North East - The Purbottar

05 Jun

“The vaccine distribution system should change”: Devi Shetty

editor0 CommentsNorth EastCOVID- 19, Devi Shetty, vaccination

The Covid vaccine distribution system in India should change to achieve better coverage, said Devi Shetty, cardiac surgeon and a member of the national task force set up by the Supreme Court to look into the Covid situation in the country. The Centre, he said, should appoint an agency that will procure all doses of Covid vaccines from the manufacturers and distribute those to the state governments and all hospitals in the country to make the drive successful. “The vaccine distribution system should change. One central agency should procure the vaccines and distribute them to all hospitals across the country,”…

04 Jun

GMAT Exam: GMAC introduces enhancements

editor0 CommentsNorth EastAADHAAR CARD, AWA, GMAC, GMAT

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) has introduced enhancements to the GMAT online exam. Now candidates have more choice and flexibility to bring their best on test day, and confidently meet their business school goals. GMAC is the administrator and owner of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The enhanced online experience further aligns with the test center exam with these features added: (i) Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), (ii) Select exam section order, (iii) Two 8-minute optional breaks, (iv) View unofficial score immediately, (v) Schedule GMAT online exam appointments up to 6 months in advance. Candidates can learn more about the…

04 Jun

US students who took India’s Covaxin, Russia’s Sputnik V, asked to get re-vaccinated

editor0 CommentsNorth East

Since March, over 400 US colleges and universities have announced students get Covid-19 vaccinations, ahead of the Autumn semester but those who have been inoculated with India's indigenous Covaxin or the Russian-made Sputnik V are being asked to re-vaccinate as these vaccines have not yet been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). Rukmini Callimachi reports in the The New York Times that Milloni Doshi, a 25-year-old student from India, who is due to start her master's degree this fall at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, has been administered two doses of Covaxin. Now, Columbia has told…

04 Jun

‘Publicity’: Delhi HC junks Juhi Chawla’s suit against 5G; imposes Rs 20-lakh fine

editor0 CommentsNorth East

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the lawsuit by actress Juhi Chawla against the implementation of 5G network technology in the country. The court ruled the plea was filed to gain "publicity" and that the plaintiffs, Chawla and two others, have abused the process of law. The Delhi High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the plaintiffs. Justice J R Midha said the plaintiffs have abused and misused the process of law and wasted the court's time. The court added it appeared the suit was filed to attract publicity. This was clear as Juhi Chawla…

04 Jun

Alleging ‘harassment’ by Mysuru deputy commissioner Rohini Sindhuri, civic chief Shilpa Nag resigns

editor0 CommentsNorth East

In what comes as an apparent tussle between Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in Karnataka, Mysuru city corporation commissioner Shilpa Nag on Thursday resigned from her post alleging harassment by Rohini Sindhuri, her senior and the deputy commissioner of the district, over coronavirus disease (Covid-19) management. In a press conference announcing her resignation, Nag said, "There is no conducive atmosphere for me to discharge my duties. No one should ever face a situation like this." Rejecting the allegation of harassment as untrue, deputy commissioner of Mysuru district Rohini Sindhuri said, "The Mysuru City Corporation was submitting unsigned and contradictory ward-wise…

04 Jun

Serum Institute of India sought indemnity protection against prosecution

editor0 CommentsNorth EastCovid-19 vaccine, Covishield, Niti Aayog, Serum Institute

Serum Institute of India has sought indemnity protection against prosecution arising from any adverse effects for people taking its Covishield vaccine. The Centre, which has come under severe criticism for the slow progress of inoculation, expects to vaccinate one billion people by the end of this calendar year. Niti Aayog member (health) V. K. Paul had recently said that Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is likely to be available in India from July. The pharma giant could supply around 5 crore doses between July and October, but it has harped on indemnity as a major requirement. Mumbai-based firm Cipla, which is looking…

04 Jun

The state government starts Duare Tran camps to provide financial help

editor0 CommentsNorth EastDuare Tran camps, state government, west bengal

The state government started its Duare Tran camps to provide financial help to people affected by Cyclone Yaas. The government will receive applications from June 3 to 18, field enquiries will be done over the next 12 days and then the beneficiaries, depending on the extent of damage, will receive benefits from July 1 to 8. Taking lessons from alleged malpractices in relief distribution that had snowballed into a major political controversy in the aftermath of Amphan last year, this time the government has taken several precautions to ensure that Yaas relief reaches actual beneficiaries in three coastal districts of…

04 Jun

SC directs CBSE, CISCE to place on record objective criteria for assessment of Class 12 students.

editor0 CommentsNorth Eastcbsc, cicse, SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was happy to note that the government has cancelled the class 12 board exams, and directed the CBSE and CICSE to place on record well-defined objective criteria for assessment of students in two weeks. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari asked Attorney General K K Venugopal and advocate J K Das, appearing for the CISCE, to place on record the parameters within two weeks. We are happy to note that the government has taken the decision to cancel class 12 board exams but we want that the objective criteria…

04 Jun

Rs 20K cr. Covid package for Kerala.

editor0 CommentsNorth EastCoronavirus, Covid-19, Kerala

Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Friday announced a Rs 20,000-crore-Covid package for the state that has seen nearly 26 lakh cases and over 9,200 deaths so far. He said vaccines to all above 18 years would be given free and for that Rs 1,000 crore have been set aside in the package. In his first budget speech, the 57-year-old Balagopal also said: “It would include Rs 2,800 crore for emergency Covid situation; Rs 8,900 crore for those who have had serious issues with their livelihoods; Rs 8,300 crore will be used for providing interest subsidies.”

04 Jun

Covid: Uttar Pradesh clocks all-time low positivity rate.

editor0 CommentsNorth EastCoronavirus, Covid-19, uttarpradesh

Uttar Pradesh has clocked an all-time low case positivity rate of 0.3 per cent on Thursday. The positivity rate has been hovering around 0.5 per cent for the past few days. “UP has been on the forefront of Covid testing. Case positivity rate for past 24 hours was in fact 0.3 per cent which is an all-time low,” said a government spokesman.