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New York: World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance that India will use its vaccine production capacity in helping nations fight COVID-19, saying the pandemic can be defeated only by mobilising resources for common good. In his address to the 75th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Modi said that as the largest vaccine producing country of the world, I want to give one more assurance to the global community today. India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis. He said that even during these very difficult times of the raging pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry of India has sent essential medicines to more than 150 countries. Thank you for your commitment to solidarity, 🇮🇳 Prime Minister @narendramodi . Only together, by mobilizing our forces and resources jointly for the common good, can we end the #COVID19 pandemic. #UN

The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is the strongest indictment of the Narendra Modi government in six years. It points to extensive puff jobs and window-dressing to hide shortfall, treating transparency with contempt, and ineptitude in implementation. What should embarrass the government is that all this is what some of its reasoned critics accuse it of. It is as if they were right all this while. Also, the government cannot shrug off the CAG’s credentials. The BJP had come to power in 2014 waving the reports of this very institution which exposed the previous UPA government’s unblushing corruption and failures. This time, the CAG has accused the government of not using Rs 47,272 crore of GST cess in a manner mandated by Parliament. Instead, the government retained the money under the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI). It helped the government understate the fiscal deficit, the report said. Finance ministry sources have refuted the charge, arguing that ti

10:05 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates Global COVID-19 cases now at 3.2 crore Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 3.27 crore people and killed almost 1 million - the toll is currently at 9,92,984, according to Johns Hopkins University. 09:59 (IST) Coronavirus in New York LATEST Updates New York records over 1,000 positive cases in single since June More than 1,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for COVID-19 in a single day for the first time since June 5 the state has seen a daily number that high. The number of positive tests reported daily in the state has been steadily inching up in recent weeks, possibly because more businesses have been reopening and students have been returning to schools and college campuses. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday there were 1,005 positive cases tallied on Friday out of 99,953 tests, for a 1 percent positive rate. From late July through the start of September, the state had an average of around 660 people t

Jaswant Singh, former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and external affairs minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, passed away on Sunday. He was 82. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condoling Singh's death, said — Jaswant Singh Ji served our nation diligently, first as a soldier and later during his long association with politics. During Atal Ji’s Government, he handled crucial portfolios and left a strong mark in the worlds of finance, defence and external affairs. Saddened by his demise. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 27, 2020 Modi noted, "Jaswant Singh Ji will be remembered for his unique perspective on matters of politics and society. He also contributed to the strengthening of the BJP. I will always remember our interactions. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti." The prime minister further said, "Spoke to Shri Manvendra Singh and expressed condolences on the unfortunate demise of Shri Jaswant Singh Ji. True t

New Delhi: Amid the border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said it was an ongoing issue, and "we need to have trust in our armed forces and their ability to secure our interests". Jaishankar said there is also a need to have trust in the ability of the system – both military commanders and the diplomatic channels – in negotiating with the Chinese. Asked about the situation at the border in eastern Ladakh, Jaishankar told Times Now in an interview: "You know this is going to play out. There will be things which China has done. There will be responses that India has made...There are actually negotiations on the way." "I understand the compulsions on media to know everything yesterday, unfortunately, real life is a little bit different. So, this is about national security. This is a very complicated ground situation out there," he said. "We need to have trust in our armed forces and their ab

World Contraception Day is observed every year on 26 September since 2007. The World Health Organization (WHO) and many international, governmental and non-governmental organisations observe this day to raise awareness about contraception, family planning and women’s health. The goal of this annual awareness campaign is to enable and empower women to make better reproductive health choices. There are many types of contraceptives now available across the world, including condoms, oral contraceptive pills , intrauterine devices or IUDs, and injectable contraceptives . Scientists are also developing a once-a-month oral contraceptive pill which might even revolutionise women’s health. There is, unfortunately, still a lack of knowledge and stigma attached to discussions of sexual health, reproductive health and contraception use. This inevitably leads to myths about contraception that deter women from accessing them. The following are a few such myths that need to be done away with for

18:52 (IST) Modi speech at UNGA Latest update Modi questions lack of concerted global efforts to battle COVID-19 "Over the last 8 to 9 months, the whole world has been battling the pandemic of the Coronavirus. Where is the United Nations in this joint fight against the pandemic? Where is its effective response?" Modi asked during his speech at UNGA. "Reform in the responses, in the processes, and in the very character of the UN  is the need of the hour. It is a fact that the faith & respect that the UN enjoys among the 1.3 billion people in India is unparalleled," Modi said.  18:44 (IST) Modi speech at UNGA Latest update Serious introspection of UN's work need of the hour: PM at UNGA "If we were to make an objective assesment of the performance of UN over the last 75 years, we see several stellar achievements. But at the same time, there are also several instances that point to the need for a serious introspection of the work of the United Na

New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday announced a new team of party's national office-bearers which has an element of continuity as well as change. The list of eight general secretaries — which is a crucial organisation position in the party as they are the link between state and central leadership — has five new faces while Bhupender Yadav, Arun Singh and Kailash Vijayvargiya being retained. However, Ram Madhav, P Muralidhar Rao, Saroj Pandey and Anil Jain have been replaced with new faces. Dushyant Kumar Gautam, D Purandareshwaei, CT Ravi, Tarun Chugh and Dilip Saikia are new choices as general secretaries. Party MP Tejasvi Surya has been made the president of the party's youth wing in place of Poonam Mahajan. The party has also expanded its list of spokesperson to 23, with MP Anil Baluni being elevated as the chief spokesperson and remaining its media head. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3cCr8jt Press Trust of India

NEET UG 2020: The answer key for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2020 has been released on Saturday by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on — ntaneet.nic.in . The medical entrance examination was conducted on 13 September in an offline mode at various centres across the country. In its notification, the NTA said that the advanced answer keys for all the sets including E1 to E6, f1 to F6, G1 to G6, and H1 to H6 have been released. "The candidates are advised to go through the same and keep themselves ready for challenges of the Draft Answer Keys which will be published shortly," the examination conducting body said. A notice inviting challenge of the keys will be issued later, NTA mentioned, asking candidates not to email their responses or clarification regarding the keys. A report by Careers 360 said candidates who wish to challenge the NEET answer key will be required to pay a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 1,000 per answer challenged. They w

On 8 September, 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India released an SOP for partial reopening of schools from 21 September and for students of classes 9 to 12 on a voluntary basis to clarify doubts and take guidance from their teachers, in keeping with the government’s phase-wise unlocking activities. This has facilitated partial reopening of schools in several cities in India starting this week, though parents remain uncertain and concerned, and schools are also mulling over how to get back to the regular regimen in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Schools grappling with multiple challenges Genius International Public School, Ropar, Punjab is a K-12 school with over 1,900 students. Says Director and Principal Dr Bindu Sharma, “Re-opening schools, even in a phased manner poses a lot of challenges for school managements, given that enforcing discipline among people on social distancing and wearing of masks is still a difficult proposition.” Th

Deepika Padukone has left Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in south Mumbai after recording her statement in the drug probe linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death, as per a tweet by  News18. The same tweet stated the actress was questioned for over five hours by the probe team. Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan, who had been summoned by the NCB's probe team on Wednesday , recorded their statements on Saturday for the investigation. According to an NCB official, the Mumbai police deployed adequate security outside the NCB office. Deepika's manager Karishma Prakash , who was questioned by the team on Friday, was also asked to remain present for further questioning on Saturday, he added. Prakash's WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one D and the central agency wanted to find out who this person was, the NCB sources had said earlier. The NCB team also got important information about the case during the questioning of Rajput's tal

Deepika Padukone has left Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in south Mumbai after recording her statement in the drug probe linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death, as per a tweet by  News18. The same tweet stated the actress was questioned for over five hours by the probe team. Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan, who had been summoned by the NCB's probe team on Wednesday , recorded their statements on Saturday for the investigation. According to an NCB official, the Mumbai police deployed adequate security outside the NCB office. Deepika's manager Karishma Prakash , who was questioned by the team on Friday, was also asked to remain present for further questioning on Saturday, he added. Prakash's WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one D and the central agency wanted to find out who this person was, the NCB sources had said earlier. The NCB team also got important information about the case during the questioning of Rajput's tal

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, covering the entire expanse of bilateral ties and with a focus on further expanding cooperation in key areas. In his opening remarks at a virtual bilateral summit, Modi said he was confident that the massive electoral victory of the ruling party in Sri Lanka backed by the Rajapaksa government's policies will facilitate deeper cooperation between the two countries. "An opportunity has come to begin a new chapter in India-Sri Lanka ties after your party's electoral victory. People from both the countries are looking at us with new hope and expectations," Modi said. Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lankan prime minister for a fresh term on 9 August after his party, the Sri Lanka People's Front, secured a two-third majority in the parliamentary polls. Modi said India gives priority to its relations with Sri Lanka as he mentioned his governme

Mumbai: Observing that prostitution was not a criminal offence under the law, and that an adult woman had the right to choose her vocation, the Bombay High Court has ordered immediate release of three women sex workers detained at a state corrective institution in Mumbai. In an order passed on Thursday, a bench of Justice Prithviraj Chavan said that prostitution had not been considered a criminal offence under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. He said that prostitution by itself was not an offence and did not entail a punishment. Instead, its public solicitation was the offence defined under the Act. Justice Chavan was hearing a plea filed by the three women challenging an order passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate, Mazgaon, that had upheld their detention at a local correctional facility against their will. As per the HC order, the women, all in their twenties, were picked up by the police in September last year following a raid at a guest house. The middleman was arr

The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) released the admit card for the state board Class 10 and Class 12 improvement examinations 2020 on its website — upmsp.edu.in . According to a reports , the examination will be conducted on 3 October. The Class 10 exam will be conducted in morning shift between 8 am and 11.15 am. Class 12 students who have applied for the exam will have to write the test from 2 pm to 5.15 pm. Class 10 students who have not qualified in one subject are appearing for improvement exam, while those who did not qualify in two subjects will be writing the compartment exam. They will have to appear for one of the two compartment papers to pass the Class 10 board exam. For the first time this year, the students of Class 12 Uttar Pradesh board who have failed in one subject will be allowed to take the compartment exam. A report by Careers 360 said that the exam will be held at 82 centres across the state. A total of 33,344 students will be writing the ex

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said his government will make water supply in Delhi as good as in developed countries and that it is hiring a consultant for this purpose. He also dismissed allegations that water supply in Delhi was being privatised. "Some Opposition leaders are saying water supply in Delhi is being privatised. It can never happen and I assure you this," the chief minister said. "We are hiring a consultant to tell us how to improve water supply management and ensure that not even a drop of water is wasted," Kejriwal said during a digital press conference. He said that in the capital cities of developed nations, water is available round-the-clock with proper pressure and there is no need for a submersible pump. "We will make it happen in Delhi. The city's water supply will be as good as in developed nations," Kejriwal said, adding that accountability should be fixed for each drop of water and there should not b

New Delhi: India's COVID-19 tally sprinted past 59 lakh on Saturday with 85,362 fresh cases being recorded in a day, while 93,420 people recuperated from the disease during the same period taking total recoveries to over 48 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed that the coronavirus caseload has risen to 59,03,932 with 85,362 infections being reported in a day, while the toll mounted to 93,379 after 1,089 people succumbed to the disease in 24 hours. Total recoveries surged to 48,49,584, pushing the country's recovery rate to 82.14 percent. The COVID-19 case fatality rate was recorded at 1.58 percent. There are 9,60,969 active cases in the country which comprise 16.28 percent of the total caseload, the data showed. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August,40 lakh on 5 September and it went past 50 lakh on 16 September. According to the ICMR, in total 7,02,69,975 samples

After Deepika Padukone and Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan has now reached the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in south Mumbai to record her statement in the drug probe linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death, as per a tweet by  News18. All three actors had been summoned by the NCB's probe team on Wednesday , an official said. According to the official, the Mumbai police has deployed adequate security outside the NCB office. Deepika's manager Karishma Prakash , who was questioned by the team on Friday, has also been asked to remain present for further questioning on Saturday, he added. Prakash's WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one D and the central agency wanted to find out who this person was, the NCB sources had said earlier. The NCB team also got important information about the case during the questioning of Rajput's talent manager Jaya Saha, the official said. "The actors' names had surfaced during the interrogation of

The Banaras Hindu University Postgraduate Entrance Test (BHU PET) 2020 has been declared on the varsity's official website bhuonline.in. The entrance examination was conducted in online mode between 24 and 31 August, according to a report by Careers 360 . Candidates who have appeared for the theory examination can check their score using their roll number and date of birth. The result mentions details including name, roll number, registration no, course, index, open rank of the candidate and BHU rank. The university will soon release BHU PET 2020 cutoff in the form of ranks separately for female candidates as well as male and female candidates combined. Those who have qualified the entrance test will be issued a call letter for the counseling process. Hindustan Times reported that the counseling for admission to various programmes under PET 2020 is expected to start from 8 October. The counseling process for undergraduate programmes will commence from 10 October. Candidates h

MHT CET 2020: The admit card of Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) 2020 for Physics-Chemistry-Biology (PCB) group has been released on Saturday at mhtcet2020.mahaonline.gov.in . The entrance examination will be conducted from 1 and 9 October. The hall ticket will mention details of examination centre, reporting time, day and date of the examination along with other details. According to a reports , more than 5.3 lakh candidates have enrolled to take the MHT CET 2020. Around 2.8 lakh candidates have registered for the PCB group. For the Physics-Chemistry-Mathematics (PCM) group, 2.5 lakh candidates have registered. The PCM group exam will be conducted from 12 to 20 October. The admit card will soon be released by the common entrance exam cell. A report by Careers 360 said that candidates appearing for the entrance exam will also be required to download MHT CET 2020 undertaking and carry it at the exam centre. Examinees will not be allowed to enter the test centre without a

The result of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to the Super Specialty course has been declared by the National Board of Examination (NBE) on its official website nbe.edu.in and natboard.edu.in . The cutoff marks of NEET SS have also been released along with the result. Students at the 50th percentile or above in their respective super speciality/clubbed group have been declared qualified in the exam, reported NDTV . Candidates can download their individual score card from the official website from 30 September. Those who have qualified in the entrance exam will now have to appear for the counselling process to secure their seats. Admissions to AIIMS, New Delhi, PHIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, NIMHANS Bengaluru and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram are not included under NEET SS. The schedule for counselling will be released by NBE shortly. The computer-based test was held on 15 September at

A 19-year-old Dalit girl was gangraped allegedly by four upper caste men in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, reports said. The accused are said to have attempted to strangulate her and she is now admitted to a hospital in Aligarh after suffering serious injuries. The girl, who is out of danger but still in the intensive care unit (ICU), told the police on Tuesday that the four men raped her on 14 September when she had gone to collect fodder for animals. According to The Indian Express , the girl's tongue was cut off and she has sustained severe injuries on her spinal cord and her neck. The initial medical report by the hospital has confirmed strangulation and assault. Doctors said further examination is being conducted to confirm rape. Based on her brother's complaint, earlier the police had booked a man identified as Sandeep for attempt to murder and under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The accused has been a

After Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor has now reached the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in south Mumbai to record her statement in the drug probe linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death, as per a tweet by  News18. The NCB is also set to record the statement of Sara Ali Khan in Mumbai on Saturday, an official said. All three actors had been summoned by the NCB's probe team on Wednesday , the official said. According to the official, the Mumbai police has deployed adequate security outside the NCB office. Deepika's manager Karishma Prakash , who was questioned by the team on Friday, has also been asked to remain present for further questioning on Saturday, he added. Prakash's WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one D and the central agency wanted to find out who this person was, the NCB sources had said earlier. The NCB team also got important information about the case during the questioning of Rajput's talent manager Jaya Saha, the

Ranchi/ Dumka:  Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi said on Friday that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Marandi, the leader of the BJP legislature party, said he got tested after noticing initial symptoms. "In the last few days, all those who have come in contact with me, I humbly request all of you to get your COVID-19 test done," he said in a tweet. "With the prayers and blessings of all of you, I will be back soon and will again get involved in public service," he added. Marandi recently returned from Delhi and was suppose to go on a four-day tour of Dumka on Saturday, state BJP spokesperson Saroj Singh said. However, the tour has now been cancelled and he will be in quarantine at his Ranchi residence, he said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/344yMzv Press Trust of India

Deepika Padukone has reached the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in south Mumbai to record her statement in the drug probe linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death, as per a tweet by  News18. The NCB is also set to record the statements of Shraddha Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan in Mumbai on Saturday, an official said. All three actors had been summoned by the NCB's probe team on Wednesday , the official said. According to the official, the Mumbai police has deployed adequate security outside the NCB office. Deepika's manager Karishma Prakash , who was questioned by the team on Friday, has also been asked to remain present for further questioning on Saturday, he added. Prakash's WhatsApp chats included conversations about drugs with one D and the central agency wanted to find out who this person was, the NCB sources had said earlier. The NCB team also got important information about the case during the questioning of Rajput's talent manager Jaya Saha, the offic

United Nations: The "only crowning glory" that Pakistan has to show to the world for the last seven decades is terrorism, ethnic cleansing, majoritarian fundamentalism and clandestine nuclear trade, India said in a scathing response on Friday, slamming Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's "incessant rant" and "venom" in the UN General Assembly. "This August forum witnessed a new low on its 75th anniversary. The leader of Pakistan today called for those who incite hate and violence to be outlawed. But as he went on, we were left wondering, was he referring to himself?" First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Mijito Vinito said, making India's Right of Reply. The strong rebuttal came after Khan spoke about India's internal affairs, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, during his pre-recorded video statement at the high-level General Debate. Vinito, who was sitting at India's seat in the UN General Assemb