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Schools, colleges in Pune to reopen from February 1, announces Ajit Pawar

/ Education Community

All schools and colleges in Maharashtra’s Pune district will reopen from February 1, announced Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday following a COVID-19 review meeting. However, Pawar announced that parents would need to give their consent for students to attend offline classes. “For classes 1 to 8, the school timings will be half of the regular timings, but for classes 9 to 10, the school will run as per the regular schedule. Colleges will also function as per regular time,” Pawar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. “The further decision for classes 1 to 8 will be taken in the next meeting,” he added. Pune was scheduled to reopen schools and colleges last week but the decision was postponed for eight days after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Later, the junior Pawar had said that a decision on reopening schools would be taken following the COVID-19 review meeting on January 29. “I am in favour of reopening of schools, but the decision is postponed by eight days following a spurt in Covid cases in Pune,” he had said. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 situation in Pune has slightly improved. On Friday, it recorded 7,166 COVID-19 cases, taking the district’s tally to 13.88 lakh, while 12 deaths increased the toll to 19,429. An official, quoted by news agency PTI, said 3,374 cases were reported in Pune city, 2,261 in Pimpri Chinchwad and 1,205 in rural and 98 cantonment limits. Till Friday, Pune had 2,520 active cases in institutional isolation and 73,471 in home quarantine, the official said.

Schools, colleges in Pune to reopen from February 1, announces Ajit Pawar Read More »

School Principals, Parents’ Association Disappointed With DDMA’s Decision To Not Open Schools In Delhi

/ Education Community

School principals and parents’ associations were left disappointed with DDMA’s decision on Thursday to not reopen schools in Delhi, saying keeping schools closed is no longer a solution. All India Parents Association (AIPA) president Ashok Agarwal said it is a very sad move, and decision-makers have neither heart nor mind as the prolonged closures will promote and perpetuate class divide and inequality in education. “Studies and childhood of students have already suffered too much which is irreparable. Closing down schools has no scientific basis. It has reduced employment and led people to face hunger. So many people are sitting idle at home and waiting for schools to reopen,” he added. Sumedha Goel, director, The Shri Ram Wonder Years, Rohini suggested that schools for junior classes should be reopened in a phased manner keeping the hybrid model at its core. “Keeping the schools closed is not a solution. Like a seedling requires the right amount of water, sunlight, air to grow, similarly, a budding child requires social interaction, food for the mind and soul, emotional well-being, etc to attain holistic growth. “Covid-appropriate behaviour will be followed in schools to welcome back students and give them a congenial environment for growth and development. We propose the government enforce a law for mandatory vaccination, and impose a fine on the non-vaccinated adults.” The drive would be beneficial for children below 15 years, Goel said, adding the entire school staff should be fully vaccinated, and every fortnight, school spaces will be sanitised. Schools and colleges will continue to remain closed in the national capital and the issue will be taken up in the next meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), officials said on Thursday. During the meeting, the Delhi government, for its part recommended the reopening of schools, saying it was necessary to prevent further damage to the social and economic well-being of children as the COVID-19 situation in the capital has improved. Though the schools were briefly reopened, they have shut again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant. “Today’s decision is deeply disappointing. The DDMA chairperson (lieutenant governor) and members should publicly disclose the reasons for keeping schools closed but allowing everything else, particularly when every expert body has recommended it,” said Tanya Agarwal, a lawyer who has been vocal about the reopening of schools. According to a survey conducted by the online platform Local Circles, 74 per cent of Delhi parents do not support the re-opening of schools at this time, while 66 per cent of parents believe schools should be reopened once the test positivity rate (TPR) falls to 2 per cent or lower. Asserting that online education can never replace classroom studies, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children, but “excessive caution” was harming them. A delegation of parents led by Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and public policy specialist, had earlier met Sisodia and submitted a memorandum signed by over 1,600 parents demanding that the schools be reopened. Source: PTI  

School Principals, Parents’ Association Disappointed With DDMA’s Decision To Not Open Schools In Delhi Read More »

Union Health Minister Mandaviya To Hold Covid Review Meeting With Southern States, Uts Today

/ Health & Wellness Community

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya will chair a high-level meeting today with the health ministers of southern states, Union territories to review the Covid-19 situation. He will also review public health measures taken in view of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. The Covid-19 review meet will be held virtually at 2.30pm. The state health ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands are expected to attend the meeting, reported ANI citing people familiar with the matter. Senior health officials will also attend the meeting. Mandaviya held a high-level Covid review meeting with nine northern states and UTs on Tuesday where he advised to share Covid testing and vaccination data in a timely manner. He asked the states witnessing a decline in Covid-19 testing to ramp it up through RTPCR. Advising the states and UTs to ensure efficient monitoring of those in-home isolation in line with the national guidelines, the minister said, “This will ensure that the vulnerable categories of active cases in home isolation get the required medical help in a timely manner.” He reminded them to keep a close watch on the emerging clusters and hotspots of Covid-19 and monitor the trend of hospitalisations and virus-related deaths. Mandaviya said that with our past experience, ‘Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and Adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour’ along with monitoring of cases remains crucial for Covid management. In order to expedite the implementation of activities under the ECRP-II package, he asked the “health ministers and the state authorities to plug the existing gaps by efficiently utilizing the amount sanctioned for various infra projects.” Source: ANI

Union Health Minister Mandaviya To Hold Covid Review Meeting With Southern States, Uts Today Read More »

CM Bhupesh Baghel Announces 5-day Work Week for Govt Employees In Chhattisgarh

/ Human Resource Community

To ensure increased productivity and efficiency, the Government of Chhattisgarh has announced a five-day work week for its government employees. The state government has also increased the contribution to the Anshdayi Pension Scheme from 10 to 14 per cent. This was shared by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Twitter. “In a bid to increase efficiency and productivity of government employees, Chhattisgarh government is implementing five-day working week. State government’s contribution in a pension scheme will also be increased from 10 per cent to 14 per cent,” said Baghel in a tweet. In addition, the Chhattisgarh state government will also introduce a legislation that will make small commercial operations in residential areas legitimate. This move will be beneficial to the innumerable small businesses that have otherwise been operating uncertainly. In order to create jobs, especially for the youth of the State, and also to ensure that the transport department remains accessible to the general public, the launching of several transport facilitation centres across Chhattisgarh has also been announced. Another good news for government employees is that 10 per cent of plots will now be set aside for entrepreneurship development in OBCs. This is a result of amendments in the inter-industrial policy of ‘Contributory Pension Scheme’. The ‘Mukhyamantri Noni Sashaktikaran Sahayata Yojana, that is, the Chief Minister’s Girl Empowerment Assistance Scheme, will lend support to the daughters of labourer families in the areas of education, employment, self-employment and marriage. The scheme will ensure that Rs 20,000 is deposited in the bank account of each of the first two daughters of labourers registered with the ‘Chhattisgarh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board’. Amongst other benefits that were announced, are the simplification of rules for issuing learning driver’s license and the establishment of safety cells for women in all districts. Source: ANI

CM Bhupesh Baghel Announces 5-day Work Week for Govt Employees In Chhattisgarh Read More »

Tata Sky rebrands itself as Tata Play, offers new OTT binge combo packs, free service visits and more

/ Media Entertainment & Art Community

Tata Sky, one of the largest Direct to Home (DTH) platform has rebranded itself with a new name and identity and will now be called as Tata Play. The DTH company has joined hands with Netflix to offer new OTT centric channel packs as well. The new name of the company will be visible to the viewers from January 27. With the OTT combo packs, Tata Play users will be able to get a subscription to both the OTT platforms in the Binge service as well as the normal TV channels. Tata Play Binge will host content from 13 leading OTT apps through a single User Interface while offering the flexibility of single subscription and payment. The new combo pack will list OTT services which include Amazon Prime Video and Disney+Hotstar. Meanwhile, the subscription cost of the pack is yet to be announced. “We also welcome Netflix to our family. Plus, we are making service visits free for all customers starting today, and our de-active DTH customers can continue to recharge and get restarted on the platform with no re-connection charges. The name Tata Play thus signifies our expanded range of product and services. The new identity is an outcome of our desire to be future-ready while making tomorrow better than today for homes and families,” said Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO – Tata Play Ltd. The company also announced that it has renamed its broadband network to Tata Play Fiber. “I firmly believe that it’s one thing to own content, quite another to make it accessible. Distribution is what makes content easily discoverable for the masses, consumed, and talked about. Our DTH business has a sizeable market share and we’ll continue our endeavour to expand the TV viewing universe. Our Broadband business with 100 per cent fiber network provides impressive speeds, and that’s why we renamed it to Tata Play Fiber,” Nagpal added. Tata Play is a joint venture between Tata Sons and The Walt Disney Company, which over the years has expanded to 23 million households in India.

Tata Sky rebrands itself as Tata Play, offers new OTT binge combo packs, free service visits and more Read More »

ArdorComm: ‘New Normal – Healthcare Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’. #HELSA2022

/ Blogs

The Healthcare sector has transformed a lot over the last few decades. India has made significant advancements in the way healthcare is delivered in the country. In terms of employment and revenue, it has been one of the largest sectors and is growing at a brisk pace. There are vast opportunities for investment in healthcare infrastructure in both urban and rural India. Government initiatives, policies & schemes are aiding to the future vision of democratized distribution of digital health and improving economic growth. COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the speed of innovations, research and discoveries. From ignorance to basic hygiene, all Indians have come a long way. With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the year 2020, it shook the foundation of the entire healthcare system across the country. The healthcare industry, along with the central and state governments, undertook a robust response plan to tackle the pandemic by setting up of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, isolation centres and tech-enabled mapping of resources. In order to effectively manage the outbreak, the Indian government also leveraged technology and developed various applications both at the central and state-levels. It has again set for us a great example that how much importance is of the Healthcare system in the world. The Healthcare, Wellness and AYUSH community is evolving each day with the technological advancements. There is a major transformation taking place in the Pharma industry for improving the medicine development and circulation. The adoption of e-health systems in taking place at large to provide medical facility beyond geographical boundaries. Huge strategic investments are being made in IoT, Big Data, AI to rediscover and rebuild India’s healthcare sector. The medical institutes across the country are focusing on R&D and clinical trials during and post pandemic. To discuss these socio-digital transformation of the Healthcare industry, ArdorComm Media a growing media organisation in India is coming up with the much-awaited virtual symposium of the “New Normal – Healthcare Leadership Summit and Awards 2022.” It will act as a host and a platform where eminent personalities, thought leaders and Industry experts from the ‘Health & Wellness Community’ will e-meet to deliberate on next & best practices, innovations, investments, opportunities and roadblocks to the sector’s progress. ArdorComm – Healthcare Leadership Awards 2022 will recognise, felicitate & honour those individuals, hospitals & organisations those who have demonstrated a significant contribution to Healthcare, Wellness, AYUSH & HealthTech Industry. Let us take you through the paramount event itinerary designed to evoke curiosity amongst the varied audiences. Mr. Chandan Anand, CEO & Founding Editor of ArdorComm Media said, “The New Normal – Healthcare Leadership Summit & Awards 2022, will be held on 11th & 12th March 2022. The Summit’s theme will focus on ‘Empowering Healthcare Community with Socio-Digital Transformation: Strengthening Governance at Global, Regional & National Level’. The event will witness a congregation of leaders from the Ministry, Senior Government Officials, Medical Associations, Chairman, MDs & Trustees, Doctors, CIOs, CTOs, COOs, & CEOs, Hospital administrators, Technology Providers and Healthcare Consultants, Health innovators, Academicians and Medical Students.” About the ArdorComm Healthcare Leadership Awards 2022, He said that, ArdorComm Media would like to honor the trend setters, innovators, doctors, surgeons, physicians, dentist, veterinarians, hospitals,  companies, healthcare startups and medical colleges that have been providing excellence and outstanding accomplishment in the healthcare sector; despite the tough times we faced since two years.” The Agenda & Key Discussion Points in the 2 days Virtual Symposium are as follows: Key Discussion Points of Day 1 of the Event: How has adoption of new-age technology redefined healthcare services How to equip with e-health infrastructure to ease the adoption of medical treatment beyond geographical boundaries? Re-defining strategic investments in IoT, Big Data, AI-ML to re-build India’s healthcare sector Rediscovering the Pharma Industry with Digitalisation: Improving medicine development and patient care Key Discussion Points of Day 2 of the Event: Building the right healthcare infrastructure with customer demands Re-defining healthcare technology & resources to help minimise the rural-urban divide How to leverage clinical and non-clinical data to build a patient-centric approach? How can wellness practices be associated with the right clinical results for widespread adoption? Effectiveness of wellness programs on mental health. Role of Medical Institutes in promoting e-Learning, R&D and clinic trails during & post pandemic. The Key Highlights of the Event are: Days – 2 Sessions – 10+ Speakers – 60+ Participating Doctors – 200+ Participation from Hospitals/ Clinics – 500+ Participating Government dignitaries – 10+ Corporate Participation – 25+ Startups Participation – 25+ ‘New Normal – Healthcare Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’, #HELSA2022 awaits your response to collaborate with many more leading stakeholders from different Healthcare, Wellness and AYUSH community. Join ArdorComm ‘New Normal’ #HELSA2022 Virtual symposium. Register for the event now!(Click here for the registration link)

ArdorComm: ‘New Normal – Healthcare Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’. #HELSA2022 Read More »

Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to hold Covid-19 review meet with 9 states & UTs today

/ Health & Wellness Community

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya will interact with the health ministers of nine states and Union territories (UTs) on Tuesday over the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation. The virtual interaction will take place at 10.30am, news agency ANI reported. The states and UTs which will take part in the virtual interaction are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh. In an earlier interaction with states and UTs, Mandaviya advised them to keep a tab on infrastructural matters regarding medical oxygen. He also asked them to establish teleconsultation hubs in every district and focus on widespread awareness regarding available infrastructure and healthcare services. Mandaviya has been holding such meetings to review the Covid-19 situation in various parts of the country. Some of these meetings were held with a particular group of states where the positivity rate and the spread of the infection were higher than other parts of the country. India has witnessed a surge in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the past few weeks, especially after the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The highly-mutated strain is believed to be more resistant to vaccines. Meanwhile, India reported 3,06,064 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, nearly 28,000 less than the day before. The Union health ministry said that the positivity rate in the country has reached 20 per cent. The ministry also said that India’s active caseload stands at 22,49,335 and accounts for 5.69 per cent of the total cases. Source: ANI

Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to hold Covid-19 review meet with 9 states & UTs today Read More »

Union budget 2022 to be presented at 11 am on February 1

/ Governance Community

The Union budget will be presented at 11 AM on February 1, said sources. A day before, on January 31, President Ramnath Kovind will address the joint session of Parliament. In view of COVID-19 guidelines, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will be functioning in staggered timings. The Lower House will function from 4 PM to 9 PM in the evening and Rajya Sabha from 10 AM to 3 PM in the morning, added the sources. However, on January 31 and February 1, the timings will be from 11 AM for both the houses, stated the sources. The first part of the budget session of Parliament will be held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part of the budget session will take place March 14 to April 8, as per the sources. Meanwhile, the Economic Survey will be tabled at noon on January 31. Source: ANI

Union budget 2022 to be presented at 11 am on February 1 Read More »

Maharashtra Schools Reopen Today For Classes 1-12; Consent of Parents’ Must

/ Media Entertainment & Art Community

Schools in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, are reopening today, January 24, for offline classes for the students of pre-primary and classes 1-12. The announcement was made last week by Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad and she said that parents’ consent will be important for attendance. The minister also said that local authorities have been empowered to assess the Covid situation and take the decision regarding safe reopening of schools. However, schools will remain closed in Pune and Aurangabad. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said no decision has been taken regarding resumption of physical classes at schools in Pune district as COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Ms Gaikwad, announcing the decision of reopening schools said parents and teachers of the state wanted resumption of physical classes. “During our continued dialogue with parents & teachers we received consistent feedback about restarting physical classes along with online education for better learning outcomes. During my recent interaction with Collectors/CEOs, a similar view was expressed,” the minister said last week. A recent survey of cities across Maharashtra suggests otherwise. According to the survey conducted by the online community platform LocalCircle across tier 1, 2-3 and 4 cities of the state that received 4,976 responses, 62 per cent of the total surveyed parents are not willing to send their children to schools from Monday. To ensure health and safety of students, schools will ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols and SOPs. Students and teachers will wear masks at all times and only one student will sit on a bench. Vaccination drives for older students to be ramped up. Source: Careers360

Maharashtra Schools Reopen Today For Classes 1-12; Consent of Parents’ Must Read More »

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ becomes sixth-highest grossing movie with $1.69 bn globally

/ Media Entertainment & Art Community

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, became the sixth-highest grossing movie in history with $1.69 billion at the global box office. It passed “Jurassic World” ($1.67 billion) and “The Lion King” ($1.66 billion) to secure that spot. The only films ahead of it in terms of worldwide box office takes are “Avatar,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Titanic,” “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” The Spider-Man movie returned to the No. 1 slot in North America, adding $14.1 million between Friday and Sunday, along with $27.7 million overseas. Starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, the movie released in December has generated $721 million at the US domestic box office and $970.1 million internationally. Spider-Man’s latest adventure has done exceptionally well in the UK which is also Holland’s birthplace collecting $116 million to date. Mexico contributed $73.4 million, South Korea with $60.6 million and France with $59.9 million to the movie collection. In addition, the movie managed to draw big numbers without being released in China, which is the world’s biggest moviegoing market. The achievement is more notable because the movie came during the coronavirus pandemic, when theatregoers have been skeptical about returning to auditoriums amid an Omicron-fueled surge in the number of cases. The Marvel-backed film, directed by Jon Watts, stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr Strange, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds and Jon Favreau as Harold “Happy Hogan”. It also stars actors like Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori and Marisa Tomei in pivotal roles.

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ becomes sixth-highest grossing movie with $1.69 bn globally Read More »