India-Bangladesh bus service resumes after 2 years of suspension amid Covid

 The cross-border bus service between Bangladesh and India resumed on Friday, two years after its suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic

The cross-border bus service between Bangladesh and India resumed on Friday, two years after its suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Resumption of India-Bangladesh Cross-Border Bus Services! Bus services b/w India-Bangladesh via ICP Agartala-Akhaura & ICP Haridaspur-Benapole resumed with the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka bus being flagged off from Dhaka early morning today-a major step forward in enhancing affordable, people-centric connectivity,” tweeted High Commission of India in Bangladesh.

Tazul Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), had confirmed that the service would resume to The Daily Star on Thursday. The development comes after the rail service between the two countries resumed on May 29. The train service between the two countries was suspended since March 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two trains travel between India and Bangladesh, Bandhan Express operates between Kolkata and Khulna, Bangladesh while Maitree Express connects Kolkata with Dhaka.

Omicron variant wipes out Delta completely in Tamil Nadu Covid cases

 A report of the state public health department said that 68.4 per cent of all whole-genome sequenced samples were of the BA.2 variant while 15.2 per cent were of the BA.1.1 variant.

The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public health in a statement said that the Delta variant of Covid-19 is now totally replaced by the Omicron variant in the state. The report of the state public health department said that 68.4 per cent of all whole-genome sequenced samples were of the BA.2 variant while 15.2 per cent were of the BA.1.1 variant. The other variants are BA.1 (10.3 per cent ), B.1.1.529 (6 per cent), and BA.3 (0.05 per cent). The whole-genome sequenced samples did not have any Delta variant, the statement said. Interestingly in January 2022, while the Omicron variant represented 92 per cent of the samples, 4 per cent were of Delta and the rest were of other variants.

What should the government do to address deepening inequality?

 A recent survey claimed that the annual income of the poorest 20% of Indian households dropped by 53% in 2020-21 from their levels in 2015-16. This report tries to delve into the reasons behind it

As the Budget session is drawing closer, calls to address the growing inequality is also becoming louder. For long, critics have been citing inequality numbers to bring home the point. However, this year, something has changed. For one, the numbers are staggering. They reflect how the Covid-19 pandemic has upended years of progress India had made in addressing this systemic problem.

In the latest round of the ICE 360 Survey 2022, conducted by the People Research on India’s Consumer Economy, it was found that the annual income of the poorest 20% of Indian households — which was constantly rising since 1995– plunged 53% in the pandemic year 2020-21 from their levels in 2015-16. In the same five-year period, the richest 20% saw their annual household income grow 39%. India’s K-shaped economic recovery is deepening societal fault lines along the lines of income and expenditure. Automakers are beefing up their SUV portfolio but sales of two-wheelers are at their lowest in nine years.