Noida social organisation appeals to FM to abolish GST on medical policies

A social organisation, Janshakti Seva Samiti, which has socially active residents of Noida as its members, has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding exemption of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from the medical policies.

President of the organisation, Narendra Chopda said that currently 18 per cent of GST is applicable on purchase of a medical policy. 

“It increases the cost of the premium for all the individuals who avail this service in this country,” he said. He appealed to the FM to abolish the provision of levying tax on medical policy in the letter.

He said that it will be a great relief for all those people who have been paying a high premium for availing the service.

PM Modi flags off first driverless train on Magenta Line of Delhi Metro

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged off India’s first driverless train on the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro. The fully automated driverless train will eliminate the possibility of human error, officials said.

The driverless train services will be available on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line (Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden). As per the officials, the services will also be extended to Delhi Metro’s Pink Line by mid-2021. 

PM Modi flagged off the train in a virtual function. He said, “The inauguration of the first driverless train indicates how quickly India is moving towards smart systems.”

While recalling that the first metro was started by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2014, he said that the metro services will be extended to more than 25 cities in the country by 2025.

During the function, PM Modi also launched the National Common Mobility Card which is an inter-operable transport facility that allows users to pay for travel, toll duties, retail shopping, and withdraw money using one card.

The driverless train is equipped with high resolution cameras, real-time train monitoring equipment, remote handling emergency alarm and other high-level techniques.

The high resolution cameras have the capability to sense problems in the railway track. It also informs the control room about the problems in track. At present, it will be controlled by the command centre.

757 new coronavirus infections in Delhi; active cases drop to 6,713

Delhi on Sunday reported 757 new coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative tally to 6,22,851. The number of new cases reported came out of 75,210 tests conducted on the previous day.

Of which, 40,742 were RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 34,468 were rapid antigen tests. The positivity rate was 1.01 per cent. The cumulative positivity rate stands at 7.46 per cent.

16 patients died due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 10,453. 23 deaths were recorded on Saturday, 30 on Friday, 37 on Thursday, 18 on Wednesday and 25 on Tuesday.

939 patients recovered from the deadly disease, taking the total recovery figure to 6,05,685 in the national capital. The recovery rate was 97.24 per cent.

The recoveries outnumbered the new cases on Sunday. Active cases declined by 198 in the last 24 hours. Delhi has now 6,713 active cases.

Out of the total 18,774 beds in coronavirus hospitals, 16,246 are vacant.

Noida homebuyer requests authority to release list of projects with CC

A homebuyer, Manish Kumar has requested Noida Industrial Development Authority to put completion and occupancy certificates issued for respective group housing projects in public domain. 

He said that such information is not available on the official website of the authority. He alleged that in absence of such information, developers have allegedly been giving possession of homes to their respective homebuyers even in those group housing projects that are yet to obtain occupancy and completion certificates from the authority.

Kumar, who is associated with Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (NEFOWA), a group of homebuyers, lodged the complaint through grievance redressal portal run by the state government. 

He said that there are a number of developers who have allegedly given possession to homebuyers in housing projects, which have not been issued occupancy and completion certificates. He said that it is a violation of the UP Apartment Act, which states that possession of homes can only be given when these mandatory certificates are already issued.   

Responding to his complaint, an official of Noida Authority said that the complaint has been forwarded to the officers of the concerned department. He said that the issue has been brought into the notice of the assistant general manager, department of planning and the same would be solved by the concerned officer. 

Kumar said that as the instruction has been given to the concerned officer, he would wait and watch for some time. He said that the matter would be followed if officers fail to comply with instruction.

Coronavirus: Private hospitals to be used in vaccination program in Delhi

The vaccination process for coronavirus has already started in many countries across the globe. Amid all this, the news of new variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spreading in the UK has made people worried.

Now, Delhi government is also preparing to start the vaccination process for people. As per reports, the top private hospitals will also be used for vaccinating people in the national capital.  Coronavirus Vaccination

The hospitals, which have more than 100 healthcare workers, will be used for vaccinating people for coronavirus in the national capital. 

The government officials will also be involved in the immunisation program conducted at the private hospitals. The vaccination booth will be having three rooms – one each for waiting, vaccination and observation.

Noida residents write to authority sharing concerns over unallotted buildings

 

Assuming that it has now become a law and order issue for residents, Janshkti Seva Samiti, a social organisation of active citizens from across Noida, has written to Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer with Noida Industrial Development Authority, demanding a solution to unallotted buildings.

The organisation has made a complaint about the issue. It said that the unallotted property, especially buildings in many residential pockets have illegally been occupied by anti-social elements. They have turned these buildings as shelters for them. 

AN Dhawan, chief patron of the organisation said that this illegal activity has been giving rise to law and order issues in many residential pockets. Considering this, a provision should immediately be made for renting or leasing out these properties to control the unlawful activities, he said. 

He suggested that it would bring dual benefit for the authority as it would earn some revenue by giving these properties on rent and would not require to run an anti-encroachment drive for clearing these properties in the future.

758 new coronavirus cases in Delhi; positivity rate drops to 0.88 pc

Delhi on Friday reported 758 new coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative tally to 6,21,439. The number of new cases reported came out of 85,749 tests conducted on the previous day.

Of which, 45,521 were RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 40,228 were rapid antigen tests. The positivity rate was 0.88 per cent. The cumulative positivity rate stands at 7.57 per cent.

30 patients died due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 10,414. 37 deaths were recorded on Thursday, 18 on Wednesday, 25 on Tuesday, 27 on Monday and 26 on Sunday.

1,370 patients recovered from the deadly disease, taking the total recovery figure to 6,03,758 in the national capital. The recovery rate was 97.15 per cent.

The recoveries outnumbered the new cases on Friday. Active cases declined by 642 in the last 24 hours. Delhi has now 7,267 active cases.

Out of the total 18,774 beds in coronavirus hospitals, 16,118 are vacant.

Social organisation celebrates Christmas with underprivileged children

A social organisation named ‘Jeevan Arpan ki Pathshala’ has organised an event at Sector 42, Noida to celebrate Merry Christmas with great enthusiasm. The organisation, which has been imparting eduction to underprivileged children, has brought gifts and chocolates for them.     

While revealing details of the event, Dipanshu Sharma, founding president of the organisation said that children are innocent. “They do not have any clue about which caste or religion they belong to. This is the reason that they like to celebrate each festival with great enthusiasm and happiness,” he said. 

He said that one of the child was dressed up like Santa Claus and distributed chocolates and gifts among fellow kids.

Sharma said that as the pandemic of Covid-19 is still in progress, it was felt necessary to educate them about how to take precaution for staying safe. 

“Keeping this in mind, children were also made aware about wearing face masks and cleaning hands frequently for keeping themselves safe and maintaining social distancing to curb the spread of Covid-19 virus,” he said. 
 
Jaid Nabab, Anmol Sahgal, Tushar Gupta, Mohit Kumar, Chand Haldar, Ankit Kumar, and Rocky were present on the occasion.

NGO celebrates Christmas with underprivileged kids in Noida

A non-government organisation named ‘Hamara Kartavya’ on Wednesday organised an event at vegetable market in Sector 62, Noida to celebrate Merry Christmas in advance with underprivileged children. It also held a painting competition for them while the celebration was in progress. 

While revealing details of the event, Manoj Kataria, convenor of the organisation said that children from a nearby slum in Sector 61 were invited for taking part in the event. To provide them a platform, the organisation arranged a painting competition, in which children painted sketches of Santa Claus. 

Dinesh Pandey, founder of the organisation said that children waited for Merry Christmas as they thought that Santa Claus would distribute gifts among them. Keeping this in mind, members of the organisation dressed up like Santa Claus and distributed chocolates, and gifts among them. 

Further, Kataria informed that as the pandemic is still in progress, social distancing should be maintained. To follow this, the organisation is going to organise this on Thursday as well. In the event, 50 blankets would be donated among poor families besides distributing gifts and chocolates among children.

871 new coronavirus cases in Delhi; positivity rate drops below 1 pc

Delhi on Wednesday reported 871 new cases, taking the cumulative tally to 6,19,618. The number of new cases reported came out of 87,861 tests conducted on the previous day.

Of which, 45,816 were RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 42,045 were rapid antigen tests. The positivity rate was 0.99 per cent. The cumulative positivity rate stands at 7.71 per cent.

18 patients died due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 10,347. 25 deaths were recorded on Tuesday, 27 on Monday, 26 on Sunday, 32 on Saturday and 37 on Friday.

1,585 patients recovered from the deadly disease, taking the total recovery figure to 6,01,268 in the national capital. The recovery rate was 97.03 per cent.

The recoveries outnumbered the new cases on Wednesday. Active cases declined by 732 in the last 24 hours. Delhi has now 8,003 active cases.

Out of the total 18,779 beds in coronavirus hospitals, 15,913 are vacant.

Delhi govt’s proposal to scrap nursery admissions sparks discussions

Ever since the report of Delhi government mulling to scrap nursery admissions for the session 2021-22 on account of the coronavirus pandemic came to the light, there has been a lot of discussions. It all began with a recent interview of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia with the Indian Express.

During the interview, Sisodia had stated that there are no plans to reopen the schools anytime soon. He said, “If we start vaccinating people by February, we will only be able to vaccinate a sizeable chunk of population by July. With all this, there is no possibility of reopening the schools before that. We also have to work out the way the examinations should be conducted without risking both teachers and students.”

The Deputy CM said that while he is considering scrapping the nursery admissions, he is planning two batches of nursery and KG in the session 2022-23. He said that schools can admit the students in both nursery and kindergarten in the next session. “As the current situation is very unpredictable, the youngest will be the last to go to the schools,” he said.

A senior official also pointed out the limitations of online classes to support the proposal. He said that the kids, who got admissions in nursery classes this year, have not interacted with their teachers and classmates so far. He said, “One of the objectives of nursery and KG classes is to make children learn the way to talk with fellow classmates and teachers so that they are prepared for the future. But since the schools were closed, they were not able to learn these things. So, what is the point of going for nursery admissions?”

However, various media reports suggested that the school managements and principals are against scrapping the nursery admissions for next year in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of them reasoned that the students should get an opportunity to start formal education in whatever way possible. They said that the sooner the children are introduced to the education, there are better chances of them doing well in their lives.

Many school managements have supported the online education which has been imparted to the kids during the pandemic. They held the online method of teaching a great success during the ongoing pandemic. While saying this, they urged the government to go ahead with the admissions for nursery classes for the coming session of 2021-22.

Between all this, the Directorate of Education (DoE), which normally releases guidelines in December and asks schools to furnish all the required information to roll out the application process, has been silent this year. There has been no development in this regard so far. However, the Delhi government has also said that there has been no final decision on the proposal and it will only get a go ahead after consultation with all the stakeholders in the city.

The schools have been closed in the last nine months, since the coronavirus pandemic hit the city and lockdown was enforced in all parts of the country. Ever since then, the schools are conducting online classes for the students in the city.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus situation has improved a lot of late. The daily infections have been at the lowest level in the last 125 days. The positivity rate has gone down below 1 per cent and least number of daily deaths were recorded in the last 3 months. Delhi on Wednesday reported 871 new cases, taking the cumulative tally to 6,19,618. The number of new cases reported came out of 87,861 tests conducted on the previous day. The positivity rate was 0.99 per cent against the cumulative positivity rate of 7.71 per cent.