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In a move to raise the revenues India's government has shortlisted four mid-sized state-run banks for privatization, under a new push to sell state assets, news agency Reuters quoting government sources said. Privatization of the banking sector, which is dominated by state-run behemoths with hundreds of thousands of employees, is politically risky because it could put jobs at risk but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration aims to make a start with second-tier banks. The four banks on the shortlist are Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and the Central Bank of India, two officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity as the matter is not yet public,Reuters reported. Sources said that the selection for privatization of 2 of these banks will be started in the financial year 2021-2022, which starts from April. Officials said that the government is considering mid-level banks in the first round for privatization. But, in the coming years, the go...

A 'black day' in the history of India-India on Sunday observed the second anniversary of the deadly Pulwama attack that had claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bravehearts on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in Jammu and Kashmir. It happened after a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden vehicle into the security convoy. The convoy had 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar. The attack, which was reported near Awantipora at nearly 3:15 pm resulted in the death of 40 CRPF jawans, while many others were left injured.The attack was carried out by a 22-year-old Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Adil Ahmad Dar. Immediately after the deadly attack on that fateful day that pushed India and Pakistan to the brink of war, the CRPF decided to completely overhaul its SOP (standard operating procedure) for moving convoys on the highways. Instead of moving in large convoys, like the one on February 14, 2019 with 78 vehicles, it was d...

Coronavirus has caused havoc worldwide and more than 100 million people have been infected so far, while more than 2.3 million people have died due to the epidemic. Meanwhile, there are frequent new revelations about the virus. Now the British mathematician has revealed that this deadly virus, which sickens such a large population, itself is so small that you can fit all the COVID-19 viruses in the world into a can of Coca-Cola. All viruses can come in a coke can Kit Yates, a British Mathematician at Bath University, has said that all the coronavirus particle in the world could fit in a soda can. Kit Yates has reported that there are about two quintillion or two billion corona virus particles worldwide. Detailing about the calculation Yates said he used the diameter of the SARS-CoV-2.According to him, the corona virus is so small in itself that it can only measures 100 nanometers, or 100 billionths of a meter. Assuming this he figured out the volume of the spherical virus. And ...

The ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and MapmyIndia, announced an initiative to partner together to offer a fully indigenous, mapping portal and geospatial services. The development is in line with the Central government's June 2020 move to open up the space sector to private firms. The indigenously-developed mapping portal will serve as a rival to Google Maps, which is used by over a billion people across the world every month. Giving further details, MapmyIndia CEO and Executive Director, Rohan Verma said that both the organisations would come with an India made mapping portal and geospatial services on Friday. He also stated that the collaboration will boost Aatmanirbhar Bharat, which will mean that users in India in future can rely on a country made solution and not a service designed outside India. The company claims that it ensures that the maps reflect the true sovereignty of the country, depicting India’s borders as per Government of India. MapmyIndia’s map...

 Intensifying their agitation against the three new agricultural laws farmers on Wednesday announced a four-hour nationwide 'rail roko' (rail blockade) from 12-4 pm on February 18. The announcement comes hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Lok Sabha in which he appealed to the protesting farmers to come to the table to resume talks. After a meeting of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha in which all farmers leaders participated at the Singhu border, the president of Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab Dr Darshan Pal said four decisions have been taken tointensify the movement. "It has been decided that on February 18, Rail Roko programmes will be held for four hours across the country from 12 to 4 PM. And from February 12, all road toll plazas in Rajasthan will be made toll-free on the pattern of Punjab and Haryana." "It has also been decided that on February 14, candle march and mashaal (torch) march will be organised across the country in memory of...

 The world’s biggest inoculation drive began in India on January 16 with two indigenously-manufactured Covid-19 vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin. Even with exporting to needy nations and neighbouring regions, India managed to registered more than 1 million vaccinations within the first six days of the mega drive, becoming the fastest country to do so. Nearly 6 million (60,35,660) beneficiaries have received COVID-19 vaccine shots in merely 24 days, the Union Health Ministry said. Out of which 54,12,270 are health care workers and 6,23,390 are frontline workers (started on February 2,2021). #IndiaFightsCorona : 📍 Highlights: ☑️ As on 8th February, 2021 at 06:00 PM ➡️ Total vaccination: 60,35,660 ➡️ HCWs vaccinated: 54,12,270 ➡️ FLWs vaccinated: 6,23,390 (Started on 2nd February, 2021) : @MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/FLmpV1p1lp — #IndiaFightsCorona (@COVIDNewsByMIB) February 8, 2021 India became the fastest country in the world to reach the 6 million COVID-19 vaccination...

 A 26-year-old Navy official who had been abducted in Chennai on January 30 was set on fire by unidentified persons in Palghar, Maharashtra. According to Palghar Police, the Navy official has been identified as Suraj Kumar Dubey (27), a resident of Ranchi, Jharkhand, who served at INS Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. He was kidnapped from near the Chennai airport and taken to the jungles of Vevaji in Palghar. The official was abducted near the Chennai airport, and a ransom of Rs 10 lakh was demanded. The Navy official has been identified as Suraj Kumar Dubey (27), a resident of Ranchi in Jharkhand. A case has been registered against three unidentified persons and a probe has been initiated: Palghar SP Dattatray Shinde — ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2021 As their demand remained unfulfilled, they set him ablaze said Palghar SP Dattatray Shinde. Suraj Kumar Dubey, who hailed from Ranchi , was posted at INS Agrani near Coimbatore, said Palghar district police spokesperson Sachin Navadkar....

Farmer unions Monday announced a countrywide 'chakka jam' on February 6 when they would block national and state highways for three hours between 12 pm and 3 pm in protest against the Internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities,and to push for their demands on the repeal of three farm laws passed by Centre in September. This is the first major event being organised by the protesting farmers after the tractor rally on Republic Day turned violent. "There'll be a three-hour-long 'chakka jaam' on 6th Feb. It won't take place in Delhi but everywhere outside Delhi. The people that will be stuck in it will be given food and water. We will tell them what is the government doing with us",Rakesh Tikait said. There will be no road blockade in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand tomorrow; roads will be blocked in rest parts of the country excluding Delhi. The reason is that they can be called to Delhi any t...

 The Delhi Police has filed an FIR against Greta Thunberg and is finalizng charges against the Swedish climate activists who had tweeted in the favour of farmers protests in India. According to media reports, the Delhi Police has registered a case against Thunberg under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including Section 153A(promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy). The Delhi Police is likely to hold a press conference shortly over the matter. Greta has been accused of creating disharmony and for being a part of a larger conspiracy. The agenda was exposed after she accidentally shared the propaganda tool kit which included campaign strategy for holding protests across the world over India’s farm laws. Thunberg and pop star Rihanna are among several people from the international community who have come out in support of the farmers' protest against the Centre's new agriculture laws. Gret...

The Delhi Police has fixed nails on the ground near barricades at Ghazipur (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) & Tikri border, where farmers are protesting against three farm laws. Delhi: Latest visuals from Ghazipur border where farmers are protesting against #FarmLaws . Delhi Police fixed nails on the ground near barricades at Ghazipur, yesterday pic.twitter.com/UL1tx6aX5n — ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2021 Delhi: Latest visuals from Tikri border where farmers are protesting against #Farmlaws . Security deployment continues in the area. pic.twitter.com/eZ3IC9qraI — ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2021 Multi-layered barricading, iron nails on road, barbed wires, iron rods between cemented barriers and deployment of DTC buses and extra personnel on ground, the tremendous Security deployment cover at near the farmers' protest locations have now become sites of unusual attraction. The strengthened security measures at the agitation sites across the borders come after the violence during the Republic d...

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the Union Budget for 2021-22 in Parliament. Being the first budget of a new decade and also the one during the pandemic, the budget was focussed on boosting, encouraging India towards being Aatmanirbhar (Self-Reliant). The two main key segments where the government focussed its spending were infrastructure and health. This is the first paperless budget in the history of independent India. Finance Minister said this year's budget was based on 6 pillars to ensure the overall development of the country. - Health and well-being - Physical and financial capital and infrastructure - Inclusive development for aspirational India - Reinvigorating human capital - Innovation and R&D - Minimum government and maximum governance In significant changes to the taxation process, Sitharaman announced the scrapping of income tax for senior citizens under certain conditions, new rules for removal of double taxation for NRIs, a...

 On the eve of Union Budget 2021, the GST revenue collected for the month of January 2021 has touched nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore. The tax collection is higher than the December 2020 record, which witnessed an unexpected rise of 11.6 per cent. This is the highest GST revenue the government has collected since the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax regime. "The GST revenues during January 2021 are the highest since introduction of GST and has almost touched the Rs.  1.20 lakh crore mark, exceeding the last month's record collection of Rs. 1.15 lakh crore," the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday ✅GST Revenue collection for January 2021 almost touches ₹1.20 lakh crore ✅Revenues for month of January 2021 are 8% higher than GST revenues in same month last year ✅GST revenues during January 2021 are the highest since introduction of GST Read more➡️ https://t.co/kKpPlK0i4X pic.twitter.com/TG0hQW9oGp — Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) January 31, 2021 The con...

Serum Institute of India Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said his company is hopeful of launching Covovax, a vaccine towards the coronavirus illness (Covid-19) which has been developed in partnership with Novavax, by June 2021. Our partnership for a COVID-19 vaccine with @Novavax has also published excellent efficacy results. We have also applied to start trials in India. Hope to launch #COVOVAX by June 2021! — Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) January 30, 2021 Earlier this week, the Serum Institute sought the Drugs Controller General of India’s approval to conduct a small domestic trial of the Covovax. The vaccine has been found to be 89.3% effective in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom. Novavax on Thursday released initial results from the trial, which enrolled 15,000 people aged 18 to 84, in the United Kingdom and said that it showed the vaccine to be 89.3% effective in preventing Covid-19. It also said that the vaccine was nearly as effective in p...

The number of people who have tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 in India has risen to 165, the Union Health Ministry said. The government has also extended the restrictions on flight between India and UK till February 14. Of the total 165 cases, the mutated UK strain was detected in the samples of 42 people at National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in New Delhi and 51 in the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in Delhi, five in the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, 44 in the National Institute of Virology in Pune, eight in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, 14 in National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Hospital (NIMHANS) Bengaluru and one in the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani (near Kolkata). All these people were kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put in qu...

 A minor blast took place on Friday evening near the Israeli Embassy in Delhi. The nature of the explosion is being ascertained. As per initial inputs, the police had received a call that a blast had occurred on Aurangzeb Road. A low-intensity explosion happened near the Israel Embassy in Delhi, nature of explosion being ascertained. Some broken glasses at spot. No injuries reported; further investigation underway pic.twitter.com/xqIllrCZOQ — ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2021 The Delhi Police said no injuries have been reported so far. It said the "very low-intensity blast" occurred at 5.05 pm. Fire brigade, SWAT and forensic teams rushed to the spot soon after the incident that took place. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Delhi Police Special Cell have also reached the blast spot to investigate the matter. Delhi: Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team has reached the low-intensity explosion site near Jindal House. pic.twitter.com/nbUKtOV4Uc — ANI (@ANI) Jan...

India’s recently-enacted agri laws have the potential to increase farmers’ income, but there is a need to provide a social safety net to the vulnerable cultivators, IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has said. Indian agriculture is in need of reforms, she said. There are multiple areas where the reforms are needed, including infrastructure, the Chief Economist of the Washington-based global financial institution said on Tuesday. The three farm laws were introduced in September last year, have been projected by the Indian government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country. Replying to a question on the new laws, Gopinath said, "These particular farm laws were in the area of marketing. It was widening the market for farmers. Being able to sell to multiple outlets besides the Mandis without having to pay tax. And this had the potential to raise, in our view, farmers' incomes...

After unprecedented scenes of chaos and violence in Delhi during the tractor march by farmers on Republic Day, security was tightened around Red Fort, borders in Tikri and Singhu on January 27. Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava Wednesday said the farmer leaders were also involved in the violence that broke out during the tractor rally on Republic Day, adding that they will be questioned. He also said at least 19 persons have been arrested and 50 detained on charges of rioting. The police have also filed 22 FIRs so far that mention the names of at least 10 farm leaders, including Yogendra Yadav and Rakesh Tikait. #WATCH live: Delhi Police addresses the media regarding the violence during farmers' tractor rally yesterday. https://t.co/vzt5Umpt4q — ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2021 We have the video footage of those who indulged in the violence & we are analyzing them. They are being identified with the help of the face recognition system. They will be arrested and legal act...

 The tractor rally which was supposed to be taken out in Delhi in a peaceful manner on the occasion of 72nd Republic Day turned violent as the protesting farmers deviated from the planned routes and clashed with the police personnel in a bid to move towards central Delhi. The farmer protests in New Delhi took a violent turn quickly as the protesters broke the police barricades. Protesting farmers clashed with police at several places in the national capital and entered the iconic Red Fort and ITO in the heart of city. As hundreds of farmers deviated from pre-decided routes, the Delhi Police was forced to resort to lathi-charge and use tear gas against the mob. Farmers protesting against the three laws took out their tractor rallies from three border points, Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur, which have been the epicentre of these protests since November 26 last year. The farmers didn’t adhere to the regulations of the parade which had been introduced earlier in order to ensure that th...

 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday announced to impart free coaching and guidance to the students preparing for competitive exams, such as NEET, IITJEE, NDA, CDS, UPSC examinations. The announcement came during his address on the 71st Uttar Pradesh Sthapna Diwas on Sunday. 'Abhyudaya', the ambitious state-wide, free coaching facility programme will kick-start from next month to help students prepare for various competitive examinations. "From the day of Basant Panchami, 'Abhyudaya', the free coaching facility for students of the state appearing in various competitive examinations will commence,” said the chief minister. In the first phase, free NEET, IIT JEE, NDA, CDS, UPSC exams coaching will be launched in 18 divisional headquarters of the state, where coaching will be imparted physically and virtually. Officials will also devote their time and experts will also be posted in these centres. The chief minister said the educational infra...