Category: National

Most other places will witness a partial eclipse, when the moon passes between the earth and the sun

PTI

A rare celestial event, an annular solar eclipse, which is popularly known as the “ring of fire” eclipse, will be visible on Sunday in parts of India.

The annular phase will be visible only in few places of northern India, while the rest of the country will observe this event partially, said a press release from Planetary Society, India. Across the world, the eclipse in various phases will occur between 9:16 a.m. and 3:04 p.m. “In India depending on the location of a person from the central path, the eclipse, mostly in the partial phase, will be visible between 9:56 a.m. to 2:29 p.m.,” the release said.

Across the world the eclipse will be visible in the region covering Africa except western and southern parts, southeast Europe, Asia (except north and eastern Russia) and Indonesia, among others.

Though the central path of the eclipse begins it journey in Congo (Africa), in India it traverses from Suratgarh (Rajasthan), Sirsa and Kurukshetra (Haryana), Dehradun, Chamoli and Joshimath in Uttarakhand, thus giving people in these areas the opportunity to observe the Sun as a ring of fire, when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun.

In a total eclipse, the disc of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only a part of the Sun is obscured.

People in Tamil Nadu will get to witness a partial solar eclipse. This year, the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre has not made arrangements for people to view the partial solar eclipse in Chennai. Its executive director, S. Soundararajaperumal, said arrangements were not made due to the lockdown in view of COVID-19. The partial eclipse would begin at 10:22 a.m. and end at 1:41 p.m. in Chennai.

Scientists have advised people that it is unsafe to observe the sun directly as it may lead to eye injury.

One of the safe methods to watch the eclipse is through projection. Binoculars or small telescopes could be used to project a magnified image of the sun on a white piece of card.

(With inputs from K. Lakshmi in Chennai)

PTI

Mumbai: Shiv Sena deputy leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Saturday said the Centre must respond to China’s claim that the sovereignty over the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh belonged to it.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in the clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night. It was the biggest military confrontation between India and China in over five decades.

After India trashed the Chinese Army’s claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley and asked Beijing to confine its activities to its side of the LAC, China’s foreign ministry on Friday claimed that the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday asserted that neither is anyone inside India’s territory nor has any of its posts been captured.

Taking to Twitter, Chaturvedi said, “Yesterday PM Modi assured the nation that no posts/territory have been ceded to China, but here China claims Galwan Valley as theirs.”

“This is unacceptable and the government needs to clarify or respond to this. Havewe ceded our Galwan valley or ousted the PLA from there? Nation wants to know,” the recently elected Rajya Sabha member said in the tweet.

FabiFlu is the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication for the treatment of COVID-19, the company said in a statement.

The drug will be available as a prescription-based medication for Rs 103/tablet, with recommended dose being 1,800 mg twice on day one, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14.

Glenmark becomes the first pharmaceutical company in India to receive regulatory approval for oral antiviral Favipiravir, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 . pic.twitter.com/tcOFxNWwWL

— Ashish Chaturvedi (@AshishZBiz) June 20, 2020

Favipiravir can be used for coronavirus patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

It offers rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement, the drug maker added.

The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan programme includes the creation of infrastructure through public works worth Rs 50,000 crore

ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan” – a programme to generate employment opportunities for migrant workers in rural India – on Saturday morning via a video conference from poll-bound Bihar.

The Prime Minister, who said the programme had been inspired by (the) migrant workers” whose heart-breaking attempts to return home during the lockdown made headlines, said labourers who had earlier contributed to the development of cities would now be provided jobs nearer to their hometowns and villages.

“My labourer friends, the country understands your emotions and your needs. ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’, starting from Bihar, is a major tool to fulfil this need and emotion,” PM Modi was quoted by news agency ANI.

“Migrants will be provided jobs near their homes. So far, you were using your talents for the progress of cities. Now you help in the development of your villages, your neighbourhoods,” he said, adding, “This scheme has been inspired by migrant workers”.

The ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ will run for 125 days in 116 districts across six states – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan. Each of these states has a large number of labourers returning home after being left unemployed by the coronavirus lockdown.

The programme seeks to create infrastructure worth Rs 50,000 crore through public works that support job creation in the rural parts of the country.

With input from ANI

China claims whole of Galwan; PM Modi says no one entered Indian territory; world condoles India deaths.

In a meeting with political leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that neither has anyone intruded into the Indian territory nor has anyone captured any military posts.

‘What did PM Modi have in mind?’: Chidambaram

“When the PM said a few days ago that the ‘sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain’, what did he have in mind? Why and where did the soldiers sacrifice their lives, and how will the government ensure that the sacrifice will not be in vain? We ask these questions while reiterating our total support to the Government of India and India’s defence forces. The defence of the nation and its territorial integrity are dear to the heart of every Indian. We therefore seek answers to the questions with a view to re-double our commitment and present a picture of unity and solidarity,” Chidambaram added.

What did ‘disengagement’ mean which the govt said was ‘underway’, asks Chidambaram

“Even after PM’s statement, China has blamed India for the clashes and has re-asserted its claim to the entire Galwan Valley. What is the government’s answer to this claim? Will the Government of India reject this claim?,” the Congress leader asked. He added: “What was the meaning of the ‘disengagement’ that the government said was ‘underway’? If no Chinese troops are inside Indian territory in Ladakh, why did 20 soldiers have to make the supreme sacrifice?

Boycotting Chinese goods will not hurt Beijing’s economy: P Chidambaram

P Chidambaram added: “Boycotting Chinese goods will not hurt the Chinese economy. I don’t think we should bring issues like boycott while discussing grave matters such as defence and national security.”

P Chidambaram addresses citizens

Addressing the media on the Galwan clashes, former Union minister P Chidambaram said: “What was the issues that the local commanders were talking with their counterparts. If no Chinese troops were inside the Indian territory, where did the clashes take place and where were the soldiers killed? If no Chinese soldiers were inside our territory, why were 20 soldiers sacrificed? What is the government’s reactions to China’s claims over Galwan Valley?”

With inputs from Indian Express

Remarks come a day after all-party meeting on India-China conflict

A day after an all-party meeting on the India-China conflict, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied any intrusion by the Chinese army, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused him of surrendering territory to China.

Mr. Modi had said, “Neither anyone has intruded into our territory nor took over any post.”

Quoting these words, Mr. Gandhi, in a tweet, questioned the claim. “PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: Why were our soldiers killed? Where were they killed?” he asked.

With inputs from The Hindu

She poses questions at all-party meet

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday said the Opposition was willing to make any sacrifice to ensure that Indian troops were “battle-ready”.

In her remarks at an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), she asked the government to assure the nation that status quo ante would be restored and the Chinese would return to their original position.

Ms. Gandhi posed a series of questions, including the one on the possibility of an “intelligence failure”, and asserted that 20 Indian soldiers had to die because of a delay in taking up the issue of intrusion at the highest political and diplomatic level of the Chinese leadership.

“On which date did the Chinese troops intrude into our territory in Ladakh? When did the government find out the Chinese transgressions into our territory? Was it on May 5, as reported, or earlier? Does the government not receive, on a regular basis, satellite pictures of the borders of our country,” she asked.

“The question is, what next? What is the way forward? The entire country would like an assurance that the status quo ante would be restored and China will revert to the original position on the Line of Actual Control,” she said.

She lamented that the government had convened the all-party meeting late and assured it of cooperation from the Opposition in taking on China.

“We would also like to be briefed on the preparedness of our defence forces to meet any threat. In particular, I would like to ask what is the current status of the Mountain Strike Corps, with two mountain infantry divisions, that was sanctioned in 2013? Should the government not treat it with utmost priority? We, in the Indian National Congress and the entire Opposition, unitedly stand by our defence forces and are prepared to make any sacrifice to ensure they are battle-ready,” she said. India should present “a picture of unity and solidarity to the entire world”, she said.

Ms. Gandhi also urged the Prime Minister to “share with us all the facts and the sequence of events beginning April this year till date”.

With inputs from The Hindu

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has argued for toning down “nationalist rhetoric” and cautioned against calls for economic boycott in the backdrop of Galwan valley clashes.

In his letter on Friday, Mr. Gowda, while stating that he fully appreciates the Prime Minister’s decision to call for a meeting of Opposition leaders to discuss the India-China situation and to ensure a bipartisan environment for discussions, urged that “nationalist rhetoric should be toned down” in order to ensure that the matter is not escalated.

Mr. Gowda also warned the government against encouraging “reactionary language of economic boycott” which can have deep implications. “We should here be guided by pragmatism,” he said.

Speaking of media outlets “spreading fake information and cheap rhetoric”, he said it could end up endangering the lives of soldiers and diplomatic staff. “This is not the time for a language of provocation and revenge,” he said, warning particularly about social media.

He suggested that a senior serving military officer and a senior serving diplomat make a detailed presentation to Opposition leaders on the ground situation, and the progress of talks. “Only with this information could there be a meaningful exchange of ideas between the government and Opposition leaders. Most of the information that is now available to us is from the media, and it cannot be always trusted as accurate. The demand here is not for classified details, but truthful information,” he said in the letter.

Mr. Gowda also urged Opposition leaders not to use intemperate language. “This is an hour for cooperation. Domestic politics and national security interests cannot be equated. Having said this, I do not mean we should not question the government. It should be done keeping in mind that there are larger issues at stake.”

Mr. Gowda said that it is the duty of political leadership to quell anxiety that “we are engulfed by hostile nations” with proper information. “Underplaying certain developments and overstating certain information may be a bad strategy in the long run,” he said.

The former Prime Minister also warned against the “effort to politicise the armed forces” which he described as “dangerous.” “They should be allowed to remain a professional force. When they remain a professional force, they will advise the government of the day fearlessly and correctly,” he said.

With inputs from The Hindu

PTI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday denied any Chinese intrusion to Indian terrioty and said that “Neither has anyone entered our border, nor have any of our posts been occupied by anyone.

“Addressing the all-party meeting on the LAC situation, PM Modi said neither have the Chinese intruded into India’s territory nor has any post been taken over by them.

“20 of our jawans were martyred, but those who dared Bharat Mata, they were taught a lesson,” PM Modi was quoted as saying by ANI.

The Prime Minister said that Indian armed forces are doing what they have to do to protect the country, whether it is deployment, action or counter-action.Highlighting India’s potential, the PM said no one can take even an “inch of the land”.

“Today, we possess the capability that no one can eye even one inch of our land. India’s armed forces have the capability to move into multiple sectors at one go,” said the prime minister.

Srinagar: The Union Government Friday said that the recovery rate has reached to 53.80 per cent in the country and a total of two lakh four thousand 711 people affected with Coronavirus have been cured so far.

“During the last twenty four hours, 10 thousand 386 people have recovered from COVID-19. Presently, the total number of active Corona cases in the country is one lakh 63 thousand 248”.

According to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), Health and Family Welfare Ministry said, “A total of 13 thousand 586 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to three lakh 80 thousand 532. This is the highest number of cases registered in a single day since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. In one day, a total of 336 deaths were reported taking the nationwide toll to 12 thousand 573. With this, the case fatality rate reached to 3.30 per cent in the country”.

Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR said that a total of one lakh 76 thousand 959 tests of Corona virus samples were conducted by the various laboratories in the country within 24 hours. This is the highest number of tests conducted by the laboratories in a single day. So far, 64 lakh 26 thousand 627 tests have been conducted.

ICMR is continuously scaling up its testing facilities for COVID-19 by giving approval to government and private laboratories.
As of now, total 960 laboratories across India have been given approval to conduct the test for COVID-19 including 703 government laboratories and 257 private laboratories’ chains. (KINS)