On Janaushadhi Diwas this year (i.e., March 7th, 2022), Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stated that the poor and the middle-class benefited from the 'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' that were set up to provide generic drugs at affordable prices. He said that the poor and the middle class saved around Rs.13,000 crore through these stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of COVID 19 crisis, the 'Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India'...

-The Telegraph India’s decarbonization targets as laid out at COP26 may require enhanced funding The Union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, made energy transition and climate action focal points in this year’s budget. The ministry of environment, forest and climate change secured an allocation of Rs 3,030 crore. Yet, the question as to whether the financing would be adequate to ensure a timely transition to a sustainable environment stands. At COP26 held in Glasgow,...

-The Hindu The primary responsibility of the legislature is to fulfil the aspirations of the people, and lawmakers should ensure that laws are enacted only after thorough debate and discussion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Monday. Mr. Birla made these remarks while inaugurating the 8th India region conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) at Assam Legislative Assembly. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh,...

-The Hindu The increase in temperature would reduce the quality of harvested wheat since it thrives in cold weather Unusual warm weather conditions, accompanied by a prolonged dry spell in Punjab and Haryana have left farmers and experts anxious, who fear that prevailing climate conditions would not just harm the quality of the ready to harvest wheat crop, but could also delay and increase the cost of cultivation for sowing cotton, the...

-The Hindu Post-COVID learning for children should be accelerated, says World Bank’s Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra. World Bank’s Global Director for Education Jaime Saavedra was in India last week to meet Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and governments of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to discuss concerns over learning losses for children due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for concerted efforts to bridge these gaps. In a sit-down interview...