NATIONAL NEWS
Excise duty on petrol cut by ₹5, diesel by ₹10
The Central government has announced an excise duty cut on petrol and diesel of ₹5 and ₹10 per litre, respectively, effective from November 4. The Union Finance Ministry on November 3 said the reduction will boost consumption and keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes, while adding that the States have also been urged to ‘commensurately reduce VAT’ on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers. In recent months, crude oil prices have witnessed a global upsurge. Consequently, domestic prices of petrol and diesel had increased in recent weeks exerting inflationary pressure. The world has also seen shortages and increased prices of all forms of energy, the Ministry explained. The Finance Ministry said the duty cut will particularly help farmers in the Rabi season. Arguing that the excise duty on diesel has been lowered by twice the amount as petrol, the Ministry said this will particularly help farmers in the upcoming Rabi season. The Indian farmers have, through their hard work, kept the economic growth momentum going even during the lockdown phase…, it noted.
WHO nod to COVAXIN
After months of will it, won’t it, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday finally granted emergency use listing for Bharat Biotech COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin. WHO has granted emergency use listing (EUL) to COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech), adding to a growing portfolio of vaccines validated by WHO for the prevention of COVID19. The Technical Advisory Group, convened by WHO and made up of regulatory experts from around the world, has determined that the Covaxin vaccine meets WHO standards for protection against COVID-19, that the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs risks & the vaccine can be used, the organisation tweeted. The organisation added that the vaccine should be administered in two doses, with a dose interval of four weeks, in all age groups 18 and above. Covaxin vaccine was also reviewed by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), and recommended use of this vaccine in two doses, with a dose interval of four weeks, in all age groups 18 and above. Available data on vaccination of pregnant women with the Covaxin vaccine are insufficient to assess vaccine safety or efficacy in pregnancy; studies in pregnant women are planned, including a pregnancy sub-study and a pregnancy registry, the organisation tweeted. The TAG-EUL is an independent advisory group that provides recommendations to WHO on whether a COVID-19 vaccine can be listed for emergency use under the EUL procedure. Covaxin has demonstrated 77.8% effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 and 65.2% protection against the new Delta variant. In June, the company said it concluded the final analysis of Covaxin efficacy from Phase 3 trials. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.
SC to examine whether Education is a service
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether education is a service within the Consumer Protection Act. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna noted that a similar legal issue is pending adjudication in another case and tagged the matter along with it. Having regard to the pendency of Civil Appeal No 3504 of 2020 (Manu Solanki and Others vs Vinayaka Mission University), the issue as to whether education is a service within the Consumer Protection Act, is pending before this Court. Leave granted. Tag with Civil Appeal, the bench said in its October 29 order. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by Lucknow resident challenging an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCRDC) which said educational institutions do not fall within the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and education which includes co-curricular activities such as swimming, is not a service within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. In this case, the man’s son was studying at a school which offered various ‘Summer Camp’ activities in 2007 including swimming, and invited students to participate by paying ₹1,000. On May 28, 2007 at about 9.30 am, he received an urgent call from the school requesting him to come immediately as his son was unwell. Upon reaching the school, the man was informed that his son had been taken to hospital as he had drowned in the school’s swimming pool. He then rushed to the hospital where he learnt that his son was brought dead. Thereafter, he filed a consumer complaint in the State Commission alleging negligence and deficiency in service on part of the School and claimed ₹20 lakh as compensation for the death of his son as well as ₹2 lakh on account of mental agony suffered by him and ₹55,000 towards the cost of litigation. The State Commission dismissed the complaint on the ground that the complainant is not a consumer. This order was challenged in NCDRC. The NCDRC held that education which includes co-curricular activities such as swimming, is not a service within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It concurred with the State Commission’s view that the complainant is not a consumer and the complaint not being covered under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is not maintainable.
PM urges districts with low vaccination coverage to speed up
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a review meeting with senior officials of districts having low COVID vaccination coverage. The meeting included districts with less than 50% coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second. The Prime Minister interacted with the District Magistrates of over 40 districts in Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and other States. Directing officials to prepare region-wise timetables for local goals, the Prime Minister said, You will have to do your best to take your districts nearer the national average. According to a release by the Central Government, Mr. Modi spoke about the issue of rumours and misunderstandings about vaccination. He suggested that awareness is the only solution for this and asked the officials to take help from religious leaders. The Prime Minister noted that religious leaders are very enthusiastic about the vaccination campaign and urged for a special emphasis on taking their message to the public.He also asked the officials to change gears from making arrangements for taking people to the vaccination centre safely to administering the jabs door-to-door. Urging health workers to reach every house with passion har ghar tika, ghar ghar tika (vaccine at every doorstep), the Prime Minister asked them to go in the spirit of Har Ghar Dastak knocking on every doorstep. Now we are preparing to take the campaign to each household. With the mantra of ‘Har Ghar Dastak’, knock on every door, every household lacking the security net of a double dose of vaccine. The Prime Minister cautioned that equal attention needed to be paid to the second dose because whenever the cases of infection start decreasing, sometimes the feeling of urgency decreases. You will have to contact those people who have not taken the second dose despite the stipulated time on a priority basis…ignoring this has created problems for many countries. He emphasised that under the free vaccine for all campaign, India created a record of administering about 2.5 crore doses in a day which bears testimony to its capabilities. Asking the officials to learn from the good practices of their colleagues in better performing districts, the Prime Minister emphasised that approaches should be suitable for the local needs and the environment. The District Magistrates gave an account of the issues and challenges they are facing which has resulted in low coverage. The Prime Minister discussed the issue of vaccine hesitancy and the local factors behind it in detail. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan gave an overview of the vaccination coverage.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Pakistan refuses airspace for Srinagar-Sharjah flight
Pakistan denied use of its airspace to Go First, earlier known as GoAir, forcing the flight from Srinagar to Sharjah to take a longer route, and fly over Gujarat to reach its destination in the UAE, government officials said. Government and airline sources said that other west-bound flights using Pakistan’s airspace, including those flying to the US and UK, were unaffected. MEA and MHA officials are working to resolve the issue, a person in the know said. The Go First flight, G81595, was flying via Lahore until October 30, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. The data for October 31 is not available on the website, but the next flight on November 2 was forced to flew via Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat to reach its destination. The operates this flight four times in a week. The detour also means that the flight that was originally three- hour long, now takes additional 30 minutes to reach Sharjah. Reacting to Pakistan’s action, former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took to Twitter and said, it was very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn’t to be. Blaming the Centre, PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted puzzling that GoI didn’t even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. OnlyPR extravaganza without any groundwork.
Romania: PM-designate gives up mandate to form government
Romania’s Prime Minister-designate relinquished his mandate to try to form a new government after it appeared he did not have enough support in parliament to get his proposed Cabinet approved. Former Army General Nicolae Ciuca of the National Liberal Party was set to put forward a new government on Wednesday. It was expected to fall short of the majority support needed after the opposition Social Democrat Party and the junior Save Romania Union (USR) party said they would not back Mr. Ciuca.
Manchin wavers on Biden’s plan, Democrats vow to push ahead
Pivotal Senator Joe Manchin wavered on his support for President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.75 trillion domestic policy proposal, but Democratic leaders vowed to push ahead, with initial voting possible on the bill and a related $1 trillion infrastructure package in the House this week. The West Virginia Democrat’s announcement Monday came as Democrats wanted assurances from Mr. Manchin that he will support Mr. Biden’s big package. He is one of two key holdout senators whose votes are needed to secure the deal and push it toward passage.
India stays off UK-led deforestation declaration at COP26 summit
India is among the countries that has chosen not to sign up to a Leaders’ Declaration on ending deforestation by 2030 at the COP26 climate summit on Tuesday, which is signed by over 100 countries including China and Brazil. The Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use commits the signatories to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation, backed by almost 14 billion pounds in public and private funding.
SPORTS NEWS
T20 World Cup: Beleaguered India up against gritty Afghans; Kohli faces big Ashwin question
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s inexplicable absence from the playing XI is in focus as India skipper Virat Kohli tries to figure the combination that can bring his team’s floundering campaign back on track when it takes on a feisty Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup on Wednesday. India’s run has been derailed after two crushing defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand and the performance that they have put in is not worthy of a semi-final spot even though mathematics keeps their hopes alive.
T20 World Cup: New Zealand look to seize World Cup destiny against struggling Scotland
A ruthless New Zealand will be eyeing to strengthen their semifinal chances with a solid knockout punch on an already struggling Scotland in a Group 2 Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup on Wednesday. Handed a defeat by Pakistan in their tournament opener, Kane Williamson and his troops made a strong comeback in their next game.
Manpreet added to Khel Ratna winners; sports ministry okays 35 Arjuna awardees
Olympic bronze-winning Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was on Tuesday added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year’s winners to an unparalleled 12, with the ceremony scheduled for November 13 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Manpreet was originally recommended for the Arjuna award but he joined veteran goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh as the second hockey player in the list of awardees for the highest sporting honour.
