'At least half the population in UP has been infected.'
How did Mumbai tightly control the case-spread deaths while Delhi so obviously did not? And what do the answers imply regarding preparedness for the third wave, asks Omkar Goswami.
Fadnavis's resignation came a day before the expiry of the 13th Legislative Assembly of the state.
In a discussion in Lok Sabha on the COVID pandemic, members called for ban on international flights in view of the outbreak of the Omicron strain and demanded that the government 'accept responsibility' for deaths of lakhs of people during the outbreak.
Around 52.46 per cent of the patients have recovered, the health ministry said. The number of active cases stood at 1,53,178 while 1,80,012 patients have recovered, it said in the daily COVID-19 update.
'As people have moved from cities to small towns and villages, they have carried the infection into new territories.' 'Poor healthcare infrastructure in these places should be a big worry in the days to come.'
The CM said aggressive investment is the need of the hour
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the target date for achieving 20 per cent ethanol-blending with petrol has been advanced by five years to 2025 to cut pollution and reduce import dependence.
From real estate behemoths to infrastructure majors, from mobile device manufacturers to heavy engineering companies, they all made commitments to the tune of billions of dollars. Unfortunately, the reality has fallen far short.
He also said that although India got independence much before Goa became free, people of the country could not enjoy at that time as they felt uneasy thinking that one part was the country was still under foreign rule.
'As of this moment, we have 1,173 ventilators, 2,695 ICUs and about 10,408 plus isolation beds.' 'But this number keeps changing with every passing hour as we incorporate more private as well as government hospitals in our fight against the pandemic.'
Crisis-hit HDIL on Tuesday said that loans taken from banks including Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank were in normal course of business after providing adequate security cover and that it is ready to discuss with the bank to protect the interest of depositors.
'We are learning from every patient who is admitted, treated and discharged.'
ED has come across two immovable assets - one flat in Dubai and one land parcel in London. It is examining the valuation of both properties, estimated between Rs 150 crore and Rs 200 crore.
The Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, came together on Thursday to raise the issue of stalled projects plaguing India Inc and implored the Maharashtra government and the Centre to make Mumbai, India's financial capital, an easier place for business and investments. "Several projects are stuck for many years in Mumbai and we would like to know how the government intends to improve the financing and execution of projects, including those relating to infrastructure and education which have been in limbo for long and are affecting the growth of the city," Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani told Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Seated on the same table was his brother, apart from Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry and State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya. Jaitley was addressing the Mumbai Next MMR Transformation conclave, organised by the Maharashtra government and Mumbai First here, through video conference. In his reply, Jaitley said the government was exploring several options of infrastructure financing in India and that a number of international bodies were ready to fund infrastructure development projects. He added the government was keenly considering these funding sources. While praising Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for honesty, Jaitley also had a word of advice. Apart from being honest, the government had to be decisive, he said. On his part, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani told the chief minister about his experience of decisions being delayed due to an indecisive bureaucracy and the need to protect officials who wanted to take quick decisions. "Through the past many years, we have faced a number of obstacles in decision-making," he said, adding he was speaking as someone who had lived and invested in Mumbai. Fadnavis responded by saying he would bring about a transparent process to ring-fence officials. Both the Ambani brothers have announced a number of infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai, including a world-class convention centre in Bandra Kurla Complex by RIL, but very few have actually fructified. RIL's special economic zone project failed to take off due to land acquisition problems in Raigarh, while a second SEZ near Mumbai is stuck due to lack of clarity in SEZ norms. The first phase of the Mumbai Metro, set up by Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure, was marred by cost overruns and run-ins with the government over fares. Subsequently, the company withdrew from the second and larger phase, citing inordinate delay. Anil Ambani also withdrew from Mumbai's sea link project on the same grounds. The brothers had also bid for a trans-harbour sea link between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai under the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government, but their bid was rejected. Reliance Infrastructure is also the power supplier to more than half of this city. Participating in the conclave, some of India Inc's leading bankers said making Mumbai a financial hub would take at least a decade. SBI's Bhattacharya said the Indian currency should be made fully convertible and facilities should be created for it. "However, for this, the economy needs to look up and that will happen only in the next 7-10 years, not immediately," she added. Sunil Kaushal, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered, India, pitched for strong infrastructure to support development. "We will take a long time to develop into a global financial centre. We need to solve transport bottlenecks in Mumbai and have lifestyle facilities for people working in and around these areas," he said.
With the increased death rate in the ongoing second wave of Covid-19, domestic cement companies are in no better condition than they were in the April-June quarter of FY21 when the country faced nationwide lockdown. "This wave has had high death rate which has impacted the business. "We are in no better situation than last (year) April. "Deaths of drivers, dealers, contractors and also employees have hit the industry really very hard since April (FY22)," M Ravinder Reddy, director of Bharathi Cements said.
In the past one week alone, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh have issued orders to take over private hospitals in some districts. Sohini Das, Vinay Umarji and Gireesh Babu report.
The company is set to deliver the first set of 20,000 vials in two equal lots of 10,000 each, one of which will be immediately supplied to Hyderabad, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, Hetero Healthcare said in a statement.
The top court also directed chief secretaries of the NCT, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat to take 'remedial action' ensuring proper management of patients at hospitals.
The government on Saturday allocated Rs 2826.92 crore to the sports budget for the next financial year, which is up by a mere Rs 50 crore from the revised estimates of 2019-20. The government gave a substantial hike of Rs 291.42 crore to its flagship Khelo India programme for development of sports at the grassroot and youth level, which meant that most of the other heads got reduced allocation in an Olympic year.
The bench said the Union Cabinet Secretary will be the convenor of the task force and may nominate an officer not below the rank of Additional Secretary to depute for him, when necessary.
"Also, 35 per cent deaths were recorded in the age group of 45-60 years, 10 per cent in the age group of 26-44 years and one per cent each in the age group of 18-25 years and below 17 years," the health secy said.
With several states taking steps towards unlocking and easing of restrictions amid a decline in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cautioned people against any laxity and asserted that COVID-appropriate protocol is the 'most effective weapon' against an unseen adversary like coronavirus that keeps changing its form.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope warns that the state government will go aggressive if appeals to reduce social distancing are not adhered to.
'This government will end after five years, but farmers will not end after five years.' 'This is the source of our confidence.'
At a video conference with chief ministers and representatives of these 10 states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, Modi said the recovery rate has gone up which, he added, meant that government efforts have proved to be effective.
While Karnataka reported five new cases, Delhi and Telangana reported four each, and Gujarat reported one fresh case of the Omicron variant.
Winning against Covid means thinking ahead, at least six months, putting in place the likely scenarios of what might happen, and then planning. Planning is the role of the government. Having planned, it should communicate what and why. Then, get out of the way, recommends Naushad Forbes.
The much-delayed 36th National Games, scheduled for October-November in Goa, was on Thursday postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) recently asked the Goa government that it must host the National Games as scheduled from October 20 to November 4 this year.
While the number of operational airports in the country will rise to 131, other smaller towns too are seeing a surge in connectivity.
'By the time actual action began, it was already too late.' 'The virus was raging.'
British billionaire Richard Branson on Wednesday said he will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to clear "misunderstandings" and gauge the new administrations interest in the $10 billion Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop project.
'Now is the time for politicians to stop thinking of their own interests, for companies to stop making money out of vaccines, and become one country fighting the virus.'
Share markets will have only three trading days this week with Monday and Wednesday being holidays due to general elections in Mumbai and Maharashtra Day, respectively.
'Aggressively stepping up vaccinations will constitute the most enduring stimulus of all in the coming quarters,' observes Sajjid Z Chinoy, Chief India Economist at J P Morgan.
The Major Ports Authority Bill, 2020 was passed through ballot votes in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with 84 votes in its favour and 44 against it. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on September 23 last year.
Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, the Centre provides an annual financial benefit of Rs 6,000 to eligible beneficiary farmers in three equal four-monthly installments of Rs 2,000 each.
The alliance combines capabilities of both the companies to offer a set of solutions comprising connectivity, computing, storage solutions, and other technology services and applications required by Indian businesses, and will span the broad Reliance Industries ecosystem, including its existing and new businesses.
They have already prepared a draft common minimum programme (CMP).
