Indians bet on online gaming to kill boredom

Online gaming nights are one way of socialising and competition with money makes it more exciting, said an expert. Online games involving exchange of money have caught on with Indians stuck at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

from Tech-Economic Times https://ift.tt/2VXycke

Govt to call 900m people to check for virus symptoms

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its order on Friday which extended the lockdown till May 17, mandated that the local authority shall ensure 100% coverage of Aarogya Setu app of residents within the Containment Zone.

from Tech-Economic Times https://ift.tt/2z3ESnC

Private operators don’t have to pay revenue share to AAI for 3 months

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India has offered private airport operators a moratorium on payment of revenue share to the state-owned firm for three months ending June. “These are difficult times and AAI can only provide them with a three-month exemption from payment of revenue share till June,” said a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. “Any further decision on revenues share, if need be, will be taken later.” While the moratorium for Mumbai airport has already come, Delhi airport’s moratorium request will come in after the airport operator’s board approves this proposal and sends it to the government, officials said. A senior executive at Delhi International Airport (DIAL) said the company is not able to fetch a board resolution as convening a board meeting is becoming difficult due to pandemic-related restrictions.75497742Delhi airport, operated by a GMR-led consortium, and Mumbai airport, operated by a GVK-led consortium, share 45.99% and 38.7% of their respective revenues with the state-owned airport operator.The revenue share is fixed based on estimates at the beginning of every quarter and both airport operators had sought an exemption from sharing revenues after grounding of airlines to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic during the last week of March impacted revenues. A Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) spokesperson did not comment on the development. This revenue share exemption could be seen as part of a support package being provided to the ailing aviation industry by the government, industry experts said. However, the government may not provide a large bailout package to the industry, said the official quoted earlier. “The possibility of any bailout package for the aviation industry seems bleak and the government may offer them concession in terms of tax benefits or maybe ATF prices,” the person said, adding that discussions are on at various levels in the government. The AAI board had approved the proposal to provide a moratorium to the country’s top two airports on Wednesday, the official said. This moratorium on revenue sharing is set to impact the financial position of AAI as it contributes substantially to its bottom line.AAI has a total outlay plan of more than ₹5,000 crore for 2020-21 and plans to fund about 40% of its outlay through debt. The rest, about ₹500 crore, is to come from the government and internal accruals, which may be hit due to the deferment of revenues.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2KS2jmB

Govt to call 900m people to check for virus symptoms

New Delhi: The government will soon call nearly 900 million people to check if they have symptoms of the Covid-19 infection, as it steps up its contact tracing efforts through the Aarogya Setu app. The app, developed by the government, will be expanded to all feature phone users, with the Centre planning to partner with telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone-Idea, who will enable calls to their subscribers, a top official told ET. There are around 550 million feature phone users in the country.The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its order on Friday which extended the lockdown till May 17, mandated that the local authority shall ensure 100% coverage of Aarogya Setu app of residents within the Containment Zone. The voice calls, which will be in all Indian languages, will use an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) from a central helpline number – 1921. The IVRS call will check for symptoms and local health authorities will be alerted about those who report any, Abhishek Singh, CEO of MyGov told ET.75497732 “All smartphone users who have not yet downloaded the application will also be getting notifications from their service providers to download it,” Singh added.So far, around 80 million people have installed the app, which alerts users if they come in contact with a Covid-19 positive person, using the GPS location and Bluetooth on their devices. The Aarogya Setu team has adopted a two-pronged strategy to reach out to millions of feature phone users, Arnab Kumar, program director of NITI Aayog told ET. “The team is also in advanced testing stage of Aarogya Setu app on Jio Phones which operates on Kai OS that is capable of running certain apps,” Kumar said. Through this initiative, the government hopes to reach out to 100-150 million Jio users as well. Through the pan-India roll-out of the IVRS, where subscribers can discuss their medical condition on a toll-free number and be provided suitable medical intervention, the entire population will be covered, he added. Based on feedback from the app, the medical team of Ayushman Bharat is reaching out to people who have self-declared symptoms to provide medical intervention. Over 75,000 calls have been made so far. The Centre has made downloads of Aarogya Setu compulsory for its employees. According to a government order on Wednesday, all central government employees and those with PSUs (public sector undertakings) and autonomous bodies should review their “status” on the app before reaching office. Earlier this week, it also ordered that migrant labourers and other stranded people being shifted to their home states should also “be encouraged to download the app through which their health status can be tracked and monitored”. However, privacy activists have raised concerns over the mandatory nature of the downloads.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2z3ESnC

Govt to call 900m people to check for virus symptoms

New Delhi: The government will soon call nearly 900 million people to check if they have symptoms of the Covid-19 infection, as it steps up its contact tracing efforts through the Aarogya Setu app. The app, developed by the government, will be expanded to all feature phone users, with the Centre planning to partner with telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone-Idea, who will enable calls to their subscribers, a top official told ET. There are around 550 million feature phone users in the country.The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its order on Friday which extended the lockdown till May 17, mandated that the local authority shall ensure 100% coverage of Aarogya Setu app of residents within the Containment Zone. The voice calls, which will be in all Indian languages, will use an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) from a central helpline number – 1921. The IVRS call will check for symptoms and local health authorities will be alerted about those who report any, Abhishek Singh, CEO of MyGov told ET.75497732 “All smartphone users who have not yet downloaded the application will also be getting notifications from their service providers to download it,” Singh added.So far, around 80 million people have installed the app, which alerts users if they come in contact with a Covid-19 positive person, using the GPS location and Bluetooth on their devices. The Aarogya Setu team has adopted a two-pronged strategy to reach out to millions of feature phone users, Arnab Kumar, program director of NITI Aayog told ET. “The team is also in advanced testing stage of Aarogya Setu app on Jio Phones which operates on Kai OS that is capable of running certain apps,” Kumar said. Through this initiative, the government hopes to reach out to 100-150 million Jio users as well. Through the pan-India roll-out of the IVRS, where subscribers can discuss their medical condition on a toll-free number and be provided suitable medical intervention, the entire population will be covered, he added. Based on feedback from the app, the medical team of Ayushman Bharat is reaching out to people who have self-declared symptoms to provide medical intervention. Over 75,000 calls have been made so far. The Centre has made downloads of Aarogya Setu compulsory for its employees. According to a government order on Wednesday, all central government employees and those with PSUs (public sector undertakings) and autonomous bodies should review their “status” on the app before reaching office. Earlier this week, it also ordered that migrant labourers and other stranded people being shifted to their home states should also “be encouraged to download the app through which their health status can be tracked and monitored”. However, privacy activists have raised concerns over the mandatory nature of the downloads.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2z3ESnC

Live: Total Covid-19 cases in India 35,365

The novel coronavirus has now affected over 30 lakh people across the globe. Over 2 lakh patients have died due to the virus that originated in China's Wuhan. Meanwhile , In India, the cases have surged to over 35,000. 1152 people have died due to the disease in the nation. Stay with TOI for live updates

from Times of India https://ift.tt/2VY05bT

Lockdown 3.0: Curbs extended for 2 weeks, with some easing

Two days before the scheduled end of the national lockdown, the Centre on Friday extended it by another two weeks, but with significant easing of curbs intended to reopen the country and restart economic activity even in the red zones, leaving only containment areas under strict restrictions.

from Times of India https://ift.tt/2Wm4xQJ