Priyanka Chopra says Ukraine situation ‘terrifying’, urges people to help

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Priyanka Chopra says Ukraine situation ‘terrifying’, urges people to help

Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who was appointed the UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2016, has strongly reacted to the crisis which is currently unfolding in Ukraine following the military attack launched by Russia.

Terming the situation as “terrifying”, she has urged people on behalf of Unicef to provide aid to Ukraine. The actress shared a video of a news coverage on the situation in Ukraine, which is getting battered with Russian bombing on their military bases.

The bombing has created widespread panic among the Ukrainians, who have turned subway stations into underground bunkers to stay safe during the ongoing skirmish.

Priyanka wrote in the caption, “The situation unfolding in Ukraine is terrifying. Innocent people living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, while trying to navigate the uncertainty of the immediate future.”

She further wrote, “It’s difficult to comprehend how in the modern world this could escalate to such a catastrophic point, but this is a consequential moment that will reverberate around the world.”

Urging people to lend a helping hand, she wrote, “There are innocent lives living in this war zone. They are just like you and me. Here is more info at the link in my bio about how to assist the people of Ukraine.”

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has drawn varied reactions from influential people. Earlier, actor Sonu Sood had urged the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to help find an alternative route for evacuating stranded Indians.

Pooja Banerjee exits ‘Kumkum Bhagya’

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Pooja Banerjee exits ‘Kumkum Bhagya’

‘Kumkum Bhagya’ actress Pooja Banerjee has decided to take maternity leave and bid a heartfelt goodbye to the show. She was seen playing a negative role of Rhea Mehra. Her association with the show spanned three years.

Pooja mentioned: “I knew this day was coming but honestly I wasn’t really prepared for it. It’s overwhelming to see the amount of love pouring in from everyone on the set and I think my ‘Kumkum Bhagya’ family has taken more care of me than my own family.”

“So, I am honestly thankful to each and every person who gave me the opportunity to play Rhea Mehra. She is a character that will always be very close to my heart.”

Adding further about how she spent her last day on the set, Pooja added: “I did shed a couple of tears here and there. Everyone was very upset and sad about me leaving and it was difficult for me to say goodbye to all of them. Being the sweetest people they are, they had a little surprise planned for me to celebrate my last day.”

“We had a cake cutting celebration, we danced a little, everybody was singing, talking, crying. I made sure to thank each one of them before saying goodbye,” she concluded.

‘Kumkum Bhagya’ airs on Zee TV.

2 terrorists, civilian killed in J&K encounter

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2 terrorists, civilian killed in J&K encounter

Two terrorists and a civilian were killed in an encounter between terrorists and security forces at the Amshipora area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, officials said on Friday.

Police said during the intervening night of February 24/25, based on specific input generated by police regarding the presence of terrorists in village Amshipora area of Shopian, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by Police, Army’s 44 RR, and CRPF.

“During the operation, a cluster of houses were cordoned off and searches were started to locate the hiding terrorists,” police said.

“During the evacuation of civilians trapped around the suspect spot, two terrorists hiding in the nearby house came out and resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in grievous injuries to one civilian identified as Shakeel Ahmad son of Abdul Rahim Khan resident of Amshipora, who was immediately evacuated for medical assistance. However, he succumbed to his injuries and the terrorists’ fire was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter.”

Police said in the ensuing encounter, both the terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter.

They have been identified as Muzamil Ahmad Mir, resident of Chatripora, and Shariq Ayoub, resident of Bonpora, Amshipora Shopian.

“As per police records, both the killed terrorists were categorized and linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT. Both the killed terrorists were part of groups involved in several terror crime cases,” police said.

Incriminating materials, arms, and ammunition including one AK-56 rifle, two AK magazines, one Chinese pistol, one pistol magazine, and 26 AK rounds were recovered from the site of encounter.

Police have registered a case and an investigation has been initiated.

Thaman drops update on ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’s next song

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Thaman drops update on ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’s next song

Telugu music director Thaman is riding high on his recent success ‘Bheemla Nayak’. The young musician has now dropped an update on the second single from Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’.

As Thaman posted a picture of himself with ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ director Parasuram Petla, he conveyed that the second single from the movie is currently in making and will be out anytime soon.

Besides, Thaman also thanked the audience for making the Mahesh and Keerthy Suresh-starrer ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ first single ‘Kalaavathi’ song a chartbuster.

“At the sets of #SarkaruVaariPaata ?? Enjoying the whole vibe @ParasuramPetla Nailing it We are preparing For the Next. thanks from Us for making our #Kalaavathi a #SensationalKalaavathi”, Thaman’s tweet reads.

With the release of the first single ‘Kalavathi’ from the movie, the makers of ‘SVP’ have maintained to double the hype around the release.

‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’, being one of the most-awaited movies in Telugu, have Mahesh Babu and Keerthy Suresh as the lead pair, while the movie is billed to be a commercial drama with good entertaining elements imbibed in the story.

‘Sarkaaru Vaari Paata’ is a joint venture of Mythri Movie Makers, GMB Entertainment, and 14 Reels Plus, and its release date is sealed on May 12.

Makers clear the air on Balakrishna’s ‘NBK107’ movie storyline

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Makers clear the air on Balakrishna’s ‘NBK107’ movie storyline

Nandamuri Balakrishna’s upcoming movie, which is tentatively titled ‘NBK107’ went on the floors recently. After the release of the first-look poster, there were reports about the story being inspired by Kannada’s hit ‘Mufti’.

A few online reports have sought exclusive clarification from the team of ‘NBK107,’ which has brushed off all remake rumors and said that the story is an original one, and is not inspired by any other previous movies.

The first-look poster from Balakrishna’s ‘NBK107’ resembles Shiva Rajkumar’s look in ‘Mufti’, being the reason behind these speculations, the makers have given a clarity on the same.

‘NBK107’ is helmed by ‘Krack’ fame Gopichand Mallineni, while Balakrishna will reprise powerful, dual roles in the movie.

Actress Shruti Haasan will play the female lead opposite the ‘Akhanda’ actor, while Kannada actor Duniya Vijay is roped in to play a negative role in the movie.

Malayalam actor Lal will reprise an important role as well. Actress Varalaxmi Sharathkumar is one of the lead actors in the movie.

It is reported that the makers will soon announce the title of this movie, which is currently in making.

BJP betrayed the nation, alleges Kharge

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BJP betrayed the nation, alleges Kharge

Slamming the Union government over the foreign policy “failures” amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Congress accused the Centre of making one strategic blunder after another and betraying the nation.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday posted on Twitter: “The Modi govt’s foreign policy failures have ensured that our adversaries are successfully weaning away our friends. Beijing Janata Party (BJP) govt has committed one strategic blunder after another. They have betrayed the nation.”

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government, saying, “This government’s strategic mistakes will prove to be very costly.”

Both the leaders were reacting to reports that Russia and Pakistan have come closer.

Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said: “Looking at the sudden expansion of Russian troops in Ukraine, the BJP government can no longer avoid the debate on China inside Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must discuss the Indo-China border conflict in the Parliament with different political parties and state his position.”

Prime Minister Modi chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday evening as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine intensified into conflict.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar attended the meeting.

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P.K. Mishra, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present in the meeting.

GDP growth likely to be around 8.3% in FY22: Brickwork Ratings

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GDP growth likely to be around 8.3% in FY22: Brickwork Ratings

The impact of the third Covid wave on economic momentum is expected to lower India’s FY22 GDP growth to 8.3 percent, said Brickwork Ratings.

The rating agency had earlier given a forecast of 8.5 to 9 percent for FY22.

“The latest growth indicators suggest a loss of economic momentum in recent months. The rapid spread of Covid in January 2022 led to renewed restrictions on economic activities, dampening the revival process, particularly in contact-intensive sectors,” the agency said.

In addition, there have been production constraints caused by a semiconductor shortage in electronic and automobile industries, along with supply shortages in coal and power outages causing a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.”

Besides, the agency pointed out that rising international crude oil and input prices have added to the problem.

“Economic recovery was well underway after the second wave of the pandemic, and there was a steady improvement in the revival of both industry and services… but the highly transmissible Omicron variant disrupted the revival process and added to the uncertainty and insecurity.”

Furthermore, it said that although the impact of the third wave on economic activities may be limited compared to the first and second waves, there is some loss of momentum to revival.

Additionally, persistent supply-side bottlenecks, steadily rising international crude oil prices, and increasing raw material costs have added to the woes.

“Hence, the growth rates in Q3 and Q4 may be lower than projected earlier. After having witnessed 20.1 percent and 8.4 percent growth in Q1 and Q2, respectively, we expect the Q3 GDP may come in lower at 5.8 percent.”

“For the full fiscal, we expect agricultural activities to be resilient as usual, while the manufacturing and services sectors continue to suffer.”

Harish Shankar, Deva Katta heap praise on ‘Bheemla Nayak’ team

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Harish Shankar, Deva Katta heap praise on ‘Bheemla Nayak’ team

‘Gabbar Singh’, ‘DJ’, and ‘Valmiki’ director Harish Shankar heaps praise on ‘Bheemla Nayak’ on the day of its release. The director, who watched the movie on the first day of the first show filled his Twitter timeline full of positivity, as he posted his reviews.

Harish Shankar congratulated actors Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati, director Saagar K Chandra, dialogue writer Trivikram Srinivas, and producer Naga Vamsi for the movie’s success.

“It’s amazing to see roaring @PawanKalyan after a while. Great work from @saagar_chandrak and #Trivikram Congratulations to @vamsi84 and team !!!!

Harish, who lauded music director Thaman, wrote, ” Special mention ThamanBawa … this is ur career ‘s best work … enjoyed each and every scene … ur understanding of scene is amazing … this is not just background score. it’s the backbone of Bheemla….. proud of you Bawa.”

In another tweet, Harish praised Rana for his stellar performance. “And last but not the least Rana Daggubati mannnnnnn I could see only Daniel Shekhar and u just not only lived but nailed it.. after this “Raaana… nee fans waiting ikkada ……,” he tweeted.

‘Republic’ movie director Deva Katta, on the other hand, who shared a crazy video from the theaters, wrote, “This is our cinema post-Bahubali…uniting us all as one country, one culture. It’s unstoppable, and a much stronger force than what divides us! Hearty congratulations to Ustaad @PawanKalyan gaaru @RanaDaggubati Sagar Chandra and the entire team behind!!”.

Instagram, YLAC renew programme to nurture teens to be future leaders

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Instagram, YLAC renew programme to nurture teens to be future leaders

Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram, in association with the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), on Friday launched a new edition of their youth program — the Counter Speech Fellowship.

In its sixth year now, the program will engage young people on topics that matter to them and encourage them to lead conversations about them online and will focus on four themes — Gender Equality, Diversity, Bullying, and Mental Wellbeing.

“Instagram is a place where people express themselves creatively. The catalyst for such creativity is a positive environment and that’s the reason why we are investing in the fellowship for the sixth year now,” Natasha Jog, Public Policy Manager, Instagram, Facebook India, said in a statement.

“Young people across India have been part of this fellowship and have gone on to create communities that voice youth opinions and advocate for societal change. We are thankful for the continued partnership with YLAC, and the ecosystem consisting of parents and young people, who invest their time and energy to make this fellowship a critical part of a young person’s digital upbringing,” Jog added.

The Counter Speech Fellowship engages creative teenagers to use the power of visual storytelling to start meaningful conversations on issues that are important to young citizens around the world.

The program is built around the idea of using art for positive expression and advocacy and is designed as an incubator for the future generation of leaders and activists.

Reddit introduces new ‘Discover’ feed for app

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Reddit introduces new ‘Discover’ feed for app

Popular online discussion platform Reddit has introduced a new “Discover” section that will surface a personalized stream of photos, GIFs, and videos on its app.

According to Jason Costa, the director of product for content and communities at Reddit, the feed, the first time a new section has been added to the Reddit app in more than two years, is meant to help drive Redditors to corners of the site they might not encounter on the front page or in r/popular, reports Engadget.

“Discover is more meant to solve the breadth problem and really help people traverse the wide corpus of Reddit,” Costa was quoted as saying by the website.

He noted that early testing of the feature shows that one out of five users has joined “at least one subreddit as a result of Discover”.

Discover also gives Reddit the chance to showcase the vast catalog of memes and GIFs and videos that are shared every day, but aren’t always front and center in the app, the report said.

While much of Reddit remains a “text-based experience,” the new Discover feed could help draw in people who would rather aimlessly scroll rather than read, it added.

The feed itself is meant to be personalized to each user much the way Instagram’s Explore section would be. New users or people who aren’t logged in will see popular content that may be trending on the service or getting a lot of engagement.

While existing users will see recommendations based on subreddits they follow and the types of content they spend the most time viewing.

For now, the Discover fee is limited just to Reddit’s mobile apps, but Costa said that if Redditors like the feature it could influence more aspects of the service.

Aparshakti on ‘Helmet’: Audience can expect good entertainment and a crucial message

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Aparshakti on ‘Helmet’: Audience can expect good entertainment and a crucial message

Actor Aparshakti Khurana recalls working in Satram Ramani’s comedy movie ‘Helmet’. Along with him it also features Pranutan Bahl, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Verma, and Sharib Hashmi in lead roles.

‘Helmet’ will have its World Television Premiere on Sony MAX. This social satire uses comedy to tackle the perceptions around contraceptives and the societal and psychological challenges one faces due to the same.

The movie is all about Lucky (Aparshakti Khurana) forging a notorious plan to steal a truck full of mobile phones. However, the story takes a comical turn when he mistakenly robs a truck full of contraceptives.

Aparshakti says: “There’s an inside joke the entire team of ‘Helmet’ would often crack that while we were making a film on the usage of contraceptives, ironically during the course of this film our director Satram Ramani and I, both became fathers in our personal lives.”

He adds: “But jokes apart, in some ways, the usage of contraceptives also leads to a better and wiser family planning. The audience should expect some giggles, a good amount of entertainment and along with it they should also be ready for a crucial message. Television for me has always been a medium to be a part of people’s homes, to see ‘Helmet’ knock at people’s doors is thrilling.”

The World Television Premiere of ‘Helmet’ is on Sony MAX, on February 26 at 8 pm.

New Accenture programme to nurture women-led Indian startups

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New Accenture programme to nurture women-led Indian startups

Global professional services company Accenture on Friday launched the Women Founders Programme in India to help early-stage, women-led Indian startups in the business-to-business (B2B) deep tech and enterprise SaaS domain grow and advance their businesses.

Under this program, Accenture will provide selected technology startups in India with an equity-free grant of up to $60,000, along with market and network access and mentoring.

“The technology industry needs the active participation of women as technologists and entrepreneurs to strengthen its innovation abilities and drive market-relevant solutions using deep tech,” Mahesh Zurale, senior managing director, lead – Advanced Technology Centers in India, Accenture.

“Accenture is committed to supporting women in technology and helping female entrepreneurs grow their businesses, and the Women Founders Programme in India is one of many initiatives underway to contribute to these efforts,” Zurale added.

Registrations for the Women Founders Programme are currently open to early-stage B2B technology businesses that have at least one woman founder and are focused on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, internet of things, cloud, blockchain, Web 3.0, metaverse, big data, and analytics, and extended reality.

The company said that startups applying for the program must be based out of India and have a working prototype with early adoption metrics.

Applicants will be shortlisted and selected by leaders from Accenture and the ecosystem-based on product differentiation, disrupt-ability quotient, leveraging of deep technologies, commercial viability and founder profile.

‘Bheemla Nayak’ starring Pawan Kalyan, Rana Daggubati opens to positive reviews

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‘Bheemla Nayak’ starring Pawan Kalyan, Rana Daggubati opens to positive reviews

Pawan Kalyan and Rana Daggubati-starrer ‘Bheemla Nayak’ hit the screens on Friday. The Telugu remake of the Malayalam movie ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’ opened to positive reviews.

With mind-blowing openings and blockbuster premiere talk from overseas, the fans saw delays in screenings at theatres in Andhra Pradesh.

Despite the ticket prices and cancellation of shows in most of the areas in Andhra Pradesh, the movie has got super reviews from those areas.

On the other hand, the Telangana government had granted permission for special early morning shows, and hence the early reports for ‘Bheemla Nayak’ came in even before people in Andhra Pradesh got to watch it.

It is even expected that the movie will continue to get stronger in terms of money generation at the theatres, as the weekend factor will have a good impact.

“Experience SHEER ADRENALINE RUSH in THEATRES NOW! POWER STORM KICKED OFF at FULL THROTTLE”, the overwhelmed producers tweeted.

Bitcoin helping Russia evade financial sanctions, Putin may legalise crypto

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Bitcoin helping Russia evade financial sanctions, Putin may legalise crypto

The increased adoption of cryptocurrencies is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin evade the first wave of financial sanctions from the West and the country may legalize cryptocurrencies in order to sustain and virtually avoid all the sanctions as it invades Ukraine, the media reported.

US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions and limitations on what can be exported to Russia. The US will block five of the biggest Russian banks and freeze all assets they hold in America, worth over $1 trillion.

Earlier, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled Britain’s largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia, targeting banks and wealthy Russians.

However, those measures are becoming increasingly easy to evade, thanks in part to a surge of cryptocurrency adoption in Russia, reports CNN.

“If the Russians decide — and they’re already doing this, I’m sure –to avoid using any currency other than cryptocurrency, they can effectively avoid virtually all of the sanctions,” Ross S. Delston, an expert on anti-money laundering compliance, was quoted as saying in the report.

Bitcoin surged to $39,000 in a quick rally following Biden’s sanctions after dipping below $35,000 on Thursday when Putin declared war on Ukraine.

According to The New York Times, Russia is legalizing cryptocurrency to circumvent US sanctions. Otherwise, the country will not survive the growing sanctions pressure from Western countries.

Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro senior market analyst, said that after reaching the lows for the month, the first cryptocurrency received support from buyers, as was the case at the end of January.

“Of course, the growth dynamics were relatively modest, which indicates the caution of buyers. It is likely that these are long-term holders rather than short-term speculators, as markets generally remain wary,” he said in a statement.

Interestingly, buying during the decline has become a key outline of the American session. After more than a 3 percent fall, US stock indices not only bounced back but also managed to show growth at the end of the day.

“This stimulated Bitcoin to strengthen. A short-term surge of bullish sentiment could end quickly if risky assets resume their decline again. If the situation in Ukraine escalates, even more, Bitcoin may fall below $30,000 as investors leave for defensive assets,” Kuptsikevich noted.

The total capitalization of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, has increased by 9.6 percent per day to $1.72 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index rose 0.3 points to 42.6 percent.

Nadal sets up Medvedev semis clash with Acapulco Q-F victory

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Nadal sets up Medvedev semis clash with Acapulco Q-F victory

Spanish tennis stalwart Rafael Nadal was made to work hard for a Mexican Open quarterfinal win against American Tommy Paul, with the 35-year-old scoring a 6-0, 7-6(5) win to set up a clash with Russian Daniil Medvedev here on Friday (IST).

Nadal had defeated Medvedev as recently as in the Australian Open final last month, where he overcame the Russian in a marathon five-setter comeback win to clinch a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.

For both the semifinalists, the Mexican Open is their first event since Melbourne.

Against Paul, Nadal dropped just 10 points in the opening set for a bagel but met stiff resistance in the second in hot and humid Acapulco. The fourth-seeded Nadal dictated early before the American began to use his athleticism to telling effect, regularly getting the better of rallies in a second set that lasted over 90 minutes.

“I think I played one of the best sets since a long time ago,” Nadal said of the opener. “I played fantastic in the first set. At the beginning of the second, I made a couple of mistakes, and then he (Paul) started playing better and better. The set became a little bit crazy with a lot of breaks.”

Looking forward to the semifinal clash against Medvedev, Nadal was all praise for the opponent, who will soon replace Serbia’s Novak Djokovic as the world No. 1.

“Everybody knows how difficult it is to play against Daniil. I know I have to play at my highest level if I want to have any chance, and that’s what I’m going to try. I have to play my game. Everybody knows how difficult the final was in Australia. Tomorrow is going to be another battle. I know he’s playing well, plenty of confidence… I am excited to play that match,” said Nadal.

Also, Cameron Norrie defeated Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk 6-1, 6-0, with the sixth-seeded Briton wasting little time in closing out the Acapulco evening schedule, winning 10 straight games to reach a second ATP Tour semifinal in as many weeks.

“I used the court to my advantage,” Norrie was quoted as saying by atptour.com. “Very slow, very bouncy conditions. I just made it physical points and made him play one more ball. Even though the score was easy, it was definitely not easy. I sweat through like five shirts, and it was definitely a very physical match. I really enjoyed it.”

He’ll face the third seed from Greece, Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis. Tsitsipas cruised past Marcos Giron of the US 6-3, 6-4, earlier in the day.

Third list of defence items banned for import to come out soon: Modi

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Third list of defence items banned for import to come out soon: Modi

Indian Defence Ministry will come up with a third list of defense items banned for import very soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday stressing self-reliance in the sector.

“A total 70 percent has been allocated for domestic defense industry this budget,” said Prime Minister while addressing a post-budget webinar titled ‘Aatmnirbharta in Defence – Call to Action on the announcements made in the budget.

The webinar was organized by the Ministry of Defence.

Prime Minister Modi recalled that India’s defense manufacturing was quite strong even during the period of slavery and in the immediate aftermath of independence.

Indian-made weapons played a major role during the Second World War. “Though, in the later years, this prowess of ours declined, still it shows that there has been no dearth of capabilities, neither then nor now”, he said.

Underscoring the importance of customization and uniqueness of the defense system for a surprise element over the adversaries, PM Modi said: “Uniqueness and surprise elements can only happen when the equipment is developed in your own country.”

This year’s budget, the Prime Minister mentioned, has a blueprint for developing a vibrant ecosystem from research, design, and development to manufacturing within the country. About 70 percent of the defense budget has been kept for domestic industry only, he added.

The defense Ministry has, so far, released Positive Indigenisation Lists of more than 200 defense Platforms and Equipment.

After this announcement, the Prime Minister informed that contracts worth Rs 54,000 crore have been signed for domestic procurement.

Apart from this, the procurement process of more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore worth of equipment is at various stages. The third list is expected soon, he said.

The Prime Minister lamented the long-drawn process of weapon procurement which often results in a scenario where weapons are outdated by the time they are commissioned.

“Solution for this lies is in Aatmnirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives”, he emphasized. The Prime Minister lauded the armed forces for taking decisions while keeping the importance of Aatmnirbharta in mind.

The Prime Minister stressed the need to keep the pride and feelings of the jawans in matters of weapons and equipment. “This is possible only when we are Aatmnirbhar in these areas,” he said.

He noted that cyber security is no longer confined to the digital world but has become a subject of national security. “The more we deploy our formidable IT power in the defense sector, the more confident we will be regarding our security”, he said.

Noting the competition among the defense manufacturers for contracts, the Prime Minister said it often led to money-focus and corruption. A lot of confusion was created with regard to the quality and desirability of weapons. Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan tackles this problem also, he said.

He lauded the ordnance factories for being a shining example of progress with determination. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that seven new defense undertaking that was incorporated last year are rapidly expanding their business and reaching new markets. “We have increased defense exports six times in the last 5-6 years. Today, we are providing Made in India Defence equipment and services to more than 75 countries”, the Prime Minister added.

As a result of the government’s encouragement to ‘Make in India’, the Prime Minister said that more than 350 new industrial licenses have been issued for defense manufacturing in the last seven years. Whereas in the fourteen years from 2001 to 2014, only 200 licenses were issued. The Prime Minister also said that the private sector should also come on a par with DRDO and defense PSUs, hence 25 percent of the defense R&D budget has been kept for Industry, start-ups, and academia. The Special Purpose Vehicle model has also been arranged in the budget. “This will establish the role of the private industry as a partner beyond just a vendor or supplier”, he said.

Transparent, time-bound, pragmatic, and fair systems of trial, testing, and certification are essential to the growth of a vibrant defense industry, Modi noted. For this, an independent system can prove useful in solving problems, he added.

TN gets 3.89L doses of Corbevax for children in 12-15 age group

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TN gets 3.89L doses of Corbevax for children in 12-15 age group

Tamil Nadu received 3.89 lakh doses of Corbevax against Covid-19 for children in the age group of 12-15. The state health minister Ma Subramanian said that the vaccine will be rolled out after the central government issues guidelines on the same.

Ma Subramanian while speaking to reporters said, “The Union government has allocated 21.66 lakh doses of Corbevax vaccine for children in the age group of 12-18 in the state and of this 3.89 lakh doses have arrived in Chennai on Thursday. However, we will roll out the vaccination only after guidelines from the central government. There are nearly 10 lakh children in this age group ”

He said that the vaccine against Covid-19 for children in the age group of 15-18 was rolled out on January 3. The minister said that of the 33.46 lakh children in the age group of 15-18 who are eligible for vaccination, 82.27 percent have received the first dose, and the second dose after a gap of 28 days was administered to 37.64 percent.

The minister also said that in the age group above 18 years of age, the first dose coverage has increased to 91.39 percent and the second dose has been administered to 72.05 percent.

The Minister also said that the number of people who are due to receive the second dose of vaccine has crossed 1 crore.

Ma Subramanian said, “The state has provided all facilities for people to get themselves inoculated and I appeal to each and everyone to get vaccinated with both the doses.”

Will Pinarayi be able to stamp his ‘continued’ authority at CPI-M state party conference?

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Will Pinarayi be able to stamp his ‘continued’ authority at CPI-M state party conference?

With the CPI-M state party conference set to kick-off from March 1 in Kochi, the political circles are abuzz with conversations about whether Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan be able to stamp his continued authority in the party.

As things stand, there appears no doubt about it, as he always has the last word not just in governance, but also in the party, contrary to his predecessors who played “second fiddle” to the party’s state secretary.

A media critic, on condition of anonymity, said the only reason why Vijayan, ever since he took over as chief minister in 2016, has the last and final word is because of the way he ran the party as its state secretary from 1998 to 2014 and holds the record of having sat on the chair for the longest period.

“It was his 16-year tenure as state secretary, which gave him the absolute confidence he displays now, that he is not just the final word in Kerala, but also at the national level. During the period he kept a close watch on all the leaders and handpicked leaders of his choice. He showed it again when the party prevented stalwarts like Thomas Isaac, G.Sudhakaran, A.K.Balan from contesting in the 2021 Assembly polls. The biggest surprise came when he decided not to give a second term to popular Health Minister K.K.Shailaja. There was not even a slightest of noise from any quarters,” said the critic.

When Vijayan decided to move out as state secretary in 2014, he made sure that the wings of the Achuthanandan faction in the party were clipped forever.

“In the run-up to the 2016 Assembly polls, there were more posters of Achuthanandan than Vijayan portraying the former as the team leader. But it ended the day votes were counted and when the CPI(M)-led Left had an easy victory, in came Vijayan and then, as they say, there was no looking back for him,” added the critic.

One big advantage that Vijayan has is the party’s second-in-command Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who was the Home Minister in the Achuthanandan cabinet 2006-11 but does not appear to be in a mood to move up the ladder. In all likelihood, he will be getting his third and final term as the state secretary, he said.

Unlike the factional feud between Achuthanandan and Vijayan when the former was active, there are none at the moment who dare to oppose him, and hence the four-day event at Kochi would go the way he wants.

With aging leaders like Vaikom Viswan, Anathalavattom Anandan, and K.P.Karunakaran in the state secretariat, it remains to be seen if they will be replaced.

Hence the only thing that will be of any significance is whether there be new faces in the 21-member state secretariat, the 88-member state committee and not to mention to decide the party’s Kerala contingent to the Party Congress to be held at Vijayan’s home turf Kannur in April.

Sanctions on Russia won’t affect ISS operations: NASA

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Sanctions on Russia won’t affect ISS operations: NASA

Even as Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has sparked criticism and invoked several sanctions, it is unlikely to affect its longstanding space partnerships with the US, NASA has said.

The US space agency has asserted that civil cooperation between the US and Russia in space, particularly with regard to the International Space Station (ISS), will continue, Space.com reported.

NASA and Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, jointly operate the ISS. The orbiting space lab currently has two Russian cosmonauts, one European astronaut, and four Americans.

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine leading to sanctions by the US “on what can be exported to Russia.”

“NASA continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station,” NASA spokesperson Joshua Finch said in an emailed statement to Space.com.

“The new export control measures will continue to allow U.S.-Russia civil space cooperation. No changes are planned to the agency’s support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations,” it added.

Earlier in a public, televised statement, President Joe Biden discussed the new sanctions.

“We estimate that we’ll cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports. That will strike a blow to their ability to continue to modernize their military. It’ll degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program,” Biden said.

Although his statements did not directly mention the space collaboration between the two countries, Dmitry Rogozin, the director of Roscosmos, posted a thread of tweets raising the assumption that the new sanctions will interfere with the two nations’ space partnerships, the report said.

“Do you want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS?” Rogozin tweeted in Russian (translated with Twitter translate).

“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled deorbiting and falling into the United States or Europe? There is also the option of dropping a 500-tonne structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?” Rogozin added.

NASA and Roscosmos have been working together on the ISS for nearly three decades now.

They coordinated on Russia’s former Mir space station, swapped seats on NASA’s Space Shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz rocket, and even worked together during the Apollo era on the Apollo-Soyuz test project, The Verge reported.

“NASA continues working with the State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Roscosmos) and our other international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan to maintain safe and continuous International Space Station operations,” said Finch in an emailed statement to the Verge, a few hours before the invasion began.

“NASA and its international partners have maintained a continuous and productive human presence aboard the International Space Station for more than 21 years,” he added.

Rohit Sharma has told me to try out rotating strike at the nets: Ishan

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Rohit Sharma has told me to try out rotating strike at the nets: Ishan

India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has revealed that captain Rohit Sharma has told him to focus on rotating the strike during practice sessions. In the first T20I against Sri Lanka at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday, Kishan made an explosive 89 off 56 balls to set the base for India’s convincing 62-run win.

In the knock where Kishan toyed with Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, he hit 10 fours and three sixes while taking 17 singles and seven twos. It was a welcome change from Kishan, who struggled to get going against the West Indies, making just 71 runs in three innings.

In the virtual press conference, Kishan disclosed how Sharma told him to work on his strike-rotation ability.

“Rohit kept telling me that he knows I can hit the ball long whenever I want. But he told me that what’s important in the upcoming matches, where I have been stuck previously, is to work on my single-rotation. He has helped me in this aspect and told me to try out rotating the strike at the nets,” said Kishan.

“He told me that I can hit the ball whenever I want but by rotating strike, I can put the bowlers under pressure also. So, these are the things I have spoken to Rohit Bhai about. When we get such support from people in the team, our work is to do our homework, be it be fitness, sleeping pattern or disciplined life, we have to continue with that,” added Kishan.

Kishan explained how playing on big grounds at home is helping him and India in their preparation for the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year. “In this ground, it’s very much like when the team is preparing to go for the World Cup and playing in big grounds. This was a perfect ground for us for practice. Like, we need to go in the gaps, make the twos and make the most out of the ground.

“When you play in a big ground, you get a lot of gaps. Instead of always hitting the ball hard, you need to time the ball in the gap and that way, you learn like where you lack. Obviously, I got runs but still, I know that on these grounds, I need to hold my shape when I am batting, like I am tired, I need to hold my shape and go for it.

“I just can’t slog in as the fielder is going to cover it anyway. So, these are the few learnings for the team and will do even better when we play again in some big grounds.”

Kishan further stressed how important it is to make the chances count irrespective of batting positions in the side when regular players are absent.

“When you come to a level like this, playing for the Indian team, you have to be ready for every opportunity you get because there are so many players performing well and you cannot ask for one position.

“We have to be ready, prepare in the nets, and watch our seniors who are doing well at that position, so that’s the way we learn. It’s not just that you go there and get to open. You have to wait for your time. But when you get it, you have to capitalize on it.”

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