Service sector in chile

Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 51.4 in February, down from 52.4 of January, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Sunday. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below it reflects contraction. In February, the sub-index for business activities in the services sector stood at 50.8, dropping from 51.1 in January. This indicated China's services sector continued to expand, yet at a slower pace, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at NBS, while analyzing the February reading. In breakdown, consumption-related segments such as retail sales, catering and entertainment logged increases in business activities, Zhao said. The sub-indexes for business activities in telecommunications and satellite transmission as well as financial services came in at above 58, indicating steady growth of business volume in these areas, according to Zhao. Sunday's data ... » Learn More about China’s non-manufacturing PMI falls in February

LONDON : The UK's vaccination programme against Covid-19 enters a new phase on Sunday as the National Health Service ( NHS ) will begin contacting all over-60s to book their jabs at the nearest vaccination centre or with a general practitioner (GP) or pharmacy. Almost 2 million people aged 60 to 63 will be invited after over 64s had been covered in the previous phase and letters will start arriving from Monday explaining how they can make an appointment for the jab. They follow more than three in four people aged 65 to 70 taking up the offer of a vaccination and nearly 17 million people across England , over a third of the adult population, having received the “life-saving jab”. “Our incredible vaccination programme is accelerating and well over one in three people across the UK have now received their first jab,” said Nadhim Zahawi, UK Vaccine Deployment Minister. “We are now inviting those aged 60 to 63 to receive their vaccines and I urge everybody to come ... » Learn More about UK Covid-19 vaccine rollout expands to over-60s in latest phase

In view of the spike in COVID-19 cases in Pune, the Pune district administration on Sunday extended the night curfew and shutdown of schools till March 14. The essential services are exempted from the curfew. "COVID-19 restrictions imposed in the Pune city till February 28 have been extended to 14 March," said Murlidhar Mohol Mayor Pune. "No public movement except essential services will be allowed between 11 pm and 6 am," he added. In Pune, the total number of cases are 4,06,453, total recoveries are 3,87,527. The active cases in Pune till Saturday are 9860 while the death toll is at 9235. The State Health Department informed on Saturday that Maharashtra reported 8,623 new COVID-19 cases, 3,648 recoveries, and 51 deaths in the last 24 hours, The COVID-19 death toll reached 1,56,938 on Saturday with additional 113 deaths. Earlier Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had directed senior officials to take strict action against people or organisations ... » Learn More about Pune extends night curfew till March 14; schools to remain shut

In the first administrative shuffle after the model code of conduct for the Assembly polls came into force in West Bengal, the Election Commission transferred Jawed Shamim, Additional Director General ( Law and Order) of West Bengal Police. Director General of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Jag Mohan, will be the new ADG ( Law and Order) and Mr. Shamim will take the role of DG, Fire and Emergency Services. Mr. Shamim was appointed ADG (Law and Order) only a few weeks ago by the State government. About 10 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have arrived in the State from Patna. The forces have been deployed in Basirhat, Bongaon and Barasat areas of North 24 Parganas and parts of Kolkata. Eight additional companies of CAPF are likely to arrive from Assam for north Bengal. More than 20 companies of CAPF have already been deployed . A day after the Assembly election schedule for West Bengal was announced, campaigning in the State gathered momentum. ... » Learn More about EC shunts out top police official in West Bengal

A day after the Election Commission of India announced the election schedule for Tamil Nadu and three other States, the district administration on Saturday began the process of setting up a control room at the Collectorate. District Collector K. Rajamani had asked a District Revenue Officer-level official to head the control room and that was most likely to be headed by the DRO in-charge of land acquisition for the Coimbatore airport expansion project. The administration was in the process of setting up phone lines with toll-free number. Once complaints start pouring in, the control room staff, who would manage the room 24x7 in turns, would forward the complaints to the DRO-cadre officers. Mr. Rajamani said the administration had calculated that it would need additional 1,300-odd polling booths in the ensuing election to ensure it could enforce COVID-19 safety protocol. Of the 1,300-odd booths, 900-odd booths will be in the same polling station. The rest would be at a premises ... » Learn More about Work to set up election control room begins in Coimbatore

UT administration has decided to frame guidelines for installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on public land in the city. UT adviser Manoj Parida said Debendra Dalai, director, environment, has been made nodal officer to coordinate with departments for setting up stations across the city. “As the process involves different departments, Dalai was made the nodal officer,” he said. The need to minimise carbon emissions and other pollutants call for shift to electric vehicles . However, for this to happen effectively, there is a requirement of installing strategically located charging stations and infrastructure for the ease of consumers. This, in turn, throws up the challenge of managing the increasing electricity consumption and pricing effectively through a self-regulated grid, without making a compromise on network operational performance. All this calls for formulating a comprehensive strategy to make adoption of EVs viable. Times View Dalai, who is also ... » Learn More about UT administration to frame rules for electric vehicle charging stations

“No one can predict the rise or fall in petroleum prices. After a massive drop in demand during the Covid-19 crisis, the oil-producing countries had reduced production to 10-12 million barrels in May 2020 from 100 million earlier,” Pradhan said while talking to reporters at circuit house here on Saturday. “When demand started increasing they were asked to increase production and had assured to do so by February. They did not increase production leading to demand-supply imbalance and increase of price,” he added. LPG consumption increases massively in Europe during winter and falls after March-end following which prices are likely to dip, said Pradhan. The cascading effect on other sectors is natural, but the tax component is not being disturbed as the government has to spend Rs 35,000 crore on Covid vaccine and development spending has increased 32% this year. Being the third-largest energy consumer country, all efforts are on to rein in oil prices, he said. “We are in ... » Learn More about Fuel prices increased due to dip in supply: Oil min

NEW DELHI: Education budgets were cut by 65 per cent of low and lower-middle-income countries after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic while only 33 per cent of high and upper-middle-income countries did so, according to a report by the World Bank . The report, compiled in collaboration with UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, said the current levels of government spending in low and lower-middle-income countries fall short of those required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "In order to understand the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education budgets , information was collected for a sample of 29 countries across all regions. The sample represents about 54 per cent of the world's school and university-aged population. The information collected was then verified with World Bank country teams," the report said. "Responding to the Covid-19 crisis requires additional spending to adapt schools for compliance with the ... » Learn More about 65% low, lower-middle income countries slashed education budgets after Covid-19 outbreak: Report

Health care activists in Maharashtra have demanded an increase in the public health budget by one-and-a-half times and implementation of a central government's legislation which provides for capping treatment rates in private hospitals . The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed loopholes in the system and several people died as they could not get proper medical attention, a group of activists, who have come under the umbrella of 'Jan Arogya Abhiyan', told reporters here on Saturday. The budget session of the Maharashtra Legislature will begin on Monday. "The public health budget should be increased by one- and-a-half times so that there are assured healthcare services in remote and rural areas," activist Ulka Mahajan said. She blamed poor maintenance of the public health system and lack of adequate staff for the death of 10 newborn babies in a fire at the Bhandara district hospital last month. For 2020-21, the Maharashtra government planned to spend Rs 1,350 per person on ... » Learn More about Increase public health care budget in Maharashtra: Activists

Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on Sunday hit out at the government capping Covid-19 vaccine price at Rs 250 at private hospitals , saying vaccine companies "feel betrayed" as it is too low to sustain. Reacting to a report that the health ministry has fixed Rs 250 per shot at private hospitals and health centres, she tweeted, "We are (sic) crushing instead of incentivising vaccine industry ." She further said, "Covid Vaccine Jab Capped At Rs 250 At Private Hospitals: Government - understand vaccine cos (sic) feel betrayed as price is too low to sustain." Mazumdar-Shaw asked, "If WHO has agreed to USD 3 per dose, why beat them down to USD 2?" The government's capping of the vaccine price at private hospitals comes at a time when India is preparing to vaccinate people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with co-morbidities from March 1. The Covid-19 vaccine will be given free of cost at government hospitals, while people will need to pay for it at private ... » Learn More about Companies ‘feel betrayed’ due to capping of Covid-19 vaccine price: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw