Kumaraguru Action for Relief and Empowerment (KARE), was founded in Nov 2015 during the Chennai floods. KARE supports the victims of natural disasters such as floods, cyclone, and other calamities and has supported during Kerala floods & Gaja Cyclone. This is a volunteer movement of Kumaraguru Institutions where many join hands when the need arises.

KARE COVID 19 Response Bulletin is an effort by a group of Kumaraguru alumni, students & informed citizens alike to clear the clutter around COVID 19 by providing informative, insightful news, articles & data around the world under various tags such as Research, Technology, Education, Economy & Insights with a short summary for each.

 COVID19 Basic Info & Previous Bulletin Link: tinyurl.com/blog-KARE

STATISTICS

India vs the World: The race to stop COVID-19

COVID-19
 		Active Cases
 		Recovered
 		Casualties 
 
India1,31,86854,4413,867
World5,434,0842,273,143344,491

Inference:1. Cases are still growing in the US, UK, Russia, Brazil, and India – they are yet to #FlattenTheCurve2. In Iran, the active cases are rising ominously again, after weeks of a strong recovery.| Prof.Shamika Ravi

The above graph depicts the total cases and total deaths in India – according to different data sources. It is found that the Growth rate of total cases is 5.3%, doubling in 13 days.| Prof.Shamika Ravi


LOCKDOWN 4.0

Lockdown 4.0 begins with more relaxations

The Central Government has extended the lockdown for two more weeks till May 31 but has given some major relaxations, permitting almost all economic activities and significant public movement in green and orange zones. The Centre has given the states, the freedom to decide on Zones. Most essential services from public transport to markets have been opened in non-containment zones. Wearing masks and social distancing in public places have been made compulsory.|The Indian Express


FROM THE FM’S DESK

Key highlights from the 20 crores economic stimulus package

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 13 provided details of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day earlier in a televised address to boost the country’s sagging economy. Key highlights on major budget allocations in this fiscal package have been enlisted in the article along with the actual press conference video that was live telecasted earlier. | TheHindu

CABINET DECISIONS – 20th MAY

The decisions taken by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday were focused on the welfare of migrant workers, senior citizens, easier availability of credit, and harnessing opportunities in the fisheries sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said. Some much-needed decision with respect to migrant laborers and senior citizen is given here. Read more at: Economic Times


VACCINE

COVID-19 vaccine spurs immune response

A vaccine recipient called the mRNA-1273 vaccine, being developed by the drugmaker Moderna for SARS CoV-2 has been tested in eight volunteers. The Phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine has suggested that it can generate antibodies that neutralize the virus besides being safe to humans. Also, those antibodies in human cells have been found to stop the virus in culture from replicating. The scientists have suggested that further testing was necessary before it could become a potential vaccine for COVID-19. |The Scientist

A US vaccine races ahead and creates science billionaires

In this video by The Print, Shekhar Gupta explains the progress of an American company – Moderna’s Coronavirus vaccine using path-breaking mRNA tech & how it races ahead with its share price rising 5x in 3 months with potential billionaire investors. He also described the science behind this newly discovered vaccine and about the 1st trial of injection to the healthy volunteers that have shown safe response avoiding any setbacks. | Click here for the full video: The Print


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnology and Nanomaterial solutions for COVID-19

With predictions that nanotech-based products will exceed the US $1 trillion within 15 years, scientists have undertaken new projects and initiatives to help battle this COVID-19 pandemic, the best they can, beginning with these products being developed and deployed for the containment, diagnosis, and treatment. The extraordinary result of innovation results in smaller, cheaper and fewer raw materials to manufacture enhanced PPE and many more.| Globe Newswire

TDB approves AI projects to fight COVID-19

The Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has approved six healthcare-focussed tech projects for commercialization to combat the coronavirus pandemic in India. The body has approved a project to detect and track multiple people using facial recognition even if they’re wearing masks, projects that use thermal scanners, and so on. Cocoslabs has built a device that can read a person’s body temperature and provide a real-time predictions of their age, gender, and race. | NDTV

Digital Epiphany? COVID-19 and our tech futures

It is clear that coronavirus will accelerate digitization and more permanently fuse our technological and social systems while encoding inequities and gaps therein. Video Conferencing platforms, for instance, have emerged as the go-to technology keeping governments and businesses running even as social distancing is being practiced. Amidst these advantages, there are certain risks to people on various prospects due to this digitalization. | NEWS 18 


PUBLIC HEALTH

The more we understand COVID-19, the better we can fight it!

Indian Railways comes to the rescue of migrants

The Indian Railways has run 1,813 ‘Shramik Special’ trains since 1 May and ferried over 22 lakh migrants back home. It has further released the list of 200 trains that will be operated across the country from June 1. These also include the popular trains such as Durontos, Sampark Krantis, Jan Shatabdis and Poorva Express. The bookings can only be done online and will begin from 10 am on 21st May. The trains will be fully reserved and will not have unreserved compartments. No tatkal bookings will be permitted. | Livemint 


ECONOMY

Economic consequences of COVID-19 at a global level

It is important to see the COVID-19 disruptive shock on the global economy – unlike the 2008-09 financial crisis – as both a supply and demand-side shock. And the inter-sectionality between these two need to be better understood for effective policy design to be worked out and executed in response. For India, they expect growth to come down to 5.3%, from the previous estimate of 5.7% as per the economic analysis. | The Wire

COVID-19: 8 things to do now instead of investing

With the markets crashing during this pandemic, which no one of us saw coming there are many economic implications of what’s to come. With 8 suggestions, some shedding light on stressing the importance of surviving with current income rather than being worried about investments, being a responsible citizen and expressing compassion towards the community – to help guide the investors who are blindfolded; not knowing how to secure themselves, what to do with their money and how to buy responsibly, this article is apt. | The Economic Times


EDUCATION AND CAREER

Government makes education accessible with PM e-Vidya

The Finance Minister in her fifth tranche has announced that special TV channels will be started for the students of the country. There will be one dedicated TV channel per class from class 1 to class 12 for students to study online. This has been launched under a comprehensive initiative called Pradhan Mantri e-VIDYA. The government has also launched Swayam Prabha DTH channels to support and reach those who do not have access to the internet. |The Indian Express

Coronavirus isn’t the end of your career

People in various job domains express their insecurity in jobs, but also says how this situation is helping them to learn new things to progress in their careers. “Once you learn how a system works, leverage it. Figure out what your industry needs, show your boss you can deliver, and use that to protect your job or even negotiate the next move. The more skills you gain, the more choices you have”, says DelliSanti-Miller | ThePrint

5 tips to get job-ready before the lockdown ends

India is one of the leading destinations for international companies to hire and secure great talent in the evolving market. Job seekers have to equip themselves with the necessary skills before this lockdown ends. Also, the contribution of students in ensuring the betterment of communities is essential by making sure they participate in and create projects that will help in uplifting society from this pandemic. This creates an everlasting impact as well as adding great value to the CV. | India Today


ENVIRONMENT

India’s CO2 emissions fall for the first time in four decades

The COVID-19 pandemic and economic slowdown have reduced the carbon dioxide emissions as coal and oil consumption has drastically reduced. The country’s CO2 emissions are likely to have fallen 30% in April. Coal-fired power generation fell 31% in the first three weeks of April, based on daily data from the national grid. In contrast, renewable energy (RE) generation increased in March and saw a slight decrease of 1.4% in the first three weeks of April. Coronavirus has further cut India’s electricity demand, mostly at the expense of coal. |Ecowatch

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KARE COVID19 Response

KARE is now supporting the front-line workers through local government by providing Food, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) & sanitizers made in-house at the Kumaraguru Institutions. KARE is also connecting the farmers with communities who would required vegetables in bulk.

Report as on 23.05.2020

  • 40038 Cooked meals
  • 2259 Volunteering hours clocked
  • 10 Tons of Vegetables transacted so far
  • 28+ Number of Farmers impacted so far
  • 500kg Rice
  • 1200 Liquid sanitizer packs
  • 2500 Masks
  • ₹ 4,95,141 Funds Raised
  • ₹ 6,50,000 Funds Spent
  • 57000+  Lives Impacted

Impact areas: 

Chinnavedampatti, Saravanampatty, Vellaikinar, Sathyamangalam, Sulthanpet, Paapampatti, Sulur, Thondamuthur, Narasipuram, Kangayam, Coimbatore & Pollachi.

Volunteer yourself

For Donations, Please find the details below

KARE Bank Account Details

Account name: KCT KARE
Account number: 1245155000078376
Bank: Karur Vysya Bank
Branch: KCT Extension Counter
IFSC: KVBL0001245
Bank address: Kumaraguru College of Technology, Chinnavedampatti, Coimbatore – 641036