New Delhi, May 31: The cabinet on Thursday approved a new telecom policy that proposes to abolish roaming charges on mobile phones and allow users to retain the same number across the country.
The cabinet approved the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, a senior minister told reporters after the meeting of the cabinet.
The NTP 2012 aims to provide free roaming to telecom users and allow them to retain the mobile number even outside their circles without having to pay any extra charge.
New Delhi, Jul 29: Coronavirus infections in India continue to mount as the country's total case tally crossed the 15-lakh mark.
India added 48,513 fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 15.3 lakh, according to the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update on July 29.
Key Figures
Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 15,31,669
Active cases: 5,09,447
Cured/discharged/migrated: 9,88,029
Deaths: 34,193
Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 48,513
One-day recoveries: 35,175
One-day deaths: 768
India’s coronavirus epidemic is growing at the fastest pace in the world, increasing 20% over the last week, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported.
Fresh cases continued to come in at a heightened pace, hovering just below 50,000 for the last six days.
Moderna Inc.’s vaccine candidate against Covid-19 protected against the virus in a trial that inoculated 16 monkeys, an encouraging step on the path to a defense for humans against the pandemic. Pfizer Inc., however, is preparing for the novel coronavirus to endure, leading to long-term demand for a seasonal shot to protect against Covid-19.
“There is a likely scenario that either the vaccine’s immunity will not be lasting forever,” said Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla in an interview Tuesday, “or that the virus will mutate, or that the virus will find ways to come back again and again.”
Even as the transmission rate of Covid-19 remains high in India, the pace of recovery has risen too. On Wednesday, India reported its third day of over 35,000 recoveries.
Global Update
Flare-ups in virus cases from Hong Kong to Europe are proving difficult for policy makers to wrangle. The U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from Covid-19, even as daily infections slowed in some hard-hit states. China reported 101 new cases, up from 68 a day earlier, with 98 of the total from local infections, mostly in Xinjiang.
Philippine health authorities warned that hospitals and infirmaries risk getting overwhelmed.
Globally, confirmed Covid-19 cases have topped 16.6 million with over 658,000 dead.
Jun 23: The U.S. government on Monday restricted charter flights from India, accusing the nation of "unfair and discriminatory practices" by violating a treaty governing aviation between the two countries.
Air India Ltd. has been making flights to repatriate its citizens during the travel disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, but also has been selling tickets to the public, the Transportation Department alleged.
At the same time, U.S. airlines have been prohibited from flying to India by aviation regulators there, the DOT said in its order. The situation "creates a competitive disadvantage for U.S. carriers," the agency said in a press release.
Air India is advertising a schedule that is more than half of pre-virus operations, the department said. "The charters go beyond true repatriations, and it appears that Air India may be using repatriation charters as a way of circumventing" that nation's flight restrictions, the U.S. agency said.
The order becomes effective in 30 days, the department said.
Indian airlines must apply to the DOT for authorization before conducting charter flights so that it can scrutinize them more closely, it said. The department will reconsider the restrictions once India lifts restrictions on U.S. carriers.
The action against India follows weeks of DOT restrictions against Chinese airlines after the U.S. agency accused that nation of unfairly banning American carriers in the wake of the virus. On June 15, the U.S. announced it would agree to allow four flights a week from China after it allowed the same number by U.S. carriers.
Attempts to reach Air India and the Indian embassy in Washington after business hours were unsuccessful.
Mumbai, Apr 14: The Shiv Sena and NCP said Prime Minister Narendra Modis address to the nation on Tuesday lacked substance as he did not suggest ways to strengthen the economy or a relief package for the poor and those worst hit by the lockdown.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande also took a dig at the prime minister, saying he thankfully did not give any activity to people this time like clanging utensils or lighting lamps.
Modi on Tuesday announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till May 3, saying the measure has produced a significant outcome in containing the infection.
He said implementation of the lockdown will be strictly ensured in its second phase and detailed guidelines will be brought out on Wednesday to ensure that outbreak does not spread to new areas.
Some relaxations may be allowed after April 20 in places where there are no hotspots, he said.
Kayande said Modi could have announced extension of the lockdown on Wednesday itself along with the new guidelines, instead of declaring it separately.
"He could have elaborated steps to be taken to tackle the coronavirus, relaxing restrictions on movements in different areas (depending upon threat posed by the disease)," she said.
"His speech normally is more of a rhetoric than substance. Thankfully, he did not give any other event to the people like lighting up lamps or clanging utensils. There was nothing substantial (in the address), the only takeaway was that the lockdown has been extended, she added.
Maharashtra Minister and NCP national spokesman Nawab Malik noted that Modi talked about helping the poor.
"But, he could have announced a package on behalf of the central government to help the poor, those working in the unorganised sector who are the worst hit due to the lockdown.
There was no mention of it anywhere," Malik said.
Another NCP spokesman Mahesh Tapase said it was expected that the prime minister would address the economic concerns being faced by the country.
"The least to expect was the announcement of a slew of measures to kick-start the economy in a phased manner as and when the restrictions are lifted, he added.
Tapase said the employers and employees wanted to know from the government how recession and unemployment will be tackled in the time to come.
"Access to capital for business, especially for MSMEs and agriculture, is a big concern. Supply and logistics is the cornerstone of economic activity which has come to a virtual standstill," he said.
The 2020-21 fiscal looks grim and hence, the right stimulus from the government coupled with a renewed zeal by the industry will only bring the economy back on track, he suggested.
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