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Archives for September 2020

President Ram Nath Kovind accepts Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation

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President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had resigned in protest against three farm sector bills.

Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday accepted the resignation of Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had resigned in protest against three farm sector bills.

The Shiromani Akali Dal leader resigned on Thursday.

“The President of India, as advised by the prime minister, has accepted the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement.

Further, as advised by the prime minister, the president has directed that Cabinet Minister Narendra Singh Tomar be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in addition to his existing portfolios, it said.

Tomar holds multiple portfolios including the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development Ministry and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

“I have resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister,” Badal tweeted, hours before the bills were passed by Lok Sabha.

Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.

It has already passed Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.

PV Sindhu, Sikki Reddy, Ashwini Ponnappa withdraw; Saina Nehwal still game for Denmark Open

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World champion PV Sindhu, who joined the TUC squad after BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke to her, is understood to have withdrawn from the Denmark Open.

CHENNAI: Days after the postponement of the Thomas and Uber Cup finals, it is understood that at least three players from the list of the six-member teams released by the Badminton Association of India are withdrawing from the Denmark Open in Odense.

World champion PV Sindhu, who joined the TUC squad after BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke to her, is understood to have withdrawn from the Denmark Open.

A letter was sent to BAI on her unavailability for the tournament.

London Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal and former World No 1 Kidambi Srikanth will lead India’s charge.

Former junior World No 1 Lakshya Sen is the third player left in the squad after Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy too have opted to skip the meet. B Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri, who had entered their names in doubles, too have decided to skip the event.

They were not part of the six-member team to be funded by the sports ministry. It is understood some players are wary of the Covid-19 risk and also concerned about hospitalisation and quarantine protocol if tested positive abroad.

Funding is an issue for players who are going on their own. A few might take a call closer to the date of event.

As reported by this newspaper, the BAI had asked all players who are going to participate at the Denmark Open to sign a consent form.

The shuttlers were supposed to intimate their availability by September 17. Those who have so far sent their consent include P Kashyap, Subhankar Dey, and Ajay Jayaram.

COVID-19 update India’s tally crosses 52 lakh-mark with 96,424 new cases, 1,174 deaths

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According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, 13 states and union territories currently got less than 5,000 active cases.

India’s COVID-19 tally raced past 52 lakh with 96,424 people testing positive in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 41,12,551 on Friday, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 52,14,677, while the death toll climbed to 84,372 with the virus claiming 1,174 lives in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

There are 10,17,754 active cases of COVID-19 in the country which comprises 19.52 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

Kejriwal terms three farming-related bills ‘anti-farmer’, says party will vote against them in Parliament

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Kejriwal demanded that the Centre withdraw bills related to agriculture, saying his party will vote against the bills in Parliament.

NEW DELHI: Terming three bills related to agriculture “anti-farmer”, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday demanded that the Centre withdraw them, saying his party will vote against the bills in Parliament.

The AAP has three Rajya Sabha MPs and one LoK Sabha MP.

“The three bills related to farming and farmers brought in the Parliament are anti-farmer. Farmers all over the country are opposing them. The central government should withdraw these three bills. The AAP will vote against them in Parliament,” he tweeted in Hindi.

The Centre had on Monday introduced The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Bill, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, and ‘The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill to replace the ordinances promulgated earlier.

These bills seek to provide barrier-free trade for farmers’ produce outside notified farm mandis, and empower farmers to enter into farming agreements with private players prior to production for sale of agri-produce.

100-year-old woman beats COVID-19 in Assam

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GUWAHATI: Her age may have posed a challenge but 100-year-old Mai Handique’s battle against COVID-19 was won by her positivity, doctors said on Thursday.

Handique, Assam’s oldest COVID-19 patient, was discharged from the Mahendra Mohan Chowdhury Hospital (MMCH) in Guwahati on Wednesday, they said.

A resident of the Mothers’ Old Age Home, she was admitted to the hospital ten days ago after testing COVID- positive.

The doctors and nurses who were treating her held a small celebration before she was discharged.

Handique, who was beaming with excitement, joined the party singing several Assamese songs in her full-throated voice.

Handique, called Aita (grandma) by all at the hospital, told reporters that she enjoyed her stay and the food.

“We were given fish or meat on most of the days while egg and banana were given daily. We were also given ‘ruti- bhaji’ (chappatis and vegetables) which I enjoyed the most,” she said.

She also thanked all those who treated her, saying, “The girls (the nurses) and the doctors’ took very good care.”

Handique also had a special word of praise for Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma — “He is doing very hard work for all of us and I bless him to continue to help people who are suffering from this disease.”

Sarma, too, wished her on the recovery.

“Steely resolve of 100-year old Mai Handique is monumental. With brilliant support of doctors at MMCH, she defeated coronavirus, giving us a lesson in having the right will power,” he said.

A doctor treating Handique said, “Initially, we were worried due to her age and she also has hypertension, but she was always cheerful and in a positive frame of mind.”

Twelve residents of the Mothers’ Old Age Home have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and five of them have been discharged so far.

5G introduction depends on equipment, ecosystem, telcos’ economic consideration: Govt

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The government also said that state-owned BSNL and MTNL have not planned introducing 5G services yet on their networks.

5G

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that introduction of 5G services in the country will depend on equipment, device ecosystem and economic considerations by telecom operators.

The government also said that state-owned BSNL and MTNL have not planned introducing 5G services yet on their networks.

Minister of State for Telecommunications Sanjay Dhotre, in a written reply to a question on the 5G rollout, said, “5G services depends on 5G equipment and device ecosystem, and economic considerations by the telecom service providers.

” In response to a question on the warning over data theft and national security, Dhotre said the US has intimated about the use of 5G clean path to protect the data and networks of US diplomatic facilities.

The 5G clean path is an end-to-end communication path that does not use any equipment from untrusted vendors.

“To address security concerns of telecom network, security conditions are incorporated in the licence conditions of telecom service providers.

The National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS), Bengaluru has also been established and has been entrusted with the task of preparation of Indian telecom security assurance requirements,” Dhotre said.

Responding to a separate query with regard to 5G rollout, the minister said that 5G services have not been rolled out in the country as yet and the state-run telecom firms BSNL and MTNL have informed the government that they have not yet planned introduction of 5G services on their networks.

Globally, over 100 telecom networks have adopted 5G technology.

In India, telecom operators applied for spectrum to start 5G trials in August 2019 but the Department of Telecom (DoT) is yet to allocate radiowaves.

Dhotre said that the DoT had in March 2018 approved a multi-institute collaborative project to set up indigenous 5G test bed at a total cost of Rs 224 crore.

The collaborating institutes include IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).

The project envisages setting up of an end to-end open 5G test bed in a distributed architecture model, and it will enable Indian academia and industry to validate their products, prototypes and algorithms, Dhotre said.

It will also provide facilities for experimenting and demonstrating 5G applications, he said.

Recently, Reliance Jio also announced development of indigenous 5G technology products, Dhotre said.

Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel submitted fresh applications for field trials in July but they are yet to get the spectrum.

Opposition leaders to meet President Ram Nath Kovind over Delhi riots case

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NEW DELHI: Opposition leaders like Congress’ Ahmed Patel, CPI’s D Raja, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, DMK’s Kanimozhi and RJD’s Manoj Jha will meet the president on Thursday to highlight their concerns over the probe into the Delhi riots.

The leaders will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 12:30 pm, Raja confirmed.

“We will submit a memorandum regarding the Delhi police’s investigation and inquiry into the Delhi riots and how they are handling the inquiry.

“We will also explain to him what is happening and seek his intervention,” said the CPI general secretary.

In a recent supplementary chargesheet, the Delhi Police, citing statements of those arrested, had named Yechury along with other activists in the case.

Hopeful of virus vaccine in India by beginning of 2021: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

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In an address in Rajya Sabha, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that advanced planning for a vaccine is in the works and that it is expected to be available in India by the beginning of 2021.

India’s COVID-19 tally of cases galloped past 51 lakh with a spike of 97,894 new cases and 1,132 deaths in last 24 hours.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 51,18,254 including 10,09,976 active cases, 40,25,080 cured/discharged/migrated and 83,198 deaths, according to Union Ministry of Health data.

Meanwhile, the national capital reported a jump of 45 per cent in the number of containment zones in the last 10 days as Delhi’s case tally crossed 2.3 lakh. Home isolation cases of Covid-19 in Delhi also jumped by over 50 per cent to reach 16,576 during the period, according to official data.

Toyota plans to invest over Rs 2,000 crore in India

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Denying reports of non-expansion in the country due to higher taxes, the company said it plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in developing vehicle technology and electric components.

Toyota

NEW DELHI:  Japanese carmaker Toyota Kirloskar on Tuesday said that they continue to remain committed to the Indian market and their operations in the country is an integral part of their global strategy. Denying reports of non-expansion in the country due to higher taxes, the company said it plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in developing vehicle technology and electric components.

“The news that Toyota Company will stop investing in India is incorrect. vikram kirloskar has clarified that Toyota will invest more than Rs 2,000 crore in next 12 months,” Union minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted. Responding to the tweet, Vikram Kirloskar, vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor( TKM) said, “Absolutely! We are investing Rs 2,000+ cr in electric components and technology for the domestic customer and export.

We are committed to the future of India and will continue to put all effort in society, environment, skilling and technology.” The report was not taken lightly by the Indian government as it undermines its  effort to attract investment in the country, especially from manufacturers who are looking to exit China. The Centre is planning to shell out incentives worth  $23 billion to attract manufacturers to set-up plans in India.

For the Covid-hit auto sector, the government has already promised looking at high GST rates and rolling out incentive-based scrappage policy by September end. Earlier in the day, TKM in a statement said that its first step is to ensure full  capacity utilization of what it has created and this will take time.

It added that in wake of the slowdown, further exaggerated by the Covid-19 impact, the automobile industry has requested the government for support through a viable tax structure.  TOM’s market share in the last one year has fallen from five per cent to below five per cent share in the  domestic passenger vehicle market.  The sector is dominated largely by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors.

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