Hereby i state

Two weeks after the BMC placed a bulk order for 27 lakh Favipiravir tablets , the Covid-19 oral drug , at Rs 78 per tablet, the state government’s Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) is receiving the medicine for Rs 58 per unit, Mumbai Mirror can reveal. Glenmark, which manufactures Favipiravir, has now reduced the price of the drug. Opposition parties have alleged that the BMC is losing money each day it buys the same tablets at a higher price. Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh said the BMC has already lost Rs 1.2 crore of public money. “I’m told that 17,500 strips have been delivered to Sion Hospital. So given the BMC’s price of Rs 78 per tablet, we have lost Rs 1.2 crore of public money. I have already written to Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal that buying such a high quantity at such a high price was not needed,” Shaikh said. Mirror reported earlier this month that the BMC had decided to buy 27 lakh tablets of Favipiravir, the first oral … [Read more...] about BMC shells out high price for Favipiravir, when state government buys COVID-19 oral drug for Rs 54 per tablet

The State Department on Saturday ordered non-essential diplomats at the US Embassy in Chad to leave the landlocked African nation due to potential insurgent attacks on the capital N'Djamena. It also ordered the families of American personnel stationed there to leave the country. "Armed non-governmental groups in northern Chad have moved south and appear to be heading toward N'Djamena. Due to their growing proximity to N'Djamena, and the possibility for violence in the city, non-essential US government employees have been ordered to leave Chad by commercial airline," said the department. The department has long warned Americans not to travel to Chad because of unrest and the presence of the jihadist Boko Haram group . It said any Americans there now who wanted to leave should do so. The UK also asked its citizens to leave Chad as soon as possible. Chad's army says rebel column 'destroyed' Meanwhile, Chad's army said that it had "completely destroyed" a column of rebels, … [Read more...] about US orders diplomats to leave Chad as rebels near capital

MIAMI - There will be two Formula One races in the United States next year with the new Miami Grand Prix added to the calendar from 2022. Next year’s race will be the first in a 10-year deal and is in addition to the existing grand prix at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. “We are thrilled to announce that Formula 1 will be racing in Miami beginning in 2022,” F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said on Sunday. “The USA is a key growth market for us, and we are greatly encouraged by our growing reach in the US which will be further supported by this exciting second race.” The exact date of the race has yet to be confirmed but Domenicali said it would be in the “second quarter of next year.” It will be the first ever F1 race in Miami and the first in Florida since 1959. It will take place at a new circuit in the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. The circuit itself will be 5.41 kilometres (3.36 miles) long and will … [Read more...] about Miami GP to join F1 calendar from 2022 in 10-year deal

The government has pledged to accelerate healthcare spending, including disbursing incentives to medical workers, as bureaucratic red tape hinders the process amid a surge in virus cases. The Finance Ministry’s special staff member for state expenditure Kunta Nugraha told reporters on Wednesday the government had only spent 5.12 percent of the Rp 87.55 trillion (US$6.06 billion) budget for health care due to complicated verification and lengthy approval processes. “The main problem is we need to verify the incentives distributed to medical workers and the process is taking a bit too long, from claims by healthcare facilities to verification by regional administrations and the central government,” Kunta said, adding that the government was taking measures to cut red tape. “We will now cut the process by allowing regions to verify and [directly] decide who will receive the incentives. We want to make a breakthrough but also maintain good governance,” he added. The government, … [Read more...] about Government pledges to cut red tape to accelerate healthcare spending

SHANGHAI - Toyota pioneered the world's most successful hybrid car but when it comes to pure electric vehicles it has some catching up to do, especially in China. The Hong Guang Mini EV , a tiny, no-frills car made by a General Motors joint venture that costs under $5,000 is a smash hit in the world's biggest car market while Toyota has yet to launch its own small, low-cost electric vehicle in China. Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, is set to unveil its solution at the Shanghai auto show on April 19: a new universal platform for electric vehicles (EVs) called e-TNGA that will underpin an array of models from small runarounds to large SUVs. It will also display its concept electric mid-sized sport-utility vehicle (SUV), based on the e-TNGA platform, which is set to be sold worldwide within a couple of years, two people familiar with Toyota's plans said. Toyota's executives have long called for a small electric runabout but the fact it is going first with a … [Read more...] about A tale of two carmakers: GM and Toyota take different electric roads in China

General Motors India laid off 1,419 workmen on Friday, by invoking section 25 of the Industrial Dispute Act. The employees Union is likely to challenge this move legally, sources in the know said. The move may prolong a legal tussle between the company and its employees on the winding of General Motors India’s Talegaon plant on the outskirts of Pune . The company has sent a lay-off notice to all 1419 employees over an email and the copy of the same was served to the secretary and president of the the General Motors Employees Union on Friday. ET has reviewed the copy of the notice which was displayed at the factory gate and the same will remain effective till further orders, the notice stated. However the workmen are entitled to receive lay off compensation with Section 25-C of the Industrial Dispute Act 1947 and they will be paid compensation due to them, which is 50% of the basic wages and dearness allowance previous monthly take home. "Since the lay-off has been … [Read more...] about GM India to lay off 1419 workmen at Talegaon plant, invokes sec 25 of the Industrial Dispute Act

By Amit Panday New Delhi: Commercial vehicle sales , the barometer of economic activities, are expected to recover this fiscal with a year-on-year growth of around 30-50% after witnessing steep decline for two years in a row, Nitin Seth, chief operating officer, Ashok Leyland Ltd said at the ET Auto panel discussion – ‘Recap FY21 and Mission FY22 ’ – on Wednesday. While commercial vehicle (CV) sales, which saw a peak of over one million units in FY2019, had fallen 29% in FY2020 on account of new regulatory norms and the economic slowdown, the pandemic-induced crisis in the following year resulted in volumes crashing yet again by 21% YoY to almost half a million units. “I am of the view that commercial vehicles will see a growth in the region of 30%-50% this fiscal. We should do quite well across light, medium and heavy trucks (LCVs and MHCVs ) as well as the bus segment. But we believe that the LCVs would fare best (among all CV categories) this year,” Seth said. … [Read more...] about CV down to half of the peak volume in FY21; How industry experts see the sector reviving in FY22?

Video Player Close KABUL, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A local Islamic State (IS) leader was killed by Afghan Special Forces in the country's eastern Nangarhar province Saturday night, National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's national intelligence agency, confirmed on Sunday. "Acting on a confirmed tip-off, the NDS Special Operations Forces conducted an operation in Kuz Kunar district, Nangarhar province, to arrest Kamin, known as Hakimullah, one of the IS newly designated local leaders," the agency said on Twitter. "A gunfight took place while the targeted man was planning to flee the area. As a result, Kamin, who served as IS military chief for Pachir Wa Agam and Haska Mina districts of Nangarhar was killed," the statement read. In an unrelated development, Afghan army personnel discovered and destroyed an attack tunnel of Taliban insurgents and arrested four militants in Sharsharak village of northern Balkh province on Friday night, the army's 209 Shaheen Corps … [Read more...] about Local IS leader killed by gov’t forces in eastern Afghanistan

Video Player Close BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's postal industry registered faster growth in revenue and business volume for the first quarter of 2021, official data showed. From January to March, the business revenue of the sector totaled 297.07 billion yuan (about 45.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 35.5 percent year on year, according to a statement released by the State Post Bureau. Business volume jumped 50.3 percent from the same period last year to 302.92 billion yuan in Q1, the statement said. In March alone, the business revenue and business volume of the sector gained 21.1 percent and 36.3 percent, respectively. China's express delivery firms in Q1 handled 21.93 billion parcels, surging 75 percent from one year earlier. The business revenue achieved by the express delivery firms during the period reached 223.77 billion yuan, up 45.9 percent year on year, the statement added. Enditem … [Read more...] about China’s postal sector sees rapid Q1 growth

Video Player Close BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China will overtake the United States to become the world's largest market for smart home devices by the end of 2024, according to an industrial report. China's shipments of smart home devices are expected to account for 36.4 percent of the world's total shipments in 2024 and will further expand to take up a 38.4-percent global share in 2025, data from the global market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) showed. The compound annual growth rate of smart home device shipments in China is expected to stand at 21.9 percent in the next five years, said the IDC. The firm has attributed the booming market to reasons including China's larger population and family base, more efficient construction of network infrastructure and more active promotion of digital transformation. In 2020, worldwide shipments of smart home devices reached 801.5 million units, and China's market accounted for 25.5 percent, IDC data showed. … [Read more...] about China to become world’s largest smart home device market in 2024: report