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Pratham Chitlangiya
Outside an Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation COVID Testing Clinic (Source: Jagran)
AHMEDABAD: In a letter dated 19.11.2020, the Ahmedabad Municipal corporation announced, "Today, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation declared night curfew from 9:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M., every day, from tomorrow, in order to control the spread of COVID-19. The situation was reviewed late night, and it's been decided that complete curfew shall be imposed from tomorrow night 9:00 P.M. till Monday morning 6:00 A.M. within the city of Ahmedabad.
During this time, only shops selling milk and medicines shall be permitted to stay open. It is further clarified by way of abundant caution that complete curfew is imposed in the city of Ahmedabad from 9:00 P.M. on 20.11.2020 to 6:00 A.M. on 23.11.2020. The night curfew every day from 9:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. shall continue thereafter, as well."
The letter was duly signed by IAS Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta. Moreover, on the 23rd of November 2020, night curfew in Ahmedabad was introduced, which would go up to the 7th of December. The night curfew was already in action since the 21st of November in Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat. The rules have exempted personnel of police, fire and emergency services, watch-men, media outlets, private security agencies alongside services like distribution of milk and water, doctors, medical personnel, LPG distribution etc.
The revised guidelines further state that only 100 people will be allowed to attend a marriage function, while the maximum capacity for a funeral remains 50. No function, including wedding or other ceremonies, are going to be permitted between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat.
Pratham Chitlangiya
United Nations ready to set a tradition medical facility in India (Source: The Tatva)
Pratham Chitlangiya
Both leaders discuss bilateral trade (Sources: Business Standard)
has been conferred the status of an Institution of National Importance (INI) by an Act of Parliament, the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) is an institution deemed to be a university.
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During the very same event, the WHO Director-general said that this traditional new centre would support WHO's efforts to set up its indigenous medicinal strategy 2014-2023. Calling it a matter of immense pride, PM Modi said, "Ayurveda is not just an alternative today but is one of the key basis of the country's health policy." He further added that, during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, demand for ayurvedic products had increased rapidly all over the world and exports rose by about 45% in September against the last year. Modi also said that while India is rapidly testing vaccines and researching upon the same, it is also increasing international cooperation and partnership on ayurvedic research to fight COVID-19."
On 19 November, Thursday, 2020, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that his country firmly intends to take its bilateral relations with India to new heights by working together in frontier technologies. He said that the two countries have limitless possibilities of working together in space research, critical minerals, AI, 5G, quantum computing, and far more. This message was relayed out during the Bengaluru Tech Summit via video-conference. The landmark Australia - India Technology Framework on cyber and cyber-enabled technology was signed between the two countries too.
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The theme of the summit is ‘Next is now’, directed towards pondering on the critical challenges emerging in the post-pandemic world. Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, also highlighted that Australia and India are working together for an open, free, safe and secure internet. He further said they're going to soon launch the Australia-India Cyber and Important Technologies Partnership grant program.
He expressed pride for leading a robust virtual delegation of 150 Australian policymakers, industry leaders, start-ups and world-leading institutions to the Bengaluru Tech Summit. Morrison also talked about Bengaluru- India's biggest technology cluster and the fourth biggest in the world, calling it the "home to a 3rd of India's tech professionals and a minimum of 25 Australian companies" and added that "it is pulsing with energy and ambition and it's an area where it is easy to believe that 'Next is Now'."
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In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi said he believed that it's the "perfect time and excellent opportunity" to strengthen the connection between India and Australia further. "We have immense possibilities to form our friendship stronger," Modi said, adding, "How our relationships become a 'factor of stability' for our region and for the planet, how we work together for global good, all of these aspects have to be considered."
Under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Damodar Das Modi, the World Health Organisation took cognizance of India emerging as the 'pharmacy of the world' and announced that they would set up a Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in India.
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WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took to a video message to further appreciate PM Modi's commitment to the universal health insurance coverage under Ayushman Bharat and promotion of traditional medicines with evidence to achieve sustainable medicinal objectives. The video message was released and played at an event where PM Modi inaugurated two ayurvedic institutions in Jamnagar and Jaipur via video-conference on the occasion of the 5th National Ayurveda day. The institutions are future-ready and premier institutions of Ayurveda in India. While the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (Itra), Jamnagar
Pratham Chitlangiya
The Apex Court of India (Source: The Hindu)
NEW DELHI: On November 18 2020, in an affidavit filed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Centre annexed its November 4 order in which it had warned the channel of strict penal action in case of future violations. The Supreme court on November 19 2020, took note of Centre's affidavit regarding the four episodes of the 'Bindass bol' programme aired on Sudharshan TV alleging the infiltration of Muslims in the bureaucracy with ulterior motives. The bench then proceeded to adjourn the hearing granting leave to the Petitioners and Intervenors to file a Reply to the Centre's Affidavit.
The bench of Justices D. Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra noted that the Centre's affidavit had been filed indicating the steps which have been taken in terms of an earlier order of the top court. Advocate Rajat Nair, representing the Centre, informed the bench that the Union Ministry of data and Broadcasting had filed the affidavit which it has placed on record in the November 4 order passed by it within the proceedings concerning the show-cause notice issued to the channel over the controversial programme.
The order sent by the Ministry, which was placed on record, said "after taking into consideration the written and oral submissions of the channel and therefore the findings and proposals of the IMC, the ministry is of the opinion that while freedom of speech and expression may be a fundamental right, the tone and tenor of the episodes telecast do indicate that the channel has, through the varied utterances and audio-visual content, breached the programme code," and that the Ministry finds that "they're not in quality, are offensive and feature a likelihood of promoting communal attitude," it said, while, adding that the Ministry has examined the four episodes, including the 13 video clips mentioned within the show-cause notice issued on September 23 to the channel.
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"The Ministry of data and Broadcasting, after examining all facts and circumstances of the case and balancing the elemental rights of the broadcasters, hereby 'cautions' Sudarshan channel Ltd to be careful in future. It is further directed that if any violation of the programme code is found in future, stricter penal action would be taken," it said.
Pratham Chitlangiya
Cocaine worth 4 crores seized (Source: Times Now)
In a three-day operation carried out in Mumbai and Udaipur, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted an international racket under the name 'Operation Calypso', where the DRI seized 504 grams (worth ₹4 crores) of cocaine.
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The drug was smuggled from Trinidad to Mumbai concealed in the bottom of steam pressed irons. 4 have been accused so far in this case. According to the investigation, this gang has smuggled drugs worth over 20 crores (3.30 kg) have been smuggled since August. Due to there being flight restrictions on international travel, narcotics dealers have seemed to be using international courier services. DRI had intercepted this courier much before it went to the narcotics dealer, which led them to a woman who subsequently led them to an African national and his accomplice who were then arrested. During the investigation with these people, they informed the DRI that the mastermind of this racket is a woman, who was 'holidaying' in Udaipur in a 5 star hotel.
The DRI then "kept a watch over the hotel whole night and in the morning of November 18, with the assistance of Udaipur Police the woman was apprehended. She was then arrested by DRI and with Magisterial permission, she was brought to Mumbai on transit remand," according to reports. A team of DRI officials then arrested this woman and brought her to Mumbai for questioning.
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"We immediately swung into action, and as expected, during prior verification, the address declared on the courier packet appeared suspicious, thereby suggesting it would be challenging to intercept the Indian recipients of the contraband. We first intercepted the consignment and ascertained the presence of cocaine. After that, we kept discreet watch, and when a woman came to pick up the consignment on November 17, she was apprehended by the team," said an officer. All the cocaine was from the Caribbean Islands, which was initially unknown because usually, the consignment of cocaine comes to India from either from South America or Africa.
Bhavisha Madaan
Police officer capturing a picture of a man who is not wearing the mask the right way (Source: The Indian Express)
Arvind Kejriwal, the capital city’s Chief Minister, said on Thursday that the penalty or fine for not wearing masks in public places has been increased to INR 2000, the former fine being INR 500. This decision was made with respect to the severe and sudden spike in the Covid-19 cases in the city due to the careless attitude of the citizens about not wearing a mask.
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After handling the situation well with a decreased number of cases till September, the capital had to wrestle with the surge that crossed the 8000-mark of a single day-rise in Covid cases. The Centre had to take immediate action and therefore has increased the number of beds for COVID-19 patients in both private as well as government hospitals.
The number of non-ICU beds for COVID-19 patients in private hospitals will be increased from 50 per cent to 60 per cent. The CM also announced that instructions have been issued to all private hospitals in the city, asking them to reserve 80 per cent of their ICU beds and 60 per cent of their Non-ICU beds for the COVID-19 patients and to delay the dates of upcoming non-critical surgeries.
He said that the arrangements are being made for over 14,000 ICU beds, which include 663 in the government hospitals and 750 at Centre-run facilities.
The CM, who declined the plea for a new phase of lockdown, has decided to shut down overcrowded markets like Sadar Bazar, Chandini Chowk market in Old Delhi, etc. as they serve as vital hotspots for coronavirus.
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He also eliminated the traditional dip in the Yamuna during the festival of Chhath Puja. “According to experts if 200 people enter a pond and even if one person is infected with the virus then all those who are in the water will 100% get the virus,” said Kejriwal. He further added that he or the government is not entirely against the idea of celebrating the festival and that these measures were only for the safety and benefit of the citizens.
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He asked people to respect what the healthcare experts in Delhi are saying during the pandemic and advised people to celebrate Chhath Puja at home this year, just like all the other festivals.
Bhavisha Madaan
OTT platform shall face censorship in India (Source: Business Insider)
India is considering applying potential censorship on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. While film and TV certification bodies already show restrained public content in India, the country's laws do not allow censorship of content on the progressively popular online streaming platforms.
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Soon, online streaming portals might have to adhere to the same censorship rules as that of television. On November 11, the Centre took online streaming and content providers and news websites under the domain of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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While the Press Council of India regulates print media in the country and the television channels are obligated to adhere to the Cable Television Networks (Regulations) Act, 1995, the online portals stand unregulated.
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So far, the OTT platforms have been favoured a generous amount due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as cinema halls were closed for the most of this year.
Bollywood film release rights have also been bagged by platforms like Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime, unlike the pre-pandemic times where films could only be streamed on OTT platforms after running in movie theatres for weeks.
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Several court cases and complaints have been filed to the police in recent months, alleging that some content was obscene or insulted religious sentiment- which glinted the government's raising concerns to take such a step.
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Less than five years old, the OTT business in India has pushed the cover in terms of creating bold and courageous content. Original TV shows and movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime escape the snip when it comes to nudity, violence, coarse language or any disturbing or alarming content because they don't have to deal with the pressure of certification from India's Central Board of Film Certification.