Annular solar eclipse wows skygazers

With clouds shrouding the skies in the national capital, skygazers missed a clear view of the annular solar eclipse that would have shown them the Sun look like a ring of fire. The annular phase began at 10.19 am and ended at 1.58 pm. The eclipse was at its peak at 12.01 pm, the Department of Science and Technology said. “The visibility of the eclipse was hampered due to the clouds. Those who managed to get a glimpse of the eclipse despite the cloudy skies said they could see the Sun in a crescent shape,” N. Rathnashree, director of Nehru Planetarium, said. The annular phase was visible within a narrow corridor in northern India, like parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand. A few prominent places within this annularity path were Dehradun, Kurukshetra, Chamoli, Joshimath, Sirsa and Suratgarh. It was a partial solar eclipse for the rest of the country. The annular path also passed through Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan and China. The next annular eclipse will be seen from South America in December. Another annular eclipse will occur in 2022 but that will be hardly visible from India, Rathnashree added.

India’s COVID-19 tally crosses 4 lakh

India crossed another grim milestone of 4 lakh COVID-19 cases recording the addition of one more lakh in just eight days amid renewed concerns over the rapid rise in new infections in the country. However, there has been a steady improvement in the recovery rate with around 55.48 per cent patients being declared virus free. India took 64 days to cross the one-lakh mark from 100 COVID-19 cases, another fortnight to reach two lakh cases and then in another ten days it went past the three-lakh mark. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in 24 hours. Experts said rising case counts can reflect multiple factors including more widespread testing as well as broader infection. Overall, WHO reported over 8 million cases with 461,715 deaths worldwide. In Spain, officials ended a national state of emergency after three months of lockdown, allowing its 47 million residents to freely travel around the country for the first time since March 14.

Govt extends insurance scheme for health care providers 

Amid rising number of COVID-19 cases, the government has extended the Rs 50 lakh insurance scheme for over 22 lakh health care providers for another three months till September. The scheme implemented by New India Assurance was slated to end on June 30, as per the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Rs 1.70 lakh Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package in March. The insurance provides a comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs 50 lakh to a total of around 22.12 lakh public health care providers, including community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of patients suffering from coronavirus infection and who may be at risk of being impacted by this. The scheme is funded through the National Disaster Response Fund, operated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitation workers and a few others working in hospitals under the central and state governments will be covered under the insurance scheme.

Govt nod for field commanders to use firearms along LAC

The armed forces deployed along the 3,500-km de-facto border with China have been given “full freedom” to give a “befitting” response to any Chinese misadventure, government sources said after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation in eastern Ladakh at a meeting with the top military brass. They said the ground commanders of the Army have even been allowed to use firearms in rare cases, in a departure from the decades-old understanding between the two militaries to not resort to gun power during face-offs. The government has also granted the three services additional financial powers of up to Rs 500 crore per procurement project to buy ammunition and weapons in view of the tense border standoff with China. At the meeting, the defence minister carried out a comprehensive review of the entire security situation in eastern Ladakh and all other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the sources said.

Rajnath Singh leaves for 3-day visit to Russia

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh left for a three-day visit to Russia during which he will hold talks with top Russian military brass and attend a grand military parade in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in the Second World War. It is the first visit abroad by a senior Union minister in four months as foreign travels were restricted in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The defence minister’s visit to Russia comes in the midst of an escalating border standoff between India and China, particularly after the killing of 20 Indian Army personnel by Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on June 15. Officials said the defence minister is likely to hold a series of meetings with top military brass of Russia with a focus on further ramping up military cooperation between the two countries. A tri-service 75-member Indian military contingent has already reached Moscow to participate in the parade. The Indian team will participate in the parade alongside armed forces personnel from at least 11 countries, including China.

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