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Entries for National Water Awards-2020

Entries for National Water Awards-2020
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New Delhi (NVI): The Jal Shakti Ministry has invited the entries for National Water Awards for the year 2020 to encourage and recognize individuals and organizations doing exemplary work in the field of water resources management.

The entries have been invited in the following 11 categories:

1) Best State,

2) Best District (2 Awards each in five zones; total 10 Awards),

3) Best Village Panchayat (3 Awards each in five zones; total 15 Awards),

4) Best Urban Local Body,

5) Best Media (Print and Electronic),

6) Best School,

7) Best Institution/RWA/Religious Organization for Campus Usage,

8) Best Industry,

9) Best NGO,

10) Best Water User Association and

11) Best Industry for CSR Activities.

Awards in the category of Best District and Best Village Panchayats will be given separately for North, South, East, West and North-East, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said in a statement.

A total of 52 Awards will be given under 11 categories. Apart from Best State and Best District Awards, cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 1 lakh for Ist, IInd and IIIrd prize winners respectively will be given for all remaining 9 categories.

The last date for submitting the entries is 10th February 2021 and only online applications will be considered, the Ministry said in a statement.

-ARK

Cabinet approves submarine OFC connectivity between Kochi, Lakshadweep

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Cabinet today approved the provision of submarine optical fibre cable (OFC) connectivity (OFC) between mainland Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands to improve telecommunication facilities.

The decision was announced by Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An official statement said, the KLI Project envisages provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine OFC between Kochi and 11 Islands of Lakshadweep.

The 11 islands include — Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Agati, Amini, Androth, Minicoy, Bangaram, Bitra, Chetlat, Kiltan and Kadmat, it added.

Meanwhile, the estimated cost of implementation is about Rs 1,072 crore including operational expenses for five years. The project would be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund, the statement said, adding that the project is targeted to be completed by May 2023.

The approval for provision will vastly improve telecommunication facility in the Lakshadweep Islands by providing large bandwidth.

This submarine connectivity project will have vital role for delivery of e-Governance services at the doorstep of citizens, potential development of fisheries and high-value tourism, educational development in term of tele-education and in health care in terms of telemedicine facilities.

It will also help in establishment of numerous businesses, augment e-commerce activities and provide adequate support to educational institutes for knowledge sharing.

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has been nominated as Project Execution Agency and Telecommunications Consultant India Ltd. (TCIL) as the Technical Consultant of the project to assist Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), the statement further said.

It added that, the ownership of the asset under the project will rest with USOF, the funding agency, under Department of Telecommunication (DoT).

Currently, only medium of providing telecom connectivity to Lakshadweep is through satellites, but the bandwidth available is limited to 1 Gbps and lack of bandwidth is a major constraint in providing data services.

The government is accordingly committed to provide tele-communication facilities in Lakshadweep Islands and planning for laying the submarine optical fibre cable has been under consideration for some time.

Apart from this, high bandwidth communication facility to the Islands is also in agreement with realising the national objective of strengthening e-governance services and achieving the vision of Digital India, the statement added.

-RJV

Active COVID cases in India dip to 3.89% of total cases

File photo

New Delhi (NVI): The ongoing trend of contraction of India’s total active cases continues, with the active caseload dipping to 3.89% of the total Covid cases and currently stands at 3,78,909, according to Union Health Ministry.

The daily recoveries exceeding the daily new cases have ensured a total net reduction of the active caseload. A net decline of 4,957 cases has been recorded in the total active cases in last 24 hours.

While 32,080 persons were found positive in the past 24 hours, India has registered 36,635 new recoveries during the same period.

The recovery rate has increased to 94.66 per cent. Total recoveries have surpassed 92 lakhs today (92,15,581).

Meanwhile, the cumulative national positivity rate stands at 6.50 per cent today. The daily positivity rate is just 3.14 per cent. Higher volumes of testing eventually lead to low Positivity Rate.

Kerala continues to report the highest daily new cases at 5,032. It is followed by Maharashtra with 4,026 new cases.

-CHK

Over 60 envoys visit biotech firms in Hyderabad developing Covid vaccines

New Delhi (NVI): A team of 64 Heads of Missions today visited leading biotech firms in Hyderabad like Bharat Biotech and Biological E developing Covid-19 vaccines.

The tour was organized in cooperation with the Department of Bio-Technology (DBT) and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

“The group visited the research and manufacturing facilities of the leading biotechnology companies, Bharat Biotech and Biological E. The participants were briefed on India’s indigenous efforts to develop COVID-19 vaccines, including ongoing clinical trials. India’s R&D facilities, manufacturing capacity, foreign collaborations, etc. in the fields of pharmaceuticals, including vaccine production, were highlighted,” MEA said in a release.

This is the first of its kind visit by foreign ambassadors to biotech firms in Hyderabad.

“In a first, a visit of more than 60 Heads of Missions was arranged to the research and manufacturing facilities of the leading biotechnology companies, Bharat Biotech and Biological E, in Hyderabad,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava tweeted earlier in the day while sharing photos of the visiting team.

The visit is in continuation of the COVID-19 briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs on November 6.

“As the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, India will contribute significantly to global efforts for producing COVID-19 vaccines. India is committed to partnering with all interested countries in vaccine-related efforts, in the service of humanity,” the MEA statement read.

On November 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had virtual meetings with teams from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd Pune, Biological E Ltd Hyderabad and Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd Hyderabad. The three teams are working on developing and manufacturing vaccine for COVID-19.

Before that, he had also visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India in Pune on November 28 to conduct an extensive review of the vaccine development and manufacturing process.

Notably, Astra Zeneca and Pfizer have already applied for emergency use approval in India. Six vaccines, including Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Astra Zeneca’s Covidshield, are in trial stages.

On December 4, at an all-party meeting, PM Modi had said that as per experts, a vaccine is expected to be ready in the next few weeks.

-ARK

Fact check: Govt has taken no decision to impose extra charges for UPI transactions

Govt has taken no decision to impose extra charges for UPI transactions

New Delhi (NVI): A media report has claimed that UPI transactions will become expensive from the new year and additional charges will be levied on payment from third party apps.

The Fact Check Unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has investigated the viral news and found it to be fake. It said that no such decision has been taken by the National Payments Corporation.

Debunking the fake news, PIB took to Twitter and wrote in Hindi, “Claim: In a #News, it is being claimed that from the new year UPI transactions will become expensive and there will be an additional charge for payment from third party apps.

#PIBFactCheck: This claim is false. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has not taken any such decision.”

 

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has also revealed on its Twitter that the news about UPI transactions being charged from January 1, 2021 is completely fake. Our press release dated November 5, 2020, has no correlation with pricing or charges whatsoever.

At present, options are open for many UPI transactions such as Google Pay, Paytm, Amazon Pay among others. The services on this app will continue to run smoothly.

Significantly, many such fake news have gone viral even before and the PIB launched fact-checking unit in December last year, to check such misinformation and viral fake news related to government’s policies and schemes that are circulating on social media platforms.

-RJV

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

COVID-19 cases
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New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India crossed 97 lakh-mark and currently stands at 97,35,850 after 32,080 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s death toll stands at 1,41,360 after 402 new fatalities were reported during the same period.

In worst-affected Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases surpassed 1859,367 followed by Karnataka with 8,95,285 cases, and Andhra Pradesh with 8,72,389 positive cases.

Total positive cases in States/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 4,778

Andhra Pradesh- 8,72,839

Arunachal Pradesh- 16,437

Assam- 2,14,019

Bihar- 2,39,322

Chandigarh- 18,239

Chhattisgarh- 2,49,699

Dadra and Nagar Haveli– 3,351

Delhi- 5,97,112

Gujarat- 2,21,493

Goa- 48,935

Haryana– 2,46,679

Himachal Pradesh- 46,201

Jammu and Kashmir- 1,14,038

Jharkhand- 1,10,639

Karnataka- 8,95,284

Kerala- 6,44,696

Ladakh- 8,969

Madhya Pradesh- 2,17,302

Maharashtra- 18,59,367

Manipur- 26,396

Meghalaya- 12,410

Mizoram- 3,977

Nagaland- 11,479

Odisha- 3,21,913

Puducherry- 37,311

Punjab- 1,57,331

Rajasthan- 2,84,116

Sikkim- 5,215

Tamil Nadu- 7,92,788

Telangana- 2,75,261

Tripura- 32,945

Uttarakhand- 79,141

Uttar Pradesh- 5,58,193

West Bengal – 5,07,995

State/UT wise total death toll:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 61

Andhra Pradesh- 7,042

Arunachal Pradesh- 55

Assam- 997

Bihar- 1,300

Chandigarh- 296

Chhattisgarh- 3,025

Dadra and Nagar Haveli- 2

Delhi- 9,763

Goa- 701

Gujarat- 4,110

Haryana- 2,624

Himachal Pradesh- 753

Jammu and Kashmir- 1,761

Jharkhand- 988

Karnataka- 11,880

Kerala- 2,472

Ladakh- 122

Madhya Pradesh- 3,358

Maharashtra- 47,827

Manipur- 311

Meghalaya- 122

Mizoram- 6

Nagaland- 67

Odisha- 1,784

Puducherry- 615

Punjab- 4,964

Rajasthan- 2,468

Sikkim- 117

Tamil Nadu- 11,822

Telangana- 1,480

Tripura- 373

Uttar Pradesh- 7,967

Uttarakhand- 1,307

West Bengal- 8,820

However, a total of 92,15,581 people have been cured and discharged. The total active cases stands at 3,78,909 in the country.

-CHK

Govt allows 9 states to borrow Rs 23,523 cr extra after ration card reform

pension
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New Delhi (NVI): The government has granted permission of additional borrowing of Rs 23,523 crore to nine states from the markets after ration card reforms, the Finance Ministry said.

“The state-wise amount of additional borrowing was permitted on account of implementing One Nation One Ration Card System,” the Ministry of Finance said in statement.

So far, nine states have successfully completed reforms in PDS and implemented “One Nation One Ration System”. On completion of reforms, additional borrowing permission of Rs 23,523 crore has been issued to them, it added.

The ministry also said, among the 9 states are — Andhra Pradesh with additional borrowing of Rs 2,525 crore, Goa with Rs 223 crore, Haryana with Rs 2,146 crore, Karnataka with Rs 4,509 crore, Kerala with Rs 2,261 crore, Telangana with Rs 2,508 crore, Tripura with Rs 148 crore and Uttar Pradesh with Rs 4,851 crore.

In view of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has strengthened the hands of the states through multiple measures. These included grant of additional borrowing permission of 2 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), the ministry said.

“This has enabled the states to mobilise additional financial resources to fight the pandemic and maintain the standards of service delivery to the public,” it added.

However, to ensure long-term debt sustainability and prevent any adverse impact on future, a part of the additional borrowing was linked to the States carrying out reforms in the sectors critical for service delivery to the citizens.

One of the sectors identified for reforms is the public distribution system. Out of the additional borrowing limit of 2 per cent of GSDP, 0.25 per cent is linked to implementation of “one nation one ration card system”.

The ministry further said, this was aimed to ensure that the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, get ration from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country.

Other aims of the intended reform were to better target beneficiaries, elimination of bogus, duplicate or ineligible ration cards to reduce leakage.  In addition to this, other reforms specified as a precondition to avail additional borrowing are, ease of doing business reform, urban local bodies and power sector reforms.

Furthermore, the Department of Food and Public Distribution in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, is the Nodal Department to certify that a State has met the conditions stipulated for this reform.

The ministry noted that, to become eligible for additional borrowing, the States have to complete the reforms by December 31. It is also expected that many more states will complete this reform before the stipulated date.

-RJV

Four lions test positive for Covid-19 at Barcelona Zoo

New Delhi (NVI): Four lions at Barcelona Zoo have tested positive for coronavirus, in the latest case of large cats catching the virus during the pandemic.

Three females, called Zala, Nima and Run Run, and a male named Kiumbe, were given Covid tests after a zookeeper noticed they were displaying symptoms which were similar to the signs of coronavirus.

Two staff members also tested positive for the virus, the zoo said.

An investigation is under way to establish how the animals became infected, but it is thought they may have been in contact with an asymptomatic member of staff.

Zookeepers reportedly carried out a standard PCR swab test on the four lions – the same method used on humans – because they are comfortable having close contact with staff.

Reportedly, the four-year-old male and the females, who are all 16 years old, have had no contact with other animals at the zoo, which is open to visitors.

The Veterinary Service of Barcelona contacted colleagues at the Bronx Zoo in New York, where four tigers and three lions tested positive for COVID-19 in April. It is the only other zoo where large felines are known to have contracted coronavirus. All recovered.

-CHK

Four persons including a non-local injured in Kashmir grenade attack

Personnel of security forces at an encounter site in Kashmir (File pic)

Neyaz Elahi

Srinagar (NVI): At least four civilians were injured after suspected militants lobbed a grenade towards security forces that missed the target and exploded with a bang on the road in North Kashmir’s Singhpora area of Pattan town here in Baramulla district.

Police sources told NVI that suspected militants hurled a grenade towards a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) vehicle that was parked in the area.

The grenade exploded resulting in injuries to four civilians who were immediately rushed to Trauma Hospital, Pattan, where doctors referred them to Srinagar hospital.

The injured were identified as 35-year-old Gulzar Ahmed Khan of KP Sarai Singhpora Pattan (Splinter injury in his head), Farman Ahmed, a non-local resident of Uttar Pradesh, 52-year-old Manzoor Ahmed Bhat of Singhpora Pattan and 45-year-old Ghulam Muhammad Parray, a resident of Pattan town.

“These four civilians have received splinter injuries and are stable,” a doctor at SMHS Hospital Srinagar said.

The area was cordoned off and a search operation was launched after the incident, however, no arrests have been made so far.

-CHK

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