01-11-2021 The Asian Independent

26 01-11-2021 to 15-11-2021 WORLD
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Uber commits Rs 100 CRORE
towards driver welfare initiatives
Gurugram : Ride hailing app Uber
on Monday committed approximately
Rs 100 crore towards supporting driver
partners and their families to weather
the impact of Covid 19.
Over the past few years, Uber has
launched several initiatives and forged
some high profile partnerships to
showcase its commitment to driver
partners. This includes the Uber Care
Driver fund -- with an initial commitment
of Rs 25 crores from Uber, benefitting
approximately 1,00,000 driver
partners; Covid financial assistance --
approximately Rs 2 crores worth of
Covid financial assistance programme;
vaccination compensation
for drivers -- an additional Rs 18.5
crore worth of cash incentives to
encourage vaccination by compensating
them for the time spent in getting
the shots. More than 250,000 driver
partners on the platform have already
received at least one vaccine shot.
Driver partners across moto, auto
and car have also benefitted from
other initiatives including safety kit
distribution, free online doctor consultation
and microloans.
"At Uber, we believe our role doesn't
end at creating opportunities by providing
a platform to drivers. We have
created a community of thousands of
driver partners, and we continue to
engage with them with a view to provide
them with more to enrich their
lives. This is reflected in our extensive
work in the last 18 months to help driver
partners recover from the pandemic
and rebuild their lives," said Prabhjeet
Singh, President, Uber India SA, in a
statement. "By investing upwards of Rs
100 crore in these initiatives, we have
been successful in supporting and
empowering driver partners with
improved access to health insurance,
financial support, vaccination, and
medical consultation," he added.
Sunny Leone becomes
the first Indian actress
to mint NFT
Mumbai : Actress Sunny Leone ventured into the NFT (nonfungible
token) space after she made an announcement to enter
the marketplace following in the footsteps of megastars Amitabh
Bachchan and Rajinikanth.
And now, racing ahead, Sunny has gone on to mint her NFTs.
Minting is a process through which digital art becomes a part of
the Ethereum blockchain - a public ledger that is unchangeable
and tamper-proof.
International celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres, Paris
Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan have previously ventured into NFT
as crypto currency has become a global rage and Sunny's minting
has surely taken the Indian crypto enthusiasts by storm. The
actress announced her first collectible on Twitter as she tweeted,
"MEET the MISFTIZ ! This is misfitz HONEY! She loves the
color pink...boys with tattoos...and then eats them for lunch.
What the world has been waiting for!!! #SUNNYLEONENFT
collectibles. Check them all out on http://Sunnyleonenft.com
(sic.)"
The actress took the lead among Indian actors to secure their
digital assets when she broke the news about her association
with NFT, two months back. This made her the first Indian
actress to roll out her own NFTs.
Talking about the collectible, an excited Sunny says, "This
was a private sale and it sold out immediately. I am beyond
excited about the hype behind my collection and the support
from the community. In many ways, I am myself a misfit so
there wasn't anything that's more appropriate than this collection."
Talking about how she views crypto, the actress said, "I really
believe crypto is the future of the world and NFTs give me an
opportunity to express myself with art. Now we are beyond
excited for the public sale to start in a few days."
For her NFTs, Sunny has partnered with Mintdropz, as speaking
on her association, she said, "With Mintdropz, we are creating
new ways to connect with my audience and deliver varied
experiences to engage with my audience that other platforms
just can't provide."
MP bypolls: Counting for 1 LS,
3 assembly seats on Tuesday
Bhopal : The counting of
votes for bypolls held in three
Assembly constituencies and
one Lok Sabha seat in Madhya
Pradesh will be held on
Tuesday.
By-elections in three
Assembly constituencies --
Prithvipur, Jobat, Raigon and
one Lok Sabha seat --
Khandwa, held on October 30
saw an average of 65 per cent
voting.
A total of 48 candidates are
in fray, however, the fight on all
fours seats are mainly between
the BJP and the Congress.
Both, BJP and the Congress
have been claiming victory.
While the BJP leaders
showed confidence that the
result will be in their favour,
the Congress which had
secured majority in 2018
assembly elections, now in
opposition, says people will
support the party this time.
The bypolls were necessitated
due to the death of sitting
MLAs and Khandwa MP (BJP)
Nand Kumar Chauhan.
On the Khandwa Lok Sabha
seat, the BJP has fielded former
district panchayat president
Gyaneshwar Patil, while the
Congress has chosen former
MLA Raj Narayan Singh Purni.
For Jabat Assembly seat
(Scheduled Tribe), which the
Congress had won in 2018
elections, the party has fielded
Mahesh Patel against the BJP's
Sulochna Rawat, a former
MLA and a turncoat, who
jumped ship from the Congress
to the BJP.
From Raigon (Scheduled
Caste) seat, the BJP has fielded
Pratima Bagari, the daughterin-law
of sitting MLA Jugal
Kishor Bagari, whose demise
necessitated the by-election.
The Congress has fielded
Kalpana Verma, who had contested
against Jugal Kishor
Bagari in the last assembly
polls in 2018.
From Prithvipur Assembly
seat, Shishupal of the BJP is
pitted against Nitendra Singh
Rathore of the Congress.
All arrangements for vote counting
for Himachal bypolls done: CEO
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh
Chief Electoral Officer C. Palrasu
said on Monday that all preparations
have been completed for the counting
of votes for by-elections to the
Mandi parliamentary constituency
and three assembly constituencies --
Fatehpur, Jubbal-Kotkhai and Arki.
He said the counting of ballots
would start at 8 a.m. on Tuesday
amidst tight security.
Palrasu said 11 counting
observers have been deployed for
the Mandi parliamentary constituency, and
three for each Assembly constituency.
Besides, one micro observer has also been
deployed at each counting
table. He said 57.73
per cent voters exercised
franchise in the
Mandi Lok Sabha constituency.
The voting percentage
in the Fatehpur constituency
in Kangra district
was 66.20 per cent,
while it was 64.97 per
cent in Arki in Solan
district, and 78.75 per
cent in Jubbal-Kotkhai in Shimla district.