Heena Sharma Blog

  As farmers in Ghaziabad on began 'Black Day' protests on Wednesday to mark completion of six months of their agitation against Centre's agricultural laws, the Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait assured that the protests will be carried out peacefully in adherence to Covid-19 protocols. "Protests will be done peacefully. We are following the Covid-19 protocols . Not many are expected to come here. People are putting up black flags wherever possible to mark the protests," Tikait told ANI. The farmer union leader said that they were protesting because the Centre was not listening to them. "It has been 6 months now, but the Centre is not listening to us. So, farmers are putting up black flags", he said. "We will continue the farmer protests till the time Centre repeals the farm laws. We had planned to protest by putting tri-colour flags. However, the authorities had objections to it and hence, we decided to mark this protest by ho...

  The city's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Wednesday said as many as six flights, including three departures, have been cancelled in view of cyclone Yaas in the Bay of Bengal. The flights to other regions, however, continue to operate as per schedule, CSMIA said a statement. In light of the developments around Cyclone Yaas in the Bay of Bengal, the airport witnessed cancellation of flights between Mumbai to Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, CSMIA said. Approximately six flights, three arrivals and departures each, have been cancelled so far, it said. Read More

With just hours to go before the new IT rules for social media companies take effect, large digital platforms Facebook and Google on Tuesday asserted they are working towards meeting the compliance requirements. The new rules, announced on February 25, require large social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to follow additional due diligence, including the appointment of a chief compliance officer, nodal contact person and resident grievance officer. 'Significant social media intermediaries' -- defined as those with over 50 lakh registered users -- were given three months to comply with the additional requirements. Non-compliance with rules would result in these social media companies losing their intermediary status that provides them exemptions and specified immunity from liabilities for any third-party information and data hosted by them. In other words, they could be liable for action. Read More  

  Poco is one of the brands that do not shy away from experimenting with radical colour themes in their smartphones. That legacy continues with the Poco X3 Pro . Aimed at young buyers, the phone comes in three jazzy colour options – graphite black (review unit), steel blue and golden bronze. The colour theme is accentuated by an unconventionally shaped rear camera module and an intriguing patterned design on the back cover. Speaking of the back cover, it is made of good quality polycarbonate featuring a thick glossy stripe at the centre sandwiched between stripes in matte finish on the sides. The centre stripe features a Poco logo, which is big enough to come to notice but outlined for minimal distraction. Rounding up the package is the IP53 rating, which is good to handle minor water splashes and dust abuse. It is, however, strongly advised not to expose the phone to either water or dust as both can damage the phone severely. While the overall design is good, the build is uninspi...

  Aiming to make a strong presence in the overcrowded mid-segment smartphones, smartphone brand iQOO has brought its 7 series of flagship smartphones to India with several exciting features. The company has unveiled two new smartphones -- iQOO 7 and iQOO 7 Legend . The iQOO 7 starts at Rs 31,990 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage variant, while the iQOO 7 Legend starts at Rs 39,990 for the same variant (it also has a 12GB+256GB model for Rs 43,990). iQOO 7 Legend comes in a single colour option that depicts the symbolic logo of BMW Motorsport. Both the iQOO 7 Legend and the iQOO 7 utilise a full sensing screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, which can be revved up to 1000Hz sampling rate with a 300Hz report rate by using the new Super Touch Acceleration function. Read More

  British home appliance maker Dyson on Tuesday launched two new brands of vacuum cleaners equipped with dust-detecting laser technology as the company tries to expand sales here amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Dyson's V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim cordless vacuum cleaners will be sold in South Korea with price tags of 1.24 million won ($1,100) and 1.09 million won, respectively. The two vacuum cleaners were already launched in select markets earlier this year. Dyson said the latest vacuum cleaners boast a laser technology on the cleaning head that reveals micro dust and dirt particles on the floor, reports Yonhap news agency. They also have a piezo sensor that can measure and count dust particles, and show such data on an LCD screen. The sensor, which converts vibrations into electric signals, counts the particles 15,000 times a second, according to the company. Read More

  The deadline to comply with the new legal rules meant for big social media platforms , which were issued by the government three months ago, is ending on Tuesday, threatening the operations of the likes of Twitter in India. According to top official sources, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and others, which were required to abide by the rules notified in the gazette of India on February 25 under Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021, have failed to comply on many accounts till date. The government's rules will come into effect from May 26. "If social media companies do not obey the rules, they may lose their status and protections as intermediaries and may become liable for criminal action as per the existing laws of India," top official sources said. Except one Indian social media company, Koo, sources said that none of the top social media intermediaries have appointed a resident grievance officer, a chief complianc...

  Aimed at the evolving needs of users in hybrid work environments, Microsoft India on Tuesday announced the general availability of Surface Laptop 4 for commercial and education customers. Surface Laptop 4 for consumers will start from Rs 102,999 (AMD Ryzen 5 4680U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 13.5-inch size) and going up to Rs 151,999 (Intel Core i5-1135G7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 13.5-inch). The device for commercial users will start from Rs 105,499 (AMD Ryzen 5 4680U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 13.5-inch size) and go up to Rs 177,499 (Intel Core i7-1185G7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 15-inch), the company said in a statement. "Our latest line-up provides increased mobility, enhanced performance, and enterprise-grade security features to support the modern-day user throughout their transition into the hybrid era," said Rajiv Sodhi, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft India. The devices are offered in either the 11th Gen Intel Core processors, or AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors with Radeon Gra...

  India crossed a significant landmark in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic after the cumulative number of coronavirus vaccine doses for the 18-44 age group under Phase-3 of the vaccination drive administered in the country crossed one crore on Monday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country exceeded 19.60 crores today under Phase-3 of the nationwide Vaccination Drive. According to the health ministry, a total of 19,60,51,962 vaccine doses have been administered through 28,16,725 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. "These include 97,60,444 HCWs who have taken the 1st dose and 67,06,890 HCWs who have taken the 2nddose, 1,49,91,357 FLWs (1stdose), 83,33,774 FLWs (2nddose), 1,06,21,235 beneficiaries under 18-44 age group (1stdose), 6,09,11,756 (1stdose) and 98,18,384 (2nd dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years. 5,66,45,457 1stdose beneficiaries and 1,82,62,6...

  Odisha's COVID-19 caseload crossed the 7-lakh mark on Monday with 11,059 more people testing positive for the infection, a health official said. The state also registered its highest single-day fatalities at 32, taking its death toll to 2,516, he said. As many as 6,193 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while the remaining 4,866 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said. The fresh infections have pushed the state's coronavirus caseload to 7,03,441, the official said. Cuttack district reported the highest number of fresh cases at 1,133, followed by Khurda (1,010) and Angul (859). Of the 32 fresh fatalities, Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, reported the highest at six, followed by four each in Ganjam and Jharsuguda and three each in Angul, Kalahandi and Sundergarh. Read More

  Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a virtual meeting on Monday with the Chief Ministers of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to review preparations in view of cyclone Yaas. Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with senior government officials to review the preparations for the approaching Cyclone Yaas . Amit Shah had also attended this meeting along with senior government officials and representatives from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Secretaries from Telecom, Power, Civil aviation, Earth Sciences Ministries to review preparations against the approaching Cyclone Yaas. The Armed Forces also have commenced preparations to mitigate the impact of the anticipated disaster by airlifting 950 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel across the country, with 26 helicopters in standby for immediate deployment. Read More

  The OnePlus 9 Pro (review) is a solid smartphone packed with all sorts of fancy bells and whistles that you expect from a premium smartphone. Though competitively priced, some might find it expensive. For those who do, there is no harm in checking out the Pro model’s younger sibling, the OnePlus 9. Though it cuts some corners on premium features, it brings a motley mix of specifications and features for uncompromised everyday smartphone experience. Starting with the design, the OnePlus 9 looks almost identical to the Pro model but is more compact. It has a glass cover on the front and back, but the metallic chassis of the Pro model is replaced here by a plastic one. However, the thin and lightweight design and compact form factor compensate for the slightly inferior build. Another apparent change is in the rear camera module, which looks less busy than the one present in the Pro model. Read More

  Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State COVID task force head Dr CN Ashwathnarayan on Thursday said that Mucormycosis or black fungus has been declared as a notifiable disease and none of the hospitals should give treatment for this disease without bringing to the notice of the concerned government authorities. Speaking to reporters during his visit to the Suttur Mutt, he said, "Government is providing treatment for black fungus in all the six division centres of the state and Mysuru Medical College will be providing the treatment in this region. Apart from this, the treatment is available in private hospitals also." He also said that the drug required for the treatment of black fungus is at present is being imported and now a few companies have come forward to manufacture here itself. Once the manufacture begins here, it would resolve the issue of shortage of the drug. Read More

  An Indian Air Force pilot was killed after a MiG-21 Bison aircraft crashed in Punjab's Moga district, officials said on Friday. The aircraft was on a routine sortie from Suratgarh when it crashed near a village in Moga, they said. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident which took place late Thursday night.   There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said in a tweet. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries. IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, it said. Read More

  The Mumbai Police on Friday registered an FIR against the captain of barge P305, which sank on Monday in the Arabian Sea, 35 nautical miles from Mumbai under the impact of the Cyclone Tauktae . The barge captain Rakesh Ballav, along with others, has been booked on the basis of a complaint by rescued barge engineer Mustafizur Rehman Shaikh. According to the police, the case has been registered in Mumbai's Yellow Gate police station. "A case has been registered against Barge P305 Captain Rakesh Ballav and others on the complaint of a barge engineer. The case has been registered under section 304(2), 338 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," the police said. Police also said it has launched a search for the Captain. According to the FIR, despite receiving alerts on Cyclone Tauktae approaching, Captain Rakesh Ballav and others did not make any arrangements for the safety of the staff on board, due to which the barge sank in the cyclone storm and many lost their...

  Xiaomi is no newbie in the premium smartphone segment, but in India it is not so well known for its flagship offerings as it wasn’t until recently that this Chinese technology company started bringing such products here. Expanding its premium smartphone portfolio, the company recently launched the Mi 11 Ultra in India. Touted as ‘the Superphone’, this flagship smartphone is brimful with industry-leading features and specifications. That said, the Mi 11 Ultra is capable of beating other premium smartphones on more parameters than one, but the real-life experience shows it wanting in some areas. Beginning with strengths, the Mi 11 Ultra is a spectacular smartphone with regard to display, audio, imaging, performance, and battery efficiency. The display is sharp, bright, vivid and responsive. It is loaded with value-added features like an adaptive refresh rate, motion smoothing, support for high dynamic range content (HDR10+ and Dolby Vision), etc. That said, the display is fu...

  Popular social media platform Snapchat has reached over 500 million monthly active users, with roughly 40 per cent of its community located outside of North America and Europe. In India, Snapchat has seen over 100 per cent (year-over-year) growth in daily active users (DAUs) in each of the last five quarters, the company announced during its third Snap Partner Summit virtually late on Thursday. Snap also announced new features, latest updates and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences, like new AR tools and camera experiences, the next generation of Spectacles and launched 'Story Studio' -- a new standalone app offering powerful editing tools to creators on mobile. "Built with Creators in mind, Story Studio will offer insights into trends happening on Snapchat. It is launching later this year on iOS and will be available for free," the company said in a statement. Read More

  Amid the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi will interact with the district magistrates (DMs) and field officials of 10 States today. "PM Modi will interact with the DMs and field officials of 10 States-Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh today", informed an official statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a meeting with field officials from states and districts about their experience in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also attended the virtual meeting where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present. Also, on May 16, PM Modi discussed the COVID-19 situation with the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry over a phone call. Read More

  Drug major Cipla on Thursday announced the commercialisation of its RT-PCR test kit ' ViraGen ' for COVID-19 in India, in partnership with Ubio Biotechnology Systems. "This launch will help address the current testing services and capacity issues while reaffirming the company's ongoing expansion in the diagnostic space," Cipla said in a regulatory filing. Cipla will launch ViraGen test kit in the country in partnership with Ubio Biotechnology Systems, the company stated. The company will commence supply of the COVID-19 virus detection kit from May 25, 2021. Umang Vohra, MD and Global CEO, Cipla, said, Cipla has been working relentlessly to ensure accessibility to treatments in this fight against COVID-19. Guided by our core purpose of 'Caring for Life', this partnership will enable us to reach out to more people across the country at a crucial time like now. Read More

  As many as 188 workmen have been rescued and 37 bodies have been recovered from barge P305 which sank in the Arabian Sea 35 nautical miles from Mumbai under the impact of cyclone Tauktae , informed the Indian Navy on Thursday. Navy in a statement said that a unit of Coast Guard has joined the search and rescue (SAR) operations being carried out in the Arabian Sea. "188 survivors and 37 Brave Nature Victims (BNV) rescued and recovered so far. INS Kolkata arrived at Mumbai and is disembarking survivors and BNVs. INS Kochi rejoins SAR efforts. Indian Navy ships and aircraft continue to search for the missing crew members. Coast Guard units have joined the SAR effort," tweeted the Spokesperson of the Indian Navy. The Navy also rescued two more persons from a tugboat, Varaprada which went adrift in the Arabian Sea due to the cyclonic storm. Read More

  The double mutant B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV2 is further mutating and one of its sub-lineages, the B.1.617.2, reported in India, is more infectious than its parent and fast increasing its footprint, according to Rakesh Mishra, former Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. He also said there is nothing called the Singapore variant, a term that has led to a war of words between the Centre and the AAP government after Singapore objected to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's tweet that a "new" coronavirus strain in the city-state is very dangerous for children. Singapore's health ministry on Tuesday night said the strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which was first detected in India. Amid criticism over Kejriwal's Singapore COVID-19 variant remark, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday claimed there was a "different strain" of coronavirus spreading in that ...

  Ganga Ram hospital Chairperson Dr DS Rana on Tuesday said that Remdesivir is also being considered to be dropped from COVID-19 treatment soon as there is no evidence of its effectiveness in treating COVID-19 patients. This move comes after, the use of convalescent plasma has been dropped from the recommended treatment protocols for COVID -19, according to advisory from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). While talking to ANI, Ganga Ram hospital Chairperson Dr DS Rana said, "In plasma therapy, we give a pre-forwarded antibody to someone who has been infected before, so that the antibody can fight with the virus. Antibodies usually form when the coronavirus attacks. We have seen in the last one year that giving plasma does not make any difference in the condition of the patient and other people. Also, it is not easily available. Plasma therapy was started on a scientific basis and has been discontinued on the basis of evidence." Read More

  The Navy on Wednesday said its personnel, battling extreme weather, have so far rescued 184 of the 273 people onboard barge P305, adding all personnel on board two other barges and an oil rig are safe after Cyclone Tauktae fury rendered these vessels adrift. "As of Wednesday morning, 184 personnel of barge P305 have been rescued and INS Kochi and INS Kolkata are returning to Mumbai harbour with the rescuees. "INS Teg, INS Betwa, INS Beas, P8I aircraft and Seaking helicopters are continuing with the search and rescue operations," a Navy spokesperson said. All the 137 personnel on barge GAL Constructor were rescued on Tuesday by the Navy and Coast Guard. The 196 personnel on barge SS-3 and 101 personnel on board oil rig Sagar Bhushan are safe, the official said. Read More

  Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that more pharma companies should be allowed to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine in the country during the pandemic to scale up production. While addressing a meeting via video conferencing Gadkari said, "If the demand of vaccine is more than the supply, it creates the problem. So, instead of one company, let 10 more companies be given the license to manufacture the vaccine." "There are 2-3 laboratories in every state. They should be given the formula to produce the COVID-19 vaccines. They can give royalty," Gadkari said. "Let them supply in the country and later if there is surplus, they may export. It can be done in 15-20 days," he added. Currently, only two firms - Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India - are manufacturing COVID vaccines in the country and only three vaccines have so far been approved to be sold in India --- COVAXIN, COVESHIELD and Sputnik V. Read More

  Apple Inc . is preparing to release several new Mac laptops and desktops with faster processors, new designs and improved connectivity to external devices, accelerating the company’s effort to replace Intel Corp. chips and leapfrog rival PC makers. The overhaul encompasses a broad range of Macs, including Apple’s higher-end laptop, the MacBook Pro ; the laptop aimed at the mass market, the MacBook Air ; and its desktop computers, the Mac Pro, iMac and Mac mini, according to people familiar with the matter. Redesigned MacBook Pros are expected to debut as soon as early this summer, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter, followed by a revamped MacBook Air, a new low-end MacBook Pro and an all-new Mac Pro workstation. The company is also working on a higher-end Mac mini desktop and larger iMac. The machines will feature processors designed in-house that will greatly outpace the performance and capabilities of the current M1 chips, the people said...