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#SheInspiresUs: 10 extraordinary women and their stories of courage

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): Women, time and again have proven their mettle, with their grit and resilience, to shine and prosper in every field. Every year International Women’s Day in marked on March 8 worldwide.

To celebrate women’s day this year and to honour Indian women for their valorous and extraordinary acts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this week, announced that he would hand over his social media accounts “to women whose life and work inspire us”. PM Modi also asked his followers to share stories of such inspiring women using the hashtag #SheInspiresUs.

Since his appeal, Twitter has been flooded with tales of extraordinary women who are challenging gender stereotypes with their work.

Here are some of the amazing women who are shattering glass ceilings with their work:

– Sqn Ldr Minty Aggarwal  
Fighter controller Minty was the eyes & ears of Wg Cdr Abhinandan during successful Balakot operation. She’s the 1st woman IAF officer to be awarded Yudh Seva Medal for her effort.

– Captain Tanya Shergill
The first Indian Woman Parade Adjutant to lead an all-man contingent at an Army Day Parade.

– Sreeja Debnath
Overcame domestic violence, family abandonment and rejection by her family after she was rescued from a red light area. She went on to transform the lives of 5000 at-risk girls and women through Dance Movement Therapy.

– Disha Shah

A 19-year-old budding entrepreneur from Chennai is working towards improving the financial literacy rate among women.

– Vanlalruati
HIV Positive woman from Mizoram, has counselled over 1,000 young women and girls living with HIV, reached over 10,000 drug users to increase awareness and campaigned to bring India’s free antiretroviral therapy programme to Mizoram.

– Sushma Bhadu

Sarpanch of Dhani Miyan Khan village, Haryana, is a model when it comes to women’s rights. She’s also built a training centre for women and ensured that every village child went to school. Under her guidance, her village has won many awards.

– Amla Ruia
Also called ‘Water Mother’, is one reason why the driest villages of Rajasthan now have their open wells, bore wells, hand pumps replete with water. Her Trust builds traditional check dams (Khadin) for drought ridden villages.

– Tajamul Islam

Coming from Bandipora district, Kashmir, created history by winning a gold medal in the Under-8 category of the World Kickboxing Championship in Italy. Young Tajamul stole the show when she knocked down her rival from the US, to become the world champion.

– Sarita Devi
Transformed a vast tract of a barren, hilly region in Maoist-infested Lakhisarai district of Bihar into a “green zone” by planting over one lakh trees on her own. She has also opened her own nursery to donate plants to the local villagers.

– Chetna Gala Sinha
A social activist working to empower women in drought-prone areas of rural India by teaching them entrepreneurial skills. She also set up the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank – India’s first bank for and by rural women.

Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor questioned by ED over money laundering

Rana Kapoor

New Delhi (NVI): Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor was questioned by Enforcement Directorate in connection to a money laundering case.

ED has also issued a lookout notice against the veteran banker to keep him from leaving the country, according to media reports.

The searches at the Mumbai residence of Rana Kapoor began shortly after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a press conference on the rescue plan for the lender. She had said that the central bank would investigate the reasons for the bank’s decline.

Rana Kapoor was chief executive officer of Yes Bank from its creation in 2004. However, he had to step down in 2018 after the RBI disapproved his request to extend his term.

The Enforcement Directorate began its probe after a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was initiated based on details from an investigation into Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).

ED has alleged that Yes Bank granted loans to DHFL and, around the same period, crores of rupees were transferred to accounts linked to the family of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor; these accounts included those belonging to his wife.

Action against Kapoor came shortly after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) presented a reconstruction scheme for YES Bank. The private sector lender has been placed under moratorium by the government on recommendations from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) till April 3.

The government has limited withdrawals to Rs 50,000 for a month. The action came due to deteriorating financial position, governance issues, false fundraising assurances, non-serious investors and outflow of liquidity.

2 banned news channels back on air

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry

New Delhi (NVI): Banned for their coverage of Delhi violence last week, two Malayalam news channels– Asianet News and MediaOne TY– are back on air.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had suspended the transmission of two Malayalam news channels for 48 hours yesterday, over their coverage of the recent violence in north-east Delhi.

In the order, the I&B Ministry said that both the channels – Asianet News and MediaOne TV had violated the provision of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 by broadcasting reports on “highlighted the attack on places of worship and siding towards a particular community”.

The Ministry stated that it had issued notice to both the channels on February 28, and took the decison to impose the ban after receiving their responses.

Coronavirus: Primary schools in 6 J&K districts closed till Mar 31

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir government today ordered closure of all the primary schools in six districts of the union territory till March 31.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan said that all private and government schools up to primary level shall remain closed in Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla and Bandipora districts till further orders.

Likewise, all primary schools in Jammu and Samba districts have been closed also till March 31.

The order comes after government spokesperson,Rohit Kansal tweeted that primary schools in Bandipora, Baramulla, Srinagar, and Budgam districts will remain closed till March 31.

The step has been taken as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Srinagar District Commissioner, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary also tweeted that all primary schools in the district shall remain closed till further orders.

On Wednesday, the government appointed Bhupinder Kumar, Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM), as in-charge of the coronavirus control efforts in the Union Territory. Kumar has been asked to work under the supervision of Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Education Department.

Earlier, first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Jammu. The patient with Coronavirus is admitted at Government medical college in Jammu.

The government has been issuing advisories to inform people of the precautionary measures and symptoms associated with coronavirus.

First case of Coronavirus confirmed in Jammu

Representational image

Mubashir Bukhari

Jammu (NVI): First case of coronavirus was confirmed in Jammu today. The patient has been admitted at Government Medical College here.

Earlier in the day, Jammu and Kashmir administration said that the test results of two persons indicate that there is a high probability of them being positive for the disease.

“Test reports of two suspected patients from Jammu received. Both have high viral load cases. High probability of testing positive,” the UT spokesperson had said.

In Kashmir, around 184 persons have been quarantined at their homes while as four patients with coronavirus-like symptoms have been isolated at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).

On Thursday, five suspected cases of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were isolated at the tertiary care center.

Kashmir continues to be officially coronavirus free till now.

The J&K administration has also appealed to public to fully cooperate fully wherever quarantine is advised.

Meanwhile, all biometric attendance has been suspended in the Union Territory till March 31, the government said.

In Srinagar, all primary schools shall remain closed till further orders by the administration, said DC Shahid Choudhary in a tweet.

20 vaccines under development for COVID: WHO

COVAX
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

New Delhi (NVI): Raising hopes of cure for the deadly novel coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said 20 vaccines are in development and many clinical trials of therapeutics are underway as part of research.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the global body has received applications for 40 diagnostic tests.

“Even as the therapeutics tests are being carried out, there is a need to ensure that supplies of those medicines are available if they prove effective. WHO has also been monitoring the potential risk of a disruption to medicines supplies as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic,” he said.

More than 1,00,000 positive cases of the coronavirus have been recorded around the world till date, with the total number of deaths surpassing 3,300 globally, according to media reports.

“WHO continues to recommend that all countries make containment their highest priority. Countries also continue to find, test, isolate and care for every case and to trace every contact,” Ghebreyesus said.

Earlier in the week, WHO called on all nations to “pull out all the stops” to fight COVID-19 as it continues to spread outside of China.

“This is not a drill. This is not the time to give up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time to pull out all the stops,” Tedros said.

Tedros added that world health officials are “deeply concerned” about the increasing number of countries reporting cases, especially those with weaker health-care systems. He’s also worried that some countries aren’t taking this seriously enough or have decided that there’s nothing they can do to curb local outbreaks.

Whereas, WHO officials last week increased the risk assessment of the coronavirus from “high” to “very high” at a global level.

Free entry for women at all ASI monuments tomorrow

Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal

New Delhi (NVI): The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has announced women entries to be free to all ASI protected monuments on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8 this year.

This also includes the world’s most visited monument Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism, said that India has a great tradition of respecting women and we believe that wherever women are given their due respect, even the deities like to reside there and where they are not respected, all actions remain unfruitful.”

He also said that it is a small gesture from Ministry of Culture to the women power of the world.

Prahlad said that ASI is fully committed towards safety and security of women visiting its monuments. He said that in this direction a Baby care and Feeding Room was has also been made functional at Taj Mahal.

Women will be allowed free entry to various other monuments like Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb, Ellora caves, and the Ajanta caves.

Every Child Alive: UNICEF is helping tackle child malnutrition in Bihar

UNICEF and experts are helping run 12 Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) consultation centres in Bihar – eight in medical colleges and four in district hospitals. These centres focus on malnutrition and importance of breastfeeding. Here is a show telecast on the programme.

Jan Aushadhi kendras helped people save money due to cheaper drugs

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that Jan Aushadhi kendras across the country have helped over one crore families by providing access to medicines, irrespective of their economical status.

The prime minister interacting with the beneficiaries and owners of Jan Aushadhi kendras across the country through video conferencing here, on the occasion of Jan Aushadhi Diwas.

He said that medicines at these centres are available at cheaper rates, around 50 to 90 percent less than the market price.

The PM added that the medicines available at these centres are safe as they are tested at the highest standards. He said that the government is committed to maintain best health standards for every citizen.

PM Modi also expressed his concern over the coronavirus outbreak, saying that there is no need to panic. He urged the people to not believe in rumors over the spread of infection. He suggested people to greet with tradition Indian way of saying Namaste instead of shaking hands, to reduce chanced of infection.

Jan Aushadhi Kendras operate under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) scheme that was announced on July 1, 2015, by PM Modi. The dedicated medicine centres are considered to be the biggest retail pharma chain in the world with around 6,200 outlets in 700 districts.

Coronavirus cases surpass 1,00,000 globally; Italy death toll at 197

New Delhi (NVI): The coronavirus outbreak continues to spread and has infected more than 1,00,000 people globally till date with at least 3,300 deaths worldwide.

The death toll from the new coronavirus in Italy has risen to 197 after the largest daily increase in fatalities were marked at 49 since the outbreak began, with more than 4,600 positive cases being reported.

In South Korea, authorities reported 483 new cases of infections today, bringing the total close to 7,000, according to media reports.

The number of people in New York State who have tested positive for the coronavirus has increased by 11 to 33, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The number of coronavirus cases in India has increased sharply to 31 this week, according to the health ministry. Authorities in New Delhi have also ordered the closure of primary schools until March 31 to prevent local transmission.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the spread of the virus “deeply concerning” and urged all countries to make containment “their highest priority”.

Meanwhile, the Vatican, Serbia, Slovakia, Peru and Togo also reported their first cases of the virus.

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