YK MYK RAISING WOMAN’S MINIMUM LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE IS A POSITIVE STEP OPINION Rs. 3 KOLKATA WEDNESDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2022 PG- 8, YEAR— 8, ISSUE— 225 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) AT A GLANCE TMC APPOINTS SUSHMITA, SOURAV AS PARTY CO-IN-CHARGES IN GOA KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress on Monday has appointed Sushmita Dev and Dr Sourav Chakraborty as party coin-charges in Goa. In a press release, Abhishek Banerjee, National General Secretary of All India Trinamool Congress, said, "Our Hon'ble Chairperson Smt. Mamata Banerjee is pleased to appoint Smt. Sushmita Dev (Hon'ble MP, Rajya Sabha) and Dr Sourav Chakraborty (ExMLA, Alipurduar) as the State co-in-charges of the AITC Goa unit with immediate effect." West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier appointed Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra as the party's Goa incharge in November last year. SBI MAKES ONLINE IMPS TRANSACTIONS UPTO RS 5 LAKH FREE MUMBAI: The country's largest lender State Bank of India said on Tuesday it has decided to enhance the free IMPS online transactions limit to Rs 5 lakh from the Rs 2 lakh in order to encourage customers to adopt digital banking. SBI said in a statement that it will not levy any service charge on Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transactions up to Rs 5 lakh done through Internet banking/Mobile Banking including YONO. In the case of Branch Channels, there is no change in the service charges in the existing slabs. DELHI GOVT IMPOSES WEEKEND CURFEW AMID RISE IN COVID CASES NEW DELHI: Amid a surge in Coronavirus cases, the Delhi government on Tuesday decided to impose a weekend curfew from January 8. During weekdays, the metros and buses will run at full seating capacity with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. "Covid-19 cases are on a rise in Delhi and the rest of the country," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said. YOUTH LYNCHED IN KOILEBERA RANCHI: A group of villagers has lynched a youth Sanju Pradhan (35) to death after accusing him of illegally cutting trees under Kolibera police station area of Simdega district. The deceased was involved trading wood. Police said that the villagers numbering between 100 and 150 first thrashed Pradhan to death and then set his body on fire using wood. Police team, which rushed to the spot, was also prevented from reaching the place of occurrence of the crime. CORONA METER INDIA TOTAL CASES: 34,960,261 TOTAL DEATHS: 482,017 WORLD TOTAL CASES: 293,189,550 TOTAL DEATHS: 5,467,982 ATK MOHUN BAGAN AND HYDERABAD FIGHT FOR TOP SPOT NATION Morning India State government to deliver food to distressed COVID patients MI NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA: Infections are increasing by leaps and bounds every day in almost every district of the State. In this situation, the state government takes an initiative to help distressed COVID patients by delivering food at their door step. Nabanna has been directed by the State government to deliver food to needy COVID patients. Police will deliver a packet of rice, puffed rice (muri), biscuits and other necessities to the homes of the helpless. To this end, all the District Magistrates (DMs) of the State have been asked to take action on an urgent basis. According to Nabanna, "Coronavirus has been growing in the state since late last year. Many people have been Representational image infected. Many people are living in seclusion at home as they have mild symptoms. So some people stop earning. In this situation, packets of rice, pulses, turnips, biscuits, daily necessities will be provided to the distressed COVID patients at their homes. District Magistrates take necessary steps. It will be delivered door to door through the police. " The decision to lockdown was taken in 2020 to break the COVID chain. As a result, more than one office was closed. Many lose their jobs. Their income almost came to a standstill. Naturally, many people fall into financial crisis. The State government has taken this decision for people to avoid a difficult situation like this again. Earlier too, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had launched several popular projects including 'Duare Sarkar' and 'Kanyashree'. The people of the State are getting the benefit of almost every project. There is no doubt that the new decision of Nabanna will benefit many needy people of rural Bengal. Most of the people in the State are appreciative of this initiative. Youngest billionaire Elizabeth Holmes guilty of defrauding investors SAN FRANCISCO: Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest and wealthiest female self-made billionaire, has been found guilty of defrauding investors as founder and CEO of healthcare company Theranos in the US, which promised to revolutionise blood testing. She is also guilty of conspiracy to defraud investors with her co-defendant and Indian-origin Theranos COO, Sunny Balwani. Holmes faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the counts. After four months of court proceedings and seven days of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict and Holmes was found guilty of conspiring to defraud investors, as well as defrauding investors from the DeVos family, hedge fund manager Brian Grossman and former estate and trust attorney Dan Mosely, The Verge reported late on Monday. The jury, however, found her not guilty of two counts of defrauding patients and not guilty of conspiracy to defraud patients. The jury also did not return a verdict on three more counts of defrauding investors. Holmes had founded Theranos in 2003, a company that promised to revolutionise blood testing by devel- IMPHAL: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that Manipur and the Northeastern region will be the hub of India's developmental mission and the under construction highways in the state would be linked with the southeast Asian countries to boost international trade. The Prime Minister said that under the "Act East dream" ambitious projects on tourism and connectivity are being implemented with all seriousness while peace has been restored in the region. "Hundreds of militants of the Northeastern region have shunned the path of violence and joined the mainstream of development," Modi said, while addressing a public gathering at Hapta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal after inaugurating 13 projects and laying foundation stones of nine projects with a total investment of Rs 4,815 crore. He said that tourism potentialities of Manipur and the Northeastern region are being fully utilised with all types of connectivities. "Before becoming the Prime Minister, I had visited Manipur and witnessed the situation of the state then. There is a sea change in the state now. The entire government of India was brought to the doorsteps of Manipur people. A large number of Central ministers and leaders are working as 'sevaks' of the region. Five Central ministers are now from the region." Highlighting the achievements of Manipuri youths in the field of international sports, the Prime Minister said that youths especially the girls are bringing huge laurels for the country. "From the Commonwealth games to the Olympics, the Manipuri boys and girls are lifting the Indian flags in the international sports arena. From wrestling to archery, boxing, weightlifting, the Manipur boys and girls are performing with great success. M.C. Mary Kom, Mirabai Chanu, Bimola Devi, Laishram Sarita Devi are among the big sports personalities who are all from Manipur. The Indian youths are taking inspiration from the Manipuri sports personalities," the Prime Minister said. CBSE cautions students against misinformation, issues advisory oping a device that could run hundreds of medical tests on just a few drops of blood. The company was once valued at more than $9 billion. In 2015, an expose in The Wall Street Journal revealed major problems with Theranos' technology. The technology eventually didn't work and Theranos went defunct in 2018. Holmes and her former partner Balwani were charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in the federal court. During the high-profile trial, Holmes alleged that Theranos COO Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani abused her. Balwani faces a separate trial next year. "The US government is alleging that Holmes and Balwani deliberately misled investors and the public about the reliability of Theranosa¿ blood testing technology," the report noted. State Minister Aroop Biswas getting released from Woodlands Hospital after getting cured from COVID-19 on Tuesday in Kolkata. Naxals kill two jawans, ex-MLA escapes narrowly MI NEWS SERVICE RANCHI: Former MLA Guruchnaran Nayak had a narrow escape when Naxals attacked him and his bodyguards during a function in Jheelruan village under Goilkara police station area in West Singhbhum district. Two of his bodyguards namely Shankar Nayak and Thakur Hembram were killed by the extremists. According to information the former MLA had visited the village to take part in a football event along with his three bodyguards. Nayak was seen in a video meeting the villagers and the players before the match began. The naxals attacked Nayak soon after but he and of the bodyguards managed to escape from the spot with the help of villagers. Both of them later reached Sonua police station from where the injured bodyguard was shifted to the local hospital. Jharkhand DGP Niraj Sinha confirmed that two of the bodyguards who were trapped by the naxals were later killed. Additional forces have been rushed to the spot to carry out operations. BJP state president Deepak Prakash has condemned the incident saying that jungle raj is prevailing in the state. He said that despite the enactment of mob lynching law such incident are frequent in the state. India, US discuss bilateral issues, Indo-Pacific, global matters NEW DELHI: India and the US discussed many important bilateral issues, as well as coordination on Indo-Pacific region and current global matters, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday, after talks with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken. @A broad ranging conversation yesterday night with @SecBlinken "Covered current bilateral issues, Indo-Pacific and pressing global matters. Also exchanged New Year greetings," he said in a tweet. The US-India partnership is founded on a shared commitment to freedom, democratic principles, equal treatment of all citizens, human rights, and the rule of law, an official statement said. Both countries have shared interests in promoting global security, stability, and economic prosperity through trade, investment, and connectivity. The US supports India's emergence as a leading glob- ‘NE region to be hub of India’s growth’ al power and vital partner in efforts to ensure that the Indo-Pacific is a region of peace, stability, and growing prosperity. The strong people-to-people ties between our countries, reflected in a four million-strong Indian American diaspora, are a tremendous source of strength for the partnership, said US Department of State. In December 2019, the US hosted the second 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington led by the US Secretaries of State and Defense and their Indian counterparts, at which both sides reaffirmed India's status as a Major Defense Partner and deepened cooperation on maritime security, interoperability, and information sharing. While the 2+2 serves as the premier dialogue mechanism between the US and India, there are more than 30 bilateral dialogues and working groups, which span all aspects of human endeavour, from space and health cooperation to energy and high technology trade. NEW DELHI: Cautioning board class students of misinformation being spread online, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a public advisory on Tuesday, stating that the CBSE Term 2 Board Exam 2022 pattern has not been changed and will be the same as announced earlier by the board. "It has been noticed that a few online media platforms are circulating incorrect information and confusing audiences, using expressions such as 'Breaking News' about major exam pattern changes in Class X and XII Term 2 Board exams," the official notice read. CBSE Term 2 Board Exam 2022 pattern has not been changed and will be the same as announced earlier by the Board, it said. The notice further read, "It is clarified in the interest of students that the Board had announced changes in the exam pattern (mentioned in Circular No. 51, dated July 5, 2021). Term 1 exams have already been completed and the format of exams for Term 2 is also mentioned in the same circular." The board has advised students and other stakeholders to only believe information that is available on its official website, cbse.gov.in. CBSE Term 2 Board Exams 2022 for Classes 10 and 12 are scheduled to be held in March-April, 2022. BCCI postpones Ranji Trophy, other domestic tournaments MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the postponement of the Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments for the 2021-22 season due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. Apart from Ranji Trophy, Col CK Nayudu Trophy & Senior Women's T20 League were also postponed. The Ranji Trophy and Col CK Nayudu Trophy were scheduled to begin this month while the Senior Women's T20 League was scheduled to commence in February. The BCCI said that it took the decision keeping in mind the safety of the players, support staff, match officials, and other participants involved. "BCCI does not want to compromise the safety of the players, support staff, match officials, and other participants involved and hence, has decided to put the three tournaments on hold till further notice. The BCCI will continue to assess the situation and take a call on the start of the tournaments accordingly," the Indian cricket board said in a statement. "BCCI thanks and continues to appreciate the efforts of the healthcare workers, state associations, players, support staff, match officials, and all the service DR REDDY'S MOLFLU FOR COVID TREATMENT AT RS 35 PER CAPSULE HYDERABAD: Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Tuesday announced that Molflu, the oral anti-viral drug for treatment of Covid-19, will be priced at Rs 35 per capsule with 10 capsules contained per strip. The total course of 40 capsules over 5 days will cost Rs 1,400, the Hyderabad-based company said. A company spokesperson said that it is launching the most affordably-priced Molnupiravir capsules 200mg under its brand name Molflu across India. Molflu is expected to be available from early next week in pharmacies throughout the country with particular focus on states with high caseload of Covid-19. Earlier this year, Dr Reddy's entered into a nonexclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Merck Sharpe Dohme providers who put their best foot forward to host more than 700 matches across 11 tournaments in the current 2021-22 domestic season," it added. (MSD) to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir to India and over 100 low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In a first-of-its-kind collaboration in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, a Dr Reddy's-led consortium of pharma companies collaborated to jointly sponsor, supervise and monitor the Phase 3 clinical trial in India, and presented its findings to the Subject Expert Committee (SEC). Last week, Dr Reddy's received emergency-use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market the oral anti-viral drug Molnupiravir capsules 200mg for the treatment of adult patients with Covid-19, with SpO2 (oxygen saturation). Earlier, the BCCI had also postponed the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, which was scheduled to begin in January 2022, due to the same reason.