Government revises guidelines for international travels in India due to new COVID variant
The Union Health Ministry has revised the guidelines for international arrivals in India. They will come into effect from December 1, 2021. The guidelines mandate the submission of 14 days of travel details and uploading the negative RT-PCR test report on Air Suvidha Portal before the journey.
Petr Fiala is the new Prime Minister of Czech Republic
The President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman has appointed Petr Fiala as the Prime Minister of the country. Fiala is the leader of a Centre-Right Alliance. He leads a bloc of five centre and centre-right opposition parties that had won the elections on October 2021. The new Government in the Czech Republic will have to tackle a new wave of Coronavirus.
COVID ‘Omicron’ Variant: India issues revised guidelines for international arrivals
The Union Ministry of Health on November 28, 2021, revised the guidelines for international arrivals in India which will come into effect from December 1, 2021. The decision by the Govt of India comes in the wake of the newly reported COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron’ which has also been designated as the ‘Variant of Concern’ by the World Health Organisation. The Covid variant has been detected to spread more quickly than the previous ‘Delta Variant’. The new Covid variant has an unusually large number of mutations that are more infectious than Delta.
Dollar Seshadri passes away due to cardiac arrest
Dollar Seshadri, officer on special duty (OSD) at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) passed away on November 29, 2021 after suffering a cardiac arrest in Vishakhapatnam. He was 74.
He was reportedly in the port city of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to participate in the Karthika Deepotsavam, which was organised by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. He suffered a massive stroke early morning on November 29th and was rushed to a corporate hospital at Ramnagar. He was declared dead on arrival.
‘Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021’ passed in both Houses of Parliament
‘The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021’ was passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on November 29, 2021, on the very first day of the Winter Session of Parliament. Soon after the Parliament’s Winter session started today, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon after the sloganeering by the opposition members. After Lok Sabha resumes, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar tabled the bill to repeal the three farm laws. The Farm Laws Repeal Bill was then passed in the Lower House amid the ruckus by opposition MPs.
57 norovirus cases suspected in Thrissur, Kerala
Norovirus has reportedly infected 57 people including 54 students and three workers in a hostel of St. Mary’s College, Thrissur. The health officials suspect that the virus must have spread through food or drinking water. This is the first time that the norovirus infection has been reported in Thrissur.
A team of health officials led by the district medical officer is examining the hostel, its kitchen and surroundings and the drinking water supply. There are around 240 students and 15 workers in the hostel.
As per college authorities, the students had been complaining about symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and fever from November 8th. Nobody thought that they could have norovirus infection.
Reserve Bank of India imposes monetary penalty on State Bank of India
RBI has announced to impose a monetary penalty of Rs. 1 crore on the State Bank of India for the contravention of Section 19 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the Act). The irregularities on the SBI part were identified after a Statutory Inspections for Supervisory Evaluation of the bank was conducted by the Central bank.
Parliament Winter Session begins today, 26 bills on agenda
The Winter Session of the Parliament has begun on November 29, 2021, and the BJP-led government has a heavy agenda for the winter session including 26 new bills to be introduced, including a bill to ban Cryptocurrency in India. It has also been indicated that the bill to repeal three farm laws will also be taken up on priority.
Vivek Johri appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
Senior Vivek Johri has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The appointment has been made as per an order by the Personnel Ministry.
New COVID Variant in South Africa
The new COVID variant in South Africa is the most heavily mutated version discovered so far. The variant is called B.1.1.529 and is most likely to be given Greek code-name such as Alpha and Delta variants by the World Health Organisation on November 26, 2021. The new COVID variant is an unusual constellation of mutations and it is also very different to the other variants that have circulated.
