IIT Mumbai to go online for the rest of next semester, First major institute to take this decision: June 25, 2020 20:19
The Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai has scrapped all face-to-face lectures for the rest of the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The global health crisis called the coronavirus has taken a toll over all our lives. The pandemic which started in the December of 2019 in a small city in Wuhan has spread all over the world infecting near 10 million people. India is soon going to cross the 5 lakh mark of confirmed coronavirus cases.Due to the pandemic and the lockdown which started in India on the 24th of March the schools, colleges and universities have been shut down. Examinations had to be canceled and classes went from class rooms to computer systems. This pandemic showed us the new reality of the world. Though classes of schools and colleges are still going online, there is no particular date or there is no announcement of when the schools and colleges will be scheduled to reopen. Though there are some reports which say that they could reopen in the month of October. Indian Institute of Technology popularly known as IIT in Mumbai becomes the first major university or educational institution in the country to scrap class room classes for the rest of the year. All the classes until the beginning of the next year will be held online. The Director of the institute, Subhasis Chaudhuri had made an announcement late on Wednesday night that the institute is going to teach the entire next semester through virtual classes. The whole semester is going to be purely in the online mode. This decision is taken up to ensure the safety of the students as that is of utmost importance. The institute says that they are not going to compromise on the safety of students or their well-being at any cost. He shared this news on a Facebook post late night on Wednesday. In the institute’s 62 year old history, this is the first time it’s happening that a new academic year is going to tart with no students on the campus. IIT Mumbai has already made this statement and looks like IIT’s in the other states are likely to follow the same steps of online virtual lectures. The director also mentioned that they are looking for funding for their students to provide them with laptops and other necessary internet data plans for them to have a stress free class. Large amount of students at IIT-Bombay come from economically weak families and the institute is looking for funds to help bridge the digital divide between the students who can attend the classes and the students who cannot. In the post the director described how they don’t want even a single student to miss out on the learning experience just due to monetary issues. The institute says they need an amount of Rs. 5 crore to provide the students with the necessities of virtual classes. The alumni of the prestigious institute have also committed a good amount of support for the needy students and following that the heads of departments have sent emails to all students enquiring who all do not have access to a personal computer or laptop or even internet connection.By Deepika Agarwal
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Govt. bans all advertisement on Patanjali’s Covid drug; Ramdev says it’s just a communication gap June 24, 2020 11:58
Patanjali had launched its Covid-19 drug claiming 100% result on Tuesday and on the same day comes under the government scanner for not providing any information related to the research. Ayush ministry has thus banned all the advertisement for the product. Baba Ramdev says it’s just a communication gap between Patanjali and the government. Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd had launched its Covid-19 drug on Tuesday and had claimed that they have received 100% recovery in 7 days on their clinical trials. But it turns out the government of the country was not aware of this and thus Patanjali has come under the scanner of the central government. Ayush Ministry, which is government ministry for ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, homeopathy in India has said that it’s not aware of the fact of the claim and details of the stated scientific study around it and had told the Ayurveda manufacturer to stop advertising the drugs. The Ayush ministry has asked the Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd. to provide all the details at the earliest including the name and compositions of the medicines being claimed for the Covid-19 treatment. The Ayush ministry has also asked Patanjali to provide the site and hospitals where the research study was conducted including protocol, sample, size, Institutional Ethics clearance, Clinical Trials Registry India registration and also the results data of te said studies. Ayush Ministry has also directly asked Patanjali to stop publicizing and advertising such claims till the issue is duly exclaimed. Not just the results of the data, Ayush Ministry has also requested the concerned state Licensing Authority of Uttarakhand government to provide copies of license and product approval details of the medicine. Patanjali at a press release on Tuesday while launching the medicine claimed that the medicines have shown 100% results during the clinical trials conducted on the 280 patients in different cities around the country. 100 patients were being tested at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar. The managing director of Patanjali also said they are going to launch an e-commerce app for the delivery of their medicines. The medicines are being tested and will be available in a week in the Patanjali stores across the country. After Ayush Ministry raised concerns over Coronil, Patanjali has now submitted the composition of Coronil to the ministry. After the concerns being raised Patanjali says that the trials were conducted only on those who had mild and moderate symptoms. The serious patients were excluded from this trial. Patanjali spokesperson on Tuesday after the controversy said that they have already sent the data to Ayush Ministry and also one month is still left for the data and results to be recorded. Ayush ministry is yet to respond to the statement given by Patanjali group on the submission of the data. Ramdev Baba after the controversy said that it was just a communication gap and that they have taken all the permissions right from the production of the drug to its clinical trial. Patanjali has also sent all the details to the Ayush Ministry today and they will receive it soon. Baba Ramdev claims that they have not violated any laws regarding the production and launching of the Coronil medicine.By Deepika Agarwal
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PM Modi In Discussion With 14 States CMs Of Day 2 Consultations On Coronavirus Crisis June 17, 2020 19:53
PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah interact with CMs of 14 states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The discussion with all the state representatives to look over the spread of coronavirus during unlock 1.0. The virtual meeting is scheduled in two sessions to cover all the states. A set of states are scheduled to attend the meeting on June 16 and other few on the next day. The first day consultation meeting was with less affected states by the virus and the second day is for 15 worst affected states. The Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have attended Modi’s virtual meeting.Interactions with the specific state governments is crucial as they are the most affected by coronavirus in the country. The states which generally contribute more for economy and high employment have planned to discuss their strategy to run the economic activities following the strict lockdown restrictions in red zones. India has the highest record over 2000 fatalities in a single day and the spike touched about 11,000 new cases. It is expected to discuss the steps to be taken for the huge number of migrants moving inward and outward. The day before, the PM held another meeting to focus on the economic condition of the country. The meeting included the Chief Ministers, LGs and administrative authorities. In this meeting, Modi said that he is expecting improvement in Indian economy as most of the nation is free from lockdown restrictions. He spoke about the importance of both life and livelihood. At this point, health infrastructure must be the priority and on the other hand, economic activity should be managed. By Ramya C
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Earthquake Strikes Gujarat Rajkot At 5.5 Magnitude- No Major Damage Or Threat June 15, 2020 14:42
On Sunday evening, Gujarat was struck with an earthquake unfortunately and the magnitude was 5.5. The depth was 10 km in Gujarat, Kutch district approximately 120 km from Rajkot said the National Centre of Seismology.In Gujarat, a sudden earthquake struck at evening 8.13 on 14 June at 5.5 magnitude. The earthquake impacted the north region of Gujarat which included Ahmedabad with low intensity. The reports of earthquakes are not of any major damage or threat to lives.Previously also an occurrence of earthquake is seen on 9 May. The magnitude was closer to 4.3 on the Richter Scale which very lightly shook Junagarh, Porbandar and Gir Somnath. Chief Ministers had telephonic conversations with the District Collectors of the earthquake struck regions of Kutch, Rajkot and Patan.The tremor was felt in these places slightly. In the ANI visuals, it shows residents gathering out of the houses.In NCS official site, the incident in 2001 was mentioned when the moderate intensity of earthquake struck around 85 km from Bhuj. The entire area was devastated with magnitude 7.7 that killed over 20,000 people and several people were injured. This was reported on January 26th of 2001.The agency also reported an earthquake strike in Jammu and Kashmir after 30 minutes of Gujarat incident. In J & K it was a 2.9 magnitude tremor which was recorded at 90 km east of Katra.The low intensity earthquake strikes were reported in different parts recently. A low intensity earthquake occurred in Haryana on 8 June and in Delhi as well.The region of Delhi-NCR is observed to have the fault lines which generate earthquakes. There is another observation linked to earthquakes in Delhi, as an impact from Nepal and Afganistan’s Hindukush Mountains.By Ramya C
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Nepal Police Killed An Indian Citizen In Firing Near Bihar Border June 13, 2020 14:49
The clashes between Indian villagers and Nepali police led to killing a man in firing and two men were injured. The incident took place on Friday when the man was trying to meet his daughter in law who is a native of Nepal. Nepali police force detained the 42 year old man, Lagan Yadav and he was released on Saturday morning. Nepal police opened fire on Friday and killed a 22 year old Bihar man and two other men were injured. This clash created tension at the India-Nepal border. According to the Indian villagers, the whole incident started when the Nepali police troops objected to Yadav's daughter in law talking to Indian people standing in their area. The Nepali Police were patrolling the area and they asked the Indian people to step back from their area. The fighting between Indian people and Nepali police troops was 75 meters inside the Nepalese territory. While Nepali police claimed that they first fired in the air to disperse the crowd. The police also were suspected of Indian side people snatching their weapons. When the Nepali forces opened the fire in the crowd, three people were hit by the gunshots. The force said, total 15 rounds were fired in which 10 were in the air and 5 were in the crowd. APF claims that 2 people were fired above the knee and the man who died from firing was shot near the abdomen area. It was because he succumbed to his injuries. The two who were injured are admitted in the nearby hospital soon after the incident. Locals on the two sides said that the border was not fenced but was opened. In general, people move around to meet their relatives. The father of the deceased man said, "Nepal's security forces fired 15-16 rounds at unarmed villagers of Janakinagar, Sitamarhi, Bihar, killing Vikesh Rai and injuring two others." By Ramya C
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Export Bans On Hydroxychloroquine Lifted By India June 12, 2020 18:15
India has finally lifted the export bans on hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that has been touted by U.S President Donald Trump for fighting against the battle of Covid-19. “Department of Pharmaceuticals has approved the lifting of ban on Export of Hydroxychloroquine API as well as formulations,” said Sadananda Gowda, India’s minister for chemicals and fertilisers. The manufacturers, except for the export-oriented units and the ones in the economic zones, will have to supply 20% of their overall production to the domestic market. India is one of the leading suppliers of generic medicines across the world. The country banned the supply of HCQ export and its formulation in March following the impacts of Covid-19 in disrupting supply chains. India later eased some of the restrictions in April and then shipped 50 million tablets to U.S, as per the requirements posed by U.S President Donald Trump. Trump’s conviction of the drug had initially raised hopes in the minds of people, assuring that the drug does have benefitting properties. But, the confliction reports about the side effects of this drug have raised questions in the minds of people. Even the British scientists were forced to halt one of their trials after finding that the drug does no good to the Covid-19 patients and does have irreversible impacts in the long run. There have been medical studies that have hinted the side effects of this drug on the heart diseases and several other factors. WHO or the World Health Organisation reported that they would resume its trial of the drug to find its impacts in battling the novel coronavirus after doctors stop prescribing it to the patients. Two of the most popular labs in India that manufacture this drug include IPCA Laboratories and Cadila Healthcare. Following the lack of impacts of these drugs, both these labs experienced a down in their share market values. - Somapika Dutta
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Supreme Court Order To Aviation Ministry- Allow Fliers To Use Credit Amount Up to 2 Years June 12, 2020 14:45
The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Aviation Ministry to provide full refund to the fliers whose tickets were cancelled during the lockdown period. The court asked the center to reply within 3 weeks of time for the issued notice. Many fliers reserved tickets in advance which were dated after the coronavirus pandemic. All the advance booked tickets were cancelled as the lockdown restricted flights movements from and to India. Now, the Supreme Court has sent a notice to refund the amount of all cancelled tickets. SC also asked “Why should credit being issued by the airlines be limited to a short period or for the same route?” People who receive the refund from the airlines for cancelled tickets would be able to use the credit till 2 years. The notice from the Supreme Court also mentioned that fliers must be allowed to use the refund for a longer period which is a maximum of 2 years. Supreme Court said “Allow a passenger to use that credit for any route,” said the Supreme Court” The court notice is applicable for all the airlines and it should be heard as parties in the hearing of PIL seeking refund from airlines as the cancellation of tickets is due to nationwide lockdown. Court allowed three weeks of time to respond in regards with the notice. The Civil Aviation Ministry and the airlines must discuss the modalities and then come up with the response. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled after three weeks. By Ramya C
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103 Year Old Man Aims To Walk Marathon To Raise Funds For COVID-19 Vaccine June 11, 2020 17:58
A 103 year old Belgian man aims to walk a marathon around his garden to raise funds for coronavirus research. He is a retired doctor who is inspired by a hero in Britain who walked miles for charity funds. Alfons Leempoels is a retired general practitioner who started the walking marathon with 42.2 km in the municipality of Rotselaar on June 1. And he aimed to finish it on June 30. He has an everyday target to walk 10 laps of 145 meters(159 yards) in stages. The stages are set like this-three in morning, three at noon and four in the evening. The inspirational man works with his brilliance and does not lose the count. He keeps the count accurate by throwing a stick into the bowl every time he completes a lap. The very inspiration behind the efforts of Leempoels is Tom Moore who was 100 year old. Tom raised funds of USD 40 million (Rs 3,03,22,00,000) by walking around his garden during world war II in Britain for the health service. Leempoels said “My children said that I can walk at least as well as Tom Moore and on top of that I am 103 years old” "So they suggested that maybe I should do something. My granddaughter had just run a marathon and as a joke I said: I will run a marathon." He would contribute his funds to the hospital attached near the university of Leuven. There researchers are working on a cure for COVDI-19. He raised 6,000 Euros (Rs 5,16,600) till now and has finished one third of the distance of a marathon. The man went back to the history of 1957-58 when people suffered with an Asian flu pandemic but it was much more a quick recovery compared to COVID pandemic. He said “As a doctor you feel touched by this and that's why I was happy now that I might be able to contribute something to fight the coronavirus” By Ramya C
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US "Very Concerned" About Religious Freedom In India- Says Trump Admin June 11, 2020 17:48
India has always been a very tolerant and respectful country for all religions. Trump administration officials said, US is “very concerned” about India’s religious freedom. India has rejected US religious freedom report in the past and said it sees no locus standi for a froeign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens constitutionally protected rights. The Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback came after releasing the “2019 International Religious Freedom Report” on Wednesday. It is mandated by the US Congress to release the report. The report is documented with the major instances of the violation considering religious freedom across the world and it was released by the State Department by the Secretary of State Mike Pompoe. Brownback had a phone call with foreign journalist on Wednesday, he said that India has been spawned four major religions. He said “We do remain very concerned about what's taking place in India. It's historically just been a very tolerant, respectful country of religions, of all religions” The cause that is bothering the trendlines in India is religious subcontinent and there could be more communal violence, said Brownback. Brownback responded to a question stating his view that the minority faiths can't be blamed for the COVID-19 spread. They should instead be helped with food, healthcare and medicines during the crisis. Previously Prime Minster Narendra Modi criticized any form of discrimination as COVID-19 pandemic equally affects everyone. In February, he said via LinkedIn “COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or border before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood” The US Department saw the India Chapter of the report where it showed the religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination. There are also restrictions of the right of individuals to practice and speak about religious beliefs. In between 2008 to 2017, there were 7484 incidents of communal violence and 1,100 people were killed, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The US annual religious freedom report was accepted by The Federation of Indian American Christian Organization in a statement. President of the organization said that the list of incidents in reports are affecting the rights of people to believe and practice their faiths. There are such thousands of incidents that took place in India during the reporting period. By Ramya C
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Covid-19 recovered man from Kerala commits suicide June 11, 2020 11:51
A 33-year old man from Kerala who recovered from Covid-19 and later tested negative for the virus allegedly committed suicide at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on Wednesday. The man had been tested twice for the virus and he tested negative both the times. He later absconded from the hospital before being discharged, according to police reports.After fleeing from the hospital, he went to his hometown in a bus, but the villagers alerted the police about him. The police caught hold of him and put him back in the hospital where he was put into counselling.Before he could be discharged from the hospital, the authorities found him hanging from the ceiling of the isolation ward.The reports and statement from the medical college suggested that the man was not just undergoing the treatment for Covid-19, he was also being treated for epilepsy.Not just one, a similar case of suicide in the same medical college was also reported on the same day. A 38-year old man, who was under observation, took his own life after getting drunk on alcohol. The deceased was a resident of Tamil Nadu and had travelled down and was kept in isolation ward and then kept under observation.He was being treated for his alcoholism and later committed suicide at 04:50 pm and later passed away in the evening.To further ensure certainty, the authorities even conducted a swab test of Covid-19 on the deceased but the results came out negative.By Somapika Dutta
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Google Takes Down 'Remove China Apps' From Play Store June 10, 2020 20:14
With the constant infiltrating rage in the minds of people against China, Indians have been raving about the “Remove China Apps” that helped wipe out all the Chinese applications from one’s phone. But, given the thought base that this base was developed from, Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. has taken down the app from their official store. The same was done as the application violated several of the company policies. The app became one of the most trending applications in India within a short span of time and even obscured over 5 million downloads in late May. The popularity of the application rose among the calls of the boycott of the China goods and products. A person associated with the situation reported that the app was taken down from Google as it went against their policies of misleading the users into removing or disabling the third-party applications settings and features. The application scanned people’s phones for data and the kind of Chinese applications they had on their phones and then deleted them. Once it was uninstalled, a message popped up saying, “You are awesome, no China app found.” OneTouch AppLabs, the developer of the application didn’t come forward with any comment on the situation. They did mention on their website that the application had been removed from the play store and even thanked their existing users for downloading the application. - Somapika Dutta
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Ram Temple Construction Starts On From June 10 In Ayodhya June 08, 2020 20:48
The event of Ram temple construction will start from June 8. The first bricks will be laid for its foundation with special prayers- said Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of temple trust.The event is planned to start with a ritual of praying to Lord Shiva. It is believed that Lord Rama stepped out for war in Lanka after praying to Shiva. Rudr abhishek is part of the ritual. The same ritual is to follow on the first day of temple construction.The ritual and prayers will begin in the morning hours around 8 by Kamal Nayan Das and other priests on behalf of Ram temple President.The event lasts for 2 hours and then construction of Mandir starts soon after it by laying the foundation.The arrangements are getting ready for Shiva puja at the Kuber Tila shrine on the Ram Janmabhoomi site which was officially allocated for the temple in supreme court verdict in November.Devotees can visit the temporary temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi. The temple timings are fixed from 8 Am to 1 Pm and then from 3 Pm to 6 Pm which is 8 hours total.The head priest of the temple said, “the devotees are allowed to have Ram Lalla Darshan from a distance of 15 meters. No prasad is allowed to offer to the God, neither priests are allowed to distribute any prasad to the devotees”.In the month of March, Ram Lalla deity was moved from the original place to a new spot at the makeshift temple at the site. This was done ceremoniously to make space for construction of the temple.On May 11, the temple authorities carried away with the work of earth moving machinery for levelling the site.The 16th century babri mosque was located on the disputed side of Ayodhya and later demolished in 1992. Mosque was demolished by the kar sevaks believing that there was a Ram temple before on the spot.In the Supreme Court verdict, it was decided to allocate the land for Ram mandir. It also passed a verdict that a five acre plot is to be allocated for a mosque within Ayodhya.A separate case is ongoing on the demolition of Babri mosque in the special court of Lucknow.By Ramya C
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