The centre has suspended two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and sent show-cause notices to two others on charge of “dereliction” of their duty in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak in the national capital. “These officers have failed to ensure public health and safety during the lockdown restrictions to combat COVID-19,” the government said. Additional chief secretary, transport department and principal secretary, finance department, have been suspended; while additional chief secretary, home and land buildings department, and sub-divisional magistrate, Seelampur, have been asked to respond to the show-cause notices. “Due to the serious lapse in performance of their…
Author: Our Correspondent
Industrialist Anand Mahindra and actor Soni Razdan are among the thousands who are applauding the efforts of Minal Dakhave Bhosale – the virologist behind India’s first coronavirus testing kit. Ms Bhosale is the research and development chief of Mylab Discovery in Pune, the first Indian firm to get full approval to make and sell coronavirus testing kits. The molecular diagnostic company has been successful in creating a kit that can test 100 samples and costs Rs 1,200 – a quarter of the cost of COVID-19 testing kits that India has been importing from abroad. Ms Bhosale headed the team that…
The Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has appealed to all Members of Parliament to contribute at least Rs. 1 crore initially from their MPLADS funds to supplement the Government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to all MPs, the Vice President referred to the extra-ordinary situation arising from the outbreak of COVID-19 and the plethora of measures being undertaken by the Government of India, and other stakeholders, including the private sector to control and mitigate the situation for the people. Highlighting the requirement of the enormous amount of resources-financial, material…
Steve Smith’s two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume. Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon. Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn’t clear Sunday if the IPL will take place…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday sought the nation’s forgiveness for imposing a monumental lockdown on the country, but said “we have to win … and we will definitely win the battle” against the unprecedented menace of coronavirus that has claimed 25 lives in India so far. In his monthly Mann ki Baat radio address to the nation, Modi also praised the front-line workers in the fight against the virus as well as countless workers in the essential services who are ensuring the country doesn’t come to a complete standstill in the 21-day lockdown announced on March 24. “I seek…
The Centre on Sunday asked state governments and Union Territory administrations to effectively seal state and district borders to stop movements of migrant workers during lockdown, officials said. During a video conference with Chief Secretaries and DGPs, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla asked them to ensure that there is no movement of people across cities or on highways as the lockdown continues. “There has been movement of migrant workers in some parts of the country. Directions were issued that district and state borders should be effectively sealed,” a government official said. States were directed to…
Over 450 doctors recruited recently as medical officers in the CAPFs have been asked to join service “immediately” as the forces are ramping up their healthcare setup to combat COVID-19, a top paramilitary officer said on Sunday. Retired medical officers have been “alerted” and modalities are being worked on to hire doctors on contractual service to man the chain of the forces’ country-wide hospitals and quarantine centres that have a combined strength of more than 7,200 beds, ITBP Director General (DG) Surjeet Singh Deswal told PTI. “Over 450 doctors who were recruited as medical officers for all the Central Armed…
The very idea of “using a disease as a weapon” is viewed with repugnance but the international community must remain vigilant as scientific advances are reducing technical barriers that earlier limited the potential of biological weapons, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. The UN chief, in his message on the 45th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention’s entry into force, said that all countries should reaffirm their unequivocal rejection of the use of disease as a weapon, as well as their commitment to a robust international health security architecture that guarantees the maintenance of peaceful and healthy societies around the…
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra has gone up to 193 with 12 more people testing positive for coronavirus, a health official said on Sunday. Out of the 12 new patients, five have been reported from Pune, four from Mumbai and one each from Sangli, Jalgaon and Nagpur, the official said. Mumbai leads in the number of positive patients in the state 77. Sangli has 25 cases, Pune-24, Pimpri Chinchwad-12, Nagpur 12,Kalyan-Dombivali-seven, Navi Mumbai-six, Thane-five, Yavatmal and Vasai-Virar-four each, Ahmednagar-three, Satara and Panvel-two each, Ulhasnagar, Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, Pune rural, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Kolhapur, Gondia and Jalgon one each. One…
The Centre on Sunday asked state governments and Union Territory administrations to effectively seal state and district borders to stop movements of migrant workers during lockdown, officials said. During a video conference with Chief Secretaries and DGPs, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla asked them to ensure that there is no movement of people across cities or on highways as the lockdown continues. “There has been movement of migrant workers in some parts of the country. Directions were issued that district and state borders should be effectively sealed,” a government official said. States were directed to…