NEWS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on Sunday shared findings of a study on listeners and said that young Indians tuned into his monthly radio programme in big numbers.

“The study revealed the fact that out of those sending messages and suggestions, close to 75% are below the age of 35 — it means the suggestions of India’s youth power are steering ‘Mann ki Baat’,” he said. Noting that the study mainly focused on people who send messages and suggestions, Modi said, “I view this as a very good indicator. ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is a medium which has positivity, sensitivity. In ‘Mann Ki Baat’, we talk about positive things. Its character is collective.”

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), on Sunday hosted a communication awareness workshop for representatives of Community Radio Stations (CRS) from 16 states. The thematic session emphasised the importance of developing conscientious behaviour campaigns and dispelling vaccination myths, particularly among communities residing in remote and difficult to reach areas in the country.

In his opening remarks to the session, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, acknowledged the role of Community Radio Stations (CRS) in supporting the world's largest vaccination drive.

India recorded the smallest drop in weekly Covid-19 infections since the peak of the second wave as the case count in the current week (July 19-25) fell by just around 1.2% as compared with the previous seven days.

The country recorded over 2.7 lakh new cases in the week at a daily average of around 38,000, marginally less than the 38,548 recorded during July 12-18. In the previous two weeks, Covid cases had seen a fall of 6.5% and 5.5%, respectively. The main factor behind the plateauing of positive cases in the country was the accelerating numbers being reported from Kerala, and to a lesser degree, from the northeast.

New Delhi:  Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has secured first medal for the country at Tokyo Olympics, winning the silver medal in the women’s 49 kilogram category. She lifted a  total 202 kilograms in clean and jerk category. Hou Zhihui of China won the gold lifting 210 kilograms creating an Olympic record.

In  Tennis, India’s Sumit Nagal won his first round men’s singles match 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin while in women’s singles Suteertha Mukharjee defeated Bergstroem Linda 4-3 in first round.