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Fears of vaccine exclusion as India uses digital ID, facial recognition

But a requirement to register for appointments on a mobile app using Aadhaar is excluding millions of people who do not have an Aadhaar ID, said Anushka Jain, an associate counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation in Delhi.

Using facial recognition at vaccine centres risks further marginalising vulnerable people who may be misidentified and refused the vaccine, and raises fears the controversial technology could become the norm at all centres, she added.

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Finmin widens scope of ECLGS, includes healthcare sector

“In recognition of the continuing adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic on certain service sectors, the government has now extended the scope of ECLGS through introduction of ECLGS 3.0 to cover business enterprises in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors which had, as on February 29, 2020, total credit outstanding not exceeding Rs 500 crore and overdues, if any, were for 60 days or less, on that date,” the statement issued last month had said.

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India has a double mutant Coronavirus variant. Should we be worried?

The new variant, which has a so-called double mutation, is thought to be fueling India’s deadlier new wave of infections that has made it the world’s second worst-hit country, surpassing Brazil, and has already begun to overwhelm its hospitals and crematoriums. The Asian nation has reported more than 14 million Covid cases so far and more than 174,300 fatalities.

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PM Modi reviews status of oxygen availability to ensure adequate supply

The Prime Minister was conveyed that states and transporters have been asked to ensure tankers move round the clock with drivers working in shifts to ensure faster turnaround and adequate capacity to meet the surge in demand. Cylinder filling plants will also be permitted 24 hour working with necessary safeguards. The government is allowing industrial cylinders to be used for medical oxygen after due purging. Similarly, nitrogen and argon tankers will be automatically allowed to be converted to oxygen tankers to overcome the potential shortage of tankers, as per the statement.

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COVID-19 predominantly transmitted through air: Lancet study cites ‘strong evidence’

“The evidence supporting airborne transmission is overwhelming, and evidence supporting large droplet transmission is almost non-existent,” Jose-Luis Jimenez, a chemist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and the University of Colorado Boulder said.
“It is urgent that the World Health Organization and other public health agencies adapt their description of transmission to the scientific evidence so that the focus of mitigation is put on reducing airborne transmission.”

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Govt notifies draft rules for hiking FDI to 74 % in insurance sector

According to the draft rules, in an Indian insurance company having foreign investment exceeding 49 per cent not less than fifty per cent. of the net profit for the financial year have to be  retained in general reserve, if the insurer’s solvency margin is less than 1.2 times the control level of solvency for a financial year for which dividend is paid on equity shares.

Not less than fifty per cent. of directors of  such insurers will be independent directors, unless the chairperson of its board is an independent director, in which case at least one-third of its board shall comprise of independent directors.

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