9:51 PMDeath toll in Assam deluge climbs to 87; flood hits north Bihar
The death toll in the Assam deluge rose to 87, while heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of the Gandak river in Nepal led to flooding in parts of north Bihar on Tuesday.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has positioned 122 teams in 20 states to tackle the flood and heavy rain situation during the ongoing monsoon season. A maximum of 19 teams have been deployed in Bihar, followed by 12 in Assam, a spokesperson of the force said.
The death toll in the Assam floods rose to 87 as the situation due to the calamity remained unchanged with 2.4 million people affected in 24 districts, a government report said.
According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person died at Raha in Nagaon district and another at Morigaon town. Twenty-six others have died due to landslides triggered by the rains and floods, it said.
9:47 PMGovt removes export ban on surgical drapes, wraps
The government on Tuesday removed export ban on surgical drapes, isolation aprons, surgical wraps and X-Ray gowns.
All other items including other types of medical coveralls of all classes and categories continue to remain prohibited for export, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
9:28 PMIndia will start GIS-based land buying system for foreign companies: Piyush Goyal
One of medicine's costliest treatment areas could become even more pricey as Biogen seeks to layer its $750,000 spinal muscular atrophy drug on top of $2.1 million-per-patient Novartis gene therapy Zolgensma.
Biogen's Spinraza, the list price of which drops to $375,000 a year after the first year, was the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a leading genetic cause of infant death, and was dominant until Zolgensma's entry last year.
Zolgensma is the world's most expensive one-off treatment, bringing in $205 million for Swiss drugmaker Novartis in the second quarter.
A proposed global clinical study by US-based Biogen would test if Spinraza improves outcomes in patients who do not respond sufficiently to Zolgensma, it said.
9:25 PMNetflix now available on Google's Nest Hub
Video streaming platform Netflix will be available to stream on Google's Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max from Tuesday.
The users, who have both Netflix and a Google Nest Hub, can link their Netflix subscription through Google Home or Assistant app to stream the services on their Google Nest-branded smart display.
According to The Verge, users can call out to the Google Assistant to play a particular show, or just say "Hey Google, open Netflix."
9:25 PMIPL 2020 to be played in the UAE
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played in the UAE, the IPL governing council chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed on Tuesday.
The IPL 2020 edition was slated to commence from March 29 this year but the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"IPL 2020 which was postponed due to coronavirus will now be held in UAE," Patel told ANI.
9:10 PMIrdai allows insurers to offer 'Corona Kavach' as group insurance policy
Amid a spurt in coronavirus cases in the country, regulator Irdai on Tuesday allowed health insurers to offer 'Corona Kavach' as a standard group insurance policy to help public, private sector companies and other business entities to provide insurance cover to their employees.
As per insurance companies, the individual short-term Corona Kavach health indemnity policy has evoked good response after its launch on July 10. All 30 insurers have started offering the policy.
The standard group policy is expected to be useful to various private and public establishments for covering the Covid-19 related medical needs of their employees, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said in a circular.
9:10 PMHillary Clinton blames Trump admin for Chinese aggression against its neighbours
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Tuesday blamed the Trump administration's "inconsistent" foreign policy for the current Chinese territorial aggression against its own people and neighbours, including India.
Clinton, who lost to President Donald Trump in the 2016 elections, claimed that both Russia and China are benefitting from his weak foreign policy.
However, the Trump administration has asserted that no administration in the past has been tougher on China than President Trump.
8:46 PMLatest News LIVE: Amazon to hold Prime Day sale in India next month
E-commerce giant Amazon will hold its Prime Day sale in India on August 6-7 as it looks to revive sales and help sellers, many of whom have seen a significant impact on business on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a PTI report.
"Now in its fourth year in India, Prime Day starts at midnight on Thursday, August 6 and will run for 48 hours, offering members two full days of the best in shopping, savings and blockbuster entertainment from the comfort and safety of their homes," Amazon India said in a statement.
The sale is expected to help sellers on the e-commerce marketplace make up for sales lost during the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown, which began on March 25 and went on for over two months.
In the initial phases of the lockdown, e-commerce companies were allowed to ship only essential items like grocery and healthcare products. These restrictions were later eased and players were allowed to ship all items.
7:51 PMRajasthan cabinet meeting held at CM's residence, Covid-19 situation discussed
Amid the political crisis in Rajasthan, a meeting of the state cabinet was held at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's residence here on Tuesday, during which multiple issues, including the COVID-19 situation, were discussed.
After the meeting, Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma said the cabinet has decided to give some concessions to the tourism industry.
The coronavirus pandemic situation in the state was reviewed in detail. Discussions were held on ways to improve recovery rate and decrease mortality rate, Sharma told reporters. He said additional teams of the state medical department were being sent to the districts where relatively more cases were being reported. At the meeting, the ministers also discussed the measures taken to mitigate in locust-affected districts.
7:25 PMIndia and US closing in on trade deal: Piyush Goyal
India and the United States are closing in on a trade deal, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, after two years of negotiations. India is seeking concessions for generic drugs it exports to the United States in return for opening its dairy markets and slashing tariffs on farm goods as the two sides seek to clinch a new trade accord, three sources told Reuters.
They have been negotiating a limited trade pact aimed also at restoring zero tariffs on a range of Indian exports to the United States under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), from which the Trump administration withdrew last year, citing lack of reciprocal access to Indian markets.
"In the long term, I believe we have a quick trade deal which has some of the pending matters built up over the last couple of years, which we need to get out of the way quickly. We are almost there," Goyal said at the U.S.-India Business Council's India Ideas Summit, being conducted virtually.
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