FIFA World Cup: Spirited Switzerland hold Brazil
Rostov (Russia), June 18 : Switzerland came up with a gritty, fighting performance to hold title contenders Brazil 1-1 in a Group E match of the FIFA World Cup here on Sunday.
Philippe Coutinho handed Brazil the lead with an in-swinging, dipping free-kick in the 20th minute.
Switzerland made a strong comeback after the break with Steven Zuber exploit ing some loose marking to head in the equaliser off a corner in the 50th minute.
Switzerland are now second in the group with one point. Serbia are at the top of the group with three points thanks to their victory over Costa Rica earlier in the day.
The goal seemed to rejuvenate the Europeans and they put the five-time world champions on to the back foot with some excellent attacking play.
The South Americans gradually regained their attacking rhythm but were repeatedly let down by the poor quality of their final pass. The Swiss defence was extremely well organised and allowed very little space to the Brazil forwards.
But the Swiss defenders were guilty of committing numerous cynical fouls on Brazil's star forward Neymar throughout the game.
Brazil's attacking talisman, who struggled to recover from a foot injury before the tournament, did his level best, but was left battered by repeated fouls.
The Swiss players tried everything -- pulling Neymar's jersey, body checks and even the good old boot to the leg -- to stop the Brazil star.
The rest of the Brazil forward line also struggled to penetrate the well organised Swiss defence.
Although they did create several half chances, Brazil were let down by poor finishing on those occasions.
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Consumer Affairs Minister slams air purifier firms for false claims ahead of pollution season
New Delhi, Oct 14: Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday criticised air purifier manufacturers for making false claims about their products, and called for increased consumer awareness ahead of winter when air pollution worsens in Delhi due to crop stubble burning in neighbouring states.
Addressing an event commemorating World Standards Day, Joshi expressed concern over misleading marketing tactics adopted by some air purifier companies.
"Discussion on air pollution has begun. Looking at Air Quality Index (AQI) on mobiles, people out of fear, go and buy air purifiers. Air purifiers make such false claims. ...We see air purifiers and so much is written but nothing is there in it. There is just a fan in it, yet claims are still made," the minister stated.
Joshi called for a collaborative approach involving the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the consumer affairs ministry and consumers to address the issue.
While praising the BIS for their "exceptionally wonderful job" in recent years, the minister emphasized that more needs to be done.
"I do not blame BIS for this. BIS in the last few years has done an exceptionally wonderful job. But both BIS and the consumer affairs ministry and consumers together need to create awareness. It is important, and I strongly feel (this way)," the minister said stressing the collective responsibility in combating misleading product claims.
He emphasized the government's commitment to ensuring every Indian has access to safe, reliable, and high-quality products and services.
These comments come as concerns grow about air quality in major Indian cities and expansion of the air purifier market.
Joshi also announced plans to make BIS standards mandatory for public procurement on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal. "BIS standards are partially implemented on GeM. We'll try to make it mandatory."
The minister highlighted the government's focus on quality standards, noting that Cabinet proposals now include global standard notes.
"These days, the tradition has started in the Union Cabinet. Wherever a bill to be introduced in Parliament comes before the Cabinet, the global standard note comes with it. That has been made mandatory for the Cabinet," he said.
This note mentions which countries perform best in the particular field, rules and how India can achieve it. "So, we have to match every Cabinet note with the global standards. This helps our government to make decisions to set high standards whether it is quality infrastructure or urban metro trains."
Implementation of standards at national level has been given a top priority by the government and is actively bringing more products under mandatory quality controls, he said.
He said that over 22,300 standards are currently in force, with 94 per cent harmonized with international standards. The number of Quality Control Orders has risen from 14 (covering 106 products) in 2014 to 174 (covering 732 products) now.
Also, 94 per cent of Indian Standards are harmonised with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Joshi stressed the interdependence of consumers and producers in fostering a quality ecosystem. He urged the BIS to take on more leadership roles in international standardization and fast-track the development of new standards.
World Standards Day, observed annually on October 14, aims to raise awareness about standards and their role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
