Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Indian scientists have done path-breaking research and the Indian tech industry is at the forefront of solving global problems.
 
Delivering the inaugural address at the India International Science Festival, IISF 2020 last evening through video conference, Mr Modi said India has data, demography, demand, democracy to achieve world class scientific solutions.
 
He said, India has a rich legacy in science, technology and innovation and all our efforts are aimed at making India the most trustworthy centre for scientific learning.
 
At the same time, Government wants the scientific community to share and grow with the best of global talent.

He asserted that the New National Education Policy will help in fostering scientific temper from an early age.
 
The Prime Minister said now focus has shifted from outlays to outcome, from text books to research and application.
 
Mr Modi emphasized the importance of making the benefits of  science and technology to all.
 
He said, Science and technology is connecting the poorest of the poor with the government.
 
He said, with digital advances, India is becoming a centre of evolution and revolution of global high-tech power.
 
The Prime Minister said there are many challenges in our country like water scarcity, pollution, soil quality, food security, for which modern science has a solution.
 
He said, science also has a big role in rapidly exploring the water, energy and food resources in the sea.
 
Mr Modi said India is running Deep Ocean Mission for it and has achieved success. 
 
The Prime Minister said reforms have now been undertaken in the Space Sector to encourage the youth and the private sector to not only touch the sky, but also the heights of the deep space.
 
He said the new Production Linked Incentive Scheme also focuses on sectors related to science and technology. 
 
The Prime Minister said, what is called science today, becomes the technology of tomorrow and an engineering solution later.
 
He said for attracting good talent into the science domain, the government has announced scholarships at various levels, but it needs a big out-reach from within the science community as well. 
 
The Prime Minister gave a clarion call to the global community to invest in Indian talent and innovate in India.
 
He said, India has the brightest minds, and celebrates a culture of openness and transparency.
 
The Government of India stands ready to address any challenge and improve the research environment.
 
He lauded the scientist for keeping India ahead and in a better position in the fight against Corona.
 
Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan was also present on the occasion.
 
Ministries of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati conceptualized the IISF to promote scientific temper in the society.
 
Launched in 2015, the aim of IISF is to engage the public with science, celebrate the joy of science and show how science, technology, engineering and mathematics can provide solutions to improve lives.
 
The goal of the IISF 2020 of the 4-day long festival is to help youth develop 21st century skills, with a focus on scientific knowledge, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork.
 
A long-term objective is to encourage students to study and work in scientific fields.

European Union has approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The first phase of the 27-nation bloc’s mass vaccination programme to begin later this week.
 
The EU’s executive commission gave the green light just hours after the European Medicines Agency said the vaccine meets safety and quality standards.
 
The Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said doses will be available for all EU countries, at the same time and on the same conditions. She added that the first batches of the vaccine will be shipped from Pfizer’s manufacturing site in Belgium in the next few days, with vaccinations starting on 27th of this month.
 
European Union countries including Germany, France, Austria and Italy have said they plan to start vaccinations shortly after Christmas as Europe tries to catch up with the US and Britain, where inoculations began earlier this month.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 17 SDPI and PFI leaders and activists for their involvement in the violent attack and large scale rioting in Bengaluru in August this year. The violence took place after a Facebook post by the nephew of Congress MLA AS Murthy. The case was originally registered as FIR in KG Halli Police Station on 12th August this year and it was later reregistered by NIA on 21st September.
 
NIA said, the investigation so far has revealed that the SDPI leaders – Md. Sharieff, President, Bengaluru District SDPI; Imran Ahmed President KG Halli Ward; along with other senior leaders like Rubah Waqas, Shabbar Khan and Shaik Ajmal had conducted meetings at Thanissandra and KG Halli wards in Bengaluru in the evening of 11th August. Wherein they conspired, mobilised and led the crowd gathered at KG Halli Police station to attack the police personnel, causing huge damage to the public and police station vehicles.
 
 Similarly, accused Abbas, SDPI President of Nagwara ward had also mobilised large crowd at the KG Halli police station through his associates Azil Pasha, Irfan Khan and Akbar Khan. The investigation also revealed the use of social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp to spread terror among people and mobilised people from far away places to gather at the Police Station.  
 
Accused Saddam, Sayed Sohel, Kaleemulla alias Shahrukh Khan were active social media users who participated in riots as well as instigated others to gather at the Police Station. NIA said, in the case, so far, 187 accused persons have been arrested and further investigation is continuing.

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has reached to 95.65 per cent. During the last 24 hours, more than 30 thousand COVID patients have recovered. Health Ministry said, the total number of recoveries has gone up to over 96 lakh 36 thousand.
 
The actual caseload currently comprises only 2.90 per cent of the total positive cases. Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is around two lakh 92 thousand.
 
During the past 24 hours, 19 thousand 556 new cases were reported taking the total number of positive cases in the country to over one crore 75 thousand. The Ministry said, that effective implementation of the strategic and graded Test, Track and Treat approach has led to higher recoveries and lower fatality.
 
Currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.45 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally. During the last 24 hours, 301 deaths were reported taking the toll to one lakh 46 thousand 111.
 
According to Indian Council of Medical Research, more than ten lakh 72 thousand tests were conducted during the last 24 hours. The total number of samples tested so far has reached 16 crore 31 lakh.

US President Donald Trump presented the prestigious Legion of Merit award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries and emergence of India as a global power.
 
India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, accepted the award on behalf of the prime minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House.
 
Mr Modi was presented with the highest degree Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit which is given only to the Head of State or Government. Mr Modi was given the award in recognition of his steadfast leadership and vision that has accelerated India’s emergence as a global power and elevated the strategic partnership between the United States and India to address global challenges.
 
The US President also presented the Legion of Merit to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The awards were received by their respective ambassadors in Washington DC.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address at the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 today through video conferencing. Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan will also be present on the occasion.
 
To promote scientific temper in society, Ministries of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati conceptualized the IISF. Launched in 2015, IISF is a celebration to promote science and technology.
 
The aim is to engage the public with science, celebrate the joy of science and show how Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics can provide solutions to improve lives. The goal of the IISF 2020 is to help youth develop 21st century skills, with a focus on scientific knowledge, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. A long-term objective is to encourage students to study and work in scientific fields.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed all to come forward unitedly to make New India through Atma Nirbhar Bharat .He said that we all should come forward with forgetting our differences and make a new nation.
 
Mr Modi was speaking virtually at the Aligarh Muslim University hundred year celebrations. He said that his government it is committed and doing the development of all without any discrimination on the basis of caste and religion.  He appealed the students of Aligarh Muslim University to work for nation building.
 
Prime Minister admired Aligarh Muslim University for providing helping  hand in containing covid-19 .Prime Minister said that union government it is doing a lot of in the direction of education of Muslim girls several welfare schemes in this direction have been launched.

The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous Games to be a part of Khelo India Youth Games 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana. The games include, Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.
 
Speaking about the decision, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said, India has a rich heritage of indigenous sports and it is  a priority for the Sports Ministry to preserve, promote and popularise these games. He said, there is no better platform than the Khelo India Games where athletes of these games can compete. The Minister said, the games have huge popularity and is telecast across the country by Star Sports. He expressed confidence that in the 2021 Khelo India Youth Games these four disciplines, along with Yogasana, will get their much deserved attention among sports enthusiasts and youth of the country. Mr Rijiju said, in the coming years we will be able to add more indigenous sports at the Khelo Games.
 
The four selected games represent different parts of the country. Kalaripayattu has its origin from Kerala and has practitioners all over the world. Mallakhamba has been well-known across India and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been the hotspots of this sport. Gatka originates from Punjab and this traditional fighting style of the Nihang Sikh Warriors is used both as self-defense as well as a sport. Thang-Ta, a Manipur marital art has passed into oblivion in the recent decades, but the sport will get national recognition again with the help of the Khelo India Youth Games 2021.

A number of European countries have imposed travel bans on the UK after it reported a more-infectious coronavirus variant. Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium have decided to halt flights. An European Union meeting today will discuss a more co-ordinated response to the new challenge. The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England.
 
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over the Christmas period. Top health officials said, the new variant is proving to be up to 70 percent more infectious. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, the new strain is out of control and they have to get it under control.
 
Europe is expected to start a massive vaccination campaign after Christmas following the United States and Britain.

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 95.53 per cent, as more than 25 thousand COVID patients have recovered during the last 24 hours. Health Ministry said, the total number of recoveries has gone up to over 96 lakh six thousand. The actual caseload currently comprises only 3.02 per cent of the total positive cases.
 
Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is around three lakh three thousand. India has one of the lowest Covid 19 deaths per million population globally, which stands at 105.
 
The Ministry said, focussed measures including targeted testing, early identification, timely isolation and prompt hospitalization and Standard Treatment Protocol have ensured that daily fatalities are under 400.
 
During the past 24 hours, 24 thousand 337 new cases were reported taking the total number of positive cases in the country to over one crore 55 thousand. The Ministry said, that effective implementation of the strategic and graded Test, Track and Treat approach has led to higher recoveries and lower fatality. Currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.45 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally. During the last 24 hours, 333 deaths were reported taking the toll to one lakh 45 thousand 810.
 
According to Indian Council of Medical Research, more than nine lakh tests were conducted during the last 24 hours. The total number of samples tested so far has reached 16 crore 20 lakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold Virtual Summit with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc today.
 
During the Summit, the two leaders will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and global issues and provide guidance for the future development of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
 
In 2020, both countries continued high-level exchanges. Vice-President of Vietnam Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh came to India in February this year on an official visit. Both Prime Ministers had a telephone conversation on 13th April this year to discuss the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 17th edition of the Joint Commission Meeting virtually co-chaired by the two Foreign Ministers was held on 25th August 2020. Defence Minister held an online meeting with his counterpart on the 27th of last month.

The government has asked farmers to choose a date for next round of talks. In a letter to farmer Unions, joint secretary in the Agriculture Ministry Vivek Agrawal urged them for a dialogue to resolve the issue. He said the Centre is making all efforts to find an appropriate solution to resolve all the issues raised by the farmers with an open mind.
 
Mr Agarwal said, government intends to convene the next meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi for resolving the issue. He also mentioned that the government-held meetings with several other farmers’ organisations and sought their suggestions on the matter.
 
The sixth round talk between farmers and government was cancelled after farmers’ leaders rejected the government’s draft proposal to amend certain provisions of the farm laws and declined to participate in the meeting.

Star Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has equalled Brazilian legend Pele’s record of 643 goals for a single club by scoring for Barcelona against Valencia. Messi has achieved the feat in a Spanish league match where both the teams ended in a 2-2 draw yesterday.

Football legend Pele scored 643 goals in 665 competitive games for Brazilian club Santos between 1956 and 1974 while Messi needed 748 matches from 2005 to 2020 to reach the tally.

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi today visited Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in New Delhiand paid tributes to the courageous Guru Teg Bahadur who made supreme sacrificefor a noble cause, a few centuries ago. 

In a tweet, Mr Modi said thathe prayed this morning at the historic Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in NewDelhi wherethe pious Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s mortal remains were cremated. 

Mr Modi said, he felt extremelyblessed as he and millions around the world are deeply inspired by the kindnessof Sri Guru Teg Bahadur.

He said, it is the Blessing ofthe Guru Sahib that the country will mark the special occasion of the 400thParkash Parv of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur during NDA Government’s tenure. Mr Modisaid, let us mark this blessed occasion in a historic manner and celebrate theideals of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji.

The sudden visit of the Mr Modicaught the Gurudwara authorities by surprise as the Prime Minister came at ashort notice. And his visit did not cause any inconvenience to devotees asthere were no police arrangements or traffic barriers.

PM Modi had also paid tributesto Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on his Shaheedi Diwas in a tweet yesterday. He wrotethat Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s life epitomised courage and compassion. And Onhis Shaheedi Diwas, he bows to the great Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and recallhis vision for a just and inclusive society.

Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninthguru, was born in 1621 and was martyred in 1675 in Delhi. Sikh tradition statesthat the Guru stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him tointercede on their behalf with the emperor Aurangzeb and ask him to revoke arecently imposed tax. He was publicly executed in 1675 on the ordersof  emperor in Delhi for defying Mughal rulers. 

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed tighter coronavirus curbs and largely reversed plans to ease restrictions over Christmas as the country battles a new more infectious strain of the Corona virus. The number of cases in England has soared in the last two weeks because of a variant of the virus that scientists said is up to 70% more transmissible.

British Prime minister tore up plans to allow three households to mix indoors for five days over the festive period and said London and southeast England would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level. People in Tier 4 will be required to stay at home except for essential reasons. The new rules will come into effect from tonight.