Thawar Chand Gehlot launches KIRAN helpline service for mental health rehabilitation

1.Ministry of Culture announces 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India

The Ministry of Culture has announced 7 new circles of the Archaeological Survey of India, ASI.The Ministry of Culture has taken the step in accordance with the Prime Minister’s call to facilitate and strengthen the process of preservation and registration of archaeological monuments.New circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat.Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Hampi, Jhansi and Meerut have been announced as new circles.Earlier there were 29 ASI circles across the country.

2.Thawar Chand Gehlot launches KIRAN helpline service for mental health rehabilitation

Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawar Chand Gehlot launched ‘Kiran’, a toll-free mental health rehabilitation helpline number on August 27.The helpline (1800-599-0019), developed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment along with its partners, aims to provide support for early screening, first-aid, psychological support, distress management, mental wellbeing, preventing deviant behaviours, psychological crisis management, among others.The helpline will offer mental health rehabilitation services.’Kiran’ targets to resolve issues of people across the country experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, panic attack, adjustment disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, pandemic induced psychological issues, and mental health emergencies.The helpline will be supported by 660 volunteer clinical/rehabilitation psychologists and 668 volunteer psychiatrists, along with 75 experts at 25 helpline centres who will have the capacity of handling 300 clients per hour.

3.Two medical institutions in Chennai to start second and third phase of ‘Covishield’ trials

In Chennai, two prominent medical institutions are starting the second and third phase field trial of the Oxford vaccine candidate Covishield.Chennai is one of the seventeen locations in India to conduct the field trial of the promising vaccine candidate Covishield, developed jointly by the Oxford University and AstraZeneca.The Government Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital and the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research are the two institutions in the city that run the trial.Healthy volunteers above the age of 18 are being involved in its multi-centric clinical trial.The T-cells in the white blood corpuscles against the viral pathogen are said to be observed in 14-days after administering the vaccine and the antibodies in about 28 days.Their effectiveness to eliminate the virus and several other factors will be exhaustively tested during the trial.

4.Axis launches Liberty Savings Account aimed at millennials

Axis Bank has launched a new savings account called the Axis Liberty Savings Account, aimed at millennial customers.It offers customers the option of maintaining a minimum balance of ₹25,000 per month or spending the same amount every month using the bank’s debit card.It also provides a complimentary insurance cover of ₹20,000, which includes expenses incurred for covid-19-related hospitalization.The Liberty Saving Account is targeted to cater to the lifestyle requirements of the working class that falls under 35 years of age.