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Here is a masonry blog layout with no sidebarNew airports being constructed in India at unprecedented speed: PM
The Centre has accorded in-principle approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country: Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra; Bijapur, Hassan, Kalaburagi and Shimoga in Karnataka; Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar and Jewar (Noida) in Uttar Pradesh; Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat; Karaikal in Puducherry; Dagadarthi, Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh; Durgapur in West Bengal; Pakyong in Sikkim; Kannur in Kerala; Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh.
Herd immunity hopes against Covid-19 Pandemic fade
The thinking was that the pandemic would ebb and then mostly fade once a chunk of the population, possibly 60% to 70%, was vaccinated or had resistance through a previous infection. But new variants like delta, which are more transmissible and been shown to evade these protections in some cases, are moving the bar for herd immunity near impossibly high levels.
Power ministry circulates draft rules on clean energy, seeks comments
U.S. opens formal safety probe into some 765,000 Tesla vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that since January 2018, it had identified 11 crashes in which Tesla models “have encountered first responder scenes and subsequently struck one or more vehicles involved with those scenes.”In a statement, the NHTSA reminded drivers “no commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves … Certain advanced driving assistance features can promote safety by helping drivers avoid crashes and mitigate the severity of crashes that occur, but as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly.”
New York’s pension fund to review oil holdings, axes more coal investments
The move by the New York state pension fund comes days after the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported global warming was nearly out of control, and calling its findings “a death knell for coal and fossil fuels.”
Major investors, including BlackRock have re-evaluated holdings in fossil fuel producers and prodded energy executives to reduce emissions and prepare for a lower carbon world. After completing its shale review, the New York fund plans to turn next to oil and gas pipeline and processing investments, it said.
U.S. employers get religion with vaccine mandates
Google’s parent Alphabet Inc, Walmart Inc, and Tyson Foods Inc are among the growing list of employers requiring some or all staff to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
But with each mandate comes exceptions. Employers have to make reasonable accommodations for staff who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or refuse vaccination because of “sincerely held religious beliefs,” according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Waiting for Cabinet approval, says FM on bill on cryptocurrency
The inter-ministerial panel on cryptocurrency under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Economic Affairs) to study the issues related to virtual currencies and propose specific actions has already submitted its report.
It has recommended that all private cryptocurrencies, except any virtual currencies issued by state, will be prohibited in India.
India’s vehicle scrappage policy provides opportunities for new biz models: Experts
Deloitte India Partner & Leader, Government & Public Services Arindam Guha said in addition to reducing vehicular pollution and improving road safety, the vehicle scrapping policy is also likely to attract additional investments and generate employment through registered vehicle scrapping facilities (RVSFs), with around 50-60 such centers likely to be set up across the country.
Covid-19: Economic slowdown, job insecurity and fear of debt drive low confidence among people, says HDFC Life Report
PM announces Rs 100 trillion Gatishakti scheme for holistic infra growth
PM announces Hydrogen Mission, self-reliance in energy by 2047
Hydrogen is produced predominantly through Steam Methane Reforming, or SMR, which utilizes fossils fuels, such as natural gas or coal, and through Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using a current of electricity.
Currently, all hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels. By 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green — produced by renewable electricity and electrolysis.
India records 36,083 new Covid cases, 493 deaths
A total of 73,50,553 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours. Cumulatively, 54.38 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered under the nationwide vaccination drive till Sunday morning, the ministry said.A total of 4,31,225 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,34, 909 from Maharashtra, 36,958 from Karnataka, 34,496 from Tamil Nadu, 25,069 from Delhi, 22,783 from Uttar Pradesh, 18,499 from Kerala, and 18,291 from West Bengal.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
Odisha CM announces smart health cards for 3.5 crore people
Beneficiaries of national and state food security schemes, and Annapurna and Antyodaya initiatives will get the cards under which women can avail treatment up to Rs 10 lakh per year, and other family members will get the benefit up to Rs 5 lakh each.
Noting that the initiative will cover 3.5 crore people in 96 lakh families in a phased manner, Patnaik claimed that Odisha is the first state in the country to provide such smart health cards.
He said that the beneficiaries can avail health services in more than 200 hospital chains across the country including Odisha and it will strengthen the health security of the people of the state.
FM to meet CEOs of public sector banks on Aug 25 to review financial performance
Interestingly, this would be the first physical review meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year. The meeting is expected to take stock of the banking sector, progress on restructuring the 2.0 scheme announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said, adding that banks may be nudged to push loan growth in productive sectors.
The revamped Rs 4.5 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) would also be reviewed during the meeting likely to be held in Mumbai, sources said.
7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti; at least 304 killed
The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said, and widespread damage was reported in the hemisphere’s poorest nations as a tropical storm also bore down.
Haiti’s civil protection agency said on Twitter that the death toll stood at 304, most in the country’s south. Rescue workers and bystanders were able to pull many people to safety from the rubble. The agency said injured people were still being delivered to hospitals
Ker Police comes up with country’s first Drone Forensic Lab & Research Centre
PM says shrinking farm sizes a challenge; need to increase ‘collective power’ of small farmers
Stressing on the need to focus on major challenges facing the agriculture sector, the Prime Minister said, ”One challenge is the shrinking farm sizes in villages.” More than 80 per cent of the farmers in the country have less than 2 hectares of land. But the earlier policies did not focus on small farmers, he said.
Be it reforms in Fasal Bima Yojana, increasing the minimum support price (MSP) by 1.5 times (the cost of production), linking farmers with Kisan Credit Card (KCC) for cheaper farm loans, taking solar power schemes till farm land or setting up of Farmer Producers Organisations (FPOs) — all these efforts will strengthen small farmers, PM added.
Higher than national average, per capita income of Telangana doubled in 7 years:KCR
”Likewise, when the state was formed in the 2013-2014 financial year our State Per Capita Income was Rs. 1,12,216 whereas now Telangana’s State Per Capita Income has reached Rs.2,37,632. Presently, our country’s Per Capita Income is recorded as Rs. 1,28,829. It is to be noticed that the Telangana State Per Capita Income is more than that of the country Per Capita Income,” he said.