30 September 2021
Renaming a state-centre scheme to include the PM: The national Mid-Day Meal Scheme in government and aided schools — first pioneered by Tamil Nadu, and one that continues to be paid for by state and union governments — will now be known as PM POSHAN Scheme
New data shows Covid vaccines worked in the second wave: health ministry data show that in the first seven weeks of the second wave, the 60-plus age group reported about 121 weekly deaths per million among the non-vaccinated, 2.6 weekly deaths per million among those who had received their first dose, and only 1.8 weekly deaths per million among those who were fully vaccinated
Home sales have recovered to 60% of pre-pandemic peak: four-quarter rolling average of home sales in April-June of 2021 was 40 per cent down from the peak of April-June 2019; Houses did not find takers as usual till as late as June 2021, but recent months are likely to have seen an improvement in sales
The state of healthcare workers in India: They helped curb Covid-19 contagion, delivered vaccines, medicines and food, in addition to their myriad tasks ensuring essential basic health services nationwide; Yet, India’s 2.3 million community health workers are considered ‘volunteers’ and paid a monthly ‘honorarium’, less than the price of a meal in a posh restaurant
Electric vehicle firms rue high PLI qualification level: While appreciative of the scheme, electric vehicle (EV) makers say they would not qualify if the criteria remains the same for everyone; Most of the specialised EV makers are small and several such as Hero Electric, Ather Energy and Kinetic Green are startups