Archive for ‘facilitate’

01/05/2020

India coronavirus lockdown: Train leaves with stranded migrants

Two workers share a meal aboard the first train carrying migrant workers to their stateImage copyright ANI
Image caption Millions of people across India have been stranded by the lockdown

The first train carrying migrant workers stranded by a nationwide lockdown in India has left the southern state of Telangana.

The 24-coach train, carrying 1,200 passengers, is travelling non-stop to eastern Jharkhand state.

Earlier this week, India said millions of people stranded by the lockdown can return to their home states.

The country has been in lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus since 24 March.

However, the movement of people will be only possible through state government facilitation, which means people cannot attempt to cross state borders on their own.

This train is a “one-off special train” to transport the workers on the request of the Telangana state government, Rakesh Ch, the chief public relations officer of South-Central Railways, told the BBC.

The train left Lingampally, a suburb of the southern city of Hyderabad, early on Friday and is expected to reach Hatia in Jharkhand on Saturday.

Mr Rakesh said that adequate social distancing precautions had been taken and food was being served to the passengers.

Workers on board the special train carrying 1,200 passengers to eastern Jharkhand stateImage copyright ANI
Image caption Railways officials said that adequate social distancing precautions had been taken and food was being served to the passengers.

He said each carriage was carrying 54 passengers instead of its 72-seat capacity.

“The middle berth is not being used in the sleeper coaches and only two people are sitting in the general coaches,” Mr Rakesh said.

Before the train pulled out of the station, all the passengers were screened for fever and other symptoms.

They had all been employed at a construction site at the Indian Institute of Technology, a top engineering school, in Hyderabad city.

The workers had earlier protested at the site against the non-payment of wages by their contractor.

Senior official M Hanumantha Rao said the contractor was asked to pay their salaries and arrangement made to send them back home.

The journey was organised at “very short notice”, senior police official S Chandra Shekar Reddy told BBC Telugu.

“We screened them at the labour camp itself and transported them to the railway station in buses,” he said.

India’s migrant workers are the backbone of the big city economy, constructing houses, cooking food, serving in eateries, delivering takeaways, cutting hair in salons, making automobiles, plumbing toilets and delivering newspapers, among other things.

Migrant workers wait to board the first train carrying 1,200 passengers to eastern Jharkhand state.Image copyright ANI
Image caption Before the train pulled out of the station, all the passengers were screened for fever and other symptoms.

Most of the country’s estimated 100 million migrant workers live in squalid conditions.

When industries shut down overnight, many of them feared they would starve.

For days, they walked – sometimes hundreds of kilometres – to reach their villages because bus and train services were shut down overnight. Several died trying to make the journey.

Some state governments tried to facilitate buses, but these were quickly overrun. Thousands of others have been placed in quarantine centres and relief camps.

Source: The BBC

20/04/2020

China to accelerate research on digital infrastructure: official

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) — China will step up efforts to expedite technological research on the construction and application of digital infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

More support should be provided to the research and development of 5G enhancement technology and 6G technology, while the accurate matching of innovation, industrial, capital and policy chains should be promoted, said Chen Zhaoxiong, vice minister of the MIIT.

Chen also stressed the importance of emphasizing the huge demand for digital transformation and improving new digital infrastructure to facilitate economic and social upgrade of the country.

The MIIT will take a string of measures to optimize industrial development, such as expediting construction of 5G and industrial internet connecting people, machine and things, developing new types of intelligent computing facilities, advancing orderly construction and application of large data centers while upgrading micro and small data centers, enriching application scenarios and building a network security system.

Source: Xinhua

10/04/2020

Chinese vice premier talks with British finance minister on bilateral cooperation

BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) — Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua held a phone conversation on Thursday with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on advancing bilateral cooperation on epidemic prevention and economic development.

Hu, who leads the Chinese delegation to the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently held two phone conversations and reached important consensus on jointly dealing with the pandemic and developing China-UK relations.

The Chinese side stands ready to work with the British side to implement the consensus reached by the two leaders, deepen practical cooperation in such fields as epidemic prevention and finance, and provide Britain with support and assistance within its capabilities in medical supplies and other fields, Hu said.

The vice premier expressed hope that the two sides will further strengthen cooperation under the framework of the United Nations and the Group of 20, promote macroeconomic policy coordination, cut tariff, remove barriers, and facilitate the flow of trade, so as to maintain the stability of the global industrial supply chain and promote sustainable growth of the world economy.

For his part, Sunak thanked China for its support and assistance, adding that Britain stands ready to strengthen bilateral cooperation in epidemic prevention, economy and finance through channels like the China-UK EFD, so as to continuously advance bilateral relations.

Source: Xinhua

16/10/2019

Premier Li urges efforts to promote stable economic growth, improve people’s livelihood

CHINA-SHAANXI-LI KEQIANG-INSPECTION (CN)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visits a startup community in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Oct. 15, 2019. Li made an inspection tour in the cities of Xi’an and Xianyang in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province from Monday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

XI’AN, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed deepening reform and opening-up to facilitate steady economic growth and continuously improve people’s livelihood.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks during his inspection tour in the cities of Xi’an and Xianyang in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province from Monday to Tuesday.

In his visit to a community in Xi’an, Li stressed that the renovation of old residential communities can improve the livelihood of people, especially those with financial difficulties, and is conducive to boosting effective investment and consumption.

In this regard, Li called for efforts to upgrade community facilities and enhance public services such as elderly care and childcare.

When visiting a restaurant, Li said measures should be taken to guarantee the supply of pork and stabilize vegetable prices to ensure the basic livelihood of those facing difficulties. He also urged the implementation of policies of cutting taxes and fees for private businesses.

The country will make unswerving efforts to open up wider, give equal treatment to both domestic and overseas businesses registered in China, continuously improve the business environment, and intensify the protection of intellectual property rights, said the premier during his visit to Samsung China Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

Commenting on the great development potential of China’s western regions, Li urged greater efforts to create a good business environment, pledging more targeted policy support.

At the construction site of the Yinchuan-Xi’an high-speed railway, the premier underscored the acceleration of key infrastructure projects in west China and encouraged effective investment in spurring development and improving people’s livelihood.

Li, while visiting a startup community, urged efforts to improve the business environment for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Source: Xinhua

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India