DH Evening Brief: April 24, 2021

Here are the top headlines this evening.

Centre waives custom duty, health cess on oxygen and related equipment

The Centre on Saturday decided to waive off basic custom duty and health cess on oxygen and oxygen-related equipment for three months in order to give a boost to its supply and thereby, address the burgeoning problem of medical oxygen crunch in hospitals across the country.The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read more

Will hang anyone obstructing oxygen supply, says Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Saturday asked the Centre about the preparedness to deal with the expected Covid-19 second wave peak in mid-May, terming the massive rise in cases as a ‘Tsunami’, and warned it will "hang" any person who tries to obstruct oxygen supplies to hospitals.Talking tough, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli, said this during a special hearing on a holiday on the issue of mounting oxygen crisis in various hospitals in Delhi. Read more

Karnataka government in favour of lockdown, but people against it: Chief Secy

Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar on Saturday said the state government was in favour of a lockdown, but public opinion was against it.“The government wants to do it,” Kumar said on continuing the weekend lockdown throughout the week. “Everyone says it’s best. But, people don’t want it. People want everything to be let loose and that those who’re dying should continue dying,” he said caustically. Read more

Justice N V Ramana sworn in as 48th Chief Justice of India

Justice N V Ramana, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, took over as the 48th Chief Justice of India on Saturday. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Ramana in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Read more

20 patients die in Delhi's Jaipur Golden Hospital amid oxygen scarcity

Twenty patients died overnight at the Jaipur Golden Hospital on Friday night due to shortage of medical oxygen. The hospital in north-west Delhi had been issuing appeals for oxygen supplies since Friday evening and was facing shortages on Saturday as well. Read more

Poonawala's SII defends Covid-19 vaccine pricing, says initial rates based on advance funding

Serum Institute of India, which makes the most used Covid-19 vaccine in the country, on Saturday defended pricing Covishield vaccine at 1.5 times the initial rate, saying the earlier price was based on advance funding and now it has to invest in scaling up and expanding capacity to produce more shots. Serum Institute of India (SII), which manufactures AstraZeneca's vaccine Covishield at its Pune facility, earlier this week announced a price of Rs 600 per dose and at Rs 400 for state governments and any new contract by the central government. Read more

5 things to watch for at the Oscars this year

Travelers passing through Union Station in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday might notice a slight commotion -- for one night only, it is doubling as the venue for the Oscars. While passengers jumping on a train most likely won't get a glimpse past the tight security, here are five things that movie fans watching the 93rd Academy Awards from home should look out for. Read more