RBI Governor Das tests positive for COVID-19; to continue work from isolation
New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Sunday said he has tested positive for coronavirus and will work from isolation while the central bank will continue to function normally.
Das said he is asymptomatic and has alerted those who came in contact with him in recent days.
"I have tested COVID-19 positive. Asymptomatic. Feeling very much alright. Have alerted those who came in contact in recent days. Will continue to work from isolation. Work in RBI will go on normally. I am in touch with all Dy. Govs and other officers through VC and telephone," he tweeted.
Currently, the RBI has full strength of four deputy governors -- BP Kanungo, MK Jain, MD Patra and M Rajeshwar Rao.
The RBI governor, 63, has been quite active during the lockdown period and post unlock period to keep the economy and financial market in good shape.
He used both conventional and unconventional monetary policy tools to support economic recovery hit by COVID-19 crisis.
Last week, Das said the country is at the doorstep of economic revival on the back of accommodative monetary and fiscal policies being pursued by the central bank and the government.
We are almost at the doorstep of revival process and it's very important that the financial entities have adequate capital (to support growth), he had said.
On Friday, the Governor chaired the 585th central board of RBI meeting via video conference to discuss, among other things, the economic situation and other challenges.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in India has come down from over 90,000 to about 50,000. The country's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 78,64,811 with 50,129 new cases reported in a day, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 1,18,534 with 578 fresh fatalities, data of the ministry updated at 8 am showed.
Many public figures including Home Minister Amit Shah, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan have tested positive for the COVID-19 infection and have since recovered.
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Anbumani asks PM Modi to ban sale of cigarettes for those born after 2009
Chennai (PTI): PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take legislative measures to prohibit smoking and the sale of cigarettes to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009, thereby creating a smoke-free generation.
Anbumani, former Union minister for health and family welfare, said, "Once implemented, it (ban on cigarettes) will ensure that future generations are legally prevented from ever accessing tobacco products", he said in a letter to Modi.
"I write to you with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility, drawing your kind attention to a critical public health issue that continues to endanger the lives of millions of Indians, particularly among the younger generation who are affected by cigarette smoking", he claimed.
Stating that India unfortunately bears a disproportionately high burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, he said, adding that, according to global health estimates, nearly 267 million Indians, approximately one in five citizens, use tobacco.
"Each year, tobacco consumption directly accounts for over 1.35 million deaths, while exposure to second-hand smoke contributes to a total of approximately 2.3 million deaths annually", he said, adding, "these figures are alarming and reflect a public health crisis of immense magnitude".
He pointed out that Scientific evidence unequivocally establishes tobacco use as a leading cause of cancer and numerous non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular ailments, chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, and multiple forms of malignancies. "In India alone, tobacco is responsible for nearly 40–50 per cent of all cancer cases, with over 4.7 lakh deaths annually attributed to tobacco-induced cancers", he added.
"In this context, I strongly urge the Union government to consider enacting a transformative law similar to that of the United Kingdom, that permanently prohibits the sale and consumption of tobacco products for individuals born on or after a specified year (such as 2009). Such a generational ban would mark a decisive step towards eliminating tobacco use in India over time", he said.
