Month: March 2022

In a first, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday presented the state budget 2022-23 at the Legislative Assembly in a briefcase which was made of cow dung.

The briefcase has been made by applying layer by layer mixture of cow dung powder, chuna powder, maida wood and guar gum in 10 days. Specially designed for budget, the handle and corner of this briefcase are crafted from Bastar Art Artisans by Kondagaon City Group.

Notably, Godhan Nyay Yojana of Chhattisgarh has made a different identity in the country and also received praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past.

Presenting the state Budget 2022-23, Baghel announced the increase in annual assistance under the Rajiv Gandhi Bhumihin Krishi Majdur Nyay Yojana from Rs 6,000 to 7,000 per annum from the next year.

“In this Budget, I propose the restoration of the old pension scheme for govt employees. Rs 2 crore proposed for Chhattisgarh Rojgaar Mission to work on the possibilities of creating new jobs by coordinating the skill development programs,” Baghel said.

The annual assistance under the Rajiv Gandhi Bhumihin Krishi Majdur Nyay Yojana has been increased from 6,000 to 7,000 per annum from the next year.

In the Budget, the government made the provision of Rs 600 crore to provide basic amenities like improved infrastructure and basic services like electricity, water in industrial parks.

The Chief Minister also proposed the provision of Rs 2 crore for Chhattisgarh Rojgaar Mission to work on the possibilities of creating new jobs by coordinating the skill development programme run in urban and rural areas.

Baghel also announced the provision of Rs 123 crore in The Krishak Samagra Vikas Yojana to ensure the availability of high-quality certified seeds to the farmers. (ANI)

Students evacuated from war-battered Ukraine expressed their gratitude towards the Indian Flag in helping them seek safe passage to home.

The Centre launched ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back the stranded students in Ukraine and neighboring countries following the Russian military attack in Ukraine. The evacuated students shared their mixed experiences and thanked the Indian Embassy and the Centre for their safe return.

The Centre had arranged flights for the Indian nationals once they crossed the Romania border. But the journey to the borders was not easy for the students. The embassy had advised the students to paste Indian Flags on buses on their way to borders to get easy clearance.

“Seeking a way out to Romania was difficult, there was less help from the Indian Embassy. We had to arrange transport on our own to move out of the city. As the war started, we were in contact with the Embassy but they did not issue any advisory regarding evacuation. Once we reached the borders, the Indian Embassy helped us to get back home safely. We were told to put the Indian Flag on our buses to avoid facing problems on the way. It’s a matter of pride for us that Russian Forces did not stop us seeing the Tricolor Flag and we got easy clearance,” told a second-year medical student, Neyam Rashid, who has returned from Ukraine.

Syed Rashid Alam, Neyam’s father had tears of happiness and relief to have her daughter return home safely. He thanked the Indian government for the immediate evacuation of the students.

“I am happy to see my daughter return safely. More than 35 students from Aligarh were studying in Ukraine and I am grateful to the Indian government that it has safely and successfully brought our children back home. There is one student from Aligarh who is stuck, I pray to God for his safe return,” said Rashid Alam.

More than 18,000 Indians have returned to India under ‘Operation Ganga’ launched by the Centre on February 22, 2022. (ANI)

Asma Shafique, a Pakistani student of Sumy State Medical College on Wednesday thanked the Indian Government for her safe evacuation amid the Russia-Ukraine war which entered the fourteenth day today.

“Hi, my name is Asma Shafique from Pakistan. I am really grateful and thankful to the Red Cross Society, the Indian Government and the Indian Embassy for safely evacuating us from our places and letting us go to the borders and reach our destinations safely. Thank You,” she said.

Pakistani student of Sumy State Medical College is enroute to western Ukraine with fellow batchmates for further evacuation from the country.

“We are Indian students from Sumy State University, Ukraine. We have been evacuated yesterday from Sumy safely with full security and currently, we are moving towards Lviv border along my friend from Pakistan,” said an Indian student.

The evacuation process of Indian students from Ukraine under ‘Operation Ganga’ has brought about 18 thousand Indians through special flights so far.

This comes against the backdrop of Russian forces launching military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities. (ANI)

The multinational music corporation Universal Music Group on Tuesday said it is suspending its operations in Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

As per an official statement, the company announced the closing of Universal Music Group offices in Russia.

“Effective immediately, we are suspending all operations in Russia and closing our offices there. We urge an end to the violence in Ukraine as soon as possible. We are adhering to international sanctions and, along with our employees and artists, have been working with groups from a range of countries to support humanitarian relief efforts to bring urgent aid to refugees in the region,” said the statement.

Earlier, US beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, along with fast food major McDonald’s and coffeehouse chain Starbucks all announced that they were temporarily suspending their business in Russia.

The slew of sanctions and suspensions of businesses come following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after recognising the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics.

Russia continues to maintain that it started the “military operations” in Ukraine to save the residents of eastern Ukraine and “demilitarise” and “denazify” the political leadership of the country. (ANI)

Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Biological E has applied for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for its COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for the 5-12 year age group, official sources said on Wednesday.

The data has been submitted by the company to the Subject Expert Committee for beneficiaries between 5-12 years of age, the sources told ANI.

Recently, the Subject Expert Committee recommended Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Biological E’s COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for the age group of 12 to 18 years under certain conditions.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) is expected to give final EUA to Corbevax soon. The SEC recommended EUA only after seeing the safety and immunogenicity data amongst this group.

The expected cost of the vaccine is Rs 145 excluding taxes. It will be administered two times within prescribed intervals.

The sources told ANI that the Central government has already purchased about 5 crore Biological E vaccines Corbevax and also delivered them to some states.

Vaccine maker Biological E applied for the phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials during the month of September 2021 last year.

India reported 4,575 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed today, “More than 18.69 lakh doses (18,69,103) vaccine doses have been administered in the last 24 hours. With this, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 179.33 crore (1,79,33,99,555) as per provisional reports till 7 am today.” (ANI)

The recent attack at a Shia mosque in Peshawar bares the irony of Pakistan, which cannot protect its own citizens against terrorism, dreaming about Kashmir, said Noman Hossain, a freelance journalist, in an opinion piece.

Hossain argued that terrorists reared by Pakistan are out to devour their own master. He further opined that the Peshawar mosque attack, which accounted for deaths of over 60 Shia Muslims and injuries for 200 others, illustrates that Pakistan is a failed state, having utterly failed to act against terrorists.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State, was a grim reminder of the fact that terror has no religion and it can hit anyone, he further argued.

Notably, the incident, that took place on the same day when international money laundering and terrorist funding watchdog Financial Action Task Force announced Pakistan’s retention on its grey list, left Pakistan rulers embarrassed.

Hossain, in the article, stated that Pakistan ministers sought to pass the buck by falling back on the conspiracy alibi behind the attack to counter the growth and stability of Pakistan.

“They tried to pass the buck by blaming external forces for the dastardly act that killed more than 60 innocent devotees, who had assembled in a mosque to offer congregational Friday prayers,” said the article.

The Peshawar mosque attack has also raised concerns in Kashmir, which is proceeding towards normalcy after the Central government abrogated Article 370, which ensured the special status for Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, 2019.

The people in Kashmir have realized that Pakistan sponsored insurgency wreaked havoc in their lives, he said, adding that the people have rejected the idea of separatism and the so-called “Azadi”. Hossain further stated that the changed attitude of people has baffled the terrorist handlers sitting across the Line of Control (LoC), who are hell-bent upon ensuring that the common man in Kashmir doesn’t live in peace.

Thus, a grenade attack in a crowded flea market at Hari Singh High Street in Srinagar, just a day after the Peshawar attack, not only demonstrates how terrorists can go to any extent to fan disturbance in the Kashmir valley but also shows that the fear of the common man is not misplaced, argued Hossain.

Choosing crowded places like markets and places of worship could be part of the strategy to disrupt normal life, the article opined, adding that the terrorists in Kashmir follow the orders of their bosses sitting across the LoC and timings of both incidents, that is, Peshawar blast and Hari Singh High Street attack, are a matter of concern.

However, Pakistan can shrug off the responsibility for terror attacks by shifting the blame on external powers, but India knows how to deal with the elements inimical to peace as can be seen through its 24 by 7 operations to track down the terrorists, he added.

Hossain opined that the people in Kashmir, who have been misled by Pakistan for three decades, need to muster the courage to say no to violence and express their rejection of the idea of the merger of the valley with a country where even devotees are not spared. (ANI)

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers on Tuesday created ruckus after a person entered the Mandi Committee of Mathura without an ID card where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been kept under the CCTV surveillance for the counting of votes tomorrow.

The workers of the two parties alleged that the person was tampering with the EVMs and demanded an investigation into the incident.

Speaking to the media persons, Sanjay Lather, the SP worker said, “The Election Commission had already decided that nobody will be allowed here without ID cards. But we got to know that a person went inside claiming that he needed to set up a computer system there. No official was present with him. He did not carry an ID card.”

“The district administration should investigate the matter because he was there for four hours which can also lead to tampering with EVMs,” he added.

However, the person being accused of entering the premises told the media persons that he went inside the Mandi Committee for installing computer systems that will be needed with EVMs during the counting of votes.

“I came here for the installation of computer systems. When I came back, these people standing outside caught me, so I called SDM to reach the spot. I have my ID and permission of officials,” said, Kanungo, the person who was caught.

The city police official while speaking to the media refuted the allegations and claimed that the person reached the Mandi Committee for the installation of computer systems but he forgot to carry his ID card.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

India reported 4,575 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

The government data shows that the active caseload of the country has risen to 46,962 at present which accounts for 0.11 per cent of total cases.

The daily positivity rate stands at 0.51 per cent while the weekly positivity rate is 0.62 per cent.

Meanwhile, a total of 7,416 people have been recovered from the COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative recoveries to 4,24,13,566. The recovery rate now is at 98.69 per cent.

In the past 24 hours, as many as 145 people have succumbed to coronavirus infection, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With 8,97,904 tests conducted to detect COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours, the total number of tests conducted so far has gone up to 77.52 crore.

A total of 179.33 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far to eligible beneficiaries under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. Notably, India’s vaccination drive against the virus commenced on January 16, 2021. (ANI)