Odisha reports highest single-day Covid-19 deaths

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Odisha reports highest single-day Covid-19 deaths

Odisha registered 1,528 new Covid-19 positive cases and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the state health department on Monday.

This is the highest number of Covid-19 deaths reported in a single day in the state so far.

While six people died in Ganjam, three persons each died in Khurda and Nayagarh districts and one each in Rayagada and Sundargarh districts.

With this, the total death toll rose to 286, said the department. Odisha reported 1,528 new coronavirus positive cases taking the total positive cases to 47,455.

Of the new cases, 948 were detected in quarantine, while 580 were local contacts.

Ganjam reported the highest 233 cases followed by Khordha (218), Sambalpur (168), Sundargarh (126), and Dhenkanal (107).

The number of active cases in the state rose to 15,334 while 31,784 patients have recovered in the state so far.

Flipkart ‘Leap’ to nurture tech, consumer Internet startups

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Flipkart ‘Leap’ to nurture tech, consumer Internet startups

E-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Monday launched its first startup accelerator program to help new and upcoming companies in technology and consumer Internet space to grow, scale and navigate challenges.

Called Flipkart Leap, the program will identify business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) startups and help them scale through an intensive 16-week virtual program, the company said in a statement.

Throughout the program, Flipkart’s leadership from business, operations, product, and technology will mentor the selected startups and share best practices, in addition to master class sessions hosted by industry experts.

The 16-week program, curated in partnership with global management and strategy consulting firm Zinnov, will open opportunities for startups to prepare their innovative solutions to be market-ready and allow them to win an equity-free grant of $25,000 (around Rs 19 lakh).

The startups applying for ‘Flipkart Leap’ should be based out of India and should have a working prototype with early adoption metrics, Flipkart said, adding that the call-for-entries began on Monday.

Post the completion of the program, the final participants will pitch their successful model to investors, corporates, and other ecosystem players on the demo-day and may also be considered for funding by Flipkart.

“With innovations and disruptions in the field of technology coming about each day, we want to be at the forefront of driving scalability and helping these startups bring value to the industry as well as Indian consumers,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart Group.

‘Flipkart Leap’ has identified five themes to shortlist relevant high-potential startups.

These include design & make for India; innovation in digital commerce; technologies to empower the retail ecosystem; supply chain management & logistics; and enabling relevant deep tech applications.

The focus is on bringing digitization and tech advancement in these thematic areas, including any startups that will be working on disruptive solutions that have the potential to transform the landscape of e-commerce in the next five years, Flipkart said.

ICC Women’s WC: It was too risky in 2021, says event CEO

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ICC Women’s WC: It was too risky in 2021, says event CEO

New Zealand Sports Minister Grant Robertson believes the country could have hosted the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2021.

Last week, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had postponed the Women’s World Cup, originally scheduled to be held in New Zealand in 2021, until February-March 2022 because of the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on cricket globally. The 2021 edition of the men’s T20 World Cup has also been handed to India while the now postponed 2020 edition will be played in Australia in 2022.

“This is obviously a disappointing decision for cricket players and fans around the world and for the White Ferns and their supporters here at home,” Robertson was quoted as saying by nzherald.co.nz.

“The organizing committee in New Zealand has been working with the government to ensure a safe and enjoyable tournament could be played.

“We could have done it in 2021, but now we will look to 2022.

“For the White Ferns, I know this will be a particular disappointment. We will keep working with New Zealand Cricket on how we can support them to provide opportunities for internationals to be played over the coming summer,” he added.

Meanwhile, the tournament’s CEO Andrea Nelson said that the decision to postpone the tournament had nothing to do with New Zealand’s ability to host the event safely.

“It came down to the ability of the teams to qualify,” she told NZME, a local media group.

“We’ve done a lot of contingency planning around this event, to give it the best possible chance of proceeding successfully – ultimately the decision to delay it comes down to cricket. No qualifying tournaments have been able to be held yet, so in order to qualify and then compete in the event in 2021 – it was too risky,” she added.

The ICC has already stated that the format of the postponed World Cup will remain as it was for 2021. Five teams have already qualified for the event and that will stand for 2022. The original global qualification event to determine the final three teams to contest the tournament was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in July 2020, but this was postponed due to COVID-19. The qualification event will now be held in 2021.

With 1,256 new cases, Telangana’s total tally crosses 80K-mark

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With 1,256 new cases, Telangana’s total tally crosses 80K-mark

Telangana’s total coronavirus cases crossed the 80,000-mark as 1,256 new cases were reported in the state on Monday, while its death toll climbed up to 637 with 10 more fatalities.

Health officials said the new cases detected during the last 24 hours had taken the total coronavirus infections so far in Telangana to 80,751.

The number of active cases at present is 22,528, including 15,789 patients in the home or institutional isolation. More than 84 percent of those in home isolation are asymptomatic.

The fatality rate in the state stands at 0.78 percent as against a national average of 2.01 percent.

According to a media bulletin released by the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, 53.87 percent of the deceased patients had comorbidities.

The authorities claimed that the number of daily tests conducted in the state was double compared with its target as per World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark.

A total of 39 testing laboratories and 323 rapid antigen testing centers conducted 11,609 tests as against the target of 5,600. Test results of 1,700 samples were awaited. The state has so far conducted 6,24,840 tests.

Officials said 1,587 more patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative recoveries to 57,586.

Telangana’s recovery rate of 71.31 percent is higher than the national average of 68.78 percent.

Of the new cases, 389 were recorded in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) jurisdiction. Rangareddy and Sangareddy, both bordering GHMC, saw 86 and 74 new cases respectively.

Karimnagar district reported 73 new infections while Adilabad saw a spike with 63 new cases. In Warangal Urban district, 67 more persons tested corona positive. Nalgonda and Siddipet districts reported 58 and 45 new cases respectively.

According to the media bulletin, out of 20,396 beds in government-run hospitals, 17,866 beds are vacant.

While 91 private hospitals treating corona patients have a total of 6,850 beds, 2,641 of them are vacant.

There are 77 containment zones in the GHMC, including 32 in Charminar circle that covers large parts of the old city of Hyderabad.

VR gaming boosts navigational efficiency, spatial memory

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VR gaming boosts navigational efficiency, spatial memory

Adding to the growing list of studies, a new study has said that individuals playing a virtual reality (VR)-based game can develop higher navigational efficiency and less disorientation than those playing a non-VR immersive desktop version.

The study, published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, revealed that navigation in VR can be overwhelming for its users.

“Participants in the VR condition performed better on spatial-based knowledge questions,” said study co-author Egon van den Broek from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

“An interesting use of VR, in addition to education and training, is its use to rehabilitate decreases occurring in navigational abilities and spatial memory in older individuals”.

Spatial memory is a cognitive process that enables a person to remember different locations as well as spatial relations between objects.

According to the team, instead of traditional free movement, node-based movement can be used in virtual reality (VR) games.

In node-based movement systems, players navigate by jumping to set locations and it is similar to hypertext navigation.

In a randomized controlled trial with 25 adolescent participants, an immersive desktop game environment and a VR game environment were compared on the transmission of in-game educational content and navigational efficiency.

The findings showed that the “hypertext lostness” measure is also valuable outside its original hypertext domain – in VR.

The researchers revealed that VR did not improve players’ retention of factual knowledge but did significantly improve players’ spatial knowledge and navigational efficiency.

“We conclude that the ‘hypertext lostness’ measure is also valuable for node-based VR games and VR games add to spatial learning, even when compared with already immersive desktop games,” the authors wrote.

The scientists in general measure “lostness” during a task by identifying disorientation and have been shown to be successful in predicting success in information-seeking tasks in hypertext.

SC decides to hear Prashant Bhushan’s 2009 contempt case

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SC decides to hear Prashant Bhushan’s 2009 contempt case

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear in detail whether any comment on corruption against judges tantamount to contempt of court or not, adding that it will hear the 2009 contempt case against lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said that it has decided to hear whether the remarks made by Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan against the higher judiciary in a Tehelka magazine interview is “per se contempt”.

The top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on August 17.

Last week, the apex court had said it would go on to hear the case if “we do not accept the explanation/apology of Bhushan”.

On August 4, the Supreme Court had said it had not received the apology submitted by Bhushan and reserved its order in the 2009 contempt case against him.

A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai, and Krishna Murari had said: “We have heard the counsel for the parties at some length. Explanation/apology submitted by Prashant Bhushan/Respondent No. 1 and Tarun Tejpal/Respondent No. 2 has not been received so far.”

The bench added: “In case we do not accept the explanation/apology, we will hear the matter. We reserve the order.”

In an earlier hearing, taking up the 2009 contempt of court case, the apex court observed that there is a “thin line between free speech and contempt”, adding that the issue now is how to save the system’s grace and bring the matter to an end as well.

The bench asked Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing Bhushan, to suggest ways to resolve this matter. Justice Mishra had told Dhavan: “Can you suggest some way to avoid this rigmarole? You can resolve it.”

In response, Dhavan had said that Bhushan had already provided an explanation on the matter.

ED continues questioning Rhea, Showik, now dad Indrajit also joins

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ED continues questioning Rhea, Showik, now dad Indrajit also joins

Actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik and father Indrajit Chakraborty on Monday deposed before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money-laundering probe connected to the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.

Their questioning began around 12.15 p.m.

The ED on Friday had quizzed Rhea, her ex-manager Shruti Modi, Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda in connection with the case. The ED had also questioned Showik on Friday for over eight hours and for over 18 hours on Saturday and on the intervening night of Sunday.

This is for the first time that Rhea’s father Indrajit was being questioned by the ED in connection with the case.

ED sources said that the agency suspects illegal money transactions and investigators have a clear picture about the whole matter.

On earlier occasions, Rhea has remained evasive during the questioning and claimed to be innocent.

The ED will question the actor and her family members regarding three of Rajput’s companies she is partners in. Rhea has told the financial probe agency sleuths that Rs one lakh was the paid-up capital, which was shared by the three of them (Sushant Singh Rajput, Rhea, and Showik Chakraborty), and apart from that, she hasn’t spent any more on the company.

The ED is also looking into two properties owned by Rhea and her family. Regarding the Khar (East) flat that is in her name, Rhea has told the ED officials that she took a housing loan for Rs 60 lakh and the rest of the amount, around Rs 25 lakh, have been paid through her own income. The agency will also question her father about another property.

The agency has asked for income tax returns of the last five years from the Chakraborty family.

The ED on July 31, registered the case on the basis of a Bihar Police FIR on the complaint of Sushant’s father K.K. Singh, who alleged that Rs 15 crore was withdrawn or transferred from his son’s Kotak Mahindra Bank account holding Rs 17 crore.

The ED had registered the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Rhea and her family members on the basis of Singh’s complaint submitted at the Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna.

Sushant and Rhea were said to be in a live-in relationship before the actor’s death on June 14. Sushant’s father has accused Rhea of taking money from his son and also threatening to disclose his medical reports to the media. Sushant’s family had also accused her of keeping him away from them.

The case was transferred to the CBI from the state police on August 7.

Over 100 buildings damaged in North Carolina quake

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Over 100 buildings damaged in North Carolina quake

More than 100 buildings were damaged in North Carolina after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the US state, officials said.

The quake, the most powerful in the state since 1916, struck at 8.07 a.m. on Sunday at a depth of about 9.1 km, which is considered a shallow quake, Xinhua news agency quoted the US Geological Survey (USGS) as saying.

The epicenter is near Sparta, a town of about 1,800 people in Alleghany County.

Daniel Roten, the county’s emergency management coordinator, told local media outlet WFMY News that he has not heard of any injuries reported from the earthquake.

He estimated more than 100 buildings were damaged in Allegheny County, adding that his team was still in the assessment process.

A few homes had to be evacuated due to the extent of the damage, he added.

The earthquake was also felt as far away as in South Carolina and Georgia, according to a CNN report.

Samsung boosts mobile privacy with Make in India tool ‘AltZLife’

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Samsung boosts mobile privacy with Make in India tool ‘AltZLife’

In a bid to empower people especially young smartphone users maintain privacy, Samsung on Monday launched a new feature called AltZLife that will help them easily switch between normal mode and private mode by simply double-clicking on the power key.

The on-device function intelligently suggests moving private content to the secure folder before you hand over the device to someone else.

The feature is currently available on Galaxy A71 and Galaxy A51 smartphones, the company said in a statement.

“An industry-first innovation, this intelligent feature has been designed keeping in mind the inherent need of consumers, especially Gen Z, for enhanced privacy when it comes to storage and access of content on their smartphones,” said Manu Sharma, Senior Director, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

The two ‘Make for India’ solutions that are part of AltZLife – Quick Switch and Content Suggestions – have been developed by a team of young engineers at Samsung R&D Institutes in Bengaluru and Noida using insights from consumer research.

This is how the new feature works.

Quick Switch helps users in switching between two instances of the same app instantly: One instance in normal mode and the other in private mode.

For example, a consumer can easily move between the normal Gallery and a private Gallery; or from a normal WhatsApp to a private WhatsApp with a simple double click of the power button.

The private versions of these apps are secured by Samsung Knox in the Secure Folder of Galaxy smartphones, said Samsung.

When switching from private to normal mode, no authentication is required.

Content Suggestions is an AI-based app inside the Secure Folder, and its on-device AI-powered engine automatically suggests users move private images of pre-selected categories to the Secure Folder.

“For this to happen, users have to simply select specific faces or a type of image they want to tag as private and keep them secured in the private gallery of the Secure Folder,” said the company.

Once the initial setup is complete, the AI engine kicks in and identifies relevant images from the entire gallery.

Earlier this year, Samsung launched other AI-based ‘Make for India’ features on Galaxy A series devices. This includes Alive Intelligence, which offers a Multilingual Keyboard, Smart Crop, Useful Cards, and Finder.

50% Indian workforce may be AI ready in next 6-10 years: Microsoft

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50% Indian workforce may be AI ready in next 6-10 years: Microsoft

The organizations that have deployed Artificial Intelligence (AI) with skilling initiatives in India are generating most value from this new-age technology, and senior executives predict that half of all employees will be equipped with AI skills in the next 6-10 years, a new Microsoft survey said on Monday.

In India, all AI-leading companies said they are actively building skills of their workers, or have plans to do so, while over 93 percent of senior executives surveyed from these companies were sure their business was gaining value from AI.

The research surveyed employees and leaders within large enterprises across industry verticals in India, and 19 other countries, to look at the skills needed to thrive as AI becomes increasingly adopted by businesses, as well as the key learning from early AI adopters.

“AI is at the heart of digital transformation – which has accelerated at an extraordinary pace – and will continue to play a critical role in helping businesses be more agile, resilient and competitive during this time,” said Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India.

However, the path of unlocking the full potential of AI lies in “combining its deployment with skilling initiatives that focus on both tech and soft skills”, she stressed.

Notably, 98 percent of the employees surveyed among all the AI companies were highly motivated for reskilling.

While 98 percent of AI leading firms in India were increasing skills investments and interestingly, the overall number of Indian employees interested in skilling (85 percent) is more than double that of employees across all surveyed markets (38 percent).

Both the senior executives and employees surveyed found a direct link between having the skills needed to thrive in an AI world and the value organizations gain from their AI implementations.

The combination of skilling and AI deployment is helping businesses succeed, said the report.

Nearly 94 percent of senior executives from AI leading businesses acknowledged that they are already seeing value from AI deployment.

In fact, Indian AI intermediate companies are also not too far behind in this aspect –- with 87 percent sharing the same view.

The gap between the two categories across all the countries surveyed, however, is much wider at 25 percent.

The research showed that AI-leading firms are focused on ensuring that AI is complementing the talents of their people.

“We’re seeing a virtuous circle emerge among the companies seeing the greatest value from AI. These leaders have seen that having the right skills enables them to unlock value from AI, which encourages them to extend their use of AI and, in turn, continue in up-leveling skills in their organization,” said Srivathsa.

PM inaugurates submarine OFC connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands

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PM inaugurates submarine OFC connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated a submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair, which will enable the delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecommunication services to the islands, on par with other parts of India.

“This optical fiber cable project is a gift for the people of Andaman before Independence Day. This is a symbol of our commitment to ease of living. Be it online classes, tourism, banking, shopping, or telemedicine, thousands of families in Andaman and Nicobar will now get access,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that tourists will also reap huge benefits from this facility as the better net connectivity is the first priority of any tourist destination. “The problem of mobile and Internet connectivity has now been resolved. Apart from this, physical connectivity through road, air, and water is also being strengthened.”

He pointed out that the project will lead to high-speed broadband connectivity, fast and reliable mobile, and landline telecom services, which in turn will give a big boost to the local economy and delivery of e-governance, telemedicine, and the-education services.

The project is funded by the government of India through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.

About 2,300-km long cable has been laid at a cost of about Rs 1,224 crore.

The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.

The foundation stone of this project was laid by the Prime Minister on December 30, 2018, at Port Blair.

The submarine OFC link will deliver a bandwidth of 2×200 Gigabits per second between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2×100 Gbps between Port Blair and other islands.

The provision of reliable, robust, and high-speed telecom and broadband facilities in these islands will be a landmark achievement from the viewpoint of consumers, as well as for strategic and governance reasons.

The 4G mobile services, which were constrained due to limited backhaul bandwidth provided via satellite, will also see a major improvement.

Enhanced telecom and broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and also give an impetus to the economy and thus raise the standards of living of the populace.

Better connectivity will also facilitate the delivery of e-governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education. Small enterprises will benefit from the opportunities in e-commerce, while educational institutions will utilize the enhanced availability of bandwidth for e-learning and knowledge-sharing.

Business Process Outsourcing services and other medium and large enterprises will also reap the benefits of better connectivity.

Mumbai Customs, DRI seizes heroin camouflaged as ‘ayurvedic’ medicine

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Mumbai Customs, DRI seizes heroin camouflaged as ‘ayurvedic’ medicine

In one of the biggest narcotics haul in Mumbai, the Mumbai Customs and Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have seized 191 kg of heroin worth around Rs 1,000 crore from a cargo container at Nhava Sheva Port Trust, officials said here on Monday.

The seizure of the drugs, being declared as ‘ayurvedic medicine’ — believed to have originated from Afghanistan — was made late on Saturday.

Two customs clearing house agents who attempted to get it cleared through the customs have been arrested and sent to police custody for 14 days.

The narcotic, stated to be of high-grade quality, was concealed in plastic pipes painted in bamboo color and sought to be passed off as traditional common medicine, said the officials.

Further probe is underway into the source of the supply, the modus operandi, and whether the same has been tried before to evade the various enforcement agencies.

Researchers to study inhaled sedatives for severe Covid-19

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Researchers to study inhaled sedatives for severe Covid-19

In a fight against the novel coronavirus, Canadian researchers will be looking at whether the inhaled sedatives can replace those that are delivered intravenously in infected patients requiring ventilation.

The multi-center clinical trial aims to address a global shortage of intravenous (IV) sedatives while improving patient outcomes.

According to the researchers, when Covid-19 patients develop severe respiratory failure and need to be ventilated, they require sedation.

“While IV sedatives are currently used, there is concern about global drug shortages, particularly if there’s a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall,” said Marat Slessarev from the Lawson Health Research Institute in Canada.

“Even if we have enough ventilators, we won’t be able to ventilate patients without sedatives,” Slessarev added.

The clinical trial will study the replacement of IV sedatives with inhaled sedatives.

Inhaled sedatives, also called volatiles, are widely available due to their use in operating rooms to sedate patients during surgery.

While they have not been routinely used to sedate patients needing ventilation, early studies suggest they could be safe and even more effective than IV sedatives.

Preliminary studies in non-COVID patients with severe respiratory failure suggest that inhaled sedatives can reduce lung inflammation, shorten the duration of ventilation, and potentially improve survival.

“Inhaled sedatives could, therefore, reduce the pandemic’s strain on ventilator capacity while improving patient outcomes,” Slessarev said.

According to the team, since these drugs are safe, cheap, and readily available, they can easily be used to address IV sedative shortages if found effective.

The researchers will recruit approximately 800 patients from across Canada and the US including patients.

Each patient will be randomized to receive either IV sedatives or inhaled sedatives.

Patient outcomes such as survival and length of ventilation will be compared between the two groups to determine which method of sedation is most effective.

“This is the largest trial of its kind. If inhaled sedatives can shorten the length of ventilation or improve survival in patients with serve respiratory failure, this could cause a paradigm shift in the way we sedate patients in intensive care units (ICUs) around the world,” Slessarev noted.

Darshan Kumaar: Took me years to understand how industry functions

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Darshan Kumaar: Took me years to understand how industry functions

Actor Darshan Kumaar says insiders do have an edge over outsiders in Bollywood, but nothing can outshine talent.

“Obviously, insiders, who know the industry from their childhood and whose fathers are stars or producers, have been stars over outsiders, who come from outside and who don’t know the ABCD,” he said, adding about outsiders like him: “It takes many years to understand the industry and how it works, which they (insiders) know from before.”

“They are prepared from before (for) what they have to do whereas we (get to) know about these things when we come here, so it takes time. But if you are talented no one can stop you,” he said.

The “Mary Kom” actor continued: “Thanks to the audience, they want to see good actors. In the past, one set of styles could work but now it has changed, as audiences get bored if an actor is doing one set of roles. It is a good time for theatre actors who are working on their skills, and acting as they can perform different roles and look their best.”

“If you don’t perform well, the audience will not like you, and in the future, you will not get work. So, this insider and outsider debate does not exist there. So, it might work once but later you have to show your talent and skills to get work,” he added.

Looking back at his journey, Darshan said: “I started from doing theatre in Delhi and then came to Mumbai and joined Neena Gupta’s group for 14 to 15 years, and through these years I have learned a lot. When I first came to Mumbai, I did not know anyone and it took me years to understand how the industry functions. Like meeting everyone, going for auditions, how to meet casting directors, and how to give photos in different offices. We had a very limited budget, so we would leave in the morning with one packet of biscuits and give auditions the entire day. Eating those biscuits with tea or water is what I have seen. So, I think the passion for work and acting and sacrifices did helps as an actor.”

After “Mary Kom”, Darshan went on to do “NH 10”, “Sarbjit”, “A Gentleman”, “Baaghi 2”, and “The Family Man”. He currently stars in the web series “Avrodh: The Siege Within”, which is live on SonyLIV.

Sensex up 300 points, Nifty above 11,300 mark

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Sensex up 300 points, Nifty above 11,300 mark

The key Indian equity indices traded on a positive note on Monday morning with the BSE Sensex gaining over 300 points.

Healthy buying was witnessed in healthcare, capital goods, auto, and banking stocks.

Around 10.15 a.m., Sensex was trading at 38,344.31, higher by 303.74 points or 0.80 percent from the previous close of 38,040.57.

It opened at 38,168.42 and touched an intra-day high of 38,420.68 and a low of 38,163.71 points.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 11,309.45, higher by 95.40 points or 0.85 percent from its previous close.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and Sun Pharmaceutical, while the major losers were Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, and Asian Paints.

Fight coronavirus like a soldier: Punjab CM

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Fight coronavirus like a soldier: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday appealed to the people of the state to fight the coronavirus pandemic in unison and with morale like that of a soldier.

“Back in my Army days, I had learned a very important lesson that when we fight together we don’t get battle fatigue,” he said in a tweet.

“I urge all Punjabis to come together against Covid-19 for it’s a long fight and we’ll need to inspire one another and, importantly, keep up our morale.”

On the Chief Minister’s directive, the state Medical Education and Research department have set up four new Covid-19 viral testing labs to enhance the daily testing capacity of 4,000 tests from the next month with 1,000 tests per day per lab.

Also, the total viral testing capacity in three medical colleges in Patiala, Amritsar, and Faridkot cities would be ramped up to 5,000 tests per day per college by August 31, an official spokesperson told IANS.

He said this initiative would go a long way to fight the pandemic as early diagnosis is key to contain and curb the spread of the disease.

Over 6.15 lakh tests have been carried out in the state to date.

Punjab has so far reported 23,903 cases with 586 deaths.

Citizenship query: It’s not unusual, Chidambaram comes out in Kanimozhi’s support

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Citizenship query: It’s not unusual, Chidambaram comes out in Kanimozhi’s support

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram, a native of Tamil Nadu, has come out in support of DMK MP Kanimozhi, who had tweeted about an incident at an airport wherein she was asked about her citizenship and pointed to his own experiences.

“The unpleasant experience of DMK MP Kanimozhi at the Chennai airport is not unusual. I (too) have experienced similar taunts from government officers and ordinary citizens, who insisted that I speak in Hindi during telephone conversations, and sometimes even face to face,” Chidambaram said.

The former Union Minister said: “If the Centre is genuinely committed to both Hindi and English being the official languages of India, it must insist that all central government employees are bilingual in Hindi and English.”

While non-Hindi speaking recruits to central government posts quickly learn functional spoken Hindi, why cannot Hindi-speaking recruits to these posts learn functional spoken English?” the senior Congress leader asked.

Meanwhile, the BJP has dismissed her allegation as an ‘electoral stunt’. BJP General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh tweeted to counter Kanimozhi’s charge, saying that “assembly elections are 8 months away … the campaign starts”.

India records 62,064 new corona cases, record over 1,000 deaths

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India records 62,064 new corona cases, record over 1,000 deaths

India, the third country worst hit by COVID-19 pandemic, recorded a spike of 62,064 coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing the total tally to 2,215,074. The country tested a record of over 1,000 deaths in a single day.

The number of recoveries mounted to over 15 lakh, more than twice the active cases. Out of the total cases, 6,34,945 are active cases, 1,535,743 have recovered from the disease while 44,386 people have lost their lives in the fight against the deadly virus.

Notably, India recorded the highest number of recoveries in a single day at 54,859. The recovery rate has gone up to 68.78 percent.

On Sunday, the government tested 7,19,364 samples, which dipped to 4,77,023 on Monday. A total of 2,45,83,558 samples have been tested so far.

Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state with a total of 5,03,084 cases and 17,367 deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu with 2,90,906 cases and 4,808 deaths. The southern state is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.

Globally, the overall number of coronavirus cases has topped 19.7 million, while the deaths have increased to over 729,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

As of Monday morning, the total number of cases stood at 19,778,566 and the fatalities rose to 729,692, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US accounted for the world’s highest number of infections and fatalities at 5,044,435 and 162,919 respectively, according to the CSSE. Brazil came in second place with 3,035,422 infections and 101,049 deaths.

Abducted UP boy found abandoned in bus

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Abducted UP boy found abandoned in bus

A five-year-old boy, who was kidnapped from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district, was found abandoned in a bus in Ghaziabad.

Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) driver Vikal and conductor Deepak found the abandoned boy crying on the bus, which was on its way to Moradabad via Ghaziabad from the Greater Noida depot.

The boy, when questioned by the driver and conductor, could not tell the address but gave them a phone number of his family member.

Vikal and Deepak called the boy’s family who then informed the two that the boy had been kidnapped from Moradabad.

The kidnappers had reportedly demanded a ransom of Rs 30 lakh but seemed to have changed their plan and abandoned the child in the bus.

After speaking to the boy’s relative, Vikal and Deepak informed Moradabad police about the incident.

Moradabad SP (rural area) Vidya Sagar Mishra asked them to bring the boy to the police station and hand him over to the police.

State Transport Minister Ashok Kataria has praised Vikal and Deepak and has decided to felicitate the two.

Transport Corporation Managing director, Raj Shekhar also appreciated the efforts of the bus driver and conductor in rescuing the child.

Paytm launches portable Android POS device for Rs 499 a month

TB Team
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Paytm launches portable Android POS device for Rs 499 a month

Leading digital payment service Paytm on Monday launched an Android-based, pocket-sized point of sale (POS) device that is enabled with integrated billing software, camera for QR scanning, and supports 4G SIM cards Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Available for an introductory monthly rental of Rs 499, the ‘Paytm All-in-One Portable Android Smart POS’ can accept orders and payments on the go.

Aiming to invest Rs 100 crore on the distribution and marketing of these devices in the financial year 2021, Paytm said it will issue over two lakh devices within the next few months that are likely to generate over 20 million transactions per month.

“This affordable pocket-sized Android POS device will enable everyone from SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to delivery personnel of Kirana stores to collect payments safely,” said Renu Satti, Senior Vice President at Paytm.

According to the company, it is more powerful and secure than the portable Linux-based POS devices currently available in the country.

The POS device comes bundled with Paytm’s ‘Scan to Order’ service.

This is how it works.

The ergonomic device weighs 163 grams, is 12mm thick, and has a 4.5-inch touch screen.

It comes with a powerful processor, all-day battery life, and an inbuilt camera to scan QR codes and instantly process payment.

The device has several industry-first features like Cloud-based software for billing, payments, and customer management.

It works with 4G SIM cards, Wi-Fi and has Bluetooth connectivity to ensure payments never fail and stays round the clock connected with all of Paytm’s bouquet of services.

The smart POS device is integrated with the ‘Paytm for Business’ app to generate GST compliant bills and also to manage all transactions and settlements, said the company.

The Paytm for Business App has witnessed over 20 million downloads and is one of the most popular merchant apps on Google Play Store and App Store.

“Our ‘Paytm for Business’ app, Khata, and payout services are providing the much-needed digitization support to businesses to improve their efficiency,” Satti said.

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