1. No exams to be conducted for higher, technical education in Haryana
Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal declared that Haryana will not be conducting any terminal as well as Intermediate semester examinations for Higher and Technical Education of all courses. The students of Haryana will be promoted on the basis of 50% weightage of marks on the internal assessment/ assignment and the remaining 50% on the results of the previous exams conducted. However, the students will have options to give the exams physically to improve their grades once the situation becomes normal. This formula will also be applicable for distance education and private students. The Education Minister said that if a university wishes, it may conduct online examination only if it is fully prepared and equipped, ensuring that all students are able to take the online examinations.
2. ICSE will be taking decision on the pending exams after SC’s verdict on CBSE
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) informed the Supreme Court that it will base its decision to conduct pending examinations following the court’s verdict on the Central Board of Secondary Education’s examinations. The SC hearing on conducting pending CBSE board examinations has been adjourned till 25 June. “At the liberty to tweak the CBSE decision and follow its own informed decision,” the Supreme Court told the ICSE Board.
3. Trump announces 10 year jail to anyone found tearing down historical statues in the US
US President Donald Trump announced that anyone found destructing monuments or statues will be sentenced to 10-year jail. “I have authorised the federal government to arrest anyone who vandalises or destroys any monument, statue or other such federal property in the US with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act,” the president tweeted on Twitter.
4. Senior citizens above 70 years of age can now get tested without prescription: BMC
On Tuesday, the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) announced that those above the age of 70 irrespective of being symptomatic or not can get tested without any prescription. These citizens can get themselves tested by private laboratories by using e-prescriptions. The has been decided by the BMC to increase testing and contain the spread of the coronavirus. In addition to this, BMC has also decided to procure 1 lakh rapid antigen tests after the union government’s approval under the Mission Universal Testing”.
5. Cipla’s ‘Cipremi’ drug for COVID-19 to be sold at less than Rs.5000
Indian Pharma giant, Cipla Ltd has announced that it will price ‘Cipremi’, generic version of Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug Remdesivir for use in COVID-19 patients at less than rupees 5,000. Cipla along with a privately held Indian drugmaker, Hyderabad’s Hetero Labs, after gaining approval to sell a generic version of remdesivir in the country, said that it expects to price a similar dose of the treatment at Rs.5,000-Rs.6,000. In an email statement to PTI, Cipla said, “In line with our overall philosophy of driving access and affordability, the drug will be priced at less than Rs 5,000 per vial for injection 100 mg — among the lowest pricing for Remdesivir globally”
6. Despite pandemic, military contracts to be delivered on time by Russia: Defence Minister
While making an official statement in Moscow on Tuesday, Indian Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh said that Russia has assured India that despite the Coronavirus pandemic, it will deliver on all ongoing military contracts, and can even quicken the delivery in certain cases. Furthermore, India had signed a contract that is worth $5 billion in 2018 to acquire five regiments of the S-400 Triumf missile system from Russia.
7. Kerala Health Minister awarded by UN for handling COVID situation in Kerala very well
KK Shailaja, the Health Minister of Kerala was the only Indian invited for a panel discussion by the United Nations on World Public Service Day for her determining work in handling the Covid-19 situation in the state. Kerala was the first in India (January 31) to be affected by the coronavirus. Kerala’s strategy of aggressive testing, contact tracing and quarantining (28 days instead of 14 days) helped slow the spread of the deadly virus in the state after a high rise in the number of cases initially. The Minister established a rapid response team and control rooms in the 14 districts as the first step to control the spread. The state barred international flights two days before the country went into lockdown.
8. OnePlus announces its new TV series, now available for pre-booking on Amazon
One Plus TV is set to be launched on July 2 in India. The Chinese company has opened the pre-bookings on Amazon.in along with interesting offers.OnePlus is launching two new affordable TV models in India that are confirmed to be priced at Rs 19,999 or below.OnePlus is claiming its upcoming TVs will provide a far greater TV viewing experience since the models are confirmed to come with a Cinematic Display with 93 percent DCI-P3 color gamut and Dolby Vision support.
9. North Korea suspends military actions against South Korea
North Korea has announced it will suspend “military action plans” against South Korea, after a meeting presided over by Kim Jong Un. Political tensions between North and South Korea has been soaring over Pyongyang’s objections to plans by defector-led groups in South Korea to fly propaganda leaflets across the border. Until Wednesday’s announcement, it was Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who had made most of the threats against South Korea.
10. Mercedes and Nvidia join hands to build next-gen vehicles from 2024
Both, Mercedes-Benz, renowned car manufacturer and Nvidia, a graphics giant, have come together for building an in-vehicle computing system for next-gen automated cars. The software-defined computing architecture will be installed across the Mercedes-Benz vehicles, enabling them with upgradable automated driving functions. The new software-defined architecture, scheduled to roll out in the year 2024, will be built on the Nvidia Drive platform and will be standard in Mercedes-Benz”s next-generation fleet, the company informed in a statement.
“This new platform will become an efficient, centralized and software-defined system in our future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. NVIDIA”s AI computing architecture will help us streamline our journey towards autonomous driving,” said Head of Mercedes-Benz AG, Ola Kallenius.
11. Instagram expands access to more businesses wishing to sell their merchandise on it
Facebook-owned, photo-sharing app Instagram recently announced that it will soon be expanding access to Instagram Shopping to more businesses, which includes creators, who wish to their own merchandise on the platform as well. It announced its new Commerce Eligibility Requirements for businesses interested in making sales. The updated requirements are to be rolled out by July 9 across all countries where Instagram Shopping is supported.
12. Hinduja brothers on a clash over the division of assets
The four Hinduja Brothers, namely Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok Hinduja, who are currently tangled in a legal dispute over the family’s $11.2 billion fortune, are now also fighting over an old 2014 letter they all had signed earlier. According to a Bloomberg report, the letter states that, “assets held by “one brother belong to all and added that each man will appoint the others as their executors”. Now, Srichand Hinduja aged 84 who is the patriarch of the family now wants the letter to be declared useless. This dispute emerged after a recent ruling from Tuesday by a London judge who said that the three other brothers tried to use the old 2014 letter to claim control over the Hinduja Bank, that is solely under Srichand Hinduja’s name.
