18th Feb 2021, COVID, KMS, Jal Jeevan Mission, Farmer protests

18 February 2021

• India third in COVID vaccinations

  More than 94 Lakh Indians have been vaccinated with the indigenously made, UN approved, vaccine. These have been given to beneficiaries through 1,99,305 sessions. The vaccines have been given to the health workers and front line workers on priority basis. Almost 16 states/UTs  have reported "no casualty" through COVID in last 24 hours.

• 15% more paddy procured this KMS

  In the current Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) of 2020-21 the government has procured 15.30% more paddy than during the same period last year. Government is also procuring Moong, Urad, Tur, Groundnut Pods, Soyabean and Copra under the MSP scheme.

• Jal Jeevan Mission provides taps to 3.5 crore rural households

  Jal Jeevan Mission announced that 3.5 crore more rural households now have tap water connection taking total tap water connections in rural areas to 6.76 crore, more than one-third of the total rural households. Goa and Telagana have 100% water tap connections. The mission aims to provide water tap connections to 100% of rural households by 2024.

• "Rail Roko" protests started by agitating farmers

  The "Rail Roko" protests announced by the leaders of agitating farmers are in progress across a number of states in India. A number of farmers are protesting against three new farm laws by blocking the path of the railways. These protests are expected to go on from noon till 4 PM. Government is taking every measure for the safety of passengers travelling in these blocked trains.

• Cultivacations getting popular around the globe

  Urban city dwellers when looking for relaxation and meditation prefer to go to rural areas with easy access to forests, rivers, sea shores and farms. New holiday packages include a day with the cows, plucking fruits and helping in harvesting or many other farm activities which will relax your mind and body. This trend is catching on in the western world and hopefully will spread to India. There are many  "live of the land" retreats available around the world at this moment.

• Bill Gates releases his book on climate

  Bill gates has written a book on climate titled "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need". This book was released worldwide on 16th of February, this year. This book details the plans to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions and avoid climatic catastrophes. He lists the challenges we face and how to combat them with the help of new technologies.

• Dr. Harsh Vardhan complements DBT-ILS for its achievements

  Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, chaired the video conference on 32nd foundation day event of Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, an autonomous institute of Department of Biotechnology. DBT-ILS was complemented for its research work on the COVID pandemic. DBT-ILS has tested over 1,50,000 samples for COVID, from across Odisha. Dignitaries from other ministries, DBT and DBT-ILS were present on the conference. 

• "Rail Roko" protests succeed in blocking trains

  The effects of "Rail Roko" protest were seen mainly in northern India.  Some of the Delhi Railway stations did not see any trains since the noon. Where possible the government is trying to guard the stations and tracks. "Rail Roko" protests have affected trains in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.