Top Headlines: India switches to free vaccines, extends food scheme

The Centre has taken back control of vaccine procurement and will supply Covid-19 jabs to states free of cost to inoculate all above 18 years of age from June 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced. It also extended the ongoing free additional foodgrains distribution scheme for five more months starting from July till November. Our top headlines on Tuesday track the latest developments

Free Covid-19 vaccine for all above 18 years from June 21: PM Modi

The Centre has taken back control of vaccine procurement and will supply Covid-19 jabs to states free of cost to inoculate all above 18 years of age from June 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday.

Of the total vaccine availability, 75 per cent will be procured by the Centre and the remaining 25 per cent will continue to be available for private hospitals.

State governments will monitor that private hospitals are not charging more than Rs 150 a dose as service charge over the fixed price of a vaccine, he said. Detailed guidelines in this regard will be prepared by the central and state governments, he added. Read More

 

Centre extends free foodgrain scheme for 800 million till this Diwali

The Central government on Monday extended the ongoing free additional foodgrains distribution scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for five more months starting from July till November as millions of poor families remain badly impacted due to the second wave of Covid-19.

The PMGKAY-3 was initially announced for the months of May and June in view of the second wave of Covid-19.

Under the Garib Kalyan scheme, Centre distributes 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month free of cost to almost 800 million beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), over and above their usual monthly entitlement. Read More

Gangrene, hearing loss point to Covid-19 Delta strain being more severe

The coronavirus variant that drove India’s devastating Covid-19 epidemic is the most infectious to emerge so far. Doctors now want to know if it’s also more severe.

Hearing impairment, severe gastric upsets and blood clots leading to gangrene, symptoms not typically seen in Covid patients, have been linked by doctors in India to the so-called Delta variant.

 
In England and Scotland, early evidence suggests the now-dominant strain carries a higher risk of hospitalization. Read More

Anil Ambani to raise stake in Reliance Infra via creeping acquisition

A day after it announced an investment of Rs 400 crore in Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra), the family of Anil Ambani is likely to make a tender offer in RInfra via the creeping acquisition route and invest another Rs 500 crore.

Creeping acquisitions refer to the purchase of company shares by its investors (usually, promoters or shareholders with significant holdings) over a number of small transactions, so as to increase the investors' stake in the company by an economically significant amount without requiring any disclosure or other action by the investors. Read More

 

Suraksha group sweetens offer for Jaypee Infra by Rs 1,298 crore

Mumbai-based Suraksha group has sweetened its offer to the lenders of Jaypee Infratech by Rs 1,298 crore to Rs 7,736 crore.

It promised to bring in an additional interim funding of Rs 300 crore to build houses faster for Jaypee customers. This offer was made on Monday to the company’s committee of creditors (CoCs).

Jaypee Infratech was referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in August 2017 after the company failed to repay its Rs 22,000-crore debt. Read More

Piramal Group's resolution plan for beleaguered DHFL gets NCLT nod
 

The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday approved Piramal Group’s resolution plan for the beleaguered Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), which has been reeling from the insolvency process since 2019.
 

The plan put forward by Piramal Group, which has offered to pay Rs 37,250 crore, has been approved by the committee of creditors (CoC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Read More