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Pant seals his place with a cracking century in the warm-up game

By
Harshit
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Rishabh Pant, India vs Australia, India tour of Australia,

Prior to the four-match Test series against Australia, Rishabh Pant has claimed a century for selection in the playing eleven of the Pink Ball Test to be held in Adelaide. Rishabh Pant hit an unbeaten 103 in the three-day Day Night practice match being played in Sydney.

India vs Australia

On the second day of the second practice match against Australia A, India took their lead to 472 runs by scoring 386 runs for four wickets. Hanuma Vihari is playing 104 and Rishabh Pant scoring 103 runs. Shubman Gill scored 65 and Mayank Agarwal scored 51 runs. India scored Australia A for 108 after scoring 194 runs in the first innings.

Rishabh Pant was flopping in the first innings of the three-day Day Night practice match, but in the second innings, he batted hard and hit 103 runs off 73 balls. During this time, 9 fours and 6 sixes came out of his bat.

Shyam Steel India appoints Sonu Sood as brand ambassador

By
Shivani Negi
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Sonu Sood has been appointed as the new face of Shyam Steel India, the steel manufacturing company. Under his ‘Build India Ambassador’ title, the actor will be working towards company’s aim of slowly uplifting the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands people affected due to covid-19 pandemic induced lockdown.

Sonu Sood, who has already been garnering heaps of praises for his work for the needy amid the pandemic, will feature in brand’s goodwill campaign and would maximise its action plans.

Under the very first initiative, Sonu will launch an E-Rickshaw distribution campaign across various parts of India to the people who lost their livelihood amid the pandemic. The E-rickshaws will be distributed considering the socio-economic parameters of the applicants.

Lalit Beriwala, director, Shyam Steel India, said “We in our daily day business build India’s civil and infrastructural future but unless we develop and contribute towards human development our future cannot be bright. People from the lower strata of our society have been majorly affected due to pandemic. We, as a responsible Indian company cannot ignore the call of the time to stand beside a few, to help them rebuild their livelihood, their future.”

Punit Pathak ties the knot with Nidhi Moony Singh

By
Shivani Negi
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Choreographer-actor Punit J Pathak on Friday tied the nuptial knot with his long-time girlfriend Nidhi Moony Singh in Mumbai. The wedding was attended by couple’s family and close friends including a few colleagues from industries.

A few pics and videos from the couple’s wedding ceremony are doing rounds on the internet. Comidienne and Punit’s best friend Bharti Singh also took to her Instagram account and shared a video ceremony on her Instagram account.

“Congratulations my favourite couple @punitjpathakofficial @nidhimoonysingh ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗#happylife #married.” she wrote. For the wedding dat, Punit chose a light pink shwerwani while Nidhi looked like a dream in a pink lehenga.

Check out some pictures from their la la land wedding:

Punit Pathak and Nidhi Moony met on the sets of Jhalak Diklhaa Jaa and later filmed together for reality TV show Dil Hai Hindustani.

In other reports related to the wedding, choreographer and director Remo D’Souza, who was also expected to attend the wedding, suffered a heart attack and was admitted to  Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital in Mumbai. 

Talking about his health update, choreographer-actor Dharmesh Yande had said that he is doing fine and will be better in time.

On Rajinikanth’s birthday, celebs pour in wishes for the Thalaiva

By
Shivani Negi
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Superstar Rajinikanth celebrated his 70th birthday on Saturday. On the occasion, wishes from political spectrum as well as film fraternity poured in for the Thalaiva.

From PM Modi to AR Rahman, many renowned personalities took to twitter to wish Rajinikanth while fans showered utmost love on their beloved superstar.

 “Dear @rajinikanth Ji, wishing you a Happy Birthday! May you lead a long and healthy life,” PM Modi wrote.

Music maestro AR Rahman, and 70 other celebrities and the superstar’s fans unveiled the common birthday display picture (CDP) on Twitter. Extending the heartfelt wishes, he wrote, “Extremely privileged to release superstar @Rajinikanth’s 70th Birthday CDP on behalf of his fans. Wishing you a great birthday and good health! #HBDSuperstarRajinikanth.”

“He has surely been the biggest inspiration for me and many others. Happiest Birthday to Rajini Sir!Extremely honoured to release our beloved Superstar @rajinikanth Sir’s 70th Birthday CDP,” wrote Suniel Shetty.

 Keethy Suresh wrote, “So excited and honoured to share the CDP of the living legend, @rajinikanth sir. Wishing you an advance Happy Birthday #HBDSuperstarRajinikanth (sic).”

 “Dearest friend Rajinikanth, happy 70th birthday and wish you a wonderful life ahead. Wish you all success in your endeavor in politics. You have won millions of hearts through your unique style and I trust you will also tread your unique path in serving those millions! Stay Blessed! Lots of love!” Mohanlal posted a throwback picture of Thalaiva with this caption: “Happy birthday dear Rajinikanth. #HappyBirthdayRajinikanth,” wrote Chiranjeevi.

“Happy birthday, @rajinikanth sir! May you continue to inspire millions and redefine style in cinema. Wishing you good health, happiness and peace always!” Mahesh Babu tweeted.

Here’s wishing Rajini sir a very happy birthday!

Breakthrough With Farmers likely to reach understanding In next 24-48 Hours

By
Jyoti B
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Farmers protesting the centre’s new agricultural laws are likely to reach an understanding with the government in the next 24 to 48 hours, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said on Saturday.

“We fully trust the farmers of India, they are peace-loving & they are our ‘annadatas’. We respect them & we have the confidence that they will not allow Maoist and Naxal forces to influence the people across the country”- Union minister Piyush Goyal

Meanwhile, farmer leaders on Saturday said they have decided to intensify their agitation against the controversial agriculture laws and that their union leaders will sit on a hunger strike on December 14.

“If the government wants to hold talks, we are ready, but our main demand will remain the scrapping of the three laws. We will move onto our other demands only after that,” farmer leader Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu told reporters at Singhu border. He also announced that thousands of farmers will start their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march from Rajasthan’s Shahjahanpur through the Jaipur-Delhi Highway at 11 am on Sunday.

Police stopped protesting farmers from blocking major highways and taking over more roads into the capital as a two-week agitation against agri-marketing reform laws intensified.

Police deployed in large numbers stopped groups of hundreds of farmers from blocking the main highways from Delhi to Agra and Jaipur.

Some farmers were detained on the expressway to Agra while other groups took over at least two toll booths and let cars and trucks pass without paying.

India vs Australia: Does the Australian team have the edge?

By
Harshit
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With the biggest Australia-India series nearing, the speculations on the team line up for both the sides is increasing.

Australian team is back with the top two havoc batsmen David Warner and Steven Smith.

On the side looking onto he Indian lineup Rohit Sharma is not available for the first two Test matches while Virat will be out after the first Test on grounds of paternity leave.

In the absence of Virat and Rohit Inidan team will be weak with the youngsters in the side. Shubhman Gill played brilliantly in the practise game.

In the last one year Australian team is at top with the inclusion if Marnus Labuschagne in the lineup at number three. The top trio helped Australia in winning the last four Test series consecutively and this time they will be up against the Indian team.

India is all set to play four Test matches against the Australia starting on 17th December.

Maharashtra government imposes dress code for government employees

By
Jyoti B
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Setting a dress code in government offices, Maharashtra has now banned jeans, t-shirts and slippers for employees.

As per the order, the workers are to refrain from wearing clothes “with deep colours and strange embroidery patterns or pictures”. Women should wear sari, salwar, churidar-kurta or trousers with a kurta or a shirt and a dupatta if required. Men should wear trousers and shirts. Employees have been advised to wear khadi once a week.

Also, all government employees must wear khadi clothes at least on Fridays to encourage the use of handspun, a circular issued on December 8 stated. “It has been observed that several officials/staff (mainly contractual staff and advisers engaged for government work) do not wear attire suitable for government employees. Hence, the image of government staff gets sullied among people,” it said.

The circular also said that people expect “good behaviour and personality” from all government officials and employees, reports news agency PTI.

“….if the attire of officials and employees is unsuitable and unclean, it also has an indirect impact on their work,” the circular added.

Earlier this week Monday, the general administration department of the state government issued a resolution putting in place a strict dress code for all its employees, saying they are representatives of the State and an inappropriate dress code can malign the image of the government in the minds of the people.

Gold worth Rs 45cr goes ‘missing’ from CBI custody in Tamil Nadu

By
Jyoti B
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In a rather unusual revelation, 103 kg gold worth Rs 45,00,00,000 (45 crore) has gone “missing” from the “safe” custody of India’s premier investigating agency-the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The CBI had reportedly seized the gold from a Chennai-based importer in 2012.

In a major embarrassment to the CBI, the Madras High Court Friday ordered the Tamil Nadu Police to probe the disappearance of gold from the agency’s custody, rejecting its plea that “the prestige of the CBI would come down if investigation is done by the local police”.
Asking the CB-CID to register an FIR, the court said: “It may be an agni pariksha (trial by fire) for the CBI, but that cannot be helped. If their hands are clean, like Sita, they may come out brighter. If not, they would have to face the music.”

The central agency said it had handed over the 72 keys of the safes and vaults to the Chennai principal special court for CBI cases. The CBI claimed that during the seizure, the gold bars were weighed all-together but while handing over to the liquidator, appointed for a settlement of debts between Surana and the SBI, it was weighed individually and that was the reason for the discrepancy.

After exiting from China, Samsung will establish their unit in India

By
Neha Kumari
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Samsung, one of the world’s leading electronics companies, will now manufacture mobile display products in Uttar Pradesh. This Samsung unit was earlier established in China. With the establishment of this new manufacturing unit of Samsung going to be set up in Noida, an investment of about Rs 4825 crore will be made in the state. Not only this, India will also become the third country in the world to manufacture mobile displays manufactured with OLED technology.

This will be Samsung’s third unit in Noida after Vietnam and South Korea. After shutting down its display unit in China, Samsung has decided to bring it to India. India is eyeing around one thousand companies planning to exit China. Of this, around 300 companies are seriously preparing to come to India.

For this project, the state government will give exemption in capital subsidy, stamp duty under the electronics manufacturing policy. It is the first unit in the country to be displaced from China. Samsung will invest 4,825 crore in this project. With this project in Noida, 1,510 people will get direct employment. At the same time, a large number of people will get indirect employment. Upon completion of this project, UP will get a different identity in the world. A major reason behind this is that Samsung makes up 70% of the display used in TVs, mobile phones, tablets, watches in the world. In such a situation, products made in UP will be exported all over the world. Samsung is currently the largest exporter of UP.

Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has also decided to provide additional incentive to the Samsung Display Noida Pvt Ltd for setting up the manufacturing unit in Noida, which is one of the major industrial hubs of the state. A decision to give incentives was taken in a meeting of the state Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday.

“The unit intends to invest Rs 4,825 crore. It could be made possible by the sustained efforts of the UP government to create an eco-system in NCR in sync with the intent of the Centre to make an export hub in view of the ever-increasing demand of mobile and other gadgets in the country and abroad,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson of the UP government also said that the new facility will be the first high-technique project of the Samsung in India and it will also become the third such unit in the whole world.

Amit Shah met security authorities over violence concern during farm protest

By
Neha Kumari
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Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with senior leaders, police and security officials on Friday in connection with the ongoing Kisan Andolan against the three agricultural laws. In this meeting, Shah discussed ways of ‘already stopping’ the possibilities of violence on the Delhi Borders.

The Farmer Protest also includes several groups whose purpose is to encourage violence under the guise of the protesters’ movement, to prolong the movement and to force the police to react.

Such groups have nothing to do with the interests of farmers. They are joining the agitation of peasant protesters only for the purpose of promoting violence. According to the information, the intelligence report has revealed the presence of at least 10 such groups among the protesting farmers, who are trying to incite violence.

Farmer groups are protesting the passage of three agricultural laws. They are demanding a complete repeal of the laws, which have been rejected by the government.

It is worth mentioning that the farmers organizations have said that on Saturday, December 12, the farmers will block the Delhi-Jaipur highway. The farmers have also threatened to protest on 14 December.

According to the information, there are at least 10 such groups present among the protesting farmers who can make this movement violent. Farmer groups are opposing the passage of three agricultural laws. They are demanding a complete repeal of the laws, which have been rejected by the government. Significantly, the farmers’ organizations said that on December 12, the farmers will block the Delhi-Jaipur (jaipur) highway. The farmers have also threatened to protest on 14 December.

FICCI Convention: PM Modi Inaugurates 93rd AGM

By
Neha Kumari
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 93rd Annual General Meeting and Annual Conference of the Federation of Indian Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Saturday. In his address, PM Modi mentioned the benefits of the new agricultural laws and said that the government is fully committed to the interest of farmers.

Addressing the 93rd annual general meeting of FICCI through video conferencing, Modi said that we have seen a lot of change in the 2020 match. The country, the world has gone through so many ups and downs that after a few years when we remember the Corona period, it may not be sure. The faster the situation worsens, the faster it is improving.

PM Narendra Modi in his address said that we have seen walls between agriculture sector and other related sectors like agriculture infrastructure, food processing, storage, cold chain. Now all the walls are being removed, all the obstacles are being removed. After these reforms, farmers will get new markets, new options, technology will be benefited, the country’s cold storage infrastructure will be modern. There will be more investment in all this agriculture sector. The farmer of the country is going to benefit the most from all this.

Modi said that earlier policies gave a boost to efficiency in many sectors and new experiments were stopped. Self-sufficient India campaign promotes efficiency in every sector. Emphasis is being laid on technology-based industries in sectors in which India has long-term competitive adventure.

Prime Minister Modi said, ‘The way India has worked unitedly in the past, has made policies, has taken decisions, has surprised the whole world. The trust of the world that India had built in the last six years has strengthened in the last month. Be it FDI or FPI. Investors of the world are investing heavily in India.

Speakers at this year’s FICCI AGM include prominent businesses such as Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, Alphabet’s former chairman Eric Schmidt, Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran, Cadila Healthcare chairman Pankaj Patel and Oyo Hotels Homes founder and group CEO Ritesh Agarwal Leaders are included. More than 10,000 delegates from around the world are participating in this mega event virtually.

4G internet ban is extended till 25 Dec

By
Neha Kumari
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The Jammu and Kashmir administration authorities has extended the ban on 4G internet high speed internet. They have said that only 2G service shall continue in Jammu and Kashmir till December 25, 2020.

As per an order issued today, only Udhampur and Ganderbal districts will have no high-speed restrictions, whereas the rest of 18 districts in J&K will have restrictions on high-speed internet services.

Home Department, Shaleen Kabra, said: “In view of credible inputs, and as a matter of abundant caution, the access to the internet had to be restricted on the day of poll in the areas going for polling. There has been a continuous attempt to radicalise the youth using social media which rely on high-speed internet.”

The Home Department’s order reads that high speed internet has to be barred “due to likelihood of misuse of the data services by the anti-national elements to disrupt the democratic process by creating a scare among the voters, carrying out attacks on security forces, targeting of contesting candidates and the workers.”

Initially Internet services were cut off in J & K last year on August 5, just hours before the Centre revoked Article 370 of the Constitution.

2G internet service was allowed to use on January 25.

Pranab Mukherjee’s book accuses Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh For 2014 Congress defeat

By
Shivani Negi
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The problems for Congress continue to mount as along wit inner party confrontation, a new revelations by former President Pranab Mukherjee has invited new criticism. In the book, which will be releasing soon, late Mr. Mukherjee has held former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the party’s 2014 defeat.

The former President, who died in August this year, said in the book that some people in the party believed that had he been the Prime Minister, Congress would not had faced defeat in 2014 elections.

“Some members of the Congress have theorized that, had I become the PM in 2004, the party might have averted the 2014 Lok Sabha drubbing. Though I don’t subscribe to this view, I do believe that the party’s leadership lost political focus after my elevation as president. While Sonia Gandhi was unable to handle the affairs of the party, Dr (Manmohan) Singh’s prolonged absence from the House put an end to any personal contact with other MPs,” Mr Mukherjee writes.

The memoir  titled “The Presidential Years” will be released in January 2011.

”While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature and the judiciary,” Mukherjee further adds in the book.

While comparing current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Mukherjee elaborates difference in their styles of working.

“I believe that the moral authority to govern vests with the PM. The overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the PM and his administration. While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature and the judiciary. Only time will tell if there is a better understanding on such matters in the second term of this government,” he writes.

The memoir will recount Mr Mukherjee’s journey from growing up in a remote village in Bengal to becoming India’s first citizen.

US grants emergency use approval to Pfizer/BioNTech covid-19 vaccine

By
Shivani Negi
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The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday said that it has granted regulatory approval to Pfizer and BioNtech’s covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in the country. It added that inoculations is expected to take place within day, raising hopes in the US which remains the worst country by the pandemic.

The news was confirmed by commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn in a statement.

“The FDA’s authorization for emergency use of the first Covid-19 vaccine is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world,” Hahn said.

In the first phase, Health workers and nursing home residents are expected to get vaccinated, a source close to the matter said.

With the latest development, US has joined other countries including United Kingdom, Canada and Bahrain among others in approving Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine.

“While not an FDA approval, today’s emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine holds the promise to alter the course of this pandemic in the United States,” said Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a statement.

“With science guiding our decision-making, the available safety and effectiveness data support the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine because the vaccine’s known and potential benefits clearly outweigh its known and potential risks.”

Meanwhile, in a video posted on Twitter, Donald Trump hailed the decision and said that it is one of the greatest scientific accomplishments in history.

“The United States is the first nation in the world to produce a verifiably safe and effective vaccine. Today’s achievement is a reminder of America’s unlimited potential,” Trump said in the video on Friday.

“The first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours,” Trump said in a televised address released on Twitter.

“Through our partnership with FedEx and UPS, we have already begun shipping the vaccine to every state and zip code in the country,” he added.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s covid-19 vaccine has proved an efficacy rate of over 95 per cent.

Covid-19 update: India’s tally crosses 98 lakh mark

By
Shivani Negi
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India reported more than 30,006 new cases of covid-19 in last 24-hour, taking nation’s total tally past 98 lakh mark. On the other hand, more than 1.42 lakh people have lost their lives after contracting the viral infection.

India’s overall tally stood at 98,26,775 on Saturday, while the death toll have mounted to 1,42,628, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

As on date, 93,24,328 have recovered with 33,494 more people recovering in the last 24 hours. Currently, there are 3,59,819 active cases of the covid-19 infection in the country. The recovery rate stands at 94.89 per cent while the fatality rate is 1.45 as per cent.

A cumulative total of 15,26,97,399 samples have been tested for Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Of these, 10,65,176 samples were tested on Friday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

 Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana account for over 72 per cent cases in the country.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst hit state with  18,72,440 cases of covid-19. It is followed by Karnataka (8.99 lakh),  Andhra Pradesh (8.74 lakh), Tamil Nadu (7.96 lakh), Kerala (6.58 lakh and Delhi (6.03 lakh). 

Here’re some more updates:

*BMC is planning to vaccinate around 1.25 lakh health care workers in 15-20 days in Mumbai.

*US FDA approved PFizer and BioNTech’s covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorisation in the country.

*Donald Trump has said that the first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours.

*Britain’s AstraZeneca is set to try its vaccine shot with Russia’s approved vaccine Sputnik V, a move that Russian scientists have been suggesting for long, saying it could boost efficacy.

*Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said that the third covid wave in Delhi is seeing decline in the past few weeks. However, he advised people to take precautions.

*The Centre has asked states to limit the use of Rapid Antigen Tests to 30-40% and ensure they do not take precedence over RT-PCR tests.

Meanwhile, the overall number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed the grim milestone of 70 million mark, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.59 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

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