Here are the top 5 news updates of August 13, 2021:
1. PM Narendra Modi launches vehicle scrapping policy- Here is all you need to know
Prime Minister announced setting up of the Vehicle Scrapping Policy via video conferencing on Friday at Investor Summit in Gujarat. The summit was aimed at inviting investment to set up infrastructure for the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program.
The Prime Minister said that the summit opens a new range of possibilities and requested the youth and start-ups to join this programme. “The scrappage policy will provide a new identity to the country's auto sector. It will play a huge role in removing unfit vehicles from roads, and bring a positive change in all sectors and not just the auto sector,” said the Prime Minister at the event in Gujarat.
“We're about to enter the 75th year of Independence. The next 25 years are very important for the country, from this point onward. In these 25 years, changes are going to take place in our way of working, in our daily lives, in our businesses,” said PM Modi.
The Prime Minister in his address also drew parallels between the lifestyle of the citizens of India and the economy of the country. He believes that this policy will deeply benefit the middle class.
A total of three fatalities in Maharashtra were reported due to Delta plus variant - one each in Ratnagiri, Mumbai and Raigad.
Mumbai recorded its first death due to the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 in July. The victim, a 63-year-old fully vaccinated woman from the Eastern suburbs, died on July 27. She was one of the seven people in Mumbai who had recently tested positive for the Delta Plus variant.
According to the BMC, the victim had several comorbidities, including diabetes. A BMC official said that the woman, who was vaccinated with Covishield, was detected with Covid-19 on July 21. She had a dry cough, loss of taste and body ache. She was admitted to ICU on July 24 and was put on oxygen support, but died on July 27. “The patient had a lung disease and obstructive airway disease, for which she was taking oxygen treatment at home before COVID-19 infection and she didn’t have any travel history,” a BMC official said.
Six of her family members have also been found Covid-19 positive. Two of them have been detected with the Delta Plus variant after genome sequencing. The death takes the state’s toll due to Delta Plus to two.
3. After Herat, Taliban claims to have 'completely conquered' Kandahar
Hours after reports indicated that Afghan forces had abandoned the country's third biggest city to the Taliban, the insurgents seem to have made fresh inroads. According to reports that quoted the militants, they had now taken over another city - Kandahar.
"Kandahar is completely conquered. The Mujahideen reached Martyrs' Square in the city," a Taliban spokesman reportedly tweeted on an officially recognised account. The claim was backed by a local who told AFP that government forces appear to have withdrawn to a military facility outside the city.
4. Massive landslide blocks flow of Chenab river in Himachal Pradesh
Massive landslide near Nalda village of the Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh on Friday has blocked the flow of Chenab River.
No loss of life or property has been reported in the incident so far.
"River is blocked and only 10-15 per cent water is discharging currently. Villages have been evacuated and a helicopter has been deployed for aerial survey," Sudesh Kumar Mokta, Director of Disaster Management said.
Sudesh Kumar also informed that the deployment of the NDRF team is underway, and the local administration is taking stock of everything.
5. Sensex hits new milestone, vaults past 55k as IIP, falling inflation lift sentiment
Benchmark Indices closed on a positive note with Sensex crossing 55,000 and Nifty 16,500 for the first time. More than 200 stocks, including Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro and TCS, hit their fresh 52-week highs on BSE.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said Asian stock markets traded mostly lower on Friday, as traders remain concerned over the recent regulatory crackdown in China and the alarming spread of the highly contagious coronavirus variants in the region. European stocks scaled new highs on Friday hitting a record high for the tenth straight session and were on track for their fourth consecutive week of gains on optimism over a strong earnings season and steady recovery from the pandemic-led economic downturn.
