Experienced defender Rupinder Pal Singh feels the COVID-19 induced lockdown period helped the Indian men’s hockey team develop their technical knowledge about the game and also up their skill.
“I always like to see positive side to any scenario and I truly feel the series of lockdowns helped us develop our technical knowledge base. We would watch a lot of videos, analyse matches, discuss video referrals etc while we remained indoors with no hockey allowed,” Rupinder said.
“We have also studied our opponents during this period and all these aspects will be beneficial for us in our preparations for the Olympic Games,” he added.
He further stated that going back to basics when activities resumed in the national coaching camp has helped perfect their skills.
“We have paid a lot of attention to basics when we resumed activities in SAI, Bengaluru. I believe this has helped the entire group perfect our skills. We will be increasing intensity this month onwards and we have built a solid base to take greater work load in the coming months,” said Rupinder.
One of the other factors that Rupinder believes has helped the men’s team in particular is having events in India.
“I feel Hockey India hosting back-to-back events in India has also been a contributing factor to our performance. Playing in front of home crowd is not just an incredible feeling but there’s also a lot of pressure to perform,” explained the drag flicker who has been part of some of India’s significant victories such as the 2014 Asian Games, Asian Champions Trophy in 2011 and 2016.
“This exposure obviously helps us face greater challenges when we play abroad. Playing in India also increases our fan-base, gets newer spectators to watch the sport and people end up following us when we travel abroad too,” he added.
Six of the world’s oldest footraces have been awarded the Heritage Plaque by World Athletics.
The road races are Around the Bay Road Race, Hamilton, Ontario- founded 1894, YMCA Turkey Trot, Buffalo, New York – founded 1896, Bechovice 10k, Prague – founded 1897, Giro Podistico di Castelbuono, Castelbuono, Sicily – founded 1912, Kosice Peace Marathon, Kosice – founded 1924 and Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship, Fukuoka – founded 1947.
These road races join a list of 54 other recipients which had previously been awarded the plaque since the honour was inaugurated on December 2, 2018.
The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is a location-based recognition, awarded for “an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking”.
“These six footraces represent some of the oldest sports events, let alone running races, in the world,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
“Together these races ooze athletics history. They represent what running is truly about: the record-breaking feats of the many great champions and the personal triumphs of the countless recreational and charity runners. We should also not forget the dedication and hard work of the officials and volunteers of the local clubs and organising committees which have kept these historic events on the roads for decades,” he added.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). (Photo: Twitter/@FollowCII)
The business fraternity expects a steady recovery in the Indian economy during the second half of the financial year 2020-21, shows a poll of CEOs done by CII.
A statement by the industry body said that India Inc is estimating a capacity utilisation of over 50 per cent during October-March in FY21.
“A steady recovery of the Indian economy is on the anvil as corporate India restarts business and economic activity with lockdowns being increasingly relaxed in many parts of the country. For the first time since the advent of the pandemic in the country in early 2020, India Inc is now estimating a capacity utilisation of more than 50 per cent in the second half of this financial year,” it said.
CEOs of top 115 companies who met at CII’s National Council recently, indicated revival of positive business sentiment and gradual rise in expected corporate performance.
The CEOs of top companies who took the poll included representatives across sectors from metals and mining to manufacturing, auto, pharmaceuticals, health, energy, infrastructure, construction and leading services sectors including ITeS, health, hospitality, tourism and e-commerce.
The apex body also had a large representation of the medium and small sector apart from start-ups, it said.
The statement said that the unlocking of almost all economic activities, along with the reform and revival measures announced by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have contributed to the gradual improvement in business sentiments in the second half of the current financial year.
“While in most cases, the performance – revenue or capacity utilisation – is estimated to be lower than the comparative figures in 2019-20, a large percentage of the CEOs polled have shown confidence in the days ahead indicating that the worst may be behind,” it said.
On consumer demand, while 32 per cent of the CEOs are hoping for better prospects, another 27 per cent of them expect no change when compared to the second half of the last financial year.
However, only 31 per cent of the CEOs expected their revenue growth to be in the positive territory in the second half of the current financial year compared to last year. Regarding exports, 40 per cent of the CEOs expect better prospects on exports and 24 per cent of them expect no change in prospects during the second half of the current fiscal when compared to the same period last year.
Apart from the agri-sector that has been in the positive territory there are now clear indications of a smart recovery in some sectors like automobiles, FMCG, consumer durables and construction equipment, the CII statement said.
According to CII, both the Centre and State governments would need to focus on livelihoods in addition to lives and hence efforts need to be made to stall the practice of sudden and ad hoc lockdowns announced by states as well as districts.
These not only further disrupt the revival of economic activities but also do not yield the desired results on lives either, it said.
Boris Warns Of ‘Bumpy’ Road To Christmas And Beyond; India Bats For Global Elimination of Nukes; ‘We’re Stuck’: Intra-Afghan Talks Face Delay; CPEC has neither boosted growth nor jobs in Pakistan; India Targets 500 Mn Doses Of Vaccine – all in Asian Lite Daily Digital – please click here to read.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. (File Photo: IANS)
Imran Khan
A virtual meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary scheduled for October 21-23 will decide if Pakistan should be excluded from its ‘grey list, based on a review of Islamabads actions against money laundering and terror financing, it was reported on Monday.
The FATF plenary was initially slated to take place, but the global watchdog against financial crimes temporarily postponed all mutual evaluations and follow-up deadlines in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dawn news said in a reported.
The Paris-based agency also put a general pause in the review process, thus giving Pakistan an additional four months to meet the requirements.
In February, the FATF had given Pakistan a four-month grace period to complete its 27-point action plan after it noted that Islamabad had delivered on 14 points but missed 13 other targets.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Plenary meeting in Paris. (Photo: Twitter/@FATFNews)
On July 28, the government reported to Parliament compliance with 14 points of the 27-point action plan and with 10 of the 40 recommendations of the FATF.
By September 16, however, the joint session of the parliament amended about 15 laws to upgrade its legal system matching international standards as required by the FATF.
The government has already submitted its report to the FATF and its affiliated review groups and responded to their comments, detailing compliance with the 13 outstanding action points, the Dawn news report added.
The plenary had formally placed Pakistan in the grey list in June 2018 due to ‘strategic deficiencies’.
A report by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) claims that various signs of economic improvement were seen in India in the month of September. The report also gives credit to the packages put forward by the government.
The ‘Monthly Economic Review’ for September 2020 cited the estimated growth in the Kharif foodgrain output for 2020-21 to show a recovering economy.
“The implementation of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (AB) package and unlocking of the economy have ensured that economic recovery in India has gained momentum. This is seen in agriculture with production of kharif foodgrains in 2020-21 estimated to go past the previous year’s level,” it said.
It noted that the growth of demand in the rural sector is reflected in registration of two wheelers, three wheelers and passenger vehicles along with tractor sales reaching or surpassing previous year levels in August.
Automobile sales largely recorded improvement last month compared to September 2019, a major reason being the low base – low sales during the year ago.
The report also said that other high-frequency indicators have also improved in sync with global activity. Increase in global demand has led to expansion of India’s export at 5.3 per cent in September on YoY basis, it added.
The recovery in rail freight enabled revenue earnings clocking positive year-on-year growth for the first time since March in the months of August and early September.
The DEA report said that easing of inter-state movement restrictions, quarantine policy and unlocking were accompanied with recovery in rail passenger earnings as well.
At the same time, the report also said that the overall credit growth continues to remain muted amid weak credit demand and heightened risk aversion among banks.
Credit to medium enterprises, however, has witnessed an uptick, according to the Monthly Economic Review for September 2020.
“Bank credit growth continued to moderate in the first six months of this year to reach 5.3 per cent as on 11th September 2020. Bank credit to the commercial sector recorded a growth of 5.4 per cent, mirroring weak credit demand and increased risk aversion in the banking system,” it said.
As per the report, while credit growth to the services sector declined from 10.1 per cent YoY in July to 8.6 per cent in August, credit to trade services picked up significantly to record 12.5 per cent YoY growth.
Growth in personal loans also moderated in August, it said.
However, credit growth to medium enterprises picked up to 2.8 per cent as on August 28 as compared to (-) 3.1 per cent as on July 31.
The report noted that the overall credit to medium enterprises and credit to micro and small enterprises under priority sector lending in August may be attributed to the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme announced in May under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat economic package of the government and the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) liquidity support measures.
As on September 29, the total amount sanctioned under the scheme by public sector banks (PSBs) and private banks to MSMEs and individuals stands at Rs 1.86 lakh crore, of which Rs 1.32 lakh crore has already been disbursed.
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Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday that the Centre is working on plans to procure 400-500 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, which will be administered to up to 25 crore people by July 2021.
“Government plans to receive and utilise 400-500 million Covid-19 vaccine doses. Our target is to cover 20-25 crore people by July 2021. For that, we are building capacities in HR, training, supervision, etc, on a massive scale,” he said at his weekly webinar ‘Sunday Samvaad’ for his social media followers.
The Minister said that a high-level committee under Niti Aayog Member, Health, V.K. Paul is drawing up the entire process. “Vaccine procurement is being done centrally and each consignment will be tracked real time until delivery to ensure it reaches those who need it most,” he said.
Harsh Vardhan said that these committees are working on understanding the timelines of availability of various vaccines in the country, obtaining commitments from their manufacturers to make available maximum number of doses for India’s inventory, on supply chain management and also on prioritisation of high-risk groups.
(Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua/IANS)
“This is work in progress which will be completed by the time the vaccines are ready to ensure the swift roll-out of the immunisation programme,” he said.
He also indicated that the frontline workers and those having underlying health conditions are in the top priority list of the government for vaccine administration, saying that his ministry is currently preparing a format in which states will submit lists of priority population groups to receive the vaccine, especially health workers engaged in the management of Covid-19.
“The list of frontline health workers will include both government as well as private sector doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitary staff, ASHA workers, surveillance officers and many other occupational categories who are involved in tracing, testing and treatment of patients,” he added.
“The vaccine will be distributed as per pre-decided priority and in a programmed manner. To ensure transparency and accountability, details of the entire process will be shared in the coming months,” he said.
Harsh Vardhan also informed that the states are being closely guided to also submit details about cold chain facilities and other related infrastructure which will be required down to the block level distribution of the vaccine.
“This exercise is targeted to be completed by the end of this October,” he said.
The Drugs Controller General of India has granted license to Tagoor Laboratories Pvt Ltd to manufacture and market Favipiravir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) for treatment of Covid-19, the company said.
Cases Surge
With a surge of 75,829 coronavirus cases in 24 hours, India’s total tally on Sunday crossed the 65-lakh mark, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) data showed.
The number of new cases was, however, less by 3,647 vis-a-vis the previous day’s 79,476 figure.
As per the latest data, 75,829 more cases and 940 more fatalities in 24 hours took India’s total cases to 65,49,373 and the COVID-19 death toll to 1,01,782.
Out of the total, 9,37,625 are active cases, whereas 55,09,966 patients have been cured and discharged.
It took the country 205 days to register this death toll ever since the first case was reported. A month ago, India had recorded 67,376 deaths.
A 76-year-old man had succumbed to coronavirus on March 13, becoming the first COVID-19 fatality in the country.
While the recovery rate stands at a 83.84 per cent, the fatality rate has come down to 1.56 per cent, the data said.
Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with 14,16,513 cases, including 37,480 deaths, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.
According to Indian Council of Medical Research data, India tested 11,42,131 samples in a day on Saturday, taking the total tests so far to 7,89,92,534.
Actress Ileana DCruz has made a candid confession on social media, with a monochrome picture she posted on Instagram where she strikes a pose in bikini…reports Asian Lite News.
Alongside the image, she wrote: “I’ve always worried about how I looked. I’ve worried my hips are too wide, my thighs too wobbly, my waist not narrow enough, my tummy not flat enough, my boobs not big enough, my butt too big, my arms too jiggly, nose not straight enough, lips not full enough… I’ve worried that I’m not tall enough, not pretty enough, not funny enough, not smart enough, not ‘perfect’ enough.”
She tagged herself as “beautifully flawed”.
“Not realising I was never meant to be perfect. I was meant to be beautifully flawed. Different. Quirky. Unique. Every scar, every bump, every ‘flaw’ just made me, me. My own kind of beautiful,” she said.
Ileana said that she has stopped trying to fit in.
Ileana D’Cruz professes self love
“That’s why I’ve stopped. Stopped trying to conform to the world’s ideals of what’s meant to be beautiful. I’ve stopped trying so hard to fit in. Why should I?? When I was born to stand out,” she said.
This is not the first time Ileana has spoken about self-love. Recently, she urged everyone to make themselves their priority number one.
Ileana was last seen on screen in the 2019 multistarrer “Pagalpanti”, directed by Anees Bazmee.
She will next be seen in Ajay Devgn’s production, “The Big Bull”, a film reportedly based on India’s biggest securities scam of 1992. The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan.
The transition from summer to fall can be quite tricky. Until you shop for your fall and cold-weather essentials, there are plenty of summer outfit tricks that you can try…writes Puja Gupta
While it is still risky to go hop to your favourite stores for shopping, you can extract maximum wear out of your summer staples and as you continue to make additions to your wardrobe, these clothes will continue to reinvigorate your wardrobe until winter.
This is the time of the year wherein you surely need to step out of the box and try on some mix and match combinations.
Layering is always a great way to utilise your summer wardrobe in the autumn season. However, bulky fabrics can make layering a little tricky, to its best to stick to light breathable fabrics like viscose and modal. Style experts Nelson Jaffery, Head of Design, Liva and Abhishek Yadav, Design Head, Spykar Lifestyles offer some useful tips for acing your fashion game this autumn season.
Transform your summer wardrobe to be autumn-ready
Shorts with leggings
Sport your beloved denim shorts with solid viscose leggings for a cozy yet fashionable look. Add a plain oversized shirt on top with a belt. Add some gold jewellery to elevate the look further. This is a great comfortable option for Friday night virtual session with your friends or a fun games night.
Dresses
Dresses are always a great option for every season. Recycle your printed summer dresses in the fall season by pairing them with a scarf. You can also wear a simple t-shirt underneath the dress for a more preppy look. Keep in mind to not have more than three levels of layers on you or the outfit might look too bulky.
Blazers and Jackets
Leather and denim jackets are always a great addition to any outfit. Pair any of your basic summer outfits with a smart jacket or blazer for autumn ready look. Graphic t-shirts, summer dresses, lace singlets, shorts and skirts are all great options that can be paired with jackets and blazers.
Jeans
Fortunately, wide leg jeans transit easily into the fall season. Summer fashion was all about pops of colour and was quite inspired by the flair of 70’s and 80’s. Carry it forward in your autumn wardrobe by pairing them with a turtle neck sweater. Also your favourite summer skinny jeans would give a fantastic look with trendy metallic while attending virtual celebrations. For example, you could team up grey denims with gold and bronze tops. You could also wear your slashed jeans with a black bucket bag and sneakers.
Transform your summer wardrobe to be autumn-ready
Skirts
The fall season is full of bright and splendid skirts to wear from work to parties. You can opt for a knee-length eyelet coat over a white tee and a denim skirt. You could also team your summer skirts with long sleeves and mules. You could team up tribal print blush mini skirt with a blush blouse and crispy white blazer. Or you could tuck in your favourite turtle neck in a high rise leather mini skirt for that chic look.
You could also go for skirts of bold prints, tulle styles, cozy pencil skirts, floral print boho chic light weight bottoms, etc. this season.
