BIEAP releases admit cards for intermediate exams 2021 at bie.ap.gov.in

The Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh (BIEAP) has released the Intermediate 2021 exam hall tickets for first and second-year students. Candidates can download the admit cards for General, Vocational Theory as well as second-year general practical exams. They can visit the official website bie.ap.gov.in to access the admit cards.

Candidates can follow these simple steps to download the hall tickets:

1.    Visit https://bie.ap.gov.in/
2.    Click on the link for ‘IPE hall ticket 2021 AP’ present on the top menu
3.    Now, click the link of the exam for which you want to download the hall ticket
4.    Enter your Hall Ticket Number or Aadhaar number and Date of Birth
5.    Admit card will appear on the screen
6.    Download it. Take a printout

Students can download their admit cards directly from this link.

Despite objections by parents and students, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to go ahead with the Intermediate exams for Class 11 and Class 12. The exams are starting from 5 to 22 May for Class 11 and from 6 May to 23 May for Class 12.

Here’s the timetable.

All the exams will be held from 9 am till 12 pm. The Andhra Pradesh State Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh has said that the inter-examinations were necessary for the future of the students and all COVID-19 protocols will be followed at the examination centres. This year exams will be held at 1,451 examination centers.

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Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India adds over 3.86 COVID-19 lakh cases in new daily high; 3,498 deaths in a day

09:56 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Thane reports 3,384 new COVID-19 cases, 60 deaths

With the addition of 3,384 new coronavirus cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 4,64,135, an official said on Friday. These new cases were reported on Thursday, he said.

As the virus claimed the lives of 60 more patients, the toll in the district rose to 7,526. The mortality rate in the district stood at 1.62 percent, he added.

09:41 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

India reports 3,498 COVID-19 deaths in a day 

With the death of 3,498 COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours, the toll in the country climbed to 2,08,330 on Friday, said the Union health ministry. This takes the national fatality rate to 1.11 percent.

09:39 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

India adds over 3.86 lakh cases in new daily high 

India registered 3,86,452 fresh coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, taking the overall count to 1,87,62,976, said the Union health ministry on Friday. 

09:27 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Ex-attorney general Soli Sorabjee passes away after testing COVID-19 positive

Soli Sorabjee, former attorney general and veteran lawyer, passed away on Friday morning after getting infected with coronavirus. He was admitted at a private hospital in Delhi. He was 91.

Sorabjee began his legal practice in 1953 in Bombay high court. In 1971, he was designated senior counsel of the Supreme Court. He became the attorney general of India first from 1989-90 and then from 1998-2004.

09:08 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

First US shipment of emergency COVID-19 relief supplies arrives in India

 

The first shipment of emergency COVID-19 relief supplies arrived from the United States to India on Friday. The medical supplies include oxygen concentrators, oxygen generation units, PPE, Vaccine-Manufacturing Supplies, Rapid Diagnostic Tests, therapeutics and Public Health Assistance.

"The first of several emergency COVID-19 relief shipments from the United States has arrived in India! More such flights expected in the next week. Building on over 70 years of cooperation, the United States stands with India as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic together," said US Embassy in New Delhi.

US Govt assistance flight arrives in Delhi. More such flights expected in the next week. US is providing: Oxygen support, Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen Generation Units, PPE, Vaccine-Manufacturing Supplies, Rapid Diagnostic Tests, Therapeutics & Public Health Assistance.#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/YOQzm72opZ

— ANI (@ANI) April 30, 2021

08:58 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Japan to provide 300 ventilators, 300 oxygen concentrators to India

Japan is prepared to provide 300 respirators and 300 oxygen concentrators to India once talks are finalized, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Friday.

Kato did not specify when the respirators and concentrators would be delivered, saying that he hoped they would be provided "swiftly" once discussions with India were finalised.

08:53 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Bengal registers record 89 single-day deaths, 17,403 new cases

West Bengal on Thursday registered its highest single-day deaths of 89 people due to COVID-19, pushing the toll to 11,248, the state health department said.

The coronavirus tally topped the 8-lakh-mark to settle at 8,10,955 after 17,403 tested positive in the last 24 hours, it said.

The metropolis accounted for 23 deaths, followed by neighbouring North 24 Parganas (21), South 24 Parganas (11), Howrah (7), Hooghly (6) and Bankura (5) districts, the bulletin said.

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: With the death of 3,498 COVID-19 patients in the past 24 hours, the toll in the country climbed to 2,08,330 on Friday, said the Union health ministry. This takes the national fatality rate to 1.11 percent.

In 1971, Sorabjee was designated senior counsel of the Supreme Court. He became the attorney general of India first from 1989-90 and then from 1998-2004.

With more than 400 oxygen cylinders, nearly one million rapid coronavirus test kits, and other hospital equipment, a Super Galaxy military transporter landed at New Delhi's International airport Friday morning.

Still reeling under a deadly second wave of COVID-19, Maharashtra may witness a third wave of the infection in July-August, said health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday.

The grim prediction by Tope came on a day when Maharashtra, the state worst-hit by the pandemic in the country, recorded 66,159 fresh coronavirus cases and 771 fatalities.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "As per epidemiologists, Maharashtra could witness a third wave of COVID-19 in July or August. Maharashtra is trying to be self-sufficient in terms of availability of medical oxygen by then."

"It has been said the state could reach to the plateau level of COVID-19 cases by the end of May. If it is hit by a third wave in July or August, it would increase the
challenges before the state administration," he said.

He was speaking after taking part in a review meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray where various aspects of COVID-19 management and vaccination were discussed.

District collectors and divisional commissioners also took part in the virtual meeting.

During the discussion, the chief minister stressed on setting up 125 PSA (pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants (for generating medical oxygen) at the earliest for treating patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection," Tope said.

District collectors were told the government will not tolerate any complain about non-availability of oxygen when the state is hit by a third wave, said the health minister.

Maintaining that the current requirement of oxygen is being met through local generation as well as supplies from the Centre, he said Maharashtra is facing a shortage of 10,000 to 15,000 vials of Remdesivir, used to treat critical COVID-19 patients.

Though there is a shortage, we have asked doctors to use it judiciously. Extra doses could lead to grave side effects, he said.

Tope said the chief minister informed the meeting that he has told business houses and corporates that if they spend on setting up COVID-19-related facilities, that money will be considered as CSR expenditure.

"They can avail all benefits related to CSR spendings and this will also ease financial burden on the state," the health minister said.

We will try to set up oxygen generator plants, arrange oxygen concentrators as well as provide medical equipment such as CT scan and MRI machines to districts where these facilities are not available," he said.

Districts such as Hingoli, Jalna, Parbhani, Osmanabad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Washim and Gadchiroli will get tele-medicine services where COVID-19 patients with other health issues can seek consultancy from doctors based in major cities, Tope said.

Maharashtra, which has so far reported 45,39,553 coronavirus cases and 67,985 fatalities, is under lockdown-like restrictions till 15 May.

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COVID-19: Over 40 countries offered medicines, oxygen equipment to India, says Harsh Vardhan Shringla

New Delhi: Over 40 countries have committed to provide India urgently-required medical supplies like oxygen-related equipment and critical medicines to help it deal with an unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday.

At a media briefing, he said India is looking at getting in the immediate future around 550 oxygen-generating plants, 4,000 oxygen concentrators, over 10,000 oxygen cylinders and 17 cryogenic oxygen tanks, some of which have already arrived.

"We are facing an unprecedented second wave of the pandemic. As of now, we have over three million active cases. This has obviously put considerable pressure on our healthcare system; on the capacities and resources that we have," he said.

Shringla said the government, in many senses, has been very quick to try and make an assessment of where it has capacity shortfall and based on some of these considerations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been trying to find the most effective means of addressing the resource constraints.

Late last night, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a video conference with the Indian heads of missions all over the world to apprise them about the domestic requirements in view of the situation, he said.

Shringla said certain areas were prioritised which included procurement of liquid oxygen as well as equipment that produces oxygen, oxygen generators, oxygen concentrators, transportation equipment for oxygen.

He said there has been an outpouring of solidarity and assistance to India. "Over 40 countries have actually committed to provide us with many of the items that we need urgently," he said.

The foreign secretary also said that India is looking at procuring 4,00,000 units of antiviral medication Remdesivir from Egypt besides attempting to get it from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.

"International cooperation is a very vital part of our meeting and bridging the immediate requirements that we have. Obviously we are making every effort to step up our own capacities," he added.

Pharma major Gilead Sciences has already offered India 4,50,000 doses of Remdesivir while the government is looking at getting around 3,00,000 doses of Favipiravir from Russia and the UAE.

Shringla said Indian missions abroad, particularly those in the countries that have the capacity to meet India's requirement, have been told to work towards sourcing the supplies.

He mentioned that India has been manufacturing 67,000 units of Remdesivir per day against a daily requirement of 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 doses a day, adding efforts are on to ramp up the production to 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 doses a day.

India has been given assurance of required supply of raw materials for ramping up production of Remdesivir by Gilead Sciences.

Shringla said three special flights from the US are expected to bring large medical supplies including oxygen generating equipment and oxygen concentrators. Two flights are expected to arrive on Friday while the third one is set to come on 3 May.

The US supplies will include 2,000 oxygen concentrators, 500 oxygen cylinders and equipment for providing 28 million litres of oxygen, he said.

The MEA has been coordinating with various other concerned ministries and agencies to expedite clearances and to ensure the medical supplies are delivered to those who needed them the most.

"We want to make the process smooth right from the point we identify the sources of supply to the point that it actually reaches those who want them," Shringla said, adding the MEA has attached "greatest importance" to this effort.

"We are working extensively to ensure that the entire cooperation and coordination that we need with all our international partners and interlocutors all over the world is smoothly interfaced with our domestic requirement," he said.

Asked about assistance from China, Shringla said some of the procurement is coming from China.

Sources said India is making only commercial procurement from that country.

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Endless funerals, people pleading for oxygen; India must etch horrors of COVID-19 in its memory, writes TM Krishna

A lot is being written about the grotesqueness that is engulfing India. People begging for their lives, pleading breathlessly for oxygen, asking for help to merely survive, hoping for at least a dignified cremation. This is India on 29 April 2021. I am marking this date because I am worried that we will forget. We need to etch that which is happening around permanently in our memory. We should ignore all synthetic demands for positivity, and create macabre dances, songs, plays, poems and films of what we are witnessing and participating in.

Each one of us is party to what is happening. We have become a land of the heartless. It matters more to us that we collectively partake in inane acts such as banging on plates while everyone beginning from the top remains unaccountable.

I am deeply wounded and unable to fathom the depths of the abyss within which we have fallen. Not sure if we will get out and when that may even happen. We are in a dark place where we are unable to feel or be touched. Our stomachs do not churn in horror, we are not crying out in helplessness... we are just not shaken enough. We are in a vacuum; an emptiness has filled the room. In-humaneness and whataboutery permeate this territory.

Funeral pyres do not make us weep. Instead, our mind instinctively swirls in search of excuses for the deaths. The death itself immaterial; after all more people die of natural causes every day. What difference does a small percentage increase make?

But we try and ensure that the Supreme Leader’s name is not tarnished, his clothes not stained. I will not limit this piece to him, but what has the Modi-psyche done to us as individuals, families, communities, especially in this precarious moment? We have lost all ability to observe and reflect upon what we see. Even the death of people is a media conspiracy to defame this great country. Don’t show us the truth; it is more important that the sanctity of the last rite is maintained. The purity of ‘truth’ can be discarded. Reality must be hidden, we imply. And we are supposedly decent human beings.

What has happened to us?

India was never a perfect country; we are as messy as any other part of this beautiful world. We are a country born from resistance and turmoil; one that has as its soul a Constitution that hoped to nurture good people. Are we even close to goodness? Something has changed in us. Hate is our staple diet; an aphrodisiac that we are addicted to. Every word we write, speak and exchange is degrading. Morality has been thrown to the winds, considered an archaic notion. We just want to win. But what are we winning? That we do not know. We have been tutored to detest our recent past. The glory was somewhere in a timeless era we are told. Everything that came in between was an aberration.

Erase all these in-betweens and we can rediscover that forgotten image. An ungraspable, unreal image has been conceived by the parochial. We seek to become ‘that’ without knowing what ‘that’ means. We have bought into this delusion lock stock and barrel. People within that image are categorised as outsiders, insiders, nationalists, anti-nationals and treated accordingly. Ideas too are separated, reduced to slogans or trashed as alien. To win we have to demolish and destroy any story that comes in the way. I am not speaking of the people in government; you and I think this way. Whether or not they have instructed us, we are robots programmed for propaganda and smudging conversation. Who is this we and who are the enemies? We are a collective that has overdosed on the nationalism drug. A nationalism that does not care about democratic values. The enemies are the people who point at this gaping lacuna.

In order to be nationalistic victors or be seen as victors, we are ready to kill. I say kill not because everyone is wielding a gun or a knife, but because every time we shut down a voice, abuse the vulnerable and deny rights to people, we are aiding and abetting the process of death. Those who are utterly silent are as culpable. We are a party to every anonymous person who dies in the corridors of hospitals or is being cremated unceremoniously on the pavements.

I am a critic of this environment; I am unable to sleep in peace knowing that someone is gasping somewhere. But does that relieve me of any responsibility? Am I better than everyone else? I too have lost the ability to listen to myself and others.

Certain voices and words trigger rage in me. I am unable to pause and go beyond that momentary lapse and, in the process, I do not know how to converse and speak for dignity for all. I end up shouting, making abusive remarks, and even wish the worst for someone. This is not me! We are serving implanted agendas and responding to the fear of loss. I am not going to pass judgement on what each one holds dear, but are we willing to surrender our mind to anger? Anger can be of different sorts; the one that instils the power to stand up and ask questions is distinct from the kind that is a blinder. Today, we are all blinded by anger.

Can we come out of this vicious state? We have to believe that there is a way forward; that transformation is possible. “This too shall pass” is a convenient utterance for those whose life is not harrowing. We cannot just wait this out or let it pass unattended. We need to live in the present, take in all that is happening, feel the sorrow, internalise the wailing, pay attention to the tone-deafness that surrounds us and recognise our own savagery. We are facing our worst moment in modern history, struggling to stay afloat. If we do not show courage and honesty to speak for justice now, we may never be able to recover compassion. No individual or ideology can matter more than humanity.

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Indian turns down UN's assistance of integrated supply chain, says it has 'robust system'

United Nations: India has declined assistance offered by the United Nations of its integrated supply chain for COVID19-related material, saying the country has a "robust system" to deal with the required logistics, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

"One of the things we did is we offered the assistance of our integrated supply chain if it was required. We've been told at this point that it's not needed because India has a reasonably robust system to deal with this. But our offer stands, and we're willing to help in whatever way we can," Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN chief, said in response to a question by PTI.

On whether any shipments of essential materials from UN agencies are expected to reach India amid the crisis, Haq said, "none have been sought so far, but like I said, we do have people, including our people who deal with operational and logistical issues who are willing to help, if we're needed, and we're in touch with our counterparts in India to see whether that will be useful."

As India battles a crippling surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths, the United Nations has been in touch at various levels with authorities in India.

Haq said Chef de Cabinet to the United Nations Secretary-General Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has been in touch with India's Permanent Representative to the UN TS Tirumurti over the COVID-19 situation in India and other officials in the system have also been in touch with officials both in New York and on the ground.

Haq added that the UN is also making sure that its own staff, whether international or national, in India are taken care of so that they don't place a burden on the healthcare system of India. "And luckily, we've maintained a very low level of cases. So, we've, I think, been succeeding at trying to do that and making sure that we're not pressuring a healthcare system that already is facing extreme challenges."

Earlier, during the daily press briefing Tuesday, Haq said in India, UN colleagues on the ground continue supporting authorities and communities to tackle the impacts of the pandemic.

He said UN entities have been training health workers, including 10,000 nurses through UN Women initiatives and the UN team has also partnered with employers' and workers' organisations to promote jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Haq said 11 help desks and on-site counselling activities on COVID-19 prevention and business continuity were set up by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and these have benefitted over 140,000 employees.

UNIDO also developed an online platform to help companies bounce back from the crisis, tailored to smaller businesses, while ILO helped over 100,000 self-employed workers to access social security measures and training on safety and health.

"We are also focusing on getting jobs for 10 million young people, Haq said, adding that over 13,000 women and youth, including returnee migrants, are being trained through entrepreneurship programmes led by UN Women and ILO.

A web portal from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to boost e-commerce has benefitted 950 women entrepreneurs in small and medium businesses.

In response to another question about the resurgence of the COVID-19 variant in India and whether major political rallies or religious festivals should be held during the pandemic, Haq said he will leave it to colleagues at the World Health Organisation to give a more formal evaluation about this.

"We've been warning about the sort of precautions that need to be taken in every country, and certainly, we want to make sure that all of the various precautions that have been recommended by the WHO are followed through by every country."

Haq stressed that at this stage, one of the lessons that must be clear is that until the COVID-19 pandemic is essentially confronted and defeated in every country, it won't be solved for any country.

"Although there are different places that are thankfully making progress with measures, including vaccinations or local quarantines or other different precautions, we have to remain vigilant," he said.

As the Secretary-General has made clear, "we have to cooperate and nations have to cooperate with each other to make sure that COVID-19 can be defeated in every nation because you can always get areas, different countries or different variant strains, that can, again, cause a huge problem, not just for one nation but for regions and, ultimately, for the world," Haq said.

Expressing worry over the surging coronavirus cases in India, President of the UN General Assembly said it is time for the world to extend help and support to the country, which had supplied crucial COVID19 vaccines to vulnerable nations.

"I'm worried about the COVID-19 situation in India, a country which did so much to ensure vaccines for all in vulnerable countries. It's time for the world to extend aid and support to India. No one's safe until we're all safe," President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir tweeted on Tuesday.

He added that his thoughts are with the people of India at this time.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tirumurti replied to Bozkir's tweet, saying India deeply appreciates "your sentiments and solidarity at this juncture."

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52 journalists died in India due to COVID-19 in last 28 days, 101 in last one year, finds study

April 2021 has been the worst for journalists in India, with 52 deaths being reported in just 28 days (data available till 28 April). This implies that on an average, two journalists have died everyday this month. According to a study conducted by the Delhi-based Institute of Perception Studies, as many as 101 journalists have succumbed to COVID-19 between 1 April, 2020 and 28 April, 2021. Additionally, over 50 journalists have passed away due to COVID-related complications since January 2021.

This data comes as India continues to see a new high in COVID-19 cases, since the last few days, with over 3 lakh cases being reported every day. As per the data from the health ministry, the country on Thursday created yet another grim record with 3,79,257 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections since the pandemic broke out in January 2020 to 1,83,76,524.

This is the highest ever single-day rise in cases reported by any country so far, and the eighth consecutive day when India has recorded more than 3 lakh cases. India also recorded 3,645 deaths in a day for the first time, taking the toll to 2,04,832. The number of active cases has crossed the 30-lakh mark.

But experts say those numbers, however staggering, represent just a fraction of the real reach of the virus’ spread, which has thrown this country into emergency mode. “It’s a complete massacre of data,” said Bhramar Mukherjee, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan who has been following India closely, told the New York Times. “From all the modeling we’ve done, we believe the true number of deaths is two to five times what is being reported,” she added.

Media channels and organisations have been working non-stop since the onset of the pandemic in India, trying to collate and verify the actual number of deaths in the country. Journalists are not only reporting on the national health crisis, but confronting it, on a daily basis, which has taken a toll on them.

The study conducted by Rate The Debate, an initiative of the Institute of Perception Studies, New Delhi, found that 56 journalists have succumbed to the virus in the last four months this year, from 1 January to 28 April, 54 of these deaths were reported in the month of April alone. This implies, on average, over two journalists have died every day this month. 

Speaking to Firstpost, Dr Kota Neelima, founder of, Rate The Debate, said that the data was collected with the intention of holding journalists' lives accountable and to show citizens the “cost at which news was being assimilated”. She shared the data updated as of 28 April with Firspost, which is given below:

Total number of verified COVID-19 positive journalist deaths from 1 April, 2020 to 28 April, 2021: 101

Total number of verified COVID-19 positive journalist deaths from 1 April, 2020 to 31 December, 2020 : 45

Total number of verified COVID-19 positive journalist deaths from 1 January, 2021 to 28 April, 2021: 56

Total number of verified COVID-19 positive journalist deaths from 1 April, 2021 to 28 April, 2021: 52

Total number of verified COVID-19 positive journalist deaths, state-wise breakup from 1 April, 2020 to 28 April, 2021:

State	No of deaths
Uttar Pradesh	19
Telangana	17
Maharashtra	13
Delhi	8
Odisha	9
Andhra Pradesh	6
Tamil Nandu	4
Assam	4

 

The list of 101 journalists who lost their lives due to COVID-19.

(Updated until 28 April, 2021)

Sr No	State	Name of Journalist	Media Organisation
1	Andhra Pradesh	Srinivasa Rao	Prajashakti Daily
2		Surya Prakash	Vikas Parvada
3		M Parthasarathy	CVR News Channel
4		Narayanam Seshacharyulu	Eenadu
5		Chandrashekar Naidu	NTV
6		P Tataiah	NA
7	Assam	Golap Saikia	All India Radio
8		Jadu Chutia	Moranhat Press club president
9		Dhaneshwar Rabha	Rural Reporter
10		Ashim Dutta	NA
11	Bihar	Krishna Mohan Sharma	Times of India
12		Ram Prakash Gupta	Danik Jagran
13		Arun Kumar Verma	Prasar Bharti
14	Chandigarh	Davinder Pal Singh	PTC News
15	Chhattisgarh	Pradeep Arya	Journalist and Cartoonist
16	Delhi	Kapil Datta	Hindustan Times
17		Yogesh Kumar	Doordarshan
18		Radhakrishna Muralidhar	The Wire
19		Ashish Yechury	News Laundry
20		Chanchal Pal Chauhan	Times of India
21		Manglesh Dabral	Freelance
22		Rajiv Katara	Kadambini Magazine
23		Kakoli Bhattacharya	NA
24	Haryana	Rakesh Taneja	NA
25	Himachal Pradesh	Ravinder Kumar	Dainik Jagran
26	Jammu and Kashmir	Muhammad Shafi Naqsbandi	Jehadi Akbar
27	Karnataka	Pavan Hettur	Prajavani
28		Somashekhar Yadavatti	Samayukta Karnataka
29	Kerala	D Vijayamohan	Malayala Manorama
30	Madhya Pradesh	Kamal Dixit	Freelance
31		Manoj Binwal	Prajatantra
32		Harish Choubey	Dainik Bhaskar
33	Maharashtra	Ms Fatima R Zakaria	Freelance
34		Pandurang Raikar	TV9
35		Kailassinh Pardeshi	Saamana
36		Jairam Sawant	Dainik Sagar
37		Haresh Munwani	Veteran sports journalist
38		Javed Jivani	Former Arab News staffer
39		Ashok Churi	Palghar Times
40		Roshan Dias	TV9
41		Rahul Dolare	NA
42		Vivek Bendre	The Hindu
43		Sachin Shine	NA
44		Sukhnandan Gavai	NA
45		Jairam Sawant	NA
46	Odisha	Jatish Khamari	Sambad
47		Amjad Badshah	Digital Platform
48		Govinda Behera	News 6
49		Manoj Sahoo	Nitidin
50		Karunakar Sahu	Anupam Bharat
51		Prabir Pradhan	News18 Odia news channel
52		K CH Ratnam	Eenadu
53		Priyadarshi Patnaik	The Samaja
54		Prabir Kumar Pradhan	News18 (Odia)
55	Puducherry	K Dharmaraj	Polymer TV
56	Punjab	Ashwani Kapoor	Punjab Kesari
57		Naresh Bajaj	Sach Kahoon
58	Tamil Nadu	E Velmurugan	Cameraman/Raj TV
59		V Shrikanth	PTI
60		Ramanathan	Reporter Private News Channel
61		Florent C Pereira	Journalist-actor
62	Telangana	Chintha Nagaraju	Eenadu
63		K Amaranath	News of Indian Journalists Union
64		P Ramesh	Freelance
65		Bura Ramesh	Freelance
66		Jayaprakash	Freelance
67		Srinivas	Andhra Jyoti
68		Sainath	99tv
69		Madiraju Giri	ABN Andhra Jyothi
70		Ramzan Ali	Eenadu
71		Syed Shabaz	TTV
72		Sridhar Dharmasanam	Maa Hyderabad
73		Sammi Reddy	Vaartha
74		Kondra Srinivas Goud	Hindi Milap
75		Ramachandra Rao	Sakshi
76		Ms Kalpana	Bathukamma TV
77		D Manoj	TV5 news
78		D Ashok	Andhra Bhoomi
79	Tripura	Jitendra Debbarma	Chini Khorang
80		Tanmoy Chakraborty	Local Digital News Channel
81	Uttar Pradesh	Ms Tavishi Srivastva	The Pioneer
82		Neelanshu Shukla	India Today
83		Vinay Srivastava	Freelance
84		Pankaj Kulshreshtha	-NA-
85		Pankaj Shukla	Rajsatta Express
86		Ami Adhar Nidar	Dainik Jagran
87		Himanshu Joshi	UNI
88		Ankit Shukla	Dainik Jagran
89		Pramod Shrivastava	NA
90		Durga Prasad Shukla	Amar Ujala
91		Sachchidananda Gupta “Sacche”	Jadid Amal
92		Brijendra Patel	Hindustan
93		Shivanandan Sahu	Punjab Kesari Digital
94		Prashant Saxena	Digital Journalist
95		Rohitash Gupta	Freelance
96		Ankit Shukla	Dainik Jagran
97		Raju Mishra	Senior Journalist
98		Anil Srivastava	Dainik Jagran
99		Saket Suman	Janta TV
100	West Bengal	Ronny Roy	Aajkaal
101		Kishore Bhimani	Cricket journalist

As per the research, Uttar Pradesh has seen the maximum number of verified deaths, followed by Telangana and Maharashtra.

Speaking about the data and the process used to verify it, Kota explained that the team followed a strict and laborious process to verify each name. “We follow the 3-step verification: Data collection, cross-checking, and making personal calls. We are 100 percent sure that the names mentioned in our list are that of journalists who have died due to COVID-19 only. Even though there are multiple lists doing rounds over the number of scribes who have died in the past year, our list exclusively reports on the ones who have passed away due to COVID-19.”

Talking about the issues faced while collecting data, Kota said one of the main problems that came was to define who exactly fell under the category of being a “journalist”.

”Traditionally, a journalist is considered as someone who is in the front of the camera, an anchor or reporter, or a byline. But that is not true. There is an entire team behind that news report you see on TV, a researcher, a cameraman, a technician, and various other departments. As per me, anyone who is involved in this process of news, should be considered as a journalist,” said Kota.

Rate the Debate has also written a letter to chief ministers of various states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and even the Central government, urging them to vaccinate all journalists immediately. Even though journalists are considered as essential service, they are not counted as frontline workers. The Editors Guild of India earlier this month had urged the Union government to declare journalists as frontline workers and ensure priority vaccination.

The data collated by Rate The Debate has been inclusive to include anyone who is working in the field of news, including stringers, freelancers, photojournalists, and citizen journalists as a journalist and has taken their death into account. 

“Incidentally, most of the deaths recorded on our list are journalists from print and digital media, who are not considered traditional reporters as we don’t see them on TV.” added Kota.

Another problem faced while verifying data was to collect names of those journalists working in remote areas and interior parts of states, where deaths were not being reported and accessibility was less. As prominent journalist Rana Ayyub noted, “Some of the best journalists in India covering the COVID devastation are not on Twitter, Instagram etc. Away from the din of social media, they strive to get us the truth while being vulnerable to ‘punishment’ by state governments.”

Some of the best journalists in India covering the covid devastation are not on twitter, insta etc. Away from the din of social media, they strive to get us the truth while being vulnerable to 'punishment' by state govt's and no access to legal protection or healthcare. 🙏

— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) April 27, 2021

“The data you see is just about half of the data we’ve actually collected. We haven’t been able to verify the deaths, but the death has occurred. If you can see about 70 names on the list, we actually received over 150-160 names, but they couldn’t be verified by our team and hence have been left out from the list” Kota noted.

When asked if there was a certain age-group that was affected the most while researching for the data, Kota noted that there were senior journalists who had succumbed to COVID-19 in their late sixties and junior reporters in their thirties. “There was no specific age group, but factors like availability of ICU beds and oxygen in their respective states have played a major role.”

In a harrowing example, a journalist from Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, Vinay Srivastava, had tested positive for COVID-19, but couldn’t get a test or medical care. In a tweet on 16 April, he made an appeal for help, saying his oxygen levels were declining, and tagged local officials. He died ten days later.

#CMYogiAdityanath आपके राज्ये में डॉक्टर अस्पताल और पाठलाभः सब निरंकुश हो गए है मैं 65 की आयु का हु इसके साथ मुझे स्पोंतलिटेस्ट भी है जिसकी वजह से मेरे ऑक्सीजन घाट के 52 हो गया है और कोई भी हॉस्पिटल लैब एवं डॉ फ़ोन नही उठा रहे

— Vinay Srivastava (@VinaySr18286715) April 16, 2021

In another incident from UP, a 36-year-old local journalist from Bareilly, passed away to COVID-19 in his house. His family alleged that they were not able to arrange a hospital bed or proper treatment, according to Times Of India.

The lack of government data of any kind on the number of deaths that are being reported in the media fraternity has posed another challenge for the research. “Numbers are everything! Numbers help us keep accountability and humanise the deaths, by taking note of each death lost due to the pandemic. With no government data, we had to start from square one and collect data from crowdsourcing and verifying each and every death personally,” said Kota.

Currently, the team is in the process of verifying in excess of 40 (and counting) more claims of journalist deaths due to COVID-19 as the numbers keep rising day-by-day, noted Kota.

This research was put together with the aim that even if the government does not think it's necessary to keep tabs on the journalist lives lost in this pandemic, Rate the Debate on behalf of the media community, will keep tabs and update its data on it, “till no more journalist deaths are reported.”

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Market Roundup: Sensex ends 32 points up after volatile day of trade, metals shine; today's top gainers & losers

Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Thursday after a volatile day of trading ahead of F&O expiry of April contracts.

The BSE Sensex ended  the day just 32.10 points in the green, while NSE Nifty was 30.35 points up at close of the day.

The metal index zoomed up by 4.5 percent, while PSU bank and auto indices fell 1 percent each.

BSE

The Sensex closed in the green for the fourth straight day, ending 0.06 percent higher at 49,765.94. The top gainers were Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Reliance, and Indusind Bank, while the top laggards included HDFC, HCL Tech, Bajaj Auto, Larsen & Toubro (LT), and SBI.

Top BSE Sensex gainers:

Bajaj Finserv: The company was the top gainer of the day with a hike of 6.60 percent and closed at Rs 11,184.60.

Bajaj Finance: It witnessed a jump of 3.89 percent to settle the day at Rs 5,484.75.

Axis Bank: The shares of the company rose 1.65 percent to close at Rs 719.55.

Reliance: 1.36 percent increase was observed in the share price of the company which closed at Rs 2,023.20.

Indusind Bank: It jumped 1.29 percent to settle the day at Rs 939.00.

Top BSE Sensex laggards:

HDFC: The shares ended at Rs 2,531.10, down by 1.76 percent.

HCL Tech: 1.52 percent decline has been noted in the share price which settled at Rs 909.75.

Bajaj Auto: Shares of the company fell by 1.44 percent to close at Rs 3,834.25.

Larsen & Toubro (LT): A decline of 1.20 percent has been observed in the share which settled at Rs 1,358.50.

SBI: The company ended the day lower at Rs 359.25 after witnessing a fall of 1.11 percent.

National Stock Exchange (NSE)

The NSE Nifty 50 crossed 14,850 mark and ended the day at 14,894.90, up 30.35 points or 0.20 percent.

Coming to sectors, Nifty Pharma finished in the positive while Auto, FMCG, and IT ended in the red.

Top gainers on NSE Nifty:

JWS Steel: 9.59 percent hike has been observed by the company to close at Rs 726.20.

Tata Steel: The shares of the company surged 6.55 percent to end at Rs 1.035.00.

Bajaj Finserv: The company gained 6.54 percent to settle the day at Rs 11,175.45.

Bajaj Finance: It closed at Rs 5,475.00 with a jump of 3.68 percent.

Hindalco: A jump of 2.18 percent has been witnessed in the shares of the company which closed at Rs 370.50.

Top losers on NSE Nifty:

Hero Motocorp: The company fell 2.37 percent to close the day at Rs 2,875.00.

Eicher Motors: 2.31 percent decline has been noticed in the share price which closed at Rs 2,463.00.

Bajaj Auto: The shares of the company ended at Rs 3,818.95 after losing 1.82 percent.

SBI: The company ended at Rs 357.45 down by 1.64 percent.

HDFC: It lost 1.45 percent to settle the day at Rs 2,539.70.

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