NATIONAL NEWS
A) B.1.617 variant drove surge in Covid-19 cases in last 2 months.
The surge of Covid-19 cases in the country in the last two months shows a correlation with the rise in B.1.617 variant of the SARS-CoV-2, according to INSACOG, a grouping of 10 national laboratories. April and May witnessed a deadly second wave of coronavirus cases that swept through the country, stretching the healthcare infrastructure to its limits. According to INSACOG, the B.1.1.7 lineage of the virus, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, is declining in proportion across India in the last one and half month. The B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus has been named ‘Alpha’. The B.1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2 was first reported from Maharashtra but it is now seen in other states such as West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana. The current surge in cases seen over the last two months in some states shows a correlation with the rise in the B.1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) said. The B.1.617 lineage has further evolved into three sublineages – B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. Early data shows B.1.617.2, dubbed as Delta by WHO, has higher transmission advantages over the other two sub-lineages. B.1.617, initially termed as double mutant, has three new spike protein mutations. Two mutations — E484Q and L452R — are in the area important for antibody-based neutralisation. The third mutation — P681R in B.1.617 — along with the reversion of E484Q allows its sub-lineage to be more infectious. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed it as ‘Variant of Concern’. B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.3 sub-lineages have two receptor binding domain mutations L452R and E484Q. The former has seven spike mutations while the latter has seven to eight. In the case of B.1.617.3, it has nine to 10 spike mutations and two receptor binding domain mutations L452R and T478K. In the case of all the three sub-lineages, the mutations have the potential to reduce antibody efficacy and neutralisation by vaccine sera, which, however, remain to be established.
B) Panel to decide on CBSE Class 12 assessment criteria in 10 days.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday constituted a 13-member committee to work out an objective criteria for assessment of Class 12 students after their board exams were cancelled. The panel will submit its report within 10 days. In view of the uncertain conditions due to Covid-19 and the feedback obtained from various stakeholders, it was decided that Class 12 board exams of CBSE will not be held this year. It was also decided that CBSE will take steps to compile the results as per a well defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner, said CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj. A 13-member committee has been constituted for the purpose. The panel will submit its report within 10 days, he added. The government on Tuesday cancelled the CBSE Class 12 Board exams amid the continuing Covid-19 pandemic across the country.
C) Vaccinating children not priority from WHO perspective: Vaccines expert.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) top vaccines expert says that immunising children against the coronavirus is not a high priority given the extremely limited global supply of vaccines. Dr. Kate O’Brien says vaccinating children is not a priority from a WHO perspective, even as increasing numbers of rich countries authorise their Covid-19 shots for teenagers and children. Dr. O’Brien says since children are not typically at risk of getting severely ill or dying from Covid-19, vaccinating them during the pandemic is mostly aimed at stopping transmission, rather than protecting them from disease. Canada, the U.S. and the European Union have all recently approved some Covid-19 vaccines for children age 12 to 15 as they approach their vaccination targets for adults. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has previously urged rich countries to donate their Covid-19 shots to poor countries rather than immunise their adolescents and children. Fewer than 1% of Covid-19 vaccines administered globally have been used in poor countries. Dr. O’Brien says it’s not necessary to vaccinate children before sending them back to school if the adults in contact with them were immunised.
D) No decision yet on indemnity to vaccine makers: Govt.
The Union government was still in negotiation and no final decision had been taken on indemnity to either foreign or local Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, NITI Aayog member (health) Dr. V.K. Paul said at a Health Ministry press conference on Friday. India had overtaken the U.S. in providing at least one dose of vaccine, he said, adding, As of Thursday night, India has administered 17.2 crore doses, while the U.S. has administered 16.9 crore doses. While the priority of the government was to provide vaccine cover to the vulnerable elderly population and those with comorbidities, Bharat Biotech and Zydus have already started testing vaccines on children. But we have to understand that we will need 25-26 crore doses to cover this population as we cannot have partial coverage. All this will be taken into account when we strategise. Information-gathering and analysis on the matter is on, he noted. Dr. Paul cautioned that at a time the second wave seems to be on the wane, the virus could come back in case people don’t act responsibly. When the peak is declining, we should not suddenly get back to the same behaviour as before the second wave. We have to buy time to ensure we achieve a high coverage of vaccination, he pointed out. Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary, Health Ministry, providing details of the Covid-19 graph in the country, said there had been a continuous decrease in cases and recoveries were far exceeding the new cases. Recoveries are exceeding the daily cases reported. There has been a steady decline in case positivity across the country. India has registered a continuous decrease in cases since its peak on May 7. If we analyse data in comparison to May 7, the highest reported peak, we are recording a 68% decline in daily cases, he stated.
E) Congress unimpressed by CMs’ letters on vaccine policy.
The Opposition Congress remained unimpressed by the letters written by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to fellow Chief Ministers criticising the Centre’s vaccination policy. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned both Reddy and Patnaik, asking why they could not pose the same questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although both Reddy’s YSR Congress and Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal claim they want to maintain an equal distance from the Opposition and the ruling BJP, they have often been found on the government’s side on critical issues. Reddy, in his letter written on Thursday, wrote that the situation had come to Centre vs State and urged Chief Ministers to speak in one voice. Reacting to the letter, Ramesh tweeted, All I ask Jagan is: who made the vaccine issue Union vs States? Who unilaterally decided the Union govt will abdicate vaccinating 18-44 year olds? Why weren’t states consulted before this policy was rolled out? Why don’t you ask the PM these questions? Patnaik, in his letter, was more guarded on the Centre’s role. The best option is for the government of India to centrally procure the vaccines and distribute it among the states so that our citizens are vaccinated at the earliest, he wrote, exhorting Chief Ministers to come to a consensus on the issue. Patnaik claimed that he has also written to Modi, but that the letter was not made public, unlike his letter to the Chief Ministers. It’s all very well for Odisha CM to write to all CMs, but why can’t he write to PM & persuade him? After all, BJD has always supported BJP in Parliament for past 7 years. Several like-minded parties have already written to PM earlier asking for procurement of vaccines by Union Govt, Ramesh tweeted.
F) Make in India project cleared for submarines.
A ‘Make in India’ project worth Rs 43,000 crore to build six conventional submarines has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the government said in a statement. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Friday approved the issuance of a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the construction of six conventional submarines under Project-75I at an estimated cost of Rs 43,000 crore. At a meeting, the DAC also approved the procurement of air defence guns and ammunition for the Army at an approximate cost of Rs 6,000 crore. This is a landmark approval, being the first case processed under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model. This would be one of the largest ‘Make in India’ projects and it will create a tiered industrial ecosystem for submarine construction in India, Singh said on Twitter on the submarine deal. With this approval, India would be enabled to achieve its 30-year submarine construction programme envisioned by the government to acquire national competence in their building and for Indian industry to independently design and construct them, he noted. The deal would take at least two-three years to be concluded, and the given the high technology and the long timelines, the cost would be spread over many years, a defence official said.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) EU opens anti-trust probe against Facebook.
European Union and British regulators opened dual antitrust investigations into Facebook on Friday to look into whether the company distorts competition in the classified advertising market by using data it collects from rival services. The EU’s executive commission said that it’s also looking at whether the way Facebook embeds its own classified ad service, Marketplace, into the social network gives it an advantage in reaching customers, in violation of EU competition rules. The U.K.’s competition watchdog said in a simultaneous announcement that it launched its own probe to examine whether Facebook’s collection and use of data gave it an unfair advantage over competitors providing classified data and online dating services. Facebook collects vast troves of data on the activities of users of its social network and beyond, enabling it to target specific customer groups, said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president in charge of competition policy. We will look in detail at whether this data gives Facebook an undue competitive advantage, in particular on the online classified ads sector. The investigation is the latest salvo by EU regulators trying to rein in the dominance of big tech companies.
B) Biden expands list of Chinese firms off-limits for U.S. investors.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday expanded a blacklist of Chinese firms that are off-limits to American investors over their links to Beijing’s military-industrial complex, in a sign of Washington’s continued pressure campaign against the Asian power. Former President Donald Trump in November issued a list of 31 Chinese companies that were deemed to be supplying or supporting China’s military and security apparatus, later adding even more firms. But after legal challenges put the sanctions in doubt, Mr. Biden’s team reviewed the blacklist, removing some names and ultimately expanding it to 59 firms that Americans are prohibited from having a stake in. Many are subsidiaries of companies already included. The sanctions target companies involved in Chinese surveillance technology used to facilitate repression or serious human rights abuses, which undermine the security or democratic values of the United States and our allies, according to a White House statement. The initial list published under Mr. Trump included major telecoms, construction and technology firms, such as China Mobile, China Telecom, video surveillance firm Hikvision, and China Railway Construction Corp. China National Offshore Oil Corporation was added to the list in January. The investment ban takes effect on August 2 and current shareholders have a year to divest.
