Current Affairs in Short: 29 April 2021

PM Modi sanctions procurement of 1 lakh portable oxygen concentrators under PM Cares Fund

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 28, 2021 sanctioned the procurement of one lakh portable oxygen concentrators from the PM Cares Fund.
•500 new PSA oxygen plants have also been sanctioned in addition to the earlier sanctioned 713 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants.
•PM Modi tweeted informing that 1 lakh portable oxygen concentrators will be procured, 500 more PSA oxygen plants sanctioned from PM-CARES. This will improve oxygen access in district HQs and Tier-2 cities.
•The decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the measures to improve Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) Supply for COVID management across India.

Reliance to set up 1000-bedded COVID care facilities in Jamnagar

•Reliance Foundation has decided to set up 1,000 bedded COVID care facilities with oxygen supply in Jamnagar. 
•All the services will be free of cost for citizens and the entire cost of setting up and running the facilities will be borne by Reliance.
•At first, a 400-bed COVID care facility will be made operational at Government Dental College and Hospital in Jamnagar within a week then another 600-bed COVID care facility will be made operational at another location in Jamnagar within the next two weeks.
•Reliance will provide all the necessary manpower, medical support, equipment and other disposable items at the COVID facilities.
•The facilities are expected to provide relief to people living in Jamnagar, Dwarka, Khambhalia, Porbandar and other regions of Saurashtra.

Uttarakhand government suspends Char Dham Yatra

•The Uttarakhand government on April 29, 2021 suspended the Char Dham Yatra for this year in the wake of a massive surge in COVID-19 
cases. The yatra was scheduled to start from May 14.
•Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that only priests of the four temples will be allowed to perform rituals and puja.
•The Char Dham Yatra is a pilgrimage to four pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand- Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri.

World gives back to India

•German Ambassador to India, Walter J Lindner said on April 28, 2021 that India has helped the world by providing necessary medicines and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic and now it is time to give back to India. 
•India had provided millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical assistance to countries around the globe to help them fight the pandemic. The German Ambassador's remark comes as several countries have come forward to support India as it continues to struggle with its massive coronavirus crisis that has put a major dent on its health infrastructure leading to a severe shortage of critical equipment, medicines and medical oxygen. 
•The German Ambassador informed that Germany is ready to transport a large oxygen production plant to India in a week, which will provide oxygen for quite a number of people.
•Switzerland has also announced that it will send medical supplies through Swiss humanitarian aid to help India tackle the COVID-19 crisis. The medical supplies include oxygen concentrators, ventilators and other medical equipment. The supplies will be distributed with the help of the Indian Red Cross Society.
•The United States will also be delivering medical supplies worth more than USD 100 million in the coming days to India to provide urgent relief as the nation battles the most severe second wave of COVID-19. The US will be sending over around 1700 oxygen concentrators, an initial delivery of 1,100 cylinders and multiple large-scale Oxygen Generation Units to support up to 20 patients each.