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PMC extends Covid restrictions in Pune

Covid cases
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has extended the lockdown restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic in the city till December end, but without any new rules or relaxations.

“The state government rules on lockdown in containment zones will continue to check the spread of viral infections,” the order issued by PMC read.

The corporation has been trying to unlock various activities in the city in accordance with a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Taking a cautious approach, the administration is allowing the resumption of only limited activities.

The number of new coronavirus cases in the city saw a sudden increase after the festival of Diwali and it was being expected that more severe restrictions might be imposed to bring the situation in control but the city corporation has continued with the ongoing restrictions.

-CHK

BSF jawan commits suicide in North Kashmir

Policeman
Representational Pic.

Neyaz Elahi

Kupwara (NVI): A Border Security Force (BSF) Head Constable today shot himself dead in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

Official sources identified the slain jawan as HC Bharinder Singh of 118 Battalion of BSF.

The trooper was posted in Tanghdar and killed himself while on duty, they said.

Police have registered a case in this regard and set an investigation into motion.

-ARK

‘Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week’ to celebrate women leading the way in science

New Delhi (NVI): The Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week, being organised by the Embassy of Sweden in India, in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission this year, will celebrate women scientists and entrepreneurs in both countries.

In this regard, an event titled: ‘SHE STEM: Women Leading the Way’, will be organised by the Embassy of Sweden on December 7 at 3 pm.

The event will be organised in joint collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. The event is free and open to all.

The event aims to honor women who are bringing cutting-edge science and technology to global sustainability efforts, and at the same time provide inspiring examples, role models and success stories of women who successfully pursue careers in science and tech and spearhead knowledge building and technology development within their fields.

Speaking about the event, Klas Molin, Ambassador of Sweden to India said, “We know already that women and girls generally do better in school when given equal opportunities. What we also know is when they apply their knowledge and perspective, we get broader and often better solutions.

“With our Sweden-India Nobel Memorial event SHE STEM: Women Leading the Way, we are celebrating women scientist and tech entrepreneurs and encouraging a discussion on the importance of STEM education for girls and women.”

R Ramanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission said, “Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is proud to collaborate with the Embassy of Sweden in India and celebrate the women scientists and entrepreneurs in both the countries. AIM is dedicated to engaging and encouraging participation of girls and women in the field of innovation and STEM through its many programs. I firmly believe that the She STEM initiative will be an excellent platform to inspire and empower young girls to spread their wings and fulfill their ambitions.”

The event will commence with welcome remarks by Darja Isaksson, Director General at Vinnova, Sweden’s Innovation Agency (TBC), followed by Sustainability Science Talk by Dr Beatrice Crona, Deputy Science Director at Stockholm Resilience Centre.

This will be followed by a panel discussion with esteemed panelists including Dr Beatrice Crona, Deputy Science Director at Stockholm Resilience Centre, Helena Samsioe, CEO and founder of Globhe; Linnéa Kornehed, CMO and co-founder of Einride; Dr Sunita Narain, Director General of Centre for Science and Environment; and Sanskriti Dawle, Founder and CEO of Bell Labs. The panel discussion will be soon followed by a dialogue with students.

There will also be a special address by Secretary Dr Renu Swarup, Department of Biotechnology.

-ARK

New Zealand declares climate emergency, vows carbon neutral govt by 2025

New Delhi (NVI): New Zealand has declared a climate change emergency and committed to a carbon-neutral government by 2025, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it “one of the greatest challenges of our time”.

Ardern said the climate emergency declaration was based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings that to avoid more than 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global warming, emissions would need to fall by around 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2023 and reach zero by around 2050.

“This declaration is an acknowledgement of the next generation. An acknowledgement of the burden that they will carry if we do not get this right and do not take action now,” Ardern told lawmakers in parliament.

Lawmakers passed the largely symbolic emergency declaration by 76 votes to 43 after Ardern urged them to back the move.

New Zealand contributes just 0.17 per cent of global emissions but that is high for its size, placing it 17th out of 32 OECD countries.

Its net emissions have risen by 60 per cent in the past two decades.

The nation’s biggest source of CO2 emissions is road transport but most greenhouse gases stem from agriculture.

New Zealand joins 32 other countries including Japan, Canada, France and Britain that have declared a climate emergency.

Britain’s parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the motion in May last year, followed closely by Ireland.

-CHK

Govt’s telemedicine service ‘eSanjeevani’ completes 9 lakh consultations

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): The ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today completed the landmark achievement of 9 lakh tele-consultations since its launch.

“The top performing states, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have registered in 2,90,770 and 2,44,211 consultations, respectively,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The other states that have registered highest consultations through eSanjeevani and eSanjeevani OPD platforms includes Kerala (60,401), Madhya Pradesh (57,569), Gujarat (52,571), Himachal Pradesh (48,187), Andhra Pradesh (37,681), Uttarakhand (29,146), Karnataka (26,906), and Maharashtra (10,903), it added.

The ministry stated that, telemedicine is a new modality for remote diagnosis and treatment of patients over internet and eSanjeevani enables meetings between the patients and doctors, specialists from geographically dispersed locations, through video conferencing that occurs in real time.

“At the end of these remote consultations, eSanjeevani generates an electronic prescriptions which can be used for sourcing medicines,” it said.

As many as 28 States have on-boarded the eSanjeevani two variants of telemedicine namely – doctor to doctor (eSanjeevani AB-HWC) in hub and spoke model and patient to doctor (eSanjeevani OPD).

These states are aggressively working towards long term enablement of telemedicine services.

It has been one year since eSanjeevani Ayushman Bharat-HWC was rolled out in
November last year and eSanjeevani AB-HWC has completed over 1,83,000 consultations so far, the Health Ministry data shows.

On the other hand, eSanjeevani OPD is a telemedicine variant for public to seek health services remotely, was rolled out on April 13, during the first nationwide lockdown in the country. In order to enable delivery of outpatient services during COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, more than 7,16,000 consultations have been recorded on eSanjeevani OPD that is hosting over 240 online OPDs which include general OPDs and speciality OPDs. Both the variants of eSanjeevani are rapidly evolving in terms of use and capacity and functionalities.

Furthermore, team of eSanjeevani at C-DAC Mohali is also closely working with Ministry of Health to address the requirements of states.

The ministry is in regular touch with States to formulate strategies for extending the reach of eSanjeevani services to the underprivileged section of the society too, the statement said.

“Few States like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat etc., are experimenting various models to provision eSanjeevani services for non-IT savvy as well as poor patients who do not have access to the internet,” it added.

-RJV

Fact check: Fake post claims Indian Railways has renamed Hazrat Nizamuddin station

New Delhi (NVI): A viral post doing rounds on social media claims that the Indian Railways has changed the name of Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station to “Maharana Pratap Expression”.

Refuting such claims on social media, the fact check wing of the Government’s Press Information Bureau said that the claim is fake and Indian Railways has not taken any such decision.

PIB wrote in a tweet in Hindi, “Claim: In a viral post it is being claimed that the Indian Railways has changed the name of Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station to “Maharana Pratap Expression”.

#PIBFactCheck : This claim is #Fake. @RailMinIndia has not taken any such decision.”

The viral message read, “Indian Railways has changed the name of Hazrat Nizamuddin station to Maharana Pratap Expression.”

The Press Information Bureau launched this fact-checking arm in December 2019, to curb misinformation and fake news prevalent on the internet. It claimed that its objective was “to identify misinformation related to government’s policies and schemes that are circulating on various social media platforms”.

-CHK

Govt approves AYUSH Day Care therapy centres for CGHS beneficiaries

New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of Health approved the proposal of AYUSH Day Care Therapy Center facility for all Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiaries as well as pensioners.

According to an official statement, “Private Day Care Therapy centers of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy will be empanelled under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) shortly, in a manner similar to empanelment of Day Care Therapy Centers of conventional (Allopathy) medicine already provided by CGHS.”

All CGHS beneficiaries, serving as well as pensioners will be able to avail the benefit of these centres, it added.

This step has been taken by the Ministry, keeping in view of the growing popularity of AYUSH system of medicines amongst the public at large and all CGHS beneficiaries.

However, the initial empanelment of Day Care Therapy Centres will be undertaken on pilot basis for Delhi-NCR for a period of one year and subsequently would be considered for other places.

Under this scheme, the treatment procedure requiring a short duration of stay in the Day Care Therapy Centre, ranging from a few hours to less than a day will be made available to CGHS beneficiaries, the statement said.

The aim of the scheme is to improve the health and wellbeing, reduce health care expenditure and provide excellence in service delivery, efficiency, and comfort to the patients.

As the treatment procedure does not require overnight stay in the unfamiliar environment, it is extremely convenient for children and elderly patients, the statement said, adding that, “This is yet another important step of government to extend the benefit of AYUSH system of medicine.”

At present, the treatment of approved procedures like Panchkarma and Abhyanga etc. is given only after hospitalization in CGHS empanelment hospitals. This involves additional cost to CGHS as indoor room charges, which are separately paid by CGHS apart from the procedure cost.

These day care centers will not only reduce the cost of hospitalisation but will also add to patient’s convenience.

Furthermore, AYUSH Day care Centre includes Community Health Centre (CHC), Primary Health centre (PHC), Dispensary, Clinic, Polyclinic or any such centre which is registered with the local authorities.

These centres should be applicable and have facilities for carrying out treatment procedures and medical or surgical/Para surgical interventions or both under the supervision of registered AYUSH Medical Practitioners on day care basis without in-patients services, the statement noted.

-RJV

J&K: Former militant’s son clears entrance exam of Navodaya Vidyalaya

J&K: Former militant’s son clears entrance exam of Navodaya Vidyalaya

Neyaz Elahi

Jammu (NVI): “I want my son to crack the civil services examination.” This is the dream of Akther Hussain, a former militant of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen, whose son has secured admission in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) after clearing its entrance exam in an open combined aptitude test in Jammu and Kashmir.

Army has felicitated both father-son duo, official sources said, adding that Saqib Anjum, son of Akther Hussain is the only individual from his native Dharmari village in Jammu’s Reasi to achieve this feat.

Akther Hussain was an active militant of Hizbul Mujahideen for more than three years before he surrendered in 2002. “I am very thankful to the army that helped me to re-start my life and offered me a counter of Indane Gas at my own Dharmari village,” the former militant said.

Hussain said that he is really very happy for his son that he has got admission in JNV.

He said that the Indian Army, besides offering books and stationery to his son, has also promised to meet his study expenses at Jawahar Navodya Vidyalaya.

-ARK

Health Ministry issues norms to curb coronavirus spread via markets

New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released fresh Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for marketplaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic detailing generic precautionary measures to be adopted in addition to specific measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

These guidelines shall be applicable to both retail and wholesale markets.

As per the new SOP, marketplaces and shopping malls in containment zones shall continue to remain closed, only those outside containment zones will be allowed to open up.

Meanwhile, gaming arcades, children play areas, and cinema halls inside shopping malls shall continue to remain closed.

The SOPs detailed that physical distancing of at least 6 feet is to be followed as far as feasible in the marketplaces, while the use and face masks, frequent hand washing, respiratory etiquettes, and self-monitoring need to be followed as per usual.

Entrance to the markets need to have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitizer dispenser) and thermal screening provisions, allowing only asymptomatic customers/visitors shall be allowed.

Additionally, the Ministry has advised persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes.

It also advised shop employees under high-risk categories to take extra precautions and stay away from any work involving direct contact with the public.

The Health Ministry said it will be contacting Market Owners Associations for the implementation of the advisory.

-CHK

Govt forms high-level committee for implementation of goals under Paris Agreement

(Representational/File photo)

New Delhi (NVI): The Central government has constituted a high-level ministerial committee for the implementation of goals under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“In another move that re-affirms India’s seriousness to ‘walk the talk’ on climate change, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has constituted a high-level inter-ministerial Apex Committee for Implementation of Paris Agreement (AIPA) under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEFCC,” the ministry said in a statement.

The purpose of AIPA is to generate a coordinated response on climate change matters that ensures India is on track towards meeting its obligations under the Paris Agreement, the statement added.

The high-level committee of senior officials from 14 ministries will serve as members to AIPA who will oversee the progress in implementation of India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and receive periodic information updates to monitor, review and revisit climate goals to fulfil the requirements of the Paris Agreement.

Notably, the another key function of AIPA would be to operate as a National Authority to regulate carbon markets under the agreement.

It will also formulate guidelines for the consideration of projects or activities, issue guidelines on carbon pricing, market mechanism, and other similar instruments that have a bearing on climate change and NDCs.

The committee will further take note of the contributions of the private sector as well as multi-/bi-lateral agencies in the field of climate change and provide guidance for aligning their climate actions with national priorities, the ministry said.

Moreover, the next year would mark the beginning of implementation of the Paris Agreement and constitution of AIPA is central to strengthening the national systems and institutional arrangements for implementation and monitoring of climate actions.

It will also ensure that India maintains its climate leadership as one the few countries in the world whose climate actions are consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, it noted.

 

-RJV

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