-The Hindu Official secrecy on pandemic policies aggravates a crisis In August 2020, the Modi government constituted the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) as a nodal agency on all matters related to vaccine administration and rollout. Asked under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for details of the NEGVAC’s meetings, the Health Ministry, which anchors the expert group, replied that it does not know where the concerned documents...
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Explained: The extent of the oxygen crisis in India, and solutions -Tabassum Barnagarwala
-The Indian Express Amid shortages in a number of states, the Centre has set about plans to import 50,000 tonnes of medical oxygen. Which states are worst hit, why is transportation difficult, and what is the way forward? As India touches 16 lakh active Covid-19 infections, a number of states have reported shortages of medical oxygen for a growing pool of patients in need of oxygen support. India plans to import 50,000...
More »The virus threatens India’s economic recovery again. But don’t panic yet -Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi
-The Indian Express The spectre of lockdowns is looming large once more, and while there are bright spots, there are also risks and uncertainties to watch out for. As India’s economy embarks on a new financial year, a dark cloud is on the horizon: The second wave. Every day brings further reconfirmation that the second wave is no longer a Maharashtra-centric phenomenon. With the daily run-rate of cases surpassing the first-wave peak,...
More »Oxygen alarm bells in Maharashtra, hospital beds running out, shortage of cylinders -Tabassum Barnagarwala
-The Indian Express All 2,214 oxygen beds were occupied over Friday and Saturday in the district, where the positivity rate was 43.8 per cent in the closing days of March. Of a total 15,484 active cases, 4,600 are under home isolation. Aurangabad: A SEVERE shortage has sent the prices of oxygen cylinders soaring across Maharashtra. Aurangabad, where the positivity rates were the highest in the state March-end, is particularly hard hit, with...
More »Tax exemptions and incentives for the corporate sector continue despite reduction in corporate tax rates
Quite often it is argued by mainstream economists that a sizeable chunk of the Union Budget every year is wasted because the Government spends that on food and fertiliser subsidies. The burgeoning size of these two subsidies relative to the entire budget as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) is often used to build the argument that economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country is at stake...
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