THE HEADLINES,
Both houses of Parliament to resume discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address.
Delhi Police files FIR against people who created India maligning toolkit, shared by Greta Thunberg on Twitter.
Reserve Bank of India to announce its bi-monthly monetary policy today.
UN Security Council calls for release of Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained by the military.
Asia's biggest show Aero India to conclude in Bengaluru today.
In Cricket, India to take on England in the first test at Chennai today.
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As the nation fights the COVID-19 pandemic, we begin with a message of precaution to stay safe and protected by following these three simple steps --
Wear a face mask.
Maintain Do Gaz Ki Doori for social distancing.
Focus on hand and face hygiene.
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Both the houses of Parliament will today resume discussion on Motion of Thanks on President's address to the Joint Sitting. Besides, Reports of the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Socal Justice and Empowerment will also be tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha will also resume discussion on Motion of Thanks on President's address. Besides, private members' legislative business has also been listed in the proceedings of the house.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha witnessed continuous adjournments following opposition uproar against three farm laws yesterday. After resuming proceedings at 8:30 last evening the lower House took up the Zero Hour.
Earlier when the House met for the day at 4 PM, Opposition members created a ruckus leading to repeated adjournments of the House. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and presiding officers repeatedly urged the agitating members to maintain order in the House saying they will get ample time to raise the issue but to no avail. Members from Congress, DMK, TMC, Left, SP, Shiv Sena and others trooped into the well raising slogans against the government.
Keeping in view the transparency and competitiveness that e-NAM has brought into the agricultural market, the government has proposed in the Union Budget 2021-2022 to integrate 1,000 more Mandis with National Agriculture Market, e-NAM platform.
The Agriculture Infrastructure Funds would be made available to Agricultural Produce Market Committees for augmenting their infrastructure facilities. e-NAM is an innovative initiative in agricultural marketing to enhance farmer’s accessibility to multiple numbers of markets and buyers, to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improv and also to develop the concept of One Nation, One Market for agriculture produce. More from our correspondent --
"e-NAM is not just a scheme but it is a journey which aims to benefit the last mile farmer and transform the way they sell their agri produce. This intervention brings immense benefits to country's farmers in augmenting their income by enabling them to realize remunerative prices in a transparent manner without incurring additional costs. Better market linkage has been provided under e-NAM by integrating 1,000 markets across 18 States and three Union Territories. So far, more than 1.69 crore farmers and 1.55 Lakh traders are registered on e-NAM platform. The online and transparent bidding system is encouraging farmers to increasingly trade on e-NAM platform. Anand Kumar, AIR News, Delhi".
The Delhi Police has said it has not named anybody in the FIR on the creators of the toolkit, which maligned India and was shared by environment activist Greta Thurnberg. Speaking to reporters, Delhi police Special commissioner Praveer Ranjan said, FIR has been filed and investigation is underway.
Parliament of India passed the farm laws that have been discussed, debated and well known for nearly 20 years now. The government tried to address the concerns and held 11 rounds of talks at the level of top ministers of the government. The Supreme Court then called for a stay on the laws and made an expert committee to look into the laws and suggest ways for resolution through talks. Even this order of the Supreme Court of India was rejected. The government itself offered to stay the laws for 18 months till a solution can be found. This offer has been repeated by none other than the Prime Minister of India.
Our Correspondent reports a document called toolkit came into the public domain yesterday where an elaborate international conspiracy to wage economic, social and cultural war against India was clearly seen. Our Correspondent reports that there are various people involved in this campaign against India on the pretext of farm laws, but their agenda is clearly to damage India.
"The document shared on Twitter mistakenly by Greta Thurnberg shows how Rihanna’s and other such tweets weren’t organic but plan of a larger PR campaign to malign India. They were copied word to word as mentioned in the tool kit. This anti-India agenda has nothing to do with the three farm laws became clear when the document listed that the protestors have no plan beyond getting the three laws repealed. These documents had, in full detail, a plan of action against Indian Embassies and other such offices and called for direct physical action. The people behind these sinister international alliances are those who want to wage a war against India economically, socially and culturally. The intent of the people behind the document has inadvertently revealed by themselves. ANUPAM MISHRA, AIR NEWS, DELHI."
In reply to a question on US State Department's statement on farmers’ agitation, MEA Spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava said yesterday, the measures taken up by the government aimed at preventing a of the violence at the Red Fort on January 26 which evoked a similar reaction in India as did the incidents at Capitol Hill.
The BJP has termed the support of some foreign celebrities to the protesting farmers as an attempt to destabilise the country and said that Indian democracy does not need certificate from foreign nationals.
Briefing media at the party headquarters in New Delhi yesterday, party Spokesman Gaurav Bhatia said, it is democratic to protest, but it is wrong for foreigners to interfere in India’s internal affairs. He said, if the international personalities try to weaken the country, it will not be tolerated. Mr Bhatia said, the country is standing united against these foreign powers and has the mettle not to let them succeed in their purpose.
The Reserve Bank will announce its final bi-monthly monetary policy review for the financial year 2020-21 today. The meeting of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will conclude this morning with the policy announcement scheduled for 10 a.m. Mr. Das is also scheduled to address a press conference at 12 noon.
Our corespondent reports that the policy gains lot of significance as it is being presented in the backdrop of the most welcomed Union Budget by all the sectors in the country. A report :
"As the Reserve Bank is going to announce the final policy review for this financial year today in the backdrop of the recently presented budget, the policy review will have many driving factors like focus on growth revival, liquidity, massive push to infrastructure, post budget investors sentiments and decline in retail inflation. However, the economists are expecting an accommodative stand by the apex bank in the backdrop of the current scenario in the country. It may be recalled that the committee has kept the interest rates unchanged in its last three reviews, maintaining repo rate at four per cent and the reverse repo rate at 3.35 per cent. The RBI had last revised its policy rate on 22nd of May 2020; to perk up demand by cutting interest rate to a historic low. Shailesh Patil, Air News, Mumbai".
More than 45 lakh 93 thousand beneficiaries have been vaccinated against COVID-19 till 1:30 pm yesterday. Briefing the media in New Delhi, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, 1 thousand 2 hundred 39 private facilities and 5 thousand 9 hundred 12 public facilities are being used as COVID-19 immunisation sites in the country as of now. He said, India has become the fastest nation to reach 4 million COVID19 vaccinations and it took only 18 days to administer the first 4 million vaccines.
The Health Secretary said, 97 per cent people who have received COVID19 vaccine are satisfied and the results are based on the feedback registered by the vaccinated people through IT Ministry's feedback platform.
On ICMR's 3rd national serosurvey, DG ICMR Dr Balram Bhargava said, 21.5 pc of population surveyed from 17th December to 8th January showed evidence of past exposure to COVID-19. He said, in urban slums it is 31.7 per cent, in urban non-slum it is 26.2 per cent and in Rural areas it is 19.1 per cent. Dr Bhargava said, nationwide serosurvey shows large proportion of population still remains vulnerable to COVID-19.
The country's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 97.13 per cent. A total of 17 thousand 824 COVID patients recovered during the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries has gone up to one crore four lakh 80 thousand 455. Health Ministry said, the actual caseload currently comprises only 1.44 per cent of the total positive cases. Presently, the total number of active cases in the country stands at one lakh 55 thousand 25.
A total of 158 new confirmed cases of Corona virus infection were reported in Delhi during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to six lakh 35 thousand 639. Delhi Government said that six lakh 23 thousand 574 people affected with COVID-19 have cured so far.
Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to complete the COVID vaccination of five lakh beneficiaries. From today the vaccination of frontline workers will start in the state. More from our correspondent --
"Yesterday more than one lakh 25 thousand health workers were vaccinated in state which was 75 per cent of the total target and highest in the country. No adverse incident was reported during vaccination drive and all beneficiaries are healthy and safe. From today, state will continue the vaccination of frontline workers. Today 752 sessions will be organised for vaccination of frontline workers as well as health care workers. Mop-up round on 15 February will be the last chance for those health workers who could not get vaccinated during this drive. SUSHIL CHANDRA TIWARI, AIR NEWS, LUCKNOW".
Odisha has achieved about 69 per cent vaccination coverage in the ongoing nationwide inoculation drive against covid-19. Vaccine shots were administered to about 15,000 health care workers in 145 session sites across the state yesterday, without any single case of adverse effect. More from our correspondent --
"As against the target of about 3.39 lakh beneficiaries of the First Phase of COVID-19 vaccination, the state has already provided the first dose vaccine coverage to about 2.34 lakh health care workers. While it has been targeted to vaccinate the rest in less than a week, preparations are on to deliver the second shots of the vaccine to the beneficiaries from around the middle of this month. Meanwhile, the state is also gearing up to vaccinate the frontline workers from tomorrow for which about 1.92 lakh beneficiaries have been databased. Girish Chandra Dash, AIR News, Bhubaneswar".
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said India has come forward in this time of need to share its capabilities in vaccine developments and pharmaceuticals with the rest of the world. Speaking at the Virtual Prize Distribution Ceremony of the ASEAN-India Hackathon, Dr Jaishankar said the current pandemic has underlined the importance of working together to address common challenges that do not respect national boundaries. He added that when the problems are global, the solutions must also be truly collaborative and multilateral.
The Minister was happy to note that the 'Blue Economy' is one of the two selected themes selected for this Hackathon. He said India has identified cooperation in the maritime domain as a priority under the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership.
All India Radio News has been at the forefront in raising awareness on COVID-19 among the citizens, since the first Corona virus case was reported in India. In keeping with its role as the Public Service Broadcaster, All India Radio started a Special Public Outreach Programme - Corona Jagrukta Series in March last year. It's 300th Episode is being presented today. It is a Live Phone-in Programme in which top medical experts reply to queries of citizens related to COVID-19.
Renowned doctors from AIIMS Delhi, G.B.Pant Hospital, R.M.L. Hospital, Safdarjang Hospital, Max Hospital, Gangaram Hospital, NIMHANS, Bangalore and several other centres have responded to various queries from citizens all over the country. The programme played a crucial role in generating awareness on Corona during lock down and on the COVID Appropriate Behavior in the unlock phase , and now in dispelling the fears on safety and efficacy of the vaccines.
Let us take a look-back on the queries of our listeners. In one of the recent episodes, Dr. Srinath Reddy, President of Public Health Foundation of India responded to the query of a listener on the availability of the vaccines --
Dr Narendra Saini, Former Secretary General of IMA spoke about the herd-immunity based on Sero-survey in Delhi :
Replying to a query on the precautions to be taken as Cinema Halls are allowed to open at 100 per cent seating capacity, Dr Prasoon Chaaterjee from AIIMS, Delhi urged citizens to follow COVID Appropriate Behaviour--
In today’s episode, which is a tricentennial milestone, Director AIIMS Prof. Randeep Guleria and NITI Aayog Member and Chairman of National COVID-19 Task Force Dr. V. K. Paul will be with us to address the queries. Listeners may call on our toll free number 1800-115767 from 09:30 P.M.
The Change of Guard Ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan which was discontinued due to COVID-19 in March last year, will resume from tomorrow. The ceremony will take place every Saturday except government holidays. On every Saturday a maximum 100 people will be allowed to witness the ceremony with prior booking. Booking can be made online by visiting website presidentofindia.nic.in or rashtrapatisachivalaya.gov.in.
United Nations Security Council has called for the release of Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by the military. It has also voiced concern over the state of emergency in the country. The 15-member UNSC in its first statement agreed by consensus has stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes to refrain from violence and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. A spokesperson for China’s UN Mission said, Beijing hoped the key messages in the statement could be heeded to by all sides and lead to a positive outcome in its neighbour country.
Seventy five-year old Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi has not been seen since her arrest on Monday.
Myanmar’s transition to democracy was derailed when Army Commander Min Aung Hlaing took power, alleging irregularities in an election last November that Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide victory.
India has said it is closely monitoring the developments in Myanmar. In response to a media query last evening, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India and Myanmar are neighbours with close cultural and people-to-people ties, bolstered by trade, economic, security and defence related exchanges. He added that India is also engaged on the issue as a member of the UN Security Council.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address an event marking the Diamond Jubilee of the High Court of Gujarat tomorrow through video conferencing. He will also release a Commemorative Postage Stamp marking the completion of sixty years of the establishment of the High Court.
Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, Judges of Supreme Court and High Court of Gujarat and Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani will be present on the occasion. Members of the law fraternity of Gujarat will also be present during the event.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has called for executing the ambitious Smart City projects in the Union Territory expeditiously. He said this while chairing a high-level meeting of Administrative Secretaries, experts on Smart City Projects and other stakeholders at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu yesterday. The LG gave specific directions to the concerned officers for completion of the projects within the set timelines, without any delay. He said that the vision behind the ambitious projects is to transform Jammu and Srinagar into modern, sustainable and economically vibrant cities with dedicated focus on improving infrastructure and services, increasing mobility and enhancing the administrative efficiency.
Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has said that the General Budget 2021 has been historic for Indian Railways and it has focussed on infrastructure projects in Indian Railways. Addressing a virtual press conference, Mr Goyal said, the highest capex for Indian Railways will act as a huge catalyst to revitalise the economy and lead Indian Railways towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He said, Indian Railways is marching ahead on its bigger plan like achieving 100 per cent electrification by 2023, Net Zero Carbon Emission network by 2030, modernisation of railways, ease of ticket booking, online freight services. Mr Goyal said, Indian Railways is on the verge of becoming a Future Ready network.
The Swachhata Pakhawada is being observed in the country till 15th of February. To promote cleanliness in the state, the Maharashtra Government has decided to provide land for solid waste management to various cities in the state. It will help more than 150 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats. A report from our correspondent --
"In many places, the lack of an effective method of solid waste management has often led to serious disputes between the local administration and the villagers. Some municipalities do not have space for solid waste management. All of this is having an impact on solid waste management. More than 150 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in the state had cleared a resolution in their general body meetings and sent it to the District Collector, requesting the Government to provide space for collection and treatment of waste. With this in mind, the State Government has now given the authority to District Collector to provide space for solid waste management. Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said that this decision will help solve a major problem for smaller Municipalities and Municipal Councils in the state. Jeevan Bhawasar, AIR News, Mumbai".
Aero India, Asia’s biggest show will conclude today in Bengaluru with President Ram Nath Kovind gracing the valedictory programme. The concluding day will also have a Bandhan Ceremony where over 200 MoUs will be signed for the promotion of defence production within the country. Seminars on defence industrial corridors in UP and Telangana and opportunities for aerospace industries in Karnataka will be held today. Industry bodies like FICCI and ASSOCHAM are holding seminars on opportunities in the defence production sector. DRDO, the premier R&D organisation in Defence sector will hold seminar on energising R&D capabilities with industry, academia and certification aspects for Atmanirbhar Bharat. The third day of the show will also have air display by Indian and foreign fighter aircraft. The Exhibition area has been attracting visitors since day one that gives a peep into defence production sector and opportunities available in aerospace and military war gears manufacturing.
In West Bengal, the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata has arranged special programmes to mark the Centenary Celebrations of Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee year of the liberation of the country. An art exhibition on Bangabondhu and Bangladesh will be inaugurated today by the Information Minister of Bangladesh Dr. Hasan Mahmud and a special rally will be held tomorrow.
In cricket, Indian team under Virat Kohli is set to lock horns with Joe Root’s England in the first Test of the four-match series, beginning today at the historic M. A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk in Chennai. The match is scheduled to begin at 9.30 A.M.
This game will mark the return of international cricket in India after a yearlong COVID-19 break. India played last test match before pandemic against Bangladesh on 22nd November 2019 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Both teams will enter the contest on the back of away series wins in the longest format of the game. India have beaten Australia 2-1 to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy while Joe Root’s England defeated Sri Lanka 2-0.
Weather for today.
Srinagar will have mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy towards afternoon or evening. Temperature will hover between minus two and eight degrees Celsius.
In Jammu, the minimum temperature was seven degrees Celsius while the maximum will be around 22 degrees. The city will have mainly clear sky becoming partly cloudy towards afternoon or evening.
Leh will have partly cloudy sky. The minimum temperature was minus 11 degrees Celsius while the maximum will be around two degrees.
Gilgit will have partly cloudy sky. The temperature will hover between minus two and 12 degrees Celsius.
Muzafarrabad will have mainly clear sky. The temperature will move between four to 16 degrees Celsius.
In Dehradun, the temperature will hover between eight and 19 degrees Celsius. The city will have partly cloudy sky with possibility of rain or thunderstorm.
The National capital Delhi is facing shallow fog. The temperature will vary between nine and 21 degrees Celsius.
Chandigarh will have partly cloudy sky. The temperature is likely to hover between nine and 19 degrees Celsius.
In Hyderabad, the minimum temperature was 16 degrees Celsius while the maximum will be around 31 degrees. The city witnessed fog in the morning and will have partly cloudy sky later.
Newspapers Headlines
Almost all dailies have covered the results of the sero survey which reveals that a considerable population in the country has antibodies.
Hindustan Times says, "One in 5 Indians exposed to virus, says sero survey," The Hindu reports, " 1/5th Indians above 10 years of age had Covid."
Papers have also noticed Prime Minster's reactions on the Union Budget. The Indian Express quotes him in its headline, "Votebank politics in budgets earlier, we didn't burden people." Hindustan Times quotes him as well, "Before budget, experts said Centre will have to increase taxes, but we ensured no burden was put on people."
Dailies have also noticed Defence Minister's keynote address at the Indian Ocean Region Defence Ministers' Conclave, The Asian Age quotes him in its headline. "India ready to supply arms to Indian Ocean Region." "HAL puts on show lethal new warfighting system".
Temperatures in North India dip again, owing much to the snowfall in some parts. The Indian Express carries a picture of the snow laden ridge in Shimla.