UTTARAKHAND

 

E-pass not required for Char Dham Yatra now

The State Government has now removed the condition for pilgrims to secure e-passes online in order to undertake the Char Dham Yatra. The pilgrims will have to register on the Dehradun smart city website and get tested for Covid-19 as earlier.

This decision comes a day after the Uttarakhand high court removed the limit on number of pilgrims allowed to undertake the Yatra, following which the State government had issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the pilgrimage.

A total of 3,707 pilgrims visited the shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.   Till 4 PM, a total of 1,275 people had visited the Badrinath shrine. With pilgrimage activity picking up following the latest developments, both the pilgrims and locals involved in various activities connected to the pilgrimage were enthusiastic.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

World Bank Report- Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services-Led Development

 

 

As per World Bank’s report titled “Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services-Led Development”, Indian economy is expected to increase by 8.3% in the fiscal year 2021-2022.

 

As per report, in the next financial year, India’s economic prospects will be determined by its pace of vaccination against covid-19 and successful implementation of agriculture & labour reforms.

 

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 20.1% in first quarter (April-June quarter) of financial year 2021-22 in the backdrop of “a significant base effect, limited damage to domestic demand and strong export growth”.

 

In the first quarter of financial year 2020-21, GDP of India was contracted by 24.4% because of nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

 

The World Bank also observed that the disruption in India’s economy during the second wave of the pandemic was limited, compared to the first.

 

 

Moody’s upgrades outlook on India’s sovereign rating to Stable

 

Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the sovereign rating outlook of India to stable from negative.

 

This rating was upgraded citing reduced risks from COVID-19 as well as negative feedback between real economy & financial system.

Moddy’s has retained India’s rating at Baa3. It reflects the lowest investment grade rating.

 

Moody’s further expects that real GDP will surpass pre-pandemic levels of 2019-20 in the year 2021 itself. This is because the ongoing economic recovery is picking up as the activity are broadening across sectors.

 

Moody’s expects that 2021-22 will record a growth of 9.3% in GDP.

 

 Pandora papers leak case

 

 

Pandora Papers have come to spotlight after millions of documents related to hidden world of offshore wealth got leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ).

 

These are the 11.9 million leaked papers from 14 companies, in offshore tax havens, comprising of details of ownership of 29,000 offshore companies and trusts from countries like Vietnam, Belize and Singapore. These documents highlight the ownership of assets has been settled in private offshore trusts and investments like cash, shareholding, and real estate properties are held by the offshore entities. In this case, around 380 people of Indian nationality have been named.

 

Pandora Papers investigation

A global network comprising of reporters, publication houses and International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) took two-year effort to go through 11.9 million leaked documents. About 600 journalists from 150 media outlets are a part of the ongoing investigation.

 

 

NATIONAL

 

Ministry of Tourism organising conference on Buddhist Crcuit

The Ministry of Tourism is organising a “Buddhist Circuit Train FAM Tour and Conference from October 4 to October 8, 2021 in a bid to tap the potential of the Buddhist tourism.

 

The FAM tour will comprise of the visit of prominent Buddhist sites as well as conferences at Bodh Gaya and Varanasi.

 

This conference is likely to be attended by 125 delegates including tour operators, media, hoteliers, and officials of Ministry of Tourism & State Governments.

 

Around 100 local tour operators and other stakeholders of tourism & hospitality sector will attend the event at Bodh Gaya and Varanasi for discussing the key issues with respect to the development and promotion of tourism in the circuit.

 

‘Made in India’ drone used to transport COVID-19 vaccine

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched an initiative on October 4, 2021 to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine delivery using “made in India drones” in the tough & hard-to-reach terrains of Northeast.

 

For the purpose, ICMR has designed a delivery model called “Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone)”.

 

This delivery model has been designed to endure that life-saving COVID-19 vaccines reach everyone.

 

This initiative was launched in line with government’s commitment to “Antyodaya in health” that makes healthcare accessible to every citizens in India.

 

Significance of the initiative

This was the first time that a “Make in India’ drone has been used in South Asia for transporting COVID-19 vaccine for an aerial distance of 15 km. This distance was covered in 12-15 mins from Bishnupur district hospital to Loktak lake, Karang island in Manipur. Road distance between both the locations is 26 kms.