Heena Sharma Blog

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to provide a digital health ID to people which will contain their health records. The pilot project of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission had been announced by the prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2020. Currently, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is being implemented in a pilot phase in six union territories. Its nationwide roll-out coincides with the National Health Authority celebrating the third anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will create a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring th...

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched several initiatives in the education sector, asserting that they will play an important role in shaping India of the future. Addressing the inaugural conclave of the ' Shikshak Parv ' through video-conferencing, he expressed confidence that these measures will not only make our education system globally competitive but also make the youth future-ready. Modi launched the Indian Sign Language Dictionary (audio and text embedded sign language video for the hearing impaired, in conformity with Universal Design of Learning), Talking Books (audio books for the visually impaired), School Quality Assurance and Assessment Framework of CBSE, NISHTHA teachers' training programme for NIPUN Bharat and Vidyanjali portal for facilitating education volunteers, donors or CSR contributors for school development. The theme of the Shikshak Parv-2021' is Quality and Sustainable Schools:Learnings from Schools in India. Read More

  Amid the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi will interact with the district magistrates (DMs) and field officials of 10 States today. "PM Modi will interact with the DMs and field officials of 10 States-Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh today", informed an official statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a meeting with field officials from states and districts about their experience in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also attended the virtual meeting where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present. Also, on May 16, PM Modi discussed the COVID-19 situation with the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry over a phone call. Read More

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condoled the loss of lives in a blaze at a private hospital in Maharashtra's Palghar district and approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the victims. Thirteen COVID-19 patients died in the blaze at the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Virar, police said. There were 90 patients in the hospital, 18 of them in the ICU, when the fire broke out after a blast in the AC unit, an official said. The dead include five women and eight men. "The fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Virar is tragic. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," Modi was quoted as saying by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). "PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF (Prime Minister's National Relief Fund) for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the hospital fire in Virar, Maharashtra. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those ser...

  West Indies batsman Chris Gayle thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping Jamaica by providing COVID-19 vaccines under the Vaccine Maitri initiative. As part of the Vaccine Maitri initiative aimed to assist countries in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the Made-in-India vaccines reached Jamaica last week. "Honorable Prime Minister Modi, people of India and Government of India, I want to thank you for the donation of vaccine to Jamaica. We appreciate it, thank you so much. India I will be seeing you soon and thanks once again," Gayle said in a video posted on Friday by the official Twitter handle of India in Jamaica. Earlier this week, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell expressed gratitude towards PM Modi for sending coronavirus vaccines to Jamaica. Read More

  West Indies player Andre Russell has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending coronavirus vaccines to Jamaica. "I just want to say a big, big, big thank you to Prime Minister Modi and the India High Commission. The vaccines are here and we are excited. I would love to see the world going back to normal. Jamaica people really appreciate it and just to show that we are more than close, India and Jamaica are now brothers. I appreciate it and stay safe over there. Peace," Russell said in a video posted on Wednesday by the official Twitter handle of India in Jamaica. Earlier this month, Jamaica had thanked India for sending 50,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines. In a tweet, Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness had said, " I am extremely pleased to report that yesterday afternoon, we received our first shipment of 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Government of India. We express our deep appreciation to the Government and people of India f...

  Following a sluggish start, India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive -- one of the world’s biggest -- has jumped nearly four-fold after the country opened it up to more people and got a crucial public endorsement from the inoculation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Almost 21 million shots have been administered in India so far, up from 5.4 million a month ago, according to data compiled as of Sunday by Bloomberg and Johns Hopkins University. The number of doses per 100 people has also climbed to 1.56 from 0.41. A record 1.6 million Indians received a Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday, data show. After an initially lukewarm response -- due in part to the controversial approval of a homegrown vaccine before it had completed clinical trials -- the vaccination drive gained some momentum after Modi took the injection on March 1 and urged others to follow suit. India also opened the rollout to all citizens above 60 years of age and those 45 and older with co-morbidities, either for free fro...

  As World Wildlife Day is being observed, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed to ensure protection of animals and preserve forest and safe habitats for them. In a tweet, the Vice President said: "On this World Wildlife Day, let us all put in dedicated efforts to save and preserve the wildlife and create greater awareness on the need to maintain a healthy ecological balance on our planet." Prime Minister Modi saluted those working towards wildlife protection on the World Wildlife Day and teeeted: "Be it lions, tigers and leopards, India is seeing a steady rise in the population of various animals. We should do everything possible to ensure protection of our forests and safe habitats for animals." World Wildlife Day is observed annually on March 3 to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's flora and fauna. Read More

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ' Maritime India Summit 2021 ' on Tuesday. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the second edition of the summit via video conferencing. Prime Minister also launched e-book of maritime vision 2030, which is aiming to make the Indian maritime insutry at par with the top global benchmark in the next 10 years. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State (MoS) Ports, Shipping and Waterways (Independent Charge) in his opening remark said that the summit is one of the biggest virtual summit in the world with the participation of 1.7 lakhs partipants from more than 100 nations. "In the three day summit, we will have ministers from eight nations, over 50 global CEOs and more than 160 speakers which include 115 international speakers from 24 nations," he said. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart YS Jaganmohan Reddy also joined the event via video conferencing. Read More

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair an all-party meeting on January 30 during which the government will put forth its legislative agenda for the Budget session of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday. He said the meeting will be held virtually and an invitation has been extended to floor leaders of all parties. An all-party meeting is a customary procedure before the beginning of every session of Parliament to ensure its smooth functioning.However, this time it is being held a day after the session starts on January 29. "The all-party meeting will be held on January 30, where government will put forth its legislative business for the Parliament session and would also listen to the opposition's suggestions," Joshi told PTI. Read More

  India will have to spend $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion in the first phase of a coronavirus vaccination programme, even after getting support under the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, according to estimates by the GAVI vaccines alliance. India, which has the world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus behind the United States, plans to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months, likely with vaccines from AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and India’s own Bharat Biotech. Documents reviewed by Reuters underline the scale of the funding challenge India faces to immunise its vast population, with 600 million shots required in the first wave alone for critical workers and people most at risk from COVID-19. If India got 190-250 million shots of the vaccine under the COVAX facility - a best case scenario - then the government would need to line up about $1.4 billion to make up for the shortfall, according to an unpublished report prepared for G...

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India's vaccination programme against COVID-19 would begin as soon as a go-ahead from scientists is given, and asserted that healthcare workers involved in treating coronavirus patients, frontline workers and old people suffering from serious conditions would be inoculated on priority. In his closing remarks at an all-party meeting with leaders of various political parties to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country, Modi said experts believe the wait for the COVID-19 vaccine will not be long and it may be ready in a few weeks. Nearly eight vaccines are at different stages of trial with their manufacturing assured in India, Modi said. Three vaccines from India are also at different stages of trial, he said. Experts believe that the wait for COVID-19 vaccine will not be long and it is believed that it may be ready in the next few weeks, Modi said. Read More  

  A trial participant claims to have suffered a neurological illness (acute encephalopathy) and was hospitalised 10 days after he received the first jab of the vaccine in the Covishield trial . He sent a legal notice to the Serum Institute of India (SII), the sponsor of the trial, seeking Rs 5 crore in damages. Serum Institute has in response stated that the allegations made in the legal notice are ‘malicious and misconceived’, and that it will seek damages in excess of Rs 100 crore. Read More

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's account on the micro-blogging website Twitter was hacked briefly. The social media giant confirmed the compromise and said "active investigation" was underway. The hack appears to have happened during the wee hours of Thursday and the hacker group John Wick posted tweets appeared urging followers to make donations to 'PM National Relief Fund for COVID-19' through cryptocurrency. The account is linked to Modi's personal website narendramodi.in and has around 2.5 million followers since it was created in May 2011. "We're aware of this activity and have taken steps to secure the compromised account. We are actively investigating the situation. At this time, we are not aware of additional accounts being impacted," said Twitter India spokeswoman in response to queries. Read More               

Google on Monday announced Google for India Digitization Fund worth $10 billion (Rs 75,000 crore), which the technology giant would invest in India over the next 5-7 years. The investment will be done through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. Calling India's digital journey far from complete, Pichai announced the Google for India Digitization Fund that will invest nearly $ 10 billion in India over 5-7 years. "We’ll do this through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," wrote Pichai. Read More

In his televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the PM Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana until the end of November. The scheme will cover around 800 million people. Explaining the steps taken by his government in dealing with the impact of Covid-19 in India, the PM said that we are at a stage, especially after lockdown, where we needed to take more precautions to stay safe from the coronavirus. "We are entering a time when we all become prone to common illnesses. So, I urge everyone to take good care of themselves," he said. "So far as coronavirus is concerned, India is better placed than the rest of the world, said the PM. The timely implementation of the lockdown in India saved many lives," he added. Read More

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday an advance interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for cyclone-hit West Bengal. In a video message after reviewing the situation with Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district, Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the families of each of those killed during the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan, and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Read More

Here is a round-up of important articles on Covid-19 from across Indian publications — From lockdown in Antarctica, to uncovering the regional parameters of Covid-19, and how vulnerable the homeless are — read these and more in today’s India dispatch. Expert Speak Relaxing labour laws can’t help industry in the long run; formalising the economy can: Though firms seemingly have an upper hand if labour laws — which protect workers’ rights — are relaxed, in reality, as a result of weak labour laws, firms will have to work with labour that “owes no allegiance to the organisation”. Read this interview with Errol D’Souza, professor of economics and director of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, on how the dilution in laws will end up making these organisations invest more in monitoring and enforcement to obtain productivity from precarious employment. Read More

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the government must be transparent about its actions in fighting Covid-19 by cooperating with states and making them partners in decision-making. He also suggested that the government needs to inject Rs 7500 in the bank accounts of the poor Indians, to address the migrant crisis. Don't keep coronavirus fight to PMO only, inject Rs 7500 in bank accounts of the poor: Rahul Addressing a press conference through video conference, he said, "the lockdown is not an on/off switch and it is a transition which requires the cooperation of all - Centre, states, district magistrates and the people of India."   Read More

India has witnessed a sudden surge in its Covid-19 cases ever since the restrictions on movement have been partially lifted. In the last 24-hours, the country has reported 3,561 new cases and 89 deaths. While the total tally has breached 50,000-mark, standing at 52,952 cases, the daily death toll has also shot up, mounting to 1,783 deaths, so far. However, the daily testing capacity has also risen to fivefold, which is the only good news for now. It’s already May, and parts of the country hit 40 degrees Celsius a few days ago, making situations worse for people living in cramped quarters to stay indoors. Read More