The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has greeted people on the auspicious occasion of Navratri. On the beginning of Navratri, Modi also prayed to Goddess Shailaputri and wished happiness, health and fortune the grace of the goddess.
“शक्ति की उपासना के महापर्व नवरात्रि की आप सभी को बहुत-बहुत शुभकामनाएं। आस्था और विश्वास का यह पावन अवसर हर किसी के जीवन में नई ऊर्जा और नए उत्साह का संचार करे। जय माता दी!”
“वन्दे वाञ्छितलाभाय चन्द्रार्धकृतशेखराम्।
वृषारूढां शूलधरां शैलपुत्रीं यशस्विनीम् ।।
देवी शैलपुत्री की आराधना के साथ आज से नवरात्रि का शुभारंभ हो रहा है। मेरी कामना है कि उनकी कृपा से हर किसी का जीवन सुख, सौभाग्य और आरोग्य से परिपूर्ण हो।”
New UMBC-led research in Frontiers in Microbiology suggests that viruses are using information from their environment to “decide” when to sit tight inside their hosts and when to multiply and burst out, killing the host cell. The work has implications for antiviral drug development.
A virus’s ability to sense its environment, including elements produced by its host, adds “another layer of complexity to the viral-host interaction,” says Ivan Erill, professor of biological sciences and senior author on the new paper. Right now, viruses are exploiting that ability to their benefit. But in the future, he says, “we could exploit it to their detriment.”
Not a coincidence
The new study focused on bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria, often referred to simply as “phages.” The phages in the study can only infect their hosts when the bacterial cells have special appendages, called pili and flagella, that help the bacteria move and mate. The bacteria produce a protein called CtrA that controls when they generate these appendages. The new paper shows that many appendage-dependent phages have patterns in their DNA where the CtrA protein can attach, called binding sites. A phage having a binding site for a protein produced by its host is unusual, Erill says.
Even more surprising, Erill and the paper’s first author Elia Mascolo, a Ph.D. student in Erill’s lab, found through detailed genomic analysis that these binding sites were not unique to a single phage, or even a single group of phages. Many different types of phages had CtrA binding sites—but they all required their hosts to have pili and/or flagella to infect them. It couldn’t be a coincidence, they decided.
The ability to monitor CtrA levels “has been invented multiple times throughout evolution by different phages that infect different bacteria,” Erill says. When distantly related species demonstrate a similar trait, it’s called convergent evolution—and it indicates that the trait is definitely useful.
A delta bacteriophage, the first identified in a new study in Frontiers in Microbiology to have binding sites for CtrA, a protein produced by the bacteriophage’s host that regulates the production of pili and flagella. The presence of these binding sites only in phages that require their host cells to have pili/flagella in order to infect them suggests that the phage is monitoring the presence of this protein in order to “decide” whether to stay put or replicate and emerge from its host cell./CREDIT:Tagide deCarvalho/UMBC
Timing is everything
Another wrinkle in the story: The first phage in which the research team identified CtrA binding sites infects a particular group of bacteria called Caulobacterales. Caulobacterales are an especially well-studied group of bacteria, because they exist in two forms: a “swarmer” form that swims around freely, and a “stalked” form that attaches to a surface. The swarmers have pili/flagella, and the stalks do not. In these bacteria, CtrA also regulates the cell cycle, determining whether a cell will divide evenly into two more of the same cell type, or divide asymmetrically to produce one swarmer and one stalk cell.
Because the phages can only infect swarmer cells, it’s in their best interest only to burst out of their host when there are many swarmer cells available to infect. Generally, Caulobacterales live in nutrient-poor environments, and they are very spread out. “But when they find a good pocket of microhabitat, they become stalked cells and proliferate,” Erill says, eventually producing large quantities of swarmer cells.
So, “We hypothesize the phages are monitoring CtrA levels, which go up and down during the life cycle of the cells, to figure out when the swarmer cell is becoming a stalk cell and becoming a factory of swarmers,” Erill says, “and at that point, they burst the cell, because there are going to be many swarmers nearby to infect.”
Listening in
“Everything that we know about phages, every single evolutionary strategy they have developed, has been shown to translate to viruses that infect plants and animals,” he says. “It’s almost a given. So if phages are listening in on their hosts, the viruses that affect humans are bound to be doing the same.”
There are a few other documented examples of phages monitoring their environment in interesting ways, but none include so many different phages employing the same strategy against so many bacterial hosts.
This new research is the “first broad scope demonstration that phages are listening in on what’s going on in the cell, in this case, in terms of cell development,” Erill says. But more examples are on the way, he predicts. Already, members of his lab have started looking for receptors for other bacterial regulatory molecules in phages, he says—and they’re finding them.
New therapeutic avenues
The key takeaway from this research is that “the virus is using cellular intel to make decisions,” Erill says, “and if it’s happening in bacteria, it’s almost certainly happening in plants and animals, because if it’s an evolutionary strategy that makes sense, evolution will discover it and exploit it.”
For example, to optimize its strategy for survival and replication, an animal virus might want to know what kind of tissue it is in, or how robust the host’s immune response is to its infection. While it might be unsettling to think about all the information viruses could gather and possibly use to make us sicker, these discoveries also open up avenues for new therapies.
“If you are developing an antiviral drug, and you know the virus is listening in on a particular signal, then maybe you can fool the virus,” Erill says. That’s several steps away, however. For now, “We are just starting to realize how actively viruses have eyes on us—how they are monitoring what’s going on around them and making decisions based on that,” Erill says. “It’s fascinating.”
E-commerce major Flipkart witnessed record number of shoppers at 1.6 million users per second the moment it opened the ninth edition of its ‘Big Billion Days 2022’ festive sales on Friday.
Attributing the huge rush to its opening to shoppers from tier 2 and smaller cities, the number of Flipkart Plus customers using Early Access saw huge rise from its last year’s record, said the comnpany.
Electronic devices such as laptops, smartwatches and true wireless wearables saw the highest demand, while makeup and fragrance category floowed next. The groceries too saw a significant rise in customers, said the company in a statement.
“This year’s event is special for many reasons, like the growing strength of our seller and partner ecosystem and the innovations that have enabled access to greater inclusivity and affordability for consumers,” said Manjari Singhal, Flipkart’s Senior Director of sales.
Shopsy, the e-commerce platform by Flipkart for Bharat, drew a majority of customers from tier 2 cities and beyond and the number of kiranas partnering with Flipkart for the festive sales deliveries grew from 27,000 in 2019 to 2 lakh in 2022.
The company is expecting a sales pitch in the first festive week to touch $5.9 billion this year and predictions are at $11.8 billion worth gross merchandise value (GMV) during the entire festive month.
Continuing the streak of significant seizures, in a major swoop down, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 394 pieces of foreign origin gold bars weighing approximately 65.46 kg and valued at Rs. 33.40 crore (approx.) which was being smuggled from neighbouring north eastern countries.
Specific intelligence indicated that a syndicate is actively planning to smuggle foreign origin gold from Mizoram and using domestic courier consignment of supply chain & logistic company (hereinafter referred as logistics company).
In order to interdict the contraband, “Op Gold Rush” was launched by DRI and a particular consignment declared to contain ‘Personal Goods’ destined to Mumbai was intercepted. Examination of the consignment at Bhiwandi (Maharashtra) on 19.09.2022 led to recovery and seizure of 120 pieces of foreign origin gold biscuits weighing approximately 19.93 Kg and valued at about Rs. 10.18 crore.
Further analysis and investigation revealed that 2 other such consignment, sent by same consignor from same location to same consignee, destined to Mumbai and in transit, were despatched through the same logistics company. The location of the consignments was traced.
DRI foils attempts of gold smuggling.
The second consignment was located and intercepted in Bihar. Upon examination at the Warehouse of the logistics company, it led to recovery of 172 foreign origin gold bars weighing approximately 28.57 kgs and valued at about Rs.14.50 crore. Similarly, the third consignment was intercepted and examined at the Delhi hub of the logistics company which led to recovery and seizure of 102 pieces of foreign origin gold bars weighing approximately 16.96 kg and valued at about Rs. 8.69 crore.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence foils attempts of gold smuggling.
These series of detections have helped unearth novel modus operandi of smuggling foreign origin gold into India from the north eastern part of the country and through domestic courier route of logistics company. Such detections reinforce DRI’s ability to detect and combat unique and sophisticated methods of smuggling. A total of 394 foreign origin gold bars weighing approximately 65.46 Kg and valued at approximately Rs 33.40 crore were recovered and seized in multi city operations.
Russian TV anchors, known for crossing the lines of journaistic ethics, have been vociferously seeking blood in the countries which are opposed to the Ukraine war since the beginning of this year.
In a remark on the program 60 Minutes, Olga Skabeyeva of the Russia-1 channel said that there is a clamour for raids on Western countries for their support to Ukraine in the war.
As the defeat in several border towns s looming large, the Russian TVs are now joined by legislators drawing their attention to global events including the Queen’s funeral where 2,000 world leaders congregated on Monday.
In a bizarre remark on Monday, a legislator too joined the bllitzkriez suggesting that Moscow should have taken advantage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral to launch a nuclear missile strike on London, which did not invite the Russian Preesident Vladimir Putin for the event.
Queen Elizabeth II funeral
In a remark on during a discussion on Monday, Andrey Gurulyov, a Russian member of parliament and a former army commander, refuted US President Joe Biden’s appeal to Vladimir Putin not to use weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms.
Target UK, not Ukraine
“What made him think we would conduct a nuclear strike against Ukraine? We’ll still have to live over there, in Ukraine. We have plenty of targets…Why would we bomb Ukraine and Germany when there is Britain, the root of evil?” he said.
Then Skabeyeva interrupted with a remark: “We should have done it today. All the best people are there for the funeral.”
Taking it further, Gurulyov hovered around the aftermath the UK would face in the event of a nuclear strike. “Will they defend a Martian desert as per their 5th Article?” he told Skabeyeva, referring to NATO’s collective defense pledge, “there will be nothing left. What do they call it, an unshakeable island? We’ll shake it up.”
Targeting UK
Co-anchor of 60 Minutes, Evgeny Popov, then joined the debate saying, “Let me remind you that Great Britain…also has nuclear weapons,” to which Gurulyov said the UK’s warheads could be “instantly decimated”. The legislator, already on sanctions list of the US, suggested last month that Putin should launch missile strikes on the UK which “would be the end of the British Crown.”
Meanwhile on Russian state TV: State Duma deputy Andrey Gurulyov threatened Britain with nuclear strikes.
Host Olga Skabeeva said that Russia should have conducted a nuclear strike on Monday, since many important people were in attendance for the Queen’s funeral. pic.twitter.com/qRBbiPo52L
The Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday was attended by leaders and state heads from around the world, including US President Joe Biden, Japanese Emperor Naruhito, French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian President Droupadi Murmu among others to pay their respects to the queen, after a week of national mourning in the UK which has seen an outpouring of grief and reverence over the death of the British monarch.
The ire against the British is apparently evident after TV news revealed several English-speaking foreigners are taking part in the Ukraine war, which helped Kyiv restore several bordering towns defeating the Russian forces.
A new bank scam has come into light before a Delhi court which on Tuesday ordered a court-monitored investigation. The scam involving among other public sector banks, the State Bank of India, runs into Rs 800 crore, allegedly involving an infrastructure company director.
The FIR in this regard was registered by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan of Saket District Court, heard an application filed by complainant Vaibhav Jalan against Gaurav Jalan, Director of JKM Infra Projects Ltd and ordered the probe.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the accused allegedly created fictitious invoices and transferred the money from the company accounts to shell companies’ accounts, but no effective investigation has been carried out by the Investigating Officer and the complainant was not called for purpose of the probe in the last ten months.
Taking note of the submissions, the court directed the EOW to file a status report seeking the investigation carried out by it in the last 10 months and what investigation has been conducted on the discrepancies highlighted by a forensic audit of the company.
It also noted the apprehension that the accused may flee the country to evade the process of law. The matter will be further heard on November 11. (IANS)
After the simultaneous search and seizure operations conducted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 8th Sept. 2022, on the offices of Jillian Consultants India Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jilian Hong Kong Ltd., at Gurgaon, Fininty Pvt Ltd at Bangalore and Husys Consulting Ltd, an erstwhile listed company at Hyderabad, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has arrested Mr Dortse yesterday.
Mr Dortse is on the Board of Jillian India Ltd and has clearly emerged as the mastermind of the whole racket of incorporating large number of shell companies with Chinese links in India and providing dummy Directors on their Boards. The arrested person Mr. Dortse had shown himself to be a resident of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh as per the records filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Evidence procured during the enquiry by ROC Delhi and the simultaneous search operations clearly points to dummy Directors being paid by Jilian India Ltd. to act as dummies in several shell companies. Boxes filled with company seals and digital signatures of dummy directors have been recovered from the site. The Indian employees were in touch with the Chinese counterparts through a Chinese instant messaging app. Husys Ltd. was also found to be acting on behalf of Jilian India Ltd.. Initial observations reveal that Husys Ltd. had a pact with Jilian Hong Kong Ltd. Investigations so far have revealed the possible involvement of these shell companies in serious financial crimes detrimental to the financial security of the country.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, under whose aegis SFIO operates, had assigned the investigation of Jilian Consultants India Private Limited and 32 other companies to SFIO on 9th Sept., 2022. Mr. Dortse and one Chinese national are the two directors in Jilian Consultants India Private Limited. Based on inputs and the investigations carried out, it was gathered that Mr. Dortse had fled from Delhi NCR to a remote place in the state of Bihar and was attempting to escape India through the road route. Immediately, a special team was constituted in SFIO which was deputed to the said remote place. In the evening of 10th Sept., 2022, SFIO had arrested Mr. Dortse, who was later produced in the Jurisdictional Court and Orders for his transit remand were obtained.
‘Brahmastra’ seems to have finally broken the so-called boycott trollers and made a headway to cross the Rs.100 crore target by Monday, going by the expectations running high.
Released on Friday, the opening day collections were reported to be in the range of Rs 36.50 crore to Rs 38.50 crore, a figure far better than pre-pandemic blockbusters ‘Sanju’, ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ and ‘Dhoom 3’.
Despite the boycott call and negative reviews and tweets by business analyst Taran Adarsh, who wrote,”Brahmāstra is a king-sized disappointment… High on VFX, low on content [second half nosedives]… Brahmāstra could’ve been a game changer, but, alas, it’s a missed opportunity… All gloss, no soul,” the film is doing well in its initial days.
Brahmastra posters
According to ‘Bollywood Hungama’, early estimates indicated that the Ayan Mukherji movie has collected the above figures. Whether the move, made at a whopping cost of Rs.415 cr will make at least Rs. 500 crore, however, remains to be seen.
According to ‘Bollywood Hungama’, its first-day earnings have surpassed those of the biggest post-pandemic grosser, the Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif-led ‘Sooryavanshi’.With no major release to counter the movie until the upcoming actioner ‘Vikram Vedha’ starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan on September 30, ‘Brahmastra’ is expected to carry on its run to a decent returns with high ticket rates ranging from Rs. 1,000 in Mumbai to Rs. 2,000 in Delhi at top malls.
“The film has fared exceptionally well in the multiplexes and the mass belts too stood their ground with spot bookings,” ‘Bollywood Hungama’ wrote.
Besides Hindi, the film’s other language versions are reportedly bringing in viewers going by the opening day’s collection of Rs. 5 crore each and the occupancy rate ranging anywhere between 40 and 50% in major South Indian cities.
Ms Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called on the President of India, Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (September 9, 2022).
Welcoming Ms Georgieva to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President said that the world is passing through the third year of the Covid pandemic. She noted that significant assistance has been provided to many low-income countries by multilateral institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. She said that IMF has to play an important role in maintaining the stability of the International Monetary System.
The President said that today, India is one of the fastest growing major economies of the world. India’s start-up ecosystem ranks high in the world. The success of start-ups in our country, especially the growing number of Unicorns, is a shining example of our industrial progress. What is even more gratifying is that the development of our country is becoming more inclusive and regional disparities are also reducing. The basic mantra of today’s India is compassion – compassion for the downtrodden, compassion – for the needy and compassion – for the marginalized.
President Droupadi Murmu (PIB)
Speaking about the upcoming G-20 Summit in India in 2023, the President said that multilateral cooperation in the G-20 should be based on the principles of inclusion and flexibility, keeping in mind diversity. She expressed confidence that during India’s presidency, the G-20 Forum will move forward with an aspiration to make efforts to further strengthen multilateralism and global governance, in the direction of building a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous world for all.
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Sept. 8, 2022 at age 96. Her reign spanned all of spaceflight, predating both Sputnik and Explorer 1.
As NASA joins the planet in marking her passing, we are moved by the curiosity The Queen showed our explorers over the years.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away, Charles III becomes UK’s new King
In this photo, Queen Elizabeth II greets employees on her walk from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center mission control to a reception in the center’s main auditorium, Tuesday, May 8, 2007, in Greenbelt, Md. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as one of the last stops on their six-day United States visit.
A hallmark of a truly luxurious meal is a sprinkling of truffle shavings — the fungal kind, not the chocolate. Nicknamed “diamonds” of the culinary world, these fanciful fungi are prized for their unique flavor and scent. But newer truffle species are fighting to achieve that same gourmet status. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Omega have performed the first full aroma characterization of the Appalachian truffle, unlocking the potential for a new North American “black diamond.”
The gourmet delicacies known as truffles are subterranean fungi of the Tuber species that require several years and very particular conditions to grow. Figuring out how to cultivate the fungi efficiently has been very difficult, so most people forage for them in the wild using trained animals, such as pigs or dogs, that can uncover these hidden gems. Because truffles are so rare and challenging to obtain, they are very expensive.
These Appalachian truffles might one day be just as prized as those from Europe/ Photo:David Fortier
For example, a large 3.3-pound behemoth from Italy cost $330,000 at auction several years ago. Commercial truffles most often originate from Europe, Australia and the western U.S., but different species exist all over the world. Unlike the fancy white or black truffles grown in Italy or France, however, many unearthed in North America have not been well studied. So, Normand Voyer and colleagues wanted to thoroughly analyze the aromatic profile of one of these North American varieties, known as Tuber canaliculatum, or Appalachian truffle.
To accomplish this, the researchers investigated three T. canaliculatum samples using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). With these techniques, the team identified the species’ “volatilome,” or the chemical fingerprint responsible for its aroma.
A total of 30 different compounds, including six that had never been reported in other truffle species, were identified. Some, such as 2,4-dithiapentane, are found in many truffle species and give truffle oil its unique smell. The most prevalent compounds were described as having strong odors of garlic, fungus and even a cabbage-like, rotten smell that was found in higher concentrations in older samples. The researchers say that this work could spur future studies of T. canaliculatum, which might one day place it at the same high status as its European cousins.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a meeting yesterday to discuss the various issues related to “Illegal Loan Apps” outside the regular banking channels.
The meeting was attended by the Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Secretary, Economic Affairs; Secretary, Revenue, & Corporate Affairs (Addl. Charge); Secretary, Financial Services; Secretary, Electronics & Information technology; Deputy Governor, RBI; and Executive Director, RBI.
The Finance Minister expressed concern on increasing instances of Illegal Loan Apps offering loans/micro credits, especially to vulnerable & low-income group people at exorbitantly high interest rates and processing/hidden charges, and predatory recovery practices involving blackmailing, criminal intimidation etc. Smt. Sitharaman also noted the possibility of money laundering, tax evasions, breach/privacy of data, and misuse of unregulated payment aggregators, shell companies, defunct NBFCs etc. for perpetrating such actions.
After detailed deliberations on legal, procedural & technical aspects of the issue, it was decided in the meeting that:
RBI will prepare a “Whitelist” of all the legal Apps and MeitY will ensure that only these “Whitelist” Apps are hosted on App Stores.
RBI will monitor the ‘mule/rented’ accounts that may be used for money laundering and to review/cancel dormant NBFCs to avoid their misuse.
RBI will ensure that registration of payment aggregators be completed within a timeframe and no un-registered payment aggregator be allowed to function after that.
MCA will identify shell companies and de-register them to prevent their misuse.
Steps should be taken to increase cyber awareness for customers, bank employees, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
All Ministries/Agencies to take all possible actions to prevent operations of such Illegal Loan Apps.
The Ministry of Finance will monitor the actionable points for compliance on a regular basis.
A grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, will be unveiled on 8th of September 2022 near India Gate in New Delhi in a jet black granite stone measuring 28 ft. under the Canopy near India Gate, which had King George’s statue originally.
Ever since the plan to install King George V statue by the British was scrapped owing to controversy, the canopy remained vacant. There was a move to install Mahatma Gandhi statue during the late 1980s but opposition from some circles that the Republic Day parade carrying arms and ammunition go against the Mahatma’s message of peace reigned on the government to reject the plan.
India Gate canopy in the 1940s had King George V statue but was removed later.
Finally, the canopy will have the grand statue of Netaji being unveiled on Sept 8, 2022, heralding a befitting tribute to the Indian National Army hero, who fought for Indian freedom based in Japan and Singapore. The statue has been carved from a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 MT after spending 26,000 man hours of intense artistic endeavor and the final statue weighing 65 MT will greet the visitors to India gate in New Delhi now.
The statue is completely hand sculpted using traditional techniques and modern tools under a team of sculptors led by Arun Yogiraj.
The statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be unveiled by the Prime Minister in the same place where a hologram statue of Netaji was unveiled earlier this year on Parakram Diwas (January 23) by him to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose inspecting Indian National Army
The 28 feet tall towering statue of Netaji is one of the tallest, realistic, monolithic, handmade sculptures in India. A 100 feet long truck with 140 wheels was specially designed for this monolithic granite stone to travel the 1665-km distance from Khammam in Telangana to New Delhi.
Details of Netaji statue unveiling ceremony:
The unveiling event at the canopy will begin with traditional Manipuri Shankh Vadayam and Kerala’s traditional Panch Vadayam and Chanda. The unveiling of the statue of Netaji would be accompanied to the tune of Kadam Kadam Badhaye jaa, the traditional INA song.
To demonstrate the spirit of Ek Bharat – Shrestra Bharat & Unity in Diversity a cultural festival by 500 dancers drawn from all parts of the country, would be showcased on the Kartvya Path.
The glimpse of the same would be shown to the Prime Minster on the step Amphitheatre near India Gate by around 30 artists who will perform tribal folk art forms such as Sambalpuri, Panthi, Kalbelia, Kargam and dummy horse with live music by Nashik Dhol Pathik Tasha and Drums.
Mangalgaan penned by Pandit Shrikrishna Ratanjankarji on the auspicious occasion of 1st Independence Day of India in 1947 is being presented by Pandit Suhas Vashi along with a team of singers and musicians. Ashish Keskar will be the music director for the presentation.
The festival at renamed Kartvya Path (old Raj Path) would commence at 08.45 PM on 8th September, 2022 after the main function and will continue on 9th, 10, & 11th September, 2022 from 7.00 PM to 9.00 PM.
A special 10 minute Drone Show on Netaji’s life would be projected at India Gate at 08.00 PM on 9th, 10th & 11th September, 2022. Both the cultural festival and the drone show would be open to public with free entry.
In a move towards harnessing export potential of naturally grown, organic certified fresh pineapples of North-Eastern Region (NER), centre, through Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized an in-store export promotion programme in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Manipur’s pineapples among consumers.
The ‘in-store promotion show’ of organic certified fibre rich Kwe variety of pineapples from Manipur, was organized at the Lulu hyper market, Dubai’s largest supermarket in association with Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) of Government of Manipur. This event is part of government’s strategy to promote locally produced agricultural products in the international markets.
Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) has supported the sourcing of organic certified Kwe variety of pineapples directly from the farmers of Manipur.
pine apple/Photo:en.wikipedia.org
The Manipur pineapple, which is showcased with the support from APEDA, is fibre-rich sweetener from North Eastern Region (NER). The showcased pineapples are procured from Thayong Organic Producer Company Ltd in Imphal East district, Manipur.
At the in-store export promotion show, consumers were offered Manipur pineapple to taste the sweetness of the fruit. Northeast pineapple is one of the most important tropical fruits grown in the NER and the fibre-rich fruit is cultivated in almost all the region.
With a production of 134.82 metric tonne (MT) in 2020-21, Manipur ranks sixth in pineapple production having a share of 7.46 per cent in total production in India.
The top ten importing countries of Indian pineapples are UAE, Nepal, Qatar, Maldives, USA, Bhutan, Belgium, Iran, Bahrain and Oman. A quantity of 7665.42 MT of pineapples valued at USD 4.45 million was exported in the year 2021-22.
Manipur/Photo:en.wikipedia.org
With the intervention of APEDA, there has been a significant increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya in the last few years.
Besides pineapple, the APEDA has also decided to take forward the promotion of other locally grown unique horticultural products from Manipur to the international market. The other unique products from Manipur are tamenglong orange, kachai lemon, black rice, etc.
Tripura was the first North Eastern state to export its ‘queen’ variety of pineapple to Dubai and Doha in 2018. Tripura’s pineapple was also exported to Bangladesh in 2020. Assam also made a debut in pineapple export to Dubai in 2019.
The NE region witnessed an 85.34 percent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22. The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe.
In the last three years, APEDA organised 136 capacity building programmes on export awareness across the different parts of NER. Highest, 62 capacity building programmes were held in NER in 2019-20, while 21 in 2020-21 and 53 such programmes were organised by APEDA in the year 2021-22. Apart from capacity building initiatives, APEDA facilitated 22 International Buyer-Seller Meets as well as trade fairs in NER in the last three years.
APEDA also organized a conference on the Export Potential of Natural, Organic and Geographical Indications (GI) Agro Products in Guwahati on June 24, 2022 to tap the abundant export potential of organic agricultural products from Assam and neighbouring states of NER.
APEDA aims at creating a platform in Manipur for the exporters to get the products directly from the producer group and the processors. The platform will link the producers and processors of Assam and exporters from other parts of the country that would expand the base of the export pockets in the North-Eastern states, including Manipur and increase the employment opportunities among the people of the state.
On the occasion, APEDA chairman Dr. M. Angamuthu stressed on promoting processed form of value-added pineapple to sustain in the global export market for a longer time period.
“We need to focus on promoting pineapple sourced from farmers in processed form in the Gulf countries through Lulu Group. It will help farmers in better price realization of their produce,” Dr Angamuthu said. Shri P Vaiphel, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur also attended the meet.
Legal fraternity sources have revealed that top stockbroker and Big Bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has left a will which will provide direction and intent on his heirs and the handling of his colossal fortune, believed to be worth approximately Rs 50,000 crore.
He had arranged in his will to ensure his estate, including shares and property, is bequeathed to his wife and three children. In fact, he would often speak about his fourth child – charity – and a little part of his fortune will go to his favourite charities though the exact amount is not known.
His assets – direct holdings in listed and unlisted companies as well as immovable properties pass on to his wife and three children, said a person from the legal fraternity on condition of anonymity.
The Big Bull is known to own 35 company holdings with huge investments in: construction and contracting (11 per cent), miscellaneous (nine per cent), banks (private sector) (6 per cent), finance (general) (6 per cent), construction and contracting (civil) (6 per cent), pharmaceuticals (6 per cent), and banks (public sector) (3 per cent).
Jhunjhunwala has three children – daughter Nishtha (18) and twin sons, Aryamaan and Aryavir (13). He would call charity his fourth child.
While his listed holdings are reportedly worth Rs 50,000 crore, his immovable properties include a sea-facing building in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, purchased from Standard Chartered Bank for Rs 176 crore in 2013, and a holiday home in Lonavala.
Moreover, his long time legal associate Berjis Desai is reportedly the main executor of the will. The will be read out in the presence of his family after all the Hindu rituals are completed.
Desai, who is ex-managing partner of J Sagar Associates, has known the value investor for close to 25 years. He is now an independent legal counsel engaged in private client practice and also a co-investor in Jhunjhunwala’s new aviation venture Akasa Air.
Rising temperatures are harmful to wheat yields. However, crop yields do not provide a holistic vision of food security. The impacts of climate change on wheat price, livelihood and agricultural market fundamentals are also important to food security but have been largely overlooked.
An international research team has now estimated the comprehensive impact of climate change and extreme climate events on global wheat supply and the demand chain in a 2 ℃ warmer world by using a novel climate-wheat-economic ensemble modelling approach.
The effect of CO2 fertilization could cancel out temperature stress on crops, with a slightly greater wheat yield under 2 ℃ warming as a result. However, increases in global yield do not necessarily result in lower consumer prices. Indeed, the modelling results suggest that global wheat price spikes would become higher and more frequent, thus placing additional economic pressure on daily livelihood.
The findings, by scientists from six countries, were published in One Earthon August 19.
“This counterintuitive result is initially driven by uneven impacts geographically. Wheat yields are projected to increase in high-latitude wheat exporting countries but show decreases in low-latitude wheat importing countries,” said lead author ZHANG Tianyi, an agrometeorologist at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Co-author Karin van der Wiel, a climate scientist at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, further explained: “This leads to higher demand for international trade and higher consumer prices in the importing countries, which would deepen the traditional trade patterns between wheat importing and exporting countries.”
Earlier researchers pointed out that trade liberalization would help mitigate climate stress via improving market mobility. The current research team revealed that such policies could indeed reduce consumers’ economic burden from wheat products. However, the impact on farmers’ income would be mixed. For example, trade liberalization policy under 2 ℃ warming could stabilize or even improve farmers’ income in wheat exporting countries but would reduce income for farmers in wheat importing countries.
“These results would potentially cause a larger income gap, creating a new economic inequality between wheat importing and exporting countries,” said WEI Taoyuan, co-author and an economic scientist at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research. ZHANG further explained more dependence on imports could lower the wheat self-sufficiency ratio, thus causing a “vicious negative cycle” for wheat importing and less-developed countries in the long term.
“This study highlights that effective measures in trade liberalization policies are necessary to protect grain food industries in importing countries, support resilience, and enhance global food security under climate change,” said Frank Selten, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and co-author of the study.
COVID mRNA vaccines are associated with a decreased risk of death in patients with heart failure,according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022.1 The study also found that the vaccines were not associated with an increased risk of worsening heart failure, venous thromboembolism or myocarditis in heart failure patients.
“Our results indicate that heart failure patients should be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters,” said study author Dr. Caroline Sindet-Pedersen of Herlev and Gentofe Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark. “COVID-19 vaccines will continue to be important for preventing morbidity and mortality in vulnerable patient populations. Thus, studies emphasising the safety of these vaccines are essential to reassure those who might be hesitant and ensure continued uptake of vaccinations.”
Patients with heart failure are at increased risk of hospitalisation, need for mechanical ventilation, and death due to COVID-19.2 Vaccination reduces the risk of serious illness from COVID-19. However, “Due to perceptions about possible cardiovascular side effects from mRNA vaccines in heart failure patients, this study examined the risk of cardiovascular complications and death associated with mRNA vaccines in a nationwide cohort of patients with heart failure,” said Dr. Sindet-Pedersen.
The study included 50,893 unvaccinated patients with heart failure in 2019 and 50,893 patients with heart failure in 2021 who were vaccinated with either of the two mRNA vaccines (BNT162B2 or mRNA-1273).3 The two groups were matched for age, sex, and duration of heart failure. The median age of participants was 74 years and 35% were women. The median duration of heart failure was 4.1 years. Participants were followed for 90 days for all-cause mortality, worsening heart failure, venous thromboembolism, and myocarditis, starting from the date of the second vaccination for the 2021 group and the same date in 2019 for the unvaccinated group.
The researchers compared the risk of adverse outcomes in the two groups, after standardising for age, sex, heart failure duration, use of heart failure medications, ischaemic heart disease, cancer, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and admission with heart failure less than 90 days before the first date of follow up. Dr. Sindet-Pedersen explained: “Standardisation imitates a randomised trial and is a way to obtain a better causal interpretation of the results from observational studies.”
Among 101,786 heart failure patients, the researchers found that receiving an mRNA vaccine was not associated with an increased risk of worsening heart failure, myocarditis or venous thromboembolism but was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality. The standardised risk of all-cause mortality within 90 days was 2.2% in the 2021 cohort (vaccinated) and 2.6% in the 2019 cohort (not vaccinated), showing a significantly lower risk for all-cause mortality in 2021 versus 2019. The standardised risk of worsening heart failure within 90 days was 1.1% in both cohorts. Similarly, no significant differences were found between groups for venous thromboembolism or myocarditis.
Dr. Sindet-Pedersen concluded: “The study suggests that there should be no concern about cardiovascular side effects from mRNA vaccines in heart failure patients. In addition, the results point to a beneficial effect of vaccination on mortality.”
Streaming viewership in the United States has exceeded cable usage for the first time in the US as traditional television failed to cope up with the new content demand and reduced sports programming, said the industry monitoring agency Nielson.
According to Nielsen, streaming represented a 34.8 per cent share of total TV viewing in the US in July — an increase of 22.6 per cent compared to July 2021. Cable consumption was a little behind at 34.4 per cent, an 8.9 per cent drop from the year prior and a 2 per cent decline compared to June.
“Streaming claimed the largest share of TV viewing in July — a first after four consecutive months of hitting new viewership highs. Streaming viewership in a given month has exceeded broadcast viewing before, but this is the first time it has also surpassed cable viewing,” said Nielsen in a statement.
Overall, streaming usage grew 3.2 per cent from June. In July, Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix and YouTube reached new heights again.
Individually, Netflix gained 8 per cent per cent share, boosted by the nearly 18 billion minutes of ‘Stranger Things’ that viewers watched, complemented by the nearly 11 billion minutes of combined viewing of ‘Virgin River’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy’. Movies such as ‘The Gray Man’ and ‘The Sea Beast’ contributed over 5 billion minutes.
Amazon’s Prime Video reported 3 per cent share with new series ‘The Terminal List’ and new episodes of ‘The Boys’, which netted over 8 billion viewing minutes.
“In addition to claiming the largest viewership share during the month, audiences watched an average of 190.9 billion minutes of streamed content per week — easily surpassing the 169.9 billion minutes that audiences watched during the pandemic lockdown period back in April 2020,” the report said.
India on Friday reported marginal rise at 15,754 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, against 12,608 infections on Thursday, with 47 more Covid deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,27,253 so far.
The active caseload of the country stands at 1,01,830 cases, accounting for 0.23 per cent of the country’s total positive cases. The recovery of 15,220 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,36,85,535. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.58 per cent, said the Union Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, India’s daily positivity rate has marginally declined to 3.47 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate in the country currently also stands at 3.90 per cent. In the same period, a total of 4,54,491 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 88.18 crore.
As of Friday morning, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 209.27 crore, achieved via 2,78,10,025 sessions. More than 3.99 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket.
Renowned Indian singer and legendary S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, 74, who worked predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam passed away in Chennai on Friday at 13:04 Hrs, after battling coronavirus for over a month.
Balasubramanyam tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai early in August and his condition deteriorated by August 13. He was shifted to the ICU in a critical state and was kept on ventilator support till now. He was declared to be in “extremely critical” stage by Chennai-based MGM Hospital on Thursday, Septemeber 24, 2020 and he was declared dead today.
Legend in Telugu
Balu, as he is known in the film fraternity, has recorded over 40,000 songs in 16 Indian languages and holds the Guinness World Record for recording the highest number of songs by a singer.
He received six National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer for his works in four different languages; Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi; 25 Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards for his works towards Telugu cinema, numerous other state awards from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
In 2016, He was honored with the Indian Film Personality of the Year consisting of a Silver Peacock Medal and he received civilian awards such as Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2011) from the Government of India.
Early Life
Born on June 4, 1946 in Nellore, Balasubrahmanyam developed an interest towards music at an early age, studied notations and learned music. He enrolled at JNTU College of Engineering Anantapur for engineering but discontinued his studies due to typhoid and joined as an Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers, Chennai.
He started his singing career in 1966 with the Telugu film Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna and he held the the rare distinction of rendering the most songs on a single day by any singer — recording 21 songs in Kannada for the composer Upendra Kumar in Bangalore from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on 8 February 1981 and 19 songs in Tamil, 16 songs in Hindi in a day which is a notable achievement and a record.
