K’taka doctors asked to call off strike amid Covid crisis

TB Team
-
0
K’taka doctors asked to call off strike amid Covid crisis

Assuring the government doctors of considering their demand for wage revision, Karnataka Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar on Friday urged them to call off their strike and report for duty.

“Going on strike at a time when the state government and other stakeholders were fighting the pandemic, does not behold the doctors as their absence is affecting healthcare, especially Covid-19 patients,” Sudhakar told reporters at an event here.

Though the Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association agreed to withdraw the strike at a meeting with the state health department recently, many of its 5,000 members have not been reporting for duty since September 15, demanding salary revision, among other things.

Asserting that the state government was committed to addressing the concerns of the doctors, the minister said it was inhuman for anyone to use the Covid-19 situation for one’s gain.

Admitting that the doctors had a great responsibility in the fight against the deadly disease, Sudhakar hoped they would withdraw the strike and report for duty from Saturday.

Inaugurating the molecular diagnostic laboratory and the skill training center of B. R. Ambedkar Medical College in the city’s south-east suburb, the minister said the chief minister (B.S. Yediyurappa) had agreed to some of the demands, including wage revision, and was waiting for the nod of the state finance department.

“The salaries of doctors under the state health department will be based on 6-year, 13-year, and 20-year promotion,” said Sudhakar.

The doctors also sought to pay parity with their counterparts in the state medical education department or as per the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).

With 1,03,631 active cases, Karnataka ranked second after Maharashtra on the country’s Covid-19 tracker on Thursday.

Though 4,94,356 patients tested positive since March 8 across the southern state, 3,83,077 were discharged to date, while 7,629 have succumbed to the virus so far.

“As we are conducting about 75,000 tests per day, we are recording more positive cases and the pandemic is under control in the state compared to other southern states,” asserted Sudhakar.

The state government is also increasing beds in the intensive care units (ICU) of the state-run hospitals, especially in Bengaluru where more patients are being admitted.

“We are increasing ICU beds and ventilators due to rise in severe cases, while beds in general wards are adequate for new cases,” Sudhakar added.

Govt’s ambitious rural broadband plan running behind schedule

TB Team
-
0
Govt’s ambitious rural broadband plan running behind schedule

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech that every village in the country will be connected by optical fiber cable (OFC) in the next 1,000 days, things on the ground seem to be moving way behind schedule.

The progress of the BharatNet project to provide broadband has been slow — out of the targeted 2.5 lakh gram panchayats planned to be connected, only 1.43 lakh have been made service-ready so far.

The timeline for the ongoing Phase-II of the project, earlier scheduled to be achieved by August 2021, will now be extended.

Minister of State for Communications, Sanjay Dhotre, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha attributed the delay to the lockdown and restrictions on movement imposed by the various state governments due to COVID-19 and other reasons.

“As of September 1, a total of 1,43,885 panchayats have been made service-ready. Further, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed in 69,615 panchayats and 2,43,545 FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) connections provided,” the Minister said in his reply on Thursday.

He said that work on the project began in the second half of 2014 after a field survey of the panchayats concerned and pilot testing of the technology model.

“In Phase-I, only one media (underground OFC) has been used to cover the panchayats, and Right of Way (RoW) issues have delayed the implementation,” he said.

Under Phase-II, about 65,000-gram panchayats in eight states are under implementation mode under the state-led model, and delay in their implementation is also adversely affecting the completion of the project, the Minister added.

He said that the project progress was effected pursuant to the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 and restrictions imposed thereof. With the beginning of the unlock phase, “all efforts are being made to expedite the project implementation”.

However, with the evident delay in the project’s progress, it seems that achieving the Prime Minister’s target of connecting over six lakh villages with optical fiber cable in 1,000 days, or three years, and providing Internet connectivity may be a tough target to meet.

Kangana ‘will quit twitter’ if anyone can prove she starts fights

TB Team
-
0
Kangana ‘will quit twitter’ if anyone can prove she starts fights

Amid a backlash against her abrasive comments on Urmila Matondkar, Jaya Bachchan, and Bollywood in general, actress Kangana Ranaut has claimed that she has a record of never starting a fight, and is ready to quit Twitter if anyone can prove otherwise.

“I may come across as a very ‘ladaku’ person but it’s not true, I have a record of never starting a fight, I will quit twitter if anyone can prove otherwise, I never start a fight but I finish every fight. Lord Krishna said when someone asks (ask) you to fight you mustn’t deny them,” Kangana tweeted on Friday.

Her statement came shortly after she engaged in a tweet spat with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, which followed when the filmmaker took a jibe at Kangana and said that she is a warrior who would keep fighting for herself and the country.

Lately, Kangana has been involved in Twitter spat with several people. She has been hitting the headlines for her ongoing tussle with the Shiv Sena and for her claim that 99 percent of Bollywood is addicted to drugs.

SSR case: CBI’s SIT apprises top officials of developments

TB Team
-
0
SSR case: CBI’s SIT apprises top officials of developments

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the nation’s premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Friday met senior officials and apprised them of the findings into the mysterious death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The team, which returned from Mumbai almost a month after recording the statements of several people and recreating the crime scene met the senior officials of the agency and briefed them about their investigation.

According to agency sources, CBI Superintendent of Police (SP) Nupur Prasad and Deputy SP Anil Yadav met the senior officials at the agency headquarters and apprised them about the development in the case so far.

The CBI had registered a case on August 6 on the orders of the Central government following the recommendation from the Bihar government on the complaint of Sushant’s father K. K. Singh.

The CBI team before going to Mumbai recorded the statement of Sushant’s elder sister Rani Singh and father.

A team of the CBI’s SIT led by Prasad had gone to Mumbai along with the members of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) on August 20, a day after the Supreme Court gave its nod for a federal agency probe into the death of Sushant.

The CBI team was exempted from the mandatory quarantine of 14 days by the BMC. The CBI team stayed at the DRDO guest house, which also acted as its makeshift office. The team collected the documents relating to the investigation by the Mumbai Police and the statements it recorded in the matter.

The CBI team also visited the flat of Sushant, where he was found dead on June 14 along with the CFSL team and recreated the crime scene. The CBI team also met the doctors of the Cooper Hospital, who performed the post-mortem of Sushant and collected the reports. The team had also visited the Waterstone resort, where Sushant stayed for a few months.

During its stay in Mumbai, the CBI team was also joined by the team of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which also visited the Mont Blanc Apartment where Sushant was found dead. The entire crime scene was recreated in the presence of the late actor’s sister Mitu Singh and flatmate Siddharth Pithani, personal staff Neeraj Singh, Keshav Bachne and Dipesh Sawant.

The AIIMS forensic team will be sharing its findings with the CBI team on September 20. The CBI team during its stay in Mumbai also recorded the statement of Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, father Indrajit, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda, Pithani, former manager Shruti Modi, talent manager Jaya Saha and several others.

To know the real cause of the death of Sushant, the CBI team has questioned Rhea, Showik, Pithani and his personal staff multiple times to know what happened between June 8 to 14. Besides the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) are also probing the money laundering angle and the drug angle in the case. The NCB has arrested Rhea, Showik, Miranda, Sawant and several others in connection with the case.

11 more COVID deaths, 2,043 new cases in Telangana

TB Team
-
0
11 more COVID deaths, 2,043 new cases in Telangana

Eleven more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Telangana while 2,043 tested positive for the virus, officials said on Friday.

The fresh fatalities took the cumulative death toll to 1,016 while the case tally mounted to 1,67,046.

The case fatality rate in the state stands at 0.60 percent against the national average of 1.62 percent. About 54 percent of the deceased had comorbidities.

According to a media bulletin issued by the director of public health and family welfare, 70 percent of 1,67,046 cases reported so far in the state were asymptomatic.

As many as 65.23 percent of those tested positive were in the age group of 21-50 years while 21.82 were above 51 years of age. The positive cases include 12.95 percent who were below 20 years.

Officials said 64.83 percent of those tested positive were male while the remaining 38.17 percent were female.

During the last 24 hours ending Thursday 8 p.m., Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reported 314 new cases. Its neighboring districts Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri reported a daily jump of 174 and 144 cases respectively. Sangareddy, another district bordering the state capital, recorded 71 cases.

Outside Hyderabad and its surrounding districts, Nalgonda topped the list with 131 cases followed by Siddipet (121), Karimnagar (114), Warangal Urban (108), and Khammam (84).

The state also saw 1,802 people recovering from the virus during the same period. With this, the total number of recoveries has gone up to 1,35,357.

The state’s recovery rate has further improved to 81.02 percent against the national average of 78.84 percent.

The number of active cases in the state stands at 30,637 including 24,081 in-home/institutional isolation.

The authorities conducted 50,634 tests during the last 24 hours. With this, the number of samples tested so far mounted to 23,79,950.

A total of 17 government-run laboratories, 43 private laboratories, and 1076 rapid antigen test centers conducted 50,634 tests. These include 22,279 primary and 6,076 secondary contacts.

The state health authorities said samples tested per million population improved further to 64,104. This is much higher than the daily testing target of 5,600 per day as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark of 140 per million per day.

Out of 20,396 beds under government, 17,932 beds are vacant including 1,512 ICU beds.

The number of private hospitals treating COVID patients dropped to 219 as the government removed six hospitals from the list. These hospitals have a total of 10,941 beds, out of which 6,813 are vacant.

Google Play store removes Paytm app citing gambling policy

TB Team
-
0
Google Play store removes Paytm app citing gambling policy

Google has removed digital payments major Paytm’s app from its Play Store for allegedly violating its gambling policies.

“Paytm Android app is temporarily unavailable on Google’s Play Store for new downloads or updates. It will be back very soon,” the company said in a tweet on Friday.

“All your money is completely safe, and you can continue to enjoy your Paytm app as normal,” it added.

Google said that it does not allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting.

“When an app violates these policies, we notify the developer of the violation and remove the app from Google Play until the developer brings the app into compliance, Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security, and Privacy, wrote in a blog post.

One of India’s most valuable startups, Paytm, which competes with Google Pay, earlier this month said that that revenue for the fiscal year ended on March 31 increased to Rs 3,629 crore with a 40 percent decline in losses.

IPL 13: Bumrah can fill Malinga’s shoes for MI, feels Lee

TB Team
-
0
IPL 13: Bumrah can fill Malinga’s shoes for MI, feels Lee

Former Australia speedster Brett Lee feels Jasprit Bumrah can fill the shoes of Sri Lanka veteran Lasith Malinga for the Mumbai Indians in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting Saturday.

Malinga wanted to be with his family back home in Sri Lanka and thus opted out for this year’s IPL. According to Lee, Bumrah is good with both old and the new ball and thus can ball at the death overs.

“I have always been a Bumrah fan ever since he burst into the scenes some years ago. He has got a different bowling action, he pushes the ball in and can swing the ball both ways,” Lee said while speaking on Star Sports show Game Plan.

“He is good with the new ball but I like him with the old ball and that’s why he can fill the shoes of Malinga and can bowl at death overs. He can bowl at 140kmph and zoom the ball in at the batsman’s feet. He is bowling yorkers consistently and there are very few bowlers like that, so he can fill those shoes,” he added.

The former Australia pacer further said that the MS Dhoni-led side have a good chance to win the title considering they have a good spin attack which can come in handy across the three venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.

“I have picked them to win and I think CSK has a good chance because of their spin attack.

“With (Mitchell) Santner, (Ravindra) Jadeja needs to step up and be the number one spinner and CSK have got great variety and none of the spinners are same, so they are at an advantage for the conditions in the UAE as the tournament progresses,” he said.

Mumbai Indians will begin their title defense in the tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Flipkart launches MarQ Android 9.0 Smart TV range

TB Team
-
0
Flipkart launches MarQ Android 9.0 Smart TV range

Flipkart on Friday launched a new range of MarQ Smart TVs powered by Android 9.0, ahead of the upcoming festive season.

The MarQ Smart TVs will be available in 32-inch HD and 43-inch Full HD/4K Ultra HD variants at a starting price of Rs 11,999.

“India is adopting a smarter and connected lifestyle and with MarQ Android 9.0 Smart TVs, they get an affordable option without compromising on quality, features, and aesthetics,” Dev Iyer, VP, Private Brands at Flipkart said in a statement.

The TV series come with new design features such as a metal ribbon stand that occupies less space and comes equipped with Dolby Audio.

The TVs also feature greater connectivity options to ensure hassle-free entertainment — the HD variants consist of 3 HDMI and 2 USB ports, while the 43-inch Ultra-HD variant comes with 4 HDMI and 3 USB ports.

In addition, the company also unveiled MarQ Smart Home Speakers for Rs 3,499.

India, Pak trade heavy fire on LoC

TB Team
-
0
India, Pak trade heavy fire on LoC

Indian and Pakistan armies traded heavy fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Gurez sector of Bandipora district on Friday.

The Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked shelling to target Indian positions, Colonel Rajesh Kalia, a defence ministry spokesman said. It used mortars and other weapons at LoC in the Kanzalwan area.

“Befitting response is being given by the Indian army,” the spokesman added. Reports from the area said the heavy exchange of fire has been going on between the two sides since 11 a.m.

Panic gripped villagers living close to the LoC in Gurez and some of them started shifting with families to safer places.

Sona Mohapatra on Kangana’s recent attacks: ‘Worst act of opportunism’

TB Team
-
0
Sona Mohapatra on Kangana’s recent attacks: ‘Worst act of opportunism’

Singer Sona Mohapatra has slammed actress Kangana Ranaut, saying that playing the messiah by using a tragic death is the worst act of opportunism.

The singer took to Twitter to share her viewpoint on Kangana, who has been in the news over the past weeks for her controversial comments about Bollywood’s alleged drug culture as well as her abrasive attacks on celebrities including Jaya Bachchan and Urmila Matondkar who countered her opinion. Kangana also hit the headlines earlier with her statements related to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

“The number of misogynistic slurs spilling from her mouth now makes me wonder about the ‘feminist scholars’ who had hated on me in 2017 when I’d called out Kangana. My choice of words I’m not too proud of but nevertheless had smelt the problem a mile away,” Sona tweeted while sharing a link to an article from 2017 which called out Sona for attacking Kangana.

“Calling others Gold digger, mafia bimbo, Sasti copy, Soft porn star?!? Playing the messiah of the masses by using a tragic death is the worst act of opportunism. Doesn’t make you the pillar of virtue, justice, or the flagbearer of “Hindu Cultural values”. Highlights the worst side,” she added.

Over the last two days, Kangana has received a lot of flak from netizens and celebrities for calling Urmila a “soft porn star”, and disrespecting veteran actress Jaya Bachchan.

No fluoride-affected villages in Telangana thanks to Mission Bhagiratha

TB Team
-
0
No fluoride-affected villages in Telangana thanks to Mission Bhagiratha

Telangana now has no fluoride-affected habitation as the state has overcome the problem thanks to Mission Bhagiratha, the state government’s flagship programme to provide safe drinking water to every household.

According to a statement by the government of India tabled in Parliament, Telangana had 967 fluoride-affected habitations as on April 1, 2015. This became zero on August 1, 2020.

“Number of Fluoride-affected villages at the time of formation of Telangana was 967. After the successful implementation of the Mission Bhagiratha, the number has come down to zero,” tweeted Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K. T. Rama Rao on Friday.

He also tagged the list of states with arsenic and fluoride affected habitation as tabled in the Parliament.

Rama Rao congratulated the Mission Bhagiratha team for its success in overcoming the problem.

The Nalgonda district has been affected by fluorosis, a crippling disease that affects bones and teeth due to excessive intake of fluorine-heavy water, for a long time.

More than a lakh people in the district are estimated suffering from the disease. Those afflicted by the disease are found with crippled limbs, twisted joints, bent spine, disfigured faces, stunted growth, and yellowish or brownish enamel on their teeth.

According to the World Health Organisation norms, the maximum permissible limit of fluoride in drinking water is 1 milligram per liter. However, in the affected villages of Nalgonda district, it was 10 mg to 19 mg.

The high fluorine content in the district was attributed to very low groundwater levels. Under Mission Bhagiratha, the government also built a water treatment plant at a cost of Rs 436 crore to provide safe drinking water to 585 villages affected by fluorosis.

The report about Telangana overcoming the problem of fluorosis came a month after it was ranked number one in the country under the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). The state secured top ranking with 98.31 percent of households having functional tap connections.

According to JMM, Telangana has 53,45,962 Functional Household Tap Connections. The remaining 1.69 percent (91,777) households are in the process of getting the connections.

Officials say the credit for this goes to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s dream project Mission Bhagiratha, which was implemented with an estimated cost of Rs 43,791 crore. Bulk water connections have already been provided to 23,960 of 23,968 habitations.

Impressed with the success of Mission Bhagiratha, several states have come forward to replicate the scheme.

Bacterial outbreak infects thousands in China amid Covid-19

TB Team
-
0
Bacterial outbreak infects thousands in China amid Covid-19

Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, now several thousand people in northwest China have tested positive for brucellosis, a bacterial disease, the authorities have confirmed recently.

The Brucellosis outbreak was caused by a leak at a biopharmaceutical company last year. According to the media reports, the disease, also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever, can cause symptoms including headaches, muscle pain, fever, and fatigue.

While these may subside, some symptoms can become chronic or never go away, like arthritis or swelling in certain organs, as per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare, according to the CDC. Instead, most people are infected by eating contaminated food or breathing in the bacteria — which seems to be the case in Lanzhou.

According to CNN, the Health Commission of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province, confirmed that 3,245 people had contracted the disease, which is often caused by contact with livestock carrying the bacteria Brucella.

Another 1,401 people have tested as preliminarily positive, though there have been no fatalities reported, the city’s Health Commission said on Tuesday.

In total, authorities have tested 21,847 people out of the city’s 2.9 million population.

This outbreak stemmed from a leak at the Zhongmu Lanzhou biological pharmaceutical factory, which occurred between late July to late August last year, according to CNN.

While producing Brucella vaccines for animal use, the factory used expired disinfectants and sanitizers — meaning not all bacteria were eradicated in the waste gas, the report said.

Allot 10K more seats under India BPO promotion scheme: TN CM

TB Team
-
0
Allot 10K more seats under India BPO promotion scheme: TN CM

Pointing out the success of the India BPO Promotion Scheme in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami has urged the Central government to allot 10,000 more seats under the scheme.

Palaniswami in a letter to Union Minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday congratulated the latter for launching the scheme to incentivize business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology-enabled services (ITES) units to set up their operations in tier-II and III cities.

Palaniswami expressed his happiness on the scheme’s success in Tamil Nadu which resulted in providing 7,705 seats (STPI — 7,605 seats in Tamil Nadu and 100 seats in Puducherry) in Software Technology Parks of India, Chennai.

This has resulted in creating direct employment for 8,387 people and indirect employment for 16,774 people, Palaniswami said.

“The success rate of this scheme in Tamil Nadu in terms of commencement of operation is more than 93 percent.

This scheme has resulted in setting up of 51 India Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Promotion Scheme (IBPS) units in 13 Tier-II and Tier-III cities of Tamil Nadu,” Palaniswami said.

“In view of the tremendous success of this scheme in the state of Tamil Nadu, I request you to allot 10,000 seats under the ‘India BPO Promotion Scheme’ to Tamil Nadu,” he added.

Air India Express’ ops to Dubai temporarily suspended

TB Team
-
0
Air India Express’ ops to Dubai temporarily suspended

The Air India Express operations to Dubai has been temporarily suspended for 15 days starting Friday.

According to the airline, Air India Express has received a “Notice of Suspension” from Dubai Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday.

“The notice has been issued on account of erroneous acceptance of one COVID positive passenger by the Airline’s ground handling agents at Delhi and Jaipur on Air India Express flights to Dubai on 28th August and 4th September, respectively,” the statement said.

“As per information gathered, passengers who were seated in close proximity to the COVID positive passenger on each flight had undergone COVID test or quarantined as determined by the Dubai Health authority.”

On its part, the airline disclosed that the concerned ground handling agencies have taken appropriate punitive action against their employees who have been held accountable for the lapse at Delhi and Jaipur.

“Prior to the receipt of the Notice, the Airline had submitted a letter to the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority expressing the Airline’s profuse apologies and detailing the various actions taken by the Airline in association with the concerned ground handling agents to guard against such lapse in the future.”

In addition, the airline said that in order to mitigate the inconvenience that may be caused to passengers booked to fly to Dubai, it has introduced additional flights to Sharjah to accommodate the affected passengers.

“The affected passengers who have booked to fly to Dubai are also being given the option to rebook to a future date,” the airline said in a statement.

Trump won’t attend UN General Assembly in person

TB Team
-
0
Trump won’t attend UN General Assembly in person

US President Donald Trump will not attend next week’s UN General Assembly (UNGA) in person, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said.

Addressing reporters on Thursday while en route to a Trump campaign rally in Wisconsin, Meadows said that the President will not be in New York City for the annual gathering of world leaders, The Hill news website reported

The annual gathering will take place virtually for the first time in history this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Leaders will meet virtually, and many have already submitted taped addresses.

But Trump is yet to submit his own speech.

The development confirms a State Department email, seen by Politico news, labeled a “final update” regarding UNGA, that states neither President Trump nor Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would travel to New York.

“Dignitary Protection does not have any planned protection details planned for UNGA 75,” the email said, further noting the Department of Homeland Security has canceled this year’s designation of UNGA as a National Special Security Event.

In his last year’s address to the gathering of world leaders, Trump had announced new initiatives as part of a global call for protecting religious freedom, saying that the US would dedicate “$25 million to protect religious freedom, religious sites, and relics”, CNN reported.

ByteDance plans TikTok IPO on US stock exchange: Report

TB Team
-
0
ByteDance plans TikTok IPO on US stock exchange: Report

As a decision on the proposal that TikTok had submitted to the US administration to resolve its security concerns is expected soon, its Chinese parent company ByteDance is planning to launch an initial public offering for the short video-sharing platform, CNBC reported.

The move for a TikTok IPO globally on a US stock exchange is aimed at addressing ownership concerns, said the report on Thursday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Cloud major Oracle earlier this week confirmed that it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the US Treasury Department over the weekend.

Besides Oracle, Walmart will also have a stake in the new global TikTok, according to the CNBC report.

While Microsoft, which was seen as one of the front-runners to purchase TikTok’s US operations, on Sunday said that its proposal was rejected by ByteDance, Walmart on the same day said it “continues to have an interest in a TikTok investment and continues discussions with ByteDance leadership and other interested parties.”

While Oracle’s stake in the new global TikTok is likely to be less than 20 per cent, the size of Walmart’s stake is far from clear, said the new report.

According to a Financial Times report on Tuesday, TikTok is likely to spin off into a separate US-headquartered company as per the arrangements in which ByteDance will have a majority stake and Oracle a minority share.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he does not like the idea of ByteDance having a majority stake in TikTok.

Short video app Chingari inks music licensing deal with T-Series

TB Team
-
0
Short video app Chingari inks music licensing deal with T-Series

Homegrown short video-sharing platform Chingari which shot into popularity following the TikTok ban in June said on Friday that it has signed a music licensing agreement with T-Series.

As a result of the partnership, all Chingari users in India, other Saarc nations, and in the Middle East will get access to the music collection of T-Series, the company said.

“Chingari users would now be able to choose from thousands of songs from the T-Series music library to make their creation more lively and fun,” Sumit Ghosh, Co-founder and CEO of the Chingari App, said in a statement.

“From Bollywood to Indiepop and from melody to melancholy across all Indian languages, the T-Series music library on Chingari has songs for every content genre and every emotion.”

Chingari allows its users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content, browse through feed, and much more.

The platform is available in 10 vernacular languages — Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Odia, and Telugu — and also two international languages — English and Spanish.

Chingari, which now claims to have a 30 million-strong user base, recently won the Indian government’s “Aatma Nirbhar App Challenge” in the social media category.

“The licensing pact between T-Series and Chingari is a win-win for both sides as this mutually beneficial agreement amalgamates social media and music while promoting business ethics,” said Bhushan Kumar, Managing Director, T-Series.

“This sets the right precedent for social media platforms and music rights owners to work and evolve together.”

Govt lists 3 Finance Bills for passage in LS on Friday

TB Team
-
0
Govt lists 3 Finance Bills for passage in LS on Friday

The central government has listed three Finance Bills for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the fifth day of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Almost an hour after the Lower House will assemble for the day, the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020; Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020; and Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will be moved by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for passage.

The House will meet at 3 pm on Friday.

The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to amend the Companies Act, 2013. The Bill was moved in the Lok Sabha on March 17, 2020, to introduce certain modifications to the Companies Act, 2013 with a view to promoting ease-of-doing-business and ease of living to corporates in India.

The Minister will also move the Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020 for passage to ensure financial stability and promote competitiveness in Indian financial markets by providing enforceability of bilateral netting of qualified financial contracts.

The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to amend the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011.

Besides, the Minister will also introduce the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 in the House to provide for relaxation and changes in provisions of certain Acts.

The Bill will replace the Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.

Earlier, the Secretary-General will lay on the table the 154th Report on Export of Agricultural and Marine Products, Plantation Crops, Turmeric, and Coir of the Standing Committee on Commerce.

The report was presented to the Rajya Sabha Chair on August 26 when the House was not in session.

The Secretary-General will also lay 102nd Report on Effectiveness of Vigilance Administration in certain Revenue and Banking Institutions and Selected Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs); 103rd Report on Functioning of the Virtual Courts or Courts Proceeding through Videoconferencing -Interim Report.

Also, the 104th Report on the Action Taken on 100th Report of the Committee on Demands for Grants (2020-21) pertaining to the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions as well as 105th Report on the Action Taken on 101st Report of the Committee on Demands for Grants (2020-21) pertaining to the Ministry of Law and Justice will be laid on the table of the Lower House.

Rapid 90-minute Covid-19 test shown to be highly accurate

TB Team
-
0
Rapid 90-minute Covid-19 test shown to be highly accurate

Researchers have created a 90-minute high-speed Covid-19 test which does not require a laboratory and can be performed in cartridges smaller than a mobile phone with high accuracy.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Microbe, revealed that the Lab-in-Cartridge rapid testing device, which can be performed at a patient’s bedside, was shown to have over 94 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity,

It means that it had a high level of accuracy and produced very few false negatives and no false positives.

To perform the test, a pediatric-sized nose swab from a patient is inserted into the device, which then looks for traces of genetic material belonging to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19.

A result is available within 90 minutes, compared to conventional Covid-19 testing which delivers a result in 24 hours.

“These results suggest the test, which can be performed at a patient’s bedside without the need to handle any sample material, has comparable accuracy to standard laboratory testing,” said study researcher Graham Cooke from the Kings College London in the UK.

According to the study, the device was used on 280 NHS staff members with suspected Covid-19, 15 patients in the Accident & Emergency department with suspected Covid-19, and 91 hospital in-patients.

The samples from all individuals in the study were analyzed on both the rapid-testing device, called the CovidNudge test and standard hospital laboratory equipment – and then the results compared.

The research team assessed sensitivity and specificity.

Sensitivity is a measure of how well a test gives a positive result for people who have the disease, and is an indication of how likely a test will produce false-negative results.

Specificity, on the other hand, is a measure of a test’s ability to give a negative result for people who don’t have the disease and is an indication of the likelihood of false-positive results.

The percentage of those found to be positive for Covid-19 was 18 percent.

The results showed 67 samples tested positive on the CovidNudge test, compared with 71 positive results against a range of standard laboratory machines, which represents the value of 94 percent sensitivity.

Google reinforces Play Store gambling policies before IPL 13

TB Team
-
0
Google reinforces Play Store gambling policies before IPL 13

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to commence in Abu Dhabi and Google on Friday reiterated that its Play Store will not allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting.

The company said that if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a clear violation of its policies.

“Google Play is designed to provide a safe and secure experience for our consumers while also giving developers the platform and tools they need to build sustainable businesses,” said by Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security, and Privacy.

“We have these policies to protect users from potential harm,” during big gaming tournaments, she added.

When an app violates these policies, Google said it will notify the developer of the violation and remove the app from Google Play until the developer brings the app into compliance.

“In the case where there are repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts,” the tech giant said.

After months of uncertainty, IPL 13 is set to get underway on Saturday, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It is only the second time that a full IPL tournament is being organized outside India, after the 2009 edition was held in South Africa due to general elections in India while the first half of the 2014 edition was held in the UAE, again due to the general elections.

1...1,4741,4751,476...2,189Page 1,475 of 2,189