This form of government, where secrets and major decisions are kept from the Cabinet itself, appears to be continuing, which is why the speculation around this special session, asserts Aakar Patel.
With the threat of disease outbreak lurking in flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, efforts have been initiated on a war-footing to provide medical staff and medicines even as rescue operations were slightly hampered on Sunday due to return of rains in the Valley.
Anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory therapy, such as steroids, can have the risk of secondary infection like invasive mucormycosis, when used too early, at higher dose or for longer than required, they highlighted.
Alert to the looming threat from the 'Omicron' variant, states began to re-tighten curbs and urgently trace people who arrived from abroad in the last one month while a demand to not allow flights from the affected countries was made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Two kinds of diagnostic tests are being currently used in India -- RT-PCR test and rapid antibodies test -- as per the global health norms.
A home ministry official said while 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their primary contacts have been quarantined till now across the country due to "massive efforts" to check the outbreak, the Centre has written to all states and union territories that "the lockdown measures should be implemented in letter and spirit".
India is the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after the United States, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.
India is the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after the United States, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom, according to data issued by the Johns Hopkins University.
The Supreme Court Monday posed searching questions to the Centre on the COVID-19 vaccine procurement policy and need for mandatory registration on the CoWIN app for people to get vaccinated without keeping in mind the real 'digital India' situation, observing that the policy makers must have an ear to the ground.
The Centre said bird flu has been confirmed only in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh so far, but all states should be prepared for any eventuality. States have been told to ensure sufficient stock of PPE kits and accessories required for culling operations.
The pandemic is set to become even more challenging, with migrant workers returning home, relaxations in lockdown rules, and the approaching monsoon. However, states are looking at community participation to ramp up testing and home treatment of patients
It is a tribute to a system so robustly meritocratic that this team represents India's diversity better than any other institution: The Union Cabinet, our chief ministers, the civil services, the leadership of our armed forces and security agencies, the judiciary and more than all of these, our typical newsroom. That is the biggest message from this breathless rise of Indian cricket, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Noting that various mathematical models meant for predicting coronavirus waves have repeatedly failed to give reliable results due to a small sample size, the Centre on Tuesday said it is closely following the virus trajectory globally, given the emergence of its new variants.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday sacked police constable Tawseef Ahmed Mir, who has been accused of actively working for Hizbul Mujahideen and trying to kill two of his colleagues, and four more employees for alleged links with terror groups.
Railway officials also indicated that possible 'sabotage' and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
As a proactive step, the government has already placed nations, where this VoC has been found, in the category of 'at risk' countries for additional follow-up measures of international travellers coming into lndia from these destinations, he said in a letter dated November 27.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases with 74, including three foreigners, followed by Kerala at 52 including seven foreign nationals.
Efforts of the government have been successful in reining in the growth of population, she said in a written reply.
In a massive surge, Delhi on Thursday recorded 15,097 fresh COVID cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and six deaths while the positivity rate mounted to 15.34 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
In a letter to all the zonal general managers on Monday, the board has said that initially 5,000 coaches will be converted.
Facing an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, the Odisha government on Monday decided to float a global tender for procuring the vaccine to inoculate the states entire population, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.
The United States in a new travel advisory on Tuesday urged its citizens to exercise "increased caution" while travelling to India and advised them to not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir and within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border.
Three more positive cases of novel coronavirus have been reported in India.
This was the sixth consecutive day when coronavirus cases increased by more than 14,000. Consequently, India has added 92,573 cases since June 20, and over 2.82 lakh this month alone since June 1.
Termed 'Unlock 1', the Centre on Saturday issued fresh guidelines relaxing the nationwide lockdown, the fourth phase of which ends on May 31.
''We had three positive cases, but our success was the three not going up to 30 or 100.' 'Also, all the three survived the virus,' says Kerala's Health Minister K K Shailaja.
Other ministers who have presented five straight annual financial statements include Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, Manmohan Singh and Morarji Desai.
With cases hitting a new peak in several parts of the country, the demand for medical oxygen has increased as it is a critical component in the treatment of COVID-19-affected patients.
MHA said that about 2,000 such Tablighi Jamaat members in Delhi, 1,804 have been shifted to quarantine centres while 334 symptomatic persons have been admitted to hospitals
The transition of Class A and Class B medical device makers to the licensing regime by October 1 seems to be an uphill task with several small and medium manufacturers saying they are still awaiting the audit from the government authorities. If the licenses don't come through, either due to lack of audits or MSME units not clearing the audits, then a few thousand small-scale medical device units will face the issue of business continuity in three weeks. Class A medical devices are those with low to moderate risk to the patient or user (surgical dressings for example), while Class B medical devices refer to devices with moderate risks that require special controls (catheters for example).
While Covishield supplies would meet the target of 500 mn doses between August and December, it looks like Covaxin would miss the target of 400 mn unless the partner sites of Bharat Biotech ramp up very rapidly, reports Sohini Das.
In addition, 22,533 'Make in India' ventilators have been delivered to various states, Union territories and central institutions, the ministry said, adding that the Centre is also ensuring the installation and commissioning of the machines.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued notice to Union Health Minister J P Nadda on a petition seeking a CBI inquiry into various cases of alleged irregularities and corruption in AIIMS raised by then Chief Vigilance Officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
The home minister also said that Article 370 was the "biggest roadblock" in the state's development and within 10 years, it will be one of the most developed regions of the country.
This takes the total number of apprehended persons in this case to nine, a police officer said.
The number of active cases in the country stands at 1,33,632, while 1,35,205 people have recovered.
Five days after the induction of 18 ministers into his cabinet, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday allocated portfolios, keeping Urban Development and 11 other ministries with himself, while giving the crucial Home Department to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
The DRDO will set up five oxygen plants, out of the total 500 planned, in and around Delhi by this weekend, the defence ministry said.
Five vaccine candidates are in advanced stages of development in India, out of which four are in Phase II/III and one is in Phase-I/II trials.
Patel was administered the oath as the 18th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat.
