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Disinvestment in LIC against ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’: LIC Employees Federation

New Delhi (NVI): The All India LIC Employees Federation (AILEF) has expressed concern over the Central Government’s plan for disinvestment in Life Insurance Corporation of India, the country’s largest life insurer.

The body has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while seeking his intervention to “immediately stop disinvestment in LIC.” They have claimed that disinvestment in LIC will go against the policy of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

In its letter to PM, AILEF has cited news appearing in the national media on the government’s decision to set in motion the proposal for disinvestment in LIC. “It is being reported that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has invited bids from consulting firms, investment bankers and financial institution to advise the government on the preparatory processes of the proposed IPO,” the letter dated June 26 reads.

The government will be engaging two pre-IPO transaction advisors for the largest public offer in the country till now. The last date for bids for advisors to LIC’s IPO is July 13, as per the request for proposal, whereas the bids will be opened on July 14.

“If the government goes ahead with its plan of disinvestment in LIC there will be implication for policyholders. As per the Sec 28 of LIC Act, 1956 policyholders are eligible for not less than 95% of the surplus emerging under both participating and non-participating policies. The proposed public offer through disinvestment in LIC will change the way surplus is distributed. Higher share of surplus to shareholders will affect the rate of bonus to policyholders and this in turn will affect future new business,” AILEF General Secretary Rajesh Kumar says in the letter.

Listing of LIC will also change LIC’s operational approach and investment policies, the letter further read. The LIC Employees Federation has made a fervent appeal to the PM to rescind the decision of disinvesting in LIC in national interest saying that it will “give a big boost to make India Aatmanirbhar.”

“Disinvestment in LIC will be a stepping stone for privatisation in future which will be against the national interest,” the letter read.

India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit, Helo

Representational Images

New Delhi (NVI): The Government today banned 59 Chinese mobile apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser, WeChat, saying that these are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence, security and public order of India.

Invoking its power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the Ministry of Information and Technology announced the decision which is set to be a big jolt to the Chinese technology companies.

The development also comes in the backdrop of current stand-off between India and China after the violent stand-off in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

“Over the last few years, India has emerged as a leading innovator when it comes to technological advancements and a primary market in the digital space,” the Ministry said.

It further stated that there have also been raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians.

“It has been noted recently that such concerns also pose a threat to sovereignty and security of our country. The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India,” the ministry said.

“The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,” it added.

Apart from the I&T ministry, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs has also sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps.

The MHA has also received many representations raising concerns from citizens regarding security of data and risk to privacy relating to operation of certain apps. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) has also received many representations from citizens regarding security of data and breach of privacy impacting upon public order issues. Likewise, there have been similar bipartisan concerns, flagged by various public representatives, both outside and inside the Parliament of India.

There has been a strong chorus in the public space to take strict action against Apps that harm India’s sovereignty as well as the privacy of our citizens, the ministry said.

“On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices,” it added.

Following are the 59 apps banned:

TikTok

Shareit

Kwai

UC Browser

Baidu map

Shein

Clash of Kings

DU battery saver

Helo

Likee

YouCam makeup

Mi Community

CM Browers

Virus Cleaner

APUS Browser

ROMWE

Club Factory

Newsdog

Beutry Plus

WeChat

UC News

QQ Mail

Weibo

Xender

QQ Music

QQ Newsfeed

Bigo Live

SelfieCity

Mail Master

Parallel Space

Mi Video Call – Xiaomi

WeSync

ES File Explorer

Viva Video – QU Video Inc

Meitu

Vigo Video

New Video Status

DU Recorder

Vault- Hide

Cache Cleaner DU App studio

DU Cleaner

DU Browser

Hago Play With New Friends

Cam Scanner

Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile

Wonder Camera

Photo Wonder

QQ Player

We Meet

Sweet Selfie

Baidu Translate

Vmate

QQ International

QQ Security Center

QQ Launcher

U Video

V fly Status Video

Mobile Legends

DU Privacy

102 Hindus forcibly converted to Islam, temple turned into mosque in Pakistan

New Delhi (NVI): In yet another case of forced conversion and religious persecution of minorities in Pakistan, 102 Hindu men, women and children were converted to Islam in Badin district.

The incident took place at Golarchi area of Badin in Sindh-Pakistan on Saturday, as all idols of Hindu Gods were destroyed in a local temple, which was converted into a mosque.

A video of the incident is doing rounds on social media. Such incidents of forced conversion and forced marriage of Hindu girls after abduction have become common in the recent past, with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also taking note of the gruesome acts.


Earlier this year, the Human Rights body said that over the years, “there have been horrific, religiously motivated attacks on the minority communities and any efforts towards eradicating the violence, prejudices, and inequalities have been virtually imperceptible”.

In another incident reported on Saturday, the 14-year-old daughter of a Hindu woman was abducted for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced to conversion in Saedabad, Hala Mitiari, of Sindh province Pakistan.

In a video shared by a social activist, the mother is seen wailing inconsolably and saying, “It is a curse to born in an Islamic County”. Out of the immense shock and pain at such loss of her teenage daughter, she is seen hitting herself with grief, falling unconscious on the ground.

Pakistan has a history of atrocities against the minority communities especially Hindu girls, who are often kidnapped and forced into conversion.

-ARK

Turf war! Monkey left injured on Rashtrapati Bhavan terrace

New Delhi (NVI): A male monkey was left seriously injured in a territorial feud between a troop of wild rhesus macaques on the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises in New Delhi on Sunday. The animal was rescued by the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit and is currently undergoing treatment.

The maintenance personnel went up to the Rashtrapati Bhavan terrace after hearing the high pitched cries of monkeys clashing with each other. While the troop scattered away upon seeing the staff, one macaque was found lying under a water tank, in a semi-conscious state.

The staff immediately contacted the Wildlife SOS 24 hour rescue helpline (+91-9871963535) for assistance. A two member rescue team was immediately dispatched by the charity which provides animal ambulance services to wild animals in distress across Delhi NCR.

Since the animal had sustained painful bite injuries, the Wildlife SOS team took great care in handling the rescue while ensuring least amount of stress was caused during the process.

Wasim Akram, Deputy Director-Special Projects, Wildlife SOS, said “The macaque has sustained severe wounds on both his hind limbs & forelimbs and is currently undergoing treatment. It will be released back into its natural habitat when certified fit for release.”

Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife SOS co-founder and CEO said, “It was heartening to see the staff at the President’s Estate go to the extent of caring for the welfare of animals in distress. The Rhesus macaque is one of the most common primate species to be found in the Indian subcontinent. They live in troops of around 20 to 180 monkeys and often compete with other troops for food and territory base. Shrinking habitats has led to more frequent struggles between animals over space and territory.”

The Wildlife SOS Hotline is the only 24-hour Wildlife and Reptile Rescue Cell in the National Capital Region (NCR) which address the problems of wildlife conflict in urban spaces accelerated by growing populations, rapid urbanization and misconceptions about many of the native species of wildlife with whom we share our landscape. They also conduct workshops and awareness programmes to sensitize the public to the presence of urban wildlife and encourage peaceful coexistence.

Afghanistan COVID-19 cases climb to 31,238 with 733 deaths

New Delhi (NVI): Afghanistan today witnessed a rise in coronavirus cases with 271 new infections, taking the overall tally to 31,238 across the country, according to Afghan media reports.

The death toll due to the virus rose to 733 with 12 new fatalities being reported in the last 24 hours.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said, among the fresh cases reported, Kabul once again was on top of the list with 130 cases followed by Herat with 30 positive cases.

Other provinces which reported cases are Kandahar (12), Balkh (28), Nangarhar (3), Takhar (14), Bamiyan (13), Baghlan (7), Badghis (4), Nimruz (12), Wardak (1), Laghman (1), Kunar (5), Helmand (4), Panjshir (5) and Zabul (2), as per the reports.

In terms of fatalities, 4 COVID-19 deaths registered in Kabul, 4 in Parwan, 3 in Nangarhar and 1 in Herat.

The ministry also said that, 13,934 people have been recovered from the respiratory disease across the country.

So far, 71,549 people have been tested for coronavirus in the government’s testing centres in Afghanistan.

-RJV

Coronavirus cases in Pakistan cross 2,00,000 mark; death toll at 4,167

COVID-19: Pakistan imposes mini-lockdown in Islamabad

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan has crossed the 2,00,000 mark. 3,709 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 2,06,512.

Meanwhile, 94 people lost their lives due to the deadly contagion, taking the total number of fatalities to 4,167.

Looking at the breakdown of cases, Sindh province has reported 80,446 coronavirus cases, highest among all the provinces, while Punjab has 74,778 positive cases.

On the other hand, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 25,778 cases, Balochistan is at 10,376, Gilgit-Baltistan at 1,417, Islamabad at 12,643 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is at 1,003 cases so far, according to media reports.

So far, nearly 95,407 people have recovered from the deadly contagion in the country.

-CHK

Maharashtra extends lockdown till July 31

Maharashtra
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The Maharashtra government today extended lockdown till July 31, in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state. This comes a day after Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray pointed out that it was not possible to remove the lockdown post June 30.

The government stated that restrictions on the non-essential activities and movement of people will be re-imposed in COVID-19 hotspots and within the neighborhood in the Metropolitan Mumbai Region.

Yesterday, during a media briefing, Uddhav Thackeray dubbed lockdown as ‘Mission Begin Again’ and said that the unlock process in the state will be gradually implemented to put the economy back on track.

Although there would still be restrictions after June 30, eventually more relaxations will be provided to people, he added.

The movement of people for the purposes of non-essential activities like shopping and the outdoor activities shall be restricted within the neighborhood area limits with all necessary precautions of wearing masks, social distancing and personal hygiene.

All essential shops, e-commerce activity for essential and non-essential items, all industrial units which are presently operational and home delivery of food will be allowed. However, the unrestricted movement will be allowed for attending offices and emergencies.

Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state in the country having recorded nearly 1.65 lakh confirmed cases and over 7,400 deaths so far.

-RJV/ARK

Bangladesh COVID-19 tally surpasses 1.41 lakh

New Delhi (NVI): As Bangladesh is witnessing a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths, 45 new fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total death toll to 1,783.

In addition to this, 4,014 new cases were also detected during this period, taking the total number of Covid-19 patients in the country to 1,41,801, according to United News of Bangladesh.

So far, 57,780 people have recovered in the country after 2,053 more patients were recovered during this period.

The detection rate of new patients has been recorded at 20.91 percent in the country.

Against the total number of detected cases, the recovery rate is 40.75 percent and the mortality rate is 1.27 percent.

-CHK

What are the tropical regions and why are they important

The Tropics account for 40 per cent of the world’s total surface (Source: @UN)

New Delhi (NVI): The Tropics are a region of the Earth, roughly defined as the area between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn.

Although topography and other factors contribute to climatic variation, tropical locations are typically warm and experience little seasonal change in day-to-day temperature, according to the United Nations.

An important feature of the Tropics is the prevalence of rain in the moist inner regions near the equator, and that the seasonality of rainfall increases with the distance from the equator. The tropical region faces several challenges such as climate change, deforestation, logging, urbanisation and demographic changes.

The International Day of the Tropics marked on June 29 every year, celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the tropics while highlighting unique challenges and opportunities nations of the Tropics face.

Tropical nations have made significant progress but face a variety of challenges that demand focused attention across a range of development indicators and data in order to achieve sustainable development, according to the UN report.

By 2050, the region will host most of the world’s people and two-thirds of its children. Consistent with the higher levels of poverty, more people experience undernourishment in the Tropics than in the rest of the world. The proportion of the urban population living in slum conditions is higher in the Tropics than in the rest of the World, according to the report.

As the culmination of a collaboration between twelve leading tropical research institutions, the inaugural State of the Tropics Report was launched on 29 June 2014. The report offers a unique perspective on this increasingly important region.

Marking the anniversary of the report’s launch the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/267 in 2016, which declared that 29 June of each year is to be observed as the International Day of the Tropics.

The International Day of the Tropics was designated to raise awareness to the specific challenges faced by tropical areas, the far-reaching implications of the issues affecting the world’s tropical zone and the need, at all levels, to raise awareness and to underline the important role that countries in the tropics will play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

As per UN report, the Tropics is home to nearly 95 per cent of the world’s mangrove forests by area and 99 per cent of mangrove species. The Tropics have just over half of the world’s renewable water resources (54 per cent), and biodiversity is also much greater at 80 per cent.

-RJV/ARK

Nepal coronavirus tally exceeds 13,000-mark

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): Nepal reported 476 new cases of coronavirus today, taking the national tally to 13,248, according to local media reports.

The country’s Ministry of Health and Population said, of the newly infected, 364 are males and 112 females. In total, 11,662 males and 1,586 females have contracted the infection.

In the last 24 hours, 121 people achieved recovery and were discharged form the hospitals, taking the tally of recovery cases to 3,134.

As of today, coronavirus has spread to all 77 districts of Nepal, as per the reports.

So far, 2,23,630 sample tests have been performed in Nepal through the PCR, as per the reports.

Currently, 10,085 people are under isolation and 57,368 in quarantines across the country.

Meanwhile, another COVID-19 related deaths have been confirmed in Nepal today, taking the total death-toll of the disease to 29 in the country.

-RJV

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