This will mark the first time in India's history that it plunges into recession
By K. Sunil Thomas
It is an oft-bandied about
statement that India is in 'recession'. Especially so in the last couple
of years of economic slowdown. However, it will be officially true from
today, when the government announces the July to September Q2 GDP
figures. Expectations are that the economy will contract, though it will
be on much better footing than the nearly 24 per cent decline in the
first quarter (April to June).
Though periods of economy stagnation often get billed as 'recession',
officially, a nation is said be in recession only if it has two
consecutive quarters of GDP decline.
Going by that yardstick, the official announcement of Q2 figures,
expected on Friday, will mark the first time in India's history that it
plunges into recession.
Estimates by various agencies have put Indian economy declining anywhere from 8.6 per cent to 11 per cent or more. As for the whole year (financial year 2020-21), India's economy will decline by 9.5 per cent, as per the estimate of the RBI.
An article in RBI's monthly bulletin released last fortnight had put
the Q2 drop at 8.6 per cent. “India has entered a technical recession in
the first half of 2020-21 for the first time in its history with Q2
likely to record the second successive quarter of GDP contraction,” says
Pankaj Kumar from RBI's Monetary Policy Department in the article,
though he reassures that the decline will be "short-lived".
Different agencies have forecast different figures, all around minus
10 per cent, for the contraction of economy in Q2. While Bank of
America's estimate is the most hopeful at -7.5, the National Council of
Applied Economic Research (NCAER) being cautious at -12.7. Other major
estimates range from State Bank of India's -10.7, ICRA's -9.5 and
Barclay's -8.5.
Indian economy was in a 'slowdown' and not recession through the
downturn of 2018 and '19, dropping from a growth rate of 5.2 down to 3
per cent in the January-March quarter of this year, just as coronavirus
hit. The nationwide lockdown announced at the end of March and remained
in place in various forms into June ensured that the first quarter of
financial year 2020-21 saw the GDP deep-diving to 23.9 per cent.
However for Q2 (July to September), the re-starting of economic
activities, the pent-up demand and the festive season rush has
definitely seen things looking up. The purchasing managers indices for
manufacturing and services had improved, while exports also finally came
back on the growth path. In fact, the uptick in indices was so much
that SBI actually revised its forecast from 12.5 per cent de-growth to
just 10.7 earlier this month. Agriculture, fisheries etc have been a
bright spot, doing well throughout these troubled months, almost like a
ray of life amidst dark clouds.
Yet, it may not be enough to save India from the inevitable tag of
'recession'. It is also expected to fare the worst among all major
global economies as far as recovery goes. How well Q2 has been for India
will be known when the National Statistical Office releases the GDP
data today.
DIMAPUR,
Nov 26 - An area at Wanching village in Mon district of Nagaland
bordering Myanmar may have deposits of diamond, throwing up “glittering”
prospects.
A video showing hundreds of villagers digging a small hill in the
village to unearth “diamond” went viral today. The villagers reportedly
dug out diamond-like stones from the hill.
According to sources in Mon, the villagers are camping in the area and
trying to dig out the precious metal. However, the quantity and quality
of the stones found in the area could not be confirmed immediately.
“Reports
apparently of #Diamond found in #Wanching village #Mon district
#Nagaland,” Director General (Prisons and Jails) of Nagaland Police
Rupin Sharma, who was also the State DGP, tweeted today.
Meanwhile,
Mon Deputy Commissioner Thavaseelan K told this correspondent over
phone that some stones have been found in the village area. He said it
was still not known whether these stones are diamond or any other metal.
He
added that the Nagaland Geology and Mining Department is sending a team
to study the stones. “It can be confirmed whether these stones are
diamond or any other crystal metal only after the team finds out what
exactly they are,” the DC said. According to an Indo-German study
published in the journal, Current Science, the “ophiolite” rocks of
Nagaland – that is a part of the Indo-Myanmar ranges – may potentially
hold “microdiamonds” – diamonds of small size, less than one millimetre.
Indications
of occurrence of “microdiamonds” have come from the presence of a
manganese-bearing mineral called “manganilmenite” in the ophiolite rocks
in the Pokphur area of Nagaland, authors of the study – Bibhuranjan
Nayak of the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology in
Bhubaneswar, and Franz Michael Meyer of the Aachen University in Germany
– said.
NEW
DELHI, Nov 27: India has the highest bribery rate in Asia and the most
number of people who use personal connections to access public
services, according to a new report by corruption watchdog Transparency
International.
The Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) Asia, found that nearly 50 per
cent of those who paid bribes were asked to, while 32 per cent of those
who used personal connections said they would not receive the service
otherwise.
The report is based upon the survey which was conducted between June 17
and July 17 this year in India with a sample size of 2,000.
“With the
highest bribery rate (39 per cent) in the region, India also has the
highest rate of people using personal connections to access public
services (46 per cent),” the report said.
Bribery in public
services continues to plague India. Slow and complicated bureaucratic
process, unnecessary red tape and unclear regulatory frameworks force
citizens to seek out alternate solutions to access basic services
through networks of familiarity and petty corruption, the report said.
“Both
national and State governments need to streamline administrative
processes for public services, implement preventative measures to combat
bribery and nepotism, and invest in user-friendly online platforms to
deliver essential public services quickly and effectively,” the report
said.
Although reporting cases of corruption is critical to
curbing the spread, a majority of citizens in India (63 per cent) think
that if they report corruption, they will suffer retaliation, it said.
In India, 89 per cent think government corruption is a big problem, 18 per cent offered bribes in exchange for votes.
About
63 per cent of surveyed people think the government is doing well in
tackling corruption while 73 per cent said their anti-corruption agency
is doing well in the fight against corruption, it said.
Based on fieldwork conducted in 17 countries, the GCB surveyed nearly 20,000 citizens in total.
The Indian nationals were handed over to authorities in Manipur at the Moreh border town in Tengnoupal district of Manipur.
Nov 27, 2020: Most of the deported individuals were from Manipur, one each from Tripura, Mizoram and UP.
As many as 34 Indian nationals who have been serving jail term in Myanmar in different cases was deported to India by Myanmar Government on Thursday.
The Indian nationals were handed over to authorities in Manipur at the Moreh border town in Tengnoupal district of Manipur. Moreh is situated at the Indo-Myanmar border 110 km from Imphal. Most of the deported individuals were from Manipur, one each from Tripura, Mizoram and UP.
Yengkhom Rashni, deputy secretary Home, Government of Manipur said that the state Government is felicitating the handing and receiving of the deported individuals. All the deportation was necessitated through diplomatic channel by the Ministry, she said.
“Most of them were arrested for travelling beyond the free movement regime without proper documents”, said Rashni.
The Indian nationals were received at Indo-Myanmar friendship bridge by a team comprising of Immigration officers, staff of custom department and ICP and a team of Moreh police.
A medical team of Tengnoupal district surveillance officer conducted COVID-19 screening to all the 34 Indian nationals at Integrated check post (ICP) Moreh. Later, the Moreh police transported them to the Moreh police station. They are to be handed over to their respective family members.
Meanwhile, the Indian Government also deported as many as 28 Myanmar nationals and handed them over to Myanmar authorities on Thursday at the same border point, said the deputy secretary Home. The Myanmar nationals were arrested and detained from different places of India. It is learnt that eight are transported from Nagaland, 19 are from Assam and 1 from Mizoram.
UIDAI launched the Aadhaar in the form of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) card in October.
UIDAI launched the Aadhaar in the form of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) card
in October this year. Just like your debit or credit card or PAN card,
you will be able to carry the PVC Aadhaar card in your wallet. UIDAI puts it as ,"Loaded with the latest security features, your Aadhaar
is now more durable, convenient to carry, instantly verifiable
offline." UIDAI allows residents of India to get their Aadhaar letter
reprint on PVC card by paying nominal charges of ₹50.
Residents who do not have registered mobile number can also order using
non-registered or any alternate mobile number. In fact, one person can
order Aadhaar PVC cards online for the whole family, using his or her
mobile number.
UIDAI in a recent tweet wrote, "You can use any mobile number to
receive OTP for authentication, regardless of the registered mobile
number in your Aadhaar. So, one person can order Aadhaar PVC cards
online for the whole family. Follow the link
https://residentpvc.uidai.gov.in/order-pvcreprint to order now."
Here's the tweet:
#AadhaarPVCcard You
can use any mobile number to receive OTP for authentication, regardless
of the registered mobile number in your Aadhaar. So, one person can
order Aadhaar PVC cards online for the whole family. Follow the link https://t.co/TVsl6WZqlp to order now. pic.twitter.com/ivoaQ7QgAN
> Go to the link: https://residentpvc.uidai.gov.in/order-pvcreprint
> Fill in your Aadhaar Number or Virtual Identification Number or EID to order Aadhaar card.
Aadhaar card comes with security features i.e. Digitally signed Secure QR code, Hologram, Ghost image, Guilloche pattern etc.
> Click on 'send OTP.' You can order Aadhaar card using your
registered mobile number or Alternate mobile number to receive OTP.
> Aadhaar preview is available on use of registered mobile only.
Preview of Aadhaar card details is not available for Non-registered
mobile based Order.
> Time-Based-One-Time-Password (TOTP) can also be used via m-Aadhaar Application.
> After submitting the OTP, you will need to make the required payment and your PVC Aadhaar reprint will be ordered.
The police took the four boys into protective
custody after learning that the father of one of the boys was preparing
to sacrifice them. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Father of one of the 4 children told police he was preparing to do some exorcism ritual.
By Abhinav Sahay
Police in Assam’s Sivasagar district have rescued four minor
boys following allegations from local residents that they were about to
be sacrificed by the father of one of the boys.
While
reports in local news channels claim that the father of one of the boys
wanted to sacrifice his own son and the sons of his brother on the
advice of a witch doctor with the hope of getting some hidden treasure,
police say there is no evidence of an attempted human sacrifice yet, but
are investigating.
“A police team was sent to Demowmukh
following reports that some human sacrifice was about to take place
there. We have taken the four boys into our custody on Saturday night
for their safety,” said Amitava Sinha, superintendent of police,
Sivasagar.
“The
allegations of attempted human sacrifice are yet to be confirmed. Apart
from hearsay, there is no concrete evidence about such a crime.
According to the locals, the father of one of the boys wanted to
sacrifice them. On questioning, the father said they were planning some
exorcism ritual,” he added.
An
FIR on the incident has been lodged by local residents and police have
detained two persons Jamirul Hussain and Shariful Hussain, fathers of
the minor boys, for further interrogation.
Sex ratio at birth is number of females born per thousand males.
Arunachal Pradesh recorded 1,084 females born per thousand males, followed by Nagaland (965) Mizoram (964), Kerala (963) and Karnataka (957). The worst was reported in Manipur (757), Lakshadweep (839) and Daman & Diu (877), Punjab (896) and Gujarat (896).
Delhi recorded a sex ratio of 929, Haryana 914 and Jammu and Kashmir 952. The ratio was determined on the basis of data provided by 30 States and Union Territories as the “requisite information from six States namely Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal is not available,” said the report published by the Registrar General of India.
The number of registered births increased to 2.33 crore in 2018 from 2.21 crore registered births the previous year. “The level of registration of births has increased to 89.3% in 2018 from 81.3% in 2009,” the report said.
The prescribed time limit for registration of birth or death is 21 days. Some States however register the births and deaths even after a year.
The birth or death certificate is issued free of charge by the Registrar concerned if reported within 21 days. If reported within 21-30 days, it can be registered on payment of the prescribed fee. If the duration is more than 30 days but within a year, it can be registered with the written permission of the prescribed authority and on production of an affidavit made before a notary public or any other officer authorised by the State government and on payment of a fee.
“Births and deaths reported after one year of occurrence shall be registered only on an order of the Magistrate of the First Class after verifying the correctness and on payment of the prescribed fee,” the report said. Cape Clean - India's Top Facade and Window Cleaning
The activists stopped vehicles carrying meat items meant for the big
cats housed in the zoo. They blocked the roads leading to the zoo for
several hours before allowing authorities to take the food items inside.
By Utpal Parashar
A white tiger at the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati.
At present, the zoo has 8 tigers, 3 lions, 26 leopards and other small
cats like leopard cat, jungle cat etc. (ASSAM STATE ZOO.)
Opposing the slaughter of cows, several Hindu activists on
Monday protested against serving beef as part of diet to tigers and
other big cats in the Assam state zoo located in Guwahati.
The
activists stopped vehicles carrying meat items meant for the big cats
housed in the zoo. They blocked the roads leading to the zoo for several
hours before allowing authorities to take the food items inside.
“The
vehicles carrying meat for the zoo inmates were stopped briefly by some
miscreants. We had to call the police to disperse them. There’s no
issue regarding supply of meat to the animals now,” said Tejas
Mariswamy, divisional forest officer (DFO), Assam state zoo.
Established
in 1957 and spread over 175 hectares in the middle of Guwahati in the
Hengrabari reserve forest, Assam state zoo, which has 1,040 wild animals
and birds of 112 species, is the biggest zoo in the Northeast.
At present, the zoo has 8 tigers, 3 lions, 26 leopards and other small cats like leopard cat, jungle cat etc.
The
zoo is a big attraction among people in Guwahati and others from across
the region, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been closed for
the public since March this year.
Mizoram home secretary Lalbiaksangi, in a letter to Tripura home
secretary BK Sahu, said that any activities could deteriorate law and
order at the interstate border.
By Priyanka Deb Barman
Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga.(@ZoramthangaCM)
The Mizoram government sought stoppage of construction of a
temple and all sorts of activities within the disputed Tripura-Mizoram
interstate border near Phuldungsei village where 130 people were
identified in Mizoram’s voters’ list almost two months back.
Traditionally,
Phuldungsei village as a whole has been accepted as part of Tripura
despite the eastern side of the village falling into Mizoram’s side.
Mizoram
home secretary Lalbiaksangi, in a letter to Tripura home secretary BK
Sahu, said that any activities could deteriorate law and order at the
interstate border.
According to the letter, the Mizoram government
got reports that Songrongma of Tripura, a local indigenous
organisation, is attempting to construct a temple at the disputed
interstate border village near Phuldungsei at Thaidawrtlang, Mamit
district. There are reports of organising community work on October 19
and 20.
“Since
any activities within the disputed interstate border can result in law
and order problems, it is requested to kindly intervene and issue
necessary instructions to the concerned district administration for the
immediate and indefinite stoppage of the proposed construction,” the
letter read.
No comment from Tripura government is available on the issue.
Located in Kanchanpur sub-division of North district of Tripura, Phuldungsei village has a population of over 600.
Kanchanpur
sub-divisional magistrate Chandni Chandran in August informed her
higher officials that 130 people of the village, who have ration cards
of Tripura, were included in Mizoram’s voters’ list.
Chandran
stressed on demarcating the exact boundary between the two neighbouring
states incorporating the entire village in Tripura. Shortly after it,
the state government ordered a probe into the matter.
The Assam-Mizoram border remains
tense after a farmhouse was allegedly torched and plantations destroyed
by the Karimganj district administration of Assam in Mizoram’s Mamit
district along the inter-state border, a police officer said.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a farmhouse, belonged to John Zolawma of Thinghlun village in Mamit
district bordering Assam’s Karimganj district, was torched by officials
of the district administration, police and forest department from
Karimganj, the Mizoram Police officer said.
Apart
from burning the farmhouse, they also destroyed more than 1,000 betel
nut plants and other vegetables in two farms owned by John Zolawma and
Ben Davida, he said.
The officer said Mamit district deputy
commissioner and superintendent of police (SP) visited the site on
Saturday to take stock of the situation.
The
police officer said an FIR has been registered at Kanhmun police
station and personnel of the 4th Indian Reserve Batallion are currently
camping in the area to avoid any further arson.
Mizoram DGP SBK Singh has communicated his Assam counterpart over the phone regarding the matter.
Meanwhile,
state chief secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo convened a meeting with top
officials of the home department and police over the incident on
Saturday, an official said.
The meeting vehemently blamed the Karimganj district administration of Assam for its “provocative act”, he said.
He said the state government will write to the Union home ministry and the Assam government to inform about its grievances.
The state’s apex students’ body, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) on Saturday held an emergency meeting over the incident.
The
meeting blamed the district administration of Karimganj in Assam for
the incident and decided to rebuild the farmhouse, MZP president B.
Vanlaltana said.
“The meeting took the incident seriously and
considered it as a grave insult and impudent contempt to the people of
Mizoram,” he said.
He added that the students’ body also agreed to give monetary assistance to the two victims.
In
a statement, Mizo Students’ Union (MSU) also strongly blamed the
Karimganj district administration for the incident and alleged that
apart from torching the farmhouse and destroying plantations, Assam
officials and police “intimidated” local volunteers, who are guarding
inter-state border to prevent the spread of Covid19.
The students’ body demanded compensation for the victims.
Officials of Karimganj district administration could not be contacted over the incident.
The border dispute between Mizoram and Assam is a long-pending issue, which has remained unresolved till date.
Three
Mizoram districts of Kolasib, Aizawl and Mamit share about 123km long
border with south Assam’s Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.
Several dialogues held since 1995 to resolve the border dispute have yielded little result.
The
last border stand-off took place in March 2018 at Zophai or Karchurthal
area near Bairabi town in Kolasib district along the Mizoram-Assam
border when the functionaries of MZP attempted to re-construct a wooden
resting shed, which was destroyed by the Hailaikandi district
administration, there.
More than 60 people, mostly students were
allegedly injured when Assam police resorted to lathi-charge and gunfire
to disperse the protesting students.
The border dispute, however,
was put under control with the intervention of the Centre, which asked
both the Mizoram and Assam governments to maintain a status quo till
issues are resolved.
Protest and journalism are criminal acts, Parliament is
irrelevant, duties supersede rights,and profanity flows from the
ordinary.
Participants in a protest against the Hathras gangrape being detained in Ahmedabad on October 7.
|
Sam Panthaky/AFP
On October 8, Justice Sanjay Dhar of the Jammu and Kashmir
High Court delivered a judgement that was remarkable in its
ordinariness: it restated the law, common sense and the basic tenets of –
what was once – the world’s largest democracy.
The case he was called to adjudicate upon was a two-year-old story in the Times of India.
The headline read: “Stone pelters in J&K now target tourists, four
women injured.” It was ordinary journalism, but it led to a criminal
case against the reporter for “making or publishing a statement or
rumour creating fear or alarm”.
The freedom of the press, said
Justice Dhar, could not be imperiled on “grounds that are unknown to
law” and “reporting of events, which a journalist has bona fide reason
to believe to be true, can never be an offence”.
Yet, this is what journalism in India has become: an offence against the state.
Hectored, threatened, beaten
Journalists
in Kashmir bear the brunt of this belief, as they are hectored,
threatened, beaten and imprisoned; it is state policy, explicitly
stated, to discourage journalism that is “against the national
interest”. In Uttar Pradesh, it is unstated but state policy
nevertheless to file criminal cases against journalists who do their
jobs when the government does not want them to. It was little wonder
that earlier this year, India ranked 142 of 180 countries on a global
press freedom index, behind countries such as Myanmar, South Sudan and
Afghanistan.
In Uttar Pradesh, over the past year, journalists
have faced criminal cases for reporting on things as prosaic as a
derailed train to a protest; the spectre of arrest hangs over the executive editor of this website
for reporting the failure of a government programme; another journalist
has been in prison for 24 days over a tweet; and a day before Justice
Dhar delivered his judgement, a journalist from Kerala and three others
were arrested and charged with sedition and India’s now-notorious
anti-terrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The
circumstances of their alleged crime were mired in ordinariness – they
were headed to Hathras, which the Uttar Pradesh government has declared
a site of international conspiracy, and they, the police said, were
conspirators.
A protest in Delhi on October 2 to demand justice for the Hathras woman. Credit: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
I
mention journalism because its wellbeing is a test of democratic health
(by that measure, of course, India is floundering, given the state of
its largely sensation-seeking, government-loving media), but these
outrages are not limited to journalism. They come thick and fast every
day, as peace activists, professors, students and anyone opposed to the
government and its Hindu-majoritarian narrative are questioned,
interrogated, threatened or simply imprisoned without bail for
investigations that never appear to end or are slapped with cases that
may never stand the test of law.
Advertisement
As
for the law, it is being reduced to, at best, a tool to be manipulated,
or, at worst, little more than a joke. It has been corrupted by the
government, the police and the courts beyond reasonable measure.
Last
week, Stan Swamy, 83 and the oldest Indian to be charged under the
UAPA, was arrested. A life-long advocate of Adivasi rights and bulwark
against their oppression, Swamy is a Jesuit priest, who, a writer once
said, “had made people his religion”. His arrest was the 16th in what
has come to be known as the Bhima-Koregaon case,
a vast, dubious enterprise of defamation and criminalisation that
began as a supposed plot to kill the prime minister – an accusation
never mentioned since – and degenerated into a vast conspiracy with no
credible proof and no sign of trial.
Journalism as crime
In
the blink of an eye, India has been dragged from flawed but functioning
democracy with reasonably robust institutions to the doorstep of
great-leader autocracy. Every disfigurement of the law leads to another,
often greater in severity, straining the credulity of the justice
system and pushing it further into disrepute and disrepair. Every
corrupted precedent encourages another until everyone encourages the
profane, even those who promise to stand against it.
In
Congress-run Rajasthan, on October 1, criminal conspiracy charges were
filed against a journalism for reporting that the deputy chief
minister’s phone was tapped. A week later, party leader Rahul Gandhi
announced that if India had a free press and functioning institutions,
Narendra Modi’s government would fall.
Advertisement
Indeed,
Justice Dhar’s judgement was not a sign of hope. It was an anachronism,
a whisper from the past, a straw in a changing wind. On the day that he
delivered a reminder of India’s fading democratic norms and
constitutional rights, the Supreme Court declared that the freedom of
speech and expression was the “most abused right in recent times”.
Lawyers enter the Supreme Court in March. Credit: PTI
This
is a court that has almost entirely allied itself with the government
and its narrative. As many legal scholars monotonously point out – to no
effect – the Supreme Court has placed in cold storage urgent matters,
from the controversial new citizenship law to illegal detentions in
Kashmir. Far from placing fundamental rights at the centre of its
jurisprudence – as every constitutional court should – the Supreme
Court has increasingly turned to preaching about Modi’s pet theme,
fundamental duties (inserted into the constitution during the Emergency
by India’s first autocrat, Indira Gandhi).
Some fundamental duties
have been quietly weaponised and embedded into the emerging enterprise
of criminalisation of speech and expression, particularly one related to
protecting “sovereignty, unity and integrity”. It is as vague as the
interpretation of laws deployed to restrict fundamental rights and push
the narrative of one nation, one people, one religion and whatever other
façade of unity the government declares as the national interest.
In
the pursuit of this alleged national interest – which is anything but –
any perversion of democracy is acceptable. We have witnessed the slow
throttling of Parliament, which has gone from a house of robust debate
to a rubber-stamp of the ruling party. We have witnessed the willingness
of the bureaucracy, the police and judges to be enforcers of not the
constitution but the writ of the ruling party and its narrative.
Advertisement
We
are witnessing the distinct signs of a democratic twilight. But none of
it would be possible without our collective and widespread acceptance,
complicity and apathy.
Samar Halarnkar is the editor of Article-14.com, a project that tracks misuse of the law and the hope it offers.
V Vaidyanathan who gifted his school teacher 1,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares worth Rs 30,00,000 of IDFC First Bank.
A heart-warming post which involves the chief executive office
of a bank and a school teacher is melting hearts on social media. The
post shared by several people talks about the reason in detail behind
the wonderful gesture made by the IDFC First Bank CEO V Vaidyanathan who
gifted his school teacher 1,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares worth Rs
30,00,000 of IDFC First Bank.
The regulatory filing shared by the
bank says that he gifted the shares “as a token of gratitude for his
teacher's help to him at an earlier stage in his life.”
Mr V Vaidyanathan of @IDFCFIRSTBank
gifts 1 lakh shares to his former school teacher. If I remember it
correctly he did something similar in the past too when he was heading
Capital First. He gifted shares to maids. Kind gesture. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ylKsRhr84z
Founder
of Careers 360, Peri Maheshwer took to Facebook to explain the specific
reason behind Vaidyanathan’s gift to his school teacher. He shared that
when Vaidyanathan was selected for admission in Birla Institute of
Technology (BIT), Mesra, he did not have the money to travel to
Jharkhand to complete the counselling formalities.
At this
juncture, his Maths teacher from school, Gurdial Saroop Saini gave him
Rs 500 to travel for the interview. Vaidyanathan went on to study in BIT
Mesra and became a successful person afterwards, making a name for
himself.
The post shares that Vaidyanathan tried to find his
former teacher for several years but as Saini had moved jobs, he could
not locate him.
Finally, the bank CEO found his former teacher,
who is currently living in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The post says that
Vaidyanathan called Saini and thanked him for the timely help.
Maheshwer
ends his post attaching an excerpt from the notice shared by IDFC First
Bank which says that Vaidyanathan has transferred part of his shares to
his former school teacher.
The post has been liked over 1,800 times and many people are appreciating Vaidyanathan’s gesture.
The incident that happened years ago explains Vaidyanathan’s decision of transferring his shares to Saini.
The
notice shared by IDFC First Bank clarifies that Vaidyanathan has done
this in his personal capacity and that he and Saini are not related
parties as per the Companies Act. The recipient, Saini will pay taxes as
per the applicable tax laws.
Mercedes-Benz teases a new super-efficient electric car
concept, the Vision EQXX, with more than 750 miles of range on a single
charge.
At Daimler’s latest company update, the automaker teased a new
technical program to develop “the longest-range and highest-efficiency
electric car the world has ever seen.”
Mercedes-Benz’s head of research and development, Markus Schafer, commented:
We have set up a group of our engineers to take on an extraordinary
task: to build the longest-range and highest-efficiency electric car the
world has ever seen. This is a serious project, chasing next-generation
technologies. We intend to incorporate the learning into the next
generation of series production cars.
The project takes the shape of the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept, which the company teased with a few images:
The German automaker said that the electric vehicle should be able to
travel from Beijing to Shanghai, a journey that covers about 750 miles
(1,200 km), on a single charge.
This incredible range will be achieved through efficency improvements rather than just a bigger battery pack.
Daimler noted that the program will be used to test new technologies to improve efficiency and bring those to production cars:
While Vision EQXX is a technology program, it is expected to result
in innovations that will quickly make their way into series production
cars.
The automaker said that its Mercedes-Benz F1 HPP group in the UK is also working on the project:
Mercedes-Benz also announced an exciting next step in electric
vehicle development today, with the Vision EQXX technology program. The
aim is to build an electric vehicle with spectacular efficiency and
range. Mercedes-Benz has tasked its engineering group with pushing the
boundaries of electric range and efficiency with a cross-functional,
multi-disciplinary team based in Stuttgart, supported by specialists
from the Mercedes-Benz F1 HPP group in the UK, who bring expertise in
eMotors plus motorsport-inspired development speed.
They haven’t disclosed when they plan to unveil the Vision EQXX electric prototype.
A
12-year-old boy has managed to build a working fusion reactor and have
it recorded by the Guinness Book of Records, making him the youngest on
record to achieve this feat.
While
most 12-year-olds play video games and enjoy the lack of responsibility
that comes with youth, Jackson Oswalt had been fusing atoms. The young
man, who has just turned 13, has taken the time to explain his
motivation behind the endeavour and it is admirable to see how much work
the child has done.
Jackson, from Memphis, Tennessee, began building his own DIY fusion reactor after being inspired by the previous Guinness World Record
holder Taylor Wilson, who had managed to construct one by the age of
14. The teenager claims to have built the entire reactor himself, and
offered insight into how to achieve the fusion of atoms.
Guinness Book of R
Oswalt
explained that he had been working on the project for around two years,
and encountered issues with seals that gave him setbacks:
The
project was very hard. I’d say the hardest part was figuring out how to
make the seal airtight on the chamber, so I spent about…probably about
half a year trying to get the seal correct.
Nevertheless,
he persevered and his parents appear to have encouraged this activity –
which is still being attempted by some countries.
Jackson’s
mother claims that while she was excited by her son’s interest, ‘I
would definitely be googling things before he turned on various stages.’
This internet activity seems understandable given that atoms are being
collided in her house. She went on to explain that part of her support
was because her son explained what he was doing so well.
The
fact that a 12-year-old could even understand nuclear fusion is
incredible, never mind putting together the components to actually
perform the act. This will undoubtedly be a huge achievement for
Jackson, and it will be fascinating to see what he does next.
NEW
DELHI - China was accused by Taiwan of trying to impose
censorship in India after its embassy in New Delhi advised journalists
to observe the “one-China” principle after newspapers carried
advertisements for Taiwan’s national day.
Coming
just months after deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops on
the disputed Himalayan border between the two Asian giants, the
controversy has flared at a time when Indian sentiments toward China are
filled with antipathy and suspicion.
China’s
hackles were raised on Wednesday by advertisements placed in leading
Indian newspapers by Taiwan’s government to mark the democratic,
Chinese-claimed island’s national day on Saturday.
The
advertisement carried a photograph of President Tsai Ing-wen and hailed
India, a fellow democracy, as a natural partner of Taiwan.
China,
which claims Taiwan and regards it as a wayward province, made its
displeasure evident in an e-mail sent by its embassy on Wednesday night
to journalists in India, including Reuters.
“Regarding
the so-called forthcoming ‘National Day of Taiwan’, the Chinese Embassy
in India would like to remind our media friends that there is only one
China in the world, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China
is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China,” the
embassy said.
“We hope Indian media can stick to Indian government’s position on Taiwan question and do not violate the ‘One China’ principle.
“In
particular, Taiwan shall not be referred to as a ‘country (nation)’ or
‘Republic of China’ or the leader of China’s Taiwan region as
‘President’, so as not to send the wrong signals to the general public.”
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu scoffed at Beijing’s advice to Indian media.
“India
is the largest democracy on Earth with a vibrant press &
freedom-loving people. But it looks like communist #China is hoping to
march into the subcontinent by imposing censorship. #Taiwan’s Indian
friends will have one reply: GET LOST!” he said in a tweet.
New Delhi has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, but both sides have close business and cultural ties.
India’s
government has carefully avoided upsetting China over Taiwan. But
relations became fraught after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash
with Chinese troops in June, and there have been calls from some Indian
nationalist groups for a boycott of Chinese goods.
“The
Chinese government behaves like a street goon, not like an aspiring
super-power. It threatens us,” said Nitin Gokhale, the editor of a
defence and security website, after receiving the Chinese embassy’s
email.
The Tamil Nadu company has now set a target to sell the pistols to civilians by the end of March 2021.
By Tanmay Chatterjee
The Glock is sold to citizens in many countries, including the USA. (Courtesy- https://eu.glock.com/en)
Currently serving with the military, police and special forces
in more than 70 nations, including India, America, England and France,
the famous polymer-frame Glock pistols from Austria may soon be
available to Indian citizens in non-service calibres.
In
2019, the Tamil Nadu-based Counter measures technologies pvt. ltd.
(CMT) and Glock Ges.m.b.H, Austria, entered into a partnership to
produce the pistols at the CMT plant in Tiruvallur district, which is
part of the state’s defence industrial corridor planned by the Centre.
The
joint venture was initially signed for supplying Glocks only to the
government. With permission from the Centre, CMT has now set a target to
sell the pistols to civilians by the end of March 2021, one of the
Indian company’s directors and major shareholder, Jayakumar Jayarajan,
told HT.
For India’s civilian arms market, the arrival of the
Glock will be a game changer, stakeholders feel. The pistol is sold to
citizens in many countries, including the USA.
“The
Covid-19 lockdown delayed our project by more than six months. We are
trying to pick up speed. Our first priority is to supply the 9 mm
pistols to the armed forces. Civilians will get the .22 LR, .380, .357
Sig, .40 and .45 calibre pistols. We have permission to set up our own
proof testing facility,” said Jayarajan.
“A team from Glock
landed in Chennai in January 2019 and flew to Delhi to meet Union
defence ministry officials after visiting our site. In the delegation
was a man who was part of the team that helped the designer, Gaston
Glock, make the first pistol in 1981,” said Jayarajan.
Today, Glock produces fifth generation pistols with competitors following its polymer technology.
In
India, the majority of licensed firearms owners are saddled with old or
antiquated foreign handguns imported before 1984 or the ones being made
by government ordnance factories. The erstwhile Congress government at
the Centre banned import of all types of firearms in 1984, giving
exemptions only to national and international shooters and state
agencies.
Though out of reach of India’s gun owners till now, the
world’s first military service pistol to sport a light polymer frame
and trigger safety feature, is a familiar name to the nation.
A
9 mm Glock 26 compact pistol was the only weapon wing commander
Abhinandan Varthaman was armed with when he was captured in Pakistan in
February 2019 after the Balakot air strikes.
Glocks
also went into action with National Security Guard (NSG) commandos
during the terror attack on Pathankot air force base in 2016 and in
other operations.
“We support any initiative that promotes the
‘Make in India’ programme and moves us closer to an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’
(self-sufficient India),” said Delhi-based Abhijeet Singh, spokesperson
for National association for gun rights India (NAGRI), the only
pan-nation organisation fighting for liberal gun laws for citizens.
Prakash
Simson, owner of Simson gun house in Mangalore, Karnataka, said,
“Indians still pay a premium price for 50 or 70-year-old handguns
because of their reliability. The India-made Glocks have to meet
people’s expectations. But before that, the government must ensure that
law-abiding citizens get gun licence without being caught in red tape
for years. If licences are not issued there will no market. The
companies will wind up their business.”
A
gun owner and sports enthusiast, Yuvraj Yograjsinh of Mansa, Gujarat,
said, “Glocks are not made in .32 ACP which is the most popular pistol
calibre in India because the ammunition is made by our ordnance factory,
the other one being .22 LR. Ammunition for the rest of the calibres
being offered to civilians by CMT is not made here. Imported ammunitions
are frightfully expensive. This needs to be addressed first.”
Jayarajan
said CMT has been given permission to manufacture ammunition of all
calibres, ranging from the small .22 LR to the 12.7 x 108 mm heavy
machine-gun cartridge used by the army. “We plan to make the ammunition
factory operational by the end of 2021,” he said.
Everyone,
as the saying goes, has a plan until they get punched in the face. By
the same principle, the time for Rahul Raju, to make an honest
assessment of his career would have come in his fourth professional
mixed martial arts fight. Competing in the Philippines against Reydon
Romero, Raju caught a punch in the first round, shattering an orbital
bone. Fighting on with a facial fracture, Raju recalls thinking to
himself, "Well, this is the path I chose, now I have to deal with it. I
finally realized what I was there to do," he says.
There wasn't a
movie-quality happy ending to Raju's tale of perseverance on that day in
January 2017. He fought through three rounds of agony and still ended
up dropping a unanimous decision to the local fighter. But he saw a
silver lining through it all. "Despite the injury, I fought one of my
best fights ever. It was really painful and I had to have surgery
immediately afterwards. Until that moment, there is always a question
how badly you want something, and at that moment, I realized I really
wanted it," says Raju.
'It', for Raju, was the dream to be a mixed
martial arts fighter. Raju is a seasoned competitor now. Next Friday,
he'll be looking to extend a two-fight win streak at ONE Championship
and improve on a 7-4 record, when he takes on former title contender
Amir Khan in a lightweight contest. When the 29-year-old, who goes by
the moniker 'Kerala Krusher', thinks about his dream, he admits it was
an unlikely one for a Kerala native who'd studied engineering and
already had a well paying, white-collar job as a technician in a
semiconductor plant in Singapore.
Kerala
might be home to the ancient martial art tradition of Kalaripayattu,
but there isn't much of a modern combat sports culture. Certainly not in
the town of Pathanamthitta, in central Kerala where Raju grew up.
"There were some boxing and wrestling training facilities but compared
to North India or the North East, these were really few," he recalls.
The
lack of opportunities didn't stop him from idolizing martial arts -
usually in the form of movies. "I'd watch all the movies I could which
had Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan," he recalls. His parents weren't too keen
about his interest though. "There was a kung fu coaching center near my
home and I used to beg my mother and father to let me join but they'd
always tell me to focus on my studies or tell me they'd think about it
later," he says.
Raju would get his wish through an unexpectedly
fortuitous beating. "I got into a school fight, which ended up with me
getting thrashed by a few seniors. I told my father it wouldn't have
happened if I'd only got some martial arts training and the day after
that incident, he enrolled me for my first class," Raju recalls with a
laugh.
While he became a devoted practitioner, studies remained
his first priority. He studied for a course in mechatronics - an
engineering field that combines robotics, electronics, computer,
telecommunications, systems, control, and product engineering. His
studies would take him to the Temasek Polytechnic institute in
Singapore, where he continued his training, albeit now in the Indonesian
martial art of selat, which was popular at his institute.
It
was in Singapore, in the final semester of his engineering course, that
he was first introduced to mixed martial arts (MMA). It came through a
poster that was put up in his selat training group, advertising an
amateur MMA competition. The only thing he remembers of what it said
were the words "no rules". "I'd never even heard of the sport until
then. But I was really intrigued by the "no rules" concept. I'd gone to a
lot of selat competitions but I felt there were too many restrictions.
But this poster said you could punch, kick, grapple," he recalls.
Raju
entered his name, and although he had never trained a day as a mixed
martial artist, ended up winning. "There were rules that made things
easier for me. You had to stand the fighters up after twenty seconds on
the ground. That worked because I'd only trained as a striker all my
life. In the final, I faced an actual MMA guy. I got taken down a couple
of times and it was just brute strength with which I threw him off.
After that fight I knew that if I had to beat others like that MMA
fighter, if that opponent was a little better, I had no chance. I had to
develop other skills. I had to learn jujitsu and wrestling," he says.
Raju
walked into an MMA gym soon after. His initiation into the sport
coincided with his first job, working in the semiconductor industry.
There was little to complain about the latter, which was what his
education had prepared him for. "I was an a senior technician in a chip
manufacturing plant, testing the microchips for mobile phones. It was an
interesting job," he admits. But even as his desire to excel in his
sport grew, he found himself struggling to find the time to do both.
"I
was doing my job but also training. I was also competing in my first
amateur bouts then. It was nearly impossible to find a balance. I'd
complete my shift and then rush out immediately to get to training.
Often times I'd train without sleep because there wasn't any time. That
caused so many injuries," he recalls. When I got the opportunity to
start coaching in the gym, I took it.
Raju struggled to juggle his
job and his passion for three years before eventually making the
decision to focus entirely on MMA. "I got a job as a trainer at the same
club where I trained and I made the decision to quit my job. My bosses
and colleagues and friends were not that surprised because they knew how
bad I wanted it. They saw I was coming to work without sleep and how I
was running to the gym right after work. My parents were not happy. They
told me to focus on my regular job. But I had a dream and I had to stay
strong," he says.
Having
made his choice, there were tradeoffs to be made. "The first few years
were a struggle. As a trainer, I wasn't making anything like the money I
did in my old job. I had to downgrade a lot of my needs and adjust my
budget. I also couldn't socialize with my friends. If I'd made a
decision to focus on my sport, I had to give it everything," he says.
The
learning curve was steep. Over the first few months of his career,
Raju's broken his collarbone and had several ligament issues. And that
orbital eye fracture in the Philippines. There have been setbacks in the
ring too. In his first fight at ONE Championship, a couple of years
ago, Raju was caught with a counter right hook and knocked out in the
first round.
His passion is undiminished though. "There have been
moments of struggle. Losing in the first round was one of the lowest
moments of my life. It brought out a lot of bad emotions, but as a
fighter you have to put these things aside and remember why you are
doing what you do. From my childhood, I wanted to be a fighter. More
than just a profession, I wanted to be the alpha male in a group. I had
to be the best. First, it was to be the best at the gym, and then it was
to be the best in Singapore. Now it's to be the best at ONE
Championship," he says.
On
a two-fight winning streak now, Raju believes his career has turned the
corner. His grappling game has improved significantly and he now has a
brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. "I'm probably one of only a handful
of Indians who have this," he reckons.
His parents too have come
around to their son's career choice. "It's taken time but they realized
that I wasn't giving this up. They've become very supportive since
then," he says. It wouldn't have mattered even if they hadn't, he says.
"There are parts of India where a career in combat sports is considered
acceptable. It's not the same in Kerala. It's a gradual change and while
I'm happy when I am supported, I don't expect much," he says.
For
now he's just glad to be chasing his own dream. "I don't regret
anything that's happened to me. I consider myself very blessed to have
left my old job. It's probably the best decision I made in my life," he
says.
Arising out of the smoke and rubble of Nikola's recent battle with
short sellers, one electric truck company has casually made its way onto
the public markets via a SPAC, making its 28 year old founder a
billionaire in the process.
Does it feel enough like 1999 yet?
“We were fortunate on timing,” Hyliion Holdings Corp. CEO Thomas Healy told Bloomberg. His
company, founded just 5 years ago in 2015, went public through a SPAC
with Tortoise Acquisition Corporation and started trading publicly last
Friday. Healy is now one of the world's youngest self-made
billionaires.
He started his company after watching Tesla while growing up and says
that spurred an interest in electric vehicles. "I thought: Why do we
have electric technology in cars and not in trucks yet, since trucks are
where you can have the biggest impact?" he told Bloomberg.
Healy had originally planned to go public at the time the coronavirus
struck. “If we were trying to close right when the stock market was on
that downswing, we might have been having different discussions,” he
admitted.
The deal has not only garnered scrutiny due to Nikola's recent fall
from grace, but also because the SPAC phenomenon is now being watched
closer and through a more skeptical lens. Recall, days ago, we noted that SEC Chair Jay Clayton had said on CNBC that the regulator would "look closer" at the deals.
Like many others who have used SPACs, Healy said the lack of regulation was an obvious benefit. He told Bloomberg:
In the first quarter, we kicked off our next financing round. Going
public and being able to bring in more capital than we would staying
private was attractive. From that, we considered: do we go down the
conventional IPO route? Or do we want a SPAC process? We saw a lot of efficiencies with SPACs.
You’re really negotiating a deal with an organization as opposed to
going on a roadshow for an IPO that may -- or may not -- be successful. We met with the Tortoise team introduced to us through investment bank Marathon Capital. That was the moment of ‘OK. Let’s do this!’
"From our end, it was a very natural process with Tortoise. We were
just going through a conventional financing fundraising process, and
then we saw this as the best path," he continued.
"Our goal is you’ll be driving down the highway and the trucks you
see will have Hyliion powertrains," Healy said. "There will be other
trucks that are electric as well, taking a different approach. We hope
all these technologies are successful as ultimately we’re trying to make
this shift to electric. The more people are focused on that, the better
off we’ll all be."
But don't worry Thomas - even if they don't - you'll still be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Oct 7- The Government of India has finalised the draft of the agreement to be signed with militant groups and civil society organisations of Nagaland, but the date for signing it is yet to be finalised. The government has also made it clear that it is up to the leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) to decide whether they would sign the agreement or not.
Highly placed sources in the Government of India told The Assam Tribune that there would be no more talks with any group of Nagaland and the draft of the agreement is ready.
“The date for signing of the agreement is likely to be decided shortly. The talk process is over and there may be some delay in signing of the agreement because of the ensuing Bihar elections. However, the Centre is keen on signing the agreement as soon as possible,” the sources added.
The sources pointed out that the agreement would be the first of its kind as efforts were made to include all stakeholders in the process. The government had earlier signed a number of agreements with militant groups in different parts of the country. But this time, in addition to the militants, civil society groups including the Naga Gaonbura Federation and the Hohos of all the 14 tribes of Nagaland would sign the agreement to make it inclusive.
The sources revealed that the Naga National Political Groups (NNPG), an umbrella organisation of seven militant groups of Nagaland and civil society groups have already approved the draft agreement. “The decisions taken in the meetings have been incorporated in the agreement, which include creation of two autonomous councils, one each on Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh,” the sources added.
On reports that the NSCN (I-M) is still not ready to sign the agreement with the government if their demands for a separate flag and constitution are not accepted, the sources said that it is up to the leaders of the outfit to decide whether they would sign the agreement or not.
But the government has made it clear that it would not be possible to accept the demands for a separate flag and constitution.
Leaders of the NSCN (I-M) who are in New Delhi had several rounds of talks with senior officers of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The IB officials also tried to persuade the leaders of the outfit to give up the demand for a separate flag and constitution. But the leaders maintained a rigid stand and the IB officials have stopped talking to them.
On surrender of weapons, the sources said that in any such surrender, the militants normally do not hand over all their weapons. The government will have to take administrative measures to recover weapons after signing of the accord, the sources added.
There is also a possibility of fresh elections in Nagaland after signing of the accord. It is a normal practice to go for fresh elections in any state after signing of such peace accords as those who sign the accord should be given an opportunity to join the political system, the sources added.
UPRF is a Zomi group of Paites, Guites, Vaipheis and assorted Zomi tribes of Churachandpur district in Manipur
Guwahati: Self-styled chairman of UPRF (United People's Liberation Front) Martin Guite was killed in an encounter with Assam police in a village in Manja, in Karbi Anglong district on Monday evening.
Confirming about the encounter, GP Singh, ADGP (Law & Order), Assam Police tweeted, "Late last evening, Martin Guite, SS Chairman of UPRF, an insurgent group active in Karbi Anglong, was wounded and later declared dead in exchange of fire with team of @assampolice in Manja PS area of Karbi Anglong."
UPRF is a Zomi group of Paites, Guites, Vaipheis and assorted Zomi tribes of Churachandpur district in Manipur.
The outfit was formed by ZRA (Zomi Revolutionary Army) in 1993 with NSCN-IM help to fight Kukis in Churachandpur, sources in Assam Police claimed.
The sources further alleged that the ZRA has been using its Paite cadres to poach rhinos for horns since early 2000 and its strongman Thaghtaum Thomte, who allegedly owns a studio in New Lamka, Churachandpur, controls 70% of the rhino horn trade.
Meanwhile, in a clarification, ZRA has denied its involvement in rhino poaching. It said, "It may be made known to all that ZRA has never abetted and supported rhino poaching in the past, present and will never do so in the future."
Further, it added, "It is also factually incorrect to say that ZRA was formed by NSCN (IM) to fight Kuki in Churachandpur, Manipur. ZRA, indeed, is a Zomi Army formed to fight the noble cause of reunifying the Zo people with the active and unstinted support from its people."
It reiterated that, "ZRA is fully committed to the cause it stands for and will never indulge in petty and illegal businesses like rhino poaching."
The organisation has also denied connections with United People's Liberation Front (UPRF) wherein its leader Martin Guite was killed in an encounter by Assam Police on Monday evening at Manja in Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
As
Italy closes down non-essential businesses, Pornhub will allow Italian
users to access premium content without having to put in their credit
card information.
By
Adam Smith
If you're stuck at home during a global pandemic, what do you do? Pick
up a book? Catch up on the plethora of streaming TV shows? Dial in to
your umpteenth video conference call of the day?
Pornhub is hoping Italians have a little something different in mind. With Italy on lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Pornhub is offering its premium service for free to those in Italy during the month of March, The Next Web reports. No credit cards, just click and view.
Meanwhile, a portion of the proceeds from Modelhub, Pornhub's creators
hub, will be donated to local hospitals, The Next Web says.
Pornhub is never one to shy away from a newsy event; it's jumped on the VPN bandwagon, offered Black Friday deals, and launched a Tor site to protect users' privacy.
In the United States, the coronavirus has severely affected technology companies. Just today, MSI extended customers’ warranties by two months so they can focus on their health, while Twitter ordered its near-5,000 strong staff to work from home.
Many tech conventions, including GDC, f8, Google I/O, SXSW, and E3, have been cancelled, and quarantines have affected manufacturing and shipping.
Advertisement
Pure Salon & Spa Koramangla, Bangalore
Led by veteran hair stylist Pure Salon & Spa offers various services from the simple hair cut and styling for women, men, kids, and brides, to vibrant hair colours, conditioning treatments, and Brazilian blowouts. Located at the heart of Koramangla, Bangalore, the salon has been around since 2015, providing professional hair treatments in a relaxed ambience. This is definitely one of our favourite hair salons in Bangalore.
