-The Indian Express Scientific estimates suggest that without social distancing measures, the reproductive rate would have been 2.5 people per day, but with the lockdown, we have been able to reduce social exposure by over 75%, leading to an infection rate of around 0.625 persons per day.” New Delhi: Exposing lack of coordination within the government, the Health Ministry has rejected a statement made by the Ministry of External Affairs, which had...

-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...

-Hindustan Times Three main factors are driving food prices higher, according to data from the consumer affairs ministry, as well as a dozen agricultural produce market committees (APMCs), which are state-regulated wholesale points. New Delhi: The prices of key staples, barring cereals, have surged nearly three times from a month ago because of a noticeable supply shock amid the three-week nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, according to official...

-The Hindu 40% of patients with severe respiratory illness lacked travel history, suggest ICMR scientists There was evidence for community transmission — or instances of coronavirus (COVID-19) in patients who had no established contact with someone who had picked up the disease from abroad — from as early as March 22, suggests a research study in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, authored by several ICMR scientists — including its head Balram...