PUNJAB

2.6 lakh tests in 50 days, Punjab catches up with Covid-19

After struggling to get going in initial months, Punjab is finally making progress in Covid-19 testing, considered a key factor in controlling the spread of infection by identifying cases early.

From 4 tests per million population on March 16 to 8,782 tests per million population on June 26 against the national average of 5,773 tests per million population, Punjab has come a long way.

Now, Punjab is faring better than most bigger states like Maharashtra (6,914), Karnataka (8,372), Kerala (5,697), Odisha (5,577) and Gujarat (5,078). And recently surpassed neighboring state of Haryana (7,984), which was way ahead in testing for long. By Sunday morning, however, Haryana’s testing rate had improved to 9,852.

To boost testing capacity, the Punjab government has sent a proposal to the central government for setting up of four laboratories in district hospitals, besides starting tests at four state government labs. Punjab plans to open testing laboratories in district hospitals at Barnala, Rupnagar, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur.

INTERNATIONAL

India pledges $10 million to UNRWA over next two years

India pledged USD 10 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

It will also donate life-saving drugs to Palestine to help them in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contribution of USD 10 million would be an additional amount over and above the USD 5 million contribution announced for year 2020.

The amount would be contributed over the coming two years.

NCPOR warns about the decline in the Arctic sea ice

The National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has warned about the decline in the Arctic sea ice. The dramatic decline in the Arctic sea ice is due to global warming. The loss of sea ice led to a localized increase in evaporation, air humidity, cloud cover, and rainfall.

It is well known that Arctic sea ice is a sensitive indicator of climate change and has strong retaliatory effects on other components of the climate system.

NCPOR observed that the largest decline in Arctic sea ice in the past 41 years happened in July 2019.

It stated that, in the last 40 years (1979-2018), the sea ice has been declining at a rate of -4.7% per decade, while its rate was found to be -13% in July 2019.

NATIONAL

Commerce and Industry Ministry hailed for ‘country of origin’ rule

“Information about Country of Origin” has been mandated for the sellers by the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The sellers have been advised to mention “Information about Country of Origin” while registering all new products on GeM.

While those sellers, who had already registered their products before the launch of this new feature on GeM, would be reminded regularly to update the information about Country of Origin.

If they fail to update the same, their products shall be removed from GeM.

India retains its position as 3rd-largest economy on PPP basis for 2017

India has retained and consolidated its position as the third-largest economy after China and the US in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017.

PPP of the rupee per dollar at the gross domestic product (GDP) level rose to 20.65 in 2017 from 15.55 in 2011, while the exchange rate of a dollar to a rupee rose to 65.12 from 46.67 during the period.

The World Bank has released new PPPs for the reference year 2017, under the International Comparison Program (ICP), that adjust for differences in the cost of living across economies of the world.

Globally, 176 economies participated in the 2017 cycle of ICP.

COVID-19 to dent India’s FY21 per capita income by 5.4%: SBI report

According to the latest report by the economic wing of State Bank of India (SBI), COVID-19 pandemic is likely to bring down India’s per capita income (PCI) by 5.4 per cent in the financial year 2020-21 (FY21).

It will be decreased to Rs 1.43 lakh from Rs 1.52 lakh in FY20.

This decline in PCI is higher than the nominal GDP decline of 3.8 per cent.

Among states, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Gujarat will be the worst hit with PCI falling 15.4 per cent, 13.9 percent and 11.6 per cent, respectively in FY21.

At the other end of the spectrum are Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, and Manipur that are likely to witness the least drop in PCI during this period.

KVIC launched Sandalwood and Bamboo plantation to stir up monetization of its assets

Khadi and Village Industries Commission

(KVIC) launched Sandalwood and Bamboo plantation to spur monetization of its assets. The first of its kind initiative began with a drive with plantation of 500 saplings each of sandalwood and bamboo at its Nashik training center spread over 262 acres of land.

KVIC has procured sandalwood saplings from Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC) Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, and Bamboo saplings from Assam.

The plantation of the Sandalwood was aimed to create an asset for the KVIC.

It has been estimated to fetch between Rs.50 crore to Rs.60 crore in the next 10 to 15 years.

A sandalwood tree matures in 10-15 years and as per the current rate, sells at Rs.10 lakh to Rs.12 lakh each.

Cabinet approved setting up of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund

The Union Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved setting up of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF). The approval is to provide a much-needed boost to infrastructure across sectors, which are crucial in the time of the pandemic.

To set up AHIDF, the Centre allocated a sum of Rs.15000 crore.

AHIDF will be an incentive infrastructure investment in dairy, meat processing, and animal feed plants.

The remaining 90% will be the loan component that is to be made available to them by scheduled banks.

Centre will provide a 3% interest subvention to eligible beneficiaries.

It also announced a 2 years moratorium period for repayment of the loan with 6 years repayment period thereafter.

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