Junior Digest

New Delhi , Aug 19 ,2020: Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced that more than 10,98,000 Indians stranded due to coronavirus pandemic have been repatriated so far under the Vande Bharat Mission.
Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India is negotiating with 13 countries including Australia, Italy and Japan to establish bilateral air bubble arrangements for flight operations.
The air bubbles arrangement between the two countries helps airlines to operate international flights with certain restrictions.
India has so far established air bubbles arrangements with the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar, and the Maldives.
The negotiations are underway with Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
Puri said ongoing negotiations will benefit stranded Indians and nationals of these countries, adding that air bubbles have also been proposed with our neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

New Delhi, Aug 7,2020: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday appointed Girish Chandra Murmu as new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, a day after he tendered resignation as Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor.
Mr Murmu will be replacing Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre as CAG.
The decision came exactly after a year, the Centre reorganised Jammu and Kashmir bifurcating it into two Union territories.
It is worthwhile to mention that former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Manoj Sinha, is likely to take oath of office as the second LG of UT J&K at Raj Bhavan on Friday afternoon.

Aug18,2020:Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj passed away at the age of 90 on Monday. He died of cardiac arrest at his house in New Jersey state of US.
With musical career spanning over 80 years, Pandit Jasraj was awarded with honours such as Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
Expressing his condolences on the demise of the legendary singer, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “Not only were his renditions outstanding, he also made a mark as an exceptional mentor to several other vocalists.”
The music legend is survived by daughter Durga Jasraj and son Shaarang Dev Pandit.
Pandit Jasraj, will be remembered for taking the art beyond the rarefied confines of a select set by imbuing khayal with an unmistakable element of bhakti rasa.

The foremost exponent of the Mewati gharana moved away from Dhrupad and brought an element of devotional singing to khayal by employing harkats and murkis that were associated with light classical music.
Born in a village in Hisar district of Haryana, Pandit Jasraj started as a tabla player and was known as an able accompanist in the classical circuit in Kolkata before turning to classical singing. He learnt from his father Pandit Motiram and elder brother Pandit Maniram but drew inspiration from various sources, including Begum Akhtar.
He was also a master of haveli sangeet and could speak for hours about its journey and rich history. A keen student of philosophy and spirituality, he loved to spend time with J. Krishnamurti, who loved his singing.

He was married to Madhura Shantaram, daughter of the legendary filmmaker V. Shantaram and often talked about his conversations with his father-in-law who made many classical music and dance-based films. “It was he who always pushed me to have clarity in my voice,” he would fondly remember.

Aug05,2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday attend a public function on laying of the foundation stone of ‘Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir’ at Ayodhya, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Prior to the function, the prime minister will take part in ‘pooja’ and ‘darshan’ at Hanumangarhi, a statement by the PMO said on Tuesday.

Modi’s visit to Ayodhya for the foundation stone laying ceremony is now officially confirmed.

He will unveil a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone and also release a commemorative postage stamp on ‘Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir’, the statement said.

BENGALURU Aug19,2020: Reliance Industries Ltd has acquired a majority stake in online pharmacy Netmeds for about 6.2 billion rupees ($83.08 million) in cash, days after e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc launched an online drug sales service in India.

The oil-to-telecoms conglomerate said here late on Tuesday its investment represents about 60% holding in Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. and 100% direct ownership of its subsidiaries.

Vitalic and its subsidiaries, collectively known as Netmeds, were incorporated in 2015. Netmeds is a licensed e-pharma portal that offers authenticated prescription and over the counter (OTC) medicine along with other health products in India.

The COVID-19 crisis, which spurred a wave of online shopping, has led to increased competition between Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart, Reliance’s upstart online grocery service, JioMart and a range of other smaller players for a share in the world’s second most populous country.

India is yet to finalize regulations for online drug sales, or e-pharmacies, but growth of online sellers such as Medlife, Netmeds, Temasek-backed PharmEasy and Sequoia Capital-backed 1mg has threatened traditional drug stores.

Many trader groups are against e-pharmacies, saying they would lead to sale of medicines without proper verification.

Idukki (Kerala) [India], August 12,2020: With the recovery of two more bodies, the death toll of the Rajamala landslide in Idukki rose to 54 on Wednesday, informed the Idukki District Collector (DC).
“Two more bodies were found today, taking the death toll in the Rajamala landslide to 54. 16 missing people are yet to be traced,” the DC said.
Two NDRF teams, a full unit of Idukki fire and rescue team, a team each from Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, and a team which received special training are leading the rescue operations in Idukki’s Rajamala, the District Information Office had said on Sunday.
On Friday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to kin of the deceased.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also expressed his condolences over deaths due to landslide and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakhs each from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the kin of deceased.
Heavy rains in several parts of Kerala triggered floods and landslides which have wreaked havoc in the region over the past few days

Bengaluru , Aug 16,2020: 35 more accused have been arrested in connection with Bengaluru violence that broke out on August 11, taking the total number of arrests in the cases to 340, informed the police on Sunday.
The imposition of Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in areas under DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits has also been extended till 6 am on August 18. The situation in the area remains tense. Section 144 has been extended twice in the area.
An FIR was registered on the complaint of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy at DJ Halli Police station 3 days after the violence broke out in parts of Bengaluru on August 11, over an alleged “derogatory” social media post by his nephew, the police said.
“An FIR is registered at DJ Halli Police Station on the complaint of MLA A Srinivas Murthy. As per the complaint, 2,000-3,000 people set his house and other properties including vehicles, on fire on August 11. Gold and silver items, vehicles and other things worth Rs 3 crore were robbed as per the complaint,” said the Police.
“Complaint was filed by MLA after three days of the incident. Complainant MLA said that he was unable to come out of trauma after his house was burnt,” the police added.
11 other FIRs had been registered till August 14 in connection with Bengaluru violence cases, out of which seven have been registered at DJ Halli police station in the city, the police had said earlier on August 14.
Among the accused who are arrested are Naveen, the nephew of MLA Srinivas Murthy, and include Kaleem Pasha, the husband of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) corporator from Nagwara ward – Irshad Begum.
Violence broke out in parts of Bengaluru on August 11, over an alleged “derogatory” social media post. At least three people were killed and nearly 60 police personnel were injured in the incident.

New Delhi, Aug 6,2020: Manoj Sinha has been appointed as Lieutenant-Governor of Jammu Kashmir said a statement from President Ram Nath Kovind’s office on Thursday.
GC Murmu, resigned on Wednesday from the LG post exactly one year after the creation of the new Union Territory.
“The President has accepted the resignation of Shri Girish Chandra Murmu as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The President has been pleased to appoint Shri Manoj Sinha to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office vice Shri Girish Chandra Murmu (sic),” read the statement.

New Delhi , Aug 15,2020: Announcing the National Digital Health Mission on the occasion of 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that a unique health ID will be provided to every citizen which will have their details of diseases, diagnosis, report, medication and so on.
Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister addressed the nation and highlighted the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ spirit of the country that has resulted in achieving self-reliance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his Independence Day address to the nation, Modi mentioned India’s strategy for the development of COVID-19 vaccine. The Prime Minister stated that scientists are working on this mission with strong determination.
“Presently, three vaccines are in different stages of testing. As soon as the scientists give a nod, mass production shall commence. A blueprint for the production and distribution of the vaccine is also ready,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the country is now producing PPE kits, N95 masks, ventilators etc, which were earlier not being manufactured domestically. The increase in the production capacity of such world-class items also echoed in his call “vocal for local”.
Modi highlighted the country’s steady escalation of its COVID testing capacity, “From merely one lab, we have today more than 1,400 labs across the country. We were earlier conducting just 300 tests on a day. Today, we are conducting more than seven lakh tests in a day. We have achieved this in a very less amount of time.”
He expressed his condolences to the families who lost their loved ones to COVID-19 disease. The Prime Minister reassured the nation that “we will win against corona. Our strong will shall lead us to victory.”
He hailed people in the frontline of the battle against coronavirus, saying that “corona warriors have lived the mantra of ‘Seva Parmo Dharma’ and served the people of the country”.
On the 74th Independence Day, the Prime Minister said it is an occasion to remember freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country.
“Congratulations and best wishes to all the countrymen on this festival of Independence Day. The sacrifice and the resolve to free the country of lakhs of sons and daughters of Maa Bharati is the reason for us being able to breathe in independent India today. This is a day to remember the sacrifices of our freedom fighters. This is also a day to show gratitude to security personnel including that of Army, paramilitary and police ensuring our safety,” Modi said.
He referred to the restrictions due to COVID-19 and said that children, who are the future of the country, were not at present at the celebrations and recalled the tireless contributions of corona warriors.

New Delhi [India], Aug 17,2020: India’s COVID-19 death toll breached the 50,000 mark as 941 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.
The number of deaths due to the infection has reached 50,921.
As many as 57,982 COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours across the country, taking India’s total coronavirus cases to 26,47,664 cases.
As per the recent update, there are 6,76,900 active cases while 19,19,843 patients have been discharged/migrated.
Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state from the infection with 1,56,719 active cases 4,08,286 patients have been discharged/migrated while 19,749 deaths due to COVID-19.
Tamil Nadu has a total of 54,213 active cases, 2,72,251 cured/discharged/migrated patients and 5,641 deaths. Andhra Pradesh has a total of 88,138 active cases while 1,91,117 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated and 2,562 patients succumbing to COVID-19.
Karnataka has a total of 81,284 active cases 1,34,811 patients cured/discharged/migrated and 3,831 patients succumbing to COVID-19.
Delhi, on the other hand, has 11,489 active cases while 1,36,251 cured/discharged/migrated and 4,188 fatalities.
3,00,41,400 samples tested up to August 16 for COVID-19. Of these, 7,31,697 samples were tested yesterday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday.
The Union Health Ministry further said that it is because of “focussing on timely and aggressive testing”, India has exceeded 3 crore tests.
“Focussing on timely and aggressive testing, India has exceeded 3 crore tests. Enhanced and timely testing is not only keeping the Positivity Rate low but also the Fatality Rate low,” the Health Ministry said.

New Delhi, Aug4,2020: Union Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched a two-month academic calendar for students from sixth to eighth grade.
In the guidelines, there is provision to get education at home on mobile, WhatsApp message, TV radio and social media platforms.
Dr Pokhriyal, who tweeted this information, said he is releasing an alternate academic calendar for eight weeks, which contains guidelines for teachers on how to use social media and technology to teach students at home.
He said this calendar will also empower students, teachers, principals and parents.
This will help to use resources about online teaching in the Corona era to yield better results.
The calendar contains week-wise plan consisting of interesting and challenging activities, with reference to theme/chapter taken from syllabus or textbook to facilitate teachers/parents to assess the progress in the learning of children and also to go beyond textbooks.
It also covers experiential learning activities such as Arts Education, Physical Exercises, yoga, and pre-vocational skills. The Calendar contains class-wise and subject-wise activities in tabular forms and includes activities related to four languages as subject areas –Hindi English, Urdu and Sanskrit.

New Delhi , Aug 4 ,2020: India witnessed a single-day spike of 52,050 COVID-19 cases as the total cases in the country reached 18,55,746, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.
803 COVID-19 related deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The total cases include 5,86,298 active cases, 12,30,510 cured/discharged/migrated and 38,938 deaths, the Health Ministry added.
Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state as it has a total of 1,47,324 active cases and 15,842 deaths. A total of 4,50,196 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the state up to Monday, according to Union Ministry of Health.
Tamil Nadu reported 5,609 new COVID-19 cases and 109 deaths on Monday, taking total cases to 2,63,222 including 2,02,283 discharges and 4,241 deaths, the state Health Department said.
The total cases in Delhi have risen to 1,38,482 including 1,24,254 recovered/discharged/migrated cases and 4,021 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, India recorded the highest single-day testing by conducting over 6.6 lakh tests to diagnose COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
“In its fight against COVID-19, India scales a new high of 6,61,715 tests in the last 24 hours,” said the Health Ministry in a tweet.
A total of 2,08,64,206 samples for COVID-19 have been tested across the country so far, said the Health Ministry.

New York , Aug 4 ,2020: Calling Pakistan a nerve centre of terrorism, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, has lashed out at Islamabad for harbouring terror groups, saying it is home to the largest number of listed terrorists internationally and designated terrorist entities.
In an interview to ANI, Ambassador Tirumurti on Monday (local time) said terror groups such as Jamat-ud Dawah, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen are continuing their operations from Pakistan.
“It’s a well-known fact that Pakistan is the nerve centre of terrorism. Pakistan is home to the largest number of listed terrorists internationally designated terrorist entities and individuals, including Jamat-ud Dawah, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, they are continuing their operations from Pakistan. Let me state that the UN and its reports have reiterated the involvement of Pakistan in terrorist attacks abroad. You know, even in the recent report of the analytical support and sanctions monitoring team,” he said.
Referring to United Nations’ 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIS, the ambassador said there is a clear acknowledgement that the leadership and funding for the terrorist entities like Al-Qaeda, ISIS emanate from Pakistan.
“Under the 1267 Committee, which submits its report periodically terrorist activities of ISIL al Qaeda and its affiliates. There are several direct references to Pakistan’s involvement,” Tirumurti said
“This report, clearly mentions that Pakistanis are in leadership positions of terrorist groups, for example, the report mentions by name the leader of the Al Qaeda who is a Pakistani national, the names of the head of Isil and former head again Pakistani national clearly mentioned in this report. There is a clear acknowledgement that the leadership and funding for these entities emanate from Pakistan,” he added.
The UN report revealed that an estimated 6,000-6,500 Pakistani terrorists are in neighbouring Afghanistan, most of them with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, posing a threat to both the countries.
“In another report released in May, it mentions that Pakistan based terrorists organizations Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed continue to have a large presence of terrorist fighters in Afghanistan and are involved in carrying out terrorist attacks there,” the Ambassador said.
Tirumurti said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has acknowledged that there are around 40,000 terrorists present in Pakistan and they have attacked neighbouring countries.
“Even in the recent resolution of the UN Security Council on the session of hostilities in the context of COVID-19, the security council has clearly recognised that they need to make an exemption for countries fighting against globally designated terrorist entities and individuals thereby in effect vindicating our position,” he said.

Lucknow, Aug 2: Uttar Pradesh Technical Education Minister Kamla Rani Varun, passed away due to coronavirus at the SGPGI super speciality hospital here on Sunday.

She was 62.

UP government has declared a day mourning on the demise of the minister and her cremation which will be held in Kanpur this afternoon with strict Covid protocol and will be given state honours.

State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while expressing his condolence on the death of his ministerial colleague has cancelled his Ayodhya visit scheduled this afternoon.

A BJP MLA from Ghatampur seat in Kanpur, Mrs Varun was two time Lok Sabha member from Ghatampur seat and a former MLC.

According to Dr RK Dhiman Director SGPGI here, “Mrs Kamla Rani, state Cabinet Minister, 62-year-old female suffering with fever, cough and breathlessness was admitted to SGPGI after being detected COVID positive on July 18. She also had co morbidities in form of Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, and hypothyroidism. She had bilateral pneumonia at admission and was shifted to ICU on the day of admission itself because of high oxygen requirement.”

The Director said later she required non-invasive ventilation (NIV) with high oxygen requirements. “On evaluation she had all the features of severe disease and she was given Inj. Remdesevir followed by Tocilizumab following which she had transient improvement in her clinical status for few days but again her condition started deteriorating with progressively increasing NIV and oxygen requirements. She was immediately transfused with convalescent plasma and steroid doses were hiked. Expert advice form Prof. Randeep Guleria, Director AIIMS and Prof Ritesh Agarwal, PGIMER, Chandigarh was also taken,” he said .

However, she had progressive severe disease unresponsive to maximal medical therapy. She was put on mechanical ventilator on August 1 but she continued to deteriorate with hypotension and multiorgan dysfunction and succumbed to her illness on August 2 morning at 0930 hrs, Dr Dhiman said.

Condolence on the death of UP minister was pouring in from every quarters particularly from the politicians.

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) , Aug 4 ,2020: TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday gave an ultimatum to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy to withdraw his three capitals decision within 48 hours or abolish the State Legislative Assembly to seek a fresh public mandate on his decision for trifurcation.
Naidu reminded chief minister Jagan that he and his party leaders had promised the people of AP in the 2019 election campaign that Amaravati would continue to be the only capital city and that it would be fully developed.
After making that promise, the CM has no right to shift Amaravati capital without the approval of all the 5 crore people of the state, Naidu said.
The opposition leader said he dared the AP CM to seek a fresh mandate if he had the courage and if he was fully confident of having total approval of the people for his three Capitals plan.
Naidu said that if the people vote for and bring the YSRCP back to power in the re-election, then the TDP would humbly accept their mandate and it would not raise its dissenting voice again against the decision.
If the CM does not come out with a proper response, the TDP along with the other Opposition parties would intensify their agitation not just through legal battles but also to make the CM as a culprit in the people’s court, the former chief minister said.
Naidu said, “The YSRCP leaders made the voters of Andhra believe that Amaravati capital would not be destroyed even if Jagan was made the CM in 2019. But, after coming to power, he backstabbed and betrayed all the 5 crore, people of the state, by going ahead with his Capital shifting without discussing or taking prior approval of the people.”
Naidu lambasted that Jagan himself repeatedly uttered the election slogan that he would never break his promises and that he would worship his party manifestoes like the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Quran. Having sworn on the holy books, the Chief Minister was now relentlessly breaking his promises without any conscience.
Stating that Amaravati was selected duly abiding by the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, Chandrababu Naidu pointed out that no Government would have a right to destroy this as it would only kick up greater problems that would crush the prospects of future generations of people of Andhra Pradesh.

New Delhi, Aug 10,2020: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday stepped up his attack on the Centre over the draft environment impact assessment (EIA), saying it must be withdrawn to stop “environmental destruction”.
Gandhi alleged that the aim of EIA 2020 draft was clear — “loot of the nation”.

“This (EIA) is another dreadful example of what the BJP government has been doing for its select suit-boot ‘friends’ who loot the resources of the country,” Gandhi alleged.
“EIA 2020 draft must be withdrawn to stop #LootOfTheNation and environmental destruction,” he tweeted.

The draft EIA notification, which involves the procedure of issuing environmental clearances to various projects, was issued by the Environment Ministry in March and public suggestions were invited.

The Environment Ministry had earlier said it would not extend the deadline for people to give suggestions and opinions beyond June 30 but later gave time till August 12.
On Sunday, Gandhi had urged people to protest the new EIA 2020 draft, saying it was “dangerous” and, if notified, the long term consequences would be “catastrophic”.

In a Facebook post using the hashtag ‘WithdrawEIA2020’, Gandhi had slammed the government over the EIA, 2020, draft, saying it was not only “disgraceful”, but “dangerous”.

“Not only does it have the potential to reverse many of the hard fought gains that have been won over the years in the battle to protect our environment, it could potentially unleash widespread environmental destruction and mayhem across India,” he had said.

New Delhi, Aug 8 ,2020: There were 61,537 more novel coronavirus cases in India, taking the tally to 20,88,611 on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 42,518 with 933 more fatalities, the Health Ministry said.

The number of recoveries surged to 14,27,005 and the recovery rate rose to 68.32 per cent, according to ministry data.

There are 6,19,088 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), comprising 29.64 per cent of the caseload. A total of 61,537 cases were added in a day, taking the tally to 20,88,611, it said.

This was the 10th day in a row that the COVID-19 tally increased by more than 50,000.

As many as 5,98,778 samples were tested on Friday, taking the total to 2,33,87,171 so far, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

New Delhi [India], August 14,2020: Noting that the central government anticipated the tremendous challenge posed by COVID-19, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said that it “responded effectively and well in time” and the country has succeeded in containing the magnitude of pandemic and saving a large number of lives due to committed efforts of people.
In his address to the nation on the eve of 74th Independence Day, the President said that for a country so vast and diverse with high population density, meeting the challenge posed by COVID-19 requires “super-human efforts”.
He also lauded the role of state governments in taking measures in accordance with local circumstances.
“It is very reassuring to note that, the central government, while anticipating the tremendous challenge, responded effectively and well in time. For a country so vast and diverse with high population density, meeting this challenge requires super-human efforts. All state governments took measures in accordance with local circumstances. People also supported whole-heartedly. With our committed efforts, we have succeeded in containing the magnitude of the pandemic and saving a large number of lives,” the President said.
He said that celebrations of Independence Day this year will be rather restrained.
“The reason is obvious. The whole world confronts a deadly virus, which has disrupted all activities and taken a huge toll. It has altered the world we lived in before the pandemic,” he said.
The President said the nation is indebted to doctors, nurses and other health workers who have been working continuously on the forefront of our fight against this virus.
“Unfortunately, many of them have lost their lives battling the pandemic. They are our national heroes. All corona warriors deserve high praise. They go much beyond their call of duty to save lives and ensure essential services,” he said.
The President said these doctors, health workers, members of disaster management teams, police personnel, sanitation workers, delivery staff, transportation, railway and aviation personnel, providers of various services, government employees, social service organisations and generous citizens have been scripting inspiring stories of courage and selfless service.
“When cities and towns go quiet and roads are deserted, they work tirelessly to ensure that people are not deprived of health care and relief, water and electricity, transport and communication facilities, milk and vegetables, food and groceries, medicine and other essentials. They risk their own lives to save our life and livelihood,” he said.
The President said amid the crisis, cyclone Amphan had hit West Bengal and Odisha and the concerted response of disaster management teams, central and state agencies and alert citizens helped minimise loss of life.
“Floods have been disrupting lives of our people in the northeast and eastern states. Amid such onslaughts of disasters, it is gratifying to see all sections of society coming together to help those in distress,” he said.
The President also referred to the steps taken by the BJP-led government including ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana’ to protect the vulnerable sections in the challenge posed by COVID-19.
“The poor and daily wage-earners are the worst hit by the pandemic. In order to support them through this phase of crisis, virus containment-efforts have been supplemented by welfare interventions. By introducing ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana’, the government has enabled crores of people to earn their livelihood and mitigate the impact of job-loss, dislocation and disruption caused by the pandemic. The government continues to extend its helping hand through a number of initiatives, supported whole-heartedly by the corporate sector, civil society and citizens,” he said.
The President said the needy are being given free foodgrains, so that no family goes hungry and the largest free food distribution programme in the world has been extended till the end of November 2020 to provide succour to about 80 crore people every month.
“In order to ensure that migratory ration card-holders get ration anywhere in the country, all states are being brought under the coverage of ‘One Nation – One Ration Card’ scheme,” he said.
The President said the government has brought back more than 10 lakh Indians under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ and Indian Railways has been operating train services, in these challenging circumstances, to facilitate travel and transportation of people and goods.

Ayodhya, Aug 5,2020: Amid chants of Vedic hymns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation for Ram mandir here and declaring that today is a ‘golden day’’ when Ram Janmabhoomi ‘stands liberated’.
Clad in a golden coloured dhoti-kurta, the Prime Minister performed ‘bhoomi pujan’’ and laid the first brick for a magnificent temple at 1244 hrs and 08 seconds amid chanting of vedic hyms and blowing of conch shells. He said “like August 15, today’s day holds a similar significance for crores of people who devoted their lives for the cause of Ram temple’’ …August 5 is a ‘’golden day’’ and Ram Janmabhoomi ‘’stands liberated today’’, he added.
“Nine shilas (bricks) with gold, silver and precious stones embedded on them were worshipped and laid as foundation,” Mahant Kamal Narain Das said.
A 40 kilograms silver plaque with details of the Ram temple movement and construction inscribed on it was worshipped and would be fixed at the main wall of the temple.
Champat Rai, general secretary of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, announced that in 1989, Ram Bhakts had donated 2.75 lakh bricks for the construction of the temple. “We chose nine from the lot and used them to lay the foundation today,” he said.
Before the groundbreaking Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the make-shift Ram Lalla temple, thus becoming the first prime minister of the country to offer prayers at the temple.
The bhoomi pujan ceremony was attended by select people which included UP Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat besides Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Thirath Khetra Trust members.
LK Advani, 92, and Murli Manohar Joshi, 86, the two BJP stalwarts who had led the campaign to build the temple in its early days, are said to have watched the live telecast of the event because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Home Minister Amit Shah, watched the event from his bed in a Gurugram hospital where the 55-year-old top BJP leader was admitted last week due to the virus.
After the ritual was over, the PM also put ‘Tika’ on his forehead and recited the mantras after the priests praying to all the God and Goddess for the completion of the Ram temple and well being of the universe.
Rai said that during the ground breaking ceremony soil and holy water from several religious places across India were collected. “We have received over 2000 earthen pots carrying holy water of various rivers and boxes carrying soil sent from various Hindu temples and Gurudwaras across India to bless the upcoming temple,” he said.
He said the temples in the United States, Canada and Caribbean Islands held a virtual service to celebrate the occasion. Over 2000 temples in Ayodhya have also joined in the celebrations by lighting lamps and chanting religious hymns.
President Ram Nath Kovid said in his tweet, “Felicitations to all for the foundation laying of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Being built in tune with law, it defines India’s spirit of social harmony and people’s zeal. It will be a testimony to ideals of Ram Rajya and a symbol of modern India.”
The construction of the temple will be completed within 3 and half years. The original design for the Ram temple was prepared in 1988 but was changed in 2020 after the Court ruled in favour of Hindus. Chandrakant Sompura, the main architect of the temple said that as per new design Ram temple will be 235 feet wide, 360 feet long and 161 feet high. “The temple complex will have a prayer hall, a lecture hall, educational facility, saints residence and a hostel for visitors. It will have other facilities like a museum and a cafeteria,” he said.

New Delhi , Aug 17,2020: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) scheduled to be held in September 2020.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra dismissed the plea observing that the career of students cannot be put under jeopardy for long. “Life cannot be stopped. We have to move ahead with all safeguards and all… Are you (students) ready to waste one whole year?” Justice Mishra said.
“Now, the courts are also going to open gradually for physical hearing. We also have these glass panels now,” Justice Mishra said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the National Testing Agency, submitted before the apex court that all the safeguards will be taken while holding the exam.
Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava for the petitioners told the court that lakhs of students are looking to Supreme Court for relief. He said that Prime Minister also said on Independence Day that vaccine is on its way.
The petition, filed by eleven students from eleven states, contended that the decision to hold JEE (main) exam through online mode from September 1 to 6 and NEET UG-2020 through offline mode on September 13 at 161 centres across India are arbitrary, whimsical and violative of the fundamental right to life of lakhs of affected students.
The plea said that the Institution of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) had cancelled the CA exams citing COVID-19 risk and remaining exams of CBSE/ICSE/ISC have also been cancelled. It said that the Common Law Admission Entrance Test (CLAT) and the National Institute of Open School exams have also been postponed.
“Lakhs of young students are likely to appear in the aforesaid JEE (Main) April-2020 and NEET UG-2020 Exams in the month of September 2020. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are increasing in India at an alarming rate. The deadly pandemic COVID-19 has already affected about 20 Lakh people in India and the situation is worsening by every passing day,” the plea said.
“Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students (including petitioners herein) at utmost risk and danger of disease and death,” it added.

Guwahati (Assam), Aug 15,2020: The death toll due to the floods in Assam rose to 112 on Friday while more than 56 lakh people have been affected by the deluge so far.

The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) had on Thursday informed that a total of 56,89,584 have been affected across 30 districts of the state.
The flood situation in Assam is deteriorating with the death toll increasing due to natural calamity in various districts.

Earlier this week, an official bulletin said that over 9,200 persons were suffering due to the deluge across these districts.

According to the flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), more than 14,205 persons are hit due to floods in Dhemaji, Baksa and Morigaon districts.