-The Hindu It officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant later The government used the term “Indian double mutant strain” in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court just days before it officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant. A May 9 affidavit refers to “Indian double mutant strain” while detailing the steps taken by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology to develop...

-Scroll.in Several reports showed Covid-19 patients in Mewla Gopalgarh village lying under a neem tree as they struggled to find hospital beds. The police in Uttar Pradesh have filed a first information report against the former head of a village for allegedly giving false statements to the media about the coronavirus and spreading rumours to tarnish the government’s image, The Times of India reported on Wednesday. The Times of India and The Wire...

-The Hindu Current price negotiated through bulk orders may not be replicable: Finance Secy The first lot of vaccines were procured by the Centre using PM CARES funds at a higher rate than the subsequent rounds paid for by budgetary allocations, The Hindu has learnt from the response to a Right to Information request by a transparency activist. The Health Ministry response said that the initial 5.6 crore doses of Covishield were bought...

The National Food Security Act 2013 guarantees maternity benefit to the tune of Rs. 6,000/- per child by the Central Government for pregnant women and lactating mothers, barring those who are already availing such benefits while being in regular employment with the Central Government or State Governments or Public Sector Undertakings or under other laws. The NFSA 2013 also legally guarantees free meals for every pregnant woman and lactating mother...

-The Hindu Tamil Nadu tops with inducements worth ₹446.28 crore recovered. The Election Commission on Friday said it had seized cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and other freebies worth ₹1,001.43 crore meant for distribution to voters in the ongoing Assembly elections. “Seizures crossed ₹1,000 crore for the first time in any Assembly electoral process,” the EC said in a statement. Of the total seizures as on Thursday in Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West...