Month: April 2020

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh today unveiled via video conference a Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) developed by DRDO in association with ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad and Private industry. Speaking on this occasion, Raksha Mantri said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken several timely decisions because of which the spread of COVID-19 in the country is far less compared to many other countries. Shri Rajnath Singh appreciated the setting up of this Bio-Safety Level 2 and Level 3 lab in a record time of 15 days which usually takes about six months time.…

Uber today confirmed it has disbursed grants to 55,000 drivers from the Uber Care Driver Fund, which it set up with an initial commitment of INR 25 crores, to support drivers amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.   In response to Uber’s appeal to raise an additional INR 25 crores for the fund, more than 23,000 Uber riders and employees have already contributed INR 2.15 crores. NGOs and corporations have donated an additional INR 4.28 crores, which has already been deposited into the Driver Fund, for immediate distribution as grants to…

The space to store crude and refined fuels, has run out as a result of fast expanding glut that has been caused by coronavirus, says world’s biggest independent oil storage firm, Royal Vopak.    “The available capacity on the oil side is almost completely sold out for our terminals,” Gerard Paulides, the Chief Financial Officer of Royal Vopak NV, said in an interview.   “For Vopak, worldwide available capacity that is not in maintenance is almost all gone and from what I hear elsewhere in the world we’re not the…

The pandemic that claims lives every day, is man-made and created in Wuhan lab, according to Nobel prize winner French scientist Luc Montagnier. His statement sparked a fresh controversy claiming that SARS-CoV-2 virus came from a lab, and is the result of an attempt to manufacture a vaccine against the AIDS virus. An interview with a news channel and during a podcast by Pourquoi Docteur, Professor Montagnier who co-discovered HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) claimed the presence of elements of HIV in the genome of the coronavirus and even elements of…

Amid Coronavirus outbreak all over and maximum employees on Work From Home mode, there are a handful of uniformed warriors who work on field to keep all safe and healthy. But despite this, the news about doctors being attacked brutally has been doing round since many weeks.   On Wednesday, the central government brought in an ordinance under which any person that attacks a health worker who is treating Covid-19 cases, can be jailed for a maximum of seven years.The ordinance was brought in to amend the century old Epidemic Act.   Addressing a press conference, Union Minister…

The UN’s food body has warned that protectionist measures by national governments during the coronavirus crisis could provoke food shortages around the world.   Though the harvests have been good and the outlook for staple crops is promising, but a shortage of field workers brought on by the virus crisis and a move towards protectionism tariffs and export bans – mean problems could quickly appear in the coming weeks, Maximo Torero, chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, told press.   “The worst that can happen is that…

The government will be conducting a telephonic survey across the country to combat Covid-19 and to map the spread of the virus. The government is initiating a telephonic feedback system in which calls will be made to citizens to get the status and real picture of the disease’s spread.   “This is to be carried out by NIC and calls will be made to mobile phones from the calling number 1921,” said a statement from the government.   The Health Ministry in its morning update said that, of the total…