NATIONAL NEWS
A) Decision on Covaxin nod likely in 4-6 weeks, says WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is likely to take a decision on including Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin in its list of vaccines approved for Emergency Use, within four to six weeks, Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO said at a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). An Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the WHO is necessary for a vaccine company to supply vaccines to global facilities such as COVAX or international procurement. So far eight vaccines have got a EUL from the WHO. It is mandatory to supply a complete dossier listing safety, efficacy and manufacturing conditions of the vaccine to the WHO. I understand that Bharat Biotech is in this process and I think a decision on their case is likely in the next four to six weeks, said Swaminathan. The EUL assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, as well as risk management plans and programmatic suitability, such as cold chain requirements. The assessment is performed by the product evaluation group, composed by regulatory experts from around the world and a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), in charge of performing the risk-benefit assessment for an independent recommendation on whether a vaccine can be listed for emergency use and, if so, under what conditions. In late May, Bharat Biotech said it has submitted 90% of the data required for the pre-qualification process. Last Saturday, the firm publicised its long-awaited phase-3 trial efficacy data via a non-peer-reviewed pre-print publication, reporting an overall 77.8% efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 based on analysis involving 25,800 volunteers. The two-dose vaccine was also 93.4% effective against severe disease and 63% protective against asymptomatic Covid-19. Moreover, it was 65% protective against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the most widespread in India and linked to a rising number of cases in Europe as well as the United States. At Friday’s seminar, Dr. Swaminathan said that it was frustrating that countries were contemplating and testing booster doses for themselves when large parts of the world, especially Africa, hadn’t yet got vaccinated. The target was to have at least 10% of the world fully vaccinated by September and 40% by December. She said that it was unlikely that the world would be sufficiently protected at least until the next year and a half and ‘herd immunity’ was only likely when 80% had been vaccinated. So far only 5% of Indians have been fully vaccinated and only 21.8% have got at least one dose of the vaccine.
B) Opposition fears Cooperation Ministry is bid by Centre to ‘hijack’ cash-rich cooperatives, which fall under ambit of states
A row is about to erupt between the Treasury and Opposition benches in the Monsoon Session of Parliament that is set to start on July 19 over the Ministry of Cooperation formation, which was announced on July 5. The portfolio has been given to Home Minister Amit Shah after Wednesday’s Cabinet expansion. The government said the Ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country and do much to streamline the processes for ease of doing business and enable development of Multi-State Co-operative Banks (MSCBs). Significantly, the MSCBs have now been solely taken under the Reserve Bank of India for regulatory purposes. Opposition leaders, however, said the move was to hijack the cooperative movement that currently falls under the State governments. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who was the former Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly — a State with a strong cooperative movement — told The Hindu that the move is planned to hijack the cooperative movement. They [the BJP] want total control of the cooperative movement across the country and that’s why they have made Amit Shah in charge of the Ministry. Cooperatives is a State subject under entry 32 of the State list under the Schedule 7 of the Constitution. How can they create a ministry without an Act of Parliament, Chennithala, a sitting lawmaker from Kerala, said. The cooperative model has been a source of political power in States such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. And many of these cash rich cooperatives are controlled by Opposition parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party, CPI(M) and the Congress in some of these States. The government is yet to explain the purpose and objective of this Ministry. And the appointment of Shah raises several questions, as it encroaches on a State’s power. Our party will raise this in Parliament, CPI general secretary D. Raja said. On Thursday, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that the move was taken with an eye on the cash reserves of the cooperative banks.
C) New IT rules: Supreme Court to hear govt.’s transfer plea on July 16
The Supreme Court on Friday listed for July 16 a government petition to transfer the cases challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, from various High Courts to itself. A Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna tagged the plea to a pending special leave petition titled ‘Justice for Rights Foundation versus Union of India’. Justice Khanwilkar said the case would be listed before an appropriate Bench on July 16. The government petition is likely to come up before a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The ‘Justice for Rights Foundation’ case, pending before the Justice Chandrachud-led Bench, primarily concerns the regulation of content shown on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The Bench has been examining the issue in the backdrop of the new IT Rules. On March 23 last, it stayed all proceedings in High Courts on the issue.
D) J&K will have reserved ST seats for the first time, says delimitation panel
The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission on Friday said it would base its final report on the 2011 Census and also take into account the topography, difficult terrain, means of communication and convenience available while delimiting seven additional seats for the 83-member Assembly of the Union Territory (UT), besides granting reservation to the Schedule Tribe (ST) and Schedule Caste (SC) communities. Delimitation is not a mathematical exercise. It must reflect the political aspirations of society bound in a particular geography. Though the population forms the base [for delimitation], the commission shall take into account constituencies’ practicality, geographical compatibility, topography, physical features, means of communication and convenience available, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said, after the three-member panel completed its four-day consultation tour of J&K. The earlier delimitation panels did not acknowledge the difficult terrains and people’s difficulties, he pointed out. Chandra clarified that 24 seats reserved for Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) would not be delimited in this process. The commission will also specify the number of seats to be reserved for the SC and the ST in the Legislative Assembly of the UT. It will be for the first time that seats will be reserved for the ST in J&K, he noted. J&K has already seven seats reserved for SC people, mainly in the Kathua-Samba belt in the Jammu region. It will be for the first time that STs, including Bakerwals and Gujjars, will get reservation in this delimitation exercise. The maximum population of Gujjars and Bakwerwals are from the PirPanjal Valley, comprising Poonch and Rajouri districts in the Jammu region. On the process of arriving at a final draft, Chandra said the commission had taken into account the representations made by 290 groups, comprising 800 people. A draft report will be prepared, wherein the suggestions of the associate members will also be taken into account. Thereafter, it will be in the public domain for a consensus. Only after the fresh comments, the final draft will be prepared. Opportunity will be given to people at large to take into account all the views, he stated. Most of J&K’s political parties, during the meetings with the panel, have stressed on immediate restoration of statehood after the new constituencies are delineated by the panel.
E) Won’t compel users to accept new privacy policy, WhatsApp tells Delhi HC
Whatsapp told the Delhi High Court on Friday that till the data protection bill comes into force, it would not compel users to opt for its new privacy policy as it has been put on hold. Whatsapp also clarified before bench of Chief justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh that it would not limit the functionality for users who are not opting for new privacy policy in the meantime. Appearing for the instant messaging platform, Senior Advocate Harish Salve said, We voluntarily agreed to put it (the policy) on hold… we will not compel people to accept. Salve said that Whatsapp would nonetheless continue to display the update to its users. The court is hearing the appeals of Facebook and its firm WhatsApp against the single-judge order refusing to stop the competition regulator CCI’s order directing a probe into WhatsApp’s new privacy policy.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) ‘Legitimacy aspect’ of who should rule Afghanistan should not be ignored, says Jaishankar
Voicing concern over the spiralling violence in Afghanistan, India said on Friday that the legitimacy aspect of who should rule the war-torn country is of importance and should not be ignored as it called for immediate reduction in violence there. Of course we are concerned at the direction of events in Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said while responding to a question during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. His remarks came in the midst of Taliban militants seizing dozens of districts in recent weeks and are now thought to control about a third of the country, ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. and Western troops from Afghanistan by September 11. Under a deal with the Taliban, the U..S and its NATO allies agreed to withdraw all troops in return for a commitment by the militants that they would prevent extremist groups from operating in areas they control. The point right now we stress is that we must see a reduction in violence. Violence cannot be the solution for the situation in Afghanistan, Jaishankar said. At the end of the day, who governs Afghanistan has a legitimacy aspect to it. I think that is something which cannot and should not be ignored, said Jaishankar, who is in Russia on a three-day visit. For more than 30 years, there have been international conferences, there have been groups, there have been formats to discuss how to stabilise and bring about peace in Afghanistan, he said, adding that the reason is because it has proven implications for regional security and regional stability. If we have to seek peace within Afghanistan and around, it’s important for India and Russia to work together to ensure that much of the progress in economic, social terms are maintained. We are committed to an independent, sovereign and democratic Afghanistan, he said. India, a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan, has been supporting a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled. The U.S. and the Taliban signed a landmark deal in Doha on February 29, 2020 after multiple rounds of negotiations to bring lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan and allow U.S. troops to return home from America’s longest war.
B) Oil prices firm as U.S. inventories decline.
Oil prices rose for a second day on Friday as data showed a draw in U.S. inventories but were heading for a weekly loss amid uncertainty over global supplies after an OPEC+ impasse. Brent crude oil futures were up 36 cents, or 0.5%, at $74.48 a barrel by 1220 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 54 cents, or 0.7%, at $73.48. Prices on both sides of the Atlantic were on track for a more than 2% weekly drop, dragged down by the collapse of output talks between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, together known as OPEC+. U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell and gasoline demand reached its highest since 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, signalling increasing strength in the economy. A bullish EIA stock report helped the oil market rebound into the black, said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM. Clearly, U.S. oil markets are tight. However, the only way to prevent further losses is for the threat of an OPEC+price war to be contained.
