10 injured as shuttle bus crashes in Japan

Tokyo, June 20 2024-

A shuttle bus from a disability support facility in Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture crashed on Thursday morning, leaving 10 people injured, including two seriously, according to local police.

At around 8:45 a.m. local time, the bus, carrying 10 people including the driver, veered off its intended path near Route 324 shortly after it departed from the facility in Reihoku Town, Xinhua news agency reported.

Failing to make a right turn, it crossed the road and crashed through the fence of a nearby facility’s parking lot, ultimately plunging 1.5 metres down a slope about one kilometre northeast of the Reihoku Town Hall along the coastal area.

Among the 10 people onboard, two men in their 70s sustained serious injuries, including fractures, while the other eight, including the 40-year-old male driver and staff at the disability support facility, suffered minor injuries.

All injured were conscious when transported to the hospital.

Local police are investigating to determine the precise cause of the accident. (Agency)

Seven injured in Philadelphia shooting

New York, June 20 2024-

At least seven people were wounded in a shooting in North Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania, local media reported.

On Wednesday evening, a 19-year-old man was injured by a gunshot to his leg, while a 31-year-old woman sustained a gunshot wound to her hand. In addition, a 23-year-old man was shot in the buttock. Two women, aged 47 and 29, both suffered gunshot wounds to their thighs, Xinhua news agency reported.

A 16-year-old girl received medical treatment for two graze wounds, while an 18-year-old girl was injured during the incident. All victims are currently in stable condition, said police, adding that the shooter or shooters departed the scene in a vehicle, which was captured by a nearby police camera.

As investigators continue to delve into the case, no weapons have been found at the scene, and no arrests have been made thus far. (Agency)

Sunny Deol to star in Gopichand Malineni’s ‘biggest action film’

Mumbai, June 20, 2024
Bollywood star Sunny Deol will be starring in filmmaker Gopichand Malineni’s upcoming directorial, which is being tagged as the “biggest action film of the country.”

The production banner Mythri Movie Makers on Thursday took to X and announced the film, tentatively titled ‘SDGM’.

“Make way for the biggest action film of the country – #SDGM. Starring Action Superstar @iamsunnydeol. Directed by @megopichand. Produced by @MythriOfficial and @peoplemediafcy,” the tweet read.

The shoot will begin soon for the film.

The tweet further read: “MASS FEAST LOADING! Shoot begins soon. @MusicThaman @RishiPunjabi5 @artkolla.”

Sunny shared the announcement on his Instagram with the same caption.

Gopichand Malineni, who primarily works in Telugu cinema, made his directorial debut in 2010 with the action comedy film ‘Don Seenu’. He has since directed films such as ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Balupu’, ‘Pandaga Chesko’, ‘Winner’, and ‘Krack’.

Sunny was last seen in the mega-blockbuster ‘Gadar 2’. He will next appear in ‘Lahore 1947’, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, which also stars Preity Zinta and Ali Fazal.

Aamir Khan will take over the charge as producer under Aamir Khan Productions for Santoshi’s directorial, a periodic film.(Agency)

India’s efforts in energy transition can be replicated by others: WEF

New Delhi, June 20 2024-

The World Economic Forum has lauded India’s progress in global energy transition, observing that the country “is leading the way in creating outcomes that can be replicated elsewhere”.

“While innovation growth has slowed, countries like China and India are leading in developing new energy solutions and technologies,” it added.

India has been ranked 63rd on the WEF’s global Energy Transition Index released on Wednesday. Sweden tops the index, followed by Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and France among the top Five. China was ranked 20th.

Emerging and developing Asia, including populous nations like India and China, showed an 8 per cent improvement in their Energy Transition Index (ETI) scores over the past decade. The improvement shown by India and some other developing countries such as China and Brazil assumes significance as 83 per cent of countries have moved backwards from last year in at least one of the three energy system performance dimensions – security, equity and sustainability, according to the WEF report.

The WEF also highlighted the progress made by India in its clean energy infrastructure, with renewable energy and biomass comprising 42 per cent of its power generation capacity, making it the fourth-largest renewables market globally.

With annual investments nearing $10 billion, India is driving the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and the production of green hydrogen.

“However, the significant dependence on coal in both China and India continues to be a major factor in their emission intensity,” the report said.

The WEF also highlighted India’s focus on leveraging energy for income generation and supporting microenterprises through the productive use of renewable energy sources.

“There is also a strong emphasis on ensuring the affordability and economic viability of these solutions, underscoring India’s commitment to promoting sustainable energy practices that benefit local communities and drive economic growth,” it added.

It said the governments can also consider creating awareness and policy interventions, such as guidelines for energy-efficient built infrastructure and incentives for retrofitting, to shape an enabling environment for accelerated adoption.

“The developing world has an opportunity to rewrite the rules and show the way to successfully transform energy demand — an example of reverse innovation is frugal, scalable innovation originating in developed countries and then scaled across the world,” the report said.

While 107 of the 120 countries benchmarked in the report demonstrated progress on their energy transition journeys in the past decade, the overall pace of the transition has slowed and balancing its different facets remains a key challenge.

On the role of China and India, the WEF said that with roughly a third of the global population, these two countries will play a critical role. India’s per capita emissions, at 1.7 tonnes of CO2, are already 60 per cent lower than the global average of 4.4 tonnes of CO2 per capita.

Globally, the report said the energy transition to a more equitable, secure and sustainable energy system is still progressing but has lost momentum in the face of increasing uncertainty worldwide.

“However, there is still a need to decouple growth from energy demand. This requires significant investment in energy efficiency, particularly during the development of new infrastructure and manufacturing capacity,” the report observes.

At the same time, it points out that India has taken several initiatives in this regard. (Agency)

Extensive preparations for PM Modi’s mega Yoga event in J&K’s Srinagar

Srinagar, June 20, 2024
Extensive preparations have been going on for the last five days to ensure the grand success of the 10th International Day of Yoga celebrations in J&K’s Srinagar city in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to participate.

In colleges, public parks, inside local stadia and at other open-air places, scores of enthusiastic locals have been holding practice exercises for the last five days to join the Prime Minister at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar city on June 21.

The likely participants include college/school teachers and students, civil servants, people representing social organisations, those coming from different vocations and places of the Valley, top bureaucrats and last but not least Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha.

These practice Yoga exercises start around 4 a.m. and continue up to 8 a.m.

The pleasant weather of the Valley has been a big encouragement for the Yoga practice exercises as the morning breeze helps the participants perform better during this physical and mental activity.

The sprawling lawns of SKICC are expected to accommodate over 7,000 participants who will join PM Modi to lead the celebrations on Friday.

‘Yoga for Self & Society’ is the theme for the 10th International Yoga Day and the message of physical and mental well-being towards a better future of the country is the underlying spirit of these celebrations.

Authorities have made attendance possible for such a large number of participants from different parts of the Valley by providing them transport and also night accommodation in Srinagar city for those belonging to far-off places.

“Every district of the Valley will be represented at tomorrow’s mega Yoga event at the SKICC and we are doing our best to ensure that the participants do not face any inconvenience,” said a senior official supervising the preparations for the mega event.(Agency)

NEET (UG) paper leak: SC stays proceedings pending before various High Courts

New Delhi, June 20 2024-

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the proceedings pending before various High Courts of the country pertaining to the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak.

Issuing a notice on transfer petitions filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), a Vacation Bench presided over by Justice Vikram Nath ordered a stay on proceedings pending before different High Courts till the next date of listing.

During the course of hearing, the counsel representing NTA submitted before the Bench, also comprising Justice SVN Bhatti that High Courts were dealing with the pleas alleging various irregularities in NEET (UG) exam despite issuance of notice by the apex court in a similar transfer petition last week.

After hearing the submission, the top court ordered, “Issue notice returnable on 8th July, 2024….In the meantime, further proceedings before the High Court shall remain stayed.”

The batch of transfer petitions, along with other pleas seeking cancellation of the exam, will be heard next on July 8.

Earlier on June 14, the Supreme Court had issued notice on NTA’s plea seeking transfer of a petition pending before the Delhi High Court to the apex court.

Agreeing to examine NTA’s transfer plea, the top court had sought the response of the candidate who had instituted a writ petition before the Delhi HC alleging a paper leak in the NEET (UG) exam.

The issue relating to the grant of grace marks in the NEET (UG) exam has already been closed by the Supreme Court after the NTA submitted the scorecards of 1,563 candidates, who were awarded compensatory marks on account of the loss of time, had been withdrawn and cancelled.

These candidates were given an option to appear in a re-test to be held on June 23 or appear in counselling on the basis of actual marks obtained in the exam without normalisation. (Agency)

On her way to shoots, Deepika Singh soaks up the pleasures of Mumbai rains

Mumbai, June 20, 2024
Television actress Deepika Singh enjoyed every moment of the Mumbai rains while travelling to the set of ‘Mangal Lakshmi’.

Deepika took to her Instagram stories and shared a video of herself sitting in the backseat of a car and recording the pouring rain on her way to the shoot.

The actress used ‘Saawan Barse Tarse Dil’ from the 1999 film ‘Dahek’, sung by Hariharan and Sadhna Sargam, as the background music.

In her caption, Deepika, who made her television debut in 2011 with the serial ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’, wrote: “#monsoon #mumbairains #onmywaytoshooting #mangallakshmi.”

Recently, in an interview with IANS, Deepika shared that when she first entered the world of television, she hadn’t planned on playing a protagonist.

“I think God has chosen me. I had never planned that I would be the protagonist of a show when I joined ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’ in 2011, and still, I am the protagonist of this wonderful show,” she said.

In her 13-year-long journey on the small screen, Deepika, who is touted as one of television’s big names, made her debut as Sandhya Rathi in the show ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum.’

She later appeared in the show ‘Kavach… MahaShivratri.’ In 2018, she was seen in a web series called ‘The Real Soulmate’. Currently, she can be seen in ‘Mangal Lakshmi’.

The actress, who is also a trained Odissi dancer, talked about facing criticism, stating that she knows she’s doing well when she’s trolled for no reason.(Agency)

T20 World Cup: Would be nice to see Rohit & Virat put together a really good partnership, says Robin Singh

New Delhi, June 20 2024-

For India’s swashbuckling batters, the USA phase of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup saw them majorly struggle to get going. But with a change in conditions as Super Eights arrive in the West Indies, former India all-rounder Robin Singh said it would be nice to see captain Rohit Sharma and talismanic Virat Kohli put together a good opening partnership.

Barring a laborious 52 against Ireland, Rohit struggled to get going at New York. On the other hand, Kohli amassed only 1 and 4 against Ireland and Pakistan respectively before being dismissed for a duck against USA.

With Kensington Oval, India’s venue for the first Super Eight game against Afghanistan on Thursday night, being witness to a score above 200 recorded by Australia in the World Cup, Robin thinks better things await Rohit and Kohli in the Caribbean.

“I don’t think that’s really an issue, and it’s not only Virat and Rohit. I think everyone who has opened innings in every team really struggled in the conditions provided during the World Cup so far. But I think this is a different format. I mean, they have three games to play.”

“They know exactly where they stand. These guys are seasoned and top of the line players. So, I’m pretty sure one of them is going to deliver. If not both, to be honest. It’d be nice to see both of them actually putting a really good partnership together,” said Robin in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

Playing Rishabh Pant at number three has been a masterstroke in disguise for India, as the wicketkeeper-batter is the side’s leading run-getter with 96 runs in three games, and showing that he’s at his best – whether its carting Haris Rauf for big runs or bringing out a cheeky reverse-sweep against Barry McCarthy.

“I’ve always advocated that you have a left-hander in top three, even if he’s not an opener. So, that makes a huge difference. If you see most of the bowlers, they’re right-arm bowlers. They’re not left-arm bowlers, so, it changes the line totally. In T20, most people struggle a little bit with the lines if you have left and right combinations.”

“So, that makes a huge difference, to be very frank. I don’t know how many people know, but in Barbados also, the wind factor is very strong from one side of the ground. So, that’s going to make a huge difference in the game, especially with spinners coming into play,” added Robin, who played 136 ODIs for India.

Apart from top-ranked batter Suryakumar Yadav, India also have another left-handed batter in Shivam Dube, who’s carved a reputation for himself through his big six-hitting against spinners and more recently, in IPL 2024, against fast-bowlers too. With pitch at Barbados expected to aid seam and spin, Robin is keen to see how Dube fares against Afghanistan’s spin trio of captain Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi and Noor Ahmad.

“Again, it is horses for horses. I mean, the guy has done well. They have backed him to play the World Cup and you need to give him a fair run. If you look at, as I said earlier, the wickets didn’t really allow the batsmen to show how good they were. There was too much assistance with the new ball.”

“But I think the assistance for every single bowler was there throughout the 40 overs of a T20 game, which is not normal, really. So, I think he should do well. He is good at playing spinners. They have a lot of spinners who will come in to play. So, that’s going to make a difference and he is also a left-handed batter who is in pretty good form and looking forward to seeing him if he gets a good opportunity.”

Robin wishes to see Indian batters make use of the short boundary and wind blowing in that direction, and offered a word of caution over weather complicating things during matches in the Caribbean.

“I think everyone will (make use of wind and shorter boundary), whether it’s a bowler or a batsman. But importantly, that is another aspect of the game. What one has to be a little careful about in the Caribbean is the weather conditions.”

“You don’t know, as you have to be very careful with the weather conditions. Suddenly, there might be some rain. So, we don’t know. So, it’s really critical to get the upper hand and win the first game.”

Robin signed off by saying India won’t take Afghanistan for granted, citing their bowling attack faring well so far. With 12 scalps, left-arm fast-bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi is the leading wicket-taker in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup.

“No, I don’t think you can underestimate the Afghanistan team. Their bowlers have done very well. Farooqi has been bowling really well and they have a couple of seasoned fast bowlers as well. But I think in general, they have been a pretty confident team.”

“So, they are probably the dark horses of the tournament. So, it’s really important to be at the top of the game against them, and you have to expect everyone to deliver. So, you can’t take anyone for granted.” (Agency)

India to make huge progress on back of young population, rapid development: NSE CEO

Mumbai, June 20, 2024
Riding on a young talented population, rapid technological developments and overall economic growth, India will be able to generate more wealth in comparison to other countries in years to come, Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of National Stock Exchange (NSE) said.

According to him, over the next 50 years, India’s wealth is going to increase 1,000 per cent, that is 10 times from today.

Addressing the convocation ceremony of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) near Ahmedabad, Chauhan said students will be “agents of change” by developing real-life innovations at scale to solve the country’s socio-economic issues.

“Our per capita GDP at present is low but in the next 50 years, we can be in the league of rich nations,” the NSE Chairman told the gathering.

According the NSE CEO, about 150 small and medium enterprises are already listed on the ‘NSE EMERGE’ platform, which helps SMEs and startups connect with investors for funding.

NIFTY SME EMERGE Index is designed to reflect the performance of a portfolio of eligible small and medium enterprises that are listed on NSE EMERGE platform.

Meanwhile, a latest global report mentioned that buoyed by overall economic development, India has stemmed its wealth exodus, with just 4,300 millionaires projected to leave the country in 2024 — compared to 5,100 last year.

India is seeing high net outflows because of the success of its sizeable economy in generating new millionaires, according to ‘The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024’.

Given the increasing economic clout of India, the country cannot be outside the major policy issues confronting the Western economies.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, India ranks fourth in terms of GDP when compared to the Group of 7 nations.

India has also emerged as the fastest-growing major economy in the world with a growth rate of over 7 per cent over the last three years amid the global slowdown.

According to Moody’s, India will remain the Asia-Pacific region’s fastest-growing economy in 2024, sustaining the domestically-driven momentum of last year.

India’s real GDP has grown by 8.2 per cent in the financial year 2023-24 which ended on March 31 to keep its tag as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

The RBI has upgraded its forecast for India’s GDP growth to 7.2 per cent with the weather office predicting an above-normal monsoon this year.(Agency)

Dwaraka Tirumala Rao appointed new DGP of Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati, June 20, 2024
Dwaraka Tirumala Rao has been appointed as the new Director General of Police of Andhra Pradesh.

Tirumala Rao, an IPS officer of 1989 batch who was serving as Commissioner, Public Transport Department and Ex Officio Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), has been transferred and posted as DGP, Coordination.

He shall hold full additional charge of the post of Director General of Police (Head of Police Force) until further orders, according to an order issued by Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad.

Tirumala Rao succeeds Harish Kumar Gupta, who was appointed DGP by the Election Commission of India, which had transferred K. V. Rajendranath Reddy on May 6, a few days before the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Harish Kumar Gupta has now been posted as Principal Secretary (Home), a post he was holding before his appointment as the DGP.

Tirumala Rao’s appointment as the DGP was the second key change after the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance came to power in the state.

On June 7, Neerabh Kumar Prasad was appointed as the new Chief Secretary in place of K. S. Jawahar Reddy, who went on leave following a change of guard in the state.

The new Chief Secretary was appointed even before N. Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the Chief Minister on June 12.

Jawahar Reddy had come under severe criticism from the TDP for his approach during the elections allegedly favouring then ruling party YSR Congress.

On June 19, the new government carried out the first major reshuffle of senior bureaucrats, transferring at least 19 IAS officers.

A few bureaucrats, who were considered close to former chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, were not given new postings and were directed to report to the General Administration Department (GAD).(Agency)