PRESIDENT ADDRESSES THE NATION ON R-DAY EVEOn the eve of India's 71st Republic Day, President Ram Nath Kovind Saturdayurged the youth of the country to remain non-violent and remember Gandhi'sgift of "Ahimsa" (non-violence) when fighting for a cause."When fighting for a cause, people, particularly the youth, should notforget the gift of Ahimsa Gandhiji gave to humanity. Gandhiji's talisman fordeciding whether an act is right or wrong also applies to the functioning ofour democracy," the president said in his customary address to the nation onthe eve of 71st Republic Day.The President's remarks come in the backdrop of country-wide protestsagainst the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and proposednation-wide NRC, although the president made no direct reference to them.In his address, televised and broadcast nationally, the President said thatmodern India comprises of three organs - Legislature, Executive andJudiciary - which are necessarily interlinked and interdependent. "Yet, onthe ground, the people comprise the State. 'We the People' are the primemovers of the Republic. With us, the people of India rests the real power todecide our collective future," he said.In his address, President Kovind stressed the need for mutual cooperationbetween the government and the opposition parties and said they have"important roles to play".Remarking that the third decade of the 21st century will be the "decade ofthe rise of New India" and a "new generation of Indians", Kovind said thatthose born in this century are participating in national discourse in largenumbers.Speaking on the issue of security, President Kovind said that stronginternal security is essential for the development of the country andtherefore, the government has taken several steps to strengthen the internalsecurity system. "I have nothing but unreserved praise for our armed forces,paramilitary and internal security forces. Their sacrifices to preserve theintegrity and unity of our country present a saga of unparalleled courageand discipline," Kovind said.In his concluding remarks, the President quoted the words of B R Ambedkar:"If we wish to maintain democracy not merely in form, but also in fact, whatmust we do? The first thing in my judgment we must do is to hold fast toconstitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives",adding that these words of Ambedkar have lit the path for the country andwill continue to show us the way ahead.GALLANTRY AWARDS 2020Six Army personnel have won the highest peacetime military gallantry awardsgiven this year- the Shaurya Chakra and Naib Subedar Sombir, who died whilefighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019, was one of them.Lt. Col Jyoti Lama, Maj. Konjenbham Bijendra Singh, Naib Subedhar NarenderSingh, Naik Naresh Kumar and Karmdeo Oraon were the other brave men honouredwith the Shaurya Chakra.Shaurya Chakra is awarded to the armed forces for instances of extraordinarygallantry.Squadron Leaders Ninad Mandavgane and Siddharth Vashisht, the two pilots ofthe Mi17 V5 helicopter, who died after the chopper was shot down by friendlyfire in February last year during the dogfight between Indian and Pakistanijets, were among the four awardees of Vayu-Sena Medal.The helicopter was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Indian AirForce in Kashmir's Budgam on the morning of February 27, following thefailure of command and control.Havildar Baljeet, Naik Sandeep, Naik Buta Singh, Naik Kuldeep Singh andRifleman Anil Kumar Jaiswal have also been honoured posthumously with SenaMedal. A total of 107 Sena Medals were announced.PADMA AWARDS 2020Former union ministers George Fernandes, Arun Jaitley, and Sushma Swarajhave been honoured with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan posthumously on theRepublic Day this year. Olympian boxer Mary Kom, former Mauritius primeminister Anerood Gugnath, and Hindustani classical singer Chhannulal Mishraare also on the list of Padma Vibhushan-the country's second-highestcivilian award-recipients.President Ram Nath Kovind has approved the conferment of 141 Padma awards.The list comprises seven Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 PadmaShri awards. These awards are conferred by the President at ceremonialfunctions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/Aprilevery year.Prominent names among the awardees include sportsperson P V Sindhu,Architect Balkrishna Doshi, Businessman Anand Mahindra, former Goa chiefminister Manohar Parrikar (posthumously), directors Karan Johar and EktaKapoor, actor Kangana Ranaut, singer Adnan Sami and mathematician VashishthaNarayan Singh (posthumously) and singer Suresh Wadkar.Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter: "Congratulations to all thosewho have been conferred the Padma Awards. The awardees include extraordinaryindividuals who have made exceptional contributions to our society, nationand humanity."Some unsung heroes who found a place in the Padma awardees list this yearinclude social workers like Jagdish Lal Ahuja, who serves free food topatients and attendants outside PGI hospital in Chandigarh and MohammedSharif from Faizabad, who has performed last rites of over 25,000 unclaimedbodies, and elephant doctor from Assam Kushal Konwar Sarma.Javed Ahmad Tak, a specially-abled social worker from Jammu and Kashmirworking for specially abled children for over two decades, providing freeeducation, material aid and motivation to over 100 children of 40 villagesin Anantnag and Pulwama will also be awarded. Seventy-two-year-old TulasiGowda from Karnataka, who earned the sobriquet "encyclopedia of forests"because of her vast knowledge of diverse plants species in spite of lackingformal education, has also been given the award.Here is the full list of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan awardees:Padma Vibhushan (7)1. George Fernandes (Posthumous), Public Affairs, Bihar2. Arun Jaitley (Posthumous), Public Affairs, Delhi3. Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK Public Affairs, Mauritius4. M. C. Mary Kom, Sports, Manipur5. Chhannulal Mishra, Art, Uttar Pradesh6. Sushma Swaraj (Posthumous), Public Affairs, Delhi7. Vishveshateertha Swamiji (Posthumous), Others-Spiritualism, KarnatakaPadma Bhushan (16)8. M. Mumtaz Ali (Sri M), Others-Spiritualism, Kerala9. Syed Muazzem Ali (Posthumous), Public Affairs, Bangladesh10. Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Public Affairs, JK11. Ajoy Chakravorty, Art, West Bengal12. Manoj Das, Literature & Education, Puducherry13. Balkrishna Doshi, Others-Architecture, Gujarat14. Krishnammal Jagannathan, Social Work, Tamil Nadu15. S. C. Jamir, Public Affairs, Nagaland16. Anil Prakash Joshi, Social Work, Uttarakhand17. Tsering Landol, Medicine, Ladakh18. Anand Mahindra, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra19. N R Madhava Menon (Posthumous), Public Affairs, Kerala20. Manohar Parrikar (Posthumous), Public Affairs, Goa21. Jagdish Sheth, Literature and Education, USA22. P. V. Sindhu, Sports, Telangana23. Venu Srinivasan, Trade and Industry, Tamil NaduINDIA, BRAZIL SIGN 15 PACTS, PLAN TO BOOST BONDSFrom political and strategic coordination to trade and commerce, agricultureand energy to consular and legal issues - India and Brazil on Saturdaysigned a multi-pillar action plan to strengthen their strategic partnership.After the bilateral talks with visiting Brazil President Jair MessiasBolsonaro on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was confidentthat the action would be implemented and that the relationship between thetwo countries would be deepened by 2023, which marks the platinum jubilee ofthe diplomatic ties established in 1948.Bolsonaro landed in Delhi on Friday, accompanied by his daughter LauraBolsonaro, daughter-in-law Leticia Firmo, eight ministers, four members ofthe Brazilian parliament and a large business delegation.CORONAVIRUS: DEATH TOLL IN CHINA RISES TO 54, OVER 300 NEW CASES DETECTEDThe number of reported deaths from a viral outbreak in China has risen to54, with authorities in hard-hit Hubei province on Sunday reporting 13 newfatalities and 323 new confirmed cases.The latest numbers from Hubei, the epicentre of the contagion, would put thenationwide total of confirmed infections at 1,610, based on figurespreviously released by the central government.President Xi Jinping warned Saturday that China faced a "grave situation" asauthorities raced to contain a respiratory illness that has caused thewidespread abandonment of Lunar New Year celebrations nationwide andoverwhelmed health facilities in Hubei.The contagion remained centred on the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan,which accounted for seven of the new deaths and 46 of the new confirmedcases, said the Hubei Health Commission.Wuhan and more than a dozen other cities in the province have been lockeddown in a rapidly expanding quarantine effort marked by transport shutdownsand other restrictions on movement.Hundreds of military doctors have been sent to Hubei and authorities arerushing to build a pair of field hospitals to deal with the crisis aspatients swamp local medical facilities.France, US and Russia on Saturday moved to evacuate their citizens whileIndia is believed to have reached out to Beijing to allow its peoplestranded in Wuhan to leave the central Chinese city.Around 250 Indians are still in Wuhan, people aware of the situation said,adding that hundreds more are believed to have headed back to India in thepast two weeks for the Lunar New Year holidays.consulate.IRANIAN FM: TEHRAN STILL WILLING TO NEGOTIATE WITH USIran is not ruling out negotiations with the United States even after anAmerican drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, the country'sforeign minister said in an interview released Saturday.Mohammed Javad Zarif told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that he would"never rule out the possibility that people will change their approach andrecognize the realities," in an interview conducted Friday in Tehran.There has been growing tension between Washington and Tehran since in 2018,when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear dealwith Iran. The U.S. has since reimposed tough sanctions that have crippledIran's economy.But Zarif suggested Iran was still willing to talk, though reiterated hiscountry's previous demand that first the U.S. would have to lift sanctions."For us, it doesn't matter who is sitting in the White House, what mattersis how they behave," he said, according to Der Spiegel."The Trump administration can correct its past, lift the sanctions and comeback to the negotiating table. We're still at the negotiating table. They'rethe ones who left."RAJASTHAN ALSO REJECTS CAA, TELANGANA SAYS WILL DO SO TOOAs Rajasthan became the third state on Saturday, after Kerala and Punjab, topass an Assembly resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, theTelangana government announced that it would not implement the legislationthat has seen protests across the country.Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, whose Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) hadvoted against the CAA in Parliament but has since kept quiet on it, toldreporters in Hyderabad, "We are against the Act. The Centre has to withdrawit. What will they achieve by dividing people? We will not implement it."Calling the CAA "the first step towards an NRC (National Registry ofCitizens)", he added that he would "tie up" with other parties and stategovernments opposed to the CAA, NRC and the National Population Register(NPR) for a joint strategy.The Rajasthan resolution said the CAA "violates the provisions of theConstitution" and "threatens the secular fabric of the country", and alsoasked the Centre to put off the NPR exercise as there was apprehension thatit was a prelude to the NRC.DELHI POLLS: PRESS LOTUS BUTTON SO HARD...:AMIT SHAHUpping the ante against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protestersat Shaheen Bagh ahead of next month's Delhi elections, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah Saturday urged Delhiites to vote for the BJP in large numbers sothat protesters feel compelled to vacate the area. He said this whileaddressing the 'Jeet Ki Goonj' program in the national capital's JawaharlalNehru (JLN) Stadium.Thousands of people, including women and children, have been protestingagainst the CAA and the proposed NRC since December 15 at Shaheen Bagh andnearby Jamia Millia Islamia.Delhi will go to polls on February 8 and the results will be declared onFebruary 11.FIR AGAINST STUDENT-ACTIVIST SHARJIL IMAM FOR PROVOCATIVE REMARKSThe Assam Police on Saturday registered an FIR under an anti-terror lawagainst activist Sharjil Imam, who came to limelight during the ongoingprotests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, forhis alleged remarks threatening to "cut-off" the state from rest of India.Sharjeel Imam is a student of Modern Indian History at Delhi's JNU.Additional Director General of Assam Police G P Singh said the FIR wasregistered against Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act atthe crime branch police station in Guwahati.Imam was heard telling in the audio clip that Assam should be cut-off fromthe rest of India as Bengalis - both Hindus and Muslims - are being killedor put into detention centres.Earlier, Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Assam government wouldregister a case against Imam his "seditious" comment "aimed" at disruptinglaw and order in the state.PAWAR QUERIES 'HURRIED' SHIFT OF BHIMA CASEThe Union home ministry on Saturday confirmed the transfer of theBhima-Koregaon probe to the federal National Investigation Agency, which hasprompted Maharashtra's government and ruling allies to condemn the"unilateral" move and allege a ploy to prevent the truth being revealed.A Union home ministry source said the case had been transferred "hurriedly"to the NIA on Friday evening, a day after NCP chief Sharad Pawar had urgedchief minister Uddhav Thackeray to form a special investigation team under aretired judge to probe the matter.The case, which relates to caste violence in Bhima-Koregaon near Pune twoyears ago, has witnessed the arrest of eminent rights activists on thecharge of links to an alleged Maoist plot to assassinate Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. Maharashtra's ruling Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance believesthe activists were framed."I think the central government fears it will be exposed, the truth willcome out. So the decision has been taken," Pawar said on Saturday.Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh alleged the Centre's move was"against the Constitution" because the state had not been consulted, andsaid legal advice was being sought.Under the NIA Act, the agency can take up any case anywhere in the countrybut the convention is to consult the state government.PHOTO OF OMAR ABDULLAH WITH GREYISH-WHITE LONG BEARD CREATES BUZZ ON SOCIALMEDIAMonths after former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and NationalConference president Omar Abdullah was taken into preventive custodyfollowing the abrogation of Article 370 provisions, an unverified picture ofhim sporting a greyish-white long beard has created a buzz on social media.While some took to Twitter to condemn the detention of the former chiefminister, others welcomed him back and appreciated his new look.Several social media users have shared this picture of the former chiefminister on Twitter. The photo, however, couldn't be independently verified.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also shared the picture callingit 'unfortunate.' She tweeted: "I could not recognize Omar in this picture.Am feeling sad. Unfortunate that this is happening in our democraticcountry. When will this end?"BOEING'S LATEST, 777XBoeing's new long-haul 777X airliner made its first flight on Saturday, astep forward for the company whose broader prospects remain clouded by the737 MAX crisis. Two 737 Max killed roughly 340 passengers and crew in 2018and 2019. The 737 Max fleet was grounded after the second crash of theEthiopian Airlines plane that killed roughly 157 on board.According to the Boeing website, the 777x will be the world's largest andmost fuel-efficient twin-engine jet. Because of "new breakthroughs" inaerodynamics and engines, the 777x will consume 10 per cent less amount offuel and emissions and will also have 10 per cent lower operating costs thanthe competition.Some of the key features of the airliner include the GE9X commercialaircraft engine, which is one of the world's largest and most powerfulcommercial aircraft engines and folding raked up wingtips (a foldableportion of up to 11 feet on each wing) so that the airplanes can fit insideconventional airport gates. While the 777-8 costs roughly $410 million andcarry 384 passengers, the 777-9 costs roughly $442 million and can carry 426passengers. The former's range is up to 16,170 km and the latter's range isabout 13,500 km. The 777x is also the largest Boeing ever designed, with awingspan of 235 feet.SEEDS UPROOTED IN WOMEN'S DRAWWorld No.1 Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep dodged an exodusof seeded players as the shocks kept rolling at the Australian Open onSaturday.After Serena Williams and title-holder Naomi Osaka fell by the wayside onFriday, second seed Karolina Pliskova crashed out on a day of carnage in thewomen's draw.Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the sixth seed, won only one game againstEstonia's Anett Kontaveit, the world No. 31, as she bombed 6-0, 6-1.And a resurgent Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Major-winner, thrashed fifthseed Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-2 as six of the top 10 women's seeds exited inround three. Tenth seed Madison Keys lost to Maria Sakkari on Friday.Croatian 19th seed Donna Vekic also crumbled to lower-ranked opposition whenshe lost 7-5, 6-3 to Poland's Iga Swiatek, who is returning from a stressfracture in her foot.While the women's seeds fell, Nadal had few problems against fellow SpaniardPablo Carreno Busta - despite staying up to watch Roger Federer's thrillinglate-night win over John Millman, which went to a fifth-set tie-breaker.