The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday announced repealing of the Char Dham Devasthanam Board Act, which had brought over 50 temples, including Char Dham shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, under state control.
Children with poorly controlled asthma infected with Covid-19 are more likely to require hospitalisation than children with well-controlled asthma, or those without asthma, a new study shows. The authors suggest prioritising this group for vaccination has important implications worldwide.
The Omicron variant does not escape RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing (RAT), the Centre has underlined while advising states to immediately ramp up testing. A senior official said 764 samples were genome-sequenced between November 26 and November 30 and no case of the Omicron variant was detected till Tuesday.
A confrontation over the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha opposition MPs ensured Parliament remained stalled on Tuesday with Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu refusing to reconsider his decision and opposition parties staging a walk out in protest even as they forced adjournments in the Lok Sabha.
BSF director general Pankaj Kumar Singh on Tuesday said the “demographic balance has been upset to a great degree” over a period of time in border states like Assam and West Bengal and the Centre possibly extended the border force’s jurisdiction to 50 km in these states and Punjab so that it could help and coordinate with state police to catch hold of infiltrators.
National grid operator POSOCO (Power System Operation Corporation) has red flagged overdrawing of electricity by five northern states, a practice that had precipitated the world’s largest blackout in history by affecting half of India’s population for almost 48 hours in 2012.
n a hard hitting judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday said that mere change of regime cannot lead to mindless cancellation of public contracts entered into by the previous regime by parroting the specious grounds of public interest, loss to public exchequer and irregularities.
The share of government spending in total health expenditure increased significantly to 40.8% in 2017-18, up from 32.4% in previous year, and went up from 28.6% in 2013-14 during the UPA regime, the National Health Accounts estimates show. The findings show government spending on health as a share of total government expenditure increased to 5.1% from 3.7% between 2013-14 and 2017-18, indicating higher investments in the sector as compared to previous years.
As many people who lost their dear ones to Covid-19 have not filed an application for compensation, the Supreme Court on Monday said that online portals should be created by all states so that people can apply online and upload documents instead of going to the office of collector and district authorities.
With the emergence of the Omicron variant, public health experts want laboratories to conduct RT-PCR tests in whole for all the three genes, particularly on international travellers, to help detect the absence of the ‘S’ gene. Maharashtra state task force member Dr Shashank Joshi on Monday told TOI that a complete RT-PCR report for Covid included that of the ‘N’ , ‘S’ , ‘E’ and ‘ORF’ genes.
Expressing support for Africa, which has been rattled by the discovery of Covid-19 variant Omicron, the government on Monday announced it had cleared all orders placed so far by the UN-backed Covax programme for supplies of Covishield vaccines, including to African countries like Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea and Lesotho. The government expressed solidarity in a statement with countries, particularly in Africa, that have so far been affected by Omicron.
Shifting focus of anti-air pollution drive to the states, the Supreme Court on Monday gave a 48-hour ultimatum to Delhi, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan and Punjab to execute directions of the Commission on Air Quality Management in the NCR. It said failure to do so will force the court to set up an implementation force. The direction came after SG Tushar Mehta said that the commission had in September directed the states to take measures in anticipation of rise in pollution.
Isro has been actively considering creation of new infrastructure to cater India’s human spaceflight programme, including for its first mission Gaganyaan in Gujarat. No formal decision is made as of November 29. Isro chief K Sivan said, “Gaganyaan is much bigger involving many national agencies and labs. For optimal utilisation of resources and considering various technical aspects and human safety, it’s necessary to spread facilities across many places. It’s a creation of new infrastructure.”
Amid mounting fear over the new SARS-COV2 variant Omicron, an expert committee on Covid immunisation is considering to recommend an “additional dose” to those who are immunocompromised or are elderly and at high risk of infection or death due to Covid-19 infection, an official source said. A final decision on the issue will be taken by NTAGI next week, which will be then considered by the health ministry for approval.
If their passage was contentious and unleashed a trail of tumultuous events, the burial of the three farm sector reform laws was not a quiet affair either. On the opening day of winter session of Parliament on Monday, the government secured approval of both Houses for the repeal amid protests by the opposition parties which insisted on a debate.
The 12 MPs of the Rajya Sabha who have been suspended for the entire winter session of Parliament which commenced on Monday have been charged with “unprecedented acts of misconduct”.
From clinching deals on Kalashnikov assault rifles and very-short range air defence missile systems to a military logistics pact, upgraded combat exercises and joint projects, Russia is looking to challenge US as India’s pre-eminent strategic partner and defence supplier. Ahead of the Modi-Putin summit, coinciding with inaugural dialogue between their foreign and defence ministers, hectic negotiations are underway to put finishing touches on a wide-ranging strategic-defence agenda.
CJI N V Ramana, a diabetic for 30 years, said governments should provide “support and subsidy for diabetic care” as the cost of getting treated for this life-long disease is beyond the reach of common patients. Justice Ramana said scientists could find vaccine for Covid within months but there has been no breakthrough in curing diabetes for centuries and that it has to be managed by observing a strict restrictive regimen for control of sugar levels, diet and lifestyle.
Turning the spotlight on the importance of startups, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country, in a way, is leading in the world in this domain and this could be a turning point in India’s growth story. The country now has more than 70 startups or unicorns that have crossed the $1-billion valuation.
In view of the possible threat that Omicron can pose to the country, the Centre has further beefed up preparations. The health ministry advised states and UTs to immediately focus on intensive containment, active surveillance, increased vaccination coverage as well as enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour.
All international passengers, except those under five years of age, flying into India from Covid at-risk countries must undergo RT-PCR test on arrival, starting from 12.01am (IST) of December 1, 2021. This will include those transiting from these places too. Those testing negative must home quarantine for seven days and then re-test on the eighth day.
Sixty-two residents of an old age home in Bhiwandi, including 55 inmates, five staffers and two of their relatives, have tested positive for Covid-19, district health officials informed on Sunday. Another five inmates who are suspected to be infected have also been hospitalised. The area has been declared a containment zone. Importantly, 60 of the 62 infected were fully vaccinated, the health department said.
The newly emerged variant of concern B.1.1.529 (Omicron) may not respond to monoclonal antibody therapy or cocktail treatment, experts fear. Based on preliminary analysis of Omicron infections in South Africa and elsewhere, experts suggest that it has six times higher potential to spread (R value) than the Delta variant that had triggered the second wave in India. It could also evade the immune system. It may also cause vaccine breakthrough infections.
A BJP landslide buried the opposition in the Tripura civic polls on Sunday, with 329 out of the 334 seats at stake in 13 urban local bodies going to the saffron party in a poll that both Trinamool Congress and CPM termed “murder of democracy”. While BJP grabbed the lion's share of votes overall with 59%, TMC emerged as the strongest opposition party in the seats it contested with a 24% vote share.
US-based IT firm, Cohesity, and first-time recruiter Glean, are likely to make the coveted US offers on day one of the placement season at IIT Bombay. Cohesity is expected to offer the highest package of Rs 1.46 crore, followed by Glean, that has a package of Rs 1.12 crore on offer. These packages include incentives and stock options. The annual placement season will kick off virtually at all major IITs on December 1. Students are expecting this year’s placements to start on a good note.
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