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India reports 2,338 Covid cases, 19 deaths
India reported 2,338 fresh Covid cases in a span of 24 hours, which is a decline from the previous day's count of 2,706, the Union Ministry of Family and Health Welfare said on Tuesday morning.

In the same period, the country reported 19 deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,24,630.

Meanwhile, the active caseload of the country has slightly risen to 17,883 cases, accounting for 0.04 per cent of the country's total positive cases.

The recovery of 2,134 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,26,15,574. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent.

Meanwhile, India's daily positivity rate has declined to 0.64 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 0.61 per cent.

Also in the same period, a total of 3,63,883 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 85.04 crore.

As of Tuesday morning, India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 193.45 crore, achieved via 2,45,38,123 sessions.

Over 3.39 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket.

Controversy over Pawan-Rana's confrontation scene in 'Bheemla Nayak'
The Kummari and Shalivahana communities in Andhra Pradesh have been offended by a particular scene from 'Bheemla Nayak' in which Rana Daggubati and Pawan Kalyan have a face-off, followed by a high-octane action sequence.

Some people have lodged a complaint against the makers of 'Bheemla Nayak'.

A fight scene from 'Bheemla Nayak' features Rana Daggubati and Pawan Kalyan locking horns. As Rana charges at Pawan Kalyan, he is seen smashing off a pot-wheel. As the communities whose traditional occupation is pottery are offended by this act in the movie, they seem to have raised their voice against it.

According to Purushotham, from Guntur, the corporation chairman of both the communities, the scene has affected their livelihood, and he hence demanded the scene be cut out of the movie.

"Pottery wheel is our livelihood and we worship it every day. We were deeply hurt by Rana kicking the wheel and it is a matter of pride for us. The scene should be removed immediately, we have serious objections," added Purushotham.

Well, the makers of the movie are yet to respond on the same. Helmed by Sagar K Chandra, 'Bheemla Nayak' was released last Friday, received a great response from fans and audiences.

Naidu calls for revisiting Indian history textbooks with an Indian perspective
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday emphasized the need for revisiting our history textbooks with an Indian perspective in order to instil a sense of pride in our glorious cultural heritage among the younger generation.

Addressing the 75th anniversary celebrations of Sir C R Reddy Educational Institutions at Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, he reminded the students that India was once known as a 'Vishwa Guru' and called upon them to revisit our roots and protect and preserve our traditions and culture.

Emphasizing the need to re-establish ourselves, he urged everyone to strive hard to develop India into a powerful country that is free from hunger and corruption with no discrimination against anybody. "Everything cannot be left to the government alone, rather, individuals, industry, philanthropists and civil society - all must come together to bring about the desired change," he said.

Stressing the need for value based education, the Vice President said that education should be treated as a mission for the promotion of the nation. Highlighting the role of a 'Guru' in Indian tradition, he asked the students to always remember the contribution of their teachers in their lives.

Talking about ethics in politics, Naidu urged the people to select and elect their representatives on the basis of 4Cs -- Character, Calibre, Conduct and Capacity to strengthen democracy, and discourage the other 4Cs "caste, cash, community and criminality.

Praising the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) for its focus on education in the mother tongue, he noted that one must learn as many languages as possible, but primacy should be given to build a strong foundation in the mother tongue.

Underscoring the need to transform teaching methodologies to make universities thriving hubs of knowledge and innovation, he appealed to all the states and educational institutions to implement NEP-2020 in letter and spirit.

Sharing his success mantra with the students, the Vice President emphasized the need for dedication, perseverance, hard work, discipline, self-belief and a strong will to achieve excellence and reach one's goal. "Please remember that be it studies or sports, a champion is not made in a day," he added.

He also urged educational institutions to give equal importance to studies, sports, co-curricular and recreational activities and the young students should follow the spirit of service in line with the age old Indian philosophy of 'share & care'.

Recalling the contribution of Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy, the distinguished educationist and the then Vice-Chancellor, Andhra University, the Vice President said that people will forever remain grateful to him for his work in furthering the cause of education in Andhra Pradesh.

He also lauded Sir CR Reddy for his efforts to ensure education for all sections of the society and urged the youth to take inspiration from his life and build an India that will be free from every type of discrimination.

Bitcoin now has higher market cap than Russian currency
As Russia intensifies its battle to take control of Ukraine, Bitcoin on Wednesday soared to $44,000, pushing the total cryptocurrency market cap to cross $2 trillion.

With the recent gains, Bitcoin now has a higher market cap than the rapidly-declining Russian currency ruble.

Bitcoin has a market cap of approximately $835 billion while the ruble has a market cap of around $626 billion.

The crypto market was last at $2 trillion in August 2021.

In the last week since the Russia-Ukraine war started, Bitcoin has jumped nearly 14 per cent and ethereum 12 per cent, according to CoinGecko data.

Terra's LUNA token had a stratospheric rise, climbing nearly 70 per cent during the last week, and is now trading at approximately $94.

Solana's SOL and other layer 1 tokens like Avalanche's AVAX and Polkadot's DOT also responded well, reports CoinDesk.

Similar to volatility, Bitcoin's trading volume across major exchanges reached the highest level since the December 5 price crash, according to CoinDesk data.

Earlier, the global crypto market lost nearly 10 per cent of its value as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday. Over $200 billion worth of its global market value was wiped out.

The most-hit cryptocurrencies were Ethereum, Cardano, Avalanche, and Polkadot, along with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

Some traders, however, expected the price bounce to be short-lived amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Ragpicker killed in explosion in Hyderabad
A ragpicker was killed in a suspected chemical explosion at a garbage dump on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Sunday, police said. The incident took place in Mylardevpalli in Rangareddy district. A woman along with her husband was picking something from a garbage dump in Anand Nagar industrial area when an explosion occurred. The woman identified as Sushilamma died on the spot while her husband Rangamuni was injured.

Senior police officials of Cyberabad police commissionerate rushed to the scene. Some chemical substance is suspected to have exploded when the couple was picking it from garbage. Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagdishwar Reddy said they were probing the cause of the explosion.

The city has seen similar incidents in the past. In 2019, a rapicker was killed when a bag he tried to open exploded. The chemical explosion had occurred on a footpath under PVNR Expressway.

US sanctions head of Russia's largest social media network
The US has sanctioned Vladimir Kiriyenko, CEO of VK Group which is the parent company of Russia's biggest social network VKontakte, and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US Department of the Treasury has divided sanctioned entities into two categories: "major Russian financial institutions" and "elites and families close to Putin."

The US sanction on Kiriyenko has stopped one of Russia's most powerful tech honchos from doing business with any US entity. VK, originally known as VKontakte, is the dominant social media platform in Russia and claims to have around 70 million monthly active users.

"Vladimir Sergeevich Kiriyenko (Vladimir Kiriyenko), previously worked as a vice president at the Russian state-controlled company, Rostelecom, and is presently the CEO of VK Group, the parent company of Russia's top social media platform, VKontakte," the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement.

"As a result of blocking actions, all property and interests in property of persons mentioned above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC (Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control," it added. The social media platform Vkontakte was created in 2006 by Pavel Durov, known as "Russia's Mark Zuckerberg."

In 2014, Durov was pushed out of his position as CEO in a conspiracy-filled case. Durov placed the blame for his ouster on the Russian government. "I'm afraid there is no going back (to VK), not after I publicly refused to cooperate with the authorities. They can't stand me," he had told TechCrunch.

Actress Shruti Haasan tests positive for Covid

Actress Shruti Haasan on Sunday announced that she had tested positive for Covid.

Taking to Instagram to make the announcement, Shruti Haasan said, "Hi everyone, A quick not so fun update. Despite all safety measures, I have tested positive for Covid.

"I'm on the mend and can't wait to be back very soon. Thank you and see you soon lovelies."

It was only recently that the actress made her OTT debut with the webseries 'Bestseller' that released on Prime Video.

The actress had, in an interview to IANS earlier this year, confessed that the biggest challenge while working on this series, was working during Covid.

She had said, "For me, honestly it was working during Covid. We were shooting it in 2021 and for me, the challenge during the last two years has been forgetting Covid and also not forgetting Covid while we work. To forget it when you are ready for the shot and then to remember Covid and put your mask back on right after."

"I know it sounds really silly but it is really uncomfortable for actors because of what the mask does to our face. I have had to have more touch ups than I have had touch ups in my whole career," the actress had then said.

Pariwarwadis can never be nationalists, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that 'Parivarwadis' can never have a nationalist approach.

"Those who question the Balakote strike do not have faith in our forces and insult our jawans. In the Ukraine crisis, we have worked night and day to ensure that our children are brought back safely through Operation Ganga. Wherever there was a crisis, we have brought back our people. India needs to be strong to deal with such situations and the country will be strong if Uttar Pradesh is strong," he said while addressing a rally here.

He asked people to beware of such elements who question our soldiers.

The Prime Minister further said that those who were guilty of taking commission in defence deals cannot be expected to work in national interests.

He further said that the Covid pandemic had rattled the entire world but India ensured the safety of its people.

"We need to make our country 'atmanirbhar' and strong to deal with situations. We must rise above caste and other factors and stand with the nation," he said.

The Prime Minister also asked the people to fan out to every home and take his message to the people that they must vote in large numbers to strengthen the democracy.

Sara shakes a leg with 'ultra cool' Ranveer Singh on 'Chaka chak'
Actress Sara Ali Khan, who is currently busy promoting 'Atrangi Re', was seen shaking a leg with Bollywood livewire Ranveer Singh, on the track 'Chaka chak' from the upcoming film. Sara posted the video on Instagram on Sunday, where she and her 'Simmba' co-star gave an impromptu performance on the track.

In the clip, Ranveer looks sharp dressed in a white t-shirt and denims paired with a jacket and boots, while Sara looked stunning in Benarasi Indian wear.

The two are seen dancing to the number in a garden. While Sara aces her steps from the song, Ranveer hilariously improvises with a little salsa and some impromptu dance.

She captioned the video, which currently has 5,50,000 views: "Super Duper Ultra Cool Proving yet again why he's King. Thank you so much for this. Missed dancing with you. You're (gold emoji)."

'Atrangi Re' also stars Akshay Kumar and Dhanush. The Aanand L. Rai directorial is set to release on December 24 on Disney Hotstar.

69 students test Covid positive in 2 Karnataka districts
As many as 68 students have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours in the Shivamogga and Chikkamagalur districts of Karnataka. In the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya residential hostel in Seegodu village in Chikkamagalur district as many as 40 students and teachers tested positive.

Initially, three students and four staff tested positive. The health department immediately swung into action and collected the swab samples of 418 students and all staff members and sent it for testing.

All students are asymptomatic and the residential school has been sealed down.

In another incident, 29 nursing students tested positive for Covid at a private nursing college in Shivamogga. Deputy Commissioner K. Shivakumar, who confirmed this, also stated that all are asymptomatic.

The hostel has been sealed down. The infection came to light when the district administration was conducting random tests. Not only this, measures have been taken to test people in the neighbourhood.

High alert in 4 districts of Karnataka after Centre's warning on Covid situation
The Karnataka health department has increased vigilance on prevailing Covid situation in four districts of the state as the union government in a letter has warned of rising cases in these districts and urged the state government to initiate action.

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan in his letter to the state, said that Tumakuru district has seen 152 per cent spike in Covid cases which have witnessed a jump from 46 on November 19 to 116 on December 2.

Dharwad saw a rise of 21 per cent, Bengaluru Urban 19 per cent and Mysuru 16.5 per cent. The letter says steps have to be taken to contain the infection and reduce the fatality. It also emphasised to adopt test, track, treat and vaccinate method and follow Covid appropriate behaviour.

The letter has also directed the state health department to send all positive samples for genomic sequencing quickly. It also talks about enhanced surveillance of international arrivals, monitoring of emerging hotspots, prompt contact tracing and monitoring for 15 days.

The state health department is worried as Covid cases exploded in colleges and educational institutions of these districts. However, swift actions by district authorities have prevented Covid infections from spreading further. Sources say, though in small proportion, increasing cases of Covid-19 in the state has become a cause of worry for the health authorities.

Amit Shah condemns Nagaland killings, assures through probe
Union Home Minister Amit Shah condemned the killing of around a dozen villagers in a case of 'mistaken identity' in Oting village in the Mon district of Nagaland. Anguished over an unfortunate incident, he said, "I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives."

Shah said a high-level Special Investigation Team has been constituted by the state government and it will "thoroughly probe this incident to ensure justice to the bereaved families."

A security force jawan was also killed in the incident. In the meantime, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, appealed for calm. He also condemned the unfortunate incident.

"Condolences to the bereaved families and speedy recovery of those injured. High level SIT will investigate and justice delivered as per the law of the land. Appeal for peace from all sections," he said.

Initial report states that the security forces acting on a tip off, had planned an ambush on the Tiru-Oting road, but mistook the villagers to be insurgents. As villagers were killed in the firing in a case of mistaken identity, the locals surrounded the security forces who again fired in self-defence.

India sees 1-day rise of 2,796 deaths, new Covid cases at 8,895
India saw a single-day rise of 2,796 fatalities in the last 24 hours after Bihar carried out a reconciliation exercise of its Covid data. With this, the death toll in the country reached 4,73,326 even as the country reported 8,895 fresh Covid cases, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.

The recovery of 6,918 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally to 3,40,60,774. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.35 per cent, highest since March 2020.

India's Active Caseload presently stands at 99,155. Active cases constitute 0.29% of the country's total Positive Cases, which is lowest since March 2020.

Also in the same period, a total of 12,26,064 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 64.72 crore cumulative tests.

Meanwhile, the weekly positivity rate at 0.80 per cent has remained less than 1 per cent for the last 21 days now.

The daily positivity rate stands at 0.73 per cent, which has also remained below 2 per cent for the last 62 days and less than 3 per cent for 97 consecutive days now.

With the administration of 1,04,18,707 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's Covid inoculation coverage has reached 127.61 crore as of Sunday morning.

This has been achieved through 1,32,44,514 sessions.

More than 21.13 crore balance and unutilised Covid vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered, according to the health ministry as of Sunday morning.

India needs big data of its own to detect heart diseases in advance
India needs to have its own data of heart diseases to amalgamate the same with latest technological tools, which will ultimately help identify people who can potentially develop a heart disease in future, eminent cardiologists said.

The Cardiological Society of India (CSI), the apex body of cardiologists, is trying to gather more data on every heart disease prevalent in India, CSI President P.P. Mohanan told IANS.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AL) and Machine Learning (ML) to detect heart ailments well in advance was one of the key subjects discussed during the just-concluded 73rd annual conference of the Cardiological Society of India (CSI).

The four-day event attended by 1,000 cardiologists, scientists, engineers and healthcare professionals deliberated modern advancements in heart care.

"We have to have big data. CSI has started efforts in this direction. This will not happen in a year or two, as it is a continuous process. We have to accrue big data and then go step by step. In the years to come, all these will help us formulate (a method), and identify people who can potentially develop a heart disease in the future. This will not happen tomorrow or day after, it will take time," he said.

The CSI, along with scientists and engineers, will be working towards developing 'Deep Neural Networks'; and achieving the target of accurately predicting heart risks in advance by 2030. It is keen to work with the government to reach the goal efficiently.

However, Mohanan clarified that this is the CSI's vision.

"People are trying to involve Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in prediction of heart diseases. We still have a long way to go, but the process is on," he said.

Mohanan believes that the technological tools will merely augment the cardiologist's capability.

"Essentially, it is the clinician, the cardiologist who is going to do all those things. He gets some augmented knowledge from Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning. Nothing is taking away his own clinical importance or clinical integrity," he said.

Mohanan said there is no magic formula anywhere in the world, which tells that a person will develop heart ailments.

"Nothing has happened, but people are working in many ways. Your genetic background, your risk factor profile etc. will help in prediction," he noted.

The conference, which saw participation of specialists in AI and ML, discussed how the cardiologists can amalgamate newer knowledge of digitisation.

"We are going to assimilate all that is happening and try to give the benefit of exponential information for the benefit of better heart care for the patients," the cardiologist said.

Amid the growing concern over more young people developing cardiac problems, the CSI is focusing on preventive cardiology.

Mohanan pointed out that the average age of developing heart attack in India is 10 years prior to anybody in the world.

"South Asians have a predilection to develop heart attacks 10 years earlier. Ten-fifteen years ago, the percentage of people under 40 years or under 45 years developing heart attacks was few, maybe 5-7 per cent, but now some of the data which have come is alarming. Recent data from Bengaluru says that about 25 per cent of the patients are less than 40 years of age," Mohanan said.

He attributed this trend to the amount of stress the young generation is taking, lack of physical activity and air pollution.

"Nobody walks. Sitting is the new smoking. Air pollution is coming in a bigger way, causing substantial damage to your arteries, causing you hypertension, heart disease etc. New factors are on the anvil. We have to be absolutely guarded on account of all these factors," he said.

Thirty per cent of deaths across the world occur due to cardiovascular diseases.

"Unfortunately, in India the rate is higher. We presume it may be 35 per cent or even inching on to 38 per cent. Heart disease is the number one killer in the world. Eighteen million people die every year because of heart diseases," he said.

Mohanan pointed out that 80 per cent of heart diseases can be prevented provided people understand better. The CSI is trying to focus on creating awareness.

"People in India are mostly residing in rural areas. What we are doing is to stress on increasing awareness through various media platforms so that people know how to prevent heart attack, complications from diabetes or high blood pressure and how to prevent obesity. Prevention is the best solution," said CSI's president elect, P.S. Banerjee.

Stressing on the preventive aspect of cardiology, the cardiologist said that once the disease is developed and there is complication related to the disease, the cost of treatment will be high. Prevention is all the more important considering the low insurance coverage in the country of 135 crore population.

Banerjee believes that it will take some more years to popularise the use of AI applications for daily monitoring of pulse rate, blood sugar, blood pressure, ECG etc.

"This costs a good amount of money. The poor can't afford this. Instead, what we are doing is to help them understand how they should know that there is a problem occurring in their system and they should immediately contact their family physicians," Banerjee said.

As part of the CSI's efforts to create awareness, small groups of young doctors will visit the remote areas and with the help of local authorities, organise seminars where they will give demonstration on CPR and educate people on lifestyle modification, effects of yoga, exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol and to***co.

'Ladki' is my tribute to Bruce Lee: Ram Gopal Varma
Start the conversation with his cult-classic 'Shiva' that was released in 1990, becoming an instant hit in Tamil and Hindi, and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma smiles, "But it was a blatant rip off of a Bruce Lee film, minus the martial arts of course. All I did was replace the restaurant (in the original) with a college campus. 'Ladki' is my tribute to Lee, someone who has fascinated me forever," he tells IANS.

To be released soon, it is India's first joint production with China and India's first release in China after the Galwan Valley clashes between the two countries. The Chinese version of the film has been titled Dragon Girl.

The director, credited to be the master of Mumbai noir, who has to his credit major hits like 'Satya', 'Sarkar', 'Company', 'Rangeela' and 'Raat' among others says that his fascination for Bruce Lee goes much beyond his martial arts. "There was an underlying philosophy about the man, something that makes him immortal. It is that spirit that I have tried to capture in 'Ladki'. The protagonist of my film is a woman because no man can come near the man I so idolise."

Varma who has worked in multiple genres says that it is the dark side of people that has always interested him. "Normal people bore me as does normal situations and families. I have a tendency to take on something that intimidates me no end."

Varma never went to a film school but immersed himself in foreign cinema as he ran a video library, shocking critics and audiences alike with the very guerrilla way 'Shiva' was made, something reinforced with 'Satya', post which more than 20 steady-cam rigs were imported by different production houses.

"I remember Boney Kapoor telling me that he could not believe that an outsider like me, who has never lived in Mumbai could make a 'Satya'. I told him that is precisely the reason why I could. You see, as an outsider, I could see what the people of Mumbai took for granted. I remember being extremely fascinated when I saw the Dharavi slum, the trains, all the subways. Frankly, we had to adopt the guerrilla-style it was not possible to shoot in very crowded localities with a huge set-up. Small crews had to take two-three cameras and dive in. Of course, many cinematographers resist the steady cam saying that it cannot be balanced and the focus cannot be controlled etc. But my point is, why is it important for a chase shot to be perfectly balanced? Why is perfection so important?"

Talk to him about what he thinks of contemporary directors like Anurag Kashyap, Madhur Bhandarkar and Hansal Mehta who worked with him at one point, and he asserts, "To be honest I really don't follow their work. I generally watch foreign films and documentaries. And this is not meant as disrespect to them. Just that one's time is limited."

One of the few directors who made an Indian horror movie ('Raat') that actually managed to scare the audiences, during the era when ghost films came across as comic, he feels that it was the subtlety of 'Raat' that did the trick. "I do not believe in over-the-top. Also, my references and contexts from the very early days have been Hollywood. So obviously, horror for me would be 'The Exorcist' and 'The Omen'."

Putin, Biden to hold online meeting on Tuesday
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US President Joe Biden will have a videoconference on Tuesday, RIA Novosti news agency has reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

According to Peskov, the Presidents will hold talks on Tuesday evening. "The Presidents will decide on their own," he said when asked how long the talks would last, Xinhua news agency reported. It is reported that the Presidents would discuss Ukraine and several other issues.

Prevent dumping of toxic wastes in India: FM to DRI
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asked the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to prevent dumping of toxic wastes in India. Speaking at an event to celebrate DRI's 64th foundation day, Sitharaman lauded DRI's compact strength of about 800 officers for their relentless efforts despite the imminent risks.

The Finance Minister stated that the officers may be keeping a low profile, but they are acting like the frontline defence forces, doing spectacular work in safeguarding the economic frontiers of the country.

"The recent smuggling attempts of huge quantities of narcotics, gold, red sanders, ivory, ci******es etc. unearthed by DRI were appreciated by the Finance Minister," the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

"Sitharaman said that the message through such enforcement actions should be such that these acts of brazen attempts at smuggling are nipped in the bud," the statement added.

The Finance Minister also said that better coordination among the law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies and sharing of actionable intelligence are the way forward in protecting the frontiers of the country more efficiently.

"Sitharaman also asked the DRI to focus on interdicting dual use technology items as well as preventing the dumping of toxic wastes in our country," the statement said.

Parliament's winter session likely to be stormy
The winter session of Parliament, which is likely to commence from Monday (November 29) to December 23, is set to witness uproar over a wide range of issues, including withdrawal of farm laws, Assembly polls in five states, 'revelations' of Congress leader Manish Tewari's book, among others.

The opposition is formulating a strategy to corner the ruling BJP over farmers' issues, national security, economy, while the BJP is all set to counter the attacks.

The Opposition will gherao the government over China's "intrusion" into the country and situation in Jammu and Kashmir while the Union government will attack the leadership of the grand old party over the "confession" in Tewari's book regarding 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Training guns on the Congress, BJP national president J.P. Nadda said the saffron party had been saying all along that the stance of the then Manomohan Singh government on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks showed the UPA's weakness due to which the country had to face all that, but now Tewari has also accepted the same in his book.

The BJP will try to put the Congress in dock by comparing UPA's restraint after 2008 Mumbai terror attacks with surgical strikes during the Modi government.

The Congress will target the Modi government over Rafale deal, while the BJP will counterattack with French media Medipart's report and question the grand old party's leadership on who took the Rs 65 crore commission for 36 Rafale jets during 2007 to 2012.

On farm issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already made it clear that the government had brought the three farm laws for the welfare of 80 per cent small farmers, but the government was unable to make few of them understand the legislations.

On the first day of the Monsoon session, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will move the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha. The government wants this Bill to get passed the same day after discussion.

The Opposition will try to corner the government over rising prices of petrol and diesel, and "poor" management of Covid-19 pandemic, the BJP will revert with historic vaccination coverage in the country.

The BJP will also slam the opposition for politicising the pandemic and national issues.

The Opposition will attack the government with the Pegasus snooping row, while the BJP will try to send a message to public by highlighting what senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid has written in his book about Hindu and Hindutva.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is trying to widen Trinamool's footprint in the country and establish the party as an option to the Congress in the national politics, will attack the government over the Tripura violence, while the BJP will flag up the issue of "killings" of the saffron party activists after the West Bengal Assembly polls.

The Union government is likely to introduce 26 Bills in the winter session and hold discussion on three other Bills.