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Cabinet meeting today: Key takeaways

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place here today as the government took some important decisions with respect to Surrogacy Bill, J&K and Scheduled Tribe Population in Lakshadweep.

Here are the top highlights of the Cabinet meeting:

  •  Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020 was approved in which proposed legislation ensures effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow altruistic surrogacy.

 

  • The Cabinet approved the issuance of an order for adaptation of Central Acts in the Union Territory under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 by the Central Government.

 

  •  Three Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) for Cooperation between India and Myanmar on Combating Timber Trafficking, Conservation of Tigers & Other Wildlife and in the fields of Petroleum Products and communications were approved.

 

  • Setting up of a National Technical Textiles Mission with a total outlay of Rs 1,480 crore was approved by the Cabinet Committee. This will position the country as a global leader in Technical Textiles.

 

  •  It also approved amendment of the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965. This will grant occupancy rights to the Scheduled Tribe population in Lakshadweep.

 

  •  Amendments to the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM) Bill, 2019 were made. Bill to provide the National Institutes of Food Technology at Kundli, Haryana and Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu the status of Institution of National Importance approved.

Balakot Anniv: Forces don’t hesitate to cross border now, says Rajnath

RAJNATH-Singh
File Photo

New Delhi (NVI): On the first anniversary of Balakot airstrike today, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that India has changed its approach against terrorism and ways to counter it.

“I thank Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for bringing change in India’s approach against terrorism & our ways to counter-terror. The Surgical Strikes of 2016 and Balakote Air Strikes of 2019 are testimony to this change. This is certainly a New and Confident India in making,” he said in a tweet.

The Union Minister added that Surgical Strikes of 2016 and Balakote Air Strikes of 2019 are testimony to this change. “This is certainly a New and Confident India in making,” he said.

Singh also appreciated the Indian Air Force “for its unmatched bravery and courage exhibited during Balakote airstrikes.”

“Our government led by PM Shri @narendramodi has adopted a different approach from earlier governments. Now we do not hesitate to cross the border to protect India against terrorism,” the Defence Minister said in another tweet.

On this day last year, the Indian Air Force carried a cross-border airstrike on terror training camps in Pakistan’s Balakot.

The airstrike was done in response to the terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy on February 14 in Jammu’s Pulwama in which more than 40 security personnel were killed.

Raj: 25 dead after bus plunges into river in Bundi

New Delhi (NVI): At least 25 people were today killed and three others sustained injuries after a private bus fell into Maiz river in Bundi, Rajasthan.

The incident took place in the morning when a bus carrying 30 passengers was going for a wedding and fell into the river on the Kota-Dausa highway in Bundi district, media reports said.

The injured were rushed to a government hospital in Lekhari.

Delhi violence: PM Modi appeals for peace and brotherhood

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appealed for peace and brotherhood as he took stock of the situation in Delhi where the toll from violence in some northeastern parts rose to 21.

“Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest,” PM Modi said in a tweet.

The PM said that he had an extensive review of the situation and ensured that police and other agencies were doing their job to ensure peace and normalcy.

“Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy,” the prime minister said in another tweet.

At least 21 people have been killed in the violence in northeast Delhi over Citizenship Act (CAA), with at least 250 left injured. Clashes between anti and pro CAA erupted in the district on Monday, followed by some more violence reported yesterday.

A Delhi Police Head Constable was also killed in the clashes Monday. He was identified as 42-year-old Ratan Lal from Sikar in Rajasthan.

Media reports said that the body of an Intelligence Bureau officer was recovered today from a drain in Jaffrabad. The officer has been identified as Ankit Sharma, a Security assistant with IB. He was allegedly attacked by a mob last evening at Chand Bagh bridge, while he was on his way to home. Media reports said the perpetrators threw his body into the drain after beating him to death.

One of the worst-hit areas by the violence that has swept northeast Delhi, Jaffrabad is the same town where a 33-year-old man identified as Shahrukh was captured on a mobile phone camera, waving a gun and aiming it at an unarmed cop in front of him. He was arrested by police yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today said the situation was “unfortunate”, but dismissed a plea seeking intervention in the violence as the matter was already pending in the High Court.

In another development, the Delhi Police has issued a notification with the telephone numbers of police personnel, who are located at hospitals in Delhi and can be contacted for information regarding victims of the Delhi violence.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also written to Home Minister Amit Shah, asking him to call in Army and impose curfew in the affected areas of Delhi immediately.

The violence in the National Capital took place at a time when US President Donald Trump was on a two-day visit to India. However, when asked about the incidents in Delhi, Trump said that it (Citizenship Amendment Act) was India’s internal matter.

Coronavirus spreads in Europe from Italy; death toll rises to 2,715

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): Several European countries including Austria, Croatia and Switzerland have announced their first coronavirus cases, with all appearing to be linked to the growing outbreak in Italy.

With the death toll reaching 2,715 now, the deadly virus is spreading in Europe, Middle East and other parts of the world, even as parts of China begin to lower their emergency response level as the number of new cases reported there continue to slow.

In the last few days, Italy has become Europe’s worst-affected country, with more than 300 cases and 11 deaths, according to media reports.

The first positive virus test has been recorded in Latin America – a Brazilian resident just returned from Italy.

Meanwhile, South Korea authorities said that an 11th person has died of the disease in the country.

South Korea now has at least 1,146 cases of coronavirus after 169 more infections were confirmed, most of them in and around the city of Daegu.

Around the world, 81,002 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus have been reported while 2,762 deaths have been recorded, with mainland China having 78,064 positive cases and 2,715 deaths, mostly in Hubei province.

CBSE class 10 & 12 exams postponed today in northeast Delhi over violence

cbse

New Delhi (NVI): The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) postponed Class 10, 12 exams in northeast Delhi today due to violence over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), in the area.

However, the exams will be held in the remaining areas as per schedule, CBSE said in a statement today.

Exams for Class 10 and 12 were scheduled to be held today at 86 centres in north-east Delhi.

Meanwhile, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia has said that all internal examinations in all private and government schools have been postponed. The exams will be held in remaining areas as per schedule, officials said.

“In violence-affected Northeast area, schools will be closed tomorrow as well. Internal examinations have been postponed. Have requested CBSE to postpone the board exam as well,” he said in a tweet.

The CBSE took the decision “based on the request of the Directorate of Education and the government of Delhi and to avoid inconvenience to students, staff and parents”.

They said it was hard for them to reach at the Centre due to violent clashes and riots in area.

Class 10 exams have been postponed for subjects of English Communicative, and English Language and Literature. For Class 12, the subjects for which exams gave been postponed are Web Application (Old), Web Application (New), and Media.

No fresh violence was reported in Delhi-NCR region today but tension was in the air, especially in the northeast district, where violence took place at several localities, including Chand Bagh and Bhajanpura, with stones and other missiles hurled and shops were set ablaze.

Widespread rains over northeast states expected in next 24 hrs

Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): Fairly widespread rains and thundershowers are likely over northeastern states in the next 24 hours as a cyclonic circulation is over East Uttar Pradesh and adjoining Bihar.

During the last 24 hours, Odisha, East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and parts of Jharkhand have been witnessing widespread rains and thundershowers, according to a Skymet Weather report.

The reason for these rains was a Trough extending from eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh to Bangladesh. Moreover, humid winds were also feeding moisture over Bay of Bengal.

According to Skymet Weather, this will be the last rainy spell over the states in the month of February.

Meanwhile, Alwar in Rajasthan is the coldest city in the plains where the minimum temperature was recorded at 9.2 degrees Celsius, according to SkymetWeather.

Raisen in Madhya Pradesh and Ludhiana in Punjab recorded minimum temperature at 9.6 and 9.9 degrees Celsius respectively.

Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh and Amritsar in Punjab recorded minimum temperature at 10 and 10.1 degrees Celsius respectively.

Apart from this, Ambikapur in Chhatisgarh, Karnal in Haryana and Khargone in Madhya Pradesh recorded minimum temperature at 10.2 degrees Celsius.

Najibabad in Uttar Pradesh and Narnaul in Haryana both recorded minimum temperature at 10.5 degrees Celsius.

Delhi and NCR region also saw a slight increase in minimum temperature to 12.7 degree Celsius from 11.8 degrees Celsius recorded yesterday.

The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 27 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The overall air quality in the national capital today is in “poor” category.

According to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 273 which falls in the “poor” category.

The IMD said that there will be a gradual fall in minimum temperature by 2 to 3 degree Celsius over East and Central parts of the country during next two days.

“In West India it is expected that there will be a rise in temperature by 2 to 3 degree Celsius,” it said.

“No significant change temperature is expected in rest of the country,” it added.

NIA raids homes of south Kashmir militants

NIA raids that took place today

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided homes of several active and slain militants in south Kashmir today.

NIA team, along with CRPF and police raided the house of Zahid Ahmad who is an active militant of Jaish at Karimabad area of Pulwama district, police said.

The raids were also carried at the residence of Adil and one more slain militant at Kakapora area in the same district.

Earlier, this month, NIA raided several places, including residences of a sarpanch and some active militants, in Shopian.

The raids were carried in connection with its probe against suspended state police officer Davinder Singh.

The NIA also collected evidence from different places in southern Kashmir about the network of the suspended DSP and his alleged connections with terror outfit Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM) .

Safest year for Indian Railways; no passenger deaths in 2019-20

Representational Image (PIB)

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Railways has claimed zero passenger deaths in rail accidents in the year 2019-20, making it the national transporter’s safest year in its history, according to official data.

The remarkable feat has been achieved for the first time in this year since the introduction of the Railway System in India 166 years ago in the year 1853.

While railways witnessed staff deaths during the last year, there were no passenger deaths in the last 11 months, the data revealed.

In 2018-19, railways recorded 16 death, 28 deaths in 2017-2018 and 195 deaths during 2016-2017.

While between 1990-1995, an average of more than 500 accidents took place every year, with around 2,400 deaths and 4,300 injured in those five years, a decade later between 2013-2018, an average of around 110 accidents took place every year which killed around 990 people and injured about 1,500 people.

Railway train accidents (consequential) includes collision, derailment, fire, level crossing accidents and other miscellaneous accidents. While calculating the casualty due to a train accident, the number of persons killed are taken into account.

Railways does not count run over deaths as deaths in railway accidents.

Safety being the topmost priority of the Indian Railways, the measures undertaken for safety improvement included massive renewal of railway tracks, effective track maintenance, stringent monitoring of safety aspects, improved training of railway staff and so on.

Also total elimination of Unmanned Level Crossings Gates on broad gauge has resulted in elimination of accidents on this score thus giving huge impetus to safety of train operations.

This unprecedented feat could become possible with inputs in the system in the form of Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) introduced in the year 2017-18 with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to be spent in the next five years, having annual outlay of Rs 20,000 crore. With this fund, it has been possible to undertake very critical safety works of urgent nature and results are evident.

Centre to create portal for data sharing in public domain: Amitabh Kant

New Delhi (NVI): The Central government is in the process of creating a portal to share data on public platform for public use, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said today.

Kant was speaking at the session on ‘Shaping the New Economy: Transitions & Trends in Technology’ during ‘US-India Forum: Partners for Growth’ organized by FICCI here, jointly with USISPF and ORF.

“India has a vast amount of data. NITI Aayog is working on a portal to put this data in an anonymous manner in public domain so that the people across the sectors can utilize it,” he said.

The NITI Aayog CEO further stated that India has over 2,000 startups working in AI and machine learning and we can’t starve the startups of data. However, he outlined that critical human personal data should be kept within the country.

Kant further added that there is a need to create an economic framework for data pooling as a business resource in a responsible manner.

“It is not possible for India to grow rapidly at high rates without a technological leapfrogging in many areas of growth. India has to get into sunrise areas of the industry, and I believe India can radically change the landscape of electric mobility,” Kant said.

He said that India offers the size and scale to do innovations across health and education among other sectors. India has a scale of data that no other country can offer. “Indians are going to use data to a greater size and scale as we are the only country in the world which has a varied bank of biometrics,” Kant added.

Highlighting the potential of Artificial Intelligence, Kant urged companies and banks to leverage on the power of machine learning and AI. “Companies or banks which do not use Artificial Intelligence or machine learning will just go bust. Companies which use the power of technology will leapfrog,” he said.

Ms Aruna Sundararajan, Former Secretary of Telecom, Government of India said, “We must open up and enlarge the regulatory sandboxes in every area and have a full play for innovations.”

FICCI Senior Vice President Uday Shankar moderated the session.

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