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India’s COVID tally crosses 71-lakh mark; death toll at 1,09,150

(File/Representational Image)

New Delhi (NVI): India coronavirus tally has crossed the 71-lakh mark and stands at 71,20,539, with a single-day jump of 66,732 new cases in last 24 hours, Union Health Ministry said.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 1,09,150 with 816 new fatalities being reported during the same period.

So far, 61,49,536 patients have recovered all over the country, while active cases stands at 8,61,853. With this, the recovery rate also improves further to 86 per cent in India.

In terms of total number of cases, Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state with 15,28,266 coronavirus cases followed by Andhra Pradesh with 7,55,727 cases, Karnataka with 7,10,309 positive cases.

The other worst affected states included Tamil Nadu (6,56,385), Uttar Pradesh (4,36,979) and Delhi (3,09,339).

In terms of fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 40,349 deaths followed by Tamil Nadu 10,252, ministry said.

The death toll in the national capital surged to 5,769 while another 2,81,869 patients have been cured so far, healthy ministry data shows.

As per the Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) data, a total of 8,78,72,093 samples tested for COVID-19 up to October 11. Of these, 9,94,851 samples were tested yesterday.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa yesterday said it is necessary to take extra precautions in the state during the upcoming festive season, amid COVID-19 pandemic.

-RJV

J&K: Pak resorts to heavy shelling at multiple places along LoC in Poonch, Rajouri

Narco smuggling
Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (File Pic)

New Delhi (NVI): In continuation of its brazen attempts to facilitate infiltration along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistani troops yet again resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling at multiple places in Poonch and Rajouri districts of J&K this evening.

According to defence officials, the Pakistani army first violated the ceasefire at around 6.15 pm in Degwar Sector of Poonch district in J&K while firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars. They said the Indian Army was retaliating befittingly.

At around 6.40 pm, Pakistan again resorted to heavy shelling, this time also using artillery to target forward places in Khari Karmara area of Poonch district.

In the third instance, Pakistan violated ceasefire at around 6.45 pm in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district in J&K, again resorting to small arms fire and artillery shelling along LoC, defence officials said.

Unprovoked heavy shelling and firing are Pakistan’s one of the most common tactics to facilitate infiltration along LoC in J&K. Pakistani army has specifically targetted forward areas in Poonch this year.

Yesterday also two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel sustained injuries during the unprovoked CFV by the Pakistan Army along the LOC in Mendhar sector of Poonch in Jammu.

However, talking to reporters yesterday, the Indian Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps commander (Chinar Corps), Lt Gen BS Raju, said that only 30 infiltrators have sneaked into Kashmir this year from across the LoC as compared to 130 during the same period last year.

-ARK

8 Indian beaches get ‘Blue Flag’ status; Javadekar tweets ‘Proud moment for India’

New Delhi (NVI): In a proud moment for India, eight beaches of the country, spread across five states and two union territories, have been awarded the “BLUE FLAG” by an International Jury comprising of eminent members viz UNEP, UNWTO, FEE, IUCN, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said today.

The beaches that have been awarded the ‘BLUE FLAG” are Shivrajpur (Dwarka-Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (AP), Golden (Puri-Odisha) and Radhanagar (A&N Islands).

India has also been awarded a 3rd Prize by the International Jury under the “International Best Practices” for pollution control in coastal regions, the Ministry said in a statement.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted: “It is an outstanding feat considering that no ‘BLUE FLAG’ nation has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a single attempt.”

“This is also a global recognition of India’s conservation and sustainable development efforts,” he added.

“India is also the first country in “Asia-Pacific” region which has achieved this feat in just about 2 years’ time,” Shri Javadekar further stated in another tweet.

Japan, South Korea and UAE are the only other Asian nations who have been conferred with a couple of Blue Flag beaches, however, in a time frame of about 5 to 6 years.

India is now in the league of 50 “BLUE FLAG” countries and we take pride in this honour to our Nation, planning to taking this journey forward to 100 such beaches in the country in the next five years, the Ministry said.

India began its humble journey in 2018 for development of pilot beaches (one each in   coastal states/UTs) and presented the first set of 08 beaches for the certification for the ensuing tourist season 2020.

SICOM, MoEFCC, in its pursuit of “Sustainable Development” of the coastal regions of India embarked upon a highly acclaimed & flagship program “BEAMS” (Beach Environment & Aesthetics Management Services) under its ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management) project. This was aimed at striving for the coveted International eco-label “Blue flag”, accorded by The Foundation of Environment Education, FEE Denmark.

The objective of the BEAMS program is to abate pollution in coastal waters & beaches, promote sustainable development of beach amenities/ facilities, protect & conserve coastal ecosystems & natural resources and encourage local authorities & stakeholders to strive and maintain high standards of cleanliness, hygiene, safety and security for beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment norms & regulations, the Ministry said.

This program promotes beach tourism and recreation in absolute harmony with nature, and is unique in that sense.

-ARK

India’s Covid vaccine priority will depend on 2 parameters: Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi (NVI): Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today said that the prioritisation of groups for COVID-19 vaccine in India shall be based on two key parameters- first, the occupational hazard and risk of exposure to infection, and secondly, the risk of developing severe disease and increased mortality.

Harsh Vardhan was responding to questions by his social media interactors on the fifth episode of his weekly program ‘Sunday Samvaad’.

Categorically denying the rumors of the Government prioritizing young and working-class for the COVID-19 vaccine for economic reasons, the Minister said, “the prioritisation of groups for COVID-19 vaccine shall be based on two key considerations: Occupational hazard and risk of exposure to infection, and the risk of developing severe disease and increased mortality.”

On the issue of how the government plans to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine by prioritizing target groups in the entire population, he clarified that it is anticipated that supplies of COVID-19 vaccines would be available in limited quantities in the beginning.

He said, “In a huge country like India, it is critical to prioritize vaccine delivery based on various factors such as per risk of exposure, comorbidity among various population groups, the mortality rate among COVID Cases, and several others.”

He also added that India is looking at the availability of several different types of vaccines, of which some may be suitable for a particular age group while others may not be

Reiterating that the most important component of the planning is the cold chain and other logistics which need to be planned appropriately to ensure no glitches occur in vaccine delivery even at the last mile, Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted the need of the massive advocacy required for building community sensitization activities to understand the reasons for vaccine hesitancy and address them appropriately.

On the issue of Emergency Use Authorization of COVID vaccines in India, the Minister said that the issue is being deliberated at present. “Adequate safety and efficacy data is required for emergency use authorization vaccine approval for ensuring patient safety. Further course of action will depend on the data generated,” he added.

He informed that COVID-19 Vaccines currently in trial in India are 2 dose and 3 dose vaccines. Vaccine by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech require 2 Doses while the Cadila Healthcare vaccine requires 3 Doses. For other vaccines in preclinical stages, the dosing is being tested, he stated.

On the need to include other novel candidates as COVID Vaccine, he said, “Considering the large population size of India, one vaccine or vaccine manufacturer will not be able to fulfil the requirements of vaccinating the whole country. Therefore, we are open to assessing the feasibility of introducing several COVID-19 vaccines in the country as per their availability for the Indian population.”

Sharing his views on Public-Private Partnership during the pandemic, Dr Harsh Vardhan further said that the present situation demands multiple vaccine partners to ensure maximum vaccination coverage to the Indian population and the use of a single vaccine from a certain company should not be seen through a negative lens.

The Minister also requested people to not share any content related to health & safety without double-checking its veracity. He added that as we learn more about the novel coronavirus and more vaccine candidates start their Phase II and Phase III Trials, there is bound to be a lot of fake and incorrect news on social media that is perpetrated by people with vested interests.

He shared that the COVID-19 Fact Check Unit in the Press Information Bureau (PIB) under Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is regularly scanning social media platforms for fake news and requested his followers to report such fake news to PIB‟s fact check unit.

Harsh Vardhan also informed about the rollout of the FELUDA Test in the near future. Based on tests in over 2000 patients during the trials at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and on testing in private labs, the test showed 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity. This compares favourably to ICMR’s current acceptation criteria of RT-PCR Kit of at least 95% Sensitivity and at least 99% Specificity, he stated.

He added that the Feluda paper strip test for SRS-CoV-2 diagnosis has been developed by CSIR-IGIB and has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India for a commercial launch. The kit has already been validated by the Department of Atomic Energy’s National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore. “While I cannot put an exact date on the availability, we should expect this test within the next few weeks”, he said.

-ARK

#Namaste: Taiwan Prez thanks ‘Indian friends’ for support, well wishes on National Day

New Delhi (NVI): Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has expressed gratitude towards warm wishes by “Indian friends” on Taiwan’s 109th National Day. The Taiwanese President thanked India in a tweet today with the traditional Indian greeting gesture- ‘Namaste’.

“Thank you to all of our dear friends in India Flag of India for your well wishes on Flag of Taiwan #TaiwanNationalDay. Together, we can take pride in safeguarding our shared values like freedom & human rights, & defending our democratic way of life. #namaste,” Tsai tweeted, a day after India wished the nation on its 109th National Day.

Yesterday, #NationalTaiwanDay2020 became one of the top trends on Twitter in India, with several Indian citizens, top journalists and politicians wishing the nation on the historic day.

In a strong message to Beijing, the Taiwanese President had also said that Taiwan will play an active role in establishing new regional and international order in the face of Chinese aggression against democracies.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province. Only about two dozen countries have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Recently, China has been eyeing Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands.

Yesterday, while Taiwan was celebrating its National Day, also known as Double Ten Day, a Chinese military anti-submarine (ASW) aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Chinese forces have been violating the airspace in Taiwan recently.

However, apprehending “invasion” by China, Taiwan’s military has been conducting exercises to test their capabilities to “defeat the enemy” in the nearshore zones and to neutralise enemy forces on beaches and in other landing areas.

Meanwhile, expressing its displeasure over India wishing Taiwan, the Chinese embassy in India repeated its “One-China” policy narrative.

“One-#China policy is long-standing position of #Indian government. China firmly opposes any individual or any move trying to create “two Chinas” or “One-China, one Taiwan”, which violates this position,” tweeted Ji Rong, Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, yesterday.

Earlier this week, the Chinese embassy in Delhi had written to Indian media and called upon them to not refer to Taiwan as a “nation”.

India had responded to the Chinese diktat by saying that Indian media is a “free” entity and they can report on any issue they deem “fit”.

Following the Chinese embassy’s opposition to Indian media’s coverage of Taiwan National Day, a large poster wishing Taiwan on its ‘National Day’ was put up outside the Chinese Embassy complex in New Delhi.

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday had issued a series of directives to the Indian media for covering the national day of Taiwan, saying all countries having diplomatic ties with Beijing should “firmly honour” the One-China policy.

-ARK

‘Historic efforts towards rural transformation’: PM on Property Cards scheme

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the physical distribution of property cards under the SVAMITVA scheme virtually, while saying that this is a landmark day for rural development and a historic effort towards rural transformation.

These cards are physical copies of property titles of the villagers’ homes and the surrounding areas they own (as opposed to the cultivated land).

He said one lakh beneficiaries from Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have been handed over the legal papers of their houses today and promised to give such property cards to every household in the next three-four years in every village of the country.

Prime Minister said ownership of land and house plays a big role in the development of the country. He added when there is a record of property, citizens gain confidence and new avenues of investment open.

“Loan is easily available from the bank on record of property, employment and self-employment avenues open. But the difficulty is that today only one-third of the population in the world has a record of their property legally,” he said.

He added the property card will clear the way to buy and sell property without any dispute for the villagers. “Today we have so many youths in the village who want to do something on their own. After getting the property card, easy access to loans from banks on their houses would be ensured,” he said.

“With the new technology like using drones in mapping and survey, accurate land records of every village can be created. Due to accurate land records, development-related work in the village will also be easier which would be another benefit of these property cards,” he added.

Under the SVAMITVA (ownership) scheme, land parcels in rural inhabited areas are mapped using drone technology and CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations).

The Government plans to establish nearly 300 Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) across the country under the scheme.

6.2 lakh villages are to be covered in four years (Apr’20-Mar’24) under the scheme which is intended to create accurate land, reduce property-related disputes and increase liquidity of land parcels.

SVAMITVA will also streamline planning and revenue collection and ensure clarity on property rights in rural areas.

Apart from that, the scheme will enable creation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs).

While interacting with beneficiaries of the scheme, PM said, “Today is the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan and social reformer Nanaji Deshmukh. These two leaders worked tirelessly for rural development.”

-ARK

Ugandan woman promoting well-being through Yoga in Kenyan refugee camp

(Pic courtesy: @UNHCR)

New Delhi (NVI): Yoga is going global and a Ugandan refugee is using the ancient Indian practice to promote self-acceptance and mental wellbeing among refugees in Kakuma camp in Kenya.

Meet Rita Brown, the Ugandan refugee who is the first Yoga teacher at the Kakuma camp. “I used to think everything I passed through was like a destiny which…God has a plan for me that I am going suffer for rest of my life. But since I joined yoga, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, I felt like Yoga really changed me,” says Rita who fled violence in Uganda as a child.

She and her twin sister, Dorine, fled on their own as orphans, at the age of seven, after they witnessed the murder of their parents. Her father, she says, died defending his family from the armed group who attacked their village, leaving destruction and death in their wake.

Rita learned yoga through a local wellness organisation. A year later, she started classes in Kakuma refugee camp. It’s home to over 2,00,000 lakh refugees.

“I really didn’t know that I would become a yoga instructor. I felt like being in a camp for so many years is so traumatising for like a child, a mother and father, anybody living in camp,” says Rita who is using Yoga to help people recover from trauma and negativity after escaping or leaving their native places due to violence or other reasons.

Rita found healing through yoga and is helping others. “I do online classes, that is Zoom and Facebook or one-on-one class with one or two people because of social distancing,” she says.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she ran in-person classes for refugees and aid workers at Kakuma camp and the adjacent Kalobeyei Settlement, which is home to 2,00,000 people. Since some physical distancing measures were imposed, she has taken the classes online through Zoom and Facebook, reaching an even wider and more diverse audience.

After taking part in an online yoga challenge dubbed ‘Sweat Serve Share’ she now offers yoga and meditation classes to audiences as far afield as the United States. It has become more than an exercise in physical wellbeing – it is what keeps her going.

According to research, yoga enhances social wellbeing and can also improve some symptoms of depression and sleep disorders.

Rita is among the very first professional refugee yogis in the camp, after she was recruited last year into the Africa Yoga Project, a community-based organization that educates and empowers refugee youth in Africa through yoga.

Personal initiatives like Rita’s towards addressing mental health are in line with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s priority to ensure access to mental health for refugees in the camp.

As part of its COVID-19 response, UNHCR and partner agencies like JRS stepped up access to mental health services for the refugee and host communities in Kakuma and the adjacent Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement.

During the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown, psychosocial counsellors have been providing virtual counselling to people of concern, including those in quarantine and isolation facilities. Toll-free helplines are also available to ensure people have unhindered access to counsellors and other mental health services.

-ARK

PM pays tributes to JP Narayan

PM Modi
Narendra Modi (File photo)

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to ‘Lok Nayak’ Jayaprakash Narayan on his 118th birth anniversary and remembered his contribution to the fight for India’s freedom.

“I bow to Loknayak JP on his Jayanti. He valiantly fought for India’s freedom and when our democratic ethos was under attack, he led a strong mass movement to protect it. For him, there was nothing above national interest and people’s welfare,” PM Modi said in a series of tweets.

The PM also remembered social activist Nanaji Deshmukh who was Loknayak JP’s one of the most devout followers. Modi paid tributes to Nanahi for his contribution to the country on the occasion of his 104th birth anniversary.

“The great Nanaji Deshmukh was one of Loknayak JP’s most devout followers. He worked tirelessly to popularise JP’s thoughts and ideals. His own work towards rural development motivates us. Remembering Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh on his Jayanti,” the PM said in another tweet.

He said, “India is proud that legends like Loknayak JP and Nanaji Deshmukh were born in this land. Today is a day to rededicate ourselves towards fulfilling their vision for our nation.”


-ARK

J&K: Search ops in Jammu’s Balakote after firing near BJP leader’s house

Indianapolis
Representational Image

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Security forces today launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in Balakote area of Poonch district in Jammu after suspected terrorists fired gunshots at the house of a senior BJP leader.

Police officials told NVI that at around 3 am in the morning, a few gunshots were heard in the Balakote area near the house of BJP leader Zulfikar Pathan. The incident created panic in the entire area.

The police officials said that after observing suspicious movement, the Personal Security Officer (PSO) of the BJP leader fired in retaliation. “It seems that some gunmen had fired at the BJP leader’s house as bullet marks are visible on the boundary walls of the house of BJP leader,” a police official said.

Soon after the incident, the Army and Police launched a Cordon and Search Operation in the area. Pathan is a senior BJP leader who has contested polls on the party ticket a number of times.

-ARK

Global Covid-19 cases top 37 mn

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases today crossed 37 million mark, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University. Around 1.07 million people across the world have lost their lives due to coronavirus while 25.7 million have recovered.

The United States remains the worst-affected country in the world in terms of confirmed novel coronavirus cases (7,689,358), followed by India (6,979,423) and Brazil (5,055,888).

Meanwhile, India’s Covid-19 tally has crossed 70-lakh mark with while total recoveries have surpassed 60-lakh mark, with the country witnessing a slowdown in number of new cases in the past few weeks.

-ARK

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