Over 60k new COVID-19 cases reported in last 24 hours, lowest after 75 days
National COVID recovery rate improves to 95.64 pct
Centre provides over 26.69 crore vaccine doses to States, UTs so far
West Bengal govt extends restrictions till June 30 with further relaxations; Unlock 2.0 extended for a week with certain restrictions in Bihar
Uttarakhand govt extends COVID curfew till 22 June; Chardham Yatra opens for devotees of Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi districts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a Conference on Physiotherapy; Says, power of physiotherapy increases manifold when combined with yoga.
Senior leaders of all political parties hold back to back rallies in election bound Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland; Prime Minister addresses a rally at Ambassa in Tripura.
Inception meeting of G-20 empower group of Women and Child Development Ministry begins in Agra.
Strict Anti-Copying Law comes into force in Uttarakhand with provision of 10 crore rupee fine and life imprisonment.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, video consultation by physiotherapists can be very useful, especially in situations like Turkiye earthquake. Addressing the 60th National Conference of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists in Ahmedabad via video message today. Mr. Modi urged the professionals to develop ways of video consulting and tele-medicine adding that a large number of physiotherapists are needed and Indian physiotherapists can help via mobile phones in situations like the earthquake in Turkiye. He asked the Physiotherapist Association to think in this direction.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the importance of physiotherapists as providers of solace, symbol of hope, resilience and recovery. He said, a physiotherapist not only treats physical injury but also gives patient the courage to deal with psychological challenge. The Prime Minister said, in the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava, Physiotherapists received a much awaited recognition as the Government brought the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professionals Bill.
The Prime Minister also touched upon growing opportunities for physiotherapists in the environment of Fit India Movement and Khelo India.
The Prime Minister requested physiotherapists to take up the task of educating people about Right Posture, Right Habits, Right Exercises. Drawing on his personal experience, Prime Minister said, when the expertise of yoga is combined with that of a physiotherapy, its power increases manifold.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the new tax regime will leave more money in the hands of the people. Replying to a question on the new tax regime, Ms Sitharaman told media in New Delhi that this measure of the Government aimed at purely reducing the tax burden on the middle class. She said that the Government has made a promise to simplify direct taxation and reduce rates so that it does not become a burden on the middle class.
During the press conference, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das said that the balance of payment situation is eminently manageable because service exports are doing extremely well and remittances have gone up.
Earlier Ms Sitharaman addressed the Central Board of Directors of the RBI along with RBI Governor in its customary post-Budget meeting in New Delhi.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today laid emphasis on the Police Technology Mission which is aimed at making Internal Security strong. He said, through the three Mantras of awareness, preparedness and enforcement, the Mission will make police tech-savvy at every level. He said, it will make strengthen the security forces to face any future challenge. Mr Shah was speaking after reviewing the passing out parade of the 74th RR batch of IPS probationers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVP NPA) in Hyderabad today.
The Union Home Minister said, the terrorism in Jammu Kashmir, insurgency in the northeast and left-wing extremism in some parts of the country has come down due to strong political will and the strength of security agencies. He asked IPS probationers to remain accessible, accountable and approachable to make policing strong and relevant. One hundred eighty seven IPS probationers including 37 women officials and 29 foreign police officials took part in the parade.
Campaigning is gaining momentum for Assembly Elections in three Northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Senior leaders of all political parties are on a whirlwind tour of the three states, particularly Tripura, which goes to poll on the 16th of this month.
Addressing a rally at Ambassa in Dhalai district of Tripura, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack against the CPI (M) and Congress accusing the alliance partners of taking back the development of the state backward. He said with the double engine government Tripura has been put on the fast track.
The Prime Minister will also address a rally at Udaipur today. It is Mr Modi's first visit to Tripura to hold election rallies. Senior leaders of other political parties are also holding rallies in the State as well.
Voting in Meghalaya and Nagaland will take place on the 27th February. The three states have 60 member Assemblies each. The counting will take place on the 2nd March.
In Meghalaya, 13 thirteen Political Parties including four having National status are contesting the election battleground of 60 member State Assembly.
"Chief Minister Conrad Sangma led National People’s Party (NPP) has promised more jobs and development in the state if it retains power. The party has promised creation of Five lakh new jobs. BJP which is contesting on all 60 seats of state assembly has main agenda of corruption free and developed Meghalaya. Senior Party leader and BJP North East Co in-charge Rituraj Sinha said the party will work on robust infrastructure like highway, internet, connectivity, roadways and airport in the region. Congress party has promised corruption free Meghalaya in its poll manifesto. President of Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee Vincent H Pala said if voted to power party will focus of corruption free government and give 300 rupees per month BPL category single mothers through DBT. The Trinmool Congress (TMC) which is new entrant in the assembly elections has promised good health infrastructure and poverty free Meghalaya. Party State President and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said if TMC forms government it will revamp power sector and improve sectors like tourism, sports and education in the state. Other parties like HSPDP and VPP have also promised fastrack development of the state. Dharmendra Kumar Rai, AIR NEWS Shillong."
President Droupadi Murmu has called for a reduction in the usage of chemical fertilisers in order to save soil health. Addressing the second Indian Rice Congress at the ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack in Odisha today, she underlined the importance of bio-fortified rice as rice happens to be the only source of nutrition for a large majority of the poor people. Stressing that the fruits of Science and Technology must reach the people who need it most, the President called upon the scientists to develop more and more eco-friendly varieties of rice to address the challenges of drought, water scarcity, soil health and climate change.
The inception meeting of G-20 empower group of Ministry of Women and Child development has begun in Agra today. The theme of the meeting is Empowering Women to Lead across Sectors: Role of Digital Skilling and Future Skills.
The discussions at the G20 EMPOWER Inception, spread over two days will set the context for successive meetings and influence what the future holds for women at all strata.
The country's strictest Anti-Copying Law has come into force in Uttarakhand after state Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh approved the Uttarakhand Competitive Examination (Measures for Prevention and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance 2023 yesterday.Under this Law, a provision to impose a fine of 10 crore rupees along with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail for the copycat mafia. Apart from this, there is also a provision to attach the property of the copying mafia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Rajasthan and Karnataka from tomorrow. In Dausa the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation road development projects worth over 18 thousand 100 crore rupees. He will dedicate Delhi - Dausa - Lalsot section of Delhi Mumbai Expressway to the Nation. The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of 247 kilometres of National Highway projects.
On Monday, Prime Minister will inaugurate the 14th edition of Aero India 2023 at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru.
India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued an 8-year-old girl in earthquake-hit Turkiye yesterday. The girl was pulled out from debris in Gaziantep city of Turkiye. The operation was carried out along with Turkish army personnel in Nurdagi town of Gaziantep province according to an NDRF spokesperson.
This is the second such rescue by NDRF in the last 24 hours. Earlier, NDRF had rescued a 6-year-old girl from the same area on Thursday. The NDRF spokesperson said that the rescuers have saved two lives and retrieved 13 bodies from the debris till. He added, the rescue operation of NDRF is continuing since 7th February.
India had launched Operation Dost to extend assistance to Turkiye and Syria after the devastating earthquake on Monday that killed more than 23,000 people in the two countries till now.
The death toll in the Turkiye and Syria earthquake has surpassed 23,700. Extreme cold weather is also hampering rescue efforts in search of survivors.
In Cricket, Australia are on the verge of losing the first test against India of the Border Gavaskar trophy series. The visitors were struggling at 88 for 9 in their second innings on Day 3 at Nagpur when reports last came in. For hosts, Ravichandran Ashwin scalped 5 wickets, Ravindra Jadeja took 2 wickets, while one was taken by Axar Patel. Patel performed by the bat as well, scoring 84 runs. India took a first-innings lead of 223 runs before being all out for 400 in their first innings before lunch today. Skipper Rohit Sharma was the highest run-getter, with 120 runs. The hosts resumed their first innings at the overnight score of 321 for 7 this morning.
Visitors were restricted at 177 in their first innings on the first day of the match. Todd Murphy took 7 wickets for Australia in his debut match.
The fifth Khelo India Youth Games will culminate today with a colourful ceremony at the Upper Lake in Bhopal. Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anurag Singh Thakur and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be the chief guests at the concluding ceremony. Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Nisith Pramanik will also be present in this ceremony.
The 3rd edition of the Khelo India National Winter Games began at Gulmarg yesterday with a message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the participating players.
More than 1500 Athletes from all over the country will compete in 11 different winter sports disciplines. Union Sports Minister, Anurag Singh Thakur lauded the J&K Government for developing sports facilities at the grassroots level and achieving unprecedented progress in the sports sector in a short span of time.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, new tax regime aims at reducing the burden on the middle class.
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AND WITH THAT WE END THE MID DAY NEWS.