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Odisha legendary music director Shantanu Mohapatra passes away at 84

By
Shivani Negi
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Odisha’s legendary music director Shantanu Mohapatra passed away at a private hospital on Tuesday at the age of 84. He was reportedly suffering from Kidney-related ailments and was admitted to hospital for the same.

In his career spanning over six decades, Mohapatra has worked with many iconic Bollywood artists like Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd Rafi, Manna Dey, Usha Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadekar, Anuradha Paudwal, Usha Uthup, and Kavita Krishnamurthy.

He is credited for composing the first Modern Odia Ballad “Konark Gatha” with lyricist Gurukrushna Goswami and sung by Akshay Mohanty. He is also known for writing ‘Kalijae’ which was sung by Sikandar Alam.

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, Andhra Pradesh Governor B B Harichandan, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and many dignitaries mourned the demise of Mohapatra. 

“As a lyricist and music director, he has left the shining signature of his talent. His entire life was dedicated to music. The music directed by him will keep him immortal forever,” said the Chief Minister.

Mohapatra’s notable works in Odia films include ‘Mayuri go’ (Arundhati), ‘Jaa jare bhasi ja’ (Chilika teeray), ‘Mun khoji bule’ (Agni Parikhya), ‘Sei jhilmil’ (Megha Mukti), ‘Mun ta thili ekutia’ (Dora), ‘Subhadra kande na’ (Jaga Balia), ‘Mun jibi’ (Golamgiri), ‘Kete je sukha’ (Mukti Tirtha) among others.

Cummins praises Gill for his splendid debut

By
Harshit
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Debutant Indian opener Shubhman Gill has been terrific in his debut match against Australia in the boxing day Test. The 21-year-old has played a vital role in India’s emphatic victory against the Australians. He scored 45 runs in the first innings while he was unbeaten with his 35 runs in the second innings when the Indian team went to chase down the target of 70 odd runs.

Meanwhile Australian veteran fast bowler commented on Gill’s show in the boxing day Test and said he look settled in the Indian batting line-up.

“Shubi looked good. You know he is quite a calm character, doesn’t seem too much fazed, looked quite settled in the first Test. Looked similar to the way he plays, wants to take the game on when the bowlers provide opportunities. Some days they come off, some days they don’t,” said Cummins while speaking to the media on Wednesday.

There are speculations that Gill might be dropped from the team when Rohit Sharma will join the squad in the next Test. But the head coach Ravi Shastri made it clear that Rohit’s inclusion will not guarantee his spot in the squad. It might be possible that Gill could stay in the opening side and Rohit may take up Hanuma Vihari spot at number 5.

Cummins extended his words to praise Gill and said he has done well when senior player Chateshwar Pujara has playing failed at No.3.

“The big ground plan hasn’t changed. We just try to bowl good balls. Make him make the decision to play or leave it and just try and do it for as long as we can. Fortunately, it has come off pretty early in his innings. Nothing has drastically changed. We just concentrate on what we do for a longer time. So far it has worked. I’d be lying if I say we have this grand plan that has changed from last time,” added Cummins.

UK approves Oxford’s vaccine for roll out

By
Harshit
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United Kingdom becomes the first nation to approve the Oxford University-AstraZenca COVID-19 vaccine for use. The UK government said that they did so after the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The roll out is likely to begin on January 4. Oxford aims to supply 100 million doses in total as part of its deal with the UK government.

AstraZenca chief executive Pascal Soriot said “today is an important day for millions of people in the U.K. who will get access to this new vaccine. It has been shown to be effective, well-tolerated, simple to administer and is supplied by AstraZeneca at no profit.”

“We would like to thank our many colleagues at AstraZeneca, Oxford University, the UK government and the tens of thousands of clinical trial participants,” he added.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), is developing the oxford’s vaccine in India and they in fray for the emergency use approval of their vaccine by the Indian government.

“The emergency use licensure is expected to come by December or January in the UK, and simultaneously we hope to get approval in India as well,” CEO Adar Poonawalla said.

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine not ready for market: European Regulator

By
Shivani Negi
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While the country awaits UK’s approval to the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine against the coronavirus before giving green signal to its Indian counterpart developed by Serum Institute of India which is world’s largest vaccine maker by volume, a top European drug official has claimed that the vaccine is not ready to be rolled out in the market.

Noel Wathion, Deputy Executive Director, said that the European Medicines Authority (EMA) will most likely not be able to approve the covid-19 vaccine developed by the drug maker.

“They have not even filed an application with us yet”, Wathion said in an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad published on Tuesday. “Not even enough to warrant a conditional marketing licence”, he said. “We need additional data about the quality of the vaccine. And after that, the company has to formally apply,” Wathion said.

The UK aims to start rolling out the British AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine in market from January 4.

Meanwhile, Pune-based Serum Institute of India on Monday expressed hope that its covid vaccine Covishield will receive the regulatory approval in “few days”.

“We have 40-50 million doses of Covishield stockpiled. Once we get regulatory approvals in a few days, it will be down to the government to decide how much they can take and how fast. We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021,” Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said during a press conference.

Earlier, AstraZeneca CEO had said that their vaccine will soon be available for emergency use as they have found a winning formula which can produce up to 95 per efficacy against the virus.

The CEO had added that the vaccine will be effective against the new covid variant first found in UK.

Meanwhile, the Centre recently held two days dry run for the vaccination process successfully in four states.

India reported fresh 20,550 new coronavirus infections and 286 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total cases tally and death tally to 1,02,44,853 and 1,48,439 on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

New strain of coronavirus found in Colorado also despite all efforts

By
Neha Kumari
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New strain of coronavirus found in Britain is spreading in other countries despite all efforts. The first case of this new strain has also been reported in the US. A young man has been found infected with this new virus strain in Colorado, USA. Colorado Province Governor Jared Polis gave this information. The person in whom this strain has been found is about 20 years old. He is placed in isolation in Denver.

Surprisingly, this young man has not been to Britain. The Colorado State Laboratory has confirmed the new virus strain and given further information. Scientists in Britain believe that the new strain is capable of spreading much faster than the earlier virus. However, it is being said that the corona vaccine will prove effective in ending this new strain as well.

Governor Polis said, “Not much is known about the new strain, but UK scientists have warned the world that it can infect people more quickly.” The safety of the people of Colorado is our first priority and we are closely monitoring this case. ‘

America ranks first in the list of countries most affected by the Corona virus. There have been 1 crore 99 lakh 49 thousand 659 corona cases so far, while 3 lakh 46 thousand 260 people have lost their lives. According to the Worldometer in the last 24 hours, more than 3 thousand people have died in America and 1 lakh 67 thousand 941 new Corona cases have been reported.

According to the information revealed so far, about 33 thousand passengers came to India from Britain. These travelers arrived in the country from 25 November to 23 December. All these were tested. Of these, more than 100 corona were found infected, while new strain of corona was found in 6 passengers. Samples of all these have also been sent for genome sequencing. This strain has been found in 6.

Jack Ma Has Lost $11 Billion In 2 Months

By
Neha Kumari
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Jack Ma’s total assets have grown to around $ 11 billion since the end of October as China has defied the technology of its empire and country.

The 56-year-old former English teacher – often associated with the meteoroid of China’s Internet sector – reached a peak of $ 61.7 billion this year and is set to earn the title of Asia’s richest person. Now, with a fortune of $ 50.9 billion, he has since slipped to 25th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in the list of the 500 richest people in the world.

Although the co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Limited has been at the center of the clampdown, he is not feeling the only squeeze.

In a note, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Kavin Quick said that regulatory risk is a major risk factor for the Ant Group. We think that this news will have a continuous negative impact on the listing and we believe that most investors will remain optimistic on the positive log-term prospectus of ANT. However, given the signs of regulatory intervention, investors may reconsider their perception.

Ant’s co-founder and China’s most powerful businessman, Jack, was summoned by China’s central bank and three other financial regulators. Jack Ma then had a meeting with the central bank and other financial regulators on Monday. However, the information discussed in this meeting has not been revealed. According to sources familiar with the matter, ANT’s leadership team has said that regulatory scrutiny could increase on the company. Also the capital may be banned.

Covid-19 update: 20,550 new infections take country’s overall tally to 1,02,44,853

By
Shivani Negi
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With 20,550 new coronavirus infections, India’s overall tally stood at 1,02,44,853 on Wednesday. While the death toll touched 1,48,439 with 286 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

Till now, 9,83,4141 people have recovered from the virus. Currently, there are 2,62,272 active cases. The recovery rate stands at 95.99 per cent while the fatality rate is 1.45 as per cent.

A total of 17,09,22,030 samples have been tested for Covid-19 till now. Of these, 11,20,281 samples were tested on Tuesday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Covid-19 has hit men harder than women in India, where 70 per cent of the approximately 1.47 lakh people who died since the national outbreak in January were male, the ministry said on Wednesday.

Here’re more updates:

*India has reported 14 new confirmed cases of UK coronavirus mutant strain, taking the total such cases to 21, said the

*A two-year-old in Meerut, who just returned with her parents from the UK. The child is in an isolation ward with her parents at Meerut’s Subharti Medical College. The parents have tested positive for Covid, but not the new strain.

*Then there is one each who has been logged at National Institute of Biomedical Genomics near Kolkata, National Institute of Virology in Pune and CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi.

*The government on Wednesday extended a temporary ban on UK-India flights till January 7. The Civil Aviation Ministry had last week suspended all flights between UK and India from December 23 to December 31 over the detection of a mutated variant of coronavirus.

* More than two million children in the US have been infected with the novel coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic in the world’s hardest-hit country. according to authorities.

* US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine against the novel coronavirus.


Meanwhile, the overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 81.9 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.78 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

SBI to introduce new cheque payment system from Jan 1

By
Harshit
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Sbi, sbi new cheque system,

SBI will introduce the ‘Positive Pay System’ for cheques from January 1, 2021. The re-confirmation of key information will involve for payments beyond Rs.50,000.

SBI on their website said, “As per RBI guidelines, we are introducing Positive Pay System (PPS) w.e.f. 01/01/2021 to ensure added security where the cheque issuer now needs to provide details such as account number, cheque number, cheque amount, cheque date payee name with respect to the cheque payments.”

Few months ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took a decision to launch a ‘positive pay system’ for cheques.

In the month of August MPC, the RBI governor Shantikala Das has announced that the system will keep customer safety in focus to decrease the crime andf fraud in connection to cheque payment.

Banks are directed by the RBI to spread awarness among their customers on the new ‘Positive Pay System’.

104 former IAS officers wrote letter to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, objecting to the law

By
Neha Kumari
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The controversial anti-conversion ordinance of the Uttar Pradesh government has turned the state into an “epicenter of the politics of hatred, division and bigotry”, a letter signed by former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and 104 former IAS officers . Former Advisor to Prime Minister TKA Nair and released on Tuesday.

Demanding that the “illegal ordinance be withdrawn”, the signatories also said that all politicians, including the chief minister, “need to re-educate themselves about the constitution, which you swore to uphold” is”.

“UP, once known as the cradle of the Ganga-Jamuna civilization, has become the center of politics of hatred, division and bigotry, and institutions of governance are now steeped in communal poison,” the letter said.

“… A series of heinous atrocities committed by your administration against young Indians across Uttar Pradesh… who Indians simply want to live their lives as independent citizens of a free country.”

“At around 11.30 am some people caught us – the villagers beat us up. They accused us of theft. They caught a boy, I don’t know who he was, and they caught me. I didn’t know who the boy was. ” . It is not true that he was trying to replace me, ”the girl told NDTV in a brief interview.

“These atrocities continue, regardless of the indignation of Indians devoted to the rule of law. Anti-conversion ordinance… is being used as a stick, especially to torment Indian men who are Muslims and women who dare to exercise their freedom. Option, “he added.

Many cases have been mentioned in the letter stating UP as the center of heinous crimes. The letter said that in Moradabad earlier this month, the minorities were allegedly convicted by the Bajrang Dal. Last week, two teenagers were beaten, harassed and taken to a police station in Bijnor, UP where a case of “love jihad” was registered.

Similarly, a Bijnor case is also mentioned in it. It accused a minority boy forcibly converting a 16-year-old Hindu girl. Which was later denied by both the girl and her mother.

Ram temple trust asked IITs to suggest better models

By
Jyoti B
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As a stream of the Sarayu river has been found below foundation of Ram temple, the Ram Temple Trust  has asked the Indian Institute of Technology to suggest new and better models for the foundation, sources said on Tuesday.

The construction committee of the temple, chaired by former principal secretary to the prime minister Nripendra Misra held deliberations over the matter here on Tuesday, they said.

During the deliberations, it was realised that the existing model for the foundation of the temple was not feasible as a stream of the Sarayu river is flowing below the temple, a source said.

Sources in the ‘Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra’ trust said IITs have been requested to suggest better models for a strong foundation of the temple.

The foundation work of the Ayodhya temple will start in January,  temple is scheduled for completion in 2023.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Alok Kumar said the process of designing the structure’s foundation pillars was stuck because a stream of the Sarayu river was found flowing underneath a portion of the building.

“When the testing of the pillars was carried out, it was found when pressure was applied, they sank by about four inches. Since, the area is already in a seismic zone, we have decided to come up with a structurally safe option,” he said.

The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerath Kshetra trust is also negotiating to increase the land holding of the complex from the current 70 acres to 108 acres to accommodate a museum, a gathering space and a prayer hall. “We are trying to negotiate with those who own the land around the temple; if they agree to part with the land they will be compensated,” Kumar said.

The construction committee of the temple trust has been deliberating on two options–using vibro stone columns to support rafts on which stones can be placed, and the other is improving the quality and grip of soil by adding engineering mix to it, they added.

US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris receives covid-19 vaccine

By
Shivani Negi
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US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was administered covid-19 vaccine on live Television on Tuesday. She urged public to trust in the process and science as the Biden administration plans for a smooth inoculation process while warning it will be months before the vaccine will be accessible to all.

A mask-wearing Harris received the first of her two shots at United Medical Center, located in an area of Washington, DC with a large African-American population who witnessed considerably worse surge of infection than the rest of America.

“Today I got the COVID-19 vaccine. I am incredibly grateful to our frontline health care workers, scientists, and researchers who made this moment possible. When you’re able to take the vaccine, get it. This is about saving lives,” she wrote on Twitter while sharing a picture of herself receiving the vaccine shot.

“So I want to remind people that right in your community is where you can take the vaccine, where you will receive the vaccine by folks you may know,” she said after receiving the vaccine manufactured by US firm Moderna.

“So I want to remind people that they have trusted sources of help and that’s where they will be able to go to get the vaccine.”

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who will take over White House duties on January 20, has promised Americans safety against the deadly virus, which has infected more than 19 million Americans and killed over 334,000. Post winning the election, he had also formed a coronavirus task force which will come into effect after he takes over the office.

Biden and his wife were administered the vaccine last week on live television in a bid to instill trust among people regarding the vaccine safety.

Earlier on December 18, Vice President Mike Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination all on live TV.

Central government extends UK flight ban till Jan 7

By
Harshit
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After the surge of new UK COVID strain in the country, the Union Avaiation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced that the flight ban from the United Kingdom is extended till January 7.

The nation reported 20 cases of UK Covid variant since yesterday out of which 8 are from the national capital, 7 from from down south.

“A decision has been taken to extend the temporary suspension of flights to & from the United Kingdom till 7 January 2021” said Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri

The flight ban was earlier till December 31 when the new variant from UK came into the highlight.

14 more UK returnee test positive for new coronavirus strain, taking total tally to 20

By
Shivani Negi
-

India has reported 16 more cases of new UK coronavirus mutant strain, pushing the total tally to 20, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Of the 20 cases detected with the virus, eight have been registered at National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi, seven at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-sciences in Bangalore, two at cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad.

One each has been reported at National Institute of Biomedical Genomics near Kolkata, National Institute of Virology in Pune and CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi, according to IANS.

“All these persons have been kept in single-room isolation in designated health care facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts, and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on,” the Health Ministry said.

“Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on.”
“The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhances surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs,” the ministry had said.

As per the data provided by the ministry, November 25 to December 23 midnight, about 33,000 disembarked at various Indian airports from the UK. All these passengers are being tracked and subjected to RT-PCR tests by respective state governments.

A total of 107 samples have undergone genome sequencing as on date. On Tuesday, first six case of the new virus strain were detected e central government had announced.

As a precautionary measure, the government of India took the reports of virus reported from the UK and put in place a proactive and preventive strategy to detect and contain the virus. The Union Aviation Ministry also announced a temporary suspension on UK travel from December 23 to December 31 in the same light.

Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore are other countries to report the presence of the new UK variant

Sanjay Raut hits out at BJP for involving his family name in false cases

By
Harshit
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Sanjay Raut has warned BJP of seeking legal action against linking his family name with Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank scam case and Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) scam.

He alleged that the BJP is misusing central agencies and making false claims.

“My family’s name is mischievously being linked to PMC and HDIL scam. I challenge them to prove it or face legal action. Enough is enough,” Rawat said in a tweet.

He compared agencies with “caged parrot” and said they are for political vendetta. He termed ED summon as an act of cowardice.

The Enforcement Directorate issued a fresh summon on Tuesday to Raut’s wide Varsha Raut and directed her to join the investigation on January 5, 2021 in connection over the PMC Bank scam case.

Farmers Protest updates: Centre and farmers union to hold talks at 2 PM

By
Jyoti B
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The farmers protesting at the borders near Delhi have continued to insist on the annulment of the three contentious agriculture legislation brought out by the Centre in September this year, and failure to find a solution to the impasse has led to yet another round of talks between kisan unions and the central government in New Delhi at 2 PM on Wednesday. 

Ahead of the resumption of talks with the Centre Wednesday, farmer unions, protesting at the gates of Delhi against the new farm laws, wrote to the government saying the discussion can only be on a four-point agenda including modalities of repealing the laws and providing a legal guarantee on minimum support price.

With tens of thousands of farmers now on their 34th straight day of protest on the borders of Delhi, the Centre has been urging the agitation’s leaders to return to the negotiation table through a series of letters this week.

“It is a good thing that the talks will resume. That itself is progress. Let us see what further progress can be made now,” said a senior Agriculture Ministry official.

Ahead of the crucial talks, Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal on Tuesday met senior BJP leader and home minister Amit Shah.

Tomar, the minister for agriculture, and Goyal, the minister for food and consumer affairs, and MoS commerce and Industry Som Parkash have been representing the Centre at the talks with the farmers. Tomar had said on Monday that he is hopeful of an early solution to the impasse.

Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the MSP and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

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