India installed 7.3 GW of solar power in CY 2019

In the calendar year 2019, India installed 7.3 GW of solar power across the country, establishing its position as the third-largest solar market in the world.

According to a study by Mercom Communications India, a subsidiary of global clean energy communications and consulting firm Mercom Capital Group, India also had a robust pipeline of utility-scale projects under development of 23.7 GW at the end of 2019, with another 31.5 GW of tenders pending auction.

“The solar market leaders have changed in almost every category compared with last year. With a tough year ahead, we expect strong, resilient, and innovative companies continue to do well,” said Mr Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

The report added that the top 10 large-scale project developers account for 68 per cent market share in 2019. During 2019, ReNew Power was the top utility-scale developer, while Azure Power owns the largest project pipeline.

In India, there are about 29 large-scale solar developers with a project pipeline of 100 MW or more.

In 2019, large-scale solar installations accounted for 85 per cent with 6.2 GW. Additionally, solar accounted for 41 per cent of new power capacity additions in 2019 behind coal which accounted for 44 per cent.

There was delay in lot of projects in companies offering engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) due to delays caused by general elections, land and evacuation issues among others. In 2019, Mahindra Susten was the top EPC player for utility-scale solar installations, followed by L&T.

The largest cumulative rooftop portfolio is by Tata Power Solar, followed by CleanMax Solar. At the end of 2019, the top 10 rooftop solar installers represented 34 per cent of the total rooftop solar market share. In 2019, the rooftop solar market growth came down by 33 per cent compared with CY 2018.

The solar inverter market was led by Huawei in 2019, followed by Sungrow.

Other top string inverter suppliers included Growatt, Solis Inverters, and Delta Power Solutions.

Trina Solar was the leading module supplier to India in terms of cumulative shipments at the end of December 2019, while Waaree Energies, Adani, and Risen Energy held the top spot in CY 2019. In 2019, the top 10 module suppliers accounted for over 62 per cent of the market.

The top supplier of solar mounting structures in 2019 was Ganges Internationale, followed by Purshotam Profiles and Strolar. The top supplier of solar trackers was Scorpius Trackers in 2019.

Fintech startup NIRA closes US$ 2.1 million pre-series A funding round

NIRA, Fintech startup, which provides small ticket loans to blue and grey collared workers through its mobile app and website, has closed US$ 2.1 million in pre-series A funding from existing and new angel investors in UK, Europe, and India.

These funds will be utilised in hiring new talent, developing its product and technology further and scaling up its lending volumes.

“We’re delighted to move to the next phase of our journey with this new raise. While we did get offers for funding from a couple of VCs, we decided to stick to our existing investors and take more time to find the right long-term partners" said Mr Rohit Sen, chief executive and co-founder of NIRA.

“In the last 12 months, we’ve found a good product-market fit, so now we want to build on this strong foundation to scale our business."

The startup was founded in 2018 by former Goldman Sachs executives Mr Rohit Sen and Ms Nupur Gupta. The Bengaluru-based firm has thousands of customers in over 100 cities across the country. The company presently offers loans of up to Rs 1 lakh (US$ 1,418.64) for up to a year through its app-based credit line.

HCARD, a robot, to assist frontline COVID-19 healthcare warriors

Healthcare workers at hospitals are risking COVID-19 infection while taking care of those infected by it 24/7. Perhaps the level of risk may get reduced hereafter with the help of a new friend, HCARD. The robotic device HCARD, in short for Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device, can help frontline healthcare workers in maintaining physical distance from those infected by coronavirus.

HCARD is developed by Durgapur-based CSIR lab, Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute. The device is equipped with various state-of-the-art technologies and works both in automatic as well as manual modes of navigation.

This robot can be controlled and monitored by a nursing booth with a control station having such features as navigation, drawer activation for providing medicines and food to patients, sample collection and audio-visual communication.

Prof (Dr) Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR-CMERI stated that “This Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device could be effective for frontline healthcare officials dealing with COVID-19 patients in delivering services while maintaining mandatory physical distancing”. The cost of this device is less than Rs 5 lakh (US$ 7,093.2) and the weight is less than 80 kilograms, added Prof Hirani.

CSIR-CMERI is working on war footing to minimize the impact of COVID-19 through technological interventions. As spelled out by WHO, personal protective equipment (PPE) is very important in preventing transmission of coronavirus in the society, thus the Institute has channelized its resources optimally to develop PPE and community-level safety equipment for helping the public at large and healthcare institutions.

Scientists at CMERI have also developed a few other customized technologies, including Disinfection Walkway, Road Sanitizer Unit, Face Mask, Mechanical Ventilator and Hospital Waste Management Facility.

JNCASR scientists develop a natural product based Alzheimer inhibitor

Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India have modified the structure of Berberine, a natural and cheap product similar to curcumin, available commercially, into Ber-D to use as a Alzheimer’s inhibitor. Their research work has been published in the scientific journal iSceince.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and accounts for more than 70 per cent of all dementia. The multifactorial nature of the disease attributed to multifaceted toxicity has made it difficult for researchers to develop effective medication.

Prof T. Govindaraju, a Swarnajayanti fellow from JNCASR, led his team in the quest to discover natural product based therapeutic candidates for Alzheimer’s disease, and selected isoquinoline natural product berberine found in India and China and used in traditional medicine and other applications. However, berberine is poorly soluble and toxic to cells. So they modified berberine to Ber-D, which is a soluble (aqueous), antioxidant. They found it to be a multifunctional inhibitor of multifaceted amyloid toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease.

Protein aggregation and amyloid toxicity predominantly contribute to multifaceted toxicity observed in neuronal cells, including generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial dysfunction, interfering with synaptic signaling, and activation of premature cell death. The JNCASR team developed this multifunctional inhibitor to ameliorate in cellulo multifaceted toxicity.

The structural attributes of Ber-D are such that they prevent the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and rescue biomacromolecules from oxidative damage. Ber-D inhibits aggregations of metal-dependent and -independent Amyloid beta (Aβ) (which are the peptides of amino acids crucially involved in Alzheimer's disease as the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease).

The team developed Ber-D to effectively target multifaceted Aβ toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease. Berberine has 4 Phenolic hydroxyl groups which are methylated, hence water-insoluble. Natural product berberine was subjected to demethylation to obtain water-soluble polyphenolic derivative Ber-D. Treatment of berberine with demethylation agent BBr3(Boron tribromide) gave Ber-D Because of demethylation of berberine, 4 phenolic groups are free, increase water solubility, antioxidant property, and Cu-coordination to ameliorate multifaced toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease Detailed studies showed that Ber-D modulated Aβ toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease. Ber-D treatment averts mitochondrial dysfunction and corresponding neuronal toxicity contributing to premature apoptosis (cell death) making Ber-D a potential therapeutic candidate to ameliorate multifaceted Aβ toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease.

The antioxidant Ber-D efficiently quenched both Reactive nitrogen species(RNS) & reactive oxygen species (ROS) and prevent DNA damage, protein oxidation, and lipid peroxidation, which cause numerous adverse biochemical cascade reactions leading to neuronal death. Ber-D inhibits the formation of toxic Aβ fibrillar aggregates and protects mitochondria from dysfunction, one of the major causes of neuronal death. Their design strategy of synthetically transforming berberine to Ber-D, a multifunctional antioxidant and aggregation modulator, effectively ameliorate multiple Aβtoxicity both in vitro and in cellulo conditions.

These multifunctional attributes make Ber-D a promising candidate for developing effective therapeutics to treat multifaceted toxicity of Alzheimer’s disease.

More than one crore face masks prepared by Self Help Groups across the country

More than one crore face masks have been made by various Self-Help Groups across the country. It shows relentless effort, positive energy and united resolve of SHGs to fight Covid-19 under DAY-NULM flagship scheme of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

At the core of this proud moment is a strong face of women entrepreneurs supported by the Mission. Their resilience is motivating others to multiply the efforts with more energy and determination. It is women empowerment safeguarding lives in true sense.

Ms Shubhangi Chandrakant Dhaygude, President, Samrudhhi Area Level Federation (ALF) has a distinct smile on her face that symbolizes satisfaction and pride. She collects orders through phone and stitches masks at her home in Titwala, Maharashtra. She says that they have made 50000 masks and 45 more women are involved in making masks with her.

Ms Meenu Jha, member of Savarni SHG in Kota, Rajasthan says that even she did not imagine that this small step can be so inspiring for others. These lines of Ms Meenu Jha reiterate the fact that all of us have unique capability of contributing to this fight even during lockdown.

Gamocha, the traditional cloth and symbol of respect in Assam has today become a symbol of health, safety and hygiene. Ms Rashmi from Nagaon, member of Runjhun SHG is busy preparing masks using this traditional cloth.

Ms Updesh Andotra, member Prayas Self Help Group in Kathua, J&K feels proud while making the tricolour masks.

403 Lifeline Udan flights operated to ensure delivery of essential and medical supplies across the country

403 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan in domestic sector by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and private carriers. 235 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. Lifeline Udan flights cover distance of over 3,97, 632 km to deliver essential and medical supplies of around 748.68 tons till 27th April 2020 for people across the country. Lifeline Udan flights are being operated by MoCA to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19.

Private Operators SpiceJet, Blue Dart, Indigo and Vistara are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis. Spicejet operated 633 cargo flights till 27th April 2020 covering a distance of 11,09, 028 km and carrying 4,637 tons of cargo. Out of these, 228 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 219 cargo flights covering a distance of 2,38,928 km and carrying 3,636tons of cargo till 27th April 2020. Out of these, 10 were international cargo flights. Indigo has operated 50 cargo flights till 27th April 2020 covering a distance of 77,996 km and carrying around 185 tons of cargo and including 17 international flights.  This also includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government. Vistara has operated 14 cargo flights till 27th April 2020 covering a distance of 20,466 km and carrying around 113 tons of cargo.

In international Sector, a cargo air-bridge was established with East Asia for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and Covid-19 relief material. The quantity of medical cargo brought in by Air India is 609 tons. In addition to the above, Blue Dart has uplifted around 109 tons of medical supplies from Guangzhou from 14th April to 27th April 2020. Blue Dart has uplifted 5 tons of medical cargo from Shanghai on 25th April 2020. Spicejet has uplifted 140 tons of medical supplies from Shanghai upto 27th April 2020 and 13 tons medical supplies from Hong Kong and Singapore upto 25th April 2020.

Fittr raises US$ 2 million in pre-series A funding from Surge

Fittr, a Pune-based online fitness startup, has raised US$ 2 million in pre-series A funding from Surge, Sequoia Capital India’s rapid scale-up programme for early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia.

The startup was founded in January 2016 by Mr Jitendra Chouksey. It is an online fitness community that have over 850,000 members. The company was bootstrapped and has been profitable since inception, achieving a cumulative revenue of US$ 13 million, the company said in a statement.

“...Our vision is to become the leading global social platform and marketplace for fitness coaching, and the confidence shown by Surge in this vision is a shot in the arm for Fittr," said founder Mr Jitendra Chouksey.

Fittr offers free access to diet and training tools, over 5,000 healthy recipes, live fitness sessions with experts, Q&A with coaches, and connects users to a community of fitness experts and enthusiasts. Personalized nutrition and exercise plans to reach their health and fitness goals are offered on a subscription basis. These customised plans are provided by one of Fittr’s 200 certified coaches. Consultation call with the coach, as well as weekly check-ups on their progress is available via the app in the subscription scheme.

Till now, the start-up claims to have transformed over 100,000 people and 30 per cent of their user base is global, spread across the US, UK, Australia, UAE and Canada. The central philosophy underlying Fittr is to encourage the end-user to transform and inspire others to get fit, said co-founder Mr Sonal Singh.

During Lockdown EPFO Settles about 13 Lakh Claims Including 7.40 Lakh COVID-19 Claims Under PMGKY Package

Keeping up the momentum speedier EPF disbursal during Lockdown, Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), under Union Ministry of Labour & Employment, has settled a total of 12.91 lakh claims, including 7.40 lakhs COVID-19 claims under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) package. This involves disbursal of a total amount of Rs 4684.52 crore (US$ 664.57 million) which includes Rs 2,367.65 crore (US$ 335.88 million) COVID claims under PMGKY package.

It is heartening to note that the exempted PF trusts have also risen to the occasion amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As on 27.04.2020, Rs 875.52 crore (US$ 124.20 million) have been disbursed to 79,743 PF Members as advance  for COVID-19 by the exempted PF Trusts under this Scheme, with 222 private sector establishments disbursing Rs 338.23 crore (US$ 47.98 million) to 54641 beneficiaries, 76 public sector establishments disbursing Rs 524.75 crore (US$ 74.44 million) to 24178 beneficiaries and 23 cooperative sector establishments disbursing Rs 12.54 crore (US$ 1.78 million) to 924 claimants.

M/s Tata Consultancy Services Mumbai, M/s HCL Technologies Ltd. Gurugramand M/s HDFC Bank Powai, Mumbai are the top three exempted establishments in private sector, both in terms of “number of claims settled and “amount disbursed”. In public sector, M/s ONGC Dehradun, M/s Neyveli Lignite Corporation Neyveli and M/s BHEL Trichyare the top 3 exempted           establishments to have settled maximum number of COVID-19 advance claims; whereas, M/s Neyveli Lignite Corporation Neyveli, M/s ONGC Dehradun and M/s Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant Vishakhapatnam are top three establishments in terms of amount disbursed to EPF members.

The provision for a special withdrawal from the EPF Scheme to fight Covid-19 pandemic is part of the PMGKY scheme announced by the government and an urgent notification on the matter was made to introduce a para 68 L (3) of the EPF Scheme on 28th March, 2020. Under this   provision non-refundable withdrawal to the extent of the basic wages and dearness allowances for three months or up to 75 per cent of the amount standing to member's credit in the EPF account, whichever is less, is provided.

Despite only one-third staff being able to work due to lockdown, EPFO is committed to serve its members during this difficult situation and EPFO offices are functional to help them during these testing times.

Record fertilizer sales during lockdown period

Amid National level covid -19 lockdown, Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has had a record sale of Fertilizers to farmer community.

During 1 - 22 April 2020, POS sale of fertilizers to farmers was 10.63 lakh MT which is 32 percent higher than the last year sale of 8.02 lakh MT during the same period.

During 1-22 April 2020, dealers purchased 15.77 lakh MT fertilizers which is 46 percent higher than last year sale of 10.79 lakh MT during the same period.

Despite lot of movement restrictions due to National level COVID-19 lockdown, with the concerted efforts of Department of Fertilizers, Railways, States and Ports, production and supply of fertilizers in the country is going on without hindrance.     

This is in line with the commitment made by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers to ensure availability of fertilizers to farmers for the upcoming Kharif season.         

Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri D V Sadananda Gowda has said, there is no problem of Fertilizers. State Government have Sufficient stock of the Fertilizers. He said we are in touch with State Agriculture Ministers. Shri Gowda said his Ministry is committed to ensure availability of fertilizers to the farmer community before sowing time.         

On 17th April, 41 Fertilizer Rakes moved from plants & ports. This is the highest movement of fertilizers during lockdown period in a day.  One Rake carries 3000 MT of load at a time.  production in fertilizer companies is going on in full capacity.

Government of India, under Essential Commodities Act has allowed operation of Fertilizers plants in the country so that agriculture sector may not feel the heat of lockdown.

As loading and unloading of fertilizers are in full swing at fertilizer plants, railway stations and ports, no compromise is made with precautions to avoid COVID-19. Masks and all other preventive equipments are provided to labours and all other working staff.

India signs US$ 1.5 billion loan with ADB to support India's COVID-19 immediate response

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a $1.5 billion loan that will support the government’s response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, focusing on immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social protection for the poor and economically vulnerable sections of the society, especially women and disadvantaged groups.

The signatories to the loan agreement for the ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme (CARES Programme) were ShriSameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), in the Department of Economic Affairs in Ministry of Finance, and Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director, ADB, in India.

Earlier, the ADB’s Board of Directors approved the loan to provide budget support to the government to counter and mitigate the adverse health and socio-economic impact of the pandemic.

“We thank ADB’s timely assistance for the government’s immediate response measures to the coronavirus pandemic to implement (i) COVID-19 containment plan to rapidly ramp up test-track-treatment capacity, and (ii) social protection for the poor, vulnerable, women, and disadvantaged groups to protect more than 800 million people over the next three months,” said Shri Khare. “ADB’s financial and technical support will contribute to the sound implementation of the government’s far reaching emergency response programs launched in March 2020.”

“ADB is glad to support India’s bold measures to contain the COVID- 19 pandemic outbreak while protecting the most vulnerable people affected by movement restrictions, by fast-tracking and delivering the largest ever loan to India. We will continue to engage with the government to strengthen the implementation framework and capacities including monitoring and evaluation systems of its health services and social protection programmes so that the benefits reach to the poor, women, and other disadvantaged people,” said Mr Yokoyama.

Earlier, during the telephone call with Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs and ADB Governor on 9thApril 2020, ADB President Mr Masatsugu Asakawa conveyed ADB’s commitment to support India’s emergency needs for the health sector while alleviating the economic impact of the pandemic, as well as short- to medium-term measures to restore the dynamic economic growth of the country by exploring all available financing options.       The CARES Programme is provided as the first support to meet the immediate requirements of the government. 

Building on the CARES Programme, ADB is also in dialogue with the government for further possible support for stimulating the economy, support strong growth recovery, and to build resilience to future shocks. This includes the support for the affected industries and entrepreneurs particularly micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by facilitating their access to finance through credit guarantee schemes, MSME integration into global and national value chains through enterprise development centers, and a credit enhancement facility for infrastructure projects. Strengthening of public service delivery will be another important agenda, including the extension of comprehensive primary health services in urban areas, and of secondary and tertiary health care systems through PPP modalities.

India has taken several decisive measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, including a US$ 2 billion health sector spending programme to expand hospital facilities, ramp up test-track-treatment capacity and launched a US$ 23 billion pro-poor package to provide direct cash transfer, provide basic consumption goods and free cooking gas cylinders to the poor, particularly to women, old and socially disadvantaged groups. It has also extended insurance coverage to frontline health workers engaged in COVID-19 response. The Central bank, Reserve Bank of India, has slashed policy rates, eased asset quality norms, provided loan moratoriums, taken measures to support exporters and allowed states to borrow more to meet their financing requirements. It has also pumped in massive liquidity to support banks, non-banking financial companies, mutual funds as well as taken measures to push the flow of funds to the MSMEs and the corporate sector.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

BEML bags Rs 398 crore order from Coal India

BEML Limited, Bengaluru-based ‘Schedule A’ company under the Ministry of Defence, has bagged order from Coal India Ltd for supply of seven 150-T and eight 205E-T Dump Trucks under trial-cum-sale along with 8-year spare parts contract.

Coal India subsidiaries viz SECL’s Gevra Project and NCL’s Amlohri & Nigahi Projects, respectively will be responsible for deploying these dumpers. The order is worth about Rs 398 crore (US$ 56.46 million).

Dump Trucks are indigenously designed and developed by BEML and are being manufactured at its Mysuru complex. These products are expected to address the growing demand for higher capacity equipment in the mining industry and will improve its production substantially.

All these trucks have eco-friendly emissions certificate engines with electronic fuel management system to deliver maximum power. Its wide body design-higher value metric capacity and low body weight ensures high stability and productivity. A state-of-the-art AC drive system have been engineered to provide exceptional road performance with reduced maintenance.

Contactless shopping and delivery startup Wagonfly raises $500,000

BEML Limited, Bengaluru-based ‘Schedule A’ company under the Ministry of Defence, has bagged order from Coal India Ltd for supply of seven 150-T and eight 205E-T Dump Trucks under trial-cum-sale along with 8-year spare parts contract.

Coal India subsidiaries viz SECL’s Gevra Project and NCL’s Amlohri & Nigahi Projects, respectively will be responsible for deploying these dumpers. The order is worth about Rs 398 crore (US$ 56.46 million).

Dump Trucks are indigenously designed and developed by BEML and are being manufactured at its Mysuru complex. These products are expected to address the growing demand for higher capacity equipment in the mining industry and will improve its production substantially.

All these trucks have eco-friendly emissions certificate engines with electronic fuel management system to deliver maximum power. Its wide body design-higher value metric capacity and low body weight ensures high stability and productivity. A state-of-the-art AC drive system have been engineered to provide exceptional road performance with reduced maintenance.

Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar issues guidelines regarding the SVAMITVA scheme, a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj

Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the government has run several programs to digitally empower panchayats across the country. He was speaking in New Delhi on the occasion of issuing guidelines regarding the SVAMITVA scheme, a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The Minister said that the aim of this program is to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties so that they can use their property for economic purposes. The Minister said that this scheme will help in streamlining planning and revenue collection in rural areas and ensuring clarity on property rights. This will also help in resolving property related disputes. The scheme will enable creation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs), leveraging the maps created under this programme.

SVAMITVA scheme, a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India, aims to provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India, engaging the latest Drone Surveying technology, for demarcating the inhabitant (Aabadi) land in rural areas. The program is currently being implemented in six states - Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Under this, mapping of rural housing land can be done using the latest survey methods and drones. In Punjab and Rajasthan, 101 Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) will be set up during this year which will set the stage for undertaking actual survey and mapping of inhabited areas of villages next year.

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar also released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding e-Gram Swaraj on the occasion. He said that following this procedure, it will be ensured that the funds given to the panchayats are not misused and transparency can be maintained in its use. He said that this process will help in establishing a strong financial system by integrating the Priya Soft and PFMS, the payment portals of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The application aims to bring in better transparency and strengthening of the e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country through decentralized planning, progress reporting and work-based accounting. It will also assist in enhancing the credibility of Panchayats which would induce greater devolution of funds to PRIs. Furthermore, e-Gram Swaraj provides a platform for effective monitoring by higher authorities. It will be a single platform for all planning and accounting needs of the Panchayats.

The key focus areas of M/o Panchayati Raj over the last few years has been to track the fund flow of the Central Finance Commission grants and also to ensure timely payments on real-time basis to the service providers in the Panchayats. The Online Payment Module (erstwhile PRIASoft-PFMS Interface (PPI)) is one of its kind whereby Gram Panchayats are carrying out online payments to the vendors and service providers. The main objective of introducing such a module is to have a sound financial management system in the Panchayats leading to their greater credibility and image.

These endeavours are also congruent to that of Digital India Programme which is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy - “Faceless, Paperless, Cashless”.

Six courses of SWAYAM appear in best 30 online courses of 2019 in the Class Central list

The Class Central (a free online course aka MOOC aggregator from top universities like Stanford, MIT, Harvard, etc.) has released the list of best 30 online courses of 2019 out of which 6 courses are from SWAYAM.

The ‘Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM) an integrated platform for online courses, using information and communication technology (ICT) which covers school (9th to 12th) to Post Graduate Level. Till date, a total of 2867 Courses have been offered through SWAYAM and 568 courses have been uploaded to offer for January 2020 Semester. About 57 lakhs (57,84,770) unique users / registrations have been made on SWAYAM platform and about 1.25 crore (125,04,722) enrollments in various courses of SWAYAM. It also offers online courses for students, teachers and teacher educators. It may be accessed on swayam.gov.in.

Following 6 courses of SWAYAM have been listed in the best 30 online coursed of 2019.

1. Academic Writing: H.N.B Garhwal University (A Central University) Srinagar Garhwal 

2. Digital Marketing: Punjab University Chandigarh.

3. ANIMATIONs:    Banaras Hindu University.

4. Mathematical Economics: Doon University, Dehradun

5. Python for Data Science: Indian Institute of Technology Madras

6. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): Avianshilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore

Life insurance companies register 11.4 per cent growth in premium income in FY20

India's life insurance companies witnessed 11.36 per cent growth in their collective premium income at Rs 48.26 lakh crore (US$ 684.64 billion) during the fiscal ended March 2020, as per the data from IRDAI. While in FY19, the 24 life insurance companies' collective premium income stood at Rs 43.33 lakh crore (US$ 614.70 billion).

Although, LIC, the India's largest and the only state-owned insurer, posted a decline in premium income at Rs 8.32 lakh crore (US$ 118.03 billion) during 2019-20, as per the data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

During 2018-19, LIC's premium collection reached Rs 10.74 lakh crore (US$ 152.36 billion). The company’s market share stood at 82.76 per cent as of March 31, 2020.

The rest of the private sector players observed 22.53 per cent rise in their total premium income at Rs 39.94 lakh crore (US$ 566.61 billion). In FY19, the overall income stood at Rs 32.59 lakh crore (US$ 462.34 billion).

As of March 31, 2020, the combined market share of all private sector life insurers stood at 17.24 per cent.

JioMart starts home delivery in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan

Reliance Industries (RIL) has started home delivery of essentials in partnership with local kirana stores in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. These services are available under JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, an RIL subsidiary.

Under the deal signed between Facebook, this is the first of the deal to use WhatsApp.

The orders can be placed by 5 pm every day and would be available for pick up from the customer’s nearest JioMart Kirana store within 48 hours, as per a message sent to customers across these locations.

Registration is required first where customer has to provide details such as mobile number, area, locality, society name and customer details.

According to the sources, these are the first locations where the services are being launched and would be extended to other cities in the country in a phased manner.

To order customers can send a “Hi” message to JioMart's WhatsApp number (88500 08000) on their phones, following which the company will send a link to take orders.

Global tech giant Facebook signed a binding agreement to invest Rs 43,574 crore (US$ 6.18 billion) in RIL wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Platforms.

WhatsApp has more than 400 million users in India, while the company is readying to insert payments feature in the messaging and Voice over IP service platform.

Bira91 raises US$ 30 million funding led by Sequoia India, Sofina

B9 Beverages Pvt. Ltd, the maker of Bira 91 brand of craft beer, has raised US$ 30 million in funding led by its existing investors, Sequoia India and Belgium-based investment firm Sofina.

Mumbai-based consumer-focused venture capital fund, Sixth Sense Ventures, Korean private equity fund Neoplux, and certain family offices also participated in the round, the company said in a statement.

These new funds will be used to further expand its India footprint and consolidate its leadership position in the premium beer market in India.

In 2019, the firm commissioned two new breweries, one each in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and quadrupled its production capacity. The company achieved market share near to 3 per cent of the overall beer market with the launch of Boom, its latest mass market beer brand. The company has presence in over 400 cities, as of fiscal year ended 31 March 2020.

“We continue to grow our business in both existing and new markets. Our market shares in several markets are now higher than 5 per cent of overall beer and more than 20 per cent share of premium beer market," said Mr Ankur Jain, chief executive at the firm.

“Along with Boom, our other new launches of Bira 91 IPA with Pomelo and the Malabar Stout have been well received. 2020 is a key inflection point for the company where we expect to reach double digit market shares in a number of states through the year," he added.

Production capacity of coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 cases in the country has been ramped up to more than 1 lakh per day; cumulative production till date is approximately one million coverall units

Production capacity of coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 cases in the country has been ramped up to more than 1 lakh per day. Bengaluru has become a major hub for PPE Coverall production in the country to combat COVID-19 cases. Nearly fifty percent of the Coverall production in the country is from Bengaluru. Since Body Coveralls (PPE) is a specialized protective suit meant for high level of protection to the health professionals, it has stringent technical requirements as prescribed by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. M/s HLL Lifecare Limited is the designated single-window procurement agency for the hospitals and healthcare organisations under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

Other than Bengaluru, PPE Coveralls are also being manufactured by approved production units in Tirupur, Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat, Phagwara and Ludhiana in Punjab, Kusumnagar and Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, Dungarpur in Rajasthan, Kolkata, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and few other places. The cumulative production till date is approximately one million Coverall units.

During the last week of January 2020, the technical standard for the Coveralls was prescribed as per WHO class-3 exposure pressure in accordance with ISO 16003 or its equivalent. Such materials were being manufactured by a few international companies, who expressed their inability to supply on account of a complete glut in stocks and ban of exports by the source countries. Only a limited quantity was offered and procured by the procurement organization of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare finalised the technical requirement on 2nd March 2020, based on the indigenous availability of materials and the technical requirement for a high level of protection of the healthcare professionals who would deal with the COVID-19 cases, in consultation with medical experts in the field. The specification was published on the official website of HLL Lifecare Ltd on 5th March 2020, inviting manufacturers having adequate capability to participate in the procurement process.

As of now, there are four laboratories in the country which have the Synthetic Blood Penetration Resistance Test facilities as well as necessary approvals for conducting tests and certification for Body Coveralls (PPE) required for COVID-19. These are – South India Textiles Research Association (SITRA), Coimbatore, Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, and two laboratories under Ordnance Factory Board – Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi and Small Arms Factory, Kanpur.

For each such test conducted in respect of a fabric and the PPE Coverall garment, for which prototype samples are sent by the respective manufacturers, a Unique Certification Code (UCC-COVID19) is generated. This code has records of the type of fabric, type of garment, its date of testing, testing standard and other relevant particulars. The UCC issued to each passed sample is published on the official website of DRDO, OFB and SITRA for verification by any user of the product. With a view to further streamline the process of testing and to ensure that the quality of the PPE Coveralls is maintained, the testing laboratory will now accept the sample for testing only on submission of an affidavit in the prescribed format by the organization intending to get their PPE Coverall sample tested in the approved laboratories.

The PPE kits are being sent to the States by the Ministry of Health as per requirement. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Ministry of Textiles are continuously working with various industry bodies, stakeholders and manufacturers on 24x7 basis, to streamline the supply chain, remove bottlenecks and maintain a steady supply of all materials required for the healthcare professionals.

Team led by IIT Bombay student develops low-cost mechanical ventilator Ruhdaar

The Government has said that “the COVID-19 infection curve has begun to flatten and that the outbreak is under control”.

According to the Health Ministry, among those getting infected, around 80 per cent will experience only mild illness, around 15 per cent will need oxygen support and the remaining 5 per cent who get critical or severe will need ventilators.

Ventilators are thus an important component of the medical infrastructure required for treating infected patients, providing critical breathing support to those falling critically ill.

Considering this, the government has been adopting a two-pronged approach, augmenting domestic manufacturing capacity as well as scouting across the world for medical supplies. Accordingly, as per the update given to the Group of Ministers meeting held on April 25, 2020, production of ventilators by domestic manufacturers has already started and orders for more than 59,000 units through nine manufacturers have been placed.

In this context, it is heartening that the Indian inventive and creative spirit has been reaping good fruit in this crisis situation. The entire scientific community, including CSIR and its 30-plus labs, institutes such as IITs and many from the private sector and civil society, have come up with various solutions, each of which contributes in some measure to our battle against the pandemic.

A team of engineering students from IIT Bombay, NIT Srinagar and Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), Awantipora, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir is one such group of creative individuals who have come forward to solve the problem of ventilator requirement. The team has come up with a low-cost ventilator using locally available materials.

Here is how the Ruhdaar ventilator, as the team has named it, took birth. The project head Zulqarnain, a first-year student of Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay, had gone to his hometown Kashmir, when the institute closed due to the pandemic. On getting to know the ground situation as the pandemic progressed, he understood that there were only 97 ventilators in the Kashmir Valley. He sensed that the need was more and that the concern about shortage of ventilators had become a big worry for many people.

So, Zulqarnain teamed up with his friends P. S Shoib, Asif Shah and Shakar Nehvi from IUST, Awantipora and Majid Koul from NIT Srinagar. Taking assistance from the Design Innovation Centre (DIC) at IUST, the team has been able to design a low-cost ventilator using locally available materials. While their initial aim was to replicate a tried and tested design, as they began to work on it, they developed their own design of the ventilator.

Zulqarnain says "the prototype costed the team around Rs 10,000 (US$ 141.86) and that the cost will be much lower, when we go for mass production." He said that while high-end ventilators used in hospitals cost in lakhs of rupees, "Ruhdaar provides necessary functionalities which can provide adequate breathing support necessary to save the life of a critically ill COVID-19 patient."

Talking about next steps, Zulqarnain said "the team will now go for medical testing of the prototype. Once it is approved, it will be taken for mass production. The effort is to make it amenable for production by small scale industry. The team will not charge any royalty for the product."

Zulqarnain said that the main problem the team faced was lack of resources. The team tried many designs including a design developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. The team came up with their frugal design, considering the resource constraints. The design has been made using advanced software and the team is satisfied with the results, he said.

Asif, who is an alumnus of IUST and CEO of Symcore Technologies, says that "the idea was to design and develop a low-cost alternative to the conventional ventilator. Our team has been able to achieve control of basic parameters such as tidal volume, Breaths per Minute and Inspiratory: Expiratory Ratio and to also monitor pressure continuously during its operation."

Coordinator, DIC, IUST, Dr Shahkar Ahmad Nahvi said that the team of youngsters was driven by a desire to make a beneficial contribution to the society in this hour of need. He said that the ventilator is functional from the engineering perspective but requires clearance and validation by the medical community.

Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IUST, Dr Majid H. Koul said that the low-cost frugal ventilator was developed using components available at DIC. Facilities at the Centre such as 3-D printing and laser-cutting technologies also were instrumental in the success of the prototype. The Centre is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

NTPC Vindhyachal becomes India's largest power plant to achieve 100 per cent Plant Load Factor

NTPC Vindhyachal has become the largest power plant of the country to achieve a plant load factor (PLF) of 100 per cent. This means that the power plant was run at its full capacity of 3760 MW for a certain period.

The average PLF of power plants across the country hovers at around 60 per cent, thus, making this as significant development. Before this, other NTPC power plants, such as the Talcher Thermal plant of 460 MW has also been run at 100 per cent PLF. Although, no plant with an installed capacity close to NTPC Vidhyachal has achieved this till now.

The 100 PLF was achieved on April 13, 2020.

The total installed capacity of the NTPC group is 62110 MW. It has 70 power stations i.e. 24 Coal, 7 combined cycle gas/liquid fuel, 1 Hydro, 13 Renewables along with 25 joint venture power stations.

The second 660 MW unit of India’s first ultra-supercritical power station NTPC Khargone also became commercial during the lockdown period.