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India - Partner In Growth
Greetings from the Embassy of India in Washington DC!
Welcome to the  April 2, 2020, edition of our weekly newsletter, bringing you important policy and high-impact news about India.
I hope you find it useful.
-- Shambhu Hakki, First Secretary (Political & Press, Information and Culture)
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KEY POLICY DECISIONS
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore ($23 billion) relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the poor to help them fight the battle against Corona Virus. Additionally, last date for income tax returns for FY 18-19 has been extended to 30th June, 2020 from 31st March, 2020. Other responses include free withdrawal of cash using debit card from any other banks' ATM for 3 months, transfer of Rs 500 per month to 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders for next three months etc. Notably, Government to offer insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 under Insurance Scheme.



Body suits, sanitizers, and masks: India's Defence Research and Development Organisation Fights Covid-19

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is gearing up to fight Covid-19. DRDO has developed a bodysuit that  can shield doctors, medical staff, sanitation workers and others from the dangers of Covid-19. Already, DRDO has deployed critical care ventilators, hand sanitiser, and five layer N99 masks with two layers of nano mesh. 



India has called for working towards creating a global framework for further enhancing affordable access to medicines for fighting pandemics and facilitating easier movement of health professionals across national borders. At the meeting of the Trade and Investment Ministers of the G20 countries, Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal said that despite many challenges, India has been a dependable and affordable source of efficacious and high quality medical and pharma products to nearly 190 countries around the world. "We are confident that with improved regulatory and R&D cooperation, India can further enhance its capabilities to serve the world in crisis like this." he said.



Invest India launches Business Immunity Platform to help businesses and investors get real-time updates on India's response to COVID-19

Invest India, India's national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched The Invest India Business Immunity Platform. The platform, hosted on the Invest India website, is designed as a comprehensive resource to help businesses and investors get real-time updates on India's active response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The Business Immunity Platform (BIP) is the active platform for business issue redressal, operating 24/7, with a team of dedicated sector experts and responding to queries at the earliest. Invest India has also announced a partnership with SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) for responding and resolving queries for MSMEs.




The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, with an aim to extend support to the foreign tourists who are stranded in India, has come up with a portal to disseminate information regarding the services that can be availed by foreign tourists who are stuck far away from their home land. The portal is titled 'Stranded in India' and aims to act as a support network for foreign tourists stuck in various parts of the country. The portal is available on www.strandedinindia.com.




PM interacts with Heads of India's Embassies and High Commissions via video-conferencing

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a videoconference with the Heads of all of India's Embassies and High Commissions worldwide to discuss responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister noted that extraordinary times require extraordinary solutions, which was why even in this globalized era, most of the world had quarantined itself. This was an unavoidable step taken to fight this pandemic, but it was also hugely consequential, as the closure of the globalized system has had an extensive and far-reaching impact upon the international transport system, financial markets and the global economy



HIGH-IMPACT NEWS
India to Begin Manufacturing New Covid-19 Test Kits Within Two Months

India will begin manufacturing new serological diagnostic testing kits within the next two months as many advances have been made after the virus was isolated by research agencies. Indian Council of Medical research's chief epidemiologist said once the virus has been isolated, it helps taking research forward for developing diagnostic kits, medicines and vaccines.


FDA Approves Anti-Malarial Drugs Chloroquine And Hydroxychloroquine For Emergency Coronavirus Treatment

On March 28, 2020, U.S. Food and Drug Authority (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to allow hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate products donated to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to be distributed and used for certain hospitalized patients with COVID-19.


Combating COVID-19: India, US maintaining robust cooperation of medical specialists: Ambassador Sandhu

"There are regular exchanges between ministers, foreign secretaries, and other institutions over the pandemic. There is also very strong and robust cooperation among the medical specialists of ICMR and CDC, as far as some of the medicines and equipment are concerned. India is helping the United States and vice versa. In India's case, some supply chains are being impacted. The US is informing us about them and we are trying to help," the Ambassador briefed.


Disney+ to launch in India on April 3

Walt Disney Co's video streaming service, Disney+, will launch in India on April 3 through its local partner Hotstar. "Digital is becoming mainstream and we believe that ours is a mass market proposition and as mainstream as possible. We all are very committed and believe in the power of local language. Our strategy is to go for the entire pyramid and not just top of the pyramid to unlock power of a country like India. We see a massive proposition," Uday Shankar, president, The Walt Disney Company APAC and chairman, Star & Disney India said.


Teleconsultation centre for doctors to share COVID-19 expertise inaugurated at AIIMS

COVID-19 National Teleconsultation Centre or CoNTeC, a Telemedicine Hub to connect doctors across India to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in real time for treatment of COVID-19 patients has been made operational. Doctors will be available in the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there are plans to extend the facility overseas as well.  


India's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Assists in Covid-19 Response by Producing Ventilators, Oxygen Canisters

A section of the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre is going to produce hand sanitisers, oxygen canisters, masks and design easy to operate ventilators. Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, S. Somanath said, " "We are designing ventilators that are different from what is already there. We are designing ventilators that can be operated in a simple manner and when power supply is not there."


Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Team Builds Ventilator, Plans to Offer it Free of Cost

A team of engineers at IISc in Bengaluru is building a prototype of an electro-mechanical ventilator from scratch, using only components found or made in India, based on guidelines issued by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.  According to IISc, it is expected to be ready within the next couple of week


CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE
In view of the rapid spread of Coronavirus, the Government of India has issued guidance regarding travel to India.


 
Following the growing cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), US universities have taken measures to shut down on-campus operations and/or move classes online. The Embassy of India Education Team/India Student Hub ("India Student Hub") has the issued guidelines for Indian students who may be impacted by these decisions.