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Cabinet approves Bill to raise abortion limit to 24 weeks

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet today  approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to increase the upper limit for legal termination of pregnancy from 20 to 24 weeks.

The move will ensure reproductive rights to women and is aimed at discouraging informal termination of pregnancies and reducing the maternal mortality rate.

The Bill will be introduced in the ensuing session of the Parliament.

Enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in the amendments to the MTP Rules and would include ‘vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, Minors) etc.

Upper gestation limit not to apply in cases of substantial fetal abnormalities diagnosed by Medical Board.

The composition, functions and other details of Medical Board to be prescribed subsequently in Rules under the Act.

Name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised in any law for the time being in force.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is for expanding access of women to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or social grounds.

 

Cheaper land, stamp duty exemption part of J&K Govt’s plan to woo investors

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Ahead of the Global Investors’ Summit in Jammu and Kashmir in April this year, the UT administration is working closely with the Centre to formulate an Industrial Promotion Policy to attract investors in the Valley.

Cheaper land, stamp duty exemption and capital investment subsidy are some of the doles that Jammu and Kashmir government is offering to lure industry captains to invest in the new Union Territory.

The incentives are part of government’s Industrial Promotion Policy 2020 which is scheduled to be unveiled in next three weeks.

“This will have elements like GST reimbursement in full, a very attractive land policy, exemption from stamp duty, a capital investment subsidy and other benefits. It will provide capital and transport subsidy to investors,” said an official privy to finalization of policy.

The official said these will be in addition to the incentives to be provided by government of India through a special J&K Industrial Development Scheme which is already in place.

“The Policy will focus on improving ease of doing business through the single window system mechanism which will streamline approvals for investment in all sectors,” the official said.

Government has identified 14 priority sectors for investment in J&K. These include manufacturing, IT sector, tourism hospitality, film production, agriculture, milk poultry, wool production processing silk, handlooms, handicrafts, healthcare, medicinal plants, education and skill development infrastructure and real estate.

Government has directed all district commissioners to submit details about the land available in their jurisdictions. J&K has a robust economy with agriculture, horticulture and the services sector the main priority areas.

“The policy focuses on boosting all sectors. The Policy is being done in consultation with the central government,” the official said.

Jammu and Kashmir government has also decided to organise road shows in Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Kolkatta, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi to invite investors to Jammu and Kashmir.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu said last week, “We intend to take a leap forward in making J&K an economic paradise for investors. I would like to invite investors to take the land in setting up your enterprises in J&K. In order to make J&K a preferred investment destination, we have laid special emphasis on business partnerships for the development of mega and large industries,”

The first of its kind summit in J&K with the theme of Explore, Invest and Grow, is aimed at exhibiting different investment opportunities in the newly formed Union Territory, across several sectors.

Indian Navy’s ‘Operation Vanilla’ to provide disaster relief at Madagascar

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Navy has launched ‘Operation Vanilla’ to provide support in view of the torrential rains and floods that have ravaged Madagascar.

Indian Navy Ship (INS) Airavat, whilst mission deployed in the Southern Indian Ocean has been diverted to Antsiranana based on request recieved from Madagascar.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: “In this time of national disaster, we stand in solidarity with Madagascar.

“The @indiannavy has already launched “Op Vanilla” and urgently diverted INS Airavat to provide support in the relief operations.”

The ship will undertake Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief mission as part of ‘Operation Vanilla’ which has been launched to provide assistance to the affected population of Madagascar post devastation caused by Cyclone Diane.

During the port call, the ship, in coordination with Embassy of India and Government of Madagascar is planned to undertake relief operations to provide succour to the flood affected populace.

The Indian Navy Ship is geared to set up medical camp and provide food, water and other necessary relief material.

The situation is being monitored and the Indian Navy is prepared to render all necessary assistance to the local population in Madagascar.

Air pollution increases risk of type 2 Diabetes: Study

New Delhi (NVI): Generally, we think that air pollution can only affect our lungs or respiratory system. But a recent study shows that poor quality air can also make you a patient of Diabetes. Air pollution and diabetes claim millions of lives every year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), due to air pollution, you are at risk of lung cancer, respiratory infection, stroke, and heart diseases.

These days, the level of pollution is increasing worldwide. According to an air quality database released in 2018, more than 80% of the people living in cities around the world breathe polluted air. The pollution levels in many big cities of India also increase considerably in October-November.

Why is Diabetes considered dangerous?

Diabetes affects every important part of your body. Diabetes can cause your heart to fail, kidneys to stop functioning, stroke and liver malfunction.

Sugar starts increasing in the blood due to Diabetes. The affected blood then reaches all parts of the body. The sugar present in the blood affects the functioning of organs, due to which all the vital organs that keep you alive gradually start losing their capacity.

How does air pollution increase the risk of diabetes?

Research is still going on about why the risk of diabetes increases due to air pollution. But according to scientists, when some harmful chemicals present in the polluted air enter the body through the breath, they reach the blood and then to the tissues, gradually reaching different parts of the body. This damages the tissues and hinders the functioning of organs. Upon reaching the pancreas, these toxic substances can affect the body’s ability to produce insulin hormones and make cells insensitive to insulin, causing blood sugar to rise in a person’s blood.

How the research was conducted

According to research conducted by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (US), air pollution and diabetes are closely related. This research has been published in a journal called ‘The Lancet Planetary Health’. For this research, a team was selected by the scientists, which was not diabetic. The health of all these people was monitored for 8.5 years. Apart from this, the scientists selected another group which neither had problems due to diabetes nor did they live in polluted areas.

After this study, scientists concluded that in the United States alone, more than 3.2 million people died due to diabetes in 2016 (only during one year) due to air pollution. Apart from this, the number of people who died due to different diseases due to air pollution was 8.2 lakh in this one year.

India more prone to such cases: Scientists

Scientists doing the research were of the view that low-income countries like India, China, Pakistan, and Indonesia have a higher risk of diabetes and deaths due to air pollution. The reason for this is that people are not very aware of pollution in these countries and therefore do not take much precautionary.

Temperature dips in national capital as rains lash Delhi-NCR

New Delhi (NVI): Delhi today saw a slight decrease in minimum temperature to 10.2 degrees celsius from 10.5 degrees celsius recorded yesterday due to rain showers across the capital and NCR region.
The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 22.0 degrees celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The weatherman has forecast that temperature in Delhi is likely to dip in the next two to three days due to light rain.
Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the national capital today deteriorate again to“very poor”from “moderate” category.
According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR),the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 190
which falls in the  “moderate” category.
The worst affected areas are Dhirpur, Delhi University, Chandni Chowk, Pusa, Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, IGI Terminal 3 and the neighbouring Noida.

Jammu and Kashmir Govt takes steps to tackle coronavirus

Jammu (NVI): The Jammu and Kashmir Government today announced a slew of measures to check suspected cases of coronavirus in the Union Territory while issuing orders regarding screening of people at airports arriving from China, Nepal, and other countries, that have confirmed cases of people infected by the virus.

As part of an action plan to prevent the spread of the deadly virus in J&K, control rooms will be set up in State Surveillance Offices in Srinagar and Jammu, suspected patients quarantined, and advisory will be issued to all the districts. In addition to this, announcements will be made on railways stations, airports, besides other measures.

The decisions in this regard was taken during a special meeting chaired by Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo at Civil Secretariat here to discuss the action plan to check the spread of nCoV (novel coronavirus)in the UT.

The newly identified coronavirus called 2019-nCoV has been spreading in China, and has now reached several other countries claiming many lives. As per reports, 106 people have died so far due to the infectious disease.

The Financial Commissioner said that adequate measures are being taken to identify passengers with symptoms of the disease and directed all concerned officers to make arrangements to isolate any suspected case to curb the spread of the virus.

He said that an advisory will be issued to all the Deputy Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir to step up their preparedness to tackle any suspected cases. The advisory includes designating rapid response teams, enhanced surveillance, capacity for laboratory diagnosis, and earmarking isolation wards.

It said that isolation wards will be established at Government Medical Colleges of Jammu and Srinagar, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura and other districts where a special team of doctors and paramedics will be constituted and trained accordingly.

In the meeting, directions were issued for activating Multi-disciplinary Research Units (MRUs) at Government Medical College Jammu and Srinagar and the samples of the suspected cases to be drawn immediately and sent to the National Institute of Biologicals, Pune for confirmation.

Emphasizing the need for adopting preventive measures, the FC directed for Information Education and Communication (IEC) strategy to be adopted so that people are educated about the preventive measures to be taken. He said that preventive measures are a key to success to contain the virus and asked for generating mass awareness through print and electronic media, hoardings at prominent places like hospital premises, airports and railway stations to detect the suspected cases with fever, cough, cold malaise etc.

The government also plans for distribution of pamphlets to be provided to the tourists coming from such destinations which are affected by the virus. It also said that awareness regarding personal hygiene, screening and detection cases at the community level will be started through ASHA workers.

The FC also directed the officers that sizable inventory of personal protection equipments, N-95 masks and other logistical arrangements be kept in place and buffer stock be also maintained.

Officer on Special Duty to FC, Dr Shafqat Khan has been designated as nodal officer to coordinate with the Government of India (GoI) and various health care institutions in J&K to monitor all the activities regarding the spread of the disease.

The meeting was attended by Director, Health Services, Jammu, Dr Renu Sharma; Director, New Medical Colleges J&K, Dr Yashpal Sharma; Principal, Government Medical College, Jammu, Dr Sunanda Raina; Joint Director (Planning) H&ME, Madan Lal; and other officers.

Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr Samir Mattoo; Director SKIMS, Dr AG Ahangar; Principal, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Dr Parvaiz Shah and other Kashmir based officers attended the meeting through video conferencing.

Investments need to be sustainable: FinMin official

New Delhi (NVI): India, which is aiming for $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 needs to ensure that investments made in the economy are sustainable in terms of low carbon emission, a top official of the Finance Ministry said today.

Rajasree Ray, Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, said sustainable finance is no longer in the margins of discourse, but serious effort is being made to mainstream it.

Ray was speaking at the ‘India-UK Dialogue: Supercharging Sustainable Finance in India’, organised by FICCI in collaboration with UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office,l.

The first report of the India-UK Working Group on Sustainable Finance titled ‘Untapped Potential: Supercharging Green Finance in India’ was released during the event.

“The challenge is not only to mobilise resources and invest in various segments of the economy including infrastructure but to ensure that these investments are going to be sustainable particularly consistent with low carbon and sustainable development pathway,” Ray said.

The official said India joined the international platform on Sustainable Finance in October 2019, acknowledging the fact that the global nature of financial markets has the potential to help finance the transition to a green, low carbon and climate resilient economy by linking financing needs to global sources of funding.

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair, City of London Corporation, said India is one of the few countries with commitment compatible with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.

HRW slams Pakistan for arresting Pashtun leader

London (NVI): The arrest of prominent Pashtun leader Manzoor Pashteen in Pakistan on charges of sedition has evoked severe condemnation, particularly from the global human rights bodies which slammed the Pakistan government.

The leader of the Pashtun Taffhuz Movement was arrested in Lahore yesterday morning, reportedly for a speech he delivered on January 18.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the Pakistan government and pressed for immediate release of Pashteen.
Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said, “Pakistani authorities should stop arresting activists like Manzoor Pashteen who are critical of government actions or policies.”
Pashteen, 27-year-old activist, has been charged with criminal intimidation, promoting enmity between different groups, criminal conspiracy, and sedition. A court has sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.

“Using criminal laws to chill free expression and political opposition has no place in a democracy,” Adams said.

“The authorities should stop using abusive colonial-era laws criminalizing speech to clamp down on critics of the government,” the HRW said.

Delhi Polls: Pick & drop facility for…

Bengal elections
Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): Differently-abled and elderly voters above 80 can avail pick and drop facility to easily cast their votes in the Delhi Assembly elections, the Election Commission has said.

The facility will be available for Divyang and senior electors (80+) on polling day (February 8), the office of Delhi Chief Electoral Office (CEO) said in a tweet.

Those voters who have opted for it through the CEO website can avail the facility. Last day of registration for pick and drop facility is January 31, election officials have said.

Electors can register themselves on ceodelhi.gov.in website, or by calling at 1950 helpline or sending SMS on 7738299899. They can also register themselves through a mobile application, which will soon be available on Play Store. They will be sent a text message a day before and on the day of the voting, informing about the time they will be picked up from their registered address.

The EC has said that district election offices in Delhi would arrange for cars, auto and e-rickshaws for the service.

Some tips to prevent coronavirus

New Delhi (NVI): As the deadly coronavirus keeps on spreading, triggering health concerns globally and keeping international airports on high alert, here are some tips to prevent the fatal virus that has claimed 106 lives so far.

According to WHO, people can take simple precautions to reduce the risk and transmission of the virus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine. Even antibiotics can’t cure the virus, the global health body said in a tweet today. Here are some precautions to reduce exposure of NCoV:

1. Frequently wash your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap.

2. Cover your mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing.

3. Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough.

4. Seek early medical help if you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share your travel history with healthcare providers.

5. Avoid direct, unprotected contact with animals and surfaces in contact with animals when visiting markets in affected areas.

6. Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and exercise care when handling raw meat, milk or animal organs to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.

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