Page 4 - Coronavirus

Anand Mahindra asks industry to boost capital investment to 'ride the tide'

Indian companies need to enhance capital investment in order to take advantage of the growth opportunities available in India and abroad, according to Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra. Addressing shareholders in the company's annual report for 2023-24, the leading industrialist noted that the interplay of geopolitics and economic linkages in the post-COVID era has seen India's position strengthen. India's emerging role as one of the vital nodes in future-proofed supply chains across industries opens the door for growth within the country and expansion beyond, he stated. "How can we, in private industry, ensure that we ride this upsurging tide? ..In the spirit of 'ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country', I would argue that the most important thing industry can do at this critical juncture is to increase private investment," Mahindra said. Private capital investment is the key to capitalising on this opportunity as it is a key driver of .

3% more babies with low birth weight born during pandemic in India: Study

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, number of babies in India born with a low birth weight rose sharply -- by about three per cent, a new study has found. Babies born during the pandemic were also found to be at double the risk of having a low weight at birth. The increase in babies born with a low weight could impact the development of "human capital" in the long term, as these infants are known to often "struggle with school", corresponding author Santosh Kumar, an associate professor of development and global health economics at the University of Notre Dame, US, said. "Children who have lower birth weight as infants often go on to struggle with school and this limits their capacity to develop what economists often call 'human capital' -- the key knowledge and skills that will affect their ability to earn a good living and support themselves and their families," Kumar said. Roughly one in every four babies (3 crore) around the world are born with a low weight, which the World Health ..

Covid norms violation case: AAP's Sanjay Singh skips hearing at UP court

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh did not appear before an MP-MLA court here on Saturday in a 2021 COVID-19 norms violation case, citing his preoccupation with the ongoing Parliament session. The court will now hear the matter on July 6. Sanjay Singh's advocate Madan Singh said his client could not appear before the special MP-MLA court due to the ongoing Parliament session. An application on his absence was filed in the court, which fixed July 6 as the next date of hearing. During the last hearing, the court had issued a bailable warrant against Sanjay Singh for skipping several hearings and fixed June 29 as the next date of hearing. Special Public Prosecutor Vaibhav Pandey said that on April 13, 2021, an FIR was registered against Sanjay Singh at Bandhu Kala police station alleging that he held a meeting in Hasanpur village in favour of the AAP's district panchayat member Salma Begum. Around 50 people attended the meeting that was held during the COVID-19 pandemic without taking

India has taken lead in pushing 'one health' goals: Niti Aayog's Dr VK Paul

India is ahead of several countries in drafting a legal framework to support the implementation of the 'One Health' initiative, which shows its leadership in the matter, Niti Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul said on Thursday. The 'One Health' approach that integrates the health of people, animals and the environment, is crucial for addressing complex health challenges such as zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety. Inaugurating a two-day National Consultation on Legal Environment Assessment for the 'One Health' initiative, here, Paul said, "COVID-19 has forced us to re-focus our attention on the importance of zoonotic diseases and the intricate linkages between the human, animal and plan ecosystems," Paul said. Issues of critical health challenges posed by zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety, and climate change are interconnected and require a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to breaking down the silos between human health, animal health

Indian diaspora breaks record with $107 billion remittance surge in FY24

According to a survey by the Reserve Bank of India on post-Covid-19 remittances, the United States emerges as the primary contributor, constituting 23% of the total amount

Norway starts stockpiling grain, citing pandemic, war & climate change

The Norwegian government on Tuesday signed a deal to start stockpiling grain, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe and climate change have made it necessary. The deal to store 30,000 tons of grain was signed by agriculture and food minister Geir Pollestad and four private companies. The wheat, that will belong to the Norwegian government, will be stored by the companies in facilities across the country. In a statement, Norway's ministry for agriculture and food said the building up of a contingency stock of food grains is about being prepared for the unthinkable." Norway will sign further stockpiling contracts in the coming years, with the goal of building up the reserve until 2029. The aim is to have some 82,500 tons of grain in store by the end of the decade "so that we then have enough grain for three months' consumption by Norway's population in a crisis situation that may arise, Pollestad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. As of the first quarter of this year, Norway has

Pandemic exposure lowered wage aspirations of rural women: World Bank

The research was conducted in Haryana on a sample of 3,180 female vocational trainees between June and August 2022

ADB approves $170 million loan to strengthen health sector in India

The $170 million policy-based loan will help in the implementation of the government's National Health Policy 2017

Goods demand slowing, global growth outlook likely to weaken: Report

Global retail sales were 'well below' pre-Covid trend observed between 2017 and 2019, it says

8th Pay Commission: Govt gets proposal for hike in DA, basic pay, pension

With a decade between each pay commissions, the next installment is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026

EPFO discontinues Covid-19 advance facility: Check details of other options

A non-refundable advance was provided to the EPF members during the outbreak of the first wave of Covid-19 and another advance in the second wave

Recovery in overseas travel by Chinese lags due to costs, visa snags

The Chinese currency has fallen more than 2% against the dollar since the start of the year, raising costs in yuan terms for Chinese travellers abroad

Employment in informal sector below pre-Covid level, shows NSO data

According to the factsheet, the number of unincorporated enterprises rose by 2 million between July 2015-June 2016 and October 2022-September 2023 to 65.04 million

Traders demand resumption of border trade with China through Lipulekh pass

Indian traders involved in border trade with China through the Lipulekh pass in Pithoragarh district since 1992, have requested the central government to take up the issue of resumption of border trade through this route with Beijing. The trade route was closed rather suddenly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, forcing Indian traders to return from the Taklakot mart in Tibet leaving behind their woollen products. Five years have passed but the route has not been opened, an organisation of border traders in Dharchula said. The traders who belong to the Bhotia tribe started to raise their demand for reopening of the trade route through Lipulekh after China recently began the process of implementing a pact, in which it had agreed to open all 14 trade passes with Nepal. The implementation of the agreement inked by China and Nepal in December, 2022 began on May 25 this year, when China opened Piangi pass situated in Dolpa district of eastern Nepal, president of Bharat

10.5 mn flights scheduled to crisscross skies, jets burn fuel like its 2019

The International Air Transport Association is anticipating record passenger numbers this year, and planes that will be about as full as they were before the virus using record amounts of fuel

Fauci testifies publicly before US panel on Covid origins, controversies

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert until leaving the government in 2022, faces heated questioning Monday from Republican lawmakers about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Republican-led subcommittee has spent over a year probing the nation's response to the pandemic and whether US-funded research in China may have played any role in how it started. Democrats opened the hearing saying the investigation so far has found no evidence that Fauci did anything wrong while missing an important opportunity to prepare for the next scary outbreak. Fauci alternately a trusted voice during the pandemic and the target of partisan attacks, even death threats spent 14 hours over two days in January being grilled by the House panel behind closed doors. On Monday, they're questioning him again, in public and on camera for the first time since he ended more than five decades of government service. This time around he'll face a new set of questions about the credibility of

Here's why revenge travel is finally losing its appeal after three years

Travel demand is far from falling off a cliff. But there are signs that our wanderlust is downshifting from never-ending to a more normal pattern

Centre, states gear up to tackle infectious zoonotic disease outbreaks

Centre announces detailed advisory on bird flu, Kerala government intensifies Nipah prevention efforts

China falling emissions since Covid signal peak carbon may already be here

Emissions fell 3 per cent in March from the prior year, the first annual decline since January 2023, Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute, said

Covid-19 effect: Global healthy life expectancy slumps to 2012 level

According to WHO's latest report, global life expectancy and healthy life expectancy dropped to 2012 levels of 1.8 and 1.5 years, respectively, eradicating a decade of progress