I never got punished as NCC cadet; now my reading habit suffered due to Google: PM Modi

News Network
November 24, 2019

New Delhi, Nov 24: "I never had the desire to enter politics, but now that I am a part of it I give my best on how to work for the people," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

Interacting with a group of National Cadet Corps cadets during his "Mann ki Baat" radio programme, Modi also said that as an NCC cadet in his school days, he never got punished.

Modi admitted that "due to Google", his reading habits have suffered as there is a shortcut available to find references.

When one of the cadets asked him "had you not been a politician, what would you have been," Modi described it as a "difficult question".

"Now this is a very difficult question because every child goes through multiple phases in life. Sometimes one wants to become this, sometimes one wants to become that, but it is true that I never had the desire to enter politics, nor I ever thought about it," he said.

He said but now that he is a politician, "I keep thinking how I can work for the welfare of the country."

The thought that had he not joined politics, what would he be doing never crosses his mind, Modi said.

"Now, wherever I am, I should live life to the fullest and I should wholeheartedly work for my country ... I have now dedicated myself for this purpose only," he said.

Responding to a question on whether he gets time to watch television and read books, he said he was always fond of reading.

He had little interest in watching films and he watches very little TV.

"I used to read books.But these days I am unable to read and due to Google, the habit of reading has deteriorated because if you want to seek a reference, then you immediately find a shortcut. As is the case with everyone, certain habits of mine have also been spoilt," he said.

In response to a question on his NCC days, he said he was never punished "because I was in a way quite disciplined."

He said once a misunderstanding had crept up when he climbed a tree at an NCC camp to save a bird entangled in a kite string.

People first though he would be punished for indiscipline but his action later earned him praise, he recalled.

During the programme, the PM also talked about the significance of Armed Forces Flag Day on December 7.

Paying tributes to the valour of the armed forces, he appealed to the people to contribute towards the well-being of the welfare of the personnel of the armed forces.

He said on the basis of feedback, the 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme will be held earlier, sometime in January.

Last year students had complained that the programme was held just before examination, he said.

Comments

Jameel
 - 
Monday, 25 Nov 2019

this "climbing the tree at NCC camp" is an additon to the crocodile kid he brought home. bakwaas ka tho bi ek hadh hota hai. too much imaginary bluff.

JJ
 - 
Sunday, 24 Nov 2019

Enough Sir, you have done enough for the country. Now give way for others. take care of your health.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: India on Tuesday reported 8,171 more COVID-19 cases and 204 deaths in the last 24 hours as the country's virus count inches closer to two lakh, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases in the country now stands at 1,98,706 including 97,581 active cases, 95,527 cured/discharged/migrated and 5,598 deaths.

Cases in Maharashtra have crossed 70,000 including over 30,000 recovered while Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 tally jumped to 23,495.

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News Network
June 8,2020

New Delhi, June 8: Only 20.26 lakh migrant workers of the targeted 8 crore such labourers have received free food grains in May and June (2020), according to data released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

In the middle of May, as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, the Modi government had announced that migrant labourers who are not covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) or any state-run PDS scheme, will receive free food grains for two months.

"Non-card holders shall be given 5 kg wheat or rice per person and 1 kg chana per family per month for the next 2 months. About 8 crore migrants will benefit from this scheme that will cost the government Rs 3500 crore,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said at a press conference following PM Modi’s announcement.

But the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Sunday, "The states and UTs have lifted 4.42 LMT (lakh metric tonne) of food grains and distributed 10,131 MT of it to 20.26 lakh beneficiaries."

It added, "The Government of India also approved 39,000 MT pulses for 1.96 crore migrant families. Around 28,306 MT gram/dal have been dispatched to the states and UTs. A total 15,413 MT gram have been lifted by various states and UTs". The state governments, the ministry added, had distributed only 631MT (metric tonnes) of gram so far.

Because of the constant movement of migrant workers, the Centre had said that the states will be responsible for identifying the migrants and subsequent food distribution.

The Centre claims it is spending approximately Rs 3,109 crore for food grains and Rs 280 crores for grams/chana under this package.

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News Network
June 2,2020

London/Milan, Jun 2: World Health Organization experts and a range of other scientists said on Monday there was no evidence to support an assertion by a high profile Italian doctor that the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has been losing potency.

Professor Alberto Zangrillo, head of intensive care at Italy's San Raffaele Hospital in Lombardy, which bore the brunt of Italy's COVID-19 epidemic, on Sunday told state television that the new coronavirus "clinically no longer exists".

But WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, as well as several other experts on viruses and infectious diseases, said Zangrillo's comments were not supported by scientific evidence.

There is no data to show the new coronavirus is changing significantly, either in its form of transmission or in the severity of the disease it causes, they said.

"In terms of transmissibility, that has not changed, in terms of severity, that has not changed," Van Kerkhove told reporters.

It is not unusual for viruses to mutate and adapt as they spread, and the debate on Monday highlights how scientists are monitoring and tracking the new virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 370,000 people and infected more than 6 million.

Martin Hibberd, a professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said major studies looking at genetic changes in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 did not support the idea that it was becoming less potent, or weakening in any way.

"With data from more than 35,000 whole virus genomes, there is currently no evidence that there is any significant difference relating to severity," he said in an emailed comment.

Zangrillo, well known in Italy as the personal doctor of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said his comments were backed up by a study conducted by a fellow scientist, Massimo Clementi, which Zangrillo said would be published next week.

Zangrillo told Reuters: "We have never said that the virus has changed, we said that the interaction between the virus and the host has definitely changed."

He said this could be due either to different characteristics of the virus, which he said they had not yet identified, or different characteristics in those infected.

The study by Clementi, who is director of the microbiology and virology laboratory of San Raffaele, compared virus samples from COVID-19 patients at the Milan-based hospital in March with samples from patients with the disease in May.

"The result was unambiguous: an extremely significant difference between the viral load of patients admitted in March compared to" those admitted last month, Zangrillo said.

Oscar MacLean, an expert at the University of Glasgow's Centre for Virus Research, said suggestions that the virus was weakening were "not supported by anything in the scientific literature and also seem fairly implausible on genetic grounds."

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