Jasprit Bumrah got to the No. 1 spot in ICC Men’s Test Bowler Rankings, becoming the best fast bowler in the world. While Bumrah got to the top place replacing teammate R. Ashwin sending Ashwin get to No. 3 spot.
After finishing with a match total of 9 for 91 in the second Test match against England in Visakhapatnam, where India settled the series 1-1, where he was also named ‘Player of the Match, Bumrah’s rise is visible. He finished the match as the fastest Indian to reach 150 Test wickets, taking six of those wickets in the opening innings when he claimed his tenth five-for in just his 34th Test.
With just three wickets for India in that same match, Ashwin, who has held the top ranking since March of last year, falls two spots to third in the updated rankings for Test bowlers. Kagiso Rabada, the pace spearhead from South Africa, stays in second place despite missing the Proteas’ Test series in New Zealand.
New Delhi: In line with the National Education Policy-2020, the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) has announced another change in the B.Ed course. Now, the old four-year B.Ed course (B.A B.Ed and B.Sc B.Ed) is also going to be discontinued. Earlier, NCTE had discontinued the two-year special B.Ed course.
NCTE has said that the old four-year integrated B.Ed course will not be taught from the academic session 2025-26. That is, the session 2024-25 will be the last session of the old four-year B.Ed course.
After this, there will be no new admissions. Now, only the new four-year B.Ed Integrated Course ITEP (B.A B.Ed and B.Sc B.Ed) will be run in the teacher training institutes.
BEd Course: In view of the new education policy, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) BEd course Is changing rapidly. After closing the 2-year special B.Ed course, NCTE has now announced the closure of the old four-year B.Ed courses (BA B.Ed and B.Sc. B.Ed). According to the notice issued by NCTE on its official website ncte.gov.in on Monday, the four-year integrated B.Ed course older than the academic session 2025-26 will be closed. The session of 2024-25 will be the last session of the old four-year B.Ed course. After this there will be no new admissions. Only the new four-year B.Ed integrated course ITEP (BA B.Ed and B.Sc B.Ed) will be run in various teacher training institutes.
Let us tell you that NCTE itself looks after the matters related to the training of teachers, their courses and syllabus, teaching development in the country. According to the notice, NCTE has amended the four-year B.Ed Integrated BA-B.Ed and B.Sc-B.Ed Course 2014 Regulation. The new rules will be implemented in all the colleges and institutes running four-year B.Ed courses in the country from the session 2025-26.
NCTE has said that the recognition of those institutes which are already offering four-year integrated B.Sc. B.Ed and BA B.Ed courses will continue. At present, they will not be allowed to take admission of students till 2025 subject to the condition that they will convert to the new integrated B.Ed course ITEP (ITEP BEd) as per the amended regulations before the beginning of the academic session 2025-26. Any institute (B.Ed college or institute) running the old four-year integrated B.Ed course will not be allowed to make fresh admissions from the session 2025-26.
What is ITEP course?
NCTE) launched Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) in 57 Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) including IITs, NITs, Central and State Universities across the country from the academic session 2023-24. This course was launched in March 2023. This is a flagship program of NCTE under NEP 2020. ITEP, which was notified on 26 October 2021, is a 4-year dual-composite undergraduate degree leading to B. A. B.Ed./B.Sc B.Ed. / and b. Com B.Ed. Offers courses. This course will prepare teachers for the 4 stages of the new school education system given under the New Education Policy i.e. Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary (5 3 3 4).
Source – AAJ Tak: The rumours of RLD, led by Jayant Choudhary changing sides have come across. It is being said that RLD may change their side and join BJP and part ways with Samajwadi Party even though BJP has offered five seats which is two less from the seven seats offered to RLD by Samajwadi Party.
Information as such has kept everyone in speculation regarding the reasons behind this change and what BJP would be offering that would make RLD shift sides even with a lesser number of seats.
Now it is a matter of time to see whether this rumor becomes reality or is just a click bait by national news channel AAJ Tak.
Who is Jayant Choudhary (Jayant Choudhary kon hai) ?
He was born into a Jat family of the Tewatia (Teotia) clan in Dallas, Texas, to Chaudhary Ajit Singh and Radhika Singh. His birthplace is Bhatona, Bulandshahr. In the 15th Lok Sabha, he represented Mathura, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, as a member of parliament. He currently serves as the national president of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).
As a member of parliament from Mathura, where the majority of the population is Jat, he began his political career. He was one of the leading advocates on the subject of land acquisition and had presented a private member’s bill in the Lok Sabha. Jayant Singh Chaudhary served on the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Consultative Committee on Finance, the Standing Committee on Commerce, and the Committee on Government Assurances. He has previously served on the Committee on Ethics, as well as the Standing Committees on Agriculture and Finance.
Jayant Singh is a member of parliament from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. His political party name is RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal)
Current state of INDIA ALLIANCE
In an effort to challenge the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, up to 28 opposition parties have formed an alliance. They had decided to stand together “as much as possible” in the polls.
Nitish Kumar, the national president of JD(U) and the chief minister of Bihar. He was instrumental in bringing the anti-BJP party together and left the INDIA block to join the NDA, which is led by the saffron party, earlier this month.
Furthermore, there will likely be major disputes among more allies of India regarding seat sharing with the main opposition Congress. Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, has declared in the open that the Congress will not receive a single seat in the state from her party, the TMC.
In a similar vein, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has declined to form an alliance with Punjab’s oldest party.
There have also been rumors since Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray recently declared that he does not view the BJP as an enemy.
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav voiced his view on the situation.
On the other side of the situation, members of SP has voiced out their views on it towards Jayant Singh and their work and the reason behind partnering up in the first place. “Jayant Chaudhary is a very put together person, He understands politics. There is a struggle going on regarding the farmers’ fight. I hope the fight will not weaken. Will not let that fight weaken.” said Samajwadi Party President, Akhilesh Yadav.
“I don’t think that Jayant Choudhary will join BJP, it will harm farmers.” said Dimple Yadav, MP. The party secretary of Samajwadi Party, Shivpal Singh Yadav also voiced his views, said “Jayant Chaudhary is not going, he is with the alliance, BJP is spreading confusion. Jayant Choudhary is with INDIA, BJP and media are spreading lies.”
Paytm ban news is circulating over the internet, After declining for three days in a row, Paytm shares have increased (Paytm Share Price). Paytm shares began trading higher by more than 4% on February 7. The shares of One97 Communication Ltd, the parent company of Paytm, jumped 8.66 percent to Rs 490.20 as of the time this article was written. But a ten percent increase was observed a few hours ago. Following that, an upper circuit was applied to it. But Paytm’s stock is still erratic following the market turbulence. But compared to the past few days, Wednesday is reportedly a better day for Paytm.
The shares of Paytm saw a 6% increase earlier on February 6 as well.
“Is PayTM backed by PM Modi?”the question has arised a few times in the past.
Users and staff of PAYTM will breathe a sense of relief after hearing the CEO’s remarks regarding the problem
Why was Paytm Banned: According to Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the company’s founder and CEO, everything will be fixed shortly. Aside from this, a significant thing that provides comfort has been mentioned.
Paytm Payments Bank was recently prohibited by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from accepting credit transactions or deposits of any type. Serious accusations against the corporation include money laundering. In a situation like this, there was also more talk about Paytm staff being laid off. In the midst of all of this, the company’s founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, declared on Saturday, January 4, that there is nothing to be concerned about for its employees.
“We’ll resolve everything shortly” Approximately one hour passed during the virtual town hall gathering. This included key executives and the company’s founder in addition to 800–900 workers. In the town hall, Vijay Shekhar Sharma stated that it is impossible to pinpoint the exact location and method of the error. However, the business will soon be saved from this predicament. The meeting also stated that attempts will be made to find a solution and that discussions on this matter will take place with RBI. Three days after the ban was imposed, this meeting was convened.
“Nobody will lose their job“ In addition to Paytm Founder, Company President, and CEO Bhavesh Gupta, the town hall was attended by CEO of Paytm Payment Bank Surinder Chawla. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, in the meantime, declared that the company will not be laying off employees and that ongoing conversations are being held with the RBI. In addition, Paytm is collaborating on partnerships with other banks. Saying, “You all are part of the Paytm family and there is nothing to worry about,” he gave his staff even more reassurance.
ED inquiry was turned down India Today reports that on February 4, 2024, One97 Communication Ltd, the parent company of Paytm, fully denied the rumours that the business’s founder will be subject to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation. The business has categorically refuted this and stated that no inquiry has been conducted. According to the filing, some traders and users on our platform have previously been the focus of interrogations; in those cases, we have always complied with the authorities. it was also previously shown.
But following the RBI’s move, a downward trend in Paytm shares began, and over the past three days, the company’s shares have dropped by 43%. Monday is the first trading day of the week, and the share market opened at Rs 438.50, down 10% from its opening price. The company’s market capitalization, or Paytm MCap, has also decreased to Rs 27850 crore.
On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat was connected to an alleged forest scam case, which led the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to start searching 17 locations in Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi.
Who is Harak Singh Rawat?
Leader of the Uttarakhand Congress Harak Singh Rawat, who served as a minister in the party’s previous government and was a member of the BJP until January 2022
Over a thirty-year career, Rawat began with the BJP. He ran in his first Assembly election from the Pauri seat in 1991. In addition, he went on to become one of the youngest ministers in the Kalyan Singh government of the then-undivided state of Uttar Pradesh.
He joined the Bahujan Samaj Party in 1998. After the BSP refused to give him a ticket, he switched again in 2022, this time to the Congress. In that year’s Assembly elections, he was elected to the Lansdowne seat. When B C Khanduri of the BJP was chief minister from 2007 to 2012, he was the leader of the opposition.
Although Rawat was admitted into the Cabinet, he lost the 2012 contest to become Chief Minister to Vijay Bahuguna.
Four years later, former chief minister Harish Rawat’s government was overthrown by nine Congress lawmakers who teamed up with the BJP in 2016. Rawat was displeased that he had not been given key departments like Public Works and Power.
However, the Uttarakhand BJP expelled Rawat from the party in January 2022, citing his lack of discipline for a six-year period. The action was taken a month after Pushkar Singh Dhami, the current chief minister, had chaired a cabinet meeting in which Rawat, the minister for labor, employment, and skill development, as well as for forests and environment, had threatened to resign.
Harak Singh Rawat Daugher-in-law
Rawat and his daughter-in-law Anukriti Gusain joined the Congress five days after Rawat was expelled from the BJP. To greet Rawat, the Congress party presented a unified front and made sure that every member of its Uttarakhand lineup was present in Delhi.
The sources state that the ED teams are searching Rawat’s Defence Colony residence as well as a medical college in Dehradun.
A case against Rawat regarding purported tree-cutting, financial irregularities, and unauthorized construction in the Pakhro Tiger Reserve area of Corbett National Park in 2019 is connected to the ED raid. When Rawat was the forest minister in the previous BJP government, the development of the Pakhro Tiger Reserve was one of his pet projects. After being expelled from the state cabinet and the BJP primary membership for six years as a result of alleged anti-party activities, he joined the Congress prior to the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections.
Following reports of unauthorized building and tree-cutting in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in October 2021 and representatives of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in December 2021 conducted inspections.
The construction of a water feature close to the Pakhro forest rest house, houses in Morghati, and Kandi Road were all found to have irregularities during the inspections. Additionally, it was discovered that the proposed tiger safari in Pakhro would violate the All India Services Conduct Rules, the Wildlife (Conservation) Act of 1972, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1970, and the Indian Forest Act of 1927 by cutting down trees.
Two generators were taken by Vigilance from the Doon Institute of Medical Sciences in Shankarpur and the Amravati gas station, according to sources. Both of these generators were said to have been installed at the two establishments and bought with government funds. The team also examined the institute’s records and questioned staff members and the former minister during the raids.
Speaking to the media, Rawat went on to state that the forest department had been asked in a letter dated January 2022 to remove those generators, but that request had gone unanswered.
In the case of the unlawful construction in Jim Corbett Park and the felling of thousands of trees, the Uttarakhand High Court adopted a strong stance. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was given control of the investigation in September 2023 during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the allegations. The high court also ordered the Uttarakhand investigating agencies to collaborate with the CBI.
Although there have been slowdowns in the tech sector in the past, this wave seems particularly severe. This is a detailed summary of all the tech industry job cuts that took place in January 2024.
200 employees fired by Frontdesk CEO in 2 mins.
During a two-minute Google Meet call, CEO Jesse DePinto of the US-based prop-tech company Frontdesk announced that all 200 employees were fired. Rather than file for bankruptcy, the company has chosen to pursue a state receivership.
Hundreds of Google employees fired in tech, ads and other divisions.
The Alphabet Google has revealed that hundreds of employees from its hardware, engineering, and digital assistant teams will be let go. Hundreds of workers in Google’s advertising sales team were let go. “Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organizational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” an official from the company said.
This year’s layoffs are intended to simplify execution and drive velocity in certain areas; CEO Sundar Pichai told staff members in an internal memo that more roles will be affected. Additionally, X Lab at Alphabet has fired dozens of employees and is now seeking funding from outside sources.
The majority of Activision Blizzard employees are let go by Microsoft
Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax collectively employ 1,900 people, or about 8% of Microsoft’s gaming division, which is being cut by the company. The company’s plan for a sustainable cost structure includes the layoffs in order to support its expanding business. The president of Blizzard and chief design officer, Mike Ybarra, and Allen Adham, respectively, have left the company.
Amazon reduces staff in a different departments.
A large number of employees have been laid off by Amazon’s various divisions. Owing to an increasingly difficult environment, Audible, the online audiobook and podcast service, is laying off 5% of its staff. In addition, hundreds of workers are being let go from Amazon Prime Video’s streaming and studio division, while Twitch, another Amazon streaming platform, is cutting 500 workers, or 35 percent of its workforce. About 5% of the workforce at Amazon’s Buy with Prime division was also let go in January.
3000 employees laid off from Xerox
A 15% workforce reduction, or roughly 3,000 jobs, has also been announced by IT company Xerox. The company intends to implement a new operating model and organizational structure.
1800 job laid off from Unity
Video game software provider Unity Software is reportedly laying off 1,800 employees, or about 25% of its workforce, as per a regulatory filing. According to a memo sent to staff by interim CEO Jim Whitehurst, the company wants to cut back on activities in order to concentrate on its core competencies and achieve long-term success and profitability.
170 employees from Discord
Discord, a messaging and social chat startup, is cutting 17 percent of its staff. According to an internal memo sent by the company’s founder and CEO, Jason Citron, the layoffs will affect about 170 jobs.
eBay downsizes by 1000 jobs due to expenses
Almost 1,000 jobs will be lost as a result of eBay’s 9% workforce reduction, which is the result of costs rising faster than revenue. Jamie Iannone, the CEO of the company, intends to improve the end-to-end customer experience worldwide and optimize teams. A portion of the “alternative workforce” contracts will be trimmed by eBay. Employees whose roles are eliminated will be notified by managers, and on Wednesday, eBay employees will work remotely out of respect for their privacy.
1,000 workers will be let go by Flipkart as it reorganizes.
As part of its annual performance review process, Walmart’s subsidiary, Flipkart, the massive Indian e-commerce company, has announced that it will be terminating 1,000 workers. This amounts to approximately 5% of the company’s current workforce, which consists of about 22,000 workers. It’s important to note that the company goes through this workforce reduction procedure on an annual basis.
Employee layoffs at Swiggy ahead of IPO listing
The massive food tech company Swiggy may have restructured by firing 400 workers. This will be the company’s second round of layoffs, impacting 7% of the workforce. The corporate, call center, and technology teams will be most impacted, according to insiders.
500 jobs reduction by Valorant
The company Riot Games, creator of “League of Legends” and “Valorant,” is laying off about 530 employees, or 11% of its workforce. According to CEO Dylan Jadeja, aggressive expansion was the reason costs had gotten out of hand. Riot intends to give priority to its “core” games, decrease the number of players on “Legends of Runeterra,” and terminate “Riot Forge.”
TikTok reduces by 60 jobs
60 employees were let go by TikTok from its sales and advertising department. The cause of the layoffs is not known. Employees who are impacted, however, may still apply for other available jobs at TikTok, where there are currently over 120 job postings.
Salesforce reports 700 layoffs.
Approximately 1% of its 70,000 employees worldwide, or 700 workers, will be let go by Salesforce. This comes on top of the company’s announcement in January of last year that it would be letting go of 7,000 workers, or 10% of the workforce.
The issue of congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the construction of the Ram Temple at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi caused a rift within the Samajwadi Party in the Uttar Pradesh State Assembly on Monday.
Suresh Kumar Khanna, BJP MLA from Shahjahanpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh had made a proposal on behalf of the Assembly to pass a congratulatory message to PM Modi and CM Yogi for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. He said that this is the biggest event of this century due to which our pride has returned after years. This temple will not only strengthen socio-cultural nationalism but will also give a huge boost to the tourism sector.
14 Samajwadi Party’s MLA protested against the decision
Fourteen MLAs, among them SP MLAs Lalji Verma, Swami Omvesh, and Manoj Paras, raised their hands in opposition to the motion of congratulations. The congratulatory motion was approved with the support of the entire House, with the exception of these 14 members, according to UP Vidhan Sabha Speaker Satish Mahana. As part of a well-thought-out plan in the House, there is talk in political circles that the BJP has split the SP into two factions with this issue.
Statements of SP MLAs in favour of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya
In July 2023, Ajit along with 40 NCP MLAs joined the Shinde government in Maharashtra. He was also made the Deputy CM in the coalition government. After rebelling against Sharad, Ajit had claimed that he had the majority of the NCP. Hence, he has the right to the party name and symbol.
Ajit had filed a petition with the Election Commission on June 30, staking claim to the NCP party name and election symbol. On the other hand, Sharad Pawar had demanded that the 9 ministers and 31 MLAs who had left the party be disqualified.
“Serious inconsistencies in terms of timelines in the claim of the Sharad Pawar group, in support of their claim of having organizational majority, resulted in unreliability of their claim,” EC stated.
The Election Commission’s decision is a major victory for Ajit Pawar and a setback for Sharad Pawar. It remains to be seen what name and symbol the Sharad Pawar faction will choose for their new party.
Gumla (Jharkhand): A video of Rahul Gandhi feeding a biscuit to a dog while sitting on the roof of a car during his Bharat Jodo Yatra is going viral on social media. In the viral video, the dog does not eat the biscuit from Rahul Gandhi’s hand, so he gives it to a worker standing nearby. When the BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi, he said that why are the BJP people so upset with dogs?
I asked the dog’s owner to feed him the biscuit
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that when a dog was brought to him, he tried to feed it a biscuit, but when the dog refused to eat the biscuit, he asked the dog’s owner to feed it the biscuit.
Response came after the video went viral
Rahul Gandhi’s response came after a video of him giving a biscuit to a man went viral on social media. After the video went viral, BJP leaders alleged that Rahul Gandhi had treated his party workers in this manner.
Why is BJP so upset with dogs?
Rahul Gandhi said that the dog was scared and trembling. When I gave him the biscuit, the dog got scared. Then I gave the biscuit to the owner saying that he will eat it from your hand. Then, the owner gave the biscuit and the dog ate the biscuit. I don’t understand what the problem is, I don’t understand why the BJP is so upset with dogs.
Assam CM had also posted
It may be recalled that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had reacted to the viral video on Monday by saying in a post on his Twitter handle that not only Rahul Gandhi but the entire family could not feed me that biscuit. I am proud to be Assamese and Indian. I refused to eat and resigned from Congress.
Police in Delhi claim that a retired Army personnel who may have ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba is wanted in Jammu and Kashmir. The J&K Police are reportedly looking for retired Indian Army member Riyaz Ahmed for allegedly obtaining weapons and ammunition from across the Pakistani border, according to the Delhi Police.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba Suspect was detained on Tuesday by the Delhi Police from the New Delhi railway station. He is a retired Indian Army personnel who is wanted for his involvement in a terror cell that was recently busted in Kupwara, Jammu & Kashmir.
As per the police, he was apprehended on Sunday at the New Delhi Railway Station while attempting to reach his hiding place.
K P S Malhotra, DCP (Railways), stated that Riyaz Ahmed, Khursheed Ahmed, and Ghulam Sarvar “had hatched a conspiracy to receive arms and ammunition from across the LOC.” “The Jammu and Kashmir Police had recently busted a terror module in Kupwara, arrested five persons linked to it and seized several incriminating material from their possession along with arms and ammunition,” Malhotra acclaimed.