14.05.21

3 NE states have least number of Covid deaths, Mizoram shows the way with 0.27% fatalities

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Three northeastern states,Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, have figured among the top five Indian states with the lowest death rate in the second wave of Covid-19 sweeping the country.

At 0.27%, Mizoram has the lowest death rate in the country. Arunachal Pradesh (0.36%) and Assam (0.64%) are at the third and fifth positions. Kerala and Bihar are at second and fourth slots with 0.30% and 0.58% death rate respectively.

Last year, the Covid death rate in Arunachal Pradesh was 0.32%. However, the second wave left the hilly state with a death rate of 0.36%. Arunachal Pradesh is registering 250-280 cases daily of late. These numbers are a bit alarming because during last years peak we had a little over 300 daily cases.

Lockdown, poor rainfall set to bring down Assams tea yield

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After being hit hard by Covid-induced lockdowns last year, Assams tea is reeling from rainfall deficit this year, and as a result tea production till May is projected to drop by about 60 million kg as compared to the same period in 2019.

Adviser of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) Bidyananda Barkakoty said, 2021 has been an unusual year so far for the Assam tea industry as far as tea production is concerned.

A study has been carried out to assess crop losses due to the impact of prolonged drought-like situation. This study has also considered the rainfall received in the last few days.

Odisha CM writes to Nirmala Sitharaman seeking exemption of GST on purchase of Covid vaccines by states

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Chief minister Naveen Patnaik sought exemption of GST on purchase Vaccines for Covid-19 by the states for the Population between the age group of 18 to 45 years.

In a letter to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the chief minister also sought financial assistance to the states from cess and surcharges collected by the government of India.

Strengthening states financially will further strengthen the fight against the pandemic including provision of vaccinations, free treatment, undertaking preventive measures and other steps.

The has estimated to spend around Rs 2,000 crore to vaccinate around 2 crore population between the age group of 18 and 45 years.

Tamil Nadu farmers asked to make use of govts agri godowns

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TheTamil Naduagriculture department askedfarmersto make use of godown facilities in its regulated markets in the state.

An official release said the government was taking efforts to resolve the problems relating to transportation of goods against the backdrop of Covid restrictions.

Farmers can also avail pledge loan for 75% of the total value of the produce up to a maximum of Rs 3 lakh. The interest rate is 5%.

Kerala: Labour department to register guest workers for jabs

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With 1,92,481 guest workers in the state,Keralahas started the process of registering them for vaccination. Teams led by district labour officers are visiting all local camps and areas to record the numbers eligible for vaccinations.

Ernakulam district with a total of 47,296 persons has the highest number of guest workers, followed by Kannur with 27,279 people. According to thelabour department, most are in the age group of 18-44 years. Most of them do not have any comorbidities. Awareness drives are being conducted among the migrants, especially plantation workers on the need for vaccination.

Notices have been issued with call centre numbers in Hindi, , Odia, Bengali, Assamese and Telugu.

The funding for the Health welfare and vaccination would be done under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

Former Karnataka assembly speaker Krishna passes away

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Former speaker of theKarnatakalegislative assembly Krishna, popularly known asKR Pete Krishna, died at hisMysururesidence on Friday, sources close to him said.

Krishna had served as animal husbandry and sericulture minister in SR Bommai cabinet and had represented KR Pete assembly constituency thrice in 1985, 1994 and 2004 from Janata Party,Janata Daland JD(S).

He had represented the Mandya Lok Sabha seat in 1996 and served as the speaker of Karnataka legislative assembly from 2004-08.

Land auctions hit by Covid, Telangana govts plans to mop up Rs 10,000 crore go awry

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The governments plans to mobilise Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore by selling governmentlandappears to have gone awry for the second consecutive year. Though the government has identified some land parcels in the city and surrounding Rangareddy district to raise Money by auctioning the land, it could not go ahead thanks to the first wave of Covid-19 and now the second wave.

Senior officials are worried as the third wave of pandemic is likely to hit sometime in the third quarter of the year and land auctions may not be held this year too. Land auction was last conducted in December 2019 by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) was held in May 2017.

The Telangana government is badly requiring funds as it had allocated nearly Rs 50,000 crore for various welfare schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Pensions, Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture loan waiver, Kalyana Lakshmi-Shaadi Mubarak and KCR Kits etc in the 2021-2022 financial year.

All Covid hospitals to have oxygen plants in four months: AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy

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The government has decided to equip all Covid-19hospitalsin the state withoxygenplants in the next four months. It has also been decided to set up Oxygen Plants even in community Health centres across the state.

For private hospitals, the government can offer incentives or subsidies to encourage their managements to become self-sufficient as far as oxygen supply is concerned. No hospital should depend on external sources for survival. Apart from hospitals producing oxygen for their own consumption, we are also sourcing additional oxygen from various other quarters as well.

No significant impact of Cyclone Yaas on Goa: India meteorological department

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Even as a cyclonic circulation is forming over the Bay of Bengal, there is no significant windimpactof CycloneYaasexpected to be experienced over the Goa coast in the coming days, the India meteorological department (IMD) said.

There will, however, be a slight increase in rainfall over the state due to the weather system.

The IMD forecast on Sunday satted that the well-marked low-pressure area over east central Bay of Bengal and the associated cyclonic circulation extending up to mid-tropospheric levels would concentrate into a depression.

Recovery rate increases by 1% in Pune rural: Report

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The Covid-19 recovery rate in the districts rural areas increased by just 1% in the last one month.

The recovery rate on April 23 was 84%, which had increased to 85% on May 19, stated a report of thePune Zilla Parishad(ZP). Ayush Prasad, the ZPs CEO, conceded that the recovery rate was improving at a sluggish pace despite taking several measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. We have been aggressively conducting tests via our door-to-door survey. On an Average, we test 10,000 people daily, he said.

The ZP conducted door-todoor survey of a Population of over 20 lakh people, with the help of Asha workers, from May 6 to19.