Daily News Dose: Kerala private bus owners end strike | March 27, 2022

Hello listener, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1) Prices of 800 essential drugs, including paracetamol, to go up by 10% from April 1 

2) Kerala private bus owners end strike after meeting with CM 

3) Malayali woman stabbed multiple times in East London, accused nabbed

4) UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a fix over wife's Infosys dividends

5) India bow out of ICC Women's World Cup after heart-breaking loss to South Africa

Let’s get into the details.

1) The prices of over 800 drugs including life-saving medicines will go up by more than 10 percent from April 1. Though the upper limit of hike has not been declared, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has clarified that the increase in Wholesale Price Index (WPI) compared to previous years, is 10.76 percent and the hike in prices of medicines will be in sync with this. This is the highest one time increase in the prices of medicines under price control regime, since the NPPA came into being in 1997. The prices of various medicines, including paracetamol and antibiotics like azithromycin, medicines to prevent anaemia, vitamin- mineral tablets, medicines for diabetes and cardiac ailments and some medicines used for Covid treatment, have been increased. The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association had urged the central government in November to increase the price of scheduled drugs by 10 percent. They had pointed out the increase in cost of ingredients  for drug manufacturing, packaging and import duty as the reason for the demand.

2) Private bus operators in the state withdrew their ongoing strike on Sunday. The decision was taken following a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Transport Minister Antony Raju at the Secretariat. The CM has acknowledged the struggles faced by the private bus industry and has agreed to our demands, the bus owners said. Private bus owners across the state went on an indefinite strike from March 24 demanding an increase in ticket fares in the wake of rising fuel prices. They have also sought an increase in the kilometre charge from the present 90 paise to Rs 1.10 per kilometre and a waiver of road tax for the Covid-19 period.

3) In a shocking incident, a Malayali woman in her 30s was stabbed multiple times at a restaurant on East Ham Barking Road in the UK on Friday. The attacker has been arrested. The incident occurred in a South Indian restaurant, Hyderabad Waala, where the woman works, and  frequented by Asians, especially Keralites. The attacker came to the restaurant on the pretext of being a customer and stabbed her multiple times, forcing her to the ground. The assaulter flashed his knife at other restaurant employees who tried to prevent the crime. When they hesitated to come forward, the attacker escaped. However, he was nabbed by the Metropolitan Police within minutes. The woman, who was rushed to the hospital, is out of danger and is stable now, informed hospital authorities.

4) UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing questions over his wife's wealth after accounts indicated that she received millions of pounds in dividends from a firm that is still operating in Russia, Daily Mail reported. Sunak's wife, Akshata Murthy, has a stake worth hundreds of millions in Infosys, founded by her billionaire father Narayana Murthy. The Labour Party warned that Sunak has “very serious questions answer” over Murthy's shares. Labour Party MP Liam Byrne said: “At a time when we have a responsibility to stand with the Ukrainian people as they resist Russian aggression, this is extremely concerning.” Major consultancy firms PwC, KPMG and Accenture have all quit Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, citing a desire to protest against Kremlin's war. By contrast, Infosys is still operating in Moscow.

5) India were knocked out of the ICC Women's World Cup on Sunday after losing to South Africa by three wickets in a thrilling match at Hagley Oval. India had posted a respectable 274 for 7, thanks to sizzling half centuries from Smriti Mandhana, captain Mithali Raj and Shefali Verma. However, a determined South Africa chased it to the last ball, despite India making inroads halfway into the second innings. The South African innings saw a solid 125-run stand between Laura Wolvaardt, who scored 80, and Lara Goodall, who scored 49. But it was Mignon du Preez who ensured South Africa would see the semi finals. India's loss also means that West Indies get to play the semi finals against Australia. South Africa will now take on England in Thursday's second semi finals.

Now, let’s check out the covid update:

6) India logged 1,421 new Covid cases on Sunday , pushing the overall tally to  4,30,19,453, while the active cases dipped to 16,187.

The death toll climbed to 5,21,004 with 149 more fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry.

While the daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.23%, the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.27%.

That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.