Archives for June 2021

NEW DELHI: India is working towards restoring 2.6 crore hectares of degraded land by 2030 and assisting fellow developing countries to develop land-restoration strategies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a high-level UN dialogue on Monday.

“Therefore, we have to reduce the tremendous pressure on land and its resources. Clearly, a lot of work lies ahead of us. But we can do it. We can do it together,” he said.

The prime minister made these remarks in his virtual address at the UN “High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought” at the United Nations.

He said India has taken the lead to highlight land-degradation issues at international forums and cited that the “Delhi Declaration” of 2019 called for better access and stewardship over land and emphasized gender-sensitive transformative projects.

“In India, over the last 10 years, around three million (30 lakh) hectares of forest cover had been added. This has enhanced the combined forest cover to almost one-fourth of the country’s total area,” the prime minister said.

“We are on track to achieve our national commitment of land degradation neutrality. We are also working towards restoring 26 million (2.6 crore) hectares of degraded land by 2030,” the prime minister said.

This would contribute to India’s commitment to achieve an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion (250 to 300 crore) tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, he added.

“We believe that restoration of land can start a cycle for good soil health, increased land productivity, food security and improved livelihoods,” the prime minister said.

Noting that land degradation poses a special challenge to the developing world, Modi also told the meet that in the spirit of South-South cooperation, India is assisting fellow developing countries to develop land-restoration strategies.

A centre of excellence is being set up in the country to promote a scientific approach towards land degradation issues, he said.

“It is the mankind’s collective responsibility to reverse the damage to land caused by human activity. It is our sacred duty to leave a healthy planet for our future generations,” Modi said.

NEW DELHI: India saw a single day rise of 60,471 new coronavirus infections, the lowest after 75 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,95,70,881, while the daily positivity rate declined to 3.45 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The active cases further declined to 9,13,378 comprising 3.09 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.64 per cent.

A net decline of 59,780 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

Also, 17,51,358 tests were conducted on Monday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 38,13,75,984.

The daily positivity rate dropped to 3.45 per cent.

It has been less than 5 per cent for 8 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 4.39 per cent.

Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 25.87 crore, the Union health ministry said on Monday.

It said 20,99,621 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group received the first dose, while 1,16,326 got the second dose of the vaccine on Monday.

Cumulatively, 4,34,35,032 people in the 18-44 age group have received the first dose while 8,33,808 have received the second dose across the country since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive against the viral disease.

Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group each, the ministry said.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached 25,87,13,321, according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

The number includes 1,00,67,641 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose, 69,81,884 HCWs who have received the second dose, 1,68,38,400 frontline workers (FLWs) who have taken the first dose, 88,76,931 FLWs who have got the second dose, 4,34,35,032 and 8,33,808 individuals in the 18-44 age group who have received the first and the second dose respectively.

Besides, 7,65,48,740 and 1,20,81,922 beneficiaries in the 45-60 age group have been administered the first and the second dose of the vaccine respectively, while 6,29,78,733 and 2,00,70,230 beneficiaries above 60 years of age have taken the first and the second dose respectively.

As on the 150th day of the vaccination drive (June 14), a total of 35,96,462 vaccine doses were given — 31,84,503 beneficiaries vaccinated for the first dose and 4,11,959 for the second dose — according to the provisional report.

The final reports for the day would be compiled by late night.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined.

More than 1.40 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and Union Territories to be administered and over 96,490 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

Over 26.68 crore (26,68,36,620) vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union Territories so far through the Government of India and direct state procurement category.

Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 25,27,66,396 doses, the ministry said.

“More than 1.40 crore (1,40,70,224) Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered. Furthermore, over 96,490 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days,” the ministry said.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the states and UTs by providing them COVID-19 vaccines free of cost.

In addition, the government has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the states and UTs.

Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of the Government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with test, track, treat strategy and Covid-appropriate behaviour.

KOLKATA: Former TMC leader Vinay Mishra on Tuesday served a legal notice to the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, demanding to delete his June 11 “false” tweet, in which he said that Mishra renounced Indian citizenship but was made general secretary of TMC youth wing in 2020.

On June 11, Adhikari had tweeted, “In year 2018 Vinay Mishra seems to be a Citizen of VANUATU and renouncing Indian citizenship. In year 2020 the same person is made the General Secretary of TMC Youth wing. Drawing the kind attention of ECI, Does Indian law permit a foreigner to be a part of a political party?”

Against this, Mishra in the legal notice said he had left India on September 16, 2020, much prior to when the CBI initiated a case against him in cattle and coal smuggling cases. At the time, he was appointed as the Trinamool youth wing general secretary and was a citizen of India.

He had resigned from the post of General Secretary prior to the surrendering of his passport on December 19, 2020.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a red corner notice against Mishra in a case of cattle smuggling.

On June 7, during a hearing, Mishra’s lawyers filed an affidavit stating he renounced his citizenship on December 19 last year by filing an application at the Indian Consulate in Dubai. The application was accepted on December 22, the affidavit said. 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The statewide uniform lockdown strategy will be replaced with region-specific restrictions from June 17, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday. The details will be revealed shortly. The government is planning to impose area-wise restrictions in accordance with the infection rate there.

Fourteen local bodies continue to have a TPR above 35%, he said. “At present, a majority get infected at home. Efforts will be taken to prevent this. Number of tests will be increased significantly. A campaign will be launched to create awareness on quarantine,” Pinarayi said. The government will finalise the new action plan and containment strategy on Tuesday. The CM said a majority of the dead had comorbidities. He asked people with ailments like diabetes to take extra care. He said the death rate did not rise sharply because of the excellence of the healthcare facilities.

The CM called for people’s participation in preventing a third wave. “Lockdown alone won’t help. The higher transmission rate of Delta virus strain calls for the observance of Covid protocol even after the lockdown is lifted. The third wave will not occur naturally, but due to the lapses in observing the protocol,” the CM said. 

He asked people not to be afraid of exaggerated reports. Since kids are not vaccinated, infection rate among them may go up in the third wave. The government is arranging facilities to deal with this. It has prepared a triage protocol by classifying children into different age groups, treatment and discharge guidelines, he said.

As many as 1.12 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the state until June 13. Around 91% of the people at old-age homes have been given the first dose while 14% got both doses. Among the tribal population, 75% aged above 45 have been given vaccine. Special vaccination campaign was conducted in 362 colonies. Direction has been given to organise vaccination camps in the remaining colonies, he said.

VIJAYAWADA: The State government has decided to include treatment of post-Covid health problems related to lungs and kidneys among children in the YSR Aarogyasri Scheme. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy took a decision in this regard on Monday after officials informed him that several children are facing health problems related to lung and kidneys after their recovery from Covid-19. He directed the officials to provide free medical treatment to such children under Aarogyasri and fix rates under the health scheme considering the realistic situation so that network hospitals do not suffer. Aarogyasri bills should be paid to the network hospitals within three weeks of submission.

“Aarogyasri should be one of the best health schemes in the country, he asserted and asked the officials to monitor its implementation on a daily basis. The Chief Minister, who held a review on the Covid-19 situation in the State and measures to be taken for treatment of children in the wake of projections of possible third wave, said the officials should be prepared to face any eventuality. Nurses and medical staff should be provided training in paediatric Covid management, he said.

Informing him about treatment facilities to be made available to children in government hospitals, the officials said they chalked out a plan to increase ICU beds and augment oxygen supply. “We have plans to increase ICU beds to 1,600 and oxygen beds to 3,777 for children. Simultaneously, plans are afoot to recruit paediatricians, staff nurses and other support staff,’’ they said.

Jagan instructed the officials to implement the action plan and complete recruitment of medical staff within one month. The Chief Minister suggested that the proposed health hubs be set up near habitations and multispeciality hospitals should come up in towns and cities. “The main objective of setting up health hubs is to make multispeciality health care available in the State and people need not go to Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad for it,” he asserted. Super speciality hospitals with best infrastructure should come up in every district.

The districts should attain self-sufficiency in providing quality health care services through the health hubs, he said, and asked the officials to prepare guidelines pertaining to health hubs within two weeks. Briefing about the Covid situation in the State, the officials explained to him that the data from June 6 to 12 showed that the number of fresh cases declined significantly. The positivity rate came down to 6.58 per cent from 25.56 per cent on May 16. About 5 lakh calls were made to 104 call centres from April 15, they said. Deputy CM (Health) Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, Covid Command and Control Centre Chairman KS Jawahar Reddy, Principal Secretary (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal, Covid Task Force Committee Chairman MT Krishna Babu, Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar and other officials were present.