Expired ghee worth ₹5 lakh seized in Indore

Expired ghee worth ₹5 lakh seized in Indore

Indore:24.09.2021

In a joint operation, crime branch officials along with district administration on Thursday raided a godown in Lasudia and seized 656 kg adulterated and expired ghee worth Rs 3-5 lakh. Sources said that the ghee, which was being produced for use at the crematorium, was being sold in villages with small disclaimers in english.

ASP Guruprasad Parashar said that they had received a tip off about the godown of Tradezo company operational in Lasudia acting on which a team of police officials along with a team from administration was sent to the spot and a raid was conducted. “Ghee of Society company was stocked in godown of Tradezo,” said Parashar. TNN

Now, insulin can be kept without refrigeration

Now, insulin can be kept without refrigeration

Kolkata:24.09.2021

A team of scientists, including two from Kolkata, have developed a “thermostable” variety of insulin, which eliminates the need to keep it refrigerated. The development is being seen as a breakthrough in scientific circles, with portability being the biggest hurdle for insulin-dependent diabetics.

The research has been led by two scientists of the Bose Institute and the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) here and two others from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad.

“You will be able to keep it outside the refrigerator for as long as you want, something that will help diabetes patients across the world because carrying insulin along with them was considered impossible all this while,” said Subhrangsu Chatterjee, a faculty member at Bose Institute. 

57% Indians planning trips abroad in 3 mths: Survey

57% Indians planning trips abroad in 3 mths: Survey

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:24.09.2021

With confidence gained post-vaccination, Indians are slowly making their way back to office, but only on a ‘need basis’, with precautions and safety protocols in place, a survey by a consultancy firm showed.

The anxiety over use of public transport decreased a bit in the current Covid wave compared to the first one, said the survey. In the first wave, 73% voted against use of public transport, but now it’s down to 70%. Then, over the next three , 67% of Indian respondents said they plan to limit their use of ride-hailing services.

Travel is catching up with search enquiries for international destinations on the rise. A total of 57% Indians surveyed said they are planning international travel for leisure in the next three months.

It registered an overall decrease in consumer anxiety to 34% in India, while it saw heightened levels in anxiety in US, Australia and UK.

“With the festive season around the corner and lower Covid-19 cases, Indian consumers are showing lower levels of anxiety, resulting in their willingness to increase spending on more discretionary items,” said the survey adding that consumers are seen actively spending on cable TV, clothing and footwear apart from items like electronics, furnishings, alcohol and restaurants.

Only 30% respondents were concerned about physically interacting with a salesperson, which showed increasing customer confidence, the report said. Moreover, 68% respondents said they would like more locally sourced items and 74% purchased from brands that responded well to the crisis.

No technical concern in Covishield cert process, says UK in sign of conciliation

No technical concern in Covishield cert process, says UK in sign of conciliation

Row Likely To Be Resolved Soon: India

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:24.09.2021

Under fire for keeping Covishield-vaccinated travellers from India on a par with the unvaccinated as per the country’s quarantine norms, the UK showed some conciliatory signs on Thursday with the British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis tweeting that neither side raised technical concerns on the certification processes.

“Neither side (India and UK) raised technical concerns with each other’s certification process. An important step forward in our joint aim to facilitate travel and fully protect public health of the UK and India,” Eliis said, in what seemed an attempt to assuage outrage over reports that UK had issues with India’s digital vaccine certification.

The High Commissioner’s tweet came after “excellent technical discussions” with R S Sharma, chairman of the empowered group for Covid-19 vaccine administration and the head of the CoWIN platform. Sharma tweeted: “Echoing his views, this will be instrumental in resuming socio-economic activities between India and UK.” Sharma, however, told TOI, “We have no information to the effect that the UK has some concerns about the certification process of our vaccination programme. Nothing of the sort has been conveyed to me by the British High Commissioner, the UK government or our ministry of external affairs.” The reports that the UK did not have a problem with the WHO-approved Covishield, but with India’s Covid vaccination certification process, intensified the row over the shot being initially out of the list of approved jabs. The India government said it will initiate reciprocal action and commentators pointed out that the CoWIN process was highly reliable with a digital signature and QR code.

It was also pointed out that the UK’s vaccination had faced a security scare over reports that users could “edit” their certificates and that gaps in the application process for EU approval had hit travel to the UK.

The health ministry on Thursday called the UK’s new travel policy “discriminatory” as it does not recognise those vaccinated in India even as Covishield is now on the list of approved jabs. Health secertary Rajesh Bhushan said while the two countries are in dialogue and may reach a resolution soon, India reserves the right to reciprocate in similar manner if the UK fails to recognise vaccinated Indians.

“We’re clear Covishield is not a problem... We have been having detailed technical discussions regarding certification, with the builders of the CoWIN app and the NHS app, about both apps,” Ellis had said in a statement on Wednesday.

INJECTING HOPE

Covid costs add to burden of students headed to UK

Covid costs add to burden of students headed to UK

Himanshi.Dhawan@timesgroup.com

24.09.2021

Delhi-based Aryan D’Rozario, who plans to fly to Oxford University next week, is stressed and confused. This has less to do with joining the new Masters program and more to do with the changes in the UK government advisory for Indians traveling to their country.

“I took Covishield because it was on the WHO’s approved list of vaccines and thought that this would help me when I travel. Instead, I will be treated as unvaccinated by the UK,” said D’Rozario, who is among the 65,000 Indians who have got a UK student visa this year, up 30% from last year.

On September 22, the UK added Indian-made Covishield to the list of recognised vaccines, but it doesn’t recognise the vaccine certificate issued by India. Despite being double vaccinated and undergoing an RT-PCR test before flying, Indians have to go through a 10-day quarantine and take two tests (on day 2 and day 8) before they can continue their trip. While it puts tourist and business travel plans awry, the rules have hit students badly as the quarantine and tests regimen is an additional burden to an already rather expensive course of study.

D’Rozario has been allowed by his university to isolate in his hostel room but has to pay extra for food and lodging for the 10 days. He estimates his expenses will be upwards of 350-400 pounds (about Rs 40,000). “I am just very angry. I find this very unfair that the vaccine administered in India is not being treated at par with that of Europe or the US,” he said.

Ruthvika Bhandari, who is hoping to fly out next week to Greenwich University, has been scrambling for temporary accommodation. The Hyderabad-based doctor was told by the apartment landlord that she could only move in after she finished her quarantine. “The landlord does not want to take a chance so I will have to spend an additional 1,000 pounds (Rs 10,000) for my stay and the three tests,” she said. She is already spending Rs 30 lakh for her course in public health.

Students also complain that testing for Covid has been outsourced to private agencies that are charging heavily. NISAU-UK, an Indian students’ body, said that changes in rules have been the top most worry for the students joining in the August-September session. NISAUUK’s chairperson Sanam Arora said, “Students feel they are being treated like cash cows. They have issues like arranging for dual accommodation and forking out up to 300 pounds (Rs 30,000) for tests. The UK is not a racist country but this policy has not been well thought out at all.” Indian students contribute heavily to the UK economy and the fact that they make the second largest student body — international students contribute 28.8 billion pounds to the country’s economy — seem to have played a part in the British government walking back from its earlier advisory. The advisory did not recognise Indians who had received two doses of Covishield as vaccinated at all. The move was criticised by the Indian government as “discriminatory.”

NOT A SMOOTH TAKE OFF?

On September 22, the UK added Covishield to the list of recognised vaccines, but it doesn’t recognise the vaccine certificate issued by India. Despite being double vaccinated and undergoing an RT-PCR test before flying, Indians have to go through a 10-day quarantine and take two tests before they can continue their trip

₹50k Covid ex gratia for suicides too: Govt to SC

₹50k Covid ex gratia for suicides too: Govt to SC

Cause Of Death Doesn’t Matter, Say Guidelines

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:24.09.2021

The Centre told the Supreme Court that all deaths, including suicides, within 30 days of persons testing Covid-positive, would be treated as ‘Covid death’ cases, entitling their families to Rs 50,000 ex gratia.

Appreciating the government’s decision to extend its helping hand to lakhs of families, the court said on Thursday that India overall has managed to do what no other country has done.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justices MR Shah and AS Bopanna that the government broadened the definition of ‘Covid death’ to bring within its ambit deaths by suicide and also those who died after prolonged treatment for other ailments triggered by coronavirus infection. He also informed that a decision has been taken to disburse the ex gratia from State Disaster Relief Funds (SDRFs).

“Family members of people committing suicide within 30 days from being diagnosed as Covid-19 positive as per ministry of health and family welfare and Indian Council of Medical Research guidelines will also be entitled to avail financial help as granted under SDRF in accordance with the September 3 guidelines issued by National Disaster Management Authority,” the government said.

Death certs given before rules formed can be rectified: Govt

On Wednesday, the Centre had told the SC that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has fixed Rs 50,000 as ex gratia for the kin of Covid victims, which is payable from the SDRF. On Thursday, it elaborated on the decision to broaden the categories of ‘Covid death’. Any person who dies within 30 days of testing positive, either at home or hospital, whatever be the cause of death, would be certified to have died of Covid, it said.

This would extend the ex gratia relief to kin of almost all of 4.5 lakh people who died of Covid even though many hospitals in the past year and a half attributed the deaths to various reasons other than Covid, ranging from heart to lung failure. It would mean the states cumulatively would have to pay Rs 2,250 crore from the SDRFs.

“To make the scope broader and more inclusive, deaths occurring within 30 days from the date of testing or from the date of being clinically determined as a Covid-19 case, will be treated as ‘deaths due to Covid-19’, even if the death takes place outside the hospital/in-patient facility,” the Centre said in its affidavit. “Also, a Covid-19 case, while admitted in the hospital/inpatient facility, and who continued to be admitted beyond 30 days, and died subsequently, shall be treated as a Covid-19 death.” The bench appreciated the Centre’s efforts to deal with the pandemic despite facing many constraints like huge population and financial limitations.

“Under the guidelines any certificate of death issued by hospitals/government authority prior to coming into force of the September 3 guidelines, can be reviewed and rectified and consequently freshly issued. Liberty would be granted to the next of kin of the deceased to raise a grievance before the concerned district level committee that the cause of death of his/her kin was Covid related as per the parameters prescribed in the September 3 guidelines, however, the death certificate issued do no recognises it as ‘death due to Covis-19’ and mentions some other incidental cause in the death certificate issued as the cause of death,” the government said.

It said on such an application, the district level committee would examine the contemporaneous medical records and if it came to a conclusion that the death could be termed as Covid death as per the guidelines, then a fresh Covid death certificate would be issued to entitle the kin to receive the ex gratia. The Centre said that states have been asked to set up district level committees within 30 days.

Reserving its order on the Centre’s proposal, Justice Shah at the end of the hearing said that he had read somewhere the AIIMS director’s statement that the third wave of pandemic is over now and asked the solicitor general whether it was true. As Mehta said that he was not aware about it, the bench said such statements should not be made particularly when many cases were still being detected on a daily basis. It said that people would think that the threat was over and they would not follow the protocol which could be problematic.

The SC bench appreciated the Centre’s efforts to deal with the pandemic despite facing many constraints

No decision yet on Classes I to VIII opening: Minister

No decision yet on Classes I to VIII opening: Minister

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

24.09.2021

In sign that the state government was not in a hurry to resume physical classes for primary and middle school students, school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said that no decision has been taken yet in this regard.

“Private schools have been requesting the government to allow resumption of physical classes for classes1 to  8. But there is Covid scare among parents. Hence, the resumption of classes is still at discussion stage,’’ he said during a meeting with private school representatives in Coimbatore organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Coimbatore chapter.

He said that the demand by private schools for resumption of classes would be conveyed to the chief minister. “Resuming school for classes 1 to 8 would depend on Covid situation,’’ he said. Poyyamozhi said that as and when the Covid situation is reviewed by the state government with health experts, a decision on resuming the classes would also be taken.

The education minister also underlined that schools should not compel students of classes 9 to12, for whom physical sessions have resumed, to attend schools.

Private school representatives who participated in the meeting submitted a memorandum to the minister on issues faced by school managements, which impacted students, parents and academicians. Some of the issues were difficulties faced in online schooling, inability to provide physical education for children, regulatory approvals including building tax and RTO related approvals. He assured that many of these issues are already in deliberation with senior officials as well as the chief minister.

Poyyamozhi urged government and private schools to function in tandem towards providing an equitable education to all students.