Mortal remains of seven from the Gulf reach Kerala

New Delhi, Apr 22: Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic by adopting several measures including lockdown and increasing health expenditure to strengthen the health system response.

"We commend your leadership and the proactive measures you and your government have taken to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 infection rate in India, such as adopting a national lockdown, expanding focused testing to identify hot spots for isolation, quarantining, and care, and significantly increasing health expenditures to strengthen the health system response and promote R&D and digital innovation," Gates wrote.

He added: "I'm glad your government is fully utilising its exceptional digital capabilities in its COVID-19 response and has launched the Aarogya Setu digital app for coronavirus tracking, contact tracing, and to connect people to health services."

Prime Minister Modi had on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended to May 3.

Gates further stated, "Grateful to see that you are seeking to balance public health imperatives with the need to ensure adequate social protection for all Indians."

With 1,486 new cases and 49 deaths in the last 24 hours, India's total number of coronavirus positive cases have risen to 20,471 while the death toll stands at 652, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday.

Out of the total number of cases, 15,859 are active cases, 3,959 cured or discharged or migrated and 652 deaths.

Bill Gates met Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on November 18 last year.

During his visit, Gates had addressed a function organised by NITI Aayog for the release of its report on 'Health Systems for a New India: Building Blocks - Potential Pathways to Reforms' wherein he lauded the country for its healthcare system and talked about how digital tools can help improve it further.

At that time, the philanthropist had commended the Central government for stepping up and eradicating polio.

New Delhi, Jul 20: Alleging that 2,426 companies have "looted" people's savings to the tune of Rs 1.47 lakh crore from banks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asked if the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government will conduct a probe into it to punish those guilty.

"2,426 companies looted 1.47 lakh crore rupees of people's savings from banks. Will this government investigate this loot and punish the culprits?" Gandhi said on Twitter, without elaborating.

"Or will it allow them to flee like Nirav and Lalit Modi?" he asked.

Gandhi's attack came after media reports claimed that the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) had released a list of 2,426 borrower accounts that have been categorised as “wilful defaulters” with dues amounting to Rs 1,47,350 crore to the banking system.

New Delhi, Mar 6: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday will move the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha.

In December last year, the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal to promulgate an ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016.

The amendments will remove certain ambiguities in the IBC 2016 and ensure smooth implementation of the code, an official statement said.

The move is aimed at easing the insolvency resolution process and promoting the ease of doing business. Aimed at streamlining of the insolvency resolution process, the amendments seek to protect last-mile funding and boost investment in financially-distressed sectors.

Under the amendments, the liability of a corporate debtor for an offence committed before the corporate insolvency resolution process will cease.

The debtor will not be prosecuted for an offence from the date the resolution plan has been approved by the adjudicating authority if a resolution plan results in change in the management or control of the corporate debtor to a person who was not a promoter or in the management or control of the corporate debtor or a related party of such a person.

The amendments are aimed at providing more protection to bidders participating in the recovery proceedings and in turn boosting investor confidence in the country's financial system.