City Buzz: 100 cases of Omicron in India | Construction banned in Delhi.. and more

As Omicron cases rise, govt advises against unnecessary travel; WHO approves Covovax for emergency use. This and more news from the week gone by.

Over 100 cases of Omicron confirmed and rising

The Omicron variant of COVID-19, that has sparked global fears, is now spreading rapidly in India. Over 100 cases have been detected from 11 states. The Health Ministry on December 17th warned that 19 districts were at risk of a massive surge, and added that people should avoid unnecessary travel and large gatherings.

If the pace of infection were to continue, India could see 14 lakh cases a day, according to the Ministry.

Delhi currently stands at 22 cases, and Maharashtra – the worst hit – stands at 40 cases. Next is Rajasthan at 17, Karnataka and Telangana at 8 each. Two cases from Maharashtra are that of children, a three-year-old boy and an 18-month-old girl.

New travel guidelines mandate an RT-PCR test for those not fully vaccinated, and quarantine measures for travellers from ‘at-risk’ countries.

The variant has been detected in over 90 countries so far.

Source: NDTV

WHO approves emergency use listing for Covovax

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on December 17th announced its approval of Serum Institute’s Covovax for Emergency Use Listing (EUL). The vaccine is the result of a partnership between India’s Serum Institute and US-based Novavax.

“Covovax was assessed under the WHO EUL procedure based on the review of data on quality, safety and efficacy, a risk management plan, programmatic sustainability, and manufacturing site inspections carried out by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing has determined that the vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19, that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs any risks, and that it can be used globally,” the WHO said in a statement.

Covovax is the third vaccine from India to get EUL by WHO.

Source: Hindustan Times


Read more: Know more about the new vaccines that could accelerate India’s COVID vaccination drive


Karnataka refuses to repeal key farmer’s Act

The Karnataka government has decided against the repeal of the Agriculture Produce Marketing (APMC) 2020 law that limits powers of local Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees and allows farmers to sell outside of APMCs.

a farmer in Maharashtra faces the camera as he cools down after working on his field
Several farmers groups had been protesting Centre’s farm laws for over a year | Photo: David Baxendale, Flickr, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

The state government in 2020 sought to amend the APMC (Regulation and Development) Act that envisaged opening up the agricultural market, after the central government suggested an adoption of the Model Agricultural Produce and livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017. In January 2020, the Act was amended. Along with this, the State enacted land reforms law that allows non-agriculturalists to purchase agricultural land, and enacted an anti-cow slaughter law as well.

Yogendra Yadav, president of Swaraj India and Samyukta Kisan Morcha leader, has threatened another Delhi-like agitation, along with farmers groups.

Source: The Times of India

Cryptocurrencies won’t get legal tender status: Govt

In new a development, the Centre on December 16th clarified that cryptocurrency will not get a legal tender status in India. “Right now, I will only say that cryptocurrencies are not going to become a legal tender,” said Union Finance Secretary T V Somanathan. “The Indian Rupee is a legal tender, while gold and silver are not legal tenders. The rest will be decided in the bill.”

The finance ministry is currently working on a Cabinet note for discussions on a regulatory framework to monitor digital currency in the country.

According to sources, the note will include the government’s stand that cryptocurrencies are ‘obscure’ and can be exploited easily. According to a detailed opinion report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the government body has outlined how digital currency is a potential threat to the sovereignty and stability of the Rupee.

Source: India Today

Construction activity banned in Delhi-NCR

Delhi’s Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which had banned construction and demolition activities across Delhi and adjoining areas from December 17th, has decided to extend the ban until further notice in the light of continuing toxic air conditions in the capital.

However, projects like those of railways, airports, inter-state bus terminals and healthcare facilities have been exempted from the ban.

Source: The Times of India

(Compiled by Saachi D’Souza)

Also read:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

City Buzz: Diwali-led pollution spike in Delhi | Municipal green bonds issue… and more

Other news: AQI round-up in cities; Lancet report highlights risks to India from extreme heat; office rents surge to pre-pandemic levels.

Delhi world's 'most polluted' city post Diwali: Study Delhi's Diwali night blazed with colours and high-decibel firecrackers. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) department received a record number of 318 distress or emergency calls of fire accidents, out of which 280 were alerts. According to Swiss firm IQ Air, the air quality index stood at over 345 shortly after dawn, in the "hazardous" category, with New Delhi at the top of a real-time global list as the world's most-polluted city. However, on November 1st, Environment Minister Gopal Rai expressed gratitude to Delhiites for "largely refraining from bursting firecrackers" on Deepavali, which helped…

Similar Story

How to save a neighbourhood park — Mumbaikars show the way with Patwardhan Park

A detailed account of how citizens got city authorities to reverse their decision to build an underground parking lot under a park in Bandra.

On September 22nd, the playground on the Raosaheb Patwardhan Park resembled a happy space where people gathered to enjoy and chat, children played football, a few played badminton or even hula hoops. A group jived over Zumba dance moves, while others danced to the live percussion music. The crowd had gathered to celebrate the playground being saved from the clutches of cemented development. A cake was cut to celebrate the occasion. Elected representatives from all the major political parties, Varsha Gaikwad, Mumbai head of the Congress, Priyanka Chaturvedi from the Shiv Sena and even Ashish Shelar, the local Bharatiya Janata…