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Bolivia to procure five million vaccine doses from Serum Institute of India

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The Commune
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The Bolivian government on January 13 said that it had signed a contract with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the supply of 5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Last week, Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for a shipment of 2 million vaccine doses to be expedited.

Bolivia’s President Luis Arce said that with this deal signed with SII and another recent deal to buy 5.2 million Sputnik V vaccine doses from Russia, Bolivia now expects to be able to inoculate all of its vaccinable population. Both the AstraZeneca and the Sputnik V vaccines require two doses to be given, meaning they would be used to inoculate a total of 5.1 million people from Bolivia’s 11.51 million-strong population.

President Arce further said that the first million AstraZeneca doses would arrive in Bolivia in April. The first 6,000 Sputnik doses are expected to arrive at the end of January.

The landlocked South American country has also signed an agreement through the WHO-backed global COVAX initiative, as it seeks to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines, to receive a further 3.6 million doses of a range of vaccines.

Bolivia has endured periods of political and social disruption as the contested elections in 2019 saw longtime president Evo Morales leave office. The country has struggled to secure bilateral vaccine supply deals.

This week, Bolivia also took delivery of 650,000 of a promised 1.6 million shipment of COVID-19 tests from South Korea. The nasal antigen tests will allow Bolivia to roll out widespread testing for the disease for the first time since the pandemic broke out, potentially resulting in a spike in reported infection numbers.

Vaccination campaign of this scale is unprecedented in the history of mankind: PM

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The Commune
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modi CERAWeek award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (January 16) launched the pan India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive via video conferencing.

This is the world’s largest vaccination program covering the entire length and breadth of the country.

The Prime Minister put the unprecedented scale of the vaccination drive in perspective by informing that, in the first round itself, 3 crore people, which is more than population of at least 100 countries of the world, are being vaccinated.

He said that this needs to be taken up to 30 crores in the second round when elderly and people with serious co-morbidities will be vaccinated. He said that there are only three countries- India, USA and China, who have the population of more than 30 crore.

This scale of vaccination campaign has never been attempted in history and this shows India’s capability, PM Modi Said.

The Prime Minister asked people stay away from rumours and propaganda as these made-in-India vaccines have been approved for emergency use only after the scientists and experts were fully convinced about their safety and efficacy.  Indian vaccine scientists, medical system, Indian process and institutional mechanism in this regard is trusted globally and this trust is earned with a consistent track record. The Prime Minister pointed out that 60% of children world over receive life-saving vaccines which are made-in-India and pass through stringent Indian scientific tests.

The Prime Minister said this trust on Indian vaccine expertise and Indian vaccine scientists is going to be further strengthened by made-in-India Corona vaccine. Indian vaccines are not only much cheaper than the foreign vaccines but they are much easier to administer too. Some of the foreign vaccines, the Prime Minister pointed out, are priced upto five thousand rupees per dose and have to be stored in minus 70 degree temperature. Whereas, Indian vaccines are based on technology which has been tried and tested for many years in India.

With regard to storage to transportation these vaccines are suitable for India conditions and the will help us in securing a decisive victory in our fight against Corona, said the Prime Minister.

PM Modi termed the Indian response to corona as one of self-confidence and self-reliance. He noted a determination of not to let the confidence weaken in every Indian. He recalled the journey from one Corona lab to the strong network of 2300 labs; from dependence to self-sufficiency to exporting  capacity in masks, PPE and ventilators. He called upon people to show the same sense of self-confidence and self-reliance during the phase of vaccination drive.

(Published from PIB)

Poverty stricken class 12 girl from TN helps build toilets for 126 households in her village

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The Commune
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Jayalakshmi, a class 12 student studying at the Adhanakottai government high school has been instrumental in building toilets for 126 households in her village.

Adhanakottai is a sultry village located in the Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu. Born into a family struck by extreme poverty, Jayalakshmi has braved the odds in her life and remains an inspiration for the children of her village.

Living in a dilapidated house with her mentally ill mother and a younger brother, Jayalakshmi is the sole bread winner of the family. She earns by taking tuitions for the kids in the neighbourhood and selling cashews. Her father who deserted when Jayalakshmi was young, sends some money once in a while.

Her moment came when last year, she got selected to visit National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after she cleared a competition held by by Go4Guru. She came to know of the competition when she stumbled upon a newspaper while playing carrom board with her friends. The newspaper had the story of Dhaanya Thasnem, who won a chance to go to NASA in 2018. Fascinated by it, she registered for the exam and managed to clear it. When she made news for her feat, ISRO chairman K. Sivan too arranged for her to visit ISRO.

But, arranging funds for her trip to NASA with her meagre earnings was a problem. That is when the district administration, her school teachers, and several other private organizations pitched in to help.

One such organization named ‘Gramalaya’ had come forward to help fund Jayalakshmi’s trip to NASA. But, Jayalakshmi’s response took them all by surprise. She told them that she had already received the required funds for her trip and was not in need of money. However, she added that the women folks of her village were struggling without proper toilet and sanitation and asked the organization if it would be possible for them to build toilets in her village instead giving the money to her.

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Image Credits: Dinamalar

The team then surveyed the houses in Adhanakottai that were in need of toilets following which 126 toilets were constructed at a cost of ₹20,000 each. Today, the women of Adanakottai who hitherto had to walk 2 kms to relieve themselves use the toilets, thanks to Jayalakshmi. She has now become a kid to look up to in her area and serves as an inspiration to many others of her age group.

Jayalakshmi is inspired by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and is intrigued by space science. She hopes to make it as an IAS officer in the future.

(With inputs from Dinamalar and The New Indian Express)

Teaching false history: Kerala textbook names Abu al-Qasim Al-Zahwari as ‘father of surgery’

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The Commune
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Yet another instance of school textbooks teaching students false history has come to light.

According to the Kerala state board class 9 social science textbook, Abu al-Qasim Al-Zahwari is the ‘father of surgery’. This goes against the widely-known fact that the Indian physician Sushruta (c. 8th century BCE) is known to have performed surgeries and detailed several surgical techniques in his text, the Sushruta-samhita. Al-Zahwari is said to have lived some time in the 10th century CE.

The controversial content is printed on page 34 of the textbook, under the title “Great people and their contributions”. This has generated an immense controversy in Kerala, where people are questioning the state board for blatantly ignoring the fact that Sushruta is widely regarded as the ‘father of surgery’. People allege that textbooks that teach such errors to students are a serious threat to the India’s civilisational fabric, as students who imbibe these errors are deprived of their peoples’ real history.

This news comes after reports of the NCERT admitted that it was unable to back up the highly questionable claims made in its class 12 history textbook. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education too had recently convened to  discuss a major overhaul of the NCERT syllabus.

The Sushruta Samhita, in its extant form, has 184 chapters contains descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources. The text discusses surgical techniques of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesicolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, apposition and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetic. It enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery.

“Poor fact-checking skills”, Russian media mocks Nidhi Razdan for getting conned

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The Commune
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News of Indian journalist Nidhi Razdan getting scammed into believing that there was a job offer from Harvard university has found its way into Russian media. The Twitter handle of state-controlled international TV network RT pointed out that getting tricked by a fake job offer amounts to “poor fact-checking skills”.

“Those are some poor fact-checking skills”, RT tweeted while sharing a report about the incident in the same tweet.

Joshua Benton, the former Director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University, stated that the institution “has no school of journalism, no department of journalism, and no professors of journalism”.

Social media users have pointed out that the Nidhi Razdan had prematurely declared herself as a faculty at Harvard, before starting the non-existent job at the prestigious American  university.

https://twitter.com/indiantweeter/status/1350033024373587969

Modi Govt task force recommends increasing women’s marriage age to 21

By
The Commune
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The task force constituted by the Narendra Modi government in 2020 to look into the proposal of increasing women’s marriageable age from 18 to 21 has submitted its report recommending the same.

The task force, led by former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitly and NITI Aayog Member (Health) V.K. Paul, submitted its report to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) last month. This means that the task force has recommended making changes to statutes like the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 to increase the definition of a child to 21 in case of girl children.

The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1929 to that fixed the age of marriage to 14 for women and 16 for men. The law was later amended to raise the age of marriage for women to 18 and for men to 21.

Speaking on the occasion of Independence Day last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a committee has been set up to look into raising the age of marriage for young women to prevent them from suffering from malnutrition. A team of 10 experts, led by former Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitley and a member of the NITI Aaayog, VK Paul, examined the issue of raising the age of marriage for women.

If the legal amendment to raise the age of marriage for women comes into force, the number of deaths due to malnutrition and maternal pregnancy will decrease. More and more women are joining colleges and skill development training centers. It is hoped that this legal amendment will help women gain economic strength.

European countries can now relish worms in their meals as EU approves world’s first insect food

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The Commune
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The European Union has approved mealworms as a legitimate form of food that could be consumed, making it the world’s first ever form of insects to be legally considered as food. Mealworms can now be consumed whole or as powder in pasta. Yellow mealworm finger foods, smoothies, biscuits, pasta and burgers could soon be mass produced across Europe. However, the EU Commission is yet to endorse the decision.

The idea of using mealworms as food is yet to catch up globally, since the ‘eww’ factor is still prevalent. But, this has the potential to catch on and give competition to the Medittereanean diet and the France’s ‘bon gout’. This might, however, cause an allergic reaction to those who have a shellfish allergy and such. They are likely to suffer a reaction to the Tenebrio molitor larvae, whether eaten in powder form as part of a recipe or as a crunchy snack, perhaps dipped in chocolate.

Fed even on bio-waste, the insects used significantly less water than livestock, and could be farmed more easily, said the FAO. “For example, pigs produce 10-100 times more greenhouse gases per kilogram (pound) than mealworms,” the UN agency said.

The insect’s main components are protein, fat and fibre, offering a potentially sustainable and low carbon-emission source of food for the future. When dried, the maggot-like insect is said to taste a lot like peanuts.

Underwater research project to determine the origins of Ram Setu approved by ASI

By
The Commune
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The Archaeological Survey of India has given the green signal to an underwater exploration project that is set to determine when and how the Ram Setu came about in the first place. If it proves to be successful, it might actually help in determination of how old the Ramayana period actually was. It could also help uncover a lot of historical questions that have been revolving around it for several decades.

This is in response to a proposal by the CSIR and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to explore the Ram Setu for the purpose of research. The NIO’s exploratory vessels, Sindhu Sadhana or Sindhu Sankalp will be used in the process of collection of samples that will help in ascertaining the age of the setu (bridge).

The radiometric technique will be used to determine the age of the 48-km-long bridge. The project assumes both religious and political significance.

The Ram Setu is a chain of shoals between Pamban Island (also known as Rameswaram Island) in Tamil Nadu of India and Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. According to past geological evidence, the structure is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka. According to Ramayana, a ‘vanar sena’ had originally built the bridge over the ocean to help lord Ram cross over to Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Sita.

The Congress-led UPA government had had approved the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project  that will cut through th Ram Setu. When opposition protested against the move and petitioned the Supreme Court, it filed an affidavit arguing that Ram Setu which is believed to have been built by Lord Ram, lacked scientific and historical veracity. The Modi government scrapped the project and decided to leave the Ram Setu untouched.

Scientists and geologists have argued that the Ram Setu is man-made and not natural. Carbon dating of beaches near Dhanushkodi and Mannar Island roughly matches the dates of Ramayana.

Tamil Maanila Congress Vice President Gnanadesikan passes away at 71

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The Commune
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BS Gnanadesikan, a senior leader of the Tamil Maanila Congress Party and former MP, passed away in Chennai aged 71 due to ill health. He was elected twice as a State MP from Tamil Nadu from 2001 to 2013. He was the leader of the Tamil Nadu Congress Party from 2011 to 2014.

Gnanadesikan belonged to a family of lawyers and hailed from Vathalakundu. He went on to become a lawyer himself after graduating from Madras Law College. He worked as a junior to N.C. Raghavachari, the advocate of late Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran.

He was a loyalist of late Congress leader GK Moopanar and later supported Moopanar’s son GK Vasan. Gnanadesikan was elected to Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu twice in 2001 and 2007. When GK Vasan started the Tamil Maanila Congress Party, he merged both the TNCC and the TMC and served as its President. He served as the President of TNCC for two terms between 2009 and 2014.

Gnanadesikan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu both in 2001 and 2007. He was a member of many parliamentary committees on various departments – defence, finance, labour, water resources, fertilizers and chemicals and home affairs.

BS Gnanadesikan, who was suffering from poor health, was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on November 11. Gnanadesikan passed away yesterday after suffering a severe cardiac arrest. Condolences from across parties have been pouring in.

HDFC removes video hailing notorious pastor as ‘Neighbourhood Hero’

By
The Commune
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Following The Commune’s story based on the expose by Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), HDFC Bank has removed the video in which it hailed the notorious Christian pastor Praveen Chakravarthy as a ‘Neighbourhood Hero’.

In a shocking revelation, Praveen Chakravarthy, the notorious Christian pastor who had boasted of kicking and defacing idols of Hindu Gods and creating ‘Christ Villages’ was declared as one of the ‘Neighbourhood Heroes’ by HDFC Bank.

Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday (13th January, 2021) for promoting enmity between different religious groups and committing offence in places of worship. He has been charged under various 153 A, 153 B (1) (c), 505 (2), 295 A, 124 A and 115 of the Indian Penal Code and has multiple FIRs registered against him.

HDFC Bank in August 2020 had posted a video in its YouTube channel in which it hailed Pastor Praveen as a ‘Neighbourhood Hero’.

According to HDFC Bank, ‘Our Neighbourhood Heroes’ is an ‘initiative that thanks and celebrates heroes from across the country, who’ve gone above and beyond to help those in need during these difficult times’.

“A moment of courage is all it takes, to make the normal, heroic and that is exactly what you’ve done!”, the video put out by HDFC Bank said introducing Pastor Praveen.

The video also said that when underprivileged residents were struggling with ‘Volunteering Service & Time’ and needed help, Pastor Praveen stepped up.

“By providing Volunteering Services & Time to around more than 500 Underprivileged Residents you have truly helped and made a difference”, the video said and went on to declare that the bank prides itself in calling Pastor Praveen as the Neighbourhood Hero of Kakinada.

This video which was published in YouTube on August 28, 2020, several months after information about pastor’s rabid religious hatred were put out in public, has now been removed.

Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy is the President of ‘Sylom Blind Centre’. His activities were brought to light in 2019 by Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), a legal activism collective. LRPF had lodged a complaint with the Union Home Ministry in December 2019 against ‘Sylom Blind Center’and its President Praveen Chakravarthy for indulging in rampant rabid proselytization.

In a video tweeted by LRPF Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy can be heard saying with impunity in Telugu that he hit the ‘stone God’ and trees [sacred trees like Neem, Peepal, etc that are venerated by village people] with his leg. The video was first made available in a YouTube channel called ‘Bangalore go-sipps’. This video was published on December 11, 2019.

Chakravarty in the video can be seen describing how he converts a village to Christianity. He says that first a pastor would come and stay in the village to teach the Bible. He says that the village becomes a “Christ village” after everyone has accepted Christ as their saviour and adds that ‘stone gods’ and ‘trees’ are kicked as a finality.

“So there are many cases which (sic) I have kicked the God’s heads and I was so happy”, he says in that video.

 

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