The Morning Brief

India produces sufficient oxygen, but getting it to Covid-19 patients remains a challenge. How can we get out of this crisis? VR Sharma, MD, Jindal Steel, Rajeev Gupta, Founder Vinayak Oxygen and Sandeep Barasia, CBO, Delhivery tackle the logistical issues, while Pulmonologist Dr. Bornali Datta, and ET's Nabeel Khan recount their experiences in battling oxygen availability.

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Amid the raging second wave of the pandemic, some companies are trying to ensure the wellbeing of their employees by helping them get beds at hospitals, critical medicines and oxygen, among other things. Meeta Gangrade, COO at 1To1Help, and ET’s Rica Bhattacharyya tell us what more they can do. Also: tips on managing anxiety from psychotherapist Meghna Mukherjee.

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People from all over are stepping up to help individuals in distress as Covid’s second wave ravages the country. A few bravehearts like Fashion Influencer Amrita Thakur, Mazher Ramzanali of Khaana Chahiye, Ali Shariff of NGO Mercy Mission, and Samaresh Das share their experiences.

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Allowing all adults to get vaccinated against Covid-19 from next month brings new challenges – from supply chain issues to the ethical dilemma of equitable distribution. Gagandeep Kang, Virologist and Professor at Christian Medical College, Vellore, and ET’s Nidhi Sharma discuss the hurdles ahead.

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Class 10 and class 12 students are in a quandary with their board exams cancelled or rescheduled because of Covid-19 cases. Sushil Dhankar, Spokesperson of National Independent Schools Alliance, Adarsh Khandelwal, CEO of Collegify, Disha Nawani, Dean of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and Anubha Shrivastava Sahai, President of the India Wide Parents Association, tell us how this will affect the future of the students and what the government and schools can do to ease this jolt.

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Not enough drugs, beds and oxygen – that’s the state of affairs in this second and larger wave of Covid-19 that’s hit India. Vikas Dandekar of ET Prime gives us the lowdown on Remdesivir, the drug that’s in high demand for treating coronavirus cases. And we have ground reports from Krishna Kumar in Mumbai, Vatsala Gaur from Lucknow and Akshatha M in Bengaluru.

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As the second wave of Covid-19 batters the country, the Indian government has approved the use of vaccines authorised in the US, UK, Europe and Japan to combat the dreaded disease. ET's Teena Thacker and Nidhi Sharma tell us about the challenges ahead and how soon will every citizen in India be vaccinated

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Global investors have converted 10 Indian startups into unicorns – each valued at $1 billion at least – this year, with six in just a week. We discuss what’s driving the funding rush and whether such valuations are sustainable with the Founders of two unicorns – Souvik Sengupta of Infra.Market and Nithin Kamath of Zerodha – along with Archana Rai, Editor-South at ET.
The clips used in the audio montage at the beginning of the episode belong to ET Now and Akur Warikoo.

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Young Indian hip-hop artists are now more vocal than ever about political issues and what’s brushed under the carpet. We catch up with Arivu of ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ fame, who is also a lyricist and a Tamil playback singer, and Rounok Chakraborty, alias Cizzy, a Bengali rapper with viral music videos like ‘Kolkatar Rasta,’ to find out why politics is making them angry and spurring their creativity.

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With India battling the second wave of Covid, voices asking for more vaccinations and vaccines to be allowed are growing louder. What should be India's vaccine strategy? Virologist Dr. V. Ravi, who is on the Sputnik V's advisory board, and ET's Divya Rajagopal discuss.

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