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India may witness highest voting turnout in 2019 since 1947: SBI

Agencies
May 3, 2019

New Delhi: India may witness the highest ever voter turnout since Independence in the ongoing elections, if there is a marginal increase in voting during the remaining three phases, a research report by country's largest bank SBI said Thursday. About 900 million are expected to cast their votes in the ongoing seven-phase general elections to be completed on May 19. The country will vote in the fifth phase on May 6. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

After four phases of elections, the voting percentage is 67 per cent, comparable to 67.6 per cent in 2014, said SBI Ecowrap report.

"We believe that if the current trend continues, this year's turnout rate may cross the previous turnout, it may, in fact, be the highest since independence. Hence a 1 per cent incremental turnout from current trend of 67 per cent after 4 phases could make it the largest turnout since 1947," the report said.

It further said the 2019 general elections are unique in many aspects.

Going by the voter turnout trend over the years, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka have registered highest ever voter turnout since 1962 or in the last 57 years after independence.

Similarly, Chhattisgarh has seen a 15 years and Maharashtra a 30 years high in voter turnout.

"This particularly suggests that now citizens are more aware about their rights and responsibility, thanks to relentless campaign by multiple stakeholders starting from election commission to civil societies who are encouraging all to cast their vote," said Ecowrap.

The SBI's research report also notes that young, elderly and women all seems to taking part in Indian elections.

It said states like Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh (partial) and Rajasthan (partial), where the percentage of younger voters (aged between 18-25) on an average is more than national average, there is a 3.3 per cent increase in voter turnout.

States like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, where the elderly population is higher than national average, have also witnessed an increase in voter turnout on an average by 1.8 per cent.

Improvement in women voter turnout could be attributed to measures like Jan-Dhan, Mudra, Ujjwala schemes which lead to women empowerment, it added.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

Tokyo, Feb 20: One more Indian on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess quarantined off the coast of Japan was tested positive for novel coronavirus, the Indian Embassy in Tokyo said on Wednesday, adding that all seven Indian nationals infected with the virus have been shifted to hospitals in Japan for treatment.

"1 Indian crew who tested positive for #COVID19 among 88 new cases yesterday on #DiamondPrincess taken to hospital for treatment. Indians receiving treatment responding well. From today, the disembarkation of passengers only started, likely to continue till 21 Feb," the embassy tweeted.

"As of 2100 JST, altogether 7 Indian nationals (crew members on board #DiamondPrincess) are receiving treatment in hospitals in Japan, after testing positive for #COVID19 over last few days. Their health conditions are improving. 
@MEAIndia," the following tweet read.

A total of 138 Indians, including 132 crew and 6 passengers, were among the 3,711 people on board the luxury cruise ship which was quarantine off Japan on February 5 after it emerged that a former passenger had tested positive for the virus.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Dubai, Jan 9: A roadshow promoting Gujarat as an education hub of India will be held here from January 17, officials said.

Representatives of 22 universities and four colleges from Gujarat will be part of the two-day event organised by the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

"The roadshow will provide a glimpse of the thriving education sector in Gujarat and enable the interested candidates to get a first-hand understanding of the rich resources of the state in order to pursue higher education," according to a statement released by the Indian Consulate here on Wednesday.

A delegation led by Gujarat's Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama will take part in the event under the 'Study in Gujarat' campaign, the statement said.

The Principal Secretary of the state's Higher and Technical Education, Anju Sharma, will participate in the roadshow, which will conclude on January 18.

The participating educational institutions include Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gujarat Forensic Science University, Nirma University, LD College of Engineering, Gujarat Arts and Science College, Vishwakarma Government College and SAL College.

"In the last decade and a half, Gujarat has been successful in establishing its identity as the leading educational hub of India. State of the art infrastructure, safe environment, curriculum at par with international standards and industry exposure gives students an edge during the course of their study," the statement said.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

New Delhi, Feb 5: Days after a gunman opened fire in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of anti-CAA movement, YouTuber Gunja Kapoor was detained at the protest site on Wednesday after she was caught covertly filming the protests in a burqa.

Kapoor runs the channel ‘Right Narrative’ on YouTube and her pinned tweet on Twitter says she is followed on the microblogging site by PM Narendra Modi.

According to police, the protesters turned suspicious after Kapoor asked them "too many questions". She was caught by some of the women protesters after they identified her as the popular YouTuber. The incident led to a commotion at Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a senior police official said.

She was taken to Sarita Vihar police station where her identity was ascertained, police said.

The incident sparked outrage on social media. Many took to Twitter to question why Kapoor was at the protest in disguise. Others expressed concern about her motives at secretly filming the protests.

Meanwhile, praises flew in for the women of Shaheen Bagh who can be seen defending Kapoor from angry protesters after she was caught.

This is not the first time that a right wing social media activist has landed in trouble in Shaheen Bagh where residents and other women and children have been sitting in protest for nearly two months since the passing of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 in December last year.

In January, Deepa Sharma had posted videos online about the "traumatic" experience she had when she was allegedly heckled and harassed by Shaheen Bagh protesters. While the woman's claim could never be verified, other pieces of rampant fake news aimed at delegitimising and villainising protesters has taken social media by storm.

From doctored videos of women protesters allegedly accepting they were paid Rs 500 to attend protests to alleged fights over biriyani and anti-India sloganeering, trolls on social media seem to be working overtime to taint the ongoing protests.

The latter, however, show no signs of giving up. In fact, as Delhi nears elections on February 8, protesters have arranged for music performances by eminent artists, including pop celebrity Prateek Kuhad, till February 7.

Sit in protests take place 24x7 with women showing up in thousands to spend the night and sing songs of protest. And with polls around the corner, the protests have become an active part of political discourse with Aam Aadmi Party's Manish Sisodia expressing his support for the protesters at a recent press conference.

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