CURRENT AFFAIRS
23 March 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Centre asks States to increase interval between Covishield doses.
The Centre on Monday wrote to States/Union Territories to increase the interval between two doses of Covishield to 4-8 weeks (from 4-6 weeks), stating that there is evidence of increased protection if the second dose of Covishield is administered between 6-8 weeks after the first dose. In a press release, the Health Ministry said that in view of the emerging scientific evidence, the interval between two doses of a specific Covid-19 vaccine i.e. Covishield, has been revised by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and subsequently by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) in its 20th meeting. During this meeting, the recommendation has been revised to provide second dose of Covishield at 4-8 weeks’ interval after the first dose, instead of earlier practiced interval of 4-6 weeks. This decision of revised time interval between two doses is applicable only to Covishield and not to Covaxin Vaccine, the Ministry said. The letter written by the Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to the Chief Secretaries of States/UTs noted that the Ministry has accepted the recommendations of NTAGI and NEGVAC and has thereafter advised the States and UTs to ensure the administration of second dose of Covishield to beneficiaries within this stipulated time interval of 4-8 weeks after first dose.
B) Lok Sabha passes Bill that empowers L-G of Delhi at expense of elected government.
The Lok Sabha today passed a Bill that seeks to make it clear that the government in Delhi means the Lieutenant Governor. The Bill was passed amidst strong Opposition from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which described the legislation as unconstitutional. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has become necessary as there has been ambiguity in certain issues related to the functioning of the Delhi government and several cases were also filed in courts. Please do not say that it is a political Bill. It is being brought to end ambiguity in certain issues as Delhi is a Union Territory. It will end certain confusion or technicality and enhance the efficiency of the administration, he said. According to the Bill, the government in Delhi means the Lieutenant Governor. The Bill also makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to take the opinion of the L-G before any executive action. Delhi’s ruling AAP government has opposed the Bill. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had even urged the central government to take back the Bill and said the AAP dispensation was ready to fall at the Modi government’s feet for its withdrawal.
C) Lok Sabha clears Bill to allow upto 74% FDI in insurance sector.
The Lok Sabha today passed The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which seeks to raise the limit for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in insurance companies from 49% to 74%. The Bill had earlier been cleared by the Rajya Sabha and now requires Presidential assent to become law. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who piloted the Bill in both Houses, said the move was aimed at solving some of the long term capital availability issues in the insurance sector which was a capital-intensive industry. She added that stakeholders had been consulted by the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), before a decision was taken to go ahead with the move. In her response to the debate on the Bill in the House, Sitharaman said that apprehensions over the gradual taking over of public sector insurance companies was ill-founded, as the banking and insurance industry has been designated as a strategic sector, and the 74% cap is just a limit posed on the FDI. Responding to Congress MP Manish Tewari’s apprehensions that the public sector undertakings were going to be disinvested and that it was akin to selling the family silver, the Minister said it was not, and the previous UPA government had also pushed for raising the FDI limit. Nobody is taking the money outside India. The Bill has safeguards that some of the profit has to be invested within the country, she said.
C) Bhima Koregaon case: NIA court rejects bail plea of 83-year-old Fr. Stan Swamy.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court today rejected the bail plea filed by Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case. Judge D.E. Kothalikar held that Fr. Swamy was found in possession of objectionable material and there was sufficient evidence to connect him to the activities of the banned organisation. While rejecting his bail, the court relied upon letters allegedly written by co-accused Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson. Fr. Swamy, 83, an activist, has been working with tribals since decades and is currently lodged at Taloja Central Jail after being arrested from Ranchi on October 9, 2020. He has Parkinson’s disease and has lost the ability to hear from both his ears and suffers from intense pain from lumbar spondylosis. Special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty had previously pointed out that during the investigation it was established that Fr. Swamy was a staunch supporter of the activities of organisations such as Vistapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan and People’s Union for Civil Liberties which are allegedly working as fronts of CPI (Maoists). Advocate Sharif Shaikh, appearing for Fr. Swamy, had previously argued that the prosecution had not brought anything on record to suggest that Fr. Swamy was involved in any kind of terrorist activity. Therefore, Section 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organisation), 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act were not applicable to him.
D) Transferred after exposé of Home Minister: Ex-Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh today informed the Supreme Court that his transfer order arrived immediately after he complained to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and other senior leaders about the corrupt malpractices of State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Singh alleged that Deshmukh held meetings with officers of lower rank like Sachin Vaze, now in custody in connection with the Mukesh Ambani residence bomb scare case, and Sanjay Patil, an ACP with the Social Service Branch, at his residence in February. This was done bypassing their seniors. The Home Minister had instructed the duo to accumulate ₹100 crore every month. For achieving this target, the Home Minister had told Vaze that there are about 1,750 bars, restaurants and other establishments in Mumbai and if a sum of ₹two-three lakh each was collected from each of them, a monthly collection of ₹40-50 crore was achievable, the petition by Singh said. The former top cop said the Minister, besides using police officers for his malicious intent of extorting money, interfered with investigations, ordering them to be conducted in a particular manner. He also indulged in corrupt practices in official postings and transfers of officers. Singh said he had conveyed his apprehensions to senior leaders and the Chief Minister. Immediately thereafter, on March 17, he (Singh) was transferred from the post of the Mumbai Police Commissioner to the Home Guard Department in an arbitrary and illegal manner without the completing of the minimum fixed tenure of two years, the petition said. The 1988 IPS batch officer said his allegations against Deshmukh, which also form the content of an explosive letter, required an unbiased, uninfluenced, impartial and fair investigation by the CBI. Singh said the court has to act quickly before the evidence against Deshmukh is destroyed.
E) Governor must send factual report to President: Maharashtra BJP.
In a related development, the Maharashtra unit of the BJP today said the party will meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday to request him to send a factual report to the President regarding the developments following the letter by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh accusing Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of demanding ₹100 crore per month. Allegations levelled against Anil Deshmukh are extremely serious in nature. These need to be probed by a Supreme Court or High Court judge or by the CBI. The Governor should seek a detailed report from the Chief Minister and send it to the President after verifying it, said senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar. Meanwhile, the Congress, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government (with the Shiv Sena and the NCP), accused the BJP of trying to destabilise the coalition government. Addressing a press conference, Maharashtra Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said it was not for the first time in India that a serving officer has leveled allegations against those in power. Questioning Singh’s claims, Sawant said, Deshmukh was in hospital after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus in February. I had had online interactions with Deshmukh on two occasions when he was indisposed. If Singh’s allegations are believed to be true then why did he wait till March and till he was transferred, to raise them. Sawant said Singh could be under pressure from the Central agencies since his close aide Sachin Vaze is in the custody of the NIA. Mr. Singh’s allegations raise several questions. All this is scripted. How did leaders of the BJP give sound bytes to news channels minutes after Singh’s letter became public? he asked.
F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 11,652,756 with the death toll at 1,61,410. Pharma major AstraZeneca has said that advanced trial data from a U.S. study on its Covid-19 vaccine showed that it was 79% effective. Although AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been authorised in more than 50 countries, it has not yet been given the green light in the U.S. The U.S. study comprised 30,000 volunteers, 20,000 of whom were given the vaccine while the rest got dummy shots. The results were announced on March 22. In a statement, AstraZeneca said its Covid-19 vaccine had a 79% efficacy rate at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and was 100% effective in stopping severe disease and hospitalisation. Investigators said the vaccine was effective across all ages, including older people which previous studies in other countries had failed to establish. The early findings from the U.S. study are just one set of information AstraZeneca must submit to the Food and Drug Administration. An FDA advisory committee will publicly debate the evidence behind the shots before the agency decides whether to allow emergency use of the vaccine.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) U.K. to unveil global focus in defence modernisation plans.
The U.K. government will on Monday unveil much-anticipated military modernisation plans, vowing to bolster its defence of British interests across multiple domains and in all corners of the globe. The long-awaited proposals, detailed in a report entitled defence in a Competitive Age, focus heavily on boosting the country’s Navy and global footprint, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. New commando force It promises more ships, sub marines and sailors and the transformation of the Royal Marines into a new unit called the Future Commando Force. The force will be deployed on an enduring basis to secure shipping lanes and uphold freedom of navigation, the MOD said. However, reports said the size of the Army would be reduced by around 10,000 to about 70,000 soldiers, the latest in a series of reductions in the last decade. The cut comes as the military shifts towards investment in robots, drones, and cyber warfare, the reports added. Despite that, the Army will create a new special operations Ranger Regiment, which would be able to operate discreetly in highrisk environments and be rapidly deployable across the world, the MOD said.
B) Riyadh presents ceasefire plan to Yemen’s Houthis.
Saudi Arabia presented a new peace initiative on Monday to end the war in Yemen, which would include a nationwide ceasefire under UN supervision and the reopening of air and sea links, the kingdom’s Foreign Minister said. The initiative includes the reopening of Sana’a airport, and would allow fuel and food imports through Hodeidah port, both of which are controlled by Riyadh’s enemies, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Political negotiations between the Saudi-backed government and the Houthis would be restarted, said Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The initiative will take effect as soon as the Houthis agree to it, Prince Faisal said, calling on the group and the government to accept the offer. The Houthis have demanded the lifting of an air and sea blockade, which has contributed to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen, as their main precondition before any deal. The Saudi-led coalition has said the port and airport must be restricted to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis, who control the capital and most populous areas. The announcement did not specify which routes would be permitted for aircraft flying to Sana’a, or whether food or fuel imports through Hodeidah port would be subject to additional pre-authorisations.
