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11:05 (IST) Farmers to observe 'Shahidi Diwas', says report The farmers protesting at the Ghazipur border will reportedly observe 'Shahidi Diwas' on Sunday, The Times of India reported. The protest has entered the 23rd day on Sunday. 10:49 (IST) Next round of talks likely soon, says ML Khattar There can be a way out for the next round of talks between the government and farmer unions protesting against the Centre's new farm laws in a day or two, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said after meeting Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday. This is the second time the Haryana chief minister met Tomar at his residence since the protests broke out over three weeks ago, a state government official told PTI , adding that he had met the Union minister earlier on 8 December. "In a day or two, there can be a way out for talks. The government is ready for discussion if farmer union leaders come forward beyond yes or no," Khatta

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with farmers on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December, the BJP said, adding that the party will hold 'kisan samvad' at over 2,500 places in Uttar Pradesh. In a statement issued on Saturday, the party said it has intensified its preparations for it. UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and party leader Radha Mohan Singh held a virtual meeting in this regard with party office-bearers from parts of the state. Radha Mohan Singh said the Narendra Modi-led government is dedicated to welfare of the poor and farmers. "Had the amount of welfare done by the Modi Government been done in the past, the condition of farmers would have been better," Singh said. He accused the opposition parties of spreading lies regarding the new farm laws. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3rhicXY Press Trust of India

New Delhi:  Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday appointed three All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries each for Assam and Kerala where Assembly polls are slated for early next year. The newly appointed secretaries will assist the general secretaries in-charge of the two states — Jitendra Singh for Assam and Tariq Anwar for Kerala. Assembly polls in the two states, where the Congress is the main Opposition party, are slated for April-May. MLAs Anirudh Singh and Vikas Upadhyay and Prithviraj Prabhakar Sathe have been appointed AICC secretaries for Assam, while former MP P Viswanathan, former MLC Ivan D'Souza and PV Mohan have been appointed for Kerala, according to a party statement. Haripal Rawat and Sanjay Choudhary have been relieved of their responsibility as AICC joint secretaries for Assam. "The party appreciates the contributions of...Rawat and...Choudhary," the statement added. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3h2AQ0G Press T

New Delhi: The cold wave sweeping through north India intensified at most places in the region on Saturday, with Delhi as well as Srinagar recording their lowest minimum temperatures of the season. Many hill stations of Himachal Pradesh shivered at sub-zero temperatures as Lahaul-Spiti's Keylong was recorded the coldest in the state at minus 12.1 degrees Celsius. The mercury dipped across Punjab and Haryana too, with Adampur recording the lowest temperature in the twin states at minus 1.9 degrees Celsius. Cold wave conditions prevailed in Rajasthan, with the state's only hill station, Mount Abu, recording a low of minus 1.4 degrees Celsius, while isolated places in east Uttar Pradesh witnessed cold to severe cold conditions. Cold wave conditions were also observed at isolated places in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Uttarakhand, west Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Dense fog was seen in isolate

Farmers protesting against the three recent agri laws remained steadfast in their demands of repealing the legislations as Delhi recorded its coldest day on Saturday. As the agitation entered the fourth week, the central government continued its campaign to create positive opinion towards the farm laws. Speaking at an Assocham convention on Saturday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the claims that the reforms brought by his government six months ago have already started benefiting farmers. Without elaborating much Modi said, "Agriculture reforms initiated six months back have started benefitting farmers." Speaking at the #ASSOCHAMFoundationWeek . Watch. https://t.co/faC1nltKrJ — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 19, 2020 He also stressed that the new laws do not end MSP-based procurement and mandis would continue to function. Modi had made similar claims during a virtual address attended by farmers from Madhya Pradesh during a Kisan Sammelan event

Ranchi: The health condition of incarcerated RJD leader Lalu Prasad is stable and he does not face any medical risks, Jharkhand prisons department said Saturday, even as the RIMS authorities served a show cause to the doctor attending him for his "unauthorised" statement that Prasad's kidney was functioning only at "25 percent capacity". Prasad, who is serving jail term in connection with the multi-crore rupee fodder scam is presently staying at Ranchi-based Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). Amid mounting criticism of the RJD president violating jail manuals, the septuagenarian politician was recently returned to paying ward of the hospital from the bungalow of RIMS Director. "Lalu Prasad's health is stable and he does not face any medical risks," Virendra Bhusan, Inspectpor General of prisons of Jharkhand told PTI-Bhasha citing latest report from RIMS. The RIMS authorities have taken strong exception to reports published in medi

Midnapore: Capping months of  speculations, Trinamool Congress heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday joined the BJP and vowed to oust the Mamata Banerjee regime in the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal. Adhikari, who joined the BJP at Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in Paschim Medinipur district, also claimed that the TMC came into existence because of the saffron party. "The BJP, which is the biggest political party in the world, talks of nationalism and pluralism. West Bengal is not a personal fiefdom of any political party. And the TMC talks of insider and outsider to divide the people. How dare they call Amit Shah Ji, Kailash Vijayvargiya, outsiders? All of us are Indians," he said. Adhikari, the face of the Nandigram movement which added to the political heft of Banerjee and catapulted her to power in West Bengal in 2011, was handed over the BJP flag by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He touched Shah's feet to seek his blessings who in turn embraced hi

New Delhi: Apple's contract manufacturer Wistron on Saturday removed its vice-president Vincent Lee, who was heading operations in India after finding fault in the process of wage payment during its internal investigation. The Taiwanese electronics services major admitted the mistakes at its end and apologised to the workers. "We are removing the Vice President who oversees our business in India. We are also enhancing our processes and restructuring our teams to ensure these issues cannot happen again," Wistron said in a statement. Meanwhile, Apple said that it has placed Wistron on probation and it will not receive any new business from the US-based company before corrective actions are completed. "Apple employees and independent auditors hired by Apple have been working around the clock to investigate the issues which occurred at Wistron's Narasapura facility," Apple said in a statement. Workers at Wistron Corporation's manufacturing facility in

Nagpur: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue and the organisation's first spokesperson Madhav Govind Vaidya died in Nagpur on Saturday after a brief illness, his family said. He was 97. Vaidya, who had recovered from coronavirus infection, died at a private hospital in Nagpur, his grandson Vishnu Vaidya told PTI . The last rites will be held on Sunday. Vaidya, who became a volunteer of the RSS almost two decades after the organisation was set up, had seen it all during his eight decade-old association with it: the three bans, isolation, internal conflicts over joining politics, ferment and resurgence, changing power equations with the BJP, and the latter's storming to power at the Centre in 2014. A former chief editor of the city-based pro-RSS Marathi daily ' Tarun Bharat ', Vaidya became a member of the RSS in 1943 while at the Morris College in Nagpur. He was the first RSS ' prachar pramukh ' (spokesperson), a former editor of Tarun Bharat said. Va

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Delhi seems to be under control now, as the city reported 1,133 fresh cases at a positivity rate of less than 1.5 percent. "There was a time in November when the daily cases went up to nearly 8,600. But, even then it wasn't a panicky situation in Delhi, and beds were available. We fought it all together. The fresh cases count today is 1,133, the official report will soon be out," he told an online briefing. The highest single-day spike till date — 8,593 cases — was reported on 11 November. The chief minister said the situation in Delhi has improved significantly as the positivity rate had gone up to 15.26 percent as in early November. It is now down to 1.3 percent, one of the lowest so far in Delhi, and nationally too, he said. "It seems, together all of us have brought the third wave of pandemic in Delhi under control," Kejriwal said. The active cases,

Launching multiple attacks at Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Union home minister Amit Shah said Saturday that the West Bengal chief minister will be left alone by the time the state Assembly elections are held next year. Shah's remarks came on Saturday in the backdrop of a chain of resignations from the TMC this week, including former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari who joined the BJP at the former BJP chief's presence. "Why are so many people leaving Trinamool Congress? Because of the misrule, corruption and nepotism of Mamata Banerjee. Didi, this is just the beginning. By the time elections come, you will be left all alone," Shah said at a rally in Paschim Medinipur. He also claimed that the BJP will "form the next government in West Bengal with more than 200 seats" in the 294-member Assembly, NDTV reported . Suvendu is the MLA of Nandigram constituency in Purba Medinipur district. He was the face of the Nandigram movement that catapulted West

Launching multiple attacks at Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Union home minister Amit Shah said Saturday that the West Bengal chief minister will be left alone by the time the state Assembly elections are held next year. Shah's remarks came on Saturday in the backdrop of a chain of resignations from the TMC this week, including former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari who joined the BJP at the former BJP chief's presence. "Why are so many people leaving Trinamool Congress? Because of the misrule, corruption and nepotism of Mamata Banerjee. Didi, this is just the beginning. By the time elections come, you will be left all alone," Shah said at a rally in Paschim Medinipur. He also claimed that the BJP will "form the next government in West Bengal with more than 200 seats" in the 294-member Assembly, NDTV reported . Suvendu is the MLA of Nandigram constituency in Purba Medinipur district. He was the face of the Nandigram movement that catapulted West

The Bihar School Examination Board has released the BSEB class 12 practical exam admit card on its official website seniorsecondary.biharboardonline.com . The BSEB Intermediate (Class 12) practical exam will be conducted by the board between 9 and 18 January, 2021. According to a report by Careers 360 , the principals of the schools affiliated to BSEB can download the admit cards for the students using the user ID and password issued by the board. Students will have to visit their respective schools to collect the hall ticket. As per a report by Hindustan Times , the principals of the schools will have to downloaded the admit card are sign them before distributing it to the students. The Bihar Board Class 12 students who were absent in the sent-up examination have not been issued the admit card. BSEB will issue separate admit card to all the students for the theory examination that will be held from 1 to 13 February. The BSEB Class 12 practical exam admit card will mention the na

The Indian Coast Guard released the admit card for the written exam for recruitment to the post of Navik (DB) today (Saturday, 19 December). Candidates who have successfully registered for the Navik Domestic Branch (Cook and Steward) can download their hall ticket from the official website joinindiancoastguard.gov.in. According to a report by The Times of India , the admit card can be downloaded by the candidates till 25 December, 2020. The Indian Coast Guard, Ministry of Defence, will be conducting the exam in early January 2021. Through the recruitment drive , Indian Coast Guard will fill 50 posts of Navik (DB). Of the total vacancies, 20 positions are for General, 5 for EWS, 14 for OBC, 3 for ST and 8 for ST candidates. As per a report by Jagran Josh , the exam will be having objective-type questions. The paper will have questions on Quantitative Aptitude, Mathematics, General Sciences, General English, General Awareness (Current Affairs and General Knowledge) and Reasoning (Ve

IB ACIO 2020: The  Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has on Saturday released the online application for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer, Grade II/Executive. Candidates meeting the eligibility criteria can apply at mha.gov.in or ncs.gov.in . The opening is a General Central Service, Group 'C' (Non-Gazetted, Non-Ministerial) post. There are a total of 2,000 posts. The last date to submit the online application form is 9 January 2021. Of the total posts, 989 vacancies are for General candidates, 417 for OBC, 113 for EWS, 360 SC, and 121 ST candidates. According to reports , male candidates of General, EWS and OBC categories will have to pay examination fee of Rs 100 and processing charges of Rs 500. SC/ST and all female candidates as well as Ex-servicemen will only have to pay recruitment processing charge of Rs 500. Those applying should be between 18 to 27 years. There is relaxation in upper age limit for candidat

The last date to submit application forms of IIFT MBA (IB) 2021 has been extended till 30 December 2020 up to 5 pm. As per the notification released by the National Testing Agency (NTA), candidates can enroll on the official website —iift.nta.nic.in. Earlier, the last date to fill application form for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) MBA (IB) 2021 was 20 December 2020. The application process started on 6 November this year. The deadline to pay fee online has been extended till 30 December up to 11.50 pm. The application correction window will be open between 1 and 3 January 2021. NTA has said that the deadline to submit the online application form of IIFT-MBA (IB) 2021 has been extended to enable larger participation of candidates in the exam. There is, however, no change in the date of the exam. IIFT MBA (IB) 2021 will be conducted on 24 January 2021 as per schedule. According to a report by NDTV , when IIFT opens the application correction window, candidates will also b

A Delhi hospital has reported around 13 cases of a fungal infection in patients that is triggered by COVID-19. Doctors from Sri Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), Delhi has said the infection has caused the loss of eyesight, removal of the nose and jaw bone and five people have died due to this infection. The black fungus infection has been identified as Mucormycosis that occurs when you have a weakened immunity due to illness or health condition, which happens when one tests positive for Covid-19. Dr Manish Munjal, Senior ENT surgeon at SGRH told PTI , “The frequency with which we are witnessing the occurrence of COVID-19 triggered Mucormycosis with high morbidity and mortality is alarming." "Early clinical suspicion on symptoms such as nose obstruction, swelling in the eye or cheeks, and black dry crusts in the nose should immediately prompt a biopsy and start of the antifungal therapy as early as possible,” he added. However, this is not the first time that reports of COVID-19

13:02 (IST) SP, BSP hit out at BJP over farm laws The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party hit out at the BJP on Saturday over the farmers' protest against the agri-marketing laws. SP president Akhilesh Yadav called the contentious laws a clamp for the farmers. "The BJP didn't allow the farmers to have the slightest idea of the farm laws before making them. Now, they are pretending to make them understand the benefits of the legislations by holding farmers convention," Yadav said. "The truth is the farmers will really benefit only after the implementation of the Swaminathan report," Yadav said. "Only then, the farmers'' income will double." In a tweet on Saturday, BSP president Mayawati said: "The central government should adopt a sympathetic approach, and not be stubborn, while dealing with the protesting farmers and accept their demands. "The BSP demands that the three new farm laws should be withdrawn," she

The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) result 2020 has been declared by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) on its official website — nbe.edu.in and natboard.edu.in . At least 3,722 candidates have qualified the FMGE 2020 , which was conducted on 4 December. As many as 19,122 students have appeared for the screening test this year. The result of 136 candidates has been withheld by the board as their face ID is under verification. NBE will be releasing FMGE 2020 scorecard by 24 December. Candidates who have qualified the exam will only be able to download the scorecard from the official website using their user ID and password. Those who failed to submit the relevant documents in the prescribed format by 10 December have been declared "ineligible". Their candidature for FMGE December 2020 session has been cancelled by NBE. Steps to check and download FMGE 2020 result: Step 1: Go to the official website of National Board of Examinations — nbe.edu.in Step

Kolkata: Home Minister Amit Shah visited the birthplace of Swami Vivekananda in north Kolkata on Saturday morning and said that the ideals of the 19th-century icon are more relevant in the present-day world. Shri @AmitShah pays floral tributes to Swami Vivekananda at Ramakrishna Mission. #AmitShahInBengal https://t.co/qyPsZVKwU8 — BJP Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) December 19, 2020 Shah, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal, paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda, hailing him for taking India's culture and ethos to the world. "Swami Vivekananda took India's culture, vision and ethos to the world. He bridged the gap between spirituality and modernity. After visiting his birthplace, I feel his ideals are still relevant in the present-day world. Rather, his ideals are more needed in the present times," he told reporters. The path shown by Swami Vivekananda will not only lead India but the entire world on the road to prosperity, Shah said. from Firstpost India Latest

New Delhi: India's COVID-19 caseload surpassed the somber one-crore mark Saturday, adding 10 lakh cases in nearly a month, while the total number of recoveries surged to 95.50 lakh, according to the Union health ministry data. The country's COVID-19 case tally had surpassed the 20-lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August and 40 lakh on 5 September. It went past 50 lakh on 16 September, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on 11 October, 80 lakh on 29 October, and surpassed 90 lakh on 20 November. The health ministry's data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed the total number of cases mounted to 1,00,04,599, and the death toll to 1,45,136 with the virus claiming 347 more lives in a span of 24 hours. However, the COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.45 percent. There are 3,08,751 active cases in the country which constitute 3.08 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, a cumulative 16,00,90,514

The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) has released the exam date and shift timings of Non Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) recruitment exam at all its regional-based websites. Nearly 23 lakh candidates will appear in the RRB NTPC first stage examination that will be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode between 28 December and 13 January. The examination will be held in designated test centres in various cities across the country. According to a report by The Times of India , due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first stage of the recruitment exam is being conducted in multiple phases. The examination for the remaining eligible candidates will be held in subsequent phases and they will be informed accordingly. As per a report by The Indian Express , for those candidates who might have forgotten their registration number, the form will be available between 18 December and 13 January. The RRB NTPC recruitment exam admit card will be available for download from 24 December. The RRB

10:48 (IST) Farm laws not brought in overnight: PM  Explaining the benefits of the new farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an hour-long address to Madhya Pradesh farmers where he appealed to farmers with folded hands.  In his speech, Modi said the new agricultural laws brought by the Centre have not come overnight, but were long overdue. He insisted that the existing regime of support price for farm produce will continue. 10:32 (IST) Hopeful of resolving farmers' stir by year-end: Agri minister  The government is hopeful of resolving farmers' agitation against three new farm laws before the new year and is continuing its informal dialogue with various groups to diffuse the crisis, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said amid formal talks remaining deadlocked with protesting unions refusing to accept anything less than the repeal of the Acts. The minister said the Modi government is committed to address all genuine concerns of the farming commu

This is the conclusion of a three-part series that chronicles the history of lesser-known regional Indian ingredients and dishes, and highlights their importance in micro cuisines —  #ForgottenFood . Read part one, about the eenthu panna,  here ; and part two — on the Decalepis hamiltonii — here . *** “If you use pirandai in its raw form, your throat and fingers get itchy so there’s always a fight in my kitchen as to who prepares it. Many of these plants have similar properties that often exist to protect them from their predators.” Pondicherry-based founder of Maiyam Past Foods Vijhay Ganesh M’s preoccupation with ancient south Indian culinary techniques may have resulted in him bringing overlooked ancient grains, legumes and vegetables to the plates of diners at his concept restaurant, but these insights have been gained with the underlying knowledge that even good things must be administered in moderation. “ Pirandai is excellent for issues such as knee problems but I feature i