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Current Affairs Assam – April 08 - 14, 2020

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of April 08 – 14, 2020 )

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April 08, 2020

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. 

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April 10, 2020

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 of Rs 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.

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April 12, 2020

Northeast records first COVID-19 death

• 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 10^th 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

Mukesh Ambani 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.

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April 14, 2020

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 Kanpur develops 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.

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