Month: March 2021

Boxer Nikhat Zareen sent reigning world champion Paltceva Ekaterina packing to enter the women’s 51kg quarter-finals at the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Istanbul.

The Asian Championships bronze medallist Zareen caused a major upset on the second day of the tournament as she outpunched the Russian boxer 5-0.
The Indian pugilist will now have yet another tough task in hand as she takes on two-time world champion Kazakhstan boxer Kyzaibay Nazym in the last-8 bout on the third day.

Apart from Zareen, the 2013 Asian champion Shiva Thapa, Sonia Lather, and Parveen also registered victories in their respective categories to proceed to the quarter-finals.

While Thapa got better of Kazakhstan’s Smagulov Baghtiyov 3-2 in the men’s 63kg bout, World Championship silver medallist Lather (57kg) and Parveen (60kg) beat local favourites Surmeneli Tugcenaz and Ozyol Esra 5-0 in their respective women’s second-round matches.

Meanwhile, Duryodhah Negi (69kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg), and Krishan Sharma (+91kg) made exits with the losses in the preliminary rounds.

The third day of the event will witness six Indian boxers fighting in their respective quarter-final bouts. Lather, Zareen, Parveen, and Jyoti (69kg) will be seen in action in the women’s category while Thapa and Solanki will present the Indian challenge in the men’s category.

Earlier, Indian boxers Gaurav Solanki and Sonia Lather produced brilliant performances on the opening day of the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Istanbul as they progressed to the next round in their respective categories. (ANI)

As many as 35,871 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries were reported in India in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Thursday.

With the addition of fresh cases, the total number positive cases in the country reached 1,14,74,605, including 2,52,364 active cases and 1,10,63,025 recoveries.
The death toll stands at 1,59,216 including 172 in the last 24 hours.

As many as 3,71,43,255 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in the country.

As per the India Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 23,03,13,163 samples up to Wednesday have been tested for the coronavirus. 10,63,379 were tested yesterday.

Maharashtra which is the worst affected state in the country administered a total of 2,74,037 doses (2,22,771 – Covishield and 51266 Covaxin ) for coronavirus in 2,908 vaccination sessions.

A total of 36,39,989 people vaccinated in the state till March 17. (ANI)

Giving her fans major vacation goals, Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor on Thursday shared a gorgeous selfie amid the picturesque location of the Maldives.

The ‘Street Dancer 3D’ actor hopped on to Instagram to share the mesmerising view of the location with her fans.
The snap sees the ‘Stree’ actor flaunting her bare skin as she bore a no makeup look, and donned a white floral print spaghetti top. The actor is all smiling as her luscious locks blow with the air at the exotic location.

In the backdrop, one can catch a captivating view of a beach and sea, and a clear blue sky. The snap also captures a clear blue sky filled with clouds. The picture is surely giving vacation vibes to fans.

Taking to the captions, the ‘Ek Villain’ star simply left a beach, a pink flower, a mermaid and a blue heart emoticon.

Celebrity followers including singer Kanika Kapoor and more than 80,000 fans liked the post over the photo-sharing platform.

While many chimed into the comments section, leaving red heart emoticons.

On the work front, Shraddha, who was last seen opposite Tiger Shroff in ‘Baaghi 3’, has reportedly signed a three-film franchise based on the tele-series ‘Naagin’, to be produced by Nikhil Dwivedi. (ANI)

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a high number of daily new Covid-19 cases, collectively accounting for 71.10 per cent of the 28,903 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

According to the Health Ministry, 83.91 per cent of the new cases are from Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Maharashtra alone accounts for 61.8 per cent of the daily new cases with 17,864 cases. It is followed by Kerala with 1,970 while Punjab reported 1,463 new cases.

Eight states -Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana witnessing an upward trajectory in daily new cases. Kerala is reporting a consistently declining trend over the last month.

Meanwhile, India’s total active caseload stands at 2.34 lakh (2,34,406) today, comprising 2.05 per cent of the total cases.

Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab account for 76.4 per cent of India’s total active cases, with Maharashtra alone contributing nearly 60 per cent.

Over 3.5 crore (3,50,64,536) vaccine doses have been administered through 5,86,855 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

These include 75,06,155 HCWs (1st dose), 45,54,855 HCWs (2nd dose), 76,00,030 FLWs (1st dose) and16,47,644 FLWs (2nd Dose), 21,66,408 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st Dose) and1,15,89,444 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.

As on Day-60 of the vaccination drive on Tuesday, more than 21 lakh (21,17,104) vaccine doses were given. Of these, 17,82,553 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 30,871 sessions for 1st dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 3,34,551 HCWs and FLWs received 2nd dose of vaccine.

India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,10,45,284 today with the national recovery rate 96.56 per cent.

188 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Six states account for 86.7 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (87). Punjab follows with 38 daily deaths. Kerala reported 15 deaths.

Fifteen states/UTs have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These are Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Meghalaya, D&D & D&N, Nagaland, Tripura, Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Mizoram, A&N Islands and Arunachal Pradesh. (ANI)

Thousands of hardline Islamist organisation Hefazat-e-Islam supporters on Wednesday attacked a Hindu village in Shalla upazila of Sunamgan district, after a Hindu man criticised the group joint-secretary general Mawlana Mufti Mamunul’s speech in social media post.

A young Hindu man from Noagaon, Shalla upazila allegedly made a Facebook post criticizing Mamunul, who opposed the sculpture of Bangabandhu on Tuesday. After this, a mob with makeshift weapons attacked the village on Wednesday, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Hefazat leaders in the area had already staged a protest on Tuesday night, accusing the social media post of inciting religious violence.

To bring the situation under control, the police arrested the youth the same night.

However, several thousand followers of Hefazat leader Mamunul Haque from Kashipur, Nachni, Chandipur and some other Muslim-populated villages gathered in Noagaon village at around 9 am on Wednesday and attacked the homes of local Hindus.

According to the police, 70-80 houses were vandalized in the incident.

Habibpur union chairman Vivekananda Majumder Bakul said several houses in the village had been attacked.

Many local Hindus fled their homes to save themselves. The followers of Hefazat-e-Islam entered the village, ransacked and looted many houses.

An umbrella platform for ulema (religious scholars), Hefazat-e-Islam was established in 2010 in Chittagong ostensibly to defend Islam from ruling Awami League’s allegedly anti-Islamic policies, especially a proposed policy to confer equal inheritance rights to women

In 2013, it mobilized its supporters against surging secular activism in the country. (ANI)

Farmers in Pakistan are set to carry out a “Tractor March” towards Islamabad on March 31 against the Imran Khan government over high inflation and other issues.

According to sources, members of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (literally meaning Pakistan Farmers’ Unity), Punjab Water Council and various other farmers associations have decided to carry out a “Tractor March” for forcing their “legitimate” demands.

The announcement was made on Tuesday at a joint press conference addressed by Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, President of small landholders’ body Pakistan Kissan Ittehad; Afaq Tiwana of the Farmers Associate Pakistan, which represent large landholders, Punjab Water Council Convener Farooq Bajwa and others, reported Dawn.

Farmers are going to submit various grievances including unfair taxation, anti-farmer policies, sky-rocketing prices of electricity, and fertilizers.

Members of the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government are accusing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members of misguiding the farmers and inciting them to undertake similar pressure tactics as being followed by the Indian farmers in New Delhi, said sources.

The Diplomat last month had reported that multiple Pakistani farmer leaders, under the leadership of the organisation Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, met on February 21 to work out a roadmap to launch a protest.

“The Pakistani farmers are set to rally with a list of demands, including the fixing of the minimum support price (MSP) per maund (40 kilograms) of wheat at 2,000 Pakistani rupees and sugarcane at 300 rupees, in addition to setting a flat electric power rate of five rupees per unit for farm tube-wells.

Pakistani farmers have had a tough 12 months. With the unprecedented wheat and sugar crisis taking a toll in the country, the Imran Khan government has been criticised by the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for ignoring the farmers’ plight.

The Diplomat quoted Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Zulfikar Awan as saying: “The seed control rate has gone up from 7,500 rupees to 14,000 rupees. The minimum support price for wheat was 1,400 rupees – we never even got that. Fertilizer was priced at 2,500 rupees but now it costs 4,500 rupees; urea was 1,300 rupees, now it’s 1,800 rupees. There is so much input-output disparity for Pakistani farmers that our products just cannot compete with other countries.” (ANI)

Sitting on a wheelchair, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday released the election manifesto of Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.

“We were supposed to release our manifesto earlier but due to my health condition, it took time. We are releasing our manifesto today by thanking Maa, Mati, Manush (mother, soil and people),” said the chief minister while releasing the manifesto.
She further mentioned a few of her government’s welfare schemes.

“Our work has caught the attention of the world. For Kanyashree, we were awarded the first position by UNESCO,” added Banerjee.

The release date of TMC’s poll manifesto was cancelled twice after the chief minister sustained injuries while campaigning in Nandigram on March 10.

On March 10, she had alleged that she was pushed by a few unidentified people during her election campaigning. Banerjee sustained “severe bone injuries” on her left foot and ankle as well as bruises and injuries on her shoulder, forearm and neck, according to the report of her initial medical examination. She was discharged from the hospital on March 12.

Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. (ANI)

By Sahil Pandey

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed disappointment over emerging statistics of COVID-19 vaccine wastage in the country, Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul said on Wednesday.

India’s overall percentage of COVID-19 vaccine wastage is at 6.5 per cent, with Telangana and Andhra Pradesh topping the list with 17.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent of vaccine wastage respectively.

“With disappointment, Prime Minister Modi expressed concern over the vaccine wastage. Vaccine wastage should not take place and should be taken to a minimum. There should be accountability at the central level. Daily it should be assessed in states,” Dr Paul said at a press briefing in New Delhi.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan also remarked that the average COVID-19 vaccine wastage in India is 6.5 per cent and added that as vaccines are invaluable commodities, their wastage has to be drastically reduced.

“There are states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir which are showing more than 6.5 per cent of the vaccine wastage. We have shared this message with states that vaccines are invaluable commodities therefore vaccines have to be optimally utilised and it has to be drastically reduced,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi held a virtual conference with state chief ministers over the prevailing COVID-19 situation, where he said over three million people have been vaccinated and underlined vaccines should not be wasted.

“There should be daily monitoring. More beneficiaries should be mobilised to stop wastage. States must target zero wastage of vaccines,” PM Modi added. (ANI)

After becoming the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, Bhavani Devi on Wednesday said she just wants to enjoy every process from now till the Tokyo Games and is aiming to give her best performance in the prestigious quadrennial event.

The 27-year-old has qualified for the Olympics through the Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR) method. “I want to give my best performance in the Olympics. I don’t put any limit on my achievement, I want to enjoy everything and every process that I’m going to do from now till the Olympics. I want to give the best performance in front of the whole world and want to make my country proud,” Devi said in a virtual press conference.

“Since it was the first time for me, I had put in double efforts. I didn’t know if it is important to go for all competitions or not so I just don’t want to miss out on anything. I tried my best and went for all competitions and gave my best in each competition. I played even with injuries just to improve my rankings and all those sacrifices and efforts from me and my family from the federation, coaches helped me,” she added.

Fencing Association of India President Rajeev Mehta said that Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has given all the support to the federation.

“All credit goes to Bhavani as she worked really hard. Fencing Association of India is supporting her in every possible way. Sports Minister Rijiju has done an extraordinary job for the fencing in the history of the Indian sports,” Mehta said.

“We are opening 50 fencing academies at the national level and will take 30 students in each one of them. At the district level, we will open 50 centers before March 31 this year. The Sports Minister has also asked us to spend Rs 20 crores before the end of this month. I think this is the first time in India, we are getting government support. We are hoping that two-three more players will qualify for the next Olympics,” he added.

Tokyo Olympics are set to take place from July 23 to August 8 this year. Whereas, the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5. The Games were scheduled to be held last year, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative, under which India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to 72 nations so far, has raised the country’s standing and generated great international goodwill, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday.

Even amid a global crisis, the “PM’s initiative of such deep friendship raised India’s standing, and it also emerged as a source of strength for vulnerable nations,” said Jaishankar while making a statement on the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative in the Rajya Sabha.
In planning and executing ‘Vaccine Maitri’, Jaishankar said the Indian government is guided by a determination to make a difference at a difficult moment for a global society.

“Our reputation as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ has been reinforced in that process. So indeed has the faith in ‘Make in India’. But more than the vaccines themselves, our policies and conduct have emerged as a source of strength for the stressed and vulnerable nations of the world,” he said.

The world sees not just the selfless outlook of India but also of the quality of our products and capabilities, said the minister.

“The House should recognise the enormous feeling for India that our initiative has generated. Those sentiments have naturally been expressed by leaders and prominent personalities of many nations. But more than that, our ambassadors feel every day the warmth of ordinary people across the world for India. In the truest sense, this has been people-centric diplomacy at work,” he said.

Under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative, India has been providing coronavirus vaccines to its neighbouring countries.

Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Anand Sharma and Communist Party of India’s Binoy Viswam called on Jaishankar to acknowledge the contribution of past policies that helped in making India the pharmacy of the world.

However, Jaishankar did not acknowledge their suggestion, saying that “success has many fathers”.

“Success has many fathers. I am delighted to see so many fathers claiming success. They really want to praise ‘Vaccine Maitri’ but are going about in a roundabout way…it is a great affirmation of the made-in-India program which India pursued so strongly,” he said.

Ramesh said he wishes that Jaishankar will recognise the continuity in the policies has led to a situation we take legitimate pride in and call ourselves pharmacy of the world.

He pointed out India’s unique Patents Act of 1970, the dilution of the equity stake of MNCs due to FERA and huge public investments in science and technology that led to the emergence of Indian companies such as Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute.

“While we pat ourselves on the back for being the pharmacy of the world, for being a major manufacturer, let us recognise that there has been a lot of continuity in this policy and the foundation that has been laid over the past few decades has led to the situation where we can take legitimate pride in our achievements,” he said.

Viswam also stressed that India did not become the pharmacy of the world in six years. (ANI)