India crosses a milestone, conducts more than 2 crore COVID tests

In a landmark achievement, India has tested 2,02,02,858 COVID-19 samples so far. This is pursuant to the key strategy followed by State/UT governments under the guidance of Centre for management of COVID-19 to “Test aggressively, Track efficiently and Isolate and Treat promptly". Effective implementation of this approach has led to ramping up the testing capacity across the country and facilitated widespread COVID testing of people.

With 3,81,027 samples tested in the last 24 hours, the number of Test Per Million (TPM) has increased to 14640. Currently, the testing per million for India is 14640. While the country's TPM has demonstrated a steady upward trend indicating the growing testing network, 24 States and UTs have reported higher testing per million than the national average.

 

The testing lab network in the country is continuously strengthened with 1348 labs in the country; 914 labs in the government sector and 434 private labs.  These include:

•           Real-Time RT PCR based testing labs: 686 (Govt: 418 + Private: 268)

•           TrueNat based testing labs: 556 (Govt: 465 + Private: 91)

•           CBNAAT based testing labs: 106 (Govt: 31 + Private: 75)

 

For all authentic & updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines & advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ and @MoHFW_INDIA.

Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be sent to technicalquery.covid19@gov.in and other queries on ncov2019@gov.in and @CovidIndiaSeva .

In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no.: +91-11-23978046 or 1075 (Toll-free). List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf .

DCGI approves Phase II+III trials of Oxford University vaccine by Serum Institute, Pune

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to Serum Institute of India, Pune to conduct Phase II+III clinical trials of Oxford University-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine (COVISHIELD) in India. This will hasten the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.

India continues to improve the Case Fatality Rate (CFR), and maintain its global position of having one of the lowest COVID fatalities rates. With a further fall, the current CFR touched 2.11 per cent today. This is the outcome of the well-conceived and effectively implemented strategy of "Test, Track and Treat" which has guided the COVID management in the country.

The management strategy of COVID-19 also focuses on early detection and isolation of cases with seamless patient management and prioritising care of the high-risk population using field health care workers leading to increase in recoveries across the country. India has seen more than 40,574 patients recovered in the last 24 hours. This takes the total recoveries to 11,86,203 and Recovery Rate to 65.77 per cent amongst COVID-19 patients.

With improving daily recovery number, the gap between the recovered cases & the active cases has increased to more than 6 lakh. Presently, it is 6,06,846. This means the actual active case load is 5,79,357 and all are under medical supervision.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued Revised Guidelines for International Arrivals in supersession of the Guidelines issued on the subject dated 24th May 2020. They will be operational from 00.01 Hrs, 8th August 2020. For further details:

https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/RevisedguidelinesforInternationalArrivals02082020.pdf

For all authentic and updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines and advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ and @MoHFW_INDIA.

Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be sent to technicalquery.covid19@gov.in and other queries on ncov2019@gov.in and @CovidIndiaSeva.

In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no.: +91-11-23978046 or 1075 (Toll-free). List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf .

MoD releases draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020

In order to provide impetus to self-reliance in defence manufacturing, multiple announcements were made under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Package’. In implementing such framework and to position India amongst the leading countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has formulated a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020). The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of MoD to provide a focused, structured, and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports.

The policy has laid out following goals and objectives:

• To achieve a turnover of Rs 1,75,000 crores (US$ 25 billion) including export of Rs 35,000 crore (US$ 5 billion) in Aerospace and Defence goods and services by 2025.
• To develop a dynamic, robust, and competitive Defence industry, including Aerospace and Naval Shipbuilding industry to cater to the needs of Armed forces with quality products.
• To reduce dependence on imports and take forward "Make in India" initiatives through domestic design and development.
• To promote export of defence products and become part of the global defence value chains.
• To create an environment that encourages R&D, rewards innovation, creates Indian IP ownership and promotes a robust and self-reliant defence industry.

The Policy brings out multiple strategies under the following focus areas:

• Procurement Reforms
• Indigenization & Support to MSMEs/Startups
• Optimize Resource Allocation
• Investment Promotion, FDI & Ease of Doing Business
• Innovation and R&D
• DPSUs and OFB
• Quality Assurance & Testing Infrastructure
• Export Promotion

 

The draft DPEPP 2020 can be accessed at https://ddpmod.gov.in/dpepp and https://www.makeinindiadefence.gov.in/admin/webroot/writereaddata/upload/recentactivity/Draft_DPEPP_03.08.2020.pdf for public consultation and seeking inputs/comments from the stakeholders. Based on the comments received, the policy would be promulgated by the MoD.

Inputs/comments on the draft DPEPP 2020 is solicited latest by August 17, 2020 to the email id dirpnc-ddp@nic.in.

Bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana crosses 40-crore mark

Under the Government’s flagship financial inclusion drive Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which was launched about six years ago by the Modi-government, more than 40 crore bank accounts have been opened so far.

According to the latest data, there are 40.05 crore beneficiaries of this scheme and deposits in Jan Dhan bank accounts are more than Rs 1.30 lakh crore (US$ 18.44 billion).

As per the Department of Financial Services tweet, "Another milestone achieved under world's largest financial inclusion initiative, PMJDY: Total accounts opened under the scheme crosses 40 crore mark. Committed to take financial inclusion to the last mile!".

This achievement comes just ahead of the sixth anniversary of PMJDY launch. The scheme was launched on August 28, 2014 with an aim to provide universal access to banking facilities to the people in the country.

Under PMJDY, accounts opened are Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) accounts with additional features of RuPay debit card and overdraft. These accounts do not require to maintain minimum balance in BSBD accounts.

The Government has also increased the accident insurance cover to Rs 2 lakh (US$ 2,837.28), from Rs 1 lakh (US$ 1,418.64) for new accounts opened after August 28, 2018, in order to enhance the scheme. Moreover, the overdraft limit facility was also doubled to Rs 10,000 (US$ 141.86).

The focus was also shifted on accounts from "every household" to "every unbanked adult".

Women holds over 50 per cent of the Jan Dhan account and receives Rs 1,500 (US$ 21.27) per account in three equal monthly instalments by the government as part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to support the poor during the COVID-19 crisis.

On March 26, 2020, the Government announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 500 (US$ 7.09) to be credited to women Jan Dhan account holders for three months starting from April.

The aim of PMJDY is to guarantee access to various financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to weaker sections and low-income groups.

The PMJDY also envisages channelling all government benefits to the beneficiary accounts and pushing the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme of the central government.

Apple vendors, Samsung line up for mobile manufacturing

Applications by Taiwanese giants Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, which are contract manufacturers for Apple and other electronic makers such as Xiaomi, along with Samsung and other homegrown companies such as Lava, Dixon Electronics, Karbonn, Optiemus Infracom, and Micromax have been submitted under the Government’s ambitious Rs 41,000 crore (US$ 5.82 billion) production linked incentive schemes (PLI) for mobile manufacturing in India.

These companies are promising investments and employment in Indian electronic manufacturing space as the Government is planning to increase the local production over the next few years, not just to reduce imports but also to increase production for exporting.

According to an official involved, “We have received a strong response and hope to finalise the winners- who will be positioned as champion companies in the mobile manufacturing- very soon.”

Two applications are submitted by Foxconn, one under Hon Hai Precision and another under Rising Star. Similarly, Dixon Electronics and Lava have submitted two applications.

An empowered committee (EC) is made which includes NITI Aayog CEO Mr Amitabh Kant, and other senior officers, including secretaries for IT, economic affairs secretary, expenditure, revenue, and industry apart from the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). This will consider the application is eligible as found by project management agency under the scheme.

Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, said, “The scheme would provide incentives of 4-6 per cent on incremental sales over the base year of 2019-20, is aimed at giving a fillip to the Government’s Make in India programme and recently launched Atmanirbhar Bharat.   

 The Government intends to select five Indian and five international companies under the scheme. These will act as the engines in promoting the growth of Indian mobile phone manufacturing not only in India but at a global level. The aim of the scheme is to position India as a strong competitive manufacturing base when compared to countries such as China and Vietnam, which have been so far been attracting massive investments.

Mr Pankaj Mahindroo, Chairman of India Cellular and Electronic Association said, “The enthusiasm towards this ‘champion policy’ will see India surging towards global leadership in mobile phone manufacturing and exports”.

So far, Foxconn have committed an investment of US$ 1 billion in India for boosting manufacturing for Apple, while Pegatron has just entered and is lining up new investments. It is seen that companies are shifting base from China and reducing their dependence on China.

According to the industry estimates, mobile manufacturing companies have the potential to get an incentive of around Rs 7,500 crore (US$ 1.06 billion) if they scale up production by about Rs 1.5 lakh crore (US$ 21.28 billion) over the next five years under PLI scheme.

The government expects to generate a cumulative manufacturing revenue potential of Rs 10 lakh crore (US$ 141.86 billion) through the PLI scheme and other ones such as those promoting electronics clusters and component manufacturing, said a ministry official.

Shri Sanjay Dhotre inaugurates BHARAT AIRFIBER, a last mile telecom connectivity solution based on Radio Network

Mr Sanjay Dhotre, Union Minister of State for HRD, Electronics, Communication, and IT, Govt Of India, inaugurated today “Bharat Air Fibre Services” at Akola in Maharashtra. With inauguration of Bharat Air Fibre services, residents of Akola and Washim district will get Wireless Internet Connections on demand. 

The Bharat Air Fibre services are introduced by BSNL as part of digital India initiates by the Government of India and it aims of providing Wireless Connectivity in the range of 20 KMs from the BSNL Locations and thus customers at remote places also will be benefitted as BSNL comes with cheapest services with support of Telecom Infrastructure Partners (TIPs). 

BSNL is providing the “Bharat Air Fibre Services” through local business partners of BSNL from Akola & Washim District and these services will give fastest internet connectivity in quick time. These services are special and different from other operators as BSNL is providing unlimited free voice calling. 

When BSNL will be increasing its customer base with this high Technology services, at the same time BSNL is giving a great opportunity to residents of Akola and Washim District to join hands with BSNL as Telecom Infrastructure Partners. They will earn regular monthly income of about one lakh per month thereby becoming self-reliable under “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” initiatives of Govt of India.  

These Bharat Air Fibre services opens new way of fastest Wireless internet connectivity as well Voice services in reasonable cost. BSNL provides Bharat Air Fibre connectivity up to 100 Mbps speed.  BSNL is offering attractive Broadband plans in Wireline & Wireless segments and during lockdown BSNL has come up as most reliable brand for Internet connectivity there by successfully implementing the Work from Home started by Government as well as many private firms. 

BSNL is successfully providing Landline/ Broadband and Fibre FTTH connections. In Month July 20, BSNL has provided 15000 FTTH connections in Maharashtra Circle and 162000 FTTH connections throughout India. These are the spectacular achievements during strict lockdown and pandemic COVID-19.

With launch of Wireless Bharat Air Fibre, more connections will be provided on demand in very quick time. BSNL appeals to all residents of Akola and Washim District to avail these quality & most affordable services.

MSME Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari Approves a New Scheme to Make India Aatmanirbhar in Agarbatti Production

Union Minister for MSME, Shri Nitin Gadkari has approved a unique employment generation program proposed by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to make India Aatmanirbhar in Agarbatti production. The program named as “Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission” aims at creating employment for unemployed and migrant workers in different parts of the country while increasing domestic Agarbatti production substantially. The proposal was submitted to the Ministry of MSME for approval last month. The pilot project will be launched soon and on full-fledged implementation of the project, thousands of jobs will be created in the Agarbatti industry.

The scheme designed by KVIC on PPP mode is unique in the sense that in a very less investment, it will create sustainable employment and help private Agarbatti manufacturers to scale up Agarbatti production without any capital investment by them. Under the scheme, KVIC will provide Automatic Agarbatti making machines and powder mixing machines to the artisans through the successful private Agarbatti manufacturers who will sign the agreement as business partners. KVIC has decided to procure only locally made machines by Indian manufacturers which also aims at encouraging local production. 

KVIC will provide 25 per cent subsidy on the cost of the machines and will recover the remaining 75 per cent of the cost from the artisans in easy installments every month. The business partner will provide the raw material to the artisans for making Agarbatti and will pay them wages on job work basis. Cost of artisans’ training will be shared between KVIC and the private business partner wherein KVIC will bear 75 per cent of the cost while 25 per cent will be paid by the business partner.

Each automatic Agarbatti making machine makes approximately 80 kg Agarbatti per day which will provide direct employment to 4 persons. One powder mixing machine, to be given on a set on 5 Agarbatti making machines, will provide employment to 2 persons.

The current job work rate for Agarbatti making is Rs 15 (US$ 0.21) per kg. At this rate, 4 artisans working on one Automatic Agarbatti machine will earn minimum Rs 1200 (US$ 17.02) per day by making 80 kg of Agarbatti. Hence every artisan will earn at least Rs 300 per day. Similarly, on powder mixing machine, each artisan will get a fixed amount of Rs 250 (US$ 3.54) per day.

As per the scheme, the wages to the artisans will be provided by the business partners on weekly basis directly in their accounts through DBT only. Supply of raw material to the artisans, logistics, quality control and marketing of the final product will be the sole responsibility of the business partner. After recovery of the 75 per cent cost, the ownership of the machines will automatically be transferred to the artisans.

A two-party agreement to this effect will be signed between KVIC and the Private Agarbatti manufacturer for successful running of the project on PPP Mode.

The scheme has been designed in wake of the two major decisions – import restriction on Raw Agarbatti and increase in import duty on Bamboo sticks - taken by the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Finance respectively on the initiative of Shri Gadkari.

KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said the two decisions of the Central Government created a huge employment opportunity in the Agarbatti industry. “In order to encash the huge employment generation opportunity, the KVIC designed a program namely “Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission” and submitted to the Ministry of MSME for approval,” Saxena said.

The program aims at handholding artisans and supporting the local Agarbatti industry. The current consumption of Agarbatti in the country is approximately 1490 MT per day; however, India’s per day production of Agarbatti is just 760 MT. There is a huge gap between the demand and the supply and hence, immense scope for job creation.

Riding on the heels of falling Case Fatality Rate, the Union Government decides to permit exports of ventilators

The Group of Ministers (GOM) on COVID-19 has considered and agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare allowing the export of made-in-India ventilators. This decision has been communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for further needed action to facilitate the export of indigenously manufactured ventilators.

This significant decision comes on the heels of India continuing to maintain a progressively declining low rate of case fatality of COVID-19 patients, which currently stands at 2.15 per cent, which means that fewer numbers of active cases are on ventilators. As on 31st July 2020, only 0.22 per cent of the active cases were on ventilators across the country. Additionally, there has been substantial growth in the domestic manufacturing capacity of ventilators. Compared to January 2020, there are presently more than 20 domestic manufacturers for ventilators.

The export prohibition/restriction on ventilators was imposed in March 2020 to ensure domestic availability to effectively fight COVID-19. All types of ventilators were prohibited for export vide DGFT Notification No. 53 w.e.f 24.03.2020. Now with export of ventilators having been allowed, it is hoped that domestic ventilators would be in a position to find new markets for Indian ventilators in foreign countries.

UPI clocks its highest monthly volume with 1.5 billion transactions in July

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at 1.49 billion transactions has recorded the highest volume in July for the second consecutive month. This is considered as a positive sign of Indians adopting mobile-based digital payments over cash during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In June 2020, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) managed channel had seen 1.34 billion transactions worth Rs 2.61 lakh crore (U$ 37.03 billion), whereas the value of transactions increased to Rs 2.90 lakh crore (US$ 41.14 billion) in July, as per the latest data released by NPCI.

This is a ‘V-shaped’ rebound that comes on the back of steep fall seen in the months of March and April during the nationwide lockdown when the popular instant payment service had lost nearly 25 per cent of transaction volumes from the pre-COVID-19 months.

According to the experts, this is a sign of a pandemic-induced payment behaviour change among consumers that have attributed in increasing the adoption of digital payments during the pandemic.

The campaigns were launched by NPCI, banks, the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian government urging users to adopt 'contactless' payment modes from cash.

The data showed that the transaction volumes recorded on most retail payment channels operated by NPCI have either surpassed or inching back to pre-covid-19 levels.

The NPCI data showed that the transactions recorded on National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) which powers FasTag payments at highways also continued its recovery in July from June.

In June 2020, a total of 87 million transactions worth Rs 1,623 crore (US4 230.25 million) was processed which was almost eight times from April when just 10 million transactions worth Rs 247 crore (US$ 35.04 million) was processed.

The improvement in electronic toll volumes is substantial as it indicates a return of road traffic and intercity commute. For comparison, February had seen a record 110 million Fastag transactions worth Rs 1843 crore (US$ 261.46 million).

Likewise, there has been increase in transactions through BBPS channel as customers are now increasingly getting comfortable paying their bills online.

BBPS too recorded a highest ever 20.16 million transactions worth Rs 3,707 crore (US$ 525.89 million) processed on its platform in July, which is almost 25 per cent more transactions than 14.92 million transactions worth Rs 1,957 crore (US$ 277.63 million) processed on the platform in February before the pandemic.

Independently, IMPS used for instant bank to bank fund transfer between accounts also saw volumes surge to 222 million transactions worth Rs 2.25 lakh crore (US$ 31.92 million) in July, the data showed. IMPS count in June was at 199 million worth Rs 2.06 lakh crore (US$ 29.22 billion).

Advent to acquire RA Chem Pharma

PE firm Advent International signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in RA Chem Pharma Ltd, a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company promoted by Micro Labs Ltd.

The deal is sad to be valued at Rs 1,000 crore (US$ 141.86 million), though no official statement was released disclosing the financial details of the transaction.

Hyderabad-based RA Chem was founded in 2003 with core focus in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). However, over time, it has forward integrated into pellets, formulations, and clinical research to provide end-to-end offerings to its customers. Currently, its product portfolio ranges from pharmaceuticals to niche areas of animal health and cosmeceuticals. It has four manufacturing units, two research and development centres and a clinical research facility.

Advent has invested over US$ 1.7 billion globally in six companies in the healthcare sector in the last 12 months. It has invested over US$ 700 million in seven Indian businesses in the same period across sectors such as healthcare, consumer, and financial services.

“We continue to be excited about India’s pharmaceutical landscape and investing in RA Chem Pharma will further strengthen our presence in the sector. We aim to build one of the leading API platforms in India and will leverage our financial and operational resources globally to scale RA Chem Pharma both organically and inorganically," said Ms Shweta Jalan, managing director and head of India, Advent International.

Besides RA Chem, Advent’s other investments over the last 12 months include Bharat Serums and Vaccines, Aditya Birla Capital and DFM Foods.