-Hindustan Times Besides the apprehension that Mahakumbh could emerge as a superspreader, the incidents are worrying the hoteliers and people related to the hospitality industry in Rishikesh who fear that if tourists continue to test positive in the town, then it may severely affect their business-like last year’s lockdown. Amid the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the state with several instances of a significant number of tourists testing positive especially in...

-The Hindu Notes several instances of govt pressure on media outlets Washington DC: In its 2020 Human Rights Report, the U.S. State Department said the harassment and detention of journalists critical of the (indian) government in their reporting and on social media, has continued, although the government generally respected the freedom of expression. It also said government’s requests for user data from Internet companies had increased “dramatically.” The report, which is submitted each...

-The Hindu The Bank expects public consumption to contribute positively, but pent-up private demand to fade by end of 2021 india’s economy is expected to grow at 10.1% for the year starting April 1, 2021, as the vaccine roll-out drives activity in contact-intensive sectors, as per the World Bank’s South Asia Economic Focus South Asia Vaccinates report. However, given the significant uncertainty around epidemiological and policy factors, real GDP growth could range...

-Scroll.in india was the third-worst performer in South Asia, after Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bangladesh topped the list in the region. india has fallen 28 spots to rank 140th among 156 countries on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index. In 2020, india had ranked 112th among 153 countries on the index. “The index benchmarks the evolution of gender-based gaps among four key dimensions – Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and...

-The Hindu Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru Urban among 10 districts with highest case load The surge in the number of COVID-19 cases has gone “from bad to worse”, said member (health) of the NITI Aayog V.K. Paul on Tuesday as india registered 56,211 new cases in the last 24 hours. Dr Paul said 10 districts across india including Pune (59,475), Mumbai (46,248), Nagpur ( 45,322), Thane (35,264), Nashik (26,553), Aurangabad (21,282) and Bengaluru Urban...