Karnataka asks Centre for 1,500 tonnes of oxygen, one lakh vials of Remdesivir
Bengaluru: Karnataka has asked the Centre to supply 1,500 metric tonnes of oxygen and one lakh vials of Remdesivir in view of the growing COVID cases in the state.
"We have estimated that in the next one month, we may require 1,500 metric tonnes of oxygen. In this regard, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has written to Union Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal," state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar told reporters here on Thursday.
He said he too has written to the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan for supply of oxygen.
Sudhakar said the state government had a meeting with the major oxygen generators in the state.
Of them JSW Steel is the largest one.
"We had a meeting with Sajjan Jindal and he has assured us to supply as much oxygen required in the state," Sudhakar said.
The Minister said after the meeting JSW steel supplied 40 metric tonnes in the last two days required for Bengaluru. Besides this, the State has demanded additional supply of Remdesivir injections, which is crucial for COVID treatment.
According to him, the state has ordered 70,000 vials of Remdesivir injection, of which 20,000 had arrived while the remaining would be supplied in the coming days.
"We have already ordered 70,000 vials of Remdesivir.
This besides we have put forth the demand for one lakh Remdesivir vials for which we have written to the Centre," he added.
To a question as to why the state did not stock enough oxygen beforehand, the Minister said when the cases had reduced, there was no such demand and hence there was no point in storing it.
Now that the cases have gone up the meetings took place to meet the requirement.
The minister's statement came as the demand for oxygen and Remdesivir injection grew in view of the alarming rise of COVID cases, leading to their blackmarketing as well.
The government cracked the whip and arrested a few who were blackmarketing Remdesivir injection.
However, the shortage persisted.
There, however, is no crackdown on the blackmarketing of oxygen cylinders in the state.
The grim situation could be assessed from the fact that on Wednesday alone, the state reported 23,558 fresh COVID cases and 116 deaths while the active cases in the state has gone up to 1.76 lakh.
The active cases comprised 904 patients in the ICU.
Bengaluru Urban district alone contributed more than 70 per cent of the cases and fatalities, prompting Sudhakar to call Bengaluru the epicentre of COVID in Karnataka.
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Govt employees mandated to complete competency-linked courses: Centre in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): All central government employees have been mandated to complete competency-linked courses relevant to their role or level on a dedicated online platform annually, which will reflect in their annual performance appraisal reports, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
The government has adopted a competency-based capacity building approach, focusing on role-based learning, continuous skill development, and alignment of training with role requirements, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply.
"The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has mandated all central government employees and officers of the all-India services to complete competency-linked courses mapped to their role/level and comprehensive assessments prescribed by their ministries/ departments/organisations (MDOs) or cadre controlling authorities (CCAs) on iGOT (integrated government online training) portal annually, which is to be also reflected in their annual performance appraisal reports (APARs)," he said.
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The minister was responding to a query about the government's plans to incorporate competency-based scores for promotion and appraisal processes of its employees.
A framework of roles, activities and competencies (FRAC) aims to align all positions in government with clearly defined roles, activities, and required competencies (behavioural, functional, and domain), Singh added.
In a separate reply, the minister said that details of the engagement of consultants are maintained by respective ministries and departments.
The General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017, administered by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, provides for the fundamental principles applicable to all ministries or departments concerning the engagement of consultants and external professionals or consultancy firms for specific jobs, he said.
"As informed by the Department of Expenditure, data regarding engagement of consultants is maintained by respective ministries and departments," Singh said.
The minister was asked the year-wise number of consultants engaged by all the central ministries and departments during the last five years.
