I&B minister Prakash Javadekar confirms, government looking to make a more strong code of conduct for news media

I&B minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the government is examining ways to make a strong regulatory mechanism for news media and also considering to make a new code of conduct for TV news channel. Javadekar was addressing a webinar on the occasion of National Press Day where he made clear that the government has no intention to interfere in news media business, there are some regulatory issues that the government must consider.

“Freedom of press is being discussed again today and I said that the way press freedom is being attacked, that is not good… Press Council of India (PCI) is another mechanism of self-regulation. Though the head is appointed by the government, it has representatives of press owners, editors, journalists, photographers and parliamentarians. But people are demanding that the PCI should be given more powers. That is also being considered,” he said.

Javadekar identified that there is absence of a Press Council-like body which can regulate TV news. He however referred to the National Broadcasting Standards Authority as an institution where “anyone can complain to them and they even punish the erring channels”, Javadekar said, “But there are many channels that are not even members of that… and they have no restrictions… Such a system cannot exist…”

He added that there is need for a similar provision for digital and OTT platforms, as there is no governing system similar to PCI and neither is there any formal self-regulatory mechanism.

He also added that the, I&B ministry is looking forward to make a strong TV ratings mechanism. “Now the time has come that we have to interfere… How to kill the possibility of manipulation, we have created a committee for it, and it will give a report soon on what is possible,” he said.

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3 top leaders of Mehbooba Mufti’s party quit the party because of derogatory remarks from Mehbooba

Three leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Mehbooba Mufti in Jammu and Kashmir have quit the party stating that the remarks of Mehbooba on the National flag has hurt their sentiments.

PDP leaders TS Bajwa, Ved Mahajan and Hussain A Waffa are the ones who have quit the party by sending a single resignation letter addressed to the party chief Mehbooba Mufti. Mehbooba was recently released after 14 months detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

The Leaders made it clear that they were feeling quite uncomfortable with Mehbooba’s certain actions and statements.

“We are feeling quite uncomfortable over some of your actions and undesirable utterances especially which hurt patriotic sentiments…Instead of overcoming the challenges from within and outside by a process of broader consultations and trust, some elements within the party pulling the party and the leadership in a particular direction, thus deviating from the basic principles, agenda and philosophy, making it difficult to face the saner voices in the society,” the letter said.

As per the three leaders, some of the actions and statements of the party leader were “unpardonable” and aren’t something that can be ignored at time when the party is struggling to regain its image. “In view of this, we feel uncomfortable and suffocated in the party, forcing us to take difficult decision of leaving the party,” they wrote.

Addressing to the media after her release from the detention, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said that she won’t be able to fly the National flag until the changes made on August 5 are rolled back. She also said that the central government is a robber and that the former flag of Jammu & Kashmir must be restored.

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Pakistan will be compelled to go to war says Pakistani minister

A new range of controversy started on Tuesday when a Pakistani minister said that any country that supports the Indian Government’s decision of scrapping the special status of Jammu & Kashmir state will have to face missile attack from Pakistan.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur on Tuesday stepped into a controversy when he said that, “If tensions with India rise on Kashmir, Pakistan will be compelled to go to war. Those countries backing India and not Pakistan (over Kashmir) will be considered our enemy and a missile will be fired at India and those nations supporting it.”

A Pakistan based journalist Naila Inayat first shared his video on social media after which it started making quick rounds around the internet in no time.

Ever since Article 370 has been abrogated the tension between the two countries, India and Pakistan has rose significantly. While attending the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan even discussed the issue in length while addressing the audience for the first time.

“If a conventional war starts between the two countries anything could happen. A country seven times smaller than its neighbour what will it do — either surrender or fight for its freedom,” Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan had said.

He further added, “My belief is we will fight and when a nuclear-armed country fights till the end it will consequence far beyond the borders. I am warning you. It’s not a threat but worry about where we are heading. If this goes wrong you hope for the best but prepare for the worst.”

The latest statement passed by Ali Amin Gandapur came after the visit of 23 European parliamentarians in Srinagar to check the ground reality. A member of the group, Spanish parliamentarian Hermann Tertsch however added that all the members of the group consciously felt that some people were being kept away from them deliberately.

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Apple is working on automated system for Car Driving; confirms Tim Cook

 

In the latest interview, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook confirmed that Apple is working towards developing an “automated system” that can empower a driverless car.
In an interview with a leading channel, Tim said, “Autonomy is something that’s incredibly exciting for us, but we’ll see where it will take us. We’re not really saying from a product point of view what we’ll do, but we’re being straightforward that it’s a core technology we view as very important.” The CEO further added, “We sort of see it as the mother of all AI (Artificial Intelligence) projects. It’s probably one of the most difficult A.I. projects actually to work on.”

Apple was since long working on developing a car under its own name. The project was better known as “Project Titan” but it has to face some major changes when Cupertino giant started recalibrating its resources. This made the latest national news back then.
This is when the company started working on making an autonomous system, however, there were no confirmation whether the “Project Titan” was abandoned. This is the first time Tim Cook has spoken publicly about Apple’s future plans.

Bob Mansfield, the one man who engineered the iMac, iPad and the MacBook Air was made the head of the “Project Titan” team in 2016. While there was no official confirmation from Cook or the team, it was reported that Apple has obtained a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles in April silently to test three driver-less vehicles.

There is no doubt that Apple is the market leader in the Smartphone market, and with its driverless cars coming up, it will soon lead the automobile sector too.

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Aishwarya Rai appreciate Rouble Nagi for beautifying the city

Former Miss World and a renowned Bollywood Actress, Aishwarya Rai inaugurated a sculpture made by artist & social activist Rouble Nagi on Monday. The sculpture is named “The Paradise Garden” and is mesmerizingly beautiful. Later, Aishwarya thanked the artist for making the city beautiful.

Creating latest national news, Aishwarya said, “We are thankful to Rouble as she is making your city more beautiful and as a Mumbaikar, I am too happy to join this ongoing movement to beautify our city and have art installations.”

“Art is not just for the exclusive section of society, it has to be enjoyed by all. In fact, art becomes artwork with increased audience’s appreciation,” she added

The Paradise Garden sculpture is located just opposite to the Mehboob Studio and as Aishwarya told the sources, she holds a special connection with the place. “This is a special place, as I have lived in Bandra till I got married and Mehboob Studio is the place where I have done lots of work.”

Talking to the media, Rouble said, “Public art has the power to energize our public spaces, arouse our thinking and transform the places where we live, work and play into more welcoming, beautiful and interactive communities.”

“Public art isn’t just art for the wealthy or those inclined to visit museums and gallery shows; it is art for everyone. As an artist, I seek solace and inspiration in nature. Nature and art are inseparably linked. Nowhere can we find as much inspiration, peace, and solace as in nature,” Aishwarya further said.

It was a great opening ceremony and the sculpture was striking. There were many others present at the function including Poonam Mahajan, the Member of Parliament from Mumbai-North-Central.

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Akshay, Zaira, Surabhi & Sonam received National Award for their contribution

Bollywood had its great celebration on Wednesday as the National Awards Ceremony was held making the latest National News. Actor Akshay Kumar received the Best Actor Award for his film Rustom while Malayali actress Surabhi Jyothi was awarded the best actress award for her outstanding performance in Minnaminungu (The Firefly).

Experienced and talented, Telugu director Kasinathuni Viswanath was facilitated with the Dadasaheb Phalke award. Viswanath is not only a revered name of Telugu Cinema but also of Hindi & Tamil films. The award made him 48th recipient of the reputed award. The Dadasaheb Phalke award is considered the highest recognition in the Indian Cinema. The award includes a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh, a golden lotus, a shawl and a citation.

Sonam Kapoor, the Neerja Actress was awarded a special mention for her legendary film Neerja. She was accompanied by her actor father Anil Kapoor, mother Sunita and friend Anand Ahuja. Wife Twinkle Khanna and son Aaarav beamed as Akshay Kumar received the award. Talking to a news daily before the award function, when asked whether he would now change the kind f work he does, Akshay answered. “I don’t know what are the National Award-kind of films. I shall continue to do the kind of work I have always been doing.”

After receiving the Phalke award, Viswanath was seen cherishing, he said, “It is an auspicious occasion to receive this prestigious award. I offer my pranams to my parents and to the Almighty who is everywhere.”

Kashmiri Actress Zaira Wasim was awarded the Best Supporting Actor award fro her role in Dangal. Priyadarshan who was the part of the jury and was earlier criticized for picking Akshay as the best actor was seen saying in an event, “People might appreciate or criticize, but the jury’s decision is final and has to be appreciated. We have given importance to movies with social issues that show our culture, our beliefs and project India.”

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Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari’s house Ransacked, 2 arrested

The latest national news came from the house of Delhi’s BJP ChiefManoj Tiwari’s house. The politician claimed that on Sunday late night, his house was attacked by some people. He said that he wasn’t in the house at that time.

Around 3 am in the morning today, Manoj Tiwari tweeted; “8-9 people have attacked my 159 North Avenue residence,”

Talking to a leading news aggregator Tiwari said, 8-9 people have attacked my 159 North Avenue residence,” “Don’t know their intention or the reason behind (the attack) but they were very abusive, (they) were not scared of the police. They were seven-eight in number.” told the eyewitness.

As reported by an eyewitness, there were 7-8 people who rushed into Tiwari’s house and said abuses to the people present in the house; this was reported by a leading newspaper.

The police have already arrested two people in relation to this attack.

The police have to say that the attack was just an aftermath of a road rage incident that took place a day before.

“There was a minor accident in the wee hours outside Tiwari’s residence on North Avenue. His driver with a Scorpio car, in which Tiwari was not traveling, allegedly hit a wagon R car. The driver of the wagon car alleged that Tiwari’s driver beat him up, and went inside the residence. Wagon R driver’s associates come up after some time and went inside Tiwari’s office – besides Tiwari’s residence where the fencing is not high – and allegedly beat the Tiwari’s driver and his associates,” said DCP New Delhi BK Singh

However, Tiwari hit back the issue and has claimed that it is a conspiracy against him. He said that the people were there with a sheer motive to cause him harm and that the police is also involved in the entire stint.

“It looks like a big conspiracy, that too with police involvement. No one should be spared,” Tiwari said.

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Now all cattle in India to have Aadhar like ID.

As reported by a leading Indian news source, the center on Monday told the Supreme Court that the nation would have a tamper-proof Unique Identification Number(UID) for all cattle including Cows, their calves, Oxen and bulls in the country that will aid in stopping their smuggling.

The decision thus taken was on working ever since the NDA government took charge in 2014. In the process of informing the Supreme Court about the decision, solicitor general Ranjit Kumar addressed a bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud. He said, “each animal will be tagged with a UIN with proper records of identification details — age, breed, sex, lactation, height, body color, horn type, tail switch and special marks.”

He further added, “The ministry of agriculture has devised a method of tamper-proof identification of cattle using polyurethane tags with a UIN sequence. It may be made mandatory for cows and their progeny throughout India.”

The center also said that “Already mass tagging of cattle for insurance purpose is being done by livestock development boards and animal husbandry departments in states. A state-level data bank may be uploaded on the website to be linked with the national online database. Such cattle may be in a dairy, kanji house (shelter home) or dry dairy and a registration card have to be maintained by the owner of the cattle which may be transferred to the next owner, in case legitimate sale/transfer takes place.”

Here it is to be noted that recently lots of cases involving cattle smuggling have come into light. The Government is targeting the sector to curb the situation. Though the government got its share of controversy for being partial to the issue but this does not stop the ongoing development.

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No more beacons for VIPs, Every Indian is a VIP, says PM Modi

The latest India News states that from the coming May 1st no VIP, Dignitary or any official of the state would be prohibited from using any beacon, red or blue on his/her vehicle. The rule implies to the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of Supreme Court as well. Only vehicles that serve emergency services like the fire brigade, police and ambulance would carry a blue beacon as and when required.

As per a tweet by Prime Minister, “Every Indian is special. Every Indian is a VIP. It should have gone long ago. Glad that today a strong beginning has been made.” The message strikes the right notch clearing the intent of the government of abolishing the VIP Culture, something that the previous governments failed to do.

Last week the PMO held a detailed meeting over the matter and the proposal submitted by road transport minister Nitin Gadkari was discussed in the presence of three other senior Cabinet ministers. After the meeting, PM Modi informed the Cabinet on Wednesday about the decision.

Making the announcement, Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister India said that the provision of “vehicles carrying high dignitaries” to use red beacons will be scrapped off. “This will mean Centre or states cannot nominate anyone to use red beacon from May 1,” Jaitley said.

Appreciating the historic move Gadkari told a leading Indian news source, “We will notify the new norms after inviting suggestions and objections. But I appeal to everyone to remove these beacons on their own,”

Aam Aadmi Party first withdrew the system in Delhi followed by Captain Amarinder Government in Punjab. Yogi Adityanath, CM Uttar Pradesh also banned hooters on VIP vehicles.

Many ministers were seen removing the beacons from their vehicles as soon as the decision was announced.