News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • PM Modi to launch digital payment solution e-RUPI

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch e-RUPI, a person and purpose specific digital payment solution, on Monday via video conferencing, his office said.

    Underlining that Modi has always championed digital initiatives, the Prime Minister’s Office said over the years, several programmes have been launched to ensure that the benefits reach its intended beneficiaries in a targeted and leak-proof manner, with limited touchpoints between the government and the beneficiary.

    The concept of electronic voucher takes forward this vision of good governance, it said. In its statement, the PMO said e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.

    It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries, the statement said.

    The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the service provider, it said.

    It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.

    The statement said e-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface. It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed.

    Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without involvement of any intermediary, the statement said.

    The PMO said it is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.

    It can also be used for delivering services under schemes meant for providing drugs and nutritional support under Mother and Child welfare schemes, TB eradication programmes, drugs and diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, fertiliser subsidies etc.

    Even the private sector can leverage these digital vouchers as part of their employee welfare and corporate social responsibility programmes, the statement said.

  • Meghalaya reports 686 new COVID-19 cases, 12 more deaths

    By PTI
    SHILLONG: Meghalaya on Saturday reported 686 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the state to 65,000, a health department official said.

    The death toll rose to 1,085 as 12 more people succumbed to the infection during the day, Health Services Director Aman War said.

    Nine fresh fatalities were reported from East Khasi Hills district, two from Ri Bhoi, and one from West Khasi Hills, he said.

    Of the new cases, 219 were registered in East Khasi Hills, 187 in West Khasi Hills and 59 in West Jaintia Hills.

    Meghalaya now has 5,966 active cases, and 499 people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 57,949, War said.

    The state has so far conducted over 8.38 lakh sample tests for COVID-19. Altogether, 10.74 lakh people were inoculated till Friday with 1,94,684 of them having received both doses of the vaccine, War said.

  • Over 46.72 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Government

    The cumulative vaccination coverage of 46,72,59,775 doses is segregated based on the population priority groups, the ministry said.

  • Mumbai sees 346 COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths; active tally dips below 5,000

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Mumbai on Saturday reported 346 fresh COVID-19 cases and nine deaths, taking the tally to 7,34,781 and the toll to 15,889, in the process bringing down the active caseload of the metropolis below 5,000 after a long time, a civic official said.

    The number of active cases stood at 4,972 on Saturday, as the recovery count reached 7,11,517 after 444 people were discharged, he said.

    Saturday was also the 16th day in a row when the daily addition of cases was less than 500, though the fatality count during this period continued to be in the 5-14 range, he pointed out.

    However, the day’s addition to the tally and toll were slightly higher than Friday, when it was 326 and seven respectively, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation data showed.

    With 34,202 samples being examined in the last 24 hours, the number of tests in the country’s financial capital reached 81,52,639.

    The recovery count is 97 per cent of the caseload, while the average growth rate of cases between July 24 and 30 stood at 0.05 per cent, and the time taken for the tally to double is 1,465 days, as per civic data. The city has 52 sealed buildings and three containment zones, it revealed.

    Mumbai saw a record addition of 11,163 COVID-19 cases on April 4 and an all-time low of 328 on February 1, while the highest single-day fatality count of 90 was notched on May 1.

  • Sikkim logs 237 new COVID-19 cases, 2 fresh fatalities

    By PTI
    GANGTOK: Sikkim’s COVID-19 tally soared to 26,548 on Saturday as 237 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the Himalayan state’s coronavirus death toll to 344, a health bulletin said.

    East Sikkim district registered the highest number of new cases at 127, followed by South Sikkim (66) and West Sikkim (44).

    The Himalayan state now has 3,400 active cases, while 22,535 people have recovered from the disease and 269 patients have migrated to other states thus far, it said. The recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state stands at 85.7 per cent.

    Sikkim has tested over 2 lakh samples for COVID-19 thus far, including 1,806 in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said, adding that the positivity rate stands at 13.1 per cent.

  • Assam reports 1,179 new COVID-19 cases, 20 fresh fatalities

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam reported 20 fresh fatalities due to COVID-19 on Friday, while 1,179 more people tested positive, pushing the total number of infections to 5,65,209, the National Health Mission (NHM) said.

    Of the fresh fatalities, three each were reported from Barpeta and Jorhat, two each in Biswanath, Chirang, Kamrup Metropolitan, and Tinsukia, and one each in Baksa, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Kamrup, and Nagaon districts. The COVID-19 death toll in Assam is now 5,241.

    NHM said 1,347 more COVID-19 patients have died till now, but the government’s Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments too.

    With the detection of 1,179 COVID-19 cases against the testing of 1,12,132 samples on Friday, Assam has reported a positivity rate of 1.05 per cent for the day, the NHM bulletin said.

    The state had reported 1,299 coronavirus positive cases on Thursday against the testing of 1,28,684 samples. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state is 12,485. The overall positivity rate in the state stands at 3.05 per cent against the total testing of 1,85,23,825 samples so far.

    Meanwhile, a total of 5,46,136 patients have recovered from the infection, including 1,441 on Friday. As many as 1,05,22,807 people have been inoculated in the state, of whom 19,10,159 have received both doses.

  • Resolve COVID-19 grievances maximum within 3 days: Centre tells all departments

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked all departments to give high priority to COVID-19 public grievances and resolve them within a maximum of three days, according to an official order.

    It also reduced to 45 days the maximum time limit to resolve grievances received through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), which is an online system for people to lodge their grievances from anywhere and anytime on issued related to central ministries, state governments and Union Territories.

    An analysis of grievance disposals in CPGRAMS reveals that about 87 per cent ministries or departments have disposed of grievances in less than 45 days, the order said issued by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

    “CPGRAMS grievances shall be resolved promptly as soon as they are received and maximum within 45 days,” it said.

    In case redressal is not possible within the prescribed time-frame due to circumstances beyond the control of the government such as sub-judice matters and policy issues, an interim reply will be given to the citizen, it said.

    “The grievances under COVID-19 category shall continue to be taken up on high priority and resolved maximum within three days,” said the order issued recently to secretaries of all central government departments.

    The decision to reduce the time limit to resolve public grievances came following a recommendation by a parliamentary panel.

    Following the recommendation of the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions which had suggested reducing the maximum time limit for disposal of grievances from existing 60 days to 45 days, the DARPG decided to revise the grievance disposal protocol in CPGRAMS, the order said.

  • COVID-19: Chhattisgarh sees 125 cases, 3 deaths; over 42,000 tested

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh on Friday reported 125 COVID-19 cases and three deaths, taking the tally of infections to 10,01,906 and the toll to 13,523, a health official said.

    The number of recoveries reached 9,86,418 after 69 people were discharged from hospitals and 174 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 1,965 active cases, he said.

    “Raipur district recorded eight new cases, taking its caseload to 1,57,666, including 3,138 deaths. Bastar recorded 15 new cases, while Sukma and Kanker saw nine cases each. With 42,714 samples being examined on Friday, the number of tests in the state went up to 1,13,43,815,” he said.

    Over 1.19 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state till Thursday, with 96.97 lakh people getting the first dose and 22.88 lakh getting the second jab as well, officials said.

    Chhattisgarh’s coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 10,01,906, new cases 125, Deaths 13,523, Recovered 9,86,418, Active cases 1,965, Tests today Tests today 42,714, Total tests 1,13,43,815.

  • Resolve COVID-19 grievances within maximum within 3 days: Centre tells all departments

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked all departments to give high priority to COVID-19 public grievances and resolve them within a maximum of three days, according to an official order.

    It also reduced to 45 days the maximum time limit to resolve grievances received through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), which is an online system for people to lodge their grievances from anywhere and anytime on issued related to central ministries, state governments and Union Territories.

    An analysis of grievance disposals in CPGRAMS reveals that about 87 per cent ministries or departments have disposed of grievances in less than 45 days, the order said issued by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

    “CPGRAMS grievances shall be resolved promptly as soon as they are received and maximum within 45 days,” it said.

    In case redressal is not possible within the prescribed time-frame due to circumstances beyond the control of the government such as sub-judice matters and policy issues, an interim reply will be given to the citizen, it said.

    “The grievances under COVID-19 category shall continue to be taken up on high priority and resolved maximum within three days,” said the order issued recently to secretaries of all central government departments.

    The decision to reduce the time limit to resolve public grievances came following a recommendation by a parliamentary panel.

    Following the recommendation of the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions which had suggested reducing the maximum time limit for disposal of grievances from existing 60 days to 45 days, the DARPG decided to revise the grievance disposal protocol in CPGRAMS, the order said.

  • Rajasthan records zero COVID-19 fatality, 28 new cases

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Rajasthan on Friday, while 28 new cases were reported, the health department said.

    According to officials, 26 of the 33 districts in the state did not record a single positive case on Friday.

    There are a total of 9,53,650 Covid cases in the state while the death toll stands at 8,953, they said.

    Of the new cases, eight were reported from Jaipur and six each from Udaipur and Sriganganagar besides other cities.

    A total of 9,44,443 people have recovered from the infection so far and the number of active cases is 254, they said.