ISRO providing oxygen to TN,Kerala & AP

The Ministry of Agriculture has formulated a special Kharif strategy for implementation in the ensuing Kharif 2021 season with an aim to attain self-sufficiency in the production of pulses. Under the strategy, utilising all the high yielding varieties of seeds that are available either with the Central Seed Agencies or in the States will be distributed free of cost to increase area through intercropping and sole crop. For the coming Kharif 2021, it is proposed to distribute more than 20 lakh mini kits of seeds amounting to nearly Rs 82 crore. It is ten times more than last year. The total cost for these mini-kits will be borne by the Central Government to boost the production and productivity of tur, moong and urad. The move will cover over four lakh hectare area across the country. The Ministry of Agriculture in a statement said that for effective implementation of the Kharif mini kit programme, a massive outreach with the concerned districts will be held. 

-Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said that the Department of Space has gone beyond its call to provide COVID related support, mainly liquid Oxygen to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Chandigarh. In an online review meeting, Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K. Sivan said that 9.5 tonnes of oxygen is being given to Tamil Nadu and Kerala per day. 87 Tonnes of liquid Oxygen manufactured and supplied by ISRO Propulsion Complex has already been given to Tamil Nadu and Kerala by ensuring 24x7 work schedule. The Department is also ensuring supply of Oxygen cylinders for the local public in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.The Minister asked the department to explore the possibility of creating more COVID Care Centres apart from the ones established in Bengaluru, Shillong and Sriharikota.

-Haryana Government has launched Ayurvedic telemedicine facility for Corona patients. Health Minister Anil Vij said that any patient can consult the Ayurvedic Doctors on phone by dialling 1075. Vij said, the facility has been launched after verifying the response of Ayurvedic medicines used on Corona patients. He said, a call centre has been set up to run it and teams of senior Ayurvedic Doctors have been appointed for consultation, who will provide service from 8 am to 10 pm. The Minister said, the tele consultation would be helpful for patients in isolation. 

-The Chhattisgarh government has suspended the third phase of Covid vaccination drive for people aged 18 to 44, after the high court’s order to modify the plan that prioritised inoculation of the economically weaker sections of society. The State government has constituted a committee headed by the State’s Chief Secretary to finalise a fresh plan to distribute vaccines in the third phase in an equitable manner. Earlier, on May 5, Chhattisgarh High Court had asked the state government to fix a reasonable ratio of allotment of vaccines to the ‘ Antodaya group’ -the economically weaker sections-the persons belonging to the Below Poverty Line and persons Above Poverty Line  for vaccination against CoVID for people of 18 to 44 age group.Hearing a bunch of applications seeking intervention in a suo moto writ petition, a division bench of Chief Justice P R Ramachandra Menon and Justice P P Sahu said the state shall fix a reasonable ratio for vaccines with reference to all the relevant aspects including the vulnerability, chance to spread the disease and the number of eligible persons in the group. The high court directed the state government to come up with an alternative Covid-19 vaccination plan.

-Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed today between the Oil and Gas PSUs, Indian Oil, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC and GAIL and Shri Badrinath Utthan Charitable Trust for Construction and Redevelopment of Shri Badrinath Dham as a Spiritual Smart hill Town. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Tourism Minister of Uttarakhand Satpal Maharaj, Petroleum Secretary Tarun Kapoor, Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand Om Prakash, and senior officers of the Petroleum Ministry, Uttarakhand Government and Oil and Gas PSUs.