Today’s top news: 2nd January, 2021 (GPN):

NATIONAL NEWS:

1. PM Modi wishes nation on New Year
2. Anticipating large gatherings on New Year’s Day, exit gates at four metro stations in central Delhi were closed on Friday afternoon by authorities.
3. The Kerala Assembly passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the three farm laws. The resolution demands to scrapping of the three laws.
4. Non-subsidised LPG cylinder hiked by Rs 17 : With effect from January 1, the price of non-subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders remained at Rs 694 per cylinder (14.2 kilograms) each in Delhi and Mumbai, according to Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) website. Commercial customers will now have to shell out an additional Rs 17 per cylinder.
5. Petroleum Minister launches Missed Call Facility for LPG consumers : Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in an event in Bhubaneswar, on Friday launched Missed Call Facility for LPG consumers, a major step towards government’s efforts to boost ease-of living.
6. Indian Oil LPG customers can use single missed call number 8454955555 for refill booking- for all India and for new connection- for Bhubaneshwar City.
7. Days after rebel Trinamool leader and former Bengal minister Suvendu Adhikari quit Mamata Banerjee’s party and joined the BJP, his youngest brother, Soumendu Adhikari too, switched sides and joined the saffron camp.
8. The Ministry of Home Affairs recently declared Nagaland as “Disturbed Area” for the next six months under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,
9. Nagaland has been declared as ‘disturbed area’ as there have been killings, extortion and loot in various parts of the state. Even after eighty rounds of negotiations for more than eighteen years, the demands of NSCN-IM do not seem feasible. The NSCN-IM is demanding for separate flag and constitution. This demand is not acceptable by the central government. This leads to the continuation of insurgency in the region. Thus, Nagaland continues to be declared as “Disturbed Area”.
10. Cold wave conditions intensify in North India; Delhi-NCR shivers with minimum temperature of 3.3 Degree C
11. Interest rate on NSC, PPF and other small savings schemes unchanged : Interest rates of Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to remain at 7.1% and 6.8%. Five Year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme: 7.4%
    Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: 7.6%
    Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP): 6.9%.
12. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched an upgraded e-ticketing website and mobile app to book online railway tickets. Under the new initiative, the train search and selection has been simplified. This has been done by putting all the information on one page to reduce the time used by passengers and enhance booking experience.
13. Enforcement Directorate attached the properties of Pravin Raut worth Rs 72 crore in connection with the ongoing PMC Bank scam investigation. Located in Maharashtra, these properties have been seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. As per the ED, Raut siphoned off Rs.95 crore through the illegally availed loans by Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited from PMC Bank in “conspiracy and connivance” with various persons.
14. Second incident of vandalism of Hindu temples and deity idols in Andhra Pradesh , Lord Subrahmanya Swamy’s idol in Lord Vigneshwara temple of Rajahmundry district has been found in a desecrated condition on Friday. A case has been registered and the police is investigating the matter to nab the perpetrators. According to sources, the vandalism seems to have taken place on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1.
15. The agriculture and farmers welfare minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Virtual Agri-Hackathon, 2020 in New Delhi . The hackathon will focus on precision agriculture, farm mechanization, food technology, supply chain, green energy and waste to wealth.
16. Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh Cabinet shall be expanded on January 3
17. Farmers’ unions urge Centre to accept main demands , warn of firm steps if Jan 4 talks fail. Addressing a press briefing, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha warned that it will take firm steps if the Centre failed to accept its main demands in the January 4 meet.
18. Suneet Sharma appointed as new Railway Board Chairman and CEO
19. The Hybrid lanes at Toll Plaza are to remain operation till February 15, 2021 to avoid inconvenience to people.
20. In Karnataka and in Kerala, classroom studies for classes 10 and 12 resumed on the first day of the new year, while in Assam children studying in classes one to five attended schools
21. Centre Approves Indian Navy Proposal To Buy 10 Shipborne Drones : The Navy will acquire these drones through an open bid under the Buy Global category and then soon deploy them on its large size warships for surveillance and reconnaissance activities.

23.Major General Gautam Chauhan took charge as Additional Director General Human Rights on Thursday.

24. 75 People Who Returned From UK To Be Traced In Karnataka: State Minister
    So far, on undergoing RT-PCR test 33 people, who have travelled from the UK, along with five of their contacts have tested positive for Covid taking the number to 38, Health Minister K Sudhakar said.
25. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness at various session sites in the country for coronavirus vaccination trial run on January 2.
26. Coronavirus Cases:
    10,298,069
    Deaths: 149,179
    Recovered: 9,895,961

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Cleared By Expert Panel For India :
   The Serum Institute of India (SII) is making the vaccine Covishield developed by Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca. while Bharat Biotech has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for its Covaxin.
2. The Asian Development Bank is to provide 231 million USD loan to increase the electricity generation capacity in Assam through construction of 120 MW hydroelectric power plant.
3. Indian Army Chief to hold talks with South Korean counterpart
   The Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane to hold extensive talks with his South Korean counter part to boost bilateral military ties. He also visited the Demilitarised Zone. It is a heavily fortified buffer zone that separates North and South Korea since the Korean war in 1950s.
4. China completed the track laying work for railway line in linking cities of Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet. The railway line is close to Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.
5. India-UK flights to resume limited operations from Jan 8 amid mutated Coronavirus scare.
6. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali is all set to visit New Delhi in mid-January to hold the India-Nepal joint commission meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar,
7. India on Friday called for urgent, practical and time-bound assistance to 39 Indian sailors stranded on two cargo ships in Chinese waters in view of the ‘grave’ humanitarian situation developing on board the vessels.
8. India, which has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the United Nations Security Council, on Friday began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the powerful organ of the world body.

🌎WORLD NEWS🌍

1. The United Kingdom exits the European Union’s orbit on Thursday, turning its back on a tempestuous 48-year liaison with the European project for an uncertain Brexit future that will shape the fortunes of its people for generations to come.
2. In New Year’s address, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on December 31 said that the nation is willing to have “meaningful” talks with China as equals as long as Beijing is ready to put aside confrontation. As Taiwan offers another olive branch to China, Beijing has continued to claim that Taiwan is its own territory and terms it ‘breakaway province’ and has even ramped up military activity near the island
3. More than half of Chinese adults are either overweight or obese, a study conducted by the country’s National Health Commission (NHC) revealed recently.
4. Singapore to block travellers from South Africa to stop spread of mutant virus
5. Coronavirus Cases:
   84,105,911
   Deaths: 1,830,904
   Recovered: 59,532,792

🚣🚴🏇🏁🏊Sports:

The former hockey player Michael Kondo died. He was a member of Indian Hockey team that won gold in 1975 World Cup.

USD 73.09 💷GBP 99.94
In Trivendrum(Guj)
🥇Gold ₹49,140@10 gm 24 (Krt)
🥈 Silver ₹68,100@ Kg
⛽ Petrol ₹ 85.96
⛽ Diesel ₹ 79.89

LPG ₹ 703.50 /14.2 Kg

🇮🇳Facts about India🇮🇳
Indraprastha (“Plain of Indra” or “City of Indra”) is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas in the Mahabharata epic.
It is often thought to have been located in the region of present-day New Delhi, particularly the Old Fort (Purana Qila), although this has not been conclusively confirmed. The city is sometimes also known as Khandavaprastha, the name of a forest region on the banks of Yamuna river which (according to the Mahabharata) had been cleared to build the city.

😀Thought of the day

“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being positive about what could go right.”
Joke of the day

एक दिन पप्पू ढेर सारी चॉकलेट खा रहा था।

एक आदमी ने देखा तो उससे रहा नहीं गया और वह पप्पू को सलाह देने लगा।

आदमी : बेटा इतनी ज्यादा चॉकलेट नहीं खाते, सेहत के लिए ठीक नहीं होती।

पप्पू : एक बात बोलूं मेरे दादा जी 105 साल के हैं।

आदमी : अच्छा! क्या वो भी बहुत सारी चॉकलेट खाते हैं?

पप्पू : नहीं।

आदमी : तो, फिर?

पप्पू : उल्लू के पट्ठे, वो अपने काम से काम रखते हैं, तेरी तरह ऊँगलीबाजी नहीं करते।😆🤪🤣

😳Why..❓❓

Why are our lips become so dry in winter season?

Little humidity in the air during the winter months is known to cause chapped lips. Frequent sun exposure in the summer can also worsen your condition. Another common cause of chapped lips is habitual licking. Saliva from the tongue can further strip the lips of moisture, causing more dryness.

LEARN Sanskrit🙏🏻

Shashi Moon

🤔 How it works ⁉

How does anesthesia work during medical surgery’s?

Two types of Anesthesia
General & Local anesthesia.

General anesthesia works by interrupting nerve signals in your brain and body. It prevents your brain from processing pain and from remembering what happened during your surgery. … This tube ensures that you get enough oxygen during surgery. The doctor will first give you medicine to relax the muscles in your throat.The patient loses awareness yet his vital physiologic functions, such as breathing and maintenance of blood pressure, continue to function. The general anesthetics cause a reduction in nerve transmission at synapses, the sites at which neurotransmitters are released and exert their initial action in the body.

Local anesthetics, such as Novocain, block nerve transmission to pain centers in the central nervous system by binding to and inhibiting the function of an ion channel in the cell membrane of nerve cells known as the sodium channel. This action obstructs the movement of nerve impulses near the site of injection, but there are no changes in awareness and sense perception in other areas.

💁🏻‍♂️ GK TODAY

The largest country in the world is Russia with a total area of 17,098,242 Km² (6,601,665 mi²)

🛕 VEDIK GYAN

Important aspects of Aarti:

The important aspects of aarti are:

(1) Light the lamp or Diya: in front of the deity, because fire has the ability to purify us from inside and outside.

(2) Blow Conch: blowing conch during aarti or puja will create an aura, that is full of divinity and invoke God.

(3) Self Cleaning: Make sure that you have cleansed yourself, before performing the aarti. Wear clean clothes; also keep a pure and clean mind and thoughts while performing aarti.

(4) Offer leaves and Flowers: While doing the aarti, offer varied flowers and leaves of Peepal and mango trees, because mango leaves have a long life span and it does not get rotten easily.

(5) Bowing down: Bowing your head in reverence is also necessary. It shows the dedication and devotion of devotees during performing of aarti.

🧬 HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES🩺
( Note : These home tips followed in villages/ancient traditions, it is up to you to use it or not🙏🏻)

5 Easy DIY Treatments for Chapped Lips Exfoliation.

Coconut oil.
Aloe vera.
Honey.
Avocado butter.
Petroleum jelly.

Home Remedies

🙏PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINTAIN SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE🌼 ENDS