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400 Crore India-Manufactured Vaccines Distributed Worldwide Last Year: Health Secy

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The Commune
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400 Crore India-Manufactured Vaccines Distributed Worldwide Last Year: Health Secy

India manufactured 400 cr vaccines in the last one year — half of the total vaccines developed and distributed globally, said Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava. Addressing the annual India Leadership Summit 2024, organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, Srivastava said that India has emerged as a global leader in pharmaceuticals.

The country is the third-largest producer and a key supplier of generic medicines. The Health Secretary said that India manufactured half of all vaccines that were distributed across the globe. “In the last one year alone, of the 800 crore vaccine doses manufactured and distributed across the world, 400 crore doses were manufactured in India,” she noted. Srivastava added that besides supporting healthcare systems worldwide, India has also made a notable contribution to the US healthcare system.

“India has the highest number — 25 per cent of the total number — of US FDA-approved pharmaceutical plants outside of the US,” she said. The country also leads in vaccine production, with a significant share of global manufacturing, underscoring its role as the “pharmacy of the world”, she said. Further, she noted that India has reformed medical education to ensure a robust healthcare system. The reforms include the replacement of outdated regulatory frameworks with the National Medical Commission Act and related laws.

This has not only led to a significant increase in medical and nursing college numbers and enrollment but has also addressed disparities in healthcare professional availability. This is because of continuous efforts by the government which has progressively improved the quality, scale, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare in India, Srivastava said.

“It is a testament to our expanded healthcare services that the out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), which is borne entirely by the households, has declined by 25 percentage points as a share of total health expenditure between 2013-2014 and 2021-2022,” she said.

-IANS

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Meta Lays Off Employees Across Teams At WhatsApp, Instagram And More

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The Commune
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Facebook India’s Net Profit Up 43% To ₹505 Crore In FY24
Image Source: Munsif Daily

Social media giant Meta has laid off employees across multiple teams, including at WhatsApp and Instagram, as part of an apparent restructuring exercise, reports said on Thursday. Meta did not immediately comment on how many employees were impacted in the latest round of job cuts. In a statement to TechCrunch, the company confirmed layoffs hit multiple teams.

“A few teams at Meta are making changes to ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy,” a Meta spokesperson said. “This includes moving some teams to different locations and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like this when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees,” the spokesperson added.

Employees working on Reality Labs, Instagram and WhatsApp were affected by the layoffs, according to reports. Several Meta employees took to social media platforms to announce they have been laid off. Jane Manchun Wong, who was part of the Threads team, posted: “I’m still trying to process this but I’m informed that my role at Meta has been impacted. Thank you to everyone, especially my Threads and Instagram teammates, for my wild journey at Meta”.

“If anyone is interested in working together esp on software/security engineering, please reach out via my email, LinkedIn, etc noted on my personal website,” she wrote on Threads. Earlier this year, Meta laid off employees at its Reality Labs division. The social media company run by Mark Zuckerberg first laid off 11,000 employees in 2022.

In 2023, Meta laid off another 10,000 employees and withdrew 5,000 open roles it had yet to fill as part of CEO Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency”.

-IANS

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Doors Always Open For Common Man, Says Haryana CM-Designate

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The Commune
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Doors Always Open For Common Man, Says Haryana CM-Designate Nayab Saini

Ahead of taking the oath of office, Haryana Chief Minister-designate Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday offered prayers at Valmiki Temple here on the occasion of Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti and reiterated that his doors are open round the clock and common man can approach him with their issues.

“This morning, I met nearly 150 people at my residence before coming to the temple,” the Haryana CM-Designate told the media after paying obeisance at Valmiki Temple, his first public engagement. From the day he took over the reins of Haryana in March this year, a low-profile Other Backward Class (OBC) leader Saini has kept his house open for the public and he has been known as, “Saini mera banda hai” (Saini is my man, I know him).

When asked about his electioneering assertion that ‘charpais’, eco-friendly cots, would be kept at his official residence in Chandigarh for the visiting public, the Haryana CM-Designate jokingly replied, “They (‘charpais’) are already placed.” Saini was brought in March this year to counter the anti-incumbency wave against incumbent Manohar Lam Khattar for his nine-and-a-half-year helm.

In his 56 days of governance, Saini claimed to have done so much development that Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda did in 10 years as the Chief Minister. “In 56 days, I have taken 126 historic decisions for Haryana’s development,” Haryana CM-Designate Saini had said in his election campaigns. A confidant of Khattar, Saini entered politics almost 30 years ago. He was elected as an MLA from Naraingarh in the 2014 Assembly polls and inducted into the Cabinet in 2016.

Seven-time legislator Anil Vij and six-time maker Krishan Lal Panwar, a prominent Dali face, have been contacted for the oath-taking ceremony, indicating their inclusion in the Council of Ministers. Alongside them, several other prominent leaders, such as Rao Narbir, Aarti Rao, Krishan Bedi, Vipul Goel, and Ranbir Gangwa, have also been informed about their induction into the Cabinet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and J. P. Nadda, the BJP national president, will attend the oath-taking ceremony here.

Besides, there will be all 20 Chief Ministers of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and their deputies, a mega political gathering in the run-up to Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Saini and his Council of Ministers, likely 10, with three slots that BJP will likely keep vacant.

-IANS

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North Korean Hackers Steal $3 Bn In Crypto To Fund Nuclear Programme

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The Commune
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North Korean Hackers Steal $3 Bn In Crypto To Fund Nuclear Programme

North Korean hackers have stolen an estimated $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2017, using the funds to support the regime’s nuclear and missile programmes, a Microsoft report showed on Thursday.

According to Microsoft’s ‘Digital Defence Report for 2024,’ North Korean hackers stole between $600 million and $1 billion just last year. The report highlights that these stolen funds have financed over half of Pyongyang’s nuclear development efforts, reports Yonhap news agency.

Since last year, Microsoft has identified several new North Korean hacking groups — Moonstone Sleet, Jade Sleet, Sapphire Sleet and Citrine Sleet, which have been targeting cryptocurrency organisations.

In particular, Moonstone Sleet has developed a custom ransomware variant and deployed it against unidentified entities in the aerospace and defence sectors for both intelligence gathering and financial gain. Microsoft analysts said the emergence of new hacking groups suggests that the North Korean regime is expanding its involvement in ransomware activities, increasing the use of cybercriminal tools to bolster the regime’s financial resources and advance its strategic interests.

“Nation-states are becoming more aggressive in the cyber domain, with ever-growing levels of technical sophistication that reflect increased investment in resources and training,” said Tom Burt, Microsoft’s vice president of customer security and trust. Microsoft also warned of rising cyber threats by state-backed actors, especially those related to Russia, China and Iran, ahead of the U.S. presidential election and amid persistent geopolitical conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, South Korea, the US and Japan recently agreed to bolster joint efforts to combat North Korea’s illegal cyber activities, which are increasingly targeting the virtual currency industry. The three sides stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships with the private sector, particularly with cryptocurrency service providers, to raise awareness of Pyongyang’s cyber threats.

-IANS

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India Rebukes Canada PM’s No ‘Hard Proof’ Admission, Says Responsibility For Damage Lies With Trudeau alone

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The Commune
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India Rebukes Canada PM's No 'Hard Proof' Admission, Says Responsibility For Damage Lies With Trudeau alone

As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified before a Commission of Inquiry, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said what it has heard only “confirms” New Delhi’s consistent stand that Canada has “presented us no evidence” in support of the serious allegations Ottawa chose to level against India and Indian diplomats.

The MEA also held Trudeau’s “cavalier behaviour” responsible for damaging India-Canada relations. “What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along — Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” said MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in an official statement on Wednesday night in response to Trudeau’s comment on Wednesday.

“The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone,” he added. Earlier on Wednesday, Trudeau, testifying before Canada’s foreign interference inquiry, said India has been insisting on proof over allegations levelled by Canada regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar but his government had provided just intelligence, “not hard evidentiary proof.”

“Behind the scenes (we’re trying) India to co-operate with us. Their ask was…give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was it is within your security agency. You should be looking into how much they know, you should be engaging… ‘No, no but show us the evidence’. At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said let’s work together…,” Canadian PM said.

The ties between India and Canada soured after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has “credible allegations” of India’s hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied all the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June last year. The recent diplomatic row erupted when Canada labelled India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in the investigation of Nijjar’s death.

India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the “baseless targeting” of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable. MEA said earlier that it was underlined to Canada’s Charge d’Affaires that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government’s actions endangered their safety and the government had decided to withdraw India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and other targeted diplomats and officials. The Indian government conveyed that India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the “Trudeau government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India”.

–IANS

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Madurai Residents Express Frustration Over CPI (M) MP Su. Venkatesan With Posters Saying “Kanda Vara Sollunga” Amid Flooding

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The Commune
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Madurai Residents Express Frustration Over CPI (M) MP Su. Venkatesan With Posters Saying "Kanda Vara Sollunga".

Residents of Madurai are expressing their frustration with MP Su. Venkatesan through “Kanda Vara Sollunga” posters amid heavy rainfall and flooding. The city faces severe disruptions as Tamil Nadu experiences the northeast monsoon, with many areas submerged and public transport affected.

Rainfall in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is experiencing heavy rainfall due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal, which began on 14 October 2024, signaling the onset of the northeast monsoon. Most coastal districts have been placed on high alert. The continuous downpour has led to significant flooding in many cities, with residential areas and roads submerged in knee-deep water, disrupting daily life. This deluge has caused severe traffic jams, paralyzed public transport, and cancelled numerous domestic flights. Surprisingly, districts like Coimbatore and Madurai have also been affected.

In this context, residents of Madurai, particularly in Vandiyur and Sourashtrapuram, have put up posters stating, “If you see him, tell him to come” (Kanda Vara Sollunga), based on a song from Karnan movie. Su. Venkatesan of the CPI-M (DMK Alliance), who has been elected as the MP for the Madurai Lok Sabha Constituency for the second consecutive time, is the target of these posters. The messages express frustration that, despite his electoral victories, he has not visited the constituency to express gratitude or address the poor road conditions in Vandiyur. This has stirred significant local unrest.

This isn’t the first instance of public discontent directed at him. While the MP frequently focuses on chance to criticise the BJP and promoting the DMK’s agenda, similar posters have surfaced before. He even posed for a photo with them and shared it on social media, shamelessly ignoring the criticism. This pattern indicates that the MP remains largely unbothered by the ongoing backlash.

Madurai Flooding

Madurai’s civic infrastructure faced a significant challenge on 12 October 2024, as heavy rainfall inundated the city and district, leading to widespread waterlogging and considerable damage to roads. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties or injuries.

Mayor Indrani Ponvasanth acknowledged the “certain challenges” posed by the weather but noted that by morning, the main roads and underpasses had been cleared of water.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Madurai received 16 cm of rainfall in just over four hours. Areas around the Periyar bus stand, Arapalayam, and Mattuthavani were particularly hard-hit, prompting residents to call authorities for help in clearing blocked drains. Major thoroughfares, including PTR Road, Gokul Main Road, Narimedu Main Road, FF Road, and Selur 60 Feet Road near Panthalkudi, sustained significant damage, with reports of sewage water intrusion at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH).

Mayor Ponvasanth commended the prompt response of the city’s civic workers, stating, “By 7 am on 13 October, the water was cleared, and all three affected subways—Tirupparankundram, Maninagar, and Sellur—were reopened for public use.”

The IMD reported that Madurai North received 110.6 mm of rainfall, Tallakulam 121 mm, and Periyapatti 116.2 mm on 12 October 2024.

Clogged drains exacerbated flooding and disrupted daily life. In addition to main roads, interior neighborhoods such as T M Nagar, Avaniyapuram, and Villapuram were affected by stagnant water and sewage intrusion. Several areas, including Pankajam Colony, Officers Town, and Kulamangalam Road, experienced rainwater flooding homes and apartments.

Ashraf Yunus, a resident of Pankajam Colony, lamented that the city’s infrastructure struggles to cope with heavy rainfall. “Every year we file complaints with the corporation, but nothing has improved,” he said. In response, the corporation began dewatering operations at the Periyar bus stand and cleared debris from stormwater drains at locations like Munichalai Junction, Kamarajar Road, Chinthamani, and Keerathurai. Activist Veronica Marry criticized the maintenance of the sewage system at Rajaji Hospital, warning that heavy rain could worsen the situation.

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North Korean Leader’s Sister Accuses South Korean Military Of Flying Drones Over Pyongyang

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The Commune
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North Korean Leader's Sister Accuses South Korean Military Of Flying Drones Over Pyongyang

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accused the South Korean military on Monday of sending unmanned drones carrying leaflets over Pyongyang in recent days.

“We clearly know that the main culprit behind the Pyongyang drone incident is the trash of the South Korean military,” Kim said in a statement, Yonhap news agency reported quoting North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency.

On Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-North Korean leaflets were detected over Pyongyang on October 3, as well as on Wednesday and Thursday last week, and warned of retaliation if the flights continued.

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said he could not confirm the North’s allegations. Kim Yo-jong provided no evidence to support her claim.

She used harsh language to criticise both South Korea and the United States for the drone flights. Likening South Korea to “mongrel dogs” and the US to their “master,” she asserted that the ultimate responsibility for the alleged actions of “dogs” lies with their “master.”

Her statement came a day after the South Korean Defence Ministry condemned the North for making threats of force and warning of a “terrible catastrophe” over drone incidents without even confirming the source of the flights. Kim earlier suggested that South Korean activist groups might be behind the drone flights, criticising the South Korean military for failing to properly monitor such activity.

“If the military failed to properly identify civilian organisations’ drones freely crossing the border, it is clearly a problem,” she said in a statement Saturday.

–IANS

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PLI Scheme For White Goods: 38 Firms Commit Investments Worth ₹4,121 Crore

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The Commune
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PLI Scheme For White Goods: 38 Firms Commit Investments Worth ₹4,121 Crore

38 companies have applied for the PLI scheme for white goods (air conditioners and LED lights) in the third round, with a net committed investment of ₹4,121 crore, boosting local manufacturing.

The third round of the online application window ended on October 12 after being open for 90 days from July 15. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, about 43 per cent of the new applicants are in the MSME sector which shows the confidence among MSMEs to become part of the value chain of manufacturing of components of ACs and LED lights.

The scheme is expected to bring in investment in the component manufacturing ecosystem of the ACs and LED lights industry to the tune of ₹11,083 crore and generate about 80,486 direct employment.

The scheme is expected to lead to a total production of components of ACs and LEDs in India of about ₹1,81,975 crore. The applicants include eight existing beneficiaries of the PLI scheme for white goods (PLIWG), committing a net incremental investment of ₹1,285 crore.

Thirty new applicants have committed an investment of ₹2,836 crore proposing to manufacture varieties of critical components of ACs and LED lights across the country. “Manufacturing clusters are coming up at Noida-Greater Noida in UP, Neemrana and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, Aurangabad-Pune in Maharashtra, Sanad, Gujarat and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh,” said the ministry.

Six AC manufacturers and 12 component manufacturers are in Sri City. Five additional foreign companies are investing ₹245 crore, apart from 15 existing companies investing ₹2,287 crore.

According to the ministry, as regards to the bifurcation between two segments of the PLIWG scheme — ACs and LED lights — 21 applicants have applied for manufacturing components of ACs with a committed investment of ₹3,679 crore and 18 applicants for components of LED lights with a committed investment of ₹442 crore.

Several applicants are vendors for large manufacturers such as Daikin, Voltas, Blue Star and LG Electronics in the ACs sector. Similarly, several applicants are suppliers of LED components for large LED lights manufacturers like Surya, Orient, Crompton Greaves, Signify, and Halonix etc.

–IANS

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Actress Mala Paravathy Targeted By Online Fraudsters, CM Pinarayi Vijayan Seeks Centre’s Support

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The Commune
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Actress Mala Paravathy Targeted By Online Fraudsters, CM Pinarayi Vijayan Seeks Centre's Support

Popular Malayalam industry actress Mala Parvathy was the latest target of a now increasing cybercrime tactic where numerous people have been coned by a criminal gang who call up people, under the guise of being Maharashtra Police, and accuse them of involvement in a crime.

Paravathy told IANS that while she was shooting a film in Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning when she got a call from a person who introduced himself as a Maharashtra Police official and informed her that her Aadhaar card was used to send a packet containing passports, ATM cards, and even a packet containing drug MDMA.

“He said the packet was sent by a courier to Taiwan in my name using my Aadhaar card. The way the person was speaking, you will never ever feel that it was a con call. He was saying that since my Aadhaar card was being used, it’s a serious thing and he was saying that a complaint can be raised and he also sent his identity card. Then he said he would connect me to another official. He was also speaking very politely and asked me to come to Mumbai. I said it was not possible and then I gave the mobile to my colleagues. I was really shocked when they sent me a ‘CBI notice’ too,” the actress said.

“I spoke to an official of the Kerala Police explaining what had happened. He said the call is being made from a foreign country and it’s not easy to track them down,” added Mala Parvathy, who is now a very busy actress both in Malayalam and Tamil.

As Parvathy’s incident became news, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in reply to a question in the Assembly on numerous similar incidents like what happened to her, where many lost money when they were threatened with dire action if they didn’t pay up, said the Kerala Police is conducting an extensive social media campaign to educate people not to fall victim to online frauds.

“To ensure that innocent people don’t become victims of online cyber crimes, the Fin Eco System should be in place and for this, there should be a combined effort on the part of the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India. Moreover, the Cyber Wing of the Kerala Police has been expanded and there are Cyber Police stations working in every district now. A toll-free number 1930 is now functional and www.cybercrime.gov.in website also is there for people to register their complaints immediately,” Vijayan said.

–IANS

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DMK Councillor Turns Away Rescue Boats In Flooded Chennai, Cites ‘Social Media’ Concerns

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The Commune
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DMK Councillor Turns Away Rescue Boats In Flooded Chennai, Cites 'Social Media' Concerns

In a bizarre situation in Chennai, a DMK councillor in Velachery sent away fire and rescue personnel who arrived with boats after a distress call by expressing concerns that using the boats in the area could go viral on social media and attract negative attention.

The troubling incident in Velachery, Chennai, an area notorious for water stagnation due to its location over a lake bed, the monsoon rains since 15 October 2024, have caused significant flooding there. Velachery alone received 15 cm of rain, disrupting public life and flooding several interior roads, with water entering homes in some places. In response, fire and rescue personnel, along with the NDRF, were deployed to assist those in distress and help evacuate them to safety.

During this crisis, it is alleged that an elderly man made a distress call for assistance, prompting the arrival of rescue personnel in boats as water levels continued to rise. However, they were met with opposition from a local DMK councillor named Anand. He argued with the rescuers, questioning why they were bringing boats to the area. Despite the personnel explaining that they were responding to a distress call, the councillor insisted that their presence would lead to negative social media coverage, which he feared would tarnish the area’s reputation and him as its councillor.

Ultimately, he then ordered the personnel to leave and brought the elderly man from the boat back into the stagnant, polluted water. The councillor then arranged for a tractor to transport him and others to safety. This clash of egos at such a critical time has drawn widespread criticism, with netizens calling for action against the councillor for his irresponsible behavior.

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