# Development indicators off track: Nearly every indicator of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is off track at the halfway point for achieving them by 2030, said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in its sixth annual Goalkeepers Report.

The report discusses the impact of the pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Yemen, ongoing climate and food crises, and macro-economic headwinds on global ambitions, to improve and save millions of lives by 2030.

# Work-from-home @SEZs: The government is considering a proposal to allow 100 per cent work from home (WFH) for employees in Special Economic Zones(SEZs) across sectors, Commerce & Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal said.

Goyal said that the government had allowed WFH for units in SEZs when Covid was at its peak and employees were not able to come to office for work.

# Promise of nasal vaccines: Holding out the promise of preventing even mild infections and blocking transmission, mucosal vaccines may well be a game changer for the Covid pandemic, say scientists as Indians gear up for the world’s first intranasal preventive.

# Pharma exports set to grow: After registering a flat growth last fiscal, India’s pharmaceutical exports are back on a growth path this fiscal, despite geopolitical challenges in global markets – including Covid-19 and geo-political tensions.

# Making phones in India? : Alphabet Inc is considering moving some production of Pixel phones to India following disruptions in China from Covid-19 lockdowns and Beijing’s rising tensions with the United States, the Information reported on Monday, citing a source.

# The heat is on: Between March and May, Delhi experienced five heat waves with record-breaking temperatures reaching up to 49.2 degrees Celsius which increased the vulnerability of half of the city’s population which lives in low-income, informal settlements, according to a new report released by the World Meteorological Department on Tuesday.

Fossil fuel emission rates are now above pre-pandemic levels after a temporary drop due to lockdowns.

comment COMMENT NOW