Harikishan Sharma

During an interaction on Monday with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, exporters said if India does not begin shipments at this juncture, its export market will be taken over by Chinese products.

The Centre has entrusted the Ministry of Rural Development with the implementation of this component of the relief package.

During the meeting, chaired by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Monday, the industry is learnt to have raised the issue of demand assessment of ventilators in India.

“The group is expected to come up with a medical emergency action plan in the next few days,” a source said.

Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have seen an increase of Rs 14 whereas Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir recorded a hike of Rs 15, Rs 16 and Rs 17, respectively.

The first COVID-19 case was reported in India on January 30. Fifty-three days later, the government announced an allocation to ramp up medical infrastructure, including ventilators.

According to an National Statistics Office survey, while members of most households (99 per cent) wash their hands before a meal, only those in 35.8 per cent households do so with “water and soap/detergent”.

In an interview to The Indian Express, a day after the country observed Janata Curfew, Dr V K Paul said, “Today, you can say, as of now we are preparing for Stage 3 and intensification of containment to the best possible extent.”

As in-charge of health-related issues at NITI Aayog, the former AIIMS heads of paediatrics formulated the Centre’s POSHAN Abhiyaan to fight malnutrition and the Ayushman Bharat initiative.

Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, Congress leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that after the Prime Minister’s address to the nation, prices of essential commodities have risen.

In a note, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) said, “Any firm having an In-vitro Diagnostic Kit already approved for COVID-19 in any other country can directly approach... through Public Relations Office regarding expedited review/accelerated approval for marketing in India.”

The Indian Express reported Wednesday that cellphone operators had red-flagged ‘surveillance’ after local units of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought call data records of all mobile subscribers across several pockets of the country for specific days over the past few months.

ICMR on coronavirus testing: India has conducted roughly 6,000 tests so far, lower than the US (8,000), Japan (9,600), France (12,000), the UK (13,000), and Italy (23,000). South Korea has conducted as many as 2 lakh, which experts see as the reason for their significantly declining numbers.

Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research’s director Dr G P Singh told The Sunday Express that early March rain and hailstorm, which is a localised event, will have very little impact on wheat output. However, it may have a negative impact on the mustard crop, which is ready to be harvested, Singh said.

During a debate on Demand for Grants for his ministry, Goyal said, “Now, I think the chain of vendors and ticketing agents is not required. I am considering that these agents and sub-agents, who have put boards claiming that passengers will get tickets quickly, should be done away with.”

The suggestions came months after a few MPs, during the Winter Session, demanded that inputs from respective Parliamentarians be taken while preparing DPRs for better implementation.

"We want the government to take up Delhi violence for discussion because 53 valuable lives have been lost," says Congress MP Dr A Chellakumar.

The announcement was made by BJP member Kirit P Solanki, who was in the Chair, as Speaker Birla, reportedly upset over the conduct of members inside the House, stayed away from the proceedings for the third consecutive day.

The din over communal violence in Delhi, that had been dominating the session since Monday, took a break for about 40 minutes when Health Minister Harsh Vardhan read out a suo motu statement, updating the House on the coronavirus outbreak in the country.