Heena Sharma Blog

  India's COVID-19 caseload crossed the 82 lakh-mark, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 75.44 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 91.68 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 82,29,313 with 45,231 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,22,607 with 496 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. A totalof75,44,798 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far, taking the national recovery rate to 91.68 per cent, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.49 per cent. The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below six lakh for the fourth consecutive day. There are 5,61,908 active coronavirus cases in the country as on date which comprise 6.83 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. Read More

Asserting that central government employees may have to work with staggered attendance and variable working hours, the Personnel Ministry has come out with a draft framework for ' work for home ' for the staff post-lockdown. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) may provide the option to work from home to the eligible officers/staff for 15 days in a year as a matter of policy, it said. There are 48,34,000 central government employees. In a communique to all central government departments, the Personnel Ministry said the Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated many ministries to operate from home to maintain social distancing. Read More

With new coronavirus cases being discovered in the country each day and panic among people also increasing, the government has proposed various measures to contain the spread of the disease. The latest steps in the fight against the pandemic come at a time when the number of positive cases in India has reached 125, with fresh cases being reported from Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Kerala and Telangana. In this edition of Business Standard podcast, we will discuss different measures taken by the government to control the outbreak. On Monday, a Group of Ministers (GoM) proposed various measures, including the closure of all educational and recreational institutions across the country. The government has also barred travellers from countries in the European Union, Turkey, the UK, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Malaysia from coming to India till March 31. Read More

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India awaits the arrival of US President Donald Trump , asserting that his visit will further strengthen the friendship between the two countries. "India awaits your arrival @POTUS @realDonaldTrump! Your visit is definitely going to further strengthen the friendship between our nations," Modi tweeted. "See you very soon in Ahmedabad," he said, responding to a tweet by Trump that he was leaving for India with the US First Lady. Trump will reach Ahmedabad around noon on Monday. Read More

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday decided not to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narenda Modi as prime minister citing 'untrue" claims by BJP that 54 of the party workers were murdered in political violence in Bengal. Banerjee had on Tuesday confirmed her presence at the ceremony to be held on May 30. "Congratulations, new Prime Minister, Narendra Modiji. It was my plan to accept the "constitutional invitation" and attend the oath taking ceremony. However, in last one year, I am seeing media reports that the BJP are claiming 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. This is completely untrue. There have been no political murders in Bengal. These deaths may have occurred due to personal enemity, family quarrels and other disputes, nothing related to politics. There is no such record with us," Banerjee said in a tweet. "So I am sorry, Narendra Modi ji, this has compelled me not to attend the ceremony....

Five Indian sailors have been abducted by pirates in Nigeria and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has asked the Indian high commissioner there to take up the matter at the highest levels of the Nigerian government to ensure their release. She also asked Indian ambassador in Nigeria Abhay Thakur to send her a report on the matter. "I have seen news reports about abduction of five Indian sailors by pirates in Nigeria. I am asking Indian High Commissioner to take this up at the highest level with Government of Nigeria for their release," Swaraj tweeted. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Karti Chidambaram , son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday in connection with a money laundering probe against him. Officials said Karti Chidambaram was summoned to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He arrived at the ED office in Jamnagar House in central Delhi at about 11 am. It is understood that he would be questioned in the INX Media case , officials said. The agency has alleged that Karti received money from INX Media, using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against it in a case of violation of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) conditions to receive investment from Mauritius. It registered a PMLA case in May 2017 to probe the issue. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Vivek Oberoi is all set to take the big screens by storm as the actor will be seen essaying the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a biopic. The biopic titled ' PM Narendra Modi ' will be helmed by Omung Kumar, director of some critically acclaimed biopic films including 'Mary Kom' and 'Sarbjit'. The biographical drama, based on the life of Prime Minister Modi, is being produced by Sandip Singh. Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to his Twitter handle to share the news, writing, "IT'S OFFICIAL... Vivekanand Oberoi [Vivek Oberoi] to star in Narendra Modi biopic, titled #PMNarendraModi ... Directed by Omung Kumar... Produced by Sandip Singh... First look poster will be launched on 7 Jan 2019... Filming starts mid-Jan 2019." The first look of the film will be out on January 7 while the shooting will kick start in mid-January. Read More Business Standard

On December 28, the Government of India okayed India’s first human spaceflight programme at a cost of Rs 9,023 crore. The programme will attempt to launch three Indian astronauts to low-Earth orbit for as many as seven days. If the mission – slated to happen in 2022 – succeeds, India will become only the fourth country in the world able to launch astronauts into space. It is not yet clear what the astronauts will do in space. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which is leading the programme, has said they will perform some science experiments on their first flight but nothing of what comes after. But there’s no doubt that there are a lot of possibilities, and that astronauts – Indian and otherwise – have lots left to do in the coming decades. They’re crucial in everything from extraterrestrial mining to Mars missions, space diplomacy to weaponisation,. In this sense, it is important for space organisations to maintain a keen awareness of their spacefarers’ f...

Reacting to election trends, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday said the BJP was nowhere in the "semi-final" ahead of the "final match" in 2019 and people were always the "man of the match" in a democracy. "People voted against BJP. This is the people's verdict and victory of the people of this country. Victory of democracy and victory against injustice, atrocities, destruction of institutions, misuse of agencies, no work for poor people, farmers, youth, Dalits, C, ST, OBC, minorities and general caste," she said in a series of tweets. The Trinamool Congress chief, who is currently in Delhi and holding meetings with opposition leaders, also said the trends indicated the outcome of the 2019 general elections . "Semifinal proves that BJP is nowhere in all the states. This is a real democratic indication of 2019 final match. Ultimately, people are always the 'man of the match' of democracy. My congrats ...

We live in an age when technology drives most of what we do in our day-to-day lives. And blessed as we are with tech boons such as smartphones and instant messaging applications, the subtle art of writing letter may seem outdated. But when it comes to giving expression to your deepest thoughts , words pulsing through electronic cables seem inadequate -- which is perhaps why letters retain their relevance and may never go out of fashion. And two timely offerings -- one by former Indian minister, diplomat and parliamentarian K. Natwar Singh, and the other by prize-winning international bestselling author Simon Sebag Montefiore -- rekindle the joy of writing letters and bring to fore the nostalgia associated with this timeless practice. In " Treasured Epistles ", which released in late September, Singh, a man of many distinctions, states that his life has been enriched immensely by his gift for friendship and personal relations. The letters also convey more ...

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Friday termed Hindi as the symbol of socio-political and linguistic unity of the country and pitched for the translation of literature of regional languages into it. Addressing an event organised on the occasion of ' Hindi Divas ', Naidu said Hindi was the main communication language among the freedom fighters of the country and it was spoken and understood by most of the people in the country. "It was the symbol of social, political, religious and linguistic unity of the country. Even today, these qualities make it acceptable among all other languages," he said. The Vice President said all Indian languages were vibrant and each of them had its own literature, dictionary and idioms. "There should be more translation into Hindi, the literature of all regional languages, so that we can access the literature of all Indian languages easily," he said. Read Complete Article

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted all the sports enthusiasts on the occasion of National Sports Day. Sports News : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted all the sports enthusiasts on the occasion of National Sports Day . The day is celebrated in India every year to mark the birth anniversary of Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand who helped the nation win four Olympics gold medals in the years 1928, 1934 and 1936. Taking to twitter, the PM paid tribute to the exceptional hockey player on his 113th birth anniversary and urged people to give priority to sports-related activities. "Greetings to all sports enthusiasts on National Sports Day. Tributes to the phenomenal hockey player, Major Dhyan Chand Ji on his birth anniversary. Modi further praised all the athletes participating in the ongoing 18th edition of the Asian Games and those who brought laurels to the nation in the Commonwealth Games. "I salute all those who have rep...

Kumar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme 'Lok Samvad' Current Affairs News : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that if Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma is found involved or if anything is found against her in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal , she may be asked "to go". Kumar said this in response to the Opposition demand for the resignation Verma in the wake of sexual abuse of girls at a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur. Verma is in the eye of a storm after the name of her husband cropped up in connection with the abuse case. The chief minister said his government has decided to run such shelter homes across the state directly. Kumar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme "Lok Samvad". Article Source >> BS

The proposed 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit organisations on August 9 to protest the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act should be called off as the centre has decided to bring an amendment bill to restore the law, LJP leader and Lok Sabha MP General News : The proposed 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit organisations on August 9 to protest the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act should be called off as the centre has decided to bring an amendment bill to restore the law, LJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Chirag Paswan today said. "There is no reason now to go ahead with the bandh and protest the Supreme Court verdict given that the government has decided to bring an amendment," he told reporters here, adding that the legislation could be introduced today itself and passed early next week after a debate. Dalit groups under the banner of the All India Ambedkar Mahasabha (AIAM) have given a call for Bharat Bandh on August 9 to press for their dem...

The I-T department alleged that the trio had not disclosed Rs 53.7 mn worth of property they jointly own in Cambridge and Rs 32.8 mn worth of properties in the USA Current Affairs News : A magistrate court in Chennai on Monday directed former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's family members to appear in court on August 20 without fail in connection with the black money case . Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S Malarvizhi ordered the personal appearance of Chidambaram's wife Nalini, son Karti and his wife Srinidhi on August 20 since they failed to do so on Monday. According to the Income Tax Department, Karti had not disclosed his bank account in Metro Bank, the UK, and investments he had made in Nano Holdings LLC, USA. Also, the department said Karti had failed to disclose investments made by Chess Global Advisory, a company co-owned by him, which is an offence under the Black Money Act. The department stated that the trio had not disclosed Rs 53.7 ...

The UK's Court of Appeal refused Mallya the permission to appeal against a UK High Court order in favour of 13 Indians banks to recover funds amounting to nearly £1.145 billion. Current Affairs News : Vijay Mallya has lost his attempt to appeal against a UK High Court order in favour of 13 Indian banks to recover funds amounting to nearly £1.145 billion, in another setback to the embattled liquor tycoon. The UK's Court of Appeal refused the 62-year-old businessman, who is separately undergoing an extradition trial in a UK court over fraud and money laundering charges by the Indian authorities, the permission to appeal against the High Court order dated May 8. In the ruling, Judge Andrew Henshaw had refused to overturn a worldwide order freezing Mallya's assets and also denied permission to appeal, which left Mallya with the only option of turning to the Court of Appeal. Judge Henshaw's order marked the first recorded case of a judgment of the Debt Rec...