-The Hindu Lockdowns alone can’t be effective unless combined with other health measures, says the WHO Chief Scientist. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation, tells The Hindu in an interview that the fight against COVID-19 is likely to be long-term, and Lockdowns alone cannot be effective unless combined with other public health measures. Dr. Swaminathan, who has worked in research on tuberculosis and HIV for 30 years, was...

-PTI/ The Hindu Rs. 13,855 cr. gone towards PM-KISAN first instalment payment More than 30 crore poor people have received financial assistance of ₹28,256 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month to protect them from the impact of the Lockdown. As part of the ₹1.70 lakh crore relief package, the government announced free foodgrains and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens and...

-Business Standard Agriculture is a state subject and the Central government has limited powers to ensure implementation of the guidelines Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called upon state governments to quickly make necessary changes to rules governing their mandis so that direct marketing of farm produce can be done without crowding the markets. Addressing the chief ministers during a four-hour long meeting to discuss the modalities for extending the Lockdown, Modi said...

-Business Standard Food insecurity is on the rise as subsidised food distributed via govt-run ration shops is not easily available to everyone Napoleon once famously said that an army marches on its stomach. Many argue that the present countrywide Lockdown is causing widespread poverty and consequent hunger, making it that much harder for the nation to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, the work of Dilli Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan (DRRAA), Right...

-The Hindu Harvesting and procurement of of food grains form priority New Delhi: Stoppered supply lines with trucks waiting on highways, the ongoing harvest season and procurement of food grains in various parts of the country are some of the issues that will inform the kind of Lockdown the country will continue to have post April 14. Government sources said that smoothening the supply lines that have still to be seamless and the...