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India to host ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021; Women’s T-20 postponed till 2022

International Cricket Council has confirmed that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 that was postponed due to Covid-19 will be held in Australia in 2022. India will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as planned. Cricket’s governing body has also decided to postpone the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand till February – March 2022 because of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on cricket globally.
 
The format of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will remain as it was for 2020 and all teams that qualified for that event will now participate in India in 2021. A new qualification process will be run for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. The format of the postponed ICC Women’s Cricket 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 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 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.
 
After ICC’s decision to postpone the T20 World Cup, BCCI decided to use the vacant window to announce the dates for the Indian Premier League. The IPL will be held in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. India will be touring Australia after the completion of the IPL.

Gujarat Govt announces New Industrial Policy in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Gujarat Government has announced the new industrial policy. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced the new Policy at a press conference in Gandhinagar yesterday. He said that the new Industrial policy is divided in 15 thrust areas in core sectors and sunrise sectors. He said that in Core sectors- the thrust areas will be Electrical machinery & equipment, Industrial Machinery & equipment, Auto & Auto Components, Ceramics, Technical Textiles, Agro & Food Processing, Pharmaceuticals & Medical devices, Gems & Jewelry and Chemicals.
 
While Sunrise Sectors will have thrust areas like Industry 4.0 manufacturing, Electric Vehicle and its components, Waste management projects, Green Energy including Solar & Wind Equipment and Eco-friendly compostable material for substitutes to traditional plastics. Thrust on 100 percent export oriented units will be given irrespective of sector. AIR Ahmedabad correspondent reports that the new Industrial Policy 2020 is in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan of the center. The new policy will replace the old policy which expired on 31st December 2019.

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra, an interactive experience centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission today. A tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra was first announced by the Prime Minister on 10th April 2017, on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Gandhiji’s Champaran Satyagraha.
 
AIR Correspondent reports that the visitors will experience a unique 360 degree audio visual immersive show, which will narrate India’s Swachhata Story – a journey into the largest behaviour change campaign in the history of the world. The Swachh Bharat Mission has transformed rural sanitation in the country and has changed the behaviour of over 55 crore people from open defecation to using a toilet. The installations at Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra will introduce future generations to the successful journey of world’s largest behavioural change campaign, the Swachh Bharat Mission.
 
A balanced mix of digital and outdoor installations in the Kendra will impart information, awareness and education on Swachhata and related aspects. Prime Minister will also interact with 36 school students from Delhi, representing the 36 States and Union Territories, adhering to social distancing protocols. 

Centre asks States, UTs to conduct Corona test of all grocery shop workers, street vendors to control pandemic

Health Ministry has asked states and UTs to take up coronavirus testing of grocery shop workers, vegetable and other vendors. It stated that if undetected, grocery workers can potentially spread the infection to a large number of people. In a letter to states and UTs, Secretary, Health Ministry, Rajesh Bhushan also stressed the need for operationalising ambulance transport system with oxygen facility and quick response mechanism. He underlined that refusal rate of ambulances must be monitored at a daily basis and brought down to zero.
 
With the COVID-19 pandemic now spreading to newer areas in the country, Mr Bhushan said there are likely to be scattered cases, cluster of cases or large outbreaks in districts. He said the primary aim is to control outbreaks especially in new locations and to save lives at all cost. He said the aim should be to further reduce mortality and ensure that it does not cross the 1 per cent mark.
 
The Secretary pointed out that early detection of cases through aggressive testing, prompt isolation or admission in a healthcare facility and ensuring proper clinical management are major components of mortality reduction. He stressed on enhanced surveillance for influenza like illness, and severe acute respiratory illness as their symptoms are mostly the same as COVID.
 
Once a positive case is identified, a prompt contact-tracing should be undertaken and at least 80 per cent of the contacts must be identified and quarantined within 72 hours. He said there can be potential hotspots for spread of infection like industrial clusters with closed work environment, people coming from high prevalence areas, other high density areas such as slums, prisons, and old age homes.
 
He also asked states and UTs to undertake weekly death audits to assess the determinants of death such as age differentials, comorbidities, late reporting to hospital and clinical protocols that were followed. This will help identify challenges to be addressed and will facilitate effective case reporting and ensure timely and required medical interventions. In the letter, Bhushan also said that a regular house-to-house search must be done periodically to identify those who are at high-risk that is the elderly, people with comorbidities and pregnant women among others.

Atleast 18 people killed in plane crash at Kozhikode airport in Kerala

At least 18 people, including two pilots died when an Air India Express aircraft from Dubai crashed after overshooting the runway in Kozhikode last night. 162 people have been injured. 15 of them are in serious condition. Rescue operations at the site have been completed and all injured persons have been admitted to hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode. There were 191 people including 10 infants, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew onboard the aircraft.
 
DGCA said, the Dubai-Kozhikode Air India Express flight fell 35 feet from the hilltop runway after landing at Karipur Airport and broke down in two pieces. While the two pilots are among the dead, four-cabin crew members on board the aircraft are safe. It is believed that heavy rains in Kerala could be one of the reasons behind the mishap. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, two investigation teams of professionals from Air India, Airports Authority of India and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau have been rushed to Kozhikode.
 
President Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and inquired about the situation. Expressed deep distress, he said his thoughts & prayers are with affected passengers, crew members & their families. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has expressed deep anguish at the loss of  lives in the tragic air mishap at Kozhikode airport. In a tweet, Mr Naidu extended condolences to the families who lost their dear ones in the crash and hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured.
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and inquired about the situation. Expressing pain over the accident, Mr Modi said, his thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. Prime Minister also wished speedy recovery to those injured. Home Minister Amit Shah said he is distressed to learn about the tragic accident. In a tweet, he said, NDRF was instructed to reach the site and assist in rescue operations.
 
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, MoS External Affairs V Muraleedharan and BJP MP KJ Alphons also expressed deep distress over the accident. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan spoke to Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja regarding rescue and medical support for those injured in the air crash. Dr Harsh Vardhan assured her of maximum support from the centre for those who are being treated at various city hospitals.

External Affairs Ministry has issued helpline numbers. These are 1800 118 797; 91 11 23012113; 91 11 23014104; 91 11 23017905. Indian Consulate in Dubai’s helpline number is 97142079444. Helpline issued by Mallapuram district administration are 8330052468 and 04832719493.

Understanding Strict Liability

In tort, the liability of a person generally emanates from his negligence and therefore, if the person can be proved negligent then he is held liable. But this general principle of liability does not apply to any person who keeps hazardous substances in his premises or involves in hazardous activities. In that case, the person is invariably liable for the consequences of that act irrespective of the fact whether he was negligent or not. Such a principle is an exception to the general rule of “liability for fault”, it is called “Strict liability”. The principle was first laid down in Rylands v Fletcher and the exceptions to this rule are Plaintiff’s fault, Act of God or Act of the third party. The rule of absolute liability, on the other hand, is often defined as the rule of strict liability minus the exceptions of strict liability. According to this rule, if a person is involved in any hazardous activity and any person due to any accident which occurred during the carrying out of the hazardous activity is harmed, then person carrying out such activity will be held absolutely liable. In India, this rule evolved in the case of MC Mehta v Union of India. Under these acts, the liable person may be not have been involved in the act but will still be held responsible for the damage caused due to the acts.

Strict liability was established through the case of Rylands v Fletcher[1].

In the case, the defendant(Fletcher) was an owner of a mill in Answorth. He wanted to improve water supply for his mill therefore, he employed the services of independent competent Engineers to construct a reservoir. In course of excavation work they notices some old shafts and passages to defendant’s land but did not block them. When the water was filled in the reservoir it ran through the porus shafts and flooded the plaintiff’s (Rylands) coal mines on the adjoining land. The defendant did not know about the shafts nor was he told about them by the qualified Engineers who constructed the reservoir.[2]The plaintiff sued the defendant.

The issues raised were whether the defendant can be held at risk, regardless of the fact that the act of another person led to an element get away in the plaintiff’s territory? It was exceptional that there was no carelessness or expectation on part of the defendant.

The court held that the supplication of the defendant was dismissed, and he was held at liable for all the damages in Ryland’s mine. A rule was set in this case which states that, if a man keepers in his territory any hazardous thing, he will be at first sight held liable if it escapes and harms even if he was not careless in keeping it there. Regardless that the defendant had no blame or carelessness, he was held liable since he kept some unsafe thing on his territory and the said thing has gotten away from his property and caused harm.

There are certain qualifications which are required to decide whether a liability should be strict liability or not. It is only after these qualifications are satisfied can a liability be termed as “strict liability”. These qualifications include:

  1. Dangerous thing : This essentially implies that the defendant will be at risk when the thing got away from his territory was a dangerous thing. The word “dangerous” , in the context, implies that the thing can probably do any kind of mischief when it escapes.
  2. Escape : This essentially implies that the thing causing harm should escape from the territory of the defendant, and it should not be within the reach of the defendant once it escapes.
  3. Non-natural use of land : This essentially implies that for the use to be non-natural, it must be some special use that brings with it increased danger to others. It must not be ordinary use of land or use as is proper for the benefit of community.

Strict liability also includes certain exceptions in Strict Liability which are as follows:

  1. Plaintiff’s fault : If the plaintiff has any blame or any damage is caused then the defendant would not be held liable, as the plaintiff himself interacted with the dangerous thing.
  2. Act of God : This expression can be characterized as an occasion which is not under the ability to control of any human. Such acts happen solely because of characteristic reasons and cannot be anticipated even while practicing alert. The defendant, then, would not be held liable for the misfortune if the dangerous thing got away in the view of some unexpected and common occasion which could not have been controlled in any way.
  3. The Act of Third Party : This rule additionally does not make a difference when the damage is caused by a third party i.e an outsider. The outsider implies that the individual is neither a servant of the defendant, nor the defendant has any sort of agreement with him or control over their work. But in cases, where the act of the third party could have been taken care of by the defendant, he must take care. Else, he will be considered liable.
  4. Consent of the Plaintiff : This special case take the guideline of the maxim “volenti fit injuria”. Suppose if A and B are neighbors, and they share similar water source at the place of A, and if the water escapes and makes harm to B, he cannot claim damages, as A wouldn’t be obligated for the dam.

Thus, for tortious liability, whether the wrongful act was done intentionally, unintentionally or maliciously is generally immaterial as the main consideration in deciding these cases is whether the act complained by the plaintiff constitutes violation of any of his legal right. If it constitutes an infringement of the plaintiff’s legal right then the plaintiff will succeed and held to recover damages from the defendant but if there is no infringement then the case will be dismissed. The non-liability of defendant is also an indication that the alleged violation of right against the defendant has no legal existence.

[1] Rylands v Fletcher, 330 UKHL 1 (1868)

[2] N.V Paranjape , Law of torts and Consumer protection Law and Compensation under Motor vehicles Act, Central Law Pusblisher,ed.1

Can mid day meals solve the school education crisis in rural India ?

The roots of the mid day meal program can be traced back to the pre-independence era, when the British administration decided to come up with ways to help disadvantaged children. Today, this scheme seeks to address the following issues – food security, lack of nutritional food in rural areas, and access to education. It is hoped that by providing hot meals to children in lower primary and upper primary classes, more children will be encouraged to attend school regularly.    

Today, in India, 4 percent of the children do not attend school, and 58 percent of the children have not completed primary school. In fact, only 10 percent of the children in India make it to college. This is the education crisis that India is facing today. According to the government, the mid may meal program reaches out to more than 120 million children in over 1 million schools nationwide. However, has the number of children attending school increased over the past few years because of this scheme ?   

In fact, according to a government report, in Bihar, the attendance of children dropped by 9 percent in the last five years and in Madhya Pradesh, the attendance of children dropped from 67 percent to 54.5 percent between 2008 and 2011. And in other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, there is an increase in private school enrollment in rural areas over the past five years. This proves that the mid day meal program has not been effective in solving the school education crisis. Despite providing healthy meals for children, there is a significant decline in the enrollment of students in schools in rural areas. On paper, the government has urged schools to provide meals with a minimum of 300 calories for those studying in lower primary classes and meals with a minimum of 700 calories for those studying in upper primary classes.   

The Mid Day Meal is a significant part of the diet of Indian children. The meal is available to all primary and upper primary children (classes 1 to 8) in government schools, government-aided schools and Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) schools. Two out of three Indian children go to government schools alone (according to the 2011-12 India Human Development Survey). Not every child entitled to the mid-day meal receives it; the survey shows that 82% of children in government schools reported getting a mid-day meal. In all, at least half of all children in classes 1-8 in India get a mid-day meal.

How many children get a mid-day meal ?

For many, the mid-day meal is invaluable. The 2011-12 National Sample Survey (NSS) data shows, 10% of the meals that all primary school-age children (5-9) in rural India receive in a month are from school. The Mid Day Meal’s self-selection works; the poorest children in both rural and urban India get more meals per head from school than richer children, the NSS data shows.

There is evidence that the Mid Day Meal has contributed to the gradual improvement in child malnutrition indicators. The Mid Day Meal scheme explained at least one-tenth of the total reduction in stunting in India in between 206 and 2016, researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute found. Adolescent girls, now 12-17, who got meals under the Mid Day Meal Scheme in 2004 were taller, they found. The effects on health were multi-generational; children born to young women who had received school meals in 2004 were less likely to be stunted.

Yet, the nutritional value of the meal is far from perfect. On paper, each hot cooked meal is meant to provide a primary school child with 450 calories and 12 grams of protein, and an upper primary child with at least 700 calories and 20 grams of protein. This is often not the case; earlier this year, journalist Pawan Jaisal recorded a government school in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur serving the children rotis and salt only. In 2012-13, 90% of school lunches served to primary school students in Delhi did not meet the energy and protein norms.

This becomes important in the context of general under-nourishment among school-going children. The CNNS shows that the diets of school-age children are highly deficient, and they consume lower than recommended amounts of most healthy foods.

School-age children have deficient diets

The outcomes are evident. 22% of children 5-9 were stunted (low height for age), and 23% were thin (low Body Mass Index for age). 24% of adolescents (age 10-14) were thin. The prevalence of stunting was higher among children who were out of school.

School-going children have significant rates of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency

For those from richer families, availability of healthy foods is a lesser problem (though it exists) compared to obesity and related non-communicable diseases, which stem from poor nutritional awareness.

However, there is no government body to monitor these schools and ensure that nutritious meals are reaching the students. A survey conducted by the Department of Economic and Statistical Analysis shows that 72 percent of schools do not have kitchens and facilities to cook. So, food would be cooked miles away and transported to the schools. By the time the food reaches these poor children, it would have turned cold. Also, 69 percent of the schools that were surveyed did not have proper eating utensils.     

So, the mid day meal scheme is not a solution to the school education crisis in India. Steps have to be taken by the government to ensure that schools have the proper facilities for cooking. In the last few weeks, there have been incidents of a dead lizard and insecticide being detected in mid day meals. This shows that the government has no mechanism in place to check the quality of food before it is consumed by children. Government schools lack the proper infrastructure for teaching, which is why students prefer to study in private schools. Those who are unable to afford an education in private schools prefer to work because of the horrific conditions of government schools. So, it is time for the government to take responsibility of the education system and provide proper facilities for the welfare of the children in India.  

Lord Krishna – His side of the Management Guru

Janmashtmi has approached and his devotee will be celebrating it in vivid ways. Different people have different images of lord Shri Krishna but only handful of people are aware of His other side – The management guru. The teachings of Lord Krishna are known all over world and had been encrypted in the very famous Bhagavad – Geeta. Five thousand years back Lord Krishna taught Arjuna self-development which is the key to leadership skills. This leadership would eventually lead to Managerial skills. The teachings of Shri Krishna centuries back are applicable in present day where the knowledge of the individual is powerful.

Many corporate can follow his teachings for human resources development of the managers and workers.   

Shri Krishna started enlightening the world with knowledge right from his childhood days. Though many people feels that he was naughty in his childhood and hence used to steal Maakhan from various houses yet He had a different perspective all together. He was the leader of his poor friends who did not have butter at home. He would steal butter from the houses where it was in excess and would equally distribute it among the poor friends. The message Shri Krishna conveyed is that a true leader would always solve the problem of all those who look up to him, however small or big it might be.

” Karmanye Vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachna, Karmaphalehtur bhurma te sangostvakarman “

In the above quoted very famous shloka of Geeta Shri Krishna has beautifully explained about the relation between deeds and results. Shri Krishna says that every person has a right to perform his/her prescribed duty but should not be concerned only to the fruits of action. One must never consider himself as the cause of the result of his/her duty and at the same time should never be attached to not doing the duty. Not many people understand this.

In order to understand consider youth icon Vishwanathan Anand. Whenever he wins a game, he never takes the credit for winning rather he would say that his opponent did some mistakes.

By saying so he does not consider himself as the cause of the result of his deeds but at the same time he does perform his duty very well. In the above shloka, Shri Krishna also guides people to have a right attitude towards the work they perform. There is a very famous story of three stone-cutters who were engaged in constructing a temple. A man asked them what they were doing. The first stone cutter said with a dejected face, “I am a poor man. I have to maintain my family. I am making a living here”. “Well, I work because I want to show that I am the best stone-cutter in the country,’ said the second one with a sense of pride. The response of the third worker to this innocent-looking question is illuminating. He said “Oh, I want to build the most beautiful temple in the country,” with a visionary gleam. Their jobs were identical but their perspectives were different. What the Geeta tells us is to develop the visionary perspective in the work we do. It tells us to develop a sense of larger vision in our work for the common good.  

The famous epical story of Shri Krishna and Sudama is not unknown to anyone. After being the king of Dwarika when Shri Krishna once got to know that His childhood friend Sudama has come to meet Him, He left his throne and went to the main gate of the kingdom to receive Sudama and embraced him. The story clearly portrays a very humble and down to earth nature of Lord Shri Krishna. The message any management professional can take from the story is even after achieving the heights of success and glory one must keep his/her feet firmly on ground. More humble and down to earth a person is more he/she succeeds in the life and carrier.   

The Mahabharata war was fought three thousand years ago, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Shri Krishna gave up all his men-power to the Kauravas and was standing with Arjuna to guide him and to perform his responsibility of being a true leader. History has witnessed that though kauravas had enormous resources, yet it was the leadership of Shri Krishna who guided a handful people and Arjun’s sheer talent that led Pandavas towards success and victory. Kauravas had great archers like Dronacharya, Karan and many more yet they could not win. The reason being is lack of leadership. Clearly even best mind and talent cannot achieve success without a good leader. And looking on the other side of the coin, despite having limited resources a good leader can definitely take his company to the zenith and much above.   

In the battle of Mahabharata Shri Krishna had the most powerful weapon called “sudarshan Chakr” but never used it for anyone who was not guilty of any wrong deed. The message that he has conveyed through this is that even though a leader or manager might have the supreme powers but he/she should never misuse it. The lessons of Bhagwat Geeta are very much applicable in today’s scenario as well. The iconic industrialist Mr. Ajay Piramal Says “Bhagavad Geeta is one of the greatest management books as it prescribes optimism and freedom from stress”.

People generally get confused with effectiveness and efficiency and its applicability in management. In Bhagwat Geeta there is a beautiful extract in which the difference between effectiveness and efficiency has been distinguished in a crisp manner. It quotes; Effectiveness is doing the right things and Efficiency is doing things right. Management has become a part and parcel of everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose, management principles come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human effort. The critical question in all managers’ minds is how to be effective in their job. The answer to this fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad Geeta, the teachings of Shri Krishna which repeatedly proclaims that you must try to manage yourself.’ The reason is that unless a manager reaches a level of excellence and effectiveness, he or she will be merely a face in the crowd.  

Indeed Lord Shri Krishna is teacher of the universe, “krishnam vande jagat gurum”. Although throughout his life he taught some body or the other but in battle field of Kurukshetra he taught Arjun, principles management and leadership. This conversation between Krishna and Arjuna is known as Bhagwat Geeta. This is not only Hindu holy book but it is for the whole of the mankind. And an idol book for management.

India tested more than 6 lakh COVID-19 samples for third consecutive day

India has tested more than 6 lakh COVID-19 samples for the third consecutive day in a row. India’s resolve to rapidly increase the number of tests done per day has resulted in a successful march towards 10 lakh per day testing capacity with 6 lakh 64 thousand 949 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.
 
The Tests Per Million too have seen a sharp rise to more than sixteen thousand. A key component for the successful implementation of the “Test, Track and Treat” strategy has been the continuously expanding network of diagnostic labs across the country. The lab network as on today consists of 1370 labs. These consist of 921 labs in the government sector and 449 private labs.

Top finalists under ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’ to showcase apps in Mega Hackathon

A Mega Hackathon will be organised today where the top finalists selected under the ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’ across categories will be showcasing their Apps.

The Mega Hackathon will be streamed live from 12 noon to 5 PM on Social Media platforms of MyGov India and Digital India.

The AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4th of last month, which saw participation from 6 thousand 9 hundred 40 tech entrepreneurs and start-ups across the country.

The mega Challenge had entries for 9 different categories namely Business, eLearning, Entertainment, Games, Health, News, Office and Work from Home, Others and Social.

National Handloom Day being observed today

National Handloom Day is being organised today by the Ministry of Textiles on a virtual platform. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani will be the Chief Guest on the occasion. During the function, handloom clusters across India, NIFT campuses, all the 28 Weaver Service Centres, National Handloom Development Corporation and others will be connected online.

7th August was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on the same date in the year 1905. The objective is to generate awareness about the Handloom Industry among the public and its contribution to socio-economic development.

To mark the occasion and to instil pride in the workmanship of handloom weaving amongst citizens, a social media campaign is planned for the handloom weaving community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, the Handloom and Handicrafts of India encompass a glorious history of hundreds of years.

In his Mann Ki Baat address on All India Radio last month, the Prime Minister urged everyone to use Indian Handloom and Handicrafts as much as possible, and also communicate to more and more people about them. He said, local artisans and weavers will benefit from conversations about the richness and diversity of Indian handloom and handicrafts.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the correct and positive approach always goes a long way in transforming distressing times into opportunities, adversities into triggers of development and progress.

Country’s first Kisan Special Parcel Train to run from today to provide seamless supply of perishable produce

The country’s first Kisan Special Parcel Train or Kisan Rail will start from today. The train will start at 11 AM and it will transport material between Maharashtra’s Devlali and Bihar’s Danapur Railway station. The Kisan Rail will carry fruits and vegetables and will make stoppages at several stations and pick-up and deliver them.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Rail Minister Piyush Goyal will flag off the train through video link. The train is scheduled to reach its destination Danapur tomorrow at 6:45 PM, covering a distance of one thousand 519 kilometres in around 32 hours.

The train will halt at Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, ltarsi, Jabalpur, Satna, Katni, Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Nagar and Buxar.

With the launch of Kisan Rail, the Railways aims to help double farmers’ income. The Railway Ministry said, this will help in bringing perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time.

The Kisan Rail train with frozen containers is expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of fish, meat and milk. Our correspondent reports that, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced to start ‘Kisan Rail’ in the current year’s Budget, for providing a seamless supply chain of perishable produce. 

Manipur extends complete lockdown till August 15 amid rise in COVID-19 cases

The Manipur government has extended the ongoing complete lockdown and curfew in the state till 15th of August in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases.

The entire state was under complete lockdown and curfew from 23rd July till yesterday to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

A Cabinet meeting led by Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh was held last evening to review the crisis. During the meeting, the decision was taken to extend the ongoing complete lockdown in the state till 15th of this month.

An official order issued by the State Chief Secretary said, certain relaxations will be allowed during this period. All locality based retails shops dealing with essential commodities will be opened in all districts from 8 am to 12 noon on all days except Sundays.

Moreover, certain parts of Imphal market and other markets in districts will be opened on roster basis to cater the requirement of retailers.

PM Modi to deliver Inaugural Address at ‘Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy’ today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the Inaugural Address at the ‘Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy’ today.

The conclave that is being organised through video conference, will have sessions dedicated to significant aspects of education covered under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. These include holistic, multidisciplinary and futuristic education, Quality Research, and Equitable use of technology for better reach in Education.

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and Union Minister of State for Education, Sanjay Dhotre will also participate in the event. A number of dignitaries including the Chairman and Members, Committee for Draft NEP as well as eminent academicians and scientists will speak on different aspects of the National Education Policy.

Vice-Chancellors of universities, Directors of Institutions and Principals of colleges and other stakeholders will also participate in the programme.