2030 HRS

Evening News 02.01.2021

THEHEADLINES:
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi asks students to play vital role in making local go global inoverall framework of
'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.
Expert Committee of Central Drugs Authority recommends to grant approvalfor emergency use of Covid-19 vaccine.
Dry run for Covid-19 vaccination conducted across the country.
Indian Council of Medical Research successfully cultures the new UKstrain of Coronavirus.
And, Covid-19 recovery rate improves to96.12 per cent in the country.
<><><>
As the nation fights the COVID-19 pandemic,we begin with a message of precaution to stay safe and protected by followingthese three
simple steps --
Wear a face mask.
Maintain Do Gaz Ki Doori for socialdistancing.
Focus on hand and face hygiene.
And now the news in detail:
<><><>
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus ofIndian Institute of Management (IIM) at
Sambalpur in Odisha through videoconferencing. Addressing the event, the Prime Minister said that from 13 IIMsin 2014, today the country
has 20 IIMs. He said that such a large talent poolcan help strengthen Atmanirbhar Bharat. He added that this vast talent poolwithin and
outside the country can also help realise the goal of globalisingBrand India. He said management experts can also play a vital role in
makingthe local go global in the overall framework of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

"लोकल को लोबल बनाने के लए आप सभी आईआईएम के यु वा सा थय को नए औरइनोवे टव समाधान तलाशने ह।

मु झे व वास है हमारे आईआईए स आ म नभरता के दे श के मशन म थानीय उ पाद और अं त रा य कोलो े श न के बीच ज का काम कर सकते ह।
साल2014 तक हमारे यहां 13 आईआईएम थे । अब दे श म 20 आईआईएम है ।
इतना बड़ा टे लट पू ल आ म नभर भारत अ भयान को बहु त व तार दे सकता है ।
आज द ु नया म अपॉ यू नट भी नईहै और मै ने ज मट क द ु नया के सामने चै ल िजस भी नए है । "

The PrimeMinister emphasized that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, India has witnessedmore number of unicorns in 2020. He said, from
the farming sector to spacesector, the scope for startups is increasing, and most startups are coming upin tier II and III cities. He said that
start-ups need effective managers who inturn need to not just run with the time but also ahead of the timeS to catapultbrand India onto
the global stage.

"को वड सं क ट के बावजू द भारत ने पछले साल क तु ल ना म यादा यू नीकोन दए ह।

आजखे ती से ले क र पे स से टर तक जो अभू त पू व रफॉमस कए जा रहे ह, उनम टाटअप के लए कोप लगातार बढ़ रहा है ।
आपको इन नई सं भावनाओं के लए खु द को तै यार करना है । आपकोअपने कै रयर को भारत क आशाओं और आकां ाओं के साथ जोडना है ।
इस नए दशक म ां ड इं डया को नई लोबल पहचान दलाने क िज मे दार हम सब पर है , वशेष प से हमारे नौजवान पर है । "

The Prime Minister said that the real taskof the management is not just to manage the institutions but also to improvethe lives of the
people. Stating that management is based on the broaderconcepts of innovation, integrity and inclusiveness, the Prime Minister said,those
who are left behind in the race of development must also be included inthe journey towards growth. Extendinghis new year greetings to the
people of Odisha in the vernacular, the PrimeMinister spoke at length on the rich repository of mineral and forest resourcesof Odisha, art,
culture, literature and handicrafts of Sambalpur region andsaid IIM Sambalpur will give a new identity to the State. The Prime Minister said
that the permanent campus of IIM Sambalpur willrepresent the great heritage of Odisha.

"आईआईएम कपस के शला यास के साथ ह ओ डशा के यु वा साम य को मजबू ती दे ने वाल एक नवीन शला भी रखी गई।
आईआईएम सं ब लपु र का परमानट कपस ओ डशा क महानसं कृ त और सं साधन क पहचान के साथ ओ डशा को मै ने ज मट क द ु नया म नई पहचान दलाने

Speaking on theoccasion, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, IIM Sambalpur which was set up in2015, has already proved its mettle. He
said he is delighted that the PrimeMinister is laying the foundation stone for infrastructural development of IIMSambalpur.

IIM Sambalpur isthe first IIM to implement the idea of the flipped classroom where the basicconcepts are learnt in digital mode and
experiential learning takes place inthe class, through live projects from the industry. The Institute has alsooutscored all other IIMs in terms
of the highest gender diversity with 49 percent girl students in MBA 2019-21 batch and 43 per cent in MBA 2020-22 batch.
<><><>
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has said a US data firm tracking theapproval ratings of world leaders has put the approval rate for Prime
MinisterNarendra Modi at a high 55 percent. Addressing media in Delhi this afternoon,Mr Javadekar called Prime Minister Modi a visionary
leader. He said the PrimeMinister has a definite vision for the development of the country.

"दे श क वकास क उनक एक नि चत वजन है और उसके लए वो काय म बनाते ह औरसफल करते ह। दे श थम यह उनक धारणा ह।
दे श के लए सब कु छ और दे श ह सब कु छ।इस धारणा से जो काम करते ह सबका साथ सबका वकास, सबका व वास।
आ म नभर भारतक ि ट रखते ह इसको ले क र आगे बढ़ना चाहते ह मे ड इन इं डया, मे ड फॉर द व ड, ये नाराले क र आगे बढ़ते ह।
द ु नया म भारत का थान भी बढ़ गया, दबदबा भी बढ़ गया।"
<><><>
In our Special Series Year ender-2020 todaywe bring you a report on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. After coming to power in2014, the
Narendra Modi Government has put special focus on strengthening theUnity and Integrity of the country. The initiative Ek Bharat Shreshtha
Bharatwas announced by Prime Minister Modi on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion ofthe 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel.

Speaking at an event, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had said that India's unparalleled diversity is our pride.
" व वधताओं से भरा दे श है , हमारा नरं त र यास होना चा हए एकता को बढ़ाने वाल चीज कोबल कै से मले ।
इन व वधताओं के साथ अपनापन कै से बने , एक ह दे श म रहने के बाद भी हमअ ान होता है अपने ह दे श के वषय पर।
इस लए रा य से कहा गया क एक रा य दस
ू रे रा य के साथ एमओयू करे पे य र बनाए।
अब जै से त मलनाडु , त मल भाषा भारत के रचने स कोताकत दे ने वाल त मल भाषा है । ले कन हमारा कोई प रचय ह नह ं है ।
य न हमारा कोईरा य एक साल के लए त मल रा य के साथ एक एमओयू करे । हमारे उस रा य के ब चे 5त मल गीत सीख। एक-
आद बार त मल फ म फे ि ट वल उस रा य म हो। भारत के इतने रा यह एक रा य दस
ू रे रा य से , िजसको जो रा य ठक लगे ।
जै से ह रयाणा ने तेलं गाना के साथ कया है , गु ज रात ने शायद छ तीसगढ़ के साथ कया हु आ है , कसी ने बं गाल के साथ कया है , कसी ने असम के साथ कय
इसको हम बल द और भारत क ये जो रचने स है इसको हमनजर अं दाज न कर। एक भारत े ठ भारत काय म को बल दे ना चा हए।
हमारे जै से व वधतासे भरे दे श म आव यक है । "

Our correspondent has more on this story:-

"Through thisinnovative measure, the knowledge of the culture, traditions and practices ofdifferent states and UTs are
leading to an enhanced understanding and bondingbetween the states, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity of
India. Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat programme aims to enhance interaction and promote mutualunderstanding between
people of different states and Union Territories throughthe concept of state and UT pairing. The states carry out activities
to promotea sustained and structured cultural connect in the areas of language learning,culture, traditions and music,
tourism and cuisines, sports and sharing of bestpractices. There is no country like India, quite as diverse, multi-lingual
andmulti-cultural, yet bound together by the ancient bounds of shared traditions,culture and values. Such bonds are being
strengthened through Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat. With Naseem Naqvi, Anupam Mishra, AIR News, Delhi."
{{<><><>}}
The Subject Expert Committee of Central Drugs Standard ControlOrganisation, CDSCO has made recommendations for the consideration
and finaldecision of the Drugs Controller General of India on use of Covid-19 vaccine.It has recommended to grant of permission for
restricted emergency use ofvaccine, subject to multiple regulatory conditionalities, to Serum Institute ofIndia, Pune. The Subject Expert
Committee of CDSCO has recommended to grantpermission for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest as anabundant
precaution, in clinical trial mode, specially in the context ofinfection by mutant strains, to Bharat Biotech International Limited,Hyderabad.

It has also recommended to grant permission for conduct of Phase-IIIClinical Trial Protocol to Cadila Healthcare Limited, Ahmedabad.
<><><>
India has successfully cultured the new viral strain UK-variant ofSARS-CoV-2. No country has yet reported successful isolation and culture
of theUK-variant of SARS-CoV-2. Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR said,SARS-CoV-2 the virus causing Covid-19 was tracked
through countrywide networkof ICMR laboratories since early days of the epidemic in India. It said, theUK-variant of the virus with all
signature changes is now successfully isolatedand cultured at the National Institute of Virology, NIV from the clinicalspecimens collected
from UK-returnees. The ICMR said, Vero cell lines were usedby the Scientists of ICMR-NIV to culture the UK variant of the virus.
<><><>
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan today said that the COVID 19 vaccinewill be free across the country. Talking to media, Dr Harsh Vardhan
said thatnot just in Delhi, but across the country, the vaccine will be provided free ofcost.

The Health Minister was visiting hospitals in Delhi to review the dryrun drill for administering COVID-19 vaccine. He appealed to the people
not tobe misguided by rumours regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Hesaid the government will not compromise on any
protocol before approving avaccine.

"भारत क सरकार धानमं ी नरे मोद जी के ने त ृ व म सारे दे श के लोग को को वड से हर कार क कया के मा यम से सु र त रखना चाहती है ।
वै सीन का डेव लपमट भी उसी याम से एक या है ।
सबसे ाइम हम लोग का ाइ ट रया अगर है तो वै सीन के ायलस मवो से ट है , एफ के सी है , उसक इ यू नोजै न सट है और इनम से कसी भी चीज के
कॉम ोओमाइस नह ं है । दे श वा सय से अपील है क यह वै सीन आपके वा य क र ा के लये है ।
इसके बारे म कोई भी कसी कार के भी अपने माइं ड म मसकं से श स ना बनाय।"

In a tweet, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, in the 1st phase of COVID-19Vaccination, free vaccine shall be provided across the nation to
mostprioritised beneficiaries that include one crore healthcare workers and twocrore frontline workers. He said, details of how further 27
crore prioritybeneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalized.

The Minister added that around two thousand Master Trainers have beenprepared for the vaccination. He said health workers have also
been trained inall states and union territories for administration of the vaccine.
<><><>
A nationwide dry run for Covid-19 vaccination was conducted today. Theexercise was aimed at testing the preparedness for the vaccine
rollout andassess operational feasibility of Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN)application in field environment. The linkages
between planning andimplementation and to identify the challenges and guide the way forward, priorto actual implementation were also
part of the drill.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conducted the mock drill at285 session sites to test the end-to-end planned operations and the
mechanismthat has been set up to ensure smooth conduct of the COVID-19 vaccination thatis expected to begin soon. The dry run spread
across 125 districts covered allStates and UTs having adequate representation of urban and rural districtsalong with hard-to-reach areas.
Each State and Union Territory was asked toconduct the dry run at minimum three session sites. More from ourcorrespondent:

"The mock drill conducted today will ensure that phase 1 ofCovid-19 vaccination goes without any glitch. It was aimed at
testing linkagesbetween planning and implementation and identifying the challenges. It was alsodesigned to test Co-WIN
application, developed specifically for Covid-19vaccination drive, in a field environment. The cold storage and
transportationarrangements for the COVID 19 vaccine, management of crowd, and deployment ofteam members were also
tested during the mock drill. A two-day trial run wasearlier conducted on December 28 and 29 in four states - Assam,
Andhra Pradesh,Punjab and Gujarat. The vaccines would be administered free of cost to prioritygroups in the first phase on
India’s inoculation drive. This includes one crorehealthcare workers and two crore frontline workers. With Anupam Mishra,
SuparnaSaikia, AIR News, Delhi."
<><><>
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that vaccinefor Covid-19 will be available to the people of state by Makar
Sankranti.
AIR Lucknow correspondent reports that the Chief Minister made theannouncement in a function of Advocates in Gorakhpur today.
Speaking at theprogramme, Mr Adityanath said, the country started its fight against the virusin March last year under the leadership of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hesaid, dry run of the vaccination was held at some places in the state today andit will be held across the
state on January 5. The Chief Minister said that itcould be firmly said that vaccine will be available at around Makar Sankranti.

Dry run of vaccination for Covid-19 was conducted at 6 centres inLucknow.

<><><>
In Maharastra, the trial run was carried out in four districts of Jalna,Nandurbar, Pune and Nagpur. State Health Minister and Guardian
Minister RajeshTope inspected the dry run at the district hospital in Jalna district. He saidthat the state government is fully prepared for
vaccination. More from ourMumbai correspondent:

"Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope gave a brief of state'spreparedness for the actual vaccination program. He said
that like pollingcentres, booths will be set up as a corona vaccination centres. He added thatthese will have three cells. In
the first cell the person coming forvaccination will be identified and in the second cell the person will bevaccinated. The
vaccinated person will be kept under observation in the thirdcell. The minister also informed that out of the total eight
vaccinemanufacturers, two companies have successfully completed the third phase oftheir trials and if the central
government allows, the actual vaccination canbe started in Msharashtra. With inputs from Jalna PTC Baba Mhaske,
Nivedita,Air News Mumbai."
<><><>
In Tamilnadu, dry run exercise for administering Covid vaccine wasconducted successfully in 17 places today. The Principal Secretary of
thehealth department Dr. Radhakrishnan said that the dry run will ensure zerofaults in administering the vaccine.
He assured that the State Government has started preparing storagefacilities for the vaccine. Our Chennai correspondent has filed this
report:

"More than five lakh healthcare workers are involved in the campaign in various capacities inadministering the Covid 19
vaccine. Apart from Chennai, the exercise is carriedout in Nilgiris, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Tiruvallur districts. The
Health department officials and the districtadministration staff checked the multiple steps to be completed in the dry
run.ldentification of the individual, vaccination process, arrangements for theinternet connectivity, facilities in the
observation room and efficiency of theexclusive vaccination network were all checked and kept ready. The publichealth
department will send text messages to the individuals after registeringat the Co Win app. Joy, AIR News, Chennai."
<><><>
Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar has saidthat the vaccination dry run today in five districts in the state
helped thestaff to train well before the actual vaccination starts. He informedmediapersons that 25 people were administered vaccines in
the dry run. Theminister assured that the state is ready with all the necessary infrastructurelike cold storage, logistics and manpower for
administering the vaccine when itis introduced.

Dr. Sudhakar said 10 UK returnees have been detected in the state withthe new strain of the virus. All these incoming travellers are being
treatedand isolated in Government hospitals. The Minister added that the infectionfound in them is not severe.
<><><>
In Rajasthan, Dry run of COVID vaccine was conducted today at 19 placesin 7 districts of the state. The districts where the dry run took
place includeCapital Jaipur, Bhilwara, Karauli,Ajmer, Banswara, Jodhpur and Bikaner. Health Secretary Siddharth Mahajanmonitored the
procedure in Jaipur.

In a tweet, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that today was an importantday in the fight against Corona. There is complete preparation for
vaccinationin the state as per the guidelines of the central Government. More from ourJaipur correspondent :

"COVID infection is decreasing rapidly in the state and therecovery rate has become more than 96 percent. After several
days, just fourhundred sixty-six new infections have been reported in the state today. Thedaily new cases remained less
than 100 in all 33 districts of the state. 82cases have been reported in Jaipur while 44 persons tested positive in
Jodhpur.The number of new cases in 19 districts remained less than 10. No new case wasreported in Hanumangarh district.
The number of active cases in the state hascome down to below 9 thousand. Jitendra Dwivedi, AIR News, Jaipur."
<><><>
The Dry run was also conducted in all 13 districts of Andhra Pradeshtoday. This is aimed to test the planned operations and the laid out
mechanismsfor Covid-19 Vaccination and the process is going on at three locations in eachDistrict in the State. The Dry Run is going on
smoothly in RIMS, Srikakulam,RIMS Ongole and other pockets in the State.

The DRY RUN which was carried out in Krishna District on trial basis on28th and 29th December, has shown very encouraging results.

The Exercise of Dry Run today is to verify factors such as creation offacilities and users on Co-WIN application, session site creation and
mappingof sites, healthcare worker beneficiarydata upload on co WIN, receipt of vaccines by the district and vaccine allocation,deployment
of team members, vaccine and logistics mobilisation at the siteamong others.
<><><>
As part of the Nation Wide programme, the Puducherry health departmentalso conducted Covid 19 Dry Run(Covid vaccine test) in the Union
Territory.More from our Puducherry correspondent:

"The test was conducted in 9 centres in the Union Territory inwhich

four centers in Puducherry region- the Government General Hospital,Government Medical College, Government Women and
Child Hospital and ESIhospital at Gorimedu. Three centers were arranged in Karaikal region and oneeach in Mahe and
Yanam region. Puducherry chief minister V. Narayanasamyinspected the vaccine testing centre in the Government General
Hospital. With aaim to test the linkages between planning and implementation, the dry run wasconducted, so that the
challenges in the process can be identified. The Co-WINapplication, developed to assist in the vaccination drive, was also
tested inthis process. Chandra Mohan/AIR NEWS/Puducherry."
{{<><><>}}
India has crossed yet another significantmilestone in its fight against COVID, as the active caseload in the countrytoday further decreased
to 2.43 per cent. With continuous decline in the numberof active corona cases, the active cases in the country witnessed a decline ofnearly
4 thousand cases in the past 24 hours to stand at around 2 lakh 50thousand.

The national cumulative recovery rate hasalso further improved to 96.12 per cent with the recovery of over 99 lakhpeople so far. Over 22
thousand 900 people recovered in the last 24 hours. Inthe same period, number of new daily cases remained below 20 thousand withnearly
19 thousand fresh cases having been reported. 224 case fatalities werereported in the same time period.
Meanwhile, over 8 lakh 29 thousand sampleswere tested for COVID-19 in the country in the 24 hour period, taking thecumulative testing
figure to nearly 17 crore 39 lakh.
<><><>
In Maharashtra, 3,218 new Covid-19 cases were reported today, taking thetotal number of affected people to 19,38,854.

According to the state health department, 51 deaths were reported in thestate taking the corona death toll to 49,631. Case fatality rate in
the stateis 2.56 per cent.

On the other hand, 2,110 patients were discharged today taking the totalnumber of recoveries to 18,34,935. The recovery rate of the state
now stands at94.64 percent. As on today, there are 53,137 active cases in the state.
<><><>
In Manipur, thirty seven people have tested for COVID-19 during the pasttwenty four hours. Meanwhile, 40 people were discharged during
the same period.The recovery rate has improved to 94.82 percent in the state. One woman diedtoday due to COVID-19 infection taking the
death toll to 357 in the state.

So far, Manipur has recorded 26782 recoveries while the number of activecases is 1104. The total number of affected people so far is
28243.
<><><>
Home Minister Amit Shah today released the inaugural issue of theNational Police K-9 Journal in New Delhi. It is the first such publication
inthe country on the subject of Police Service K9s, Police Dogs.

Mr Shah said, this is a unique initiative that will further enrich thesubjects related to Police Service Dog, K-9, PSK teams in the country. He
said,National security is paramount and our government is making sincere efforts togive equal attention to all aspects related to security.
<><><>
Indian Air Force, IAF today deployed four helicopters equipped withBambi Bucket for firefighting mission at Dzukou Valley in Nagaland.
Thewildfire has caught the adjoining areas of the picturesque Dzukou valley since29th of last month.

Defence PRO Kohima said the Bambi Bucket operations by IAF Helicopters will continue tomorrow.

An IAF helicopter was yesterday pressed into service to douse the firebut after assessment of extent of the fire, it was decided to deploy
three morehelicopters today.

Last night, Hercules aircraft A C-130J of the IAF also airlifted 9 Tonload for firefighting including 48 NDRF personnel from Guwahati to
Dimapur.

Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority including personnel fromForest Department, Fire and Emergency Services, Police and
volunteers ofSouthern Angami Youth Organisation are also making an effort to extinguish theraging fire at Dzukou range in Kohima district.
<><><>
In Manipur, efforts to extinguish wildfire in the hill ranges of DzukoValley in Senapati District continued for the fourth day today.

Another combined team consisting 59 personnel of National DisasterResponse Force (NWDRF), 35 personnel of State Disaster Response
Force (SDRF),32 personnel of Manipur Fire Service and Manipur Police personnel made attemptsto prevent spread of fire in the southern
side of Mount Iso (Tenipu) range. TwoIndian Air Force Mi-17 V5 helicopters were also deployed to spray water.
<><><>
Assam Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced the dates forthe High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Higher
Secondary (HS) examinations to be held in the state. In a tweetthe Minister said that High School leaving certificate examination will be
heldfrom 11th of May. On the other hand, the Higher Secondary examination willbegin from 12th of May. The results of HSLC will be
declared within 7th Julyand the results of HS examinations within 30th July.
<><><>
Now, let us take a look at the weather forecast fortomorrow.
The National Capital will have generally cloudy sky with light rain ordrizzle. The city will observe minimum temperature of around eight
degreesCelsius and a maximum of around 20 degrees.

Mumbai will have partlycloudy sky. The temperature will hover between 23 and 32 degrees Celsius.

Chennai will have generallycloudy sky. The temperature will vary between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius.

In Kolkata, there will be fog ormist in the morning and mainly clear sky later. The city will observe minimumtemperature of around 14
degrees Celsius and a maximum of around 26 degrees.

Srinagar will have mainlyclear sky with possibility of light rain. Temperature will hover between minustwo degrees celsius and six degrees.

In Jammu, skywill be generally cloudy with light rain. The minimum temperature will be around seven degreesCelsius while maximum will
be around 15 degrees.

Leh will have cloudysky. The minimum temperature will be around minus 16 degrees Celsius while themaximum will be around minus three
degree.

In Gilgit, therewill be partly cloudy sky. The minimum temperature will hover between minus sixdegrees to eight degrees celsius.

Muzaffarabad will have generallycloudy sky with light rain. The temperature will hover between two to 14degrees Celsius.

In Hyderabad, the minimumtemperature will be around 17 degrees Celsius while the maximum around 27degree. The city will witness fog
or mist in the morning and partly cloudy skylater.
<><><>
GOOD NIGHT
<><><>