Budget 2018-19

  Research shows that children are not the main source of transmission of Covid-19 in the community, school reopening is unlikely to lead to a third wave Reopening schools is unlikely to cause a third Covid-19 wave or lead to a large increase in cases in adults, even with the more infectious Delta variant, experts say and scientific research has shown. With a majority of India’s children having lost a year-and-a-half of learning, the benefits of opening schools with precautions far outweigh the risks. An analysis of various studies shows that there was limited Covid-19 transmission in schools if precautions such as wearing masks, ensuring ventilation in classrooms and avoiding overcrowding were followed. Despite the more transmissible Delta variant having increased the number of Covid-19 cases in those below 18 years in the UK and the US, severe cases and deaths are still at similar levels as in 2020 and the rate of severe cases and deaths is lower in children than older people, da...

  Google’s search, video-conferencing and other tools have been increasingly used in the past year as lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions forced people to shop and communicate online. (Reuters) -Alphabet Inc’s  Google  on Tuesday unveiled updates across many services, including Maps and Docs, as the company showcases its role in a world that has become more digitally connected during the pandemic. Google’s search, video-conferencing and other tools have been increasingly used in the past year as lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions forced people to shop and communicate online. With in-person activities resuming, Google is out to make a case it can remain relevant and compete with services from Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and others, including through features that foster hybrid working set-ups. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai is headlining a two-hour livestream on Tuesday as part of Google I/O, the company’s annual three-day developer conference. The forum was canc...

  This despite the prime minister suggesting such a move be the last resort to curb the spread of Covid-19 In early April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told chief ministers in an interaction that lockdowns were a tool of last resort in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and entirely avoidable if a strategy of micro-containment was followed. He followed this up with similar advice on April 20 when he repeated his suggestion that micro-containment should be the preferred option. But either the PM’s advisers were out of touch with the reality on the ground or it was an unworkable suggestion: Because within days of the PM’s advice, several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — and the opposition — resorted to precisely this measure to curb the rates of infection in their state. Most states have termed these curfews, but the curbs are akin to a lockdown. Gujarat was the only BJP-ruled exception that followed the PM’s lead faithfully. Although the state continues to report aroun...

  All businesses, except essential services, to remain shut; Rs 5,400 cr package announced Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced 15-day curfew in the state and sought central help in airlifting medical oxygen as Covid-19 cases continue to spike in the state, putting a burden on its health infrastructure. Public transport will continue but travel in suburban trains and buses will be only for people giving essential services. The tightening of curbs comes into effect on Wednesday night. On Tuesday a record 60,212 cases were reported in the state and the number of active cases has increased to over 500,000. While the state is getting oxygen by road,  Uddhav Thackeray  has requested the Indian Air Force help to airlift supplies. “If we do not break the chain now we will get strangled by the chain,” he said while announcing the new measures. Last week the state government had closed cinema halls, malls, multiplexes, and places of religious worship. T...

  Occupancy in airlines is down to 60 per cent as number of cases rises and states impose travel curbs Last Sunday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meeting top bureaucrats over rising Covid cases, chief executive of a private airline asked his head of operations to prepare for a sudden grounding of operations. Just a month ago, the CEO had met investors and the talk revolved around a total recovery and bright future of Indian aviation. He’s back to plugging daily cash burn. Within two weeks of many airlines deciding to roll back salary cuts encouraged by a steady increase in traffic flow, a second wave of coronavirus along with rules of compulsory RT-PCR test has hit forward bookings. The fears of last summer, when the pandemic had overturned all the wisdom of airline boardrooms, have returned to haunt the aviation industry. According to an official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, flight occupancy is down to 60 per cent from 70 per cent in the first week of March. Airline lob...

  It has become clear that the special trains operated by the government to ease suffering – and to counteract a disastrous lack of lockdown planning – played a significant role in spreading the virus The crowds surged through the gates, fought their way up the stairs of the 160-year-old station, poured across the platforms and engulfed the trains. It was May 5, around 10 a.m. Surat was beastly hot, 106 degrees. Thousands of migrant laborers were frantic to leave — loom operators, diamond polishers, mechanics, truck drivers, cooks, cleaners, the backbone of Surat’s economy. Two of them were Rabindra and Prafulla Behera, brothers and textile workers, who had arrived in Surat a decade ago in search of opportunity and were now fleeing disease and death. Rabindra stepped aboard carrying a bag stuffed with chapatis. His older brother, Prafulla, clattered in behind, dragging a plastic suitcase packed with pencils, toys, lipstick for his wife and 13 dresses for his girls.“You really think...

  Taiwan holds the world’s best virus record by far and reached the new landmark on Thursday, even as the pathogen explodes anew in Europe and the US While many countries around the world are hitting new highs in coronavirus cases, Taiwan has achieved a different kind of record — 200 days without a locally transmitted case. Taiwan holds the world’s best virus record by far and reached the new landmark on Thursday, even as the pathogen explodes anew in Europe and the US. Taiwan’s last local case came on April 12; there has been no second wave. What did this island of 23 million people do right? It has had 553 confirmed cases, with only seven deaths. Experts say closing borders early and tightly regulating travel have gone a long way toward fighting the virus. Other factors include rigorous contact tracing, technology-enforced quarantine and widespread mask wearing. Further,  Taiwan ’s deadly experience with SARS has scared people into compliance. “Taiwan is the only major count...

  Maharashtra, Manipur, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim and others are yet to take a final decision on resuming classes. Here’s a list of states will will allow schools to re-open and those that won’t After a hiatus of six months, schools in India are set to re-open partially from today. According to the latest standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, schools across the country are allowed to partially reopen for students of Class 9 to 12 from today. However, in view of the worsening Covid-situation in the country, several states have decided against re-opening schools. Schools will not re-open in the following states until further notice: Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Goa, West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu have announced that they will not allow classes to resume for now. In Punjab, only higher education institutes will reopen for PhD and post-graduate students pursuing technical and professional c...