India today ed history by defeating Australia by three wickets in the fourth and final Test at the Gabba in Brisbane and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India successfully chased the 328-run target to seal the four-match series 2-1.

This was the first defeat for Australia at their fortress Gabba in 32 years as Rishabh Pant’s brilliant unbeaten 89, Shubman Gill’s 91, and Cheteshwar Pujara’s 56 run knock in the second innings guided India to the memorable Test series win.

Earlier, the visitors resumed their second innings play this morning with all wickets intact. Chasing 328 runs for victory, India had scored four for no loss after bowling Australia out for 294 after tea on day four yesterday. Steve Smith with 55 runs was the top scorer for Australia in their second innings.

For India, right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Siraj picked up his maiden five-wicket haul. Shardul Thakur claimed four wickets while debutant off-spinner Washington Sundar scalped the remaining one.

India had posted 336 in reply to Australia’s first inning score of 369, conceding a 33-run lead.

Man of the match Rishabh Pant said in the post-match presentation that this is one of the biggest moments of his life.

President Ram Nath Kovind has congratulated Indian cricket team for winning the test series against Australia. In a tweet, Mr Kovind said, a historic cricketing triumph ed in Australia. He said, the team showed exceptional skills and resilience. President said, the nation is proud of their achievement. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed joy at the success of the Indian Cricket Team in Australia. In a tweet, Mr Modi congratulated the team and said, their remarkable energy and passion, stellar intent and remarkable grit and determination was visible throughout.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has also congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the Test Match and the series against Australia. He said it is one of the most memorable victories in the recent years.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar also praised the team for the display of grit, determination and resilience in a test match. He said, this win will go down in history as one of best successful chases overseas by India.

In yet another mining accident in South West China on Tuesday, four miners are missing after an accident happened due to excess levels of carbon monoxide in a coal mine in Bijie, southwest China’s Guizhou Province. The accident took place in Ruifeng coal mine in Dafang county at 7:20 am on Tuesday, the state television reported. A total of 47 miners were working when the accident happened and 43 of them have been evacuated safely. 

Two carbon monoxide overload accidents have been reported in the past few months in Southwest China, resulting in 39 deaths. 

Meanwhile, rescuers are still trying to reach the 22 trapped miners in East China’s Shandong Province who got trapped due to an explosion in a gold mine on January 10. As reported by state media, rescue teams have established contact with 12 of the miners. Contact has not yet been made with the other 10 miners.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has been assigned the additional charge of the Ministry of AYUSH. In a Press Communique, President’s Secretariat said, during the hospitalization and treatment of AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik following a road accident, his portfolio related to the Ministry of AYUSH has been temporarily assigned to Mr Rijiju in addition to his existing portfolios. 

The President has directed that this arrangement may continue till Mr Naik resumes his work related to the Ministry of AYUSH. 

India’s regular skipper Virat Kohli will return to the team for next month’s four-test series against England after Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the official squad for the first two Tests for the home series against England.

Surprisingly, in view of COVID-19, BCCI has named a 18-member squad instead of the regular 16-member squad.

The first test is scheduled for February 5th to 9th followed by the second from February 13th to 17th, with both games to be played in Chennai.

The third and fourth tests will be played at Ahmedabad on February 24th to 28th and  March 4th to 8th.

US President-elect Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the 46th President and 49th Vice-President of the United States today. Ms Harris will make history as America’s first woman, first Black and first person with south Asian roots to take the office of the Vice President.

Joe Biden, 78, will take the oath on his 127-year-old family Bible, which will be held by his wife, Dr Jill Biden.  

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in on the West front of the US Capitol building.

Meanwhile, the security has been beefed up at the US Capitol building in view of recent clashes between Trump supporters and Police.

Inaugurations are designated a “National Special Security Event”, meaning the US Secret Service has overall command, but this time they will be supported by an increased mix of forces, including the DC Metropolitan Police Department and the National Guard.

National Guardsmen began arriving at the Capitol last week and eventually around 25,000 are expected to be involved in security efforts.  

The Pentagon has given its approval for some of those troops to be armed, with many stationed around the Capital being pictured with handguns or rifles.

Travel restrictions stepped up one of the main roles for those personnel will be manning dozens of road blocks across the centre of the city, including on several key bridges that cross the Potomac River.

Access will be closely guarded, with only residents or businesses allowed to move around the outer “green zone” while the “red zone” will be limited to just authorised vehicles.

More than a dozen subway stations have also been closed.

The tenth round of talks between Centre and farmers representatives will be held in New Delhi today. The meeting was earlier scheduled for yesterday but had been postponed by a day.

The ninth round of talks held on the 15th of January had remained inconclusive. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said the unions have been asked to form informal groups among themselves and submit a draft to the government regarding their demands.

Mr Tomar had said the government is concerned about the farmers protesting in cold conditions. He had asserted that the Centre is positive that a solution will soon be reached through talks.

India will start supplying COVID-19 vaccines from today, paving the way for many mid- and lower-income countries to get supplies of the easy-to-store vaccine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi  in a tweet,  said, India is deeply honoured to be a long-trusted partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community.

In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs said, Government of India has received several requests for the supply of Indian manufactured vaccines from neighbouring and key partner countries.

In response to these requests, and in keeping with India’s stated commitment to use India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of humanity fight the Covid pandemic, supplies under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles will begin from today.

The Ministry said, in respect of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius, India is awaiting their confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances.

The Ministry said, the immunization programme is being implemented in India, as in other countries, in a phased manner to cover the healthcare providers, frontline workers and the most vulnerable.

Keeping in view the domestic requirements of the phased rollout, India will continue to supply COVID-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner.

It will be ensured that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic requirements while supplying abroad.

Prior to the delivery of vaccines, a two day training programme, covering administrative and operational aspects began today for immunization managers, cold chain officers, communication officers and data managers of the recipient countries, both at national and provincial levels.