RIVANCH

Srinagar: The son of the owner of popular eatery Krishna Dhaba, who was shot at by terrorists on 17 February, died at a hospital in Srinagar on Sunday, officials said. Akash Mehra was undergoing treatment at the SMHS Hospital for the past 10 days. Mehra succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Sunday, the officials said. He was shot at by terrorists from a close range and critically wounded, the police had said. The Muslim Janbaz Force, a terror outfit that was active in the early 1990s, had claimed responsibility for the attack. Krishna Dhaba, which is famous for serving vegetarian food, is located in Durganag, a high-security area of the city. Several high-profile installations like the office of UN Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan and the residence of the Jammu and Kashmir chief justice are located within 200 metres of the food joint. The police have arrested three persons allegedly owing allegiance to a shadow terror outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba

New Delhi: India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 1,10,96,731 on Sunday with 16,752 new infections, the highest in the last 30 days, according to Union health ministry data. The death toll mounted to 1,57,051 with 113 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The country had recorded 18,855 new infections on 29 January. The active caseload further increased to 1,64,511. It constitutes 1.48 percent of the total infections, the data stated. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,07,75,169, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.10 percent. The case fatality rate stands at 1.42 percent. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. According to the Indian Council of Me

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Saturday said that a week-long home isolation will be mandatory for people coming to the state by plane or train from five high-risk states, modifying its previous order of imposing the precautionary measures to those arriving from 12 states. The five high-risk states are Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, PK Mohapatra said. In a partial modification to the instructions issued on Friday to district authorities and others, Mohapatra clarified that at present the measure may be limited to passengers coming from five high-risk states instead of 12 states named earlier. In its order on Friday, the state government had made seven-day home isolation mandatory also for the people coming from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal, Delhi, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to Odisha. Mohapatra said that the government may later include other states in the category of hi

Ghaziabad: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait will be touring five states in March to drum up support for the ongoing farmers' protest against Centre's new agriculture laws, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) office-bearer said on Saturday. Tikait, the national spokesperson of the BKU and a prominent face of the farmers' protest, will begin the tour from 1 March, the office-bearer said. "Farmers' meetings will be held in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, while two meetings will also be held in Uttar Pradesh in March," BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said. Two meetings will be held in Rajasthan and three in Madhya Pradesh. The last three meetings will be held on 20, 21 and 22 March in Karnataka, Malik said. "One event is scheduled on 6 March in Telangana, but we have not got permission for it yet due to some election in the state. If permission is granted, the meeting in Telangana will be held as per schedule," he told PTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will no longer use WhatsApp groups to share video conference links for court hearings, the apex court registry said on Saturday. In a circular, the registry said that instead of WhatsApp, the links for virtual court hearings in the apex court will be shared on registered email ids and registered mobile numbers of the concerned advocates-on-record and party-in-person. The step was taken in the wake of the newly notified Information Technology (Guidelines for intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021). It is notified for the information of the Advocates-on-Record /Party-in-Persons that the creation of groups in WhatsApp for sharing of VC links for the hearing of their matters is restricted/barred due to new guidelines or regulations issued by the Government of India pertaining to social media Apps and OTT platforms, it said. It said the VC links shall be shared "wef 1 March, 2021, through registered email ids as well

Bodoland People’s Front, a key National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner in Assam, severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday and announced that it will instead join hands with the Congress-lead Grand Alliance or Mahajath . The Kokrajhar-based BPF has 12 seats in the current Assembly and three ministers in the Sarbananda Sonowal-led government. BPF president Hagrama Mohilary shared the party's decision on Twitter: To work for Peace, Unity and Development the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has decided to join hands with MAHAJATH in the forthcoming Assam Assembly Election. We shall no longer maintain friendship or alliance with BJP. — Hagrama Mohilary (@HagramaOnline) February 27, 2021 Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi welcomed the move stating that he was grateful for BPF's renewed trust in Congress. In every corner of Assam, trust means Congress. The favourite party of the Bodos, the Bodoland People’s Front, agrees! We are grateful for the renewed trust Shri H

Private hospitals can charge up to Rs 250 per dose of COVID-19 vaccine, official sources said on Saturday as India prepares to vaccinate people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities from 1 March. The COVID-19 vaccine will be given free of cost at government hospitals, while people will need to pay for it at private facilities. A source in the Union Health ministry told PTI that the government may put a Rs 250 cap on the price of vaccine for phase 2 beneficiaries, Rs 150 being the cost of vaccine and Rs 100 being allowed as service charge "Rs 250 will be the ceiling -- Rs 150 cost of vaccine plus Rs 100 service charge. This arrangement will remain effective till further orders," a source said. According to sources, states and union territories have been informed about it. The Union Health Ministry on Friday had said beneficiaries would be able to self-register in advance by downloading the Co-WIN 2.0 portal and through other IT applications such as Aar

The Centre on Saturday advised states and UTsreporting an increase in coronavirus cases to enforce COVID-appropriate behaviour by dealing firmly with violations and ensure effective surveillance in case of potential super spreading events so as not to squander last year's gains. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired a high-level review meeting with chief secretaries of states and UTs of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir. These states and UTs have been reporting a high COVID-19 active caseload or an increasing trend in new cases in the last week. "They were advised not to lower their guard, enforce COVID appropriate behaviour and deal firmly with violations. It was strongly underlined that they need to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events," the Union Health Ministry said in a statement. The need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt

Tamil Nadu Teacher Recruitment Board (TN TRB) has announced 1,598 vacancies in addition to the backlog vacancies on its official website. The advertisement notification released on Friday, 26 February, at trb.tn.nic.in, is for the recruitment of TN TRB Special Teacher 2021. As per the schedule released , the application process for TN TRB Special Teacher recruitment 2021 will commence from 31 March onwards. The last date to submit an application form is 25 April (5 pm). Candidates must note that the TN TRB Special Teacher 2021 application form can only be submitted in an online mode. The written examination will be conducted on 27 August 2021. The duration of the TN TRB Special Teacher recruitment 2021 examination will be two hours 30 minutes. As per the exam pattern, the paper will have 95 questions carrying one mark each. TN TRB will recruit for the posts of Craft Instructor(sewing), Art Master, Music Teacher, Physical Education Teacher via written exam. TN TRB Special Teacher Re

Editor's Note: In this two-part series, Indiaspend explores the factors that inhibit women's participation in businesses. The first part looks at the biggest hurdle: access to finance. The second part will focus on the other issues that hold back women entrepreneurs — the absence of support networks, skewed social norms and restricted mobility — and collate suggestions from experts on how best to tackle these problems. By Shalini Singh New Delhi:  Software entrepreneur Niyati Chander, 30, ran into gender bias fairly early in her career. A Bengaluru-based management graduate, she had set up a software enterprise, an MSME, with eight employees in June 2020. "I wanted to be in control of where I'm going in life," she said. From investors and government officials to real estate agents and even friends and former colleagues, Chander found that she was not being taken seriously. "People assume you don't know what you want. When we were looking for office s

Slamming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for raising questions over eight-phase assembly elections, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh Saturday said it was required because of the "political violence unleashed by the ruling TMC", and asserted that his party will ensure a single-phase poll if voted to power. He also vowed to make the state free from violence and terror if the BJP comes to power. "The eight-phase poll in the state is to ensure a free and fair election. Political violence unleashed by the TMC is rampant in the state," Ghosh said during a 'chai pe charcha' (discussion over tea) session. The BJP MP said it will be a matter of pride if the polls are conducted in a single-phase. Banerjee on Friday questioned the decision of the Election Commission of India to conduct the assembly polls in Bengal in eight phases and suspected that the dates were announced as per the suggestions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah fo

Udhampur:  The Army's northern commander Lt Gen YK Joshi on Saturday said the agreement between India and Pakistan to strictly adhere to the ceasefire pact along the Line of Control (LoC) would have no bearing on the counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the northern command, which looks after the security of the twin union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, remained on the highest alert and made possible what was believed impossible by the bravery, grit and determination of its personnel in the face of challenging situations along the border. "Recently, the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan have announced an agreement to uphold ceasefire along the LoC from February 24 and 25 midnight. I want to assure you that this ceasefire will have no bearing on the counter-terrorist operations and we will maintain our alertness," Lt Gen Joshi said at the northern command investiture ceremony Udhampur. During the ce

Chennai:  The ruling AIADMK and BJP commenced the talks for sharing seats for the 6 April assembly election n the state. Both the parties are likely to arrive at a consensus soon. A delegation from the BJP which included Union Ministers Kishan Reddy, Gen VK Singh, BJP national general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu CT Ravi, state party chief L Murugan, held discussions with Chief Minister and AIADMK co-coordinator K Palaniswami and AIADMK coordinator and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, on Saturday. BJP state organising general secretary Kesava Vinayagan was also present during the talks. The parleys, according to a BJP senior, were cordial and the deal is likely to be clinched soon. "Our expectation is for 60 assembly constituencies, which we have identified as winnable seats. They (AIADMK) may have their plans. The numbers which will be agreeable to both the parties will be announced," BJP senior M Chakravarthy told PTI . The AIADMK will hold separate talks wi

By Rukmini S Chennai: One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, new evidence is casting doubts over India's pathway through and out of the pandemic, with epidemics of different contours now evident deep below national and state averages. Nowhere does this multi-speed epidemic seem more evident than in Maharashtra. From the beginning of the pandemic, Maharashtra has dominated the Indian curve on account of its sheer number of cases. Maharashtra's 'peak' and 'fall' in mid-September was closely mirrored by India's overall trajectory. What this could mean is that Maharashtra's new surge may dictate how things look in India again. Not just the plain numbers, the disease's progression could contain clues for how the pandemic may move through the rest of the country — the way the virus progresses in Maharashtra's rural districts, which were earlier relatively unaffected, and its big cities that were hit hard by the 'first wave'. Pradeep Awate,

Chandra Shekhar Azad died on 27 February, 1931 in Alfred Park, Allahabad after an associate betrayed him to the British. This year marks the 90th death anniversary of the Indian revolutionary. It is said that at Alfred Park, the freedom fighter managed to keep the police at bay, single-handedly with a small pistol and a few cartridges. However, left with a single bullet, he shot himself in the head, rather than being arrested and dragged to the gallows to be hanged. Born on 23 July, 1906 in Bhavra village, Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh, he went to Varanasi for higher studies and subsequently became fascinated and was drawn towards the national upsurge of the non-violent, non-cooperation movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Azad participated in the Kakori train robbery of 1925 along with Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan when he was just 19 years old. He was also involved in the assassination of Assistant Superintendent Saunders in 1928. When Chandra Shekhar was

The Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bengaluru has released the answer key for the Joint Admission Test For Masters (JAM 2021) on its official website — jam.iisc.ac.in . All those candidates who wrote the JAM 2021 examination can now access the answer key at the official site. The answer keys will be open to challenge from 1 to 3 March , 2021. Candidates will be required to pay a fee of Rs 500 per question. The objections, along with supporting documents and proof, are to be submitted through the JOAPS portal. Candidates must also provide a detailed answer to the question. The answer keys of JAM 2021 have been released for all the seven subjects — Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Geology and Mathematical Statistics. IISC Bengaluru, in an official statement, said, "The question number and answer mentioned in the challenge must be according to the question paper posted on this web page and not the one found on the candidate's response sheet."

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has released the answer keys and question papers of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE 2021). Students who have appeared in the exam can download the provisional answer key from the official site — gate.iitb.ac.in. IIT Bombay will allow candidates to raise objections against the answer keys from 2 to 4 March, however, they will be required to submit a detailed description and proof in support of their claim. Students can raise an objection by paying a fee of Rs 500 per question . The committee will release the final GATE 2021 answer keys after evaluating the raised objections by 18 March. IIT Bombay will release the GATE 2021 result on 22 March on the official website. Candidates can access the result using GATE registration ID/email address/enrolment ID and password. Here’s the direct link to raise objections: appsgate.iitb.ac.in The GATE 2021 was be conducted on 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14 February in two shifts — from 9.30 am to

Pune: The written examinations of HSC (Class 12) and SSC (Class 10) conducted by the Maharashtra education board will be held between 23 April and 21 May this year, an official said on Saturday. While the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam will be conducted between 23 April and 21 May, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam will be held between 29 April and 20 May, Ashok Bhosale, secretary of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) said. These board exams are usually held in February and March, but this year their schedule has been changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We had announced the proposed dates of the examinations on 16 February and invited suggestions from the stakeholders. After due consultation with them, we have fixed this final schedule of the exams," Bhosale said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3sBQ1CT Press Trust of India

New Delhi:  A charred body was recovered after a fire broke out at a factory in North Delhi's Pratap Nagar area in the early hours of Saturday, a Delhi Fire Service official said. One of the firemen suffered minor injury on his finger during the fire-fighting operation but was given first aid at the spot, the official said. A call about the blaze was received at around 3.47 am and 18 fire tenders were pressed into service, he said. Later, 10 more fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the flames were doused while the cooling process is under way, he added. The fire broke out on the first floor of the factory and spread to the second floor. Plastic and nail polish materials stored in the factory caught fire and a charred body was recovered from the first floor, said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service. The cause of the blaze is being ascertained, he said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3bHt764 Press Trust of India

The Reserve bank of India (RBI) Grade B Officer Admit Card 2021 is out. The hall tickets are released for the recruitment examination of the officers in grade 'B' General, Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR) and Department of Statistics and Information Management (DSIM). The candidates can download the admit card through the official website rbi.org.in . Reserve bank of India has scheduled the recruitment examination from 6 March . The online examination for the post of grade B (general) will be conducted from 6 March to 1 April. For the posts of grade B (DEPR), (DSIM), the examination is set to be held on 31 March. All candidates must carry a ball-point pen to the examination centre. Candidates will be given a sheet for rough work. The sheet can also be used to write the question number that candidates would want to review at last before submitting the answers. As soon as the test is over, candidates will be required to drop the rough paper, admit card and a

Pune: The written examinations of HSC (Class 12) and SSC (Class 10) conducted by the Maharashtra education board will be held between 23 April and 21 May this year, an official said on Saturday. While the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam will be conducted between 23 April and 21 May, the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam will be held between 29 April and 20 May, Ashok Bhosale, secretary of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) said. These board exams are usually held in February and March, but this year their schedule has been changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We had announced the proposed dates of the examinations on 16 February and invited suggestions from the stakeholders. After due consultation with them, we have fixed this final schedule of the exams," Bhosale said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2MtlebO Press Trust of India

Guru Ravidas Jayanti will be celebrated today, 27 February, in several parts of India, especially in the northern region, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. The year 2021 marks the 644th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas, a saint who contributed immensely to the Bhakti movement. Guru Ravidas founded the Ravidassia sect and the followers celebrate his birth anniversary with pomp and gaiety. Born in the 14th century in Uttar Pradesh's Seer Goverdhanpur, Guru Ravidas was a venerated figure among his followers. He was credited with showing the path of equality by vehemently opposing the caste system. His birthplace is now a major place of pilgrimage for his followers today. Guru Ravidas was also among the very first people to fight for universal human rights . His poems often reflected his anti-caste views. Devotional verses written by Guru Ravidas were included in Sikh scriptures. Nearly 40 poems authored by Guru Ravidas became part of Adi Granth, the ho

New Delhi: India registered a single-day spike of over 16,000 COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row on Saturday, pushing the infection tally to 1,10,79,979, said the Union health ministry on Saturday. A total of 16,488 novel coronavirus cases were reported in a day, while the toll increased to 1,56,938 with 113 new fatalities, showed the data updated at 8 am on Saturday. The active case count has further increased to 1,59,590, which comprises 1.44 percent of the total infections, the data stated. The number of recoveries reached 1,07,63,451, taking the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 97.14 percent and the case fatality rate stands at 1.42 percent. A total of 16,577 new COVID-19 cases were reported in India on Friday, while 16,738 fresh infections were registered in the country on Thursday. 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 50 lakh on 16 September. It went past 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 l

New Delhi: Everyone on election duty for the upcoming polls for five Assemblies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 before polling day, the Election Commission said on Friday. Voting will take place for 126 seats in Assam, 234 in Tamil Nadu, 294 in West Bengal, 140 in Kerala and 30 in Puducherry. Nearly 18.68 crore electors will be eligible to vote at 2.7 lakh polling stations for 824 seats in five Assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said at a press conference in Delhi. Arrangements will be put in place for candidates to file their nominations online for the five Assembly polls. Voting will be allowed for an additional hour, keeping in mind COVID-19 safety guidelines, he said. Also, webcasting arrangements will be in place at polling stations in critical and vulnerable areas, while adequate Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployment will be ensured for the assembly polls, Arora said. All critical and vulnerable areas have been identified and advance team

Mumbai: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the suspension of international commercial passenger flight services till 31 March. Scheduled international flight operations were suspended from 23 March last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. "In partial modification of circular dated 26 June, 2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 23.59 pm IST of 31 March, 2021," the DGCA said in a circular. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on select routes by the competent authority on case-to-case basis, it said. The restriction will not apply to cargo flights and flights specifically approved by DGCA, the circular added. Amid the suspension, special international flights have been allowed under the Vande Bharat Mission since May last year and under bilateral "air bubble" arra

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will receive the CERAWeek global energy and environment leadership award during an annual international energy conference next week. The prime minister will also deliver the keynote address at the CERAWeek Conference-2021, which will be held virtually from 1 to 5 March, its organiser, IHS Markit, said on Friday. Prominent speakers at the conference include US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and founder of Breakthrough Energy Bill Gates and president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser. "We look forward to Prime Minister Modi's perspectives on the role of the world's largest democracy and are pleased to honour him with the CERAWeek Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award for his commitment to expanding India's leadership in sustainable development to meet the country's, and the world's, future energy needs," IHS Markit vice chairman and th

New Delhi: India's coast guard has found a boat adrift in the Andaman Sea carrying scores of Rohingya refugees, including eight who had died, officials said Thursday. The boat left Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh on 11 February with 90 people, including 23 children, on board and its engine failed on 15 February, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said. He said the coast guard found 81 people alive on the boat and provided them with food, water and medical care. One refugee was missing, he said. Two Indian coast guard ships were sent to help the refugees, and the Indian government is in discussions with Bangladesh to ensure their safe return, Srivastava said. He said 47 of the passengers possessed identity cards from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees issued in Bangladesh stating they are displaced Myanmar nationals. More than 1 million Rohingya who fled an army crackdown in Myanmar are living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Human traffickers