Monday, 28 February 2022
Suspension of scheduled international passenger flights extended till further orders: DGCA
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Is there a risk of infection with Omicron BA.2 after being infected with BA.1? Here’s what WHO has to say
Covid-19 Technical Lead at WHO, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, has revealed some new information about the reinfection risk of countries that have shown a significant decline in their daily numbers of Coronavirus infections. She said that WHO is closely monitoring specific studies that are tracking the reinfection risk. For example, People who were previously infected with Omicron, can they be infected again? What is the risk of reinfection of BA.1 as compared to BA.2?
Well according to the latest findings shared by Kerkhove, WHO is not seeing a change in reinfection risk of people with BA.2 compared to BA.1. “We are not seeing a change in reinfection risk of people with BA.2 compared to BA.1. The other thing we are looking at, is if you look at the epi curves, remember the sharp, sharp increase in omicron in the incidence in cases and then that decline? One of the things that we are tracking very closely is to see that in that decline, and many countries are in that state of decline, but are we starting to see an increase again? and particularly in countries that have increased detection of BA.2, we’re not seeing that,” Kerkhove said.
She further added, “But as we are seeing that decline in cases in countries, we are not seeing an increase again with BA.2. That’s important and that’s something that we’re monitoring extremely closely because if we were to see an increase again, then this notion of reinfection would be more obvious. We’re not seeing that and I think that’s a good sign.”
It is worth noting that initial studies have suggested that vaccine effectiveness remains the same against symptomatic disease between BA.1 and BA.2. As per the preliminary results of a study in Denmark, vaccination is at least equally effective in preventing the catching of BA.2 infection and could be more effective in preventing transmission of BA.2 compared to the currently prevalent BA.1, reported IE.
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The mask mandate in the Capitol is being lifted in time for the State of the Union.
By BY JONATHAN WEISMAN from NYT World https://ift.tt/sAi6kt1
Three students of Udupi college ‘denied entry’ to attend practical exams
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Russia’s currency plummets over fears of sanctions’ bite.
By BY AUSTIN RAMZY from NYT World https://ift.tt/sgMZkD8
Sunday, 27 February 2022
WBCS 2022: West Bengal Civil Service Exam notification out; How to apply
WBCS 2022: The West Bengal Public Service Commission has released a notification on the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) Exam 2022.
Online registration procedure to submit applications for WBCS 2022 Exam will begin from March 3. The last date to apply is March 24. The WBCS Exam 2022 will be conducted to recruit candidates for cadres of the West Bengal Civil Service and other services and posts under Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D.
WBCS EXAM 2022 ELIGIBILITY: The West Bengal Public Service Commission’s notification on its official website details the eligibility criteria regarding educational qualifications, age limit, scale of pay, and fee payments online and offline, scheme and syllabus. The exam language medium will be Bengali and English, with only graduates being eligible to apply. The age limit for candidates applying in Group A and Group C categories is between 21 and 36 years, Group B between 20 and 36 years, and Group D between 21 and 39 years.
WBCS EXAM 2022 APPLICATION FEE: The application fees for WBCS Exam 2022 are non-refundable for all categories. SC/ST candidates and persons with disabilities (40% and above) from West Bengal, however, are not required to pay any application fee. Candidates from other categories have to pay an application fee of Rs 210 plus GST/service charges.
WBCS EXAM 2022 VACANCIES: The West Bengal Public Service Commission is yet to announce the number of vacancies in different services.
WBCS 2022 EXAM PATTERN: The WBCS 2022 Preliminary Examination serves as a screening test to select candidates for the Main Examination. The Preliminary Examination consists of one 200-mark paper on General Studies. It will be objective type and consist of 200 multiple-choice questions. The paper will be of 2.5 hours duration.
The standard will be of the knowledge level expected of a graduate of any recognised university. The paper will include questions covering English Language, General Science, Current Events of National & International Importance, History of India, Geography of India with Special Reference to West Bengal, Indian Polity and Economy, Indian National Movement, and General Mental Ability. Each topic will carry 25 marks.
HOW TO APPLY FOR WBCS EXAM 2022 ONLINE: Eligible candidates can apply for WBCS 2022 online only.
— The candidates will have to visit the official website of the West Bengal Public Service Commission;
— Before applying, the candidates need to enrol by clicking on ONE TIME REGISTRATION appearing on the homepage;
— Fill in the details to get registration number and password;
— Click on Login if Already Registered, submit the registration number, password, and captcha code;
— Enter age, education qualification, and other details required
— Pay the application fee online;
— Submit the application form after thorough verification
— Download a copy of the form for future reference.
WBCS EXAM 2022 ADMIT CARD: The admit card for the West Bengal Civil Services Exam 2022 will be available on the official website 15 days prior to the date of exam. There will be separate admit cards for each stage. No admit card or hall ticket will be sent on email or through post. The admit card will contain details about the exam date, timing, and venue.
WBCS EXAM 2022 RESULT: The West Bengal Public Service Commission will release the result of WBCS 2022 Exam at least after a month of the exam date. Candidates qualifying the Preliminary Exam will be able to appear for the Main Examination with those qualifying the exam being called for an interview/personality test. The final result will be prepared on the basis of marks obtained in all the rounds.
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GAIL India invites applications for 48 vacancies of executive trainee, check details
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Top 10 cos lose over 3.3 lakh crore in m-cap last week; equities value lowest in 7 months in Feb
Equity market capitalisation dropped to a seven-month low in February, with the top 10 companies losing a whopping Rs 3,33,307.62 crore in market valuation last week. The total equity market capitalisation (m-cap) in February 2022 stood at Rs 2,49,97,053.39 crore. The previous low was in July 2021, when the m-cap of BSE-listed companies was at Rs 2,35,49,748.9 crore. In January, the m-cap stood at Rs 2,64,41,207.18 crore.
During the week, equity m-cap was Rs 2,57,39,712.95 crore on Monday and was at its lowest on Thursday, at Rs 2,42,24,179.79 crore, the day Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine.
On a weekly basis, Reliance Industries Ltd’s market valuation dropped Rs 94,828.02 crore to reach Rs 15,45,044.14 crore. The market valuation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) tumbled Rs 1,01,760.91 crore to stand at Rs 13,01,955.11 crore.
HDFC Bank’s market capitalisation tanked Rs 31,597.65 crore to Rs 8,06,931.95 crore.
The valuation of Infosys eroded by Rs 5,501.34 crore to Rs 7,12,443.09 crore and that of ICICI Bank declined by Rs 13,240.66 crore to Rs 5,07,414.1 crore. The market capitalisation of HDFC plunged Rs 6,929.03 crore to reach Rs 4,35,233.9 crore and that of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) fell by Rs 33,234.97 crore to Rs 5,09,990.53 crore.
State Bank of India’s market capitalisation declined by Rs 29,094.23 crore to Rs 4,30,924.87 crore and that of Bajaj Finance dipped Rs 3,802.65 crore to Rs 4,20,653.95 crore. The valuation of Bharti Airtel diminished by Rs 13,318.16 crore to Rs 3,78,098.62 crore.
In the ranking of the top 10 firms, Reliance Industries Ltd continued to maintain its numero uno position, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HUL, ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel.
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‘Saturday Night Live’ Pays Tribute to Ukraine
By BY DAVE ITZKOFF from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/Mlz7tWV
Saturday, 26 February 2022
‘Some pay for it, some have it naturally’: Mrunal Thakur hits back at body-shaming trolls
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Reliance takes control of Future Retail stores, offers jobs to employees
Reliance Industries has effectively taken over the operations of Future Retail stores and has offered jobs to its employees, even as the Kishore Biyani-led group is locked in a bitter battle with e-commerce major Amazon at several judicial forums over the sale of its business to the retail arm of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate.
Reliance Retail has started to take possession of the premises in which Future Retail is operating its stores such as Big Bazaar and replaced them with its brand stores, said sources close to the development. It has also started to offer jobs to employees of Future Retail stores and bring them on Reliance Retail’s payroll, they added.
When contacted, Amazon declined to comment on the development.
After the deal was announced in August 2020, several landlords approached Reliance as Future Retail was unable to pay the rent. After this, Reliance signed leased agreements with these landlords and wherever possible, it sub-leased these premises to Future Retail Ltd (FRL) so that its business could continue, the sources added.
All of these stores which Reliance is taking over are loss-making and the balance stores will continue to be run by FRL. In this way, FRL’s operating losses will be reduced and it can continue as a going concern, they said. However, the exact number of stores which would now come under Reliance Retail could not be ascertained.
As per an industry source, Reliance will evaluate and use such premises which are found to be commercially viable. In doing so, Reliance will re-employ nearly 30,000 store staff, who would have otherwise lost their jobs.
In August 2020, the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group announced a Rs 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) for the sale of the retail and wholesale business, and the logistics and warehousing verticals. However, the deal was opposed by Amazon. The US e-commerce giant dragged Future Group to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in October 2020. The matter is also pending before other forums such as the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and NCLT.
RRVL had to extend the timeline a second time for completing its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Future group to March 31, 2022, as it still awaits regulatory and judicial clearances. These actions of Reliance will preserve the value of FRL, allow the scheme of merger to continue and will also be beneficial to bankers and creditors, the industry source added.
Lenders to FRL have already classified the account as a non-performing asset (NPA) after it defaulted on payment of Rs 3,494.56 crore to banks and lenders in January.
According to the industry source, when the scheme (to merge Future Group’s retail business) is implemented, Reliance will pay the consideration in accordance with the terms of the scheme, which is the interest of bankers and creditors of FRL.
All this started as Amazon’s litigation was delaying the implementation of the scheme and the creditors and landlords of premises were getting edgy, the source said.
Due to continuing defaults on rental payments, the landlords had initiated termination of the lease agreements and repossession of the premises. Around December, Reliance came to know of the above scenario of the landlords terminating store leases and the prospect of stores getting shut.
If this had continued, then the scheme would have been jeopardised and the value of FRL would have been destroyed, pushing the company towards insolvency proceedings. The step is in the interest of all stakeholders of FRL including banks, creditors and employees as its business continues and its value is preserved, the source said. As part of the deal, Future Enterprises Limited is the transferee company to Reliance Retail.
Future Group’s 19 companies operating in retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing would be consolidated into one entity — FEL — and then transferred to Reliance
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International Space Station to crash over India? NASA responds to Russian space agency chief’s Twitter tirade
Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the chief of Moscow’s space programme has warned that sanctions imposed on the country could lead to the International Space Station (ISS) losing orbit and crashing. Roscosmos Director-General Dmitry Rogozin warned that the ongoing sanctions against Russia would lead to the ISS’s premature death. In a tirade on Twitter, Rogozin said the ISS would lose orbit without Russian assistance and eventually fall into the US, Europe, or even India.
Rogozin launched a scathing attack on Thursday, denouncing US President Joe Biden’s decision to restrict high-tech exports to Russia that, he said, were designed to degrade Moscow’s aerospace industry, including the space programme.
Reuters translated Rogozin’s comments, originally posted in Russian.
In a series of questions aimed at the US administration, Rogozin asked if Washington wanted to destroy the cooperation on the ISS. He also pointed out that the space station’s orbital control uses the engines of a Russian cargo craft docked at the space station through periodic rocket thrusts to maintain altitude.
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In another question aimed at the US, Rogozin asked who would save the ISS from an uncontrolled descent and falling onto US or European territory if it blocked cooperation with Moscow.
He said there was a scenario where the 500-tonne structure would fall on China or India, asking if the US wanted to threaten these countries with that prospect. Rogozin also said the ISS didn’t fly over Russia, so all the risk was for the others to bare.
Rogozin concluded his tirade by urging the US to “disavow” what he described as “Alzheimer’s sanctions”.
NASA, however, shrugged off Rogozin’s comments that US sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine could “destroy” the two countries’ teamwork on the ISS, Reuters reported.
The US space agency said it was continuing to work with all international partners, including Roscosmos, for the safe operations of the ISS.
NASA also added that the export control measures would continue to allow US-Russia civil space operations and there were no changes planned to the agency’s support for in-orbit and ground-station operations.
Despite Rogozin’s Twitter tirade, the longstanding collaboration between the two countries aboard the in-orbit research platform remained on firm footing.
Both NASA and Roscosmos issued statements earlier this week and said the agencies were working toward a ‘crew exchange’ deal under which the former Space Race rivals would share flights to the ISS on each other’s spacecraft for free.
The ISS, orbiting 400 km above Earth, is currently housing two Russians, four Americans, and a German astronaut.
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Flipkart Seller Hub rolls out #BachonKaKhel campaign
E-commerce marketplace Flipkart has launched a new campaign film to promote Flipkart Seller Hub. Titled, #BachonKaKhel, the campaign features three new films and highlights the benefits of the Flipkart platform – such as ease of doing online business with Flipkart’s trusted base of over four lakh sellers and 40 crore customers and 3,000 delivery hubs that ensure fast and seamless delivery of packages.
Flipkart offers a hassle-free process for all sellers to understand the system, expand their online business and enhance their selling experience, Anshul Vasu, senior marketing manager, Flipkart Marketplace, said. “We constantly upgrade the seller portal with new features that help them boost their business and maximise profits. Moreover, we keep on adding learning material for our sellers to make sure they are up-to-date. With “Bachon Ka Khel” Part 2, we would like to educate our sellers on the benefits and growth opportunities that Flipkart Seller Hub offers, and encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to come forth,” he added.
Conceptualised by Art-E MediaTech, this is the second part of the “Bachon Ka Khel” campaign. “Bachon Ka Khel”, as the name suggests, talks about how running an online business on the Flipkart Seller Hub is as easy as child’s play. The film features Bijendra Kala as an agitated seller, Namit Das as an enthusiastic seller, and Divyansh Dwivedi as the ‘bacha’ guide who explains how easy it is to do business on Flipkart. The film touches on some of the challenges that one might face – such as selling expensive products, or issues with long delivery times – and explains how these are addressed by the features of the Flipkart Seller Hub.
According to Rohit Sakunia, co-founder and chief business officer, Art-E MediaTech, #BachonKaKhel narrates Flipkart Seller Hub’s salient features in a light-hearted, easy-to-understand manner with a clear message on how easy it is to embark on an entrepreneurial journey with Flipkart. “With more and more businesses leveraging technologies and online platforms to keep pace with the changing times and market landscape, we are working with Flipkart to find new campaign approaches in which we can engage with existing and prospective sellers. We are closely tracking the campaign performance and expecting a sign-up rate twice as high as we witnessed previously. The campaign’s results and insights will also guide Flipkart in creating greater value for Flipkart Seller Hub as well as the sellers,” he highlighted.
Read Also: How the gaming ecosystem will change in 2022
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PM Modi calls upon private firms to enter medical sector in big way
Noting that Indian students have been going to many small countries for medical education despite the language barrier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged the private sector to make a big presence in the field.
Speaking at a webinar on the Union budget announcements on the health sector, Modi suggested that state governments should also formulate ‘good policie’ for land allotment for medical education so that India could produce a large number of doctors and paramedics to fulfill even global demand.
His remarks assume significance at a time when a large number of Indian students, many of them studying medicine, have been stuck in Ukraine following the Russian attack on that country. Modi made no direct mention of the crisis though. The prime minister said Indian students going abroad for study, especially in medical education, also result in hundreds of billions of rupees exiting the country as well.
“Our children today are going to small countries for study, especially in medical education. Language is a problem there. They are still going… Can our private sector not enter this field in a big way? Can our state governments not frame good policies for land allotment regarding this,” he asked.
India can benefit a lot from its demographic dividend in this field, he said, adding that Indian doctors have enhanced the country’s prestige across the world in the last many decades with their work. In the webinar, Modi also highlighted his government’s efforts to provide quality health and wellness services to people.
The government has been working with the spirit of “one India one health so that people in remote locations also have access to quality healthcare, he said, adding quality healthcare infrastructure should not be confined only to big cities, he said.
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Semi Conductor Shortage Likely To Persist For This Full Calendar Year: Sunjay Kapur, ACMA
With the rise of technology such as connected and electric, the consumption of semiconductors is also growing multifold in manufacturing mobility form factors. Moreover, the usage of semiconductors is growing across electronics and gadgets.
Sunjay Kapur, President, of ACMA while speaking to Express Mobility indicated that there is no quick resolution in the semiconductor shortage. The crisis is likely to continue by end of this calendar year. He highlighted that at present automotive industry consumes 7% of the total semiconductor produced but this will rise 20% due to electrification and connected technology.
However, he emphasised that manufacturing semiconductors in the country can happen through private and public partnerships as the investments are large and time to market is long.
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Ukrainian forces put up a fierce fight to hold the capital.
By BY ANDREW E. KRAMER, MARC SANTORA, VALERIE HOPKINS AND MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ from NYT World https://ift.tt/0Nv1IZx
Friday, 25 February 2022
UNSC to vote on resolution condemning Russian invasion in Ukraine; US says fully expect Moscow to veto
The UN Security Council will vote on a draft resolution on Friday tabled by the US and Albania that will condemn “in the strongest terms possible” Russia’s aggression, invasion and violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, a move that seeks to isolate permanent and veto-wielding member Moscow on the global stage after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack its neighbour.
The Council will vote on the draft resolution at 3 pm Friday (New York time), two days after it held an emergency meeting on the situation in Ukraine just as Putin had announced Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. A senior US administration official said Washington is putting forward the resolution “with every expectation that Russia will use its veto” and in doing so, “they will underscore their isolation”.
The draft resolution will condemn, “in the strongest terms possible”, Russia’s aggression, invasion and violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. The official said the resolution reaffirms the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine. It also requires Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its forces.
The official said the UNSC resolution is just a first step, a “precursor” to action expected to take place in the coming days in the UN General Assembly, where on Wednesday several countries took the podium to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, even before the dramatic escalation and invasion.“Beyond the Security Council, we see the General Assembly and the mobilisation of member states from across the globe as a key part of the response to this egregious act,” the official said.
Just around the time Putin announced his decision to carry out a ‘military operation’ in eastern Ukraine on Monday, India called for immediate de-escalation and cautioned that the situation is in danger of spiralling into a major crisis.Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said in New Delhi that India has seen the draft UNSC resolution, but it will undergo “considerable changes”.
“We will wait to see the shape that this resolution takes before we can pronounce” on India’s position on the issue. “It is an evolving situation both on the ground and in the United Nations,” Shringla said. During a telephone conversation with Putin on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi “appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss Russia’s “premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine”, the State Department said. Blinken “stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire”.
Albania’s Mission to the UN said it, along with the US, have tabled the resolution in the Security Council to “mobilise the world against aggression & in support” of Ukraine’s independence. “All peace-loving nations must make their voice heard and join the co-sponsors list!” All eyes will be on India to see how it votes on the resolution. On January 31, India abstained on a procedural vote taken in the Security Council ahead of a meeting to discuss the situation on the Ukraine border.
Following the Russian attack on Ukraine on Thursday, India has underlined the need for dialogue among the key parties and that it will be more than happy to facilitate that engagement.
Russia had called for the procedural vote to determine whether the open meeting should go ahead. Russia and China voted against the meeting while India, Gabon and Kenya abstained. All other 10 Council members — including Norway, France, the US, the UK, France, Ireland, Brazil and Mexico — voted in favour of the meeting going through.
At the UNSC meeting on Ukraine two days ago, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti called for immediate de-escalation and refraining from any further action that could contribute to a worsening of the situation. “We believe that the solution lies in sustained diplomatic dialogue between the concerned parties. In the meantime, we strongly emphasise the vital need for all sides to maintain international peace and security by exercising the utmost restraint,” Tirumurti said at the Council meeting.
He cautioned that the situation is in danger of spiralling into a major crisis and expressed “deep concern” over the developments, which if not handled carefully, may well undermine the peace and security of the region.Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences they had never seen”.
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PM Modi to address webinar on budget on Saturday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a post- budget webinar of the Union Health Ministry on Saturday. Three thematic sessions will be held on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, E-Sanjeevani and Telemental Health Programme, a Health Ministry statement said.
The objective of the webinar is to involve the stakeholders in taking forward the various initiatives of the government in the health sector. The prime minister’s address will set the tone for the post-budget webinars.
The webinar will have panel discussions with eminent speakers and experts from the Ministry of Health, NITI Aayog, industry fora, startups, academia, etc., along with interactive sessions with the stakeholders. The valedictory session will be jointly chaired by Union Minister of Health Mansukh Mandaviya and Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
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Top tech skills in demand: These tech skills are going to be most demanded roles, says report
Job skills in demand: Job requirements vary over time, and sector-wise trends continue to change. Amid this, a recent report titled “2022 Tech Skills & Trends Report” by talent assessment platform Mercer Mettl has shared important skills and roles that are likely to be in demand in the tech sector over the coming months. The report, based on the data that the platform had collected between 2019 and 2021 by the means of more than 2 lakh assessments, has found that the digitisation process is changing the business landscape, with technology skills continuously evolving. Hence, Java, JavaScript and SQL developers are expected to be the most in-demand roles across sectors during this year.
The report stated that the demand for these roles would be driven by these languages being adopted by many organisations. Moreover, there has been a rapid adoption of cloud systems that has been witnessed across industries, along with network security emphasis, as well as agile methodologies. Due to this, DevOps is also a prominent role witnessing hiring trends in various sectors, the report stated.
The coronavirus pandemic led to organisations rapidly adopting technology and digitisation, much faster than had originally been expected, and so, the demand for such tech skills has been emerging in all industries, regardless of their core areas of operations.
There is also a rapid growth in the demand for frontend and backend Full-Stack developers, while in Data Science skills, AWS, Azure as well as SQL have emerged as significant areas due to there being increasing importance of data analysis and clous system usage.
Apart from these, Python has emerged as one of the most popular languages due to its usage in automation, data science, web programming and data visualisation.
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Softbank-backed Ola Electric plans 50Gwh India battery plant in EV push -sources
Softbank Group-backed Ola Electric plans to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in India with a capacity of up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh), a source told Reuters, as part of its broader electrification push.
Ola will need 40Gwh of battery capacity to meet its annual target to produce 10 million electric scooters and the remainder will be for electric cars, which it plans to manufacture in the future, said the person who has knowledge of the plans.
The initial plan is to set up 1Gwh of battery capacity by 2023 and expand it to 20GWh over the next 3-4 years, said another source aware of the plans, adding that this alone will need an investment of up to $1 billion.
Ola, which currently imports battery cells from South Korea, also plans to invest in companies with advanced cell and battery technology, and will set up a battery research and development facility in India, the sources said.
Battery cell manufacturing is dominated by a handful of Asian companies including CATL, LG Energy Solutions and Panasonic that supply to major global automakers like Tesla Inc and Volkswagen.
Recalls of EV batteries from some of the biggest producers have shown how demanding it is to produce them on a large scale, coupled with setting up an extremely complex supply chain with both corporate and geopolitical risks.
“Battery and cell research and manufacturing is an important area of focus for us and our plans are in the advanced stages. We will not comment on the specifics,” Varun Dubey, chief marketing officer at Ola Electric, said in an emailed response to Reuters questions.
India wants companies to build clean fuel vehicles and batteries locally to cut the country’s oil import bill and reduce pollution. The government plans to give incentives of up to $6 billion for this, and Ola is among those that have bid for them.
However, Ola’s ambitious electrification plan has got off to a shaky start with production and delivery delays, senior level exits and criticism of its product by some Twitter users.The battery plans come even as the company is yet to ramp up scoooter production to a sizeable level.
Ola currently produces about 1,000 scooters a day, its CEO said on Twitter, and has a target of two million in the first phase.Ola did not give a timeline on when it would scale up to two million or 10 million scooters.
(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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Bengaluru Metro contributed to reduction of carbon emission significantly, says study
As per a study, conducted by Bangalore University’s Department of Environmental Science, at six locations of the Phase-II Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), the air quality has improved between 2017 and 2021, thereby showing a positive impact of the Namma Metro project. According to Dr Nandini N, Professor and Principal Investigator with Bangalore University’s Department of Environmental Science, under whom the study was carried out, Metro train services have significantly contributed to the reduction of carbon emission. For the study, air quality was measured at these corridors- Mysuru Road Terminal to Kengeri, Krishnarajapuram Byapanahalli to Whitefield, Gottigere to Nagawara, Puttenahalli Cross to Anjanapura Township, R V Road to Bommasandra and Hesaraghatta Cross to BIEC, according to an IE report.
The study said the monitoring results of the air quality indicate that the PM 2.5 concentration recorded at all the monitoring sampling metro stations are within the limit of 60µg/m3 as prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board for residential, industrial, rural as well as other areas. The study also pointed out that the PM 2.5 concentration at Silk board Junction has constantly been within limits from the period 2017 to 2020, however, it slightly exceeded in the year 2021 since it is one of the major traffic junctions.
During the year 2017, the results of PM10 exceeded the prescribed limits of 100µg/m3 and decreased gradually from 2018 onwards. As per the air quality monitoring, the PM10 concentration at all the monitoring sampling metro stations are within the limit of 100µg/m3 from the year 2018 to 2021, as prescribed by CPCB. The recently conducted study advocates for a robust public transport system. The study also mentions that over the years, metro travel has also brought down carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the study, the main objective behind the Metro rail’s introduction in the city of Bengaluru was to ease the traffic pressure off the roads. Also, the metro system was launched to encourage travellers to start using public transport more and more, instead of private vehicles. In Bengaluru, the Metro system is considered to be a complementary transit mode rather than a competitive one. The total reduction of carbon dioxide emission per annum by the Metro commuters are estimated as 79.4 gigagrams (Gg) for 2017-2018; 92.4 Gg for 2018-2019; 100 Gg for 2019-2020; 19.6 Gg for 2020-2021; and 120.4 Gg for 2021-2022, the study said.
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Ukrainian troops killed on Snake Island to be honored.
By BY AMY QIN from NYT World https://ift.tt/pDeCINY
Word of the Day: galvanize
By BY THE LEARNING NETWORK from NYT The Learning Network https://ift.tt/Ou6h3JK
Thursday, 24 February 2022
Moscow stock exchange reopens trading after suspending it for few hours; Russian rouble plunges to record low
The rouble tumbled to an all-time low against the dollar and euro on Thursday in highly volatile trading after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine, a move expected to trigger new sanctions against Moscow.
Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east.
By 0720 GMT, the rouble was 8% weaker against the dollar at 87.55, earlier hitting a record low of 89.60. It had lost 6.3% to trade at 97.51 versus the euro, earlier hitting 99.99.
MOEX Group, which runs the Moscow Exchange, suspended trading shortly after markets opened at 0400 GMT, and resumed trading at 0700 GMT.
No Russian assets were left unscathed, with shares and bonds plummeting as investors took stock of Russia’s move into Ukraine and the prospect of Western sanctions that may follow.
“The risk of wider and more serious sanctions looms large – a modicum of panic and a potential compliance-driven sell off (are) not unlikely,” said BCS Global Markets in a note.
The dollar-denominated RTS stock index crashed 26% to 906.96 points, its lowest since early 2020. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was 22% lower at 2,419.0 points.
Yields on Russian benchmark 10-year OFZ rouble bonds , which move inversely to prices, rose to 10.93%, their highest since early 2016.
Western countries and Japan imposed sanctions on Russian banks and individuals in response to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, but promised tougher measures should Russia invade.
Russia’s largest lender Sberbank said it was prepared for any developments and had worked through scenarios to guarantee its customers’ funds, assets and interests were protected.
Meanwhile the central bank said it would begin interventions on the currency market and offer extra liquidity to the banking sector.
A senior U.S. administration official told reporters on Tuesday that Sberbank and No. 2 lender VTB would face U.S. sanctions if Moscow proceeded with its invasion of Ukraine, warning that no Russian financial institutions were safe.
Both banks have previously declined to comment on potential sanctions threats.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 6.7% at $103.32 a barrel, at a more than seven-year high.
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Word of the Day: macabre
By BY THE LEARNING NETWORK from NYT The Learning Network https://ift.tt/rbEA76Z
Edible oil to get costlier amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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Congress fully dedicated to interests of govt employees, says Priyanka Gandhi
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday hailed the Rajasthan government’s decision to implement the old pension scheme, saying her party is fully dedicated to the interests of government employees.
In a major announcement in its budget, the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government decided to implement the old pension scheme from next fiscal for all employees appointed on or after January 1, 2004.
“The Congress government of Rajasthan has taken a big decision in the interest of government employees by implementing the Old Pension Scheme,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
The Congress party is fully dedicated to the interests of government employees, she asserted.
“We have worked in the interest of the people, will continue to do so,” the Congress general secretary said. Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot on Wednesday presented the Budget for the year 2022-23, with the main focus on sectors like health, education, infrastructure, social security and tourism.
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Wednesday, 23 February 2022
India vs Sri Lanka T20I, Test Series: Schedule, Squads, Venues, Telecast, Live Streaming — All you need to know
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In Budget, clear roadmap given by govt to achieve saturation of basic facilities: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said it is now time that 100 per cent saturation is achieved in providing basic facilities such as water, electricity, gas connections, toilets and roads to people, as he asserted that the Union budget 2022-23 has laid out a clear roadmap for achieving this. Addressing a webinar on the positive impact of the Union Budget 2022-23 on Rural Development, Modi said that in the last seven years, his government made incessant efforts to improve every person and sector’s capability.
“This is the aim of schemes providing basic facilities such as ‘pucca’ houses, toilets, gas connections, electricity, water, roads to villages and the poor people. The country has achieved great success in these schemes but now it is time to achieve saturation of these schemes, to realise the aim of these schemes 100 per cent,” he said.
For achieving this, there is a need to adopt a new strategy for monitoring and accountability, and while making use of technology, new systems have to be developed, he said. In this budget, a clear roadmap has been given by the government to achieve this goal of saturation, Modi said. In the budget, necessary provisions have been made for the PM housing scheme, rural roads scheme, Jal Jeevan Mission, North East connectivity and broadband connectivity of villages, he said.
He said the vibrant villages programme is key for development of border areas of the country.’Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ mantra is the driving force behind our government’s policy and action, Modi said.”We intend to have more active participation of people in rural areas to improve governance by removing silos and fast-track schemes,” the prime minister said.
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New Zealand Protest, an Echo of Canada’s, Digs In and Turns Ugly
By BY PETE MCKENZIE from NYT World https://ift.tt/ft6njrh
‘This invasion is unjustified’: More nations impose sanctions.
By BY AUSTIN RAMZY, JOHN YOON AND MAKIKO INOUE from NYT World https://ift.tt/AK27tCp
Word of the Day: requisition
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Tuesday, 22 February 2022
On This Day: Shoaib Akhtar bowled fastest delivery in international cricket
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Nawazuddin Siddiqui moves to plush new bungalow, says ‘Aaj jitna bada mera personal bathroom hai..’
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Shah Rukh Khan and kids Aryan Khan and Suhana sneak into Khushi Kapoor’s new photo, have a look
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Uttarakhand: 11 killed, two injured after vehicle falls into gorge, PM announces ex-gratia
Eleven people were killed and two injured when a vehicle fell into a deep gorge on the Sukhidhang-Dandaminar road in Uttarakhand’s Champawat district, police said on Tuesday. Kumaon DIG Nilesh Anand Bharne had earlier stated that 14 people were killed in the incident, but later clarified on the death toll.
The accident occurred around 10 pm on Monday when the victims were returning from a wedding in Tanakpur to Danda Kaknai vllage. However, the information reached authorities only by around 3 am on Tuesday after which rescue teams were rushed to the spot, an official at the Champawat district disaster management office said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced as ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of those who lost their lives. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also expressed grief on the incident and said that the local administration have been directed to carry out search and rescue operations.
Champawat Superintendent of Police Devendra Pincha said around 14-15 people were travelling in the vehicle that fell off the road. While eleven bodies have been recovered so far, search operations are underway to find the missing persons.
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The conflict’s economic consequences are likely to threaten global growth.
By BY PATRICIA COHEN, JACK EWING AND ALEXANDRA STEVENSON from NYT World https://ift.tt/Yrt2gnf
Saying Russia ‘created’ Ukraine, Putin orders troops to 2 breakaway regions.
By BY ERIC NAGOURNEY, ANTON TROIANOVSKI AND VALERIE HOPKINS from NYT World https://ift.tt/e0o3vPE
Seth Meyers on Trump’s ‘Truth Social’ Stumbles
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U.S. diplomatic staff relocate from Ukraine to Poland.
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Monday, 21 February 2022
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project is the need of country, says PM Narendra Modi
Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project: The upcoming High Speed Rail Project connecting the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which is also the country’s very first Bullet Train project is a top priority for the government. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the upcoming Ahmadabad – Mumbai High Speed Rail project is the need of the country and it will strengthen the identity of Mumbai as the city of dreams. The PM further stated that completing this Bullet Train project rapidly is the government’s priority. The MAHSR Project is being implemented by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
The NHSRCL recently signed an agreement with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Limited for design as well as the development of a nearly eight km long viaduct including a High Speed Rail station in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat for the upcoming Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor C-5 Package. In a bid to ensure seamless integration with Indian Railways, the High Speed Rail station of Vadodara is planned above the existing platform number 7 of Vadodara railway station. According to the corporation, with this integration, the travelling passengers will get the comfort of easy transfer between High Speed Rail and the national transporter.
Recently, Darshana Jardosh, the Minister of State for Railways inspected the work of the MAHSR at the project site between the cities of Surat and Vapi in the state of Gujarat. The minister started the visit with the Casting yard at Ch. 243 in Padgah village, which is situated in the district of Navsari, for inspection for preparatory works of girder casting planned for castings including Casting of Pile cap at Ch. 242 P42 and P23. The minister’s next stop was the Casting yard at Ch. 238 (Nasilpore Village, located in the district of Navsari) where she witnessed display of heavy equipment like straddle carrier of capacity 1100 T and bridge gantries.
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Quotation of the Day: ‘Fortress Australia’ Has a New Message: Come Back
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Preview: Desperate India aim to end losing streak in New Zealand tour
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New Maruti Suzuki Baleno: Top 5 Tech Features
The new Maruti Suzuki Baleno has been in the spotlight after the carmaker released multiple teaser images highlighting various features of the hatchback. The new Baleno is more tech-loaded compared to any of its predecessors, and Maruti is not thinking twice to highlight them.
Scheduled to launch on the 23rd of Feb, the new Maruti Suzuki Baleno gets cosmetic updates as well, such as restyled bumpers and the front fascia itself. The new Baleno will get a standard 1.2-litre petrol engine capable of 88 bhp and 113 Nm of torque while utilising a 6-speed manual or an AMT gearbox.
Also, the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Baleno will be broadly available in four variants — Sigma, Delta, Zeta, and Alpha. Apart from the base Sigma variant, the other three trims will be available with a choice of either a manual or an AMT gearbox. Also, Maruti Suzuki has upped the safety with the new Baleno, thus increasing the gross weight of the vehicle to 1,410 kg.
Since we have the basic specifications out of the way, let’s take a look at the top 5 tech features the new Maruti Suzuki Baleno gets.
HUD
Yes, the new Baleno gets a Head-Up Display. The unit displays gear position, engine rpm, speed, and time. The HUD generally makes a car safer to drive as the driver does not have to take his or her eyes away from the road to read these details. The HUD unit is available with the top-spec Alpha variants of the Baleno, while Maruti Suzuki could make it an optional extra with the other trims.
Alexa Connect
Although Maruti offers connected car tech, it now also gets Alexa Connect which allows for voice commands via paired Alexa devices. What is interesting is that the new Baleno is not the first mass-market vehicle to offer this since the new Honda City gets Alexa support as well, but the Baleno will be first in its class to offer this feature. Again, this feature is with the top-spec trim of the Baleno.
Surround-View
Surround-view is an interesting feature to have because it adds as a safety blanket. With the help of cameras, occupants get to see a complete 360-degree view of the car’s surroundings, making it easier to get out of tight spots, or park. This again is a feature reserved for the Alpha trim of the Baleno.
Suzuki Connect
With the help of the Suzuki Connect, one can keep track of the car’s health, keep track of the fuel level, odo metre reading, lock unlock the car, as well as support remote functions using a smartwatch.
Cruise Control
Cruise control is another notable feature of the new Baleno. Along with cruise control, the Baleno also gets ESP with hill hold, six airbags, ABS and EBD, Brake Assist, reverse parking sensors, and more, making the new Baleno the safest of all its iterations.
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U.S. says Russia has a list of Ukrainians to kill or detain after an invasion.
By BY EDWARD WONG AND JULIAN E. BARNES from NYT World https://ift.tt/jG4AlRa
Sunday, 20 February 2022
Meet Dobby: UK zoo welcomes its first aardvark born after 90 years
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SP has links with terrorists involved in 2008 Ahmedabad blasts, alleges BJP
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‘Very skilled’: Air India pilot earns praises online for safe landing amid Storm Eunice
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Nine killed as car carrying marriage party falls into river
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SEBI Grade A Recruitment 2022: Phase 1 exam over; Check analysis, unofficial answer key
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Sebi rejigs advisory committee on alternative investment policy
Sebi has reconstituted its alternative investment policy advisory committee, which advises the capital markets regulator on a range of issues that impact further development of the AIF space. The committee has now 20 members, as per an update by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
The panel, which was constituted by Sebi in March 2015, earlier had 22 members. Till now, the committee has submitted three reports on the AIF (Alternative Investment Fund) industry. The committee is chaired by Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy. Apart from Murthy, the committee includes members from Sebi, Ministry of Finance, AIF players and industry associations.
Gopal Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, TVS Capital Funds; Gopal Jain, co-founder and managing partner, Gaja Capital; Vipul Roongta, managing director and CEO, HDFC Capital Advisors; and Renuka Ramnath, chairperson, Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA) are among the members of the panel, as per Sebi.
The other members include Prashant Khemka, founder and partner at White Oak Capital Management; Gautam Mehra, partner at PwC; Subramaniam Krishnan, partner at Ernst & Young; Deepak Ranjan, deputy director, DEA, Ministry of Finance; Mahavir Lunawat, vice chairman, Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI); and Sujit Prasad, executive director at Sebi.
The panel is mandated to advise Sebi on any hurdles that might hinder the development of the alternative investment industry and any other item relevant to the segment as well as development of the startup ecosystem in India.
Also, the committee has been entrusted with the task of advising Sebi on any issues which need to be taken up with other regulators for development of the alternative investment industry
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Shelling and evacuations in Ukraine’s east could give Putin a pretext to invade.
By BY STEVEN ERLANGER from NYT World https://ift.tt/K5xe0fH
Saturday, 19 February 2022
Prof. Karanam Umamaheshwar Rao takes charge as NIT Rourkela director
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What is the hydrogen policy, who are the players, what’s the scope for H-powered EVs?
The Indian government, on February 17, notified the green hydrogen and green ammonia policy; hydrogen, when produced through clean energy such as solar, is called green hydrogen. While the policy doesn’t explicitly talk about green hydrogen powering vehicles in the near future, hydrogen cars exist, and experts say that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are most suitable for long-distance heavy vehicle transport.
What is an FCEV?
Like stem cells in the field of medicine, fuel cell is a nascent technology in the automotive world. It works like electrolysis (electric current is passed through a substance, and the substance loses or gains an electron), but in reverse.
In simple terms, instead of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, these two elements are combined to produce water and electricity. The electricity is then used to drive the car’s motor, and water is the only waste produced.
The fuel cell gets oxygen from the air, and hydrogen from a tank (hydrogen is highly reactive and is not available in pure form in natural state). And that’s the challenge: Producing enough pure hydrogen as a fuel, and sustainably.
That sustainable production of hydrogen is what the government’s policy aims at.
Advantages of FCEVs
One, FCEVs can go over 500-km on a full tank of hydrogen, and then refilled in 2-3 minutes, just like conventional petrol/diesel cars, unlike electric cars that need many hours to charge.
Two, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, unlike lithium (which is the key component in electric vehicle batteries).
Three, there are unanswered questions around end-of-life batteries: Where to dispose of these, and how?
Most famous cars
Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Nexo and Honda Clarity—the latter has been reportedly discontinued—are the most famous FCEVs globally, but these couldn’t become as popular as battery electric vehicles, because the availability of hydrogen as a fuel is a challenge even in developed markets such as Japan. With India’s hydrogen policy aimed at boosting the domestic production of green hydrogen to 5 million tonnes by 2030 and making India an export hub for the clean fuel, it might be a shot in the arm for carmakers and commercial vehicle companies developing FCEVs.
It appears the dawn of a true hydrogen society isn’t a distant mirai (the future).
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Maratha reservation: Ajit Pawar says 50% quota limit needs to go, Centre should take steps
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said there is a need to remove the Supreme Court-mandated 50 per cent cap on quota so that the Maratha community can be granted reservation, and urged the central government to make changes in law to facilitate it.
The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities, the senior NCP leader said. He was speaking at the Shivneri fort in Junnar tehsil of Pune district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Maratha warrior king was born on this fort in 1630.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion, Pawar said, “We all are on the same page for the reservation to the Maratha community. We (state government) had also formed a commission for that purpose. The Bombay High Court had given a favourable decision, but it was rejected by the Supreme Court.”
“Just as there is a demand for the Maratha reservation in Maharashtra, other communities are seeking quota for themselves in some other states. The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the quota of other communities. There is a need to remove the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation and the central government should make changes in the law to facilitate it,” he said.
In May last year, the Supreme Court had struck down the Maharashtra law granting quota to Marathas in admissions and government jobs, terming it as “unconstitutional”, and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal verdict.
Talking about the Alphonso mangoes grown in Junnar region, Pawar said, “Rs 27 lakh have been allotted by the district planning committee (DPC) so that this variety of mango, which is cultivated in and around Shivneri, gets the geographical indication (GI) tag, a long-pending demand of the local people.”
Pawar arrived at the Shivneri fort in the morning and paid floral tributes to Shivaji Maharaj and his mother Jijabai. He also attended several programmes held to celebrate the birth anniversary of the 17th century king, including the ‘cradle ceremony’ and ‘palanquin ceremony’.
In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the state government allowed only 500 people to attend the events on the fort, while only 200 people were allowed to take part in the ‘Shiv Jyoti Run’.
Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, among others, also attended the programmes. BJP MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Shivaji Maharaj, also paid a brief visit to the fort.
Pawar said, “Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many people couldn’t attend today’s ceremony. But soon when the country will be free from the pandemic, there will be a great celebration. For restoration work at Shivneri, forest, archeological and other departments are working together. Many works are also planned at the area where Rajyabhishek took place at Raigad.”
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Anti-CAA protest: SC directs UP government to refund recovered damages, restoration of properties of agitators
In a setback to the Uttar Pradesh government, the Supreme Court Friday directed it to refund the fine and restore the attached properties of the alleged anti-CAA protestors for causing damage to public and private assets in December 2019. The apex court said it is a case of ‘unjust enrichment’, and the state can very well recover the damages under the new law, once it is established before the claims tribunal that public and properties were damaged.
The UP government told the top court that it has withdrawn 274 recovery notices and subsequent proceedings initiated against anti-CAA protestors in 2019 for property damages. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant granted liberty to the UP government to proceed against alleged anti-CAA protestors under the new law — Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act notified on August 31, 2020.
“Orders in pursuance to the show cause notices have been withdrawn, in terms of the government orders (GOs) by the state of Uttar Pradesh, there shall be refund of any recoveries which have been made in the meantime. This will, however, be without prejudice to such action as may be warranted, in terms of the proceedings and decisions of the claims tribunals, at the subsequent stage,” it said.
The bench said it is a very important Constitutional principle that all deterrence against the evasion of law has to be provided in the four corners of the law.
“There cannot be any principle of deterrence, which lies outside the fold of law,” the bench said, adding that after the withdrawal of orders, it will be a case of “unjust enrichment”.
It noted the submission of Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, that on February 14 and 15, 2022, two GOs were issued in terms of which show cause notices in 274 cases for alleged destruction of public properties since December 2019 have been withdrawn together with the proceedings which were subsequently carried out.
“In view of the enactment of the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, 2020, it has been stated that the state government would refer all the cases to the claims tribunal which has been constituted in pursuance of the state legislation for further action in accordance with law. In view of the above statement made on behalf of the state government nothing further would survive,” the bench said.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by one Parwaiz Arif Titu seeking quashing of notices sent to alleged protestors by the district administration for recovering losses caused by damage to public properties during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) agitations in UP and asked the state to respond to it.
The plea has alleged that such notices have been sent in an “arbitrary manner” against a person who had died six years ago at the age of 94 and also to several others including two people who are aged above 90.
At the outset, Prashad said the state government has completely honoured the court’s observation and in compliance, all the earlier 274 show cause notices and the subsequent proceedings all of them have been withdrawn and files sent to the respective claims tribunals which have been constituted under the Act.
She submitted that the intent of court judgements has been fulfilled as since the past two years from when the new Act of 2020 has been legislated, there has not been a single incident of such violence or damage to any public property.
The bench said that when the court delivered those judgments for collection of damages for destruction of government property in 2009 and then in 2018, the idea was that there has to be accountability when public property is damaged.
“Our concern was that this should be through a process overseen by a judicial mind, so that ultimately state property is safeguarded and at the same time, there has to be a judicial forum which deals with it, so as to ensure that due process is followed. That’s the thrust of our two judgements,” the bench said.
Advocate Nilofer Khan, appearing for the petitioner, said the question of Constitutionality and legality of the new legislation should be left open. The bench said that the question of constitutionality and validity of the new law is not before the court and it would not say anything on it.
Khan said it has been reported in the media that rickshaw puller, vegetable seller, milk man and other small vendors were victimised and they had to sell everything to pay the damages.
The bench, taking note of Khan’s submission, vehemently opposed by Prashad, ordered refund of the damages recovered. Prashad said that status quo be ordered on the issue of refund as it will send a wrong message among the masses like the process was illegal and it would ultimately frustrate the objective of new law.
The bench said that if the orders have been recalled then the state will have to refund the damages recovered from the protestors and the court cannot say that the attachment must continue.
On February 11, the top court had pulled up the UP government for acting on the recovery notices and gave one final opportunity to it to withdraw the proceedings and warned that it will quash the proceedings for being in violation of the law.
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UP Elections: Action recommended against zonal magistrate for negligence during poll duty in Kairana
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district have recommended action against a zonal magistrate and suspended a police constable and a home guard for alleged negligence during poll duty in the Kairana assembly constituency.
Superintendent of Police Sukriti Madhav said an extra EVM machine was found in the vehicle of the zonal magistrate after polling in Kairana on February 10.
The EVM machine was not secured inside a designated hotel but was left unattended outside in a vehicle. The police constable and the home guard were not present there as well, she said.
The district authorities have written to the election commission, recommending action against the zonal magistrate, officials said, adding the policeman and the home guard have been suspended.Samajwadi Party’s candidate Nahid Hasan’s sister Iqra Hasan had complained about keeping the EVM in a vehicle and demanded action. A video of the EVM lying attended in the vehicle of the zonal magistrate had also gone viral.
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CBSE Term 1 Result Latest: Board to announce Class 10, 12 results this week? Know here
CBSE Term 1 Exam Results: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is likely to declare Class 10 and Class 12 Term 1 results on Sunday (February 20). However, the board is yet to issue a confirmation on the date.
According to reports, a board official has hinted that the results could be announced this week, saying that it is a possibility. The official has reportedly advised the students to follow the official website for regular updates.
Last week, CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma had also said the board would let everyone know the result date as and when it was confirmed.
The board has announced dates for the CBSE Class 10 and CBSE Class 12 Term 2 exams already. The exams will be held offline from April 26. In Term 2, students will have to answer both subjective- and objective-type questions. The Term 1 exam had objective or multiple-choice questions only.
The CBSE Class 10 and CBSE Class 12 results will be available for download on the board’s official websites. The results might also be available on the UMANG App and through SMS, like last year.
The Term 1 results will carry a minimum weightage of 50% in the CBSE final result. The board has also decided not to fail any student in CBSE Class 10 and CBSE Class 12 Term 1 exam. The Term 1 result will include internal assessment marks. However, this time, schools will not award absentees average scores — instead, the CBSE will calculate the final scorecard. The final marksheet and result will be handed over to the students following the Term 2 examination.
The board’s decision to conduct the CBSE exams in two terms — the Term 1 exam was conducted in November-December and the Term 2 in March-April — students participating in international or national sports events and international Olympiads might be unable to sit for the exams. The board has decided to conduct special exams for these students at a later date.
The CBSE recently announced that schools and subject experts would be able to send their feedback on the Term 1 question papers and answer keys, which would be reviewed and considered while preparing the results.
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Halfpipe tricks: freestyle skiers take to the air on a bitterly cold day.
By BY GABRIELA BHASKAR AND HIROKO MASUIKE from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/6C2wWjT
Friday, 18 February 2022
2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts: Special Court pronounces death sentence for 38 convicts, 11 get life imprisonment
A special court today pronounced death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts while 11 were sentenced to life imprisonment until death in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case. The court pronounced the death sentence under provisions of the UAPA and IPC 302. Special Judge AR Patel, who pronounced the verdict, also awarded a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to those who had died and Rs 50,000 for victims with serious injury and Rs 25,000 for those with minor injury.
One of the accused, Usman Agarbattiwala, has been awarded one year of imprisonment under the Arms Act.
The court had concluded the trial against 77 accused in September last year. Out of the 78 accused on trial, one had turned approver. On February 8, the special court had convicted 49 accused and acquitted 28 others in the case. As many as 22 explosions had shaken the city on July 26, 2008.
The court had found 49 accused guilty under various offences of the Indian Penal Code, including for murder, sedition and waging war against the state, as well as under offences of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substance Act.
The places where blasts took place included the government civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s LG Hospital, parked bicycles, in buses and cars. As many as 56 persons were killed and around 200 were injured in the blasts. Two bombs placed at Kalol and Naroda did not go off. The Indian Mujahideen (IM) had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
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Pune land grab case: HC further extends interim protection from arrest to Eknath Khadse’s wife
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Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train: Darshana Jardosh inspects High-Speed Rail construction between Surat-Vapi
Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail: Minister of State for Railways Darshana Jardosh recently inspected the work of India’s first Bullet Train, Mumbai – Ahmedabad High Speed Rail at project site between Surat and Vapi in Gujarat. Jardosh started the visit with Casting yard at Ch. 243 in village Padgah, located in the district of Navsari, for inspection for preparatory works of girder casting planned for castings including Casting of Pile cap at Ch. 242 P42 and P23. The next stop was Casting yard at Ch. 238 (Village Nasilpore, located in District Navsari) where the minister witnessed display of heavy equipment such as straddle carrier of capacity 1100 T as well as bridge gantries.
Jardosh also visited other casting yards which included Casting Yards at Ch. 232 (Village Kachchol located in the District of Navsari) witnessing casting of full span girder, automatic cutting of steel and Ring/stirrup making plant, operation of ready-made steel plant (RMS) Plant, and inspection of viaduct piers from Ch. 197 to 195 in village Pathri located the District Valsad. In the end, the minister visited the site of Daman Ganga river where the foundation of the river bridge was taking place. Some of the salient points of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail construction activity are as follows:
- In the state of Gujarat (352 kilometres), 100 per cent Civil Tenders have been awarded to Indian Contractors.
- 98.6 per cent land has been acquired and work of civil construction has started in the entire 352 kilometre length.
- In the state of Gujarat, 98.6 per cent land has been acquired and work of civil construction has started in the entire 352 km stretch. In the state of Maharashtra, 62 per cent land has been acquired.
- The works on Foundations, Piles, Piers, Pier Caps, casting and erection of Girders for Viaduct and Stations have started all along the alignment passing through eight districts of Gujarat.
- Out of 352 kilometres, Geotechnical Investigation work in 325 km length has been completed.
- For Geotechnical Investigation, the largest Geotechnical Lab of Asia has been developed at Surat.
- Construction work of Piles, Pile Caps, Well Foundations, Open Foundations, Pier Caps, Piers is currently in progress in 110 kilometres length.
- Out of 352 kilometres, Piling has been completed in 81 kilometres length, Foundation has been completed in 30 kilometres length and Pier has been completed in 20 kilometres length.
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Quotation of the Day: Tackling Environmental Racism Without Mentioning Race
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Thursday, 17 February 2022
Maoist leader with Rs 15 lakh bounty killed in encounter: Jharkhand Police
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ICAI to explore use of blockchain technology in auditing
Chartered accountants’ apex body ICAI will explore the use of blockchain technology in auditing, its new president Debashis Mitra said. Technology will be a major focus of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) as it not only disrupts but will also creates opportunities, Mitra told PTI.
“Artificial intelligence and blockchain technology will be the focus among the emerging technologies. We will explore how blockchain can be used in auditing,” he said.
Mitra said the ICAI’s decision to mandate a peer review mechanism for certain categories of firms rendering assurance services to specific classes of entities will go a long way in enhancing the audit quality.
The implementation will begin in a phased manner from April 1 with practice units that have undertaken a statutory audit of enterprises, having equity or debt securities listed in India. Over the next three years, the rollout would steadily cover firms providing assurance services to unlisted companies.
Mitra said the institute’s recently-launched Audit Quality Maturity Model Version 1.0 (AQMM v1.0) will help sole proprietors and audit firms to self-evaluate their current level of audit maturity, identify areas where competencies are lacking and develop a roadmap for achieving a higher level of maturity.
“ICAI is committed to being a partner in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda and strengthen the sustainability reporting ecosystem in the country,” he said. Meanwhile, ICAI has decided to waive off 75 per cent fees for the students of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the eight Northeastern states for all levels of CA course — Foundation, Intermediate and Final — till March 31, 2025.
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52-week highs, 52-week lows: Adani Green Energy among 97 stocks to hit new highs on BSE; 21 scrips at new lows
Indian equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 started Thursday’s session on a positive note, despite high volatility and mixed trend across global markets after Fed minutes showed the US rates will be raised if inflation does not ease. Investors remained cautious on updates about the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Gains in auto, oil & gas and select financial shares pushed the headline indices higher. Among sectors, power index up 2 per cent and oil & gas added a per cent, while selling is seen in the banks and pharma names. Sensex was trading flat around 58,000, while Nifty 50 index was hovering near 17,350 level.
Sensex, Nifty gainers, losers
HDFC, Reliance Industries (RIL), L&T, Tata Steel, Titan, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Powergrid, M&M and Infosys were among the top gainers in Sensex pack, while ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, Axis bank, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, TCS and ITC were the laggards. In the Nifty pack, Tata Consumer Products, HDFC, ONGC, Hindalco and Bajaj Auto were the top gainers, while the top losers were Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, IndusInd Bank and UPL.
Stocks that hit 52-week high, low on BSE
So far, a total of 97 stocks rose to their new 52-week highs on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). These include Adani Green Energy, Arihant Capital Markets, Blue Star Ltd, Gensol Engineering, Gujchem Distillers India, International Combustion (India), Keynote Financial Services, Magellanic Cloud, Mawana Sugars, Rhi Magnesita India, Rushil Decor, Shanti Educational Initiatives, Shri Venkatesh Refineries, Times Guaranty, Variman Global Enterprises, White Organic Retail among others. On the flip side, 21 stocks fell to their new 52-week lows on BSE. The stocks were Anjani Foods, Astrazeneca Pharma India, Indigo Paints, Jubilant Pharmova, FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa), Procter & Gamble Health, Muthoot Capital Services and Vedant Fashions, among others.
Stocks that hit 52-week high, low on NSE
On the NSE, a total of 26 stocks hit new 52-week highs, and 18 scrips fell to 52-week lows. Some of the marquee names that touched fresh 52-week highs include Adani Green Energy, Arihant Capital Markets, Edelweiss Mutual Fund – BHARAT Bond ETF, Blue Star, Megastar Foods, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund – Motilal Oswal Nifty 200 Momentum 30 ETF, SEL Manufacturing Company, Shree Ram Proteins, among others. On the flipside, AstraZeneca Pharma India, Black Box, Crown Lifters, Dev Information Technology, GE Power India, Glenmark Life Sciences, Housing & Urban Development Corporation, Indigo Paints, Manappuram Finance, Moksh Ornaments, Muthoot Capital Services were among the securities that hit 52-week low on NSE.
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Nirmala Sitharaman pitches for expeditious, equitable distribution of vaccines to aid global recovery
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday pitched for expeditious and equitable distribution of vaccines to aid global recovery. She shared insights on India’s policy response to pandemic and suggested that recovery measures have to be built around a long-term vision.
Participating in the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under G20 Indonesia presidency, Sitharaman stressed that it is crucial to address the gaps in global pandemic preparedness and the work of G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force should progress in this direction.
“In the first session today, FM talked about the global economic outlook and risks including #inflation, #supply disruptions and new variants of the virus and called for #expeditious and #equitable distribution of vaccines to aid #recovery,” a tweet by the Finance Ministry said.
She emphasised on addressing structural bottlenecks to reduce the pandemic’s scarring effects and build resilience.
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Ashok Leyland, Syncron Partner For Predictive Vehicle Maintenance
Syncron, the largest privately-owned leader in intelligent SaaS solutions dedicated to Service Lifecycle Management (SLM), announced today its partnership with Ashok Leyland. As the second-largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India and the fourth largest manufacturer of buses in the world, Ashok Leyland’s fully integrated manufacturing footprint extends across 50 countries and is fueled by a constant drive for efficiency, cost control, quality, reliability, and innovation – the same attributes that Syncron’s solutions address.
Alignment between Syncron’s extensive experience in the automotive, service, and parts industries and Ashok Leyland’s advanced machine learning models and sensor data led the companies to work on developing an industrial IoT-enabled predictive maintenance solution for the manufacturer’s extensive fleet of vehicles.
As a part of the partnership, Syncron is integrating an anomaly detection model into Ashok Leyland Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS) for a highly effective, completely connected vehicle solution that will potentially fuse predictive analytics with more accurate and relevant prediction processing to improve product reliability.
In support of the partnership, Syncron has released new capabilities for Syncron Uptime that further enable manufacturers to leverage a proactive “react before failure” approach by predicting and resolving issues before downtime occurs. Additionally, Syncron Uptime now goes beyond aggregating and analyzing data to offer a personalized recommendation for issue resolution by domain experts.
“In a highly competitive market where vehicle uptime and total cost of ownership are critical to both sales and customer trust, our priority is to develop innovative ways to improve the customer experience through the digital transformation that includes early resolution of potential failures,” says Dr N Saravanan, Chief Technology Officer, Ashok Leyland.
He added, “We look forward to our partnership with Syncron further enabling our reliability engineers to identify failure and degradation problems earlier, maximize uptime, and deliver the exceptional products and service our customers expect.”
New functionality under development:
- Virtual Sensor Framework: To capture a complete picture of equipment performance, new formula-based Virtual Sensors with advanced machine learning (ML) Model predictions and anomaly alerts have been added.
- Data Validation: Increasing the accuracy of ML predictions, Syncron Uptime now includes a data validation framework through which data scientists can accept or reject values
- Aggregation Algorithm: Applying the right aggregation strategies is significant to enabling efficient anomaly and failure prediction analysis. Uptime now picks the most critical data in an aggregated view for anomaly analysis.
- Rule-Based Data Filter: Data scientists can use rule-based filtering to control the noise from non-operational equipment and enable more accurate, relevant prediction processing.
- Prediction Window: Users can now visualize the major contributors to high anomaly scores in sensor readings and automatically perform root cause analysis to gain meaningful insights from prediction windows.
“As manufacturers shift from a reactive break-fix model towards a predictive and proactive one, they look to leverage data from connected products and gain actionable insights using advanced AI/ML technology,” says Ashok Kartham, Chief Product Officer (CPO), Syncron.
He added, “Through this partnership with Ashok Leyland, we hope to equip their customers with Syncron Uptime’s powerful failure detection technology in order to get ahead of the equipment failure, thus improving product uptime and customer service satisfaction.”
Over the next three years, Syncron and Ashok Leyland aim to scale the number of vehicles equipped with Uptime and use advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence tools for prognostic recommendations and allow service and parts functions to leverage data for proactive maintenance.
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Nitish Kumar slams Channi’s ‘UP, Bihar ke bhaiya’ remark: ‘Stunned by such statements’
Charanjit Singh Channi’s remark on people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has kicked up a row with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar slamming his Punjab counterpart while Shiv Sena – an alliance partner of the Congress in Maharashtra – saying that political parties have failed the people from the two states.
“Do they know how much is the contribution of people of Bihar in Punjab and how many are living (there)?… I am stunned how people make such statements,” said Nitish Kumar.
Addressing a poll rally on Tuesday, Channi, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra by his side and applauding him, called upon Punjabis to “unite” and not let “bhaiyas from UP, Bihar and Delhi” enter the state.
“Punjabian di bahu hai Priyanka Gandhi, eh saadi Punjaban hai, iss karke ikk passe ho jao Punjabion… UP, Bihar aur Delhi de bhaiye aa ke ithe raj karan lagge, vadan na deo ithe (Priyanka is Punjab’s daughter-in-law. She is our Punjaban. So Punjabis, get united. The bhaiyas from UP, Bihar and Delhi want to rule here. But we will not let them enter),” Channi said in Ropar.
Without naming Channi, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi hit out at politicians mocking the migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Chaturvedi highlighted that the migrants come as cheap labour, service providers, businessmen, entrepreneurs, lawmakers and bureaucrats, and they contribute to the economy of states where they migrate. Urging political leaders to stop mocking them, the Sena MP said “more importantly, they are Indians.”
On Wednesday, Kejriwal slammed Channi’s remark saying that Priyanka Gandhi was also a “bhaiya” since she belonged to Uttar Pradesh. “It is very shameful. We strongly condemn comments aimed at any individual or any particular community. Priyanka Gandhi also belongs to Uttar Pradesh so she is also a ‘bhaiya’.”
Union Minister and BJP leader Bhupender Yadav, in a Twitter post, said: “First Rahul Gandhi said India isn’t a nation. Now Priyanka Vadra cheers to CM Charanjit Channi’s call to boycott people from UP and Bihar. The work to divide India has been an ongoing project for Congress’ first family. That is why India is rejecting them state after state.”
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Jimmy Kimmel Critiques Trump’s Latest Rambling Statement
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Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Canada to ease travel requirements as COVID cases decline
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Indian cybersecurity researcher Aman Pandey tops Google’s Android bug bounty program
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DU’s College of Art students start online petition against merger with Ambedkar University Delhi
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Dubai Tennis Championship: Sania Mirza-Lucie Hradecka pair advances to quarterfinals
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Earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir: Low intensity quake of 3.2 magnitude felt in the Valley
A mild intensity earthquake with epicentre in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam area shook the valley on Wednesday but there was no damage reported due to the tremor.
An earthquake of magnitude 3.2 on Richter scale was felt at around 5.43 am in Kashmir, an official of the Disaster Management authority said.
He said the epicentre of the earthquake was 15 kilometres south-southwest of Pahalgam, the base camp for Shri Amarnath yatra, at a depth of 16 kilometres. The official said there were no reports of any damage so far.
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Spelling Bee Forum
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Tuesday, 15 February 2022
Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor wish dad Randhir Kapoor on 75th birthday: ‘Best father, best nana’
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Watch movies, shop online in Mumbai locals! Indian Railways introduces Content on Demand Infotainment Service
Now, Mumbaikars can enjoy seamless access to digital services throughout their Indian Railways suburban train journey, even when their mobile network is irregular or unavailable. The Central Railway zone and Margo Network Private Limited have joined hands in providing passengers free infotainment service in local trains. As a part of Central Railways’ non-fare revenue, Margo Network through its Sugar Box App will provide this facility to the suburban train commuters. On 11 February 2022, the futuristic vision to bring alive better customer experience through the adoption of new and emerging technologies thus enabling a digital experience for passengers in as many as 10 suburban rakes in the first phase was enabled, according to Central Railways.
Anil Kumar Lahoti, Central Railways General Manager, said that Non Fare Revenue of the Central Railway zone for the period April to January 2021-22 is Rs 22.57 crore which is 295 per cent more than that of the last year’s corresponding period and is placed first among all zonal railways. According to him, the contract for “Content on Demand” inside 165 suburban EMU rakes will fetch an amount of Rs 8.17 crore for the national transporter in five years’ tenure. The GM further said that now the commuters of Mumbai Division of the Central Railway zone will be able to avail an infotainment experience through this Content on Demand Service.
For availing this digital service, commuters will have to download Licensee’s Sugar Box App. Interestingly, no internet will be required for accessing the content. Besides, suburban train passengers do not have to pay any charge for the consumption of data. With this facility, commuters of local trains can now enjoy seamless access to digital services throughout their suburban train journey as well as get continuous access to entertainment, information, education, shopping, upskilling services, payment platforms & more, that too without internet.
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China’s leaders think the Winter Games have been worth every billion they’ve spent.
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On Mars, a NASA Rover and Helicopter’s Year of Surprise and Discovery
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NASA Isn’t the Only Space Program Celebrating a Year at Mars
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Coronavirus cases inside the Olympic ‘loop’ drop to almost zero.
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Stephen Colbert Sets the Mood for Valentine’s Day With His Viewers
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Monday, 14 February 2022
West Bengal Municipal Election Results 2022 Live Updates: TMC sweeps Bengal civic bodies’ polls; Mamata congratulates people
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Kriya Medical Technologies gets DCGI nod for RT-PCR kit
Medical devices firm Kriya Medical Technologies on Monday said it has received manufacturing licence from the DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India) for its product KRIVIDA Novus, an RT-PCR kit that can detect the Omicron variant and its sub-lineages in 45 minutes. Priced at Rs 150 plus taxes, the test is affordable and most suitable for entry point screening at airports, the company said in a statement.
The company said it will roll out the kit from its Chennai-based manufacturing facility. The company currently has a production capacity of 5 million tests per month and plans to increase it to 10 million tests per month within the next two weeks.
“Our focus is to make testing for Covid-19 variants faster, affordable and accessible to everyone, thereby enabling swift prevention and timely treatment. Since KRIVIDA Novus can detect the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) and all its sub-lineages, such as BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3 in 45 minutes, it is most ideal and beneficial for entry point screening at airports and remobilisation of normal conditions in workplace and institutions,” Kriya Medical Technologies CEO and Founder Anu Moturi noted.
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