"College life was a lot of fun, though problems come as fast as the cheetah runs, but its what motivates me to do the best I can"

One of the most interesting stages in life that gives you an opportunity to explore is the ‘college phase.’ Life at college is the time when the teenage years end and we all dive deep into the ocean of new beginnings and possibilities. This golden period better equips you for all the challenges you’ll face in life and creates a strong foundation of knowledge. 

My experience as a first year student of LSR and the experience of bring bubbled at home due to COVID-19 taught me one thing ,“Life is unpredictable.”

You can be sunflowers as college might be good, it might be bad, it might be weird, and it might not interest you, but expect anything to happen. 

For example, you might have a wonderful internship this moment, and be fired the very next moment. College life prepares you for all of this. It is a Melting pot, with perfect blend of joy and hardships. A melting pot where all cultures melt to give you “Exposure”.  You meet different people, you interact with them, you learn about their cultures and grow as a person. You will understand how to talk to different people, how to judge their behaviour, thus helping you with important life skills.  

You learn to sit through a boring lecture; you try to cope up with the surprisingly strenuous syllabus, and you have the opportunity to learn from some great research minds. Academia, as they say, never lets you go free. People might try to motivate you by telling that you need to study only through your school years and chill during the college life, but that isn’t true.

Another life lesson you will remember – the learning never ends. You find campus groups or student groups where you can explore your co-curricular skills along with many other students like you. You share common interests, and thus you share common ideas. There might have been a time where you would have had to give up drawing for your Board Examination Preparation. 

Trust me, once you get into a good college, you will get an opportunity to be the artist you always wanted to be through probably a fine arts campus group. You could be that director, you could be that vocalist, you could be the dancer of your dreams – college is the Santa Claus that keeps on giving all these wonderful opportunities while you’re in it. There are also campus festivals, which draw a lot of fun crowd from other colleges and let you show off your skills. You could also enjoy with the celebrities who are invited to perform, or even show off your technical prowess in a tech festival.

And obviously, the seniors. If I were asked to play a icebreaker round and had to choose between Friends and Seniors. SENIORS!, I would scream that. Seniors of your societies or even departments are the people who mould you. Seeing them is learning as they are the best influencers in College life. Even in a party, they teach you lot. How to balance everything ? 

So, one fine day when you see pictures from the college of you and your friends having a good time, you’ll definitely land up smiling silently. That’s the beauty of college life. It stays with you long after you’ve climbed those ladders of success and forgotten the name of that cute crush you used to drool over.

Life at college is a wild mish-mash of experiences, what with all sort of hilarious stuff going down in the hostels!

The life at college is a time when you can decide your career. It’s a time of dreams and innumerable paths. You can work for a non-profit organization and even gain the satisfaction of being a humanitarian. The point is that you are free to try out these new things and no one is going to forcefully control the decisions you make. Every nook and corner of the college you’d find a peaceful spot full of natural surroundings, who’s value you will only realize once you graduate from your campus. You will always remember the early morning fog, your hostel’s adorable “puppy” or even your grumpy stationery shopkeeper and the morning ice teas of Nescafe as I miss it right now.

Uncertainty: The COVID and answer to all our questions

New sessions, results, new college, societies, new city. All the dreams and hopes were shattered due to the Pandemic. And the only answer to our questions is ‘ Uncertainty’.  The on field experiences of college campus can’t be fulfilled by online classes. The loss of  morning chit chat session about politics and fashion with cheese sandwich and  ice tea can’t be fixed.  

Circumstances and Human Race has always been close relatives as we “ HOOMANS” can fight all odds and still be productive. Colleges have offered students hell lot of opportunities with work from Home culture, which made the productivity race a proton factor.

Well, we need to understand that the ‘new normal’ has to be the reality and the race of productivity sometimes needs to be balanced.  

So, remember that there will be moments that carry a lot of sentimental value and you can’t help but procrastinate about the normal life. But even the friendships you make in college life and through the online classes is the most important aspect. These people will give you strength and be your knights in shining armor all your life. The time you spend with your friends, playing Mafia, Poker, or arguing about any random topic, your regular lecture “ online bunking” to watch a new release of your favorite star, will always stay in your heart. Planning road trips for post covid, and impulsive binge watching —all these things make you more emotional. So, just adapt to situations now and hope for the best.

How did COVID-19 changed your lifestyle? If you want to please share your experience. 

2020: A repeat of 2008?

With huge economic strain given the impact of pandemic, it's time we question the leaders, the economists on whether it's a repeat of the history of the great recession of 2008?

A decade after the Great Recession of 2008, the global economy indicates the resurgence of economic complacency and unpredictability of markets as we dwell within close proximity of yet another global economic crisis.

 

Now: Main Street has collapsed

The current recession is not caused by a broken link within the system, but from an external threat, a worldwide pandemic. In order to keep the disease from spreading, many governments forced non-essential businesses to close and brought in lockdown orders, bringing many industries to a grinding halt.

But luckily, the overall financial system is in much better shape this time around - in part because of some of the policy changes made in response to the 2008 the recession.

Who's to be blamed?

USA, the hegemon seems to be the reason for such escalated international tensions. 

 Indices of major stock markets have been on a gradual decline in the financial year. Some even hint at the possibility of a “global debt bubble” which would inevitably cause another global recession. 

A bubble is an economic cycle which includes the rapid escalation of asset prices followed by contraction of the asset prices due to exuberant market behavior. With USA being the superpower, dollar's strength is incredible. Slight ramifications and the world pays off. 

The ramifications of the dollar's strength are witnessed via the trade war between the USA and China. This trade war has not only impacted their relation but also other countries especially south Asian countries who were caught between the crossfire. 

The USA should not be held solely responsible for an imminent global economic crisis. The global market faces stiff uncertainty in the midst of rising tautness in the European Union, with reference to Brexit, leading to Britain opting out of EU. 

Three major economic similarities between 2020 and 2008 recession 

1. Uncertainty: Both crises share uncertainty as a key factor once they emerged in one of the two leading economies (the United States in 2008 and China end of 2019) and spread globally.

To put it simply and following Frank Knight (1921), “uncertainty” can be defined as a non-quantifiable risk. It is a risk that cannot easily be traced so that its probability of occurrence and its impact can hardly be predicted. This applies both to the new non-visible coronavirus and to the ‘‘subprime’’ virus.

2. Collapse: The initial drops in the stock exchanges of major countries (up to one-fourth of their valuation) have been analogous between both crises. And both global recessions have been successively qualified as the largest since the Great Depression.

Warnings  but  'No Measures'.

Even with clear warning signs of an imminent global financial crisis, world leaders fail to take corrective measures and seek only benefit without realizing the damage. 

Ironically, the recession of 2020 will produce well-educated unemployed labour force. Isn't that great ?

Firstly, Covid has given a huge lift to online learning both in the metros and non-metros. Online education, for instance, has got a major boost. Educational institutions, business organisations among others, have taken online education to a new level by offering classes, coaching and courses in an innovative way to keep their audience hooked at these times of lockdown. In India, students and professionals are signing up for online classes- from entrance exams. 

Secondly, we have become more hygiene conscious. Yes, you heard it right. People have started taking personal hygiene more seriously. The ritual of washing hands, sanitizing things before use, that started as a compulsion is becoming a habit. According to IANS C-VOTER Gallup International Association Corona.

Work from Home (WFH) is the third major change that has become a part of our lives. Well, honestly speaking it was never a new concept. Many IT companies in the West and even in India has been practicising it with perfection. Covid 19 has taken it to another level with almost all companies asking its employees to WFH.

So, Corona has changed our life drastically. We never saw something like this coming. Who knew  from “keys....check” to “keys, hand santisizer, masks, gloves....etc.” but changes are a part of life. We have live this way now, at least for a while. But Covid has helped us to change many things in our life, in a good way.

CYBERBULLYING

The humanitarian crisis has cultivated a ‘New Normal’ vitality for all of us. Ranging from quarantine greenhouse dates to online classes and good-byes, we all have harmonized to the culture. Technology played an integral role in maintaining the continuity as it brought new dimensions to the responsibilities of educators and mentors. 

But we need self-introspection to rethink the ethical use of technology. If Zoom is that easy to hack into, it’s likely to expect kids and teens trying to follow suit. The era where gadgets are the ‘toys’ for the kids plus the ‘Lockdown’ has increased the fear of ‘Cyberbullying.

 

Cyberbullying is defined as “sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices”. Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies, such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Websites, and defamatory online personal polling Websites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm. 

In India, an estimated 71 million children aged between 5-11 years access the Internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 14 percent of the country's active Internet user base of over 500 million. Two-thirds of internet users in India are in the age group of 12-29 year (Data shared by the Internet & Mobile Association of India). Data and statistics have highlighted that post lockdown, the internet has amplified the risk of cyberbullying, including online discrimination for children and young people.

 

Cyberbullying ranges from flaming to Catfishing. 

Flaming is a confrontation often happens in online spaces, which entails one or more bullies attacking a particular person for their views or comments.

Exclusion is singling-out of the targeted person and to purposefully exclude them from chats.

Cyberstalking is a type of harassment that involves one or more bullies going to great lengths to gather information about a particular person, continually frightening or threatening them, following them around social media and other sites, and potentially crossing the line into physical stalking.

Outing is the malicious release of private information about a person to embarrass or humiliate by spreading rumours about someone’s personal life, sexuality etc. through pictures, screenshots, videos.

Masquerading is creating a fake identity to harass someone anonymously or to impersonate someone else, often called “fraping,” such as pretending to be the victim or a significant other to create a negative reputation for the victim. 

Trolling is to provoke victims through the use of insults, controversial topics or off-topic posts into acting out in a similarly angry way.

Catfishing refers specifically to those cyberbullies who steal photos and information from a victim’s social media account and recreate a fake one of their own, mimicking and pretending to be the victim. 

Students with higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance, 

Of all children who are bullied, more than one third reported bias-based bullying, a form of bullying that targets someone because of who they are or what they look like. Potential victims include LGBTQ youth, students with disabilities, and religious students, especially those who wear symbols of their religion. Students with a higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance.

Girls and young women are targeted due to body image or sexuality, and are more often harassed over social media. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims of cyberbullying; bullying statistics show that 38% of girls who use social media report being bullied online, compared to 26% of boys.

Cyberbullying Self-Harm

If left unchecked, the effects of cyberbullying can lead to extreme stress and depression, and students who are victims may feel drawn to self-harm as a result of their experiences. 

However, the victims of bullying are not the only ones who are vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal behaviours. 

Young people who cyberbully others are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing these feelings than those who don’t.

Cyberbullying can be devastating for victims and their families. The psychological harm inflicted by cyberbullying, just like bullying, is reflected in low self-esteem, school failure, anger, anxiety, depression, school avoidance, school violence, and suicide. 

It is even possible that the damage from cyberbullying would be greater than bullying because there is no escape for the victims; harmful material could be easily preserved as well as quickly and widely spread.

For the cyberbullies, the consequences of their actions can be very severe, including being suspended or expelled from school and being removed from sports teams, clubs, and activities. Certain types of cyberbullying can even be considered criminal.

What did students do after they were cyberbullied? 

Apparently, only a few try to take revenge; the majority of students chose not to inform anyone. Some chose to get away from the cyberbully. Few try to take revenge on the cyberbully or bully others.  

Some inform parents and siblings. Few students reported to school adults (e.g., teachers, school administrators).

“If you were cyberbullied at school or at home, would you report the incident to a school counselor, teacher, or administrator?”

 ‘NO’, that’s what most of the students answer.

The secret of Cyberbullying being SECRETIVE

The fear of not being understood, made fun of kept most of the teens away from reporting to their educators. The thought of them getting into trouble either because of being at fault or for no reason made them escape from the best advice. 

‘Why are you exacerbating the problem?

Parents remarks like: ‘We are restricting your access to technology. So, No Phone, No Social Media.”

Some thought it was “no big deal.” 

The above reasons reflect the importance of teaching students about, ‘ Cyber threats’. 

What are students' beliefs about cyberbullying? Why do they think people behave this way?

Some think various factors cause the problem, ranging from feeling insecure, angry, jealous, or mean, to feeling bored or having family issues. A troubling finding, however, is that the majority believe that cyberbullies do it for fun. 

Even more disturbing is the fact that one in five perceived cyberbullying as a “cool” act. This might be explained by students' perception that technology is exciting. These students might think that using it for aggressive acts is creative. Further, they might not realize the seriousness of cyberbullying.

 For example, one student's narrative, “I bully online and it does not mean anything,” demonstrates that some fail to see the negative effect of cyberbullying or bullying on victims. The actual reason behind this perception is unclear; nonetheless, it deserves our serious consideration because this is a potentially dangerous perception.

 Some think that nothing can be done about Cyber victims. Some summarize this feeling: “No one cares. Deal with it yourself.” Some hold the belief that this is a serious problem and needs to be stopped. 

Another serious theme emerged relating to freedom of speech. One in six students considered that people have the right to say anything they want, even if what they say hurts someone or violates someone's privacy. 

So, How can we combat cyberbullying yet respect and exercise our freedom of expression? 

Although we understand that there is no absolute freedom of speech, balancing the two is the ultimate question.

One out of three students believes that what happens online should stay online which reflects a general perception that cyberspace is separated from the real world. But what we do online affects what we do in real life. 

Designing educational systems: Creating our future in a changing world

Addressing cyberbullying should be a collective effort on the part of schools, families, students, and society. Because cyberbullying happens outside of school boundaries, schools might direct such issues back to parents, saying that they have no legal jurisdiction. However, cyberbullying can be rooted in school or vice versa, even if the incidents appear to be initiated using school property. This requires schools to consider the development of comprehensive programs to fight cyberbullying, including detailed and unified policies as well as effective programs to educate students. 

Establishment of Systematic Programs 

First, schools need to establish systematic programs to stop cyberbullying. Such programs should develop strong policies on both traditional bullying and cyberbullying.

 Administrators should investigate current acceptable-use policies for technology (e.g., mobile, Internet) in the schools. Telling others such as school adults or family members remains an effective strategy for combating cyberbullying. 

It is important to establish easy and multiple ways of reporting. For example, we could create help lines (e.g., a phone line), e‐mail, or Web links, and provide a box or similar device in hot spots in schools so students can report incidents or offer suggestions anonymously.

Teaching about Cyberbullying

Second, schools should educate school adults, students, and parents about cyberbullying and provide clear procedures to follow when cyberbullying occurs.

 At the fundamental level, adults, including teachers and parents, need to keep pace with new technology to understand how students communicate and how cyberbullying happens. Effective strategies, therefore, need to be included in school adults' professional development opportunities. Schools can also provide opportunities for parents to learn such strategies.

 

Similarly, approaches to cyberbullying issues need to go beyond the one-time workshop mode for students and be part of regular curriculum learning. 

Such education can take place in different school situations, including classrooms, assemblies, and continuing education programs. For example, schools can use forums not only to mediate between cyberbullies and cyber victims, but also to offer opportunities for students to develop adaptive skills, such as dealing with emotional conflict and building positive behavioral patterns. Such forums help to build a strong rapport and trustworthy relationships between students and school adults as well as among students. 

Responsibilities associated with the use of Technology 

Students, a key group in fighting cyberbullying, need to learn responsibilities associated with the use of technology. They should be aware of the consequences of misuse of technology so that responsible behaviours can be promoted at an early age. They need to understand the dangers that exist and the importance of getting help from responsible adults when cyberbullying occurs. 

PANDEMIC & MAKING THE BEST USE OF IT 

Cyberbullying has been on the rise before lock down – some reports suggest that just 20% of bullying takes place at school now. The strain placed on mental health caused by being confined to the home for weeks at a time could be making matters worse. These unusual circumstances means that some kids may be venting their frustration online – and their classmates become the targets.

With the aim of addressing these concerns, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and UNESCO New Delhi Office developed an information booklet titled “Safe online learning in the times of COVID-19” to raise awareness of students and teachers on staying safe online. The booklet will be instrumental in keeping children, young people safe online through basic do’s, and don’ts that will help parents and educators teach their children how to use the internet safely.

“UNESCO is committed to ensure access to safe, inclusive and health promoting learning environments for all children. It is imperative that websites, digital platforms, social media platforms are free of Cyberbullying, if children have to access quality education. This information booklet titled ‘Safe online learning in times of Covid19’ highlights the negative consequences of cyberbullying and ways to eliminate and prevent the same”. UNESCO and NCERT are pleased to develop this booklet and hope that it acts as a valuable tool in creating a safer online environment.”

                        -Eric Falt, Director and Representative, UNESCO New Delhi

Pandemic and Parents : Working together

With COVID-19 closing schools in many states, children are turning to online schooling and with this comes a huge increase in device use by most children and teens. This is actually a wonderful opportunity for parents to spend some time talking with their child as to what cyberbullying means, and to talk through issues their child may be experiencing. It is also a great time for parents to establish guidelines and take the time to check-in and ensure that their child’s online behaviour is acceptable.

Younger children and tweens really should not be having “privacy” from their parents online. Parents need to be empowered to oversee what their elementary and middle school children are doing and with whom they are chatting. 

To think there wouldn’t be any cyberbullying during this time would be unrealistic, especially with so many children having excess frustration and a lot of free time. There will be children who take that frustration out on other kids. Parents need to be conscious of this possibility and schedule check-ins both to ensure their child is okay and behaving appropriately. 

With parents and children home, most households are getting back to family dinners. Parents can use those dinners not just to discuss cyberbullying but to talk about how their children are feeling in general — if they are feeling isolated, lonely or stressed. 

Although our concern is of course cyberbullying, what we are more likely to see is kids reaching out to one another as a support system. The upside to having all this connectivity is that sad and lonely children may actually have increased support.

We often see this in children who are hospitalized. They can feel very isolated. Having that virtual connection, the online social availability of their friends, really helps combat some of those feelings of loneliness and isolation. The hope would be that the social aspect of the connection that's going on in many homes right now with increased device use will outpace any uptick in cyberbullying. But it will be up to parents to make sure they are providing the guidance and supervision necessary to ensure that these online interactions are positive ones.

Human race has proven to overcome from all extremes the world has gone through may be it is a Plague, World Wars, Great Recession and many more. We have learnt lessons and we need to adapt and evolve every time and it’s a never ending process. This reminds of words of great genius Albert Einstein  that, “ Everything is Relative.”

Einstein gifted us with his inventions during the pandemic. Let us wait for the next ‘Science Genius’ from this Pandemic. It can be ‘YOU’. So, Let us work together to prevent the online propagated method of bullying.

A return to how life was at the start of 2020 is some way off. Even when lockdown restrictions are eased, coronavirus will affect our lives in many ways. What will struggle to get back to how it was before, and what might change for ever?

From Zooming clients to neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, digital platforms have become the only way for many of us to work, get fit or be educated and entertained. 

We're more relaxed about screen time hours for us and our kids, a huge culture shift from just a few weeks ago. It feels unlikely that'll disappear overnight. 

But key to a recovery will be job creation and keeping down living costs. The former means that, however uneasy, governments may have to tolerate China's continued investment around the globe. 

As for the latter, businesses need to keep costs low, and overseas sourcing of non-essential will continue. Some of the biggest brands, including H&M, have committed to helping workers in factories thousands of miles away to keep supply chains functioning. 

Those companies were already looking beyond China to lower cost nations such as Vietnam, Ethiopia and Bangladesh - countries which will work even harder to attract foreign customers. 

There'll be a lot less money in defence budgets for shiny new weaponry - with security being redefined because of the extraordinary weaknesses revealed by the pandemic. National security capability will be judged by stockpiled medical equipment and preparedness for the next pandemic or environmental catastrophe, not just on how many tank brigades can be deployed. 

CYBERBULLYING AND STUDENTS

The humanitarian crisis has cultivated a ‘New Normal’ vitality for all of us. Ranging from quarantine greenhouse dates to online classes and good-byes, we all have harmonized to the culture. Technology played an integral role in maintaining the continuity as it brought new dimensions to the responsibilities of educators and mentors. 

But we need self-introspection to rethink the ethical use of technology. If Zoom is that easy to hack into, it’s likely to expect kids and teens trying to follow suit. The era where gadgets are the ‘toys’ for the kids plus the ‘Lockdown’ has increased the fear of ‘Cyberbullying.

 

Cyberbullying is defined as “sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices”. 

Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies, such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Websites, and defamatory online personal polling Websites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm. 

In India, an estimated 71 million children aged between 5-11 years access the Internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 14 percent of the country's active Internet user base of over 500 million. Two-thirds of internet users in India are in the age group of 12-29 year (Data shared by the Internet & Mobile Association of India). Data and statistics have highlighted that post lockdown, the internet has amplified the risk of cyberbullying, including online discrimination for children and young people.

 

Cyberbullying ranges from flaming to Catfishing. 

•    Flaming is a confrontation often happens in online spaces, which entails one or more bullies attacking a particular person for their views or comments.

•    Exclusion is singling-out of the targeted person and to purposefully exclude them from chats.

•    Cyberstalking is a type of harassment that involves one or more bullies going to great lengths to gather information about a particular person, continually frightening or threatening them, following them around social media and other sites, and potentially crossing the line into physical stalking.

•    Outing is the malicious release of private information about a person to embarrass or humiliate by spreading rumours about someone’s personal life, sexuality etc. through pictures, screenshots, videos.

•    Masquerading is creating a fake identity to harass someone anonymously or to impersonate someone else, often called “fraping,” such as pretending to be the victim or a significant other to create a negative reputation for the victim. 

•    Trolling is to provoke victims through the use of insults, controversial topics or off-topic posts into acting out in a similarly angry way.

•    Catfishing refers specifically to those cyberbullies who steal photos and information from a victim’s social media account and recreate a fake one of their own, mimicking and pretending to be the victim. 

Students with higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance, 

Of all children who are bullied, more than one third reported bias-based bullying, a form of bullying that targets someone because of who they are or what they look like. Potential victims include LGBTQ youth, students with disabilities, and religious students, especially those who wear symbols of their religion. Students with a higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance.

Girls and young women are targeted due to body image or sexuality, and are more often harassed over social media. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims of cyberbullying; bullying statistics show that 38% of girls who use social media report being bullied online, compared to 26% of boys.

Cyberbullying Self-Harm

If left unchecked, the effects of cyberbullying can lead to extreme stress and depression, and students who are victims may feel drawn to self-harm as a result of their experiences. 

However, the victims of bullying are not the only ones who are vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal behaviours. 

Young people who cyberbully others are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing these feelings than those who don’t.

Cyberbullying can be devastating for victims and their families. The psychological harm inflicted by cyberbullying, just like bullying, is reflected in low self-esteem, school failure, anger, anxiety, depression, school avoidance, school violence, and suicide. 

It is even possible that the damage from cyberbullying would be greater than bullying because there is no escape for the victims; harmful material could be easily preserved as well as quickly and widely spread.

For the cyberbullies, the consequences of their actions can be very severe, including being suspended or expelled from school and being removed from sports teams, clubs, and activities. Certain types of cyberbullying can even be considered criminal.

What did students do after they were cyberbullied? 

Apparently, only a few try to take revenge; the majority of students chose not to inform anyone. Some chose to get away from the cyberbully. Few try to take revenge on the cyberbully or bully others.  

Some inform parents and siblings. Few students reported to school adults (e.g., teachers, school administrators).

“If you were cyberbullied at school or at home, would you report the incident to a school counsellor, teacher, or administrator?”

 ‘NO’, that’s what most of the students answer.

The secret of Cyberbullying being SECRETIVE

The fear of not being understood, and made fun of keeps most of the teens away from reporting to their educators. The thought of them getting into trouble either because of being at fault or for no reason made them escape from the best advice. 

‘Why are you exacerbating the problem?

Parents remarks like: ‘We are restricting your access to technology. So, No Phone, No Social Media.”

Some thought it was “no big deal.” 

The above reasons reflect the importance of teaching students about, ‘ Cyber threats’. 

What are students' beliefs about cyberbullying? Why do they think people behave this way?

Some think various factors cause the problem, ranging from feeling insecure, angry, jealous, or mean, to feeling bored or having family issues. A troubling finding, however, is that the majority believe that cyberbullies do it for fun. 

Even more disturbing is the fact that one in five perceived cyberbullying as a “cool” act. This might be explained by students' perception that technology is exciting. These students might think that using it for aggressive acts is creative. Further, they might not realize the seriousness of cyberbullying.

 For example, one student's narrative, “I bully online and it does not mean anything,” demonstrates that some fail to see the negative effect of cyberbullying or bullying on victims. The actual reason behind this perception is unclear; nonetheless, it deserves our serious consideration because this is a potentially dangerous perception.

 Some think that nothing can be done about Cyber victims. Some summarize this feeling: “No one cares. Deal with it yourself.” Some hold the belief that this is a serious problem and needs to be stopped. 

Another serious theme emerged relating to freedom of speech. One in six students considered that people have the right to say anything they want, even if what they say hurts someone or violates someone's privacy. 

So, How can we combat cyberbullying yet respect and exercise our freedom of expression? 

Although we understand that there is no absolute freedom of speech, balancing the two is the ultimate question.

One out of three students believes that what happens online should stay online which reflects a general perception that cyberspace is separated from the real world. But what we do online affects what we do in real life. 

Designing educational systems: Creating our future in a changing world

Addressing cyberbullying should be a collective effort on the part of schools, families, students, and society. Because cyberbullying happens outside of school boundaries, schools might direct such issues back to parents, saying that they have no legal jurisdiction. However, cyberbullying can be rooted in school or vice versa, even if the incidents appear to be initiated using school property. This requires schools to consider the development of comprehensive programs to fight cyberbullying, including detailed and unified policies as well as effective programs to educate students. 

Establishment of Systematic Programs 

First, schools need to establish systematic programs to stop cyberbullying. Such programs should develop strong policies on both traditional bullying and cyberbullying.

 Administrators should investigate current acceptable-use policies for technology (e.g., mobile, Internet) in the schools. Telling others such as school adults or family members remains an effective strategy for combating cyberbullying. 

It is important to establish easy and multiple ways of reporting. For example, we could create help lines (e.g., a phone line), e‐mail, or Web links, and provide a box or similar device in hot spots in schools so students can report incidents or offer suggestions anonymously.

Teaching about Cyberbullying

Second, schools should educate school adults, students, and parents about cyberbullying and provide clear procedures to follow when cyberbullying occurs.

 At the fundamental level, adults, including teachers and parents, need to keep pace with new technology to understand how students communicate and how cyberbullying happens. Effective strategies, therefore, need to be included in school adults' professional development opportunities. Schools can also provide opportunities for parents to learn such strategies.

 

Similarly, approaches to cyberbullying issues need to go beyond the one-time workshop mode for students and be part of regular curriculum learning. 

Such education can take place in different school situations, including classrooms, assemblies, and continuing education programs. For example, schools can use forums not only to mediate between cyberbullies and cyber victims, but also to offer opportunities for students to develop adaptive skills, such as dealing with emotional conflict and building positive behavioral patterns. Such forums help to build a strong rapport and trustworthy relationships between students and school adults as well as among students. 

Responsibilities associated with the use of Technology 

Students, a key group in fighting cyberbullying, need to learn responsibilities associated with the use of technology. They should be aware of the consequences of misuse of technology so that responsible behaviours can be promoted at an early age. They need to understand the dangers that exist and the importance of getting help from responsible adults when cyberbullying occurs. 

PANDEMIC & MAKING THE BEST USE OF IT 

Cyberbullying has been on the rise before lock down – some reports suggest that just 20% of bullying takes place at school now. The strain placed on mental health caused by being confined to the home for weeks at a time could be making matters worse. These unusual circumstances means that some kids may be venting their frustration online – and their classmates become the targets.

With the aim of addressing these concerns, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and UNESCO New Delhi Office developed an information booklet titled “Safe online learning in the times of COVID-19” to raise awareness of students and teachers on staying safe online. The booklet will be instrumental in keeping children, young people safe online through basic do’s, and don’ts that will help parents and educators teach their children how to use the internet safely.

“UNESCO is committed to ensure access to safe, inclusive and health promoting learning environments for all children. It is imperative that websites, digital platforms, social media platforms are free of Cyberbullying, if children have to access quality education. This information booklet titled ‘Safe online learning in times of Covid19’ highlights the negative consequences of cyberbullying and ways to eliminate and prevent the same”. UNESCO and NCERT are pleased to develop this booklet and hope that it acts as a valuable tool in creating a safer online environment.”

                        -Eric Falt, Director and Representative, UNESCO New Delhi

• Pandemic and Parents : Working together

With COVID-19 closing schools in many states, children are turning to online schooling and with this comes a huge increase in device use by most children and teens. This is actually a wonderful opportunity for parents to spend some time talking with their child as to what cyberbullying means, and to talk through issues their child may be experiencing. It is also a great time for parents to establish guidelines and take the time to check-in and ensure that their child’s online behaviour is acceptable.

Younger children and tweens really should not be having “privacy” from their parents online. Parents need to be empowered to oversee what their elementary and middle school children are doing and with whom they are chatting. 

To think there wouldn’t be any cyberbullying during this time would be unrealistic, especially with so many children having excess frustration and a lot of free time. There will be children who take that frustration out on other kids. Parents need to be conscious of this possibility and schedule check-ins both to ensure their child is okay and behaving appropriately. 

With parents and children home, most households are getting back to family dinners. Parents can use those dinners not just to discuss cyberbullying but to talk about how their children are feeling in general — if they are feeling isolated, lonely or stressed. 

Although our concern is of course cyberbullying, what we are more likely to see is kids reaching out to one another as a support system. The upside to having all this connectivity is that sad and lonely children may actually have increased support.

We often see this in children who are hospitalized. They can feel very isolated. Having that virtual connection, the online social availability of their friends, really helps combat some of those feelings of loneliness and isolation. The hope would be that the social aspect of the connection that's going on in many homes right now with increased device use will outpace any uptick in cyberbullying. But it will be up to parents to make sure they are providing the guidance and supervision necessary to ensure that these online interactions are positive ones.

Human race has proven to overcome from all extremes the world has gone through may be it is a Plague, World Wars, Great Recession and many more. We have learnt lessons and we need to adapt and evolve every time and it’s a never ending process. This reminds of words of great genius Albert Einstein  that, “ Everything is Relative.”

Einstein gifted us with his inventions during the pandemic. Let us wait for the next ‘Science Genius’ from this Pandemic. It can be ‘YOU’. So, Let us work together to prevent the online propagated method of bullying.

As countries begin loosening restrictions and easing lockdowns, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released guidelines to allow private offices in India to operate at 100 per cent capacity, but urged people to work from home as much as possible.

Not just India, several countries have released norms for employees. In New Zealand, for instance, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that those businesses in the “position to do so” should consider a four-day workweek in order to boost domestic tourism.

Some private companies too have initiated steps to change their work culture in order to adapt to the pandemic. Tech giant Twitter, for example, was among the first global companies to allow employees to work from home. In a blog post published on May 12, Jennifer Christie, the leader of the People Team at Twitter, said “with very few exceptions”, offices would not open before September and there would be no in-person company events till the end of 2020. Later, CEO Jack Dorsey said he would allow employees the option to permanently work from home.

Due to Covid-19, it is likely that people would want to change their work environments, even after the pandemic. A Gallup poll found that three in five (59 per cent) US workers, who have been working from home during the pandemic, said they would prefer to continue even after restrictions are lifted. Over 41 per cent, meanwhile, said they would prefer to return to their workplace. At the time of this survey, 62 per cent of employed Americans said they worked from home during the pandemic.

Further, Covid-19 might also change the notion that creative work demands corporate campuses built by companies such as Facebook and Google, complete with free food, open office plans and ping pong tables, a report in the Associated Press said.

As COVID-19 still goes on to continue with the same pace, On a great note, Russia has provided the world with a sigh of relief as it has reportedly completed its first phase of COVID-19 human clinical trials, successfully.

The COVID-19 vaccine is being developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in collaboration with the Russian Defence Ministry.

The Chief researcher and the head of the Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University, Dr Elena Smolyarchuk said that the  1st phase of human trials for the vaccine have been completed at the Sechenov University and they will be discharged to the market for commercial purposes soon.

However, there are controversies and contradictions on Russia's success in the 1st trial, since many countries and netizens all over the world since they believe that the world is still far from reaching the solution of the pandemic. 

No information on when this vaccine would enter commercial production stage has been published yet.

In another news, as of Sunday morning, the total number of global cases stood at 12,681,472, while the fatalities due to COVID rose to 564,420, increasing the graph day by day.

We can only hope that Russia's claims are true and the humanity savior vaccine enters the markets soon. 

Image credits- Inshorts Screengrab. 

US Service Workers Strike: Highlighting Racism on 20th July

A US National Coalition of labour unions and racial and social justice organisations have decided to go on a mass strike from work from July 20th , as part of an ongoing protests on systemic racism and police brutality in the United States and to pay a tribute to George Floyd who was killed in a police brutality last month. 



The organisers of the strike have demanded strict action by the Trump government to end the racism in an economy that has been choking off the economic mobility and career growth opportunities for many Black and Hworkers, who struggle to make a living amidst discrimination and are not able to rise up to higher positions at work.



The coalition has demanded for guaranteed sick pay, affordable healthcare and better safety measures for low-wage workers who don't have the option of working from home during COVID-19.

The Coronavirus Can Be Airborne Indoors, W.H.O. Says

"We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of COVID-19," Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic at the WHO, told a news briefing."

• The World Health Organization has acknowledged that there's possibility of coronavirus being spread in the air under certain conditons


• The UN body releases new guidelines on COVID-19 transmission, including new scientific evidence available on the spread of the SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus may linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, spreading from one person to the next, the World Health Organization acknowledged on Thursday.

The W.H.O. had described this form of transmission as doubtful and a problem mostly in medical procedures. But growing scientific and anecdotal evidence suggest this route may be important in spreading the virus, and this week more than 200 scientists urged the agency to revisit the research and revise its position.

In an updated scientific brief, the agency also asserted more directly than it had in the past that the virus may be spread by people who do not have symptoms: “Infected people can transmit the virus both when they have symptoms and when they don’t have symptoms,” the agency said.

The W.H.O. previously said asymptomatic transmission, while it may occur, was probably “very rare.” Some experts said both revisions were long overdue, and not as extensive as they had hoped.

“It is refreshing to see that W.H.O. is now acknowledging that airborne transmission may occur, although it is clear that the evidence must clear a higher bar for this route compared to others,” Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech, said in an email.

An aerosol is a respiratory droplet so small it may linger in the air. In its latest description of how the virus is spread, the agency said transmission of the virus by aerosols may have been responsible for “outbreaks of Covid-19 reported in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking or singing."

The guidelines stated that understanding how, when and in what types of settings the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads between people is critical for developing effective public health and infection prevention measures to break chains of transmission. WHO said current evidence suggests that COVID-19 transmission occurs primarily through direct, indirect, or close contact with infected individuals through their saliva and respiratory secretions, or through their respiratory droplets expelled when they cough, sneeze, talk or sing. The agency also said that asymptomatic people can also spread the virus to others, although it is still unclear to what extent this occurs and more research is needed in this area.

WHO stressed that high-quality research is urgently needed to understand the role of airborne spread of the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the absence of aerosol-generating procedures, the dose of virus required for transmission to occur, the settings and risk factors for superspreading events, as well as the extent of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission. In this article, let us tell you how airborne transmission is different from droplet transmission and what you can do to stay safe from respiratory infections such as COVID-19.

What you can do to prevent contracting respiratory infections?

In the current scenario,

• it’s always best to wear a mask while venturing out in crowded areas to keep respiratory infections away.


• Try to keep at least 3 feet physical distance and wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.


• Do not touch your face unnecessarily.


• Practice respiratory etiquette.


• Avoid crowded places, close-contact settings and confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.


• Ensure appropriate environmental cleaning and disinfection.


• To maintain immunity, opt for Indian square meal and exercises like Surya Namaskar and Pranayam or any other cardiorespiratory fitness regimen. It can help your cardio-respiratory fitness and lowers blood pressure as well. Moreover, it also increases cardio-respiratory efficiency and respiratory capacity.


• To prevent transmission, WHO recommends identifying suspect cases as quickly as possible, testing, and isolating all cases (infected people) in appropriate facilities.

Considering the loss of classroom teaching time due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, CBSE reduced the syllabus of classes 9 to 12 with the help of suggestions from NCERT.

This means that Class 11 students of political science will not study about federalism in the Constitution during the academic year of 2020-21. Political theory sections on citizenship, secularism and nationalism have also been removed, according to the details on deleted sections, available on the CBSE website.

In Class 12, the topic of India's relations with its neighbours has been deleted, along with sections on social movements, regional aspirations, the changing nature of India's economic development, and the Planning Commission. Business Studies students will not study the concept of demonetization, Goods and Services Tax, or the impact of government policy changes on business with special reference to liberalization, privatization and globalization in India. In History classes, students will not study chapters on understanding the partition, or on peasants, zamindars and the State.

Some of the excluded topics in Maths are Properties of Determinants, Consistency, Inconsistency, and Number of Solutions of System of Linear Equations by Examples and Binomial Probability Distribution.

The revised Physics syllabus for Class 11 omitted portions from Newton’s Laws of Motion, Kepler’s law of planetary motion and the Doppler effect in waves, while chapters on anatomy and morphology of flowering plants were dropped from the Biology syllabus.

Science teachers have questioned the rationale behind these choices, and say this will not only affect a student’s understanding of key concepts but also impact them when they attempt entrance exams such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for engineering colleges and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for medical colleges.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was "shocked" by the decision to drop subjects like democratic rights, federalism and secularism from the Economics and Political Science syllabuses of Classes 9 to 12.

"Shocked to know that the central government has dropped topics like citizenship, federalism, secularism and partition in the name of reducing CBSE course during the COVID-19 crisis," Mamta Banerjee tweeted.

A section of academicians claimed the move appeared to give importance to "political considerations" than academics. 

Elucidating on how its sole motive on the revised CBSE Syllabus was to relax the stress on students by reducing the syllabus by 30%, the ministry wrote that the decision has been falsely politicized.

Facing criticism over its decision to revise the syllabi for classes 9 to 12, which saw many important chapters getting axed from the curriculum, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Wednesday said the portions have not been “deleted”.

It said all these chapters have been covered in the “alternative academic calendar” launched by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) earlier this year.

The clarification comes in the backdrop of CBSE facing criticism for its decision to drop key chapters like Democratic Rights, Federalism, Citizenship and Secularism from school courses

The education board also clarified that no question shall be asked from the reduced syllabus in the Board Exams for 2020-2021only

Pandemic and Digital Divide: Sparking Mental Trauma among young minds.

The lack of technological resources in the hands of the poor has challenged remote-learning which can create a big - learning gap between the rich & poor. We can't imagine the physiological trauma of a child who craves to study but can't.

Online Classes through the gifts of technology has bridged the gap between the educators and the students but has also mirrored “ Digital-Divide” in India.

The Digital Divide: The non-accessibility of gadgets has created a historic wave of mental-health problems like suicide, depressions etc.

According to the 2017-’18 National Sample Survey report on education, only 24% of Indian households have an internet facility. While 66% of India’s population lives in villages, only a little over 15% of rural households have access to internet services.

 

Giving a global perspective, UNESCO noted, “Half of the total number of learners — some 826 million (82.6 crores) students — kept out of the classroom by the Covid-19 pandemic, do not have access to a household computer and 43 percent (706 million or 70.6 crores) have no internet at home, at a time when digitally-based distance learning is used to ensure educational continuity in the vast majority of countries.”

The psychological trauma of the class 10 student who committed suicide as she was distraught by not being able to access classes online is unimaginable. Think about the students who used to go to school for the “Mid-Day Meal”.

Web-based learning in the Indian market has increased gigantic footing as of late. Beside simply scholastic content, they likewise empower students to pick up abilities and even get ready for serious assessments. Yet, there are different sides to each story. E-learning too has a considerable amount of advantages and disadvantages.  Let’s check some points

Almost sixteen lakh kids from poor households studying in government and municipal schools within the Delhi are watching disruptions of their studies without access to mobiles, net and laptops or desktops, at the same time privileged students from private faculties are taking online classes amid the coronavirus lockdown.

From coping with basics like internet connectivity and India’s notoriously undependable power supply to more structural issues such as curriculum and teaching methods, educators have come under tremendous stress.

A teacher from an SDMC faculty in Sarvapriya Vihar said the first actual problem in implementing the plan is: “We do not even have the database for the students or the parents’ contact numbers as a way to reach out to them.”

The teacher said there isn’t even a computer in the school for teachers to feed contact details into.

A mathematics teacher from a North Delhi municipal faculty agreed that executing the plan is a huge hassle. “At the same time as my faculty hasn’t received any orders, several others I recognize had been instructed to start WhatsApp class. But subjects like maths can't study on those applications, even for those who use WhatsApp. How will one take a look at calculations?”

Online education is not equal or the same or easy for everyone. When others are discussing the technical disadvantages of E-learning like lack of interaction, less cost-effective etc, while others don’t have a phone at least, this is the hidden truth of the society. It is the condition of the Nation’s capital.

According to a study conducted by scholarship ed-tech platform Buddy4Study, of the 25 crore students affected by the lockdown, 80 percent fall in the Economically Weaker Section category. Let’s read some stories:

Kartik and his sister Mansi are students of class5 and class 1, respectively, in distinct MCD schools in Kapashera. Their mother and father sell vegetables for a living. Kartik, who wants to be a police officer, said that they've no longer received any assignments from school on their father’s phone for the reason that lockdown started out. “We haven’t been given any work; on the grounds that schools closed, it’s been a holiday for us.”

Shyam Singh, a labourer in Samaypur Badli, had no clue what WhatsApp meant while he received a call from his son Sohan’s class teacher at an NDMC school. “Madam called five days ago, and I didn’t have WhatsApp installed on my phone. Now my son has explained it to me and I’ve downloaded the app, but no work has been assigned through the school yet,” he said.

Tarun, son of a domestic employee in GK-II, cannot now use his father’s second-hand phone as it has broken. The father’s employer offered to shop for him a simple phone but realized delivery of non-essentials online wasn’t possible amid the lockdown. The owner explained: “I felt depressed, that’s why I allow Tarun to take a class with my smart hone every morning.  I feel that’s was the sole thing I could do.”

A visually-impaired pupil at a Delhi government school, who didn’t want to be diagnosed, stated: “Assignments on WhatsApp were now not possible for me. I don’t have parents and my grandparents too antique to use WhatsApp.

The interaction with school students, their parents, and teachers from government schools revealed how everybody was suffering to bridge the virtual gap — many families do not have smartphones, not to mention computers or laptops. Some said they don’t understand how to use WhatsApp, even as some parents are engaged in vital services and need to take their only smartphones with them on work.

The humanitarian crisis has brought all the officials under the microscope. How to ensure a sound transaction of online classes to students, especially poor across the country?

The Mirror of lockdown has reflected how the rooted structural imbalances are between rural & urban, rich & poor even in the digital world.

"TEST-TRACK-TREAT" is the new formula for defeating the COVID-19.

The Union Ministry on the 1st of July announced that A Doctor's Prescription will no more be required for getting oneself checked for COVID-19. 

This order has come after a lot of chaos and tension caused when many concerned individuals with minor symptoms similar to COVID-19 were restricted from getting tested.

The Health Ministry advised all the states and UT's to allow all medical practitioners to prescribe the Coronavirus test for anyone who wants to get himself checked.

It said that this will decrease the load on the medical fraternity, the mental stress amongst people and lead to unprecedented situations. 

It is to be noted that this step is being welcomed by the public as random and aggresive testing is the only way to recognize the new strain of asymptomatic coronovirus and then get it treated. 

Police misconduct is a grey area that citizens around the world in each part of the world face in their day to day lives , at varying degrees but constantly. With the death of George Floyd out in the daylight amidst many bystanders at the hands of a ruthless cop in Minneapolis led the whole world feeling choked two men in the Tamil Nadu lost their lives to custodial violence in Thoothukudi . The world around is truly not accepting and sympathetic but rather brutish. These are incidents of abuse of power but they do not exist in isolation but rather come from a space which is concealed and hidden and lies are concocted to push this matter further down .





The crimes of these men are not arson and murder but a means to livelihood in these extremely trying times of health hazard a pandemic constantly They had reportedly kept their mobile shop open beyond 8 p.m. on June 19, despite restrictions imposed by the state as part of lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. It is important to understand that compassion and humanity seems to be non existant even during such times ,one can only imagine the activities before the pandemic .



Custodial deaths have been on the increase in recent years in India. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recorded a staggering 1,674 cases of custodial deaths in 334 days (11 months) between April 2017 and February 2018, which implies over five deaths in custody per day. Unfortunately, most of the deaths are registered as suicides or deaths due to medical conditions.During the COVID-19 period, in particular, the police have resorted to excessive violence and indiscriminate use of lathis (clubs) against people .



As the citizens of any democratic nation have india too has Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” This is the “procedural magna carta protective of life and liberty.”

Section 49 of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) accords several rights to the arrested person. It specifically states that there shall be no more restraint than is justly necessary to prevent escape. Section 50 of the CrPC makes it mandatory for police making arrests without warrant to inform the persons being detained about the grounds of arrest and their right to bail.



Most importantly, the arrested have a right to free legal aid and the right to consult their lawers whereas the father son duo was however inhumanely beaten up and tortured in ways that are unimaginable. On June 22, Jeyaraj and Benicks became severely ill and were taken to a hospital, where they died a day apart from each other.



A human rights violation like this cannot be allowed to happen in any civilized society. In response to public outcry, two subinspectors have been suspended and an inspector benched by the state government, and proceedings have been initiated against two head constables. However this raised so many issues on multiple levels . Is the law so complaiscant to the wishes of the enforcers that it forgets the basic principles it is to function on ? Is it the law or the enforcer that determines the end result of a breach in It. These are questions that need to be answered and understood by each citizen . There is a huge lack of knowledge about this . The death of George floyd sparked a flurry of protests while the death of these two men needed more outcry, it needed more people to speak up and challenge this brutality , sadly it didnt happen. Does this mean that people are more likely to support the cause of someone unknown to them in a another nation. Is the outcry and sentiment only tokenostic in nature if not why is there so much of lack of empathy and realization about the state of affairs in their surroundings , because in India too 5 people die due to police misconduct. The numbers reflected too are the ones that are known about there are so many that vanish into oblivion. It is essential to understand the gravity of this situation and demand change and check on abuse of power so that one day someone else doesn't find themselves battling this . It will however require a lot more than mere acknowledgement of something so heart wrenchingly cold, it requires actions towards a more responsible police and accountable police for the people not over the people.

Did you know there are board games that will educate you about Coronavirus and it’s protocols. Surprising, right ? Well here’s how they work: 

“You make me sick” Game

COVID-19 is highlighted in a newly updated board game, “You Make Me Sick,” to teach students about the immune system, infectious diseases, and good health practices. Designed by Duquesne University’s Partnership in Education, the game is available as a free download and optimized to print from the organization’s website. The game is designed for two to four players and recommended for children age 11-15 years old. The game provides a learning opportunity for the whole family and can be used by parents who are home schooling their children during the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid 19 board Game by Veer

A 10-year-old in a Delhi school developed a board game around COVID-19 and it’s now available online. A Game that reflected the time of quarantine, hand sanitiser use, social distancing, maks wearing, and more. The board has 52 spaces and starts and ends with ‘Home’, the idea being that a person who leaves home, must follow all regulations, before coming back. On the way, if they sneeze, they must wash hands, literally, and miss a few turns. They may even land on a space that asks the player to perform a yoga pose, to boost immunity. “He had five or six rules, and we helped him develop them,” says the father. Besides the board, dice, and coins, the rule book also has a list of symptoms, precautions, and COVID-19 warriors like doctors, police, vegetable vendors and other essential supplies.

In the obituary to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the British Medical Journal wrote, “… at his professional zenith, he may have had the largest consulting practice in the world, news of his visit to a city or even railway station bringing forth hordes of would-be patients.”

On July 1, 1882, is marked and celebrated in honour of one of the most legendary physicians and the second chief minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. Born in Patna, Bengal Presidency, British India, he did his graduation on Mathematician which was followed by study of Medicine in University of Calcutta. A stalwart, he chose to aspire for perfection and went to England to join the prestigious St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London but unfortunately was denied admission in the first attempt. The issue was of the origin from which came; the boy from Asian continent. Persistent, he was accepted in the university after 30 attempts.

Eventually, he went on and became a prestigious Member of the of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), after his post-graduation in 1911. He believed that medicine would help Indians remain fit, physically which will in turn help them pursue their dream of freedom.  He played an integral role in the establishment of medical institutions like Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, Victoria Institution, Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital and the Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children. He even opened centres for women, where they could train in social work and nursing.

Apart from being a successful physician, he was elected for the All India Congress Committee in 1928. Dr. Roy also conducted the Civil Disobedience in Bengal in 1929 and he prompted Pandit Motilal Nehru to nominate him as the member of the Working Committee (CWC) in 1930. It was on 26 August 1930, that he was arrested along with his members of the CWC and detained at Alipore Central Jail as the committee was declared to be unlawful.

In 1931, when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lead the Dandi March many members of the Calcutta Corporation were imprisoned. He was as the Alderman of the Corporation from 1930–31 and as the Mayor of Calcutta from 1931 to 1933 and under his leadership, the cooperation made humongous expansions of free education, free medical aid, better roads, improved lighting, and water supply, alongside he set the framework of dispensing grant-in-aid to hospitals and charitable dispensaries.

National Doctor’s day was established by the Government of India in 1991 to commemorate the contributions of awardee of Bharat Ratna on 4 February 1961, which is India's highest civilian honour. In addition to this, the day has been marked for a tribute to all the doctors across the country. The aim of this ay is to make the citizens aware of the roles, importance, and responsibilities of the doctors as well as promote medical professionals to come closer and follow the responsibilities of their profession very dedicatedly.

This year themes were declared Indian Medical Association, which is 'Lessen the mortality of COVID-19' The theme is decided keeping in mind the larger scale issue related to the medical field and the professionals and doctors. 

Summoning the contributions made by “National Doctor” along with the constant dedications of the doctors culminated to be celebrated in a single day, which may not seem enough, especially during the unfortunate ongoing situation; the Covid-19 Pandemic. Pulling in hours in work, treating several thousand patients indefatigably for several hours straight is a sedulous quality which these medicos successfully personify the very word. India cannot be more thankful and indebt to the doctors for all the efforts they put in to save lives of millions every day.

In 2018-19, exports of the Indian leather industry amounted to $5.69 billion, but the uncertainty over Covid-19 is expected to have led to a sharp decline in the business. Our exports stood at $5.69 billion last year. Estimates show that we have so far achieved around $4.34 billion this fiscal and we need to catch up with another $1.4 billion to touch last year’s numbers. We are awaiting final numbers for this fiscal to figure out actual exports.

South India accounts for nearly one-third of the leather manufacturing units. The predominance of the south in the industry also stems from the fact that the Council for Leather Exports, the industry body for leather, is based in Chennai. Within south India, Tamil Nadu plays a significant role with the Ranipet-Visharam-Vellore-Ambur- Vaniyambadi belt on the Chennai- Bengaluru National Highway being a hub for the industry and as an employment option for rural folk. Across India, the industry, with 3,400 manufacturers and merchandise exporters, employs around 4.4 million people.

The slump in business is across the country. The past couple of weeks have left Delhi-based Gautam Nair, an exporter of apparel and leather accessories, bewildered. As some of the international brands have cancelled orders with large retail chains in the US and Europe, work in his factories in Gurgaon and Ranchi, employing more than 8,000 workers, has come to a standstill due to the 21-day lockdown.

The crisis is likely to last beyond the 21-day lockdown, say industry observers. “With the supply chain cut off and orders being cancelled, production too will be affected after the 21-day lockdown. With liquidity crunch and no production, the government cannot ask us to pay salaries to our workers when we don’t know when this problem is going to end,” said a leather goods exporter.

Mr COVID-19 toured all length and breadth across the globe and the unwelcomed guest made us unsafe even in our own bubbled space within the confines of our homes. The ‘Invisible Virus’ brought all of us under the microscope. As the civilization was scrambling to discover the vaccine, the ease in limitations cultivated a “New Normal” vitality for me.

Experiences expresses the essence of viewpoint of life and so let us talk about how I balanced the skepticism of being unproductive and the sensibility of being productive.

When I walk down the lane of ‘small memories' with Mr. Covid-19 who has been indirectly dating me for the last 3 months, I realize that I have harmonized with this “New Culture” of Pandemic.

Initially, the reflections of “Egg me Jams” and the downpour of ‘Online Classes’ blurred my peaceful life. As hours felt like days and seconds like minutes, the inner opportunist I cried to be productive. From workout challenges to discovering the chef in me, I tried it all.

For one of us, ‘productivity’ may mean different. Someone else’s idea of productivity may not be the same as mine and therefore, it is best to find out where your productivity lies. For me ‘productivity’ was as simple as watching a movie or listening to a song and it was not limited to something huge. I realized that productivity can be dimensionless. It can be the simplest of things that give you the grandest of smiles.

But, in the race of being productive in quarantine, I grabbed all the opportunities which somehow taught me the most important lessons of life. Ranging from attending webinars to online courses of Havard University to interning with 3-4 companies at a time, I turned to be ‘ working machine’ with unrestricted labour, undefined working hours and restricted sleeping hours.

Well, quarantine helped me to figure things out and explore the work culture. The internships crafted my communication skills and enhanced my management skills. Writing and using words to form opinions has always been my strength. But, Mr. Covid-19 boosted my confidence and helped me to explore my potential.

The lane of memories gifted me a ‘Dark realization’ that I lacked “Appreciation” and “Kindness”. I was so much engrossed to win the war of productivity that the creativity to appreciate little things erased. A nature-lover like me could not acknowledge the dawn followed by morning birds chirping and I missed the brilliant blue sky which awaited me to hear the poetry of love and gratitude.

Sometimes, beds seemed to be more comforting than the world outside but it was only for “Sometimes” as I used to again dive into the ocean of Instagram newsfeed and stories. My hands never shivered while looking at the phone screen continuously. I was engulfed in this web of darkness and despondency where I sought for a reason to wake up; a reason to continue the ‘normal’ in my life.

You know, the realization hits harder and what I learnt is that, It’s okay not to do anything productive during quite routine. Don’t be stressed. It’s an opportunity to live real life with family although tangled with small cute fights.

You can just daydream about the quarantined greenhouse dates and give online goodbyes and farewells. As you have read till here and if you agree to what you read through my words,let us go on for “ Online Chai par Charcha”, as that is million times better than being homeschooled by parents on ‘ relationships’.

The Supreme Court's bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilker today gave its final decision regarding the leftover CBSE AISSCE Class 12th exams which were to be held in the month of July. The exams stand canceled now.

While, the class 10th exams were already canceled, the CBSE board has shared its decision to go ahead and declare the results by July 15th on basis on internals examinations due to the conditions caused by the pandemic COVID-19.

However, according to a CBSE OFFICIAL, the students will have an option to appear in examination if they wish to (and if the conditions would allow which is not probable)

but if they don't wish to appear then their performance of last internal examinations will be considered to grant them marks.

The board has clarified that option of appearing in the board exam will only be available to XIIth students and not for class Xth students.

This decision has bought to relief lakhs of students who were not in a mental state to give the remaining exams and also those who were in the containment zones.

Yoga and aurvedic expert Ramdev , head of Patajnjili has claimed that the medicine called ‘Coronil’ will help in treating the respiratory impacts of COVID-19.“The whole country and the world was waiting for medicine or vaccine for corona. We are proud to announce that the first Ayurvedic, clinically controlled trial based evidence and research-based medicine has been prepared by the combined efforts of Patanjali Research Centre and NIMS,” he said at a press conference in Haridwar.

The medicine comes as part of a kit which consists of tablets named Coronil and Swasari Vati, and an oil called Anu Oil. Active compounds of Ahwagandha, Giloy and Tulsi are used in the new Covid-19 medicine by Patanjili.The entire kit will help in strengthening immunity with more than 100 compounds used.2 tablets with hot water half an hour after each meals is prescribed by Patanjili.This quantity is suitable for people between 15 to 80 years of age, the company says. Children between the age of 6-14 years can take this medicine, but the dosage should be half of what is prescribed for adults.

 The first trial was a clinically controlled study which took place in Delhi, Ahmedabad and many other cities. Under this, 280 patients were included and 100 per cent of those recovered, he said. After controlling the disese and its complications, the all-important clinical control trial was conducted, said Ramdev. It was a two stage trial according to Ramdev.Patanjali claims those administered the medicine were fully cured and none died. Ramdev alwo claimed that 69 per cent of them recovered within three days. He said that 100 per cent recovery was seen in seven days.The company said that data of the trial will be released as evidence in the next few days.he efficacy of Patanjali’s medicine on Covid-19 cure has not been corroborated by any independent medical body as of yet. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recently said that while several drug trials are ongoing, there is currently no proof that any drug can cure or prevent Covid-19.

On Tuesday the AYUSH ministry asked yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to provide as soon as possible the composition and other details of the medicine it claimed is for the treatment of COVID-19, and ordered the firm to stop advertising the product until the "issue" is examined.'Coronil and Swasari' medicine had been launched by Patanjali Ayurved with the claim that it has discovered a cure for COVID-19.

Uttarakhand Government has been asked by the Ayush ministry to provide copies of license and approval details granted for the manufacture of Coronil. Patanjali is headquartered in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

“Ministry has also requested concerned State Licensing Authority of Uttarakhand Government to provide copies of license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines being claimed for the treatment of COVID -19,” the statement added.

With not only the nation but the whole world hoping for a miracle come their way in the form of treatment for COVID-19, the hope Coronil as a potential treatment raised hopes of millions around the world.  

" Truth is Expensive ": Aspiring Journalists 

“Not all battles are fought for victory. Some battles are fought to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield.”
                   - Ravish Kumar.

Freedom of the press is an integral part of freedom of speech. Space for dissent is what keeps the fire ignited in democracy & brings the unspoken in light.  However, how free are we today to speak the unspoken?  and by ' we', I mean all of us. Well, sacrifices! We have to pay for everything, for freedom of expression too.

I was 16 when investigative journalists exposed a well-known medical institution in Jharkhand that was practising female infanticide. Since then, the pursuit of truth, that truth is eternal, in journalism has always inspired me to join the culture of journalism. Journalism, where the voice has power & right words can shatter even the strongest lie.

Well, When I told my parents how passionate I was to become a journalist, the first feedback was," It's Risky Beta".
An aspiring journalist is always made aware that there is a price to pay when unwanted truths tumble out, you have to pay for the truth.

 There's always a line that would not be crossed but, as I inch closer to my dream of becoming a journalist, the line gets blurred. There's no idea for the price of truth. You might have to trade your life.

2017: I was 17 when Gauri Lankesh was assassinated. You have to fight against autocracy and fight against the exploitation of power. I'm a media student right now & our institution stopped us to talk & put the poster of ' Gauri Lankesh'.

 The last few months, in particular, have been a whirlwind for India – from the protests against the citizenship law to police brutality, the Kashmir lockdown and the coronavirus lockdown, a series of arrests of journalists and the deadly Delhi riots – the news industry has barely had a minute to breathe.

But with every reinforced silence, the fight of journalists is weakening. Where criticism of governments is a sign of good journalism, the arrest of such journalists who are trying to bring out the truth is the sign of a failing democracy & you are titled as ' Anti- Nationals'. The first rule of Journalism: BE NEUTRAL. That's the price journalists have to pay: Hide the truth &  so separate from work and fear of repercussions injected into them plays a dominating role.

So when Gauri Lankesh was assassinated or when Masrat Zahra was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, I’m sure many young people dreaming of joining the ranks of the fourth pillar of democracy vanished.

Well, some of my classmates who are pursuing journalism, accept that they experience withering of their spirit when it comes to continuing journalism as their career. No Security for Journalists. So, you have better options :  filmmaking or advertising – which they say are growing sectors.

What about the harsh reality, the dialect that is uttered in journalism? 

Well, stories about, Health journalist Vidya Krishnan being harassed, threatened and humiliated online for calling out the lapses in the way India has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Oh ! that's the security provided to truth-seekers. 

 These cases have lit a fire in the belly may questioning the ethics of journalism.
 Why journalists, on the ground covering the pandemic were not given access to proper gear?  Recently, an on-ground journalist, Ronojoy Roy, died of what was suspected to be coronavirus and he is not the only one. Several more have tested positive.
In the World Press Freedom Index of 2020, India fell by two places and now stands at the 142nd position.

Independent media houses and fact-checking websites sell untruths and half-truths to their audiences: The flagbearers of journalism !! 
Many journalists don't sacrifice their belief system by joining a media house. 

Why many are disappointed about joining a profession where one is ambushed for speaking truth to power?
In a  democratic country, the unrestricted cycle of information is important. 

The battle in me has become dimensionless. But the revolutionary spirit needs to bike phoenix– can be reflamed.

CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) Lucknow has received permission for carrying out Phase III trial of antiviral drug Umifenovir, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Friday. Umifenovir is mainly used for the treatment of influenza and is available in China and Russia, and has recently come into prominence due to its potential use for COVID-19 patients.

Why Umifenovir ??

•The drug has a good safety profile and acts by preventing entry of viruses into human cells and also by priming the immune system.

•All the raw materials for the drug are indigenously available and if the clinical trial is successful, Umifenovir can be a safe, efficacious, affordable drug against COVID-19. The drug has the potential for prophylactic use.

•If the clinical trial is successful, Umifenovir can be a safe, efficacious, affordable drug against COVID-19.

CSIR labs have been trying to repurpose different drugs for treating coronavirus patients. For the last three months, the Drug Controller General of India has allowed the use of Favipiravir drug, developed within the country by a CSIR laboratory, for clinical trials to treat coronavirus patients.

•India was elected unopposed as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. India won 184 votes in the 193-member General Assembly in the election held Wednesday.

•  India will sit in the powerful UN body for two years beginning January 1, along with the five permanent members.

• Along with India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway also won the Security Council elections held on June 17.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, special rules were made for voting, with diplomats submitted their ballots at pre-arranged time slots in the General Assembly hall.

India was the sole candidate for a non-permanent seat from the Asia-Pacific category for the 2021-22 term. Its victory was expected since it had already got an endorsement from the 55-member Asia Pacific group, including China and Pakistan, last year.

“We have received overwhelming support and we deeply humbled by the tremendous confidence that the member states of the United Nations have reposed in India,” T S Tirumurti, the Indian permanent representative to the UN said in a video-recorded message.

Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for the years 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.

Among the five newly elected members, India has served the maximum of seven terms while Mexico and Norway have served four terms each while Ireland and Kenya have served thrice and twice, respectively.

India’s last two trysts with UNSC elections have been mixed. It won the 2011-12 elections by a similarly wide margin but had lost badly to Japan when contesting for the 1996-97 term.

In the immediate term, India will seek more transparency, consultations and coordination in UNSC and the UN Secretariat.

In light of the COVID 19 ongoing pandemic, the Apex Court of India has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to reconsider its decision of taking the leftover AISSCE exams for class XIIth and scrapping it off instead. 

On a petition filed by lawyer Rishi Malhotra, The Supreme Court’s bench consisting of Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjeev Khanna on Wednesday advised the CBSE board to mark the students on the basis of their internal evaluation, for the remaining papers. 

It is to be noted that while the board has scrapped off the remaining exams for class Xth students, it has rescheduled the remaining papers for AISSCE or class XIIth exams in July. 

The court saw many points in favor of cancelling the remaining exams such as the cancellation of the intermediate exams in other 25 countries affected by the pandemic. The lawyers also appealed to the court that premier institution’s like Delhi University and many IIT’s have also canceled their exams. They also kept before the court petitions signed by stakeholders across the country and cited their problems which included points such as restrictions and problems in hotspot and containment zones. 

The next hearing date has been given on 23rd June. The CBSE Board has been given almost a week’s time to come to a final binding decision regarding the remaining exams. It is expected that the board will either cancel the exams or come up with a better idea because the health and well-being of students is above all and in the present scenario, it seems impossible to conduct the exams. 

Featured Image Credits : istockphoto.com

While China had stopped reporting a rise in the fresh cases of COVID-19 and was gradually returning 

back to the track, the virus has again begin to haunt it as new strains have been found in the Chinese 

capital- Beijing, causing the highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases in China in the last 2 months.

As of Sunday, a total number of 8 cases were reported, bringing the toll to 74, all linked to the Xinfadi 

wholesale food market in South Beijing's Fengtai district. The government officials have also reported an 

outbreak in another wholesale market of Haidain district of China. The Chinese experts claimed that the 

genome sequencing had shown that the strains were from Europe, however they are yet to know how it 

came in the Chinese markets.

Following the sudden outbreak conditions, The Xinfadi and Haidain markets in China were immediately 

shut down along with 15 neighbouring residential and official compounds. According to recent reports 

24 testing stations have been set up while 10000 tests have already been taken. Around 5800 swab 

samples also been collected on random basis of people who were in close contact with those who 

visited the Xinfadi markets.

In the meantime, a complete lockdown has been imposed in the affected areas and all the schools, 

markets and officers have been closed as a precautionary measure. While the second wave of 

coronavirus has hit China again, it has brought with it a political wave as well, wherein the officials are 

playing the blame game with each other, causing the removal and transfer of as many as 5 secretaries 

and managers of district level administration.

It is to be noted that even though the fresh cases are few in number, it could yet cause a recession in the 

Chinese economy, keeping in view the political instability and the potential of the COVID-19 to create an emergency.

 

Featured Image Credits : Yahoo

The world population as of now is over 7.6  Billion. Covid-19 has created a majot crisis in 2020. It’s caused by human activities. The pandemic, is a human overpopulation problem. It seems that we have not really understood the role that crowding and overpopulation play, as crutial reasons for the pandemic. There are two main factors at play. As the city expanded and sprawled, natural lands gave way to human settlement. But as more and more people live in crowded cities, it becomes harder to control a pathogen that takes days to manifest.

Overpopulation is accompanied by negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. While a lot of  steps are being taken to better ensure that humans stay sustained, the issue of overcrowding has made lasting solutions more challenging to find. The reasons are that Overpopulation is largely attributed to trends such as people living longer and enjoying higher live birth rates. Advanced technology has made it possible. lack of education in many parts of the country is another reason responsible for too many children in a single family. 

This undetected growth into new habitats is bringing humans into increasing contact with wild-animal pathogens against which we have no biological defences. Wipe out the illegal wildlife trade. Bulldoze the wet markets. Stop this growth – something social distancing should make easier than ever.

Rapid growth of population directly effects per capita income in an economy.

A fast growth in population means a large number of persons coming to the labour market for whom it may not be possible to provide employment. In fact, in underdeveloped countries, the number of job seekers is expanding so fast that despite all efforts towards planned development, it has not been possible to provide employment to all. You see, migrant workers are suffering in these times. Many have lost employment and are facing difficulties paying expenses.

When the coronavirus pandemic reduces, adopting a strategy to stabilize the population is an important idea that needs to be on the table.

Covid or not, the life should go on. Two months of solid lock downs and repeated precautions taken to avoid spread of Carona Virus has taught us some mass measures like social distancing and individual measures like wearing mask and keeping hands sanitized ect.

Now, we have to follow the same precautions strictly and go on with the activities of life.

While the Government has responsibility to ensure healthy living and to protect the lives of people, there is equal responibility to ensure the economic well being of the society. Both objectives could only be achieved by implementing Covid 19 protocol strictly and opening up of economic activity.

As a part of such effort, the Government has decided to open business places like Malls and Restaurants which are the hubs of civilized life. However, precautions like social distancing, admission of only people free from symptoms Carona virus, waring masks ect., are to be taken as directed by the Government.Such decision of the present Government was more of a necessity to help society to move on to normalcy. Any wrong step at this juncture can be fatal and undone efforts made so far to contain and the deadly virus. However, the issue of financial losses to these commercial entities can be addressed later by granting them appropriate economic relief.

The virus is out there, we have to learn to live our live with Covid. Opening of malls and restaurants is just a part of it. This virus can’t stop our live, for how long will we wait for a vaccine, we have to move on and live like this.

The Trade war between US and China creates a need of self-dependency on Global Production.Many of the Chinese neighbouring Countries including India takes a audacious action by reconstructing their own supply chain.The virus will accelarate a change that was a already driven by market forces as rising wages and costs in china will cause lower-value manufacturing.While the US trade network with china was diaphanous but recent virus situation create of omnious relations between them but increasing disparity between them will help US to create good economic strategy that will help to strenghten the relations with countries like India,Australia,New Zealand,Japan and South Korea.Many Companies in china have been adopting "China Plus One" manufacturing strategy to bring chinese production on its peak.China Plus One is creating a baffling situation for global manufacturers as chinese low cost production facilities to global producers.The US has three alternatives ahead. First, is to expand the scope of technology restrictions on China.Second, is to outcompete China by dramatically boosting US high-tech capabilities by pouring fresh investments into education, basic research and support sectors of the industrial setup as used to be the case in the Cold War.Third, is to continue to push China, using the existing weapons of tariffs and diplomacy, to modify the parts of its behaviour that the US finds unacceptable.The developments relating to deglobalisation and decoupling offer opportunities for India and New Delhi would be wise to pursue them. Notwithstanding the slogan of “Aatmnirbharta” (self-reliance) that has come in the wake of COVID-19, foreign direct investment and foreign trade remain the two key requirements to pull India out of the poverty trap.In the end, the biggest force diluting china's position in the global supply chain will likely be the long, slow evolution of global trade.

With the cases rising every day, its mark tends to reach a new height of 2,76,583 confirmed cases in India, surpassing Italy and Spain, reaching to the new limits of 5th most affected country by the virus worldwide. Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister has alarmed Indians regarding the rise of covid cases which is likely to reach the 5.5 lakhs limit by the end of July. Now that’s not what Indians were expected to excel at.

According to the experiences of a few people, the hospitals are left with hardly any beds to treat new patients affected by the virus and simply not allowed to get admitted. Rumours has it that it is being done to alter the number of registered cases. Following this very fact, there’s a possibility that India is very close to surpass the United Kingdom.

A meeting was called by the Lt. Governor Anil Baijal with all the political parties. The aim of this meeting was to discuss the prevailing situation amidst Covid-19 and come up with an explication to combat the current scenario at 3pm on Tuesday. The all-party meet was called after reversing the order of the Government of Delhi by the Lt. Governor. It reversed the restrictions on testing for covid-19, and now the testing will take place within the parameters set by the apex of the health research body, i.e. ICMR. As per the Government’s order, asymptomatic patients will be excluded of who weren’t aged and have no co-morbid conditions. The decision has my full support as “it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

According to the claims made by Anil Baijal, he emphasized on the importance on the need to expand Delhi’s infrastructure as to meet with the rapid rise in the cases of the pandemic. One of the solutions which had arisen was to temporarily convert the stadiums like Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Tyagraj Stadium, JLN Stadium, Pragati Maidan, a centre of medical facilities. Following this notion banquet halls, marriage places, were also being discussed into being utilized.

With people ratcheting in their respective towns, finally embracing the environment outside their homes, the relaxations have made people forget about the grave dangers the virus possess and how easily can it affect someone. With citizens belayed into the thinking everything will gradually enter the stage of quo ante, one shouldn’t forget that the biological war isn’t over and with every ignorance, it will claim lives of thousands of people.

India is a home to millions of people; one should remember it is not easy to contain the rapid spread of the virus in an overpopulated country. It is a tacit of playing your part to help control the spread. Yes, it is tough to stay at homes, longing for the long walks we took for granted, but it ought to be understood the willingness to step outside other than a necessity is a decoy one should learn to avoid.

AstraZeneca is aiming to produce 2 billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine — and it could be ready by September

1.  AstraZeneca plans to distribute 1 billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine to low and middle-income countries, with 400 million available this year.
2. ·In addition, the U.S. and U.K. are set to be sent 400 million vaccine doses between them, starting in September.
3.  The vaccine, named AZD1222, was originally developed by Oxford University in the U.K.

COVID-19 cases have topped the seven million mark today (June 08) globally. India too is seeing a surge in the number of cases every day. While there still is a long way to go before we put the pandemic behind us, trials and research are going on at warp speed to attend to the crisis at large. Many potential treatments have shown promising results in the clinical trial stage, while some are carrying on production.

With the search for a Covid-19 vaccine becoming nothing less than the holy grail for scientists, enormous attention and funding have been focused on developing and mass-producing an injection. The rapid spread of SARS-nCov-2 has led experts to declare that it would continue to spread if a vaccine cannot be found.

In latest developments, British pharma giant AstraZeneca, which is developing a vaccine in partnership with Oxford University, said it was “on track” to roll out up to two billion doses in September. Meanwhile, US also said that it had already produced two million vaccine doses that are “ready to go” if they “check out for safety”.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, who has joined hands with the University of Oxford was one of the first ones to produce a vaccine prototype which reached the clinical trial stage. After early hiccups and observations, the researchers have now said that they are all set to "roll out" their vaccine candidate for the masses in the months of September or October, with production for two million doses underway.

Soriot said the distribution was dependent on clinical trials taking place by August. Clinical trials and manufacturing are set to occur concurrently, which is an unprecedented move for the pharmaceutical industry because of the risk of producing a drug that might not work.

“We are very focused and very committed. When you have something like this with this sort of pandemic and the tremendous impact it has on people, the economy, et cetera, you can’t second-guess what’s going to happen. You can’t spend your time figuring out is it going to work or not going to work, you just have to commit. … We come in and make a bet on some of these things,” Soriot said on the call.

One of the largest vaccine makers in the world, Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with University of Oxford to ramp up trials and vaccine development so that early prototypes of the safe vaccine would be made available to developing countries as early as October 2020.

Right now, when the world I still scrambling to fight against Covid-19, let us wait for September for the release of vaccine, that can save humans.

QUARANTINE SCHOOLING: NEW NORMAL FOR HOMESCHOOLERS

With schools across the country closed in response to coronavirus, parents, teachers, and children are becoming subjects in an unofficial homeschooling experiment. But for experienced homeschoolers, coronavirus is a new normal, since you’re not supposed to leave your home unless necessary.

Schools have transitioned to distance learning, forcing parents to simultaneously manage their kids’ schooling and their own jobs. That part is nothing new to homeschooling parents, who have been sharing tips while they also navigate the changed realities outside. Parents have become accidental home school teachers now.  Home school parents advised others to keep in mind that academics are not the most important — especially while living in a pandemic. Of course, homeschooling during quarantine is quite different from homeschooling under ordinary circumstances. For example, many parents are unexpectedly adjusting work schedules to accommodate their new child care needs.

So, if you’re worried about your kids not completing a difficult assignment, know that one of the leading figures in Indian education has your back when you throw up your hands and let them read a book for an hour instead. The worst thing you can do is create a tense environment at home because “a stressful brain is not conducive to learning”. They don’t need you standing over them with your arms folded until they finish their fractions assignment during an already tumultuous time in their lives.

The most important thing parents need to homeschool their children is to like them, enjoy their company, their physical presence, their energy, foolishness, and passion. They have to enjoy all their talk and questions and enjoy equally trying to answer those questions. For the majority of parents who homeschool, the only prerequisite is the desire to do so, along with a dedication to the educational process.

Therefore, try to find creative ways to engage with your kids. Use gardening as an educational tool: building a garden bed could be an engineering or architecture assignment. Cooking meals together can provide plenty of lessons in science, math and reading. Turning meal times into lessons and reading aloud while cooking is a simple idea to have a long time influence.

Homeschooling was and is likely to remain, a niche approach to educating school-age children. The pandemic may convince some parents that it’s the right one for them. By taking a pluralistic approach to education and letting a thousand flowers bloom, policymakers can make homeschooling a viable alternative for parents who desire it.

HOME SCHOOLING: Rejection of the cookie-cutter approach to education

“The philosophy of Home Schooling is, you take real life and then you turn that into schooling.”

“Tota Kahani” by Rabindranath Tagore narrates the story of a free-spirited parrot who would hop, skip, fly and sing all day. A king ordered that the bird be 'civilized', and so it was put in a golden cage. In the flood of restrictions and instructions, it soon forgot to sing, and then, couldn't even squawk. When it tried to fly, its wings were clipped. Soon the parrot died, with not a sound except for the rustle of books in its stomach.

The same story is painted on the walls of Shikshantar in Udaipur, which calls itself a people's institute for rethinking education and development. In the mural, trapped in its gilded cage, this parrot, too, forgets how to sing. But unlike in Tagore's story, the narrative in Shikshantar has been tweaked to accommodate hope. Here, the parrot breaks free instead, snapping, as it were, the shackles of 'formal schooling'.

Homeschooling is home education. In many ways, homeschooling is a more organic form of education that focuses on getting out of traditional classrooms that focus on a one-to-many, generalist education. A homeschool-styled learning environment is more personalized to the student, with individual attention. If your son is struggling in reading or writing, parents can take the time necessary to make sure he masters the concepts. In fact, unlike a traditional classroom where curriculum and resources are predetermined, a homeschool program can change curriculum and tactics to ensure a successful outcome. Likewise, if your daughter is excelling in math or science, there is no need to proceed at a slow pace or continue using a curriculum that may not be challenging enough.

In short, homeschooling is about one-to-one learning.

Homeschooling has gained popularity in the new millennium with a small minority of households abandoning the rote learning and exam-obsessed mainstream school system to provide their children individualized primary-secondary education at home to develop their creative, critical thinking and problem solving cognitive capabilities.

Broadly speaking, home educators divide into three major groups: those who are motivated by religious and moral reasons; those who have philosophical or pedagogical reasons; and those who turn to home education because of problems their children experience in school, both academic and social.

Home Schooling in India lays down its root from the ancient gurukul schooling system which was based on parent/teacher-led education in home environments. Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University, Sri Aurobindo's Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education and Mahatma Gandhi's ideal of "basic education had the element of home-schooling.

Homeschooling in India does not require any registration, recognition or regulation by any agency or authority. Most parents who choose to do so either follow the CBSE curriculum or opt for the state board syllabus. Home schooled children can appear for the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams as private candidates, or write the Class 10/12 examinations of the National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS), which gives students the option to get a degree or certificate and is conducted at centres across the country. Sahal Kaushik, the youngest pupil to not only crack IIT but also topple in Delhi with AIR 33 at the age of 14 is the gift of Home-schooling.

In the United States — inevitably the pioneer of homeschooling — an estimated 2.3 million children are being educated at home with this number growing by 7-12 percent annually. According to Brian D. Ray, president of the Salem (Oregon)-based National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooling “may be the fastest growing form of education in the United States”.

Expansion of the notion of learning

The truth is, children are born learning; it’s a survival skill that comes naturally to them. Genuine learning can go beyond core educational topics. The proponents of Home Schooling argue that school is a monoculture which limits the learning process of children and formal schooling forces to study only specified subjects, play prescribed sports, and mingle with children in their own age groups in strictly controlled environments. Such regimentation is contrary to the natural growth cycle of children. Home Schooling children learn socialization skills by interacting with people of all age groups and elements of nature such as animals and plant life.

 Following interests

So, if your kid loves video games, play with them. Read a graphic novel on Minecraft. If they’re interested in knights and superheroes, read books on the subject. Draw them on construction paper, or in sidewalk chalk outside. Talk about what it means to be a hero.

Flexibility.

If your child is struggling with a subject or a specific concept, you do not need to skip it and move on. Instead, you can work with your child until she/ he has mastered the material. Homeschooling allows you to take all the time you need to ensure learning is taking place. Likewise, if your child is ready to move on, you do not need to waste time on redundant or repetitive lessons. Homeschooling children can move through educational materials at a faster pace than their peers.

Practical Learning

Kids who are homeschooled also may get out in their communities more than other kids. They might get to experience hands-on education at museums, libraries, businesses, marinas, and other community resources. They also might volunteer or participate in "service learning" where they take on local projects.

 The pathway to unlocking your child’s potential.

Teach for India fellow Harshad Tathed, who worked on a documentary film titled Project Nomad about alternative education including homeschooling in India, believes this alternative schooling system is becoming increasingly popular because of its mix of basic elementary education and propensity to develop the special intelligence of children. “Children learn best when they are encouraged to question, investigate and research. This transforms them into creative and innovative problem solvers. According to a study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, in 2017, at age three, 98 percent of children are creative, but by the time they reach the age of 15, only 2 percent remain creative. This shocking revelation prompted me to work on the documentary film to educate parents about the benefits of homeschooling and other alternative education options,” says Tathed, chief executive of Swayam Bodh Gurukul, a learning centre in Pune which tutors children who fail in school or “don’t like going to school at all”.

Special Care

Parents of children who have learning disabilities are another set who opt for homeschooling because they feel schools are unable to cater to the special needs of their kids.

 Lack of Socialization

The standard notions that home-based education leads to socially ill-adjusted children and limited career opportunities for them. Effects on social life can be another possible disadvantage for homeschooled kids. All kids need to have friends and be around other children. Some homeschoolers may feel cut off from kids their age or feel like they spend too much time with their families.

Lack of Infrastructures

 A kid who's homeschooled doesn't have the convenience of school facilities, such as a gymnasium, science lab, or art studio. The child may be taught at the kitchen table or at a "school" area in the home. He or she might do science experiments in the kitchen or go outside to work on an art project. Some parents who homeschool their kids form groups so their kids can go together to take art classes and take part in other group learning activities, like field trips.

With home education gaining momentum and respectability worldwide, suspicion about the academic proficiency of homeschooled children is waning.

Some of the disadvantages of homeschooling include, homeschooled children tend to be pampered mother’s darlings who can’t take the heat of competition in adult life. There’s also a good chance of their transforming into self-indulgent and undisciplined spoiled brats grown fat on extravagant meals.

Home Schooling has washed up on Indian shores, it’s a tiny minority movement because it requires extraordinary investment in terms of time, dedication, patience and relearning capabilities on the part of one or increasingly, both parents — a difficult proposition for two-income households.

At least one parent has to sacrifice her career ambitions or place them on hold. Therefore, despite widespread dissatisfaction with factory-style exam-oriented primary-secondary education, the overwhelming majority of the country’s 60 million middle-class households can’t afford to homeschool their children.

How is homeschool socialization different?

For one thing, homeschoolers do not have the same exposure to peer pressure and bullying, both of which are tied to poorer academic performance and lower self-esteem.

Homeschooling also means less daily interaction with large numbers of kids in a child’s age group. And homeschoolers can end up spending less time each day participating in organized sports and activities with their peers.

However, this does not mean that homeschoolers have no access to their peers, or have no ability to play sports or socially interact with others outside their family. In fact, on average, homeschoolers participate more in their community, are less sedentary, and socialize with a wider mix of adults (especially professionals) than their public school counterparts. As part of its flexible nature and focus on one-on-one / personalized learning, homeschooling involves more field trips, real-life experiences, and hands-on learning. When it comes to sports, homeschoolers often participate in recreational leagues or homeschool sports classes offered in their community. Some students are homeschooled because their athletic or artistic talents have them engaged in sports and activities at a higher level.

Josh Frydenberg, the first treasurer in around three decade to preside over a recession remarked that a recession was an inevitable reality after national accounts show the gross domestic product falling by 0.3% in the March quarter. A report was released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The nation had a successful growth which was hampered by the recent coronavirus crisis and the impact of wildfires that Australia has been facing. Over the past twelve months the growth rate was only 1.4% , the weakest performance since the global financial crisis.

While Frydenberg said the contraction in Australia was less severe than many other countries battling the economic shock associated with the coronavirus pandemic, he warned people to brace for “difficult days ahead” because the June quarter results would be worse than the impact felt in March. According to Frydenberg “an economist’s version of Armageddon” was avoided during the pandemic in Australia.This was a result of the public health restrictions accompanied by significant income support which led to the  successfully flattened the curve of Covid-19 infections.The impact of the bushfires and the pandemic indicates a household consumption fall by 1.1%, a first since December 2008 according to the national accounts. The government is set to provide an extensive update on the matter by July end.

Frydenberg said the government would provide its own comprehensive economic update in late July after the review of the wage subsidy job-keeper. The wage subsidy is first of tis kind Australian policy to support businesses and workers through the coronavirus crisis. The rolling out of assistance also led to the rise of disposable incomes during the quarter, by a 6.2% .The government is looking at possible modifications in the wage subsidy policy, hinted Frydenberg. There are prospective wage reductions ahead from a flat payment of $1,500, or  provisions of differential rates depending on a worker’s income.

The social distancing restrictions and travel bans introduced February and March paved way for a spending pattern change. With hoarding and increased consumers spending on goods anticipation of a lockdown of all non-essential services spending on services fell 2.4% ,while the hospitality industry saw a major loss during the March quarter .This prompted the household saving-to-income ratio to rise two points from the December quarter to 5.5%.

A 3.9% fall in imports of consumables, with services imports crashing by 13.6% the pandemic has created tremors in the Australian economy.Goods exports were down 0.7% and services exports plunged by 12.8%, impacted by the the travel ban on education-related travel and tourism.Elective surgeries are rendered postponed by most and consumers fear of healthcare facilities proving fatal have also triggered a 0.1% fall in spending on healthcare and social assistance.

Government expenditure was up 1.8% in the quarter and 6.2% in the year, stimulated by the bushfire relief packages measures for COVID-19 making the government spending profitable for the economy.While Frydenberg feels the situation could be worse , Labor claimed the need for government responsibility .The shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was quotes saying “the economy was weak before the virus hit, with below-trend growth, stagnant wages and paltry business investment.”

Upon landfall, Cyclone Nisarga is Ek is  to have a speed of 105-110 kmph and is likely to cause heavy rains in south Gujarat and coastal Maharashtra.

Rains in Mumbai, South Gujarat as cyclone nears land:

Cyclone Nisarga has led to constant drizzling in parts of Mumbai. Areas like Parel, Mulund, Goregaon Vasai Road, Navi Mumbai reported drizzle since early evening. Districts including Palghar, Greater Mumbai, Raigad and Mumbai have been put on alert.

Meanwhile, areas like Valsad, Bhavnagar, and Amreli are also likely to receive showers overnight.

Measures taken by Government to control Nisarga:

As a precautionary measure, people living in non-pucca houses are being shifted to safer locations and slum-dwellers in low-lying areas been asked to evacuate. As many as 50 patients were relocated from the Bandra Kurla Complex COVID-19 hospital to the Goregaon NESCO hospital during the day. The state government has implemented stringent measures along the coastal Konkan region along with Mumbai in view of the approaching cyclone.

"Care is being taken to prevent power outages. Precautions are being taken at chemical units and nuclear power plants in Palghar and Raigad," Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in an update on the cyclone.

NDRF deploys 33 teams in Gujarat and Maharashtra

Meanwhile in Gujarat, the Valsad and Navsari district administrations have started evacuating nearly 20,000 people from 47 villages located close to the state coastline.

Maharashtra prepares for Cyclone Nisarga:

Flight operations in Mumbai were partially hit due to the cyclonic storm approaching the west coast. Vistara put out an advisory saying, flights to/from Mumbai and Goa are likely to be impacted.

After storming the Maharashtra coast with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph in the afternoon, the cyclone has started weakening and its intensity will reduce further by evening, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclone is expected to make landfall by early Wednesday. The storm is expected to move towards north and recurve north-northeast later to cross north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar (Raigad) and Daman by Wednesday afternoon.

“Australia could return to international action in August with a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe penciled into the schedule in the northern parts of the country.” But the main question is, this the right time to schedule matches ? There's a risk of infection everywhere, when you leave your house there's a risk, so I think we shouldn't think too much about it and matches should be scheduled later. I understand the concern of the fans but it’s never worth risking lives. But we must understand that it's essential we comply with the protocols and follow the prevention measures as much as we can. Returning to training is the first step but we shouldn't get complacent and we must take all precautions necessary. We'll have to see what the final plan is.

"While acknowledging the difficulty in navigating a global pandemic, we are nonetheless encouraged by the progress Australia is making in combatting the coronavirus and the positive impact that is having on our ability to host an exciting summer of cricket in 2020-21," Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said.

Moreover I think the matches should be scheduled later, it’s simply too early to schedule matches. Some players and clubs have spoken out against football returning out of fear of picking up the virus or passing it on to others. This clearly shows that scheduling the matches would put players life at risk too even if strict protocols are followed.

"I can't breathe” has become symbolic with the protests that were sparked with the death of a black man in police custody in front of many as he begged for his life. The event took place on 26, 2020.Minneapolis police was called by a grocery store employee after George Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. The subsequent arrest, a violent one of Floyd, a black man, was filmed by many members of the public. He could be seen on the ground with his hands cuffed behind him while a white officer, Derek Chauvin, 44, pressed him to the pavement with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin was holding Floyd down for about eight minutes as Floyd complained of breathlessness and becoming unresponsive, while witnesses begged the officers to release him. Eventually paramedics had to lift limp Floyd on to a stretcher and placing him in an ambulance towards a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Floyd was described as a gentle giant by loved ones. He worked as a club security guard until COVID-19 restriction rendered him unemployed. His death has enraged a series of protest that began peacefully In Minneapolis culminating into what are now the The Twin Cities protests. His death has brought up wounds and memories of the grave racial inequality in the nation. The deaths of others like Eric Garner and Michael Brown amongst many others were refreshed as the nation heart wrenched for the unfortunate death of this man . Hundreds of protesters gathered at the driveway of Chauvin's house after Floyd’s death which prompted police response and Chauvin being charged with third degree murder.

The incident has however turned into a realisation of the way racism in internalised in the America and how it impacts the daily life of millions. The protests have since then turned violent and spread across the nation including Atlanta, New York, Charlotte, Los Angeles , Washington D.C, Virginia amongst others. With a state of emergency declared in Minnesota troops were deployed across the region. Symbolic gestures and peaceful protests continue amongst the violence, looting and rioting. Protesters are seen kneeling before the troops while chanting slogans of “i can’t breathe” and reinstating the black lives matter movement. The protests have seen support from numerous celebrities and president Trump too said that the voices of peaceful protests should not be drowned in the violence.

Teary eyes with sorrow and fire, coughing and dark fumes of smoke and a burning smell take us to Minneapolis, a burning city. This unrest should leaves people unsettled due to the normalised differential treatment  of people of colour and not due to the violence or the looting as they have endangering the lives of many amidst the ongoing battles with COVID-19.  This conscious effort and a spark towards change should not be allowed to go down in flames as a few people cannot take over the narrative from thousands of peaceful protesters .

Suhana Sehrawat

“Sexuality leads to Self-Knowledge” 

I broke my silence today and whined as loud as I could, “Yes! I’m a Gay. I cherish flaunting with my worn long hair and I fancy dating a lovely man because I’m proud of my individuality.”

I started discovering my intense temptation towards same-sex when I was 14 but I was scared to endorse myself. The impressions of abnormality and medication used to vex me and I was eaten like a horse with, “Self-hatred.”

“Hey Mr. Long Hair, the thresholds of your happiness must be traversing all horizons. Section 377 has been decriminalized. So, confess your love.”, said the teacher, embarrassing me in front of my classmates. So, I broke my silence as my sexuality is my identity. It is part of my behaviour with biological and genetic factors and not an oddity that needs to be medicated. I own my sexual craving which is the most empowering thing to do as it’s the art of living your individuality.

The stigma against LGBTQ students like me ranges from the boy/girl dichotomy while dividing students into groups to usage of anti-LGBT language. Any individual who is homosexual faces discrimination, homophobic and transphobic bullying, social exclusion which leads to emotional health struggles like depression, and even suicide.

Isn’t it hypocritical that a gay/ lesbian has to undergo the journey of Self-hatred in order to step forward to the journey of Self-Love and Acceptance? The ‘Truth’ of being a 'Gay' was a criminal offence to me. What I wish is a safe and comfortable environment to accept and love myself, where my parents, teachers, friends would see me through the lens of equality and respect and support me, the school and home environment would be crafted to empower LGBTQ people and no one has to go through the journey of Self-Hatred to be “Real”. The schools should include a special curriculum on sex culture and sexual orientation so that students like me can learn to understand their identity.

I trusted my intuition as it never lies. Respect your individuality because ‘You Matter.’ So, use this ' Social- Distancing' to express your love as "Love has no boundaries, no gender, no colour. It's eternal."

( A piece of narration by my homosexual friend in my words)
 

After two months of lockdown, airlines finally opened the gates for citizens of India. A common question which might have arisen in one’s mind is how was the “new normalcy” handled by the citizens and most importantly, the airport authorities.

As it was assumed, some stated were not keen for resumption for flights amidst the lockdown.  Around 630 domestic flights which were scheduled to operate on Monday were cancelled which were suppose to fly to West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, while the number of flights were limited to Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. The announcement of flight cancellations was made by the Centre on Sunday night.

What boggled the citizens even more was when they reached the airport on Monday and were told by the airline staff about the cancellation. Agitated, the citizens took their anger to social media which portrayed bellicose and disappointment. With utmost precautions, they expected to be on a flight to their desired destination which wasn’t fulfilled. The flight cancellation was expected in West Bengal due to the destruction caused by Amphan, and the retardation in the announcements could’ve been avoided had it been made clear to the passengers sooner, as it is not advised for people to step out for a longer duration.

The first flight which took off was on May 25, Monday,2020, 4:45am from Delhi, travelling to its destination on Pune, Likewise, the first flight from Mumbai, which is one of the busiest airports, took off at 6:45 am, with its terminus at Patna. The operations were carried out keeping the regulations recommended by the Civil Aviation Industry, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in detail was worked out between the Civil Aviation Industry, Airport Authority of India and the various flight operators. These SOPs included, not more than 2 people could travel in a taxi and the passengers were handed over a kit at the time of boarding their respective flights which included gloves, masks, hand sanitizers, and face shields.  According to recent reports, Maharashtra will be handling 50 flights per day whilst 25 arrivals will be handled by Chennai.

Maharashtra, the most affected state of the country should refrain from opening their gates and welcoming people. Some states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, accepted the domestic flights with a policy of putting all the flying passengers through a 7-day quarantine, at a place located by the government, and an additional 7 days at home quarantine after which they will be allowed to move around in the city. These actions are yet to show any positive results to hold back the coronavirus from its multiplication.

Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri posted a tweet on Monday evening, “From no domestic flights yesterday to 532 flights with 39,231 passengers today, action returned to Indian skies.” This was definitely a positive sign amidst these demoralizing times. But it should also be kept in mind that these times are here to prevail, ergo, necessary steps shall be taken and the decisions approved by all concerned which can be manoeuvred, keeping the publics best interest in mind.

After two months of lockdown, airlines finally opened the gates for citizens of India. A common question which might have arisen in one’s mind is how was the “new normalcy” handled by the citizens and most importantly, the airport authorities.

As it was assumed, some stated were not keen for resumption for flights amidst the lockdown.  Around 630 domestic flights which were scheduled to operate on Monday were cancelled which were suppose to fly to West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, while the number of flights were limited to Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. The announcement of flight cancellations was made by the Centre on Sunday night.

What boggled the citizens even more was when they reached the airport on Monday and were told by the airline staff about the cancellation. Agitated, the citizens took their anger to social media which portrayed bellicose and disappointment. With utmost precautions, they expected to be on a flight to their desired destination which wasn’t fulfilled. The flight cancellation was expected in West Bengal due to the destruction caused by Amphan, and the retardation in the announcements could’ve been avoided had it been made clear to the passengers sooner, as it is not advised for people to step out for a longer duration.

The first flight which took off was on May 25, Monday,2020, 4:45am from Delhi, travelling to its destination on Pune, Likewise, the first flight from Mumbai, which is one of the busiest airports, took off at 6:45 am, with its terminus at Patna. The operations were carried out keeping the regulations recommended by the Civil Aviation Industry, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in detail was worked out between the Civil Aviation Industry, Airport Authority of India and the various flight operators. These SOPs included, not more than 2 people could travel in a taxi and the passengers were handed over a kit at the time of boarding their respective flights which included gloves, masks, hand sanitizers, and face shields.  According to recent reports, Maharashtra will be handling 50 flights per day whilst 25 arrivals will be handled by Chennai.

Maharashtra, the most affected state of the country should refrain from opening their gates and welcoming people. Some states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, accepted the domestic flights with a policy of putting all the flying passengers through a 7-day quarantine, at a place located by the government, and an additional 7 days at home quarantine after which they will be allowed to move around in the city. These actions are yet to show any positive results to hold back the coronavirus from its multiplication.

Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri posted a tweet on Monday evening, “From no domestic flights yesterday to 532 flights with 39,231 passengers today, action returned to Indian skies.” This was definitely a positive sign amidst these demoralizing times. But it should also be kept in mind that these times are here to prevail, ergo, necessary steps shall be taken and the decisions approved by all concerned which can be manoeuvred, keeping the publics best interest in mind.

On 31st December when the hands of the clock struck 12, the whole world rejoiced, making New Year’s resolutions, promising to make this year count. Little did they know 2020 was a year of destruction. Since January the year has been off to a rocky start. This has specially been problematic for China.

The corona virus was first identified in China on 31st December 2019 according to the WHO China Country Office. The Virus was isolated on January 7, 2020 and finally the WHO confirmed the outbreak of the virus on January 12, 2020. This put China on the Hit list by the world. The Country was severely censured by all the countries, especially with the US, commonly referred to as the “Political Virus” these days. The US President is failing not to leave any chance to criticize China as he refers Covid-19 as the “Wuhan Virus” or the “Chinese Virus.”

As per a scientist in WHO, he claims to believe that the virus had been originated in lab, during a research going on bats. However, the origination of coronavirus remains unknown and unclear. Following to the statement made by the scientist, the city which experienced the merciless effects of the virus was Wuhan. This put China under a tremendous amount of pressure.  The Chinese Virology Institute was at the centre of the US allegations, as claimed it could be the place of birth of the virus.

Following this, the supposedly virus strains on bats which were used during the research were collected to verify the source. Astonishingly, the pathogens failed to match those which are the cause of the pandemic. It could be assumed that the evidence could’ve been tampered with.

The worlds two superpower countries are seemingly in a cold war. The US President Mr. Donal Trump claims it was China behind the outbreak of the pandemic. The president didn’t hesitate to call WHO a “puppet” of China. The were some serious accusations made the president, but when the tests came out to be negative, the Chinese administrations was in convulse with the US, stating that the claims made the US president were “pure fabrication.”  

Wang Yi, the former foreign minister of China was filmed for an interview on May 13, 2020 but was made public after a few days, where he states “Now we have three strains of live viruses... But their highest similarity to SARS-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8 %.” He also claims that the most politicians have ignored the most basic facts and they’ve created numerous lies and conspiracies to discredit China.

However, the US President should grasp the severity of the situation and concentrate more on controlling and treating those affected by the virus. He has reacted sharply against China. The coronavirus has created a havoc internationally, especially in the European countries and the world and they should put China under pressure to find a solution for elimination of this deadly virus.

Greetings everyone, 

We find an immense pleasure to announce that *_JIMS VK's Model United Nations(MUN)_* is going to  be held by, *Rotaract Club Of JIMS Vasant Kunj and Prabandhan, the Management Club Of JIMS Vasant Kunj.*

*DATE- 6th-7th June'2020*

*PLATFORM- Zoom App*

The following *committees* are being simulated at E- MUN 2020

• *UNHRC -*

Violation of human rights in conflict areas with special emphasis on women and children.

• *WHO -*

Discussing the roadmap for containing and conquering the Global Pandemic , COVID-19.

• *AIPPM -*

Discussing the Possible economic reforms in India with special emphasis on self reliance.

*Perks/Inclusions Of E-MUN:*

*•Guide Books/Study Material*

*• Training Seminar* 

*• Awards and Cash Prizes worth INR 9000*

*• Participation Certificate for all the delegates*

*Registration Fee: ₹300/- per delegate*

*GooglePay/Paytm:*

*+91 7042334112*

*Mansi Arora*

Link to the *Individual Delegate Application:*

https://bit.ly/2XdF38h

*Instagram page:* https://bit.ly/2LKngAy

Link to the *Country/Portfolio Matrix:* https://bit.ly/36eVxRL

We hope to provide our delegates an unparalleled experience by organizing a highly personalized and engaging E-MUN

For further queries, contact: 

Vibhor Kataria

+91 7838062099

Secretary General

Sakshi Chhabra

+91 9013059465

Director General

Rishel Puri

+91 8800271274

Chief Executive Officer,

Organizing Committee

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany held up a cheque written by President Trump for $100,000 — his contribution to COVID-19 relief efforts. While doing so, she accidentally revealed his bank account details.

In a press briefing on Friday, McEnany announced that Trump contributed this “to support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain and combat the coronavirus”.

Experts have said it is unlikely that Trump’s account will be hacked into as it will have additional security measures in place due to his post as President of the United States. McEnany was appointed as Press Secretary of Donald Trump’s administration in April, this year.

Even though it's unlikely for his account to get hacked, keeping in mind such small details is necessary, to prevent any chance of such incidents from occurring. As we all know, 2020 has been so unpredictable.

Dear Trump, hope your account is extra secured now that the whole world has your details ;)

“AMPHAN”, EVACUATION AMID CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

Know about How India braced to fight the “Virus from Air”

AMPHAN pronounced as “UM-PUN” is the super-tropical cyclonic storm with a speed of 240 km/h, a minimum pressure of 925 hPa. A tropical cyclone is a weather phenomenon that is essentially a rapidly rotating storm system with characteristics such as a low-pressure centre, strong winds and thunderstorms that produce heavy rain, among others.

“AMPHAN” like giant engines uses warm, moist air as fuel from the area of low pressure over the southern Bay of Bengal.

 Aman initially grew powerful because the waters it passed over were exceedingly warm, as high as 88 degrees in parts of the Indian Ocean. Warmer water provides more of the energy that fuels such rotating storms. Cyclones have become stronger worldwide during the past four decades supporting what theory and computer models have long suggested: climate change is making these storms more intense and destructive. The authorities acted quickly to move people from the cyclone’s path, but worried they might be putting them into the path of the coronavirus. The Assam government on Tuesday issued a "high alert" over cyclone 'Amphan' and directed the state disaster management authority to set up a control room to deal with the situation. Quoting the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna said there is a strong likelihood of widespread effect of the cyclone in Assam, especially in west Assam districts.

Protecting people from becoming infected by the coronavirus while they are packed inside emergency shelters. Around three million people in India and Bangladesh have been evacuated to cyclone shelters. Some of these structures are huge, holding up to 5,000 people. In Nedhuali, a village on India’s coast, police officers moved from mud house to mud house with folded hands, urging residents to get to the emergency shelters. But many villagers refused, saying they were afraid of becoming ill.

Kolkata sat directly in cyclone Amphan’s path. The precautions taken to reduce the spread of the coronavirus may have helped the city ready itself for the storm. Many of the 15 million or so people who live in the Kolkata metropolitan area had already been staying at home, obeying India’s lockdown rules.

The Odisha government officials estimated that the cyclone has affected around 44.8 lakh people in the state. Farmers in Odisha found their fields unfit for the coming Kharif crop as about two feet of saline water was standing on the land. Odisha, which has been ravaged by a string of cyclones over the last few years, including the cyclone Fani last year, has made arrangements to shift 11 lakh, people, from vulnerable areas, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P.K. Jena said. Twelve coastal districts—Ganjam, Gajapti, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda and Nayagarh—are on high alert. He said of the 809 cyclone shelters in the 12 coastal districts, 242 are currently being used as temporary medical camps for the returnees from different states amid the COVID- 19 lockdown.

"We have 567 cyclone and flood shelters available to house the people in case evacuation is required. In addition, we have arranged 7,092 buildings to keep people if required," Jena said. "Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), NDRF, and fire service personnel have already been sent to the districts. We are also in constant touch with the Indian Coast Guard, IMD, and NDRF for any requirement," he said, adding "saving lives is our priority".
Officials were not taking any chances. They cleared out storm drains, shored up slum shanties with bamboo poles, and removed objects like potted plants from roofs and balconies so they wouldn’t turn into missiles.

More than 73 people were killed by the powerful cyclone that slammed into India. Thousands of homes were wiped out. Many of the dead were crushed by falling trees, electrocuted by downed wires or buried inside collapsing buildings as Cyclone Amphan pummelled the region, leaving a wide swath of devastation and grief. Heavy rains and flooding could have deadly consequences for rare animals there, pushing them out of their habitats and into areas populated by humans.

MANGROVE FOREST: Buffer against the Cyclone
Sundarbans acted as a buffer against the cyclone by slowing wind speed & protecting the villagers. Heavy rains and flooding could have deadly consequences for rare animals there, pushing them out of their habitats and into areas populated by humans.

“The Sundarbans will bear the brunt and soften the blow,” said Prerna Singh Bindra, a conservationist and the author of “The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis.”
Anand Sharma, the director of the India Meteorological Department, told NDTV that the bulk of the typhoon had moved a little further away from Kolkata, but that winds would batter the city until it reached Bangladesh on Thursday morning.

Well, we still don’t know the extent of the damage caused by Mr Amphan. India has always been appreciated by the world for its evacuation and saving humanity. The present situation of the two viruses attaching from all the ends challenged the potential of India’s warriors. According to me, We have fought a long 6 hours of war on Wednesday by following instructions, rescuing people along with “ social- distancing” but what we lacked is health equipment ranging from masks and sanitizers and enough emergency rooms for the evacuated people. We have always set an example to the world and will keep on inspiring the world. For now let us just pray for the humanity and especially for the all warriors fighting out there, our doctors, nurses, migrants, patients, reporters, officers, police and the administration, the cyclone survivors, social workers and cheers to all the liberators of the unending list of “fighters”.

Following the 2-month shutdown nationwide, the economy had come to a halt with absolutely nothing and no one working. This led to believe everyone that they finally had time to themselves and that it had stopped where they could, for once do sit in the comfort of their homes and not worry about the deadline on which the reports had to be submitted. Unfortunately, the vacation has ended and it’s time to go back to school.

According to recent reports, the domestic commercial passenger flights will resume effective May 25, 2020.  According to the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri’s tweet, he claimed that the domestic flights across India would resume in a “calibrated manner”. The tweet also mentioned “All the airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25. SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation”

The Ministry of Home Affairs amended its guidelines by expunging domestic air travel from the list. The aim is to finally get the country on a move. It’s true that the world can’t simply sit down and do nothing; this might be a good start to finally resume and get things back on track and adapting to the “normal.” Top airline executives were scheduled to have a meeting the minister officials to finalize the modalities of resumption with SOPs for flight operations .Although some states gave expressed their concerns over the transportation among the red zones, on the other hand, the airlines don’t find it viable to only become operational only in green zones and it may also reduce the demand.

According tp the proposals from Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the passengers are suppose to reach the airport 2 and/or 3 hours prior to their scheduled flight. Delhi, Mumbai, Hydrabad and Bangalore are one amongst the many airports which are setting up thermal screening counters at arrival and departure gates respectively, but since Delhi is one of the busiest airport across the country, the authorities have also decided to set up a system for UV disinfection of all baggage’s and trolleys as well. Mumbai and Banglore airports have created markings, making sure to keep a gap of 1.5 metres between every passenger, the cities have also reshuffled the seating arrangements in food courts to maintain the notion of social distancing.

According to New Zaeland’s reports, they are currently at level 2 alert with 380 Auckland buses running with foreign nationals being granted the permission to take domestic flights. New Zealand is in a state to allow the transportation as according to recent statistics, there hadn’t been any new cases of covid-19 reported in the last 48 hours.

Although extreme precautions are going to be taken and it may not seem viable to only operate in the green zones, but it is extremely important to safeguard the lives of their burgesses. This could be a good start to getting back on track gradually and safely. It is important to get the economy going soon but this could also be taking a huge risk since India has crossed a ballpark of 1 lakh cases overall. One could only hope that everything is administered as planned, And the flights keep making happy landings.  

The Shramik trains are an initiated by the Government of India for the migrant labourers who’ve migrated from rural areas in search of jobs in urban cities. With the poverty conditions touching the roof, the labourers in hope of providing a better future for their family move to the cities. The corona virus attack was so sudden and its impact was extremely high that it left no options to the workers to travel back to their homes. 

The number of migrant laborers crosses a mark of 40 million. As soon as the government announced the commencement of the lockdown whilst the outbreak of a deadly virus, the first gripping thought amongst them was finding a way to their sweet home. The rules of lockdown 1.0 strictly claimed for the citizens of India to remain in the comfort of their homes, but they refused to accept the shelter homes provided by the government and the fear of being quarantined a made them decide to go back to their homes and a mass exodus of set out through whatever means possible, so much so to travel by foot refusing the government’s attempt to stop the migrant flow, determined to reach their destination. 

With job opportunities diminishing due to the shutdown across the country, the labourers had only 2 choices left, either to stay put in the urban cities or to find a way back to their respective hometowns. In the turn of recent events, they gave the government no choice but to behest an order in their appeal, as a result of which the registrations for the Shramik trains kicked off. 

The incident which took place in Gurgaon was a classic example of how poorly the situation was handled. While the people climbed over one another just to get their registerations done, it could’ve been handled in a civilized manner, afterall the determinant workers of the government; the police has been working effortlessly and putting their lives on line just to maintain an order and discipline. The situation could’ve been handled by allowing a certain number of workers to stand in a queue, following the notion of social distancing and providing sanitizers in order to maintain hygiene and a good number of counters would’ve resulted in a much better posse for the government than they are in now.

According to reports, around 55000 workers have been sent back to Bihar, and till May 15, 2020, the helpline number provided by the government of Uttar Pradesh (1076), the administration had received around 50,000 applications with more calls pouring in. In totality, till date, 9 lakh migrant workers have been back to UP. In a broader perspective, around 15 lakh labourers have been sent back while India contains a whopping number of 6 crore migrant labourers, that’s simply 2.5% of the workers successfully sent back. 

According to recent announcements, Ministry of Railways in consultation with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have agreed upon the decision to operate 200 Shramik trains successfully from June 1, 2020, to fulfill the wishes of the stranded workers, hoping to be in the comfort of their homes and family, however the current politics being played by the congress and other political parties, giving false hopes to the migrant workers is higly despicable and is playing with the lives of the helpless.

In my opinion, the workers could’ve bid their time as the once the lockdown ends, various factories, companies, construction sites would post the vacancy of a job opportunity which the workers could’ve availed. Keeping in mind various houses require domestic help, their jobs would’ve resumed in no time, and the ruckus could’ve been avoided.

A cyclone is a large scale of mass that rotates around a strong centre of low atmospheric pressure, characterised by strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. Storms developed over the Indian ocean, are referred to as tropical cyclones or severe cyclonic storms. Amphan is the first severe cyclone of the area in over 20 years and is expected to cause severe flooding, mudslides and deadly storm surges with being equivalent to a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane. It's named Amphan since cyclone names are started with the first alphabet for the first cyclone of the year. Amphan is forecast to hit the densely populated, low lying area in coast in the Ganges River Delta, the world's largest river delta with unreliable infrastructure.The cyclone could bring storm surges of up to 5 meters (16.4 feet).Its centre is approaching Kasafal in the easters coast of the state of Odisha, India. The cyclone is set to make landfall between the town of Digha in India's West Bengal state and Bangladesh's Hatiya Island, near to the Sundarbans, the department said in a Twitter post.The Sundarbans are an ecologically fragile cluster of low-lying islands spread across India and Bangladesh, known for mangrove forests and rare wildlife, including the endangered Bengal tiger. The cyclone has started making landfall in India and will take four hours to move fully over land, India's Meteorological Department has said.The Indian government said the storm's impact was already being felt and that rescue crews were working to move uprooted trees in West Bengal. Bangladesh has evacuated around 2 million people and set up 12,078 cyclone centre's, the country's state minister for disaster management and relief Md. Enamur Rahman said. The Indian Coast Guard has deployed 20 disaster relief teams along the country's eastern coast to carry out search and rescue operations at short notice.More than 300,000 people have been evacuated in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, removing them from the path of Cyclone Amphan, according to India's National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF).Relief teams are still rushing to evacuate people in low- lying coastal areas, which are most at risk from a storm surge and heavy rains that could cause flooding. COVID-19 has led to another challenge in the active response to this cyclone. With the nature of this pandemic and the necessity to follow social distancing it puts the risk management of this dual catastrophe at a difficult spot. Landfall on the western side of Bangladesh, will likely bring heavy rains to Cox's Bazar the world's largest refugee camp in the east of the country thus causing huge challenges to the prevention of COVID-19 transmission in the densely populated region of the refugee camp. The NDRF chief said that keeping in mind the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, all NDRF teams have been equipped with PPE kits. It is another form of new normal, we have to handle disasters considering the COVID-19 pandemic too,”he added. The pandemic definitely poses barriers to efficient disaster management putting millions of lives at risk. The evacuation protocols and shelters along with the other stages of rescue protocol are in jeopardy due COVID-19. The photographic images seen of the impending cyclone as it affects everything it passes show the disastrous impact it could have. Waves crashing the sea walls, a Childs death and trees snapping are all photographic evidence of the cyclone.The cyclone is being tracked at every stage and given the multitude of difficulties ahead it can only be hoped that it doesn’t lead to increasing the gravity of the situation.

1. Australia welcomes probe resolution of WHA and promises to offer monetary assistance
2. China reacts over Australia negative remarks and asks to stop political manouver .
3. WHA elects 34 new members including India for executive board for 3 year term.
4. India in top contender list for Director post of executive board - WHA
5. USA hints WHA over stopping of funding if probe donot goes seriously 
6. INDIA agrees to increase its monetary contribution in WHA inspite of USA remarks.

1. China agrees on probe of Covid19.
2. Taiwan not invited by WHO to attend delegate introduction.
3. Issue of Taiwan neglected not in list of WHA essentials. 
4. WHA decides to set new credential goals.
5. Union of India calls for inclusive approach on probe of Covid19  China backs the call.

 “The world could learn from Taiwan’s success in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, yet it doesn’t have a seat at the World Health Organization.”

On Monday, May 18, representatives of 194 countries gathered virtually for one of the most important public health meetings in recent memory. A country thought to have had one of the best public health responses to the coronavirus pandemic—Taiwan was not invited. 
Taiwan attended the assembly as an observer from 2009 to 2016 but China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, whom China views as a separatist, an accusation she rejects. 
Taiwan is not a member of the WHO as China has opposed its entry into international bodies. Taiwan was the first to begin screening passengers from Wuhan, starting December 31. 
Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations (UN) or its sub-organizations, but it aspires to participate. China also claims Taiwan as part of its territory and denies that Taiwan is a sovereign state. China is adamant about preventing recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state and its membership in the UN system. Like other U.N. organizations, the WHO considers Taiwan a part of the People’s Republic of China and excludes its government from membership. This, critics say, is detrimental to global cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Taiwan has emerged as one of the most effective countries in combating the disease. Taiwan and its defenders have strongly criticized the WHO and its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for being overly deferential to Beijing.
 China, officially called the People’s Republic of China (PRC), refuses to allow that to happen. The PRC claims that Taiwan is a province of China, not an independent state. It says that only the PRC has the right to represent all of China in the United Nations and other international organizations, including the WHO, that limit membership to states. Taiwan’s government, generally called the Republic of China on Taiwan, has all the elements of statehood required by international law and maintains diplomatic relations with fifteen countries. Yet due to the PRC’s great-power status, including its seat as a permanent UN Security Council member, Beijing has been able to impose its “One China” policy upon the world.
 
In the early days of the outbreak, health officials in Taipei say the WHO ignored their warnings—based on communication with mainland colleagues—that the disease could be transmitted between humans, slowing the global response to the growing threat. Instead, in mid-January, the organization issued a now-infamous endorsement of China’s finding that there was no human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan. The WHO continued to praise China’s handling of the virus throughout January, despite abundant evidence that authorities were covering up the severity of the situation in Wuhan. This praise was especially stark in contrast to the organization’s criticism of China during SARS. Taiwan has had remarkable success in combating the virus. More than two months after COVID-19 arrived on the island, it has seen only 380 cases and five deaths. Yet its health officials remain frozen out of emergency meetings and briefings at the main organization coordinating the global response to the pandemic. (In a painfully awkward interview with a Hong Kong journalist, one senior WHO official seemed to pretend not to hear the question and then insisted on moving on when asked about Taiwan.)

Why is Taiwan’s exclusion a problem, especially during the coronavirus pandemic?

Taiwan is an important stakeholder and a valuable partner in fighting this unprecedented crisis. Taiwan’s government is donating masks to countries in need and sharing its experience using technology to investigate outbreaks. It is also working with U.S. experts to develop more rapid diagnostic test kits and vaccines.
Despite Taiwan’s valuable input, the WHO continues to shun it. For example, when asked by a journalist about Taiwan’s exclusion and experience dealing with the pandemic during a recent interview, WHO senior advisor Bruce Aylward hung up the call after trying to avoid the questions. After this public relations disaster, the WHO claimed it was closely working with Taiwan experts, which Taiwan’s government refuted. Taiwan has continually shared coronavirus data with the WHO, but the WHO has never released this information to its members. Additionally, in a February coronavirus status report, the WHO misreported the number of cases in Taiwan based on information provided by China. It also continues to deceptively list Taiwan’s case numbers under China’s. Taiwan was snubbed by the WHO yet again when it was not invited to the organization’s emergency meetings in January. After repeated requests, in February, the WHO finally allowed two Taiwanese experts to attend an online forum. Such ludicrous limitations have rightly been scoffed at by many governments and critics.
The WHO’s exclusion of Taiwan from the global fight against the pandemic is a reckless dereliction of duty. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose election was due in large part to China’s support, has been widely criticized for actions that appeared to help China downplay the outbreak, delaying the international response as a result. Taiwan’s exclusion is an example of how the world’s health body puts politics before public health. Governments and concerned citizens must demand that the WHO fulfill its obligation—to represent the world’s health interests, not China’s—and hold the WHO accountable when it fails.
Wu said that Taiwan had agreed the issue of its participation would be put off until later in the year so the shorted assembly can focus on the coronavirus.
"Understandably, countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic," he said.
"For this reason, like-minded nations and diplomatic allies have suggested that the proposal be taken up later this year when meetings will be conducted normally, to make sure there will be a full and open discussion," Wu added.

U.S AND TAIWAN

The United States has attempted to maximize Taiwan’s involvement in international relations and has, without success, supported Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in various institutions, including the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s highest decision-making body. In March 2020, the Donald J. Trump administration enacted the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, aimed at supporting Taiwan’s international presence. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the State Department would “do [its] best to assist” Taiwan’s “appropriate role” in the WHO.
 Nearly 15 countries, including Belize, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands,, and Honduras, had written to the director-general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asking that the question of Taiwan's participation be added to the agenda.
But on Monday Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu said "countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic".

"We have accepted the suggestion from our allies and like-minded nations to wait until the resumed session before further promoting our bid," Wu said. He added that allies had suggested instead the proposal be taken up later in the year when the WHO is expected to hold in-person meetings. The calls for Taiwan to join the meetings had angered Beijing.

Apart from learning sudh Hindi and words  like atmanirbhar and PracharasabhaI I learnt one more thing about lockdown 4.0, we will have to accept corona virus as a part of our live now. On Tuesday PM Narendra Modi confirmed there will a fourth lockdown but this fourth lockdown will be completely different from the three lockdowns. This week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a six-hour video call with several chief ministers and asked for states' input on this matter.

“Normalcy on ground” will be the main focus of lockdown 4.0. For how long will we hide from the virus and stay at home? We have to move on from the virus and take precautions and lead our live. Yes, I know everything won’t be the same again. We will see everyone wearing masks and going to work now, we will see everyone in metro trying to maintain social distance and wearing masks and using sanitizers, we will see empty play grounds, the lines will look quite long because of one meter gap between customers, the fear of Coronavirus will still be there. I know the fear of Coronavirus won’t go until a vaccine is found. But there’s a silver lining to Coronavirus it made us see our real heroes, the doctors who are risking their lives to save their patients, the police who are hard on public just to keep them safe, the sanitary workers who are cleaning roads  for us and there are many more heroes we never realised to thank before Coronavirus.

Covid crisis has revived the health sector of India both in quality and credibility basis.

India can get advantage of situation of economic depression  prevailing in China .

India is not going to be effected much by global economy crisis as Indian economy relies mostly on it's own people.

Indian administration has got a golden chance to divert people towards ambitious schemes as Make in India.