-The New Indian Express Lists Kerala and north-east states as vulnerable spots for outbreak BENGALURU: A recent study has revealed that the global ‘hotspots’ where the new deadly coronaviruses may emerge, driven by global changes in land use by humans. While China tops the list, the study mentions India’s Kerala and North-East states as vulnerable hotspots. The study ‘Land-use change and the livestock revolution increase the risk of zoonotic coronavirus transmission from...

-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...

-IndiaSpend.com Migrant workers in different states have been struggling to find work, wages and rations, say activists and researchers. The Public Distribution System must be universalised, they say, and free rations must be provided for at least six more months. Bengaluru: Sudhir Paswan, 29, is back to square one--in his village in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, counting his losses. It has been more than a week since he returned, after failing to secure...

-The New Indian Express Rajesh Aggarwal's Akash plant in Bhimpura near Rampur Industrial Area in Kota earlier produced all kinds of gas materials and supplied them in the local market. JAIPUR: Bold individual efforts have stood in good stead for oxygenstarved Rajasthan. An entrepreneur in the academic coaching city of Kota has found a unique way to tackle the crisis. He has got his factory converted into an oxygen plant in a...

-IndianSpend.com Recent changes to environment clearance rules allow polluting industries to expand their operations and change their product mix without full central scrutiny. This may weaken the already poor compliance with environmental regulations and could even lead to industrial accidents like the 2020 Visakhapatnam gas leak, experts say. New Delhi: Recent changes in the environment clearance process for India's most polluting industries will allow them to expand their capacity and change their...