News On AIR – News Services Division, All India Radio News

THE HEADLINES

• Polling is underway for sixth phase of Assembly Elections in West Bengal.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address Leaders’ Summit on Climate today.
• Indian Air Force pressed into action to augment government fight against Covid 19 pandemic.
• Centre hikes Oxygen quota for 8 States and Union Territory; Also unveils new plan for distribution of Remdesivir.
• Government rules out door to door Corona vaccination.
• Covid vaccination in the country crosses 13 crore 22 lakh mark.
• Four more Rafale fighter jets arrive in India from France.
• Comptroller and Auditor General GC Murmu appointed external auditor of Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
• Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs in IPL Cricket.

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As the number of Covid cases is on the rise again, we appeal to our listeners not to lower their guard, take all the precautions and all those above 45 years to get vaccinated without any hesitation.

Stay safe and protected by following these three simple steps:-

·  Wear a face mask.

·  Maintain Do Gaz Ki Doori for social distancing
·  Focus on hand and face hygiene.

And now, the news in detail:

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Polling is underway for sixth phase of assembly elections in West Bengal. Voting, which started at 7 am, will end at 6.30 pm.

306 candidates including 27 women are in the fray for 43 Assembly seats spread over four districts. Ruling AITC and BJP are contesting all 43 seats. Congress, Left parties and their alliance partner Indian Secular Front are fighting under the banner of Sanyukta Morcha.

Now we go over live to our correspondent Sudhindra who is in Dum Dum Uttar constituency.

QUESTION. 1: Sudhindra, how’s the polling going on at present?

“Polling for the sixth phase has started at 7.00 am Lalima. I am at booth number 190 and 191 at Sharada Shiksha sadan in Dum Dum Uttar constituency. Due to summer heat in the afternoon mornings and evenings are preferred. I see a large queue is building here, I can see more women voters. I can see voters, security and polling personnel wearing masks and some even hand gloves. The voters are undergoing thermal temperature mapping before being allowed into the polling booth. Security personnel are trying to ensure social distancing. All the booths have VVPATs to ensure that voters can be assured that their vote is cast to the candidate of their choice. The physically challenged and those above 80 years voters have the preference to vote at home which is videographed.

QUESTION:2: Sudhindra, Tell us about prominent candidates in this phase?

“The most high-profile candidate in this phase is BJP national vice president Mukul Roy who is contesting from the Krishnanagar Uttar Assembly constituency in Nadia district. Roy, the former railway minister and Rajya Sabha MP, was previously associated with the TMC. TMC has fielded actor Koushani Mukherjee and Congress has fielded Sylvie Saha from the Krishnanagar Uttar Assembly constituency against Roy. TMC heavyweight Chandrima Bhattacharya is contesting from the Dum Dum Uttar constituency. The sitting MLA Tanmoy Bhattacharya of CPI(M) and Archana Majumdar of BJP are contesting from the seat. Film director-producer Raj Chakraborty is trying his luck on a TMC ticket from the Barrackpore constituency. He is taking on Chandramani Shukla of BJP and Debashish Bowmick of CPI(M). In Purbasthali Dakshin, Congress has fielded Abhijit Bhattacharya against TMC candidate Swapan Debnath. Rajib Kumar Bhowmik is the BJP candidate from the seat. In the Habra constituency in North 24 Parganas district, TMC’s Jyotipriyo Mullick is the strong contender against BJP’s Rahul Sinha and CPI(M)’s Rijinandan Biswas”.

Thank You Sudhindra for that update.

  In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, Election Commission has decided to allow maximum 1,000 electors in a Polling Station instead of earlier stipulation of 1,500 electors.

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The Election Commission has deployed 779 companies of central forces for the sixth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal. The commission has deployed 107 companies of central forces for Barrackpore constituency alone, which has a history of violence in the last few elections. The highest deployment of 278 companies of central forces has been done in North 24 Parganas district followed by 181 companies in North Dinajpur district, 163 companies in Nadia district and 157 companies in East Burdwan district. The Commission said, the move is aimed at conducting the elections in peaceful and free and fair manner.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people in West Bengal to exercise their franchise in large numbers in today’s assembly elections. Mr Modi said the people of the state are voting to elect a new assembly.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address Leaders’ Summit on Climate today. The two-day summit will be held virtually and Mr Modi will make his remarks in the session which has the theme – Our Collective Sprint to 2030. The Prime Minister was invited by US President Joe Biden to participate in this summit.

Nearly 40 other world leaders are participating in the Summit. They will represent countries which are members of the Major Economies Forum and those vulnerable to climate change, among others.

The leaders will exchange views on climate change, enhancing climate actions, mobilising finance towards climate mitigation and adaptation, nature based solutions, climate security as well as technological innovations for clean energy.

They will also deliberate on how the world can align climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, while respecting national circumstances and sustainable development priorities.

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The fifth batch of  Rafale aircraft arrived in India yesterday. The four fighter jets flew a distance of almost eight thousand kilometres with air-to-air refuelling support by France and UAE’s Air Force. In a tweet, Indian Air Force thanked both the Air Forces for their co-operation.

Earlier, the aircraft were flagged off from the Merignac airbase in France by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, who is on a visit to France.

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Indian Air Force has been pressed into action to augment the government’s efforts to contain Covid-19 in the cuntry. IAF has now started airlifting oxygen containers, cylinders, essential medicine, equipment and medical personnel to assist the government in combating the pandemic. The Air Force also airlifted doctors and nursing staff from Kochi, Mumbai, Vizag, and Bengaluru for the establishment of a DRDO Covid-19 makeshift hospital in Delhi. The IAF has also airlifted DRDO oxygen containers from Bangalore for Covid centres in Delhi.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had directed all defence establishments on Tuesday to ramp up efforts and assist civil authorities in extending all possible assistance to people across the country. The defence minister attended a video conference with top ministry officials, including service chiefs and Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat. A roadmap to assist state governments was drawn during this meeting. Defence Minister  also suggested that retired military doctors and nursing staff be enlisted for assistance if they volunteer.

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Central government has said that door-to-door vaccination for COVID-19 is not possible. In an affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 has been guiding all aspects of the vaccination drive in India. It has given 5 reasons for not having a door-to-door policy for vaccination. The Affidavit says, in case of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), there might be a delay in reaching the health facility and managing that case may not be as per requirement. It further says, there might be challenges to ensure that the beneficiary of the vaccination is under observation for at least 30 minutes after vaccination. The Union government has also informed that, the vaccine to be administered might be placed in and out of the ‘vaccine carrier’ for each vaccination thereby increasing the chances of contamination and exposure beyond recommended temperature.

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The total vaccinations in the country crossed 13 crore 22 lakh mark. These include over 92 lakh Healthcare Workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose of COVID vaccine and 58 lakh took the second dose. Besides, over one crore 16 lakh Frontline Workers  received the first dose and more than 59 lakh took the second dose.

Union Health Ministry said that more than 21 lakh 21 thousand vaccine doses were given till 8 PM yesterday on the 96th day of nationwide COVID19 vaccination. Out of which, nearly 14 lakh 35 thousand beneficiaries were vaccinated for first dose and 6 lakh 85 thousand beneficiaries received the second dose of the vaccine.

 The Health Ministry said, in view of sudden spike in the demand for oxygen in some states due to an exponential rise in the number of COVID patients, the Centre has increased the quota of Oxygen in the States. These States are Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Uttrakhand.

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Centre has rolled out an allocation plan for distribution of anti-viral drug Remdesivir in 19 states reporting higher number of COVID-19 cases. The allocation includes bulk purchases made by the States as well as supplies through private distribution channels. This initial allocation is till 30th of this month and it will be reviewed constantly in consultation with the States to ensure all needs can be met within the available supplies.

The Health Ministry has asked the manufacturers to consider supply orders already made to them, geographical proximity with a State and terms of supply and give inputs for mapping of manufacturers to states for the allocated volumes.

The production capacity is being ramped up from current level of 38 lakh vials per month to 74 lakh vials per month, and 20 additional manufacturing sites have been approved. Export of Remdesivir has also been prohibited to shore up domestic supplies.

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Union Health Ministry has said that presently there are 146 districts in the country where the covid-19 positivity rate is more than 15 per cent which is a cause of major concern.

Addressing media in New Delhi yesterday, Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan said that  the Centre and the States are making their best efforts to come out of the pandemic.

Mr  Bhusan said that the Centre and these State governments are working together to strenghten the health facilities including beds, oxygen and medicines.

On availability of beds, Mr Bhushan informed that  total number of beds in the Central government Hospitals in Delhi has been increased to 2105 out of which 230 are ICU Beds.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the industry to wait and watch for next few days to assess the situation amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and assured them of full government support. She was addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee Members through virtual mode. Speaking on the oxygen supply, Ms Sitharaman said that the supply has been very neatly mapped and new permissions have been given particularly for the hard stressed 12 states.

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Madhya Pradesh government is working on war footing to augment oxygen production in the state.

“Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has said that every effort to provide oxygen in all the districts for treatment of Covid-19 patients is being made by state government. Out of the 8 oxygen plants approved by the Government of India for the state, four oxygen plants have started in Khandwa, Ujjain, Shivpuri and Seoni districts. Two plants will start in Mandsaur and Jabalpur in the next 2 days and in Ratlam, Morena district in the next one week. Air separation unit using new C.S.I.R. technology is also being established in the district hospitals of five districts including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Rewa and Shahdol. Meanwhile over 75 lakh 77 thousand 900 people have been vaccinated in the state. Pooja P. Vardhan, AIR News, Bhopal”.

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Bihar government has decided to give free vaccine to all above 18 years of age. In a tweet, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the state government will bear the cost of administering jabs to all citizens of the state.

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With existing curbs not yielding desired results in containing corona, Maharashtra government has come up with more stringent restrictions. New SOP issued by State Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte said that all government and private offices will operate only with 15 per attendance except for emergency services directly connected to management  of Covid-19. The stringent restrictions will come into force from 8 pm tonight till 7 am on 1st of May.

“The fresh SOP issued by the state government says that private passenger transport excluding buses can ply only for emergency or essential services with 50 per cent of the seating capacity. It said, these passenger transport are not expected to be inter-district or inter-city and should be confined to the city of travellers. Inter-district or inter-city travel is allowed only if required for performing as essential service or in case of medical emergencies. The order says that those who are found flouting the order shall be punished by a fine of 10 thousand rupees. All government personnel will be allowed to commute via local trains, metro and mono rail services on the basis of their identity card only. State government or local government owned public buses shall ply at 50 per cent if the capacity with no standing passengers. As per the order, the marriage ceremony may be conducted only in the attendance of 25 persons and it should not extend beyond two hours. Also, those who are found flaunting the restraints during the marriage ceremony will be fined 50 thousand rupees.  The order also states that the local Disaster Management Authority can waive off the rules regarding mandatory stamping for buses arriving from certain origins as per the local conditions. KUNAL SHINDE, AIR NEWS, MUMBAI”.

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Union Government has allocated nearly 59 thousand vials of Remdesivir to Tamil Nadu, for the ten-day period from the 21st April. The state witnessed nearly 11-thousand 700 new Covid cases yesterday.

“The fresh supply of the investigational therapy drug Remdesivir is aimed at meeting the surging demand in the wake of increasing Covid disease burden. Vaccination drives against the viral disease is being carried out on a war footing in most of the state run establishments and government office complexes. All the eight public sector bus transport corporations together have covered more than a quarter of their over 70-thousand staff through the special vaccination camps at their depots. Officials say almost all the staff will be covered in the next one or two weeks. Meanwhile, the state health authorities have said sufficient medical oxygen is currently in stock in the state hospitals. Jayasingh, AIR News, Chennai”.

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In Puducherry, a total number of 1,74,259 persons inoculated so far. This includes 1,09,471 General Public, 30,473 Health care workers and 18,128 Front line staffs.

The Puducherry administration has taken stringent measures to cut the spread of Covid infection. As a part of the measures, the Secretary to Government Ashok Kumar in a press communique informed that the night curfew shall be observed from 10 PM to Morning 5 AM . Visitors shall not be allowed on beach road from 5 PM to 5AM. Restaurants, food courts and Tea shops shall be permitted to operate only till 8 PM with 50 % seating capacity. Marriages and related gatherings shall be permitted with guests not exceeding 100 and the number of persons attending funerals shall not exceed 50. Further the Excise department also announced that the retail sale of of liquor will be allowed up to 10 PM and the consumption of liquor inside the licenced premises is restricted up to 8 PM only. Chandra Mohan, AIR NEWS, PUDUCHERRY

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 Gujarat has recorded 12,553 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday. 4802 patients recovered during the last 24 hours and were discharged from the hospitals.

“Maximum 4821new cases of Covid-19 reported from Ahmedabad, while Surat recorded 1849 new cases. 125 patients lost their lives yesterday. With these, the death toll due to Covid-19 in the state has reached up to 5740. Gujarat has now 84126  active cases at present, out of which 361 patients are on ventilator. Meanwhile, 1 lakh 25 thousand 942 persons have been vaccinated in the state yesterday. Now, Gujarat has vaccinated 1 crore 7 lakh 16 thousand  536 persons till now. Yogesh Pandya, AIR News, Ahmedabad”.

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Senior Congress leader and former Delhi minister AK Walia passed away due to Covid-19 this morning. He was 72. Walia was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Delhi.

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Noted Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has passed away. He was 96. He breathed his last at a private hospital in Delhi yesterday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed condolences over the passing away of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Mr Modi said, he will be remembered for his insightful knowledge on matters of theology and spirituality.

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India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) GC Murmu has been chosen as the external auditor by a prestigious intergovernmental organisation working for the elimination of chemical weapons. External Affairs Ministry said, the Hague-based Conference of State Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) selected the CAG as its external auditor for a three-year term starting 2021. The appointment was made through an election process at the OPCW conference yesterday where India received overwhelming support ahead of others.

The MEA said, India’s election was a recognition of its standing among the international community as well as the professionalism, high standards, experience globally and competitive bid by the CAG of India. India was also selected as a member of the Executive Council of the OPCW representing Asia Group for another two-year term during the OPCW Conference of State Parties.

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Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs in IPL Cricket.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ lower-order put up a brave fight but could not get their team past the finishing line, as Chennai Super Kings beat them by 18 runs in a high-scoring encounter of the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium last night. For CSK, it was once again medium-pacer Deepak Chahar who rattled KKR with another four-wicket haul. In an earlier afternoon game yesterday, Sun Risers Hyderabad finally managed to open their account by registering a big nine-wicket win over Punjab Kings in Chennai. Chasing a paltry total of 120, Hyderabad skipper David Warner put on 73 runs opening partnership along with in-form Jonny Baristow. Warner got out for 37, but man-of-the match Baristow finished the work with New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson alongside in 18.4 overs. Earlier,Sun Risers bowlers led by left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed’s three (3) for 21 skittled out Punjab Kings for 120 in 19.4 overs.
In the Game No. 16 of the IPL in Mumbai, a weak bowling side of Rajasthan Royals will be up against the challenge of AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli this evening.
In the other sports news…
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only two clubs left still in the European Super League, after the 10 other clubs have backpedalled from the idea.
The six English Premier League teams — Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Arsenal — who were set to be founding members of the Super League have announced to leave, and soon were followed by exits from Spanish club Atlético Madrid and Italian giants AC Milan and Inter Milan.
Juventus have not officially left yet, but chairman Andrea Agnelli has recognised the Super League will not work in its current format.
Barcelona have not announced any plan to leave, but club president Joan Laporta has made it clear the team will not join the Super League unless the club’s members approve it with a vote.
In the AFC Champions League group stage clash, FC Goa lost to Iranian powerhouse Persepolis FC 1-2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.
After drawing first two games, the first timer Goan took the lead early through Edu Bedia header, but Persepolis scored twice within the opening half-an-hour to script their third win on the trot.
Jakarta Asian Games champion in men’s 1500 metres Jinson Johnson has virtually ruled himself out of Tokyo Olympics after failing to recover in time from Covid-19 related complications.
The 30-year-old Johnson have so far failed to achieve the qualification timings of 3 minutes 35 seconds for Tokyo Games so far.
In 2019, his personal best timings of 3 minutes 35.24 seconds in Berlin gave him a confidence to touch the mark soon.
But he missed most of the 2020 season through injury and pandemic.

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Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized more than 300 kg cocaine valued at two thousand crore rupees at Tuticorin port. Based on specific intelligence that cocaine will be concealed in a consignment imported in container reaching V O C Port, Tuticorin, the officers of DRI  intercepted the container declared to be containing wooden logs. The suspected container  originated from Panama, transited through the ports of Antwerp and Colombo. On examination, the suspected container was found containing 9 bags concealed between the rows of wooden logs. On opening the bags, 302 white coloured compressed bricks wrapped in multiple layers of packing material were found. The contraband weighed 303 kg and it is highly suspected to be cocaine.

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Now, let us take a look at the weather forecast for today.

The National Capital Delhi will have mainly clear sky. The temperature will hover between 17 and 34 degree Celsius.

Mumbai will have partly cloudy sky. The minimum temperature was 26 degree Celsius while the maximum is expected to be around 34 degrees.

Chennai is also expected to have partly cloudy sky. The temperature will vary between 28 and 36 degree Celsius.

Kolkata will have partly cloudy sky with possibility of development of thunder lightning. The city observed a minimum temperature of 27 degree Celsius and a maximum of around 37 degrees is expected.

Srinagar will have generally cloudy sky with moderate rain. Temperature will hover between nine and 15 degree Celsius.

Jammu will also have a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain. The minimum temperature was 17 degree Celsius while the maximum will be around 28 degrees.

Leh will witness light snow. Minimum and maximum temperature will hover between minus four and six degree Celsius.

Gilgit will have generally cloudy sky. The temperature will hover between seven and 25 degree Celsius.

Muzaffarabad is likely to have generally cloudy sky with moderate rain. The minimum temperature was 13 degree Celsius and maximum will be around 22 degrees.

Dehradun will witness partly cloudy sky with possibility of Thunderstorm. The minimum temperature was 16 degree Celsius while the maximum will be around 31 degrees.

Chandigarh will have partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain. The temperature is likely to hover between 17 and 31 degree Celsius in the city.

Hyderabad is likely to have thunderstorms towards evening or night. Minimum temperature was 25 degree celsius while the maximum will be around 38 degrees.

Ahmedabad will have mainly clear sky. The minimum temperature was 25 degree celsius while the maximum will be around 40 degrees.

Patna will have partly cloudy sky. The minimum temperature was 24 degree celsius and the maximum will be around 39 degrees.

And, Guwahati will have partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain. The minimum temperature was  22 degree Celsius while the maximum will be around 35 degrees.

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AND NOW, AN OVERVIEW OF TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS.

• Centre steps in to restore oxygen supplies to Delhi, is a The Hindu headline.
• Covaxin efficacy 78 per cent works against variants, says The Times of India.
• The Pioneer reports that only 0.03 per cent vaccinated get re-infected, for Covaxin, only 0.04 per cent afficted with coronavirus again after 2nd dose.
• Zojila Pass re-opens; Big relief for Laddakh, Army, says The Asian Age.
• Indian Space Research Organisation will support eight joint research projects mooted by the space technology cell of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, is a story in The Tribune.
• The Financial Express in its headlines says that agriculture exports are up 19 per cent in April-Feb of FY 21.
• And finally is The Pioneer on its front page reports of Good Samaritans in these covid times, drivers offering to pick-up covid bodies, housewives providing home-cooked food to covid patients, are some of the heart rending examples.

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