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CoWIN platform ‘know-how’ now available free of cost to any country

The National Health Authority’s offer comes after India crossed a milestone of administering 2 billion vaccine doses a week ago.

Any country interested can avail CoWIN platform, the platform will be provided free of cost, said Dr. R.S.Sharma, CEO of the National Health Authority, said on Saturday, July 23, 2022.

“Selected vendors by the country will be trained on CoWIN technology to customise it for their requirement. Usually, since the vaccination cycle is almost the same in all countries, the customisation will be limited to changes in field and master data configuration. Complete revamp of the application by any country is not expected,’’ he elaborated while speaking about (CoWIN) which provided the digital support for the COVID vaccination drive in the country.

Dr. Sharma further said that India has already signed an MoU with the Government of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana for sharing CoWIN; “We are in advanced talks with a couple of other nations to share CoWIN with them,’’ he confirmed.

India’s COVID vaccine milestone

India crossed a milestone of administering 2 billion vaccine doses a week ago and talking about its continued importance Dr. Sharma said that as CoWIN is repurposed, it could also help achieve the vision of Universal Vaccination against COVID-19 and further be repurposed for use in the healthcare sector. 

On July 5, 2021, the Central Government organised the Co-WIN Global Conclave with the endeavour to share experiences and expertise on the CoWIN platform with the global community. Over 140 countries participated in the event and nearly a dozen expressed an interest in learning from the platform and evaluating adopting it.

Stating that CoWIN has also become the world’s biggest digitally verifiable vaccination certificate generating platform, Dr. Sharma said that today Co-WIN is highly configurable and adaptable. “It has evolved based on the changing policy landscape and the requirements of the beneficiaries. The platform was developed at record speed with ample consideration to its scalability, modularity and interoperability,’’ hde said.

The CEO also spoke about the security measures that have been put in place to ensure data safety and the prevention of leaks. “CoWIN platform does not store or share any personal data. It’s for vaccination purposes and is the single source of truth to determine whether the person has been vaccinated or not,’’ said Dr. Sharma. He added the platform has deployed state-of-the-art data security systems to safeguard users’ data against any possible intrusion.

“Despite all these security features, CoWIN’s architecture still allows it to be open and interoperable. The capability to digitally authenticate these details with Aadhaar has also been provided to vaccinators. Otherwise, during vaccination a vaccinator could validate these details through a physical ID,’’ he explained, adding that besides the OTP feature the government has also limited the number of slot searches per user (restricted to 15-20) on the portal which prevents bots, browser extensions or hack attempts. Also even the API’s shared to third parties by CoWIN is through a thorough scrutiny process, ensuring proper security and audit.

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Neeraj Chopra wins silver at World Athletics Championships, scripts history again

Neeraj Chopra produced a best throw of 88.13m to finish second after Anderson Peters of Grenada

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra scripted yet another history as he became only the second Indian and first male track and field athlete to win a medal in the World Championships by clinching silver in the javelin throw final here.

The 24-year-old Chopra, who had come into the showpiece as a hot medal favourite, produced a best throw of 88.13m to finish second.

The legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George was the first Indian to win a medal — bronze — in the World Championships in the 2003 edition in Paris.

Chopra began with a foul throw and had 82.39m and 86.37m to be at fourth after three rounds. He got his rhythm back with a big fourth round throw of 88.13m, his fourth career-best effort, to jump to second place, which he held on to till the end. His fifth and sixth throws were fouls.

Also read:A look at javelin champ Neeraj Chopra’s achievements

Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada won gold with a best throw of 90.54m while Olympic silver winner Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic took the bronze with 88.09m.

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Leicester Cricket Ground to be named after Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar has become the first Indian to have a cricket ground named after him in England.

On Saturday (July 23), a cricket ground in England’s Leicester will be dedicated in the honor of legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar.

Gavaskar, who is considered one of the game’s all-time greats, set and broke numerous records while playing and his legacy has grown as he becomes the first person from his country to have a ground named after him in England.

The former India captain expressed his gratitude for the honor and assured to be present at the venue to unveil his name plaque on the ground.

“I am delighted and honored that a ground in Leicester is being named after me. Leicester is a city with possibly the strongest supporters of the game, especially Indian cricket, and therefore it is a huge honor indeed,” he told The Times of India.

According to TOI, the initiative was taken by UK MP Keith Vaz, who is of Indian descent and has been serving Leicester in the legislature for more than three decades.

“We are thrilled and honored that Gavaskar has agreed to have this pitch and ground named after him,” Vaz was quoted as saying by the daily.

The former cricketer, according to Vaz, is not simply the “Little Master”; he is a great master of the game.

“He is a living legend and over the years, has delighted Indians and other lovers of cricket with his record-breaking performances. To us, he is not just the ‘Little Master’, he is a great master of the game. Nothing delights the Indian population of Leicester more than when an all-time great visits us. There is now a part of Britain that is forever Gavaskar,” he added.

The five-acre field is owned by Bharat Sports and Cricket Club, and one of the pavilion walls has already been painted with a huge portrait of the 73-year-old.

Gavaskar in his playing days faced off against some of the best fast bowlers ever, and that too without a proper helmet, and still averaged over 50 (51.12), is a testimony to his genius. He was the first batter in the history of the game to have breached the 10000-run mark in the longest format. In 125 Tests while wearing whites, he amassed 10122 runs which included a record at the time, 34 centuries.

In ODIs too, he left a mark having scored 3092 runs in 108 games.

circleofcricket.com

Droupadi Murmu elected 15th President of India

Amid heavy cross-voting, she received 64.03% of total valid votes polled

Former Jharkhand Governor and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu was elected the 15 th President of India, the first tribal woman to be elected to the position and the youngest as well. She was declared elected on Thursday after four rounds of counting, although she had crossed the halfway mark after the third round of counting itself, posting an unassailable lead over her rival and the Opposition’s candidate Yashwant Sinha, who conceded the election thereafter.

After four rounds of polling, Ms. Murmu received 2,824 votes of 6,76,803 value while Mr. Sinha received 1,877 votes or 3,80,177 value. She received 64.03% of total valid votes polled, much more than what was openly declared in her support and pointing to the fact there had been a lot of cross-voting in Ms. Murmu’s favour from the Opposition ranks.

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68th National Film Awards updates: Suriya, Ajay Devgn share Best Actor award

Tamil film ‘Soorarai Pottru’ wins Best Film, while directors Sachidanandan KR and Sudha Kongara, and actors Ajay Devgn and Aparna Balamurali also win honours

The 68th National Film Awards were announced on Friday afternoon at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, with the honours for films from the year of 2020. The event is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

This year, Soorarai Pottru (Tamil) won the best feature film award as actors Suriya and Ajay Devgn shared the best actor award. Actress Aparna Balamurali bagged the best actress award.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Producer: 2D Entertainment Pvt.Ltd; Director: Sudha Kongara

Best Actor: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Actor: Suriya & Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Hindi); Actor: Ajay Devgn 

Best Actress: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Actress: Aparrna Balamurali

Best Direction: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Director: Sachidanandan KR

Best Supporting Actor: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Supporting Actor: Biju Menon

Best Supporting Actress: Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum (Tamil); Supporting Actress: Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli

Best Children’s Film: Sumi (Marathi); Producer: Harshall Kamat Entertainment; Director: Amol Vasant Gole

Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Taledanda (Beheading a Life )(Kannada) Producer: Krupanidhi Kreations; Director: Praveen Krupakar

Best Film on Social Issues (Themes such as prohibition,women and child empowerment,social evils like dowry, drug abuse, empowerment of differently-abled people, tribal and indigeneous people etc.): Funeral (Marathi); Producer: Before After Entertainment; Director: Vivek Dubey

Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Tanhaji :The Unsung Warrior  (Hindi); Producer: Ajay Devgn FFilms; Director:  Om Raut

Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Mandela (Tamil) ; Producer: YNOT Studios; Director:  Madonne Ashwin

Best Screenplay: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil) Screenplay writer (original): Shalini Usha Nair & Sudha Kongara

Mandela (Tamil); Dialogue Writer: Madonne Ashwin 

Best Cinematography:  Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) (Bengali); Cameraman: Supratim Bhol

Best Female Playback Singer: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Singer: Nanchamma

Best Male Playback Singer: Mi Vasantrao (I Am Vasantrao) (Marathi); Singer: Rahul Deshpande

Best Child Artist: Tak-Tak (Marathi); Child Artist: Anish Mangesh Gosavi; Sumi (Marathi); Child Artist : Akanksha Pingle & Divyesh Indulkar

4.35 PM

Feature Film Awards

Best Telugu Film: Colour Photo

Best Tamil Film: Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum

Best Malayalam Film: Thinkalazcha Nishchayam

Best Marathi Film: Gostha Eka Paithanichi

Best Kannada Film: Dollu

Best Hindi Film: Toolsidas Junior

Best Bengali Film: Avijatrik

Best Assamese Film: Bridge

Best Tulu Film: Jeetige

Best Dimasa Film: Semkhor

Best Haryanvi Film: Dada Lakhmi

Best Action Direction Award: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum

Best Choreography: Natyam (Telugu)

Best Lyrics: Saina (Hindi)

Best Music Direction: Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (Telugu) – (Songs): Thaman S

Best Background Score: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil) – GV Prakash Kumar

Best Make-up Artist: Natyam (Dance)(Telugu); Make-up Artist: TV Rambabu

Best Costume Designer: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior(Hindi); Costume Designer: Nachiket Barve & Mahesh Sherla

Best Production Design: Kappela (Chapel) (Malayalam); Production Designer: Anees Nadodi

Best Editing: Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum (Tamil); Editor: Sreekar Prasad

Best Audiography:   Dollu (Kannada); Location Sound Recordist (for sync sound films only): Jobin Jayan

Mi Vasantrao (I Am Vasantrao)  (Marathi); Sound Designer: Anmol Bhave

Malik (Malayalam); Re- recordist of the final mixed track: Vishnu Govind & Sree Sankar

Special mentions: Semkhor (Dimasa), Vaanku (Malayalam), June (Marathi), Avwanchhit (Marathi) and Godakaath (Marathi), and Toolsidas Junior (Hindi)

4.23 PM

Non-feature Film Awards

Best Voice-over/ Narration: Shobha Tharoor Sreenivasan, Rhapsody of Rains – Monsoons of Kerala (English)

Best Music Direction: Vishal Bhardwaj for 1232 Kms: Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar

Best Editing: Anadi Athaley for Borderlands

Best On-Location Sound Recordist: Sandip Bhati & Pradeep Lekhwar, Jadui Jangal for Magical Forest

Best Audiography: Ajit Singh Rathore, Pearl of the Desert (Rajasthani)

Best Cinematography: Nikhil S Praveen for Shabdikkunna Kalappa

Best Direction: Oh That’s Bhanu (English, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi)

Best Film on Family Values: Kumkumarchan (Worship of the Goddess) (Marathi)

Best Short Fiction Film: Kachichinithu

Special Jury Award: Admitted (Hindi and English) Director: Ojaswee Sharma

Best Investigative Film: The Saviour: Brig. Pritam Singh (Punjabi)

Best Exploration/Adventure Film: Wheeling the Ball (English and Hindi)

Best Educational Film: Dreaming of Words (Malayalam)

Best Film on Social Issues: Justice Delayed but Delivered

Best Film on Social Issues:  Three Sisters (Bengali)

Best Environment Film: Manah Aru Manuh (Manas and People) (Assamese)

Best Promotional Film: Surmounting Challenges (English)

Best Science and Technology Films: On the brink season 2- Bats (English)

Best Arts and Culture Film: Naadada Navaneeta DR PT Venkateshkumar

Best Biographical Film: Pabung Syam (Manipuri)

Best Ethnographic Film: Mandal ke Bol (Hindi)

Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director: Pariah (Marathi and Hindi)

Best Non-Feature Film: Testimony of Ana

4.22 PM

Best book on cinema: The longest kiss, by Kishwar Desai

Best book on cinema (Special Mention): MIT Anubhavangalude Pusthakam, Kali Paine Kalira Cinema

4.14 PM

Most film friendly state: Madhya Pradesh.

This year, 305 feature films were received as entries in 30 languages; and 148 non-feature films in 20 languages were received from all over the country.

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Rapid fire pistol team silver for India

India tops the medals table in the shooting World Cup that ended on Wednesday

The Indian team lost the gold in a thriller in the rapid fire pistol team event, but topped the medals table in the shooting World Cup that concluded in Changwon, Korea, on Wednesday.

Anish Bhanwala, Sameer and Vijayveer Sidhu had topped the second stage to make the gold contest, and led 10-2 before the Czech Republic turned it around to make it a lively contest.

At 15-15, the Czech Republic had 11 hits out of 15 to pip India which had shot 10, with Anish’s perfect five proving inadequate.

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Pratt and Whitney to set up engineering centre in Bengaluru

To be operational in 2023, facility will be fifth globally

Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney (PW) on Monday said it will set up an engineering centre in Bengaluru, that is slated to commence operations in January 2023.

The centre, which will be its first facility in Asia Pacific and fifth globally, will enable the firm to offer engineering services on contract to its domestic and international customers, a spokesperson said.

PW’s integrated global engineering operations currently has centres in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Poland.

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Gukesh: Super Grandmaster at a sweet 16

Gukesh has been on a winning spree, capturing four tournament titles this year and reaching No 32 in the world chess rankings based on live ELO ratings

D. Gukesh, the 16-year-old Grandmaster from Chennai, became only the sixth Indian to reach and cross the coveted 2700 ELO ratings mark in chess. Following his victory against GM Le Quang Liam from Vietnam in the Biel Chess Festival (Classic) in Switzerland on July 16 to take his point tally to 2.5 in 3 games, the young grandmaster’s Live ELO ratings went up to 2703.9.

Only two other players – China’s Wei Yi (some months before turning 16) and Iranian-born French player Alireza Firouzja achieved this earlier than the 16 years and nearly 2 months old Gukesh, even as world champion Magnus Carlsen attained a FIDE rating of 2700 when he was 16 and a half years old. Note, this is a live rating; FIDE updates its ratings list every month and Gukesh would have to avoid setbacks for the live rating to stay above 2700 in the games he will have to play in the next 15 days.

Gukesh is among a cohort of Indian grandmaster youngsters which includes GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM R Praggnanandhaa, GM Nihal Sarin and GM Raunak Sadhwani who have recently showcased their skills in their teens and have attained significant ELO ratings. While GMs Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin stole a march initially in their careers as prodigies with high ELO ratings at a tender age, GMs Arjun and Gukesh have had spectacular tournaments recently, propelling them above Nihal and Praggnanandhaa among junior GMs in the ratings tally. Gukesh in particular has been on a winning spree, capturing four tournament titles this year and reaching No 32 in the world chess rankings based on live ELO ratings.

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India’s missile woman Tessy Thomas to receive APJ Award 2022

The selection committee, headed by AP Majeed Khan, Chancellor of Noorul Islam University in association with NINS Medicity, announced the award recently.

Dr Tessy Thomas, Scientist and Director General (Aero Systems) at Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), also known as India’s missile woman, will be awarded APJ Award 2022. 

A release said that Noorul Islam Centre for Higher Education at Kumarakovil in Kanniyakumari district and NIMS Medicity have been jointly organising the award since 2019 to recognise government officials who have achieved excellence and achievements in their respective field of work. 

Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan will present the award at a ceremony which will be held at NIMS Medicity, Neyyartinkarai on Tuesday (July 19) at 11 am.

The awardee will be receiving a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a certificate of appreciation and a commemorative trophy, the release added. It is to be noted that Tessy Thomas is the first woman scientist to head India’s missile programme.

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I2U2 summit: UAE to invest $2 billion to develop integrated food parks across India

The grouping is known as ‘I2U2’ with “I” standing for India and Israel and “U” for the US and the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates will invest $2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India under the framework of the four-nation grouping ‘I2U2’.

The decision was announced after the leaders of the grouping — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan — held the first virtual summit.

A joint statement said the I2U2 leaders’ meeting focussed on food security crisis and clean energy and that they discussed innovative ways to ensure longer-term, more diversified food production and food delivery systems.

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