News Planet

There are reports of a fresh physical brawl having taken place between Indian and Chinese troops at Naku La in North Sikkim last week, news agency ANI reported. It's clarified that there was a minor face-off between Indian Army & Chinese PLA troops at Naku La, Sikkim on 20th January. It was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols: Indian Army https://t.co/nFLWUNb2kx — ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2021 Reports said the clash took place three days ago last week when the troops of the People’s Liberation Army attempted to intrude inside Indian territory. Around 20 Chinese soldiers were reportedly injured in the clash that ensued last week after the Indian troops stopped a PLA patrol team from entering the Indian territory at Naku La in Sikkim. Few Indian Army soldiers were also injured in the clash The Army on Monday, however, said it was “a minor face-off” that took place at Naku La on January 20, which was “resolved by local commanders as per established pro...

India took only 6 days to administer one million COVID-19 vaccine doses, a count which is higher than that of countries like the US and the UK, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. In just six days, 12.7 lakh people are vaccinated. The UK took 18 days whereas the US took 10 days to reach the one million mark, the ministry said. As on January 24, till 07:30 PM, nearly 16,13,667 beneficiaries have received Covid-19 vaccination.A  total of 27,920 sessions have been conducted so far, the ministry said. India is also sending COVID-19 vaccines to other nations as part of the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative. So far, 92 countries have approached India for COVID-19 vaccines, including Brazil, which accounts for the third-highest coronavirus caseload across the globe and the second-largest death toll. In the last few days, India has sent consignments of indigenously developed coronavirus vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Mauritius and Seyc...

 The number of people who have tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 in India has risen to 150, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. 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 quarantine and comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others.   Genome sequencing on other specimen is going on, the ministry said, adding the situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of sample to INSACOG labs, the ministry said. The presence of new UK   variant of Covid-19 has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore. On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new variant of coronaviru...

 According to researchers, the new coronavirus strain in South Africa may be of greater concern to healthcare professionals and the general public. It can escape the immune system and evade antibody responses produced by the vaccines to infect host cells & may be able to reinfect more than half the people who have already been sick with the Covid-19. According to the yet-to-be peer reviewed study, published in the preprint platformbioRxiv , the novel lineage of the coronavirus — 501Y.V2 — has mutations in nine parts of its spike protein, which enables it to infect human cells. Mutations on a specific part of the virus' outer spike protein appear to make it able to "escape" antibodies & this may lead to cases of reinfection., researchers said. The researchers, including those from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, examined the neutralisation activity of plasma from patients who recovered from prior infection with other strains of the coronavirus ...

 The eleventh round of talks between the Centre and farmer union leaders ended without any conclusion on January 22, a day after protesting farmers rejected the government's proposal to suspend the implementation of farm laws for 18 months. The farmer unions Friday told the government they want a complete repeal of the laws while the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the Acts on hold for 12-18 months. “We told the government that we will not agree to anything other than the repeal of the laws. But the minister asked us to discuss separately again and rethink on the matter and convey the decision” ,farmer leader Darshan Pal told PTI during a break after the first session of their meet. Surjeet Singh Phul, State President of BKU Krantikari (Punjab) said that no date for the next meeting has been fixed by the government. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has told farmer unions that government is ready for another meeting if farmers are willing to discu...

 The Union Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare announced on Thursday that a total of 145 persons have been detected positive with the new strain of Covid-19. The total number of persons found positive with UK strain of #COVID19 is 145: Ministry of Health — ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2021 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 quarantine and comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimen is going on, the ministry said, adding the situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of sample to INSACOG labs, the ministry said. The presence of new UK   variant of Covid-19 has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Ger...

 A major fire broke out at the Pune-based vaccine manufacturing company, Serum Institute of India on Thursday afternoon between 2.30 pm and 3 pm. A total of 10 fire tenders were rushed to the site to douse the fire. The site where the fire broke out, is an under-construction building at Serum Institute of India. The company is involved in producing Covid-19 vaccine Covishield – developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca – which has been given emergency use authorisation in India recently and is being used for inoculation in the country's mega vaccination drive. At least five persons died and four others were evacuated. "The five people who died, were perhaps the workers at the under-construction building. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained but it is being speculated that welding, that was going on at the building, caused the fire" ,said Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol. The five people who died, were perhaps the workers at the under-construction building. The ...

  The tenth round of meeting held on Wednesday between representatives of protesting farmers and the Central government also failed to resolve the deadlock against the three farm laws. The next meeting will be held on January 22. “Govt has said it is ready to suspend the laws for one and half a year. In reply, farmers said that there is no point in suspending the laws and made it clear that we want the repeal of the laws”, a  farmer leader was quoted as saying by ANI after the meeting.   Govt has said it is ready to suspend the laws for one and half a year. In reply, farmers said that there is no point in suspending the laws and made it clear that we want the repeal of the laws: Farmer leader after tenth round of talks https://t.co/vYqeRuk2LV pic.twitter.com/K1tQN4TeHq — ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2021 Govt said that it is ready to file an affidavit in the court to the effect that it would put the implementation of the laws on hold for one & half a year,said Hannan Mo...

On January 12,the top court set up a four-member panel to find solution to end the deadlock between the Centre and farmers' unions over the three laws. But,all four names suggested for the panel were opposed by farmers' unions - and even opposition parties like the Congress -who said the members had expressed views that favoured the farm laws and were pro-government. The farmer unions have also declined to appear before this committee. The Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, on Tuesday responding to the criticism of the court-appointed committee  said that one person may have an opinion before being a part of the committee but his opinion can change. “If a person on a panel has expressed views on the matter, it should not become ground for disqualification from a committee”. The observations assume significance after Bhupinder Singh Mann, the national president of Bharatiya Kisan Union, last week recused himself from the court-appointed four-member committee formed to hear gri...

The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the recent changes in the privacy policy of the messaging app, saying the Facebook-owned messaging platform’s proposed changes “make invasive and precise inferences about users”. Government of India, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has written to Will Cathcart, Global CEO of WhatsApp. In its letter, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has said the terms & conditions and the proposed privacy policy are an ‘all-or-nothing’ approach of WhatsApp that forces users to accept the new terms & conditions and privacy policies, without giving an option to the users to opt-out of this proposed change of integrating user data with other Facebook companies.  The ministry has also sought detailed answers to a set of 14 questions. The ministry has also asked a detailed information about its data sharing protocols and business practices. The government has asked the company to provide deta...

The birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, on January 23 will be marked as "Parakram Diwas (Courage Day)", the central government announced today. Government of India has decided to celebrate the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, on 23rd January, as 'Parakram Diwas' every year: Ministry of Culture pic.twitter.com/Cg0P8gjyFt — ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2021 "The people of India fondly remember Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's unparalleled contribution to this great nation in his 125th birth anniversary. The Government of India has decided to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary year of Netaji beginning from January 2021 in a befitting manner at the national and international level", the Ministry said. “Starting from January 2021, every year the occasion will be celebrated to inspire people, especially youth of this country to act with fortitude in the face of adversity as Netaji did, and to infuse in them a spirit of patriotic fervour”, ...

  According to a senior official at Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), North India will continue to reel under the grip of an intense cold wave for few more days even as the dense fog will lift by Tuesday. Intense cold wave conditions are expected to continue in north India till January 22, with temperatures dropping during the night hours, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday. Earlier, IMD had issued a warning regarding cold wave from 13-15 January, and then extended it till January 18. However the senior official said that the dense fog spread across northern states such as Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand will begin lifting from Tuesday. Also, this will lead to hotter days and colder nights. According to IMD, the national capital will see a rise in the minimum temperature in the days to come due to a change in the wind direction. "Easterly winds are blowing in Delhi that is not as cold as northwesterly winds coming in fro...

The mega vaccination drive against Covid-19 began across the country on (January 16) Saturday, inoculations were done at 3,351 sites and around 1,91,181 health workers received COVID-19 vaccine shot on the first day.   Around 447 people across India experienced Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) after being vaccinated on January 16 and 17, said the Union Health Ministry. Most of the AEFI reported so far are minor like fever, headache, nausea. An Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) is any unexpected medical occurrence which follows immunization which may not be related to vaccine or vaccination process. Delhi The vaccination drive was carried at 81 session sites across the national capital Delhi. At least 4,319 healthcare workers received COVID-19 shot against the target of 8,117. A total of 52 cases - 51 minor and one severe, of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) were reported on the first day of Covid-19 vaccination in the national capital on Sat...

  Confederation Of All India Traders (CAIT) on Saturday has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against WhatsApp's new privacy rules. The body issued a statement claiming that the new WhatsApp privacy policy encroaches upon various fundamental rights of the citizens. The petition files through advocate Vivek Narayana says the PIL was necessitated due to the failure of the Centre in carrying out its constitutional duty and responsibility to protect the right to privacy and freedom of speech and expression of the citizens of India. The petition states, "WhatsApp, which is rendering essential public services by enabling citizens to communicate, has recently imposed unconstitutional privacy conditions which are not only violative of the law but can impact the national security of the country". CAIT has also prayed that Union of India must frame guidelines to govern big technology companies like WhatsApp and frame policies which could protect the privacy of citizens and busi...

  At least 29 elderly people have died in Norway following their immunization with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, the country has launched a detailed investigation into the reported fatalities that has shocked the world. Norway has given at least one dose to about 42,000 people, focusing on those considered to be at risk if they come in contact with virus, including the elderly. Earlier on Friday Doctors have said the adverse reactions were seen among people aged over 80 years who already have frail body, but the latest figures adds six to the number of known fatalities and lowers the age group. Earlier the age groups thought to be in the danger zone was above 80, but the fresh six deaths on Saturday further lowered it to 75. Norway, however has not said that younger, healthier people should avoid being vaccinated. Although a direct connection between the Pfizer vaccine and these deaths is yet to be established, the agency has investigated 13 of the deaths so fa...

 In  a recent study, it has been discovered that there exists a hot and rocky exoplanet known as super-Earth. This planet in the Milky Way galaxy and is believed to be orbiting around one of the oldest stars in the galaxy. Earlier this week, a team of researchers announced the discovery of TOI-561b, a rocky exoplanet that's been deemed a 'super-Earth'. It's located about 280 light-years away. The exoplanet gets its title as it is suspected to be around three times the mass of Earth and is about 50 per cent larger than Earth but have density similar to Earth. It only takes less than half an Earth day to complete one orbit around its host star. "For every day you're on Earth, this planet orbits its star twice", said Stephen Kane, study co-author and astrophysicist at the University of California, Riverside, in a statement, according to the report published in CNN . Astronomers, however, were surprised to discover that despite the planet's mass, its densi...

 A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has challenged WhatsApp new privacy policy in Delhi High Court, as being violative of the citizen's Right to Privacy and threatening the National Security Of India. Right to Privacy has been declared a fundamental right by the Supreme Court. The petition, moved by advocate Chaitanya Rohilla, states that the policy gives a 360-degree profile view into a person's online activity. "This level of insight into person's private and personal activities is done without any government oversight at present or regulatory supervision. Moreover, in the absence of a data protection authority, it leaves the users with a company's own assurances and privacy policies", the plea states. The petition also states that platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook have already been sharing the user's data with the third-party in unauthorized manner. It also says that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp has been rolled out without seeking permissio...

 The Union Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare announced on Saturday that a total of 116 persons have been detected positive with the new strain of Covid-19. The total number of persons found positive with the UK strain of COVID-19 is 116: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare — ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2021 Till January 15 , the number of people affected by this strain of coronavirus was 114. 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 quarantine and comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimen is going on, the ministry said, adding the situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of sample to INSACOG labs, the ministry said. The presence of new UK  variant of Covid-19 has ...

 The Union Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare announced on Friday that a total of 114 persons have been detected positive with the new strain of Covid-19. Till January 14 , the number of people affected by this strain of coronavirus was 109. 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 quarantine and comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimen is going on, the ministry said, adding the situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of sample to INSACOG labs, the ministry said. The presence of new UK  variant of Covid-19 has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore. After...

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India's vaccination drive against the coronavirus via video conferencing. Over 3 lakh healthcare workers to be inoculated on the first day of the much-anticipated drive against coronavirus which the Centre said is "probably the beginning of the end" of COVID-19. The vaccination drive has been planned in a phased manner, identifying priority groups. Healthcare workers, both in government and private sectors, including Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) workers, will receive the vaccine in the first phase. The first phase of India's coronavirus vaccination drive started at 11 am across several cities in India. A total of 3,006 session sites across all states and UTs were virtually connected during the launch at 10:30 am by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and around 100 beneficiaries were vaccinated at each session site. India begins the world’s #LargestVaccineDrive . This is a day of pride, a celebration of the p...

 The ninth round of talks between protesting farmers unions and three central ministers again failed to break the deadlock as the two sides could not reach common ground on the issues of repeal of the laws and the MSP Act. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister Of State for Commerce Som Prakash, who is an MP from Punjab, held the talks with representatives of around 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan. Protesting farmer unions stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of three farm laws, while the government asked them to be more flexible in their approach and expressed willingness for necessary amendments, Centre also said that it wanted to discuss the laws point-by point. next round of talks will take place on January 19. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday led the party's protest in the national capital in support of the agitating farmers and said his party will not relent till the new farm laws are ...

 India is celebrating the 73rd Army Day today. Army Day is observed on January 15 to mark the first Indian general taking over the command of the Indian Army from a British officer in 1949.The day is celebrated each year at all Army Command headquarters in order to honor the soldiers of our country who have set the greatest example of selfless service and brotherhood. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted soldiers on Army Day lauded the Indian Army Day and lauded the Indian Army, it is strong, brave and resolute. मां भारती की रक्षा में पल-पल मुस्तैद देश के पराक्रमी सैनिकों और उनके परिजनों को सेना दिवस की हार्दिक बधाई। हमारी सेना सशक्त, साहसी और संकल्पबद्ध है, जिसने हमेशा देश का सिर गर्व से ऊंचा किया है। समस्त देशवासियों की ओर से भारतीय सेना को मेरा नमन। — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2021 President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President of India also greeted Indian Army personnel and said India will remain forever grateful to courageous soldiers, veterans and the...

 The biggest Electric Vehicle company in the world, tesla Motor has finally set its foot in the Indian market. As per the details available on the Registrar Of Companies website, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited has been incorporated and the registered address is in Lavelle Road, Bengaluru. Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed his plans for establishing Tesla centres in five states across the country. He did so in a two-word tweet put out by him on Wednesday. "As promised", Musk wrote on twitter. The world's richest man was replying to a tweet linking to a blog post on the Tesla fan site Tesmanian which noted that Tesla cars will be expensive for Indians but the cars will become more affordable for the country's middle class when the company starts production within the country. As promised — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 13, 2021 This is the first statement about Tesla's plans for India that Musk has made since the company registered its office in Bengalur...

 Indian Messaging App 'Hike Sticker Chat' is officially shutting down from today. Hike Sticker Chat was first messaging app that introduced calling and video calling feature, well before WhatsApp. A really innovative and cool app but company could never really stamp its authority in Indian Markets. Founder Kevin Bharti Mittal said India will never have their own messaging app as International competition is just too strong. The company will instead focus on two of its apps, Vibe by hike, which was previously referred to as HikeLand and Rush by hike. Rush is the company's new gaming service that was announced earlier this month. Whereas, Vibe will be an approval-only community. This means that a user will have to apply first in order to join a Vibe community. "All your data will be available to download in the app. Your HikeMoji will continue  to be available in both Vibe and Rush!" Mittal tweeted. 12/ Today we're announcing that we will be sunsetting StickerCh...