Kumar Vishwas sorry for remarks against Kerala nurses

January 22, 2014

Kumar_Vishwas Kochi, Jan 22: Aam Admi Party (AAP) Executive Member Kumar Vishwas, whose alleged derogatory remarks against Kerala nurses sparked a controversy, today tendered an apology, saying it was never his intention to hurt the feelings of any one.

In a statement sent to the AAP's Kerala unit, he said he had never tried to 'intentionally hurt the sentiments of anyone'.

"It has come to my knowledge that an old video-clip of one of my Kavi-Sammelan has hurt the feelings of many of my friends residing in Kerala. I must say that I don't appreciate any discrimination based on religion, region, gender, caste or creed. I never tried to intentionally hurt the sentiments of anyone", he stated.

Viswas said jokes delivered in a kavi-sammelan are scripted and presented in a jocular and lighthearted manner without an intention to harm anybody's feelings. "But if some words of mine have hurt the sentiments of my friends, I apologise to them from depth of my heart", he said.

Yesterday, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had demanded an apology from the APP leader for his remarks.

In a letter to AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Chandy had wanted him to prevail upon Vishwas to withdraw the remarks and tender an apology.

"It is most unfortunate that the Aam Aadmi Party is tightlipped regarding the derogatory remarks on Malayalee nurses," he had said.

The comments of Vishwas against Malayali nurses made in a speech at Ranchi in 2008, uploaded in a social networking site recently, had sparked strong protests across the state, with Youth Congress workers ransacking AAP's office here on January 20.

AAP Kerala unit spokesperson K P Rateesh also apologised to the people of the state for the remarks. 'AAP has the highest respect for Malayali nurses', he said.

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PM Modi, Jordan king discuss challenges posed by COVID-19

News Network

April 17,2020

New Delhi, Apr 17: Prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with Jordan King Abdullah II and discussed the challenges posed to the world by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The two leaders discussed the challenges posed to the world by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the steps being taken in their respective countries to limit its impact," an official statement said.

Prime Minister conveyed his greetings to Abdullah II and the people of Jordan for the upcoming Holy month of Ramadan which commences late next week.

The leaders agreed that their teams would remain in touch on issues related to COVID-19, as well as on other regional and global issues.

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Fit for only discuss and diya and to lit candles.Rest of world leaders are struggling to save their citizen and Nation from this pandemic. Till when -----?.

For India only the organisation's and social welfare group and well wishers are in the field and helping.

Definitely with the blessings of patriot Indians they will succeed and they all will continue with their noble cause.

Jai Hind

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India's tally of COVID-19 cases crosses 11,000 mark; 38 new deaths reported

News Network

April 15,2020

New Delhi, Apr 15: With 1,076 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 11,439, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

Out of the total tally, 9,756 cases are active while 1,306 patients have been cured/discharged and migrated.

With 38 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 377.

According to the ministry, Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 2,687 cases of which 259 patients have recovered/discharged while 178 patients have lost their lives due to the virus.

Delhi comes in at the second position with 1,561 cases of which 30 patients have recovered while 30 patients have succumbed to the virus.

Tamil Nadu is the third state with over 1,000 cases at 1,204 cases of which 81 have recovered and 12 have died due to the deadly virus.

Rajasthan is nearing the 1,000 mark with 969 cases of which 147 people have recovered while 3 patients are dead. Madhya Pradesh reported 730 cases including 51 patients recovered and 50 patients dead.

On Tuesday, in an address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the 21-day national lockdown has been extended till May 3.

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Counterfeit products create Rs 1 lakh crore hole in Indian economy, incidents up by 24% in 2019

Agencies

July 30,2020

Mumbai, Jul 30: Counterfeiting incidents have increased 24 per cent in the country in 2019 over the previous year, creating an over Rs 1 lakh crore hole in the economy, according to a report.

The report also said counterfeiters are having a free run due to the pandemic-driven disruptions to organised supply chains and the resultant spike in consumer demand.

According to the report by ASPA, a self-regulated industry body of anti-counterfeiting and traceability solutions providers, counterfeiting has risen steadily in the last few years, and exploiting the pandemic as a cover for their activities.

Between February and April 2020, over 150 incidents of counterfeiting cases were reported, mostly about fake PPE kits, sanitisers and masks taking advantage of the high demand for these products, it noted.

"There was a 24 per cent increase in counterfeiting in 2019 over 2018, leading to the loss of more than Rs 1 lakh crore to the overall economy," said Nakul Pasricha, president of Authentication Solution Providers Association.

The association works with global authorities like the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau of the Interpol, and domestic industry lobbies like Ficci, he said.

Counterfeiting is a universal issue and is 3.3 per cent of global trade, according to the OECD data, impacting social and economic development across the world.

The report lists the currency, FMCG, alcohol, pharma, documents, agriculture, infrastructure, automotive, tobacco, lifestyle and apparel, as the 10 sectors impacted most by counterfeiting.

Among these, currency, alcohol and FMCG continue to be the top three sectors with the highest counterfeiting in the last two years. The FMCG sector is most vulnerable, as counterfeit incidents rose 63 per cent between 2018 (79) and 2019 when the reported cases jumped to 129.

Within the states, the fakers have a free run in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand, calling for urgent actions to frame anti-counterfeiting policy measures.

According to the report, UP continues to be on top followed by Bihar, Rajasthan, and together these three states represent almost 45 per cent of all counterfeiting reported in the last two years.

What is more alarming is that counterfeiting is not limited to high-end luxury items today, as common everyday items as fake cumin seeds, mustard cooking oil, ghee, hair oils, soaps, baby care vaccines and medicines are aplenty in the markets.

"There is an urgent need for building and nurturing authentication ecosystems in the country with the active involvement and active participation of all stakeholders," said Pasricha.

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