Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Mumbai, Apr 15 () Amid the Covid-19 induced lockdown when farmers are struggling to sell their produce and get reasonable prices for them, online sale and trading of agricultural goods across the country can come across a possible solution, says a report. According to a report by credit rating agency Acuite Ratings and Research, the commencement of the rabi harvest season (winter crop) amidst the current lockdown presents a good opportunity for online sale and trading of agricultural goods across the country. While the Central and the state governments have a mechanism of minimum support price (MSP), farmers often are forced to sell their produce in the open market at a lower rate than MSP, given the procurement constraints of government agencies, the report said. It further noted that consumer prices of such commodities are uneven across the country with significant inter-regional disparities in availability. As per the report, a divergent food inflation landscape is a reflection of regional demand-supply imbalances and highlights the need for a pan India agricultural trading market in India. A comparison of the food inflation print among India's 23 states reveals that the February FY20 food CPI ranged between 3.46 per cent (Delhi) and 8.94 per cent (Telangana), this is despite the 7.3 per cent increase in food subsidy allocation to Rs 1.08 lakh crore for FY20, it noted. Further, the report said the primary factor behind supply and price distortions for farm produce in India is due the inherent inefficiency in Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) structure for marketing of agricultural goods in our country. "Clearly, the APMC led market system has made India's agriculture trade highly region centric and discouraged the development of a national agricultural auction platform. In our opinion, this can be addressed by taking advantage of the electronic national agriculture market or eNAM, one of the digital initiatives of the government," Acuite Ratings and Research Chief Analytical Officer Suman Chowdhury said. This can bring significant efficiencies in the farm marketing mechanism, act as an effective tool for fighting inflation or price distortions and also reduce the procurement burden on the exchequer, he added. According to estimates, the share of eNAM in India's total food grain production (including oil seeds) is only 8.6 per cent on average since inception in April 2016. However, it is encouraging to note that both the Central and the state governments are currently urging farmers and traders to utilise eNAM and avoid physical presence at the auction site, the report added. SM DRRDRR

Covid-19 crisis opportunity for agri-marketing reforms: Report

Mumbai, May 10 () The supply disruption from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent decline in domestic solar capacity addition offer a golden opportunity to ramp up local manufacturing of solar modules and cells, according to industry experts.However, the industry feels there is an urgent need for a national vision policy for local solar modules manufacturing as well as ancillary products, in line of solar power generation target of 100 gw by 2022 under National Solar Mission.Till 2011, India controlled 70-80 per cent of global supplies of solar modules, but today the opposite is the case, as 80-90 per cent of modules are imported, as domestic modules are not cost-effective."The COVID pandemic is a wake-up call for us. We must focus on domestic manufacturing but for that to happen we need a long-term business proposition."We've world-class technology, but we don't have scale like China. For manufacturing to succeed, we need a policy framework that ensures long term off-takes at sustainable prices," Tata Power Solar managing director and chief executive Ashish Khanna told .Vikram Solar chief executive Saibaba Vutukuri also underlines the need to focus on local manufacturing."The vision of 100 gw solar capacity by 2022 is fantastic and can be achieved. But to meet the target, there is a need to push local manufacturing so that our dependence on imports comes down," Vutukuri said.Noting that till 2011 India was one of the largest exporters of the best-in-class modules, he said with a strong policy push we can reclaim that position again and we need to learn a lesson or two from China in building scale."Realising the huge potential, China changed its focus from generation to manufacturing of solar modules and set up large plants that offered them economies of scale, helping it lower the cost and capture global market," he said.Chinese government also helped companies with heavy subsidies, which helped them kill competition without much efforts and capture markets that were dominated by India till then, Vutukuri added.Currently, India has an installed solar generation capacity of 34 gw, while the installed module capacity is only 10-11 gw.Domestic manufacturers, including Bhel, Tata Solar, Moser Baer, Indosolar and Lanco, were the pioneers of the industry. However, over the years, due to stiff competition from China some of them could not sustain and some of them are fighting bankruptcy now.New &amp; Renewable Energy secretary Anand Kumar recently called for increased domestic manufacturing capacity to ensure energy security."Till now we've been manufacturing cells, modules, ingots and wafers. But now, we need to go beyond and start manufacturing other ancillary equipment like back-sheets, glass, inverters, transformers, cables etc so that we have an entire manufacturing ecosystem for renewable energy," Kumar had said.To offer a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers, the government had slapped safeguard duty on imports in 2018 and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade is now looking at whether to continue with the duty or not after July, when the high duty regime is supposed to end.The Budget 2021 has imposed a 20 per cent basic customs duty on imported solar cells and modules. But, industry leaders say there is no clarity new customs duty as of now.According to the data from industry tracker Mercom, as of December 2019, Chinese firm Trina Solar was the leading module supplier in India in terms of volume.Chinese firm GCL System Integration Technology is reportedly planning a 60-gw module factory at Hefei in the Anhui province, adding 15 gw each year to 2023."If such plants actually comes up then that will be the biggest challenge for us. If they start dumping this capacity into our market, domestic module manufacturing will become unsustainable," Vutukuri said.Many domestic manufacturers are willing to increase their capacities, but all they need is strong support from the government, concludes the Tata Solar chief. PSK BAL

COVID-19 provides opportunities for domestic solar module manufacturing

Kolkata, Jun 11 () Insisting that the COVID-19 crisis should be turned into an opportunity to create an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said steps have to be taken to ensure that products imported from abroad are manufactured in the country. Addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata over video conference, he said this is the time to make bold decisions and investments for the country to scale new heights. "India's goal of self-reliance has been paramount in the policy and practice of the country. The COVID-19 crisis gave us lessons on how to speed up efforts in that direction," he said. The Prime Minister also said that people-centric, people-driven and planet-friendly development has become part of the BJP-led Central government's governance. "India is fighting multiple challenges along with COVID-19, including floods, locust attack, earthquakes...We have to turn crisis into an opportunity for creating Atmanirbhar Bharat and take steps to ensure that products which we import from elsewhere are manufactured in India," Modi added. DC PNT RMS RDM RDM

Need to turn COVID crisis into opportunity to create Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi

New Delhi, May 2 () Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said bamboo is vital to India's post-COVID-19 economy and the grass will provide an opportunity for the country to strengthen its economy. Addressing a bamboo conclave through video conference, Singh, the Union Minister for the Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER), said the Northeast has 60 per cent of India's bamboo reserves. Bamboo is vital to India's post-COVID-19 economy and the grass will provide an opportunity for the country to strengthen its economy, he said. Singh said it is a great advantage that the Narendra Modi government has over the last six years accorded highest priority to the development of the region and at the same time, it has given the bamboo sector the kind of boost which it had never received since Independence. In this regard, the minister referred to the amendment in the 100 year old Indian Forest Act in 2017, which resulted home grown bamboo being exempted as forest products in order to enhance livelihood opportunities for people through bamboo. The sensitivity with which the Modi government views the importance of the promotion of bamboo, Singh said, is evident from the fact even during the lockdown period the functioning of bamboo-related activities was allowed. The Ministry of Home Affairs on April 16, while allowing limited activities in different sectors, also allowed the functioning of bamboo related activities like planting, process, he said. It is an irony, he said, while the total requirement of 'Agarbatti' in India is about 2,30,000 tons per annum with a market value of up to Rs 5,000 crore, India has been importing a large bulk of it from countries like China and Vietnam. In the post-COVID-19 era, it is an opportunity for the Northeastern region to help India become world competitive and self-sufficient in the changed scenario, he said. In the near future, Singh said, the DoNER will try to work out a time bound plan for promotion of bamboo manufacturing and trade, and also work out feasibility of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in this sector. He said bamboo can be processed into multiple products, including bio-diesel and green fuel, wooden lumbers and plywood, which can change the entire face of the economy and create employment opportunities in multiple sectors. Among those who spoke in the conclave include Indever Pandey, Special Secretary, Ministry of DoNER; Alka Bhargav, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture; and Ramvir Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of DoNER. ACB SMNSMN

Bamboo vital for post-COVID-19 economy: Minister Singh

By Lalit K Jha (Eds: Adding word in intro) Washington, Jun 28 () India's fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic is driven by its people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, attributing the "success" against the pandemic to the implementation of the nationwide lockdown in its initial phase. In an address during the virtual meeting of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) on Saturday, Modi said COVID-19 had been used as an opportunity to work towards making the country self-reliant. This is for the first time that an Indian prime minister addressed the annual meeting of the AAPI, a representative body of more than 80,000 Indian-American doctors in the US. Sharing statistics of various countries, Modi said India had performed much better in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). "As against the death rate of 350 individuals per million in the US and over 600 per million in European nations like the UK, Italy and Spain, the rate of fatalities in India is less than 12," he said. "Uttar Pradesh has been remarkably successful in fighting against the coronavirus," Modi said. "And same is the case with several other states as well." The prime minister attributed this to the support from the people of the country. "Rural parts of the country have largely remained untouched from this pandemic," he said. Without people's cooperation, Modi said, the success would not have been possible in the world's second-highest populated country -- with high density, where social gathering is a norm of life, large religious and political gatherings are regular, and large-scale interstate migration, India defied the fears of the world's topmost experts in this regard, according to Modi. India has been able to save the lives of thousands and lakhs of its citizens because of the timely lockdown, he told the Indian-American physicians. Modi said the COVID-19 pandemic had been used as an opportunity to improve the healthcare facilities. "For instance, at the start of the coronavirus, there was only one COVID-19 testing lab. Now there are 1,000, he said. The prime minister underlined that India, which imported most of its personnel protection equipment (PPE) kits at the start of the pandemic, was now almost self-reliant and in a position to export them. The country is making more than 30 lakh N95 masks per week. More than 50,000 new ventilators are being made available to the healthcare sector, all made inside the country, he added. Modi said he was proud of the achievements and contribution of the Indian-origin physicians across the world in the battle against COVID-19. The Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, echoed the prime minister and said the early lockdown had helped delay the spread of the deadly virus and save lives. Appreciating the role of the Indian-American doctors during COVID-19, Sandhu said: "You are the real heroes who have risked your lives and have been out to assist others." There is a widespread recognition of their contributions in the US, he added. LKJ HMB

India's COVID-19 fight people-driven: Modi

New Delhi, May 17 () Following the COVID-19-induced economic disruptions, up to 135 million jobs could be lost and 120 million people might be pushed back into poverty in India, all of which will have a hit on consumer income, spending and savings, says a report. According to a new report by international management consulting firm Arthur D Little, the worst of COVID-19's impact will be felt by India's most vulnerable in terms of job loss, poverty increase and reduced per-capita income, which in turn will result in a steep decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "Given the continued rise of COVID-19 cases, we believe that a W-shaped recovery is the most likely scenario for India. This implies a GDP contraction of 10.8 per cent in FY 2020-21 and GDP growth of 0.8 per cent in FY 2021-22," the report said. India's COVID-19 tally has crossed 90,000 and the nationwide death toll has touched nearly 2,800 so far. The report titled "India: Surmounting the economic challenges posed by COVID-19: A 10-point programme to revive and power India's post-COVID economy" said the 'collateral damage' of the forecasted GDP slowdown, will be felt most acutely in employment, poverty alleviation, per-capita income and overall nominal GDP. "Unemployment may rise to 35 per cent from 7.6 per cent resulting in 136 million jobs lost and a total of 174 million unemployed. Poverty alleviation will receive a set-back, significantly changing the fortunes of many, putting 120 million people into poverty and 40 million into abject poverty," the report said. "India is headed towards a W-shaped economic recovery with a potential GDP contraction of 10.8 per cent in FY21. An opportunity loss of USD 1 trillion is staring India in its face," said Barnik Chitran Maitra, lead author of the report and Managing Partner &amp; CEO of Arthur D Little, India and South Asia. Maitra further said "for its USD 5 trillion vision, a radical economic approach is needed, centred on an immediate stimulus and structural reforms. The Prime Minister's visionary 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' is a good start to this new approach." The report lauded the steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India, but said a far more assertive approach may be required given the magnitude of the adverse economic output. The report suggested a 10-point programme to accelerate the recovery which include strengthening the 'safety net' significantly for the most vulnerable, enable survival of small and medium businesses, restarting the rural economy and providing targeted assistance to at-risk sectors. It further said the government should launch "Make in India 2.0" to capture global opportunities, build 'Modern India', accelerate Digital India and Innovation, strengthen global investment corridors with the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan and the UK, debottleneck land and labour and transform banking and financial markets in a bid to secure a sustainable economic future for 1.3 billion Indians. DRR MKJ

COVID-19 could cost 135 mn jobs, push 120 mn people into poverty in India: Report

New Delhi, Jul 8 () Packaging major Essel Propack sees "exciting opportunities for growth" as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, with product and people safety driving a big surge in demand in areas like PPEs, sanitation, food and pharma, according to the company's annual report. The company, which developed a tube for packing hand sanitizers within 15 days, said in the last two months it has helped over 50 brands go to market with hand sanitizer products globally. "As we emerge from this pandemic, we anticipate a big surge in demand in areas like PPEs (personal protective equipment), sanitation, food and pharma. Product and people safety will become more important. These represent exciting opportunities for growth, and we're in a great position to seize them," the company said in its annual report for 2019-20. Essel Propack said as the world arose to the criticality of washing their hands several times a day, the company's customers faced challenges in rising to meet the meteoric rise in demand. "Sanitizers were hitherto only marketed in bottles, and this was a seriously limiting factor. So, we stepped up, and in just 15 days, made a difference. We developed a tube for packing hand sanitizers, ideal to carry and use. We were first to market in India, as also in several other countries," the company said. "This got us sizeable business, not to mention immense respect from our marquee clients, whose brands rode on our innovation," it added. Terming it as a "win-win" situation with the potential for sustainable scale and global deployment, it said, "We are now working on more disruptive packaging ideas to democratise access to these critical products for needy masses across the world". "Adversity is, after all, an opportunity in disguise," it said. The company said it has already secured large orders from leading companies globally and has a healthy pipeline for hand sanitizer tubes. The company also fast-tracked regulatory approvals and safety measures to keep its factories running during the lockdowns. Management gestures such as insurance additions and safety protocols were reciprocated by employees' readiness to energetically rise to the occasion, the company said. "The pandemic has spurred several new ideas, including electronic commerce, low-touch relationship building and new ways of remote working that will keep us leaner," it said. However, the company said its business in India passed through tough macroeconomic environment during the year and was also impacted by COVID-19 in the last quarter of the fiscal year. The company operates in 10 other countries apart from India. RKL RVK

Essel Propack sees 'exciting opportunities' in post-COVID-19 world

New Delhi, May 12 () The coronavirus pandemic is like world war and if some funds could be marshalled into certain areas, there could be another wave of innovativeness arising out of a problem just like what happened in World War II or the Cold War, according to veteran industrialist Ratan Tata.The current health crisis is a time to support "our own innovativeness", invest in it and "not dismiss something as being too far out but being something we should look at", said the Chairman Emeritus of Tata group holding firm Tata Sons in an interview on business news channel CNBC-TV18."It is not a world war but it is like a world war. There is a dramatic need for vaccine, there is a dramatic need for solutions and strange things happen," Tata said.He further said, "I think we have to look back and say where so and so innovativeness has its roots. Quite often it has its roots at time of crisis and we have a crisis on our hands today and so there is an issue of throw your hands up, you have this crisis and then there is our own innovativeness, it comes to play, that is a time we need to support to invest, to not dismiss something as being too far out but being something we should look at."On the roles that governments can play at present to support collaborations, he cited the example of the US where new industries have been ushered into with the government providing billions of dollars, "which the private sector would not have been able to do", to support "new technologies and biotechnology or in integrated circuits or in total variety of things"."...if we at a time like this had a way of marshalling some funds in certain areas, we could have another wave of innovativeness arising out of a problem just like we have had in World War II or the Cold War. If you look at the plus side of that, it caused innovation to take place which is perhaps not have happened, it would have taken much longer to do than they have done," Tata said.Reiterating that "this situation does give us an opportunity to innovate", he added, "but it tests us and it involves going through the transformation of looking at a different way to do things caused by shortages in this case or caused by strictures or legislation on the other side. New partnerships, everything is up for grabs."He said the crisis has stretched limit of innovation, which for a few years was thought to be at its limits."But a hard thing to say is that the virus today has an issue of generating those questions and forcing them on us, otherwise we would go along until there was a more enterprising entrepreneur who thought it. I think we have to look at this as an opportunity to do something that is more innovative than we would have done in 2020," Tata said. Stating that R&amp;D is no longer in silos at present, Tata said, "...today successful R&amp;D is multidisciplinary, many things that we see today would not be there if they were in silos today. So maybe there is a new phase of what we have to look at, which today are not silly, they make sense but there is another page to be turned to deliver something that was not considered possible." RKL MKJ

COVID-19 crisis opportunity to support 'own innovativeness': Ratan Tata

Global pharma major Pfizer on Thursday said it remains committed to engaging with the Indian government to explore opportunities to make Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine available in the country. The UK on Wednesday became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 with the UK regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)granting a temporary authorisation for its emergency use. "Right now we are in discussions with many governments around the world and remain committed to engaging with the Government of India and explore opportunities to make this vaccine available for use in the country," a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement. Pfizer is committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to have access to the vaccine, and is working closely with governments, it added. "During this pandemic phase, Pfizer will supply this vaccine only through government contracts based on agreements with respective government authorities and following regulatory authorisation or approval," the statement said. The UK regulator, MHRA has granted a temporary authorisation for emergency use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. This constitutes the first Emergency Use Authorisation following a worldwide phase 3 trial of a vaccine to help fight the pandemic, Pfizer said on Wednesday. "As we anticipate further authorizations and approvals, we are focused on moving with the same level of urgency to safely supply a high-quality vaccine around the world," Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Wednesday. In November, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul, who also heads the National Task Force on COVID-19, had said the arrival of the <keyword id="9655003" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="pfizer-vaccine">Pfizer vaccine</keyword> in the country might take some months. "The arrangement of cold-chains for storing the vaccine developed by Pfizer at a low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius is a big challenge and it will not be easy for any nation. But then, if at all it has to be obtained, we are examining what we need to do...and will work out a strategy," he had said. Currently in India, Pune-based Serum Institute of India has said that it will apply for emergency use licensure for AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in two weeks. Phase-3 clinical trial of the indigenously-developed vaccine candidate of Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is also underway. While vaccine candidate of Zydus Cadila has completed the phase-2 clinical trial, pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories has started the combined phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in India. Another domestic firm Biological E Ltd has also started early phase 1 and 2 human trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-may-reportedly-block-wikipedia-if-the-site-doesnt-delete-the-map-showing-aksai-chin-as-a-part-of-china/articleshow/79541391.cms">India may reportedly block Wikipedia if the site doesn't delete the map showing Aksai Chin as a part of China</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/geo-tagged-bottles-in-the-ganges-river-show-how-plastic-pollution-can-travel-thousands-of-kilometres-in-just-a-few-months/articleshow/79540173.cms">Geo-tagged bottles in the Ganges river show how plastic pollution can travel thousands of kilometres in just a few months</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/trump-h1-b-visa-restrictions-scrapped-by-us-court-spells-good-news-for-indian-and-american-it-companies-alike/articleshow/79531053.cms">Trump's H-1B visa restrictions scrapped by US court spells good news for Indian and American IT companies alike</a>

Pfizer claims its committed to making its COVID-19 vaccine available in India and engaging with the government

<ul><li>The daily <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> cases count is reducing in India. Over the past 14 days, they have been significantly lower than the reported high of 90,000 cases/day in September. </li><li>Experts <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54419959">believe</a> India may have witnessed COVID-19 peak in mid-September. </li><li>However, the onset of the festival season may <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54419959">reverse </a>the recovery seen over the past few weeks in India. </li></ul>Eight months into the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, India has witnessed a steep decline in daily average COVID-19 cases from 86,000 in late September to 64,000 in early October. New cases reported in the last 14 days are below the previous high of 90,000 per day. <div type="image" title="India covid-19 case daily" msid="78528169" hostid="261"></div> There has been no reduction in the number of tests conducted in a day. India is performing 828 tests per day per million population. According to the Health Ministry, new recoveries have been more than the new cases over the last two weeks. Since daily COVID-19 cases are increasing at a diminishing rate, the growth rate has dropped to 1.28% per day. Many states in the country, including Bihar and Tamil Nadu, have less than 1% growth rate. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">COVID-19 timeline </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Average daily cases </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2 to September 8 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">84,179 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 30 to October 6 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">77,113 </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/">Health Ministry</a> The worst is not behind us yet Experts <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54419959">believe </a>India may have witnessed COVID-19 peak in mid-September when it recorded around 93,000 average daily cases. COVID-19 deaths have also declined significantly in most states in the country. However, the festival season is around the corner in India, which may <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54419959">reverse </a>all the recovery seen in the country over the last two weeks. "There is still a lot of forest left for the virus to spread like wildfire. Let us try to keep it as a slow-burning coil. We also want to give our health care system time to replenish, recharge, restock,” Dr Bhramar Mukherjee, a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, told BBC. Moreover, a higher number of tests and lower cases may not be substantial bases to conclude — especially since India has been using rapid antigen tests that have 50% accuracy. "How much of India's declining case numbers have been contributed by these rapid tests, and how much of it is a real slowdown is difficult to say," Dr Shahid Jameel, a leading virologist, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54419959">told BBC. </a> India’s COVID-19 tally is rising So far, India has recorded over 6.5 million cases and over a million deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic. It remains the second-worst hit COVID-19 affected nation after the US. However, India has the lowest mortality rate among the 20 worst coronavirus-hit nations. According to Johns Hopkins University, Mexico has the highest mortality rate of 10.4%, followed by Ecuador at 8.3% and the UK at 8.2%. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Worst hit nations </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">COVID-19 mortality rate </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">USA </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2.8% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brazil </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Russia </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.8% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Colombia </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3.1% </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: John Hopkins University Maharashtra <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/">continues </a>to be the worst-hit with 2,47,468 active cases followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Ten states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, account for 77% of the active coronavirus cases in the country. About 48% of the country’s COVID-19 fatalities have been reported from 25 districts in eight states. "Of these 25 districts, 15 are in Maharashtra alone, two each in Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat and one each in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh," Rajesh Bhushan, secretary in the Ministry of Health, told the media. The World Health Organisation <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/who-coronavirus-covid19-1-in-10-people-infected-worldwide-1728667-2020-10-05">warned </a>of a “difficult period” ahead after stating that every one in ten people in the world has COVID-19 infection. According to Dr. Michael Ryan, the vast majority of the world remains at risk. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/no-coercive-action-against-facebook-india-vp-delhi-assembly-tells-supreme-court/articleshow/78526524.cms">No coercive action against Facebook India VP, Delhi Assembly tells Supreme Court</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/schitts-creek-star-dan-levy-lashes-out-at-an-indian-channel-for-censorship-on-the-show/articleshow/78526614.cms">Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy lashes out at an Indian channel for censorship on the show</a>

India’s COVID-19 infections seem to have peaked — but it is not the time to lower the guard

New Delhi [India] March 30 (ANI): A total of 3016 new <keyword id="8869954" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-cases" source="Orion">Covid cases</keyword> were recorded in the last 24 hours across the country with a daily positive rate of 2.73 per cent, a government release said on Thursday, adding that 15,784 doses of COVID vaccines were administered during the same period. According to the release, 1,10,522 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted so far to 92.14 crores. It stated further that a total of 1,396 recoveries were made from the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 4,41,68,321. It stated that 220.65 cr total vaccine doses (95.20 cr Second Dose and 22.86 cr Precaution Dose) have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive. Further, India's active caseload currently stands at 13,509 with a rate of 0.03 per cent per day and with a recovery rate currently standing at 98.78 per cent. It stated that the weekly positivity rate stands at 1.71 per cent. Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj called an emergency meeting on Thursday afternoon after 300 fresh Covid-19 cases were recorded in the Capital on Wednesday. "Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj will hold a meeting with the officers and specialist doctors associated with the health department this afternoon," officials said. The Special Secretary, Health Department, Director of General Health Services, Nodal Officer for Oxygen and Testing and Medical Directors of several hospitals including Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) will be present in the meeting. The country recorded new 2151 Covid cases between Tuesday and Wednesday with a daily positive rate of 1.51 per cent, an official statement said on Wednesday, adding that 11,336 doses of vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 300 fresh Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Wednesday, marking a sharp uptick in infections over the last 24 hours. According to a bulletin issued by the Delhi Health department on Wednesday, the capital registered two deaths from Covid over the last 24 hours. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued revised guidelines for Covid-19 in the wake of the surge of cases in the past week across the country. "Antibiotics should not be used unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. The possibility of coinfection of COVID-19 with other endemic infections must be considered. Systemic corticosteroids are not indicated in mild disease," revised guidelines said. As per the revised Covid-19 guidelines, maintain "Physical distancing, indoor mask use, hand hygiene, Symptomatic management (hydration, antipyretics, antitussive) Monitor temperature and oxygen saturation (by applying a SpO probe to fingers) Stay in contact with the treating physician. "Seek immediate medical attention if difficulty breathing, High-grade fever/ severe cough, particularly if lasting for more than 5 days. A low threshold is to be kept for those with any of the high-risk features," guidelines discussed and prepared in January said. Additionally, in moderate or severe diseases at high risk of progression, the guidelines recommend, "Consider Remdesivir for up to 5 days (200 mg IV on day 1 followed by 100 mg IV OD for the next 4 days)". SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/moto-g13-vs-realme-c55-mobile-phones-comparison-of-price-specification-and-features/slidelist/99106985.cms">Moto G13 vs Realme C55 – price, specs, and features compared</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/here-are-the-jobs-chatgpt-says-ai-can-take-from-humans/slidelist/99087522.cms">We asked ChatGPT about jobs that AI can take over from humans – This was its answer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-gold-swiggy-dineout-competitor-eazydiner-raises-40-crore/articleshow/99091065.cms">EazyDiner raises ₹40 crore from DMI Alternative Investment Fund</a>

India reports 3,016 new Covid-19 cases, daily positive rate at 2.7%

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In the past week, new daily reported cases in the US rose by nearly 60%, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/">The Washington Post</a>.</li><li><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s number of <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">daily COVID-19 cases</a> has remained around 40,000 throughout July.</li><li>The <keyword id="11357594" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="delta-variant">Delta variant</keyword> is now the predominant <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> strain in the US, according to the <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions">CDC</a>.</li></ul>For the first time since before vaccines were made widely available in America, the <keyword id="6356955" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="united-states">United States</keyword> has overtaken India as the country with the highest daily count of new COVID-19 cases.On July 24, the US reported over <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries">63,000 new cases</a>, while India reported approximately 40,000 new cases. The last time the daily total of COVID-19 cases in the US was higher than that of India was March 30 of this year, according to <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Johns Hopkins' tracker</a>.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html">latest weekly review</a> stated that COVID-19 cases are on the rise in nearly 90% of US jurisdictions, with outbreaks concentrated in parts of the country that have low vaccination rates.Additionally, the Delta variant is now the predominant variant in the US, making up an estimated <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions">83.2%</a> of recent cases, according to the CDC.States like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/newsom-california-vaccine-verification-system-covid-19-mandate-2021-7">California</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-to-require-vaccinations-for-all-city-workers-2021-7">New York</a> have implemented vaccination mandates for certain sectors in order to combat transmissions, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, with only <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations">49% of the country's population fully vaccinated</a>, the Delta variant will continue to spread in areas with low vaccination rates and creates more opportunities for the virus to mutate, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html">CDC</a>.Dr. Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general, said in an interview on CBS' <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-pandemic-vaccines-jerome-adams/">"Face the Nation"</a> that vaccine mandates would be the quickest way to raise vaccination rates, but that won't happen without full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The US once again surpassed India for highest number of daily COVID-19 cases, the first time since vaccines were made widely available

New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) Covid-19 is expected to accelerate digital adoption in India and as online trends take shape, behavioural modification could strengthen, with contactless shopping, payments, and delivery taking hold, according to US financial services house, Morgan Stanley. A research report said 2020 will likely see increasing online penetration in grocery and put a few Super Apps into motion. Digital trends in India are beginning to take hold. India's digital economy is still in the initial phase, but it has witnessed considerable progress over the past five years. Ecommerce penetration touched 3 per cent of India's retail market in 2019, much lower than the 26.7 per cent in China and 22 per cent in the US. Digital payments through a unified payments interface (UPI) started inflecting in 2017 (post demonetization) and were at 9.2 per cent of GDP in 2019, vs zero three years prior. Data usage in the past few years has seen a 'hockey stick' growth, due particularly to high video consumption, Morgan Stanley said. Covid-19 could fast-track some of the developments: India's total online shopper base remains low at 30 per cent of its internet population, versus 78 per cent in China and 70%+ in the US, and has been a limiting factor for growth. "We believe a larger increase in its online shopping base is needed to drive growth in its digital economy. We think Covid-19 has the potential to do just that, at least until a vaccine is widely available, which is currently expected by summer 2021, and beyond that, hopefully these behavioral modifications will become somewhat permanent," the report said. "We have seen the power of online in the past few months as start-ups have helped consumers shop, pay for bills, converse, entertain, and collaborate without much physical contact. We believe that this digital adoption has the power to pull growth forward by a few years in India's internet industry," the report added. In a post-Covid-19 world, India's online shopping population could see a sharp increase, online penetration in grocery could finally inflect as eCommerce and new entrants make a bigger push in this category, digitization of small and medium business (SMB) enterprises could take centre-stage, investments in segments such as gaming, edtech, healthtech, and cloud could increase, another outcome that we think is easy to predict in broad terms, but almost impossible to do so with precision, is changes to the competitive landscape. According to Morgan Stanley, several start-ups may need to curtail their activities or completely close their businesses due to a lack of adequate growth capital, which could further propel the category leaders along with possible M&amp;A opportunities; and there could be the emergence of a few large tech companies (Super Apps or category leaders) in the next 5-10 years. On the company's new commerce initiative, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries mentioned in his July 2018 AGM speech that the next big growth opportunity is the online-to-offline new commerce platform that would synergize the power of the physical retail business with the digital infrastructure created by Jio. As highlighted in the AGM, the company's plan is to deploy Merchant Point of Sale for such local shop owners, which would enable them to manage inventory, keep digital records and file returns, improve working capital management, retain and upgrade customers, access new customers, run promotion and loyalty programs, accept digital payments, etc. This is similar to China, where Alibaba's foray into new retail included the Ling Shou Tong (LST) B2B platform that already had onboard 1mn out of the 6mn 'mom &amp; pop' stores in China. "We think a 'new normal' will emerge in a post-Covid-19 world, and digital adoption could accelerate further Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the global economy and is likely to alter the way we live, do business, and interact with each other going forward. We believe that we have seen the true power of digital technologies unleash across businesses and in our daily lives," the report says. The launch of Reliance Jio's 4G telecom services in September 2016 helped spur the digital economy in India as it propelled internet usage in the country, with fast, reliable, and cheap 4G services leading to significant growth in data usage (especially on music and video content). "Incrementally, we believe that Covid-19 has relieved some apprehension relating to digital transactions and, as the saying goes, every adversity presents an opportunity. We believe Covid-19 could accelerate the shift to online transactions (such as eCommerce and payments) and provide a tailwind to growth in India's digital economy," it added. "New Commerce is a massive new business opportunity of $700 billion.The main purpose of New Commerce is to completely transform the unorganized retail market, which accounts for 90% of India's retail industry," Ambani said at the RIL AGM in August, 2019. Reliance Retail and WhatsApp have entered into a commercial agreement to accelerate Reliance Retail's new commerce business on the Jiomart platform using WhatsApp. Jiomart is a platform that helps RIL support small merchants and kirana stores in serving end-consumers. RIL aims to focus on 60mn micro, small and medium-sized businesses along with the 30mn small merchants and millions of SMEs with the digital platform (per a company press release). Amazon India has also announced a $1 billion investment over the next five years to digitize 10mn SMBs, enabling $10 billion in cumulative exports by Indian businesses selling on Amazon worldwide by 2025. Mobile gaming could propel engagement levels on a potential Super App in India: M One of the categories that could propel engagement levels on a smartphone is gaming, a segment that has yet to pickup significantly in India and could be explored by key players pivoting to a Super App structure. Mukesh Ambani, RIL Chairman, in a February 2020 interaction with the Microsoft CEO said, "There is a huge potential for gaming to grow in India with increasing broadband connectivity. Gaming will be bigger than music, movies and television shows put together." --IANS san/in

Covid 19 to accelerate digital adoption in India

Nearly 4.5 million (44,49,552) beneficiaries have received COVID-19 vaccine shots in merely 19 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. India became the fastest country in the world to reach the 4 million COVID-19 vaccination mark, achieving this feat in 18 days. "Many other countries have had a head start of almost 65 days. India launched the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16. The number of beneficiaries being vaccinated every day has also shown a progressive increase," the ministry said. In a span of 24 hours, 3,10,604 people were vaccinated across 8,041 sessions, it said, adding that 84,617 sessions have been conducted so far. India's COVID-19 active caseload has dropped to 1.55 lakh (1,55,025) and comprises just 1.44 per cent of the total infections. The day-on-day change in the number of active cases over the last few weeks depicts the consistent decline in active cases. India's Daily Positivity Rate is 1.82 per cent, as of today, it said. "India has maintained the daily positivity rate below 2 per cent in last few weeks (19 days)," the ministry said. The total recoveries have surged to 1,04,80,455. "The difference in new recoveries outnumbering new cases has also improved the recovery rate to 97.13 per cent. The total recovered cases are 67.6 times the active cases," the ministry highlighted. It said 86.04 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in six states and union territories. At 7,030, Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries while 6,380 people recovered in Kerala in a span of 24 hours followed by 533 in Tamil Nadu. The ministry said that 84.67 per cent of the new cases too are from six states and UTs. Kerala continues to report the highest daily new cases at 6,356. It is followed by Maharashtra with 2,992, while Tamil Nadu reported 514 new cases. Six states and UTs also account for 71.03 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties at 30 followed by Kerala (20). West Bengal and Chhattisgarh reported 7 casualties each. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/isro-will-transform-in-2021-as-india-pumps-big-money-to-draw-in-startups-for-the-second-space-age/articleshow/80683054.cms">ISRO will transform in 2021 as India pumps big money to draw in startups for the 'second space age'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/new-citizenship-law-pulls-india-down-in-the-democracy-rankings-and-2021-is-not-looking-better/articleshow/80671194.cms">New citizenship law pulls India down in the democracy rankings — and 2021 is not looking better</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/bank-unions-strongly-oppose-divestment-bad-bank-and-fdi-in-insurance-with-threats-to-go-on-strike/articleshow/80668430.cms">Bank unions strongly oppose divestment, a bad bank and threaten to strike</a>

You Searched For "india covid 19 opportunity" and got 14 results

Covid-19 crisis opportunity for agri-marketing reforms: Report

PTI

COVID-19 provides opportunities for domestic solar module manufacturing

PTI

Need to turn COVID crisis into opportunity to create Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi

PTI

Bamboo vital for post-COVID-19 economy: Minister Singh

PTI

India's COVID-19 fight people-driven: Modi

PTI

COVID-19 could cost 135 mn jobs, push 120 mn people into poverty in India: Report

PTI

Essel Propack sees 'exciting opportunities' in post-COVID-19 world

PTI

COVID-19 crisis opportunity to support 'own innovativeness': Ratan Tata

PTI

Pfizer claims its committed to making its COVID-19 vaccine available in India and engaging with the government

PTI

India’s COVID-19 infections seem to have peaked — but it is not the time to lower the guard

BI India Bureau

India reports 3,016 new Covid-19 cases, daily positive rate at 2.7%

ANI

The US once again surpassed India for highest number of daily COVID-19 cases, the first time since vaccines were made widely available

Morgan Keith

Covid 19 to accelerate digital adoption in India

IANS

India has administered about 4.5 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in 19 days

PTI

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides