#havoc in Bihar

[bihar-jharkhand-news-live]

डेंगू का कहरः भभुआ में स्पेशल वार्ड तैयार, जांच कीट नदारद; मरीज मिलने के बाद खरीद का आदेश

डेंगू का कहरः भभुआ में स्पेशल वार्ड तैयार, जांच कीट नदारद; मरीज मिलने के बाद खरीद का आदेश https://www.biharjharkhandnewslive.com/

स्वास्थ्य विभाग से मिली जानकारी के अनुसार, कैमूर में दस दिनों पहले डेंगू के दो मरीज चिन्हित किए गए थे। सदर अस्पताल में एक मरीज का इलाज चल रहा है। लेकिन जांच किट सदर अस्पताल में नहीं है राज्य सरकार के निर्देश पर स्वास्थ्य महकमा डेंगू को लेकर अलर्ट मोड में है। सिविल सर्जन डॉ. मीना कुमारी के निर्देश पर अपर मुख्य चिकित्सा पदाधिकारी डॉ. जितेंद्र नाथ सिंह ने निर्देश पत्र जारी किया है, जिसमें सभी…

[graphaizesmm]

Extreme Weather in India: Visualizing Life Loss Statistics

India, with its diverse climate and vast geographical expanse, is increasingly bearing the brunt of extreme weather conditions. In recent years, the frequency and intensity of these extreme events have surged, driven in part by climate change. This escalating pattern has had a dire impact on human life, with thousands losing their lives annually due to natural disasters like floods, droughts, and storms.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), over 1304 people lost their lives in 2022 alone due to natural calamities, marking a sharp rise from previous years. Cyclones, such as Cyclone Fani and Cyclone Amphan, have wreaked havoc along the eastern coast, displacing millions and causing numerous fatalities.

Floods remain a perennial threat, with states like Assam, Bihar, and Kerala witnessing devastating inundations. In 2022, floods claimed over 605 lives, as per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). We created this infographic that explores the stark increase in weather-related fatalities in India focusing on the most vulnerable regions.

Agriculture and the danger of lightning

Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable occupations when it comes to extreme weather, particularly lightning. Farmers and agricultural workers often spend long hours outdoors, increasing their risk of lightning strikes. According to the National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities of India, lightning accounted for over 53.2% of all deaths caused by natural disasters in 2022, with a significant proportion of victims being farmers.

In 2022, Bihar experienced notably high death rates due to thunderstorms and lightning, with 236 fatalities. Madhya Pradesh and UP are among other states with high amounts of deaths due to lightning. Several factors contribute to this alarming trend. These states are geographically prone to severe thunderstorms and lightning, especially during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons. Bihar particularly experiences intense storms that bring heavy rainfall, strong winds, and frequent lightning strikes. As a significant portion of the population relies on agriculture, requiring them to work outdoors, this increases their exposure to lightning strikes, as they often lack safe shelters during sudden storms.

Additionally, there is a lack of widespread awareness and education about lightning safety in rural areas. Many people are unaware of the necessary precautions to take during thunderstorms, such as avoiding open fields, seeking proper shelter, and staying away from trees and tall objects. Moreover, infrastructure in rural regions is often inadequate. The absence of lightning rods and other protective measures in homes and public buildings leaves people vulnerable.

Combining geographical vulnerability, occupational exposure, lack of awareness, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient emergency response contribute to the high death rates from thunderstorms and lightning in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Preparedness and reducing deaths from Cyclones

The Super Cyclone of 1999 was a catastrophic event that devastated Odisha, India. With wind speeds exceeding 260 km/h and a storm surge up to 7 meters high, it caused unprecedented destruction. Over 10,000 people lost their lives, and millions were left homeless. The cyclone destroyed infrastructure, agriculture, and livestock, leading to severe economic losses and long-term hardship for the affected communities.

In recent years, Odisha has made significant strides in cyclone preparedness and disaster management. By 2022, the state had implemented several measures to mitigate the impact of cyclones. These included the construction of robust cyclone shelters and embankments, improving early warning systems, and conducting regular community awareness and preparedness programs. The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has played a crucial role in coordinating these efforts.

The state has also invested in modern technology for real-time weather monitoring and forecasting, ensuring timely and accurate warnings. During cyclones, efficient evacuation plans and pre-positioning of relief materials have significantly reduced casualties and damage. The state’s proactive approach and community involvement have transformed Odisha into a model for disaster resilience, showcasing how effective planning and preparedness can mitigate the impact of natural disasters. The initiatives have become a case study for the other states and improved preparedness which reduced the deaths from extreme cyclones.

Climate Change and Extreme Weather

Climate change significantly contributes to extreme weather events, leading to increased floods, heavy rains, high winds, thunderstorms, and lightning. In 2022, these phenomena had a profound impact on Indian states.

Rising global temperatures cause more evaporation, leading to increased moisture in the atmosphere. This results in heavier and more unpredictable rainfall, often causing flash floods. Indian states like Assam and Bihar experienced severe floods due to excessive monsoon rains exacerbated by climate change.

Additionally, warming oceans contribute to the intensity of cyclones and storms. Higher sea surface temperatures provide more energy for storms, leading to stronger winds and increased rainfall. Coastal states like Odisha and West Bengal faced more intense cyclones, with destructive high winds and storm surges.

[techdost-meerut]

Top Breaking News Stories of the Last Week

INTRODUCTION

We bring some top and most-talked Breaking News of the last week for you, These news created havoc in the world and became the most spiced news of the week.

Here are some Top News Stories of the last week, 

let’s go through them:-

Bihar Caste Survey released: OBCs and EBCs together stood at 63% of the total population

The Bihar Government conducted a Caste Survey and The much-awaited results are here -

Backward Classes - 27.13%

Extremely Backward Classes - 36%

Scheduled Caste - 19.65%

Scheduled Tribes - 1.68%

Unreserved category - 15.2%

Combine stats of two groups comprises 63% of total population, which stood at near around 13.07crore. The General category comprises 15,52% of the total population.

The Survey data was released by the State Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, In survey it was found that Yadavs are the largest in terms of population, accounting for 14.27% of the total population. As per the data, Hindus are 81.99%, Muslims are 17.7%, Christians are 0.05%, Sikhs are 0.01%, Bhuddhists are 0.08% and other religions comprises 0.12% of the total population. The work of caste-based enumeration stating that the survey not only revealed the caste stats but also gave information regarding the economic condition of the society.

 India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar expressed India-US are Optimal & Comfortable Partners

S. Jainshankar said that India and China holds strong ties, and their are no limits of their relationship.

He also mentioned the dynamic changing between both the countries, emphasizing that now both the countries are starts working together rather than  just dealing with each other.

"In this changing world, I would say today that India and the US have moved to a position where we really see each other as very desirable, optimal and comfortable partners with whom it's a natural instinct today to pick up the phone or if you meet someone and have a natural conversation," said the External Affairs minister.

He added that there is no department in the government today that doesn't have dealings with their Indian or American counterparts.

Talking about how the India-US ties have changed, he stated, “I started at a time in the early eighties when you had to explain where you are from, what you are about, you know, it's good to see members of Congress here. Those are tough days, you know, they didn't even let you into the rooms in the Congress..But if one looks at the journey, how far we've come, how deep and broad this relationship (India-US relationship) has become.

[newslobster]

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Rain Plays Spoilsport In Group C; All Matches Washed Out | Cricket News

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Rain Plays Spoilsport In Group C; All Matches Washed Out | Cricket News

Image for representative use© AFP Rain played havoc with the proceedings on the opening day of Group C matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament here on Saturday with all four games being washed out. Tamil Nadu, the previous season’s runner-up, was 101 for 2 in 17.1 overs against Bihar before rain halted play and the match was subsequently called off. Sent in to bat after Bihar…

[axiselectricals]

Protect Your Home from Natural Disasters

The importance of Lightning Protection!

When we imagine natural disasters, often the first things to come to mind are the cyclones, earthquakes and floods that can affect us on the Indian subcontinent. Sometimes we turn on the TV and can see the tornadoes that wreak havoc through the American Mid-west or the fires that are affecting the Australian bush. In all these cases, unsuspecting homeowners and building societies were completely taken by surprise by the unimaginable damage that ensued and that they often cannot prepare to handle.

Despite being a weather threat that affects people across the world, there is one natural disaster that homeowners and building societies often do not think about until it is too late. But people can prepare and protect themselves against this threat – Natural Disaster Lightning. These beautiful and powerful natural occurrences are a photographer’s best friend. They present awe-inspiring scenes that can capture an audience’s imagination. But they also have a huge potential to cause damage to structures, homes, the natural environment, and living beings. A discharge of lightning can carry over 100 million volts of electricity which can easily cause damage to any kind of structure – they can destroy monuments, explode walls and often be the cause of devastating fires. With new and expensive technology, it might be possible to foresee lightning strikes in a vicinity maybe 15 minutes before they occur, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly where it would strike. Due to their devastating impact, there are steps that any homeowner or building manager can take to minimise the damage of a strike.

 Educate Yourself Against Natural Disaster of Lightning

According to CROPC 2019 Report, there were as many as 6.5 million lightning strikes that occurred only in the four months from April to July 2019. Out of these 6.5 million lightning strikes, 2.3 million were Cloud to Ground lightning strikes that impacted locations across the Indian subcontinent. These were the statistics for only 4 months and these numbers make India one of the most vulnerable geographies in the world for lightning strikes. Lightning does not discriminate on geography and strikes across the entire country.

However, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha lead the country for deaths due to lightning strikes.

Protection from Natural Disaster – Lightning

For homeowners and building societies, who want to ensure the safety of their residents against the odds of lightning striking their structure, a professionally designed and installed lightning protection system is the most viable idea. This professionally designed and installed lightning protection system would work by channeling the immense energy of lightning strikes along the path of least resistance, providing a safe path for it into the earth. Axis has been in the business of manufacturing material for Lightning Protection Systems for exports around the world since 1994 and through this experience, we have learned the importance to the end customer that they should only use products that comply to strict international standards for lightning protection and earthing such as IEC 62561 or UL 467 and UL 96. The National Building Code of India also has strict regulations on the material used for lightning protection systems. Improper material use can lead to serious consequences and in the worst-case scenario, it may not provide any protection to the structure at all. The use of an experienced lightning protection contractor is also important to ensure the correct placement and fitting of the entire system. Building societies or homeowners should not try to install a lightning protection system by themselves.

Usually, this kind of lightning protection system is made up of the following components:

“Air Terminals” or “Lightning Rods” or “Franklin Rods” or “Lightning Arrester”     – these are usually made out of copper and are set on the roof of the structure at regular intervals as per the standard design requirements.

Down conductors are made of strips of copper, copper-clad steel or braided cables of copper or aluminium. These conductors connect the air terminals to the rest of the system and the earth rods.

Earth rods or Ground rods, which are driven deep in the earth. These help direct the current into the ground.

Bonding connects the metallic components of the structure such as pipes or roof structures to the ground rods to ensure conductivity and prevent side flashing.

Surge Protection Devices are discussed more in detail below.

 Surge Protection for some Extra Protection

With the increasing importance of electronic devices in every aspect of our modern personal and professional lives, it becomes increasingly important that we protect these devices even from small indirect lightning strikes. Even a small strike that hits the ground around a structure can possibly damage sensitive electronic devices inside the structure by causing a surge. This surge can cause all the electronic devices in a home such as refrigerators, televisions, computers, etc. completely inoperable, causing severe financial damage. In structures such as hospitals or data centers where the equipment is even more sensitive, protection against these surges becomes paramount. We have explained the importance of surge protection devices and their usage in more detail at our blog: Surge Protection Devices (SPD)

For more information on protecting yourself, your family, your home, or your building society, please feel free to contact us for more information.

You can also get more information on our video on the basics of Lightning Protection.

You can read more about Lightning Protection in our blog post: Lightning Protection Zones and their Application to SPD Selection

Visit us at www.axis-india.com for more information.

[shantinewshindi]

पैनिक होने की जरूरत नहीं, बिहार में संक्रमितों के ठीक होने की दर राष्ट्रीय औसत से बेहतर: नीतीश मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार ने कहा है कि बिहार में कोरोना संक्रमितों के ठीक होने का दर राष्ट्रीय औसत से बेहतर है। कोरोना संक्रमित लगातार स्वस्थ होकर अपने घर जा रहे हैं। आज भी 459 लोग स्वस्थ होकर अपने घर... Source link

[socialnewsbookmark]

Bihar Coronavirus Crisis: Is there a risk of infection of Delta Plus variant in Bihar too, Patna AIIMS director gave this answer

Bihar Coronavirus Crisis: Is there a risk of infection of Delta Plus variant in Bihar too, Patna AIIMS director gave this answer

PatnaIn Bihar, the pace of corona infection may have decreased a bit, but new cases are continuously coming up. On Thursday, 212 new positive cases have been reported. However, during the second wave, the delta variant of Kovid-19 created a ruckus in the state. Now once again the danger of the new variant Delta Plus of this epidemic is being feared to increase. Patna AIIMS Director Dr. PK Singh…

[digimakacademy]

Bihar Corona Updates: ठेले पर डॉक्टर, 'मंगल' राज में ऐसे ही होती है कोरोना वायरस से जंग?

Bihar Corona Updates: ठेले पर डॉक्टर, ‘मंगल’ राज में ऐसे ही होती है कोरोना वायरस से जंग?

[ad_1]

भागलपुर में स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्था की दुर्गति की तस्वीर आए अभी 24 घंटे भी नहीं हुए थे कि सुपौल में स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्था ठेले पर लदकर जाती दिखी है। बुधवार को भागलपुर में एक शख्स को दवा दुकान में मौत के बाद ‘मंगल’ राज में ढंग से शवयात्रा तक नसीब नहीं हुई तो दूसरी तरफ गुरुवार को ठेले पर अस्पताल जाते डॉक्टर ने फिर से दिखा दिया कि बिहार सरकार का स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय हाईटेक वायरस कोविड से ठेले पर ही जंग…

[srbachchan]

DAY 5057

Jalsa, Mumbai                       Dec 22,  2021                  Wed 11:14 PM

Tomorrow .. Dec 23rd .. is the birthday of Ef Amarjeet Kumar from Patna , Bihar .. .. and it is also .. the birthday of Ef Kunal Jain from Kolkata .. Bigadda times Ef .. Loves and care and more ever .. 🌹.. may this birthday bring love happiness and peace .. 

A wavering mind and body .. thoughtless and varied in its each unknown mode .. which is why the joy and pleasure of work each day supplies the mind with that nonexistent vaccum that many find too elusive and vacant ..

and when the work starts the reverse sentiment begins to take over the countenance , leaving it only when the interruptions of the mind play havoc on the inside ..

there is havoc true , but never enough to be cause of concern .. 

all the hurdles of life were built for mankind , barriers , to break and discover the beauty of expressive success .. and when it was not so it was disbanded and set aside and aloof ..

why when how was the ever present conduct .. unanswered or not willed enough to answer .. SHMG

dilapidated in a sudden wave of the hand towards the ultimate  :

मैंने छत पर पहुँचकर , 

सीढ़ी को उपेक्षा से देखा ।

उसने कहा ,

“अच्छा , उतरना  !!”  

on reaching the roof I did look at the ladder with contempt ; the ladder did say to me , ‘really , try coming down ‘ !! 

this is a new world we have developed and inherited - for they that have lived through these centuries and years .. 

adjust and accept , or be in the throes of a roof without a ladder to return ..

but these be just home made curry .. inconsistent inconsiderate and intrinsically insecure ..

this has value :

शब्द आवरण हैं  । जब भी कुछ जाना जाता है, तो शब्दों के बावजूद जाना जाता है  ; शब्दों के कारण नहीं  । ये अलग बात है की शब्दों की खोल को बारीकी से समझकर भीतर के जंतु को कोई  भी पकड़ ले  ।

~ dr अंशुमान 

words are but a mere covering ; whenever something is to be known it is known in spite of the words , not because of the words ! it is another matter that unveiling the shields or covers in as delicate a manner of them, the reality or the creature inside the word, can be caught , by anyone ..

enough no more in the preach .. there is some serious work tomorrow .. like an endorsement shoot .. and they are getting to be quite a task ..

the endorser or the celebrity contracted for its campaign is to be considered responsible for the manufacture and purity and whatever of the product .. 🤯

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

good the night ..

Amitabh Bachchan

[shantinewshindi]

रक्षाबंधन का त्योहार 3 को, कोरोना संकट में इस बार कई देशों में भाइयों की कलाई रह जाएंगी सूनीं  रक्षा बंधन 2020 इस बार तीन अगस्त को है। हालांकि इसके बावजूद कोरोना के कारण कई देशों में रह रहे भाइयों की कलाई इस बार सूनीं रह जायेंगी। उनके पास बहनों के द्वारा राखी भेजने का कोई साधन नहीं है। दरअसल... Source link

[anastkantdhangar]

How And What India Has Been Coping With During The Deadly Covid Second Wave

Last rites being performed by a family, like many, at the Seemapuri Crematorium Center in Delhi

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has been nothing less than that of one wreaking havoc and chaos for India - social media full of SOS messages asking for hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, medicines; crematorium centers had never witnessed such large amount of deceased being cremated, crematorium centers even had to be expanded with increased number of pyre-platforms at various parts of the country, and now the abandoned lifeless being found in rivers - simply nothing less than a catastrophe.

Heartbreaking visuals of people gasping for breath, lined outside hospitals unable to find beds, heavy shortage of important medicines like Remedesivir, lifeless bodies waiting for multiple hours at the crematorium centers for their turn to be cremated - this surely has been one of the worst health crisis India has ever seen. Exhausted frontline workers and workers at crematorium centers say they have never seen such huge crisis before. Woods have come to be short in numbers to cremate the dead. How have the authorities dealt with this?

There’s possibly not a single person in India who has not lost at least one of their relative, friend or a known one in last two months.

The centre alone did not fall well short and caught ill-prepared, states are equal culprits in their jurisdiction.

India has been under criticism by global media continuously for under-reporting of numbers of the deceased, and its lack of testing, with many reports from journalists on ground suggesting that the actual numbers of those deceased is actually at least 10-15 times more than the official numbers. A report showed that as the official data shows that in the capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal, had seen only around 1,000 deaths due to covid since the pandemic began last year, whereas the data kept at crematorium centers shows that around 3,700 funerals have been done according to covid protocols in the city in the month of April alone in 2021. Such is the scale of under reporting of numbers in the official data, be it Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and a majority of the Indian states.

From VIP treatments to the well-off even during these hard times, a classic case of Delhi government’s attempt to book Ashoka Hotel for safety measures for Delhi HC Judges with no inputs from the latter raising many eyebrows recently, states too have had their own bit of criticisms of handling of things during the pandemic.

When urban parts, despite having all the infrastructure and facilities, have seen such destruction, things in rural India have slowly started to catch headlines. With lack of information amongst the people about the virus and vaccines, multiple people in villages have been dying everyday lately complaining of fever, fatigue and shortness of breath, with no oxygen and testing facilities in most of the rural parts of the country despite being 15 months into the pandemic. How cruel things could unleash in the rural areas is a dangerous thought having seen the recent peak in urban ones.

Almost all of the country have been either in a lockdown or strict curfew with almost all states imposing the same, and this has shown some positive results in the last week with positivity rate coming down in various urban areas. The issue of oxygen crisis, after weeks long deliberation by the Supreme Court and various High Courts, have been dealt with to an extent in some manner only after the apex court made a separate National Oxygen Monitoring body.

The true figures lay not in the official data, but the crematorium centers of this country.

People waiting in queues at vaccination centers to get their jabs

Vaccination drive in many states have come to a halt owing to shortage of vaccines, with even those who are due for their second doses having difficulties finding a slot in many parts of the country. When the second wave started to wreak havoc, the widely demanded move by the opposition to open the vaccination drive for not only 45+ but for all adults was being considered by the government and given a nod, only to open big loopholes in the world’s largest vaccination drive, with one being heavy shortage of jabs.

The gap between the two doses of Covishield vaccine has been increased to 12-16 weeks on the basis of scientific data to show for it, surely there must be data now to show for it, but if this is so, then why the same expert’s panel earlier in February 2021 had advised states that the second dose of covishield should not be administered after 8 weeks in any case as it may not work then, and why Union I&B Minister also tweeted this very advisory on the same day? We cannot possibly answer this question just like we cannot estimate that actually how many people have died due to covid in this country. But for the record, The Lancet and WHO have themselves clarified way before that the gap between two doses for AstraZeneca vaccine, or Covishield should be 12-16 weeks; The UK follows 12 weeks gap and Canada follows 16 weeks gap, and India will follow the same to tackle the heavy shortage of jabs. The gap between two doses of Covaxin, on the other hand, stands the same as before.

When The USA and the European Union gave vaccination orders of millions of dollars last year, India did not order a single jab. Should not have we placed such orders last year itself? Did or did not the experts gave this input at that time? Have we even been doing it till as late as earlier this month? If not, then this itself is a much larger issue, but there's no transparency. State governments have been left with no other alternative than to issue global tenders to buy vaccines, which actually the centre should do in the global market, and as a result, not India, but its states are competing each other in the global market to purchase vaccines. Starting with Uttar Pradesh, then Maharashtra, followed by Orissa, Delhi and Karnataka have issued global tenders already to purchase vaccines.

Not a single Indian media outlet is now projecting Atmanirbhar slogans anymore, which was literally served by the same media to its viewers for months, confining them in a whole different world altogether. And it's only a matter of time that a new slogan arrives, and literally the same channels project it again for months, confining its viewers to another new world altogether, yet again.

Surely, superpower India of 2021 would not have wanted itself to be projected in such a manner in the foreign media. The majority of domestic mainstream media would not show you this, and would continuously keep you distracted with bogus narratives and side of things, killing your ability to question the status quo and to sustain a healthy democratic India.

Indian media back in January widely publicised about the ‘World’s Largest Vaccination Drive’, which holds true given our population, but no questions were asked about procurement of vaccines. Frontline covid workers were the first priority to be vaccinated, rightfully, and plan was to vaccinate 30 crore frontline workers inside 3-4 months in first phase of vaccination drive; and 5 months into the drive not even all of the frontline workers could be vaccinated. By numbers, India is amongst fastest vaccinating countries, but when it comes to ratio of its population, it fares poorly with not even 3% people been fully vaccinated yet. It is important to look into the matter and understand how much India has spent on research and production of vaccines.

A report from The Guardian, issued on 2nd April, 2021, claimed that as the US and European Union nations have been spending billions of dollars as aids for companies for research, development and production of vaccines, there is no concrete evidence of India spending on research and production of vaccines. Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, India was the largest vaccine producer in the world, but when the pandemic struck, soon the US and China surpassed India as largest vaccine manufacturers. Indian media had to go from taking pride in largest vaccination drive to reporting of mass shutting down of vaccinating centers owing to lack of jabs, such has been the vast hallucination we have been served for some years now. Owing to this very pride of Indian media, which not only confuses its people between Indian companies and the Indian government, it also reminds its people everyday that their very ability to question to sustain the world’s largest democracy is being massacred everyday.

After this report from The Guardian on 2nd April, 2021, the Indian government submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court on 11th May, 2021 in which the government has clearly and specifically stated that the Indian government has not issued any grant or aid to the Serum Institute of India or Bharat Biotech, which implies no funds on research or development even for domestically developed Covaxin. Only 46 crores were funded to Bharat Biotech for clinical trials of Covaxin, that too by ICMR. Which means Indian media has been taking pride in vaccines made by AstraZeneca and a domestic company Bharat Biotech, and did not question for even once that why we have not been helping at least domestic companies for vaccine research.

If the affidavit submitted in Supreme Court by the government stands firm on authentic data and information, then what about the announcement made on 13th May, 2020 about 100 crores being allotted as aids for domestic candidates developing vaccines? Around same time last year, the US was investing 15 million dollars in various vaccine developing candidates, and was advancing vaccine orders worth 300 million dollars even before vaccines were developed. On 12th December, 2020, Union Finance Minister announced 900 crores aid for vaccine production, but the affidavit submitted by the government itself in SC claims no such grants were ever made. 20th April, 2021, news came in that Finance Ministry is advancing loans worth 3,000 crores to SII and 1,500 crores to Bharat Biotech for vaccine production, the affidavit holds advancement of these loans valid, though the money is yet to reach the companies. Adar Poonawalla of SII said last month while talking to a media outlet that he has been expecting these loans on the basis of media reports, thus he too believes in the Indian media, and on the same expectations his company has taken heavy loans from banks to continue vaccine production of Covishield. By the way Adar Poonawalla has field away from the country citing pressure from "influential" people and has been shying away from answering to what might have led to such huge covid surge in India during its second wave.

Thus, there was no Indian penny involved thus far in the production of vaccines by both these companies according to the Indian government.

With how we have been coping with the pandemic, various experts have been giving their ideas and views to deal with issues, and “revolutions” in Indian healthcare system are urgently required in post covid-era.

When the UK and many members of the European Union were witnessing devastating second wave earlier this year, Union Ministers in India were claiming that India has defeated covid and that India is in the ‘endgame’ of the pandemic, in fact the numbers were actually very low during the same period, and India was starting to return to normal just when the second wave started to unleash around mid-March, exposing lack of plans to tackle a potential second wave. Lack of preparedness on health infrastructure was visibly evident, when every political party was busy campaigning in states assembly elections and large crowd gatherings were seen at Kumbh. Could not these two super spreader events have been avoided temporarily to control covid surge, just like Nizamuddin Markaz could have been avoided last year, which again acted like a spreader event in the last wave, and was presented as such a heated topic by the Indian media for months last year?

In order to cope with heavy shortage of jabs, many health experts have been demanding government intervention in expanding vaccine production by involving other vaccine manufacturers as well by providing them vaccine formula and advancing tenders for vaccine production, for which steps are being taken only in this last week. The pace of the vaccination process also has been under heavy criticism as to why door to door vaccination proposals by several states has been turned down by the centre citing the latter has no such policy, given that polio vaccination process was a great success with minimum volunteers.

If both, SII and Bharat Biotech, are providing vaccines to the centre, states and private hospitals at different prices, with lowest price being for the centre and highest for private hospitals, could not the centre itself buy vaccines and provide them to state itself given that if states buy them on their own then they will have to pay double the price compared to the centre. 

The money of 22,000 crore rupees Central Vista project, if used to buy covid jabs, would buy a whopping 146.66 crore jabs, potentially enough to fully vaccinate around 70-72 crore Indian citizens, which again is potentially enough to create herd immunity throughout the country, just a mere statistic based on facts.

It is important to keep current feedbacks in mind in order for the work to be done. No person in this country would have ever thought that private hospitals one day would run out of their capabilities to treat them, and potentially exposing that bulk of them are mere money making firms. It is high time India start to spend more on its healthcare and education, and the possibility of government taking complete control of healthcare and education, like successful western countries, should not be ruled out even after it being a slow process to come true.

Recent lockdowns and curfews by states have shown a dip in covid numbers and positivity rate, oxygen crisis seem to be in some control in the recent week, and vaccine production is being increased after government stepped in. Surely next few weeks are very critical to control the new surge of B.1.617 Indian mutant strain, with people hoping that they will overcome this health crisis soon.

But history will remember that India’s numbers ascribed not in the official data, but at the crematorium centers.

[i-heart-hinduism]

Rama Navami is the day on which Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, incarnated in human form in the land of Ayodhya. He is the ardha ansh of Vishnu or has half the divinitive qualities of Lord Vishnu. The word “Rama” literally means one who is divinely blissful and who gives joy to others, and one in whom the sages rejoice.

Rama Navami is a spring Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of the Hindu God Lord Rama. He is particularly important to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, as the seventh avatar of God Vishnu.

The festival celebrates the descent of Vishnu as Shri Rama avatar, through his birth to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year. 

The day is marked by Rama Katha recitals, or reading of Rama stories including the Hindu sacred epic Ramayana. Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple, others pray within their home, and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of puja and aarti. Some devotees mark the event by taking miniature statues of the infant Rama, washing it and clothing it, then placing it in a cradle. Charitable events and community meals are also organized. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus. Some mark this day by vrata (fasting).

The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya and Sita Samahit Sthal (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi (Bihar), Janakpurdham (Nepal), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu). Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places. In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.

Significance of Ram Navami

The story of the Ramayan is a classic, eternal, universal message of Dharma versus adharma, of deva versus demon, of good versus evil, as represented in the battle between Rama and Ravana.

Ravana was a brahmin; he was a great scholar who wrote numerous works on scriptural philosophy. He was powerful, dynamic, and beautiful in appearance. As the brilliant, handsome king of Lanka, he had everything one would need to be happy and peaceful. Yet, he was arrogant, egoistic, greedy and lustful. His insatiable desires led him to crave more and more power, more and more money, and more and more ladies to fulfill his every whim.

There is one main difference: Bhagwan Rama’s heart overflowed with divinity, love, generosity, humility, and a sense of duty. Ravana’s heart, in contrast, was filled with avarice, hatred, and egoism. Under Bhagwan Rama’s divine touch, the animals became his devotees and his divine helpers. Under Ravana’s touch, even humans became animals.

Through his noble and divine choices, he teaches the world to choose dharma over Artha (when he leaves for the forest rather than be coronated as King) and to choose Moksha over Kama (when he chooses his kingdom over his marriage).

Bhagwan Rama teaches that :

As a sonRespectfully and lovingly obey your father’s orders. Sacrifice your own comfort for your father’s dignity.As a step-sonEven when your step mother (or mother-in-law) is not kind to you, even when she clearly dis- criminates against you in favor of her own birth child, do not resent her, do not fight against her. Respect her and her wishes.As a brotherRemain loyal to your brother. Care for him.As a husbandProtect your wife. Fight for her protection and her purity. But there are times when one’s divine path must even take precedence over the path of householder. Do not keep the role of householder as the ultimate role.As a KingSacrifice everything for your people. Do not worry about your own comfort, your own convenience or your own pleasure. Be willing to put the kingdom ahead of your own needs.

Ravana’s ego led to his own demise, first the demise of his spirit and heart and then the demise of his body. He thought he was the one who ran everything. He thought that he was the “doer” of it all. On the other hand, Bhagwan Rama was always humble, and he never took credit for anything. At the end of the war in Lanka, Bhagwan Rama was giving Sitaji a tour of the city, showing her where all of the various events had occurred. When, they reached the place where he victoriously slew Ravana, he reported it to Sitaji only as, “and this is where Ravana died.” He didn’t say, “This is where I crushed the demon,” or “This is where I killed Ravana.”

Ram Navami is a festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, the son of King Dasharath. It was a joyous occasion in Ayodhya all those centuries ago when King Dasharath's heir was finally born. It was like a dream come true for the king as the lack of an heir had troubled him sorely for many years.

Lord Rama is an Avatar of Lord Vishnu who came down to earth to battle the invincible Ravana in human form. Lord Brahma had been receiving complaints from all the gods about the havoc that Ravana was wreaking on earth, but because Lord Brahma had granted Ravana so many boons, he could not be killed by a god. But Ravana had become so overconfident that he would never expect an attack from a human being. So Lord Vishnu agreed to go to earth in the guise of Prince Ram, the son of King Dasharath and Queen Kaushalya.

The story of Lord Rama as told in the great epic Ramayana is one that most Indians know irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Lord Rama is a legendary figure, the epitome of all that is good and true, the man who vanquished the demon king, Ravana. Lord Rama is not just a hero, but has been given the status of a god by the Hindus. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his birth is celebrated year after year with great pomp and enjoyment on the ninth day after the new moon in Sukul Paksh (the waxing moon), which falls sometime in the month of April.

[drsunilposhakwale]

Covid-19 and the challenges to the Indian economy

Bhaskar Mukherjee and Prof Sunil Poshakwale

The Indian economy is expected to get a hammer blow from the effect of Covid-19. While an economic contraction is inevitable, it is very challenging to estimate the level, given the uncertainty of how long the pandemic persists. Reliable data is hard to come by and the challenge is magnified in these unprecedented times due to the effects of the lockdown. Even where data is available, its application to compute Gross Value Added GDP using simulation models may be rendered statistically irrelevant because of the staggering range of the variation. While one hopes that the government has the resources to compute the numbers in a dynamic context, there has not been any substantive press releases with such details. Most of the reporting has thus been reliant on Investment Banking Reports with the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the simulation models they have used for sectoral GDP calculation. As these are mostly proprietary, they are not available for public scrutiny and without their analysis one can hardly comment on the accuracy of such forecasts. However, conclusions when published are used in India’s noisy and highly polarized politics to further political positions. They are reported in mainstream television media with headline grabbing bombast accompanied with selective usage of footage from real life stories that can be found to buttress as many points as there are humans. All this justifiably causes a great deal the angst amongst the populace about “what if” their predictions are real? During such times of crisis, data-driven analysis should be the only way to assess the extent of the disaster as it is unfolding. It is precisely because of these reasons the authors have adopted a simple Do It Yourself (DIY) methodology to work out estimates of what might happen in each constituent sector of the economy. The emphasis is to ensure that the assumptions are clearly stated and documented so that subsequent revisions can be effected, once more data is available.

The Lockdown in the Indian Economy was declared on March 25, 2020 when the financial year 2019-2020 was nearly over. As the Financial Year (FY) for the Indian Economy starts from April 1, its impact is mainly going to affect the FY 2020-2021. Most of the 2nd quarter of Calendar Year (CY) 2020 (or 1Q of FY 2020-2021) is going to be lost with a cliff-edge drop impact on the GDP. For purposes of simplicity, the authors have considered zero revenue for impacted sectors. Thereafter while several sectors will take many quarters to recover others should be able to pick up the threads unless the pandemic runs amuck causing disastrous levels of death. Given in the following is a construct of the Gross Value Added (GVA) measure of the Indian Economy by considering a sectoral drop percentage in various constituent sectors.

●      For the Trade, Repair, Hotels, Tourism and Restaurants sectors, a change factor of 0.5 or 50% has been considered with the GVA drop being 50%.

●      Electricity, gas, water and utilities have been considered at 100% representative or minimal impact.

●      With transport starting to operate, change in transport is considered at a factor of 0.75, with GVA drop being 25%.

●      While agriculture is not expected to be impacted severely there is a lot of loss of value due to the lockdown, considered at a GVA drop of 20%.

While these are armchair affixed factors, within the macroeconomist’s discipline these should and would be based on statistically determined sectoral simulations. The big-ticket conclusions from the given armchair exercise on the effect of a full 3 month lockdown from April to June on an annualized FY 2020-2021 basis, are the following:

The table below lays out the details of calculation behind the aforesaid numbers:

Source: Base Line GDP 2019-2020 constructed based on GDP growth % applied to data gathered from : http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-contribution-of-india.php. INR = 0.01402 US$

It is revealing to compare these estimates to the professional estimates prepared by global financial giants such as Goldman Sachs1, Nomura2 and HSBC3.

Goldman Sachs:

Goldman Sachs predicts the Indian economy will shrink by 45% on an annualized basis this quarter, and suffer its most severe recession since 1979 this fiscal year, as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on many of its industries. Their   latest quarterly growth forecast, detailed in a May 17 note, is significantly worse than its previous estimate of a 20% decline. On the positive side, its economists expect the Indian economy to rebound 20% in the third quarter, compared to the current quarter. They then anticipate 14% growth in the fourth quarter and 6.5% growth in the first quarter of 2021.

Goldman Sachs’ estimate applied to the authors’ baseline results in the following:

GDP Drop: 31%           Value: US$ 730 Billion

Nomura:

India’s real gross domestic product growth is likely to contract 5.2 percent in the financial year ending March 2021, which loweres its economic outlook amidst an extended lockdown. That is against a contraction of 0.4 percent projected earlier. “We now expect year-on-year growth to remain negative for three consecutive quarters — with growth faltering to 1.5 percent in Q1 (January-March) before plunging to -14.5 percent in Q2 (April-June), and then weakly recovering to -6.0 percent in Q3 (July-September) and -1.5 percent in Q4 (October-December),” the research house said in a statement.

Nomura’s estimate applied to the authors’ baseline results in the following:

GDP Drop: 5.2%          Value: US$ 121Billion

HSBC:

HSBC’s forecast on GDP decline is not available as yet.

The authors sincerely hope that neither theirs nor Goldman Sachs’ estimates come to fruition. While a deep recession spares no one, it is unspeakably hard on the poor and working classes with little savings and reliant on day to day work for earnings. Below Poverty Line (BPL) population in India was approximately 22% of the population in 2012. It is expected that loss of millions of jobs as a result of the economic contraction is going to increase this number substantively. These are some of the most vulnerable sections of the society mainly from the eastern states of Bihar, UP, Orissa and Bengal (including illegal immigrants from Bangladesh). With employment opportunities mainly concentrated in the Western and Southern states of India, a large number of BPL families travel to these states to take up employment as unskilled and semi-skilled labour in sectors such as construction, quarrying, textiles, jewellery making, hospitality and tourism, to name a few. With hardly any leverage in an oversupplied labour market they continue to remain the most vulnerable and exploited. Since the start of the lockdown, pitiable images of these migrant workers in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat have drawn the attention of the world. Due to the cliff-edge drop in economic activity in the earlier named sectors, they have mostly remained unpaid since the start of the lockdown in India from end-March by unscrupulous private sector employers and contractors. On average their earnings are estimated at around Rs 10,000 per worker, a month.

Only recently since early May the government has organized migrant special trains to transport this restive population back to their hometowns and/or to their extended families. As they now return, by end of May their unpaid wages would total 3 months or a full quarter due to no fault of theirs. At a very conservative estimate, they could number up to a fifth of India’s labour force of over 500 Million at 100 Million. These workers potentially support family members numbering between 200 to 400 Million or more. A resurgence in the Indian Economy can only happen if India’s migrant labour are nursed, rehabilitated and motivated to join the rebuilding effort. In line with Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s principle of Integral Humanism the authors lay a case to propose the provision of a special one time grant, to rehabilitate these affected millions. A modest grant of ₹10,000 per month for 3 months for 100 million workers is going to cost ₹ 3 lakh crores or US$ 42 billion.

While naysayers will be quick to criticize this as a wasteful “dole” one should also consider it from a humanist prism as a stabilization cost for the society. An unstable society is on a slippery slope of breakdown of law and order. The academic underpinnings of the proposal are anchored in John Maynard Keynes’s Macroeconomic Policy. Keynesian intervention has been successfully used in the past to overcome the 1930’s depression. Fundamentally the macroeconomic equation at any present moment is considered as balance between Aggregate Demand (comprising consumption and investment) and Aggregate Supply (comprising wages, rents, interest and profits).  Keynesian macroeconomic policy stipulates that in unprecedented deep recessions boosting the Demand Side of the macroeconomic equation is the only way to kick start the economy.

Given below are adjacently placed  tables of Fiscal Stimuli and GDP by Country extracted from the website Statista4. Based on the same, the authors have compiled a table of gross value of fiscal stimulus in US$. Out of all G20 countries, Japan has passed the largest fiscal stimulus package that amounts to about 21.1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). This package amounts to about 117.1 trillion Yen (1 Trillion US$), and consists of delivering universal cash handouts of ¥100,000 (approximately US$ 930) to every individual in Japan, comprising 126 million people. The USA has also a high fiscal intervention percentage as they did during the 2008 subprime housing-related Economic Crisis.

The Indian government has recently announced a comprehensive stimulus package of ₹20 lakh crore (or 20 trillion) worth approximately $280 Billion Dollars at an old exchange rate of 71.3, estimated to be 10% of GDP. These are a combination of fiscal, monetary and macro-financial measures5.  

The key elements of the fiscal package  (3.5%) captured in the earlier table are the following:

·       In-kind (food; cooking gas) and cash transfers to lower-income households

·       Insurance coverage for workers in the healthcare sector

·       Financial sector measures for Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)

·       Concessional credit to farmers, as well as a credit facility for street vendors and an expansion of food provision for migrant workers.

The monetary and macro-financial measures are structural in nature mainly comprising of regulatory, liquidity and policy amendments pertaining to RBI. One of the excellent policy decisions of the government is in amending legislation to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce anywhere. The new model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act7 proposes to do away with the concept of notified market area and allow the aforesaid measure. “Over time” such a policy decision is going to lead to increased agricultural revenue and even allow India to emerge as a force to reckon with in international markets as farm based value additive agro-units emerge to take advantage of this supply flexibility. There is a tremendous value and demand for Indian agro-produce such as seasonal fruits and vegetables, amongst the Indian diaspora, but mechanisms for their reliable and assured supply is required. Structural changes however strategic in nature, affect the supply side macroeconomic equation and usually take time to create an impact.

There is a legitimate question in the minds of people as to how the government is going to fund the stimulus even if it is just a medium term (4 year) loan, without controlling runaway inflation. The following is the Debt Status of the top 100 debtors in India (based on their 2019 balance sheet) accessed from Money Control6. Analysis of this suggests that public deposits more than adequately cover outstanding debt:

Banking and Finance Sector Debt actually comprises Public deposits held by these financial institutions. Presuming that the Reserve Bank has done its job professionally regarding oversight on the quantum of advances lent by banks, public deposits more than adequately cover outstanding debt. It also explains how the government can work on a stimulus using public funds. The government also has various other policy tools such as easing controls on the level of deficit financing and external borrowings to name a couple, which it has been reticent so far in using. The fear has always been about the decline in value of the Rupee and its adverse impact in funding oil imports, but at a time when every country in the world has thrown such caution to the wind and oil prices are at an historic low, there is a compelling case for more direct fiscal stimulus in the form of direct benefit transfer to India’s migrant labour and daily wagers to kick start the Demand side of the macroeconomic equation. Economic policy to alleviate the immediate effects of Covid 19 needs to be tactical to stabilize society. Strategy has a long term horizon in terms of yield of aspired results. A fine balance of both approaches should serve India well in the times to come. 

The present government has displayed commendable commitment to the highest levels of humanism by initiating the lockdown and thus effectively containing a runaway spread of the pandemic. As preparations are made to restart the economy after the effects of the lockdown, stimulating the demand side of the economy is the need of the hour. Augmenting the already announced fiscal measures by providing succour to India’s itinerant labour with an additional one time distress grant, will enable them to have a fresh start once the economy opens up again. Industry and Businesses also need to share responsibility towards minimising labour migration by offering them food supplies and a minimum allowance to meet their monthly expense. While the mechanism of identification of the recipients of such a benefit is a technical challenge in its own right and merits an in-depth assessment, this is perhaps one policy that will have wide political consensus in the otherwise fractured polity of India.

 References:

https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-india-economy-recession-gdp-decline-45-percent-q2-2020-5?r=US&IR=T

Read     more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/economy-finance/indias-gdp-growth-likely-to-contract-52-in-fy21-says-nomura     Copyright ©     BloombergQuint

HSBC Global Research’s -India-Covid     Impact in charts, authored by Ms.Pranjul Bhandari et al.  dated April 30, 2020

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1107572/covid-19-value-g20-stimulus-packages-share-gdp/#statisticContainer.

https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#I

https://www.moneycontrol.com/promo/mc_interstitial_dfp.php?size=1280x540

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/new-act-may-give-freedom-to-farmers-to-sell-anywhere/articleshow/58025600.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 About the Authors:

Bhaskar Mukherjee is a Chemical Engineer with over 34 years’ experience in the Oil, Gas and Chemicals Business, based in UK.

Dr Sunil Poshakwale is Professor of International Finance, School of Management, Cranfield University, England.  

[todaynewsguru]

Rain wreaks havoc, UP and Bihar reel under floodwaters

Rain wreaks havoc, UP and Bihar reel under floodwaters

[newspro24x7]

A terrible thunderstorm and lightning happened in Bihar ; 37 people died due to rain and lightning

A terrible thunderstorm and lightning happened in Bihar ; 37 people died due to rain and lightning

Bihar : In the last 24 hours, 37 people died in different parts of Bihar due to rain and thunderstorms. Due to this havoc of nature, 13 people were injured at different places. Mango crop has also suffered major damage due to strong storm. Due to which the farmers of Bihar as well as the traders of mango are worried. Due to the death of more than three dozen people in the grip of lightning, the…