News Flash (24th December 2020): Top 10 Stories Of The Day

Schools of Haryana to remain shut for classes 1-8, online tests to be conducted from Jan

The government of Haryana recently announced that all the schools in the state will continue to remain shut for classes 1 to 8 in view of the COVID-19 situation. All the tests will be conducted online through the AVSAR app from the month of January. Offline classes for students of grades 9-12 have already begun however their school timings have been changed to 10 am to 1 pm.

Protesting farmers invited by the Govt for another round of talks

Writing a letter to the farmer unions, the Government of India has invited them for yet another round of discussions over the new farm laws. It has also asked the farmers to decide on a suitable date and time for the same. “The government is committed to reaching logical solutions of the issues raised by you,” the letter mentioned.

Mumbai Police informs that vehicles will be seized if people travel during curfew hours

If people are spotted on the roads during the curfew time i.e between 11 pm and 6 am, the Mumbai Police has warned that their vehicles will be seized unless they have the needed essential service pass. DCP S Chaitanya, Mumbai Police spokesperson further cleary stated “there will be strict enforcement of night curfew orders.” The orders falling under Section 144 of CrPC are to be issued soon.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi meet President Kovind over farm laws

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have met India’s President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and requested the withdrawal of the new farm laws. Leaving from the meeting, Rahul Gandhi told the media, “I told the President that these farm laws are anti-farmer. The country has seen that farmers have stood up against these laws.”

Telegram app to start monetizing next year onwards to generate more revenue

Cloud-based instant messaging, video calling, and VoIP service app Telegram has spoken of planning to start generating revenue next year onwards. This was conveyed by the Founder Pavel Durov. He said, “A project of our size needs at least a few hundred million dollars per year to keep going.” Telegram also will be introducing its own advertising platform for public one-to-many channels that is user-friendly, maintains privacy, and covers server and traffic costs.

Full-time Indian-origin referee selected by NBA for the very first time

As a new development, the NBA for the first time ever has selected an Indian-origin referee as a full-time staff official for its new season. The name of the referee is Suyash Mehta who has been included on the roster for the 2020-21 season, which began on Tuesday. This Indian referee has officiated five seasons in the NBA’s minor league. 

Delhi CM states, “Around 51L people of Delhi will get COVID-19 vaccine in 1st phase”

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that the Delhi government has completed all preparations and is ready for COVID-19 vaccination. He also informed that around 51 lakh people, including healthcare and frontline workers and people above 50 years, are to be vaccinated in the first phase. Delhi currently has a storage capacity of 74 lakh doses which is soon to be increased to 1.15 crore within a week, the CM added. 

Image of Jupiter-Saturn conjunction captured by Indian photographer goes viral

Sajal Chakraborty, an Indian photographer recently captured the popular ‘Great Conjunction’ of Jupiter and Saturn. He had captured the image from Australia which also shows Jupiter’s four largest moons has gone viral. This photograph of Chakraborty has gone viral. He explained that he stacked 25 images to ensure the utmost clarity seen in the final image. The photograph has received over 1.3 million likes.

Pune soon to become the largest city in Maharashtra after merger of 23 areas into PMC

Pune is very soon going to become the largest city in Maharashtra with respect to the geographical area falling under its civic body. The state government has issued a draft notification granting approval for the merger of 23 areas into the city. “Total area of Pune Municipal Corporation would be around 485 sq km…area under Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is…440 sq km,” an official said in a statement.

Merger of film bodies with NFDC receives a green flag from the Union Cabinet

The Ministry of  Information and Broadcasting has approved the merger of film bodies like Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals and others with National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). Into the ministry. “This will ensure synergy and efficiency in the industry and take Indian cinema to even greater heights,” the I&B minister, Prakash Javdekar tweeted.