Month: February 2022

Industrialist and Padma Bhushan-awardee Rahul Bajaj, the former chairman of Bajaj group passed away at the age of 83 on Saturday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari informed.

He breathed his last at Ruby Hall Hospital in Pune.
“Rahul Bajaj died today at 2.30 pm. He died due to heart and lungs problems. He was admitted for past one month in Ruby hall hospital in Pune,” Dr Parvej Grant, chairman of Ruby Hall hospital told ANI.

Born on June 10, 1938, Rahul Bajaj held a Bachelors degree in economics, a law degree from Mumbai University and an MBA from Harvard.

Bajaj was a former member of the Rajya Sabha. Besides, he had been the chairman of the International Business Council, World Economic Forum.

Taking to Twitter, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, “My heartfelt tributes to Rahul Bajaj ji, a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist and former chairman of Bajaj. I had a personal relationship with Padma Bhushan awardee Rahul ji for many years. Rahul ji, who has led the Bajaj Group for the last five decades, has been instrumental in the industry. May God rest the departed soul and give strength to the family members. Om Shanti.”

Madya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also condoled the demise of Bajaj.

“The demise of Rahul Bajaj the Chairman emeritus of the Bajaj Group is a loss to India’s business community. My condolences to the bereaved family and the group,” tweeted Chouhan.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar also expressed his condolences over Rahul Bajaj’s death.

“I am deeply shocked to learn about the sad demise of Padma Bhushan Shri Rahul Bajaj! The grandson of eminent freedom fighter Jamnalal Bajaj brought transformation in society especially in poor and middle-class people with his two-wheel technology – a Bajaj Bike!” Pawar tweeted.

“The affordable vehicle increased mobility, eased struggle for getting means of livelihood and became the tool of socio-economic change! We Indian are deeply indebted for his immense contribution to the industry,” he said in another tweet.

“I am grieved with a passing away of my very close friend. India has lost an industrialist, a philanthropist and a lighthouse for young entrepreneurs! Hamara Bajaj,” he said.

Former union minister Praful Patel said that Rahul Bajaj is credited with making the brand Bajaj a household name.

“Saddened by the passing away of renowned industrialist and one of the longest-serving chairman in corporate India, Padma Bhushan Rahul Bajaj ji. He is credited with making the brand Bajaj a household name. My heartfelt condolences to his family members,” Patel tweeted.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of Padma Bhushan Rahul Bajaj. He was among the foremost Business Leaders our nation has seen, and an inspiration to all. We will miss him dearly and his wise counsel,” tweeted Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule. (ANI)

India has sent a consignment of medical supplies containing PPEs and medications to Kiribati after the Pacific island nation appealed for help to deal with the first outbreak of COVID-19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

“Responding to the appeal of the Government of Kiribati seeking offers of support to assist in its national efforts to manage the first Covid-19 outbreak in the Pacific Island country, the Government of India sent a consignment of medical supplies containing PPEs and medications to Kiribati,” MEA said in a statement.
The relief material sent by India includes Pulse Oximeters, Swabs with VTM, Specimen bags for swabs, PPE kits (Surgical masks, Gloves, N95 masks, Shoe covers, Hair caps) and emergency Covid-19 medication supplies, MEA said.

It further said that despite the logistical challenges in reaching the isolated Pacific Island country, the medical supplies from India were put together and despatched in a short span of time.

The MEA said that consignment reached Kiribati on February 12 onboard a flight coordinated by the Australian Government.

The consignment of medical supplies to Kiribati affirms India’s commitment to provide Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) support as an early responder in the Pacific region, MEA said.

India remains committed to extending full support to Kiribati’s national efforts in mitigating the challenges arising from the pandemic, MEA added. (ANI)

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan on Saturday said that ‘Maitri’ initiatives announced by Canberra for India are equivalent to Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships and cultural exchange programs between the two countries.
In an exclusive interaction with ANI, Tehan said that this fantastic initiative will increase and improve ties further between Australia and India. “… the first two are scholarships Fulbright and Rhodes scholarships are 45 for graduate students and undergraduate students. So you get all your education paid for, stipend to help with your living costs.”

The minister said there is also an investment in fellowships, 11 fellowships for high-level doctoral students will also get a stipend is equivalent to Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships. “There’s a cultural exchange programme to improve cultural exchange between Australia and India. So these are fantastic initiatives to help continue to improve the wonderful relationship.”

On how these opportunities will help Indian students in Australia, Tehan said, the scholarships will enable Indian students to go to Australia and not have to worry about the cost.

“All they’ll have to worry about is their study. So this is designed to get those high performing students to go to Australia and improve their education to levels of excellence, which then may now be able to come back to India and excel in India, and also help build the relationship between Australia and India,” he said.

About further initiatives and announcements in the next 30 days, he said, “We’re always looking at ways, how we can enhance the relationship. So this USD 15 million for the students to come to Australia is just one part of what we’re doing in these the cultural exchange that we’re also funding. But there will be many, many more announcements, including I hope in the next 30 days. An announcement on a free trade agreement. between Australia and India.”

Earlier today, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced the ‘Maitri’ Scholars Program under which it will provide over USD 11 million for four years to support Indian students to study in Australia’s world-leading universities.

During the joint presser, the Australian Foreign Minister also announced a series of new initiatives to boost the education and cultural ties between Australia and India. (ANI)

Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda on Saturday slammed Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots saying they “shamed humanity” and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked on ensuring justice to the victims.

Referring to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s remark ‘when a big tree falls, the earth shakes’ Nadda said, “These are the same people whose hands are stained in blood. Congress leaders put humanity to shame.”
“These are the same Congress leader who brought a such a situation in an independent India where bothers were killing each other, ” he said while addressing a public meeting in Punjab’s Balachaur.

Praising PM Modi over forming a Special Investigation Team to probe the riots, the BJP leader said, “For 30 years, the accused roamed freely in Delhi and Punjab, no one took any notice. An inquiry was set up no one came forward to wipe the tears of the victims.”

“PM Modi set up the SIT and today those who were involved in Delhi riots are in jail,” he added.

Massive riots had erupted across the country after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards.

As per the official records, around 2,800 Sikhs were killed across India, including 2,100 in Delhi, during the clashes.

Punjab will go to the polls on February 20 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Saturday was picked by Punjab Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega-auction.

It all started with Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals who were involved in a bidding war for Dhawan, but in the end, the left-handed batter was acquired by Punjab Kings for Rs 8.25 cr.

The IPL 2022 mega auction is being held in Bengaluru and it is a two-day event that will get over on Sunday.

A total of 600 cricketers will go under the hammer in the auction that will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

INR 2 crore is the highest reserve price and as many as 48 players chose to place themselves in this bracket.

There are 20 players on the auction list with a reserve price of INR 1.5 crore while 34 players are on the list of cricketers with a reserve price of INR 1 crore.

A total of 377 Indian players and 223 overseas players are up for grabs in what promises to be an action-packed IPL 2022 Player Auction in Bengaluru. (ANI)

As many as 50,407 fresh COVID19 cases were reported in the country, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

With this, the country’s active caseload currently stands at 6,10,443 which accounts for 1.43 per cent of total cases.
The daily positivity rate in India has been recorded at 3.48 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 5.07 per cent.

A total of 1,36,962 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,14,68,120. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 97.37 per cent while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.

The country reported 804 deaths in the country in the past 24 hours, increasing the total reported death count to 5,07,981.

Meanwhile, a total of 74.93 crore tests have been conducted so far in India, with 14,50,532 tests held in the last 24 hours, as per ministry data.

The government also said that a total of 1,72,29,47,688 vaccine doses have been administered in the country so far under a nationwide vaccination drive. (ANI)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C52 at 05:59 hours on February 14 from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota- Barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast.

The launch will be live telecasted.
As per ISRO, the PSLV-C52 is designed to orbit an earth observation satellite (EOS-04), weighing 1710 kg into a sun-synchronous polar orbit of 529 km.

“PSLV-C52 mission will also carry two small satellites as co-passengers which includes one student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, which is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B),” they said. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the introduction of a common syllabus and curriculum for children upto the age of 14 years across the country.

A bench headed by justices Nageswara Rao told the petitioner that it could grant liberty to the petitioner to approach the high court if he chose to withdraw the plea.
The petitioner advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, then, withdrew the petition. The court said the petition was dismissed as withdrawn and granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the high court.

The plea said a common syllabus and curriculum would achieve the code of common culture, removal of disparity, and depletion of discriminatory values in human relations.

The plea was filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay against certain sections of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 alleging they are “arbitrary and irrational”.

The plea said the prevailing system does not provide equal opportunity to all children as the syllabus and curriculum varies for each strata of the society.

It sought directions to the Centre to nullify provisions under the RTE Act that excluded religious institutions from its ambit for being arbitrary irrational and contrary to the Constitution.

It said, “The right of a child should not be restricted only to free education but must be extended to have equal quality education without discrimination on the ground of child’s social economic and cultural background. Therefore, the Court may declare Sections 1(4) and 1(5) arbitrary, irrational and violative of Articles 14, 15, 16, and 21 and direct the Centre to implement common syllabus and common curriculum for the students of I-VIII standard throughout the country.” (ANI)

The ongoing unrest in the state of Karnataka over whether students should be permitted to wear hijab in educational institutions has caught actor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s attention.

Taking to Instagram, Sonam shared a picture of a man in a turban and a woman in a hijab, and it questions why can a turban be a choice but a hijab can’t.

Sonam’s post comes days after several women in Karnataka were heckled by protestors for wearing a hijab.

The whole controversy erupted after the Karnataka government on February 5 issued an order mandating a dress code in all schools and colleges, with a ban on clothes that “disturb equality, integrity and public law and order”.

A day ago, lyricist Javed Akhtar, too, condemned the alleged attacks on women for wearing hijab.

“I have never been in favour of Hijab or Burqa. I still stand by that but at the same time, I have nothing but deep contempt for these mobs of hooligans who are trying to intimidate a small group of girls and that too unsuccessfully. Is this their idea of ‘MANLINESS’. What a pity,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Supreme Court declined to urgently hear the appeals against the Karnataka High Court’s interim order (the written order has not yet been issued) banning the hijab and other religious dresses in schools and colleges in the state. (ANI)