Blog

23 Apr

Scientists at IIT say that the second wave of the COVID-19 in India may peak between May 11-15 with 33-35 lakh ‘active’ cases

editor0 CommentsHealthcovid, health, iit, India

The ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak between May 11-15 with 33-35 lakh total ‘active’ cases and decline steeply by the end of May, according to a mathematical module devised by IIT scientists. On Friday, India saw a single-day rise of 3,32,730 (3.32 lakh) COVID-19 infections and 2,263 fatalities with 24,28,616 (24.28 lakh) active cases. In predicting that the active cases would go up by about 10 lakh by mid-May before sliding, scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and Hyderabad applied the ‘Susceptible, Undetected, Tested (positive), and Removed Approach’ (SUTRA) model. The scientists also said…

23 Apr

CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde says he is leaving court with the satisfaction of having done his best.

editor0 CommentsSikkimchief justice, India, SUPREME COURT

Outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde Friday said he was leaving the Supreme Court with “happiness, goodwill and very fond memories” and the satisfaction of having done his best. Justice Bobde, who decided several key cases during his tenure including the historic Ayodhya verdict, was administered oath as the 47th CJI in November 2019 and is retiring today. He headed the Indian judiciary during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic ensuring that the apex court kept functioning albeit via video conferencing. Attorney General K K Venugopal said the tenure of a CJI must be a minimum of three years. “In March 2020…

22 Apr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden announce India-US clean energy initiative

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Healthclean energy, climate, environment, India, joe biden, MODI, USA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday announced that India and the United States have decided to launch a joint clean energy initiative to help other developing countries with affordable access to green finance and clean technologies. Addressing the Leaders’ Summit on Climate, attended by 40 world leaders including US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping, PM Modi announced the “India-US climate and clean energy Agenda 2030 partnership”. “As a climate-responsible developing country, India welcomes partners to create templates of sustainable development in India. These can also help other developing countries, who need affordable access to green finance and clean technologies,”…

22 Apr

The Covid-19 situation has been termed as a “national emergency” by SC while addressing Vedanta’s plea of free oxygen supply.

editor0 CommentsHealthCoronavirus, India, oxygen supply, SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court Thursday termed the Covid-19 situation as almost a “national emergency” while agreeing to hear Vedanta’s plea for opening of its Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu on the ground that it would produce thousand tonnes of oxygen and give it free of cost to treat patients. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde was unimpressed with the objection of Tamil Nadu government which initially sought hearing of Vedanta’s plea on Monday and opposed its opening on various grounds including that it has been rejected by the apex court earlier. “We understand all this. We will ensure compliance…

22 Apr

PM Modi cancels trip to West Bengal tomorrow, says will hold high-level meetings on Covid situation

editor0 CommentsSikkim

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today cancelled his visit to Bengal on Friday to campaign for the ongoing state election citing meetings to review the Covid situation in the country. Home Minister Amit Shah also cut short his campaign today, cancelling two of his three Bengal meetings to return to Delhi for a Covid meeting. According to the BJP, all its top leaders have called off the rest of their campaign."Tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal," PM Modi tweeted, effectively ending his campaign in…

22 Apr

UTI Treasury Advantage Fund: A good investment plan

editor0 CommentsBusinessMutual Fund, UTI

‘UTI Treasury Advantage Fund’ that has been launched by the Unit Trust of India (UTI), follows an accrual-oriented strategy by investing in a well-diversified portfolio of debt and money market instruments with an aim to generate reasonable income with lower volatility over the short-term. The fund primarily invests in commercial papers, certificate of deposits and low duration corporate bonds along with tactical exposure to government securities, revealed UTI sources. A UTI spokesperson said, “In the recent monetary policy announcement, MPC gave a state based guidance rather than a time based guidance by mentioning to maintain accommodative stance as long as…

22 Apr

ASUS ZenBook Dual Screen Laptops in India

editor0 CommentsBusinessASUS, Dual Screen Laptop

Taiwanese tech giant, ASUS launched ZenBook Duo 14 and ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED laptops to their already expansive ZenBook range. The ‘laptops of tomorrow’ ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED and ZenBook Duo 14 feature a dual display with a four-sided frameless NanoEdge displayalong with ultra slim bezels for a complete immersive experience. Asus’s newly launched laptops are designed to offer the best of functionality without sacrificing the portability of a laptop, making it ideal for the creators and people who prefer to work on multiple displays. The laptops feature tilting ScreenPad Plus, a secondary touchscreen that automatically tilts up…

22 Apr

India records world’s biggest single-day rise in coronavirus cases

editor0 CommentsSikkim

Swept by a brutal second Covid wave, India saw a record spike in infections with 3.14 lakh new cases, the world's biggest-ever daily surge, taking the caseload to 1.59 crore. In another grim record, 2,104 Covid deaths were recorded since yesterday. Amid the oxygen crisis in the national capital, the Delhi High Court came down strongly on the Centre on Wednesday, saying it seemed that “human lives are not that important.. for the state”. “Beg, borrow or steal. It is a national emergency,” the judges said. The court’s observations come as several private hospitals reached out to the Delhi government…

22 Apr

Former Delhi minister A K Walia dies of Covid-19

editor0 CommentsSikkim

Senior Congress leader and former Delhi minister Dr AK Walia passed away on Thursday due to COVID-19. Walia, 72, breathed his last at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi. Walia was elected to the Delhi Legislative Assembly four times between 1993 and 2013. He had served as a Cabinet minister (Health, Urban Development, and Land and Building) in the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi. Walia, who also had a clinic in Laxmi Nagar, contested polls from East Delhi’s Geeta Colony for the first time in 1993. After delimitation, he contested from Laxmi Nagar. He quit the Congress briefly in 2017, after…

21 Apr

Madan Mitra was admitted to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after suffering from shortness of breath

editor0 CommentsSikkimModon Mitra, SSKM Hospital

Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra has been admitted to SSKM Hospital due to respiratory problems. According to sources, Mitra, one of the main leaders of the Trinamool Congress, fell ill in the middle of the mitra Bengal elections. More than one crore voters in West Bengal, 306 candidates will decide their political fate on Thursday when 43 votes will be cast in the Assembly constituency. Security has been beefed up in the wake of earlier incidents of violence, especially in the wake of the deaths of five people in Cooch Behar in the fourth phase of the April 10 polls,…