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Coronavirus: Two senior Chinese officials ‘removed’ as death toll hits 1,000

New Delhi (NVI): China has reported 108 new coronavirus deaths, the highest daily toll since the outbreak began in Wuhan late last year, as two senior officials in the hard-hit province of Hubei were removed from their jobs.

The total number of deaths on the mainland reached 1,016, the National Health Commission said. Some 2,478 new cases of infection were confirmed, bringing the total to 42,638.

Two senior health officials in the province – Zhang Jin who was party secretary of the health commission for Hubei and Ling Yingzi who was director of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission – were removed from their posts, state media reported, a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited health facilities in Beijing.

The two Hubei party officials will be replaced by a national figure – the deputy director of China’s National Health Commission, Wang Hesheng.

Meanwhile, 65 more people have tested positive on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan – meaning 135 out of 3,700 passengers have caught the virus.

Mercury dips due to heavy snowfall in hilly areas of North India

New Delhi (NVI): Heavy snowfall in the hilly states of North India has led to drop in minimum temperature in central, northern and some eastern parts of the country.

Karnal in Haryana was the coldest city in the plains where the minimum temperature was recorded at 4.0 degrees celsius, according to Skymet weather.

In Haryana’s Hisar and Narnaul, the minimum temperature was recorded at 4.2 degrees celsius.

Apart from this, Fursatganj in Uttar Pradesh, Rohtak in Haryana, Ludhiana in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana has recorded minimum temperature at 4.6, 4.8, 4.9 and 5.0 degree celsius respectively.

Patiala in Punjab and Umaria in Madhya Pradesh both recorded temperature at 5.4 degrees celsius.

Apart from this, Amritsar in Punjab recorded minimum temperature at 5.6 degree celsius.

The weatherman has forecast that cold and dry northwesterly winds will prevail, due to which there will be a similar decrease in day and night temperatures in many areas of the country.

Meanwhile, in Delhi and NCR region, the minimum temperature dropped to 5.9 degrees from 6.0 degrees celsius recorded yesterday.

The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 23.0 degrees celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD said that some isolated parts of Jharkhand and Odisha will also witness cold wave conditions during nect 24 hours.

The weatherman has forecast that in northwest India

there will be a fall in temperature by 2 to 3 degrees celsius during next three days, in West India the temprature is expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees for next three to four days.

“No significant change is expected in minimum temperature over east India during next two days,” it added.

“The shallow to moderate fog is also expected over northwest, central, east and northeast India during next 24 hours,” it added.

The overall air quality in the national capital today is in “very poor” category.

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 327 which falls in the “very poor” category.

2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise begins tomorrow

New Delhi (NVI): India is set to host the
second BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise-2020 at Bhubaneshwar in Odisha tomorrow.
The three-day ‘BIMSTEC DMEx-2020’ will be inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Bhubaneswar while Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai will launch field training exercise on February 12 at Ramachandi Beach in Puri.
In this regard, NDRF and Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) today provided details like types of event, methodology of exercise, team participation and venue as well as moves and injects of main exercise to the media.
NDRF Director General
Satya Narayan Pradhan said five countries — Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal — are participating in this exercise.
Bhutan and Thailand, which are also members of BIMSTEC, are not participating in the exercise, he added.
The exercise consists of inaugural session and Table Top Exercise (TTx) on collapsed structure.
On February 12, the Field Training Exercise (FTx) will be held on aquatic disaster response with focus on cultural heritage sites at Ramachandi beach in Puri followed by proceedings of Disaster Management Exercise and Policy Meeting of NDMA and NDMOs among the teams of participating Nations on February 13.
The objective of this exercise is to test the existing emergency procedures for notification, preparedness and emergency response, during a major earthquake and Flood scenarios.
This exercise shall also provide an opportunity to enhance the co-ordination & co-operation involving multi-agency operations in an earthquake, flooding & storm surge.
The exercise shall also test multi-stakeholders coordination in a disaster scenario involving international, national, state, district and local agencies.
 A exercise village has been set up at Ramchandi, Puri where, simulation on aquatic disaster response with special attention to the damage to heritage site will take place as part of the exercise.
This will provide real-time scenarios so that in times of disaster, a proper plan for response & coordination among member nation can be executed in multi-agencies scenarios.

Low cost air-quality monitors distributed by US Embassy

Representational image
New Delhi (NVI): US Embassy has distributed 58 low cost air-quality monitors and 14 weather stations in India with a goal to improve India’s air quality.
These monitors were distributed to the Society for Indoor Environment, a Delhi-based NGO.
These units will be set up in educational institutions in select 2nd and 3rd tier cities, as well as rural areas, across north India.
Air quality monitoring sites are generally located in large cities, and smaller communities often lack awareness of the scale of air pollution and remedial and preventive measures they can take to protect themselves from adverse environmental and health effects.
The air quality and weather data acquired from these devices will be used to analyze the trends of pollutants outside the major urban centers and build environmental awareness and capacity within smaller communities.
Sameer Sheth, the Environment, Science, and Technology Unit Chief at the US Embassy said, “We are very excited with the implementation of the low cost monitor initiative in India.  We are thrilled to partner with the Society for Indoor Environment and with host institutions to help spread awareness on air quality and build capacity to monitor it in local areas.”
To build capacity within these small communities, staff from each host institution will be trained in installing and handling the equipment, as well as collection and compilation and analysis of all generated data.
At quarterly intervals, this data will be presented and discussed with local residents, helping spread awareness about the role of air quality monitoring, the importance of keeping the air clean, and the prevention of illnesses associated with air pollution.

In describing the working relationship, Arun Sharma, president of the Society for Indoor Environment said, “This project could only be implemented because of support from the U.S. Embassy in Delhi.”

Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow USD 130 billion by 2030: Invest India

New Delhi (NVI): The Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to touch USD 130 billion by 2030 from the current USD 38 billion, according to Invest India .

The major industry growth drivers need to work on accelerating the goal of universal healthcare across India and the world by providing access to high-quality affordable drugs.

The government can be a key enabler to achieve this, through strategic interventions such as increasing expenditure on healthcare from about 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent by 2025 and to 5 per cent of GDP by 2030.

India is a prominent and rapidly growing presence in global pharmaceuticals. It is the largest provider of generic medicines globally, occupying a 20% share in global supply by volume, and also supplies 50% of global demand for vaccines.

India ranks 3rd worldwide for production by volume and 13th by value, thereby accounting for around 10% of world’s production by volume and 1.5% by value.

India is the source of 60,000 generic brands across 60 therapeutic categories and manufactures more than 500 different Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).

The Department of Pharmaceuticals aims to make the country a hub for end-to-end drug discovery under its ‘Pharma Vision 2020’.

Centre asks states to implement MV Act

New Delhi (NVI): The government has issued an advisory to all state and Union Territory (UT) administrations to implement the system of vehicle registration as per rules notified under the Central Motor Vehicle Act 1988.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH) in its advisory has stated it has come to the notice that in some States, vehicles are not being registered in spite of vehicles having Valid Type Approval (Road Worthiness, Certificate from authorized testing agencies) and that each model of the vehicle is subjected to physical inspection by the State Transport Department before their registration in the States.

According to an official statement, VAHAN system provides a mechanism for the inventory of vehicles being uploaded by the vehicle manufacturers against valid type approval certificates.

“Unless and until there are reasons for disputing the specifications of vehicles supplied, the pre-inspection of a model of vehicle, already type approved should not be resorted to as it leads to unnecessary delay and harassment,” it said.

“Transport departments of States and UTs are requested to implement the system of registration of vehicles based on production of type approval certificate and Form 22,” it added.

All authorized testing agencies carry out testing of prototype of the model and provide the type approval certificate.

Form 22 is a quality certificate for compliance with pollution standards, safety standards of components and road worthiness.

Warehouse goods clearance enhanced to promote investments in India: CBIC

New Delhi (NVI): Government is taking several initiatives to boost exports from India and give exporters an ease of doing business environment, including a three step process for clearance of good warehoused goods from a bonded facility.

Calling for Make in India – Export to the world approach amongst industries, Central Board for Indirect Customs and Taxes (CBIC) is allowing duty-free import of raw materials and capital goods for manufacturing and other operations in a bonded manufacturing facility.

To enhance the ease of doing business & promote investments in India, CBIC has streamlined a three steps process.

In the initial step a form is to be filled for transfer of goods from a facility. Then the Licensee of the originating warehouse affixes a one-time-lock, unless permitted by the Commissioner of Customs to transport without the lock, depending upon the nature of goods or the manner of transport.

In the final step, the licensee is required to produce an ‘Acknowledgement’ of the recipient warehouse stating arrival of goods to Bond Officer of the originating warehouse.

CBIC is making effort to promote India as the manufacturing hub globally.

Hosting COP-13 is significant step towards wildlife conservation: Javadekar

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar

New Delhi (NVI): Hosting 13th Conference of Parties is a significant step towards wildlife conservation in India, in which representatives from  130 countries, eminent conservationists and international NGOs working in the field of wildlife conservation will be taking part.

Speaking ahead of the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) of wild animals, to be held in Gujarat, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the opening of the conference on February 17, 2020.
The theme of CMS COP13 in India is, ‘Migratory species connect the planet and we welcome them home’. The CMS COP 13 logo is inspired by ‘Kolam’, a traditional artform from southern India.
As the host, India shall be designated the President for the next three years.The government is Signatory to the Convention on Conservation of Migratory wild Animals (CMS) since 1983.
India has been taking necessary actions to protect and conserve migratory marine species. Seven species that include Dugong, Whale Shark, Marine Turtle (two species), have been identified for preparation of Conservation and Recovery Action Plan so far.
The mascot for CMS COP13, “Gibi – The Great Indian Bustard” is a critically endangered species which has been accorded the highest protection status under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

India is home to several migratory species of wildlife including snow leopard, Amur falcons, bar headed Geese, black necked cranes, marine turtles, humpbacked whales, etc. and has signed non legally binding MOU with CMS on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes (1998), Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016).

Rs 6000 cr Atal Bhujal Yojana approved

Representational image
New Delhi (NVI): Government of India has approved Atal Bhujal Yojana, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation in water stressed blocks.
This Rs 6,000 crore Central Sector Scheme is for Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The scheme is being implemented during the period 2020-21 to 2024-25 with the financial assistance of World Bank with a sharing pattern of 50:50 between Government of India and World Bank.
The names of the participating states were decided based on consultation, criticality of groundwater situation, willingness and degree of preparedness.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social Justice and Empowerment, Rattan Lal Kataria in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

India, UK to hold joint military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’

New Delhi (NVI): The fifth edition of joint military exercise Ajeya Warrior 2020 between India and United Kingdom will be conducted at Salisbury Plains in the United Kingdom from February 13 to 26  2020.

According to an official statement, the exercise will comprise of 120 soldiers each from the Indian and United Kingdom Army who would be sharing their experiences gained during conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in the past.

The aim of this exercise is to conduct company level joint training with emphasis on counter terrorists operation in Urban and Semi Urban areas.

Training on modern weapon systems, equipment and simulator training have also been planned.

In the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, exercise Ajeya Warrior with United Kingdom is an important exercise in terms of the security challenges faced by both the nations in the realm of changing facets of global terrorism.

The exercise is conducted alternatively in United Kingdom and India.

The joint military exercise displays a bilateral willingness to work jointly and share operating procedures to deal with a situation in a specified operational setting.

Exercise Ajeya Warrior will promote defence cooperation and enhance interoperability while sharing experiences between both the armies.

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