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LCA conducts 1st flight after final operational clearance

Bengaluru (NVI): Indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) today conducted its first flight after getting the Final Operational Clearance (FOC), paving the way for production of the remaining 15 fighters from the FOC block which are planned to be delivered during the next financial year.

The maiden flight was conducted at HAL Airport in Bengaluru.

“Piloted by Air Cmde KA Muthana(Retd), Chief Test Flying (Fixed Wing), the aircraft took off from HAL Airport at around 1230 hours. It was airborne for 40 minutes,” said a statement issued by the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) which has built the fighter plane.

R Madhavan, CMD, HAL. said the flight signifies exemplary teamwork between various stakeholders of LCA Tejas programme such as HAL, DGAQA, CEMILAC, IAF, ADA etc.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has achieved the target within a record time of 12 months after the release of Drawing Applicability List (DAL) and SOP by CEMILAC, the statement said.

“This would pave way for production of remaining 15 fighters from the FOC block which are planned to be delivered during the next financial year,” it added.

US begins first human trial of coronavirus vaccine

New Delhi (NVI): The United States has begun the first human trial of coronavirus vaccine as four patients have received the dose at Kaiser Permanente research facility in Seattle, Washington, reports in foreign media said.

In a press conference at White House yesterday, US President Donald Trump told reporters that this is one of the fastest vaccines development launches in history.

“I’m pleased to report today that a vaccine candidate has begun the phase one clinical trial. This is one of the fastest vaccine development launches in history. Not even close. We’re also racing to develop antiviral therapies and other treatments.”

Trump said efforts to develop medications to treat the novel coronavirus were also moving fast.

“We’re also racing to develop antiviral therapies and other treatments. And we’ve had some promising results — early results, but promising — to reduce the severity and the duration of the symptoms,” he said.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the US, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is funding the trial. The open-label trial will enrol 45 healthy adult volunteers aged 18 to 55 years over approximately six weeks.

The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by the NIAID scientists and their collaborators at the biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Food outlets, restaurants closed in Srinagar

Representational image

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): In order to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, Srinagar administration has today ordered closure of all restaurants and other eatery shops in the city.

“No restaurants, food courts, food joints, street food kiosks, roadside eateries, community kitchens , home-delivery of food services etc shall operate in Srinagar district till further notification by District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA),” read the order issued by DC Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.

Besides food outlets, the administration has directed cancellation of all conferences, workshops, rallies, gatherings and sit-in protests.

“The Coronavirus epidemic has been notified under The Disaster Management Act 2005, by virtue of a notification issued by the Government of India. Further, notification under Essential Commodities Maintenance Act 1955 has been issued by the government to regulate production, quality and distribution of certain logistics,” the order read.

It further added, “The Epidemic Disease Act and rules are also in operation for such measures as may be required to contain the spread of Coronavirus and take action as warranted under law. Measures have been taken in Srinagar and further steps required are being notified which shall be implemented by the concerned without fail.”

In addition, the Jammu and Kashmir government has closed all schools, colleges, universities, coaching centres and other educational institutions in the state.

On Monday, all parks and gardens in Srinagar were closed till further notice issued by DDMA Srinagar.

The Srinagar administration has also ordered closure of gyms, saloons and spas.

The government has asked tour operators, travel agencies to declare details of 100 per cent bookings done through them for all International and National air-travel, which may include local road journeys.

Pandurang Kondbarao Pole is new Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir

Kashmir Div Com

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir administration today appointed Pandurang Kondbarao Pole as new Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir.

Pole will replace Baseer Ahmad Khan who was appointed as 4th advisor to lieutenant governor Girish Chandra Murmu on Sunday.

A 2001-batch IAS officer, Pandurang Kondbarao Pole was presently posted as Secretary to the Government, Department of Food, Civil, Supplies and Consumer Affairs.

According to Government Order No.385-JK(GAD) of 2020, “Pandurang Kondbarao Pole, IAS(JK 2004), Secretary to the Government, Department of Food, Civil, Supplies and Consumer Affairs, is transferred and posted as Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir,” the official orders read.

Besides him, the government has ordered the transfer of five other top officers.

According to an order issued here, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government, Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department, holding additional charge of Administrative Secretary, Transport Department, has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary to the Government, School Education Department.

Navin Kumar Choudhary, IAS (JK:1994), Principal Secretary to the Government, Education Department, holding additional charge of Administrative Secretary, Technical Education Department, has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary to the Government, Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department. He has also been asked to hold the additional charge of Administrative Secretary, Agriculture and Horticulture Departments, upon the retirement on superannuation of Manzoor Ahmad Lone, IAS on 31.03.2020. “He shall also continue to hold the charge of Administrative Secretary, Technical Education Department, in addition to his own till further orders,” reads the order.

Shailendra Kumar, IAS(JK:1995), Chief Electoral Officer, J&K and Principal Secretary to the Government, Election Department, has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary to the Government, Social Welfare Department. The officer has been also asked to be Officer on Special  Duty in the Public Works (R&B) Department.

“He shall hold the additional charge of Administrative Secretary, Public Works (R&B) Department, upon the retirement on superannuation of Mr. Khurshid Ahmad Shah, IAS on 30.4.2020.”

Simrandeep Singh, IAS(JK:2008), Administrative Secretary, Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, has been asked to hold the charge of Administrative Secretary, Department of Food, Civil, Supplies and Consumer Affairs, in addition to his own duties, till further orders.

Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, IAS(JK:2012), Additional Secretary to the Government, Finance Department, holding additional charge of CEO, Mission Youth, has been asked to also hold the additional charge of Chief Executive Oficer, J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency, till further orders, relieving Principal Secretary to the Government, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department of the additional charge of the post.

Babila Rakwal, KAS, Director, Handlooms, J&K, has been transferred and posted as Vice-Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, relieving Ms. Avny Lavasa, IAS, Commissioner, lammu Municipal Corporation of the additional charge of the post. “She shall also hold the charge of Additional Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Jammu, in addition to her own duties, till further orders,” reads the order. Mussarat-ul-Islam, Director, Handicrafts, J&K, has been asked to hold the charge of the post of Director, Handlooms, J&K, in addition to his own duties, till further orders.

Govt sets up science & tech core team on COVID-19

WHO
Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): With the total number of coronavirus cases reported in India reaching 126, the Government has set up an ‘S&T Core-team on COVID-19’, of experts who will reach out to the Indian scientific community to expand their scope of finding ‘immediate and urgent solutions’ to the ongoing pandemic.

K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to GoI, tweeted yesterday that there is a need for the scientific community in the country to proactively work to find a solution to the global health problem.

“It is now time for all of us, individual scientists, institution leaders and groups of institutions to get together and contribute to containing, mitigating, and pushing back this pandemic,” he said in a tweet.

The Advisor said that his office has set up “an ‘S&T Core-team on COVID-19’, of experts, who will reach out to each of the clusters, help define problems that need urgent and immediate solutions.”

He added that the experts will also work with academia and industry to help link teams to solve these problems speedily.

“This is a time for team-work. This is a time for our S&T institutions to show national and global leadership. We have concentrations of institutions & industry in the NCR, Kolkota-Kalyani, Chandigarh, Lucknow-Kanpur, Mumbai-Pune-Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyd, etc.,” he tweeted.

“These R&D hubs, linked to others, each needs to form a collaborative team and leadership. They can each while interacting, map out their strengths and what key COVID-19 problems they will address and solve in weeks, months, a year,” he added.

while exhorting the scientific community as well as academia, he said, “The goal is to make sure that our health-agencies, our science agencies, and most importantly our people and all peoples have the benefit of your knowledge, talents, and expertise speedily. Don’t hold back.”

Principal Scientific Advisor further added that in addition to the ‘top-down’ efforts of various departments and ministries, such as the Department of Biotechnology and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research etc., scientists need to proactively work together to ensure synergy and develop implementable solutions that health-workers and communities need.

Total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 126 today as one more death was reported from Mumbai today. The Health Ministry is working with other departments in the government to contain the spread of COVID-19, almost in a war footing.

Nirbhaya case: Convict moves Delhi court

Mukesh Kumar Singh

New Delhi (NVI): Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case moved a Delhi court today, claiming that he was not in the national capital on the day of the crime.

The death row convict filed a plea seeking quashing of his death penalty.

However, during the hearing, the public prosecutor told the court that convict Mukesh’s plea against the death penalty was frivolous and a tactic to delay hanging.

As per the latest information available, the court has reserved order on Mukesh’s plea and order will be pronounced shortly.

Mukesh Singh and the three other convicts including Vinay Sharma, Pawan Kumar and Akshay Kumar are scheduled to be hanged on March 20 in Tihar Jail.

Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old girl, was brutally raped and murdered on the night of December 16, 2012, in a south Delhi area.

India bans travellers from Afghanistan, Philippines, Malaysia

New Delhi (NVI): In its additional travel advisory on coronavirus issued today, the Government has prohibited the travel of passengers from Afghanistan, Philippines, Malaysia to India with immediate effect.

“No flight shall take off from these countries to India after 1500 hours Indian Standard Time (IST). The airline shall enforce this at the port of initial departure,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement here.

The latest advisory has been issued “In continuation of the travel advisory issued on 11th March 2020 and 16th March 2020,” the statement read.

The official statement further stated that the instruction is a temporary measure and shall be in force till 31st March 2020 and will be reviewed subsequently.

The additional travel advisory has been issued a day after the Government prohibited the travel of passengers from European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the United Kingdom to India. The order will come into effect from March 18.

“No airline shall board a passenger from these nations to India with effect from 1200 GMT on 18th March 2020. The airline shall enforce this at the port of initial departure,” read an official statement by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

However, the Ministry said that this is a temporary measure and shall be in force till 31st March and will be reviewed subsequently.

Apart from this, the compulsory quarantine has been expanded to a minimum period of 14 days for passengers coming from/transiting through UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. This will also come into effect from 1200 GMT on March 18 from the port of first departure.

In its circular, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has also directed all scheduled Indian and foreign airlines engaged in international air transportation to\from India to follow the latest guidelines.

Three more test positive for coronavirus in Ladakh

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Three more patients have been tested positive for coronavirus in Ladakh, taking the total number of patients infected by the virus in the Union Territory to six.

Among the three new cases, two are from Leh while one is from Kargil district.

Medical Superintendent, Sonam Norboo Memorial (SNM) Hospital, Tsering Samphel confirmed that two patients have been tested positive of coronavirus at the hospital in Leh. “They have no travel history to coronavirus hit countries but their parents returned from Iran,” he said.

The Union Territory administration has imposed Section 144 in Kargil as a precautionary measure.

Yesterday, two patients, one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were tested positive for the virus.

Jammu and Kashmir Government on Monday informed that 176 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period and, so far, only two cases have been tested positive in the Union Territory.

2,478 travellers and people in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance while as 2,095 people are under home quarantine.

People in hospital quarantine stand at 29 while 178 people are under home surveillance.

A media bulletin stated that 106 samples have been sent for testing, of which 98 have tested negative and only two cases have tested positive so far. Reports of six cases were awaited.

Third COVID-19 death in India; cases climb to 137

New Delhi (NVI): A 64-year-old coronavirus patient died today in Mumbai, taking the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the country to three.

The total number of positive cases has also reached 137, according to the Health Ministry.

The Ministry has also said that fresh coronavirus cases have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Kerala.

Meanwhile, the Central Government has issued a fresh travel advisory, prohibiting the entry of passengers from EU countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till March 31.

Yesterday, the Centre also decided to shut all Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monuments and central museums across the country till March 31, including Taj Mahal.

Apart from this, the Ministry has activated a toll-free 24×7 national helpline number, 1075, to address queries related to the infection.

PM pays tributes to Bangabandhu

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his 100th birth anniversary.

Bangladesh is today celebrating the birth centenary of its founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also called as Bangabandhu.

PM Modi will also participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Bangabandhu in Bangladesh this evening via video link.

“Shri Modi will address Jatir Pita of Bangladesh’s 100th Birth Anniversary celebrations via video link, this evening,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a release.

PM Modi also tweeted on the occasion, saying that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is remembered for his courage and indelible contribution to Bangladesh’s progress.

“Tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his birth anniversary. He is remembered for his courage and indelible contribution to Bangladesh’s progress. This evening, via video link, will address Bangabandhu’s 100th Birth Anniversary celebrations being held in Bangladesh,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, due to coronavirus outbreak, the events planned today in Bangladesh will be without any public gatherings.

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