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Kerala retains top rank in Niti Aayog’s SDG India Index 2020-21; Bihar worst performer

The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters.

The country’s overall SDG score improved by 6 points — from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020-21. This positive stride towards achieving the targets is largely driven by exemplary country-wide performance in clean water and sanitation, and affordable and clean energy, the Niti Aayog said in a statement.

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Environment Day: Climate change, toxic air remain issues of deep concern for India, say experts

As per the ‘State of India’s Environment 2021’ report, poor air quality was the fourth leading risk factor for early death worldwide in 2019, surpassed only by high blood pressure, tobacco use, and poor diet. Over the past two decades, deaths attributable to ambient PM2.5 in India has increased by 2.5 times, the report said, adding that between 1990 and 2019, deaths due to household pollution has increased by over 40 per cent, the report said.

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States begin easing COVID lockdowns as case numbers decline

The national capital territory of Delhi, the seat of India’s federal government, was among those relaxing restrictions and will allow shops to open on alternate days. Shops with even numbers will open on one day while those with odd numbers will open the next day. Private offices will also now be allowed to operate at 50% of normal staffing levels.

In the industrialised western state of Maharashtra, the local government will from June 7 allow malls, movie theatres, restaurants and offices to open regularly in districts where the positivity rate has fallen below 5%.

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FM meets insurers, New India pays Rs 209 crore for settling 419 health workers’ COVID-19 claims

A total of 4.65 lakh claims have been paid amounting to Rs 9,307 crore under PMJJBY. Since the beginning of the pandemic that is April 2020 onwards till date, 1.2 lakh claims have been paid amounting to Rs 2,403 crore, at a disposal rate of 99 per cent.

 She also called for accelerating disbursement of pending claims under PMJJBY during the pandemic. 

Sitharaman also took stock of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), under which a total of 82,660 claims of Rs 1,629 crore have been paid as on May 31, 2021.

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Pandemic slows in Asia and Europe

The biggest decrease was seen in Sweden, where new cases dropped by 36 percent, followed by Nepal (minus 35 percent), India (minus 33 percent), Bahrein (32 percent), Italy (31 percent), Ukraine (30 percent) and Japan (minus 29 percent).
However the number of cases rose by just over half in Oceania, by 18 percent in Africa and five percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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India’s vaccine inequity worsens as countryside languishes

In 114 of India’s least developed districts – collectively home to about 176 million people – authorities have administered just 23 million doses in total.

That’s the same number of doses as have been administered across nine major cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Thane and Nagpur — which combined have half the population.

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