PM calls for rejuvenation of urban centres in post-COVID world

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said it is time to think about post-COVID requirements of the world and called for rejuvenation of urban centres. Addressing Bloomberg New Economy Forum 0n Tuesday evening, Modi said the pandemic has shown that cities that were growth engines are also vulnerable zones. Several cities around the world declared themselves on the brink of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Modi said the restart will not be possible without a reset of mindset, processes and practices. He stressed on the need to build sustainable cities where cleaner lakes, rivers and air are the norm, and not the exception. The Prime Minister said Indian cities presented an extraordinary example during the pandemic even as there were worldwide incidents of resistance against the lockdown. He said Indian cities meticulously followed this preventive measures.Modi said cities are vibrant engines of growth and added that the post-COVID world has to be built by nurturing this key and fundamental resource. He said cities hold the power to drive the much needed change as people migrate because new cities give them work.

-The second flight test of Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile System (QRSAM) was successfully conducted on Tuesday from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. The first in the series test of QRSAM took place on 13th of this month. Today's flight test was carried out against the high performance Jet Unmanned Aerial Target called Banshee, which simulates an aircraft.The Radars acquired the target from a long range and tracked it till the mission computer automatically launched the missile. Continuous guidance was provided through Radar data link. Missile entered the terminal active homing guidance and reached the target close enough for proximity operation of warhead activation.

-Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said that Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) is a market friendly policy. It is driving self-reliance in energy sector. He was speaking at the signing of contracts for 11 oil and gas blocks offered under the OALP Bid Round-5.The Minister said the OALP has removed red-tapism and brought in a quantum jump in exploration and production sector. He called for moving away from business-as-usual approach and strive for exponential growth and speed. Mr Pradhan asked the winners to bring in new technology and new business models to expedite the production of oil and natural gas from these areas.

-Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should not be a forum where bilateral issues will be solved as this is a multilateral organisation.SCO Secretary General VladimirNorov said this at a press conference in Beijing on the results of the recently concluded SCOSummit. He said that SCO will continue to contribute to settlement of international and regional conflicts exclusively by political and diplomatic means, based on the principles of equality, respect for sovereignty,territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of states,renunciation of the use or threat of use of force. Created in 2001, the SCO is a political, economic, and security bloc comprising eight members – India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. SCO member states account for around 42% of the world’s population, 22% of the land area,and around 20% of global GDP.

-The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) of Bangladesh on Tuesday arrested the person in South Sunamganj who had threatened to kill Bangladeshi star cricketer Shkib Al Hasan in a live Facebook post.A case was earlier filed against the person under the Digital Security Act (DSA) for issuing death threat to Shakib for attending Kali Puja event in Kolkata. Shakib Al Hasan was also in the news recently for breaking the mobile phone of one of his fans while crossing over to India through the land border.Responding to the events, Shakib Al Hasan offered an apology for his behaviour with the fan and the incident relating to his visit to the Puja mandap in Kolkata. Speaking about the incident at the India Bangladesh border where he was accused of breaking the mobile phone of a fan who wanted to take a selfie with him, he said that it was unintentional. However, Shakib  apologised for his behaviour. He said that was in a hurry to complete the immigration formality at the border when the incident took place in which the phone of the person was broken in the melee.