NATIONAL NEWS
A) Covid-19 compensation: SC pulls up NDMA for ‘failing to perform its duty’
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), of which the Prime Minister is the ex officio chairperson, for failing to perform its duty to recommend ex gratia assistance for families of those who lost their loved ones to the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Authority [NDMA] failed to perform its duty, the Supreme Court held. A Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan gave the NDMA six weeks to frame the guidelines for fixing the ex gratia meant for these families. The court, however, left it to the wisdom of the NDMA to fix the amount of ex gratia. The PIL petitioners, advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal and Reepak Kansal, had asked for a payment of ₹4 lakh each to the families of the Covid-19 dead. Not proper for the court to ask government to pay a particular amount, the court said. The judgment, pronounced by Justice M.R. Shah on the Bench, held that the government could not excuse itself of its duty to pay ex gratia by saying that such payments would entail huge expenditure. The court pointed to Section 12 of the Disaster Management Act of 2005 and said the term ‘minimum standards of relief’ mentioned in the provision included payment of ex gratia. Justice Shah dismissed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s submission that Section 12 was merely recommendatory and not mandatory. Instead, the court drew the government’s attention to the word shall used in Section 12 and said this made the payment of ex gratia to victims’ families a mandatory and statutory duty. The court, in this regard, said Section 12 (iii) held that the National Authority shall recommend guidelines for the minimum standards of relief to be provided to persons affected by disaster, which shall include ex gratia assistance on account of loss of life. The court, meanwhile, directed that death certificates of Covid-19 patients should show the exact cause of death. As regards insurance and social security claims of those affected by Covid-19, the court ordered the Union of India to take appropriate steps in compliance with the 15th Finance Commission Report.
B) Bharat Biotech denies any wrongdoing over Brazil Covaxin deal
Covaxin manufacturer Bharat Biotech on June 30 asserted that it had followed a routine ‘step-by-step approach’ towards getting contracts and regulatory approvals for supply of the vaccine in Brazil and added that it had neither received any advance payments nor supplied any vaccines to the South American country’s Health Ministry. Reacting to media reports, including a Rio De Janeiro-datelined news report in which Reuters cited Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga announcing the suspension of a $324-million Indian vaccine contract in the wake of allegations of irregularity linked to President Jair Bolsonaro, the Hyderabad-based company laid out the timeline of developments related to its efforts to supply the vaccine to Brazil. Stating that discussions with the Brazilian Ministry had begun in November 2020, Bharat Biotech said that over the course of eight months, a step-by-step approach, similar to what was observed in other countries where the company sought approvals, had been followed. Subsequently, Covaxin received emergency use authorisation in Brazil on June 4. On the issue of pricing, Bharat Biotech said it had been clearly established that the vaccine would be priced between $15 and $20 per dose for supplies to governments outside India. The pricing for Brazil had also been indicated at $15 per dose. Also, while advance payments had been received from several countries at the same price points, with supplies in process, pending approvals, as of June 29, Bharat Biotech has not received any advance payments or supplied any vaccines to MOH Brazil, the company said. Elaborating on the procurement process in Brazil and other countries, Bharat Biotech said a common approach, widely accepted and established in the industry, was followed for Covid-19 vaccines and several vaccines for routine immunisation. The vaccine maker said it had partnered with Brazil’s Precisa Medicamentos for assistance, guidance and support with regulatory submissions, distribution, insurance and conduct of phase III clinical trials. The trials, approved recently by Brazil’s health regulator ANVISA, are to be conducted on 5,000 participants.
C) Drones, flying objects banned in J&K Rajouri district
The Rajouri district administration on Wednesday banned the sale or possession of flying objects, as at least five sorties of drones around the security installations in Jammu since Sunday, including the IAF’s technical airport recently, have the security agencies on the tenterhooks in J&K. In exercise of powers vested to me under Section 144 of the CrPC, a ban is imposed on storage, sale, possession, use and transport of any drone or small flying objects, toys in the district, Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Kumar Savan said in an order. Security personnel keep vigil during a high alert in Jammu on June 28, 2021 after two drones were noticed hovering over Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military station area the previous night. The order has directed all those in the district who already possess any such gadgets to deposit them with the local police station against proper receipt. The government agencies using drones for mapping, surveys and surveillance will get the local police station incharge and the executive magistrate informed. It warned of punitive action against those who violate the order. Rajouri is close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Pir Panjal valley. The move comes two days after two explosions, apparently ferried and dropped by two drones, rocked the technical airport of the IAF in Jammu on Sunday.
D) Navjot Singh Sidhu meets Priyanka Gandhi
Former Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been leading a public battle against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday had a closed-door meeting with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The two are said to have discussed Sidhu’s role in the revamp exercise of the Punjab unit ahead of next year’s Assembly election. Post her meeting, Vadra called on former Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the latter’s house alone. Though the cricketer-turned-politician did not accompany her, Vadra is believed to have played the role of an emissary. Had a long meeting with @priyankagandhi Ji, Sidhu tweeted, along with a photograph of his with Vadra. Party insiders say Gandhi may meet Sidhu but the schedule is not known yet. On Monday, Sidhu’s team had informed reporters that the Punjab Congress leader would be meeting Gandhi and Vadra in Delhi a day later. Though he arrived in Delhi from Patiala on Tuesday, there was no scheduled meeting. When reporters asked Gandhi about it, expressing surprise, he said, I don’t know what fuss you all are making. Sidhu’s claim also stood in sharp contrast with what Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh experienced during his Delhi visit last week. While Capt. Singh met the three-member panel of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), set up to end Punjab factionalism, the Gandhis did not meet him. For the past couple of months, Punjab Congress has been witnessing a political turmoil with several senior leaders speaking out against their own government, and Sidhu has been at the forefront. While a majority of the MLAs are learnt to have said that Capt. Amarinder was best placed to lead the Congress into next year’s Assembly elections, many complained about his inaccessibility, predominance of bureaucrats in running the affairs of the State, and the existence of liquor, sand and transport mafia. Sidhu had gone to the extent of alleging that the Chief Minister was protecting the Badals of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in most cases, including the 2015 sacrilege case in which the Guru Granth Sahib was desecrated at Bargari (Faridkot). The three member AICC panel — comprising Mallikarjun Kharge, Harish Rawat and J.P. Aggarwal — in its report is learnt to have suggested around 20 action points, including action in the sacrilege case as well as cracking down on various mafia operating in the State. Since then, a special investigation team has questioned former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Sabha member Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was the Deputy CM when Akalis were in power. The AICC panel is also learnt to have suggested that Sidhu needed to be suitably accommodated in the party or the government. However, Capt. Amarinder is said to be resisting any move to make Sidhu the Pradesh Congress Committee chief. The Punjab unit of the Congress is expected to be revamped in the next few days based on the feedback party leaders gave to the AICC panel as well as Gandhi.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) U.S. aircraft involved in Black Sea incident: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft was operating in sync with a British destroyer during last week’s Black Sea incident. Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender on Wednesday to force her out of an area near the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia had annexed in 2014. Britain denied that account, insisted its ship wasn’t fired upon and said it was sailing in Ukrainian waters. Speaking Wednesday during a marathon live call-in show, Putin said that the U.S. aircraft’s apparent mission was to monitor the Russian military’s response to the British destroyer. He added that Moscow was aware of the U.S. intentions and responded accordingly to avoid revealing sensitive data. In Wednesday’s incident, Britain insisted the Defender had been making a routine journey through an internationally recognized travel lane and remained in Ukrainian waters near Crimea. The UK, like most of the world, recognises Crimea as part of Ukraine despite the peninsula’s annexation by Russia. Russia denounced the Defender’s move as a provocation and warned that next time it could fire to hit intruding warships if they again try to test Russian military resolve.
B) Israel seeks to build wider ties across West Asia.
Israel’s new Foreign Minister said on Wednesday his landmark visit to the United Arab Emirates was just the start of a road to wider peace in West Asia, reaching out to Arab states still wary of normalising ties. Cabinet Minister to visit the Gulf state since the countries forged ties last year, also reiterated Israel’s concern about the Iran nuclear deal being negotiated in Vienna. The trip comes amid unease in Israel and Arab capitals about U.S. efforts to reenter a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers, which then President Donald Trump quit in 2018 in a move backed by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies. This visit isn’t the end of the road to peace, it is just the beginning, he told reporters. Our hand is out stretched. I hope this visit is the first of many and that together with our new friends we continue to make history in the entire region. The UAE and Bahrain normalised ties with Israel under so-called Abraham Accords brokered by Mr. Trump’s administration, creating a new regional dynamic based on mutual concern over Iran and Islamist groups. Sudan and Morocco followed suit. Mr. Lapid declined to comment on whether Israel was coordinating with Gulf states over Iran, saying he did not want to embarrass his hosts by remarking on a neighbour while in the UAE, but noted his country was worried about the nuclear deal. Gulf states have called for a stronger deal of longer duration that also addresses Tehran’s missiles programme and support for regional proxies that Iran has denied giving.
