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Training women to use local, natural products for income generation
Girl Power Project team has designed the Best Practice Forum , a platform to support and promote the knowledge sharing and best practices for the benefit of upcoming women entrepreneurs in Jharkhand
Team girl power projecT
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One of the distinctive components of the Girl Power Project is the Best Practice Forum. This forum was included as the project activity, with the aim of capacitating and building women entrepreneurs by engaging in knowledge sharing and promoting diversity on various topics related to gender empowerment, skill building and social entrepreneurship promotion. Girl Power Project organized a Best Practice Forum on May 24 on lac production and value addition, which is one of the product identified through the Baseline Survey Study. Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play an important role in supporting rural livelihoods and food security in Jharkhand. The state is endowed with rich forest wealth. Out of a total geographical area of the country, Jharkhand accounts for 3.4 per cent of the total forest cover of the country and ranks 10th among all states. There is a voluminous list of NTFP in Jharkhand’s forests but important ones, which are mostly collected here and traded in high quality for livelihood supplements apart from agriculture are Tendu leaves, sal seed, mahua, tamarind, bamboo, and lac etc. In case of lac, Jharkhand alone contributes 57 per cent of the total produce which is widely exported.
Looking upon the prospects of lac cultivation in Jharkhand, a webinar was organized on “Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs for Income Generation through Production Technology & Value Addition of Lac during COVID-19 pandemic” on May 24. The resource person for the webinar was Dr BK Dwivedi, Director of Bioved Research Institute of Agriculture & Technology, Prayagraj. It is pertinent to mention that Dr Dwivedi is extenesively involved in training and technology dessimination pertaining to lac production and value addtion.
During the webinar, the speaker also shared the works done on lac by the Bioved Research Institute of Agriculture & Technology. They went for value addition of lac in different products, training women and creating a platform for selling the produce. Some of the products on which they are working and are also exporting are lac laminated.
Lac cultivation: Lac is a natural resinous substance of profound economic importance in India. It is the only resin from animal origin lending itself to diverse applications like as a protective and decorative coating in the form of thin films, adhesives and plastics. The lac insects thrive on the sap of certain plants called lac hosts. Host plants are Palas, Ber, Kusum, Peepal, Akaasmani, Galwang, Flemingia and Gular. Two strains of the lac insects recognized in India are rangeeni and kusumi. Each strain completes its life cycle twice a year. Lac plays an important role in the economy of the country; 3-4 million tribal people who constitute the socioeconomically weakest section of the Indian population earn a subsidiary income from its cultivation. India is the major producer of lac, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the total world production. It virtually held a monopoly in lac trade during the period of First World War, producing nearly 90 per cent of the world’s total output. Today, an average of about 20-22 thousand tons of stick lac (raw lac) is produced in the country every year.
Why lac cultivation: Lac is a good source of livelihood for poor farmers and ensures assured source of income during droughts. It requires meager inputs like water, pesticides etc., is most suitably grown on marginal and degraded land and poses no competition to other horticultural, agricultural crops for land and farm operation. It does not harm the host tree’s health, or that of other flora and fauna. It also avoids migration of rural population to urban areas and increases opportunities for women for better occupation and returns on investments.
Scope of lac based enterprises: Because of its unique combination of properties, lac finds a wide variety of applications in paint, electrical, automobile, cosmetic, adhesive, leather, wood finishing and other industries. Lac has long been in use for both decoration and lacquers of various kinds and insulating varnishes. It is usually used as a first coating on wood to fill the pores and also applied to seal knots likely to exude resin and disfigure or spoil finished paint work. Lac is used in manufacture of glazed paper, printing and water proofing inks, lac bangles, dry mounting tissue
paper, dental plates and optical frames. It is also used as a coat for metal ware to prevent tarnishing, for finishing various products such as playing cards, oil cloth and linoleum, and for preserving archeological and zoological specimen. In the electrical industry, lac is used as coating of insulators and spark plugs, cement of sockets of electrical lamp, ant tracking insulating etc. In the pharmaceutical industry, lac is used in coating of tablets, micro-encapsulation of vitamins and coating of medicines. Lac dye is used in dying of wool and silk, soft drink formulation, pill coating, confectionary and chocolate coating. Lac wax has wide variety of uses in manufacturing shoe polishes, tailor’s chalk, lipstick, crayons (for writing in glass). Nowadays, it is also used in fruit coating. In short, there are tremendrious possibilities for establishing enterprieses by women entrepreneurs for their empowerment.
Key takeaways: In Jharkhand, the possible interventions for lac cultivating farmers can be done for enhancing income and turning them into entrepreneurs through promoting the lac cultivation on a larger scale by filling the knowledge gap through capacity building and exposure visits. If a woman farmer has lac host plants, then appropriate steps should be taken to mobilize them to take lac cultivation on all trees. If a producer does not have host trees, they can grow fast-growing host trees. At the village level, some of the women entrepreneurs can go for nursery business, wherein they can supply the lac insects for cultivation in their own village as well as nearby villages.
Individual women entrepreneurs, or SHGs, can focus on manufacturing of value added products using lac. Possible linkages can be made through identifying the vendors for selling the raw produce as well as value added products. Promotions can be done of these products through various platforms to provide an opportunity for women entrepreneurs for their income as well as employment generation in this sector, making them financially secure and independent.
All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) regional centres across the country organised plantation drives and planted 696 trees to celebrate the World Environment Day
Nimeta Center for Environment and Disaster Management and National Fire Academy of All India Institute of Local Self Government celebrated World Environment Day. During the programme, Ranjit Chavan, President, AIILSG and Hansa Patel, Executive Adviser, AIILSG, were present and planted a tree
World Environment Day celebrated at Kasturba Chhatralaya, Karelibaug, Vadodara, under Shri Harijan Sevak Sangh on June 5. On this occasion, Keyurbhai Rokadia, Mayor; Nandaben Joshi, Deputy Mayor; and Dr Hitendrabhai Patel, Chairman, Standing Committee, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), were present. Hansa Patel, Executive Adviser, AIILSG, welcomed them with Dr Jatin Modi, Emeritus President, AIILSG, by offering a bouquet of flowers
A get-together meeting of Fire Officers of Fire & Emergency Services, Vadodara Municipal Corporation, was organized by National Fire Academy, Vadodara, at Hotel Mercure, Sayajigunj, Vadodara, on June 23. SK Patel, GAS, Dy Municipal Commissioner (Admn), VMC, is seen in the photograph flanked by Ranjit S Chavan, President, and Hansa Patel, Executive Adviser, AIILSG. Fire officers were also present on the occasion
Inauguration of 105th edition of Sthanik Swarajya Magazine of AIILSG during the oath ceremony of nursing students by Kiritbhai Parmar, Mayor of Ahmedabad city
Countries launch global initiative for clean energy innovation
SANTIAGO: On June 2, India launched a global initiative called Mission Innovative CleanTech Exchange, or Mission Innovation 2.0, that will create a network of incubators across member countries to accelerate clean energy innovation. The network was launched virtually at the ‘Innovating to Net Zero Summit’ hosted by Chile.
The initiative has been launched in a bid to provide access to the expertise and market insights needed to support new technologies to access new markets globally. India is among 23 governments across the world to collectively launch new plans to catalyze action and spearhead a decade of innovation to drive global investment in clean energy research, development, and demonstrations.
The network is aiming to make clean energy affordable, attractive, and accessible for all in this decade, and to accelerate their actions towards the Paris Agreement and net zero pathways. Mission Innovation 2.0 comes as the second phase of the global Mission Innovation initiative, which was launched in 2015 along with the Paris Agreement at the 2015 United Nations Climate conference. Since 2015, member governments of Mission Innovation have increased clean energy innovation investments by a cumulative total of $18 billion.
Members of the Mission Innovation 2.0 are collectively responsible for over 90 per cent of the global investment in clean energy innovation. Their commitment lies in increasing investment and collaboration to deliver the technologies required to overcome the world’s most difficult challenges on the climate change front.
Half of the required reductions in global emission to achieve national and global climate targets by the year 2050 depend on technologies that already exist. However, these technologies are currently only at demonstration or prototype phase. They are not yet sufficiently effective or affordable to be deployed at scale. Examples of such technologies include clean hydrogen, advance battery storage, and zero emission fuels, etc. The goal of Mission Innovative CleanTech Exchange is to catalyze public-private action and investment with the help of sectorspecific missions to accelerate the development of clean energy solutions in critical areas.
In order to achieve the Paris Agreement Goals, all sectors of economy worldwide will need access to cost competitive clean energy solutions in this decade. The Mission aims to make clean energy solutions attractive and accessible to all the countries, so that governments worldwide gain the confidence to set ambitious clean energy pathways. The launch of this mission is a key milestone in the build-up to the COP26 climate conference to be held in November this year in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Research and science ministers from 22 countries and the European Commission issued a joint statement during the launch and said that the need for innovation has never been greater or more urgent than now as governments and businesses around the world continue to commit to ambitious climate goals. The ministers committed to step up their collective ambition and cooperation, mobilise and connect global research, development and demonstration efforts to maximize the impact of these investments, build confidence in clean energy solutions, and develop pathways to deployment. In the statement, the ministers also committed to develop National Innovation Pathways that describe how they will enhance ambition to pioneer clean energy technologies and/or sectors to meet their climate and energy goals by 2030.
Speaking during the launch, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science and Technology, Government of India, said that Mission Innovation has played a significant role in mobilizing greater public and private investments and partnerships to move the innovation needle, thereby accelerating clean energy innovations. Mission Innovation 2.0 sheds light on the importance of collaborative scientific efforts to realise the vision of an affordable and reliable clean energy system. He added that this shall help member countries reiterate their pledge to pursue a sustainable future through research-led innovations.
ULBs in Odisha to process rural waste
BHUBANESWAR: The Government of Odisha has decided to form an association between gram panchayats (GPs) and urban local bodies (ULBs), which will leverage urban infrastructure for efficient management of faecal sludge and plastic waste generated in rural areas. Under this initiative, the districts will tag the GPs to nearby ULBs for transportation of waste and its processing. The association has already been implemented on pilot basis in Balasore Municipality. Nearly 90 panchayats were tagged to avail the facilities of Balasore Municipality, and processing and handling of waste was found to be feasible. Panchayati Raj and Housing and Urban Development departments of the state took a decision to this effect. According to state officials, faecal sludge treatment plants are functioning in 45 ULBs and are under construction in the remaining urban areas. Material recovery facilities have been set up in all ULBs to process plastic waste. Linking urban infrastructure with sanitation activities of rural areas will help in effective management of waste. Guidelines released by the departments state that collectors are required to tag the panchayats located within 20 kilometers of a ULB, and categorise them into three groups of areas falling under 10, 15, and 20 kilometers. Moreover, interested rural households having toilets and septic tanks can send their faecal sludge to the treatment plants of the concerned ULB on payment of fixed charges.
GENEVA: A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that working long hours is killing thousands of people a year. The study came as the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours. Published in the journal Environment International, the paper revealed that around 7,45,000 deaths around the globe from stroke and heart diseases could be associated with long working hours in 2016. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO, said that working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard.
It showed that most of the victims of health hazards associated with long working hours were men (72 per cent), and were usually middle- or old-aged. According to the study, people residing in southeast Asia and the western Pacific, which includes countries like China, Japan, and Australia, were most affected.
The study elaborated that working 55 hours or more a week is associated with a 35 per cent higher risk of stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease compared with working 35-40 hours per week. It covered the period between year 2000 and 2016, therefore it did not factor in the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate consequences. Experts from WHO said that the pandemic could possibly feed the trend towards increased working time and hence the related hazards. They further suggested that staggered working hours or an alternative working schedule can help fix this potential health hazard.
Long working hours affect health adversely
8000 children test positive in Maharashtra
As Maharashtra fights with the second wave of COVID-19, effects of the third wave are visible as 8000 children in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra tested COVID positive in May. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey is making inroads to control the situation in the state. Authorities in the region are on high alert due to increase in number of children and teenagers testing positive for COVID-19, which constitute almost 10 per cent of the total cases in the district and may be the first signs of the third wave of COVID-19 in India.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 26 said that the manufacturers of Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine, have agreed to supply the vaccine to Delhi. He also informed that there are around 620 cases of black fungus (mucormycosis) in the capital and there is a shortage of Amphotericin-B injection used in the treatment of the disease. CM Kejriwal said that talks are in progress with the makers of Sputnik V vaccine and they have agreed to give the vaccine to Delhi, however the quantity has not yet been decided.
Delhi to give `5 lakh to oxygen shortage victims
Government of NCT of Delhi has decided to give `5 lakh compensation to the families of those COVID-19 patients who died due to lack of oxygen. The Delhi government has formed a committee of six doctors to prepare a framework for the compensation. The committee will have all the rights to examine every document related to oxygen supply, stock and storage from the concerned hospitals.
Covaxin effective against new COVID-19 variants
A study conducted by Clinical Infectious Diseases, in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology and Indian Council of Medical Research, found that Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin produces neutralising effects against all the new COVID-19 key variants, including the double mutant strains B.1.617 and B.1.1.7. The findings of the study state that there is no difference in neutralisation between the UK variant and the vaccine strain of D614G. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, had also said earlier that Covaxin is likely to be effective against the UK variant and the double mutated B.1.717 variant.
MHRA approves first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for use in UK
LONDON: Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine named ‘Janssen’ was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use in the United Kingdom. This vaccine, being an adenoviral vector vaccine, is same as the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and has now become the first approved single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to be used in the UK.
MHRA, UK’s independent regulator, has approved Janssen for use on people aged 18 years and above. The decision on use of the vaccine on pregnant or breastfeeding women is pending and will be made after thorough consultation with healthcare professionals.
Janssen became the fourth coronavirus vaccine to receive authorization in UK after the vaccines of Pfizer, Moderna, and Oxford. June Raine, Chief Executive at MHRA, mentioned it as an encouraging news for the public and the healthcare sector because now the nation has safe and effective vaccines approved to help protect people from COVID-19 infections. The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control has been carrying out independent batch release checks on all the approved COVID-19 vaccines in the UK. Raine mentioned that they will continue to do so for Janssen vaccines as well, in order to ensure that every batch of approved vaccines meets the expected quality standards. The European Medicines Agency has also decided to add a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelets in the Janssen vaccine’s product information, owing to review of four cases of clots and low platelets among recipients of the vaccine during the clinical trials in the United States of America.
Third-party apps can now provide service of booking COVID-19 vaccination slots
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, released new guidelines on integration of Co-WIN app (the Indian vaccine portal) with third-party applications on May 26. The new guidelines will allow third-party applications to include Co-WIN API (Application Programming Interface) in their own apps.
Until now, only government owned apps, including AarogyaSetu and Umang, were used to register and book vaccination slots, and third party applications were only allowed to display vaccine status and availability of slots. The inclusion of Co-WIN API will now enable third party app developers to provide services i ncluding vaccine registration, and appointment booking. The official notification from the MoHFW said that the new guidelines have been introduced to help various stakeholders such as governments of states and union territories, private service providers, software developers, and other agencies in providing vaccine related services. This will further help in enhancement of the diversity and functionality complementing CoWIN, offer better user experience and choice to people, and improve access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The guidelines state that third party applications can be either offered directly to citizens or offered to private vaccination centres.
Mobile CNG stations for two Indian metropolises
DELHI AND MUMBAI will get India’s first mobile CNG filling stations. This step will reduce the long queues at the filling stations by making it available at the customers’ doorstep and thus expanding the accessibility in various areas of these two cities. Each mobile station will carry 1500 kg of CNG and can refuel 100-150 vehicles, at an average of 10 Kg per vehicle.
Sisodia announces `1051
crore for salary of civic bodies’ employees
The Government of Delhi announced a grant of `1051 crore for the three municipal corporations to pay salaries of healthcare workers and other employees on May 15. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, said in a virtual briefing that amidst the second coronavirus wave and constrained circumstances due to the lockdown, the state government took the decision to ensure that people helping the city in fighting the pandemic receive their salaries.
Imported Sputnik V priced at `995 per dose in India
On May 14, the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine was administered in Hyderabad as part of a soft launch by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL). An official statement from DRL said that one dose of the imported Sputnik V vaccine will cost approximately `995.40 in India, adding that the doses of the same vaccine produced in India will be relatively cheaper. The vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6 per cent, which is higher in comparison to the two vaccines currently being administered in India, and has already been administered to 20 lakh people worldwide.
‘Delhi to get 3 centres to treat black fungus’
NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal informed that in view of the rising number of cases of mucormycosis, the Government of NCT of Delhi has decided to set up centres to treat the new disease in three state-run hospitals. He added that the government will ensure adequate supply of drugs to treat the condition and also spread awareness regarding the disease. CM Kejriwal said that he chaired an important meeting regarding mucormycosis and has taken some key decisions on the treatment and prevention of the disease. He added that the centres for treatment of the disease will be set up at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Hospital. Drugs used in the treatment of the fungus will be procured in adequate amounts and public awareness will be spread for its prevention and spread, he added. Cases of black fungus have been reported across the country in rising numbers, especially in Delhi. Dr M V Padma Srivastava, Head, Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, said that the hospital is reporting more than 20 cases daily of patients suffering from black fungus.
CM Kejriwal also urged hospitals and doctors to ensure minimum usage of steroids and asked patients to keep an eye on their blood sugar levels, especially those having COVID-19 or who have recovered from the disease. He added that there is a shortage of the injection to treat the condition and the Government of India controls the production of the injections. He said that his government has written to the Centre and hopes it will provide them with the adequate quantity to fight the disease. Andhra Pradesh allocates `1000 crore for smart cities
VIJAYAWADA: The Government of Andhra Pradesh, in a bid to achieve the goal of clean water and sanitation and to make human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient, announced the allocation of `8727.08 crore for the municipal administration and urban development department. The allocated budget amounts to around 3.79 per cent of the total budget outlaid by the state government. `1000 crore have been allocated for the development of smart cities in the state, in comparison to `300 crore allocated in the last fiscal year. The state government notably allocated `367.86 crore for AMRUT scheme, and `300 crore for Andhra Pradesh Urban Water Supply and Septage Management Improvement Project. Additionally, Andhra Pradesh Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APTIDCO), which works on housing for economically weaker sections, was allocated an amount of `226.18 crore in the budget. Municipal ward secretariats and municipal ward volunteers have been earmarked `943 crore and `395 crore respectively by the government.
Moreover, the budget allocated `179 crore for construction of community toilets in urban local bodies under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and `80 crore for individual household lavatories. The government also set aside a total of `85 crore for infrastructure development in grade-III municipalities and nagar panchayats, along with solid waste management projects.
Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh, noted that the government has also taken up Andhra Pradesh Urban Water Supply Project at a cost of `5000 crore, with the assistance of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with the aim of providing potable drinking water to 3.3 million residents of 50 urban local bodies in the state.
Road safety expert Dinesh Mohan succumbs to COVID-19
A pioneer in road safety and transportation, Dinesh Mohan passed away due to COVID-19 in New Delhi on May 21. He was the mastermind behind the now scrapped Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System in New Delhi and contributed greatly to improving motorcycle helmet designs using his vast knowledge of road safety.
Mohan was undergoing treatment at Delhi’s St Stephen’s Hospital, where he passed away following a cardiac arrest on the morning of May 21.
Dinesh was an honorary professor at the Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi (IITD) and was loved by his students and colleagues for his caring and free-thinking nature. They remember him as a ‘great humanist’, and a fervent supporter of human rights, besides being a noted name in academia.
Mohan began his career as a bioengineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Washington DC in the United States of America. During his time at the Institute, he worked with world-renowned road safety experts like the Institute’s President, Dr William Haddon, who was widely considered as the global expert in injury control and safety science. Mohan also worked with Brian O’Neill, Allan Williams and Leon Robertson, who are also international authorities in road safety. This gave him a sound and well-founded understanding of the subject and its practical applications. At the Institute, he also conducted and tested the world’s first real assessment of effectiveness of airbags in frontal crashes of cars made by General Motors. Notably, his work there also impacted the evolution of regulations requiring children to be secured in a back seat.
He moved to India in 1979 to join the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, where he served as State Bank Chair for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation between 1981 and 1991; Henry Ford Chair for Traffic Safety Biomechanics from 1996 to 2005; and then as the Volvo Chair for Transportation and Planning and Safety from 2007 to 2015. He also founded the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP), a pioneer program leading advancements in vehicular and pedestrian safety.
Mohan was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of Delaware in 2012, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Indian Institute of TechnologyBombay. He was a member of the Board of International Research Council on Biomechanics of Impacts, along with the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Injury & Violence Prevention and Control, and was the Director of the International Council for Road Safety International. He also served as the Director of the Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit System Ltd., and was a part of the editorial board of the International Journal of Epidemiology from 2010 to 2018.
Through his publications and research, Mohan also worked on sustainable development of transit systems to achieve the SDGs and to reverse the effects of climate change. His latest publication, co-authored by Prof Geetam Tiwari of TRIPP, was titled ‘Sustainable Approaches to Urban Transport’ and talked of methods and policies that governments must undertake to make urban transport system more sustainable and financially-independent.
Dinesh Mohan was truly a changemaker and a visionary scientist, who not only bettered road safety measures globally, but was also credited with publishing some of the earliest studies on the limited role of hard shells in motorcycle helmets, mechanical properties of human soft tissues at very high strain rates, head injury criteria for children, and safety of three-wheeled scooter taxis. He was also responsible for bringing national attention to burn injuries caused by fireworks during the Diwali festival in India and agricultural injuries due to farm machines.
Gujarat govt declares cremation ground workers ‘corona warriors’
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, after the core committee meeting on May 12, announced that cremation ground workers will be termed as ‘corona warriors’ and they will be entitled to all the benefits associated with it, retrospectively from April 1, 2020. The state government also announced that it will set up oxygen plants at 348 community health centres (CHCs) across the state. The committee meeting also stated that the beneficiaries of the state health insurance schemes of Mukhyamantri Amrutam (MA) and MAVatsalya will now also cover the treatment of COVID-19 patients up to a daily cap of `5000 for a period of 10 days.
Indian variant can escape antibodies, not vaccines
Scientists from India and the United Kingdom (UK) found that the Indian variant of coronavirus, also known as the double mutant variant, has the ability to escape antibodies developed in a person after he/ she recovers from COVID-19. It also found that in case of the patients which are vaccinated, this variant can at best cause mild illness. Scientists from India’s INSACOG and UK’s Cambridge University have published these results in a research paper titled ‘SARSCoV-2 B.1.617-Emergenece and sensitivity to vaccine-elicited antibodies’. The scientists found that the variant can also infect those who are vaccinated.
Forest & Environment department to also work on climate change in Odisha
BHUBANESWAR: The Government of Odisha renamed its Forest and Environment Department to ‘Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department’. This department would now be the nodal agency of the state for climate change actions, for it would work and focus on climate change, along with forest, environment protection and conservation. The department’s responsibilities will involve development of a State Action Plan on Climate Change, projects on climate actions and implementation plan in line with the National Action Plan on Climate Change and Nationally Determined Contribution. It will also identify key vulnerabilities of the state in reversing climate change, assess the need for adaptation to climate change, and scope for incorporating these in relevant programmes. The new state department would take a leading role for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through conservation and enhancement of energy efficiency, coordination with line departments and organisations in various sectors including energy, transport, and urban development. It will also work on formulation of policies for promotion of non-conventional alternative sources of power like solar and wind energy and publicity to encourage use of such resources.
Telangana receives permission to use drones to deliver COVID vaccines
HYDERABAD: Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted permission to the Government of Telangana to conduct experimental delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for short distances using drones. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) released a notification stating that Telangana has been granted conditional exemption from the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules 2021, for conducting experimental delivery of vaccines using visual line of sight (VLOS) range. This conditional exemption will be valid for a period of one year, unless further orders are released.
MoCA had granted permission to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on April 2021 to conduct a feasibility study on using drones to deliver COVID-19 vaccine. The permission was granted after the ICMR had sought exemption from aviation rules that ban use of drones for payload delivery in India. MoCA clarified that these exemptions shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations as stated by the Ministry for respective entities are strictly adhered to. The note added that the exemption will become null and void in case of violation. Telangana thus became the first state in the nation to receive permission from MoCA to deliver coronavirus vaccines to several primary health centres. This project has been named ‘Medicine from the Sky’, which started its trial mode from early May at Vikarabad Area Hospital. Each drone will carry a combination of dummy vials and regular vaccines in the trial period and data obtained from the detailed record of performance in this time period will be used to frame and guide further policies regarding the full-scale adoption of delivery through drones.
ADB to end financing of fossil fuel production
The Asian Development Bank announced that it will no longer finance coal mining or oil and natural gas production and exploration. The multilateral development bank, which works towards eradicating poverty in Asia, released a draft policy statement on May 7 stating its decision. Although ADB provided no timeline for its commitment, its move was welcomed by environmental groups, saying that this decision was a decade overdue. ADB also laid out conditions under which certain fossil fuel projects would continue to receive funding, such as in cases where no other cost-effective technology was available.
Over 70 lakh out of jobs due to COVID-19 crisis in India: Report
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a Mumbai-based economic think tank, released research data stating that the national unemployment rate in India touched a four-month high at nearly 8 per cent in April 2021. The national unemployment rate in March was 6.5 per cent, and according to the data, the unemployment outlook weakened majorly due to the restrictions imposed to contain the COVID-19 second wave. Mahesh Vyas, MD, CMIE, said that the COVID-19 situation in the country is likely to impact employment generation in the coming months as well.
AHMEDABAD: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, on May 28, launched several development projects worth `585 crore for Ahmedabad city. The 25 development projects announced include Phase-2 of the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project. The Sabarmati project is to be developed on both sides of the river, from Duffnala to Indira Bridge, at an average length of 5.5 kilometre and an estimated cost of `850 crore.
CM Rupani said that the state government is planning to administer COVID-19 vaccines to 10 lakh youths in the coming eight days. He added during video conferencing that the state government is vaccinating around 1.25 lakh youth daily in the state and with 50 per cent of the population vaccinated, the authorities will soon find victory over COVID-19. The state government is working towards making it the first corona-free state of the country, he added. Other projects in the plan
include bridges, electric buses, water projects, garden projects, urban health centres, renovation of anganwadis, sports complexes and gymnasiums. Keshav Varma, Chairman, Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited, said that there was delay in the construction works due to the pandemic and planning for six months was done so that authorities do not rush into it. He added that this project will be the prime example of comprehensive planning. Other development projects inaugurated include barrage-cum-bridge over riverfront Phase 2, which will help in balancing the water level of the river so that the water can be reserved for the city for 10-15 days and used when there is an emergency. With the construction of barrage-cum-bridge, areas like Sabarmati, Chandkheda, Motera will get direct connectivity with Hansol area and the airport, thereby easing out traffic snarls. ‘New COVID testing can give results within a second’
NEW DELHI: Researchers from the University of Florida and National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, have developed a new rapid and sensitive testing method for the COVID-19 biomarkers. The sensor system of the method can provide the result within a second, which has been described in a study published in the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. At a time when the country is dealing with a heavy caseload of COVID-19 infections which is burdening the testing infrastructure in the country and across the world, innovative methods of self-testing are promoted. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also recently approved a self-test kit which can give the results within 15 minutes. Mingham Xian, author of the study and doctoral candidate at the University of Florida, said that this new method can alleviate the slow COVID-19 testing and help them turnaround the time issues across the world.
Detecting the presence of virus involves increased numbers of biomarkers or amplifying the binding signal for a target biomarker. This testing method uses the latter one where it uses a bio-sensor strip which is similar to a glucose test strip in shape. “Within the microfluidic channel, a few electrodes are exposed to fluid. One is coated with gold, and COVID-relevant antibodies are attached to the gold surface via a chemical method,” Xian added. During measurement, the sensor strips are connected to a circuit board via a connector and a short signal of electrical test is sent between the electrode bonded with the COVID-19 antibody. This signal is again returned to the circuit board for analysis.
Lockdown saved millions by reducing bacterial infections: Study
LONDON: A study led by Oxford University revealed that diseases caused by certain invasive viruses have reduced due to the COVID-19 lockdowns imposed around the globe in the past year. Co-authored by David Murdoch, Dean at University of Otago and expert of infectious diseases, the study said that there was significant reduction in number of bacterial diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis across the world.
Pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis are not only the most common illnesses caused by invasive bacteria, but have also been reasons for a significant number of deaths worldwide, especially among children and older adults. Similar to SARS-CoV-2, these pathogens are also transmitted via the respiratory route.
According to reports, 336 million cases of lower respiratory invasive infections were reported worldwide in 2016. 2.4 million people had succumbed due to those illnesses in the same year. However, the study found all the countries to have witnessed a reduction in invasive bacterial infections between the months of January 2020 and May 2020. These were the months when most of the countries around the globe were under strict lockdown due to the recent coronavirus pandemic. When compared with the number of infections reported in the previous two years, the study found that around 6000 fewer cases were reported on average in every country during the said time. It further found that illnesses caused by invasive but non-respiratory bacterial species, which do not get transmitted via the respiratory route, did not decrease. This showed that COVID-19 lockdowns had not significantly disturbed the reporting methods for diseases.
According to the study, infections went down by 68 per cent for streptococcus pneumonia within fourth weeks of the imposed containment measures due to COVID-19. The infections were down by 82 per cent by eight weeks. However, it noted that the number of infections due to streptococcus algalactiae did not experience any reduction. The researchers of the study believe that the reduction in cases of invasive respiratory bacterial infection was witnessed last year due to low person-to-person transmission, instead of disruption, if any, caused in medical care or disease reporting. Angela Brugemman, coauthor of the study and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, said that the results of the study demonstrate effectiveness of COVID-19 containment measures in reducing the transmission of other respiratory pathogens and associated diseases. However, they also impose a heavy burden on society that must be carefully considered, and therefore, she added, “Public health efforts must also remain focused on protecting against life-threatening diseases caused by these bacterial pathogens, by administering safe and effective vaccines that are available and in use in many parts of the world.”
The researchers studied data from national laboratories and surveillance programmes from 26 countries and territories of six continents across the globe. They compared the number of infections reported for three bacteria, streptococcus pneumoniae, haemophilusinfluenzae, and neisseriameningitidis, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the numbers from previous years. In addition, they analysed the available data on COVID-19 policies and containment measures with the help of Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. Information on people’s movements was sourced from Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports, which captures mobile device location history data from Google users. The researchers investigated whether the timing of any changes in the number of disease cases coincided with the introduction of national COVID-19 containment measures and reductions in people’s movements.
COVID-19 more prevalent in urban Andhra Pradesh
Anil Kumar Singhal, Principal Health Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said that the analysis of the COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh displays that the number of COVID-19 positive cases per lakh population is more in urban areas in comparison to rural. During a press brief, he said that the number of COVID-19 cases per lakh population is 383 in urban areas and 248 in rural areas. He therefore urged people to not believe on incomplete information and panic as that may lead to further rise in cases and deteriorate the situation.
Delhi to get oxygen plants at 5 hospitals under CSR
Delhi is set to get Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) based oxygen plants at five different hospitals of the North and South Delhi Municipal Corporations by next month as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The Petronet Liquefied Natural Gas (PLNG) Ltd, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, will install three PSA-based oxygen generation plants at three hospitals of the North Delhi Municipal Corporations (NDMC). Sanjay Goel, Commissioner, NDMC, said that the corporation will make all the necessary civil and electrical engineering installations and the location will be decided soon to ensure that oxygen shortage does not affect Delhiites, if and when COVID hits again.
Mild COVID-19 infection can induce lasting antibodies: Study
WASHINGTON DC: Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine, United States of America (USA), found that after months of recovering from mild COVID-19 infection, people will still have produced immunity cells which induce antibodies against the coronavirus. The study was published on May 24 in the journal ‘Nature’ and suggests that people infected with COVID-19 have lasting antibodies and repeated illness is uncommon.
The researchers found the antibodyproducing cells in people after 11 months of showing the first symptoms. These cells will remain in the body and produce antibodies for the rest of their lives and will have long lasting immunity, researchers said. The cells are present in the bone marrow and they continuously secrete low levels of antibodies in the bloodstream to help protect against the virus. The team had 77 participants who gave their blood samples within threemonth intervals, starting a month after they first got infected.
The study found that antibody in the blood of COVID-19 patients dropped in the first few months after the first infection and then levelled off, while some antibodies were detected even 11 months after the infection. Further, 15 of the 19 bone marrow samples from people who had had COVID-19 contained antibodyproducing cells specifically targeting the virus that causes COVID-19. Such cells could still be found four months later in the five people who came back to provide a second bone-marrow sample. None of the 11 people who never had COVID-19 had such antibody-producing cells in their bone marrow, the scientists said.
ICMR approves home test kit for COVID priced at `250
NEW DELHI: A Pune-based company, Mylab Discovery Solutions (MDS), has developed India’s first rapid home-test kit for COVID-19 infection. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) granted approval for the rapid home-test kit, named ‘CoviSelf’, to hit the market, with its price set at `250. This self-use kit will give results within 15 minutes. According to guidelines released by the ICMR, the CoviSelf kit can be used by any symptomatic persons, or their immediate contacts, to test themselves, go into isolation and get treated quickly. Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director, MDS, said that each kit would comprise the vital testing materials, a leaflet with instructions for use, and a biohazard bag to ensure safe disposal after testing.
The test is done using nasal swab in comparison to the deep nasopharyngeal swab to reduce discomfort. Each pack of CoviSelf has a unique QR code, which has to be entered along with the outcome of the test to receive a report on the associated app. Potential drawback of this is the lack of accuracy for antigen tests. According to ICMR’s guidelines, a validation of a rapid antigen test (CoviSelf test), requires that the test kit, in point of care settings, be accurate in least 50 per cent of the cases in identifying people with COVID-19 (sensitivity), and 95 per cent specificity—the times when identifying people without the disease.
Rawal said that this will eliminate the need for sample collection by a healthcare professional, and thus will significantly ease pressures on the overburdened testing labs, along with reducing delays in the test results. MDS is aiming to reach the doors of every Indian, to help them fight the COVID-19 pandemic, for this home-test kit can be bought from any pharmacy, without prescription.
States announce measures to help children orphaned due to COVID-19
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) informed the Supreme Court of India on May 27 that over 1700 children have lost both their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The Government of India made an announcement that all children who have lost both parents or a surviving parent, legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 will be supported under PM Cares. A corpus of `10 lakh will be created in the form of a fixed deposit. This collection will be used for providing a monthly stipend for five years when the child will turn 18 years of age. Under the scheme, at the age of 23 years, each child will receive the corpus amount as one lump-sum for personal and professional use.
Some state governments have also stepped up to lessen the plight of these children. The Government of Chhattisgarh announced its decision to launch ‘Chhattisgarh Mahtari Dular Yojana’ on May 13 for children who lost both their parents due to the pandemic. Under the scheme, each child from classes 1 to 8 will receive a stipend of `500 every month, and children from classes 9 to 12 will receive `1000 every month from the government. The state will also fund education of the children who have lost breadwinner of the family to COVID-19 under the scheme. These children will also get priority during admission in state-run Swami Atmanand English Medium Schools.
The Government of Delhi announced on May 25 its decision to formulate a policy under which, it will provide free education and bear other expenses of the children who have lost their parents to the coronavirus infection. Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi, said that the state government will bear all the expenses for the education and upbringing of such children. In addition, it will also take responsibility to take care of the elders who lost their home youth/ breadwinner of the family due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government of Maharashtra announced on June 2 that it will make fixed deposits of `5 lakh in the name of children who have lost one or both parents to COVID-19 in the state. The children will receive the FD amount with interest after attaining the age of 21 years. These children will also receive a monthly allowance of `1125 from the state government. Children who have lost one parent to COVID-19 and whose other parent is alive are also eligible for this monthly assistance, but they will not be eligible for the FD scheme. Officials said that if any relative comes forward to take care of the child, they will be eligible to receive a grant from the Child Care Scheme of the Department of Women and Child Development as well. The state has set up a 10-member task force in each of the 36 districts to identify the children orphaned due to COVID-19 outbreak, in addition to setting up a state helpline number to seek information about such children.
The Government of Karnataka announced the Chief Minister Bala Seva Scheme on May 29. Under it, children who lost both parents and have no guardians will be admitted to government-run residential schools. The cost of their accommodation and education will be borne by the state. Moreover, guardians caring for orphaned children will receive a monthly cash assistance of `3500 from the government.
Note: If you come across a child who you suspect has been orphaned or abandoned, you can call child helpline at 1098 -- a nationwide emergency number run in collaboration with the WCD Ministry. It is a 24-hour toll-free helpline number operated by Childline India Foundation. You can also directly contact local/district Child Welfare Committees and/or inform the local police station.
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Gujarat CM flags off 101 BS-VI compliant buses
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani flagged off a total of 101 BS-VI compliant buses in the state on May 10, officials said. Officials added that the Government of Gujarat intends to add 1000 such buses to the fleet of the state’s public transport. CM Rupani said during the video conferencing from Gandhinagar that these buses will enhance the public transport service across the state’s 16 transport divisions. He added that the state government will not allow the COVID-19 pandemic to affect the public transport services which are meant to provide comfort to residents in the state and are not seen as a source of profit.
UDD of UP launches sanitation, monitoring drive to fight COVID-19
The Urban Development Department (UDD) of the Government of Uttar Pradesh has started an initiative to sanitise the roads and streets of the cities, including the main institutions, markets, hospitals in 17 municipal corporations and 48 major municipalities of the state. According to an official from the Government of Uttar Pradesh, as of May 3, sanitation work has been carried out in all 12,016 wards of the state’s local bodies. The UDD pressed several vehicles into service to spray areas in each municipal body with one per cent sodium hypochlorite solution as a way to deal with surging infections in the state.
NEW DELHI: United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC), in collaboration with the Open Government Indonesia, held a webinar on ‘Local Actions on Smart and Open Governance to Strengthen Post Pandemic Partnership’ on May 20. Madelaine Alfelor, Iriga City Mayor, The Philippines Treasurer, UCLG World, mentioned in her presentation the significance of institutionalized internal governance. She mentioned how the City Government of Iriga developed an app named ‘iContact’, the first of its kind in the Philippines, for contact tracing. It continues to be used to trace COVID-19 infections through every individual living inside or outside the city. Dr H Zulkieflimansyah, Governor of Nusa Tenggara Barat Province, Indonesia, talked about various innovations introduced in Indonesia for effective governance. One such initiative is an app called NTB Care, which helps the government to capture, understand, and respond to public grievances in real-time. Dr Ir H HerwinYatin, Mayor Regent of Banggai Regency, Indonesia, displayed in his presentation how the region handled economic impact of COVID by giving incentives and stimulus to small and mid-sized enterprises that deeply affect the economy.
Marcelino Pandin, Board Member, Telekomuniktheasi, Indonesia, talked about how COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalisation of social fabric around the world. He said that structural transformation is a prerequisite to recover and grow in the post-COVID world. For smart city development, he added that essential parts involve careful procurement program and cyber and network security.
The webinar consisted of other eminent speakers including Dr Slamet Soedarsono, Deputy of Politic, Law, Defence and Security, Ministry of Planning; and Datuk Seri Hj MahadBinCheNgah, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was moderated by Dr Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, Secretary-General, UCLG-ASPAC.
NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India last year, has been classified as a variant of global concern.
Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of COVID-19 response at WHO, said during a press briefing that there is some available information on the Indian variant to suggest of it having increased transmissibility. She added that the information collected so far will help in work on public health and social measures, but there is need for more targeted sequencing to limit the spread of the virus. The Indian Council of Medical Research has said that the variant is highly transmissible. Dr Samiran Panda, Head, Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, ICMR, said that the variant was firstly reported from India but it was simultaneously also reported in other parts of the world. It may be highly transmissible, but there is no clinical data to show that it is highly virulent. According to WHO, the predominant lineage of B.1.617 variant of coronavirus was first identified in India in December 2020; although, an earlier version of this variant was spotted in October 2020. This variant has already spread to other countries, prompting many nations to cut or restrict movement from India.
Pune ranks first, Delhi at bottom in health infrastructure
NEW DELHI: As per a report by Housing.com, Pune ranked first and Delhi-NCR at the bottom among eight major cities measured on the parameters of health infrastructure including number of beds, air-water quality and sanitation. Housing.com released its report titled ‘State of Healthcare in India’ on May 12.
The report ranked the health infrastructure in the country’s most urbanised cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune. The rankings were analysed on the basis of various parameters such as number of hospital beds per 1000 people, air quality, water quality, sanitation, and liveability index.
The report mentioned that when it comes to health infrastructure, Pune is the most equipped city in India which offers 3.5 hospital beds per 1000 people. This number is higher than the national average. It added that India has the lowest number of doctors (0.86) per 1000 people, while other major economies have between 2-4 doctors per 1000 people. India’s financial capital Mumbai and its metropolitan region (which is also the largest residential real estate market in the country with a transactional value of $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021) were ranked fourth on the Housing.com City Health Card, with parameters such as the number of beds, air quality, and liveability pulling its overall score down. With almost 3.2 hospital beds per 1000 people, Ahmedabad ranked second in the list and Bengaluru, third, despite its top ranking in the ease of living index. Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata have ranked fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
96% Britons develop antibodies after one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
NEW DELHI: A report published in The Guardian states that a research found that over 90 per cent of Britons developed antibodies against coronavirus after one dose of COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca or Pfizer). It added that almost 100 per cent develop it after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers from the University College London (UCL) found that both the vaccines were equally efficient in triggering antibodies against the virus. Dr Maddie Shrotri, Lead Author, said that this is one of the earliest real-world vaccine studies in the United Kingdom (UK). Almost 9 out of 10 adults in the UK who were administered with either Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine produced antibodies against the novel coronavirus within a month of the first dose. The findings were analysed on the basis of 13,232 antibody samples provided by 8517 adults from England and Wales in the trial. The participants did not have antibodies before they had their first dose of vaccine. The UCL Virus Watch project team found that the vaccines stimulated the production of fewer antibodies in older people than the younger ones. However, after the second dose, the antibodies were uniformly produced in people of all ages. Professor Rob Aldridge,
Chief Investigator, UCL Virus
Watch, said that data shows that for older adults and for people with premedical conditions, the antibody response is a little weaker after the first dose of vaccine but was strong after the second dose. He added that this is a reminder of getting the second dose of vaccine and also that the vaccines are our only way out of the pandemic.
Centre drops plasma therapy from COVID-19 treatment guidelines
The Government of India announced the revised clinical guidance for COVID-19 treatment on May 17 along with its decision to drop the off-label use of convalescent plasma. This was done because plasma therapy has been found to not be beneficial in reducing the severity of coronavirus. Plasma therapy includes transfusion of COVID-19 antibodies from the blood of a recovered patient to the one being treated. This decision came after a meeting of Indian Council of Medical Research -National Task Force for COVID-19, which took place on May 14.
Delhi to set up 300 MT capacity oxygen pants for third wave: CM
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Government of NCT of Delhi will buy oxygen tankers and will set up 300 metric tonnes (MT) capacity of pressure swing adsorption oxygen plants. The Delhi government will also set up beds in order to prepare the capital for another potential wave of COVID-19 as the current wave is seeing a downward trend. Chief Minister Kejriwal said that the meeting was held on May 18 to decide on the steps to be taken to control the predicted third wave and prepare the city to be able to handle the increased caseload during the same.
