Sunday marked a watershed in India’s battle with the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus outbreak: following prime minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for a “janta curfew”, people stayed
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
TV channels must pay royalty to artists for repeat telecast of their work, says renowned actor, comedian, writer and poet Shailesh Lodha, who is famous for playing the role of Taarak Mehta in the l
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
Richard Rogers, an acclaimed Western architect and author of such books as ‘A Place for all People’ and ‘Architecture and the Fair Society’, wrote, “Architecture i
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
Sections of the news media have degenerated into becoming the pet performing poodle of the government, says Manish Tewari, former information and broadcasting minister and a member of the Lok Sabha
In India, the third most affected country due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the poor and marginalised forest communities have faced the loss of livelihoods, employment, food insecurity and resultant so
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
As the Covid-19 situation continues to improve in India, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has decided to continue the Guidelines for Reopening, which have already done away with nearly all of Loc
Maharashtra’s women and child development minister Yashomati Thakur of the Congress is a member of the legislative assembly, representing Tivasa in Amravati district. She comes from a fam
Maharashtra has extended its lockdown restrictions till 28 February and also announced the reopening of local trains for general public. Soon after his review meeting on resumption o
Mumbai’s dependable mode of transport for its large number of population, the BMC-run BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) bus service, is upgrading and going for a makeover.
With the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases over the past few days in several districts of Maharashtra as well as in the city of Mumbai, stringent measures are making a comeback.
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
Lockdowns following the outbreak of Covid-19 have been a blessing in disguise for air pollution around the world, and 63% India cities marked improvements over 2019. Still, air quality remains a co
Calling for protection of music authors’ royalties and rights, music composer and youth icon Amaal Malik has lamented that labels are not giving credits to original composers nor giving promi
As many as 283 firms were admitted into corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) between April and December last year, as the pandemic and lockdown came to hurt businesses. As
As the number of Covid cases continues to rise exponentially in Maharashtra, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has announced night curfew across the state starting March 28, Sunday. The curfew,
Struggling to contain the spread of Covid-19 infection, the Maharashtra government has imposed a night curfew from 8 pm to 8 am, starting Sunday night. Maharashtra on Saturday repor
As the Second Wave of infections in India shows no sign of relenting, Maharashtra continues to report more than half the new cases, with 43,183 new cases and 249 deaths reported in the 24 hours to
Ruling out reports of NCP and BJP coming together to form an alliance, Nawab Malik, Maharashtra cabinet minister and president of the Mumbai unit of NCP, has said BJP has always made such offers to
As Maharashtra continues to report an increasing number of Covid-19 cases, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has said he is not ruling the possibility of a total lockdown and he will take the decisio
With new Covid-19 infections crossing the peak of the last year, the Maharashtra government has imposed stringent restrictions on movement of people enforcing Section 144 and night curfew in the en
Amid tighter movement restrictions as the city and the state continue to battle a consistently rising trajectory of fresh Covid-19 cases, Mumbai civic authorities on Thursday allowed 24-hour home d
Maharashtra, suffering from a heavy number of fresh cases every day and complaining of vaccine shortage, has replied to the union health minister criticism and blamed the centre for the situation.
With Covid-19 cases continuing to spiral upwards and public and private hospitals running to full capacity, the BMC has appointed nodal officers in all 24 ward war rooms and jumbo field hospitals w
Essential services allowed: 1) Hospitals, diagnostic centres, clinics, vaccinations, medical insurance offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, other medical and healt
Striving to control the deadly second wave of Covid-19 infections, the Maharashtra government has imposed prohibition on the gathering of more than four people as well as night curfew from Wednesda
The Second Wave in India seems unstoppable. The number of daily new cases crossed the 2,00,000 figure on Thursday morning, which is the highest ever anywhere in the world. Most of the burden &ndash
A political war erupted between the centre and Maharashtra over supply of essentials including medicines and oxygen as the state struggles to control the raging Covid-19 amidst scarce health infras
Amid a virulent second wave, as Mumbai scrambles for hospital beds, the civic authorities have said there was no need for panic since 3,685 beds were still available in the city for Covid-19 patien
Refuting any political instability in the state, Jayant Patil, Maharashtra cabinet minister and state president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has said the government is very stable and there
The Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into the tragic incident of oxygen leak at the Zakir Hussain Hospital in Nashik district, in which 24 Covid-19 patients on critical life support have
Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope has said that even as the state is in the phase of gradually easing lockdown restrictions, it is already preparing for a possible third wave. Since it is spe
With the second wave of Covid-19 hitting migrant labourers hard, a delegation of the Working People’s Charter (WPC) met Maharashtra Food and Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal urging him to se
With technology evolving every day, it provides filmmakers ideas to get more creative and an edge to tell more stories. India currently has about 40 OTT platforms and the number is increasing by th
The Government of Gujarat has launched a web portal and a mobile application to facilitate online registration of workers from the unorganized sector by giving them smart cards for availing various
Pitta Rajani, 28, and her family from Kandriga in Vijaywada faced severe difficulties during and after the lockdown last year and had to take a loan of Rs 20,000 from Soubhagya , a moneyl
Starting Tuesday, Maharashtra has relaxed restrictions in 22 out of the 36 districts reporting low case positivity numbers of Covid-19. However, Level 3 restrictions will continue in
Maharashtra has further eased unlock guidelines and allowed shopping malls to remain open till 10 PM every day under specified conditions and children are also permitted there with age proof since
Chetan Bhagat, the best-selling author and columnist who is launching his tenth novel, ‘400 Days’, on October 8, has said that he had maximum nervousness ahead of the launch of his seco
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