New Delhi (NVI): Veteran singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who was diagnosed with COVID-19, is currently on life support and his condition is said to be critical, according to a statement by a Chennai hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
The 74-year-old vocalist was admitted to MGM Healthcare in Chennai with mild COVID-19 symptoms on August 5. The hospital, in a statement, said that there has been a setback in the health of Balasubramanyam.
“In a late night development on August 13, his condition deteriorated, and he is moved to ICU and has been put on life support,” the bulletin said. It said his condition was critical and his vital parameters are being monitored.
He is currently under observation by the team of experts from critical care and his hemodynamic and clinical parameters are being closely monitored.
On August 5, the singer posted a video on his Facebook page stating that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after showing mild symptoms.
He said although doctors had advised him home isolation but he decided to get himself admitted to hospital as he was concerned about the health of his family members.
The MGM Healthcare yesterday released a statement saying the SP Balasubrahmanyam was stable and his oxygen levels are normal. However, his health conditioned worsened yesterday night.
New Delhi (NVI): The Union Ministry of Shipping today reduced tariff rates for cruise ships, leading to a 60-70 per cent cut in port charges to support cruise industry hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said it would be a huge boost to cruise tourism in India in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of putting the country on the global cruise map.
The Ministry said in a statement that it has rationalised tariff rates for cruise vessels plying on the rivers and oceanic waters of India.
The move is also aimed at boosting the pandemic-hit economy.
The port charges for a cruise ship will be charged at USD 0.085 per GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage) instead of USD 0.35 of current rate, for first 12 hours stay (‘Fixed Rate’) and USD 5 per passenger (‘Head Tax’). The ports will not charge any other rate like berth hire, port dues, pilotage, passenger fee, among others.
For the period exceeding 12 hours stay, the fixed charges on cruise ships will be equal to the berth hire charges payable as per SOR (Schedule of Rates), with 40 percent discount as applicable for cruise ships.
In addition, cruise ships making 1-50 calls per year will get 10 percent rebate, those making 51-100 calls per year to get 20 percent rebate and above 100 calls per year to get 30 percent rebate.
The rationalised tariff will come into effect immediately for a period of one year. The number of call made by cruise ships in India has increased from 128 in 2015-16 to 593 in 2019-20. “This rationalisation would also help to ensure that cruise calls at Indian Ports do not dry up completely,” the shipping ministry said in a statement.
“It will provide the opportunity to earn huge amount of foreign exchange and generate sizeable direct and indirect onshore employment in cruise tourism sector,” Mandaviya said.
New Delhi (NVI): An indigenous photonic system has been developed by a team of Indian researchers for real-time remote monitoring of air quality parameters, the Ministry of Science and Technology has said.
The system titled AUM (Air Unique-quality Monitoring) had CATS Eco-Systems, Nashik as the technology transfer partner for commercialization, the Ministry said in a statement.
Photonics is an area of study that involves the use of radiant energy (such as light), whose fundamental element is the photon. Photonic applications use the photon in the same way that electronic applications use the electron. Devices that run on light have a number of advantages over those that use electricity.
The Air Unique-quality Monitoring (AUM) device
The AUM system (patent pending) is an innovative application of the principles of laser backscattering, statistical mechanics, optoelectronics, artificial intelligence, machine/deep learning, and Internet of Things. It can identify, classify, and quantify various pollutants simultaneously (of orders of less than one part per billion) and meteorological parameters, with very high precision, sensitivity and accuracy.
The system has been developed by Prof. Rao Tatavarti, Director of Gayatri Vidya Parishad-Scientific and Industrial Research Centre (GVP-SIRC) & GVP College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam, with the support from Department of Science and Technology’s Clean Air Research Initiative. Prof Tatavarti was supported by Prof. P. Arulmozhivarman from the School of Electrical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, and other team members.
AUM was successfully evaluated during laboratory trials with gold standards (in collaboration with EffecTech, UK), and also compared in the field with imported systems from France, and Australia and operated by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board under the aegis of the Central Pollution Control Board of India.
It has been found to be highly sensitive and accurate and capable of simultaneous detection and quantification of all air quality parameters and offers a number of merits over any of the currently available conventional systems.
It is portable, compact, low powered and economical, works on plug and play system, requires no setting uptime, and no additional civil infrastructure for housing. It provides information on all gases and meteorological parameters simultaneously. It is a non-intrusive remote, real-time monitoring system with very high sensitivities and accuracies and is capable of monitoring in both spatial and temporal domains, with very high sampling frequencies, the Ministry said.
Also, the data from spatially separated sensors can be seamlessly streamed to a cloud server, from where digestible real-time encrypted information on dashboard is made available to user at any part of the world.
The Ministry of Science & Technology said that this system can boost the nation’s efforts towards self-reliance in high-end technologies and can additionally be instrumental in supporting the endeavours in improving the nation’s health and economy.
World Health Organisation (WHO)’s reports show that the worsening state of poor air quality is responsible for more than 7.5 million fatalities worldwide annually. This highlights the necessity for accurate, yet cost-effective monitoring of air quality parameters as monitoring is critical to solution.
The current systems and technologies used for air quality monitoring are prohibitively expensive for wider deployment. This underlines the need for development of systems for real-time remote monitoring of relevant air quality parameters.
New Delhi (NVI): Vice President Venkaiah Naidu greeted people of the nation on the eve of Independence Day.
“I convey my warm greetings and good wishes to the people of our country on the joyous occasion of Independence Day. May this day bring amity, harmony and prosperity in our country,” he said.
Naidu added, “Today, we celebrate the 74th Independence Day of our country. I pay my tributes to those brave freedom fighters who made countless sacrifices to build an independent nation and to secure a bright future for it. Let us also remember with gratitude the martyred heroes of our struggle for independence who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom.”
The most meaningful tribute we can pay to these patriots is to build an India they aspired for, the Vice President added.
On this Independence Day, let us renew our commitment towards building a united, strong, prosperous, inclusive and peaceful nation where a billion plus dreams find expression and fulfillment.
New Delhi (NVI): India has conducted a record high of over 8 lakh COVID-19 tests in a single day, as a total of 8,48,728 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tests to 2,76,94,416, the Union Health Ministry said.
The highest single-day COVID-19 test at 8,48,728 is the result of ramping up its testing facilities on a sustained basis, with the aim of touching 10 lakh tests per day, the Health Ministry said.
“WHO in its guidance note on ‘Public Health Criteria to Adjust Public Health and Social Measures in the Context of Covid-19’ has advised comprehensive surveillance for suspected cases,” the Ministry said in an official statement.
However, WHO has also advised that a country needs 140 tests per day per million population, it added.
The ministry stated that the national average is 603 tests per day million population, with focussed efforts of the Centre and effective implementation by the states and union territories, while 34 of them have exceeded this figure.
In addition to this, states/UTs are being advised to scale up the testing on a commensurate level with the prevailing positivity.
Meanwhile, a key component for the successful implementation of the “Test, Track and Treat” strategy has been the continuously expanding network of diagnostic labs across the country. The network as of today consists of 1,451 labs with 958 in the government sector and 493 private labs.
Furthermore, the successful implementation of TESTING aggressively, TRACKING comprehensively and TREATING efficiently has ensured a rising recovery rate, which stands at 71.17 per cent today, taking the total recovered COVID-19 patients to more than 17.5 lakh, the ministry said.
“The recoveries exceed the active cases (6,61,595) by nearly 11 lakh (1,089,960),” it said.
However, effective clinical management through a standard of care treatment protocol has further ensured progressive and sustained decline in the mortality among COVID-19 patients.
As a result, the Case Fatality Rate (CRF) is pegged at 1.95 per cent today, maintaining its path of steady decline.
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Police today said that the Nowgam attack in Srinagar, in which two cops were killed, was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists who will be traced and terminated by the forces soon while asserting that more security measures will be taken to ensure peaceful conduct of Independence Day across Kashmir tomorrow.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of wreath laying ceremony of slain policemen— Fayaz Ahmed and Ishfaq Ayoub, J&K DGP Dilbag Singh said that initial investigations have revealed that Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit carried out the attack.
“We are busy identifying the attackers and will act against them soon,” DGP Singh said after the wreath-laying ceremony of two J&K police cops who were killed in the brazen attack by militants in Nowgam area of Srinagar this morning.
DGP Singh said that police was busy with the extended deployment in Srinagar and city outskirts in view of the Independence Day for the past few days. “Unfortunately, militants found a chance to attack a joint party of SSB and police at Nowgam in which two policemen were killed and another one injured, who is being treated at the hospital,” he said.
The DGP said that militants always try to target police and forces and at times they succeed. “Such attacks are carried when situation heads towards improvement in the Valley. Pakistan can’t tolerate peace prevailing in the Valley and keeps trying to carry out acts like the one today, to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere,” he said. “Our efforts to strengthen the peace will continue.”
CCTV grabs of today’s attack by terrorists in Nowgam, Srinagar in which 2 J&K cops were killed.
The J&K Police chief said that anti-militancy operations will be intensified in the days ahead. While paying tributes to the slain cops, he said they were deployed to ensure smooth conduct of tomorrow’s function. “At times, we have to bear such incidents,” Singh said.
Asked whether more security arrangements will be done in Srinagar as today’s attack came just a day ahead of the I-Day, Singh said security across Kashmir and Srinagar will be further strengthened. On whether police was using the latest gadgets to ensure better security cover, he said: “We will use drones and CCTV fitted vehicles besides physical deployment of our men.”
New Delhi (NVI): The World Health Organization (WHO) said that it saw no evidence of coronavirus being spread by food or packaging and urged people not to be afraid of the virus entering the food chain.
“People should not fear food, food packaging or delivery of food,” WHO head of emergencies programme Mike Ryan told a briefing. “There is no evidence the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus.”
WHO provided this clarification after two cities in China said they had found traces of the coronavirus in imported frozen chicken wings from Brazil and on outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp, raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause a new outbreak.
The virus was found on Tuesday in the Chinese city of Shenzhen during a routine check on samples of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil.
The authorities said they immediately screened people who had been in contact with the contaminated products, plus their relatives, and all the tests came back negative, according to media reports.
“There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe.”WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said China had tested hundreds of thousands of packages and “found very, very few, less than 10” proving positive for the virus.
The WHO also urged countries now that are striking bilateral deals for vaccines not to abandon multilateral efforts, since vaccinating pockets will still leave the world vulnerable.
New Delhi (NVI): On the eve of Independence Day, a total of 926 police personnel across the country have been awarded with prestigious Police Medals for Gallantry, the Ministry of Home Affairs said today.
According to the list issued by MHA, a total of 215 personnel from different forces, including state police and paramilitaries, have been selected for the PMG award.
Besides, 80 personnel have been awarded for the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and 631 for Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
Out of the 215 personnel awarded with gallantry medals, 123 personnel have been awarded for their gallant action in Jammu and Kashmir, 29 personnel for their gallant action in Left Wing extremism affected areas and 8 personnel in North-East Region.
Among the personnel receiving gallantry awards, 55 are from CRPF and 81 are from Jammu and Kashmir police.
Similarly, 23 are from Uttar Pradesh and 16 are from Delhi Police, 14 are from Maharashtra and 12 are from Jharkhand and the remaining are from the other States and UTs and Central Armed Police Forces.
New Delhi (NVI): The mortal remains of four medical students from Tamil Nadu, who drowned in Russia’s Volga river last week, are expected to be flown back to India early next week, V Muraleedharan, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs said today.
The Minister, in a tweet, condoled the death of four youngsters who drowned in the Volga river in Russia. He said that he has spoken to the Indian Embassy in Moscow and the mortal remains of the four deceased students are expected to reach India by early next week.
“Heartfelt condolences to the families of the 4 Indian students who died in Volgograd due to drowning. Spoken to our Mission @IndEmbMoscow. The mortal remains are expected to reach India early next week,” the MoS, MEA said in a tweet.
Heartfelt condolences to the families of the 4 Indian students who died in Volgograd due to drowning. Spoken to our Mission @IndEmbMoscow. The mortal remains are expected to reach India early next week. @PMOIndia@DrSJaishankar@VanathiBJP@VMBJP
The four students were studying at the Volgograd State Medical University and died due to the ‘current’ in the river, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami has said in a statement on Monday.
The TN CM had directed state officials to get in touch with MEA and Indian Embassy in Russia to make arrangements to bring back the bodies.
The four students have been identified as Mohammed Ashiq of Tiruppur district, R Vignesh from Cuddalore, Manoj Anand from Salem and Stephen from Chennai.
New Delhi (NVI): India today sent 70 tonnes of emergency humanitarian aid to Lebanon, including medicines, food and relief supplies in the wake of deadly explosions in Beirut that destroyed the port city and killed more than 150 people.
An Indian Air Force C17 aircraft, which left Hindon airbase this morning with the essential supplies, landed in Beirut with the essential supplies.
The aid was handed over by Suhel Ajaz Khan, Indian ambassador to Lebanon, and other officials of the embassy, to the senior officers of the Lebanon army who are coordinating the relief supplies.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a tweet said that India has expressed solidarity with the people of Lebanon in the aftermath of the tragic explosions.
“India demonstrates solidarity with the people of Lebanon in the aftermath of the tragic explosions in Beirut. 58 MT of emergency humanitarian aid, including crucial medical and food supplies, is on its way to Beirut in IAF C17 aircraft,” he tweeted.
India demonstrates solidarity with the people of Lebanon in the aftermath of the tragic explosions in Beirut. 58 MT of emergency humanitarian aid, including crucial medical and food supplies, is on its way to Beirut in IAF C17 aircraft. pic.twitter.com/JIfvdrvSYc
Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs also tweeted on the development. “This morning, @IAF_MCC #C17 left #Hindon base for #Lebanon with 70 tonnes humanitarian assistance following #BeirutBlast. Medicines, food supplies, blankets and personal kits will help relief efforts and fight against #coronavirus @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar @IndiaInLebanon,” he said in a tweet.
In the August 4 incident, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers, stored at Beirut’s port blew up, sending a massive shock wave across the city, bursting out windows and damaging buildings.
At least 158 people were killed and over 6,000 injured, while the shock waves caused damage estimated at USD one billion to at least half of the city’s infrastructure.
