India News
Covid-19 vaccine: Centre to spend Rs 10,000 crore for vaccinating 30 crore people in Phase 1: Report
The Central government has planned to spend Rs 10,000 crore for the first phase Covid-19 vaccination programme to inoculate around 30 crore people by August next year, according to India Today report.
The Central government has planned to spend Rs 10,000 crore for the first phase Covid-19 vaccination programme to inoculate around 30 crore people by August next year, according to India Today report.
The first phase vaccination drive will inoculate 2 crore frontline workers, 26 crore people aged above 50 and 1 crore healthcare workers, said sources.
It is being reported that the Centre has refused to take loan from international banks instead decided to fund the mammoth vaccination drive on its own. While states like Kerala and Bihar will give vaccines free of cost, a similar announcement will soon be made by other states as well, the sources said.
The report says the government has targeted to inoculate 30 crores Indians by August next year, and to vaccinate overall 80 crores of people by the end of 2022. With the support of private firms, the vaccination campaigns will reportedly be made easy and smooth across the country.
The health workers including nurses, medical supervisors among others will be the first to get vaccine shots as per guidelines drafted by the Centre. This would be followed by frontline workers which includes Army, Navy, Air Force personnels, home guards, coast guards etc. People of an age above 50 will be given the third priority in the vaccination drive as they are more prone to severe infectious disease.
Among three vaccine candidates in the fray for emergency use authorisation, Covishield vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca with Serum Institute of India would be the first to be ready and checked for safety in the first phase of mass inoculation as against other two vaccine doses from Pfizer and Bharat Biotech in the country.
Pune-based SII had earlier stated that 500 million doses will be kept in stock till March 2021. The estimated vaccine cost would be Rs 250 per dose. Overall 600 million doses would be needed by the country for inoculation of 30 crores Indians under the first phase of vaccination drive as planned.
Also Read: Sonia Gandhi to meet Congress rebels questioning leadership
Meanwhile, India has so far recorded 9.98 million Covid-19 cases. Out of which 9.53 million of people have recovered and 1,45 000 people have died of the infectious disease.
India News
Mumbai: Teenager steals family ornaments worth Rs 7.40 lakh and sells them to have fun with his friends
According to reports the boy’s father Selvin Armadurai (48) is a businessman based in Andheri East. Selvin lives with his wife Jaba. The couple have two children. Selvin’s son Edin Joy is 16 years old. He goes to the 11th grade at Shriniwas Bagraga College. His daughter is 14 years old and studies in Class 9.
A teenager stole family ornaments and sold them for enjoyment with his friends in Andheri (East). After his father came to know about the theft the teenager’s father lodged a complaint against his son for allegedly stealing the gold ornaments. According to the police the ornaments were worth Rs 7.40 lakh. Sahar police have arrested the sixteen year old under section 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Act. A case has been registered.
According to reports the boy’s father Selvin Armadurai (48) is a businessman based in Andheri East. Selvin lives with his wife Jaba. The couple have two children. Selvin’s son Edin Joy is 16 years old. He goes to the 11th grade at Shriniwas Bagraga College. His daughter is 14 years old and studies in Class 9. Selvin married again after his first wife passed away. His daughter and Edin Joy are from his first marriage. Afterwards Selvin married Jaba.
Selvin had given the ornament that belonged to his first wife and Children to his sister. When his sister was getting ready to visit her hometown in Tamil Nadu, She gave these gold ornaments to Selvin. Selvin placed the gold ornaments in his bed. He kept the gold ornaments in a plastic pouch for protection. Selvin’s wife and sister knew where he had kept the gold ornaments.
The matter came known on September 11, when Selvin’s daughter wanted to wear the gold ornaments. He couldn’t find the pouch containing them. Both of them told Selvin quickly about it. When Selvin asked his son he confessed to taking the gold ornaments. He said he sold them to have fun with his friends. The stolen gold ornaments are valued at Rs 7.40 lakh. The ornaments includes two chains, two bracelets, six rings, a pair of earings, two bangles and two chains.
India News
MotoGP issues apology for live streaming distorted map of India
MotoGP stated that it was never their intent to make any statement other than that of support and appreciation for their host country.
MotoGP has issued an apology for displaying a distorted map during its live-streaming of practice sessions for India’s inaugural MotoGP race, the IndianOil Grand Prix of India, which commenced on Friday at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida. The map omitted the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, according to reports.
Issuing an official statement, MotoGP expressed its regret. The statement read that they apologise to their fans in India for the map shown earlier as part of the MotoGP broadcast. They added that it was never their intent to make any statement other than that of support and appreciation for their host country.
The statement stated that MotoGP is excited to be able to enjoy the Indian OilGrand Prix of India with fans across India and that they are loving the first taste of Buddh International Circuit. MotoGP Bharat which is now rebranded as the IndianOil Grand Prix of India, marks its debut in India as the 13th race of the 2023 season. The event is being conducted from today and will conclude on Sunday. Reportedly, features riders competing on superbikes at speeds exceeding 300 km/h to claim victory under the checkered flag.
Online controversy broke out when multiple social media users raised concerns about the map displayed during MotoGP’s live-streamed practice sessions. Users on social media platforms like X, formerly Twitter enquired why India’s wrong map was used and demanded an explanation from MotoGP and the Indian organisers.
Several social media users asked MotoGP to clarify why their live-streaming of the practice session had this map with Bharat’s head missing? They added that if it is a mistake, it needs to be immediately corrected and not repeated again in qualifying and the main race. They further requested MotoGP to provide a feed of the practice session, if they think the image is edited debunking the claim which is doing rounds on social media.
Following the uproar, the race organisers corrected the map and issued a clarification in response to the public’s concerns.
India News
Chandrayaan-3: ISRO postpones plans to reactivate Vikram Lander, Pragyan Rover on September 23
After Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24, both Vikram and Pragyan functioned effectively for a duration of 14 Earth days. The Rover was put on sleep mode on September 2, while the Lander was on September 4.
The Indian Space Research Organisation on Friday postponed the plans to reactivate Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover to September 23.
After Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon on August 24, both Vikram and Pragyan functioned effectively for a duration of 14 Earth days. The Rover was put on sleep mode on September 2, while the Lander was on September 4.
They were put on sleep mode for approximately 16 Earth days before the lunar night enveloped the south pole of the Moon.
Speaking on Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, Nilesh Desai, Director of Space Application Centre said that earlier we planned to reactivate the Pragyan Rover and Vikram Lander on the evening of September 22, but due to some reasons we will do it on September 23, said Desai.
He further said a plan to take out the Lander and Rover from the sleep mode and reactivate it, adding that, we had a plan to move the Rover to almost 300 to 350 metres but due to some reasons, the Rover has moved 105 metres there.
In collaboration with MyGov, ISRO has invited the citizens to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz. The step was taken with the motive to honour India’s amazing space exploration journey. This will help to explore the wonders of the moon and show our love and passion for science.
In order to participate in the Chandrayaan-3 Mahaquiz, the participants would be required to create an account on the MyGov website. There is a cash prize for the winners and it also allows individuals to download the certificate.
Earlier, the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Pragyan rover also detected aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon and oxygen, as expected.
ISRO also shared a graph of the observation on X, illustrating the temperature variation of the lunar surface at various depths, as recorded during the probe’s penetration.
