The MoU is aimed at strengthening relations between India and the US within the framework of international scientific and technological cooperation in fields of mutual interest….reports Asian Lite News
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the US in health sector.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved signing of MoU among the Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), USA to contribute towards the development of new, improved and innovative biomedical tools and technologies to prevent and treat HIV, TB, Covid-19 and other emerging infectious and neglected diseases.
This Memorandum of Understanding will further strengthen relations between India and the US within the framework of international scientific and technological cooperation in fields of mutual interest.
Meanwhile, India reported nearly 41 per cent spike in new Covid-19 cases in a span of 24 hours.
A total of 5,233 fresh cases was recorded in a span of 24 hours as against 3,714 reported on the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday morning.
In the same period, the country has reported 7 Covid deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,24,715.
Meanwhile, the active caseload of the country has also risen to 28,857 cases, accounting for 0.07 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.
The Union Health Ministry is set to transform the COVID ‘war room’ into a ‘Health emergency operation centre.’ The inauguration of this refurbished centre will be done soon, sources told ANI.
The COVID-19 war room was started on the first floor of the Union Health Ministry at the Nirman Bhawan, which was the nerve centre of the pandemic status in the country.
But now, the war room will be refurbished as Health Emergency Operation Centre and the inauguration of the centre will be done by the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya.
The Health Emergency Operation Centre will work like a COVID war room 24×7. This centre has been prepared for all types of national health emergency situations. Earlier the COVID war room was only fully focused to keep an eye on the COVID-19 situation in India.
India-Australia MoU
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the Government of India and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Government of Australia for Technical Cooperation in urban water management, said a press release issued by the Cabinet.
According to the statement, the MoU has been signed in December 2021.
MoU would reinforce bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the area of urban water security, added the press release, said the press release.
According to the statement, the MoU would strengthen institutional capacities at all levels for urban water management; improve accessibility, affordability and quality of water and sanitation services; promote the circular economy of water and water-secure cities; encourage climate-resilient water management practices; enhance community participation in water management and improve social inclusion through initiatives for accessible infrastructure, as per the statement.
MoU will enable both sides to learn about technological advancements gained by the two nations in key areas of urban water security and will promote the exchange of learning, best practices and capacity building of institutions, said the statement.
This will help towards the realisation of AatmaNirbhar Bharat, it added.
Transfer of satellites for easing business in space sector
To ease the business in the Space sector, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the transfer of 10 in-orbit communication satellites from the Government of India (Gol) to M/S NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
“The Space Sector reforms mandated NSIL to undertake end-to-end commercial space activities and function as a full-fledged satellite operator. It’s functioning as a single-window operator will facilitate the ease of doing business in the space sector,” read an official statement.
The NSIL is a wholly-owned Public Sector Enterprise of the Central government under the administrative control of the Department of Space.
According to the statement, this approval is expected to trigger domestic economic activity in the space sector and increase India’s share in the global space market.
The Union Cabinet also gave a nod for increasing the authorized share capital of NSIL from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 7,500 crore, and this transfer of assets is further likely to provide the desired financial autonomy to the company to realize the capital intensive programmes/ projects, thereby offering a huge employment potential and technology spin-off to other sectors of the economy.
The NSIL Board will now be empowered to price the transponders as per the market dynamics and global trends in the Satellite Communication sector. It is also authorized to offer and allocate capacity as per its internal policies and guidelines. (ANI)
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