COVID-19

April 22, 2025 11:42 AM

India’s DBT system yields Rs. 3.48 lakh crore in savings, boosts welfare efficiency: report

India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system has resulted in cumulative savings of Rs. 3.48 lakh crore by plugging leakages in welfare delivery, reveals a new report by the BlueKraft Digital Foundation. The findings, endorsed by the Ministry of Finance, underscore the transformative impact of DBT on public spending efficiency, subsidy rationalisation, and social inclusion. The report evaluates data from 2009 to 2024 and introduces a Welfare Efficiency Index (WEI), a composite metric that trac...

April 1, 2025 3:32 PM

RBI pivotal in India’s rise as global digital payments leader: President Murmu

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been instrumental in positioning India as a global leader in digital payments, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday. Speaking at the closing ceremony of RBI’s 90th Anniversary commemoration in Mumbai, President Murmu credited the central bank for continuously modernizing India’s payment infrastructure, ensuring secure and seamless transactions. She highlighted the transformative impact of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has revolutionized...

March 19, 2025 10:39 AM

India achieves significant milestones in financial inclusion: over 55 crore Jan-Dhan accounts opened

India has reached significant milestones in financial inclusion, with the National Mission for Financial Inclusion (NMFI), launched through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in August 2014, recording the opening of over 55.02 crore Jan-Dhan accounts as of March 7. Of these, 36.63 crore accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas, underscoring the scheme's reach in underserved regions. The Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, shared this information in a written reply to the R...

October 14, 2024 4:57 PM

Supreme Court rejects plea alleging side effects of COVID-19 vaccines

The Supreme Court of India on Monday dismissed a petition alleging that COVID-19 vaccines caused severe side effects, including blood clotting, calling the plea as an attempt to create unnecessary alarm. A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, declined to entertain the petition, stating that it lacked merit. "We don’t want to rake this up. This is just to create a sensation," remarked the bench, questioning the usefulness of the petition....

October 8, 2024 3:38 PM

Pfizer, BioNTech win bid to invalidate CureVac’s UK COVID vaccine patents

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Tuesday won their attempt to invalidate two of rival CureVac's patents at London's High Court. Pfizer and BioNTech had filed their lawsuit in September 2022 over patents relating to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which underpins Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine. Tuesday's ruling relates to the London leg of Pfizer, BioNTech and CureVac's global legal battle, which also involves litigation in the United States and Germany. Pfizer and BioNTech a...

September 19, 2024 5:28 PM

Global health fund says health, climate, conflict ‘triple whammy’ hits world’s poorest

Climate change and conflict risk overshadowing efforts to improve people's health, when in reality the issues overlap, Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said. He was speaking in London ahead of Thursday's release of the Global Fund’s 2024 report covering its work last year, which showed improvement in tackling the three diseases after COVID-19 knocked efforts off course. Despite the progress, Sands said another pandemic legacy is that donor governm...

September 17, 2024 2:22 PM

Work-life balance: Four-day week is catching on

Are you anxious that your boss is always tracking the number of hours you work? Do you sometimes feel like you are married to your job? Are you one of those who feels the need to work long hours just to prove your worth? Are 40 to 50 hours per week one too many? If your answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’, then stick with me. I have news for you. A four-day work week is becoming popular around the world, including the Global South. The U.A.E. has done it. And so have some other countries. ...

July 30, 2024 5:33 PM

COVID-19 looms over Olympics with several athletes testing positive

Three years after the Tokyo Olympics were held amid strict precautions and with no fans because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has forced athletes to withdraw from events and has others donning masks once again at the Paris Games. Several athletes have tested positive, including Australian swimmer Lani Pallister who was a medal hope in the women's 1,500 metres freestyle but had to withdraw from the event. Pallister has been instructed to isolate in her room. British swimmer Adam Pe...

September 16, 2024 4:52 PM

Delhi High Court orders Baba Ramdev, others to remove their posts against allopathy during COVID-19

The Delhi High Court issued an interim order on Monday directing Baba Ramdev, Acharya Bal Krishan, and others to remove statements and posts that accuse allopathic medicine and doctors of causing deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, who passed the order, expressed concern that allowing the defendants to continue promoting their product, Coronil, could put public health at risk and potentially damage the reputation of the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine. The ...

September 16, 2024 5:54 PM

US President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19, says White House

US President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is showing mild symptoms, the White House said. "He (Biden) will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," the White House said in its official release on Wednesday (local time). Biden, 81, tested Covid positive on Wednesday, a day after he attended the NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, where he strongly criticised Donald Trump's policies and also...