Chhattisgarh Police create app ‘Rakhsa Sarv’ to keep an eye on home quarantined patients

1.US begins trial for a second potential COVID-19 vaccine candidate

In the US second clinical human testing for COVID-19 vaccines, a new vaccine candidate entered Phase 1 clinical human testing after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Inovio Pharmaceuticals’ Investigational New Drug (IND) application for INO-4800 vaccine candidate.The company, backed by collaborators that include the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is testing its DNA vaccine candidate designed to prevent COVID-19 infection with clinical testing in healthy volunteers beginning this week.

It will enrol up to 40 candidates in its Phase 1 study of the vaccines INO-4800 will enrol up to 40 people.

2.US President Trump says he would put on hold the WHO funding

United States President Donald Trump has said that he would put on hold funding to the World Health Organization, WHO.He accused the global organization of becoming China-centric during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

Geneva-headquartered World Health Organization, receives vast amounts of money from the United States.

He alleged that the organization has become a political puppet of the Chinese Government.

The United States’ intelligence community has reported that the Chinese Government hid the threat of COVID-19 and, as a result, made it difficult for the rest of the world to respond early, appropriately and aggressively.

3.Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to contribute 1 billion US dollars to Coronavirus relief fund

Twitter co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey has made a commitment of one billion US dollars out of his personal fortune to coronavirus relief through his philanthropic fund.He would transfer his equity in his digital payments group Square to his limited liability corporation Start Small, contributing around 28 per cent of his overall wealth.

It could be the largest amount from a single individual for coronavirus relief at a time when the pandemic is inflicting a heavy toll on lives and causing economic disruption across the globe.

Earlier, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had pledged 100 million Dollars to help food relief efforts during the pandemic while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had offered more than 25 million Dollars to help research through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

4.Biofortified carrot variety developed by farmer scientist benefits local farmers

Madhuban Gajar, a biofortified carrot variety with high β-carotene and iron content developed by Shri Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat is benefitting more than 150 local farmers in the area.It is being planted in an area of over 200 hectares in Junagadh, and the average yield, which is 40-50 t/ha, has become the main source of income to the local farmers.

The variety is being cultivated in more than 1000 hectares of land in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh during the last three years.

Shri Vallabhai Vashrambhai Marvaniyawas conferred with a National Award by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi during Festival of Innovation (FOIN)- 2017.

He was conferred with Padma Shri in the year 2019 for his extraordinary work.

5.MHRD launches ‘Samadhan’ challenge to invite ideas to fight COVID-19

The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development and All India Council for Technical Education have launched a mega online challenge – Samadhan – to test the ability of students to innovate and offer a quick solution to the Coronavirus pandemic and other such calamities.Students participating in this challenge will search and develop measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus pandemic and other such calamities.

Apart from this, through this challenge, work will be done to motivate citizens to face any challenge, prevent any crisis and to help people get livelihood.

Under the “Samadhan” challenge, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to the spirit of experimentation and discovery.

6.UP govt to establish COVID-19 testing labs in headquarter of each and every division

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that his government will establish Corona testing labs in the Headquarter of each and every division in the state.His government has managed to start collection centres in all 75 districts of the state.

He said 308 Covid-19 cases have been found in the state as of now, of which 168 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi last month.

7.Annual Karaga festival celebrations prohibited

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Karnataka said it is prohibited to celebrate Bangalore Karaga Shakthyothsava.There should be no public celebration, procession and no other public program can be done.

Meanwhile, Dharmaraya Swamy Temple has agreed to cancel the celebration of Karaga festival after the High Court directed it not to assemble for any religious activity.

Earlier, the Karnataka government had granted permission for the celebrations of the annual Karaga festival with certain restrictions.

Karaga is one of the oldest and widely celebrated festivals of Karnataka.

It is celebrated in honour of the Goddess Shakti. The festival is held at the famous Dharmarayaswamy temple in Bangalore.

8.Chhattisgarh Police create app ‘Rakhsa Sarv’ to keep an eye on home quarantined patients

In a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus, police in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district have created a mobile application ‘Rakhsa Sarv’ to keep tabs on those violating the home quarantine order, an official said.Nearly 6,200 people, most of them with a history of travel to foreign nations or other affected states in India, are being kept under home quarantine in Janjgir-Champa district.

The app enables people to track the quarantined people through Google Map.

Police teams have started installing the application in the phones of those kept under home quarantine and so far, over 50 per cent of such people have been covered.

9.Airtel Payments Bank partners with Bharti AXA General to offer coronavirus insurance policy

Airtel Payments Bank has tied up with Bharti AXA General Insurance to launch a coronavirus insurance policy.The Bharti AXA Group Health Assure Policy comes with a fixed cover offering 100 per cent sum insured as a lump sum, if the policy holder is diagnosed positive or gets quarantined in a government hospital or military facility/establishment.

The policy can be purchased at a price of Rs 499 (including GST) for fixed sum insured of Rs 25,000.

The insurance policy can be purchased directly from the banking section of the ‘Airtel Thanks App’ or by visiting the nearest active banking point-of-sales (POS) of Airtel Payments Bank.

10.CCI approves Hitachi’s proposed acquisition of 80.1% in power grid business of ABB Limited

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the proposed acquisition of 80.1% stake by Hitachi in the power grid business of ABB Limited.The proposed combination envisages acquisition of 80.1% share capital of ABB Management Holding AG (ABB Management) by Hitachi Limited (Hitachi) from ABB Limited (ABB).

ABB Management will hold the entire power grid business of ABB (Target Business).

Hitachi, headquartered in Japan, is the parent company of the Hitachi group of companies.

It is active in a variety of business segments including IT Solution, Energy Solution, Industry Solution, Mobility Solution, and Smart Life Solution.

11.Three HC judges in Jammu & Kashmir High Court administered oath by Chief Justice

Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, Justice Sanjay Dhar and Justice Puneet Gupta were sworn in as permanent Judges of the common High Court for the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.The newly appointed Judges were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice J&K High Court, Justice Gita Mittal in a simple but impressive ceremony in the Jammu wing of the High Court.

The sitting Judges of the High Court of J&K joined the oath ceremony through Video Conference while sitting in their respective residences.

12.Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla dies of COVID-19 in New York

Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla has died of COVID-19 that is ravaging New York, the epicentre of the pandemic in the US.The journalist died in after nine days in a hospital.

Brahm Kanchibotla, 66, was a correspondent for United News of India.

During his 28-year career in the US, he had worked for 11 years as a content editor for Merger Markets, a financial publication, and also did a stint with News India-Times weekly newspaper.

He had emigrated to the US in 1992 after having worked for several publications in India.