPWD to set up new ‘loop corridor’ to connect Central Vista offices

    The Central Vista Master Plan includes construction of a new parliament building, vice president enclave, and common central secretariat buildings 1, 2 & 3, and redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue.

    Total expenditure occurred on various components of the entire Central Vista Master Plan until now stands at Rs 1,146 crore. In 2020-21, it had spent Rs 419.55 crore on the project and in the current financial year 2021-22, expenditure of Rs 1,423 crore is expected, said the minister.

    The government is likely to spend Rs 2,285 crore on the entire Central Vista project in the next financial year (2022-23). Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament in December 2020 and the work had begun a month later.  

    ALSO READ: Street vendors set up makeshift shops inside the Central Vista

    The construction of the new vice president’s enclave, which includes a residence for the vice president and a secretariat, has achieved three percent physical progress. The redevelopment project of Central Vista Avenue– from Vijay Chowk to India Gate– has met the target of 80 percent physical progress, and Rs 441 crore has been spent on this so far.

    The construction of three new buildings as part of a new common central secretariat has achieved three percent physical progress, and Rs 243 crore has so far been spent on the project, stated the minister in Rajya Sabha.

  • Learning loss a tragedy, but no mention in Union Budget: Raghuram Rajan

    Express News Service

    Former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan has expressed concern over lack of focus on the learning loss caused due to Covid-19 among school children in the Union Budget, while a significant amount of money was allocated for production linked incentive (PLI) schemes meant for industries.

    Delivering a lecture on ‘Democracy and Indian Economic Development’ at an event organised by the Madras Institute of Development Studies on Thursday, Rajan said, “The Budget barely mentions the tragedy that is overtaking our school children, especially the poor ones. That very few extra resources are being devoted to rescue a potentially lost generation of children is a serious omission. Devoting money to physical infrastructure while neglecting human infrastructure is absolutely a serious problem.”

    He added that it revealed a serious failure to realise that human capital is as important as industrial capital. Lashing out at the Centre for neglecting the education sector in the Budget, Rajan said the government is not short of money as the Budget further increased production subsidies to industries under various PLI schemes. Rajan is of the view that India has a fixation with building physical infrastructure and becoming a manufacturing hub when its strength is human capital.

    He said that instead of spending on the PLI schemes, the Centre should invest in filling the gaps in our education system, strengthening higher education, skilling and research and development.

    “If we focus on the development of human capital, it will automatically lead to our growth,” said Rajan. He also urged that the PLI schemes be studied in a detailed manner to understand if these subsidies are actually helping industries.

    He noted that India is rebounding today with strong growth numbers despite the impact of war in Ukraine. However, he said, even with strong growth in the fiscal year 2022-23, India’s growth will still be significantly below the pre-pandemic trend line.

    “Our slow growth is not all the fault of the pandemic. Our underperformance predates the pandemic. In fact, we have been underperforming for over a decade, probably since the onset of the global financial crisis,” said Rajan, adding the under-performance is mainly due to the government’s inability to create jobs.

    Taking a dig at the Atma Nirbhar programme, Rajan said that instead of focusing on becoming a manufacturing superpower and trying to manufacture everything here, India needs to work on the service sector, which is its biggest strength.

    He said it would require huge subsidies for India to build an ecosystem from scratch for the manufacturing sector. Instead, this money could have been better invested in education and producing quality engineers and doctors who can provide services globally, thereby creating more jobs and tapping the global demand, he said. 

  • India has taken up issue of return of Indian students with China: Government

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday said it has been taking up with the Chinese authorities the issue of the return of Indian students to China to resume their studies.

    Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, said a large number of Indian students had come back to India when all universities in China had closed down following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He said China had restricted travel by suspending visa and residence permits from March 27, 2020, in view of the pandemic.

    “As per information available, approximately 20,000 Indian students were enrolled in various courses including clinical medicine courses in different Chinese universities at that time,” he said.

    “A large number of them returned to India when all universities in China had closed down,” he added.

    Muraleedharan said the universities in China have not reopened fully as on date. “The government has been taking up the matter of the return of Indian students with the Chinese authorities both in New Delhi and through our Embassy in China. Regular updates have been given in this regard by the Embassy to the Indian students,” Muraleedharan said.

    He said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had taken up the matter with the National Medical Commission and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to explore options to address the concerns of the affected students.

    The minister said the commission has issued a circular on March 4 stating that in view of a large number of Indian medical students in foreign institutions who have not been able to complete internships, it has decided to accept applications from such foreign medical graduates to complete the remaining part of an internship in India.

    Muraleedharan said the Chinese government has advised Chinese universities to maintain contact with foreign students and continue classes online.

    To a separate question, he said the MEA has received and addressed” a total of 4957 NRI marital complaints from Indian brides and grooms over the last five years.

    The minister said a total amount of Rs 64 lakhs has been spent for providing legal and financial assistance to Indian women deserted by their overseas Indian/foreign husbands under the Indian Community Welfare Fund from 2017 to 2021.

    Muraleedharan said 231 passports of the NRIs, implicated in the disputes, have been revoked/cancelled during the last five years.