News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • 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.

  • Over 182.51 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Government

    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.

  • Over 182 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Government

    Over 69 lakh (69,99,528) vaccine doses have so far been administered to the beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group, according to the ministry's data.

  • Time to open economy but with caution: Centre tells states, UTs

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In view of a decline in COVID-19 cases, the Centre on Wednesday asked states to follow a risk assessment-based approach on the opening of economic and social activities.

    The Union Health Ministry, however, suggested necessary curbs in areas reporting over 10 per cent positivity rate or 40 per cent occupancy in either oxygen-supported or ICU beds.

    The government stressed for continued focus on the five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour, while stating that a sustained and significant decline in the number of cases has been observed since the last couple of months.

    In a letter to states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan asked them to ensure sufficient availability of dedicated Covid health infrastructure as per the ongoing case trajectory and also directed them to fully operationalise non-Covid health services in all health facilities.

    He also underlined the need to follow the home isolation protocol for asymptomatic and mild cases, and asked to continue specific monitoring of high-risk cases.

    Bhushan said gatherings and congregations — social, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, festival-related and others — may be resumed, provided that Covid Appropriate Behaviour is duly adhered to.

    Offline classes can be resumed in academic institutions without any restrictions. However, the academic institutions may also leverage a hybrid model of education, he said.

    Bhushan further said marriages and last rites may be allowed and all shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants and bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools, and religious places may be allowed to operate at full capacity.

    Public transport (railways, metros, buses, cabs) can operate without any capacity restrictions. Also, there shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement, including transportation of essential goods.

    Further, all offices — government and private — may function without any capacity restrictions, and all industrial and scientific establishments may be allowed, he stated in the letter.

    “While allowing all such activities, it is imperative that the adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour, including use of mask and physical distancing, shall be followed in all public places,” Bhushan said, adding such decisions by the states and union territories must be linked to the local epidemiological situation based on a sustained critical level of testing and monitoring.

    He also asked states to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of all eligible age-groups with a particular focus on covering the left-out beneficiaries.

    Administration of precaution doses and vaccination amongst young adolescents (12 years and above) should also be taken up for all eligible people.

    Services should be resumed while promoting 100 per cent vaccination of the eligible staff members, he said.

    “Taking into account the sustained and steep decline in the COVID-19 cases across the country, the states and union territories have been undertaking various measures to reopen economic and social activities. There is a need to follow a risk assessment-based approach on the opening of economic and social activities without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic,” Bhushan said .

    At the district level, there should be a constant review of emerging data of new cases based on a sustained and critical level of testing to facilitate evidence-based decision for restrictions and relaxation, he said.

    “States need to watch the trajectory of cases in particular geographies to ensure that the areas reporting positivity rate above 10 per cent and bed occupancy more than 40 per cent on either oxygen supported or ICU beds should undertake required enforcement, containment, and restriction measures,” his letter read.

    As the case trajectory may vary from state to state and there would be variation in the spread of infection within states, too, there is a need to take decisions with respect to containment and restriction measures primarily at the local/sub national level by the state and the district administration concerned, he said.

    Bhushan also stressed on adequate testing and monitoring of Influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections in all health facilities on a regular basis for early warning signals.

    He also underlined the need for a continued focus on genomic sequencing of prescribed samples of international passengers, collection of samples from sentinel sites (identified health facilities) and local clusters of cases, duly following the guidelines laid by the ministry to capture early warning signals on variants.

  • Over 50 lakh Covid vaccine doses administered to beneficiaries aged 12-14 years: Government

    Over 2.2 crore (2,20,04,536) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and those aged 60 years and above.