“CANCELLING EXAMS”; PROBLEMATIC SOLUTION/REALITY

In the beginning of this pandemic, we didn’t have even the slightest idea of its severity. But as days turned to weeks and weeks to months we came to realise how life-threatening and brutal it has been since. Lockdown after lockdown, so much confusion, the world economy changing dramatically, countries blaming each other, war threats and many more, we saw it all.

But what is bothering the student community is how they can move forward from this situation and work towards their career and education without losing out on much. Schools and colleges took to online platforms to continue the syllabus. They tried their best to switch over from the traditional classroom method. Online classes and assignments were one thing. But online exams are completely unconventional, especially to the Indian education system.


Practically right from class 10th  board exams to the various competitive exam like (JEE /NEET /CLAT) everything came to a standstill.

 Soon the college sector started thinking of ways to conduct exams online. The main focus was on the final year students who had to be taken care of first and sent into the ‘real world’.

The Indian government along with the respective authority bodies like the CBSE Board, the UGC, BCI, etc. took decisions on the various sects of students, i.e., middle school, high school, college, etc.

For college students, except the final years, were considered to be promoted to the next semester based on their internal marks. Authority bodies like the UGC and BCI issued guidelines to the colleges on the same. For final year students online exams were conducted by outsourcing resources for optimum results.

The issue however lies in the fact that this scheme of promoting students based on their previous records is not favourable and fair to all students. Also there is confusion on whether the online exams will take place or not, because every day contradicting statements and ideas come out. This takes a toll on students as well as the parents who are anxious about the course of their future. Even if the previous records are considered and taken as a base to promote students to the next semester, will it have repercussions in the future is also a serious aspect that is bothering the students and parents likewise.

The pattern for online exams is mostly MCQ (multiple choice questions), which not exactly helps in assessing the in depth knowledge of the students.However, promoting students without a proper examination can prove to be dangerous especially for professional courses like medicine, law, engineering etc. Even majorly qualifying exams like NEET, CLAT, GATE, JEE etc. have been postponed.

In these trying times, essentials like education should not take a back seat as it is something that will shape the future of the country. The uncertainty linked with the current situation and delayed exams are terrifying as it hinders the progress of millions of students who are pursuing their higher education. This not only affects the student community, but also impacts on the growth of our economy. Recently the state governments of Karnataka and Delhi decided to cancel exams. Even the CBSE board decided on reducing 30% syllabus for classes 9 to 12 for the academic year 2020-2021 only. The Council for the Indian Certificate Examinations CISCE reduced 25% for classes 10 and 12 for the year 2021 because of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Are these good decisions or not, we can’t exactly say now. We can just hope for the best.

How can you improve your public speaking skills?

Many of us have this tendency to back off, when we are asked to speak in front of a crowd. We might be very confident with our topic and context, but something drags us back from going and delivering it. We think we are not capable of doing a public speech, but it’s the fear in us that puts us down. Can we overcome this fear? Are we really capable of doing a speech in front of a large audience? In fact, yes!

The main obstacle that comes in your way is none other than your fear. Now being scared is quite normal and fine as it can help you to prepare well in front of others. Being scared means, you have taken the speech as an important task and you don’t want to end it bad. That’s really a good sign. The problem appears when you start getting scared more than usual. This can adversely affect the way you speak and obviously it can lead your speech awful. So, lets overcome this fear with some of the tips which are mentioned below.

  1. Try speaking in front of your family/friends or even in front of a mirror. The main cause of the fear is that, you being aware that your performance is being watched by others. You have to make this fear as your confidence. The one way of doing it is, try to get used of having attention. Try speaking in front of people who you are really comfortable with. This can enhance your confidence and make you feel that you can do it. If you don’t feel comfortable in speaking in front of your beloved ones, use yourself as an audience in front of a mirror. This will help you get over the fear in you.
  2. Use eye contact. This is something all of us ignore if we are scared. We often look at walls or something else while we speak. But eye contact is very important in public speaking. It shows you are confident and genuine in your topic and yourself. Try looking all of the people as possible as you can, since it can create a feeling to the audience to really engage in your speech and remain attentive.
  3. Your physical appearance. When I say physical appearance I don’t mean you have to choose an expensive outfit and make up. But make sure you are dressed up in a neat and tidy way. Now this boosts your confidence in yourself. If people are not comfortable in the way they look, that never want other people to see them and this can prevent them from delivering an excellent speech. Because all they think and consider, will be their appearance.
  4. Stay positive. It is very important to remain positive and ignore the negative thoughts that pop up in your mind. People often overthink about the way they speak, the constant worry is that “what if i say something stupid?” or “what if I didn’t get the right word?” Never overthink like this. Make sure you know the topic well and present in the way as best as you can. Even if you make a mistake in the middle, don’t panic as it is completely okay to have mistakes because you are not a robot but a human. Kindly apologize your mistakes and go on with your speech.

Terrorism – A big threat to humanity.

Terrorism, the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. Terrorism has been practiced by political organizations with both rightist and leftist objectives, by nationalistic and religious groups, by revolutionaries, and even by state institutions such as armies, intelligence services, and police.for example like this

Madrid; terrorism
Rescue workers evacuating the bodies of victims of a terrorist train bombing near Atocha Station, Madrid, March 11, 2004.

In India With 350 Indians killed and 540 injured in 748 terrorist incidents in 2018, India is at seventh place in a global think tank’s list of countries most affected by terrorism.Time to time, they carry out terrorist acts to remind people of the fear they want them to live in. Consequently, there are roughly 100 terrorist cells that are operating in India. They have to an extent successfully created an atmosphere of tension amongst the citizens. Terrorism impacts the country gravely and has dangerous repercussions.

it damages the economy. As terrorist attacks cause loss of life and property, the replenishment takes up a lot of capital. It also results in people leaving the country to settle abroad for a safer environment. This makes India lose a lot of potential doctors, engineers, artists and more.

India also remains highly vulnerable to terrorism by foreign terrorists, due to porous borders with all its neighbours and a long coast line. Resultantly, the terrorists and the insurgents continue to receive material support and funds – the main drivers of terrorism – from a number of sources. India has experienced almost all forms of terrorist attacks: hijacking and blowing up of aircrafts, sabotaging railway tracks, kidnapping hostages for meeting political demands, suicide attacks, the assassination of two of its Prime Ministers, attacks on places of worship, transportation systems, security forces and financial hubs, communal riots followed by extreme violence and attacks both by religious and non-religious terrorist groups. The modus operandi of terrorism has remained dynamic to achieve its goals and objectives.

In 2004, India took a significant step forward for human rights by repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002, which had established a permissive set of legal rules to prosecute acts of terrorism largely outside the ordinary rules of the regular criminal justice system. While POTA itself was enacted in the aftermath of the major terrorist attacks of 2001 in both the United States and India, the statute built upon a long tradition of antiterrorism and other security laws in India dating since well before independence. While India has faced serious threats from terrorism and other forms of politicized violence for decades, these special antiterrorism laws have not proven particularly effective in combating terrorism. Terrorism has persisted as a problem notwithstanding these laws, under which few of the individuals charged have been convicted.

Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act – A great step to eradicate child labour

Children are one of the vulnerable groups in the society. Child labour is socio-economic phenomenon. This phenomenon is trapped in vicious circle by poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, demographic expansion, deep social prejudices and above all the government interest are commonly consider as the most prominent causative factors for large scale employment children.

As per the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, amended in 2016 (“CLPR Act”), a “Child” is defined as any person below the age of 14, and the CLPR Act prohibits employment of a Child in any employment including as a domestic help. It is a cognizable criminal offence to employ a Child for any work. Children between age of 14 and 18 are defined as “Adolescent” and the law allows Adolescent to be employed except in the listed hazardous occupation and processes which include mining, inflammable substance and explosives related work and any other hazardous process as per the Factories Act, 1948.

Indian constitution provides many provisions to the child, prohibited child labour and it also mention the rights of the child. They are,

The Article 15 : The state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of race, religion, caste, sex and place of birth.


Article 23: prohibition of employment children from factories


Article 39: certain principles of policy to be followed by state that are referring to the secure of children that the health and strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of age children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter evacuation and unsuited their age and strength.


Article 45: provision for early childhood care and education to the children below the age of six years.


Article 21-A: right education the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children age of six to 14 year.


Article 24 of Indian Constitution says Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. which means child below the age fourteen years should not be employed in work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee


The Central Government may, if it thinks it to be necessary can constitute an advisory committee i.e. the Child Labour Technical Advisory Committee by giving notification about it in the Official Gazette. It is the duty of the Committee to advise the Central Government if there’s a need to add occupations or processes to the Schedule. The Central Government appoints the members of the Committee but the Committee should not exceed more than 10 members. The Committee shall also consist of a Chairman. There isn’t any limitation on the number of meetings Committee shall have. The Committee shall meet whenever they feel necessary and the meetings shall be regulated according to the procedure which shall be decided by them.
The Committee may itself constitute one or more sub-committees if they feel a need to do so.
The Chairman and other members of the Committee are entitled to an allowance.

THE CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION)AMENDMENT ACT, 2016

Objectives of the Act

Prohibit the engagement of children in all occupations and to prohibit the engagement of adolescents in hazardous occupations and processes and thematters connected therewith or incidental thereto

Under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, children younger than 14 years can now work in family enterprises and farms after school hours and during holidays. Children working as artists in the audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities, except the circus, have also been granted exemption, provided the work does not affect their school education.
Besides, the Act provides banning employment of children between 15-18 years in hazardous works, in sync with the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.

The Bill enhances the punishment for employing any child in an occupation. It also includes penalty for employing an adolescent in a hazardous occupation.

The penalty for employing a child was increased to imprisonment between 6 months and two years (from 3 months-one year) or a fine of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 (from Rs 10,000-20,000) or both.


The penalty for employing an adolescent in hazardous occupation is imprisonment between 6 months and two years or a fine of Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 or both.
anyone repeats offences like employing child or employing adolescents in hazardous occupations mentions in this act under section 3A, they shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to three years.

[section 2] of The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 defines, ‘child’ means a person who has not completed his 14 years of age.

[section 2 (i)]
(i ) “adolescent” means a person who has completed his fourteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year;

[section 3] No child shall be employed or permitted to work
in any occupation or process (The Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 ) under this section, no child shall be employed are permitted to work in any establishment, occupation or process. Which means child should not be employed are permitted to work anywhere. but according to the [section 3 (2)] child is permitted to work at their own family business and audio & visual industry. provided that such work should not hamper or effect School education of a child.

[section 3 (2)]
According to the new amendment, child is allowed to work at certain places mentioned below.
(a) helps his family or family enterprise, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations;

(b) works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus, subject to such conditions and safety measures, as may be prescribed: Provided that no such work under this clause shall effect the school education of the child.

Explanation.—
For the purposes of this section, the expression,

(a) ‘‘family’’ in relation to a child, means his mother, father, brother,sister and father’s sister and brother and mother’s sister and brother;
(b) ‘‘family enterprise’’ means any work, profession, manufacture or business which is performed by the members of the family with the engagement of other persons;

(c) ‘‘artist’’ means a child who performs or practices any work as a hobby or profession directly involving him as an actor, singer, sports person or in such other activity as may be prescribed relating to the entertainment or sports activities falling under clause (b) of sub-section
(2).section 3A] No adolescent shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule:

THE SCHEDULE

(1) Mines.
(2) Inflammable substances or explosives.
(3) Hazardous process.

Explanation.—
For the purposes of this Schedule, “hazardous process” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (cb) of the Factories Act, 1948.’
(cb) “hazardous process” means any process or activity in relation to an industry specified in the First Schedule where, unless special care is taken, raw materials used therein or the intermediate or finished products, bye-products, wastes, or effluents thereof would-
(i) cause material impairment to the health of the persons engaged in or connected therewith, or
(ii) result in the pollution of the general environment:

[section 7] Hours and period of work (adolescent only)

(1) No adolescent shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of such number of hours, as may be prescribed for such establishment or class of establishments.

(2) The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed three hours and that no adolescent shall work for more than three hours before he has had an interval for rest for at least one hour.

(3) The period of work of a adolescent shall be so arranged that inclusive of his interval for rest, under sub-section (2), it shall not be spread over more than six hours, including the time spent in waiting for work on any day.

(4) No adolescent shall be permitted or required to work between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m.

(5) No adolescent shall be required or permitted to work overtime.

(6) No adolescent shall be required or permitted to work in, any establishment on any day on which he has already been working in another establishment.

[section 8] Weekly holidays (adolescent only)
Every adolescent employed in establishment should be allowed to have a holiday for a whole day once in a week.

[section 9] Notice to Inspector
Every employer who employed adolescent at his establishment should intimate to the inspector appointed by the government within 30 days from date of employment of child.

[Section 10]. DISPUTES AS TO AGE. (adolescent) –
If any question arises between an Inspector and an occupier as to the age of any adolescent who is employed or is permitted to work by him in an establishment, the question shall, in the absence of a certificate as to the age of such child granted by the prescribed medical authority, be referred by the Inspector for decision to the prescribed medical authority.

[section 11] Maintenance of register any establishment where adolescent is employed or permitted to work, a register should be maintained by the owner of establishment and should be made available all the times during working hours for inspection by Inspector appointed by the government for this purpose. The register should contain following details

  1. Name of the child
  2. date of birth of the child
  3. number of working hours and internal for rest to child
  4. nature of work dealing child
  5. any other particulars
  6. Section 13 ] Healthy and Safety (adolescent )

Appropriate government is having power make rules on the following matters for the health and safety of the children employed or permitted to work in any establishment or class of establishments.

(a) cleanliness in the place of work and its freedom from nuisance;
(b) disposal of wastes and effluents;
(c) ventilation and temperature;
(d) dust and fume;
(e) artificial humidification;
(f) lighting;

  1. (g) drinking water;
    (h) latrine and urinals;
    (i) spittoons;
    (j) fencing of machinery;
    (k) work at or near machinery in motion;
    (l) employment of children on dangerous machines;
    (m) instructions, training and supervision in relation to employment of children on dangerous machines;
    (n) device for cutting off power;
    (o) self-acting machines;
    (p) easing of new machinery;
    (q) floor, stairs and means of access;
    (r) pits, sumps, openings in floors, etc.;
    (s) excessive weights;
    (t) protection of eyes;
    (u) explosive or inflammable dust, gas, etc.;
    (v) precautions in case of fire;
    (w) maintenance of buildings; and
    (x) safety of buildings and machinery

Constitution of Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund

Section 14B. (1) The appropriate Government shall constitute a Fund in every district or for two or more districts to be called the Child and Adolescent Labour
Rehabilitation Fund to which the amount of the fine realized from the employer of the child and adolescent, within the jurisdiction of such district or districts, shall be credited.

(2) The appropriate Government shall credit an amount of Rs. 15000/- to the Fund for each child or adolescent for whom the fine amount has been credited under sub-section
(1).

(3) The amount credited to the Fund under sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be deposited in such banks or invested in such manner, as the appropriate Government may decide.

(4) The amount deposited or invested, as the case may be under sub-section (3), and the interest accrued on it, shall be paid to the child or adolescent in whose favour such amount is credited, in such manner as may be prescribed.

Explanation:—


For the purposes of appropriate Government, the Central Government shall include the Administrator or the Lieutenant Governor of a Union territory under article 239A of the Constitution.

Rehabilitation of child or adolescent
14C. The child or adolescent, who is employed in contravention of the provisions of this Act and rescued, shall be rehabilitated in accordance with the laws for the time being in force.

Fails to pay


Section 14D (2) If the accused fails to pay such amount for composition of the offence, then, the proceedings shall be continued against such person in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Inspite of all the measures taken by the government, child labour still prevails in the society. Let us hope for a better future where child labour will be eradicated completely.

Govt advises cautious use of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab for Covid-19 treatment

Health and Family Welfare Ministry has advised the states that all the ‘investigational therapies’ are required to be carried out only in proper health care facilities where close monitoring of patients is possible.
 
Indian Council of Medical Research and AIIMS has strongly recommended that the focus of clinical management should continue to remain on oxygen therapy, steroids, high quality supportive care including mental health counselling for patients and families. For mild cases, which are nearly 80 per cent of the total cases, Hydroxychloroquine has been recommended.
 
Health Ministry said, the pursuit of an effective treatment for COVID-19 has also resulted in repurposing of several drugs which are not a part of the main Clinical Management Protocol but have been indicated as investigational therapies. Remdesivir, Convalescent Plasma, Tocilizumab have been put under the investigational therapies in the clinical management protocol for COVID-19.
 
Health Ministry said, these drugs are only permitted for restricted emergency use for COVID-19 and can be used in specific sub-groups of patients. ICMR and AIIMS have strictly suggested the hospitals that their indiscriminate use can cause more harm than good.
 
The states were also told that the available evidence for Remdesivir suggests that it may decrease the time for clinical improvement when used in moderate to severe cases. However, there have been no benefits in terms of reduced mortality. Similarly, studies on Tocilizumab have not shown any benefits in mortality reduction.

Govt invites suggestions, comments for safety evaluation of hydrogen propelled vehicles

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified a draft notification proposing amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 for inclusion of the standards for the safety evaluation of the vehicles being propelled through hydrogen fuel cells. It is proposed to include motor vehicles of Categories M and N, running on compressed gaseous hydrogen fuel cell, to be in accordance with AIS 157:2020, as amended from time to time, till the corresponding BIS specification is notified under the Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 2016.

Further, the hydrogen fuel specifications for fuel cell vehicles shall be in accordance with ISO 14687 till the corresponding BIS specification is notified under the Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 2016.

The Ministry has invited suggestions and comments from all stakeholders including general public on the proposed amendment, which can be sent to the Joint Secretary (MVL), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Transport Bhavan, Parliament Street, New Delhi-110001 upto 9th of next month.

5,746 Indians return from various countries under Vande Bharat Mission

A total of 5,746 Indians returned from different countries under the Vande Bharat Mission yesterday. They returned from Sharjah, Bahrain, Muscat, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Kiev, Newark, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, London, Singapore, Manilla and Doha.

In a tweet, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed this. He said, the Vande Bharat continues to spread hope and happiness by facilitating the return of Indians from around the world and flying out many to their destinations abroad.

Disengagement and de-escalation process between India-China is in progress: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that disengagement and de-escalation process has been agreed upon between India and China and the work is in progress. He said, we have agreed on the need to disengage because the troops on both sides are deployed very close to each other. So there is a disengagement and de-escalation process which has been agreed upon. He said, the process of disengagement has just commenced and it is very much a work in progress. Dr Jaishankar was speaking at India Global Week 2020 yesterday.

Recently, India and China have begun a long process of disengagement in eastern Ladakh after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. 

NIA nabs two prime accused in Kerala gold smuggling case

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has nabbed the prime accused in Kerala gold smuggling case. Both accused, Swapna Prabha Suresh and her accomplice Sandeep Nair were arrested from Bengaluru yesterday evening. They will be produced before the NIA office in Cochin today.

The Customs Department had on July 5 seized 30 kg gold worth 15 crore rupees concealed in diplomatic consignment at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport.

On Friday, an FIR was registered against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair in the case. They have been charged with offences under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Swapna Suresh was on the run following the gold seizure. She was employed in Space Park and Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITL), which comes under the IT department, a portfolio held by Kerala Chief Minister. 

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission launches app development module for school students

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission has launched the ATL App Development Module for school children across the country. The ATL App is an online course, which is completely Free. Through six project-based learning modules and online mentoring sessions, young innovators can learn to build mobile apps in various Indian languages and showcase their talent. Additionally, to build capacities and acumen for app development within school teachers, periodic Teacher Training sessions will be conducted on the AIM App Development course.

NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant has said that COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a big disruption, which is being tackled through the use of technology to aid everyday lives. He said, the Prime Minister has been encouraging the citizens to use technology and innovate for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Mr Kant said, it is crucial for the young Indians to learn skills at a young age and to enable them to become the next generation of technology leaders.

Speaking on the occasion, Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission R Ramanan said, the launch of Aatmanirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge has been inspiring to the young students uniformly at school, university and industry level. He said, NITI Aayog is now bringing the skills of app development to the young tinkerers of Atal Tinkering Labs across the country so that they can integrate their Tinkering Lab innovations with mobile apps enhancing the usability and reach of their innovations. This will be one of the largest app learning and development initiatives at a school level in any country.

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek test COVID-19 positive; political leaders, fans pray for speedy recovery

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan have been tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to a Mumbai hospital. They underwent a rapid antigen test at the Nanavati hospital and found positive.      

In a tweet, Abhishek said both he and his father have mild symptoms and requested everybody to be calm and not to panic.

While Amitabh is 77, Abhishek is 44 year old.

In a tweet, Amitabh Bachchan requested all those who have been in close proximity to him in the last 10 days to get themselves tested.

Within minutes of Amitabh’s post, the get well soon wishes began pouring in, flooding Twitter and other social media platforms.

Fans and his colleagues from the film industry posted their best wishes for the star, one of India’s most loved and best known actors.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar prayed for the speedy recovery of Amitabh Bacchan. In a tweet, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, he joins the whole nation in wishing him a quick recovery. Health Minister said, Amitabh Bacchan is the idol of millions in this country and they will all take good care of him.

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis also prayed for his speedy recovery.

MP, Tamil Nadu decide to impose complete lockdown across state every Sunday

In Madhya Pradesh, there will be a complete lockdown on every Sunday in the entire state.

AIR correspondent reports, during the lockdown on every Sunday, all markets, offices and establishments will remain completely closed. However, this order will not be applicable on the milk parlours, medical stores, hospitals and other emergency services. There will be a restriction mainly on the unnecessary movements of people.

Official release said that the violation of lockdown will be punishable under section 188. State Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra has said in a tweet message that state governments are controlling the corona infection by the ‘Kill Corona’ campaign, but the total lockdown is being needed every Sunday in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 patients.

The COVID-19 case count in Madhya Pradesh climbed to 17 thousand 201 with addition of 544 new cases in the last 24 hours. The death toll in the state has risen to 644. The state has 1 thousand 518 active containment zones. A total of 198 persons were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours taking the number of the recovered cases to 12,679. 

Today being Sunday, Tamil Nadu also observes a total lockdown throughout the state. It is aimed at avoiding overcrowding in public spaces.

AIR correspondent reports, this is the second successive Sunday this month that the whole state of Tamil Nadu goes under complete lockdown. The Government has made it clear that all the Sundays in July will have an intensified lockdown as it is observed that relaxations on Sundays lead to crowding outside, triggering fears of eruption of new Covid-19 clusters. However, during weekdays, unlock-2 is in vogue except in Madurai.

The total Covid-19 infection in Tamil Nadu has surpassed one lakh thirty four thousand cases with 3,965 people confirmed positive yesterday.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy has asked the External Affairs Ministry to facilitate the repatriation of over 40 stranded fishermen from the state from Iran.

In a letter to the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, he said 681 fishermen have been repatriated safely to the state by the Indian Naval Ship INS Jalashwa on 1st of this month. He has said around 40 more are left behind due to lack of space in the ship.

PM Modi reviews Covid-19 situation; Says continuous emphasis should be laid on preventing spread of infection

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the Covid 19 situation in the country today. He took stock of the situation in various parts of the country and the preparedness of various states. Mr. Modi stressed on the need to observe personal hygiene and social discipline in public places.
 
He said awareness about Covid-19 should be disseminated widely and a continuous emphasis should be laid on preventing spread of the infection.  The Prime Minister reiterated that there is no room for any complacency in this regard. He appreciated the concerted efforts of the Centre, State and local authorities in containing the pandemic situation in Delhi.
 
Mr. Modi further directed that similar approach should be adopted with other State Governments in containing the Covid-19 pandemic in the entire NCR area.
 
The successful example of surveillance and home based care through ‘DhanvantriRath’ in Ahmedabad was highlighted and it was directed that it may be emulated in other places. 
 
The Prime Minister also directed that real time national level monitoring and guidance should be provided to all affected States and places with high test positivity rate.
 
The review meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Member, NITI Aayog, Cabinet Secretary and other senior officials.

Is Film Industry in SHAMBLES?

Friday morning. First day, first show. After waiting for months, the movie finally got released. I called up Udit to ask him when he will reach. I stood in the queue for two large tubs of popcorn and 2 large drinks. After all, it’s just unthinkable to watch a movie without some munchies to ruminate. He arrived exactly 3 minutes late. Infuriated, we took our seats and watched the entire movie in silence. At the end, I just said to him, “I will never ever watch a movie with you.”

Four months has passed by since then. I still regret to utter those words to him. Will we ever be able to enjoy going to the cinema halls? Maybe yes, but it won’t be the same again.

Coronavirus: India film industry could take two years to recover ...

One of the most lucrative and labor intensive industry, the film industry had to suffer a huge blow due to this pandemic. Big releases such as Sooryavansham, Pahwa, 83 and other such big banner movies got postponed owing to the commencement of lockdown. Shootings have been halted since Modi declared the lockdown and is still in process. Shutters are still down for cinema halls, malls and other small theatres, at least in India. Movies which were progressing at the time the lockdown was declared had to be stopped in the middle. Film industry is just a cost effective and cost intensive business that such a blow like this have seriously crippled not only the major stakeholders but also the daily wagers, contractual workers and the shift workers. And considering the fact that Indian economy is in shambles now, it is least likely that consumers will show high interest in visiting theater, let alone trying to meet ends.

India is a highly populated country where according to Malthusian theory, our food production follows arithmetic progression and our population follows geometric progression. No doubt, the only factor that has forever been booming in India is the population and today that is creating chaos. Our film industry employs actor, directors, producers, screen-writers and various major stakeholders but the majority of people in the set are the daily wagers, contractual workers and the shift workers. This lockdown had taken away their jobs and they are trying to thrive on their savings which is also dwindling. Major concern is faced by the small banners because they feel that let alone big banners, small banner movies have very less chance to appear in the multiplexes owing to such large investments in location, travel, casting, sets and so on and so forth. Recent study says that the film industry is going to be reopened at the last because the last thing most consumers would want is to go to halls, surpassing all the barriers of hygiene and sit and watch movies.

Media one of the most adversely affected sectors due to COVID-19 ...

But whatever be the situation, I personally feel that the lockdown will be a great chance to reform the current scenario of our film industry. Firstly, due to major cash crunch and dwindling economy, producers will actually give a lot of thought before producing those B-rated, mindless, long and illogical movies. They will actually need to sit, write down a script keeping in mind the consumers’ current economic and needs scenario. Secondly, this is a great opportunity for the complete digitization of the industry. OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime video, Hotstar+Disney and Netflix should take the front seat in driving this lucrative business. Consumers have already switched to this relaxing mode of entertainment and they have adapted to this new normal. There has been a huge spike in the monthly and annual subscriptions for these platforms. This is particularly a great news for the small banner films because they can focus on producing movies having very strong, powerful and meaningful content and if the total investment is less than 5 crores, OTT platforms can buy those movie to create hype among the consumers. Lockdown will surely be the best thing for consumers who are particularly interested in watching meaningful movies devoid of any nepotistic characters. And thirdly, and this especially go out for the those cohorts who spend huge amounts in this sector, it is a great opportunity for them to curb on their spending costs and shift towards the more safe and indoor means of entertainment.

But whatever be the situation, the film industry will suffer a huge blow and there are no sign of restoration of releases or shooting till the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. A lot of modifications needs to be done both in the films sets as well as multiplexes. A few suggestions for multiplexes include limiting the sell of tickets, monitoring the queues at washrooms and food counters, sitting while still maintaining the social distancing and especially modification needs to be made to allow 4 entry and exit points. There are movie-buffs and who will definitely go to watch movies on screens and the film industry should try to target such cohorts.

After all we all know that human beings are social animals and they will definitely return, today or tomorrow.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-will-coronavirus-impact-entertainment-industry-6370412/

lhttps://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/yami-gautam-on-covid-19-impact-on-film-industry-budgets-are-going-to-be-curtailed/story-Twuo68so44hg5ipiqHYF7J.html

people shifting to apps on like Instagram

After the Indian Government banned the TikTok short video app and 58 other Chinese-origin applications, many other ‘glugrown’ or Indian-made alternatives soon appeared to fill the gap. Although the growing popularity of these Indian apps such as Roposo, Chingari and MitronTV has been written and very impressive, it is very likely that they will still face difficult waters in the future. Recently, Facebook’s Instagram Reels, and another form of TikTok, which was originally scheduled to be launched in Brazil, Germany and France, will now be quietly tested in India. Similar to TikTok, the Instagram ‘Reels’ feature will allow its users to record 15-minute videos with music and audio clips and then allow them to post them on their Instagram ‘news’ section. To make the process work better for users, Facebook and Instagram have recently partnered with Saregama, a popular Indian music label, to give Instagram users access to their song library. A Facebook spokesman, in a statement on the matter, said the company plans to launch a new redesigned version of Instagram Reels in many countries. They are happy to allow the global community on Facebook to try it out as it is a fun and creative way for people to express themselves and have fun. Currently, sources have confirmed that some Instagram users in India have started receiving updates that include the ‘Reels’ feature but they have not been suspended for working days in India. After the ban forced the ‘Tiktokers’ Indians to split the routes with TikTok, users were desperately in need of a different platform. Other apps similar to tiktok in the past had a very huge user base and the content was not good anyone can post anything at those platforms that were in the era of tiktok and publishing content without any safety and privacy that leads to the content that was running in India on a Chinese apps and issues like data theft. Similarly, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of the Chingari App app, Sumit Ghosh, reported that their app gained more than 16 million users in just 25 days. Also, MitronTV chief executive Shivank Agarwal said they had seen an 11x jump in daily traffic after the ban. Now, while these other Indian methods are trying to do their best to get milk for this life opportunity, it is very likely that their growth, happiness and inconsistent engagement may last for a while when Facebook releases Reels in a fully-fledged India. Reels put the banks in the humid user services of 88 million Indian users (from 2018) of Instagram. This basically means that the feature will be able to expand the base of captive Instagram users to get a proactive amount of display in a faster way, at a cost of almost customer acquisition. Reports have already made it clear that Instagram is the preferred option for TikTok Stars and TikTok Influencers over any home app. It should also be noted that the majority of Tiktok content creators, restricted posting, have seen a huge increase in their Instagram followers.