million for four years to support

The Anands had great time at NSE with pay, perks and power

Chennai, Feb 23: Not only did the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd's (NSE) former Group Operating Officer and Advisor to MD Anand Subramaniam get exorbitant salary and hikes, even his wife Sunitha Anand was favoured similarly. The Anands certainly had an 'anandha' time at NSE between 2013 and 2016. As per the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) order, Sunitha was appointed as consultant at NSE's Chennai Regional Office for April 1, 2013 - March 31, 2014 at an annual remuneration of Rs 60 lakh. On the same day Anand was also appointed as a Chief Strategic Advisor at Rs 1.68 crore per annum (pa) remuneration. At the time of hiring he was a Vice President, Leasing & Repair Services, Transafe Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Balmer & Lawrie drawing an annual salary of about Rs 15 lakh. Over the period the couple's pay made a huge jump. During the period April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015, Sunitha's pay went up to Rs 72 lakh and then to over Rs 1 crore. The next year Sunitha's contract was renewed for over Rs 1.15 crore. Subsequently her contract for the year starting April 1, 2016 was renewed for over Rs 1.33 crore. However, Sunitha foreclosed the contract on December 31, 2016. In the case of Anand, the pay packet as well as his designation went upwards from being a Strategic Advisor being paid Rs 1.68 crore to Rs 2.01 crore between March 3, 2014 - May 5, 2014 to Rs 2.32 crore for May 6, 2014 - March 29, 2015 to Rs 3.33 crore for March 30, 2015 - April 15, 2015 to Rs 3.67 crore for April 16, 2015 - March 31, 2016 and to Rs 4.21

crore from April 1, 2016. Anand resigned in October 2016. What is interesting is that Anand seems to be a conduit to an unknown person to whom a substantial portion of the pay hikes were paid. This came to light from the email correspondence between NSE Managing Director and CEO Chitra Ramakrishnan and an unknown person said to be a Yogi in Himalayas with an email id rigyajursama@outlook.com. The SEBI in its report said: "The extract of the e-mail correspondence between the unknown person and Noticee no. 1 (Chitra Ramakrishna) is as under: Email Date & time: February 19, 2015 08:32 PM From: rigyajursama@outlook. com To: Chitra Ramkrishna; anand Subramanian Subject: RE: Proposed Organization Structure with notes. '1. contract to revise to 5 day week only for paper and emoluments. 3 day will continue on routine with HO and rest at will. 2. One day brought additional on contract per week Kanchan to withdraw and surrender to me per month as gratitude on gross amt."

Jindal Global Business School signs MoUs with 11 Universities in 5 countries

New Delhi, Feb 24: Jindal Global Business School (JGBS), of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), has expanded its international partnership portfolio by signing 11 new Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with prestigious business schools and universities in five countries spanning four continents. The new international collaborations include top business schools such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, US, the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, US and the University of Queensland Business School, Australia. As part of its global ambition and a commitment to provide global education, exposure, and experience to its students, JGBS has expanded its reach to institutions in Vietnam, in addition to its numerous collaborations in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The list of new partner institutions are as follows: 1. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, United States 2. Kelley School of Business, Indiana University-Bloomington, United States 2. Florida State University, United States of America 3. Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University, United States 4. University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom 5. The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom 6. Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom 7. The University of Queensland, Australia 8. Faculty of Business and Economics, Macquarie University, Australia 9. Bond University, Australia 10. Frankfurt School of Finance and Economics, Germany 11. FPT University, Vietnam The new MoUs create a range of opportunities for JGBS students. JGBS has partnered with one of the globe's most recognised business schools, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, to add strong value as an elite study abroad component to its 1-year Global MBA in Business Analytics. The Thunderbird School of Global Management's Master of Global Management (MGM) dual degree programme brings JGBS students one step closer to living and working for up to 3 years in the United States through the USA's Optional Practical Training program. Study abroad and student exchange programmes with Florida State University and the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in the United States offer learning experiences in a global setting. Through the difficult months of the pandemic, JGBS persevered and remained committed to providing international exposure to its students. A list of curated partners was created who were able to offer long-term and short-term mobility options, keeping in mind the health and safety concerns with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 200 students have explored exchange and study abroad options through partnership arrangements since 2020, many of whom have pursued advanced degree programmes in top institutions in Australia, the UK, and the US. It is worth noting that since its inception in 2010, JGBS has established international collaborations with over 72 business schools and universities in 24 different countries. Professor (Dr.) C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, explained that "These partnerships are developed to enable the students of JGBS to enrol in international business and management education programmes with our partner institutions. The vision of JGU since our inception has been to constantly provide quality global education experiences for our students so that we produce globally oriented business professionals. The institutional opportunities created by JGBS have provided students with strong levels of global exposure through exchange programmes, immersion programmes, dual degree programmes, and short-term study abroad programmes. Additionally, JGBS has exploited the potential of blended learning and hybrid education to help our students continue to reap the benefits of international collaboration through various technological platforms." Professor (Dr.) Mayank Dhaundiyal, Dean, JGBS, observed that "as the country's top global business school, JGBS is committed to providing world-class international mobility options to the students of JGBS. The students of JGBS have access to more than 70 partner business schools and universities located in five continents, providing them with an unparalleled network for international mobility. Today's supply chains frequently span multiple continents and countries, necessitating the presence of business professionals who are well travelled and capable of fostering synergies between diverse business teams operating in disparate geographies. Our international student mobility programmes assist our management students in preparing for these critical and rewarding positions. " JGBS explored and developed unique pedagogical options with select partners such as Monash University and Singapore Management University to bring global classrooms to student homes by organising "first of its kind" collaboratively taught online shortterm immersions in niche areas of business-like social enterprise and sustainable business and management. More than 100 students from JGBS and partner institutions combined have benefited from the various online programmes and have had the opportunity to build a community through virtual platforms. All these collaborations have resulted in deeper relationships between the institutions in the form of joint research and advanced degree programmes. Ambassador Prof. (Dr.) Mohan Kumar, Dean, Office of International Affairs and Global Initiatives (IAGI), observed, "These international collaborations enhance student experiences and learning--professionally and personally--especially during this post-COVID-19 moment we seem to be entering. JGU carefully selects the leading international partners who can provide the global knowledge, social and cultural intelligence, and capacity-building opportunities to drive our students' careers further. " Prof. (Dr.) Laknath Jayasinghe, Vice Dean (Internationalization and Mobility), JGBS, added, "The need of the hour is to develop global business leaders who are imbued with a sense of social purpose in a sustainable and post-COVID-19 world. Going forward, business school students' skills, capabilities, and knowledge will be built upon a mix of traditional and digital learning frameworks that permit global engagement, experience, and exposure. These new collaborations enhance the opportunity to develop such capabilities and prepare our students to leverage transnational employment and business opportunities." JGBS is committed to providing a diverse range of international perspectives and cultivating cultural awareness through international mobility in order to provide students with a truly global education. This includes opportunities for research and internships in cutting-edge fields such as business analytics, deep learning algorithms, cyber security, and digital marketing. Negotiations to expand student and faculty mobility continue with new partners in Columbia, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. JGBS is also exploring other novel collaborations, such as short-term study tours and collaborative student immersions, for its students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate dual degree programmes. As travel restrictions ease globally, JGBS is optimistic about further increasing its overall student mobility numbers.

Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim gets Z-plus security

IANS

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS): Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been provided Z-plus security cover during his 21-day release on furlough from a Haryana jail, officials said on Tuesday. He has been given the high security cover due to threat to his life from 'pro-Khalistan' extremists, officials added. Rahim is on 21-day furlough from Sunaria jail and is camping in Gurugram. He will be getting 10 NSG security personnel for mobile security and eight security personnel for his residence security. The Haryana government's recommendation to grant the top layer security cover to the convicted sect leader comes following his request. The Dera chief was released on furlough on February 7 after the Haryana government's conclusion that he does not fall in the category of hardcore prisoners. Incidently, the 21-day furlough had come just days ahead of the Assembly polls in Punjab that was held on February 20 and he has a large number of followers, particularly in Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala and Muktsar. The sect chief has been currently serving life imprisonment for the murder of former journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati and the rape of two Dera disciples. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in 2017. Soon after his release from the Sunaria jail in Rohtak, he was brought to his ashram in Gurugram. The Haryana police has deployed a heavy security in and near his ashram.

Sukhbir protests Centre's decision to tweak BBMB appointments

Chandigarh, Feb 26 (IANS):

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday described the Centre's decision to tweak the appointment norms for members of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) as "a frighteningly grave development fraught with serious consequences for Punjab". In a statement here, Badal said: "The fact of the matter is that as per the law, precedents and the prevailing practices, the control of Satluj Beas headwork belongs exclusively to Punjab as a Riparian state. But first, they unconstitutionally took that control away from us and now they are shutting Punjab completely out of the BBMB." "This is the height of injustice against us. This is also another instance of the federal principle being outraged repeatedly by the governments at the Centre. We will fight it with all the might at our disposal." The Akali Dal president appealed to every Punjabi, including the political parties, to close ranks to fight for justice for the state. He said the decision was yet another link in the long and painful chain of political, economic and religious discrimination against Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular. "Like every Punjabi, I have been shocked by the development. What was needed was to address the river waters question on the nationally and internationally accepted Riparian principle. But what the Centre is doing is to continue their systematic exploitation against the Riparian state -- Punjab, to favour the non-Riparian Haryana and Rajasthan."

‘Drunk’ JD-U leader held for roaming around naked

Patna, Feb 23 (IANS): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is conducting the 'Samaj Sudhar Abhiyan (Social Reform Campaign)' to create awareness among people about the consequences of liquor consumption but an allegedly drunk leader of his JD-U created a ruckus in Nalanda district by roaming around naked and was subsequently arrested. According to police, the incident occurred in Jagdishpur village under Islampur police station in Nalanda. The accused was identified as Jay Prakash Prasad alias Kalu, incharge of the Janata Dal-United's youth wing in Islampur Assembly constituency. JD-U's Islamapur block President, Tanvir Alam, said Prasad has been

associated with JD-U for a long time. "We informed local police after a video went viral on social media," he said. As per the video, Prasad removed all clothes and walked on the road. When his brother asked him to stay indoors, he refused and abused him. Some onlookers made videos and also informed Islampur police station. "We received information about a person who is creating ruckus in Jagdishpur village. We reached there and found he was completely naked and was in a drunken state. During breathanalysis, he was tested positive. An FIR under the liquor prohibition act was registered and he was arrested," Islampur SHO Chandrashekher Singh said.

1981 Behmai case hearing begins again

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Feb

24: The hearing into the Behmai massacre, in which 20 people were allegedly shot dead by bandit queen turned politician, Phoolan Devi, on February 14, 1981, has re-started in a special court in Kanpur Dehat. It may be recalled that just before the verdict in the case was to be pronounced in January 2020, the hearing was postponed as the original case diary was found to be missing. Many accused, including Phoolan have died along with all the witnesses, including the plaintiff Rajaram Singh and eye-witness Jantar Singh. The trial has been going on for 41 years. Even after issuing warrants against Vishwanath, Mansingh and Ram Ratan, who have been absconding for nearly 30 years, the police could not arrest them. As the arguments in the case began on Wednesday in the court of special judge (Dacoity) Sudhakar Rai, the district government counsel Raju Porwal told the court that the police

IANS

had recovered 27 cartridges from the spot and several threatening letters left by the dacoits on the terrace of Marjad Singh's house. Porwal also said that the dacoits assaulted 27 people and fired bullets while making them stand in a queue, in which 20 died on the spot. Seven of the injured had saved their lives by hiding among the corpses. During the hearing, an accused Vishwanath was present in the court, while Posa, another accused, could not come from jail. The application for apology to the accused Shyam Babu was given in the court. The next date for hearing has been fixed for February 28.

Delhi to lift all Covid curbs from Monday, only physical classes from April 1

New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS): The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to lift all Covid-related restrictions in the national capital, including the night curfew and 50 per cent capacity rule at restaurants and bars from Monday. As per the new DDMA guidelines, all online classes will be discontinued from April 1 in the city in view of the declining Covid trends. Schools have to do away with the hybrid mode from April 1. All restrictions are likely to be lifted from April 1. The decision was taken in a DDMA meet chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "DDMA withdraws all restrictions as situation improves n people facing hardships due to loss of jobs. Schools to function fully offline from 1 Apr. Fines for not wearing masks reduced to Rs 500. All shud continue following Covid Appropriate Behaviour. Govt will keep strict watch", said Kejriwal in a tweet. The fine for not wearing the face mask has also been reduced to Rs 500 in the city. However, all these restrictions are subject to Covid positivity rate remaining below 1 per cent. The government will continue to keep watch on the Covid appropriate behaviour and surveillance on testing and vaccination.

19 lakh kids in India have lost parent or caregiver due to Covid: Lancet

New Delhi, Feb 25: The Covid-19 pandemic has rendered nearly 19 lakh children in India without a parent or caregiver -- the highest in the South-East Asia region, according to new figures published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal on Friday. But, media reports claim that the Indian government figures refute these figures and as per the Ministry of Women and Child development's Baal Swaraj - Covid care portal, the number is 1.5 lakh. Globally, the number has surged to more than 5.2 million, revealed the study. Calculations of estimated orphanhood cases per capita showed the highest rates were in Peru and South Africa, with 8 and 7 out of every 1,000 children affected, respectively. "We estimate that for every person reported to have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, one child is left orphaned or loses a caregiver. That is the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time," said lead author Dr Susan Hillis, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Before the Covid pandemic, there were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide. And in July 2021, the first estimate of Covid's impact on orphanhood was 1.5 million children between March 2020 and April 2021. The new study increased this estimate to more than 2.7 million children for the same time period, by re-calculating the figures from updated Covid-19 death figures along with excess mortality data to account for indirect deaths associated with the pandemic (July 2021 estimates: 1,562,000 children vs latest estimates: 2,737,300 children), the findings revealed. Yet, these may not be the real numbers. According to Dr Juliette Unwin, lead author from Imperial College London (UK), the real estimates are likely to be 10 times higher than what is currently being reported. "Sadly, as high as our estimates of orphanhood and caregiver deaths are, they are likely to be underestimated, and we expect these numbers to grow as more global data on Covid-19 deaths becomes available," Unwin said.

PM Modi urges people to visit border villages for rural development

New Delhi, Feb 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed to the people to visit border villages as part of the "Vibrant Village programme" announced in the budget 20-23. The programme is vital for the development of border villages, he added. "How wonderful it would be if people from tehsils go to the border villages and experience for themselves, the ambience there, how people live there. It will not only be an educational activity but will also help support our Vibrant Villages scheme," Modi said while addressing a webinar on Budget 2022-23 on the theme "#LeavingNoCitizenBehind" focussing on water and rural development. The series of webinars is a part of the new initiative of discussion and dialogue with various stakeholders associated under the programme. Striking an emotional chord with the villages, the PM suggested holding birthday celebrations of the villages. "Women are the backbone of rural economy and over time, financial inclusion has ensured that they participate in the economic decisions of a family," Modi said and added, the scope needs to be broadened through Self Help Groups (SHGs). As part of the Jal Jeevan Mission, the PM said, his government aims at providing 4 crore connections and suggested that more needs to be done. "I insist that each and every state ensures good water quality through the pipeline that is being laid, the water that is being made available through taps." "Now is the time that 100 per cent saturation is achieved in providing basic facilities like water, electricity and all. We will need to push with all our energy. The budget has a clear roadmap for implementing these schemes," the Prime Minister said and enumerated the schemes -- PM Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, connectivity with the NE India, broadband connectivity for rural India-- saying provisions for which has been made in the budget. PM Modi also mentioned the PM Development Initiative for NE region (PMDevINE) and the SVAMITVA scheme under which 40 lakh property cards have been distributed. "Optimum utilisation of each and every penny is needed," he asserted. As part of achieving Atma Nirbhar Bharat by providing 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd) clean tap water through tap in every rural household, the webinar was organised on implementation of Budget 2022 focusing on water and sanitation. As many as 100 districts, 1,144 blocks, 66,647 gram panchayats and 1,37,642 villages have become aHar Ghar Jal'. Three States - Goa, Telangana, and Haryana and three UTs - A&N Islands, D&N Haveli & Daman & Diu and Puducherry have provided 100 per cent tap water coverage to its people. The SVAMITVA scheme was launched on April 20, 2020 on the National Panchayati Raj day. It aims to demarcate inhabited (Abadi) land and provide Record of Rights/ Property Cards in rural areas. The pilot phase of the scheme was launched in 2020 with nine states. Currently, the scheme is ongoing in 29 states and UTs and aims to cover all the villages by 2025.

Encourage natural farming to tap organic market: PM

New Delhi, Feb 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said natural farming can be increased to tap the organic market and also suggested that it is necessary to spread awareness and popularise Indian millets. "We are encouraging organic farming, because of which the market for organic products has reached Rs 11,000 crore. Organic exports have risen to more than Rs 7,000 crore from Rs 2,000 crore rupees six years ago," Modi said while addressing a webinar on the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 in the Agriculture sector. "More and more people are adopting environment-friendly lifestyles because of which demand for organic products has increased and India should tap into the ever-increasing market by encouraging natural farming," he said. Amongst the seven pointers from the budget that he highlighted, the first was natural farming along the Ganga up to five km on both banks. Modi also emphasised how Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will need to power on to take natural farming to every single person and suggested KVKs can adopt one village each while the agriculture universities can aim for facilitating 500-1000 farmers towards natural farming. Reminding that the year 2023 is the 'International Year of Millets', the

Prime Minister urged the Corporate world to come forward to take the Indian brand of millets to the world. "These coarse grains need to be pushed forward, we need to spread awareness about them and popularise," Modi said, and suggested that bigger Indian Missions in other countries can organise seminars wherein the importers there can be told about the quality and variety of India's millets. He also pointed out how several foreign food products are making way to dining tables across India. "They are not even palatable to Indian taste. Our farmers are growing all of these and much more. It is our failure that we are not able to market them properly. Here too 'vocal for local' is necessary. Our farmers produce everything, and they are to our taste. We need to spread awareness about their products and popularise them," the Prime Minister said and asserted that the Corona pandemic times have established the importance of India's spices. Just like grains, Modi also said natural fruit juices have multiple options in India and that instead of aping the foreign countries, India needs to promote Indian natural fruit juices.

Centre asks States, UTs to relax Covid restrictions after risk assessment

New Delhi, Feb 25: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday asked the States and Union Territories (UTs) to allow further relaxations in the Covid-19 restrictions after a risk assessment based approach on the opening of economic activities. such as social, sports, entertainment, academic and religious events as well as night curfew hours in view of the substantial decline in coronavirus cases. In a letter written to all Chief Secretaries of states and UTs, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said on Friday that further ease may be given for social, sports, entertainment, academic and religious events as well as night curfew hours in view of the substantial decline in coronavirus cases. "In view of the overall improved situation, there is a need to follow a risk assessment based approach on the opening of economic activities. Accordingly, after a careful analysis of the local situation, relaxation in various activities may be considered, such as social /sports/ entertainment/academic/cultural/ religious/festival related gatherings; night curfew; operations of public transport; shopping complexes, cinema halls, gyms, spas, restaurants and bars; opening of schools, colleges, offices, and other commercial activities.", Bhalla said. He also emphasised that while allowing all such activities, the wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing, hand hygiene and ventilation in closed spaces, as mandated in the National Directives for COVID Management, should continue to be enforced. "States/UTs should continue with the testing and surveillance, clinical management, vaccination and implementation of COVID Appropriate Behaviour, for managing COVID-19.", the MHA communication said. "I would, therefore, urge you to take necessary action in line with the aforesaid MoHFW advisory, dated 18th February, 2022 and for the enforcement of COVID Appropriate Behaviour," Bhalla said. The Health Ministry on Friday reported a decline in fresh cases of Covid-19 at 13,166 against 14,148 cases reported on the previous day while the daily positivity rate has gone down to 1.28 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded as 1.48 per cent.

Bommai speaks to students in Ukraine, assures them of help

Bengaluru, Feb 26 (IANS):

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said that he has spoken to students from the state who are stuck in war-torn Ukraine, and assured them of providing all the necessary assistance. "I have spoken to those students. I have assured them of all help and asked them to be courageous," he said. Many Indians are stuck in various cities of Ukraine. "Everyone is fine, but I have requested the authorities to provide food and shelter. I have already spoken in length with Union Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jaishakar and we have also sent a list to him," he said. More students are in the western side of Ukraine and they have been told to be careful. All the students will be evacuated by road and air. "We will get information on whether anyone from Karnataka is returning to the country today," he said. Those who are in western part of Ukraine are safe, the efforts are on to bring them back. They will be evacuated through the road. Many of them are on their way, he stated. The students stuck in Western part of Ukraine will be brought to India through Romania. In a few days, all Indian students would be evacuated. Those students who are in eastern, south-eastern part of Ukraine should not take risks and stay wherever they are until they are directed to, Bommai said. More than 200 people have made calls to the helpline set up by the state government. "Many parents of students who are stuck in Ukraine have met me," he said.

I&B Ministry orders blocking of apps, website, social media accounts linked to Sikhs For Justice

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday ordered the blocking of apps, website and social media accounts linked to the banned organisation, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). In a statement, the Ministry said it has ordered the blocking of apps, website, and social media accounts of foreign-based 'Punjab Politics TV' having close links with the SFJ, deemed unlawful under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. "Relying on intelligence inputs that the channel was attempting to use online media to disturb public order during the ongoing State Assembly Elections, the Ministry used emergency powers under the IT Rules on February 18 to block the digital media resources of Punjab Politics TV," it said. The Ministry claimed that the contents of the blocked apps, website, and social media accounts had the potential to incite communal disharmony and separatism; and were found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, and public order. "It was also observed that the launch of new apps and social media accounts was timed to gain traction during the ongoing elections. The government of India remains vigilant and committed to secure the overall information environment in India and thwart any actions having the potential to undermine India's sovereignty and integrity," it added. In January, the Ministry had ordered the blocking of 35 YouTube-based news channels and two websites which were involved in spreading fake news against India in a coordinated manner over digital media. In December last year, the Centre blocked 20 YouTube channels and two websites when the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021 were first utilised.

IANS

Australian delegation at IITGuwahati for discussions

Guwahati, Feb 23: An Australian delegation led by the country's High Commissioner in India Barry O' Farrell on Wednesday discussed several projects of mutual cooperation in various domains with the Director and top officials of Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, officials said. IIT sources said that the Australian delegation discussed several projects of mutual cooperation in various domains including academics, scholarships, strategic research, trade and commerce, governance, disaster management, cultural exchange, water conservation and clean energy. IIT, Guwahati Director Prof T.G. Sitharam made a presentation on the Australia India Water Centre, Global Centre for Transdisciplinary Research in Water (Tri-Water), and various initiatives which are taken under their auspices such as the development of Master of Sustainable Water Futures programme, Water Matters for India - Delivering an Innovative Young Water Professional Training. He added that such collaborations are crucial for meeting sustainable development goals, and also addressing the emerging challenges due to climate change. He also highlighted the major strides taken by IIT, Guwahati in global rankings and stressed the importance of the liberal arts programme. Australian Consul-General in Kolkata Rowan Ainsworth said that there is an immense opportunity for collaboration in the areas of disaster management, trade and economics, the Indian Ocean, and development of the northeast region of India. Working together on the world's most important resource, water -- The Australia-India Water Centre -- is a great example of research

collaboration between the two countries, she pointed out. The High Commissioner highlighted the importance of cooperation in multidisciplinary areas, especially through the 'MAITRI' scholarships and fellowships, strategic areas collaboration, liberal arts, cultural exchange, research grants, skilled academics cooperation and governance with many more possibilities with other Australian Universities.

3-fold rise in unemployment in Bihar, NCSP data reveals

The Economics Times

Patna, Feb 24: The number of unemployed youth in Bihar has increased three fold in the past year, the National Career Service Portal (NCSP) data has shown. Till March 2021, the total number of unemployed youths registered on the portal was 78,00,259 in the state. And in the last 10 months, the number has increased by 2,67,635. NCSP is a government website where unemployed youths register their names, and state governments and Centre provide them jobs as per their profiles and through recruitment processes. As per the data, the registrations on the portal were three times higher in 2021 compared to 2020 in Bihar. A maximum of 63,524 persons registered their names on the portal in October 2021. Besides, 7,967 persons registered in June 2021; 18,017 in July; 20,968 in August; 53,906 in September; 62,983 in November; 20,766 in December; and 13,000 in January this year. The data further said that 222 transgenders also registered their names as unemployed persons on the portal in the last 10 months. A maximum of 28 transgenders registered their names from Vaishali district, two from Araria, four from Aurangabad, one from Banka, Begusarai 11, Bhojpur 4, Bhagalpur 1, Jahanabad 1, Kaimur 5, Katihar 8, Khagaria 2, Kishanganj 1, Lakhisarai 6, Madhepura 3, Madhubani 1, Munger 5, Muzaffarpur 13, Nalanda 9, Nawada 3, West Champaran 4, Patna 11, East Champaran 13, Purnea 3, Rohtas 4, Samastipur 8 and Saran 9. Unemployment is one of the issues where leaders from the ruling parties at the Centre and Bihar government have no convincing answers.

Canberra, Feb 21: Australia on Mondaywelcomed its first international tourists in almost two years after reopening its border which was shut in early 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia's international border reopened to travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, marking an end to restrictions that were introduced to prevent the spread of the virus in March 2020, reports Xinhua news agency. Fifty-six flights were due to land in Australia in the 24 hours after reopening. Dan Tehan, the federal minister for trade, tourism and investment, was at the Sydney international airport on Monday morning to welcome the first arrivals and said it was a milestone for Australia. "The first passengers had a huge smile on their face even though they have been on a plane for what, 20-odd hours," he told Nine Network television. "The warmth of the welcome that the Australian people give our overseas visitors hasn't gone away." The return of double vaccinated international visitors will reinvigorate Australia's tourism sector, which supports 660,000 jobs and contributed A$60.4 billion ($43 billion) to the economy in 2018-19, according to Tehan. David Marshall, chair of the Canberra Region Tourism Leaders Forum, said it would take up to 18 months for the tourism industry to recover from the pandemic. "We're really playing catch-up," he told The Canberra Times. The country on Monday reported more than 15,000 new coronavirus infections and 17 deaths -- seven in New South Wales, six in Queensland, three in Victoria and one in the Australian Capital Territory. Monday marked one year since Australia administered its first coronavirus vaccines. Health Minister Greg Hunt said that more than 53.2 million vaccines have now been administered in Australia.

NSW to scrap mask mandate in schools

Sydney, Feb 23: The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Wednesday announced its decision to scrap mask mandate in schools despite a continued increase in new Covid-19 cases. From February 28, masks will no longer be required in high schools for students or staff in NSW, reports Xinhua news agency. Schools will be able to welcome more visitors onto campuses, including parents, and will resume activities such as assemblies and school camps. The mandatory mask-wearing requirement will also be lifted for teachers and staff at primary schools and childcare centres from March 7. NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said schools would return to "pretty much normal" next week, as transmission in schools is "extremely low". However, some experts are still concerned it would be too early to ease the restrictions. Lidia Morawska, director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at the Queensland University of Technology, told Xinhua that even if there are very good ventilation, there's still a lot of infections within the community, and if people sit in close proximity like public transport or hospitality venues, the probability

of infection in such situation with a very highly infectious virus like Omicron is very high. "Removing completely restrictions without thinking about the consequences of this will make life easier for yourself, but others will be dying because of this," she said. NSW recorded 8,931 new cases on Wednesday, with 1,246 people in hospitals. The daily increase of community cases made a big jump from Monday's 4,916 to Tuesday's 8,752. Though 94.3 per cent of NSW residents aged 16 and over have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, less than half of the children aged 5 to 11 got their first jab. And 79 per cent of juniors aged 12 to 15 have had two doses. "The Omicron outbreak is not over. The removal of restrictions, such as indoor masks, will lead to a spike in infection and increase the pressure on healthcare burden," said Gaetan Burgio, an expert in infectious diseases from the Australian National University College of Health and Medicine. "Given the (national) number of cases still oscillates around 10,000 or 20,000 per day, the observed outbreaks are in majority in schools, where the vaccine coverage is relatively low," Burgio told Xinhua.

Australian scientists warn against spraying face masks with sanitiser

Canberra, Feb 24: Spraying face masks with sanitiser reduces their effectiveness, Australian scientists have found. In a world-first study published on Thursday, a team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) revealed that exposing N95 and P2 face masks to alcohol-based sanitisers risks "serious degradation" of their ability to protect from airborne hazards. Jurg Schutz, lead author of the study, said the findings would help inform people on how to care for disposable masks, Xinhua news agency reported. "Single-use face masks will continue to be part of many of our lives as they provide us with a defense against Covid, its variants and any future pathogens, but we had been hearing stories about people trying to prolong the life of these masks by cleaning them," he said in a media release. "We started thinking about the kinds of products people have been using more during the pandemic, like alcohol-based hand sanitiser and cleaning solutions, and realised these could impact the electrostatic properties of the face masks.

He noted that these masks rely on having an electrostatic charge that attracts particles and traps them like a sticky spiderweb. "But we also know this charge can be destroyed by highly-concentrated alcoholic vapours," he said. The research was published as several jurisdictions prepare to ease mask rules. From Friday night, people in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Victoria will only be required to wear masks in high-risk settings including public transport, airports and healthcare facilities. Australia on Thursday reported more than 20,000 new coronavirus infections and 36 deaths -- 16 in Victoria, 12 in New South Wales and eight in Queensland.

Western Australia braces for Covid surge ahead of border reopening

Sydney, Feb 24: As active cases in the state of Western Australia (WA) tip past 2,000, the nation's last Covid-19 stronghold has begun to ponder living with the virus as it plans to open its borders from March 3. WA recorded 617 new cases in the 24 hours till 8.00 p.m. Wednesday night (1200 GMT). It came after the daily caseload ballooned to 645 cases on Tuesday, almost tripling the 263 cases reported on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. Throughout the pandemic, the state has remained relatively unscathed as it has maintained hard borders to the rest of the country. Currently there are 2,272 active cases in the state, near half of the 5,164 total cases recorded since the start of the pandemic. Speaking to media on Thursday, WA Premier Mark McGowan said case numbers were expected to continue to rise. "The mathematics are clear. We're not far away from recording over 1,000 new cases per day," he said. Previously, the state's border reopening date had been pushed back "indefinitely" from February 5 as the premier cited high transmission of the Omicron variant in Australia's eastern states. But as local transmissions have surged, McGowan has scrapped the state's Covid-zero approach. "Eventually there comes a point where the border is ineffective, when you get to high numbers within the state," said McGowan when announcing the reopening last Friday. The state's hard border restrictions are set to be lifted to the rest of the country from March 3, when fully vaccinated arrivals will not be required to quarantine. McGowan also announced on Thursday a A$67 million (about $48 million) support package to help business through what would be "the next phase of the pandemic" for the state. "It's going to be a bumpy and uncertain time, especially for small businesses," said McGowan. As of February 22, 95.8 per cent of WA's population aged 12 and above had been vaccinated with both shots. Its booster rate has just tipped 60 per cent and is on track to reach 70 per cent by March 3.

Aus urged to fork out billions over extreme weather

Canberra, Feb 22: Australian homes, businesses and communities need billions of dollars more in government funding to cope with worsening extreme weather conditions, according to the nation's insurance industry. A report released on Tuesday by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said the federal government's natural disaster funding should be doubled to A$200 million per year and that the figure should be matched by the nation's six state and two territory governments for the next five years, reports Xinhua news agency. "Insurers are at the frontline when it comes to climate change and extreme weather. That's why as an industry we're so focused on improving community resilience," said Andrew Hall, who heads the Sydney-based ICA. Hall said that investing now in stronger homes and community infrastructures would ultimately lead to estimated government and household savings of at least A$19 billion by 2050. The Building a More Resilient Australia report outlined a range of measures to make vulnerable communities and homes better able to withstand the nation's most common natural disasters of floods, cyclones and bushfires. The ICA's proposed program includes improving the national flood early warning system, flood levees for regional towns, raising vital community service facilities above expected flood lines, cyclone-proofing more than 44,000 homes in northern Australia and creating a national coastal hazard information database. The call for greater investment in making homes and communities more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather is one of 12 policy areas the ICA has identified as requiring reform, modernisation or investment. The insurance body is also calling for a review of land use planning arrangements to ensure no more homes were built in areas with a high risk of extreme weather impacts, and for national building codes to be strengthened. Additionally, the ICA believed states and territories must finally abolish duties, levies and taxes on insurance products, which increase the cost of premiums and discourage people from being fully insured. To coincide with the report's release, the ICA has begun a nationwide advertising campaign calling on Australia's governments to lessen the impact of extreme weather by committing to the urgent increase in investment.

Australia commits to paving crucial outback highway network

Canberra, Feb 21 (IANS): Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday that his government will invest A$678 million ($486 million) to upgrade the crucial outback road network if re-elected in this year's general elections. The Outback Way is a 2,700-km network of desert roads that connects Laverton in south central Western Australia (WA) to Winton in central Queensland via the Northern Territory (NT), passing by iconic landmarks such as Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, reports Xinhua news agency. Despite being the main route connecting WA to central Australia and Queensland, large parts of the Outback Way are unsealed gravel and dirt roads, making trucking freight logistically difficult. "Our investment locks in a pipeline of works that will drive investment in regional Australia and boost economies from Winton in Queensland to Laverton in Western Australia, helping regional and remote communities and those who call them home to grow and prosper," Morrison said in a statement. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who is also the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, said the project would employ hundreds of people for its duration and deliver major economic benefits for the Outback. "These upgrades will spark new opportunities for industries along the route, including the critical earth precincts north of Alice Springs, the gold precincts around Laverton and the massive beef industry, while ensuring communities and people on the corridor have better access to supplies," Joyce said. The announcement was made a day after Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Opposition Labor Party, promised to spend A$200 million upgrading remote territory roads if elected Prime Minister. "You are 11 times more likely to have a fatality on a remote community road as you do in a capital city. That's why this announcement of a A$200 million Northern Territory strategic roads package is so important," Albanese said.

Humpback whales removed from Australian threatened species list

Canberra, Feb 26: Humpback whales have been removed from Australia's list of threatened species after a major recovery. Sussan Ley, the Minister for the Environment, on Saturday announced that the Threatened Species Scientific Committee has determined that Australia's humpback whale population has grown to the point where the iconic species could be removed from the list. The species faced extinction before the 1980s as a result of whaling but the number of humpback whales in Australian waters has since increased from approximately 1,500 to 40,000, Xinhua news agency reported. "This is not about removing safeguards for humpbacks, which are still a protected migratory species, but it is a recognition of the success of the outstanding conservation efforts that are in place," Ley said in a statement. "Our removal of the Humpback from the threatened species list is based on science and sends a clear signal about what can be achieved through coordinated action. It is a message of hope for the welfare of a number of species." Two humpback whale species breed in Australia and migrate along the east and west coasts of the country between May and November. As a protected migratory species, it will remain an offence to kill, injure, trade, keep or move humpback whales in Australia. Despite the significant change in the mammal's status, conservationists have warned that climate change still poses a major threat to Australia's humpback whales. Nicola Beynon, a campaign manager for the Humane Society, said delisting the whales could prove a short-sighted decision.

Afghanistan launches polio vax drive targeting 9.1mn kids

Kabul, Feb 22: The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has launched a polio vaccination drive targeting 9.1 million children across the country. "This is the second general polio vaccination campaign in 2022 aimed at vaccinating 9.1 million children under the age of five," Xinhua news agency said the regime as saying in a statement on Monday. Provinces including Bamyan, Daykundi, and Ghor as well as some districts of Ghazni and Badakhshan are not included in the ongoing campaign due to cold weather, the

government said. The three-day campaign was launched in collaboration with the Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO), the statement said. So far in 2022, one positive case of polio has been reported in the Asian country, while there were four in the entirety of 2021, according to the statement. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two remaining polio endemic countries in the world. In Afghanistan, despite continuous concerted efforts to achieve a polio free status, the battle to finish the last mile has become a pivoting challenge, resulting in an increase in the number of cases during the last three years, according to the Unicef. The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, disrupted polio campaigns and other essential health services have created additional immunity gaps, which have resulted in the spike.

Silent int'l recognition of Afghan govt underway, claims Taliban

Kabul, Feb 23 (IANS): A senior Taliban member has claimed that silent international recognition of the Islamic Emirate government of Afghanistan is currently underway, adding there have been positive improvements in the country's political sector. "This is the result of the political efforts that Kabul is full of embassies today, and in many countries we have opened our own embassies, which is a silent process of recognition," TOLO News quoted Anas Haqqani as saying in an address to tribal leaders in Khost province on Tuesday. He said differences should not harm the country's national values and that security forces should abide by the amnesty decree of the Islamic Emirate leader. Despite Haqqani's claim, no country has recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan yet after their take over of the country in August last year. The Taliban have insisted that it has met all the conditions for being officially recognised.

Three white men killing African American Ahmaud Arbery found guilty of hate crimes

Washington, Feb 23: The three white men convicted of murdering African American Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty of hate crimes by a federal jury in the southeastern US state of Georgia on Tuesday. The jury found father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbour William "Roddie" Bryan guilty of all the federal charges they individually faced, including hate crimes, attempted kidnapping and the use of a firearm to commit a crime. The McMichaels and Bryan chased Arbery, a 25-year-old African American man who was jogging on the public streets of a Brunswick neighbourhood in Georgia, in trucks on February 23, 2020. The three men cornered Arbery and Travis McMichael fatally shot him with a shotgun, Xinhua news agency reported. Arbery was running with his hands empty and in plain view while never did he speak a word to his killers, nor make any threatening sound or gesture, according to court documents. All three men were previously convicted of murder in a Georgia state court and sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting. "We as a family will never get victory because Ahmaud is gone forever," Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, said outside the federal courthouse in Brunswick. "No one should fear that if they go out for a run, they will be targeted and killed because of the colour of their skin," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The state of Georgia declared February 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day to mark the gravity of his death and the subsequent criminal and federal cases.

59 dead in Burkina Faso gold mine blast

Ouagadougou, Feb 22: At least 59 people were killed in a gold mine blast in Gbomblora in Burkina Faso's Poni province, national broadcaster RTB reported. Fifty-five people died at the scene of the explosion, while four others succumbed to their injuries in hospitals, Xinhua news agency quoted the RTB report as saying. At least 55 other people were injured, according to the provisional toll, said the report. The cause of the explosion remained unknown, but several witnesses have said that the blast was triggered by a fire which consumed a stock of explosives used by the gold miners during their operations. An investigation was underway, said the RTB.

Over 850 Afghan families receive relief assistance

Kabul, Feb 24 (IANS): Over 850 Afghan families have received relief assistance in the capital of Kabul as the Afghan caretaker government and aid agencies redoubled efforts to help destitute families in winter, authorities said on Thursday. The Afghan Ministry for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that 600 needy and internally displaced families received the relief assistance distributed by the ministry in Kabul on Monday and Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported. According to the ministry, the assistance included 50 kg wheat, 50 kg rice and a package of food. In addition, on Wednesday, the Afghan Red Crescent Society distributed a 50-kg bag of flour to 250 orphans, needy and internally displaced families in districts of Kabul province, where the Kabul city is located, the organisation said. Economic woes hit the impoverished country following the freezing of over $9 billion of Afghan central bank's assets by the US as well as a halt of funds by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

British PM announces end of Covid restrictions despite criticism

London, Feb 22: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the end of all domestic Covid-19 restrictions in England in a process starting later this week. The Prime Minister on Monday announced the lifting of all long-term coronavirus rules in Parliament as he unveiled the government's strategy for "living with Covid", Xinhua news agency reported. The legal requirement for people who test positive for coronavirus to self-isolate will be removed from Thursday of this week, Johnson has announced. "From April 1, when Winter is over and the virus will spread less easily, we will end free symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public," he said. Johnson said it will mark a moment of pride after one of the most difficult periods in history as Britain begins to learn to live with Covid-19. "The pandemic is not over but thanks to the incredible vaccine rollout we are now one step closer towards a return to normality and finally giving people back their freedoms while continuing to protect ourselves and others," he said. More than 91 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 85 per cent have received both doses, according to the latest figures. More than 66 per cent have received booster jabs, or the third dose of a coronavirus vaccine. "Britain will move from government restrictions to personal responsibility," said Johnson, adding contingencies will be maintained to tackle any future virus variations. Saying people in Britain need to get their confidence back, Johnson added: "We chose to compel people to be considerate to others. We can rely on that sense of responsibility towards one another by providing practical advice in the knowledge that people will follow it to avoid infecting loved ones." He said Britain's aim would be to manage future risks. However, leading academics, medics and scientists expressed concern about the move, with many saying it is too early to ease restrictions while so many daily cases and deaths continue to be registered. More than 1,300 scientists and medics have sent an urgent message to Britain's top two government medical advisers, England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Officer Professor Patrick Vallance, expressing concern about the government plans to end testing, surveillance surveys and legal isolation of Covid-19 cases. They called on the two to clarify the scientific advice underpinning the policy decisions. They said in an open letter: "We do not believe there is a solid scientific basis for the policy. It is almost certain to increase the circulation of the virus and remove the visibility of emerging variants of concern. We believe humanity is in a race against the virus." "The government cannot wave a magic wand and pretend the threat has disappeared entirely," said Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the National Health Service (NHS) Confederation. In what some have speculated could be the last ever Downing Street Covid-19 briefing on Monday, Vallance started on a downbeat tone, with a warning the pandemic is not over and "the virus has got a lot of room to evolve". It will continue to do so at a fast pace "probably for the next couple of years" and there is "no guarantee that the next variant is of as reduced severity as Omicron". "And we must maintain the ability to get everything going again within a "couple of weeks," he said. The British Medical Association (BMA) which represents doctors across the country said ending the restrictions was premature and not based on current evidence. The BMA, often described as the doctor's "trade union" warned dropping testing for the virus and self-isolation could lead to a surge in cases. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA council, said the decision hasn't been guided by data or done in consultation with the healthcare profession. Nagpaul said Covid-19 infections need to fall further before the rules were relaxed. "It does appear as if the government is trying to pretend that Covid doesn't exist in the day-to-day lives of so many people," he said. Scientists working together, in a body known as Independent SAGE, to provide independent scientific advice on the Covid-19 crisis, has condemned plans to stop free tests and payments to support self-isolation in England. "Our concerns about removing access to free tests include increased risk of spread of Omicron and any subsequent variants, leading to more illness, death and burden on the NHS and more risk of new variants emerging," said Independent Sage. As of Monday, Britain had recorded 18,654,572 Covid-19 cases and 160,610 related deaths, according to official figures.

Putin's chilling warning to the West: You'll face consequences greater than any in history

New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared war on Ukraine and gave a chilling warning to its allies in the West, Daily Mail reported. Explosions were heard in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, as Putin announced that Russia was launching a military attack on Ukraine. "To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside - if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history," he said on a television broadcast. The UN Security Council had just convened an emergency meeting Wednesday night when Putin took to Russian airwaves to announce the invasion. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

had urged Putin to stop his tanks. "If indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart," said Guterres. "President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died." Putin ignored the plea, going on TV to describe the invasion as a "special military occupation' and said he wants to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify", not occupy, the country, the report said. He told Ukrainian service members to "lay down their arms and go home", saying Russia could not exist with a "constant threat emanating from the territory of Ukraine" and clashes between Russian and Ukrainian solders was "inevitable".'

Canadian liquor stores pull out Russian Vodka from shelves

Ottawa, Feb 26 (IANS): Crown liquor stores in several Canadian provinces have pulled Russian products, including Vodka, from their shelves, local media reported. In Ontario, Peter Bethlenfalvy, finance minister of the biggest province in Canada, said he was directing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to withdraw products produced in Russia, Xinhua news agency reported. "We strongly support the federal government's efforts to sanction the Russian government," Bethlenfalvy was quoted as saying in a statement. "We will continue to be there for the Ukrainian people during this extremely difficult time." The reports said the LCBO carries around 25 Russian-produced products and that the stores could remove them within 24 hours. Crown liquor stores in other four provinces, namely the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, New Brunswick liquor stores, Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, and Manitoba Liquor Mart made similar moves on Friday, according to the reports.

New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) Congress on Friday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for comparing himself to legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and called it an insult to the freedom fighters. Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said: "While Shaheed Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life for the nation, Arvind Kejriwal is not willing to give up even one of his posts. He is both CM and National Convenor of AAP due to his lust for power. Kejriwal comparing himself to Bhagat Singh is an insult to our freedom fighters & reflects his desperation for votes." Earlier in the day, dismissing as "comedy", allegations levelled by former party leader Kumar Vishwas that he had made "separatist" comments, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday described himself as "world's sweetest terrorist who builds roads, hospitals and send elderly people to pilgrimage. "Hundred years back, Bhagat Singh was called a terrorist by the British and I'm his staunch follower. Today, history is repeating itself. All these corrupt people have teamed up to brand the disciple of Bhagat Singh a terrorist, but people know the truth," Delhi CM said. Former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas had alleged that Kejriwal had spoken about becoming PM of a separate state. In a video, Kumar is seen saying, "One day, he (Kejriwal) told me he would either become CM (of Punjab) or first PM of an independent nation.. he wants power at any cost." Hitting back, Kerjriwal said: "They have all teamed up against me and are calling me a terrorist. It is comedy? If that is the case, then why doesn't (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji get me arrested?" asked Kejriwal in a press conference. Addressing the media, Kejriwal asked what were the Centre's security agencies doing until now. "What were agencies during the Congress and BJP's tenure doing till now? Why did they not arrest me? This is such a humorous matter," he added. PM Modi and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were among those who attacked Kejriwal over Kumar Vishwas' video wherein he accused Kejriwal of making separatist comments.

Oppn may consider Nitish for Prez if he snaps ties with NDA: NCP

Mumbai, Feb 22: The Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday said that opposition parties may think about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the post of President, provided his Janata Dal-U severs ties with the ruling NDA. Referring to some media reports that Nitish Kumar could be the Opposition's candidate for the Presidential elections due mid-2022, NCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik made it clear that there can be no discussion on this until he breaks all ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party. There have been certain speculative reports claiming Nitish Kumar may part ways with the BJP after the results of the ongoing elections to five states are declared next month and he could be in the race for the post of President. "We can consider it (his candidature) only if the JD-U first breaks out of the NDA. Then the leaders of all Opposition parties will sit and collectively give a thought to it," Malik told media persons. On the polls in the five states, he predicted that the BJP will be subjected to "a severe defeat" in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa. "History will be repeated after 30 years in UP. It will win less than 150 seats. The people of the state had rejected BJP after it fomented communal violence there in 1993. People are now sick of its policies," asserted Malik. He added that the process to launch a united 'anti-BJP' front has been initiated in the country and it will take a proper shape well before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "However, no such front can be formed without the Congress. The question of leadership will be taken up later at an appropriate time," Malik said, reiterating the clear stance of NCP and its ally, Shiv Sena, though some Opposition parties have expressed reservations. In this context, he referred to the visit of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in December followed by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao this week to Mumbai to meet the Maha Vikas Aghadi leadership and forge a united national Opposition front to counter the BJP.

Raj BJP MLAs to return Apple iPhones gifted by Cong govt

aipur, Feb 24 (IANS): The BJP MLAs in Rajasthan have decided to return the expensive iPhone 13 which were given to all 200 MLAs of the state by the Ashok Gehlot government after the Budget presentation. BJP state president Satish Poonia, in his tweet, said, "Keeping in view the financial burden on the state government, we will return the iPhones given by the Congress government. The decision has been taken after discussion on this issue with other MLAs including Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathod." After presenting the budget on Wednesday, the Ashok Gehlot government of Rajasthan gave iPhone 13 to all 200 MLAs along with a copy of the budget. The price of these iPhones ranges between Rs 75,000 and Rs 1 lakh. It is being

said that the state government had recently purchased 250 iPhones. Of these, 200 have been given to MLAs. This is the third consecutive year when MLAs have been given expensive gifts after the budget. Earlier, after the last budget, Apple I-PADs were given to the legislators. Laptops were given during the budget before last year. At the same time, new luxury residences of MLAs are also being built in Jaipur.

Majithia surrenders before trial court in Mohali

Chandigarh, Feb 24: Facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Thursday surrendered before a trial court in Mohali near here following directions of the Supreme Court. Majithia applied for regular bail and the trial court started arguments over his bail plea, it is learnt. The court, however, allowed the Special Investigation Team to interrogate Majithia for about an hour in the court complex. A bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hima Kohli had directed Majithia to surrender before the trial court after the Punjab Assembly polls on February 20. His interim bail had ended on Wednesday night. Majithia, the brother-n-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, was in fray for the February 20 assembly polls from Amritsar (East). In a 49-page FIR filed by the state police Crime Branch at the Mohali police station, the SAD leader has been booked under sections 25, 27A and 29 of the NDPS Act.

DMK sweeps TN urban body polls, wins AIADMK bastions like Edappadi

Chennai, Feb 22: The DMK-led alliance on Tuesday swept the urban local body elections in Tamil Nadu with 75 per cent of the results declared. The urban polls were held in the state after a gap of 11 years and the win of the DMK is considered as a stamp of approval for the ninemonth-old M.K. Stalin government in the state. The dismal performance of the AIADMK was reflected with the party losing its bastions and the DMK winning several seats in western Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore, Erode and Salem. In Edappadi, the home constituency of former Chief Minister K. Palaniswami too, the AIADMK candidate lost the polls to the DMK. Palaniswami's own ward no 23 in Salem Municipal Corporation was also wrested by the DMK leading to a major loss of face for the former Chief Minister who is also the Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu. According to the State Election Commission till the late afternoon, the DMK alliance won 494 seats in corporations, 2,021 in municipalities, and 4,619 seats in town panchayats. The AIADMK, on the other hand won only 81 wards in corporations, 511 in municipalities, and 1,188 seats in town panchayats. The BJP, which contested alone, won 255 wards - 7 in corporations, 113 seats in municipalities, and 135 seats in town panchayats. Five candidates supported by Vijay Makkal Iyyakam, the fans association of superstar Vijay, won in corporation wards, including 3 in Chennai. Transgender candidate, R. Ganga of the DMK, won from the Vellore Municipal corporation by a margin of 15 votes. This is the first time a transgender candidate has won from the DMK in urban local body polls. Three candidates, including an AIADMK candidate, got only zero votes in Karambukudi panchayat in Pudukottai district even though all three had votes in the same constituency.

BJP, RSS want one ideology, culture to prevail in India, Cong to promote diversity: Rahul

Imphal, Feb 21 (IANS): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the vision and ideology of the BJP and the RSS is to promote one idea, one culture and one language maintaining these are superior to all other ideas, all other languages and all other cultures. Gandhi referring to his recent Lok Sabha speech on "Union of states" said the Congress always wanted to protect and develop the diverse culture of people of all the states and Union Territories of India. He said that the BJP and the RSS did not like the reference of "Union of states" because they have a different vision of the country. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and RSS leaders are coming to Manipur not with respect to the people of the state, not with understanding, they come with a sense of superiority. PM comes to Manipur with the idea that he has a superior vision, superior language and he has the right to define about India. "I come Manipur with humility; because I understand that you (people) have a lot to give. I come here to learn a lot from you because there is a diverse culture, languages and traditions here. PM will come to Manipur on Tuesday with an air of superiority to tell you what he thinks and not to learn from you," the Congress leader said. While addressing his first election rally in poll bound Manipur at Hapta Kangjeibung in Imphal, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress believed in an India where every state had equal rights and the right to have its own language, culture and history. Modi earlier promised to give two crore jobs in a year, deposit Rs 15 lakhs in the bank account of every Indian and he would change the destiny of the farmers, Gandhi said. "But now he is not talking about those commitments ...he is not talking about three black farm laws. He is not talking now about the severely bad effect of 'Notebandi' (demonetisation). He is not talking about the flawed GST. "The faulty GST was created to help two to three millionaires and to destroy the small and medium industries and enterprises. India is now witnessing the highest number of unemployed in 40 years." Gandhi referring to the Rs 11,000 crore National Palm oil cultivation mission of the government, said that this cultivation would not help the farmers of Manipur, it would destroy the economy of Manipur. "Companies like Patanjali and large business organisations would be benefited and make profit from this cultivation. We are not interested to help Baba Ramdev and punish Manipuri people. We are always keen to protect the interest of Manipur and to make the state self-sufficient in rice production," he observed. Criticising the BJP government for not helping women, the Congress leader said that his party led government in Manipur helped a lot in the 'Ima Keithal' and more such 'Ima Keithal' would be set up in the future to empower the women in the state. The century old and world's largest all-women run market 'Ima Keithal' or the 'Mother's Market', located in Manipur capital Imphal and other smaller all-women markets functioning in different parts of the northeastern state boost the Manipur economy to a large extent and are a great source of livelihood

of thousands of women. The all women market, which has a history of over 500 years, has around 3,615 licensed female vendors registered with the Imphal Municipal Corporation. Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "failure to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic", Gandhi said that Modi is the first Prime Minister in the world who campaigned for "Thali Bajao to vanish coronavirus.... when his Thali Bajao scheme failed he asked the people to switch on the mobile phone light to eradicate the virus". Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed an election rally in Manipur virtually from Delhi on February 15 while party leaders Jairam Ramesh and Bhakta Charan Das are spearheading the party's election campaign in the northeastern state. The elections to the 60-seat Manipur assembly would be held in two phases on February 28 and March 5. The counting of votes would take place on March 10.

Former Odisha CM Hemananda Biswal passes away, PM, Rahul express condolences

Bhubaneswar, Feb 25 (IANS): Senior Congress leader and former Odisha Chief Minister, Hemananda Biswal passed away here at a private hospital on Friday, his daughter Sunita said. He was 82. Biswal served as Chief Minister of Odisha twice - from December 7, 1989 to March 3, 1990, and from December 6, 1999 to March 5, 2000. The first tribal Chief Minister of the state, he was also Deputy CM from March 15, 1995 to May 9, 1998. Biswal joined Congress in 1972 and was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 1974 and again re-elected in 1980 to till 2004 from Laikera Assembly segment in Jharsuguda district. He was elected as an MP from Sundergarh in 2009-14. A six-time MLA, he served as minister of several departments including Home, Industries, Panchayati Raj, General Administration, and Health. He is survived by five daughters - Sabita, Sanjukya, Manjulata, Sunita, and Anita. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi condoled his demise. "Anguished by the passing away of former Odisha CM Shri Hemananda Biswal Ji. He was active in public life for many years and worked extensively among people. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with his family and supporters. Om Shanti," Modi tweeted. Expressing his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Biswal, Gandhi, in a tweet, said, "He was a stalwart of the Congress Party and would be remembered as a great tribal leader." Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and senior leaders from the state, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state Congress President Niranjan Patnaik have expressed grief at the demise of the leader.

Trump's Truth Social censoring content, kicking off users

San Francisco, Feb 23 (IANS):

Former US Preasident Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social, which launched only a few days ago, is struggling with technical glitches and onboarding new users in the early stages of its rollout. The site, which billed itself as a sort of free speech alternative to Twitter with more lax content moderation policies, has already booted a few users off of its platform, reports Engadget. Other users are struggling to even access the platform, which now has nearly half a million people on its waitlist, the report said. According to Mashable, a user named Matt Ortega was rejected

from Truth Social on the basis of his username, @DevineNunesCow. A parody Twitter account of the same name poked fun at former Rep. Devin Nunes, who is currently the CEO of Truth Social's parent company. A few users have pointed out that Truth Social's moderation policy is significantly more strict than that of Twitter, despite its claim to be a refuge from Big Tech's censorship. Unlike Twitter, Truth Social users can get suspended or booted from the platform altogether for posting content that moderators consider to be false, defamatory or misleading. While Twitter has had broad bans in the past on Covid-19 and election misinformation, it regularly allows other types of misinformation to fly by. Truth Social users also can get banned for posting content that moderators deem to be "libelous, slanderous, or otherwise objectionable". Twitter tends to be selective in how it handles disputes between users unless it involves targeted harassment campaigns, the report said.

iPhone 14 battery life may increase with new 5G chip

San Francisco, Feb 23 (IANS): Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 14 in or around September and now a new report suggests the upcoming iPhone will feature better battery life than iPhone 13 series, thanks to a new 5G chipset. According to a new report from the Economic Daily News, TSMC has obtained all orders for Apple's 5G radio frequency or RF chips for this year's flagship iPhone models. The new chips will be purportedly manufactured using TSMC's 6nm process. The 6nm process for 5G RF chips can provide a physically smaller chip with lower power consumption. The smaller chip would free up valuable space inside the iPhone 14 for other components such as a larger battery. The modem of the iPhone 14 is also said to be bringing support for Wi-Fi 6E, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series smartphones with Wi-Fi 6. Apple last year launched iPhone 13 Pro models with storage options of up to a whopping 1 TB and now the next flagship series, the iPhone 14 line-up mayAcome with up to 2 TB of storage. Apple will adopt QLC flash storage for next year's iPhone and that thanks to the newer storage technology, it will increase capacity to 2 TB. According to famed analyst MingChi Kuo, top-tier "iPhone 14" models will adopt a 1/1.3-inch 48MP CMOS image sensor for wide-angle camera module duties. "We believe that the new 2H2022 iPhone may support direct 48MP output and 12MP (four cells merge output mode) output simultaneously," Kuo said in a note to investors.

Facebook Reels goes global with new money-making tools for creators

New Delhi, Feb 23: Meta has launched its TikTok-rival short-video making app Facebook Reels for iOS and Android to more than 150 countries across the globe. To help creators earn money from Facebook Reels, the company said it is expanding tests of overlay ads, starting with banner and sticker ads. "New Facebook Reels features include Remix, sharing to Facebook Stories and more," Meta said in a statement late on Tuesday. "Watching video is half of time spent on Facebook and Instagram, and Reels is our fastest growing content format by far," it added. In an alternative to popular video-making app TikTok, Facebook in 2020 started testing its short video-making app Instagram Reels first in India. Mets said that the ‘Reels Play' bonus programme, part of its $1 billion creator investment, pays eligible creators up to $35,000 a month based on the views of their qualifying reels. "In the coming months, we'll expand the bonus programme to more countries, so more creators can get rewarded for creating reels that their communities love," said Meta. The company is also building direct monetisation options for Facebook Reels through ad revenue share and fan support. "We're expanding tests of Facebook Reels Overlay Ads to all creators in the US, Canada and Mexico, and to more countries in the coming weeks". Any creator in the US, Canada and Mexico who is part of our in-stream ads program is automatically eligible to monetise their publicly-shared reels with ads. By mid-March, these tests will expand to creators in nearly all countries where in-stream ads are available. The users can find Facebook Reels in Feed, Groups and Watch.

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IIT researchers use orange-peel for making biofuel precursors

New Delhi/Mandi, Feb 23:

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi have used hydrochar derived from orange peels as a catalyst to convert biomass derived chemicals into biofuel precursors. The research will help to develop biomass-based fuel to overcome the socio-political instabilities associated with dwindling petroleum reserves. This method will help in producing clean green power from biomass and hasten India's journey towards sustainable fuel development, free from the shackles of fossil fuel dependence. The findings of the research team have been recently published in the journal 'Green Chemistry'. The research was led by Dr Venkata Krishnan, Associate Professor of School of Basic Sciences at IIT Mandi, and co-authored by his students Tripti Chhabra and Prachi Dwivedi, a release from IIT Mandi said on Wednesday. Biomass derived products from naturally occurring materials, is currently the fourth most significant energy source that can meet the energy demand after coal, oil, and natural gas, in the country. Lignocellulosic biomass obtained from forestry and agricultural waste, for example, can potentially be converted to a variety of useful chemicals by various methods. Of these methods, the use of catalysts for the conversion is particularly useful because such processes can be carried out with minimal energy input and the type of product obtained from the biomass can be controlled through the right choice of catalysts and reaction conditions. Talking about the research, Dr Venkata Krishnan said: "One of the driving interests among the renewable energy community is the development of relatively clean and energy efficient processes to convert biomass into useful chemicals, including fuel." The simplest and most low-cost catalyst that has been studied by the researchers for biomass conversion reactions is hydrochar. It is typically obtained by heating the biomass waste (orange peels in this case) in the presence of water through the hydrothermal carbonisation process. The use of hydrochar as a catalyst for biomass conversion is attractive because it is renewable and its chemical and physical structure can be altered for better catalytic efficiencies, the release said. The researchers have used hydrochar derived from orange peels to catalyse the conversion of biomass-derived chemicals into biofuel precursors. They heat dried orange peel powder with citric acid under pressure in a hydrothermal reactor (a lab-level 'pressure cooker') for many hours. The hydrochar that was produced was then treated with other chemicals to introduce acidic sulfonic, phosphate and nitrate functional groups to it. "We used these three types of catalyst to bring about hydroxyalkylation alkylation (HAA) reactions between 2-methylfuran and furfural, compounds that are derived from lignocellulose, to produce fuel precursors," explained Chhabra. The scientists found that the sulfonic functionalised hydrochar catalyst was able to catalyse this reaction effectively, to produce biofuel precursors in good yield. Further, Krishnan added: "We were able to synthesise the biofuel precursors under solventless and low temperature conditions, which decreases the overall cost of the process and also makes it environment-friendly, attractive from an industry point of view." This is the first comparative study in which the three types of acid functionalisation have been assessed. They also performed green metric calculations and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) studies to gain deeper insights into the catalytic activity of sulfonic, nitrate and phosphate functionalised hydrochar derived from orange peels, the release added.

Microsoft Edge may overtake Safari as second most popular desktop browser

New Delhi, Feb 23: Microsoft's Edge browser is on the verge of surpassing Apple's Safari as the world's second most popular desktop browser According to data from web analytics service StatCounter, Microsoft Edge is now used on 9.54 per cent of desktops worldwide, a mere 0.3 per cent behind Apple's Safari, which stands at 9.84 per cent. Google Chrome still holds the top spot at 65.38 per cent, with fellow challenger Mozilla Firefox now trailing with 9.18 per cent. While Edge appears to be set to overtake Safari on a global scale, in North America, Safari is in a stronger position, being used on 16.87 per cent of desktops compared to Edge's 11.93 per cent market share. Meanwhile in Europe, Edge has already surpassed Safari, taking 10.9 per cent of the market compared to Safari's 9.95 per cent. In Asia Safari's 5.41 percent market share trails behind Edge's 7.46 per cent. Microsoft recently released version 98.0.1108.43 of its Edge browser that brings a host of new features, including a new browsing mode that prioritises security. The company said that this is a browsing mode in Microsoft Edge where browser security takes priority, giving users an extra layer of protection when browsing the web. Administrators can apply group

policies to end-user desktops (Windows, macOS, and Linux) to help protect against in-the-wild exploits (also referred to 0-days), Microsoft said in a blogpost. With the new update, users can personalise their multi-profile experience with the ability to create a customised list of sites for automatic profile switching in Microsoft Edge.

Zuckerberg shows bot that builds virtual worlds with voice commands

San Francisco, Feb 24: Amid the metaverse buzz, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has demonstrated a new artificial intelligence (AI) system that can help people build virtual worlds with just voice commands. Called "BuilderBot," the tool is as an "exploratory concept" that shows AI's potential for creating new worlds in the metaverse, Zuckerberg said in a video late on Wednesday. He tells the bot, "let's go to a park." The bot then creates a 3D landscape of a park with green grass and trees. Zuckerberg then says, "actually, let's go to the beach," and the tool replaces the virtual park with a new one with sand and water. He then points to a specific area of the water and says "let's add an island over there," and then the bot creates one. The ‘BuilderBot' uses voice commands to create 3D environments and placing them onto the landscape. "As we build for the metaverse, we'll continue to break ground in areas like self-supervised learning and building the world's most powerful AI supercomputer to drive the future of AI research breakthroughs," Meta said in a statement. A new tool fueling creativity in the metaverse — ‘BuilderBot enables people to generate or import things into a virtual world just by using voice commands, the company added. Meta is also working on Universal Speech Translator, an AI system that provides instantaneous speech-to-speech translation across all languages, even those that are mostly spoken. "Project CAIRaoke is a new approach to AI that powers chatbots and assistants. With this technology, people could one day have more fluid conversations with their virtual assistants," Meta added.

ICA condemns threatening messages to Wriddhiman Saha

New Delhi, Feb 22: The Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA) on Tuesday 'strongly condemned' the threatening message sent to veteran wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha by a journalist and welcomed the BCCI's decision to probe the issue. The 37-year-old tweeted a screenshot of messages from a journalist on Saturday, a little after he was excluded from India's Test squad for the forthcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. "After all of my contributions to Indian cricket...this is what I face from a so-called 'Respected' journalist! This is where journalism has gone," Saha wrote on Twitter along with the screenshot. The issue escalated after former players like Ravi Shastri, Parthiv Patel and Virender Sehwag, among others, joined in the criticism of the said journalist. The BCCI subsequently decided to get to the bottom of the issue with treasurer Arun Dhumal saying that secretary Jay Shah will speak to the veteran wicketkeeper. The ICA has now requested Saha to reveal the journalist's name and also urged the BCCI to take the strictest action. "We acknowledge the fact that the media plays a very important role both in the growth of our game and the players but there's always a line that must never be crossed. What has happened in Saha's case is totally unacceptable and we call for the respective press organisations to take up the matter and ensure such things are not repeated," said ICA President Ashok Malhotra in a statement. "At the ICA our foremost concern is the welfare of cricketers, past and present, and we cannot accept such behaviour from anyone let alone a journalist. We are with Saha and request him to reveal the journalist's name. Should the BCCI feel the need to cancel the erring journalist's accreditation and access to any BCCI event, we will fully support the move," he added. ICA Secretary Hitesh Majumdar also offered full support to Saha, saying that no player should be subjected to such 'threats' from anyone in the media or elsewhere. "We would offer our full support to Saha at this juncture. No player should be subjected to such 'threats' from anyone in the media or elsewhere. We urge the media also to come out in support of Saha and ensure that these sorts of issues don't crop up again," said Hitesh Majumdar, the ICA Secretary. "Any interaction between a player and the media has always to be voluntary," he said. Meanwhile, Saha has said that he will not reveal the name of the journalist to the BCCI, as and when the cricket board communicates with him over his tweet that has become arguably Indian cricket's biggest talking point at the moment. It was reported on Monday that the BCCI would ask the wicketkeeper-batsman to reveal the identity of the journalist who purportedly sent a string of WhatsApp messages to the cricketer, demanding an interview. "I haven't received any communication from the BCCI yet. If they ask me to reveal the name (of the journalist), I would tell them it was never my intention to harm somebody's career, to pull a person down. That's why I didn't reveal the name in my tweet. That's not the teaching of my parents. The main purpose of my tweet was to expose the fact that there's someone in the media who does such things, disrespecting a player's wish," Saha told The Indian Express. "It wasn't fair, which I wanted to tell through my tweets. He who has done it knows it very well. I posted those tweets because I didn't want the players to face such things. I wanted to convey the message that what has been done was wrong and no one else should do it again," he added. The veteran keeper also mentioned that he is not retiring from cricket in near future. "I play cricket because of my love for the game. As long as that is there, I will not hang up my boots. It doesn't matter whether I'm being considered for the Indian team or my state team or my IPL side. As long as I'm enjoying the game, I will play. I won't mind calling time on my career through club and office cricket," Saha said.

Kush Maini signs up with MP Motorsport for FIA F3 debut

Rotterdam, Feb 22: Young Indian racer Kush Maini has signed with MP Motorsport for his debut season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Joining the Dutch outfit for FIA F3 will allow the 21-year-old from Bengaluru to showcase his talent during Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends. Maini, supported by JK Racing, lines up with MP after competing in the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA last year as well as finishing second in the British F3 Championship in 2020, and will now be able to prove his worth in the FIA F3 level. At MP Motorsport, the Indian driver will team up with Alexander Smolyar from Russia and Caio Collet from Brazil. Kush Maini is the younger brother of former FIA F2 and F3 driver Arjun Maini, who has since competed in the ELMS and the German DTM series. "I'm excited to join MP Motorsport for my first year in FIA F3," said Maini. "In 2021, MP proved to be race winners and in the final standings, they were the only FIA F3 team to have two rookies finish in the top-ten. This shows their ability to coach rookie drivers on their way to immediately performing well in the series. I can't wait to get going for pre-season testing and the first

round at Bahrain!" "I'm pleased to welcome Kush to our FIA F3 team," said MP Motorsport team principal Sander Dorsman. "In the past few years, Kush has proved himself extremely well at regional F3 levels, now it's time for him to step up to FIA F3. I'm sure he will mix well with Alex and Caio, and we will do our best to help him shine during each of the ninerace weekends coming up in the championship." After a karting career that kicked off in 2011 with the Indian national title at Rotax Micromax level, followed by accomplishments such as second in the 2013 WSK Euro Series at 60 Mini level, fourth in the 2014 CIK-FIA World KF Junior Championship and fourth in the 2015 KF Junior WSK Champions Cup, Maini debuted in single-seaters in 2016, taking his first podium in the Italian F4 Championship. Subsequently dovetailing Italian F4 with selected ADAC F4 rounds took him to eighth in the 2017 Italian series. In 2018 and 2020, Maini raced to third and then second in British F3, while taking sixth in the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup. In 2021, the Indian youngster combined the Asian F3 championship with an LMP2 drive in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Tendulkar to take legal action against use of his 'morphed' images in casino ads

Mumbai, Feb 24: Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has expressed shock over his allegedly morphed images being used to endorse a casino and said he will soon be taking legal action against the misuse of his image. Tendulkar took to the social media on Thursday to clarify that he had nothing to do with the advertisements of a casino doing the rounds on the social media, which has his picture. "It has come to my notice that there are multiple ads being shown on social media platforms, with a morphed photo showing me endorsing a casino," Tendulkar said a statement on his Twitter handle. "I have never endorsed gambling, tobacco, or alcohol--directly or indirectly-- in an individual capacity. It pains to see that my images are being used to mislead people," Tendulkar, who has always maintained a spotless image, said in the statement. The former India cricket captain, the most successful batter in international cricket, requested everyone to "remain vigilant about misleading images on social media". "While my legal team will be taking the required action, I felt it was important for me to share this information with everyone," the legendary cricketer said in the statement. Auckland, Feb 23: New Zealand women's cricket team skipper Sophie Devine has said that these are exciting times for women's cricket with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games this year and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2023, adding that her team will hope to emulate the 2000 title-winning feat when the ICC Women's 50-over World Cup begins in her country on March 4. The Women's World Cup will be played across six venues in New Zealand with the hosts set to take on the West Indies on the opening day. "The coming year is huge for women's cricket as it makes its debut at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July-August and with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup scheduled for early next year in South Africa. It is super exciting to kick-off a huge period for women's cricket and we want to put performances out there that both ourselves and the country can be proud of," said Devine in her column for the ICC on Wednesday. "I've been fortunate to have played across a number of World Cups... and playing in New Zealand is massive for us as a team. Looking back, it was an incredible achievement from the 2000 White Ferns to win the World Cup at home. It certainly inspired several players in our current team, and we hope we can also inspire a new generation of cricketers both at home and around the world," added Devine. The 32-year-old Devine, a veteran of 120 WODIs, added that all the competing teams had made huge sacrifices in the COVID world to come and be a part of the showpiece event in New Zealand. "We are very grateful to all the teams for making sacrifices to join us for what will hopefully be an exciting and hard-fought tournament. It has been a tough time for everyone over the past couple of years and this World Cup is a chance for us to put a smile on people's faces. "This tournament will break new ground for women's cricket; firstly as Bangladesh become the 12th team to compete in an ICC Women's Cricket World Cup," added Devine, whose team is in the middle of an entertaining five-match ODI series against India. The White Ferns are leading the series against the Mithali Raj-led side 4-0. "I am looking forward to coming up

against (Bangladesh's) Nigar Sultana and her team. We were really impressed when we played them for the first time at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2020 and I am sure they will put up just as much of a fight in the 50-over format. "Bangladesh and Thailand show how the women's game is continuing to grow and the importance of the ICC Women's Championship which I am happy to see expand to 10 teams. I see us playing an important role in ensuring that we grow the game. Having stronger teams and more competitive cricket can only be a positive thing for the women's game," she added.

You inspire every young kid in this country, Yuvraj writes an emotional letter to Kohli

New Delhi, Feb 22: Former India batter Yuvraj Singh on Tuesday wrote an emotional letter to former captain Virat Kohli, saying he has seen his journey from a youngster to one of the greats of the game and as a person. Yuvraj Singh, a veteran of 304 OneDay Internationals, shared a special bond with Kohli on and off the field. Both the batters have played together for the Indian team and the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2014. Kohli recently ended his tenure as the fourth-most successful captain in Test history, winning 40 of the 68 matches he led India in. Yuvraj, who played 40 Tests, pointed out how Kohli inspired many players in the nation with his hard work. "To the little boy from Delhi @ imvkohli. I want to dedicate this special shoe to you, celebrating your career n time as captain which has brought smiles to millions of fans all over the world. I hope you stay the way YOU are, play the way YOU do and keep making the country proud," Yuvraj Singh tweeted. "Virat, I've seen you grow as a cricketer and as a person. From that young boy in the nets who would walk shoulder-to-shoulder with the legends of Indian cricket, you're now a legend yourself leading the way for a new generation. Your discipline and passion on the field and dedication to the sport inspire every young kid in this country to pick up the bat and dream of putting on the blue jersey one day," Yuvraj wrote in the letter. Yuvraj Singh praised the 33-year-old Kolhi, saying that as one of the most successful Test captains in the game, he has been an inspiration for youngsters due to his hard work and determination. "You have elevated your level of cricket every single year and achieved so much already in this wonderful game that it makes me even more excited to watch you embark on this new chapter in your career. You have been a legendary captain and a fantastic leader. I'm expecting many more of your famous run chases," he added. Former Punjab Kings captain Yuvraj also gifted Kohli a special edition of

golden boots, saying the star batter might be 'King Kohli' for the world, but for him, he'll always remain Cheeku. "Mere liye tu hamesha Cheeku rahega aur duniya ke liye King Kohli. Always keep the fire inside you burning. You're a superstar. Here's a special golden boot for you. Keep making the country proud!" Yuvraj concluded.

Women's ODI World Cup: Teams can play matches even with nine fit players

Auckland, Feb 24 (IANS): Teams at the women's ODI World Cup starting next week will be allowed to take the field even with nine fit players in case of a Covid-19 outbreak. According to reports from New Zealand, which will be hosting the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup from March 4-April 3, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that female members of a team's support staff will be permitted to field in a match in the case of a significant Covid outbreak, with games to proceed so long as a team has a minimum of nine players available. Normally, a team has to have eleven players with substitutes from the squad of 15 allowed to take the field in case more than one player is unavailable. But with the organisers looking to keep the tournament on track despite rising Covid-19 case numbers in New Zealand, the ICC has made these changes to the rules of play. "If it becomes necessary, we would allow a team to field nine players as an exception for this environment," Chris Tetley, the ICC's Head of Events, said on Thursday "And if they had female substitutes from within their management team, we would enable two substitutes to play, non-batting, non-bowling … to enable a game to take place." Teams have been permitted to bring extra reserves with them to New Zealand, beyond the 15-player squad, so players can be brought in and out of the squad in the case of Covid infections. We'v'e allowed squads to bring additional travelling reserves so that they can replace on a temporary basis if needs be, because of Covid, players in and out of the squad during the event which is four or five-week-long event, so there's opportunity for players, maybe to contract Covid," Tetley said. Daily case numbers in New Zealand rose beyond 6000 on Thursday to a new high of 6137. The World Cup schedule features 31 matches at six venues in less than a month and Tetley said that games could be rescheduled should there be a significant Covid-19 outbreak in a team. "We would, were it necessary, reschedule fixtures if it's possible," he said. "There are a number of logistical restraints upon us, but we'll be asking teams to show maximum flexibility and we'll be as flexible as possible if the need arises to fulfil our objective, which is to get the games on." Cricket World Cup chief executive Andrea Nelson said players will be following some "pretty strict protocols to keep them safe". She said crowd numbers would be below capacity due to current restrictions but would vary from venue to venue and possibly change as the tournament progresses. Originally scheduled for 2021, the World Cup is being held in New Zealand as it is one of the few countries in the world to maintain a hard international border, which meant all teams had to quarantine upon their arrival.

Indian women freelancers' earning grew by 42% amid pandemic

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS): For women freelance workers in India, the pandemic has resulted in higher levels of satisfaction, owing to an increased work-life balance and flexibility in work schedules that the gig culture offers in specialised areas, a new report showed on Monday. Indian women freelancers' average hourly earning rate grew by 42 per cent since 2020 -- $22 per hour (nearly Rs 1,600) in 2022 against $14 per hour (about Rs 1,050) in 2020. "Furthermore, their average hourly earnings rate was at par with their global counterparts, according to 'Freelancer Income Report 2022' by commerce and technology company Payoneer. "Indian freelancing is making a value driven shift in the global gig economy. In the last few years, we have witnessed a constant increase in freelancer income and their movement to more specialised fields like marketing, coding and finance," said Rohit Kulkarni, Senior Vice President at Payoneer India. More flexibility, better-skilled opportunities, and increased earnings are some of the factors leading to more professionals entering this economy. The average hourly rates of the Indian freelancing community saw a jump from $21 in 2020 to $26 in 2022. In 2022, Indian women are earning 81 per cent of what their male counterparts do with their average hourly rates at $22 per hour compared to men's hourly rate at $27 per hour (nearly Rs 2,000). "The gender pay gap stood at 77 per cent before Covid-19. Interestingly, Indian women freelancers recorded a much better gender pay ratio against their counterparts in developed markets like North America which stood at 71 per cent," the findings showed. Indian freelancers outshined their global counterparts and were able to

demand a better average hourly rate for some of the popular professions like finance, demanding an hourly rate of $71 against global average of $41 and marketing at $47 vs global average rate of $34. "The findings cements our belief that Indian freelancing will continue making rapid strides in the global gig market in days to come," said Kulkarni. The freelancing economy is still dominated by young Indian freelancers between the age group of 18-34 years. More than half of the Indian respondents (57 per cent) stated that they find most of their work through online marketplaces such as Upwork and Fiverr, etc, while only 7 per cent rely on traditional sources like word of mouth and referrals. Top challenges faced by Indian freelancers were related to business growth, i.e. expanding to new markets, and managing time and fee negotiations, said the report.

India's organic exports grew 51% over 2019-20: Govt

New Delhi, Feb 21: Despite the pandemic, India's organic exports grew 51 per cent over 2019-20 levels, government officials said on Monday, adding it envisages targeting 10 per cent export share in the global fruits and vegetable market by 2030. About the export potential of organic and horticulture produce in India, Joint Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Priya Ranjan said: "India's organic exports stood at 8,88,180 metric tonnes in 2020-21." "To ensure the quality of our organic produce, we need to have a robust system of certification and the Government of India has anchored two systems of certification for organic products," he said, emphasising that appropriate phyto-sanitary protocols need to be ensured for better acceptability of Indian organic and horticultural products. "We envisage targeting 10 per cent export share in global fruits and vegetable market by 2030," he said at the India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai that hosted seminar 'Indian Organic and Horticulture Sector - Moving Up the Value Chain' as part of the ongoing 'Food, Agriculture and Livelihood' fortnight to project the strength of India's organic agriculture and horticulture products in the global market. The seminar, to deliberate on the opportunities and huge export potential that the Indian agriculture sector offers, saw participation from the representatives of the government and private sector. Earlier, in his opening remarks, Additional Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, P.K. Swain urged the global investors to invest in the agriculture supply chain and take advantage of FDI policies introduced by the government in the sector. Highlighting the impressive trajectory of India's agriculture ecosystem, , Partner, Food & Agribusiness, KPMG, K. Srinivas said: "India is ranked amongst the top 10 exporting countries in agriculture and the overall exports have been growing at an extremely significant rate." "Despite the pandemic challenges, we were able to achieve this feat and it strengthens India's positioning as an exporter globally," he added. Emphasising on the export-focused strategy for the promotion of organic and horticulture produce, Srinivas said: "This platform is helping us initiate conversation around awareness and capacity building with investors to make prominence of India in horticulture space."

Home sales up 13% in 2021; Ahmedabad, Hyd chart leaders, says brokerage

New Delhi, Feb 20: Home sales in India's eight prime housing markets increased 13 per cent year-on-year in 2021 as compared to the overall sales in 2020, said PropTiger.com, a leading online real estate brokerage firm. Real estate activity in India's leading markets intensified towards the second half of 2021, after a grim 18 months as the economy was consistently battered by multiple waves of the pandemic, the brokerage said. A much sharper growth was seen in terms of new supply in 2021 as against 2020. Accordingly, a total of 2.14 lakh units were launched in 2021 compared to 1.22 lakh units in the preceding year, with an increase of around 75 per cent. "This improvement in key growth metrics for the sector, the second-largest employment generator in India after agriculture, could largely be attributed to support measures launched by the government in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, improved consumer sentiment, stable prices and historically high housing affordability," the brokerage said in a statement. According to the brokerage, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad were the top growing cities, with sales rising 39 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively, in 2021, followed by Chennai at 25 per cent. Mumbai and Pune markets grew at 8-9 per cent during the calendar year, it added. Sales in the national capital Delhi rose just one per cent, according to the brokerage.

'Indian textile exports likely to breach $100 bn mark in next 5 yrs'

New Delhi, Feb 22: India's textile exports can breach the $100 bn mark in next 5 years, Union Textiles Secretary, Upendra Prasad Singh said on Tuesday. "The country's textile exports can increase from the current $40 billion to $100 billion in the next five years," he said in his address at the 44th Foundation Day of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). Singh said that the Indian apparel industry must focus on vertical integration to increase its scale and size and to benefit from the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. "Apparel and garmenting is not very investment-centric but it is very important from an employment point of view. Perhaps, there is a need for backward integration and more of you can get into integrated value-chain like spinning and weaving," he said. The Textiles Secretary said that along with the PLI scheme, the government is committed to make the Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme a success. "Idea is not to just have a world class infrastructure but also a thriving industry there. There are a lot of big opportunities. The demand continues to be robust and the China plus one sourcing strategy by the west is certainly a great opportunity for us," he added.

BITCOIN UPDATES

India's crypto ad guidelines out, celebrities warned

New Delhi, Feb 23: In a bid to clamp down on risky crypto ads in India, the Advertising Standards Council Of India (ASCI) on Wednesday issued guidelines for all virtual digital assets (VDA)-related advertisements, which will be applicable on or after April 1. All crypto/NFT ads must carry the following disclaimer, "Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions." No advertisement for crypto/digital asset products or exchanges may show a minor, or someone who appears to be a minor, directly dealing with the product, or talking about the product, said the advertising watchdog. Since this is a risky category, "celebrities or prominent personalities who appear in crypto/NFT advertisements must take special care to ensure that they have done their due diligence about the statements and claims made in the advertisement, so as not to mislead consumers," the ASCI warned. Even as the Indian government continues to work on the framework for virtual digital assets (VDA), commonly referred to as crypto or NFT products, advertising for these products has been very aggressive over the past few months across TV, bring and digital media. The ASCI noted that several of these advertisements do not adequately disclose the risks associated with such products. "Advertising of virtual digital assets and services needs specific guidance, considering that this is a new and as yet an emerging way of investing. Hence, there is a need to make consumers aware of the risks and ask them to proceed with caution," said Subhash Kamath, Chairman of ASCI. The ASCI extensively consulted with different stakeholders, including government and the virtual digital asset industry -- to frame guidelines for virtual digital asset advertising. "Every advertisement for VDA products must clearly give out the name of the advertiser and provide an easy way to contact them (phone number or email). This information should be presented in a manner that is easily understood by the average consumer," according to new guidelines. "No advertisement may show that VDA products or VDA trading could be a solution to money problems, personality problems or other such drawbacks." The council said that no crypto/NFT advertisement shall contain statements that promise or guarantee future increase in profits. "No advertisement may show that understanding VDA products is so easy that consumers do not have to think twice about investing. Nothing in the ad should downplay the risks associated with the category," said the council. The VDA products may not be compared to any other asset class which is regulated, it added. Advertisers and media owners must also ensure that all earlier advertisements must not appear in the public domain unless they comply with the guidelines, post April 15, 2022. "We have seen a spate of advertising for virtual digital assets which could compromise consumer interest in the absence of some guardrails. Use of celebrities and high decibel advertising would attract consumers to these offerings, without full disclosure of the risks," said Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, ASCI. "Given that this is, as of now, an unregulated space, it is even more important for advertising to be upfront regarding the risks associated with these products," Kapoor emphasised. Although no Crypto Bill yet, the government in the Union Budget has proposed a 30 per cent tax on digital assets. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also proposed 1 per cent TDS (tax deducted at source) on transactions in such asset classes above a certain threshold. Gifts in crypto and digital assets will also be taxed.

World's largest NFT marketplace OpenSea hacked, users lost NFTs

New Delhi, Feb 20: World's largest NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace, OpenSea on Sunday confirmed that it has been hit by a phishing attack and at least 32 users had lost their valuable NFTs worth $1.7 million. OpenSea Co-Founder and CEO, Devin Finzer acknowledged the phishing attack, confirming that 32 users have lost NFTs so far. He said rumours that this was a $200 million hack are false and the attacker "has $1.7 million of ETH (Ethereum) in his wallet from selling some of the stolen NFTs. While the NFT marketplace was yet to figure out the magnanimity of the cyber attack, Blockchain investigator Peckshield said he suspects a possible leak of user information (including email ids) that fuelled the phishing attack. "We are actively investigating rumours of an exploit associated with OpenSea related smart contracts. This appears to be a phishing attack originating outside of OpenSea's website," the NFT marketplace posted in a tweet. The hack happened as OpenSea announced a new smart contract upgrade with a one-week deadline to delist inactive NFTs on the platform. The smart contract upgrade required users to migrate their listed NFTs from ETH blockchain to a new smart contract. Within hours after OpenSea's upgrade announcement, reports across multiple sources emerged about an ongoing attack that targets the soon-to-be-delisted NFTs. "We don't believe it's connected to

the OpenSea website. It appears 32 users so far have signed a malicious payload from an attacker, and some of their NFTs were stolen," Finzer posted. The OpenSea CEO urged affected users to directly message him on Twitter. The phishing attack on NFT marketplace occurred as the UK tax authority last week seized three NFTs as part of a probe into a 1.4 million pounds (nearly $1.9 million) fraud case, the BBC reported on Monday. The authority said it was the first UK law enforcement to seize an NFT. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs also seized 5,000 pounds worth of crypto assets ($6,762) alongside three NFT artworks, which have yet to be valued.

Criminals had $11 bn worth illicit cryptocurrencies in 2021

New Delhi, Feb 17: Cryptocurrencies have made criminals richer and in 2021, criminals held $11 billion worth of funds with known illicit sources, compared to just $3 billion at the end of 2020, a new report has revealed. As of the end of 2021, stolen funds account for 93 per cent of all criminal balances, at $9.8 billion. Dark Net market funds are next at $448 million, followed by scams at $192 million, fraud shops at $66 million, and ransomware at $30 million, reports Blockchain data company Chainalysis. Criminal balances also fluctuated throughout the year, from a low of $6.6 billion in July to a high of $14.8 billion in October. "The fluctuations are a reminder of the importance of speed in cryptocurrency investigations, as criminal funds that have been successfully traced on the Blockchain can be liquidated quickly," the report mentioned. This year, their has been a large drop in criminal balances in February due to the US Department of Justice's $3.6 billion seizure of Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack. "Following that seizure, criminal balances currently stand at roughly $5 billion as of February 9, 2022," the report noted. Overall, Chainalysis has identified 4,068 criminal whales holding over $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency. "Criminal whales represent 3.7 per cent of all cryptocurrency whales a" that is, private wallets holding over $1 million worth of cryptocurrency," said the report. In total, 1,333 criminal whales received between 25 per cent and 90 per cent of all funds from illicit addresses. "Illicit funds received by criminal whales also come from more varied sources than the funds making up overall criminal balances," the report added. When it comes to the location of criminal whales, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Iran top the list.

Covid pandemic may end in 2022: WHO

Moscow, Feb 21: If there are no more major Covid outbreaks after Omicron, the pandemic may see an end in 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Russia has said. However, it does not mean that the virus will vanish completely, Melita Vujnovic was quoted as saying in an interview with TASS news agency. "It's hard to make predictions at the moment but we hope that if nothing else happens, the pandemic may end in 2022. "What does an end to the pandemic mean? It means that there will be no major outbreaks, but it doesn't mean that the virus will vanish. "A great number of cases means that the virus is capable of mutating so we don't know how the situation will unfold. However, there is cautious optimism that major outbreaks will end once Omicron spreads across the globe," she said. According to Vujnovic, the WHO is trying to predict when it will happen, but it's difficult because

countries "are now changing their testing strategies". She said that the Omicron strain was very contagious and was spreading quickly, while some countries did not have the money to test everyone given the large number of patients without symptoms, the report said "The picture that we are seeing does not fully reflect the exact number of cases as opposed to what things were like when the pandemic just broke out and the Delta strain started spreading," the WHO envoy said. Several countries have seen a decline in Omicron variant-led Covid surge. The decrease in cases has also led to lifting restrictions. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway have all lifted Covid restrictions as they look to reclassify the virus as a disease that does not pose a threat to society. The UK and the US are soon likely to follow. However many experts, including the WHO, have urged caution. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had recently stated "it's premature for any country either to surrender or to declare victory".

Israel to open to unvaccinated tourists from March

Jerusalem, Feb 21: Israel has announced that starting from March 1 it will open borders to all tourists, including the unvaccinated. All tourists would be required to undergo two PCR tests, one prior to departure and the other after landing, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said in a joint statement on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

For Israeli nationals, the requirement to take an antigen test before boarding the plane was cancelled. Instead, only a PCR test upon arrival will be mandatory. The unvaccinated Israelis will need no quarantine if with a negative result of a PCR test at the airport. "We are seeing a steady decline in the morbidity data," Bennett said in the statement. "At the moment, the situation in Israel is good," he noted, adding that this was "the result of correct and dynamic management." Currently, only vaccinated tourists are allowed to enter the country. Israel restricted the entry of foreign visitors in March 2020 and later eased the restrictions. As cases of the highly infectious Omicron variant were detected in late 2021, the country virtually closed its skies to foreign tourists.

Delhi doctors save 2-yr-old with cardiac arrest post-Covid

New Delhi, Feb 22: Doctors here have given a new lease of life to a two-year-old boy who suffered cardiac arrest and multiple organ failure post a Covid infection. Rahul (name changed) had recovered from Covid in December last year, but later began suffering persistent cough and breathing problems. He was brought to doctors at Aakash Healthcare, with high fever and breathing problems in mid January. The infant went into cardiac arrest minutes after arriving at the hospital and was saved after 30 minutes of CPR. The child was also diagnosed with a severe case of bronchiolitis (viral pneumonia), which has led to pneumopericardium - a rare condition where the sac around the heart is affected due to the damaged lungs. In such a case, the lungs burst, as a result of infection, leading to a drop in blood pressure due to air around the heart and causing the heart to function poorly. "Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, the child had a heart arrest. Further examinations revealed that he had developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare disorder in which his own body was killing multiple organs," Dr Sayed Mustafa Hasan, Senior Consultant and Head, Paediatrics and Neonatology, at Aakash. As a result, the lungs, heart, brain and kidneys had suffered considerable damage. The baby was even unable to pass urine, putting him in a severe condition. He was also experiencing speech difficulty and loss of eye contact with others as a result of the post-Covid effects. The doctors immediately began Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) after recovering him with CPR, removing all waste material from his body. "The therapy continued non-stop for 60 hours. To eliminate infections, we employed the cytosorb dialysis filter. We also worked to normalise his blood pressure," Hasan said. Rahul spent 15-16 days in the ICU ward on a ventilator. During this time, a team of specialists attempted to restore his kidneys, heart and lungs to normal function. Along with CRRT, he was also given haemodialysis and perinoteal dialysis to remove the infection. His condition improved over a month, and he was eventually discharged, the doctors said. "Rahul's heart, lungs and kidneys were not functioning when he was brought to us. It's a very rare case and less than 1 per cent of the kids suffer from such severe infection leading to multiple organ dysfunction," said Dr. Neha Bhandari, Consultant, Paediatrics Nephrology, Aakash Healthcare, Dwarka. Sudden cardiac arrest is rare in children, but it can happen. Hence, all children need regular check-up visits with their doctor, the doctors advised.

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Start your career in the aged care industry

By Vahini Panda

Want to do meaningful work with the elderly? Study the Certificate III in Individual Support and you can become a qualified Support/Aged Care Worker! Read below to find out what career titles you can be qualifed to work as, what the pay is, what the role of an Aged Care Worker is and all about the course!

What Does an Aged Care Worker Do?

Aged Care Workers provide support to elderly people by assisting with daily activities and personal tasks. This often includes providing support with eating, showering, dressing, tidying and cleaning. Aged Care Workers can work from their client’s home or residential care facility. Tasks: Feeding, showering, dressing and assisting with medications. Preparing meals and drinks. Tidying and cleaning, including sanitising activities. Engaging with family members to offer observations, instructions and updates. Assisting with mobility, providing transport to and from medical appointment and light physiotherapy exercises. Providing social support, such as escorting the client on outings to cafes, shops and going on excursions. Following health and safety guidelines. Where Can I Work? Upon completing this qualification students will be qualified to work as the below career titles in Aged Care Homes, Residential Facilities or for private or agnecy organised in-home care roles. • Accommodation support worker • Assistant in nursing • Care assistant • Care worker • Home care assistant • In-home respite worker • Support worker • Aged Care worker • Care service employees • Community care worker • Community support worker • Field officer • Personal care assistant

What is the Pay?

The pay for an Aged Care Worker is on average AU$55 000 per year, however this is subject to change based on employer, state and various other variables. To provide a better indication, the average hourly pay is AU$24.00 Our Course: The Certificate III in Individual

Support (Ageing) is a 1 year course, consisting of 13 units. The course is completely self-paced with full tutor support. All theory work is to be completed online and this is followed by a 120 hour or three week placement in an Aged Care Facility. The placement not only is for applying the skills learnt in the theory work, but provides students with an understanding of how Aged Care Facilities are run, and provides an opportunity to build rapport with a facility for employment upon completion!

About the Author: Vahini is the CEO and Founder of Health Academy Australia and Health Courses Australia. She is multi faceted in her skills and expertise which is backed by 20 years experience in the areas of education, health, ecommerce and Information Technology. She is a CEO, Passionate business owner, Author, Blogger, Nutritionist, Digital marketing expert and a Mum. Exercise thrice a week in 50s & 60s to keep memory loss at bay

New York, Feb 21: Regular physical activity is essential to not only reduce muscle loss and maintain strength as you age, but also to keep your memory intact. Forgetfulness is part of ageing and may worsen into Alzheimer's disease that may affect the quality of life. A new study has shown that practising aerobic exercises like cycling, walking or jogging thrice a week in the 50s and 60s can help stave off memory loss. "Everyone always asks, 'How much should I be exercising? What's the bare minimum to see improvement?'" said lead author Sarah Aghjayan, doctoral student in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. "From our study, it seems like exercising about three times a week for at least four months is how much you need to reap the benefits in episodic memory," she added. Episodic memory is the kind that deals with events that happened to you in the past. It's also one of the first to decline with age. Exercise that gets the heart pumping has shown promise in increasing brain health, and experiments in mice show that it improves memory, but studies looking at the same link in humans have come out mixed. To understand, the team pored over 36 studies with over 3,000 participants. "We found that there were greater improvements in memory among those who are age 55 to 68 years compared to those who are 69 to 85 years old, so intervening earlier is better," Aghjayan said. The team also found the greatest effects of exercise in those who hadn't yet experienced any cognitive decline, and in studies where participants exercised consistently several times a week.

The findings are published in the journal Communications Medicine. While the team's analysis couldn't answer how the intensity of exercise affects the memory benefits, and there's plenty to learn about the mechanism behind the link. But the implications for public health are clear: Exercise is an accessible way older adults can stave off memory declines, benefiting themselves, their caretakers and the healthcare system, Aghjayan said. "You just need a good pair of walking shoes, and you can get out there and move your body."

$774 bn revenue opportunity for India from healthcare by 2030: Report

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS): India has the potential to generate a staggering $774 billion revenue in the healthcare sector by 2030, suggests a new report on Wednesday. The report by Aspire Circle, a social impact leadership champion and advocate, showed that with an investment of $217 billion, the country can create 12 million jobs in healthcare and allied sectors, which can impact 1.5 billion lives by 2030. "Indian healthcare will become the second most attractive investment sector this decade, behind food, agri and agriTech but ahead of BFSI, financial inclusion & fintech," said Amit Bhatia, Founder of Aspire Circle & Creator - Impact Future Project, in a statement. "Covid-19 has thrown open India's health infrastructure fault-lines and both entrepreneurs and investors are on an epic mission to convert the crisis into an investment opportunity," he added. The report also spells out India's top ten outstanding investment ideas, being shaped by new-age technologies, innovative business models, delivery platforms and regulatory environment: preventive and primary healthcare; pharma, drug, and vaccine manufacturing; screening, diagnostics, and testing; affordable healthcare and operational efficiency; medical tourism; e-healthcare and telecare; health insurance and innovative impact financing; e-pharmacies; medical workforce education and skilling; and gene therapy. According to Bhatia, the top 10 ideas in the research can lead annual investment growth from $52 to $179bn between 2020 and 2030 and grow related revenues from $183 to $610bn. "These top 10 ideas will serve and impact 1.5 bn Indians, create 12 million cumulative jobs and grow the overall sector to a colossal USD 774 billion by 2030 - an incredible promise worth nurturing," he said.