New Delhi Mar 22 PTI An additional six crore rural households have got tap water connections since the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Patel said on TuesdayPatel said water conservation is a priority for the government to ensure that the future generation does not sufferThe government is taking all steps to ensure conservation of water for our children We are also ensuring improvement of access to tap water connection for all An additional six crore rural households have got tap water connections since the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission he said at an event organised on the occasion of the World Water DayThe Jal Jeevan mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2019A total of 92488379 rural households have been provided with tap water connection till nowPatel also stressed on the importance of ground water conservation and how it is the need of the hourNMCG Director General Asok Kumar said India is the largest exploiter of groundwaterHe said We are exploiting 250 billion litres of groundwater stored by our forefathers If we keep on with this exploitation then the water table will keep going down and in 25 years we will have scarcity of drinking water he said PTI UZM TDS TDS

New Delhi Sep 25 PTI More than 8257 crore Covid vaccine doses have been provided to states and union territories so far and over 94 lakh doses are in the pipeline the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday Over 415 crore balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the states and the union territories for inoculation it said The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid vaccination throughout the country the ministry said in a statement More than 8257 crore 825788115 vaccine doses have been provided to statesUTs so far through the government of India free of cost channel and through direct state procurement category Further more than 94 lakh doses 9437525 are in the pipeline it said The inoculation drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines advance visibility of vaccine availability to states and union territories for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain it added As part of the nationwide vaccination drive the Centre has been supporting the states and union territories by providing them Covid vaccines free of cost the statement said Under the universalisation of the Covid vaccination drive the central government procures and supplies free of cost 75 percent of the vaccines being produced by vaccine manufacturers in the country to states and union territories PTI UZM AQS AQS

New Delhi Sep 23 PTI Ahead of the upcoming festive season the Centre has asked states and Union Territories to ensure that mass gatherings are not allowed in containment zones and in districts reporting over five percent Covid case positivity rateIn a letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said these gatherings should also be monitored and necessary enforcement and penal actions should be taken in case of violations in physical distancing and mask usage normsAs a matter of abundant caution no mass gatherings should be allowed In areas identified as containment zones and in districts reporting more than 5 per cent case positivityGatherings with advance permissions and limited people as per local context may be allowed only in districts reporting a positivity rate of 5 per cent or below he saidRestrictions and relaxations should be imposed and monitored based on weekly case positivity or a high bed occupancy Oxygen and ICU beds and restrictions if any should be imposed without any delay and for a minimum period of 14 days besides continued focus on the five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and adherence to Covid-Appropriate Behaviour he told statesNoting that it is a critical period as there may be a tendency to ignore Covid-safe behaviour during festivals resulting in large gatherings events and fairs Bhushan said it is critical to enforce adherence to guidelines to allow festivities in a cautious safe and Covid appropriate mannerAny laxity in implementation of Covid appropriate behaviour could lead to serious consequences and can result in a surge in cases he saidTo safely navigate through the festive season without any adverse consequences in the form of infection outbreak the Centre said it is important that states continue to diligently follow the five pillars of COVID-19 Management -- Test-Track-Treat-vaccinate and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviourThe Centre said there should be strict adherence to limits on gatherings linked with availability of space to ensure effective physical distancing and use of volunteers to aid thermal screenings to enforce use of masks and physical distancingClosed circuit cameras may also be utilized to monitor compliance to physical distancing and use of masks the Centre told states in the letter issued on TuesdayAs an abundant caution the Centre said states can continue with night curfews weekend curfews and other restrictions to highlight that COVID-19 is still not over and to influence adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviourStates shall closely monitor the case trajectories across all districts on a daily basis to identify any early warning signals and shall ensure imposition of restrictions and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour as a non-pharmaceutical intervention to control the spread of infection the Centre saidThe Centre further said it is important that these guidelines are reiterated and ensured by the state governments among all concerned for effective follow up in a mission-mode approach to maintain the gains made so far in COVID-19 management and avoid any resurgence of cases PTI UZM TDS TDS

New Delhi Sep 18 PTI India saw a single-day rise of 35662 new COVID-19 infections while the active cases increased to 340639 according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday The active cases now comprise 102 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 9765 per cent it said Also 1448833 tests were conducted on Friday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far to 550780273 it said The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 246 per cent It has been less than three per cent for the last 19 days according to the data The weekly positivity rate has been recorded at 202 per cent It has been below three per cent for the last 85 days the ministry said The number of people who have recuperated from the disease is 32632222 while the case fatality rate has been recorded at 133 per cent it said The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the vaccination drive has exceeded 7942 crore according to the ministry Indias COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year 30 lakh on August 23 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16 It went past 60 lakh on September 28 70 lakh on October 11 crossed 80 lakh on October 29 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19 last year India recorded two crore cases on May 4 and three crore cases on June 23 PTI UZM -- Uzmi Athar httpswwwavastcomsig-emailutmmediumemailutmsourcelinkutmcampaignsig-emailutmcontentwebmail Virus-free HYPERLINK httpswwwavastcomsig-emailutmmediumemailutmsourcelinkutmcampaignsig-emailutmcontentwebmail nwwwavastcom DAB4FAD82DD740BBA1B84E2AA1F9FDF2 httpptinewscomimagesptijpg We bring the World to you Disclaimer This e-mail message may contain proprietary confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed Please delete this e-mail if it is not meant for you AAR