To curb the covid-19 infection, India will solemnly have to depend on a vaccine achieving herd immunity is not an option for a population as big as ours, Union Health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday.
The Health Minister was citing second sero-survey of Indian Council of Medical Research which is actively researching on reports of reinfection.
In a social media interaction with his followers on ‘Sunday Samvaad’, the minister said, “the soon to be released second sero-survey indications are that we are far from having achieved any kind of herd immunity which necessitated that all of us should continue following appropriate behaviour.”
“ICMR is actively investigating and researching reports of reinfection and although the number of reinfection cases is negligible at this moment, the government is fully seized of the importance of the matter,” he further said.
Herd immunity is achieved by exposing a considerable population to the virus in which the majority of people naturally acquire immunity to infection. However, most importantly herd immunity can work only when there is some vaccination also.
“The first sero survey of May 2020 revealed that the nationwide prevalence of novel coronavirus infection was only 0.73 per cent,” the health minister also said.
“ICMR’s sero survey report should not create a sense of complacency in people as usually herd immunity is achieved when about 60-70% of a country’s population has developed antibodies against the virus. Since that is not the case for us yet, we must know that a significantly large population in India is susceptible to getting infected, which is why it is extremely important to observe Covid-19 appropriate behaviour,” the minister added.
Vardhan stated that states/UTs have also been advised to lower the prices of COVID-19 tests. “In the early days of the pandemic, as the kits were imported, the price tended to be high. But now, supplies of testing kits have stabilised and domestic production of these kits have commenced,” the minister said.
The health minister also said in the last few months since outbreak of the pandemic, India have made enormous progress in the manufacturing of PPEs, Testing kits and many medical devices.
Geographical indication is aninsignia on product, art, food, etc, with distinctive geographical origin and with special quality. Basically GI is a mark of authenticity which ensures registered authorized item inside geographic territory are allowed to use the popular product names.
GI tags will also give official recognition of historical and cultural importance to increase demand and create a legacy of the product.
Significance of Geographical Indication Tag –
GI provides legal protection, so it prevents illegal use of the registered GIs by others. It will boost economic profitability to the of produceers. Notably, GI will help in acknowledgment of the product in other countries as well and thus boosting exports too.
As per Article 22, GIs are protected to avoid providing public with misleading information and to prevent unfair competition, and thus, products under this article are provided with standard protection.
Who award Geographical Indication Tag in India?
GI tags are issued as per the Geographical Indications of Goods Registration and Protection Act,1999. GI tag is awarded by the Geographical Indication Registry (GIR). GIR comes under the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
But if the origin of a GI is from multiple states, then it will recorded as India for the purpose of this analysis. There are 11 products which have been marked as India.
Geographical Indications Tag Data –
The Geographical Indications Registry has a total of 370 GIs registered in India as of now ( 27 September 2020).
The registration started in the financial year 2004-05 after the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 came into effect from September 2003.
According to report till now, the GI Registry had received a total of 706 applications since the beginning.
Notably, ‘Darjeeling tea’ was the first GI-tagged product in India, label in 2004-2005.
However, the greatest number of entries to the registry was witnessed in 2008-09 with 45 products securing the GI tag. And between year 2016 and 2017, 33 products have registered. For instance in the year 2019-20, 18 products have been registered under GI.
Meanwhile, Karnataka has the highest number of GI-tagged products. However, when geographical area is factored in, Kerala has the highest
source – FACTLI.IN
LOGO
The logo consists of a ‘G’ and ‘I’ bearing the three colours of the Indian flag. The tagline in English is ‘Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India’ along with the same in Hindi.
FOR EXAMPLE – If other than Bengal producer wants to tag rasogulla as ”The Banglar rasogulla”. But now Banglar rasogulla have GI tag. So now ” The Banglar rasogulla ” can only be made in Bengal, and they must have to carry a GI logo as proof of their authenticity.
Notably, other producer can make rasogulla but they can not now label it as ” The Banglar rasogulla ”.
However, Odisha can still submit an letter for a GI tag for the ”Pahala rasogulla.”
David Warner, the captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad said that his team has to increase the frequency of hitting fours and sixes after they suffered a seven-wicket loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday.
“We have to try and go harder at the top. Can’t help if the bowlers are bowling good lines and lengths, we need to push as hard as we can,” said Warner on Star Sports after the match.
“You can see from our running between the wickets, we do that but we got to improve our boundary percentage. I saw, I think 35 dot balls, which not acceptable in T20 cricket on a wicket that was actually nice to bat on. We just mis-executed in the middle.”
Till now the tournament has been a nightmare for the Hyderabad-based team. They lost both their games which have been a one-sided encounter. The Sunrisers are facing a huge dilemma in their batting line-up as they got no experienced batsman to bat in the middle order.
“For us, our strength is death bowling. I thought it was actually a difficult wicket to accelerate on. The Kolkata boys showed us that if you can keep wickets at the end, that’s what wins you games. I don’t regret what I did at the beginning of the game and I stick by my decision,” he said.
“Pat Cummins, as he does, (bowled) Test match line and length. There was a little bit of movement here and there. All in all, it got harder through the middle. We went four or five overs for 20 and coming back with three wickets in hand at the end probably killed us a little bit there. An extra 30 or 40 runs would have been great,” said Warner.
Nita Ambani, founder of the Reliance Foundation has announced the expansion of Indian Super League (ISL). With the inclusion of East Bengal in the seventh season of India’s top football league.
“It is such a happy and proud moment for ISL as we welcome East Bengal FC and their millions of fans into the league. The inclusion of both legacy clubs, i.e. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan) opens limitless possibilities for Indian football, especially for talent development in the state,” said Nita in a statement.
“West Bengal has made an immense contribution to the growth of the beautiful game in India. ISL’s growing footprint in the state and across India, is yet another step towards our mission of building a competitive and robust football ecosystem in the country,” she added.
The seventh season of ISL will be played behind closed doors without the spectators at three venues – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda; GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim; and Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shane Watson paid tribute to his late Australian great Dean Jones, he said that the former Australia veteran gone over the limits to deliver the best from his side always cared about people who were less fortunate.
“I’m shattered that such a person isn’t with us anymore. In the last four years, I got to know him very well. He was also my coach at Islamabad United for two years. I got to know him very well after I stopped playing for Australia. Jones always wanted to learn more and get better,” Watson said on his YouTube show ‘The Debrief’.
“He always pushed the limits to get better. Another thing for which I adored him was that he cared for other people. He wanted to give back to people who weren’t as fortunate as he was. My heart goes out to Jones’ family and Brett Lee, who did every possible thing to keep the great man alive,” he added.
The veteran all-rounder also revealed that just two days prior to the CSK’s matchagainst Delhi Capitals where they were defeated 44 runs on Friday, his grandmother also passed away back in Australia.
“My grandma (mother of my mother) passed away on Wednesday. I want to send my love to my family back at home and I know how incredible mom was my grandmother to my mom. My heart goes out to my family at home. I’m sorry that I can’t be there right now. My love goes to you,” the 39-year-old said.
Bihar Election: Former Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey joined JDU today. He joined the party in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence.
After joining DGP Pandey said that ”Nitish Kumar is our leader, I will follow the orders given by him and the party”.
The former DGP said that ”he will do whatever the party tells us. If asked to contest elections, I will contest elections. People call from every district of Bihar to contest elections from us (Bihar Election 2020)”.
DGP Pandey said, “I am a clean man of heart. I do not even know what politics is. Whatever our leader’s orders will be.”
However, election trumpet has been played in Bihar. Now probably closed box will open by 30 September.
The layout of the seat sharing inside nearly ready. At the same time, seat sharing has not been announced in the Grand Alliance. According to few media reports, Congress is expected to get between 65 and 70 seats this time.
The nomination process of the first phase for the state assembly elections will begin from October 1.
However, the leaders of the grand alliance argue that the seat-sharing has not even been finalized in the NDA. As far as the RJD-led Grand Alliance is concerned, the RJD itself will contest from 145 to 150 seats. It is even being said that the party has given the green signal to all its candidates to go to the constituency.
A new law that provides for the inclusion of Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi in the list of official languages in Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to Urdu and English, has been notified after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent.
The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, received assent of the President on September 26, according to a gazette notification.
The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 was passed by Rajya Sabha through voice vote. Lok Sabha had cleared the legislation on September 23.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy had said in Parliament that it was a long-standing demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the language they speak should be included in the list of official languages.
Earlier, Sikh and Gujjar communities have protested the exclusion of Punjabi and Gojri languages from the bill.
NEET Result 2020 date will be announced on October 12, as per the higher NTA officials.
NEET result will be declared online at ntaneet.nic.in for registered candidates. For downloading NEET result 2020, you must enter the roll number, date of birth and security pin.
Notably, result of NEET 2020 will be available in scorecard format. Also NEET UG result 2020 will not be sent through posts.
While NTA has released NEET UG Answer Key 2020. The Advance Answer Keys for candidates for all the sets (E1- E6, F1- F6, G1-G6, H1-H6) has been released on ntaneet.nic.in.
However, the notice clearly reads, “Please note that this Public Notice is not for inviting challenge of the keys which will be done later on, and for that proper notice will be issued. Therefore, kindly do not email your responses or clarification regarding the Keys and please wait for the process of raising challenges for the same.”
Steps to check NEET SS result:
Step 1: Log on to website – nbe.edu.in or natboard.edu.in. Step 2: Under NBE Notice Board tab on the homepage, opt for the link that reads, “Result of NEET-SS 2020” Step 3: Read PDF, “Click here for result of NEET-SS 2020” Step 4: Select the course and your score, roll number, and merit position will be displayed Step 5: Check before saving or taking printout
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his assent to the three contentious farm bills that were passed by Parliament amid uproar in Parliament and large-scale protests by farmers.
As per gazette notification, the President gave assent to three Bills: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020.
Soon after the president’s assent to the bills, the Maharashtra government announced that it won’t implement the “anti-farmers” law in the state. “The Bills passed by Parliament are anti-farmers. So we’re opposing it. Maha Vikas Aghadi will also oppose it and not implement it in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena is also with us. We’ll sit together and form a strategy,” Maharashtra revenue minister Balasaheb said.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis). This, the government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels.
Calling it a “dark day”, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the President refused to act as per the nation’s conscience. “It’s really a dark day for India that the President has refused to act as the nation’s conscience. We were very hopeful that he would return these bills to Parliament for reconsideration as demanded by SAD and some other opposition parties,” ANI quoted Badal as saying.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced says that they broke their 24-year-old alliance with BJP over the three agri-marketing bills in Parliament.
“Today we have decided to part ways with the NDA,” Akali Dal President and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said.
The alliance between SAD and BJP, formed in 1996 after parliamentary elections.
The party were continuously protesting against farm bills.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, made his public appearance as they broke alliance with the BJP-led NDA last night. They said that nation should understand and empathies with farmers in view of their situation.
“We are ready to join or follow any struggle in the overall interests of the farmers, farm labour, Arhtiyas and other farm produce traders,” the SAD president said.
“Anything like the new farm bills of the Government of India, which increases the uncertainty over the fate of the farmers’ produce, can have disastrous implications not only for the economy but also for social stability in the country. Farmers’ economic plight affects the entire economy. Therefore, what we are fighting for is to protect the country’s wider national interests”, it added.
“We must not flinch from the ideals of keeping our struggle for people’s rights absolutely peaceful and democratic. I must caution against attempts to defame our struggle by disturbing peace but that should only strengthen our resolve to safeguard the age-old values of Punjabi fraternity and the path of peaceful democratic struggle,” said Badal.
“What happened in the Rajya Sabha everybody knows that.. Although we were part of the government, but Harsimrat Kaur Badal quit from the post of minister against the bills,” Badal said.
Badal accused the central government of completely ignoring the farmers and pushing the farm bill with no opposition in Parliament.
Anrich Nortje played a crucial role in Delhi Capitals’ 44 runs victory against the Chennai Super Kings. South African pacer Anrich Nortje is looking forward to continuing the momentum in his debut IPL season.
Nortje went wicket-less in his debut match against the Kings XI Punjab and was criticised for his performances. He did the job on Friday while playing against the Chennai Super Kings, he scalped two crucial wickets against MS Dhoni-led CSK.
“It’s just unbelievable. It’s great to get a wicket finally, I mean after not getting one in the first game. I felt like to come in and run in today, just give it my best, control what I generally do and I think at the end it paid off. So, I was just trying to do my thing at the end,” said Nortje on being able to break the deadlock.
When asked about the team’s performance after defeating CSK, the South-African pacer said, “Like I said at the start, it’s been a good team spirit, good banter, positive getting along. Boys are nice and relaxed, so that’s really good. Even in the game, we know when to step it up and know when to relax, so it’s a good balance that the team has at the moment.”
When asked about his new look, Nortje stated that “I have got no idea (laughs). We have got too much time on our hands these days. But I think if you would have got a little bit less time back at the hotel, maybe this (beard) will come off, but at this stage, I’m a little bit bored.”
Delhi Capitals, are at top of the points table, they will face SunRisers Hyderabad in their next match which will be played on Tuesday.
Home Minister Amit Shah will soon work on setting up a permanent station house of the National Investigation Agency(NIA) in Bengaluru. The conclusion came after their meeting last week. Yesterday while briefing the press Tejasvi revealed the need for NIA in South India.
Bengaluru being the financial nerve center of South India, is the highly targeted spot for the terrorists. Surya said it’s vital to keep the city safe from the terrorists and anti-India organizations.
“It is a matter of grave concern that NIA investigations into the DJ Halli and KG Halli mob violence in August have indicated that many terrorist organisations are using Bengaluru as their incubation centre for carrying out anti-India activities,” Surya said in a statement.
An NIA investigation in March revealed that four terror accused in Bengaluru helped ISIS member Khaja Mohideen in establishing a terror base in the forests of South India. Recently, NIA arrested 9 terror accused from the parts of Kerala and West Bengal.
“That being the case, it’s also important to power the investigating agency, the NIA, with adequate infrastructure and personnel to conduct their probe into terror-related activities in Karnataka. There are reports that the NIA does not have sufficient infrastructure and human resources for conducting investigations. NIA is currently operating with skeletal staff and that too from Hyderabad with only a camp office in Bengaluru,” he added.
“Bengaluru being the financial nerve centre of south India, it is vital to keep the city safe from all terrorist and anti-India organisations and their activities. An NIA investigation in March 2020 revealed that four terror-accused in Bengaluru helped ISIS member Khaja Mohideen procure weapons and material for establishing a base in the forests of South India, for waging violent jihad in India. My request for a regional branch office of the NIA is made in this background,” Tejasvi said.
Tejasvi Surya is now also been appointed as the new national president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. Home Minister assured him that the process of setting up the NIA station house in Bengaluru will take place at the earliest.
The 51st edition of the Indian International Film Festival will be held from 16 to 24 January next year instead of 20 to 28 November this year. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that it was decided to postpone the IFFI event after discussing the subject with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
The festival will be conducted in a virtual & physical format. All #COVID19 related protocols will be strictly enforced as per the festivals convened recently in the International Film Festival circuit. (2/2)
Officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that this decision was taken keeping in mind the situation of Corona epidemic. Prakash Javadekar said that it has been decided to jointly organize the festival from 16 January to 24 January 2021 in Goa as per International Film Festival guidelines and rules.
“The 51st Edition of the International Film Festival of India scheduled to be held at Goa from 20th November to 28th November, 2020 has been postponed to 16th to 24th January, 2021,” the I&B Ministry said.
“The decision has been arrived at,” it said, after I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar “discussed the issue” with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
“It has also been jointly decided to hold the festival from 16th to 24th January, 2021 at Goa as per the International Film Festival guidelines and protocols. The festival will be conducted in a Hybrid format i.e. Virtual & Physical format…”, it added.
Game of Thrones co-stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are expecting their first child together. The news was revealed via a feature and photoshoot for the summer 2020 issue of UK’s Make Magazine that was published on Saturday.
A black-and-white picture from the shoot for Make magazine showed Leslie with her growing baby bump on full display.
Harington , 33 and Leslie, 33, first met on the sets of Emmy-winning HBO series Game of Thrones wherein they played star-crossed lovers Jon Snow and Ygritte.
Even though the couple never confirmed their relationship in their early years of dating, the rumours of their budding were rife since 2012. In 2013, it was reported that the couple had split only to get back together the same year.
The couple finally made their relationship official when they showed up as a couple at the Olivier Awards in April 2016. Harington also told Vogue Italia that he fell in love with his costar while filming “GoT” in Iceland.
In an interview with GQ Australia published in 2019, Harington said that he is looking forward to the time when his and Leslie’s child will see his/her parents meet on GoT.
“I have no idea if we will, but say me and Rose do have children,” he said. “They’ll know. They’ll be able to see the genesis of their parents getting together. Which is quite a wonderful thought, really.”
The couple got married in a star-studded wedding at Wardhill Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in June 2018.
Leslie, who played Ygritte in GoT, was killed off on the series in 2014. She will next be seen in Death on the Nile, a film which is adapted from Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name.
Harington, who portrayed Jon Snow on the HBO fantasy series, appeared as the main protagonist of the show.
The couple keeps their marriage private and are not active on any social media platforms.
Armenia on Sunday declared martial law and a military mobilisation as Baku and Yerevan reported civilian casualties in heavy fighting along the Karabakh frontline.
“The government has decided to declare martial law and a total mobilisation,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook.
Tensions rose in the southern Caucasus between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sunday morning over clashes in which Yerevan said Azerbaijani forces shelled the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku accused Armenian forces of shelling Azerbaijani military and civilian positions.
Authorities in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh said the region’s capital Stepanakert (Khankendi) has been shelled and urged residents to get to safety. Numerous houses in villages have been destroyed, with injuries reported.
Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said Armenian forces hit three Azerbaijani tanks. The number of casualties is yet to be confirmed.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan that has been out of Azerbaijan’s control since the end of a war in 1994. Both sides have heavy military presence along a demilitarized zone separating the region from the rest of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh – key facts
A mountainous region of about 4,400 sq km (1,700 sq miles)
Traditionally inhabited by Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks
In Soviet times, it became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan
Internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but majority of population is ethnic Armenian
An estimated one million people displaced by 1990s war, and about 30,000 killed
Separatist forces captured some extra territory around the enclave in Azerbaijan in the 1990s war
Stalemate has largely prevailed since a 1994 ceasefire
Russia has traditionally supported the Armenians.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is declaring martial law and mobilization, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
“Dear countrymen,
At the decision of the government, martial law and general mobilization is being declared in the Republic of Armenia. The decision is effective after publication. I call on the personnel attached to the troops to present themselves to their district commissariats.
For the fatherland, for victory,” Pashinyan said.
In the early morning of September 27, the Azerbaijani military launched a massive attack on Artsakh using air force, missiles and tanks. The Azerbaijani artillery strikes targeted civilian settlements, including Stepanakert city, which resulted in several civilians being killed. Schools were also bombed.
The two countries have long been at odds over Azerbaijan’s breakaway, mainly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh which declared independence during a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
