Modi govt now plans to rank ministries on how they implement direct benefit transfer scheme
New Delhi: Amid a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, the Narendra Modi government has decided to rank all Union government ministries over their performance on implementation of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme. This is the first time that ministries will be ranked by the nodal DBT Mission on their performance. In […]
Four Indian-Americans awarded 2020 Guggenheim fellowships
Four Indian-Americans have been awarded with a prestigious US fellowship for their accomplishments and “exceptional promise”. Pradeep Sharma, mechanical engineer at the University of Houston, Kavita Ramanan, professor of Applied Mathematics at Brown University, Dilip Da Cunha, architect, planner and teacher at Harvard University and Columbia University, and Mukul Sharma, professor of Earth Sciences at […]
No passenger trains till May 3, advance booking suspended till further notice
The Indian Railways has suspended all passenger trains till May 3 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the 21-day lockdown would be extended by another 19 days. The railways said no advance booking of train tickets will be allowed till further notice. It will fully refund fares for the cancelled services. “Resumption of train services […]
Covid-19 lockdown, extended till May 3, will become more strict for next one week, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appreciated the discipline showed by the people of the country in making the 21-day lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus a success as he announced its extension. “In my discussions with the state governments, and various stakeholders, one thing was unanimous: That we should extend the lockdown. So, […]
R0 data shows India’s coronavirus infection rate has slowed, gives lockdown a thumbs up
Bengaluru/New Delhi: There is a glimmer of hope in India’s battle against Covid-19 from a key metric of the rate of infection of coronavirus. The metric, called the R-Naught or R-Zero – and written as R0 – estimates that the infection rate in India has fallen to 1.55 on 11 April from 1.83 on 6 April, indicating that the […]
Strict norms laid for NGOs in Valley
Under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the administration in the Valley has laid down a list of conditions for the operation of the NGOs that are working in the field to distribute relief in the current crisis. The District Magistrate Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, who is also the chairman of the District […]
Anger as right-wing UK voices ‘predict’ Ramadan virus spread
London, United Kingdom – Concerns have been raised that right-wing voices in the United Kingdom could fuel Islamophobia, after a commentator predicted a “spike” in coronavirus cases during Ramadan. Andrew Pierce, a journalist for the Daily Mail tabloid, tweeted on Sunday: “If families gather for holy month of Ramadan there will be a huge spike in Covid cases. Doctors are […]
Coronavirus: Why are Africans in China being targeted?
They are China‘s key trading partners but some African leaders have been angered by Beijing’s reported discrimination against their citizens. They want answers from the Chinese government over reports that Africans are targeted because of fears they could spread coronavirus. A recent rise in COVID-19 infections in China has been linked to foreigners. The Chinese government is […]
‘No greater patriotism than persistence’: Sonia Gandhi thanks Covid-19 warriors
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday thanked and praised all those who are fighting against the coronavirus pandemic from the frontline as she urged people to follow rules during the lockdown and adhere to social distancing norms. In her video message, which came hours ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation, Gandhi spoke […]
Mother corona positive, baby is born infection-free at AIIMS
Coronavirus (COVID-19): His mother had tested positive for COVID-19 but the 10-day-old infant who was born amid the coronavirus scare at AIIMS has tested negative for the disease. Both the baby’s parents, a senior resident doctor from AIIMS and his wife, were admitted to the institute after they tested positive. Their son is the first baby to […]