As India has crossed the milestone of administering one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, it is leveraging its membership of multilateral financing institutions to boost the immunization rate of the country’s eligible population.
BRICS Joint Statistical Publication Snapshot released
NATIONAL
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Rome to attend 16th G-20 Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Rome, Italy to attend the 16th G-20 Summit.
Mr. Modi will participate in the Summit from 30th to 31st of this month at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. The summit will be attended by Heads of State of G-20 Member Countries, the European Union, and other invited countries and International Organizations.
During the first leg of his visit to Italy, Mr. Modi will today hold a joint meeting with President of European Council Charles Michel and President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. He will then depart for Piazza Gandhi and pay floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi. In the evening, Mr Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi.
During the second leg of his visit, Prime Minister Modi will leave for Glasgow to attend the World Leaders' Summit of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The high-level segment of COP-26 will be held on the 1st and 2nd of next month. It will be attended by Heads of State of more than 120 countries.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launches 6th edition of National Formulary of India
Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviyalaunched the 6th edition of National Formulary of India to promote rational use of medicines in the country.
Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has published the National Formulary of India, NFI.
NFI, 2021 will act as a guidance document for all the healthcare professionals such as clinicians, pharmacists, nurses and dentists. It will play a crucial role in daily clinical practices.
Medicines behave differently in different bodies and it is important to know about the content, impact and side effects of medicines.
The NFI will be very beneficial for Clinicians and Healthcare professionals while prescribing the medicines to the patients.
Govt invites comments from stakeholders to draft amendments to Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Model Rules
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has invited comments and suggestions from all stakeholders to the draft amendments to Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on 28th July this year.
While introducing the bill, Women and Child Development Minister SmritiIrani had stressed upon the necessity for entrusting District Magistrates with the responsibility of care and protection of vulnerable children in light of the prevailing inadequacies in the system. She recounted the commitment of the Parliament towards prioritizing India’s children above all issues. The District Magistrates have been further empowered under the Act, to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favor of children in distress conditions.
INTERNATIONAL AIIB, ADB to co-finance USD 2 billion loan for India’s fight against COVID-19
As India has crossed the milestone of administering one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, it is leveraging its membership of multilateral financing institutions to boost the immunization rate of the country’s eligible population. Beijing-based multilateral development bank Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development (ADB) will co-finance a USD 2 billion loan for India to procure COVID-19 vaccines under ADB’s Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX).
AIIB’s Vice President Dr. D.J. Pandian said in Beijing that AIIB is considering providing USD 500 million and the Manila-based ADB is expected to finance USD 1.5 billion.
The loan is under consideration from the AIIB board, he said, adding that India has applied for it three months ago.
About 667 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were expected to be procured through the loan, according to project details mentioned on the Bank website. He said the vaccines will be purchased by the Government of India through a competitive process and the ADB will be administering the purchasing system and implementing it under ADB’s APVAX, or Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility, mechanism. India already produces Covishield and Covaxinand has recently crossed an inoculation milestone of administering 100 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses to its citizens against the SARS CoV-2 virus.
BRICS Joint Statistical Publication, JSP Snapshot released
The 13th Meeting of Heads of National Statistical Offices of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Countries was held virtually under the Chairship of India.
Dr. G. P. Samanta, Chief Statistician of India and Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India chaired the meeting. The meeting was attended by representatives from the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of BRICS Countries. During the meeting, the Joint Statistical Publication (JSP) 2021 and JSPSnapshot 2021 for BRICS Countries were released.
X The theme of the meeting was NSOs efforts in monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) wherein speakers from BRICS NSOs highlighted efforts taken so far as well as future plan in terms of data and methodologies in monitoring of SDGs.
China says, new land border law will not change country’s position on border issues
China said that its new land border law will not affect the implementation of existing border treaties or change the country’s position on border-related questions.
Beijing’s response comes a day after India’s Ministry of External Affairs expressed concerns about the legislation in view of a protracted military standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson ArindamBagchisaid, “China’s unilateral decision to bring about a legislation which can have implications on our existing bilateral arrangements on border management as well as on the boundary question is of concern to us.”
ECONOMY Government receives 52 crore rupees from NBCC as dividend tranches
The government has received 52 crore rupees from National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited, NBCC as dividend tranches.
Secretary of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) TuhinKanta Pandey said that the government has also received 24 crore rupees dividend from Cochin Shipyard Limited and 94 crore rupees from NALCO.
Chennai-Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Express becomes first IMS certified train
Chennai - Mysore- Chennai Shatabdi Express becomes the first Integrated Management Systems certified train of Southern Railway.
The certificate has been given for maintenance and better use of environment-friendly resources and for offering travel comfort. This is also the first Shatabdi of Indian Railways and the second express train on Indian Railways to bag this certification. Railways Ministry said, this certification has been granted by the certification agency after a comprehensive audit and duly verifying adherence by Railways to all laid down norms.
Railways to start running India's first train with AC-3 Economy class - Gati Shakti Express from today
Indian Railways will start running India's first full Economy AC-3 tier train - Gati Shakti Express.
The base fare of Economy AC-3 tier coach is 8% less than the normal AC-3 class of coaches.
The train will run between Delhi and Patna.En route, it will stop at Kanpur Central, Prayagraj Junction, Varanasi, DeenDayalUpadhyaya Junction and Danapur in both directions.
Centre releases Rs 44,000 crore to states, UTs to meet GST compensation shortfall
The Finance Ministry has released 44 thousand crore rupees today to the States and Union Territories with Legislature under the back-to-back loan facility in lieu of GST Compensation.
After taking into account earlier release of one lakh 15 thousand crore rupees, the total amount released in the current financial year is one lakh 59 thousand crore rupees. The Ministry said, this release is in addition to normal GST compensation being released every two months out of actual cess collection.
Subsequent to the 43rd GST Council Meeting held on 28th May this year, it was decided that the Central Government will borrow one lakh 59 thousand crore rupees and release it to States and Union Territories to meet the resource gap due to the short release of Compensation on account of inadequate amount in the Compensation Fund.
Science and Technology Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Sarthak’ dedicated to the Nation
In a significant boost to the maritime safety and security of the nation, the indigenously built Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarthakdedicated to the nation at Goa.
The ship will be based atPorbandar in Gujarat and operate on India’s Western Seaboard under the Operational and Administrative Control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (Northwest).
The ship Sarthak is commanded by Deputy Inspector General MM Syed and has complement of 11 Officers and 110 men.
The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment, sensors and weapons which enables it to function as a command platform and undertake mandated Coast Guard charter of duties including search and rescue, combating maritime crimes and preserving and protecting the marine environment.
Indian Coast Guard is a pioneer in inducting indigenous platforms and Indian Coast Guard Ship Sarthak is a glowing example of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
SPORTS Shiva Thapa, Deepak Bhoria, Sumit advance at Men's World Boxing
In Boxing, Indian boxers continued their good start at the 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships with an easy win in Belgrade, Serbia, with three of them winning their opening round bouts. Seasoned boxer Shiva Thapa, Deepak Bhoria, and Sumit won their respective bouts to advance in the competition.
The bronze medal winner of the 2015 edition and reigning national champion, Thapa looked in good touch against Kenya's Victor Nyadera in the 63.5 kg round-of-64 match.
Thapa will now take on Sierra Leone's John Brown in the Last-32 clash on Saturday.
Deepak Bhoria beat two-time Asian champion AzatUsenaliev of Kyrgyzstan 5-0 in 51 kg Round of 32 match. In the 75 kilogram category, Sumit defeated Damon O'Neill of Jamaica 5-0 in the opening round match.
A 13-member Indian contingent started their campaign at the 21st edition of the tournament which will go on till 6th of November. With the participation of 650 top boxers from more than 100 countries, the championships is being played in 13 weight categories as per AIBA's newly introduced weight divisions.
