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TN schools reopen for classes 10, 12

schools
Representational/file image

New Delhi (NVI): The schools in Tamil Nadu have reopened for classes 10 and 12 from today, after a long gap of ten months amid COVID-19 outbreak.

The state government took decision to reopen schools in the Tamil Nadu for students who are in their board examination years.

To ensure safe return of the students to the campuses, the Directorate of Public Health issued standard operating procedure (SOP) that are to be followed by school administration and students.

As per the SOPs, the DPH has directed to ensure mandatory screening of all students and teachers who return back to campus within a week of school reopening. In addition, the department has also asked school administrators to ensure complete sanitization of school campus.

Apart from this, schools have also been directed to create sufficient hand washing and sanitization facilities on campus to allow students to disinfect their hands at regular intervals.

DPH has also asked to distribute tablets or boosters for Vitamin C, multivitamin tablets and other immuno- boosters among students.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has registered 8,31,323 coronavirus cases with 8,13,326 recoveries and 12,272 deaths so far.

-RJV

Covid-19 vaccine: WHO warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’

patent

New Delhi (NVI): As several countries have rolled out coronavirus vaccines, World Health Organization (WHO) chief has questioned the unequal Covid-19 vaccine policies and said that the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure.

Speaking during the WHO’s executive board virtual meeting, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “I need to be blunt: the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure – and the price of this failure will be paid with lives and livelihoods in the world`s poorest countries.”

“It was not fair for younger, healthy people in richer nations to get injections before vulnerable people in poorer states,” he added.

He said over 39 million vaccine doses had been given in 49 richer states – but one poor nation had only 25 doses.

Till date, China, India, Russia, the UK and the US have all developed coronavirus vaccines, with others being made by multinational teams.

Almost all of these nations have prioritised distribution to their own populations.

Tedros said that these actions will not help in stopping the spread of coronavirus but will only prolong the pandemic.

Meanwhile, both the WHO and China were criticised for their Covid response.

An independent panel commissioned by the WHO said the UN public health body should have declared an international emergency earlier, and also rapped China for not taking public health measures sooner.

-CHK

India records 10,064 fresh covid cases, lowest spike since June

Covid-19 India
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The coronavirus cases in India saw a rise of 10,064 fresh cases, the lowest single day spike since second week of June, taking the total number to 10,581,837, Union Health Ministry confirmed.

The death toll due to the virus rose to 1,52,556, with 137 new fatalities being reported during the same period.

Currently, a total of 10,228,753 million patients have recovered across the country, while the active cases dropped to 2 lakh-mark and stands at 2,00,528.

Meanwhile, over 3.81 lakh priority group beneficiaries have been vaccinated three days into India’s inoculation drive.

The country reported 580 severe events and 2 persons — a 52 year old in Moradabad & a 42 year old in Karnataka — have reportedly died due to cardiopulmonary disease after getting their shots. However, the deaths have not been linked to the vaccines till now.

In worst-affected Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases increased to 19,92,683 followed by Karnataka with 9,32,432 and Andhra Pradesh with 8,86,066 positive cases.

The other worst hit states are Tamil Nadu (8,31,323), Kerala (8,51,194), Delhi (6,32,590) and Uttar Pradesh (5,96,904).

-CHK

Coronavirus cases surpass 95.5 mn worldwide, US tally tops 24 mn

Coronavirus cases

New Delhi (NVI): More than 95.5 million people around the world have been confirmed to have the coronavirus, while the death toll has crossed 2,039,000 according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. Over 52.6 million patients have recovered from the deadly disease globally.

The number of coronavirus infections in the US have surpassed 24 million, while the number of fatalities caused due to the deadly contagion have exceeded 3,98,000 in the country.

Brazil’s coronavirus cases have crossed the 8.5 million-mark and stands at 8,511,770 while the number of deaths have surged past 2,10,000.

Furthermore, China has reported more than 100 new Covid-19 cases for a seventh day on Tuesday in the worst domestic outbreak since March last year, with one northeastern province seeing a record daily increase.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has imposed a blanket testing regime for all flights arriving internationally, with passengers now required to return a negative Covid test result before departure.

Morocco’s health ministry has confirmed its first imported case of the more contagious variant of coronavirus first discovered in the UK. The variant was detected in the northern port of Tangier in a Moroccan national returning from Ireland via Marseille.

In addition to this, Spain reported a record rise in coronavirus infections over the weekend and the number of new cases measured over the past fortnight spiked to 689 per 100,000 people on Monday from 575 on Friday, health ministry data showed.

-CHK

PM Modi posters seen at pro-freedom protests in Pakistan’s Sindh province

Sindh province

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s posters were seen at a pro-freedom rally in Sindh province of Pakistan as protesters demanded the creation of a separate nation of ‘Sindhudesh’ and sought intervention of world leaders like Modi to help achieve the same.

The rally that took place yesterday in Sann town of Jamshoro district of Sindh province, where protesters raised pro-independence slogans. It was organised on the 117th birth anniversary of prominent Sindhi politician GM Syed who had called for a separate country for Sindh. Notably, Sann is also the birthplace of GM Syed.

Placards in the rally also had pictures of some other world leaders including US President-Elect Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and British PM Boris Johnson.

“Sindh wants freedom from Pakistan,” read one of the posters.

The rally was organised by Jiye Sindh Mutahida Mahaz, one of several major political parties in Sindh, that advocates for the separation of Sindhudesh from Pakistan and is struggling for freedom from illegal Pakistani occupation.Like Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan, the Sindh province also demands freedom from oppressive Pakistani rule which is responsible for human rights violations and enforced disappearance, besides mass killings in these regions.

ARK

Newly inducted Rafale to be showstopper at this year’s Republic Day parade

Republic Day parade

New Delhi (NVI): The newly inducted Rafale fighter jet will participate in Republic Day parade for the first time on January 26 and will culminate the fly-past by carrying out a ‘Vertical Charlie’ formation, the Indian Air Force said today.

“The fifth formation is Eklavya comprising of one Rafale, two Jaguars and two MiG 29s which would be followed by three Su-30s in Trinetra fmn carrying out the traditional Trishul manoeuvre. Trailing Trinetra will be three Sarang helicopters lying in Vijay formation,” the IAF said in a statement.

“The flypast would culminate with a single Rafale Brahmastra that shall carry out a Vertical Charlie abeam the dais (show stopper),” it said.

A total of 42 aircraft including 15 fighters, 5 transport, 17 helicopters, 1 vintage aircraft of the Indian Air Force and 4 Helicopters of the Indian Army will participate in this years’ flypast.

The flypast would be flown in two blocks. The first block is planned along with the parade between 10:04 am to 10:20 am and the second block is planned after the parade between 11:20 to 11:45 am, the IAF said.

Block I comprising of three formations, would be led by Nishan formation comprising of 4 Mi17-V5 carrying the National flag and ensigns of the three services (timed 10 seconds ahead of Parade Commander). Following Nishan will be Dhruv, 4 aircraft formation of the Army Aviation Corps (timed with first Mechanised Column of the 1.A), as per an official release.

The third and last formation in Block is Rudra, which is commemorative of the Swami Vijay Jayanti of the 1971 war and comprises of single Dakota flanked by two Mi 17-1Vs in Vic formation (timed with the marching contingent from Bangladesh).

Block II will comprise of 9 formations. The first two formations would be Sudarshan and Rakshak. Sudarshan will comprise of one Chinook and two Mi 17-1Vs, while Rakshak would be led by a single Mi 171V with 4 Apache ac. Following Rakshak would be Bhim fmn of three C-130 aircraft. This would be followed by the Netra and Garuda fmns. While Netra is unchanged from last year, Garuda fmn will include a pair of MiG 29s along two Su 30MKIs formatting on a single C-17, it said.

The fifth formation is Eklavya comprising of one Rafale, two Jaguars and two MiG 29s which would be followed by three Su 30s in Trinetra fmn carrying out the traditional Trishul manoeuvre. Trailing Trinetra will be three Sarang helicopters flying in Vijay formation. The
fiypast would culminate with a single Rafale Brahmastra that shall carry out a Vertical Charlie abeam the dais (show stopper), as per the IAF release.

Pertinent to mention here that the Indian Air Force received the first batch of five Rafale jets in July last year. The first batch was received nearly four years after the Indian government inked a deal with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

The Rafales were inducted into the IAF amid India China border tensions in Ladakh theatre. Notably, the IAF has already deployed the newly inducted Rafale fighter jets along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector where the military is on its highest state of alert to deal with any misadventure by China.

In addition to the IAF tableau for Republic Day is being fabricated on a 50 feet long platform consisting of trailer towed by a tractor and would display the IAF motto ‘Touch the Sky with Glory’. It will showcase scaled down models of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Light Combat Helicopter, Sukhoi-30 MKI and Rohini Radar.

Indigenously developed Rudram Next Generation Anti Radiation Missile (NGRAM) and Dhuravastra will be displayed on LCA and LCH respectively. Sukhoi-30 MKI will display the indigenously developed Astra and Brahmos Missiles. Indigenously developed Akash Missiles will be displayed along with the Rohini Radar.

The LCA is a single engine, fourth generation, multirole light fighter aircraft designed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Aircraft R&D Centre (ARDC) of HAL. The LCA is equipped with Air to Air Refuelling and New Generation Anti Radiation Missile (RUDRAM) which is the first indigenous anti-radiation missile of the country developed for Indian Air Force, the IAF said, adding that the missile will be a potent weapon for IAF for Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) effectively from large stand-off ranges.

The LCH is capable of high altitude operations and is armed with Dhruvastra anti-tank guided missile. Eight missiles can be attached to the helicopter with the help of 4 twin launchers. In addition, the helicopter can be equipped with 20 mm turret guns and 70 mm rockets, it said.

Rohini is Medium Range Surveillance Radar, for Air Space Surveillance to detect and track air targets under hostile EW operational environment. The system is deployed for early warning and also as a sensor for Akash SAM system.

Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defence system which has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like aircraft, helicopters and various other missiles. It is in operational service in the Indian Army as well, and finally, Astra an indigenously designed all-weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile is capable of engaging targets at varying ranges and altitudes.

-ARK

Indian, French Rafale fighter jets to take part in joint exercise in Rajasthan

Rafale fighter jets

New Delhi (NVI): The Indian Rafale fighter jets will be taking part in an exercise with the Russian air force for the first time in a five-day joint military drill that will take place in Jodhpur in Rajasthan from January 20 to 24.

The Indo-French joint exercise, codenamed as ‘Ex-Desert Knight 21’ will see Rafale jets from the air forces of both countries engaging in complex maneuvers to enhance operational coordination.

“Indian Air Force is hosting the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l’Air et de I’Espace) at Air Force Station Jodhpur for Ex-Desert Knight 21, a bilateral Air exercise from 20 to 24 Jan 21. The French forces are currently deployed in Asia as part of their ‘Skyros Deployment’, and will transit through India,” read an official statement in this regard.

Notably, the Indian Air Force received the first batch of five Rafale jets in July last year. The first batch was received nearly four years after the Indian government inked a deal with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

“The aim of the exercise is to provide operational exposure and share best practices towards enhancing combat capability. Both the forces will participate with Fighter, Transport, and Tanker aircraft,” read the official statement.

The current exercise is in addition to the ‘Garuda’ series that the two Air Forces engage in, and is indicative of the earnestness of Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force to enhance and further mutual co-operation by making use of the available opportunities for fruitful interaction, it said.

Also, the exercise is taking place at a time when India and China are locked in a tense border row in the Ladakh sector. The IAF has already deployed the newly inducted Rafale fighter jets along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector where the military is on its highest state of alert to deal with any misadventure by China.

IAF’s current fleet of five Rafale fighters, which was inducted in Golden Arrows Squadron, is fully operational, especially in the wake of India-China border tensions.

-ARK

TRIFED signs MoU with IFFDC to boost livelihood generation of tribal people

TRIFED

New Delhi (NVI): The Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) today entered into a MoU with Indian Farm Forestry Development Co-operative Ltd (IFFDC) to work together for livelihood generation of tribal people across the country.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED and S P Singh, Managing Director, IIFDC in the presence of Anupam Trivedi, ED, TRIFED, Sangeeta Mahendra, ED (I/C), TRIFED, and Harish Chandra Gena, Chief Project Manager, IFFDC, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs said in a statement

Under the MoU, the two organizations have agreed to partner with each other to organise training programmes for tribal artisans in the area of entrepreneurship skill and business development.

They will also collaborate further to identify and implement CSR initiatives and tribal development efforts.

Other areas of association have been identified through which IFFDC promoted PFFCS/SHGs/CBOs will be linked with TRIFED for collection and marketing of NTFPs/MFPs, the statement said.

“IFFDC will also assist in promoting tribal FPOs and will provide trainings to TRIFED promoted or linked Community Organisations/Members,” it added.

Furthermore, the scope of the agreement will also include any other activity that can be taken up to strengthen tribal livelihoods and entrepreneurship development.

Speaking at the event, Pravir Krishna said that, “TRIFED has been actively exploring convergences with various like-minded organizations to continue our mission towards tribal empowerment.”

“It is our pleasure to engage with a pioneering organization such as IIFDC which has undertaken such meaningful work in the areas of farm forestry and wasteland development. I believe that we can collaborate, by pooling our strengths together and undertake work that will help in boosting the income and livelihoods of the tribal people,” he added.

The ministry further said that with the successful implementation of this collaboration and many more convergences both cemented and upcoming, TRIFED aims to make effect a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

TRIFED, as the nodal agency working for the empowerment of tribals, is focusing its efforts on finding new ways to improve the lives and the livelihoods of the tribal people, the statement said.

“As part of its continued efforts, the agency has been partnering with like-minded organisations to create synergies together,” it added.

-RJV

DRDO hands over motorbike ambulance ‘Rakshita’ to CRPF

New Delhi (NVI): The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today handed over ‘Rakshita’, a bike ambulance to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), to provide life-saving aid for evacuation of injured patients from low intensity conflict areas.

“The Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi based DRDO laboratory, handed over ‘Rakshita’, a bike-based casualty transport emergency vehicle to Central Reserve Police Force in a ceremony held at CRPF Headquarters in New Delhi on January 18,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

On the occasion, DS & DG (LS), DRDO, Dr AK Singh handed over the model of Rakshita to DG CRPF, Dr AP Maheshwari, followed by the flagging off the contingent of 21 bikes, the statement added.

According to the Defence Ministry, the bike ambulance will help in overcoming the problems faced by Indian security forces and emergency healthcare providers and will provide life-saving aid for evacuation of injured patients from low intensity conflict areas.

This will be handy in the congested streets and remote locations, where access through ambulance is difficult and time consuming.

Besides, the bike can respond to a medical emergency need of patients faster than a four-wheeler due to its functionality and integrated emergency medical support system.

Rakshita is fitted with a customized reclining Casualty Evacuation Seat (CES), which can be fitted in and taken out as per requirement, the ministry noted.

Other major features are the head immobilizer, safety harness jacket, hand and foot straps for safety, adjustable footrest, physiological parameter measuring equipment with wireless monitoring capability and auto warning system for driver, it said.

During the ceremony, Chairman, DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy also appreciated the efforts of scientists for this indigenous and cost-effective solution to a common challenge faced by our security forces.

Furthermore, the vital parameters of the patient can be monitored on the dashboard mounted LCD and it is also equipped with air splint, medical and oxygen kit for on spot medical care, the statement said.

“This bike ambulance is useful not only for the paramilitary and military forces but has potential civil applications too,” it added.

-RJV

Centre releases 12th tranche of GST compensation of Rs 6,000 cr to states

SDRF
Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): In a bid to bridge the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue shortfall, the Finance Ministry has released the 12th weekly instalment of Rs 6,000 crore to 23 states and 3 Union Territories under a special borrowing window today.

Out of this, an amount of Rs 5,516.60 crore has been released to 23 States and an amount of Rs 483.40 crore has been released to the 3 Union Territories with Legislative Assembly (Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir & Puducherry) who are members of the GST Council, according to a statement released by Ministry of Finance.

The remaining 5 states, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim do not have a gap in revenue on account of GST implementation, the statement added.

Now, 65 per cent of the estimated GST compensation shortfall has been released to the States & UT with Legislative Assembly.

Out of this, an amount of Rs 65,582.96 crore has been released to the States and an amount of Rs 6,417.04 crore has been released to the 3 UTs.

The Government of India had set up a special borrowing window in October, 2020 to meet the estimated shortfall of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in revenue arising on account of implementation of GST.

The borrowings are being done through this window by the Centre on behalf of the states and UTs.

The borrowings have been done in 11 rounds. The amount borrowed so far was released to the States on October 23, November 2, November 9, November 23, December 1, December 7, December 14, December 21, December 28, January 4, January 11 and January 18.

The amount released this week was the 12th instalment of such funds provided to the States. The amount has been borrowed this week at an interest rate of 4.4315 per cent.

So far, an amount of Rs.72,000 crore has been borrowed by the Central Government through the special borrowing window at an average interest rate of 4.7024 per cent.

In addition to providing funds through the special borrowing window to meet the shortfall in revenue on account of GST implementation, the Centre has also granted additional borrowing permission equivalent to 0.50 per cent of Gross States Domestic Product (GSDP) to the states choosing Option-I to meet GST compensation shortfall to help them in mobilising additional financial resources.

-CHK

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