Blog - The Purbottar

24 Jun

Why Trump’s H-1B visa freeze will hurt India most

editor0 CommentsNorth EastUSA, VISA

Illegal immigration has long been the subject of fervid debate in the US. Now President Donald Trump is making "legal immigration a scapegoat" with an eye on the upcoming election, says Poorvi Chotani, a managing partner at Law Quest, an immigration law firm with offices in the US and India. "How can the US recover more than 17 million lost jobs due to the pandemic by keeping out a little more than half a million foreign workers for the rest of the year?" she told me. Ms Chotani is mainly alluding to the H-1B visa programme that currently admits 85,000 immigrants each…

23 Jun

How Apple plans to take on WhatsApp with iOS 14.

editor0 CommentsBusiness

Back in 2018, during a regular quarterly earnings call with investors, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a rather startling admission. "Our biggest competitor by far is iMessage ," Zuckerberg told investors about Apple's default messaging app as a huge threat. Till yesterday, one might have felt that Apple — while making subtle changes — hadn't really upped the ante on Facebook and its family of apps like Messenger and WhatsApp . However, at WWDC 2020 , Apple with iOS 14 announced how Messages is set to change significantly with new features that are designed to take on other instant messaging…

23 Jun

Delhi HC grants bail to pregnant Jamia student Safoora Zargar.

editor0 CommentsNorth East

The Delhi high court Tuesday granted bail to Jamia student Safoora Zargar, who is pregnant and was arrested under anti-terror law UAPA in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta did not oppose it on humanitarian grounds. Justice Rajiv Shakdher passed the order after the Central government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, agreed to Ms. Zargar's bail plea on humanitarian grounds. The Solicitor General said that the order enlarging her on bail should not be made a precedent and additonally insisted on a series of…

23 Jun

Patanjali ordered to stop advertising COVID-19 drug.

editor0 CommentsBusiness

Yoga guru Ramdev's herbal medicine company Patanjali Ayurved on Tuesday claimed to have discovered a medicine that could cure coronavirus in just seven days - a claim that the Ayush Ministry scoffed at by seeking stopping of advertisements for the drug. While Ramdev claimed that Ayurved-based 'Coronil and Swasari' medicine have shown 100 per cent favourable results during clinical trials on COVID-19 infected patients except those on a life support system, the Ayush Ministry sought from the company detailed report on composition, testing and other data of the drugs. The ministry also used powers under a 1954 law to ask…

23 Jun

COVID-19: Glenmark receives approval for Favipiravir

editor0 CommentsHealthCovid-19

In a landmark development for COVID-19 patients in India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today announced the launch of antiviral drug Favipiravir (brand name FabiFlu) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Glenmark has received manufacturing and marketing approval from India’s drug regulator, making FabiFlu the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of COVID-19. Favipiravir is backed by strong clinical evidence showing encouraging results in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. The antiviral offers broad-spectrum RNA virus coverage with clinical improvement noted across age groups 20 to 90 years. Favipiravir can be used in COVID-19 patients with co-morbid…

23 Jun

ICICI Prudential Life announces a 15% higher bonus

editor0 CommentsBusinessFINANCE, ICICI

A bonus totalling Rs 788 crore has been declared by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance for its bouquet of participating products. This is the 14th consecutive year the Company has declared a bonus and delivered long term value to policyholders. The bonus declared for FY2020 is 15% higher than the last fiscal enabling ~9 lakh policyholder to get one step closer to achieving their financial goals. All participating policies in force as of March 31, 2020, are eligible to receive this bonus, which will be added to their guaranteed maturity or death benefit.Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance,…

23 Jun

Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz among seven more to test positive for Covid-19

editor0 CommentsSports

A day after Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Haider Ali had tested positive for the Coronavirus, seven more Pakistan cricketers including all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and fast bowler Wahab Riaz have also contracted the virus, the PCB announced on Tuesday. This takes the total count to 10. The cricketers were tested on Sunday ahead of the departure for the tour of England.

23 Jun

Healthcare specialists launch ‘Swasth’

editor0 CommentsNorth EastCovid19, Health

Aiming to launch ‘Swasth’, a coalition of over 100 healthcare specialists have come together. Swasth is a nationwide telemedicine platform for Corona care, which digitally connects Indians to the best doctors and wellness providers. This indigenous digital healthcare system is being launched at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged traditional service providers. The mobile app-based service leverages India’s technology prowess to deliver equal and affordable healthcare to 1.3 billion people, cutting across geographical and income divides. Along with the free consultations, Swasth will also provide services like home quarantine assistance, diagnostics, pharmacies, hospital bed discovery and booking assistance…

23 Jun

Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena test positive for coronavirus

editor0 CommentsSports

Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena tested positive for coronavirus after coming off fresh from his Adria Tour of events organised in Belgrade, Serbia where three other tennis stars - Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, and Victor Troicki - along with two coaches had contracted the virus. Djokovic got himself and his entire family tested for COVID-19 upon arrival in Belgrade. And while he showed no symptoms of the virus, he tested positive and so did his wife Jelena. Earlier in the day, Troicki and his pregnant wife had tested positive for the virus. The former world no.20 had played against Djokovic…

23 Jun

Jaishankar says need to follow ethos of international relations

editor0 CommentsNorth East

In the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Tuesday underlined the need for recognising legitimate interest of partners in a multilateral set-up and following ethos of international relations. Addressing a virtual conference of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral, Jaishankar said, “This special meeting reiterates our belief in the time-tested principles of international relations. But the challenge today is not just one of concepts and norms, but equally of their practice.” This was Jaishankar’s first face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi after the violent face-off in the Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian Army…