LIVE: India needs collaboration to solve air pollution problem, say experts

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10:27 PM

Russia tops the world in new Covid-19 infections and deaths

As of early Sunday, there have been more than 253.6 million COVID-19 infections in the world and more than 5.11 million deaths, according to worldometer.info.

 

The number of new cases in the last 24 hours was 422,735 and 5,929 new deaths. Russia recorded the highest number of new infection cases and deaths around the globe - 39,256 and 1,241 respectively.

 

But since the beginning of the pandemic, the US remains the most severely affected country, with 783,412 deaths and nearly 48 million infections, followed by India and Brazil.

9:44 PM

Marked improvement in Delhi's air quality; city govt to submit lockdown proposal to SC on Monday

A visible improvement in Delhi's air quality was recorded on Sunday although it was in the 'very poor' category while the city's Environment Minister Gopal Rai said his government will submit a lockdown proposal to the Supreme Court on Monday to reduce pollution further.

 

The national capital recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 330 on Sunday as against 437 the previous day as emissions from farm fires in Haryana and Punjab dropped significantly. The AQI was and 471 on Friday, the worst this season so far.

 

The air quality index of neighbouring Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Greater Noida was recorded at 331, 287, 321, 298 and 310, respectively.

 

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

9:13 PM

Bengal reports 875 new Covid cases, seven more fatalities

West Bengal on Sunday recorded seven fresh COVID-19 deaths, six less than the previous day, with the toll rising to 19,314, a health department bulletin said. At least 875 new infections raised the coronavirus tally in the state to 16,04,193, it said.

 

Of the seven fatalities, two were recorded in Kolkata and one each in South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Uttar Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri districts, the bulletin said.

 

Kolkata registered the highest number of fresh cases at 238, followed by North 24 Parganas at 140. The daily positivity rate went up marginally to 2.13 per cent from 2.12 per cent on Saturday, while the number of single-day sample tests was at 41,066, down from 41,193, it said.

8:42 PM

Maharashtra reports 956 Covid cases, 18 deaths; 966 recover

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 956 COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths, taking the tally in the state to 66,24,300 and the toll to 1,40,583, an official said.

 

All 18 deaths took place in the Mumbai division, including 11 in Raigad, five in Kalyan-Dombivali civic area in the Thane district and two in the metropolis.

 

The discharge of 966 persons took the recovery count to 64,67,879 in Maharashtra, which is 97.64 per cent of the overall tally, leaving the state with 12,191 active cases, he said. The fatality rate stood at 2.12 per cent.

8:30 PM

UNICEF India calls for urgent action for safe reopening of schools

UNICEF India unveiled a symbolic 'Pandemic Classroom' installation in the national capital to mark Children's Day on Sunday, ahead of the World Children's Day on November 20, and called for urgent action to support learning.

 

Empty rows of desks and chairs along with unused backpacks were set up to draw attention to the plight of millions of young children who missed going to school for over a year due to closures in the wake of the pandemic and have consequently experienced learning loss.

 

UNICEF India Representative Yasumasa Kimura unveiled the installation by ringing a school bell.

8:18 PM

Congress to go solo in UP polls, contest all 403 seats: Priyanka

The Congress will contest all 403 seats in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls on its own and emerge victorious in the electoral battle, party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Sunday.

 

Ruling out an alliance with any political party, she said the leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (SP) were nowhere to be seen even when the 2017 Unnao rape case and the Hathras gangrape-and-murder case in 2020 rocked the country, adding that only the Congress was fighting for the people.

 

Addressing the party cadre at the Pratigya Sammelan - Lakshya 2022 in Anoopshahr here, the Congress general secretary stressed on the importance of the Uttar Pradesh polls for the party, calling it a "do-or-die" situation.

7:58 PM

Railways' PRS service shut for 6 hours from Nov 14 to Nov 21

The Railways' Passenger Reservation System will shut down for six hours during the lean business hours of night for the next seven days, as part of the national transporter's efforts to normalise passenger services and revert back to pre-covid times in a phased manner.

 

The step is to enable upgradation of system data, new train numbers and other work, the railway ministry said on Sunday.

 

"Since a huge amount of past (old train numbers) and current passenger booking data is to be updated in all mail/express trains, this is being planned in a series of carefully calibrated steps and implemented during night hours in order to minimise the impact on ticketing services.

7:52 PM

Indian economy to grow at double-digits this fiscal: CEA

Indian economy is expected to see a double-digit growth in 2021-22 and between 6.5-7 per cent in the next financial year, outgoing chief economic advisor K V Subramanian said on Sunday. The CEA said that he does not expect commodity inflation will taper the V-shaped recovery going forward.

"I expect India to grow at double digit this year (FY22) and 6.5-7 per cent next year and over seven per cent and thereafter growth accelerating over seven per cent, Subramanian told PTI in a interview.

He was in the city to receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta. India's growth projection had been capped between 8.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent by IMF and other institutions.

7:46 PM

Doctors say severe respiratory cases on rise in Delhi amid hazardous pollution levels

Meena Thakur coughs non-stop as she sits down on the floor to have lunch near the entrance of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, PTI reported.

 

With a stuffy nose and watery eyes troubling her, she wraps it up quickly and covers her face with her scarf to keep the dust away hazardous air quality has pushed the national capital on the cusp of a health emergency and an increased number of people have been seeking medical help.

 

"My father-in-law is in the hospital. I came from Jalaun (in Uttar Pradesh) to see him on Thursday. I was okay at home, but developed a cold and cough after coming to Delhi. There's smoke all around. I will leave as soon as he is discharged, she says. Across the road, Pawan Yadav, a sanitation worker at Safdarjung Hospital, coughs up phlegm every few seconds.

7:42 PM

Haryana shuts schools in four districts due to air pollution

A day after the Delhi government announced to shut schools amid air pollution, the Haryana government on Sunday also ordered closure of all schools -- private and government -- in four districts, Gurugram, Faridabad, Jhajjar and Sonipat, till November 17.

 

According to the order, both government and private offices have been advised to work from home.

 

Besides, there is a complete ban on operation of stone crushers and hot mix plants used in construction activities. The Deputy Commissioner of the concerned districts has been directed to constitute joint inspections teams for enforcing the directions and ensuring extensive checking, monitoring and action against the violators.

7:34 PM

Smog towers, fly ash in concrete among steps mandated in Central Vista tenders: Bimal Patel

Preservation of topsoil, smog towers installation and use of fly ash in concrete are among the environment-friendly measures mandated in the tenders for the construction of buildings under the Central Vista project, said its master architect Bimal Patel. He said the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has also been keeping a close watch on the projects from the environmental perspective. The entire project is designed to be energy efficient for improving the air quality in the long run, he said.

 

Confident of completing the new parliament building in time, Patel said contractors, clients and designers are all working hard towards achieving the goal of sticking to the committed timeline.

 

The new parliament building is scheduled to be completed before the winter session of 2022.

 

"Various measures have been mandated in the tender documents of the buildings being built as part of the Central Vista project to safeguard the environment during construction. These include preservation of topsoil, installation of smog towers and use of fly ash in concrete," Patel told PTI.

7:30 PM

BJP leaders from Punjab meet PM Modi seeking reopening of Kartarpur corridor

A delegation of BJP leaders from Punjab met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Sunday and requested him to reopen the Kartarpur corridor before Gurpurab.

 

The Kartarpur corridor provides a visa-free border crossing for pilgrims from India visiting the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan. It links the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India. Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

The delegation comprising 11 leaders from Punjab met Modi at his official residence and conveyed the sentiments of Guru Nanak Dev's devotees, BJP Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma told PTI.

7:24 PM

236 covid cases, two deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka on Sunday reported 236 fresh COVID-19 cases and two deaths taking the caseload and cumulative fatalities to 29,91,850 and 38,145 respectively, the health department said.

 

It also said 264 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,45,679. The active cases stood at 7,997. Bengaluru Urban remained the major contributor of COVID cases with 152 fresh infections and both the deaths being reported from the city. 

6:58 PM

Skye Air to showcase India-made drones at Dubai Airshow

Drone delivery tech startup, Skye Air has become the first such entity from the country to showcase India-made drones at an international diaspora.

 

The platform said it will be exhibiting its cutting-edge technology at the 17th edition of the five-day Dubai Airshow, which commenced in the Gulf country on Sunday.

 

Skye Air will be exhibiting its flagship 'Skye Air One'- a multicopter with a load carrying capacity of 5 kg, speed of 40km/hour and an operational range of 20km, the company said in a release.

 

Dubai Airshow is expected to attract over 1,200 exhibitors from 148 countries at the Dubai World Central.

6:58 PM

TMC, CPI(M) target Centre over extending tenure of CBI, ED directors

Opposition parties the TMC and the CPI(M) on Sunday targeted the central government over extending the tenure of the CBI and the ED directors, asking why it could not wait for Parliament to be in session.

 

The tenures of directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can now be up to a maximum of five years from the present two years, according to two ordinances brought in by the government on Sunday.

 

The Parliament session begins on November 29.

6:57 PM

Hyderabad FC announce 26-man squad for Indian Super League

Hyderabad FC on Sunday announced their final 26-man squad for the upcoming edition of the Indian Super League, which will be held in three venues of Goa for the second successive season.

The 2020-21 season saw a number of players stand up and put in some brilliant performances for Manolo Marquez's side and he has up to 15 of the same players to work with, this time around as well.
 

The squad:

 

Goalkeepers: Laxmikant Kattimani, Gurmeet Singh, Lalbiakhlua Jongte

 

Defenders: Akash Mishra, Asish Rai, Chinglensana Singh, Juanan Gonzalez, Pritam Soraisam, Nikhil Prabhu, Nim Dorjee Tamang

 

Midfielders: Joao Victor, Mohammad Yasir, Souvik Chakrabarti, Hitesh Sharma, Sahil Tavora, Nikhil Poojary, Edu Garcia, Mark Zothanpuia, Halicharan Nazary, Abdul Rabeeh

 

Attackers: Bart Ogbeche, Javi Siverio, Joel Chianese, Rohit Danu, Aniket Jadhav, Aaren D'Silva.

6:06 PM

Delhi Traffic Police cracks down on pollution with teams at 170 spots

The Delhi Traffic Police has intensified its crackdown against pollution violators and those still plying old vehicles with deployment of teams at 170 locations across the city, officials said on Sunday.

 

The crackdown has been undertaken to execute the city government's Winter Action Plan against rising air pollution.

 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday in a meeting had announced emergency measures to deal with the pollution crisis the city is currently facing.

5:49 PM

Northeast was neglected, considered through political lens: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the northeastern region of the country was neglected as overall development of the country was seen on a piecemeal basis and viewed through a political lens.

 

Talking about the long prevailing neglect of the northeastern region, Modi said that earlier, our rivers from the northern and western parts of the country used to come to the east, but the Ganges of development used to stop before reaching here (the Northeast).

 

He said the region's huge potential will be unleashed by creating modern infrastructure and improving connectivity.

 

He expressed confidence that work being done in the region will take the country to new heights of growth.

5:49 PM

COP26 outcome not in line with expectations, but not hopeless either: Greenpeace India

Greenpeace India on Sunday said the outcome of the international climate conference COP26 is not in line with the expectations of the people and the countries already facing extreme weather events but is not hopeless either.

 

As imperfect as the final outcome may be, the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius may still be within reach, Avinash Chanchal, climate campaigner at Greenpeace India, told PTI.

5:47 PM

Hybrid work model to stay in 2022 with fine tweaks, say experts

With companies bringing in digital transformation and innovations to ensure work continuity amid the Covid-19, a successful hybrid work environment would find its relevance in 2022 too even as pandemic concerns have eased, industry experts have said.

 

The hybrid model means employees work partly on-site or in the office and partly remotely depending upon work requirement and productivity.

 

Certain industries are thriving on the back of the hybrid model amid the pandemic challenges and the companies are expected to tweak the model to get the best out of it in the next year, experts opined.

5:46 PM

CrPC section 144 imposed in Pune

The Pune district administration on Sunday imposed section 144 of the CrPC in view of the stone-pelting that took place in some parts of Maharashtra recently post protests on Friday against the violence in Tripura in late October.

 

The order, issued by Collector Rajesh Deshmukh, prohibits people from disseminating messages and posts on social media platforms that could create communal rifts among groups, as well as holding meetings etc, an official said.

5:46 PM

BJP weaponising the pain of Kashmiri Pandits to garner votes: Mehbooba Mufti

Accusing the BJP of weaponising the pain of Kashmiri Pandits to garner votes and further its "divisive politics", PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said Kashmiri Muslims have to work harder on seeing the return of their Hindu brethren in a dignified manner.

 

She said some BJP-linked persons, who are sitting in the studios in Delhi and claim to represent the community, are spitting venom and are sabotaging any meeting point between the Pandits and Muslims of the valley.

5:19 PM

India needs collaboration, continuity to solve air pollution problem: Experts

With Delhi's air quality index fluctuating between severe and very poor category, environment activists and health experts expressed concern over the situation and said that unless there is collaboration and continuity, the country would not be able to solve the crisis.

 

The experts also stated that there should be a plan to decrease pollution from all sources on a long-term basis rather than just taking emergency measures.

 

Vimlendu Jha, an environmental activist told ANI, "In the last 10 days, Delhi has seen extreme severe air quality. The average was 500." Read more

4:49 PM

Russia starts delivery of S-400 missile systems to India: Russian official

Russia has started the delivery of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India, according to a senior Russian official.

 

Russia's Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Dmitry Shugaev told Sputnik news that the deliveries are going as planned.

 

"The supplies of the S-400 air defence system to India have started and are proceeding on schedule," he said.

4:32 PM

Centre brings ordinance to extend tenure of ED, CBI Directors up to 5 years

The Centre on Sunday moved an ordinance that extends the tenure of Enforcement Directorate (ED) director and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director to five years.

 

At present, Director of CBI and ED have been appointed for two-year tenure in office by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, 2003.

 

President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the ordinance.

4:24 PM

Future Retail independent directors says Amazon's internal emails show it misled CCI

Independent directors of Future Retail Ltd have shot off another letter to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), citing internal communications of Amazon to establish its contradictory statements before courts and the anti-monopoly body and sought revocation of nod to Amazon-Future Coupons deal.

 

They accused Amazon of submitting "completely opposite information'' which was "contradictory" to Amazon's own internal communications regarding the US giant's 2019 investments into FRL's promoter company.

 

The letter, a copy of which has been reviewed by PTI, also says that the US giant was initially planning to pump money into FRL through a proposed foreign portfolio investment.

 

4:17 PM

India is on track to achieve historic highs in exports: Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said India's economy was witnessing a bounce back in every sphere, and the country is well on track to achieve historical highs in goods and services exports.

 

Goyal said India is on course to achieve USD 400 billion of merchandise exports in the current financial year ending March.

4:17 PM

Donald Trump, Boris Johnson being elected 'bad sign for whole world': Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that elections of Donald Trump (Former United States President) and Boris Johnson (Current Prime Minister of UK) were a bad sign for the whole world.

 

Trump had been elected as the 45th President of the US in 2016 while Johnson became UK's Prime Minister three years later after he replaced Theresa May.

 

"I have to say at the last two elections, first with Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, that's really a bad sign for the whole world that this can happen because everybody knew beforehand that it will not work," Klopp told Mid-Point Podcast, as reported by Goal.com.

4:16 PM

UP govt has not taken any big decision in last 4.5 years: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday slammed the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government for not taking any big decision in the last 4.5 years.

 

His remarks came during the 'Samajwadi Party Vijay Rath yatra' held in Kushinagar ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

4:05 PM

Already out of reckoning, Gokulam win 3-1 against Uzbek side

Indian club Gokulam Kerala FC claimed a 3-1 victory over Uzbek side FC Bunyodkor in their final AFC Women's Club Championship group stage game.

 

The win notwithstanding, Gokulam Kerala are out of the tournament as they lost their first two games to Amman SC and Shahrdari Sirjan.