Govt Increases Dearness Allowance & Dearness Relief

 

The News Cover: Dearness Allowance (DA) is paid by the government to its employees to compensate them for the rising cost of living due to inflation. Similarly, pensioners are paid Dearness Relief (DR). So there is Dearness Allowance for employees & Dearness Relief for pensioners. DA and DR which had been due on 1 January 2020, 1 July 2020, and 1 January 2021, were frozen due to the Coronavirus pandemic induced financial constraints. 

After the Cabinet meeting on 15th July, the Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters: "Earlier the percentage for DR & DA was 17%. Now the central government has decided to increase it to 28% with effect from July 1. Employees will not get any arrears from the previous period. The new percentage will be applicable from 1st July 2021. 

The move will benefit 48 lakh central government employees, and 65 lakh pensioners." The increase in percentage will impose an additional burden of Rs 43, 401 crore on the government. The decision was made to give a financial boost during the economic crunch to employees and pensioners ahead of the forthcoming festival season.

India Govt Stops Plasma Therapy for COVID Patients

The News Cover: Plasma Therapy is Where blood is extracted from a person who has recovered from COVID-19. A yellowish liquid called 'Plasma' is then separated from this blood. The plasma is injected into a severe COVID patient to help treat the disease. It is believed to be effective & was part of the list of treatments that were approved by the Central Government. This is why doctors were recommending it across the country. 

As the dangerous second wave of infections spread across India, critical patients are told by doctors to opt for plasma therapy. Families run from pillar to post looking for plasma donors. Family members are writing on social media daily requesting plasma donations. This is all because doctors are recommending Plasma Therapy which has been approved by the Central Government. People are facing a lot of stress looking for donors. Several politicians, actors, and other celebrities have been helping people arrange plasma for their patients. 

Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan told the government he received many letters from scientists that said, "Plasma Therapy is not scientifically proven to be useful in treatment COVID-19. Hence, it is better to stop this treatment otherwise doctors will continue recommending Plasma Therapy and it may cause stress to family members & patients to find donors and also cause trouble to donors. It will cause a lot of tension among people. 

Since it is not proven to be effective, it is not right to give people so much stress. This is why the treatment must be stopped." The national Covid task force - which includes senior officials, scientists, and top doctors recently held a meeting and held a discussion. The Central Government has now agreed to drop Plasma Therapy from its list of COVID-related treatments.