-The Indian Express Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an interview with The Associated Press that what needs to be done is to make countries understand that by acting in isolation “they are creating the situation that is getting out of control” — and that global coordination is key. The United Nations chief criticised the total lack of international coordination in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and warned that the go-it-alone policy of many...

-The Indian Express The ministry has also requested the Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority to provide copies of the license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines which the company has claimed will treat Covid-19. Yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd on Tuesday launched what they claimed was the first Ayurvedic medicine to cure Covid-19. However, the AYUSH Ministry has sought details about the medicine and has directed Patanjali and Ramdev to...

-The Hindu School closures also interrupted support mechanisms from which many disadvantaged learners benefit The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in education systems across the world. According to a UNESCO report released on Tuesday, about 40% of low- and lower-middle-income countries have not supported learners at risk of exclusion during this crisis, such as the poor, linguistic minorities and learners with disabilities. The 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report noted that efforts to maintain...

-The Hindu Food security and farmer welfare are intertwined It is ironic that it took a devastating pandemic to force the government’s hand for long-overdue agrarian reforms. Amendments have been made to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The Finance Minister has urged States to dismantle the Agricultural Produce Market Committees. Several long-term changes have been made to the agricultural sector, such as fair pricing and e-trading, along with liquidity measures. The Centre...

-The Hindu Proper implementation of the Right to Information Act is more crucial now than ever before Right to Information (RTI) applications seeking information pertaining to the PM CARES Fund have been stonewalled. No information exists on the official website of the Fund regarding the amount collected, names of donors, expenditure incurred, or details of beneficiaries. The trust deed of the fund chaired by the Prime Minister is not available for public...