PM Narendra Modi’s address in the 77th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on 30.05.2021

 

My dear countrymen, Namaskar. We are seeing how the country is fighting against Covid-19 with all her might. This has been the biggest pandemic in the last hundred years and during this very pandemic, India has confronted many a natural disaster with fortitude. Meanwhile, there were cyclone Amphan and cyclone Nisarg…many states had floods…there were many minor and major earthquakes; there were landslides. Just recently, in the past ten days, the country faced two major cyclones – cyclone Taukte on the west coast and cyclone Yaas on the east coast. Both these cyclones affected a number of States. The country and her people fought them with all their strength, ensuring minimum loss of life. We experience now that compared to earlier times, we are being able to save the lives of maximum people. Under these trying and extraordinary calamitous circumstances, people of all these cyclone affected States have displayed courage…they’ve faced this moment of crisis with immense patience and discipline. I wish to commend all citizens respectfully, wholeheartedly. People who led rescue and relief work deserve more appreciation than can be expressed. I salute all of them. The Centre, State governments and local administration have come together to face this calamity. My heart goes out to all the people who’ve lost their near and dear ones. Let us all firmly stand by those who have borne the brunt of this disaster.

Low-chilling apple variety developed by Himachal farmer spreads far & wide

 A farmer from Himachal Pradesh has developed an innovative self-pollinating apple variety that does not require long chilling hours for flowering and fruit setting. This has spread to plain, tropical, and subtropical areas in various parts of India, where the temperature is as high as40 -45 ºC during summer.

Commercial cultivation of this apple variety has been initiated in Manipur, Jammu, low lying areas of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, and fruit setting has been expanded to 23 states & UTs so far.

Indian Railways is continuing its journey of bringing relief by delivering Liquid Medical Oxygen(LMO) to various states across the country. So far, Indian Railways has delivered more than 20770 MT of LMO in more than 1237 tankers to various states across the country.

 Overcoming all hurdles and finding new solutions, Indian Railways is continuing its journey of bringing relief by delivering Liquid Medical Oxygen(LMO) to various states across the country. So far, Indian Railways has delivered more than 20770 MT of LMO in more than 1237 tankers to various states across the country.

It may be noted that 305 Oxygen Expresses have completed their journey so far and brought relief to various States.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh asks all 18 plus government employees to get vaccinated at the earliest

 Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is advising all the government employees above the age of 18 years to get vaccinated at the earliest.

This was stated here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, while briefing about the measures taken in the light of the second wave of COVID 19 pandemic.

Big Boost for Khadi Artisans with Rs.45-crore Government Purchase Orders to KVIC during 2nd Covid-19 Lockdown

 Ample employment opportunities for Khadi artisans have helped them fight the financial distress once again, as most parts of the country remain under lockdown during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Despite a severe jolt to the manufacturing and service sectors between March and May this year, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has bagged purchase orders worth over Rs. 45 crore that would support the livelihood of lakhs of Khadi artisans. The purchase orders have come from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Indian Railways and Air India.

Central Government allocates Rs. 5,117Crores grant to Madhya Pradesh under Jal Jeevan Mission and also releases Rs. 1,185 Crores

 To provide safe and potable piped drinking water to all the rural household in Madhya Pradesh, the first tranche of Rs. 1,184.86 Cores have been released by the National Jal Jeevan Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India to the State. Keeping in view the commitment of the State to make provision of tap water supply in every rural home by 2023, in 2021-22, Rs. 5,116.79 Crore Central grant-in-aid has been allocated to Madhya Pradesh for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. In 2019-20, Central Government allocated Rs. 571.60 Crore which was increased to Rs. 1,280.13 Crore in 2020-21. Union Minister, Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat during his meeting with the Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh at Bhopal has assured full funding for Jal Jeevan Mission to make provision of tap water supply to every rural home.

CoWIN registration prevents superspreading events by preventing overcrowding at vaccination site

Government of India has been supporting the efforts of States and UTs for an effective Vaccination drive under the ‘Whole of Government” approach since 16th January this year. In order to streamline the availability of the vaccine doses to the last citizen in different corners of India’s geography, the Central Government had created the CoWIN platform to touch upon and capture minute aspect of Vaccination in what is the Largest Vaccine Drive ever to be undertaken.

There have been some unfounded media reports of the CoWIN platform creating a digital divide and allowing unscrupulous elements to hack the system to benefit a few sections of the population. The lack of basic comprehension about the complexity of a vaccination exercise has led to the false labelling of citizens not finding slots on the platform to problems of the platform itself.

These reports are incorrect and not supported by full information on the matter.

The Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education today launched YUVA- Prime Minister’s Scheme For Mentoring Young Authors

The Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education today launched YUVA-  Prime Minister’s Scheme For Mentoring Young Authors, an Author Mentorship programme to train young and budding authors (below 30 years of age) in order to promote reading, writing and book culture in the country, and project India and Indian writings globally.

In a major boost to India’s non-basmati rice exports potential, two consignments 4.5 MT of patented ‘village rice’ sourced from Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu by a start-up Udaya Agro Farm was exported today to Ghana & Yemen via air & sea routes.

 In a major boost to India’s non-basmati rice exports potential, two consignments 4.5 MT of patented ‘village rice’ sourced from Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu by a start-up Udaya Agro Farm was exported today to Ghana & Yemen via air & sea routes.

Enriched with protein, fibre, and a variety of minerals, ‘village rice’ is sourced directly from farmers of Thanjavur, also known as rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. APEDA assisted Udaya Agro Farm plans to increase volume of exports of ‘village rice’ in the coming months.

PM CARES For Children- Empowerment of COVID Affected Children launched for support & empowerment of Covid affected children

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an important meeting to discuss and deliberate on steps which can be taken to support children who have lost their parents due to Covid-19. PM announced a number of benefits to children impacted by the current COVID Pandemic. While announcing these measures the Prime Minister emphasized that children represent the future of the country and the country will do everything possible to support and protect the children so that they develop as strong citizens and have a bright future. The PM said that in such trying times it is our duty, as a society, to care for our children and instil hope for a bright future. All children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents due to Covid 19 will be supported under ‘PM-CARES for Children’ scheme.He also added that the measures being announced have only been possible due to the generous contributions to the PM CARES Fund which will support India’s fight against COVID-19.

Hon’ble Prime Minister had announced the launch of NDHM. Since then, the digital modules and registries have been developed and the mission has been rolled out in six Union Territories.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). On 15th Aug 2020, during his Independence Day address, Hon’ble Prime Minister had announced the launch of NDHM. Since then, the digital modules and registries have been developed and the mission has been rolled out in six Union Territories. So far, nearly 11.9 lakh Health IDs have been generated and 3106 doctors and 1490 facilities have registered on the platform.

On-site Registration/Facilitated Cohort Registration in addition to Online Appointment for 18-44 years age group now Enabled on CoWIN

 The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level. A graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach has allowed for the exercise to be modified to suit present circumstances in wide consultation with all stakeholders.

With launch of phase II of the National Vaccination Drive on 1st March 2021, facility for only online registration and appointment of citizens aged 45 years or more was offered on CoWIN digital platform. The feature for on-site registration and appointment was introduced later for these priority groups. Subsequently, the coverage of vaccination was expanded to people in the age group of 18 to 44 years on 1st May 2021 with implementation of the Liberalised Pricing & Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy. The facility of only online appointment mode initially to people in the age group of 18 to 44 years helped to avoid overcrowding at the vaccinationcentres.

Supreme Court's E-Committee releases Manual for its free “e-Courts Services Mobile App” in 14 languages

E-Committee, Supreme Court of India has released Manual for its top citizen-centric service- free “e-Courts Services Mobile app” in 14 languages (English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarathi, Kannada, Khasi, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu). “e-Courts Services Mobile app” already released by e-Committee, Supreme Court of India for the benefit of the Litigants, Citizens, Lawyers, Law firms, Police, Government Agencies and other Institutional Litigants has so far crossed 57  lakh downloads.

The mobile app and its manuals in English & regional languages  can be freely downloaded from the official website of the e-Committee, Supreme Court of India https://ecommitteesci.gov.in/service/ecourts-services-mobile-application/ .

Depression very likely to move north-north-westwards and intensify into a Cyclonic Storm by 24th May morning and further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during the subsequent 24 hours

 Depression very likely to move north-north-westwards and intensify into a Cyclonic Storm by 24th May morning and further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during the subsequent 24 hours

According to the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD): (Time of issue: 1500 hours IST, Dated: 23-05-2021, INDIA METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT)

Depression over eastcentral Bay of Bengal– (Pre-Cyclone watch for Odisha – West Bengal coasts).

            Latest satellite imageries and Ocean Buoy observations indicate that yesterday’s low pressure area which became well marked over eastcentral Bay of Bengal in the same evening has concentrated into a Depression over eastcentral Bay of Bengal and lay centred at 1130 hrs IST of today, the 23rd May, 2021 near latitude 16.1°N and longitude 90.2°E, about 560 km north-northwest of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 590 km east-southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 690 km south-southeast of Balasore (Odisha) and 670 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal).

A national consultation was arranged by the Ministry of Education, Government of India with the Education Ministers and Administrators of all States and UTs.

 A national consultation was arranged today by the Ministry of Education, Government of India with the Education Ministers and Administrators of all States and UTs. The consultation was chaired by the Union Defence Minister ShriRajnath Singh, and was attended by Union Education Minister ShriRameshPokhriyal‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smt. SmritiZubin Irani, Union Minister for Forest, environment and Climate change and Information and Broadcasting, ShriPrakashJavadekar and Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre. Secretary,  Higher Education Shri Amit Khare; Secretary, School Education Smt Anita Karwal  and senior officials of the Ministry also attended the meeting.

Armed Forces have commenced preparations to mitigate the impact of Cyclone YAAS, which is expected to hit the Eastern Coast on May 26, 2021.

 Armed Forces have commenced preparations to mitigate the impact of Cyclone YAAS, which is expected to hit the Eastern Coast on May 26, 2021. Indian Air Force (IAF) has airlifted 950 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and 70 tonnes of load from Jamnagar, Varanasi, Patna and Arakonnam to Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Port Blair in 15 Transport Aircraft, as on May 23, 2021. Sixteen transport aircraft and 26 helicopters are on standby for immediate deployment. Indian Navy, fresh from Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and rescue operations on the Western Coast, has moved 10 HADR pallets to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, while five HADR pallets are ready at Port Blair. Eight ships of Eastern Naval Command and Andaman and Nicobar Command have been embarked with HADR Bricks to provide succour to the people likely to be impacted. Four diving and 10 flood relief columns have been pre-positioned at Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Chilika for rendering assistance to civil administration at short notice.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has mobilised its assets in view of Cyclone Yaas which is expected to hit the Eastern Coast on May 26, 2021.

 Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has mobilised its assets in view of Cyclone Yaas which is expected to hit the Eastern Coast on May 26, 2021. All the ashore, afloat and aviation units are on high alert and ICG ships and aircraft have been deployed in Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea.

The Ministry of Ayush is organising various activities in the run up to the International Day of Yoga, 2021.

 The Ministry of Ayush is organising various activities in the run up to the International Day of Yoga, 2021. One among these is a series of five webinars that the Ministry is organising under the broad theme of “Be with Yoga, Be at Home” in collaboration with five renowned organisations of the country who will present one webinar each on a particular topic of importance in the current scenario. The first among the series will be held on Monday, 24 May by The Art of Living on “Finding inner strength amidst outer crisis.”

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took a high level meeting to review the preparedness of States and Central Ministries/Agencies concerned to deal with the situation arising out of Cyclone ‘Yaas’.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took a high level meeting today to review the preparedness of States and Central Ministries/Agencies concerned to deal with the situation arising out of Cyclone ‘Yaas’.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed that Cyclone ‘Yaas’ is expected to cross West Bengal and north Odisha coasts by 26th May evening with the wind speed ranging 155- 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph. It is likely to cause heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha. IMD has also warned of storm surge of about  2- 4m in costal areas of West Bengal & Odisha. IMD has been issuing regular bulletins with latest forecast to all the concerned states.

PM was informed that the Cabinet Secretary has taken a meeting of National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) on 22nd May 2021, with Chief Secretaries of all the Coastal States and UTs and Central Ministries/ Agencies concerned. 

A high-level meeting with States / UTs to discuss conduct of Class XIIth exams and professional courses entrance exams tomorrow

 A High-level virtual meeting will be convened tomorrow with all the States/UT Education Ministers, Education Secretaries and Chairpersons of State Examination Boards and stakeholders to discuss the proposals for the conduct of exams for Class XII and entrance examinations for professional courses.

The meeting will be chaired by Union Defence Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh in the presence of Union Minister for Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Union Minister for Women and Child, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Minister Information and Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announces financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 crore for immediate relief activities in the State

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today visited Gujarat to review the situation arising out of Cyclone Tauktae. The Prime Minister undertook an aerial survey of the cyclone affected  areas inUna (Gir - Somnath), Jafrabad (Amreli), Mahua (Bhavnagar) in Gujarat & Diu.

Thereafter, he chaired a meeting at Ahmedabad to review the relief and rehabilitation measures being undertaken in Gujarat & Diu.

He announced a financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 crore, for immediate relief activities, to the State of Gujarat. Subsequently,  Union Government will deploy an Inter-Ministerial Team to visit the state to assess the extent of damage in the State, based on which further assistance will be given.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with a Group of Doctors from across the country, via video conferencing, to discuss the Covid related situation.

Prime Minister thanked the entire medical fraternity & the paramedical staff for the exemplary fight displayed by them against the extraordinary circumstances of the second wave of Covid, adding that the entire country is indebted to them. He noted that be it testing, supply of medicines or set-up of new infrastructure in record time, all these are being done at a fast pace. Several challenges of oxygen production and supply are being overcome. The steps taken by the country to augment human resources, like including MBBS students in Covid treatment, and ASHAs and Anganwadi workers in rural areas, provided extra support to the health system.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh unveils first batch of anti-COVID drug developed by DRDO and hands over to Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

 

The first batch of the adjunct COVID therapy anti-COVID drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), was released by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and handed over to Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Science & Tech and Earth Sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi on May 17, 2021.One box each of the sachets of the drug were handed over to Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) DrRandeep Guleria and Lt Gen Sunil Kant of Armed Forces Medical Services(AFMS).More will be handed over to different hospitals across the country for emergency use.An anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), along with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.

Swift actions taken by Government to enhance availability of Remdesivir in India

 Department of Pharmaceuticals intensified monitoring of availability, production and supply of drugs used for Covid-19 Treatment in early April, 2021 as number of cases of Covid-19 started increasing steeply. Remdesivir is a patented drug, manufactured in India under voluntary licenses granted by Gilead Life Sciences USA, the patent holder, to 7 Indian pharmaceutical companies (Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Lab., Hetero, Jubilant Pharma, Mylan, Syngene and Zydus Cadila).

To augment the domestic production capacity, all the seven domestic licensed manufacturers of Remdesivir were asked to ramp up production quickly. With combined efforts of the central government and the manufacturing companies, the production capacity of the licensed manufacturers has increased unprecedentedly from 38 lakh vials per month to nearly 119 lakh vials per month. With accelerated approval of 38 additional manufacturing sites, the number of  approved manufacturing sites of Remdesivir in country has increased from 22 sites to  60 sites. With the help of Ministry of External Affairs, the manufacturers of Remdesivir are being facilitated for getting supplies of requisite raw materials and equipments from foreign countries.

All efforts are being made to enhance the availability of the drug both through imports as well as augmented domestic production.  Exports of Remdesiver has been prohibited since 11th April, 2021. Customs duty has been exempted on Remdesivir injection, Remdesivir API and Beta Cyclodextrin (SBEBCD) used in the manufacture of Remdesivir with effect from 20th  April 2021.

Looking to the suddenly increased demand in the country, in order to ensure equitable distribution of Remdesivir among different regions of the country, central government has been making allocations to States and UTs since third week of April.   Interim allocation of 11 lakh vials was made for 19 states and UTs with high demand on 21stApril 2021 for period up to 30th April. This allocation was increased to 16 lakh vials on 24th April as more supplies became available and all States and UTs were allocated the vials. In a series of allocations issued subsequently, with latest allocation issued on 16th May, 76 lakh vials in total have been allocated among States for period up to 23rd May, 2021.

Summary of Allocation

The State Governments and UTs have been asked to monitor proper distribution within their jurisdiction covering both government as well as private hospitals and in line with judicious use as advised in the “National Clinical Guidance for management of adult Covid-19 patients” issued jointly by AIIMS/ICMR Covid-19 National Task Force and Joint Monitoring Group of MoHFW. State Governments / UTs have been advised to place adequate purchase orders with the marketing companies immediately for the quantity that they want to purchase out of allocation for the State/ UT as per supply plan in close coordination with liaison officers of the companies. The coordination with private distribution channel in the state is also to be made by the States. The State governments have also been advised to put in place a  mechanism for issuance of this drug to the needy patients and well advertise it among the public in the State.

All the seven Indian manufacturers have been making supplies to States as per the allocation both against government purchase orders and also through their private distribution channels in States. Total 54.15 lakh vials of Remdesivir have been supplied across the country by the Drug companies during 21st April-15th May, 2021 period. Supply of Remdesivir to Various State Governments and central Institutions is continuously being monitored and whenever any complaint regarding supply is received, it is taken up immediately with the concerned manufacturer. Department of Pharmaceuticals, through National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA), is in constant touch with all the States through their Nodal officers and manufacturing companies through their Liaison Offficers.

In addition to allocation mentioned above, as on 16.05.2021, a total of 5.26 lakh vials of Remdesivir, which have been received through donation from other countries/organizations and 40000 vials which have been commercially imported, have also been allocated to States and UTs.