Centre to fund startups offering indigenous solutions to combat Pandemic

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said that India will be in a position to vaccinate its entire adult population by the end of this year. He said health facilities are being upgraded upon the speculation that the virus might mutate in future and endanger children. During a COVID review meeting, Dr Hardh Vardhan said, between August and December this year, India will procure 216 crore vaccine doses, while by July this year, 51 crore doses will be procured. Health minister reviewed public health response to COVID-19 and progress of vaccination in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep. He highlighted that now the smaller states are showing an upward trend and there is a dire need to be extremely cautious.

-To support indigenous solutions and innovative products to combat the pandemic, the Centre has come with a new initiative, NIDHI4COVID2.0. NIDHI4COVID2.0 will fund eligible startups & companies registered in India offering promising solutions in the thrust areas of oxygen innovation, portable solution, relevant medical accessories, diagnostic, informatics, or any other solution that addresses or mitigates various challenges being faced due to COVID-19.   Ministry of Science and Technology has said that development and manufacturing of products parts currently being imported for devices like Oxygen Concentrators would also be considered for Seed Support through DST supported network of Technology business incubators. The ministry has said that promising startups will be provided with financial and mentoring support for scaling up their products and technologies and speeding up their processes, helping them reach the product deployment stage as fast as possible.

-In Arunachal Pradesh, the state government has involved the panchayati raj system in the fight against COVID19 by forming monitoring committees at the gram panchayat level. These monitoring committees include the Panchayat representatives, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, young volunteers and the senior and respected persons of the village. Lower Dibang Valley District, initially one of the most COVID19 affected districts in Arunachal Pradesh in this second wave is recovering well with less number of positive cases reported on daily basis today. And in this achievement of the district, the Panchayat Level Monitoring Committees are also playing a crucial role apart from the frontline workers. The Mashelo village Monitoring Committee is one of those. Azad Piku, Gram Panchayat President of Mashelo village informed that the committee is not only creating awareness about the COVID19 virus and the precautionary measures among the villagers but is also clarifying any misconceptions about COVID19 vaccine among them.Lower Dibang Valley was the first in Arunachal Pradesh which had to declare a 9-day complete lockdown in the district from April 29 last month due to rapid increase in COVID positive cases. As of now the district has a recovery rate of over 86 percent with 6 deaths. Active cases stand at 171.

-In view of the increase in international prices of sugar, the government has reviewed the subsidy on the export of sugar for sugar season 2020-21 and revised it from Rs 6000 to Rs 4000 per metric tonne. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Department of Food and Public Distribution.

-Indian Navy’s first destroyer INS Rajput was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam on Friday after serving the nation for 41 glorious years.The ship was decommissioned in a solemn and low key event due to the ongoing COVID Pandemic when the National Flag, Naval Ensign, and the Decommissioning Pennant were lowered at sunset time.In recognition of the yeoman service rendered to the nation by the ship, a Special Postal Cover was released on the occasion.INS Rajput was commissioned in May 1980, at Poti, Georgia, as the lead ship of the Rajput Class Destroyers of the Indian Navy. During her service, the ship had the distinction of being part of both the Western and Eastern Fleets.

-The Bangladesh Meteorological Department issued a cyclone message on Friday warning that a low pressure area is very likely to form over the North Andaman Sea  and adjoining east central Bay of Bengal.The cautioned that it is very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm. It is then likely to move North-westwards and reach near the Odisha-West Bengal - Khulna coasts of Bangladesh around 26 May. If it turns into a cyclone it will be named Yaas proposed by Oman. Yaas means jasmine flower.