A nationwide dry run for Covid-19 vaccination will be conducted today. Dry run is essentially a practice session where a sample number of beneficiaries will go through a mock immunisation process. The exercise is aimed at testing the preparedness for the vaccine rollout. Today’s dry run will be conducted across all States and Union Territories. Each State and Union Territory has been asked to conduct the dry run at minimum three session sites.

Apart from the staff of the designated vaccination centres, the dry run will see the participation of a select group of health care workers as test vaccine beneficiaries. Each centre will identify 25 test beneficiaries for the dry run.

The mock drill will ensure that phase 1 of Covid-19 vaccination goes without any glitch. The dry run will test linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges. The dry run will also test Co-WIN application, developed specifically for Covid-19 vaccination drive, in a field environment.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan chaired a high-level meeting yesterday to review preparedness for the dry run. Head of the COVID Task Force and NITI Aayog Member Dr VK Paul said that the dry run of vaccination is important to ascertain the preparedness and operational functioning of COWIN under actual circumstances.

States are also augmenting the state helpline 104 which will be used in addition to 1075 for any vaccine related query. Call centre executives have been given an orientation and capacity building training.

A two-day trial run was earlier conducted on December 28 and 29 in four states – Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat. The planned operations and the laid-out mechanisms for the drive was successful then.

Health and Family Welfare Ministry said all states expressed satisfaction in terms of the operational approach and use of IT platform to ensure transparency and effective monitoring of vaccination processes expected to cover a large number of people across the country.

Today’s startups are the multinational companies of tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today adding that the scope of startups is increasing from farming to the space sector.

Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of IIMSambalpur, Odisha, via video conferencing today. Most startups are coming up in tier II and III cities of the country. From the farming sector to space sector, the scope for startups is increasing,” said PM Modi on the occasion.

The permanent campus of IIM Sambalpur will represent the great heritage of Odisha, the Prime Minister stated.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, India has witnessed more number of unicorns in 2020. The youth have a huge responsibility towards Brand India, he added.

Till 2014, there were 13 IIMs in India. Today, there are 20 IIMs. Such a large talent pool can help strengthen the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign, PM Modi emphasized.

Present on the occasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, set up in 2015, IIM Sambalpur has already proved its mettle. I am delighted that the Prime Minister is laying the foundation stone for infrastructural development of IIM Sambalpur.

In just about five years it (IIM Sambalpur) has been able to cast its positive impact upon the hierarchy of educational institutions in Odisha,” said Mr. Patnaik. Odisha has a tradition of excellence in education since ancient times, he added.  

IIM Sambalpur is the first IIM to implement the idea of the flipped classroom where the basic concepts are learnt in digital mode and experiential learning takes place in the class, through live projects from the industry.

The Institute also outscored all other IIMs in terms of the highest gender diversity with 49  per cent girl students in MBA (2019-21) batch and 43 per cent in MBA (2020-22) batch, the statement said.

Odisha Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Chandra Sarangi were present on the occasion.

The ceremony was virtually attended by over 5,000 invitees including officials, industry leaders, academicians and students, alumni and faculty of IIM Sambalpur.

Few countries around the world welcomed 2021 with fireworks, but crowds were only allowed at some displays.  New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to welcome the New Year and fireworks lit up Hagley Park in Christchurch during New Year celebrations.

Fireworks exploded over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as New Year celebrations began in Australia. Taiwan hosted its usual fireworks display by its capital city’s iconic tower, Taipei 101.Thailand ushered in the New Year with a fireworks display at the Iconsiam mall in Bangkok. Officials in Hong Kong cancelled the pyrotechnics over Victoria Harbour, as well as the annual iconic Lunar New Year parade in February. This makes 2021 the second year in a row the city has missed out on the usually lavish annual celebrations.

Japan rang in the New Year without its annual event at which Emperor Naruhito and other imperial family members greet members of the public. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual message online.

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today announced the schedule of the CBSE Board examinations for class 10th and 12th. He said that the CBSE board examinations will be held from 4th May to 10th June of 2021. He said the results will be declared by 15th July. The practical examination for class 12th will start from 1st March.

Mr. Nishank appreciated the role of teachers and parents saying that they provided constant support and help to the students during the unprecedented and uncertain situation caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, teachers adopted new techniques and methods for teaching. The Minister also highlighted various steps taken by the government to provide a platform and content for learning through digital medium. He said, the government has successfully conducted JEE and NEET exams during the COVID-19 pandemic which is unprecedented.

Government has ordered 83 crore syringes for COVID-19 vaccination drive and Universal Immunization Programme in the country. The Union Health Ministry said the centre has also invited bids for 35 crore more syringes. Government has prioritized 30 crore people for COVID vaccine which includes health workers, frontline workers and sanitation staff.

Earlier, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration of COVID-19 has recommended three prioritised population groups including Healthcare Workers of about one crore, Frontline Workers about 2 crore and Prioritized Age Group about 27 crore. As vaccines are temperature sensitive and need to be stored in specific temperature, the present cold chain system consisting of 85 thousand 634 equipment for storage of vaccines at about 28 thousand 947 cold chain points across the country will be used for the cold chain administration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Light House Projects (LHPs) under Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC)-India at six sites across six States through video conferencing.

The Prime Minister will also announce winners under Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators (ASHA)- India and give out annual awards for excellence in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) Mission.

During the event, Mr Modi will also release a certificate course on innovative construction technologies named NAVARITIH (New, Affordable, Validated, Research Innovation Technologies for Indian Housing) and a compendium of 54 innovative housing construction technologies identified through GHTC-India.

The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs along with Chief Ministers of Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will be present on the occasion.

The LHPs showcase the best of new-age alternate global technologies, materials and processes in the construction sector for the first time in the country at such a large scale. They are being constructed under GHTC-India, which envisages to provide an ecosystem for adoption of innovative technologies in the housing construction sector in a holistic manner. The LHPs are being constructed at Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Rajkot in Gujarat, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Agartala in Tripura and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. They comprise about one thousand houses at each location along with allied infrastructure facilities. These projects will demonstrate and deliver ready to live houses at an expedited pace within twelve months, as compared to conventional brick and mortar construction, and will be more economical, sustainable, of high quality and durability.

These LHPs demonstrate a variety of technologies, including Prefabricated Sandwich Panel System in LHP at Indore, Monolithic Concrete Construction using Tunnel Formwork in LHP at Rajkot, Precast Concrete Construction System in LHP at Chennai, 3D Volumetric Precast Concrete Construction System in LHP at Ranchi, Structural Steel Frame with Light Gauge Steel Infill Panels in LHP at Agartala and PVC Stay In Place Formwork System in LHP at Lucknow. The LHPs will serve as live laboratories for facilitating transfer of technology to the field and its further replication. This includes planning, design, production of components, construction practices and testing for both faculty and students of IITs, NITs, other Engineering colleges, Planning and Architecture colleges, builders, professionals of private and public sectors and other stakeholders.

ASHA-India aims to promote domestic research and entrepreneurship by providing incubation and acceleration support to potential future technologies. Under ASHA-India initiative, five ASHA-India Centers have been set up for providing incubation and acceleration support. The potential technology winners under acceleration support will be announced by the Prime Minister. The technologies, processes and materials identified through this initiative will provide a major fillip to young creative minds, start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs.

PMAY-U Mission has been designed to achieve the vision of Housing For All by 2022. In order to recognize the outstanding contribution by States, UTs, Urban Local Bodies and beneficiaries, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has introduced annual awards for excellence in implementation of PMAY-Urban. The winners of PMAY (Urban) Awards-2019 will be felicitated during the event.

 China is now-a-days in the news in the world for various reasons. But  recent one is because of an arrest (May 2020) and subsequently jailed for four years by a lady journalist namely Ms. Zhang Zhan, a 37-year old lady. Her fault was that she reported from the central city of Wuhan at the peak of last year’s coronavirus outbreak. She highlighted the truth by visiting at the grass root level i.e. primary source without relying on secondary source. Earlier, also few were tried, who from crowded hospitals and empty streets painted an appalling picture of the pandemic than ‘the official narrative, a rosy picture’. It is pertinent to mention that I had the opportunity to visit China in December 2015 and visited many places. Also I interacted with around 20 Chinese people as many were not good in English.  Honestly writing, I had observed they were sacred to talk about Government policy, functioning of Government etc. That way India is far better, as we can even talk against the policy of the ruling Government. Of course, the positive side is that all in unison told me “they want a very friendly relation with India. Many educated persons told me India and China had strong bonding since the inception of civilization so both should come closer and closer. They want to forget the 1962 war”.   By reading different national and international newspapers in recent years my feeling is that leaders of China cannot digest any criticism if it is against the policy of the Government. And might be for this reason, at least three journalists disappeared in February, 2020. One is Mr. Li Zehua, who reappeared in April, 2020 saying he had been ‘quarantining’. The second one is Mr. Chen Qiushi, who reported the outbreak of the coronavirus; of course later on he was found and had been placed under government supervision.  And third one is Mr. Fang Bin, businessman, citizen-journalist and whistle-blower who used YouTube and WeChat to broadcast images of Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was arrested a few times between February 1 and 9, 2020. Unfortunately, he was missing since his arrest on 9 February, 2020. It is evident that Chinese authorities are known to clamp down on activists who speak out. Further, according to one Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher, Chinese authorities are currently “equally, if not more, concerned with silencing criticism as with containing the spread of the virus”. In this context it may be mentioned that one medical doctor, Dr. Li Wenliang, was warned not to spread “false comments” after raising the alarm about the virus earlier in December 2019. He eventually caught the virus and died. His death caused an extraordinary wave of anger, sparking an online unrest. Chinese authorities were stunned, and reacted by attempting to censor every critical comment about Dr Li’s death.

It has to be admitted that China’s action is unpredictable because1962 incident no Indians can forget as they backstabbed us. Pt. Nehru’s hands of friendship were repaid through war by killing many Indian soldiers. I feel China is dominated by Han (more than 90 percent) and not like Indian society which is totally pluralistic. We are more liberal and fully democratic. For instance, Indian Communist leader, Late Jyoti   Basu immediately after the 1962 war, declared publicly at a rally “China cannot be the aggressor” which cannot be expected from a leader.  Lastly, world people know how the leaders of China are behaving towards the Uighur Muslims. 

 The following websites were consulted while writing the article:

1. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-54969682

• https://globalnews.ca/news/7544247/wuhan-journalist-zhang-zhan-jail/

• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51486106
• https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2042355/chinese-citizen-journalist-jailed-for-4-years-over-wuhan-virus-reports

• https://globalnews.ca/news/7527743/china-coronavirus-who-origins-trip/

Mastery is never an accident. You can win the lottery and become rich overnight, but no one has ever mastered their craft by chance. Whether we are talking about athletes, artists, or academics, the story is the same. If you want to fulfill your potential then you must practice a specific skill for long time with remarkable consistency.

Somehow, top performers in any craft figure out a way to fall in the love of boredom, put in their reps, and do the work.

Of course, whenever “experts” share stories about successful people they often leave out a key ingredient of the story. How, exactly, do top performers fall in love with boredom? Perhaps more important, how can you fall in love with boredom when you’re trying to build a habit that you know you should do, but you don’t really want to do.

Let me share two strategies that work for me.

How to Fall in Love With Boredom

First, there is very little hope for falling in love with a habit that you truly hate. I don’t know anyone who legitimately dislikes an activity and somehow falls in love with doing it. It doesn’t add up. It’s very difficult to hate something and be in love with it at the same time. (Your ex doesn’t count.)

Let’s say you dislike working out, but you know it’s good for you.

Option 1: Increase your proficiency at the task.

Even tasks that you are good at will feel monotonous some days, so imagine the uphill battle you’re fighting if you are constantly trying to do something that you don’t feel skilled at. The solution? Learn the basic fundamentals of your task and celebrate the small wins and improvements you make. With our workout example, let’s say you purchase starting strength and learn how to do a proper deadlift or bench press. Practicing these new skills in the gym can be fun and making tiny improvements each week builds momentum. It’s much easier to fall in love with doing something over and over again if you can look forward to making progress.

Option 2: Fall in love with a result of the task rather than the task itself.

Let’s be real: there are some things that we should do that are always going to be a hassle. Running sprints might be an example. Very few people look forward to setting their lungs on fire.

I find that I have more success in situations like these when I shift my focus away from the actual task and toward a result. Sometimes this is a direct result of the habit I’m trying to perform. Other times, it’s a result that I invent. For example, you can make a game out of not missing workouts even if you don’t enjoy the workout itself. Let’s say you have done two sprint workouts in a row. . You’re not worried about how you perform. You’re not worried about if you’re getting faster. You’re not worried about getting six-pack abs or any other type of result. For the most part, you’re not even thinking about the workout. Instead, you’re simply focused on keeping your workout streak alive.

The Power of Patience

I was speaking with a friend at the gym recently. He had decided to change his weightlifting routine despite making good progress with his old program. I asked him why. He made a few excuses before eventually saying, “Basically, I got bored.”

It has taken me years to learn this lesson myself, but I’m starting to believe that a beautiful blend of patience and consistency is the ultimate competitive advantage. Success is often found by practicing the fundamentals that everyone knows they should be doing, but they find too boring or basic to practice routinely.

It’s easy to spend all day searching for inspiration. You can find incredible videos, articles, and news stories, and email them out to all of your friends. But the best (and longest lasting) type of inspiration comes from applying those outside bits of motivation to your own goals.

Make no mistake: it’s important to be a learner. Successful people in all fields soak up new information. They find inspiration and motivation in the work and success of others.

But here’s the problem: consuming the success and ideas of others is passive inspiration. Every time you watch a video, read an article, or listen to an interview, you’re practicing passive inspiration. You might learn something, but you don’t actually have to do anything. Hearing about other people’s success isn’t the same thing as creating your own.

Instead, it is through the process of active inspiration — the act of creating things, applying new ideas to our goals, and making mistakes — that we discover who we are and what is important to us. Furthermore, active inspiration is what results in long—term passion and enthusiasm. Watching someone else’s success might leave you feeling excited for a few minutes, but taking action and applying a new idea to your life will inspire you more than anything someone else could say.

Learning and listening can help you think about things in a different way, but creating, producing, and experimenting is what propels you forward. Passive inspiration can give you ideas, but active inspiration will give you momentum.

The Best Inspiration is Application

The inspiration is not the receiving of information. The inspiration is applying what you’ve received.
—Derek Sivers

If you come across a good idea, use it. We spend so much time trying to find more inspirational things to consume that it can be easy for us to forget that the best form of inspiration comes from what we create.

It’s about stumbling across a brilliant idea and bringing it to life in your work. It’s about finding a new strategy and applying it your own goals. It’s about learning a new exercise and adding it to your workout. The application of ideas will always be more powerful than the ideas themselves.

Too often we spend our lives consuming the world around us instead of creating it. Sure, there is some motivation in other people’s ideas, but don’t forget about the power your actions have to inspire you. The best inspiration comes from the application of ideas, not the consumption of them.

The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs

It doesn’t matter what you are trying to become better at, if you only do the work when you’re motivated, then you’ll never be consistent enough to become a professional.

The ability to show up everyday, stick to the schedule, and do the work — especially when you don’t feel like it — is so valuable that it is literally all you need to become better 99% of the time.

I’ve seen this in various experiences of mine…..

When I don’t miss workouts, I get in the best shape of my life. When I write every week, I become a better writer. When I travel and take my camera out every day, I take better photos.

It’s simple and powerful.

The Fourth Meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries was held yesterday through virtual mode.

The meeting covered the entire gamut of issues related to fishermen and fishing boats which have been on the agenda of bilateral discussions between India and Sri Lanka for many years. It may be recalled that during the Virtual Bilateral Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa held on 26 September this year, both leaders agreed to continue engagement to address the issues related to fishermen through regular consultation and bilateral channels.

The Indian delegation was led by Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary in Department of Fisheries in Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The Sri Lankan delegation was led by R.M.I. Rathnayake, Secretary in Ministry of Fisheries in the Sri Lankan Government.

Dr. Rajeev Ranjan highlighted that the Indian side remains committed to working constructively with the Sri Lankan side to address all issues related to fishermen and their livelihoods in a humanitarian manner and in line with past understandings.

Referring to the recent apprehension of 40 fishermen and 6 boats by Sri Lanka Navy, the leader of the Indian delegation called on the Sri Lankan side to ensure their early release and till such time, to provide necessary facilitation including consular access and necessary assistance. The Indian side also reiterated the need for releasing all fishing boats in Sri Lankan custody in line with the commitment given by Sri Lankan President during his state visit to India in November last year.

The two sides also exchanged views on the status of cooperation between Navy and Coast Guard of both countries in patrolling, existing hotline between the Coast Guards and related operational matters, cooperation in preservation of marine environment as well as the schedule for the fifth meeting of the Joint Working Group. The Indian side conveyed its sincere determination to work in a constructive spirit with the Sri Lankan side for convening an early meeting of the Fisheries Ministers on both sides.

Both sides agreed that the convening of the Joint Working Group on virtual medium to tide over the restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic reflected the common desire to utilize the existing bilateral mechanisms and work constructively to address all issues pertaining to fishermen.

Dr. Ranjan also highlighted the initiatives being taken by India under the new Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and other schemes of Central Government and governments of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to diversify and reduce fishing pressure in the Palk Bay. He also informed of initiatives taken for diversification into deep-sea fishing especially by fishermen of Palk Bay area, infrastructure created to facilitate deep-sea fishing, promotion of alternative livelihood through seaweed cultivation, mariculture and varieties of aquaculture activities. 

The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate has reached to 95.99 per cent. During the last 24 hours, more than 26 thousand COVID patients have recovered. Health Ministry said, the total number of recoveries has gone up to over 98 lakh 34 thousand. The actual caseload currently comprises only 2.56 per cent of the total positive cases.

Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is around two lakh 62 thousand.

During the past 24 hours, 20 thousand 550 new cases were reported taking the total number of positive cases in the country to over one crore two lakh.

Currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.45 per cent, which is one of the lowest globally. During the last 24 hours, 286 deaths were reported taking the toll to one lakh 48 thousand 439.
The country has crossed another milestone in terms of COVID testing.

With testing of over 11 lakh 20 thousand COVID samples in the last 24 hours, the cumulative testing figure has surpassed the 17 crore mark. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, so far, over 17 crore nine lakh samples have been tested across the country.

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will announce the dates of commencement of CBSE Board examinations- 2021 for classes 10th and 12th this evening.

Earlier, during virtual interaction with teachers, Mr Nishank informed that CBSE is making necessary preparations for conducting the 2021 board examinations for classes 10th and 12th after taking into consideration the suggestions given by students, teachers and parents.

The Government has further extended the deadline to file the income tax return (ITR) for individual taxpayers till 10th January 2021 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The deadline for filing ITR for the financial year 2019-20 by companies has also been extended till 15th February 2021.
 
The Income Tax department said, the decision has been taken in view of the continued challenges faced by taxpayers in meeting statutory compliances due to Covid-19 outbreak.
   
The due date for filing income tax return by individuals and companies was December 31st, 2020, and January 31st, 2021. This is the third time that the Income Tax department has extended the return filing deadline.
 
Also, the due date for filing declaration under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme has been extended to 31st January, 2021. The date for passing of orders under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme has been extended to 31st January, 2021. The date for passing of order or issuance of notice by the authorities under the Direct Taxes and Benami Acts has also been extended to 31st March, 2021.
 
In order to provide relief for the third time to small and middle class taxpayers in the matter of payment of self-assessment tax, the due date for payment of self-assessment tax date has been extended.
 
The Government has also extended the due date of furnishing of annual return under Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for the financial year 2019-20 by 2 months to 28 February, 2021.