Q1. Which International organisation has declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January and a pandemic on 11 March 2020?
United Nations
World Health Organization
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations Environment Programme
B. World Health Organisation
Q2. The Corona virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, mostly via?
small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing and talking
air from respiration
skin to skin touches
lipid and Blood transfer
A.small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing and talking
Q3. The World Health Organization (WHO), the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health, has headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland
New York, USA
London, USA
VernNew York, USA
A. Geneva,Switzerland
Q4. Which strain of coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory illness?
SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-1
SARS-CoV-2019
ACE-2
A. SARS-CoV-2
Q5. Basic Reproduction Number (R0), the basic reproduction number of an infection can be thought of as the expected number of cases directly generated by one case in a population where all individuals are susceptible to infection, for COVID-19 is 5.7. Which is the following disease is having maximum R0?
Measles
Polio
Covid-19
Influenza
A. Measles
Q6. The index case of Covid-19 in India was reported from
Delhi
Mumbai
Bangalore
Thrissur
D. Thrissur
Q7. The Covid-19 outbreak has been declared an epidemic and provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 have been invoked in India. The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 was first enacted to tackle
Cholera spread in Gujarat
Swine flu spread in North India
Malaria spread in West Bengal
Bubonic plague in Mumbai
D. Bubonic plague in Mumbai
Q8. Which of the following drugs is a medication primarily used to prevent and treat malaria, is now being used in treatment of COVID-19 cases, on emergency basis?
Antihistamines
Temozolomide
Hydroxychloroquine
Cyclophosphamide
C. Hydroxychloroquine
Q9. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak was identified in December 2019 in of the following place?
Lombardy, Italy
Wuhan, China
Hong Kong
New York, USA
B. Wuhan,China
Q10. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a
Manipuri doctor Thangjam Dhabali Singh conferred ‘Order of Rising Sun’ by Japan
Thangjam Dhabali Singh, doctor from Manipur has been conferred the ‘Order of Rising Sun’ by the Japan government for promoting a better understanding of Japan in India and deepening ties between the two countries.
The ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ is conferred on persons with achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, environmental preservation, welfare or achievements in their fields. It was constituted by Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1875.
Thangjam Dhabali Singh, an allopathic doctor by profession and founder of the Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF), was conferred the ‘Order of Rising Sun – Gold and Silver Rays’ by the Japan government.
Singh had organised the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Imphal of the Second World War. Several Japanese citizens, including officials from the Embassy of Japan in India, had participated in the event.
With support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Nippon Foundation of Japan, the Imphal Peace Foundation was launched on June 22 last year. The MTF played an important role in giving shape to it during Th Dhabali Singh’s tenure as president of the forum.
The Embassy of Japan in India has paid tributes to Singh’s long years of service in consolidating Japan-India relationship.
Cabinet approves empanelment of 17 IPS officers for ADG posts
The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved empanelment of 17 IPS officers of 1991 batch to hold the posts of Additional Director General (ADG) of Police or equivalent level at the Centre.
The 7 IPS officers include G.P. Singh, Praveen Vashista, Shamsher Singh, Rashmi Ranjan Swain, Arun Kumar Choudhary, R.A. Chandra Sekhar, Pratap Reddy, AlokRanjan, Yogesh Mudgal, and A. Sunil Achaya.
The list also has IPS officers Dharam Chand Jain, Amaresh Pujari, K. JayanthMurali, PiyushAnand, Alok Sharma, Nuzhat Hassan and S. Jagannathan.
Justice Datta takes oath as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court
Justice DipankarDatta was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to the new CJ at a function in Raj Bhavan attended by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Born on February 9, 1965, Chief Justice Datta started his legal practice from November 1989, in the High Court and Supreme Court, fighting constitutional and civil matters
Appointed as a permanent Judge of Calcutta HC in June 2006, over the past 16 years as a judge, he has also served in the high courts of Guwahati, Jharkhand before being appointed the Chief Justice of Bombay HC.
He replaces Chief Justice BhushanDharmadhikari who retired on April 27.
Asian Development Bank approves $1.5 billion loan to India for Covid response
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $1.5 billion loan to the Government of India to help fund its response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The support would also be available for immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections of the society, especially women and disadvantaged groups.
ADB”s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program will contribute directly to the improvement of access to health facilities and care, as well as social protection for more than 800 million people, including families below the poverty line, farmers, health care workers, women, senior citizens, people with disabilities, low wage earners, and construction workers.
The CARES Program is funded through the COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) under ADB”s Countercyclical Support Facility.
CPRO was established as part of ADB”s $20 billion expanded assistance for developing member countries” COVID-19 response.
The CARES Program will be provided with a $2 million technical assistance grant to support the government to strengthen its operational framework and efficient targeting, delivery, and monitoring and evaluation of its pro-poor economic package, as well as its health sector and social protection interventions.
ADB will support government efforts and coordinate with other development partners to stimulate the economy, build capacity for monitoring and evaluation of government programs, and improve economic resilience against future shocks.
This will include the economic recovery of affected industries and entrepreneurs through better access to finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises along with credit enhancement facility for infrastructure projects and the strengthening of public service delivery at national and state levels.
APRIL 30, 2020
J&K govt signs MoU with Tata Tech for two CIIITs
The J&K administrationsigned an MoU with Tata Technologies for setting up two Centres for Invention, Innovation, Incubation and Training (CIIITs) one each at Government Polytechnic Colleges in Jammu and Baramulla districts.
The MOU was signed in the presence of J&K Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu by Navin Kumar Choudhary, J&K Principal Secretary (Technical Education) and AnandBhade, president of Tata Technologies.
The signing of the MoU will ensure 100 per cent placement for the trainees after completion of various courses.
The partnership would enable efficient, effective, integrated and sustainable service delivery in the implementation of the CIIIT.
The project is aimed at bringing qualitative improvements in the field of technical education and to create a learning environment for training manpower to cater to the industry requirements in J&K and outside.
N. Patel takes oath as Vigilance Commissioner
Eminent banker N. Patel was sworn-in as Vigilance Commissioner. Patel was administered the oath of office by Central Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari on video link.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Vigilance Commissioner Sharad Kumar, the Commission”s Secretary and other senior officers.
Patel was the Managing Director and CEO of Andhra Bank and was an Executive Director in the Oriental Bank of Commerce.
The tenure of Vigilance Commissioner is of four years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years.
The Central Vigilance Commission has a Central Vigilance Commissioner and two Vigilance Commissioners.
Uttar Pradesh govt to amend Epidemic Act
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to ensure stricter punishment for those assaulting corona warriors, including doctors, paramedical staff, police personnel and sanitary workers.
The ordinance with the amendment made by the UP government — Uttar Pradesh Epidemic Disease Covid-19 Regulations, 2020 — will be introduced at the earliest.
It is proposed that the ordinance will have provisions for fine up to Rs 5 lakh and jail term up to seven years.
The ordinance means stern punishment for those who have been insulting and attacking corona warriors, including doctors, health workers, police personnel and sanitary workers involved in the battle against coronavirus. Spitting on corona warriors will also be an offence under this.
IIT Guwahati collaborates with Hester Biosciences to develop COVID-19 vaccine
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) announced that it has joined hands with Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company Hester Biosciences to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.
The vaccine will be based on recombinant avian paramyxovirus-based vector platform. The recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1 will be used to express the immunogenic protein of SARS-CoV-2.
IITG and Hester Biosciences expect the vaccine to be ready by the end of this year to start animal studies. The work is currently in its early stage of development.
IIT Guwahati’s Associate Professor of the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Dr Sachin Kumar and his team have generated the recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1-based vaccine platform for classical swine fever and Japanese Encephalitis. The role of IIT-G is to produce the recombinant vaccine candidate.
The team at IITG has generated the recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1 based vaccine platform for Classical Swine Fever and Japanese Encephalitis. The role of the institute is to produce the recombinant vaccine candidate.
The recombinant avian paramyxovirus-1 expressing the SARS-CoV-2 protein could be used as a vaccine candidate for further study.
IITG and Hester have collaborated to develop and manufacture a recombinant vaccine against COVID-19 disease as a preventive measure.
Nearly half of global workforce at risk of losing livelihoods due to COVID, ILO reports
Almost 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy, which constitute half of the global workforce, face an immediate danger of losing their livelihoods due to the continued sharp decline in working hours because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Monitor “COVID-19 and the world of work” revealed.
More than 430 million enterprises in hard-hit sectors such as retail and manufacturing risk “serious disruption”.
Globally, there are some 3.3 billion workers. Two billion have jobs in the informal economy, the most vulnerable workers in the labour market and they have suffered massive damage to their capacity to earn a living.
Due to lockdowns or because they work in hard-hit sectors, these workers globally have seen a 60 per cent drop in income during the first month of the crisis.
This translates into a more than 80 per cent decline in Africa and the Americas, 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, and 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific.
FACTFILE – International Labour Organization (ILO)
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards.
It was founded in 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and oldest specialised agency of the UN.
The ILO has 187 member states: 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
The ILO’s international labour standards are broadly aimed at ensuring accessible, productive, and sustainable work worldwide in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity.
The organization is unique in the UN for its tripartite structure: All standards, policies, and programmes require debate and input from governments, employers, and workers.
In 1969, the ILO received the Nobel Peace Prize for improving fraternity and peace among nations, pursuing decent work and justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to other developing nations.
Cachar district introduces ‘Report Crowd’ web to ensure social distancing
In a first, the Cachar district administration has launched a portal to contain and disperse crowd accumulation and enhance social distancing during the nationwide lockdown period meant to restrict the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The webportal named ‘Report Crowd’ which would be operational along with the official website of the district administration.
The facility will ensure social distancing and enable the administration to disperse crowd across the district with the help of feed in the form of on-the-spot photographs with Geo tagging.
The facility has been introduced with the technical assistance from software firm Clappia based in Bengaluru. The firm is offering free services during the lockdown phase.
This kind of an portal is being introduced for the first time in Assam to ensure that social distancing is being adhered to at all cost.
Anyone who finds a seemingly large assembly of people at one place can simply click a photo, go to cachar.gov.in and upload the photo at the URL cacharreport.clappia.com with little details about the photograph.
Oxford University vaccine ‘ChAdOX1′ to commence human trials
The UK government announced that the human trial of a potential COVID-19 candidate vaccine being developed by researchers at University of Oxford will begin from April 23.
Earlier, scientists at the University of Oxford promised a super-fast vaccine during a virtual press conference, saying the vaccine will be available by September. According to lead researcher Professor Sarah Gilbert, their ‘ChAdOx1′ vaccine can work against the coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.
The UK government will provide 20 million pounds to the Oxford research team to help fund their clinical trials, with a further 22.5 million pounds for researchers at Imperial College London.
In normal course of time, a vaccine takes anytime between 12-18 months. What probably separates ChAdOx1 – known as recombinant viral vector vaccine – from the rest is the time it promises to take in order to deliver mass quantities.
The vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine vector and was developed at Oxford’s Jenner Institute. Adenoviral vectors are a very well-studied vaccine type, having been used safely in thousands of participants, from 1 week to 90 years of age, in vaccines targeting over 10 different diseases.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also pitched for the Oxford vaccine, saying ‘ChAdOX1′ is the frontrunner in the race to take on the deadly COVID-19 virus.
UNICEF teams up with Microsoft for remote learning platform “Learning Passport”
Microsoft has partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for expansion of a global learning platform to help children and youth affected by COVID-19 continue their education at home.
The platform, called “Learning Passport”, which has been in development for the past 18 months, was due to start as a pilot programme this year.
Now, all countries with a curriculum capable of being taught online will be able to facilitate online learning for children and youth with devices at home.
The content available to schoolchildren includes online books, videos and additional support for parents of children with learning disabilities.
UNICEF’s Learning Passport is uniquely positioned as a scalable learning solution to bridge the digital learning gap for millions of students to bring their classroom into their home during the pandemic.
Children and young people continuing their education online can do so through a country-specific platform, accessed via their country’s learningpassport.unicef.org page.
DRDO lab developes 10,000 face shields for PGI, Chandigarh
The Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) here is developing 10,000 full face protective shields for examining infected COVID-19 patients for the PGI Hospital.
TBRL is a lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The TBRL is also acting as a facilitator for the procurement of bio-suits developed by another DRDO lab for use by healthcare service providers.
The TBRL is involved in development, production, processing and characterisation of different high explosive compositions, fragmentation studies of warheads, captive flight testing of bombs, missiles and airborne systems and ballistics evaluation of protective system like body armour, vehicle armour and helmets.
APRIL 23, 2020
HRD Ministry’s online platform ‘Shodhganga‘ to help research scholars
In a bid to help research scholars amid the nationwide lockdown, the Human Resource Development Ministry has come up with an online platform Shodhganga for them to access information on these and other study material.
The move comes as scholars pursuing higher studies like PhDs and MPhil etc have been hemmed in by lack of research facilities, guides and lectures due to the lockdown.
The platform would enable researchers confined to their respective homes to access study material and theses in vernacular languages, Hindi and international languages.
As many as 2,69,734 Indian theses and 7,500 synopses have been provided for study and reference on the e-platform.
NBRI develops alcohol-based sanitizer
The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in Lucknow has developed an alcohol-based herbal sanitizer.
The product has been developed under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR – Aroma Mission as per the World Health Organization”s guidelines.
The herbal sanitizer contains Tulsi essential oil as herbal constituent which is strong and natural anti-microbial agent and 60 per cent of isopropyl alcohol for killing germs.
Director of NBRI, Dr S.K. Barik said, the herbal hand sanitizer has been clinically tested and found to be highly-effective against surface microbes.
Its impact lasts for about 25 minutes and it prevents the skin from dehydrating.
The product will be available in the market very soon under the brand name of ”Clean Hand Gel”.
The technology of the herbal hand sanitizer has been transferred to Lucknow based company Sadguru Biologicals Private Limited.
Union Cabinet approved Rs 15,000 crore for ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’
The Union Cabinet approved Rs 15,000 crore for what it calls ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’.
The funds will be utilized in 3 phases while for immediate COVID-19 emergency response, provision of an amount of Rs 7,774 crore has been kept.
The rest of the amount will be used for medium-term support for the next 1-4 years, which will be provided under the mission mode approach.
The key objectives of the package include mounting emergency response to slow and limit COVID-19 in India through the development of diagnostics and COVID-dedicated treatment facilities.
Centralized procurement of essential medical equipment and drugs required for treatment of infected patients, strengthen and build resilient National and State health systems to support prevention and preparedness for future disease outbreaks.
Setting up of laboratories and bolster surveillance activities, biosecurity preparedness, pandemic research and proactively engage communities and conduct risk communication activities.
Ordinance to make acts of violence against healthworker a non-bailable offence
The Union Cabinet approved an ordinance making acts of violence and harassment against healthcare personnel deployed in combating COVID-19 a non-bailable offence, meeting a key demand of health professionals in the wake of recent attacks on them while discharging their duty.
The maximum sentence under the new provision is seven years imprisonment and Rs 5 lakh fine. A person can be sentenced to anywhere between three months and five years of jail, besides a fine between Rs 50,000 and two lakhs, for such crimes.
In cases where injuries caused are serious, the punishment will range from six months to seven years, and carry fine between Rs 1 to 5 lakhs.
The ordinance will amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the amended law will also be invoked if health care personnel face harassment from their landlords or neighbours over suspicion that they may carry the coronavirus infection due to the nature of their work.
The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, assault on health workers across the country has now become a non-bailable offence and the punishment can come within a year.
This decision brings a change in the epidemic law which has been there since 1897.
Union Cabinet approval to relax Aadhaar seeding in Assam, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh up to March 31, 2021
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to relax the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar seeding of data beneficiaries of Assam, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for release of benefits to them under PM-Kisan Scheme up to March 31, 2021.
The government says the decision was taken to ensure the eligible beneficiaries do not fail to get the benefits for want of non-compliance of Aadhaar seeding of data.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched by Modi on February 24 last year.
The scheme aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions.
Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 6,000 annually is released in three 4-monthly installments of Rs 2,000 each, directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The scheme is effective from December 1, 2018.
Karnataka passed law to punish healthcare warrior’s offenders
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala promulgated an Ordinance to punish offenders of healthcare warriors, fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the southern state.
The Governor passed the Karnataka Epidemic Disease Ordinance, 2020 the state cabinet approved to punish all who attack healthcare warriors in the state, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and Asha women workers treating COVID-19 victims across the state.
The new law empowers the state government to punish the offenders with a 3-year maximum jail term and attachment of their properties for damaging assets.
The cabinet enacted the law a day after unruly mobs attacked doctors, Asha workers and police at Padarayanapura in the city’s south-west suburb when they went to shift secondary contacts of COVID patients to a quarantine centre in the city and similar violent acts on the healthcare warriors in the state.
First instalment for PMGKY beneficiaries released in the state
The State panchayat and rural development department released the first instalment of ex-gratia of Rs 500 to each of 8,51,642 beneficiaries.
Out of these beneficiaries 7,05,022 are old age pensioners, 1,12,040 are widow pensioners and 34,580 beneficiaries are under the disabled pension scheme.
This financial assistance is provided under the special package of the Government of India, rolled out under the Pradhan MantriGaribKalyanYojana (PMGKY) to help the vulnerable section of people in view of the nationwide lockdown.
Under this assistance programme, Rs 1,000 each will be paid in two instalments of Rs 500.
For this, the beneficiaries of old age pension, widow pension and disabled pension under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) will be covered.
Citing an eighty per cent drop in revenue collection in April due to the lockdown, the State Government announced a slew of austerity measures, which included reduction in establishment expenditure, ban on government functions and suspension of industrial exemptions, to “rationalize expenditure and optimize available resources” during the crisis period.
The government, however, did not slash the salaries of employees, but has put on hold new projects and will give priority to complete old ones.
Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the current fiscal situation was a worry for the State government as the revenue collection for the month of April fell to Rs 193 crore (SGST Rs 68 crore, CGST Rs 61 crore, IGST Rs 62 crore and cess Rs 2 crore) as compared to Rs 932 crore (SGST Rs 406 crore, CGST Rs 276 crore, IGST Rs 193 crore and cess Rs 55 crore) in the corresponding month last year.
The revenue collection has dropped by eighty per cent. From tax on foreign liquor, the State got Rs 6 crore in April as compared to Rs 65 crore in March. Similarly, from fuel taxes, the State got Rs 60 crore compared to Rs 360 crore in the previous month.
The committed expenses of the State government – which includes salaries, pension and interest on loan – is around Rs 3,600 crore every month.
Some of the austerity measures taken are
The Administrative Department cannot implement any new SOPD scheme without the approval of the Finance department. Sanctioning power delegated to the Administrative departments relating to the issuance of administrative approval and financial sanction in respect of SOPD Schemes has been withdrawn until further orders.
The Establishment Expenditure for the first quarter of the Financial Year 2020-21 has been capped at 10 per cent of the total budget instead of 20 per cent.
All expenses pertaining to industrial exemptions, subsidies and incentives of various sectors have been suspended until further orders. No reimbursement of GST to industries will be allowed in the first quarter of the current financial year.
Purchase of vehicles has been banned until further orders, except in case of ambulances and vehicles required for police duty. This will, however, be permitted only with the approval of the Chief Minister.
Holding of conferences, workshops, seminars, fairs and functions etc has been totally banned in the first quarter in the physical mode. There will be a ban on holding of meetings and conferences in five star hotels.
No executive class will be allowed except in the case of Governor of Assam, Chief Minister, Chief Justice, other Judges of Gauhati High Court and Chief Secretary.
No officer will be allowed to attend any foreign training course, workshop, seminar outside India for which expenditure has to be borne by the State Government.
Remuneration of Chairman and Vice Chairman of all PSUs/ Corporations/ Boards will be reduced by 25 per cent from May 1.
Release of MLA Area Development Fund will remain suspended in the first four months of the current financial year or until further orders.
MHRD launches academic calendar for upper primary stage
The Union Human Resource Development Ministry launched an alternative academic calendar for upper primary stage which consists of classes 6 to 8. The calendar has been developed by NCERT under MHRD’s guidance.
The calendar contains a week-wise plan consisting of interesting and challenging activities, with reference to theme or chapter taken from syllabus or textbook.
MHRD claims that the calendar would map the themes with the learning outcomes.
The purpose of mapping of themes with learning outcomes is to facilitate teachers and parents to assess the progress in the learning of children and also to go beyond textbooks.
The activities given in the calendar focus on learning outcomes and can thus be achieved through any resource including the textbooks children are using in their state or Union Territories.
The calendar also covers experiential learning activities such as Arts, Education, Physical Exercises, yoga, pre-vocational skills, etc.
It would include activities related to four languages as subject areas, that is Hindi, English, Urdu and Sanskrit along with link for Chapter wise e-content available on the e-pathshala, NROER and DIKSHA portals of government of India.
The calendar however has been designed for four weeks only, but the ministry says it would extend it if needed.
India gifts USD 5 million medical aid to world to combat Covid-19
India has gifted USD 5 million worth of medicines and other Covid-19 related supplies to the world so far as countries continue to combat the global pandemic.
India has sent five million Hydroxycholorquine (HCQ) tablets to countries in the neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Rim, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, Eurasia and Western Asia North Africa regions.
The government is also providing 1.32 million paracetamol (PCM) tablets to its neighbouring and other partner countries.
India is also providing a big basket of other medical aid which includes essential drugs and life-saving antibiotics; medical consumable; and other equipment for laboratories and hospitals.
India has approved commercial consignments of around 285 million HCQ tablets to 40 countries and around 500 million PCM tablets for 60 countries have also been cleared.
As part of government’s response to the Covid-19 situation, 11 empowered groups have been set up for an integrated approach.
MEA has been playing a key role in the empowered group that deals with ensuring availability of essential medical equipment and supplies.
APRIL 25, 2020
Rural Development Ministry released Rs 36,000 crore to states in April 2020
The Centre has already released more than Rs 36,000 crore to the states/UTs in the current financial year (FY2020-21) for the development schemes of the villages, said Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar.
Tomar held a meeting with all the rural development ministers and concerned officials of the states and Union Territories via a video conference and urged them to scale up of the works.
Under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan MantriAwaasYojanaGramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), in the light of the relaxations granted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in the non-containment areas w.e.f. April 20.
The ministry has sanctioned Rs 33,300 crore under MGNREGA out of which Rs 20,225 crore has been released to liquidate all the outstanding dues of previous years towards wages and materials.
The said sanctioned amount is sufficient to meet the expenses under MGNREGA till June, 2020.
The minister assured the states and UTs that adequate financial resources are available for the rural development programmes.
Tomar also urged the states and UTs to proactively start rural development schemes relating to employment generation, infrastructure creation and strengthening of rural livelihoods while taking all necessary Covid-19 related precautions.
He emphasised that under MGNREGS, the focus should be on water conservation, water recharge and irrigation work in convergence with the schemes of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and Department of Land Resources.
Under PMGSY, the focus should on quick awarding of tenders in sanctioned road projects and starting pending road projects.
The contractors, suppliers, workers etc. should be galvanised to quick start the works.
IIT Delhi researchers develop dashboard to predict Covid-19 spread
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi have developed a web-based dashboard to predict the spread of deadly Covid-19 in India.
The mobile-friendly dashboard, named as PRACRITI – PRediction and Assessment of CoRona Infections and Transmission in India, gives a detailed state-wise and district-wise predictions of viral cases in the country.
The projections are given for a three-week period, which is updated on a weekly basis.
The researchers believe that such a platform will be highly useful for healthcare bodies, local and central authorities, to efficiently plan for different future scenarios and resource allocation.
A key parameter of interest on Covid-19 is the basic reproduction number R0 and its countrywide variability. R0 refers to the number of people to whom the disease spreads from a single infected person.
If an active Covid-19 patient infects two uninfected persons, the R0 is two. Hence, reduction of R0 is the key in controlling and mitigating Covid-19 in India.
The model also accounts for the effect of different lockdown scenarios, such as the effect of locking down the district boundaries and implementing different levels of lockdown within a district.
These predictions can help the districts and states having higher R0 to take rigorous measures to control the spread of Covid-19, while for those with low R0 they need to sustain measures and remain very vigilant.
The predictions in the dashboard are based on a newly-developed mathematical model that divides the population into four classes i.e. susceptible, exposed, infected, and removed.
WHO, global partners join forces to develop COVID-19 technologies
The World Health Organization (WHO), together with a group of global partners, launched a groundbreaking collaboration to accelerate both the development and equitable access to new essential technologies for COVID-19.
WHO Director-General TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus and other global leaders made an unprecedented commitment to work together to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19.
Participants in conference also include leaders from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI-the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, UNITAID, the Wellcome Trust, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The group will seek to implement innovative diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines at record speed and at record scale in a bid to defeat COVID-19.
UNICEF for normal resumption of immunisation in most Assam districts
UNICEF expressed hope that the immunisation programme resumes soon in a normal way in most districts of Assam, barring areas classified as ‘red and containment zones’.
In many places, children are missing on critical vaccines due to recommendations and requirements around physical distancing and isolation, or due to reduced access to overstretched health services.
These circumstances are putting children, especially the most vulnerable, at a risk of outbreaks of other diseases such as measles. Immunisation is vital now, more than ever.
UNICEF has advised parents to get children vaccinated as soon as the COVID-19 outbreak is brought under control and routine services resume.
While essential doses for institutional deliveries have continued uninterrupted in the State during the lockdown, Assam is among the few states that resumed routine immunisation last week at the sub-centre level.
According to UNICEF, immunisation is one of the most effective public health interventions.
UNICEF has supported the National Health Mission, Department of Health, Government of Assam, with training of 45,000 ASHA and ANM workers on the COVID-19 outbreak.
The training covered issues around safe practices, community surveillance, home quarantine, using a mask, facts and myths, among other aspects.
UNICEF works on-ground closely with partners including the Government of Assam, other UN agencies and civil society organisations, to ensure availability of vaccines and their access to children, especially the most vulnerable.
The Assam government will allow inter-district movement of nearly one lakh people.
The steps have been taken to facilitate the stranded people in 33 distrcts across Assam to return home, join offices or visit hospitals while strictly adhering to the lockdown norms, including social distancing and hygiene.
Around 50,000 people are expected to use their own vehicles for one-way trip and over 40,000 are likely to be provided free-of-cost public transportation through the Assam State Transport Corporation buses by the state government.
The deputy commissioners of respective districts are issuing one-way passes to the people to travel by their vehicles.
Ministry of Home Affairs allows to open standalone shops
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a clarification saying that only standalone shops are allowed to open as per the directive and that the order does not apply to Covid-19 containment zones or liquor stores.
In urban areas, all standalone/neighbourhood shops & shops in residential complexes are allowed to open.
Shops in markets/market complexes & shopping malls are not allowed to open.
The ministry also clarified that sales by ecommerce companies will continue to be restricted to essential goods only.
It also cleared that liquor stores will be shut as the relaxations do not apply to them.
No shops have been allowed to open in multi-brand or single brand malls.
Shops were allowed outside the city limits except those in malls with 50 per cent workforce while wearing of masks has been made compulsory.
Moody’s slashes India growth forecast to 0.2% for 2020
Moody’s Investors Service slashed India’s growth forecast to 0.2 per cent for the 2020 calendar year from the earlier projection of 2.5 per cent released in March.
Stating that the economic costs of shutdown of the global economy are accumulating rapidly, Moody’s in its Global Macro Outlook 2020-21 (April 2020 Update) projected that all G-20 advanced economies would contract by 5.8 per cent in 2020.
Among the emerging economies in G-20, Moody’s projected India to grow at 0.2 per cent in 2020 and 6.2 per cent in 2021. This compares to 5.3 per cent growth clocked in 2019.
Late last month, the government had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package comprising free foodgrains and cooking gas to poor and cash dole to poor women and elderly. A second package, aimed at industries, is said to be in works and is likely to be announced shortly.
China is projected to grow by 1 per cent in 2020 and 7.1 per cent in 2021, as against 6.1 per cent in 2019.
Moody’s in the report titled ‘Global recession is deepening rapidly as restrictions exact high economic cost’, said there are significant downside risks to its growth forecasts in the event that coronavirus pandemic is not contained and lockdowns have to be reinstated.
India, China and Indonesia are the only 3 G-20 countries which are projected to grow in 2020, while the others will see a contraction, according to the report.
The US economy is projected to contract by 5.7 per cent, the UK by 7 per cent, Italy by 8.2 per cent, Japan by 6.5 per cent and France by 6.3 per cent.
Moody’s said the economic costs of the coronavirus crisis amid the near shutdown of the global economy are accumulating rapidly. Even with a gradual recovery, 2021 real GDP in most advanced economies is expected to be below pre-coronavirus levels.
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 to support for environmental protection
Earth Day is celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.
On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by 195 nations at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
An Earth Anthem penned by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay Kumar, which has been translated into 50 languages is used by many schools and organizations across the world to celebrate Earth Day.
APRIL 27, 2020
Governor’s Rule imposed in Bodoland Territorial Council
Governor’s Rule has been imposed in the Bodoland Territorial Council. Principal Secretary to the State Government Rajesh Prasad was appointed as Administrator of BTC.
The term of the general council of BTC expired on 27th April and elections to the council, which were scheduled for April 4, had earlier been deferred on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“… whereas the election in BTC was deferred indefinitely… and whereas the Governor of Assam is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the administration of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Now, therefore, the Governor of Assam, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 16 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, is pleased to assume to himself, with immediate effect, the administration of the said districts and all functions and powers vested in or exercisable by the BTC,” stated a notification issued by the Governor.
It added the order shall take immediate effect “and shall, unless terminatedearlier or extended further, remain in force for a period of six months.”
It was announced that the Governor “may appoint a person or authority to discharge the functions and powers of the BTC, including the functions and power exercised by the Executive Committee, Chief Executive Member, Deputy Chief Executive member, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Executive Members.”
The Governor has appointed Rajesh Prasad, senior IAS officer and Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, to exercise all the functions and powers exercisable by the BTC and its Executive Committee, Chief Executive Member and other representatives.
University of Hyderabad start-up wins BIRAC funding for Covid-19 project
OncoSeek Bio Pvt Ltd will receive funding support for developing an in vitro Lung Organoid model, from BIRAC which comes under the Union Science and Technology Ministry’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
OncoSeek’s project is one of 16 selected so far from the 500 proposals received for the Covid-19 research consortium.
Under this grant proposal, the company plans to use their novel platform to screen drugs/peptides/molecules/agents/compounds targeted against the virus or the host cell.
It plans to create this capability in the next 6 months.
OncoSeek is a start-up incubated at ASPIRE-BioNEST at UoH since 2019, and works on developing in vitro and in vivo platforms for specific diseases for therapeutics screening.
BioNEST at the University of Hyderabad is a life sciences incubator, set up with the support of the BIRAC, an enterprise under the DBT, to provide a plug-and-play life science ecosystem of incubation.
Tarun Bajaj to be DEA secretary and Rajesh Verma next MCA secretary
The Centre has decided to appoint Tarun Bajaj as the Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), under the Finance Ministry, on AtanuChakrabarty’s retirement on April 30.
Bajaj, a 1988 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is the Additional Secretary at Prime Minister’s Office.
A Gujarat cadre officer of the 1985 batch, Chakarborty was appointed the DEA Secretary in July 2019 when then Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg was shifted to the Power Ministry.
Rajesh Verma as the next Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). He will take over on retirement of Injeti Srinivas.
Srinivas, a 1983 batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, will retire on May 31 after over two-year tenure as the Corporate Affairs Secretary.
Verma is the Special Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare.
AramaneGiridhar, the Additional Secretary at the Cabinet Secretariat, will take over as the Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as Sanjeev Ranjan will move to the Ministry of Shipping as its new Secretary.
CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwalappointed as Secretary Department of Education
CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal was appointed as Secretary in the Department of Education and Literacy.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Anita’s appointment.
The committee has also extended, by three months, service of Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan. A 1983-batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Sudan was to retire on April 30.
Sudan, who has been working on aligning all departments to execute the Narendra Modi government”s policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19, will continue to function as Secretary in the Department of Health and Family Welfare of MoHFW during the period.
Free zinc, vitamin tablets for Covid-19 field duty officials in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami announced free zinc and multi-vitamin tablets for government officials who are on Covid-19 field duty to boost their immunity.
Palaniswami said masks, personal protective equipment are given to officials of revenue, health, police and others who are on Covid-19 field duty.
In order to improve their immunity, zinc and multi-vitamin tablets will be provided free of cost for 10 days.
Assam starts implementation of State Policy for Transgenders
Assam State Government has started implementation of the Assam State Policy for Transgenders. Officials of the Social Welfare Department said that from now on, a number of welfare schemes will be come into force for the transgender community under the policy. The policy was a long-pending demand of the transgender community.
India hands over HCQ tablets, emergency medical gear to Bangladesh
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Riva Ganguly Das, handed over emergency medical supplies consisting of one lakh Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets and 50,000 sterile surgical gloves to Bangladesh.
The Indian High Commission in Dhaka said that the second tranche of assistance came from the Covid-19 emergency fund which was created at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his March 15 video conferencing with the leaders of the SAARC countries.
Bangladesh Health Minister Zahid Maleque appreciated the continued support of India in providing medical supplies, protective gear and capacity building in the fight against Covid-19.
The Indian High Commissioner reiterated India”s continued support to Bangladesh in its fight against Covid-19.
The supplies were dispatched to the Central Medical Stores Depot of Bangladesh government.
The Covid-19 emergency fund was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his video conference with SAARC leaders on March 15. It was set up with an initial contribution of $10 million from India.
IIT Madras startup develops smart bin system to prevent COVID-19 spread
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated Startup Antariksh Waste Ventures has developed an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled smart bin system to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Called AirBin, the system works through waste generated at CVPs (contagion vulnerable points, primarily hospitals, clinics, public bins, quarantine zones).
From waste collection, transport, segregation, disposal to recycling, every process needs to be overhauled quickly and technology will play a vital role in this transformation.
Timely cleaning of bins will be a key priority while faced with a shortage of labour.
The smart bin system can be retrofitted on to existing garbage bins on nearby poles, walls or the bin lids.
The objective is to help rural and urban local bodies clear every bin before it overflows and accelerate sustainability.
The startup aims to clear waste bins before they overflow by digitising waste management processes.
Kerala students win CODE19 hackathon with virtual classroom project
A virtual classroom created by students from Government College of Engineering in Kannur, Kerala, to make learning easier and intuitive in COVID-19 times has won $10,000 (approxRs 7.6 lakh) as winner of the 72-hour online hackathon called CODE19.
The hackathon was organised by California-based MotwaniJadeja Foundation this month to find solutions to India”s challenges against the new coronavirus pandemic and the foundation awarded $34,000 in total to various teams from across the country.
iClassroom has been created by 19-year-old Abhinand C and 20-year-old Shilpa Rajeev.
With iClassroom, students and teachers can interact with each other, clear their doubts, mentor others and conduct online classes.
Code19 was held in collaboration with Bengaluru-based HackerEarth. The Association of Designers in India (ADI) helped in providing mentors through its network.
The second price worth $5,000 went to TeleVital, a solution for contactless health assessment of a patient created by a 6-student team from Manipal Institute of Technology.
The solution records a patient”s heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, etc. without any contact-based measurement tool.
Three teams won $3,000 each at third place. The projects were SoloCoin from a team from various colleges across India, led by project lead ArbobMehmood of UPES University, Dehradun; Covid19 Fact Checker created by a team from AISSMS College of Engineering, Pune; and Grape Community, created by Ranjoy Sen, a 35-year-old software professional from Bengaluru.
10 best innovative solutions were awarded $1,000 each.
IIT-Kanpur’s corona killer box that sanitizes every thing
Scientists at the IIT-K have come up with a corona killer box that will sanitize all essential commodities that are brought into homes from outside.
Vegetables, fruits, sugar, milk, pulses, mobiles, rupees and keys etc. can be sanitized in the box within minutes.
The ultraviolet rays released from this can kill the bacteria and viruses in objects within minutes.
The sensor-based box also has an alarm which can be set for a specified period of time.
This box has several ultraviolet lights, which range between 240 and 260 nanometers. The approximate price of a box is around Rs 5,000.
The IIT is contacting companies for its manufacture and large-scale production will naturally reduce the cost of the box.
Q1. Recently, which state government has launched a new scheme ‘Dhanwantari’ under which locally unavailable medicines are provided to patients at home?
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Assam
Maharashtra
C. Assam
Q2. Manabasa Gurubara, Chhau and Ravanachhaya – the three popular cultural practices from which state have been included in the recently-published Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) list by the Union Ministry of Culture?
Arunachal Pradesh
Odisha
Tripura
Meghalaya
B.Odisha
Q3. Which bank has recently launched an exclusive credit facility for agriculture and allied activities?
Indian Overseas Bank
State Bank of India
Union Bank of India
Canara Bank
A. Indian Overseas Bank
Q4. Recently, which organisation has launched a ‘Lockdown Learners’ series of online dialogues with students and educators in India on COVID-19?
WHO
UNODC
UNICEF
UNESCO
B. UNODC
Q5. Which state has become the first state to have the requisite infrastructure in all its courts for hearing cases through video conferencing?
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Andhra Pradesh
B. Uttar Pradesh
Q6. Which book has won William E. Colby Award 2020?
Midnight in Chernobyl
Army of none
If not now, When?
A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne
A. Midnight in Chernobyl
Q7. Which state government has launched “Apthamitra” helpline with an exclusive toll free number and a mobile app, aimed at providing required medical advice and guidance for those in need?
Andhra Pradesh
Telangana
Karnataka
Himachal Pradesh
C. Karnataka
Q8. Who represented India at the 11th session of “Petersberg Climate Dialogue”?
Prakash Javadekar
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Nitin Gadkari
Ravi Shankar Prasad
A. Prakash Javadekar
Q9. Recently, the students of which IIT has developed low-cost ventilator ‘Ruhdaar’?
IIT Kanpur
IIT Bombay
IIT Ropar
IIT Mandi
B. IIT Bombay
Q10. Which country has the largest military spender in the world, according to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report?
Q1. Which state government commemorated Khongjom Day at Khongjom War Memorial Complex to pay tribute to war heroes of the state?
Mizoram
Tripura
Nagaland
Manipur
D. Manipur
Q2. PM Narendra Modi recently launched ‘Swamitva Yojana’ on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day 2020, which is related to
Creation of land ownership records
To make Gram Panchayats pollution free
To make Gram Panchayats digital
All of the above
A.Creation of land ownership records
Q3. Which state government has recently launched ‘zero interest’ loan scheme for women self-help groups (SHGs)?
Andhra Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Sikkim
Odisha
A. Andhra Pradesh
Q4. Recently, which state/UT has bagged three national awards under separate categories for outstanding contribution by its Panchayati Raj Institutions towards socio-economic development of Gram Panchayats, adopting child-friendly practices and preparing Gram Panchayat Development Plans at the panchayat level?
Chandigarh
Jammu and Kashmir
Rajasthan
Madhya Pradesh
B. Jammu and Kashmir
Q5. Who among the following has been recently appointed as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC)?
Pradeep Kumar
Sharad Kumar
Sanjay Kothari
K V Chowdary
C. Sanjay Kothari
Q6. Name the first ever digital map of the moon recently released by United States Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and the Lunar Planetary Institute?
“Unified Geologic Map of the Moon”
“Geographic Map of the Moon”
“Map of the Moon”
None of the above
A. Unified Geologic Map of the Moon
Q7. Recently, who has been appointed as the head of the National Shipping Board of India?
Bimal Julka
Malini Shankar
Suresh Patel
Abdulgani Serang
B. Malini Sarkar
Q8. Government of which state has recently launched the third edition of scheme Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan’ to prepare the water bodies before the monsoon?
West Bengal
Jharkhand
Gujarat
Goa
C. Gujarat
Q9. Recently, Kerala based innovator Vasini Bai has developed 10 varieties of which flower by cross pollination?
Sweet William
Carnation
Anthurium
Dianthus
C. Anthurium
Q10. Who has been named as the ambassador of BWF’s “I am Badminton” campaign?
Q1. The Chief Minister of which state, has recently inaugurated “strategic bridge” over Subansiri river?
Manipur
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Tripura
B. Arunachal Pradesh
Q2. Which institute has become the first authorized study center in India to carry out plasma research under trial in view of Covid 19?
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical Science and Research
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
B.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Medical Science and Research
Q3. Recently, which state has become the first state in the country to geotag community kitchens?
Tamil Nadu
Rajasthan
Uttar Pradesh
Assam
C. Uttar Pradesh
Q4. ‘Jeevan Shakti Yojana’ is the initiative of which Indian state/UT to enable women in urban areas to earn by making masks at home?
Gujarat
Bihar
Rajasthan
Madhya Pradesh
D. Madhya Pradesh
Q5. Name the first military satellite which was launched by Iran recently?
Gaofen-12
Noor
Kalam SAT
None of the above
B. Noor
Q6. What is India’s GDP growth rate for FY21 as per ‘Global Economic Outlook (GEO)’ of Fitch ratings?
1%
0.5%
2%
0.8%
D. 0.8% to 2.8%
Q7. Which Indian IT company has partnered with IBM to set up innovation centres?
Wipro
Infosys
Tech Mahindra
HCL Technologies
C. Tech Mahindra
Q8. Which among the following state has recently launched eSanjeevaniOPD?
Maharashtra
Himachal Pradesh
Mizoram
Kerala
B. Himachal Pradesh
Q9. The Hyderabad-based National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has collaborated with the regional office of which global organisation to train community leaders?
WHO
IMF
UNICEF
WTO
C. UNICEF
Q10. Recently, which organization has released the fourth annual Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2020) titled “2020 Global Report on Food Crises-Joint Analysis for better decisions”?
Q1. Recently, which IIT has developed an anti-microbial spray-based coating for personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as a 3D printed ear guard for use in face masks?
IIT Delhi
IIT Dhanbad
IIT Pune
IIT Guwahati
D. IIT Guwahati
Q2. Recently, which state government has launched Electronic format of comic textbooks?
Assam
Manipur
Maharashtra
Karnataka
B. Manipur
Q3. Which country holds the chairmanship of ASEAN bloc 2020?
India
Thailand
Viet Nam
Sri Lanka
C. Viet Nam
Q4. Name the official mascot of 4th Asian Para Games 2022 which was released recently?
Feifei
Kaka
Bhin Bhin
Atung
A. Feifei
Q5. Recently, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the reverse repo rate to how much percent in a bid to inject liquidity in financial markets?
4%
2.5%
3.75%
5%
C. 3.75%
Q6. What is the estimated growth rate of India in 2020-21, as per the World Bank’s South Asia Economic Focus report?
1.55% to 2.8%
3.5% to 4.6%
2.5% to 3.5%
4.8% to 5%
A. 1.55% to 2.8%
Q7. Which state has launched a vehicle called ‘Tiranga’ for rapid screening of symptoms of Coronavirus?
Sikkim
Chhattisgarh
Odisha
Kerala
D. Kerala
Q8. In which city the 11th edition of world games 2022 is going to held?
Birmingham
Mumbai
Tokyo
Jakarta
A.Birmingham
Q9. What is the name of a new webinar series launched by the Ministry of Tourism?
Padharo Apno Desh
Dekho Apna Desh
Apna Desh Mahan
Apna Pyara Desh
B. Dekho Apna Desh
Q10. Name the app which was launched by the Agriculture Ministry recently to facilitate transportation of food grains?
Q1. Recently, which state has launched ‘Food Bank’ initiative with the theme ‘Help End Hunger Today’ for poor and needy people due to coronavirus pandemic?
Assam
Gujarat
Manipur
Bihar
C.Manipur
Q2. Name the new satellite recently launched by NASA which can give early warning signals of Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes?
CIRES
Skylab
Terra
Juno
A.CIRES
Q3. Which country has become the largest producer and exporter of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), with 70% of annual global production as per Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA)?
China
Italy
US
India
D.India
Q4. Name the design software system jointly launched by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC) to provide a great platform to students of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across country to create and modify 3d designs with free flow of creativity and imagination?
CollabCAD
NetworkCAD
AtalCAD
None of the above
A.CollabCAD
Q5. Under which scheme, Centre announced free LPG refills to PMUY beneficiaries for three months?
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana
A. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana
Q6. Which country will host Asian Boxing Championships 2020?
Japan
India
Singapore
US
B. India
Q7. In which city, the 2022 Asian Para Games are scheduled to be held?
New Delhi
Cairo
Hangzhou
Osaka
C. Hangzhou
Q8. Recently, who among the following has been appointed as the ambassador of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India’s environment education programme?
P V Sindhu
Viswanathan Anand
Suhas Gopinath
Dilip Shanghvi
B. Viswanathan Anand
Q9. Recently, which among the following company has launched an initiative named ‘Pragati’ to drive women entrepreneurship and to spread awareness and adoption of technology among women in India.
Microsoft
Twitter
Facebook
Google
C. Facebook
Q10. Which is the first state India to start pool testing on Corona virus?
Manipuri New Year Cheiraoba celebrated in subdued manner, amid covid-19
Cheiraoba, the New Year of the Manipuri community, was celebrated in Manipur in a subdued manner amid the ongoing lockdown and subsequent curfew ordered by the State Government to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Reminding that for the Hindu Meiteis, Cheiraoba symbolizes coming of a new year and is celebrated by every household with great enthusiasm and gaiety, the Governor Dr Najma Heptulla said this festival also represents change of guards where old give way to new and rekindles hope for a better life.
Exhorting the need to restrict the celebration to observance of ritual prayers in the safety of their homes, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said “let us once again pledge to protect our community and population through our individual and collective responsible action”.
FACTFILE – Sajibu Nongma Pānba or Sajibu Cheiraoba
Sajibu Cheiraoba is the lunar new year festival of the people who follow the religion of Sanamahism in the Indian state of Manipur.
The name Sajibu Nongma Pānba derives from the Manipuri words: Sajibu – the first month of the year which usually falls during the month of April according to Meitei lunar calendar, Nongma – first date of a Month, Pānba – to be.
Similarly, according to the Hindu lunar calendar, the lunar new year is celebrated on the same day as in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and many other Indian states.
However, according to the follower of the faith of Sanamahism, Meitei New Year/Sajibu Nongma Panba started during the reign of King Maliya Fambalcha (1359 BC-1329 BC) also known as Koi-Koi. Koikoi ascended the throne at the age of 25 years.
From this day, the dating of Meitei calendar (Cheiraoba) known as Mari-Fam was introduced. Hence, 1359 BC will be 25 MF, and 2000 AD will be 3364 MF in Meitei calendar taking the birthday of KOIKOI as 00 MF.
Indian Navy develops Pod for shifting corona patients
Indian Navy distributed Air Evacuation Pod, indigenously designed for transferring COVID patients from remote areas.
The Navy’s naval aircraft yard at Kochi designed and fabricated an Air Evacuation Stretcher for transfer of Covid patients from remote locations.
The manufacturing cost of the pod is Rs 50,000 against imported piece cost of Rs 59 lakhs.
The Pod uses aluminum, nitrile rubber and perspex with total weight of 32 kg. It eliminates infection risk to crew and the need of sanitization of aircraft post evacuation.
It was designed and developed by Naval Dockyard at Visakhapatnam. The entire setup uses an industrial 6-way radial header to enable one jumbo size oxygen bottle to supply oxygen to six patients concurrently.
DRDL develops kiosk for ‘hands-off’ collection of Covid-19 samples
Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, developed a kiosk for healthcare workers to safely collect Covid-19 samples from suspected patients.
The COVSACK or COVID Sample Collection Kiosk is the latest addition to a portfolio of products developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to combat Covid-19.
The patient walks into the kiosk and a nasal or oral swab is taken by a healthcare professional from outside through the built-in gloves.
The unit has been developed by DRDL, in consultation with the doctors of ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad.The kiosk is automatically disinfected without the need for human involvement, making the process free of infection spread.
The shielding screen of the kiosk cabin protects the healthcare worker from the aerosols/droplet transmission while taking the sample. This reduces the requirements of PPE change by healthcare workers.
After the patient leaves the kiosk, four nozzle sprayers mounted in the kiosk cabin disinfects the empty chamber by spraying disinfectant mist for a period of 70 seconds.
Govt to announce Economic package focussing on SMEs
Another set of stimulus measures from the government will have a clear focus on concerns of SME segments that have been hit hard due to Covid-19 outbreak and resultant nationwide lockdown.
The Finance Ministry has suggested the PMO to set up a dedicated fund for micro, small and medium enterprises that could be used to provide both interest-free loans to identified industries as well as capital support required to bring enterprises back in business after the lockdown.
The MSME fund may also be used to provide interest subvention on loans taken by the sector to reduce their burden and allow some of these labour-intensive segments to operate smoothly.
One of the biggest challenge facing the MSMEs due to the lockdown is of eroding cash flow.
Other non-fiscal measures in the SME package may focus more on compliance related issues and easing some of the operational conditions including making norms for sourcing from the MSME segment stringent and increasing sourcing the limit of mandatory procurement from the sector. Also to ease the cash flow, the segments dues from state government and PSUs would be asked to be cleared within a specified period of time.
The next economic stimulus package that could be bigger than the Rs 1,70,000 crore worth of schemes announced by Finance Minister last month focusing on providing food security to the poor.
DekhoApnaDesh webinar to offer tourism virtually
The Union Tourism ministry launched ”DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series to cater for an in-depth information on several destinations and expanse of the culture and heritage of India.
The first webinar of a series touches upon the long history of Delhi as it has unfolded. The seminar was titled ” City of Cities – Delhi”s Personal Diary”.
The core of the session based itself on tourism awareness and social history. Laced with interesting anecdotes, the session which was conducted by the India City Walks and was attended by 5,546 people registering for it.
The series of webinars will be an on-going feature and the Ministry work towards showcasing the diverse and remarkable history and culture of India including its monuments, cuisine, arts, dance forms, natural landscapes, festivals and many other aspects of the rich Indian civilization.
April 16, 2020
Assam receives 50,000 imported PPE kits from China
The Assam government imported 50,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits from China for the frontline healthcare workers combating the Covid-19 pandemic in the state.
India has ordered 15 million PPE gears besides a few million testing kits from China. This includes orders placed by several state governments and both public and private health sector.
China sent a special aircraft carrying 50,000 PPE kits from Guangzhou city. The consignment was received in the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport at Guwahati by Assam’s Health Minister Himanta BiswaSarma.
Union Health Minister holds high level meeting with WHO officials
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan held a high-level meeting through video conferencing with the World Health Organisation (WHO) officials on the measures to combat the coronavirus disease.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and WHO decided to initiate a systematic engagement of WHO”s national polio surveillance network, and other field staff, for COVID-19 response.
The meeting was attended by over 1,000 WHO staff including Polio, Tuberculosis and Neglected tropical diseases (NTD) field staff and other state officials.
The strengths of the National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP team) – surveillance, data management, monitoring and supervision, and responding to local situations and challenges – will be utilized to supplement efforts of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Integrated Disease Surveillance program (IDSP) and The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to strengthen Covid-19 surveillance.
The NPSP team will also support in sharing information and best practices and help states and districts calibrate their response based on transmission scenarios and local capacities.
Kerala institute develops diagnostic kit for Covid-19
The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), has developed a diagnostic test kit (ChitraGeneLAMP-N) which is highly confirmatory for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and detects the N Gene of SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcriptase loop-mediated amplification of viral nucleic acid (RT-LAMP).
Incidentally, this new kit is billed as one of the first few confirmatory diagnostic test for N gene of SARS-CoV-2 using the RT-LAMP technique.
According to the institute, this test kit which is highly specific for SARS-CoV-2 N-gene can detect two regions of the gene which will ensure that the test does not fail even if one region of the viral gene undergoes mutation during its current spread.
The institute has also developed the specific RNA extraction kits along with GeneLAMP-N test kits and the testing device.
The research and development of ChitraGeneLAMP-N was fully funded by Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India.
Green Zone for Tripura if no new case till April 20
Tripura, which falls under the Orange Zone on account of its current low coronavirus infection and fatality rate, is likely to get lockdown relaxation in some sectors if there is no new case of COVID-19 till April 20.
The State would have been in the Green Zone after completion of the first round of lockdown if no COVID-19 cases were detected.
Earlier, two COVID-positive cases were confirmed in the early part of this month but they recovered. At present, Tripura has two containment zones – Gomati and North district – due to the twin cases.
There is no Red Zone or coronavirus hotspot in the State so far. The State Government has taken tough measures to implement the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
If no positive case is reported in the State by April 20, Tripura will be placed in the Green Zone and get relaxation in some sectors during the second phase of the lockdown, which is scheduled to end on May 3.
The State Government has already allowed farmers and tea garden workers to begin their activities with certain restrictions. Some more sectors, including government offices, are likely to be opened by maintaining social distancing and other guidelines.
IIT Guwahati team develops anti-microbial coating for PPE kits
A team of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati researchers has successfully developed an anti-microbial spray-based coating for personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as a 3D printed ear guard for use in face masks.
The research group has developed an affordable anti-microbial (both anti-viral and anti-bacterial) spray-based coating for PPE kits. It can kill and prevent the spread of microbes once they come in contact with the coated PPE surface.
The strategic association of metal nanoparticle cocktail, such as copper, silver and other active ingredients present in the spray acts as an anti-microbial agent. This ensures limited penetration and accumulation of microbial contaminants on PPEs. Thus, the coating has the potential to reduce the risk of secondary infection by limiting transmission of the microbes.
It can be sprayed or dip-coated onto any kind of surface, including textiles and other medical devices to get rid of microbial load. This will allow reusability of PPEs and easy containment of the microbes. Our team has developed the prototype of the technology.
The PPEs used presently are designed to protect the wearer from infectious microbes and aqueous virus droplets acting as a barrier, but they generally do not have the ability to prevent the spread of microbes as the surface of the fabric allows accumulation of microbes with passage of time.
HAL makes aerosol boxes to protect doctors from Covid-19
State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) made aerosol boxes to protect doctors treating coronavirus patients in hospitals across six states.
Delivered about 300 aerosol boxes to state-run hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh to protect their doctors treating Covid patients.
The transparent boxes act as an insulator between a doctor and a patient infected with the deadly virus.
An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. It can be natural or anthropogenic.
Google India launches learning platform on YouTube
Google India launched ‘YouTube Learning Destination’ to help student, teachers and parents find useful and high-quality learning content created by education-focused creators on YouTube.
It features content in English and Hindi, with Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi and other Indian languages are coming soon.
In India, Google has collaborated with FICCI Arise and have so far trained over 250 schools across 23 states in the use of these tools.
Google India has also provided training and tips through the ‘Teach from Home’ hub, which is also available in Hindi.
Google India has released children’s books from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and ChotaBheem on their reading app Bolo to help kids understand the safety measures to be taken during this COVID-19 outbreak.
WHO welcomes joint efforts with India to fight COVID-19
WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has welcomed the world health body’s cooperation with India to leverage strategies that helped the country win its war against polio into the response to COVID-19 outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it will work with India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to leverage the strategies that helped the country eradicate polio to fight the pandemic.
The WHO’s national polio surveillance network will be engaged to strengthen COVID-19 surveillance and its field staff will continue to support immunization and elimination of tuberculosis and other diseases.
April 18, 2020
Tea Estate in Assam must pay wages to workers for lockdown period
Allaying apprehensions among the tea garden workers that their wages and other entitlements accrued during the 19-day industry closure due to the lockdown would be deducted in the later working season, State Labour Welfare Minister Sanjay Kishan told that the plantation industry must pay wages and distribute the rations to all its workers notwithstanding the loss the industry has incurred during the 19 days.
There is a departmental order in which all employers and managements have been asked to pay wages on due dates and also give the labourers the rations they deserve without any deduction.
Tripura government announces cash assistance for street vendors
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb announced to provide one-time financial assistance of Rs 1000 to 8666 registered street vendors of the state.
The decision was taken after the 21-day nationwide lockdown has caused a huge loss to their business.
The financial assistance to the vendors will be paid from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and will be directly transferred to their bank accounts.
RBI eases bad-loan rules, cuts reverse repo rate
The RBI further eased bad-loan rules, froze dividend payment by lenders and pushed banks to lend more by cutting the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points, as it unveiled a second set of measures to support the economy hit hard by a coronavirus-led slowdown.
In a measure that effectively meant that bad loans or non-performing asset (NPA) classification will now happen after 180 days instead of the current policy of 90 days of payment default, the RBI announced an asset status freeze on loans that have been granted moratorium or deferment on interest/principal payment.
The moratorium period will not lead to a spurt in NPAs in the system and will allow the borrowers across retail, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates availing the moratorium to access additional funding from banks or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
RBI cut reverse repurchase rate, a tool to control the money supply, to 3.75 per cent with immediate effect to encourage banks to deploy surplus funds within the system towards lending. This move will discourage banks from parking cash with the RBI and encourage them to lend to the economy.
It kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 4.40 per cent. The central bank also allowed states to borrow 60 per cent more via ways and means advance facility available and extended the increased limit until September 30.
RBI will inject Rs 50,000 crore in a new round of targeted long-term repo operations and asked banks to use the funds availed through this facility to benefit NBFCs and micro-finance institutions among others.
S&P cuts India growth forecast to 1.8 percent
S&P Global Ratings has slashed India growth forecast for the current fiscal to 1.8 per cent, from 3.5 per cent estimated earlier, on account of the lockdown to contain Covid-19 pandemic. But it also expects growth to significantly recover to 7.5 per cent in 2021-22 fiscal.
S&P has cut India growth forecast to 3.5 per cent for 2020-21 fiscal, from 5.2 per cent projected earlier.
It revised Asia-Pacific growth in 2020 to 0.3 per cent with China at 1.2 per cent, India at 1.8 per cent, and Japan at -3.6 per cent.
Other international agencies forecast of India’s growth
Other international agencies also reduced India’s growth forecast over the concerns about the fallout of COVID-19 pandemic. Fitch has projected India’s GDP to grow at 2 per cent this fiscal– the slowest since the economy was liberalised 30 years back. International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed India’s GDP growth projection to 1.9 per cent in 2020 from 5.8 per cent estimated in January.
Similarly, World Bank has estimated India’s economy to grow between 1.5 to 2.8 per cent in the 2020-21 – the worst growth performance since the 1991. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) sees India’s economic growth slipping to 4 per cent in the current fiscal (April 2020 to March 2021).
Moody’s Investors Service has also slashed its estimate of India’s GDP growth during the 2020 calendar year to 2.5 per cent.
Central Govt hails Assam, Tripura & 17 other states over COVID-19 cases
The central government on Friday hailed Assam, Tripura and 17 other states for registering a higher doubling rate in terms of COVID-19 cases which reflects reduction in increase of this pandemic.
19 States/UTs including Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Ladakh, Himachal, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, UP, Karnataka, J&K, Punjab, Assam, Tripura are presently showing a higher doubling rate, which is better than the national average, which reflects that rate of increase of cases in these places has been reduced to some extent.
Till date Assam registered 35 COVID-19 positive cases, Arunachal Pradesh 1, Manipur 2, Meghalaya 9, Mizoram 1 and Tripura registered 2 Covid positive cases.
Scientific task forces are evaluating existing approved drugs and repurpose them for COVID-19. CSIR has progressed into an indigenous synthesis of multiple promising anti-viral molecules such as Umifenovir, Favipiravir.
IIT Delhi startup unveils indigenous N95 similar mask at lower price
An IIT-Delhi startup has developed an indigenous and cheaper solution ”Kawach” mask, which is similar to N95 masks.
It is at par with the N95 mask in effectiveness, but costs just Rs 45 a piece.
The ”Kawach” mask, developed by ETEX, is at par with N95 in terms of fitting and engineered filtration layer that could provide up to 98 per cent filtration efficiency.
The product efficiency is backed with the strong technical inputs from the core textile team in the Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering.
Hyundai Motor India develops automatic ambu bag actuator prototype
India’s second largest car maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) will be submitting its third prototype of mechanical ”ambu bag actuator” or an automated ambu bag to the Tamil Nadu government for approval.
Ambu bag actuators or a ”bag valve mask” is a manual resuscitator used in medical emergencies, first aid where automatic ventilator is not available.
Ventilators are medical devices which take over the work of breathing from a patient who is unable to breathe by delivering air with high concentration of oxygen to their lungs.
For patients severely affected by COVID-19, ventilators are critical to ensure continuous oxygen is supplied to overcome respiratory insufficiency.
The ambu bag actuator is not a substitute for the automatic ventilators but will come in handy for those who are in need and also when automatic ventilators are not available.
Punjab to go for plasma therapy of Covid-positive police officer
The Punjab government is supporting the medical team of S.P.S. Hospital in Ludhiana that has decided to go for plasma therapy of Assistant Commissioner of Police Anil Kohli, who was diagnosed coronavirus positive.
The family of the police officer, who is admitted in Ludhiana’s Apollo hospital, has given permission for the therapy, for which the state is coordinating with potential plasma donors.
The latest technology will be used in the therapy, which is being arranged by the state’s health advisor and former PGI-Chandigarh Director K.K. Talwar.
April 20, 2020
Tripura government decides to pass students from Class I to Class IX
Tripura education minister Ratan Lal Nath said that every student from Class I to IX and XI have been promoted to the next class in view of the coronavirus pandemic
He also informed that online or virtual classes for the students of state government schools have also begun.
Assam CM hands over 50,000 masks for tea garden workers in Udalguri
Assam CM Sonowal handed over 50,000 masks meant for the tea garden workers of the district, who have already started plucking tea leaves while maintaining social distancing norms.
The Chief Minister was there to take stock of the situation arising out of COVID-19 spread, expressed his satisfaction after vising the Sonaigaon Quarantine Centre and said that the State government was taking all pains to end the pandemic in Assam.
He hoped that the positive response of people of Assam would surely yield a very positive result and Assam would be declared as a corona-free State very soon
CSIR develops protective suit for healthcare workers
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) constituent lab in Bengaluru has developed and certified overall protective coverall suit for protection of healthcare workers against COVID-19.
The polyproplylene spun laminated multi-layered non-woven fabric based coverall has been developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), along with MAF Clothing Pvt. Ltd.
The overall protective coverall suit can be used to ensure the safety of Doctors, Nurses, Paramedical staff and Health Care workers working round the clock on COVID-19 mitigation.
The Coveralls have gone through stringent testing at SITRA, Coimbatore and have been qualified for use.
CSIR-NAL and MAF have plans to augment the production capacity to about 30,000 units per day within four weeks.
Online data of human resource to fight Covid-19 launched
The Centre has launched online data pool of human resource, comprising details of doctors, other healthcare professionals and auxiliary help, to fight Covid-19.
The government has created an online data pool of doctors, including AYUSH doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, volunteers from Nehru YuvaKendras, NCC, NSS, PMGKVY and ex-servicemen, for use by the ground level administration at state, district or municipal levels
It contains data on state-wise and district-wise availability of human resources, along with contact details of the nodal officers.
This database can also be used for services of volunteers for enforcing social distancing at banks, ration shops, mandis and for providing help to elderly, Divyang and orphanages.
The courses include basics of Covid, infection prevention and control, use of PPE, quarantine and isolation, management of Covid-19 cases (SARI, ADRS, Septic Shock), laboratory sample collection and testing, ICU care and ventilation management.
In an attempt to assist states effectively address situation arising out of Covid-19, the Centre released the April month instalment of states’ share in central taxes amounting to over Rs 46,000 crore. The inter-se share is as per the recommendations of the XV Finance Commission.
The money has been released ahead of schedule and as a special dispensation to meet immediate funding needs of the state governments looking to restore economic activity and minimise losses to its citizens due to disruptions caused by lockdowns.
While releasing funds to the states, the calculation of net proceeds of shareable taxes has been kept unchanged as per Budget 2020-21.
The highest share of central taxes for April has gone to Uttar Pradesh with a net transfer of Rs 8,255.19 crore. This is followed by Bihar at Rs 4,631.96 crore, West Bengal has got Rs 3,461.65 crore while Madhaya Pradesh has got Rs 3,630.60.
Goa and Sikkim have got the least from central pool of taxes at Rs 177.72 crore and Rs 178.64 crore respectively.
In its interim report for FY21, the 15th Finance Commission has reduced the share of states in the divisible pool of central taxes by one percentage point to 41 per cent, factoring in the conversion of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.
Odisha approves six projects worth Rs 9,100 crore
The Odisha government approved six investment proposals worth Rs 9,100.29 crore.
The 22nd High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) meeting cleared two investment proposals worth Rs 8,850.19 crore with an employment potential of 5,250
The HLCA approved the proposal of Dhunseri Ventures for setting up Maleic Anhydride manufacturing unit with annual capacity of 60,000 million tonnes at Paradeep in the Jagatsinghpur district with Rs 1,013.29 crore investment.
The proposal of Rungta Mines for expansion of Integrated Steel Plant project from 0.9 million tonnes per annum to 2.85 MTPA, with captive power plant of 385 MW and 1.69 MTPA cement plant (in two phases) at Jharbandh in the Dhenkanal district also got HLCA nod.
The proposal of Kashvi International to set up an 1.2 MTPA iron ore beneficiation plant along the 0.6 MTPA iron ore pelletisation plant with an investment of Rs 55.23 crore.
The proposal of Purosteel India to set up a unit for tubes and pipes PVD coating, furniture fabrication, finished sheets and profiles, trimes plant for Rs 53.42 crore was also approved.
T-Works, Telangana government’s hardware incubator and prototyping lab, has developed an affordable mechanical ventilator for emergency use, in collaboration with different start-ups and corporations.
The open-source Bag-Valve-Mask (BVM) ventilator, which costs Rs 65,000 to Rs 1 lakh, is expected to come handy if Covid-19 pandemic spreads and can be deployed for worldwide use.
It can gauge the tidal volume, breaths per minute, oxygen concentration, minimum residual pressure and other health parameters. The low-cost ventilators can be used by primary health care centres in rural areas and in ambulances.
The developers believe such ventilators will be useful at a time when there is world-wide shortage of conventional ventilators, which costs anywhere between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh each.
The project involved over 20 members of various startups and corporate, including talent deployed by Honeywell and Qualcomm. Apollo Hospitals, Sunshine Hospitals and Prathima Hospitals, IIT Hyderabad, Mouser and GE Healthcare, Specteochem Instruments and others were also part of the project.
CM Sonowal reviews COVID-19 situation in Barak Valley
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal took stock of the situation in Barak Valley where three patients from Cachar, Karimganj and Hailkandi have been detected COVID-19 positive recently.
Sonowal interacted with Karimganj Deputy Commissioner Anbamuthan MP and leant about the preparatory safety measures taken by the administration in dealing with the disease.
The Chief Minister also received voluntary donations made by people representing various associations from across the district including Exporter -Importer Association, Satsang Ashram, Karimganj Wholesale Cooperative Society, etc.
The CM also visited the Karimganj Civil Hospital, which has now been converted into Covid-19 treatment centre, where he inspected the isolation wards and quarantine facilities arranged by the district administration.
The Chief Minister held a meeting with the senior government officials, which was also attended by Deputy Commissioner of Karimganj, MP Ambumuthan, State Forest Minister Parimol Suklabaidya, MP Silchar Rajdeep Roy, MLA of Ratabari constituency, Bijoy Malakar, MLA, Patherkandi, Krishnendu Paul, MLA North Karimganj, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, MLA of South Karimganj, Aziz Khan and Superintendent of Police, Kumar Sanjoy Krishna were present.
Chief Minister Sarbananda also reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Hailakandi district. He asked the administration to ensure uninterrupted flow of essential commodities and power supply during the lockdown period.
He instructed the administration to take stern action against those posting objectional posts in the social media that can flare up communal tension and create stumbling blocs in the fight against COVID-19.
The Chief Minister instructed the administration to reach out to the poorest of the poor and provide the much-needed respite during the unprecedented situation.
He told the health authorities to provide proper training to the nurses and front line workers to tackle COVID-19 pandemic and to provide them the best of facilities during their quarantine period.
DRDO installs disinfection chamber at AIIMS on trial basis
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has installed its newly developed full body disinfection chamber at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
It has been installed on trial basis. Once successful, it will also install as per demands from the respective organisations.
The Vehicle Research and Development Establishment in Ahmednagar, a DRDO Laboratory, had designed the full body disinfection chamber called as personnel sanitization enclosure.
The walk through enclosure is designed for personnel decontamination, one person at a time. This is a portable system equipped with sanitizer and soap dispenser.
The decontamination is started using a foot pedal at the entry. On entering the chamber, electrically operated pump creates a disinfectant mist of hyposodiumchloride.
The mist spray is calibrated for an operation of 25 seconds and stops automatically indicating completion of operation.
As per procedure, personnel undergoing disinfection will need to keep their eyes closed while inside the chamber
The system consists of roof mounted and bottom tanks with a total of 700 litres capacity. Approximately 650 personnel can pass through the chamber for disinfection until the refill is required.
HLL Lifecare develops rapid antibody diagnostic kit for corona
HLL Lifecare Limited, a Central Government Enterprise under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has developed the rapid antibody diagnostic kit for COVID 19 and the result will be ready in 20 minutes. HLL is planning to manufacture two lakhs kits for supplying to various Government units in 10 days.
The kit is being manufactured at HLL”s rapid diagnostic kit manufacturing facility in Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana, and has been validated and approved by NIV Pune and ICMR for use in India.
This device is designed to aid in the rapid differential diagnosis of COVID-19 virus infection in large population screening in our country during the current pandemic situation and this will support in the management of control and treatment of coronavirus disease.
HLL is the first Indian Government company that received the approval from ICMR for manufacturing and supplying the rapid antibody kit for COVID-19 detection.
iGOT course to train new Covid-19 warriors
The Centre launched an online course to train the second line of health workers to replace the frontline warriors as well as to tackle exponential increase in cases.
The Centre has launched the iGOT (Integrated Govt Online Training) course for doctors, nurses, para-medics, hygiene workers, technicians, auxiliary nursing, midwives, state government officers, civil defence officials and various police organisations.
The National Cadet Corps (NCC), the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), the National Service Scheme (NSS), the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), the Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) volunteers as well as others will be trained with the help of online course.
The online course has self-learning guide containing the latest preventive techniques for frontline Covid-19 warriors in building capabilities to fight the pandemic that has claimed 117 lives and afflicted over 4,000 across India.
Nasscom, IT Ministry to help you upgrade AI skills for free
A new initiative was launched by IT industrys apex body Nasscom and Union IT Ministry to upgrade emerging tech skills including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Foundational Artificial Intelligence (AI) course from learning platform SkillUp Online will be available for free for everyone till May 15.
This course is aligned to the industry’s recommended Foundation AI curriculum (retail price Rs 6,800).
The Foundational Big Data Analytics course from Digital Vidya — aligned to the industry’s recommended Foundation BDA curriculum — will also be soon made available free of cost.
The campaign to upgrade skills of people has been launched under the NasscomFutureSkills initiative which has curated deep learning programmes for their partner ecosystem that will be available for free on the Nasscom website for all users.
In the coming weeks, Nasscom also plans to provide learning modules on other technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity along with live webinars for participants to create more interactive learning on these themes.
April 09, 2020
IIT Guwahati team develops LED-based disinfection machine
A team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed a low-cost ultraviolet C (UVC) LED-based machine which can be used for disinfection of floors at hospitals as well as buses and trains to aid the fight against COVID-19 in the country.
IIT Guwahati is also filing a patent for the machine, which when commercialised, will be available at a cost of Rs 1000. The current prototype of the machine, requires to be manually manned, however, the team is working on making it a robot manned machine which requires limited human intervention.
The machine developed at a request from the Karantaka government, to be used in its hospitals and buses, will now be pitched to other governments for commercial usage.
The machine, which has been tested at the institute’s laboratory, is also equipped with an object movement identification feature so that UVC exposure to human skin is avoided during the operation.
UVC LED system is a proven technology to sanitise non-porous surfaces infected by the micro-organism. In this project, the team has developed a UVC LED system capable of providing 400 Joule doses in 30 seconds so that the virus-infected surface will be sanitised. The unique design of this UVC system will ensure uniform UVC exposure in virus-infected non-porous areas.
‘Lifeline 1’UDAN initiative for carrying medical cargo to NE states
Named as Lifeline 1, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation under the UDAN initiative, has been serving the North Eastern States by supplying critical medical kits.
On April 6, Lifeline UDAN flights carried Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) kits, consignments and other essential cargo to the North Eastern areas and also to central and eastern States.
Lifeline 1, Indian Air Force (IAF), catered to the Delhi-Ranchi-Patna route covering Jorhat, Lengpui, Imphal, Dimapur and Guwahati, when it transported ICMR kits for Guwahati (50 kg), including Red Cross ( 800 kg), Meghalaya (672 kg), leftover consignments for Manipur and Nagaland, besides ICMR consignment for Dibrugarh and Mizoram (300 kg).
Air India and IAF collaborated for delivering consignments to Ladakh, Kargil, Dimapur, Imphal, Guwahati, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Patna, Jorhat, Lengpui, Mysuru, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Jammu, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Port Blair.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is carrying out advance planning through online meetings and virtual warroom. Under the Lifeline UDAN initiative, 152 cargo flights have been operated to transport medical cargo to various parts of India including remote and hilly areas.
Home Ministry directs States to ensure availability of essential goods
Home Ministry has directed States to ensure availability of essential goods at fair prices for public at large.
In a letter to chief secretaries, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has asked the States to deal strictly with offences of hoarding, black marketing, profiteering and speculative trading.
He asked them to ensure proper supply of food items, medicines and medical equipments by invoking provisions of Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
Mr. Bhalla emphasised that measures including fixing of stock limits, capping of prices, enhancing production, inspection of accounts of dealers and other such actions will be undertaken by the states at the earliest and at regular intervals to ensure production and supply of essential commodities.
He said that those not complying may be dealt severely as offences under Essential Commodities Act are considered as criminal offences and may result in imprisonment of seven years.
AIIMS to launch training module for health staff to manage COVID cases of pregnant women
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched a training programme in association with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi for the healthcare staff for managing suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases among pregnant women.
A training module is going to be launched for the physicians for suspected and confirmed cases of pregnant women by the ministry through AIIMS.
The healthcare workers will receive training for antenatal care and labour management through this course.
April 14 declared as Central govt holiday
The government announced that April 14, the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, will be a holiday for all Central government offices throughout the country.
The Ministry of Personnel said that it has been decided to declare April 14, as a closed holiday on account of the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar for all Central government offices, including industrial establishments, throughout India.
The above holiday is being notified in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
Assam tourism industry stares at Rs 200 crore loss
The State tourism industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 200 crore amid the coronavirus-induced medical emergency situation.
President of the Tour Operators Association of Assam Ranjeet Das said that the state tourism industry has been going through a difficult stage since last December due to the law-and-order situation and now due to coronavirus. More than five lakh families of the State have been affected due to the crisis in the tourism sector.
In Assam, the peak season for the tourism industry is from December to May which got affected.
Not only drivers and tourist guides, this time the local people of the State’s tourist spots also have suffered a lot, as normally most of them earn through various line businesses during the peak season.
Especially in rural Assam, for many families homestay is a good source of income during the peak season. This year all of them are suffering.
Central Govt clears Covid-19 emergency package ofRs 15,000 crore for states, UTs
The Central government has approved a Covid-19 emergency response and health system preparedness packageworth Rs 15,000 crore in a bid to strengthen the national and state health systems.
The Centrally funded project will be implemented in three phases from January 2020 to March 2024. The first phase will be from January 2020 to June 2020.
The project will be implemented with the objectives of emergency COVID-19 response, strengthening national and state systems, procurement of essential medical equipment and drugs, strengthening of surveillance including setting up of laboratories and bio-security preparedness.
The key activities to be implemented include support for dedicated Covid-19 hospitals, isolation blocks, ICUs with ventilators and oxygen supply in hospitals. Procurement of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and ventilators over and above what is being procured and supplied by the government of India.
The first phase will also include strengthening of identified laboratories, expansion of diagnostics capacities, including procurement of diagnostic equipment, testing kits and other reagents and mobility support for sample transport.
India, Russia to provide Covid-19 medical help to each other
India and Russia agreed to facilitate each other”s emergent needs of medicine and equipment to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
India”s Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov held a telephonic conversation to discuss the evolving situation related to the spread of the deadly virus.
Both of them exchanged notes on the national efforts underway in their respective countries to contain the outbreak of Covid-19.
Shringla and Morgulov stressed on the close bilateral cooperation between the two countries in ensuring the welfare of each other”s citizens in their respective countries.
There are around 15,000 Indian students in Russia and about 5,000 Russian tourists in India.
Odisha govt imposes penalty for not wearing masks in public
The Odisha government has made not wearing a mask in public an offence and decided to impose fines on offenders for not wearing mask while stepping out of their houses.
The general public is directed to cover their mouths and noses with any available form of mask while stepping out of the house for any purpose.
The government will impose Rs 200 for not wearing masks for the first, second and third offence. The penalty will go up to Rs 500 for subsequent offence.
The Health department has framed certain regulations in this regard amending the Odisha COVID-19 Regulations 2020. The government has also promulgated an ordinance with provision of imprisonment of upto two years for those who violate the epidemic regulations.
The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 said whoever contravenes or disobeys any regulation or order made under the principal Act is liable for imprisonment upto two years or with fine up to Rs 10,000 or both. The ordinance has amended a section of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
Start-up comes up with specialised drones to help Assam Govt contain Covid-19
Guwahati-based start-up Drones Tech Lab, incubated by IIM Calcutta has come up with specialised drones to help the State government in containment of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State.
Drones Tech Lab advisor Ruchika Kuthari said drones are designed to help in spraying disinfectants in a large area, monitoring public for crowd control and delivering medicines, among other purposes.
The start-up had presented solutions to the State authorities with its services to help fight against the virus, especially in the current lockdown situation where mobility of resources is constrained and need to monitor and contain the spread is high.
April 11, 2020
Assam Planters worried as tea bushes overgrowing
Tea bushes in the estates of Assam are overgrowing due to cessation of activity during the lockdown, leaving the planters worried at the beginning of the production season.
While the government had allowed irrigation and spraying in the tea gardens from March 27, the industry captains have now pleaded to allow them to undertake skiffing in the plantations.
The shutdown of the tea estate operations due to the spread of COVID-19 at the beginning of the manufacturing season has virtually disabled the sector as seasonal tea production has ceased.
The closure of the operation has led to overgrowth the tea bushes and the overgrown foliage needs to be skiffed immediately as this is not suitable for production of tea.
Skiffing of tea bushes is a maintenance activity and this operation can be undertaken by deploying a small number of workers while adhering to social distancing and other safety norms.
If the tea bushes are not skiffed during the lockdown period, then post resumption of operations, tea estates would require another three weeks to commence production as the fresh leaves take two to three weeks to grow to be ready for harvesting.
The first and the second flush teas, which are harvested at the beginning of the season, comprise the premium quality and loss of production during this period will further aggravate the financial crisis on the tea sector.
The government’s instructions to continue regular payment to the workers, including supply of ration has also put the garden managements in a quandary.
US threatens to freeze WHO funding
President Donald Trump has threatened to put a “very powerful” hold on US’ funding to the World Health Organization, accusing the UN agency of being “very China centric” and criticising it for having “missed the call” in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump slammed the global health agency for its early guidance aimed at countering the international spread of the coronavirus.
The Geneva-headquartered World Health Organization (WHO), receives vast amounts of money from the United States.
Senator Jim Risch, chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for an independent investigation into the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 response.
In accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO declared COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern promptly, and coordinated the international response lawfully and with the best available science.
FACTFILE – WHO’s Financing Structure
Since its founding in 1948, the WHO has been crucial in helping humanity resist threats from smallpox, polio, malaria, HIV/AIDS, H1N1, SARS, MERS, Zika, and Ebola etc.
The single greatest challenge to the WHO is its lack of funding. WHO’s two-year budget for 2020-2021 is about $4.8 billion. Its budget has largely remained static over time, despite the organization taking on a greater scope of responsibility and more complex challenges.
The WHO relies on its 194 member states, and other donors, to fund its budget through two primary streams of revenue: assessed contributions, which are set amounts that member states are required to pay based on their income and population size; and voluntary contributions by member states, as well as private organizations and individuals.
Assessed contributions are flexible funds that can be put toward general expenses and program activities, while most voluntary contributions are earmarked to be put toward a specified initiative.
Recognizing the dire need for rapidly deployable funding following the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, WHO created the Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE). The CFE is completely reliant on voluntary donations, but cannot be marked for specific activities.
Through the years, the United States has remained the single greatest contributor to the WHO, providing nearly 15% of its funding in 2018-2019.
China, despite being a densely populated country where viruses like COVID-19 can rapidly spread, accounts for less than 1% of WHO funding due to outdated apportionment. Other nations’ reluctance to commit significant and flexible funding to WHO is both dangerous and counter-productive toward achieving health security.
BEL co-develops system for remote health monitoring
State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Uttarkhand’sRishikesh have co-developed a remote monitoring system to combat coronavirus.
The system remotely assesses the health of Covid suspect or patient quarantined in hospitals or at home and protects healthcare staff’s exposure.
The company developed the dynamic system on inputs from AIIMS to provide a digital and clinical solution without exposing health workers to the deadly virus.
The system’s integrating non-invasive health monitoring sensors measure temperature, pulse rate, saturated oxygen level and respiration rate.
The BEL also developed a mobile app/web browser to enable patients to get admitted to hospital on feeling Covid symptoms.
The software will give SMS alerts to medical officers and health staff when the parameters exceed the threshold. It will also record the patient”s condition in colour codes.
The Northeast India recorded the first COVID-19 death as one of the 29 patients from Hailakandi, Faijul Haque Barbhuiya (65) died at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) following complications arising out of the dreaded virus.
The deceased patient was a resident of Barjurai village of Hailakandi district of Assam, was admitted in the Silchar Medical College and Hospital. He returned to Hailakandi on March 18 after performing Umrah Haj in Saudi Arabia. He had also visited the Markaz at Nizamuddin in Delhi. He later developed pneumonia and had to be shifted to the ICU and put on ventilator later.
Strictly conforming to the guidelines issued by the Government of India regarding disposing of remains of COVID-19 victims, the district administration performed his last rites.
Containment zone along with buffer zone has been clearly demarcated around a one-km radius of Borjurai village where the deceased COVID-19 victim resided, to prevent further spread of the virus. Entry of all vehicles, except those in emergency and essential services, was prohibited.
Epidemic Diseases Act imposed for first time since independence
To deal with epidemics, the British India Govt had enacted the Epidemic Diseases Act way back in 1897 and perhaps for the first time, the Act has been imposed in the entire country since Independence to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Since Independence, though the country witnessed outbreak of different diseases from time to time, those were confined to certain pockets of India and thus no government felt the need for amending the old Act though its application was amended in a few states, including Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
During the British rule, India faced epidemics such as cholera, Spanish flue, etc., which must have forced the then government to enact the legislation.
In case of COVID-19, the outbreak hit almost the entire world, forcing the World Health Organization to declare the disease as pandemic and the government was forced to impose the Epidemic Diseases Act in the entire country.
FACTFILE – Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 spelled out the measures that the government can take in the wake of outbreak of diseases in case the existing laws of the land are not adequate to deal with the same.
Section 2 of the Act says, “Power to take special measures and prescribe regulations as to dangerous epidemic disease – when at any time the State Government is satisfied that the State or any part thereof is visited by, or threatened with, an outbreak of any dangerous epidemic disease, the State Government thinks that the ordinary provisions of the law for the time being in force are insufficient for the purpose, may take, or require or empower any person to take, such measures and, by public notice, prescribe such temporary regulations to be observed by the public or by any person or class of persons as shall deem necessary to prevent the outbreak of such disease or the spread thereof, and may determine in what manner and by whom any expenses incurred (including compensation if any) shall be defrayed.”
The Government can go for inspection of persons travelling by railway or otherwise, and the segregation, in hospital, temporary accommodation or otherwise, of persons suspected by the inspecting officer of being infected with any such disease.
Under the provisions of the Act, the government is carrying out inspections of people and quarantined a number of persons suspected to be affected by the disease and those who came in contact with coronavirus. The Government of India has the powers to check the persons arriving from aboard.
The Act further said that any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860.
US marks record over 2,100 coronavirus deaths in single day
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the US has become the world’s first country to have registered more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day with 2,108 fatalities reported on 10th April, while the number of infections in America has crossed 500,000, the highest in the world.
China, where the deadly coronavirus disease started before spreading across Europe and America killing more than 100,000, has so far recorded 81,000 cases of positive infections and 3,339 deaths.
In terms of fatalities, the US might soon overtake Italy where 18,848 COVID-19 deaths have happened so far.
The COVID-19 positive cases in the United States are now more than the other top countries taken together: Spain (158,000), Italy (147,000), Germany (122,000) and France (112,000).
In US, the New York, which has emerged as the epicenter of COVID-19 deaths, has registered over 1.7 lakh positive cases, which is more than any other country. More than 7,800 people in New York have died due to coronavirus.
The members of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus had projected between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in the US.
US President Trump has declared a national emergency, has notified major disaster declaration for almost all of the 50 States and more than 95 per cent of the 330 million population are under stay-at-home order.
India to explore blood plasma therapy for corona patients
India will explore novel blood plasma therapy for COVID-19 using the immune power gained by a recovered person to treat a sick person.
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), an Institution of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology, has obtained the go-ahead for taking a bold step to provide innovative treatment to patients suffering from COVID-19 disease.
Technically called “convalescent-plasma therapy“, the treatment aims at using the immune power gained by a recovered person to treat a sick person.
The therapy, like blood transfusion, harvests the antibody from a recovered patient and ingest into a sick person. Helped by the antibody, the immune system mounts robust combat on the virus. At present it is permitted as an experimental therapy for restricted use for severely affected patients only.
In this procedure, blood is drawn from a person who has recovered from COVID-19 sickness. The serum is separated and screened for virus-neutralizing antibodies. Convalescent serum, that is the blood serum obtained from one who has recovered from an infectious disease and especially rich in antibodies for that pathogen, is then administered to a COVID-19 patient.
April 13, 2020
MukeshAmbani gifts 10,000 PPEs to Assam, stock in State rises to 85,582
Mukesh Ambani has gifted 10,000 high quality PPEs to Assam government, taking the state’s stock to 85,582.
Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that govt intend to raise the buffer stock of PPEs to 2 lakh, after which we will procure on daily basis against the number used every day.
There are 91,000 N95 masks in the State and 50 lakh triple-layered masks. The state government will distribute triple-layered masks among tea garden workers as the gardens have reopened in the State.
COVID-19 caused severe disruption to Indian economy
The World Bank said the coronavirus outbreak has severely disrupted the Indian economy, magnifying pre-existing risks to its outlook. In its ‘South Asia Economic Update: Impact of COVID-19’, the World Bank estimated the Indian economy to decelerate to 5 per cent in 2020 and projected a sharp growth deceleration in fiscal 2021 to 2.8 per cent in a baseline scenario.
The COVID-19 outbreak arised at a time when India’s economy was already slowing, due to persistent financial sector weaknesses. Then government imposed a lockdown’ with restrictions on mobility of goods and people, to contain the crisis. This domestic supply and demand disruptions will result in a sharp growth deceleration in FY21 to 2.8 percent. The services sector will be particularly impacted.
A revival in domestic investment is likely to be delayed given enhanced risk aversion on a global scale, and renewed concerns about financial sector resilience. Growth is expected to rebound to 5.0 per cent in fiscal 2022.
World Bank also India’s outlook is not good. And if the domestic lockdown is prolonged, then the economic result can be much worse than what the World Bank has in its baseline range of forecasts.
It is important to prepare for a rebound and that means there should be a focus on temporary jobs programmes. And it is important to prevent bankruptcies especially of a small and medium sized enterprise. In the longer run, this is really an opportunity to bring the Indian economy on sustainable path..
The World Bank is working with India to mitigate the challenge posed by COVID-19. It has approved USD1 billion to India, of which the first tranche has already been released to deal with the emergency in the health care sector, at delivering civilian diagnostic equipment, put in place additional capacity to deal with testing and make testing available that benefits the entire population.
Govt allows 15 industries to commence operations
The government allowed 15 various industries to commence operations and also allowing trucks, repair services, and street vendors to start work as the exit strategy from the coronavirus lockdown starts to take shape.
A number of large and small scale sectors have been allowed where they are mandated to ensure social distancing norms.
The Industry Ministry has given these recommendations to the Home Ministry with a list of 15 industries which should be opened with minimum manpower and distancing norms on a single shift basis.
These include those involved in manufacturing of heavy electrical items like transformers and circuit vehicles, telecom equipment and components including optic fiber cable, compressor and condenser units, steel and ferrous alloy mills, spinning and ginning mills, power looms, defence and defence ancillary units.
Cement plants can run in three shifts as cement production is a continuous process. Pulp and paper units can resume their production in clusters where COVID-19 cases are low based on the data by the state authorities.
Fertiliser plants, paints and dyes manufacturing, all types of food and beverages, seeds processing units, plastic manufacturing units, automotive units, gems and jewellery sector units, all units in Special Economic Zones and Export Oriented Units have also been exempted from nationwide lockdown measures.
Big companies with proper sanitation and distancing norms in place in sectors such as textiles, automobiles and electronic manufacturing.
Companies/MSMEs with export commitments need to be allowed to operate with minimal manpower and necessary movement of material as a new entity.
All transport vehicles of all sizes, whether inter-State, intra-State or intra-city, need to be allowed, whether empty or full, by all enforcement agencies without asking any question.
Street vendors like fruit and vegetable sellers should be allowed by the States in order to improve doorstep delivery and also to provide much needed liquidity to this population.
Certain repairing units like those individuals or small agencies involved in providing repair services of mobiles, electrical items like refrigerators, air conditioners, televisions etc, plumbing, cobblers, ironing (dhobi), electrician, automobile mechanics, and cycle repair mechanics should be allowed.
Govt launches YUKTI portal to address students concern
Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal launched a web portal to monitor and record the initiative by the ministry to combat Covid-19 with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation (YUKTI).
The Union Minister exuded confidence that the portal will help in critical issues related to student promotion policies, placements related challenges and physical and mental well-being of students in these challenging times.
He said that the primary aim is to keep our academic community healthy, both physically and mentally and enable a high-quality learning environment for students.
The web portal will cover various initiatives and efforts of the institutions in academics, research especially related to COVID, social initiatives by institutions and the measures taken for the betterment of the total wellbeing of the students.
The portal will cover both qualitative and quantitative parameters for effective delivery of services to the academic community at large.
The portal will also allow various institutions to share their strategies for various challenges which are there because of the unprecedented situation of COVID-19 and other future initiatives.
The portal will also establish a two-way communication channel between the Ministry of HRD and the institutions so that the Ministry can provide the necessary support system to the institutions.
WHO says No evidence suggests BCG vaccine can protect against COVID-19
World Health Organization (WHO) recently said there is no evidence that the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, which is primarily used against tuberculosis, protects people against infection with the novel coronavirus.
The WHO therefore didn’t recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19 in the absence of evidence.
There is experimental evidence from both animal and human studies that the BCG vaccine has non-specific effects on the immune system. These effects have not been well characterized and their clinical relevance remains unknown.
Two clinical trials addressing the question are underway, and WHO will evaluate the evidence when it is available, it noted.
BCG vaccination prevents severe forms of tuberculosis in children and diversion of local supplies may result in an increase of disease and deaths from the tuberculosis.
FACTFILE – Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis (TB). One dose is recommended in healthy babies as close to the time of birth as possible.
BCG also has some effectiveness against Buruli ulcer infection and other nontuberculous mycobacteria infections. Additionally it is sometimes used as part of the treatment of bladder cancer.
Rates of protection against tuberculosis infection vary widely and protection lasts up to twenty years. Among children it prevents about 20% from getting infected and among those who do get infected it protects half from developing disease.
The vaccine was originally developed from Mycobacterium bovis, which is commonly found in cows.
The BCG vaccine was first used medically in 1921. It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system.
In the United States it costs US$100 to US$200.[8] As of 2004 the vaccine is given to about 100 million children per year globally
IIT Guwahati develops affordable antimicrobial spray-based coating for PPE
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have developed affordable antimicrobial spray-based coating for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) along with 3D-printed & Ear Guard for comfortable use of face masks by healthcare workers.
PPE that are being used are designed to protect the wearer from infectious microbes/aqueous virus droplets acting as a barrier. The research group developed an affordable antimicrobial (antiviral/antibacterial) spray-based coating for PPE kits to kill and prevent the spread of microbes once they come in contact with the coated PPE surface.
The strategic association of metal nanoparticle cocktail, such as copper, silver and other active ingredients, present in the spray acts as an antimicrobial agent.
The research team also developed 3D-printed & Ear Guard; prototype for face masks. The ergonomic design of the guard holds the face mask strap in a place without giving pressure to the ear. Therefore, masks can be worn effortlessly for hours without pain or discomfort to the wearer.
India sends rapid response team to Kuwait
An Indian rapid response team has reached Kuwait to provide medical assistance and train personnel in the fight against coronavirus as a follow-up to the discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kuwaiti leadership.
On April 1, Prime Minister Modi and Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah talked on phone and decided that officials of the two countries would maintain regular contact to exchange information and explore avenues for cooperation.
The two countries share a strong partnership based on historical, cultural, economic and people-to-people-contacts. Indians constitute the largest group of expatriates in Kuwait with an estimated population of about 10 lakh.
Indian team comprising 15 Indian doctors and healthcare professionals, will supplement the efforts of the Kuwaiti government in the collective fight against the pandemic.
The team is expected to stay in Kuwait for two weeks and will provide medical assistance and train Kuwaiti personnel. The rapid response team has been deputed at the request of the Kuwaiti government.
IIT Kanpurdevelops low cost PPE
A team of researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have developed a cheaper alternative to the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kit to help overcome its shortage for frontline workers battling the coronavirus crisis.
The team claims that the kit is as safe as the standard PPE suits, but would cost less than Rs 100 in mass production.
The IIT team of bio-science and bio-engineering researchers has named the kit PIPES (Polyethylene-based Improvised Protective Equipment under Scarcity).
The PIPES kit can be used by medical professionals, policemen, and sanitation workers who are at risk of contracting coronavirus infection.
They designed the PIPES kit based on thin cylindrical rolls of polyethylene (polythene), which is non-porous and commonly used for packaging and making carrybags.
The design and production process of PIPES Kit is open-source, so any small or medium-scale factory can start manufacturing them in large quantities soon. If mass produced, one kit can cost less that Rs 100.
The PIPES Kit may not be visually appealing and as comfortable as the standard PPE kit, but it meets the primary goal of protection against infection.
The usability of the kit has been checked and feedback from doctors has taken.
