Wednesday, October 7, 2026
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Arjun Munda launches largest market of tribal products

New Delhi (NVI): Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda today launched a Tribes India e-marketplace, TRIFED’s new venture, in line with the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making India ‘Aatmanirbhar’, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Arjun Munda said, the Tribes India e-marketplace, India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace, is yet another pathbreaking initiative to transform tribal lives and livelihoods.

“I am happy that despite the pandemic, the team of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) warriors have made sure that the main objective of socio-economic development of tribal people by way of marketing has been adapted to the new normal,” he added.

Munda also said this pathbreaking initiative, showcasing the produce and handicrafts of tribal enterprises from across the country and help them market their produce or products directly, is a major leap towards the digitisation of tribal commerce.

Moreover, the virtual launch took place in the presence of Renuka Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Rudra Kumar, Minister, Rural Industry, Chhattisgarh and Deepak Khandekar, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and senior officials from the Ministry and TRIFED were also present.

On this occasion, Munda also flagged off several other TRIFED initiatives that are aimed to support the tribal brethren. “These include the inauguration of Tribes India’s 123rd and 124th outlets in Rishikesh and Kolkata; inclusion of new tribal product ranges from the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; partnership of TRIFED/ Tribes India with Amazon in their Seller Flex program,” Ministry of Tribal Affairs said in a statement.

He also launched Pakur Honey by Trifed and Tribes India. It is 100 per cent natural honey which is multi floral, forest fresh, gathered by Santhal Tribals from Pakur, Jharkhand, which is produced by vulnerable Pahadiya Tribes. They have produced around 3 Tonnes of Pakur Honey for TRIFED, it added.

‘Tribes India e-Marketplace’

Munda further said that Tribes India e-Marketplace is an ambitious initiative through which TRIFED aims to onboard 5 lakh tribal producers for sourcing of various handicraft, handloom, natural food products across the country and brings to you the best of tribal produce.

“The suppliers comprise of individual tribal artisans, tribal SHGs, Organisations/ Agencies/ NGOs working with tribals. The platform provides the tribal suppliers with an Omni-channel facility to sell their goods through their own retailers and distributors, TRIFED’s network of Outlets and e-Commerce partners as well as their own account in e-Marketplace,” he added.

Munda stated that new TRIFED initiatives is to showcase tribal products and handicrafts, which will connect tribal forest dwellers and artisans with national and international markets.

“Such launches will further enable the economic welfare of these communities and bring them closer towards mainstream development. We have to do our duty to make our country Aatmanirbhar,” he said.

However, the showcasing tribal products (produce and handicrafts) from all over India one place, the E-marketplace (market.tribesindia.com) is a state-of-the-art e-commerce platform which can be accessed on the web and also mobile (Android and iOS) for both customers and the tribal vendors registered.

-RJV

Army soldier shoots self dead in Kashmir’s Baramulla

Policeman
Representational Pic.

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): An army jawan today committed suicide by shooting himself dead with his service rifle in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, defence officials said.

They said that the soldier identified as Rakshit Kumar (22), resident of Samba district of Jammu shot himself dead with his service rifle at his unit in Uri area of Baramulla district. The soldier was posted with 2 JAKLI 1-post sub-sector Gohallan area of Uri on the LoC.

A defence official said that soon after the incident, the colleagues of Kumar rushed to the spot and found him dead, lying in a pool of blood. “He was taken to a nearby army facility, where doctors declared him dead,” he said.

An army officer said that a case has been registered and investigations were taken up. “Prima facie it seems a case of suicide, but army has started an investigation as to what forced the solider to take the extreme step,” he said.

-ARK

IGNOU extends admission deadline

New Delhi (NVI): The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has extended the application deadline for admission for July 2020 session till October 15 in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. The last date to apply was September 30.

Students can apply by visiting the online admission portal of the University at ignouadmission.samarth.edu.in.

“This extension of last date shall not apply to Certificate and Semester-based programmes, i.e., MP, MPB, PGDMM, PGDFM, PGDHRM, PGDOM, PGDFMP, DBPOFA, PGDIS, MCA, BCA, and all Certificate and Awareness programmes of 6 months duration or less,” IGNOU said in a press release.

IGNOU has also extended the assignment submission deadline for June-December 2020 term-end examination. Those candidates, who have not applied or submitted applications so far can do so at the open varsity’s official website- ignou.ac.in.

The assignment can be submitted in the same manner as done for the June 2020 TEE through online and offline modes.

Admissions at several universities across India have been postponed due to the pandemic.

-ARK

Australia to open border with New Zealand as COVID-19 restrictions ease

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): Australia today announced access to travelers from New Zealand as the country moves to open its first international border following eased restrictions against the novel coronavirus, according to the reports.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to his counterpart from New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, earlier today, agreeing that New Zealanders could visit the jurisdictions from October 16, the BBC reported.

However, the arrangement will initially be one-way, with Australians not able to travel to New Zealand.

New Zealanders would be allowed to fly and visit some parts of the country, including New South Wales and the Northern Territory and will be allowed to avoid mandatory quarantine.

Both the nations closed their borders in mid-March in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said, “The establishment of a travel zone between Australia and New Zealand has been finalised. Officials say the risks are now low enough to justify a travel bubble.”

“This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries, stopping not just at that state and that territory,” the BBC quoted McCormack saying. He also said a decision on when Australians may be able to visit New Zealand would be up to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“Australia had assessed New Zealand visitors as posing a low risk of COVID-19 transmission as it currently had no hotspots,” McCormack said, adding that, Australia defines a hotspot as any area with at least three local infections per day across a three-day rolling average.

New Zealand’s most recent locally acquired COVID-19 case was reported on August 21.

Whereas, the northern territory of Australia has not recorded any infections in past two months and New South Wales, which includes Sydney – has not seen a locally transmitted case since last week.

Meanwhile, the federal government of Australia has pushed for domestic and international borders to be re-opened as soon as practical to help the economy, but some state governments – which have power over their own borders – have been more resistant.

Victoria remains cut off from the rest of Australia, after an outbreak in the state capital Melbourne which is now abating.

So far, New Zealand has recorded 1,848 cases and 25 deaths, while Australia has seen over 27,000 cases and 888 deaths.

-RJV

For the 11th successive day, India sustains active COVID cases below 10 lakh

COVID-19

New Delhi (NVI): In a landmark achievement, India has sustained the steady trend of active cases being lower than the 10 lakh mark for 11 days in an unbroken chain.

The number of active cases currently stands at 9,42,217, according to Union Health Ministry data.

With a very high number of COVID patients recovering every single day, India’s steady trend of posting high level of daily recoveries also continues.

78,877 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country. This has resulted in continuous increase in the national recovery rate, which is currently pegged at 83.70 per cent, according to Health Ministry data.

India’s total recoveries are 53,52,078 today. The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days. With this, India continues to maintain its global position of being the country with maximum number of recovered COVID patients in the world.

As on date, the active cases contribute only 14.74 per cent to the positive caseload of the country. Maharashtra is leading the States’ tally with more than 2.5 lakh cases. Karnataka follows with more than 1 lakh cases.

-CHK

World needs to break the cycle of ‘panic-then-forget’: WHO on Covid-19 response

(Pic courtesy: WHO)

New Delhi (NVI): The best time to prevent the next pandemic is now and the world needs to break the cycle of “panic-then-forget” once and for all, as this cycle has prevented the development of effective health emergency preparedness across the globe, the World Health Organisation has observed.

While participating at a high-level virtual event that was co-hosted by Finland, France and Indonesia, the global health body maintained its earlier view that COVID-19 will not be the world’s last health emergency and there is an urgent need for sustainable health emergency preparedness to deal with the next one.

The strong sentiment was shared by participants of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) side-event on ‘Sustainable preparedness for health security and resilience: Adopting a whole-of-society approach and breaking the “panic-then-forget” cycle’.

“Past crises have shown that once an outbreak is under control, governments and donors tend to turn their attention to other pressing concerns. This cycle of “panic-then-forget” has prevented the development of effective health emergency preparedness across the globe. The world needs to break this cycle once and for all,” the WHO said in a release.

It is pertinent to mention here that this week, the world crossed a grim milestone with over a million lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many more expected to have died from unprecedented disruptions to the health systems.

“Over the years we have had many reports, reviews and recommendations all saying the same thing: the world is not prepared for a pandemic. COVID-19 has laid bare the truth: when the time came, the world was still not ready,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, in his opening address.

He called for investing in preparedness, with an all-of-government and all-of-society approach. “This will not be the last pandemic, nor the last global health emergency. But with the right political and financial investments now, we can advance health security, prevent and mitigate future pandemics, and protect our future and the future of generations to come,” he said.

The countries that participated in the virtual event, also spoke of their commitment to health emergency preparedness.

Closing the event, Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, appreciated the participants’ remarks, and asked for them to be met with sustained commitment to preparedness.

“We cannot, cannot, cannot let the world forget because the next one may not be anything but the worst one,” he said. “This (COVID-19) may just be a harbinger of what may come, we are living with too much risk,” he said.

The event marked a crucial dialogue among countries, donors and partners on building back better for future emergency preparedness during the current COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. It comes on the heels of the release of a sobering report by the Global Preparedness and Monitoring Board that also called for urgent action in this area, the WHO said.

According to the report, investments in preparedness would only cost US$ 5 per person annually, whereas the cost of this pandemic is already over US$ 11 trillion and counting.

-ARK

Air Marshal Singh takes over as SASO

Air Marshal Vikram Singh

New Delhi (NVI): Air Marshal Vikram Singh took over as the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Western Air Command (WAC) Headquarters on October 1, 2020.

Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the fighter stream on December 21, 1984.

The Air Marshal flew MiG-21 and Mirage-2000 aircraft before undergoing the Flying Instructor’s Course, Experimental Flight Test Course and Staff Course at Pretoria, South Africa.

He has also performed Flight Test duties at the National Flight Test Centre, commanded an Air Force Station, served in various staff appointments in Air Headquarters and has been the Air Attache at Moscow, Russia.

He has also served at the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters and was Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans) at Air Headquarters before taking over the present appointment.

-CHK

Air Force Day on Oct 8; IAF makes request to citizens of Delhi & neighbourhood

File photo

New Delhi (NVI): As it gears up to showcase scintillating air display at Hindon Air Base on October 8, the Indian Air Force (IAF) today appealed to citizens of Delhi, Ghaziabad and its neighbourhood not to throw eatables or garbage in the open as that attracts birds which pose a very serious threat to flying planes.

IAF will be celebrating its 88th anniversary on October 8 at Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad, which is the biggest and largest airbase of Asia.

On the occasion, a scintillating air display by various aircraft will be the hallmark of the Air Force Day Parade-cum-Investiture Ceremony at Air Force Station here, IAF spokesperson here said in a press release.

At the same, the spokesperson pointed out that birds pose a “very serious threat” to flying aircraft, especially at low levels.

“Eatables thrown out in the open attract birds. To ensure safety of the aircraft, pilots and people on ground, the Indian Air Force requests all citizens of Delhi, Ghaziabad and its neighbourhood not to throw eatables and garbage in the open.

“Also, if they find any carcasses/dead animals lying out in the open, they must report this matter to the nearest air force unit/police station to arrange for its disposal,” he said.

The rehearsals for the air display commenced from October 1.

The general area over which the aircraft will be flying at low levels includes Wazirpur bridge, Karwalnagar, Afjalpur, Hindan, Shamli, Jiwana, Chandinagar, Hindan, Hapur, Philkua, Ghaziabad and Hindan.

“The air display will commence with flag bearing sky divers of the famous AKASH GANGA Team dropping out of an AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies, at 0800 hours,” the IAF statement said.

The flypast would include the vintage aircraft, modern transport aircraft and frontline fighter aircraft. The ceremony will conclude at 1052 hours with a spell binding aerobatic display, it added.

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

COVID cases

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India nears 64 lakh-mark today and reached 63,94,069, with another huge surge of 81,484 positive cases in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 99,773 after 1,095 new fatalities were reported in the country during this period.

In worst-affected Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 14,00,922, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 7,00,235 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 6,03,290 cases.

Total positive cases in States/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 3,848

Andhra Pradesh- 7,00,235

Arunachal Pradesh- 10,020

Assam- 1,82,396

Bihar- 1,84,038

Chandigarh- 12,057

Chhattisgarh- 1,16,153

Dadra Nagar Haveli & Diu – 3,054

Delhi- 2,82,752

Gujarat- 1,38,583

Goa- 33,942

Haryana– 1,29,912

Himachal Pradesh- 15,219

Jammu and Kashmir- 76,163

Jharkhand- 84,664

Karnataka- 6,11,837

Kerala- 2,04,241

Ladakh- 4,360

Madhya Pradesh- 1,30,088

Maharashtra- 14,00,922

Manipur- 11,111

Meghalaya- 5,802

Mizoram- 2,049

Nagaland- 6,244

Odisha- 2,22,734

Puducherry- 28,024

Punjab- 1,15,151

Rajasthan- 1,37,485

Sikkim- 3,050

Tamil Nadu- 6,03,290

Telangana- 1,95,609

Tripura- 26,362

Uttarakhand- 49,248

Uttar Pradesh- 4,03,101

West Bengal– 2,60,324

State/UT wise total death toll:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 53

Andhra Pradesh- 5,869

Arunachal Pradesh- 16

Assam- 711

Bihar- 904

Chandigarh- 164

Chhattisgarh- 986

Dadra and Nagar Haveli- 2

Delhi- 5,401

Goa- 440

Gujarat- 3,460

Haryana- 1,402

Himachal Pradesh- 195

Jammu and Kashmir- 1,198

Jharkhand- 721

Karnataka- 8,994

Kerala- 771

Ladakh- 61

Madhya Pradesh- 2,336

Maharashtra- 37,056

Manipur- 68

Meghalaya- 51

Nagaland- 17

Odisha- 859

Puducherry- 525

Punjab- 3,451

Rajasthan- 1,500

Sikkim- 39

Tamil Nadu- 9,586

Telangana- 1,145

Tripura- 286

Uttarakhand- 625

Uttar Pradesh- 5,864

West Bengal- 5,017

There are 9,42,217 active cases in the country now and more than 53 lakh people have recovered.

-CHK

Modi remembers Lal Bahadur Shastri

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today remembered former Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his Jayanti and said he epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji was humble and firm. He epitomised simplicity and lived for the welfare of our nation. We remember him on his Jayanti with a deep sense of gratitude for everything he has done for India.”

The Prime Minister also visited his memorial Vijay Ghat to pay his respects to Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Born in 1904 in Uttar Pradesh, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of India and served from 1964 to 1966. He was widely known for his role in India’s freedom struggle.

Shastri’s slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan resonated with millions of Indians in 1962 when the country fought against China.

He died in Tashkent on January 11, 1966, at the age of 61, soon after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan.

-RJV

 

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