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Temperature rises in Delhi; rains likely to bring back chill

New Delhi (NVI): Minimum temperature in Delhi today rose to 10.5 degrees celsius from 8.5 degrees celsius recorded yesterday even as the national capital woke up to rains and thunderstorms. With this, the dip in temperature is likely.
The maximum temperature today is expected to be around 21.0 degrees celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The weatherman has forecast that temperature in Delhi is likely to dip in the next two to three days due to light rain.
Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the national capital today remained in the “very 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  313
which falls in the  “very poor” category.
The worst affected areas are Dhirpur, Delhi University, Chandni Chowk, Pusa, Lodhi Road, Mathura Road, IGI Terminal 3 and the neighbouring Noida

J&K: Hizbul Mujahideen militant killed in Anantnag encounter

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Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces at Arwani area of south Kashmir today.

After police got the information, a cordon and search operation was launched jointly with security forces at Arwani area of Bijbehara in Anantnag district.

During the search operation, the hiding militant fired on the search party leading to retaliation from security forces.

In the ensuing encounter, the militant was killed and his body was retrieved from the site. The slain militant has been identified as Shahid Ahmad of Kulgam.

As per police records, he was affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit.

Police said that incriminating material including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter. “All these materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe his complicity in other crimes,” police said.

PRO Defence, Rajesh Kalia also confirmed the news. “Weapon and war like stores were recovered,” he said.

Coronavirus: Embassy in Beijing in touch will all Indians

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New Delhi (NVI): With the coronavirus spreading across the globe, the Ministry of External Affairs today said that the Indian Embassy in Beijing is in touch will all Indians, including students in Wuhan and Hubei province. The MEA also added that until now, no Indian in China has been affected by the virus.

The deadly infectious disease has wreaked havoc in China, with the death toll mounting to 81. The Embassy in Beijing has also reached out to all Indian nationals in Wuhan in Hubei province and assured help in case they encounter a shortage of food, water, and other essential supplies.

The Indian embassy has asked the nationals to share their exact locations, so that the embassy could work with the Chinese authorities to ensure that such essential supplies are sustained.

The Indian Embassy has also mentioned in a tweet that some of the Indian nationals are currently not in possession of their passports, which have been submitted to Chinese authorities for visa extension, work permit or other reasons.

All such Indian nationals in Hubei province and not in possession of their passports have been requested to intimate the Indian Embassy with the details like their name, passport number, the Chinese authority with whom their passport has been submitted and the date of passport submission.

As the coronavirus turned virulent, India is understood to have requested China to permit over 250 Indian students stuck in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus, to leave the city, sources said on Saturday.

Ministry of Health reviews preparedness of states and UTs

Meanwhile, Preeti Sudan, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, chaired a video conference today with chief secretaries and DG (Police) of the five states bordering Nepal (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim) and of other states/UTs, to review their preparedness for prevention and management of coronavirus.

In response to the confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus in Nepal, India has stepped up the vigil at the border of Nepal.

Bodo peace accord signed

New Delhi (NVI): The government today signed an accord with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)- the banned militant group in Assam, paving way towards boosting peace in the Northeast.

NDFB is one of the dreaded insurgent groups of Assam.

The tripartite agreement was signed by the Centre, Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and the top leadership of the four factions of the NDFB and ABSU. Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the signing of the “historic” agreement here today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the accord signed today saying it will “lead to transformative results for the Bodo people”.

In a series of tweets, the PM said, “It (accord) successfully brings together the leading stakeholders under one framework.” he said.

“It will further protect and popularise the unique culture of the Bodo people. They will get access to a wide range of development oriented initiatives,” he said in another tweet.

“We are committed to doing everything possible to help the Bodo people realise their aspirations,” he added.

Railways to run fully on electricity by 2024: Goyal

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Railway will be fully electrified by 2024 and by 2030, the entire railway network in India will run completely on clean energy with zero emission, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said today.

While speaking at the inaugural session of the India-Brazil Business Forum held here today, Goyal said that the rail ministry expects the entire Indian Railway to be run on 100% electricity by 2024.

The minister added that it will be the first railway network in the world to be run on 100% electricity. “By 2030, we plan to make the entire railway network a net-zero emission network,” he said.

Goyal also informed that Indian Railways is already shunting diesel locomotives gradually out of service.

The forum was organised during Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s official visit to India from January 26 to 27. Bolsonaro and other ministers also addressed the Indian and Brazilian business leaders at the event.

Fibre intake helps in preventing diabetes, blood pressure: Study

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New Delhi (NVI): Diabetes and high blood pressure affect millions of people worldwide. Both the diseases are considered dangerous because delay in their treatment can prove to be fatal.

In a recent research, scientists have found an easy way to prevent these diseases. The research says that by intaking a good amount of fibre food, one can avoid risk of blood pressure and diabetes.

For the study, around 200 people aged 50 years and above were selected, who were diabetic and blood pressure patients. These patients were given a diet chart to be followed for three and a half months.

The results of the research were presented at the Middle East Conference 2019 of the American College of Cardiology. According to the research, people who eat a fibrous diet, are less likely to suffer from diabetes and blood pressure issues.

It was found that increasing the intake of fibre on a daily routine by 25% in the diet, can result in major changes. The selected patients who were on a diet were re-examined and it was found that an average of 9 per cent reduction in serum cholesterol was found in all patients, the average reduction in triglycerides of all patients was 23 per cent. The average systolic blood pressure of the patients was found to be decreased by 15 per cent. Nearly 28 per cent reduction in fasting blood sugar of all these people was found.

According to the scientists, these results were astonishing. All-natural things have a good fibre content. Whereas processed and packaged foods available in the market have very low fibre content and should not be consumed in large quantities. The best sources of fibre are oats, coarse grains such as bran wheat, gram flour, barley, maize, gram, millet, ragi etc. Raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and dry fruits, poha, idli, semolina, porridge also have a good amount of fibre.

Passenger plane crashes in Afghanistan

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New Delhi (NVI): An aircraft came down in the Deh Yak district of Ghazni province, to the south-west of Kabul today, according to media reports.

The plane crashed and caught fire due to technical reasons, an Afghan official was quoted as saying by news reports.

Official sources in the province said the plane was en route Ghazni from Herat when it crashed today.

The plane crashed in a territory under Taliban control and Afghan special forces were being rushed to the spot.

Over 26,000 foreign tourists visited Kashmir in 2019

By Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Figures released by the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department state that more than 26,000 foreign tourists visited the Union Territory in 2019. This was despite political and social upheaval in the Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.

The data released by J&K tourism department says that 26,662 foreign tourists visited Kashmir from January to November 2019.

Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and Indonesia constituted more than 90 per cent of foreign arrivals with as many as 19758 tourists visiting Kashmir last year.

The data also reveals that Malaysians were the leading foreign visitors that landed in the valley last year. Till November 2019, 9822 backpackers from Malaysia visited the valley.

In August, when Centre issued a travel advisory and abrogated Article 370, the arrival of Malaysian tourists dipped to 126.

However, their number shot up to 460 in November. In January 2019, 609 Malaysian tourists visited Kashmir and the number rose to 3145 in April.

Similarly, 4572 tourists from Thailand travelled to Kashmir till November last year. The highest number of arrivals was also recorded in April when 2288 backpackers visited Kashmir.

Likewise, 2918 and 2446 tourists from Indonesia and Bangladesh respectively visited the valley till November last year.

More than 706 tourists from Singapore, 731 from the USA, 575 from Britain and 543 from China also visited the valley last year.

The data shows that 326 Israeli and 66 Iranian travellers too arrived in Kashmir last year.

Tourists from conflict-torn nations including Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq also visited the valley last year.

The highest number of arrivals last year was recorded in April when 7700 foreigners visited the valley. In March, 6053 foreigners visited Kashmir. Amid rising tension between Indian and Pakistan in February after Balakote strike, 4077 foreigners visited the valley.

The lowest number of foreign arrivals last year was witnessed in September, a month after the abrogation of article 370 as only 584 foreigners visited Kashmir.

According to an official statement of the Tourism department, tourists from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh are on their priority list this year too.

“We have a huge list of promotions with special focus on luring tourists from these countries,” it added.

Govt invites bids to sell 100% stake in Air India 

New Delhi (NVI): The government today announced the sale of the entire stake in debt-laden Air India and issued a preliminary bid document for the strategic disinvestment. March 17 has been set as the deadline for submitting bids.

The qualified bidders will be notified 31 March, according to the bid document issued by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.

As per the bid document issued today, Air India would also sell 100 per cent stake in low-cost airline Air India Express and 50 per cent shareholding in joint venture AISATS, as part of the strategic disinvestment.

AISATS is a joint venture partnership between Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) Limited, which provides ground and cargo handling services.

The bid document has been issued by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.

The development comes after an initial attempt to sell a majority stake in the airline failed to draw a single bid in 2018.

The airline is sitting on a debt pile of around Rs 58,000 crore, besides huge accumulated losses running into thousands of crores.

In the current offer, the government is offering 100 per cent and has already reduced the debt liabilities of the airline.

 

eGov: Uttar Pradesh signs MoU with GeM for govt purchase

New Delhi (NVI): To improve transparency in government purchase, the Uttar Pradesh Government has signed a memorandum with Government e-Marketplace (GeM). The MoU has been signed to set up a GeM Organizational Transformation Team (GOTT) Project Management Unit (PMU) in the state.

It aims to expedite the harmonization of the procurement guidelines of the two entities and integration of systems, enabling seamless procuring experience, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said today.

The MoU was signed by CEO, GeM, Talleen Kumar and Principal Secretary, Department of MSME and Export Promotion, Navneet Sehgal. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) comes under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

The PMU will make it easier for MSMEs of UP to onboard and transact on Government e-Marketplace. Ministry of Finance has advised Ministries and Departments to consider services of GOTT on an outcome based self-sustenance model.

GOTT will assist the buyer agency to redesign the procurement processes and enhance competencies to derive maximum benefit from the online marketplace.

Cabinet Minister, Siddarth Nath Singh and Minister of State, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Uday Bhan Singh were also present on this occasion.

Uttar Pradesh is the second state after Punjab to establish a GOTT-PMU for effectively utilizing this transformational initiative towards inclusive, efficient and transparent procurement.

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