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The net zero challenge
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Alice Rivlin, vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board in the 1990s, aptly remarked that the “job of a central bank is to worry”. The RBI’s Currency and Finance Report for 2022-23 — “Towards a greener cleaner India” — is proof that the central bank is on the job. It is a timely update to its previous reports that had left many wondering what will be its response to climate change. The report covers an expansive set of issues, and conveys the central bank’s future course of action.India is committed to achieving net zero status by 2070 at CoP26. The road to net zero will not be smooth, as is reflected in the report. The RBI provides a much-desired framework of thinking about the trade-offs between growth, inflation and efforts to transition to a net zero economy. There is a tension between India’s ambition to achieve advanced economy status by 2047 and lowering its emissions. An annual GDP growth rate of 9.6 per cent would raise net GHG emissions by 10.5 times of levels in 2021-22.In a scenario where India seeks to achieve dual objectives of net zero by 2070 and advanced economy status, it would have to increase the share of green energy in primary energy consumption to 82 per cent by 2070 and reduce emission intensity by 5.4 per cent annually. The report’s finding that nationally determined contribution will set back economic output by as much as 9 per cent by 2049 is a wake-up call. Only a more ambitious action of achieving net zero by 2050 would limit the losses from extreme weather events and decarbonisation to 3 per cent by 2049. The question for policy is how can India scale its ambition given the constraints set by investment costs.The report also weighs on the inflationary impact of the status quo against the alternative of achieving net zero by 2050. The latter will raise prices over the next three years but will subdue persistent inflationary effects over the long term. The empirics, therefore, make it clear that transitioning to net zero by 2050 may be a better option globally.Once the shift is set in motion, the productive life of existing fossil fuel-based assets will be shortened thus exposing the banking sector (through loans) to these assets. Such risks are more pronounced for public-sector banks. However, the financial risks are not just limited to conventional energy, non-conventional energy registered an increase in share of industry bad loans. With an annual estimated investment cost of 5-6 per cent of GDP, associated risks to the financial system are also anticipated by the report. At the same time, there are risks to assets, and therefore to the banking system, from the growing incidence of extreme weather events. RBI’s assessment is that a one-period climate shock can reduce output by 1 per cent up to five quarters. This in turn will reduce incomes and consumption.The important question then is what are the policy alternatives to address these risks. Interestingly, the report lays significant emphasis on the role of fiscal policy. It makes a case for fiscal intervention in the form of a carbon tax or an emission trading system. It finds that a carbon tax of $25 per tonne and $50 per tonne of Co2 under different scenarios can be effective, alongside other policy interventions.The importance of a carbon tax is indisputable, especially given the G7’s commitment to trade based tax measures. However, its distributional consequences are not addressed at all. It remains unclear from the analysis the level of carbon tax most compatible with different growth outcomes. It is also unclear which tax redistribution mechanisms can mitigate the distributional consequences.The report sets the tone for monetary policy in the coming years. But it also lays out policy questions that remain widely unaddressed — the need for a taxonomy and sectoral pathways aligned with net zero. While it does mention the role of shifts in production to less energy intensive sectors — fisheries, textiles, land transport and services — there is no roadmap for these sectors that have long confronted legacy issues. As the RBI takes on the responsibility of managing risks, fiscal policy and regulatory measures are also needed to meet the challenges.The writer is associate professor, NIPFP

The net zero challenge
Why 'revolutionary' communist PM Prachanda went to temples in India
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

On the evening of May 31, Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (“Prachanda”) raised his hands in welcome and signalled Manjeev Singh Puri, asking the former Indian Ambassador to Nepal to approach him at a reception held in his honour at the country’s embassy in New Delhi. “I have not forgotten… you asked me several times when will I wear Daura-Suruwal. Look, I have done it.”Prime Minister Dahal donned Nepal’s official and traditional dress for the first time during a trip abroad. Dahal and his party – the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre) – have consciously avoided wearing traditional attire to maintain the radical and revolutionary image. That image was sacrificed on his trip to India.On the third day of his trip, Dahal not only visited Indore but he did an elaborate puja at the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. He offered the deity a 108-rudraksha bead thread, clad in distinctly religious attire. Dahal was a “revolutionary” whose insurgency saw many incidents of temples being vandalised and those observing rituals (even death rituals) being killed. He has still avoided visiting any temple, including the Pashupatinath temple in Nepal. His religiosity in India, then, may well be taken as a tactical transformation to address the Modi factor – a factor which may be crucial to his political success and survival. Many, then, believe that he has not “transformed” – he has simply been tamed by hostile circumstances and politics. His visit to India five months after he assumed office as PM for the third time was for political management.Just an hour before his departure, he managed to get President Ram Chandra Poudel to approve the Citizenship Bill that erstwhile President Bidhya Devi Bhandari had declined. Dahal bypassed parliament by getting the cabinet to go for a shortcut. The cabinet to pass sought the President’s approval bypassing the parliament. This was done to mollify New Delhi.India has still not welcomed Nepal’s constitution, promulgated in 2015. Dahal and K P Oli (who was then waiting to take over as PM) turned down India’s suggestion to delay the promulgation till the demands of some Tarai-based parties, which included the citizenship issue was sorted out. The result was a 134-day-long economic blockade, which led to a sweeping anti-India sentiment in Nepal. Modi also lost a lot of his considerable popularity in the country.The Citizenship Bill, among other things, provides instant citizenship with all the political and property rights to foreign women married to Nepali men. While the Bill does not address many of the more radical demands, like citizenship to men married to Nepali women, Dahal’s pushing it through likely earns him some trustworthiness in the eyes of the Indian establishment. It can be interpreted as a realisation on his part that not listening to India earlier was a mistake.Dahal had his own reasons to stoop, hoping he will ultimately conquer. Sixteen years ago, the decade-long insurgency – which led to 17,000 deaths – ended in a peace accord following a deal that India brokered between the Maoists and Nepal’s pro-democracy parties. Modi, who came to power in Delhi eight years after the deal, hailed the accord in his first address from the ramparts of the Red Fort as a “triumph of the ballot over bullet”. But now, at 71, Dahal faces the prospects of that triumph being bungled. Not only his detractors, but ex-guerrillas and political allies want the gross human rights violations probed and the guilty punished, as pledged in the peace accord signed in November 2006.Dahal has been trying hard to grant general amnesty to the guilty but as the accord was witnessed by the international community, including the UN, his best option was to reach out to India to bail him out and, if necessary, intercede with Western countries.Indian authorities appear convinced that the Maoist leader’s offer to side with India in containing China in Nepal, and even to put Chinese investments at bay, is genuine. Delhi seems to believe that Dahal continuing as PM would be in India’s interest. Amazingly, he also reportedly assured the BJP that he was no less Hindu than the former King Gyanendra Shah, whose efforts at making a political comeback are getting a huge public response in Nepal. His visit to Mahakaleshwar was evidence of that.For now, Dahal got what he wanted from Delhi. The two sides signed deals to have Indian Public Sector Undertakings — National Hydro-Power Corporation and Satluj Jal Nigam — to develop the 679 MW Lower Arun and 480 MW Phukot (Karnali) — with India promising to enhance multifold the current purchase level (400 MW) of Nepal-generated power. Delhi asserted that no power generated by Nepal companies with Chinese investment will be purchased. This is a clear message that Chinese investment in all major sectors will be discouraged.Dahal did not quite raise the border dispute – this would have spoilt the positive atmosphere he was trying to create. But this is likely to be seen as a “surrender”, and create a backlash at home. His Delhi visit will be debated, polarising people and parties in Nepal. And that will cost Prachanda the image his “revolutionary past” bestowed on him. In that avatar, the problems with an “expansionist India” used to be a political and diplomatic mantra.The writer is a senior journalist based in Kathmandu

Why 'revolutionary' communist PM Prachanda went to temples in India
'PM Modi's car crashing as he looks in rear-view mirror': Rahul Gandhi in US
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night (GMT) and alleged that the BJP and RSS are “incapable of looking at the future” and can only talk about the past.Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora in the Javits Centre in New York, Gandhi said, “He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is trying to drive the car…the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it’s the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the Prime Minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past”.Gandhi asserted that the BJP and RSS speak only about the past and always “blame somebody else for the past”. In India, there is a fight going on back between two ideologies — one represented by the Congress and the other by the BJP and the RSS, the former MP said.“The simplest way to describe this fight is that on one side you have Mahatma Gandhi and on the other side, Nathuram Godse,” he said.On the Odisha train accident, which claimed 275 lives and left over 1,000 injured, Gandhi said that during the Congress tenure, if train mishaps happened, ministers used to take responsibilities for their actions and “we accepted our mistakes”.“I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say ‘now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed’. The Congress minister said ‘it’s my responsibility and I’m resigning’. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with,” Gandhi said.A one-minute silence was also observed to pay respect to the people who died in the accident.During his 40-minute long speech, Gandhi also praised the Indian-American community for the way they have lived in the US. “All the giants that have emerged from India, you can see that there were certain qualities that all of them possessed. Firstly, they searched for, represented and fought for the truth. Secondly, all these people were humble, and there was no arrogance in them. That is how Indians have worked in the US, and that’s why Indians are successful here. I respect and honour you for that.”Gandhi is on a six-day, three-city tour to the United States. He has visited California, the Bay area, Washington and New York to interact with the Indian communities, think tanks and the press.Earlier last week, Gandhi also said the RSS and the BJP are controlling all the instruments of politics in India. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul said, “I think if you sat Modi ji down next to god, Modi ji would start explaining to god how the universe works. And god would get confused that what have I created.”— With PTI inputs

'PM Modi's car crashing as he looks in rear-view mirror': Rahul Gandhi in US
Amit Shah meets team of wrestlers, they ask for early chargesheet
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

DAYS AFTER they threatened to throw their medals into the Ganga, and the night before their five-day deadline for action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh expired, a delegation of the protesting wrestlers met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence in the Capital late Saturday.The meeting, which is learnt to have lasted for over two hours and ended after midnight, was attended by Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik along with several coaches. “We had a meeting with the Home Minister. I can’t comment further,” Bajrang told The Indian Express.Bajrang and Sakshi, along with World Championship medalist Vinesh Phogat, have been at the forefront of the protests against Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven female wrestlers, including a minor.The Delhi Police registered two FIRs against Singh on April 28 that, as reported by The Indian Express Friday, have at least two instances of demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance; close to 15 incidents of sexual harassment that include 10 episodes of inappropriate touching, molestation that includes running hands over breasts, touching the navel; several instances of intimidation including stalking.The Indian Express also reported that one Olympian, a Commonwealth gold medallist, an international referee and a state-level coach are learnt to have corroborated the allegations of at least three female wrestlers, and are among the 125 potential witnesses across four states whose statements have been recorded by Delhi Police.The status of the investigation into these allegations against Singh was the key issue raised by the wrestlers at their meeting with Shah, The Indian Express has learnt. The wrestlers underlined their demand for a strong chargesheet to be filed quickly. The Home Minister is learnt to have said that the due process needs to be followed.Earlier, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur too had urged the wrestlers to “fully cooperate with a fair investigation” and let “the law take its own course”.The last high-level meeting between the protesting wrestlers and government representatives was held on May 27, on the eve of the new Parliament’s inauguration. As the talks were inconclusive, the wrestlers, along with their supporters, went ahead with their plans to march to the new Parliament. They were stopped on the way, manhandled and detained by the Delhi Police. The police also filed an FIR against them under multiple sections, including rioting.In response to the treatment meted out to them, which was condemned by international sports bodies and athletes in India, the wrestlers decided to “immerse” their medals in the Ganga last Tuesday. They went to Haridwar but did a rethink at the last minute, after a phone call from a BJP leader who asked for some time, and pressure from their families.Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait, who also reached Haridwar, asked the wrestlers to defer their decision by five days. On June 2, after Singh was forced to postpone his rally in Ayodhya, Tikait said at a khap panchayat that the government should be given “7 to 10 days” to take action against Singh.

Amit Shah meets team of wrestlers, they ask for early chargesheet
One guard 'missing' after Bihar bridge demolition, says circle officer
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

After a 200-metre stretch of an under-construction bridge over the Ganga in Bihar collapsed Sunday, authorities on Monday said that one person working as a guard at the site has been reported missing.“He was a guard with the SP Singla Company. We have been searching for him since yesterday night. SDRF and NDRF teams are also engaged in the search operation. We have not been able to trace the body. We are making efforts to to recover the body at the earliest,” Parbatta Circle Officer Chandan Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.#WATCH | The bridge that collapsed yesterday had collapsed last year also. I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that’s why it is collapsing again & again. The department will look into it & action will be taken: Bihar CM Nitish… pic.twitter.com/Y8m5Zo5Kka— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2023Circle Officer Kumar added that the missing person’s bike is still parked near the pillar where it was yesterday.Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday said that the said bridge had collapsed last year as well. “I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that’s why it is collapsing again and again. The department will look into it and action will be taken,” he told reporters.The Bihar government on Sunday clarified that the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bhagalpur had been demolished intentionally, and that no casualties had occurred due to its razing. “It was decided that we must not take any chance and wait for a final report. So we went ahead with pulling down parts of the bridge. It was a part of such a preventive exercise,” Additional Chief Secretary of Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit, had said in a press conference with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.The 3.1-kilometre-long bridge, built by SP Singla Constructions Private Limited at a cost of Rs 1,710 crore, had also collapsed on April 30 last year, raising concerns over its construction.(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

One guard 'missing' after Bihar bridge demolition, says circle officer
Rs 2,000 notes withdrawal: What’s in store for banks, depositors?
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Over a week after banks started exchanging or depositing Rs 2,000 notes on May 23, over Rs 80,000 crore is estimated to have reached the banking system despite the different rules being adopted by banks for the exercise.While almost the entire Rs 3.6 crore worth of Rs 2,000 notes is expected to come into the banking system as another four months remain for the deadline to exchange or deposit of these notes, the surplus cash accruing to the banks is expected to bring down deposit rates as witnessed during the 2016 demonetisation.What’s the impact on currency in circulation so far?According to RBI data, currency in circulation (CIC) has fallen by Rs 36,492 crore to Rs 34.41 lakh crore during the week ended May 26. The RBI asked banks to exchange or deposit Rs 2,000 notes from May 23. CIC is expected to decline further in the coming weeks. Currency in circulation refers to cash or currency available with the public that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses.How do banks view this?State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Khara says Rs 14,000 crore has been deposited in accounts and Rs 3000 crore has been exchanged. Bank of India has received Rs 3,100 crore worth Rs 2,000 notes. Overall, banks are estimated to have received over Rs 80,000 crore worth of Rs 2,000 notes after the RBI announced the withdrawal of these notes from circulation, according to a banking source.With another four months to go for the deadline of September 30 for exchanging notes, banks expect almost the entire amount to come back into the banking system. “We believe that the almost the entire amount of Rs 3.6 lakh crore will come back (Rs 3 lakh crore excluding the amount in currency chests) to the banking system,” says Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, State Bank of India.What’s the impact on liquidity, deposits?Withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes could see an infusion of Rs 1-1.8 lakh crore of liquidity over the June-September period, according to a Care Ratings report. Comfortable liquidity conditions could ease short-term rates going ahead, it said.According to SBI, there will be a favourable impact on liquidity, bank deposits and interest rates. Decoding exchange-deposit dynamics, we understand, banks will already be holding some of these notes in their currency chests, thus the impact on deposits will be limited.Assuming that 10-15 per cent of the total Rs 2000 notes are in currency chests, then of the remaining Rs 3 lakh crore, Rs 2-2.1 lakh crore would be spent by the consumers (either direct purchase or by exchanging it with smaller denominations notes), approximately Rs one lakh crore is destined deposits in banks, SBI says. However, going by the trend so far, deposits are likely to be higher than Rs one lakh crore estimated by the banks earlier.“The withdrawal of Rs. 2,000 banknotes is likely to boost short-term liquidity in the banking sector thereby reducing the pressure on deposit rates. The banks may use incremental deposits to increase credit growth. This is likely to reduce the pressure on net interest margins,” said a Care Ratings report.What’s the impact on bond yield?The transitory change in the liquidity would lead to decline in yields, more at the shorter end of the curve. “We understand there should be fall of 25-30 bps (basis points) in money market rates due to incremental deposits flow. This should lead to short end forward points collapsing which the RBI may use to square off its existing short end positions,” SBI said.The yield on 10-year benchmark government bonds has fallen below 7 per cent level to 6.98 per cent on Wednesday. Various factors like comfortable liquidity, rise in deposits and fall in yields and inflation are likely to prompt the RBI to keep the policy interest rates unchanged in the June policy review.The 47 basis points decline in 10-year bond yields this year is an indicator that the interest rates have peaked and is set to decline if inflation also remains low. After the demonetisation in 2016, deposit rates subsequently declined. In short, savers and pensioners should not expect more hike in deposit rates.Will cash with public surge?After the government announced withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 8, 2016, cash with public started surging and it’s now at a new high. With cash remaining the preferred mode of payment, currency with public for the fortnight ended May 19, 2023 stood at a record high of Rs 33.71 lakh crore — up 270 per cent from Rs 9.11 lakh crore recorded on November 25, 2016, two weeks after Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were withdrawn from the system.According to the latest RBI data, cash with the public jumped by 87.6 per cent, or Rs 15.74 lakh crore, from Rs 17.97 lakh crore on November 4, 2016, days before the demonetisation was announced. The year-on-year rise in cash with the public was Rs 253,435 crore as on May 19, 2023.After Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were withdrawn from the system in November 2016, currency with the public, which stood at Rs 17.97 lakh crore on November 4, 2016, declined to Rs 7.8 lakh crore in January 2017 soon after demonetisation. However, analysts don’t expect a big surge in cash with public following the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes.

Rs 2,000 notes withdrawal: What’s in store for banks, depositors?
In Manipur relief camps, some dream of home, others seek a fresh startPremium Story
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

With just the clothes on their backs, M Joy Singh and his family of five fled their home in the hill district of Kangpokpi and arrived at a relief camp in Imphal West’s Lamboi Khongnakhong on May 7. They have been there ever since and see little hope of returning anytime soon, even as the violence that started on May 3 continues across the state.They are among the thousands of families currently in relief camps across the state, many of whom have been living as refugees within their own state for close to a month now.As of June 2, there were 37,450 people living in relief camps across 13 districts. And with the continuing incidents of shooting and arson, particularly in the areas at the border of valley and hill districts, this number is rising by the day.The relief camp in which M Joy Singh and his family are being housed is located in a government school. Set up by local residents from a group called Indigenous Development Mission, it is much smaller than many other camps — housing 67 people from 22 families, most from Kangpokpi district and a few from Churachandpur district. Because the school campus is small, organisers say they are already running over capacity and have not taken in any new people since May 24.“The provisions for the camp are mostly being donated by different NGOs and clubs. They have been asking us about our needs and contributing. We have also been receiving some basic provisions from the government’s side,” said S Milan Singh, one of the organisers. Since May 12, they have received 18 bags of rice, three bags of dal, a few bags of salt, potatoes and onions, three tins of cooking oil and 22,000 litres of water from the district administration.In Churachandpur, Kennedy, part of the Kuki Khanglai Lompi group which runs 50 relief camps in the district, said meeting basic needs is a daily challenge amid the swelling numbers and soaring heat. On Saturday evening itself, more than 100 people arrived at the camps from Moljol village. Currently, he said, there are more than 6,500 people living in these camps, set up in schools, churches and community halls. Another 2,000 people are living in relatives’ homes but depend upon the group for food rations.“Different stakeholders are providing us with supplies. There are other civil society organisations, the church, private organizations, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum and the district administration… Right now, providing medicines to the people is a big challenge for us, especially since a lot of people are getting sick because of the heat,” he said. More than anything, however, it is the future that worries him.“We can’t just keep feeding them every day. Ultimately, people will need their own livelihood again,” he said.Back in Imphal, M Joy Singh — who was a teacher in a private school — said that for him, rehabilitation would ideally mean returning to Kangpokpi with protection so that he can restart his life there. “I have lived all my life there. My parents and grandparents have been cremated there. I don’t want to lose the place where I was brought up, but I fear it may take more than one or two years to return,” he said.At another relief camp in Imphal, M Baby, whose home was in Churachandpur town and who has been in the camp since May 10, said that her family would prefer a fresh start in the valley.“We came with nothing but our clothes. But there is nothing to go back to, everything is destroyed,” she said.According to the Deputy Collector of one of the districts concerned, there are primarily two sets of people in relief camps with differing long-term needs. People who have moved to the relief camps from border areas of the same districts, and those who have come from other districts dominated by people from another community.“Those from fringe villages will probably eventually go back. It is more challenging for the other displaced group. Until the question of where they will be resettlement is tackled, we want to at least find a better place for them to live where they can have some privacy and live as family units instead of all together, which is something we are working towards,” said the official.Among the inmates of the Lamboi relief camp are 14 children. While schools across the state have been shut since the start of the violence and will continue to remain closed till at least June 15, a small respite for the children is that some volunteer teachers have been visiting the camp for the past two weeks to conduct some informal classes for a few hours for them.

In Manipur relief camps, some dream of home, others seek a fresh startPremium Story
  • IISc, JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia top universities in India: NIRF Ranking 2023 (university category)
  • The Indian Express

    Top Universities in India 2023: The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2023 released today. This time, too, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru has topped the university rankings followed by JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia. IISc Bangalore has been adjudged at the number two position in the overall category.In 2022 too, IISc Bengaluru topped the university rankings with a score of 83.57, followed by Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (68.47 score) and Jamia Millia Islamia ( 65.91 score) at the second and third spot respectively.Last year, Jamia Millia Islamia improved its rankings dramatically as it jumped from rank 6 in 2021 to rank 3 in 2022 by replacing Banaras Hindu University which slipped to rank 6 in 2022.Last year, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham ranked fifth with a score of 63.40, followed by BHU, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal at the seventh spot with a score of 62.84.In 2021, Calcutta University was ranked fourth, which slumped to rank 8 in 2022 rankings. Vellore Institute of Technology and the University of Hyderabad ranked ninth and tenth in last year’s rankings.

  • IIT-Madras, IISc top educational institutes in the country: NIRF Rankings 2023 (overall category)
  • The Indian Express

    NIRF Overall Ranking List 2023: The Ministry of Education today announced the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking for the year 2023. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is the best educational institute under the overall category this year followed by IISc Bangalore and IIT-Delhi.“Dr Radhakrishnan committee was set up by the Education Ministry to look into assessment accreditation parameters. Data for all educational institutions will be available at fingertips. One nation one data underway,” says Anil Sahasrabuddhe.“We started NIRF with four categories. The aim was to improve the quality of higher education and help students make decisions. With the 8th edition, we now have 12 categories including 8 subject-specific rankings,” says Anil Kumar Nassa, member secretary of NBA (which prepares NIRF), at the event marking the release of NIRF rankings this morningThis year, NIRF has added one new discipline namely, Agriculture and Allied Sectors. Also, architecture discipline has been renamed as Architecture and Planning.Last year, there were only four categories– Overall, Colleges, Universities and Research Institutions and seven subject domains– Engineering, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Medical, Architecture and Dental.In NIRF 2022 rankings, IISc Bangalore ranked first amongst all institutions under research and universities category, it ranked second in the overall ranking. IIT Madras secured the first position in the overall ranking category.Meanwhile, IIM Ahmedabad was the top ranked management college. Last year, around 670 institutions participated in the rankings out of which 387 had no research publications.


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‘Wokes’ can cry hoarse but Messi not a devil for tagging brand with Saudi Arabia
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Lionel Messi is no stranger to Saudi Arabia. More than a decade ago, he visited the country for a friendly match. In subsequent years, he made numerous visits for friendlies and glorified friendlies (2019 Superclasico de las Americas) for club and country. Last year, he penned a lucrative (which goes without saying) contract to be their tourism ambassador. The unveiling ceremony happened in Jeddah, the port city on the shores of the Red Sea. This year, he spent a week with the family in the country, exploring Al-Turaif, the 300-year-old Unesco World Heritage Site in Diriyah, attending a traditional wedding, diligently and aggressively photographed and tweeted by tourism minister Ahmed al-Khateeb. In another two months, his ties with the country could get firmer as he could receive a $400 million per year offer to join Saudi club Al-Hilal. Perhaps, citizenship too in the future.It’s understandable, the rich need the famous. The kingdom needs a global sporting identity. They have none. They don’t have time to make one either. So just buy the most famous sporting specimen in the world, which is Messi. The Argentine is not bothered by what they would say or how they would perceive him. Forget the activists, the “wokes” and communists. There is little obligation for a sportsman to embrace a politically correct path, or to ride a moral high horse. Diplomacy is the more practical virtue.🔝👟 Congratulations to Leo Messi, best passer of the season in #Ligue1!#HistoryIsMadeInParis pic.twitter.com/Vbo5Vt7rig— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) June 3, 2023Only a few truly great athletes are sensitive to social and moral concerns. Mohammad Ali was one, Jesse was another: Pele and Usain Bolt were not. Perhaps, Ali and Owens were aberrations. The demands of modern sport is such that theirs is a cocooned existence, their life trapped in four walls of an arena, glory and adulation their drug. Often, it’s the less great athletes that turn activists or stand for a cause (Megan Rapinoe and Marcus Rashford for example).Maybe, Messi is truly ignorant of the politics of the country he was endorsing. But before he was unveiled, the families of political prisoners sent him a letter organised by human rights advocacy body Grant Liberty to refuse the offer. “If you say ‘yes’ to Visit Saudi you are in effect saying yes to all the human rights abuses that take place today in modern Saudi Arabia,” read the letter, which was first published in February 2021. “But if you say ‘no’ you will send an equally powerful message – that human rights matter, that decency matters, that those who torture and murder do not do so with impunity. The world must stand up to those who trample on others. The Saudi regime wants to use you to launder its reputation.”Their voices went unheard and unheeded. Maybe, there was external pressure, maybe he truly did not care, maybe the lure of the lucre was irresistible. None of these would, at the end of the day, affect Messi’s fame, or his place among the great athletes of all time. But by happenstance or not, Messi is emerging as the face and scale of the ambition of rich and powerful Middle Eastern states. For two years, he was part of PSG, purchased by Qatar to beautify its image before the World Cup. Messi was on the payroll of a Qatar-owned club when the country hosted the World Cup. It is difficult to see him playing football in 2030, the year Saudi is striving to host the World Cup, but it is not hard to imagine that Messi would still be the poster-boy of the tournament, or even the glittering face of it. Maybe, he would hand over the trophy to the winners, clad in the traditional Middle Eastern cloak. It’s like you need Messi to host the World Cup, either as their ambassador or playing for the club they are pay-rolling.Messi lifting the trophy with the black bisht, thin and see-through, wrapped over his Argentina shirt by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, could well be a symbolic moment. A symbol of vaulting sporting ambition, to promote a sport-loving, outward-facing image, a thick coat of paint to wash over their supposed conservative image.To a large extent, it worked in Qatar. Lazy stereotypes were busted, Qatar gained acceptance and won a lot of love. Saudi would believe the ploy of making Messi its tourism ambassador could be a perception breaker. The country should not be projected as some kind of evil. It has money and resources, it wants to remould its image, and for that it seeks some of the most recognizable faces in the world. Football stars are the safest bet too.So Messi could shutter down his glorious career in Saudi. As would Ronaldo, who is already playing in the Saudi league. Other greats in the sunset of their career could join them, and make Saudi an unlikely destination for the semi-retired titans. It’s not because Saudi wants to improve the standard of the league, or the game in the country, but to create a brand and image, just as it was for Qatar when it acquired majority stakes in PSG. Had the intention been to construct a world-beating club, they would have aspired to create a system and structure, and not make an aimless ensemble of expensive players. And there’s no bigger brand or powerful image-builder in the world than Messi. If any, Messi’s real association with Saudi might have just begun, and that makes him neither a saint nor a devil.

‘Wokes’ can cry hoarse but Messi not a devil for tagging brand with Saudi Arabia
  • ‘Wokes’ can cry hoarse but Messi is not a devil for tagging his brand with Saudi Arabia
  • The Indian Express

    Lionel Messi is no stranger to Saudi Arabia. More than a decade ago, he visited the country for a friendly match. In subsequent years, he made numerous visits for friendlies and glorified friendlies (2019 Superclasico de las Americas) for club and country. Last year, he penned a lucrative (which goes without saying) contract to be their tourism ambassador. The unveiling ceremony happened in Jeddah, the port city on the shores of the Red Sea. This year, he spent a week with the family in the country, exploring Al-Turaif, the 300-year-old Unesco World Heritage Site in Diriyah, attending a traditional wedding, diligently and aggressively photographed and tweeted by tourism minister Ahmed al-Khateeb. In another two months, his ties with the country could get firmer as he could receive a $400 million per year offer to join Saudi club Al-Hilal. Perhaps, citizenship too in the future.It’s understandable, the rich need the famous. The kingdom needs a global sporting identity. They have none. They don’t have time to make one either. So just buy the most famous sporting specimen in the world, which is Messi. The Argentine is not bothered by what they would say or how they would perceive him. Forget the activists, the “wokes” and communists. There is little obligation for a sportsman to embrace a politically correct path, or to ride a moral high horse. Diplomacy is the more practical virtue.🔝👟 Congratulations to Leo Messi, best passer of the season in #Ligue1!#HistoryIsMadeInParis pic.twitter.com/Vbo5Vt7rig— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) June 3, 2023Only a few truly great athletes are sensitive to social and moral concerns. Mohammad Ali was one, Jesse was another: Pele and Usain Bolt were not. Perhaps, Ali and Owens were aberrations. The demands of modern sport is such that theirs is a cocooned existence, their life trapped in four walls of an arena, glory and adulation their drug. Often, it’s the less great athletes that turn activists or stand for a cause (Megan Rapinoe and Marcus Rashford for example).Maybe, Messi is truly ignorant of the politics of the country he was endorsing. But before he was unveiled, the families of political prisoners sent him a letter organised by human rights advocacy body Grant Liberty to refuse the offer. “If you say ‘yes’ to Visit Saudi you are in effect saying yes to all the human rights abuses that take place today in modern Saudi Arabia,” read the letter, which was first published in February 2021. “But if you say ‘no’ you will send an equally powerful message – that human rights matter, that decency matters, that those who torture and murder do not do so with impunity. The world must stand up to those who trample on others. The Saudi regime wants to use you to launder its reputation.”Their voices went unheard and unheeded. Maybe, there was external pressure, maybe he truly did not care, maybe the lure of the lucre was irresistible. None of these would, at the end of the day, affect Messi’s fame, or his place among the great athletes of all time. But by happenstance or not, Messi is emerging as the face and scale of the ambition of rich and powerful Middle Eastern states. For two years, he was part of PSG, purchased by Qatar to beautify its image before the World Cup. Messi was on the payroll of a Qatar-owned club when the country hosted the World Cup. It is difficult to see him playing football in 2030, the year Saudi is striving to host the World Cup, but it is not hard to imagine that Messi would still be the poster-boy of the tournament, or even the glittering face of it. Maybe, he would hand over the trophy to the winners, clad in the traditional Middle Eastern cloak. It’s like you need Messi to host the World Cup, either as their ambassador or playing for the club they are pay-rolling.Messi lifting the trophy with the black bisht, thin and see-through, wrapped over his Argentina shirt by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, could well be a symbolic moment. A symbol of vaulting sporting ambition, to promote a sport-loving, outward-facing image, a thick coat of paint to wash over their supposed conservative image.To a large extent, it worked in Qatar. Lazy stereotypes were busted, Qatar gained acceptance and won a lot of love. Saudi would believe the ploy of making Messi its tourism ambassador could be a perception breaker. The country should not be projected as some kind of evil. It has money and resources, it wants to remould its image, and for that it seeks some of the most recognizable faces in the world. Football stars are the safest bet too.So Messi could shutter down his glorious career in Saudi. As would Ronaldo, who is already playing in the Saudi league. Other greats in the sunset of their career could join them, and make Saudi an unlikely destination for the semi-retired titans. It’s not because Saudi wants to improve the standard of the league, or the game in the country, but to create a brand and image, just as it was for Qatar when it acquired majority stakes in PSG. Had the intention been to construct a world-beating club, they would have aspired to create a system and structure, and not make an aimless ensemble of expensive players. And there’s no bigger brand or powerful image-builder in the world than Messi. If any, Messi’s real association with Saudi might have just begun, and that makes him neither a saint nor a devil.

G20 tourism meet in Srinagar from today amid tight security
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | 22-05-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | 22-05-2023 | 11:45 am

The third G20 tourism working group meeting is set to begin in Srinagar Monday amid elaborate security arrangements. The three-day meeting will see the highest participation of foreign delegates as compared to the two previous meetings, said G20 Chief Coordinator Harshvardhan Shringla Sunday.“We have the highest representation from foreign delegations for the tourism working group meeting in Srinagar, than we have had in the previous working group meetings. Our experience is that in any working group meeting, to get such a large turnout of delegates not only from G20 countries but also from international organisations that are part of the G20 is an incredible process,” Shringla told reporters.At least 60 foreign delegates will participate in the meeting although not all G20 member countries will be participating in it. Singapore has the largest contingent among the member countries attending the meeting, including its High Commissioner Simon Wong.Bangladesh High Commissioner Mustafizur Rahman and South Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok are among other senior diplomats expected to attend meetings over the next three days.Highlighting the significance of hosting the event in Srinagar, Shringla said, “If you have to do a working group on tourism in India, we have to do it in Srinagar. There is no option.”This is the first such international event in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019, when it became a Union Territory. The first G20 tourism working group meeting was held in Gujarat and the second in West Bengal.Shringla said the meeting has the broader objectives to present India’s rich and diverse cultural identity to the world and to promote tourism potential of India to the world. “We have tried to bring in the sustainable tourism, eco tourism, adventure tourism themes that are relevant to J&K,” he said.The meeting also aims to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region. J&K Tourism Secretary Syed Abid Rashid said that 300 new tourist destinations on various tracks are being promoted in J&K to accommodate the burgeoning tourism industry in the region.Sources, meanwhile, said an unprecedented security apparatus has been put in place in Srinagar for the G20 meeting. This includes reinforced CCTV surveillance, anti-drone system, deployment of the elite NSG and elite Marine Commandos and restrictions on civilian movement on key roads.The J&K administration has dropped Gulmarg from the itinerary for security and logistic reasons. Security has been tightened in other parts of the Valley as well to thwart any militant attempt to disrupt law and order.“We have placed a multi-tier security system in place,” a senior police officer told The Indian Express. “While some elite forces from the Centre have arrived in the Valley, the main responsibility of security has been given to police and paramilitary forces. There is an increased coordination between various security and intelligence agencies to prevent any militant design.”Official sources said for the first time, the NSG and Marine Commandos have been deployed to secure the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), the venue for the meeting, and its surrounding areas.While hundreds of security cameras are in place in the city already, the officials said the CCTV surveillance has been reinforced as more cameras have been installed to keep an eye on emerging situations. “The footage from the cameras is being monitored in real time,” the officer said.On Saturday, traffic police issued an advisory restricting the civilian movement on the main road leading to SKICC for three days. All schools in Srinagar will also remain shut from Monday to Wednesday.As a precautionary measure, the security agencies have asked members of the minority community and workers from outside to stay indoors. “With such heavy security bandobast, it is possible that militants might try to choose soft targets like outside workers or minorities,” said another police officer. “That is the reason such an advisory has been issued.”J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha, meanwhile, said the G20 meeting in Srinagar is a “historic opportunity” for people of J&K to showcase their culture, heritage, tourism and warm hospitality.“G20’s third tourism working group meeting starting from May 22 is a historic opportunity for 13 million citizens of J&K to showcase priceless culture, heritage, tourism and warm hospitality. All the citizens should come forward and be a part of this memorable event,” he said in his ‘Awaam Ki Awaaz’ Radio programme, seeking support of the people for the successful conduct of the event.

G20 tourism meet in Srinagar from today amid tight security
  • Srinagar set for G20 meet, some yet to confirm participation
  • The Indian Express

    With Srinagar getting ready to host the third G20 Tourism working group from May 22 — the first such international event being hosted by Jammu and Kashmir since it became a Union Territory in 2019 — some member-states are yet to provide confirmation on attending the three-day meeting.More than 100 delegates, including at least 70 representing G20 member-states, are expected to participate.As per the schedule, the delegates, after holding deliberations with stakeholders in the tourism sector on the first day, will go on a tour of Srinagar. An initial plan to take them to Gulmarg overnight on the second day has been scrapped — sources in police told The Indian Express that besides security concerns, the logistics of taking nearly 150 people to Gulmarg was considered “unfeasible”.Details of the programme are being worked out.ADG (Kashmir),  Jammu and Kashmir Police, Vijay Kumar on Thursday said a three-tier security will be provided for the event. Anti-drone technology with the help of NSG and Army personnel will be deployed, and a team of elite MARCOS — or the Marine Commandos — has been brought in to secure the Dal Lake.“Additionally, police, CRPF, BSF and SSB personnel have been deployed in the city to keep the event incident-free,” he said.“The G20 working group meeting in  Jammu and Kashmir  is a great opportunity for all of us to showcase and promote the Union Territory and its abundant tourism potential to the world,” the UT’s Tourism Secretary, Syed Abid Shah, said.Expressing hope that the event will increase livelihood opportunities for people in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said, “I am confident that it will give a fillip to the tourism sector as well as allied sectors in Jammu and Kashmir  and make the world aware of multifarious possibilities of this sector.”The meetings are being held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre. Cultural programmes representing all regions of  Jammu and Kashmir are also being held for the visiting delegates.

Turkey, Saudi skip registration for Srinagar G20, China stays away
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | 20-05-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | 20-05-2023 | 11:45 am

THREE DAYS before the G20 tourism working group meeting begins in Srinagar on Monday, three countries – China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – had not registered till Friday.A PTI report from Beijing quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin as saying: “China firmly opposes holding any form of G20 meetings on disputed territory… We will not attend such meetings.”There was no official word from Turkey or Saudi Arabia.However, Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said the window to register would remain open till the morning of May 22.Besides India, the G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States, and the European Union.Officials confirmed that delegates from the remaining countries have signed up for the three-day event.Besides G20 members, delegates from guest countries and several international organisations have also been invited. These include Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the UAE. Officials said that barring Egypt, all other countries have registered to send their delegates.The Srinagar G20 meet will be the first major international event in Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019, when the state was divided into two UTs — J&K and Ladakh — and its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked.On the sidelines, a major event will also be held to highlight film tourism, which the UT administration has been promoting in a big way in the last few years. While the inaugural day is devoted to cultural events, the deliberations will be held on the second day. Another side event highlighting eco-tourism has also been planned.This is the third meeting of the tourism working group, after the ones held in Rann of Kutch and Siliguri/Darjeeling. Besides Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and MoS Jitendra Singh, the event will see the presence of G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla, officials said.Singh said that the discussions of the first two tourism working group meetings will be taken further during the third meeting as well before the drafting of the final ministerial communique. The fourth meeting of the tourism track group, in Goa next month, will be followed by a ministerial meeting.Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting in Srinagar, officials said security arrangements are being supervised directly by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the city has been spruced up to host the delegates. A visit to one of the Smart City projects in Srinagar is also likely to be included. Officials said that hotel staff and emergency-service providers have also been sensitised.

Turkey, Saudi skip registration for Srinagar G20, China stays away
Four decades later, Bollywood rekindles its romance with KashmirPremium Story
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | 19-05-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | 19-05-2023 | 11:45 am

Nearly 350 film crews have been permitted to shoot in Jammu & Kashmir over the last two years, a record number in the past four decades. Besides mainstream Hindi films, movies and series in Punjabi, Urdu, Telugu, Kannada and a series for History TV18, called OMG! Yeh Mera India, have also been shot in Kashmir.Just last month, actor Shah Rukh Khan had landed in the Valley for Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, in which he plays an Army officer. A song for the film was shot in Sonmarg and the crew did a recce in the neighbouring Thajiwas glacier. Earlier this year, filmmaker Karan Johar had arrived at the Gulmarg Ski Resort with the crew of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, including lead actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. While Gulmarg remains a favourite, besides Srinagar, Pahalgam and Doodhpathri, filmmakers are now being encouraged to explore unknown locales.The J&K tourism department said recently that it had selected hundreds of destinations to promote film tourism in the UT this year. The G20 tourism working group meeting, to be held on May 22-24 in Srinagar, will include a mega side event on film tourism.“Our focus this year is to promote film tourism, for which we have kept 300 destinations on the table for producers and directors to choose from,” said UT’s Tourism Secretary Syed Abid Rasheed, adding that the department will promote film tourism in a big way so that many untouched destinations are explored.Talking about the G20 event, he added, “It will be a great opportunity for J&K to showcase its beauty. Through the meeting, we will be able to promote film tourism in J&K.”Late last year, National Award-winning filmmaker Onir shot his film Chahiye Thoda Pyaar in Gurez Valley, located close to the Line of Control (LoC). Officials said with the security situation improving, areas close to the border have been opened for film shoots. Places like Bhaderwah and Kishtwar are also attracting Bollywood filmmakers, they added.The new film policy launched by the UT administration in 2021, along with single-window clearance and subsidy options, also entails “appropriate security and safety arrangements to be made free of cost to enable filmmakers to complete shooting”. Officials said this has reassured many film crews seeking to shoot in tougher terrain and in picturesque villages close to the LoC.In Harwan, on the outskirts of Srinagar, veteran actor Zarina Wahab recently returned to Kashmir after 45 years to film the Urdu web series Armaan. Noted filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj’s upcoming Tamil project Leo, featuring Vijay, Trisha and Sanjay Dutt, also included a schedule in Kashmir.“All the spots in almost all the districts in the UT are open for filming,” said a senior official, adding that the maximum number of requests have been received for shoots in and around Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Dal Lake, Mughal Gardens, Sonmarg and Doodhpathri.During the Covid-19 lockdown, when international travel remained largely curtailed, several filmmakers from regional film industries — particularly Telugu and Tamil — fell back on Kashmir to shoot song sequences, which they otherwise would have shot against the backdrop of the Alps. This gave a boost to J&K’s allied industries, including hotels, tour guides, taxi operators, translators and film production facilitation enterprises.Raj Kapoor’s 1949 film Barsaat is credited to have introduced the Valley to a larger audience, following which several filmmakers made a beeline for Kashmir. However, things began to change in the 1980s, after insurgency reared its head.In recent years, films like Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir, Yash Chopra’s Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan were shot in Kashmir. But now, officials said, 350 of 500 requests for permission to shoot films in the Valley have already been granted.The official added that the biggest change the new policy introduced was the single-window clearance system. “It is a seamless portal, where a simple application and minimum documentation is solicited from applicants and permission to shoot is provided within a month of the application being received,” he said.The applicant only interacts with the portal and clearances are coordinated from all the departments concerned. The official added that besides the location permission committee, headed by the respective divisional commissioners, the script screening committee looks at scripts for sensitive or anti-national content before giving the nod.In fact, there are incentives connected to the themes of films and series. For instance, as per the policy document, films produced to inspire the feeling of ‘One Nation, Best Nation’ shall be given 50 per cent of their cost or Rs 50 lakh, whichever is less, by way of subsidy. Films related to child and women empowerment will be given an additional financial assistance of 25 per cent.The 2021 film policy, which sets the vision till 2026, also aims to uplift the local film sector. A filmmaker giving work to local artists will get an additional subsidy of up to Rs 50 lakh, over and above the Rs 1 crore subsidy, in case more than 50 per cent of shooting days have been spent in Kashmir.Local Kashmiri actors are being taken as main leads, something that has not happened before. In fact, most actors in Onir’s Chahiye Thoda Pyaar are said to be Kashmiris.To popularise Indian films, the UT is also hoping to reopen closed cinema halls and upgrade existing ones. Last September, the UT got its first multiplex, with INOX opening doors in Srinagar. No wonder then that the epic moment was marked by the screening of two epic films — Vikram Vedha and Ponniyin Selvan.

Four decades later, Bollywood rekindles its romance with KashmirPremium Story
With keepsakes from the past, Partition Museum opens to visitors
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | 19-05-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | 19-05-2023 | 11:45 am

The Partition Museum was inaugurated Thursday at the Dara Shikoh Library in Ambedkar University Delhi, Kashmere Gate.Inaugurating the museum, Education Minister Atishi, who also holds the portfolio of Art and Culture, said: “ I come from a family of Partition survivors. My grandfather worked as a clerk in the Government of India and had to stay with his parents in Pakistan till the very last moment… my great-grandmother planned to take a train from Pakistan to India, but did not…it had no survivors… this was a divine intervention.”“It is very easy to destruct the social fabric of the society with hatred, but it takes hundreds of years to heal those wounds… vested interests of some people broke the social fabric of our country, and till today, lakhs of families are traumatised because of that,” she added.Atishi appreciated the uniqueness of the Partition Museum and highlighted that not only does it speak about history but also connects people with the past.Along with interactive media, the museum will feature a ‘virtual reality experience’, belongings donated by people who witnessed the Partition, and a souvenir shop.The library will also serve as a cultural hub with exhibits on different aspects of the city and its history.The museum would endeavour to depict memories of the Partition as experienced by people, officials said.The period transformed Delhi significantly and major parts of the national capital, including the areas like Lajpat Nagar, C R Park and Punjabi Bagh, were established after the Partition.The museum will feature seven customised galleries designed to explain aspects of the Partition and the struggle for Independence.Witnessing the rail coaches, ancient havelis, and replicas of refugee camps would be an eye-opening experience for many, said an official statement, adding that the museum has a special gallery dedicated to Sindh.The museum also includes a ‘Gallery of Hope and Courage’ which would display photographs, mementos, and experiences of people revisiting their ancient properties and places in Pakistan decades after the Partition.The project has been taken up under the Union Ministry of Tourism’s ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme, which involves adopting and maintaining such structures.The building itself, which had issues of leaking roofs and damp walls, was restored by the Delhi government and retains parts of its colonial and Mughal pasts.The library building that was Dara Shikoh’s, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s son, in the 1600s, was later inhabited by David Ochterlony, the British Resident in Delhi.

With keepsakes from the past, Partition Museum opens to visitors

Goa Political News

'PM Modi's car crashing as he looks in rear-view mirror': Rahul Gandhi in US
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night (GMT) and alleged that the BJP and RSS are “incapable of looking at the future” and can only talk about the past.Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora in the Javits Centre in New York, Gandhi said, “He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is trying to drive the car…the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it’s the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the Prime Minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past”.Gandhi asserted that the BJP and RSS speak only about the past and always “blame somebody else for the past”. In India, there is a fight going on back between two ideologies — one represented by the Congress and the other by the BJP and the RSS, the former MP said.“The simplest way to describe this fight is that on one side you have Mahatma Gandhi and on the other side, Nathuram Godse,” he said.On the Odisha train accident, which claimed 275 lives and left over 1,000 injured, Gandhi said that during the Congress tenure, if train mishaps happened, ministers used to take responsibilities for their actions and “we accepted our mistakes”.“I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say ‘now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed’. The Congress minister said ‘it’s my responsibility and I’m resigning’. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with,” Gandhi said.A one-minute silence was also observed to pay respect to the people who died in the accident.During his 40-minute long speech, Gandhi also praised the Indian-American community for the way they have lived in the US. “All the giants that have emerged from India, you can see that there were certain qualities that all of them possessed. Firstly, they searched for, represented and fought for the truth. Secondly, all these people were humble, and there was no arrogance in them. That is how Indians have worked in the US, and that’s why Indians are successful here. I respect and honour you for that.”Gandhi is on a six-day, three-city tour to the United States. He has visited California, the Bay area, Washington and New York to interact with the Indian communities, think tanks and the press.Earlier last week, Gandhi also said the RSS and the BJP are controlling all the instruments of politics in India. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul said, “I think if you sat Modi ji down next to god, Modi ji would start explaining to god how the universe works. And god would get confused that what have I created.”— With PTI inputs

'PM Modi's car crashing as he looks in rear-view mirror': Rahul Gandhi in US
Amit Shah meets team of wrestlers, they ask for early chargesheet
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

DAYS AFTER they threatened to throw their medals into the Ganga, and the night before their five-day deadline for action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh expired, a delegation of the protesting wrestlers met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence in the Capital late Saturday.The meeting, which is learnt to have lasted for over two hours and ended after midnight, was attended by Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik along with several coaches. “We had a meeting with the Home Minister. I can’t comment further,” Bajrang told The Indian Express.Bajrang and Sakshi, along with World Championship medalist Vinesh Phogat, have been at the forefront of the protests against Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven female wrestlers, including a minor.The Delhi Police registered two FIRs against Singh on April 28 that, as reported by The Indian Express Friday, have at least two instances of demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance; close to 15 incidents of sexual harassment that include 10 episodes of inappropriate touching, molestation that includes running hands over breasts, touching the navel; several instances of intimidation including stalking.The Indian Express also reported that one Olympian, a Commonwealth gold medallist, an international referee and a state-level coach are learnt to have corroborated the allegations of at least three female wrestlers, and are among the 125 potential witnesses across four states whose statements have been recorded by Delhi Police.The status of the investigation into these allegations against Singh was the key issue raised by the wrestlers at their meeting with Shah, The Indian Express has learnt. The wrestlers underlined their demand for a strong chargesheet to be filed quickly. The Home Minister is learnt to have said that the due process needs to be followed.Earlier, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur too had urged the wrestlers to “fully cooperate with a fair investigation” and let “the law take its own course”.The last high-level meeting between the protesting wrestlers and government representatives was held on May 27, on the eve of the new Parliament’s inauguration. As the talks were inconclusive, the wrestlers, along with their supporters, went ahead with their plans to march to the new Parliament. They were stopped on the way, manhandled and detained by the Delhi Police. The police also filed an FIR against them under multiple sections, including rioting.In response to the treatment meted out to them, which was condemned by international sports bodies and athletes in India, the wrestlers decided to “immerse” their medals in the Ganga last Tuesday. They went to Haridwar but did a rethink at the last minute, after a phone call from a BJP leader who asked for some time, and pressure from their families.Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait, who also reached Haridwar, asked the wrestlers to defer their decision by five days. On June 2, after Singh was forced to postpone his rally in Ayodhya, Tikait said at a khap panchayat that the government should be given “7 to 10 days” to take action against Singh.

Amit Shah meets team of wrestlers, they ask for early chargesheet
One guard 'missing' after Bihar bridge demolition, says circle officer
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

After a 200-metre stretch of an under-construction bridge over the Ganga in Bihar collapsed Sunday, authorities on Monday said that one person working as a guard at the site has been reported missing.“He was a guard with the SP Singla Company. We have been searching for him since yesterday night. SDRF and NDRF teams are also engaged in the search operation. We have not been able to trace the body. We are making efforts to to recover the body at the earliest,” Parbatta Circle Officer Chandan Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.#WATCH | The bridge that collapsed yesterday had collapsed last year also. I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that’s why it is collapsing again & again. The department will look into it & action will be taken: Bihar CM Nitish… pic.twitter.com/Y8m5Zo5Kka— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2023Circle Officer Kumar added that the missing person’s bike is still parked near the pillar where it was yesterday.Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday said that the said bridge had collapsed last year as well. “I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that’s why it is collapsing again and again. The department will look into it and action will be taken,” he told reporters.The Bihar government on Sunday clarified that the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bhagalpur had been demolished intentionally, and that no casualties had occurred due to its razing. “It was decided that we must not take any chance and wait for a final report. So we went ahead with pulling down parts of the bridge. It was a part of such a preventive exercise,” Additional Chief Secretary of Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit, had said in a press conference with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.The 3.1-kilometre-long bridge, built by SP Singla Constructions Private Limited at a cost of Rs 1,710 crore, had also collapsed on April 30 last year, raising concerns over its construction.(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

One guard 'missing' after Bihar bridge demolition, says circle officer
K Annamalai: 'PM, senior leadership don't believe in one country, one language'Premium Story
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Arun Janardhanan: There was a story that when you decided to resign as an IPS officer, the original plan was to join Rajinikanth’s party, which was to launch in 2019-20. Because Rajnikanth cancelled the plan, you joined the BJP. Is that true?I did not resign to join any political party. I was very allergic to politicians. Being a cop for nine-and-a-half years, I was at the other end of the political spectrum. Joining politics immediately after quitting is something I was not very comfortable with, but I wanted to go back to my grassroots. In the spirit of service, I started a foundation called We The Leaders Foundation. The idea of joining the BJP came after I met some leaders and they convinced me that the foundation can have a life of its own, but through politics I can achieve certain goals and objectives very fast, especially for Tamil Nadu.I have met Rajinikanth sir a couple of times and he’s a great person but I never met him to join his party. Our conversation was about issues of common interest and even now we maintain a good friendship.Arun Janardhanan: When you look at yourself as an ex-IPS officer, how does your past influence your present?After losing my first assembly election in Aravakurichi, I spoke to a lot of people and asked them what I did wrong? Many felt that my journey as a police officer, who directly entered politics, was an impediment. People don’t want the same force of a policeman in politics because you’re always ramrod straight. Politics is much deeper. They also want to test whether you will stay in politics for five-10-15 years, or is it a passing thought for you. Even now, if anybody wants to criticise me, they say, ‘Oh, he’s behaving like a policeman… for Annamalai there’s always black and white’. On the positive side, being in the police for about nine-and-a-half years has given me a good insight into human behaviour.I would like to be in Tamil Nadu. I don’t personally want to contest the Lok Sabha elections because I don’t want to be a leader in Tamil Nadu who will go to Delhi and then come backArun Janardhanan: When we look at Tamil Nadu, the BJP is seen as a North Indian party, an upper caste party. In Tamil Nadu, there is Dravidianism, Tamil nationalism, too. How do you plan to make the BJP popular in Tamil Nadu?In Tamil Nadu, the national party always had a role to play. When Modiji was coming to power for the first time as the PM in 2014, we got 19 per cent votes. DMK was as low as 23 per cent. In Tamil Nadu, a national party should have a face, as people here look for a face. It’s a very peculiar political model because people want to travel with the leader for a long time. We have to create leaders in Tamil Nadu who stick with people for 20-30 years. After some time, if the party gives me some other assignment, I would like to be in Tamil Nadu. I personally don’t want to contest the Lok Sabha elections because I don’t want to be a leader in Tamil Nadu who will go to Delhi and then come back.Liz Mathew: The BJP’s disappointing Karnataka election results were attributed to excessive Delhi influence in campaigning. What was the reason for the debacle? Was it the local or national leadership that worked on the party’s election strategies?Karnataka’s political landscape is intricate. In 2013, BJP faced challenges due to Yediyurappa’s separate party, KJP (Karnataka Janata Paksha), and vote cutters like JD(S), resulting in Congress taking power. In 2018, despite Congress leading by 2.5 per cent in vote share, BJP outperformed in 24 seats, marking a shift.Each of the six regions of Karnataka has a distinct voting pattern. In south Karnataka, with 64 seats from Mysore to Ramanagara, JD(S) is a key player. BJP’s influence is growing in north Karnataka, and they dominated central Karnataka in 2018. Bellary, a strong area for BJP in the past two elections, saw a downturn this time. Coastal Karnataka usually favours the BJP, but the recent election was tougher.Any government that releases the caste census will be in trouble. In a democracy like ours, with so many caste and social groups, nobody is going to agree with the numbersA surprise was JD(S)’s unexpected five per cent vote share drop, despite an aggressive campaign. BJP’s vote share in south Karnataka increased from 16 per cent in 2018 to 23 per cent, but Congress came out victorious, gaining 18-20 seats in the region. Despite the increase in ST reservation from three per cent to seven per cent, BJP underperformed in Bellary, calling for introspection. In Bangalore, BJP saw an improvement, winning 17 seats compared to 11 in 2018.Overall, the BJP remains unperturbed after the Karnataka elections, as its vote share held steady. While Congress retained its candidates, BJP took risks, including a generational shift with Yediyurappa not contesting. The continuous change of three chief ministers in five years — HD Kumaraswamy, BS Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai — also unsettled the administration. Furthermore, ex-Congress members contested under BJP, adding to the dynamism. Yet, the BJP is optimistic about sweeping the 2024 Parliament election.I can tell you, 100 per cent, that the Delhi leadership never drove this election. The election was completely driven by the local leadership. Modiji attended more rallies because the local leadership wanted him to attend more rallies. The programme was made by them — the election co-convener Shobha Karandlaje, state President Nalin Kumar Kateel, the former CM Yediyurappa, the then CM Basavaraj Bommai. The “Ee baari nirdhara, bahumatada BJP” (This time, BJP majority government) slogan was made by the local leadership. People want Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath to come for campaigning. We acted as a facilitator: Dharmendra Pradhan as election in-charge, Mansukh Mandaviya and myself.Liz Mathew: Were the leaders united? Was the decision on a generational shift taken on time? How will you address these issues?There were issues but whenever you make a shift, it is always an issue. You have seen Jagadish Shettar. The party has collective wisdom. The senior five-six leaders of Karnataka felt a generational change was needed. The way the BJP works for me, as a karyakarta, is that after a certain point of time they believe that you are not fighting elections but you’re important to the party — we will take care of you. The party will not reject any single person. I can give severalexamples from Tamil Nadu of people sitting in different positions, and for many of them it was a surprise. I have taken the resignation letters of two BJP karyakartas from Tamil Nadu who have become governors. In case of Jagadish Shettar also, the party didn’t sideline him. Seniors have to make way, but in some places they have to still be there. For instance, in Chitradurga we have a 74-year-old fighting the election on a BJP ticket because the next level of leadership is developing. Each seat will go through a different module. No two individuals can be equated. In the case of Laxman Savadiji, he was given a seat to contest but not the seat he wanted. He was also assured of something else once the government comes to power. These are all micro issues.Liz Mathew: Given BJP’s limited success in Tamil Nadu, have you felt frustrated or considered quitting due to its slow progress?I have no intention of quitting; I never publicly declared such a thing. A party’s growth depends on its members’ election competency. I was pleased when, in the recent urban local body elections, around 5,900 BJP candidates stood independently across all bodies. Many were successful, others weren’t, but now they are effectively working on the ground. Constant alliances can weaken a party’s ability to contest elections independently and fearlessly.Each state’s political environment varies, and what transpires in Tamil Nadu affects Delhi, considering its 39 Lok Sabha MPs. While BJP’s independent fight might be beneficial for us, it may not be advantageous for the overall Delhi numbers due to vote division.To establish roots in Tamil Nadu, BJP needs the ethos of a regional party. Consider DMK or AIADMK; they always prioritise Tamil Nadu. Since the inception of BJP state leadership, we resolved to champion Tamil Nadu’s cause, even if it occasionally inconveniences the party. For instance, when Karnataka, governed by the BJP, planned to build the Mekedatu dam, Tamil Nadu BJP observed a one-day fast in Thanjavur to express local sentiments. National leadership can then address these concerns.Modiji gave Tamilians a great honour by placing our Sengol sceptre, symbolising Chola power transfer, in the new Parliament, continually reminding the Speaker of its significance.P Vaidyanathan Iyer: What were the BJP’s apprehensions about the recent labour law amendments in Tamil Nadu, given that similar changes were made nationally?BJP is in support of bringing in a new labour code that is realistic and (in line) with the market sentiment, new era of technology. We had a problem with the way it was communicated by the Tamil Nadu government. It seemed they were trying to squeeze the workers’ rights by trying to put them in a room. Second, we asked for certain safety mechanisms, a welfare board to take care of it. Even if there was a labour union, we wanted them to go one level up in terms of setting a proper communication channel which was not addressed in the Tamil Nadu order. We are there for increased working hours, flexible working hours, but with certain conditions that make sure that everybody is heard. We are not blanketly opposing anything, like other parties. In the new era, a lot of changes have to come, but I feel the central government order was more practical and communicative.P Vaidyanathan Iyer: What is the local BJP’s position on Tamil Nadu’s decision to stick with the New Pension System?The local BJP strongly supports the New Pension System over reverting to the old model, citing concerns over escalating government expenses. I was one of the earliest people who entered the New Pension Scheme and the model is fairly good. I found it beneficial, offering flexibility in investment choices. It’s crucial to communicate to Civil servants that they can influence where their pension contributions are invested.P Vaidyanathan Iyer: Regarding the temple management dispute in Tamil Nadu between BJP-RSS, spiritual leaders and the government, what’s your stance?The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act (TN HR&CE) faced initial opposition in the 1950s,assuaged by promises of undisturbed temple rituals, operations and properties. However, the Act’s execution is criticised today. Many temples lack Arukala puja and are deteriorating due to discord among stakeholders. Also, administrative costs exceed the stipulated 12 per cent of hundi collections, misappropriating funds meant for temple activities.The opposition to the current management is both ideological and administrative, with poor coordination adversely impacting temple operations.The BJP believes the TN HR&CE has outlived its usefulness and supports a new management method.For example, in the Kalikambal temple, trustees are publicly elected by the community. We propose a model where the temple community elects a board supervised by a reputable private individual. An overarching government authority should intervene only when norms are violated. This approach ensures community involvement while maintaining regulatory oversight.SHYAMLAL YADAV: Tamil Nadu has played a key role in the social justice movement and some parties in the state are demanding a nationwide caste census. In Karnataka, one reason for the BJP’s defeat is that the Congress very aggressively demanded a caste census. Shouldn’t there be a caste census?When there was the Congress government in Karnataka and Siddaramaiahji was the Chief Minister, from 2013-18, they conducted a caste census. That report never saw the light of the day. In several judgments, especially when the issues of caste and reservation came up, the Supreme Court has demanded for an empirical proof for giving data. The Karnataka Congress demanding for a caste census is like a kettle calling the pot black. They themselves are not releasing what they did. Any government that releases the caste census will be in trouble. In a democracy like ours, with so many caste and social groups, nobody is going to agree with the numbers. Let all the political parties fall in line. I’m not saying it won’t happen, it has to happen. But how it has to happen, what methodology, let us defer it to the wisdom of the senior political leadership.AMRITH LAL: How does BJP’s one India, one language and, to some extent, one faith agenda, work with the very strong regional linguistic nationalism of Tamil Nadu? Also, as early as 1982-1983 Hindu Munnani won a seat on its own in Padmanabhapuram, an assembly constituency. What is it that prevented the BJP from growing into a party that can win at least one seat in Tamil Nadu on its own?Our PM and the senior leadership, none of them believes in one country, one language. The new National Education Policy very clearly laid down the mandate saying it is not going to work.Let us have three languages. One is your mother tongue, one is English, one could be a regional language of your choice.You are right about the seat in Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari. Tomorrow if the BJP is standing alone, if it is a three-way division in Tamil Nadu, BJP will start with 40 seats. It is my strong answer to you as BJP State President. In 2016 we stood alone, but unfortunately there were some issues like lack of leadership, somebody went out, somebody came in, but post the assembly elections we are in a very good position in Kanyakumari, which you will also see in Lok Sabha.

K Annamalai: 'PM, senior leadership don't believe in one country, one language'Premium Story
Oppn’s June 12 meet deferred to ensure Kharge, Rahul Gandhi attendance
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The first joint meeting of the Opposition parties scheduled for June 12 in Patna has been postponed after the Congress signalled its inability to send its top leaders to the conclave because of their prior commitments.The Congress wanted the meeting to take place after June 20 so that both party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on a tour of the United States, could attend it, but the Janata Dal (United) went ahead and announced the June 12 rally after holding consultations with some Opposition parties for whom this date was said to be “convenient”.Sources said the June 12 schedule was also not convenient for the DMK as well as the CPI(M). With the JD(U) unilaterally announcing the date, the Congress had indicated that Kharge may not attend the meeting and could send instead one of the party’s Chief Ministers to the Patna meet.Rahul, sources said, will return to India on June 18. A meeting of the anti-BJP parties to chalk out the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections without the top Congress leadership in attendance would have been bad optics.Sources said the JD(U) has now conveyed to the Opposition leaders that the conclave can now be held after June 20, preferably on June 23.Earlier, the Congress made it clear that the party will participate in the June 12 meeting but was yet to decide the level of its representation.Although the Congress still believes that it should be “rightfully” at the centre of the Opposition unity project given its status as the largest among the non-BJP parties, the party had let Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar do the groundwork for the meeting given that some of the Opposition parties are not keen to accept the primacy of the grand old party.Many of the Opposition parties are keen that they come together and field one joint candidate against the BJP in majority of the Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 polls. But the exercise is fraught with challenges.In fact, Rahul recently admitted that the discussions regarding Opposition unity would be a “complicated” affair. “The discussions are complicated because there are spaces where we are also competing with the Opposition. So a little bit of give and take is required, but I am confident that it will happen,” he said during one of his events in the US.

Oppn’s June 12 meet deferred to ensure Kharge, Rahul Gandhi attendance

Goa Election News

BJP will form next govt in Goa says PM Modi
Times of India | 1 year ago | 09-03-2022 | 10:48 am
Times of India
1 year ago | 09-03-2022 | 10:48 am

PANAJI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the BJP would form the next government in the state, chief minister Pramod Sawant said after briefing the PM over political developments in Goa. The assembly results are scheduled to be declared on Thursday. “Modi told me that BJP will form the government,” Sawant told TOI from Delhi. Modi held the meeting with Sawant to review the political situation in the state. During the discussion, Modi took constituency-wise details about the number of seats BJP will secure in Goa. Sawant provided details to Modi on what the results would be, and how BJP would form the government. “We will form the next government in the state and in case we are short of a majority, independent MLAs will support BJP,” Sawant said. He added that if required, BJP would seek support of MGP. The CM told Modi that BJP is getting around 20 seats, and with the help of independent MLAs, BJP will form the government. Modi also deliberated on the possibilities of forming a coalition government just in case there was a fractured mandate. The meeting also discussed seeking support from independent MLAs or regional parties. All the exit polls on Monday have predicted a hung assembly in Goa. The election is crucial for BJP as well as for Sawant as both are facing anti-incumbency. BJP has contested all 40 assemblies for the first time, and it’s also the party’s first state election in the absence of their strategist, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Modi addressed the people of the state during the election campaign and had said “Goa has decided that this wave of development and good governance should not slow down. Under the young leadership of chief minister Pramod Sawant, this journey will continue in the same manner”. Sawant, BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the formation of the next government. Fadnavis already held a meeting with senior MGP functionary Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar over the post-poll alliance. Dhavalikar had told Fadnavis that the MGP-TMC alliance would take a decision after the results. BJP had started approaching independent candidates who are likely to get elected in the assembly election, already hitting the drawing board to strategise how to form the next government.

BJP will form next govt in Goa says PM Modi
IRBs misplaced cartridges recovered from Davorlim
Times of India | 1 year ago | 17-02-2022 | 07:07 am
Times of India
1 year ago | 17-02-2022 | 07:07 am

MARGAO: A bag containing 40 cartridges belonging to the Indian Reserve Batallion (IRB) that proceeded to Uttar Pradesh from Goa for election duty that was found misplaced on Tuesday, was recovered by Margao police on Wednesday from the roadside at Davorlim. Police sources said that about 900 IRB personnel had departed by an UP-bound train from Margao railway station on Tuesday evening. They were ferried to the Margao railway station by buses. However, it was after the train departed from Margao railway station that the “missing” bag containing cartridges came to their notice. The Railway police were soon alerted, who in turn contacted the Margao town police who launched a search exercise on the routes taken by the buses to ferry the IRB personnel to the railway station. The bag was finally recovered from a roadside at Davorlim on Wednesday. Police surmise that the IRB personnel left the bag containing cartridges after alighting from the buses to proceed to the railway station.

IRBs misplaced cartridges recovered from Davorlim
  • Missing live cartridges traced
  • Navhind Times

    Margao: In a major relief, the 40 live cartridges that were in the possession of IRB personnel headed for poll duty in Uttar Pradesh and had gone missing late on Tuesday night, were found in a gutter near Davorlim circle hardly half km away from the Margao railway station platform on Wednesday morning.Ten companies of IRBpolice personnel left by a train for Delhi from where they will travel to Uttar Pradesh. Four boxeswith each containing 10cartridgeshad gone missing. IRBpersonnel Nansekerhad made an application to the Margao police on Tuesday late night in which he had mentioned thatthe live cartridges in his possession had gone missing.He had reported that the cartridges went missing along the ring road between fire station and Davorlim circle. A search operation was conducted by police.Police teamengaged in the search operationhad visited the Konkan railway station area, checked the CCTV footagebesides parkingareaswhere buseshad dropped the IRBstaff, however, the cartridges were not found.However on Wednesday at around 10 a.m.,the four missing boxeswerefound in a gutter by LIB team of policewhich was also pressed into a search operation. It is still a mystery howthe live cartridges reached the gutter. Investigation is in progress. Police havekept the cartridges in custody after conducting legal formalities.


Goa Education News

In Manipur relief camps, some dream of home, others seek a fresh startPremium Story
The Indian Express | 13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
13 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

With just the clothes on their backs, M Joy Singh and his family of five fled their home in the hill district of Kangpokpi and arrived at a relief camp in Imphal West’s Lamboi Khongnakhong on May 7. They have been there ever since and see little hope of returning anytime soon, even as the violence that started on May 3 continues across the state.They are among the thousands of families currently in relief camps across the state, many of whom have been living as refugees within their own state for close to a month now.As of June 2, there were 37,450 people living in relief camps across 13 districts. And with the continuing incidents of shooting and arson, particularly in the areas at the border of valley and hill districts, this number is rising by the day.The relief camp in which M Joy Singh and his family are being housed is located in a government school. Set up by local residents from a group called Indigenous Development Mission, it is much smaller than many other camps — housing 67 people from 22 families, most from Kangpokpi district and a few from Churachandpur district. Because the school campus is small, organisers say they are already running over capacity and have not taken in any new people since May 24.“The provisions for the camp are mostly being donated by different NGOs and clubs. They have been asking us about our needs and contributing. We have also been receiving some basic provisions from the government’s side,” said S Milan Singh, one of the organisers. Since May 12, they have received 18 bags of rice, three bags of dal, a few bags of salt, potatoes and onions, three tins of cooking oil and 22,000 litres of water from the district administration.In Churachandpur, Kennedy, part of the Kuki Khanglai Lompi group which runs 50 relief camps in the district, said meeting basic needs is a daily challenge amid the swelling numbers and soaring heat. On Saturday evening itself, more than 100 people arrived at the camps from Moljol village. Currently, he said, there are more than 6,500 people living in these camps, set up in schools, churches and community halls. Another 2,000 people are living in relatives’ homes but depend upon the group for food rations.“Different stakeholders are providing us with supplies. There are other civil society organisations, the church, private organizations, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum and the district administration… Right now, providing medicines to the people is a big challenge for us, especially since a lot of people are getting sick because of the heat,” he said. More than anything, however, it is the future that worries him.“We can’t just keep feeding them every day. Ultimately, people will need their own livelihood again,” he said.Back in Imphal, M Joy Singh — who was a teacher in a private school — said that for him, rehabilitation would ideally mean returning to Kangpokpi with protection so that he can restart his life there. “I have lived all my life there. My parents and grandparents have been cremated there. I don’t want to lose the place where I was brought up, but I fear it may take more than one or two years to return,” he said.At another relief camp in Imphal, M Baby, whose home was in Churachandpur town and who has been in the camp since May 10, said that her family would prefer a fresh start in the valley.“We came with nothing but our clothes. But there is nothing to go back to, everything is destroyed,” she said.According to the Deputy Collector of one of the districts concerned, there are primarily two sets of people in relief camps with differing long-term needs. People who have moved to the relief camps from border areas of the same districts, and those who have come from other districts dominated by people from another community.“Those from fringe villages will probably eventually go back. It is more challenging for the other displaced group. Until the question of where they will be resettlement is tackled, we want to at least find a better place for them to live where they can have some privacy and live as family units instead of all together, which is something we are working towards,” said the official.Among the inmates of the Lamboi relief camp are 14 children. While schools across the state have been shut since the start of the violence and will continue to remain closed till at least June 15, a small respite for the children is that some volunteer teachers have been visiting the camp for the past two weeks to conduct some informal classes for a few hours for them.

In Manipur relief camps, some dream of home, others seek a fresh startPremium Story
After CJI's intervention, SC stays HC order seeking answer on rape victim’s ‘manglik’ status
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Supreme Court on Saturday stayed an order of the Allahabad High Court, which asked Lucknow University’s Astrology department to look into the horoscope of a woman to verify the claim by a man whom she had accused of raping her on the promise of marriage. The man has claimed he backed out after learning of “problems” in her horoscope — that she is “manglik”.A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Pankaj Mithal, which took suo motu cognisance of the May 23 order of a single bench of HC, stayed the order and asked HC to decide it on its own merits. The high court intervened after Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud took note of the matter.“At this stage, we say nothing on the merits of the case, except that in the interest of justice, the operation and effect of this order so far as it gives directions to the Head of the Department (Astrology Department), Lucknow University must be stayed…In the meanwhile, there shall be stay of the operation and effect of the order dated 23rd May, 2023 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench),” the bench said in its order.The top court said that while it respects the sentiments of the parties on astrology and astronomy, what happened was “totally out of context” and involved issues of privacy, etc.Though the Supreme Court is on summer recess, the special bench in this regard was set up on the instructions of Chief Justice Chandrachud, who is currently overseas. The CJI took cognisance of the reports in this connection and directed early Saturday morning that a bench be set up immediately to consider it.The high court order came while hearing the man’s bail plea.Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the order is “disturbing” and urged the court to stay it.He told the bench: “Astrology is a science. Whether a person should decide based on manglik or not in marriage, nobody is questioning. The only question is while entertaining an application by a judicial forum, can this be a consideration?”The counsel appearing for the complainant woman informed the bench that the HC order “happened by consent of both parties, and the court directed for expert evidence under Section 45 of Evidence Act”. He also pointed out that universities are now granting degree on the subject of Astrology, and it is a science.“But this was totally out of context,” Justice Dhulia said, referring to the HC order. “What has this got to do with the subject matter?… It involves so many other features; the right to privacy has been disturbed. We don’t want to spell out — there are so many other aspects.” The judge said: “We are not challenging anything. We are only on the subject matter in this context.”The counsel for the victim pointed out that it was argued that the marriage cannot be solemnised since the woman is manglik, which, some believe is unfavourable for marriages. “That’s why the court ordered. It is not out of context. It was the issue before the court,” the counsel said.Justice Dhulia, however, said, “We do not want to join issues with you on this fact as to what is the relevance of these aspects, what astronomy has to do, what astrology has to do, nothing. We have nothing on that. We respect your feelings as far as that aspect is concerned. We are only concerned with this subject matter linking to that issue”.S-G Mehta said while adjudicating the issue, the competent court cannot examine such a thing.The complainant’s counsel said the petitioner had taken the plea that the marriage cannot be solemnised. “Half-part of the ceremony was done. After that, they backed out on the question of manglik. This was argued,” he said.Justice Mithal said, “We have stayed the order and permitted the court to decide bail application on its merits. We don’t understand why this astrology report is called for.”

After CJI's intervention, SC stays HC order seeking answer on rape victim’s ‘manglik’ status
The anonymous letter behind Anu Aga's sleepless nights, Thermax's turnaround
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am

ALMOST 50 years ago, when Anu Aga moved to Pune from Mumbai with her husband and settled down on the Boat Club road, the city welcomed her with open arms — and lots of fish.“The Mula Mutha was a flowing water body with aquatic life. Back then, it was a pleasure to be located next to the river and see the boating, and fishermen catching fish. In fact, we used to buy small fish from those fishermen. Those were delicious,” says Aga.Today, 80-year-old Aga is better known as the former chairperson of Thermax, the sustainable energy solutions provider, and spends her time reading, travelling, sharing precious moments with family and friends, and contributing to various social causes — including saving Pune’s rivers.“Over the past many years, I have seen the city grow. I recall my husband and I occasionally rode bicycles to dinners from our house on Boat Club road to Aundh or Koregaon Park. After dinner, they would take a lift home from friends and have the cycles picked up the next morning. For cycling, I could wear only one dress and I used to call it my cycling uniform. Today, with the indisciplined traffic and lack of cycle tracks, it would be suicidal,” she says.“As far as safety is concerned, Pune was and is a relatively safe city and I felt comfortable driving back alone till midnight. But me being a bad driver, my family has forbidden me from driving at night — for the safety of others on the road,” Aga says with a smile.Company in crisis, sleepless nightsAga’s memories of Pune are also tinged with sorrow and stress. In 1966, when her husband passed away, the Thermax board insisted that she take over the role of Executive Chairperson. “Having been in HR prior to being the Chairperson, our employees knew me well and wanted me to succeed. Even the outside world was very supportive. In those days, there were employees who proudly stated that this was their first and the last job. But today, youngsters think that staying with any company for even five years brings down their market value,” she exclaimed.Soon after she took over — the company had gone public a year before her husband’s death — the economy went through a downturn. “Thermax’s performance started slipping and the share which was quoted at 400 tumbled to 36. I got an anonymous letter from a shareholder saying we had let him down. For the Aga family, ‘letting down’ anyone was a dirty word and I went through sleepless nights,” she says.She then convinced the board to engage Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to find the way forward. At the time, Thermax had diversified into many non-core businesses like IT, electronics, bottled water, which added to the top line but eroded profits. “We were, perhaps, the first company to enter IT but had no clue how to run those businesses. In order to come out of those non-core businesses, many divisions had to close down and several employees were asked to leave. Thanks to the graciousness of those employees, they left without bitterness. If I meet them even today, they do not hold a grudge against the company,” she says.Those were very difficult days, Aga says, but Thermax managed a turnaround. “Some of the most difficult decisions I had to make was to decide whether the family wanted to be board members or executives. Until this point, my daughter Meher and her husband Pheroz were in charge of businesses and were board members but it was decided that they had to choose one. They were very upset to be pushed to make this choice and decided to be board members. Today, they feel it is the best decision they have made for themselves and for the company,” she says.An unusual encounter on Main StreetAs for life in Pune, Aga has an unusual anecdote to share. During one of her visits to Main Street in the Camp area, she saw a group of young boys begging. “I had seen them doing this very often but on that day I asked them why they were not going to school. They gave a big yarn that their parents had forced them to bring a certain amount of money home every day and if given an opportunity, they would love to study. Two brothers even took me to their parents,” she said, pointing out that her own children were young at the time.“I explained the situation and the parents were delighted that they could stay with me and attend school. I gave the parents my address, took them home and enrolled them in a municipal school nearby since no private school would admit these kids who did not know how to read or write,” she says.Then came an unexpected twist. “They went to school for about a week. But one evening, they did not come home. The same day, their parents came to meet the children. Some of my friends, who were visiting, cautioned that it could be blackmail. But I intuitively knew it was a coincidence. I went to Main Street, found the two children there and returned them to their parents. A few days later, when I met the brothers again, I asked why they did not come back home that day. They replied that they valued their freedom more than anything — an answer that thrilled my husband,” recalls Aga.An end and a new beginningAccording to Aga, the family’s philanthropic journey started with an incident that involved her son, Kurush. “He returned to India after studying and working abroad for eight years. He was extremely keen that a substantial part of our earnings should go towards social causes. To make his point, he threatened that if I did not do as he wanted, he would go back abroad. I hated doing anything out of compulsion and calmly told him that he was free to leave. But later Kurush apologised, and the family agreed that now that they had dividend income, they should seriously look at giving. Soon after this conversation, Kurush died in a car accident at the age of 25,” she recalls.To honour Kurush’s wish, Aga started looking for NGOs she could associate with. Soon, she met Shaheen Mistri, the social activist and educationist, and was drawn by her passion for educating the underprivileged. “Meher and I were invited on the boards of Akanksha Foundation and Teach for India,” says Aga. “Thus started my philanthropic journey.”

The anonymous letter behind Anu Aga's sleepless nights, Thermax's turnaround
ABVP claims JNU administration agreed to its demands of notification for PhD admission, hostel allotment
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
1 day ago | 04-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Saturday claimed that the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration agreed to its student unit’s demands of an immediate notification for the PhD admission process, the ‘Barak’ hostel allotment, hostel renovation and library maintenance after its hours-long protest. “After the protest began in the school area at 10 am (Saturday), the students surrounded the dean of students. Even after sitting for eight hours, when the dean did not respond satisfactorily, the students exerted pressure to summon the registrar and vice-chancellor. Eventually, the registrar, both the rectors and the dean came together and had to yield to all the demands of the students,” said an ABVP statement.ABVP unit president Umesh Chandra Ajmeera said the admission process for PhD would commence in the next 10 to 12 days. Within six weeks of the start of the next session, the process for student union elections will be completed, he added.From this week onwards, the process for University Grants Commission (UGC) recognition will begin for the Ayurveda Biology course in the undergraduate programme. It has been running without recognition for the past three years. The PhD programme in Management, which was discontinued, will also resume in the next academic year, he saidHe added that the allocation process for the new hostel, which is almost ready under the name ‘Barak’, will begin in July.

ABVP claims JNU administration agreed to its demands of notification for PhD admission, hostel allotment

Goa Covid News

Second cheetah death at Kuno in less than a month — six-yr-old Uday
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | 24-04-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
1 month ago | 24-04-2023 | 11:45 am

The Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh lost yet another Cheetah when a six-year-old male feline, translocated from South Africa in February, died on Sunday, officials said. The reasons for its death are still unknown, said officials.The cheetah, who was recently named Uday following a mass competition organised by the government platform mygov.in, had been faring well till Saturday. It suddenly took ill on Sunday, said officials of the Madhya Pradesh forest department.This is the second cheetah death in Kuno after the translocation of the big cats from Namibia and South Africa to India that started in September last year. On March 27, a Namibian cheetah named Sasha had died of kidney complications.Uday’s post-mortem will be carried out at the park on Monday to ascertain the cause of death, said the officials.Unlike Sasha, whose kidney ailment was known to forest officials, Uday’s death took everyone by surprise. Sasha was believed to have contracted the kidney ailment during her captivity in Namibia and had been unwell since she arrived at Kuno.She was never let out of the quarantine Boma, where all the cheetahs had been kept for a month after their arrival. Eight Namibian Cheetahs were brought and released in Kuno in September last year. Another batch of 12 South African cheetahs were brought by the Indian government on February 18 this year.“We run daily checks on the cheetahs. When our team went for the inspection yesterday (Saturday), all the cheetahs were in perfect health and were doing well. There were no visible problems. This morning, when a team went out to check on them, Uday seemed low on energy, looked unwell and was walking with his head down,” said Madhya Pradesh Chief Wildlife Warden J S Chauhan.The South African cheetahs had completed their quarantine period at Kuno and had been released into the larger 6 sqkm enclosure built at the park just a week ago.“The (inspection) team immediately informed the park director and a team of vets was sent out to the enclosure. Uday was tranquilised and brought back to the quarantine for examination. He was being administered medication and saline, and even as the treatment was underway, he passed away at 4 pm today (Sunday). The team did not even get time to assess what happened exactly. Tomorrow (Monday) morning, a veterinarian from Veterinarian University at Jabalpur, and another from Bhopal, will go to Kuno to carry out the post-mortem. Only then will we be able to ascertain what happened,’’ said Chauhan.The senior officer said the Madhya Pradesh forest department has the previous medical records of all the South African cheetahs and no disease or medical issue had been detected in Uday’s case. He added that all other felines in the park have been faring well.

Second cheetah death at Kuno in less than a month — six-yr-old Uday
Why this Covid wave is just part of the tide
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | 21-04-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
1 month ago | 21-04-2023 | 11:45 am

What does the new “wave” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus mean? The recent surge in the number of persons testing positive for Covid-19 (“infected cases”) has led to public and media concerns, even though the rise in numbers of severely-ill persons (“sick cases”) has been far less. This has raised questions: (a) Is Omicron here to stay (b) Are recent variants of concern, (c) is there a need to mask up, (d) are boosters of previously developed vaccines or newly-developed customised vaccines needed and (e) will travel restrictions be reimposed?There is little doubt that the SARS-CoV 2 virus will be a continuing part of our ecosystem, as a permanent member of the clan of respiratory viruses that causes periodic surges of infections, often following seasonal calendars. This is the pattern followed by “novel” respiratory viruses, which appear unannounced, cause consternation and concern, but over time become “naturalised members” of our ecosystem. Over the past one-and-half years, Omicron has provided evidence of dominance and durability to establish itself as the enduring image of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.However, omnipresence is not omnipotence. While presenting evidence of higher infectivity and greater ability for escape from previously acquired immunity, recent sub-variants such as Arcturus (previously labelled XBB 1.16) are not exhibiting high virulence. The fraction of infected cases requiring hospitalisation, especially intensive care, remains low. The WHO regards Arcturus as a “variant under watch”, not as a variant of concern (VOC). Indeed, the actual proportion of infected cases having serious outcomes is likely to be much lower than reported as many asymptomatic or mildly unwell persons infected by the virus would not have been tested. From a public health point of view, this is reassuring.Even if there is comfort at the community level that there will be no Delta-like onslaught in terms of severity of illness, should some individuals be concerned about the possibility of serious disease if infected? Respiratory viruses, whether of the coronavirus clan or the flu family, have a predilection for causing serious illness in immunodeficient and immunocompromised persons. So, even the “milder” forms of the SARS-CoV-2 can cause complications in elderly persons whose previously acquired immunity may be waning, in immunocompromised persons and in persons with severe co-morbidities. Such persons should use masks in public when an outbreak is actively spiking and also avoid crowds in ill-ventilated spaces. Any person with symptoms of an active respiratory infection should also mask up, indoors or outdoors, to protect vulnerable persons from getting infected.Despite some initial claims that systemically administered vaccines prevent infection, it is now clearly recognised that those vaccines protect against severe illness but do not block the virus from entering the upper respiratory tract. Hence, infection counts will periodically rise even in vaccinated populations. Recently available mucosal vaccines, which are nasally administered, can offer some protection against infection. However, their usefulness in significantly reducing the incidence of severe disease is yet to be demonstrated in the Omicron era where that risk is low. There is presently no evidence to suggest that additional boosters are needed in persons who have already received three doses. High levels of hybrid immunity, acquired by the Indian population over the past two years, is likely to confer some protection against severe illness. Even as antibody levels wane, cellular immunity is likely to retain the residual capacity to mount a defence. If more virulent variants emerge, this perspective on vaccines may change.Can we fully resume normal life, in terms of travel, work, education and socialisation? At present, there are no danger signals to deter us from doing so, while following sensible precautions. Crowded events are best avoided when the count of viral infections is sharply rising. Ventilated areas should be preferred for gatherings, wherever possible. It is safer to wear a mask when participating in crowded events, especially if in the elderly age group. Hand washing offers protection against viruses which spread through droplet infection. Remember the traffic rules. Even if the traffic light is green, drive on sensibly while sticking to your lane, observing speed limits and wearing a seat belt. Similar discipline is needed during the active outbreak, even as we get on with life.How will we know if a dangerous new variant is emerging? We need to do genomic identification of all hospitalised cases of Covid-19. At the community level, wastewater surveillance would be useful. Some countries have started to do wastewater surveillance on the toilet waste of incoming international flights. The surveillance modes too are adapting to the change of scene brought by Omicron. We are learning to live with it while taking care not to die from it.

 Why this Covid wave is just part of the tide
Covid cases rise in Pimpri-Chinchwad with 203 active cases
The Indian Express | 2 months ago | 05-04-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
2 months ago | 05-04-2023 | 11:45 am

After a lull of more than a year, the industrial city of Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune is witnessing a rise in Covid positive cases. The city has seen at least 20 cases a day in the last 15 days and there were 203 active cases by Tuesday. Till March 9, the city did not have a single active case.“There is a slight rise in Covid cases in the city. The rise has been seen since last month. We are seeing at least 20 positive cases a day,” said Dr Laxman Gofane, who heads PCMC’s medical department.The PCMC administration, however, said the patients who have tested positive for Covid had mild symptoms. “As a result, many of them are in home isolation. So far, only three patients who had severe symptoms have been hospitalised,” Dr Gofane said.The first Covid case in Maharashtra was reported in Pimpri-Chinchwad on March 10, 2020. Soon after, the city in the next two years registered as many as 4,630 Covid deaths.In view of the anticipated rise in Covid cases, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) said it had issued directions to the medical and health department to keep men and machinery ready to tackle the situation as it emerges. “We are keeping a plan ready to tackle the emerging situation,” the administration said. Last week, Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh held a meeting with top officials and doctors and directed them to keep the infrastructure ready to tackle any rise in the number of Covid patients.The PCMC administration has urged the public to wear masks in crowded places. “Social distancing is mandatory. If anyone has Covid-like symptoms, he should immediately report to the nearest civic hospital,” Dr Gofane said.

Covid cases rise in Pimpri-Chinchwad with 203 active cases
  • 4,435 fresh Covid cases in India, highest single-day rise in 163 days
  • The Indian Express

    India on Wednesday recorded 4,435 new COVID-19 infections, the biggest single-day jump in 163 days (five months and 13 days), while the number of active cases increased to 23,091, according to Union health ministry data.A total of 4,777 cases were recorded on September 25 last year.With the fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally climbed to 4.47 crore (4,47,33,719). The death toll increased to 5,30,916 with 15 deaths, the data updated at 8 am stated.Four deaths were reported from Maharashtra; one death each was reported from Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Puducherry and Rajasthan; and four were reconciled by Kerala.At 23,091, the active cases now comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.76 per cent, according to the health ministry website.The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.38 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.79 per cent.The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,79,712, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.19 per cent.According to the ministry’s website, 220.66 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

  • India records 3,824 Covid cases, biggest single-day rise in six months
  • The Indian Express

  • Single-day rise of 2,151 fresh Covid cases in India; highest in 5 months
  • The Indian Express

    India saw 2,151 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest in five months, according to the data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday at 8 am. Meanwhile, seven deaths were reported with one in Karnataka and three each in Maharashtra and Kerala.As of Wednesday, there were 11,903 active Covid-19 cases in the country.The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.51 per cent, while weekly positivity stood at 1.53 per cent, according to the ministry.Till now, a total of 4.47 crore Covid cases have been reported in the country. As per the ministry’s data, the national Covid-19 recovery rate has been documented at 98.78 per cent and the active cases currently make up 0.03 per cent of all infections.The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,66,925, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.Under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, 220.65 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far.🦠 Top Covid-19 news🔴Delhi’s COVID-19 cases surpassed 200 mark for the first time since September of last year on Thursday. Meanwhile, the positivity rate increased to 11.82%, according to information provided by the municipal health department.🔴 Jammu and Kashmir Secretary of Health and Medical Education Department Bhupinder Kumar on Tuesday convened a meeting to review the current Covid-19 situation besides assessing preparedness for tackling the pandemic with all the stakeholders of the department.🔴 Chandigarh reported seven new cases of Covid on Tuesday, with the number of active cases now jumping to 36, and the positivity rate, over the last seven days, settling at 1.62.🔴 With the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 causing yet another spurt in new Covid cases, Maharashtra health authorities have appealed to the public to take precautionary doses.🔴 The World Health Organization on Tuesday changed its recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting that high-risk populations should receive an additional dose 12 months after their last booster.(With inputs from PTI)

  • Highest number of fresh Covid-19 cases in 146 days: India logs 1,590 new cases
  • The Indian Express

    Amid the ongoing surge in Covid cases across the country, India logged 1,590 fresh cases on Friday, the highest in 146 days. With this, India’s tally of active Covid cases has gone up to 8,601, while the total caseload has climbed to 4,47,02,257.According to the Union Health Ministry bulletin, six new deaths were recorded on Friday: three from Maharashtra and one each from Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. India’s Covid death toll has now gone up to 5,30,824.The daily positivity was recorded at 1.33 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 1.23 per cent.The active cases account for 0.02 per cent of the total caseload, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.79 per cent, the ministry said.The number of people who have recovered from the coronavirus infection has gone up to 4,41,62,832, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.According to the ministry’s website, 220.65 crore doses of anti-Covid vaccines have so far been administered to beneficiaries across the country.(With PTI inputs)

  • India records 1,300 new Covid infections, active cases now 7,605
  • The Indian Express

    India on Wednesday logged 1,300 new Covid-19 cases — highest in 140 days —-taking the country’s active caseload to 7,605, according to the Union Health Ministry data. With this, the cumulative number of infections rose to 4,46,99, 418. Three persons succumbed to the virus, pushing the country’s toll to 5,30,816. The case fatality rate is 1.19 per cent.The daily positivity rate was pegged at 1.46 per cent, while the weekly positivity was recorded at 1.08 per cent. As many as 4,41,60,99 individuals have recovered from the illness, clocking a national recovery rate of 98.79 per cent.India has so far administered a total of 220.65 crore doses of Covid vaccine as per the ministry’s website. A total of 92.06 crore tests have been conducted including 89,078 in the last 24 hours.With a significant rise in the number of daily cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed officials to enhance whole genome sequencing of the Covid-19 virus to track newer variants and carry out effective monitoring of influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infections. He has also urged people to follow respiratory hygiene and Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.  In instructions came at a high-level meeting to review the country’s Covid-19 and influenza situation, where the PM was informed that availability and prices of 20 main Covid drugs, 12 other drugs, 8 buffer drugs and 1 influenza drug are being monitored.Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 334 fresh Covid-19 cases, 54 more than a day before, and one fatality, the health department said in a bulletin.  In Mumbai, 71 out of 1290 people who took the test were found to be positive. Hence, the test positivity rate stood at 5.5 per cent. There are 361 active cases in Mumbai. While 26 of the patients are in hospital, 10 among them are on oxygen support.With the new cases, the state’s Covid-19 tally rose to 81,40,479 and the death toll to 1,48,430.

Wear masks, avoid crowded spaces, advises Delhi doctor as capital records 300 Covid cases
The Indian Express | 2 months ago | 30-03-2023 | 11:45 am
The Indian Express
2 months ago | 30-03-2023 | 11:45 am

With the number of Covid cases rising in the national capital, doctors are advising that people follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. Wearing a mask in public places is the ideal thing to do at the moment, says Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. Here are a few tips from Dr Chatterjee on dealing with the current situation:With Covid cases increasing, how can we protect ourselves from getting infected?Covid-appropriate behaviour should return because wearing a mask in crowded places and workplaces is not compulsory but, ideally, people should start doing that.Should the government enforce Covid regulations again?It should not come as a government regulation as of now but people can voluntarily start wearing masks. Avoiding crowded places and washing hands are fine but at this moment, wearing a mask is enough. In short, Covid-appropriate behaviour should come back.What to do if a fever-like situation arises?Don’t ignore your symptoms if you have fever, cough or sore throat. Don’t think that it is viral. Speak with your doctor and get it investigated and if it is Covid, further treatment can be started.The government is doing genome sequencing and more can also be done if the cases increase further to understand the type of viruses circulating in the country.Who is more prone to getting infected?Take care of the elderly and people with comorbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure and people with transplants.What about those who have not taken the second or third dose of the vaccine?There is no use forcing people to get vaccinated because we really do not know if it will be effective because right now we have older vaccines. Now, if the newer vaccine is effective against the new viruses, for that studies need to be conducted.

Wear masks, avoid crowded spaces, advises Delhi doctor as capital records 300 Covid cases