With the outbreak of Coronavirus reported from China, India has started taking precautionary measures, and begun screening passengers of selected flights. “As of 21st January,
As the coronavirus outbreak in China continues to claim lives, India has stepped up its precautionary measures. The cabinet secretary on Monday reviewed the situation along with the
A third positive case of Novel Coronavirus has been reported from Kerala, even as the Indian authorities stepped up their efforts to meet the challenge of the virus outbreak from China. On the dire
India is making an all-out effort to save a billion-plus people from the outbreak of COVID-19, bringing most parts of the country under curfew and lockdown, as the number of people affected by the
The lockdown in most parts of India was extended Tuesday night to the whole nation – for 21 days, bringing life to a standstill in the subcontinent. Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday ev
As the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the economy, the government on Tuesday came out with a package to provide relief to various sectors of the economy. Addressing the press thro
Sixteenth March at Hammurabi & Solomon Partners was a usual Monday at work with colleagues starting the week on a turbo-mode. But this Monday was different. It had something unusual about it.
Scare following the outbreak of Covid-19 has led some people to turn to vigilantism, harassing people at the frontline of fighting the disease and keeping the country running amid the lockdown.
As the nation battles the Coronavirus outbreak, a billion-plus population is confined at home in the 21-day lockdown, and this is leading to mental health concerns. “It is a t
In the thick of battle with the deadly coronavirus, India on March announced a 21-day lockdown till April 14 in its bid to control the spread of virus which has so far led to 10 people’s deat
As COVID -19 cases continue to rise amid a 21-day lockdown, the centre and the states are proactively taking measures to provide aid to the underprivileged and the needy during this unprecedented s
Covid-19 may turn out to be the last straw that broke the camel’s back so far as the real estate sector is concerned. It broke out at a time when pundits were estimating the GDP to be hoverin
To take speedy decisions on research and development for Sars-Cov-2 virus and COVID-19, the government has constituted a Science and Technology Empowered Committee. The committee, se
In a bid to break the “chain of transmission” of the deadly Covid-19, India, a country with more than 1.3 billion population, observed a voluntary ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 2
Demobilization, like its predecessor – demonetization, is another decision gone bad in implementation. In both instances a careful public administrative action through its governance sy
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, people of India have realized their collective strength, prime minister Narendra Modi said in a short video message Friday morning. He also urged people to lig
In view of the increasing number of COVID -19 cases in the country, the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) has now advised that everyone must voluntarily wear a mask and especially those
Contrary to the perception that the elderly are more at risk from Covid-19, in India as many as 41.88% of corona positive cases are between 21 to 40 years of age. Also, 32.82% positive cases are be
As Indians switched off lights in homes and lighted lamps and candles Sunday night following prime minister Narendra Modi’s appeal as a gesture of solidarity in the fight against COVID-19, th
Maharashtra has emerged the epicentre of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak in the country with Mumbai reporting the highest number of cases in the state. With more and more healthcare providers gettin
Amid exceptional circumstances of COVID-19 outbreak and the 21-day nationwide lockdown, authorities are trying to discourage spread of rumours and misinformation through social media.
This article originally appeared on the ORF website: https://www.orf
COVID-19, the virus that began its world tour from a city in central China, has spread around the planet. As of April 11, this pandemic has caused over 1.6 million cases and the death toll as cross
As the centre and states grapple to contain Novel Coronavirus pandemic on war footing, the urban local bodies are in a rush to stem the disease. The administration is challenged for timely opportun
Less than a year ago, Odisha, one of the poorest states in India, had shown the world how preparedness and efficient management could minimize human casualties. Before the category 4, severe tropic
As the 21-day lockdown comes to an end on Tuesday, prime minister Narendra Modi announced that the restrictions meant to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus were now extended till May 3, followin
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has assured the large number of migrant labourers who are getting anxious to return to their homes that the fight against the Covid-19 virus is being fou
With Ramzaan expected to begin from April 24-25, when the Muslim community will observe dawn-to-dusk fast for the month, Muslim scholars and imams of masjids across India have come out with guideli
Whatever may be the reason behind US president Donald Trump’s irksome statement against India and then within 24 hours correcting it by making placatory remarks for prime minister Narendra Mo
India on Monday began relaxing some of the movement restrictions in place since the lockdown began on March 24 in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, mostly in safe areas outside the containment zon
When Javed Sheikh and his mother Khadija set out from Mumbai for a week-long trip of Kashmir, they could not have imagined it would turn out to be much longer than a week, and they would have a gli
This analysis originally appeared on the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) webs
As the lockdown to halt the spread of Covid-19 continues into its second month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray believes it’s high time some relief is granted, with precaut
Prime minister Narendra Modi has hailed India’s fight against Covid-19 as people-driven, and also urged people to use the occasion as an opportunity to look at our lives with a fresh perspect
As India entered the last week of the extended lockdown to counter Covid-19, prime minister Narendra Modi and his key cabinet colleagues held a video conference with the state chief ministers Monda
The Maharashtra government will provide free testing, treatment and meals to Covid-19 patients in civic and state government-run hospitals in the state. With the number of Covi
In his interaction with Indian overseas students from the UK, Canada, Singapore, Europe and Australia through video-conferencing on April 26, union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gad
Taking note of many cases of distribution of commercial baby foods as part of Covid-19 pandemic ration support, the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) has raised an alarm and said that
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned that after opening up if you are forced to shut down it would that be devastating for economic activity as it would create a trust deficit. It would
Aiming to stop the spread of coronavirus, the central government has decided to further extend the lockdown, scheduled to end on May 3, for two more weeks. After a comprehensive revi
At a time when countries around the globe are trying to save human lives from the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, addressing other issues, for example, containing the economic distress caused by it, is
In slums like Govandi in Mumbai people live in tin and tarpaulin structures of 5x5 feet or a maximum 8x10 ft. These duplex homes with open toilets have no windows, kitchens and bathrooms. Even brin
Fear is the Indian bureaucrat’s best friend. As the fear of Covid-19 grips people, an opportunity has arisen—for the regulatory inspectors to make the country dance to their tunes. Taki
In the current times, every country across the globe is engaged in a battle against Covid-19. The architecture of a country`s constitution influences it’s response to this pandemic – au
As India battles Covid-19, the centre is placing under scanner the two western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat which have an unusually high number of infections. Health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan
As Maharashtra leads the country in the number of Covid-19 infections with the financial capital Mumbai remaining the most affected city, the state government has replaced the high-profile municipa
In line with various notifications by the department of cooperation during the Covid-19 pandemic to maintain social distancing in cooperative societies the Commissioner, Co-operation and Registrar,
In a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Association of Medical Consultants (AMC) Mumbai, a body of specialist doctors in Mumbai, has said that unless the government controls the spread Covi
There are two sides to the coin of the Covid-19 disaster. The heads is the heads; i.e., lives of the people. The tail side is the economic damage sustained by almost every sector. In other words, t
As the world’s most extensive and arguably strictest lockdown completes 50 days, India remains in double mind: there are good arguments for and against extending the movement restrictions. Th
As India has remained locked down for 50 days and counting, children – about 40% of the population – have come to bear the burden in ways that are yet to be acknowledged, finds a survey
An image that captured the plight of migrant labourers leaving cities and walking to their homes on foot – the image of a woman walking on, pulling a suitcase behind her on which her child is
The World Bank has come to the aide of the government of India for an ‘Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme’ that will support the country’s ef
India has decided to extend the lockdown, in place since March 24, once again – till May 31 now – though with more and more relaxations, even as the number of infections in the country
Eighty-eight Nobel laureates and world leaders have come together as part of ‘Laureates and Leaders for Children’ and called for the global attention towards children during Covid-19 lo
Sapio Umbrella, a unit of government advisory firm Sapio Analytics, has received support from Nobel Laureates Dr Michael Levitt and Colonel H R Naidu Gade in form of advisory engagement in strength
In the battle against Covid-19, India has managed to keep the mortality rate low at 0.2 deaths per lakh population, compared to some 4.1 deaths for the same population worldwide. Moreover, a total
As India begins to learn to live with Covid-19 and come out of nearly two-month long lockdown, regular train services are set to resume from June 1 in a graded manner, even as more ‘shramik&r
India, completing about two months of lockdown to protect against the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, has made good use of the time to improve health infrastructure, the government has said.
Even as humanitarian support is pouring in to help distressed migrants amid Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown, civil society organizations and NGOs are working for sanitation of community toilets
For the rest of the world, it is not easy to understand China when it comes to politics or economics. Under pressure from the international community, it has accepted to open the country for a &ldq
Before the novel coronavirus hit it, Mumbai about 10-12 lakh labourers from elsewhere had made it their home. The figure for the state of Maharashtra was another 18-20 lakh. As the pandemic spread
Close to 48 lakh migrant labourers have been able to reach home from the cities they were working in, as the Indian Railways have run a total of 3,543 “Sharmik Special” trains from May
India is determined to “set an example” for the rest of the word in the post-pandemic economic revival, prime minister Narendra Modi has said, underling the need to become self-reliant.
When the whole world is fighting COVID-19, food and nutrition security has become a major issue. The pandemic has aggravated the existing food crisis in India, especially in rural and tribal region
With Lockdown 4 ending Sunday, the home ministry has issued new guidelines to fight COVID-19 and for phased re-opening of areas outside the Containment Zones. The guidelines, issued based on extens
Even as Mumbai fights challenges posed by COVID-19 on multiple fronts and as the coronavirus cases continue to rise daily, the city now faces a double whammy with the cyclone ‘Nis
As part of her work Dr Azmera Sheikh, would often visit the municipality office and ward offices for meetings with officials for Covid-19 patients, do thermal screening at multiple containment zone
Coronavirus is the proverbial last nail in the coffin of globalization. Following this pandemic, we shall be constrained to live in a changed world. The claims of global solidarity and intern
The corporate sector around the world is expected to suffer losses in revenue worth USD 5 trillion, according to a report prepared by Fitch Ratings. “
Even as public health authorities have been struggling hard to meet the unprecedented crisis, the Covid-19 has also exposed glaring weaknesses in the system, and it is the National Human Righ
Respected Narendra Modi ji, Let me take this opportunity to compliment the Government of India for managing the Covid crisis diligently. Being a novel virus with
This is the story of a man who worked hard to improve the life of a metro which failed him when his own life was at stake. This is the story of a citizen activist whose life could not be saved due
How does video-conferencing affect us mentally, behaviourally and physically? Is it counter-productive? Do we have the technological infrastructure to facilitate this transition from the physical t
“I used to work as a part-time maid, but since the lockdown began, my employers have told me there is no need to come. I have no children, no other source of income, how will I su
The rating agency Fitch Ratings on Thursday revised the Outlook on India’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘Negative’ from ‘Stable’ while aff
Wild plant species used in herbal treatments of Covid-19 are set to come under heightened harvesting pressure, as a result of both increased demand and more people turning to wild harvesting as an
As the national capital continues to report a record number of Covid-19 cases, the centre and the AAP government have decided to make a fresh start to contain the spread of the outbreak.
Fifty-seven minor girls have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a state-run children’s Shelter Home in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, with five of them pregnant and one HIV posit
The PM CARES Fund Trust has allocated Rs. 2,000 crore for supply of 50,000 ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators to government-run Covid hospitals in all states and union territories (UTs). A sum
Battling the novel coronavirus outbreak, India has significantly ramped up the testing facilities, with more than 2 lakh samples tested in the last 24 hours – the highest so far, an official
In an attempt to revive the economy hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has decided to bet on infrastructure development in a big way. The union cabinet chaired by prime min
With the number of Covid-19 cases gradually coming down to single digits in Asia’s largest slum sprawl of Dharavi which has population density of 2,27,136 persons per sq km and Worli hot spot
Amid extra precautions to curb the spread of pandemic in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has clarified that there has not be any ban on domestic helps, drivers and other service providers enteri
For all intents and purposes, India is going to reset its relations with China and a subtle hint to this regard has been given by the Narendra Modi government after the deadly June 15/16 night face
The launch of India’s first human space mission, ‘Gaganyaan’, will not be affected by Covid-19 and preparations are going on in the right direction even amid the pandemic.
Democracy in India is now taken for a fact, with an unstated assumption that all our institutions are democratic and hence often our successes and more often failures are attributed to ‘democ
Even as Unlock enters the second phase, the number of Covid-19 infections continues to rise to record levels and India remains No 4 in the worldwide list, yet there is glimmer of hope: its recovery
In a first, the Department of Home Science, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidayalam (Women’s University) Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, recently organized an international webinar on “Nutrition
Half way through the year 2020, it has been a tough time all around the world: Covid-19 epidemic, loss of lives, economic hardships and also numerous other problems – natural disasters an
India has achieved a significant milestone as the number of Covid-19 tests conducted in the country so far has crossed the 1 crore milestone. This signifies the importance accorded to widespread te
With the Covid-19 pandemic pushing more online activity and the capacity usage of data centres going up, India’s largest data centre (DC) building and the biggest tier-IV data centre, Yotta N
As part of the four T strategy of trace-test-track-treat, Mumbai – the most affected city in India – has decided to make Covid-19 tests accessible to all. The municipal c
The BrihanMumbai municipal corporation (BMC) has countered Maharashtra leader of opposition Devendra Fadanvis’s suspicions of fewer Covid-19 tests, as it outlined various measures it has adop
India would play a leading role in the global revival, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, as he addressed the inaugural session of India Global week via video-conference.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted economies and healthcare systems across the world. Even in the countries, like the US, that have the highest spend on healthcare and public health emergency prep
Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu has urged the people to introspect on the life during the last few months under coronavirus induced confinement and assess if they have learned the right lessons and
Though India remains the third-most affected country in terms of Covid-19 infections, the situation seems to be improving as the number of people who have recovered from infection has rose to 5,34,
While India’s Covid-19 recovery rate has improved to 63.02%, there are 19 states that are doing better than that. They are led by the national capital, Delhi. Here is a list of
In the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, travelling can be hazardous, but the railways have come up with new coaches designed to help the passenger avoid the risk of infection to the maximum extent.
(Update: The state government has announced a lockdown in Ganjam, Khordha, Cuttack and Jaipur districts and Rourkela municipal corporation from 9pm of July 17 till July 31.)
While India has crossed the one million mark in Covid-19 infections, remaining among the top three affected countries (along with the US and Brazil), its actual load of active cases is only a third
Project Mumbai, a volunteer-led non-profit, has been selected by the UN SDG Action Campaign as one of the global recipients for the Solidarity Award, a special call from the annual
Manju Jeena, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) from Kandalei village of Khurda district, Odisha, has been working tirelessly to support COVID-19 related activities and ensure that her com
While India remains one of the most Covid-19-affected countries, its recovery rate continues to improve with the total number of patients who have returned home touching 7,24,577.
India is emerging as the second most Covid-19-affected nation, after the US but ahead of Brazil, going by the weekly average of fresh infections, yet there is hope in the record number of recoverie
As many as 57% people in slums and 16% in non-slum areas have had exposure to Novel Coronavirus, according to a serological surveillance survey for SARS-CoV2 infection jointly commissioned by NITI-
The continuing spread of COVID-19 has emerged as the biggest roadblock to development in 2020. Citizens across the globe have been breathing an air of panic, fear, and confusion, not knowing what l
As part of its 3T strategy of focusing on testing, tracing and treating to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, India crossed a landmark, testing 2,02,02,858 COVID-19 samples so far. This
The most joyous moment of a woman’s life is to breastfeed her baby for the first time. Breast milk is the foundation to build a strong bonding between mother and child and must not be missed
Even as India continues to record more than 50,000 new Covid-19 infections every day for a week now, there was some hope in the rising number of recoveries as well, with a drop in the case fatality
Advertising veteran Sam Balsara has lamented the lack of support from the government to the industry and said that it has completely ignored the sector. Balsara, the founder, chairma
India has been registering more new cases of Covid-19 infection than any other country for the past seven days, yet its rigorous push on testing and thus on early identification is bearing fruits,
More than 3.04 crore masks of N95 variety and more than 1.28 crore personal protection equipment (PPE) kits have been distributed by the centre to states and union territories (UTs) as part of thei
India is focusing on relentless testing, as part of its strategy of ‘Test, Track and Treat’, as the number of Covid-19 tests conducted in a day has risen to cross 8 lakh a day.
India remains one of the worst Covid-19-affected countries, but the number of new infections has dropped after a while, even as the recoveries are rising, going by Monday’s official bulletin.
As the lockdown and movement restrictions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic come to hurt economic activities, India’s electricity demand is set to drop by 4% during the financial year
On July 31, a few days after the central government announced the Unlock 3 guidelines, Odisha made public its own guidelines. Though the weekend shutdown will continue till August end, markets have
India has been for some time leading the world in terms of daily fresh Covid-19 cases, but the number of recoveries is also rising and so is the number of tests. As on Thursday, the
A consistently increasing number of recoveries has pushed India’s Recovery Rate amongst the Covid-19 patients to nearly 75%. With the recoveries of 57,989 patients in the 24 h
According to the American Heart Association, ‘cardiovascular disease’ refers to a number of conditions including heart disease, heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat) and
The Covid -19 havoc has raised concerns of economic revival, following social distancing norms in crowded public transport, challenges of online learning specially for the poor, migrants and inform
Fitch Ratings in its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO) expects global GDP to fall by 4.4% in 2020, a modest upward revision from the 4.6% decline expected in the June GEO. The recovery in econom
Film buffs turned to small screens when the lockdown, enforced by Covid-19, began in March. After a gap of more than six months, they can now look forward to watching films on big screen, as
As Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari went sarcastic and wrote to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, asking him if he had turned ‘secular’ – an epithet he hated, as the plac
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday had virtual meetings with three teams working on developing and manufacturing vaccine for COVID-19. These teams are from Gennova Biopharmaceut
The supreme court has upheld the advisory of the AYUSH ministry in its judgement of December 1, 2020 and permitted use of homoeopathy medicine as add on to standard care in COVID-19 treatment, mini
India and the Pandemic: The First Year Essay from The India Forum Orient BlackSwan, 335 pages, Rs 695 It’s about time for the first ann
Blaming the opposition leaders for flouting Covid-19 norms and leading to a resurgence of infection in Mumbai, Mayor Kishori Pednekar has said that they are setting bad examples and pushing the cit
New ‘variants of concerns’ (VOCs) and a new double mutant variant of the Novel Coronavirus has been detected in India, the health ministry said Wednesday, though they may not be behind
The CoWIN system, the overarching digital platform for citizens seeking appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine, is introducing a new four-digit security code” in the application from Saturday t
India is battling the second wave of Covid-19 and infections are spreading into the interiors of the country, says Dr Anurag Bhadouria, National Spokesperson, Samajwadi Party. It is precipitated by
In Maharashtra, the epicentre of India’s devastating second wave, several NGOs and civil society organisations have been at work to combat the pandemic – by spreading awareness about pr
Expressing regret that despite being the largest producer of vaccines in the world things have fallen apart in India, Ashok Seth, a Padma Bhushan awardee and chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Instit
As the second wave of Covid-19 seems to recede from the big cities, the focus is on the rural side. That is where more and more cases are coming up and that is where health infrastructure is especi
The second wave of the pandemic is fast entering rural areas. About 40% of the total cases are being reported from rural areas and infected villagers living in the peripheral areas of cities are tu
While the whole country is battling the second wave of Covid-19, Bhoyare Khurd, a small village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, has used the tools of widespread public awareness, following C
The Mumbai civic authority has received eight bids for its global tender to procure vaccines, though it has also extended again the deadline, to June 1. Amid woeful shortages of vacc
* If I have contracted Covid, after how many days can I get myself vaccinated? * Can people with allergies get vaccinated? * Can pregnant women take the vaccine?&n
In view of the novel coronavirus undergoing mutations in different geographies and displaying increased transmissibility and potential reductions in monoclonal antibody response, the Maharashtra go
Dr. Praveen Kumar, director, department of pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, talks about various issues including impact of Covid-19 on children, the need to protect them, a
As many as 86.64% citizens of the city of Greater Mumbai have antibodies, according to the fifth sero-prevalence survey. Among the people who are fully or partially vaccinated, the antibodies were
After reports of Omicron, a new potentially contagious variant of coronavirus detected in South Africa, Belgium, Hong Kong, Britain and Israel, more European countries have reported cases, raising
Saturday Stories By Rashmi Bansal HarperCollins, 176 pages, Rs 250
A study by a consortium of eleven institutes, led by scientists from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, compares the immunogenicity of Covishield(™) and Covaxin&re
