CURRENT AFFAIRS
21 April 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) SC stays Allahabad High Court order on lockdowns in U.P. cities.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim stay on the Allahabad High Court order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to impose strict restrictions till April 26 in five cities amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. There shall be an interim stay on the order of the high court, a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said while hearing the state government’s plea against the order passed on Monday. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, said the state has taken several steps to contain the spread of coronavirus but to lockdown five cities by a judicial order may not be the right approach. He said the state government has issued several directions and taken adequate precautions on the issue. Mehta said the high court order would create immense administrative difficulties. The apex court, while granting interim stay on the high court order, appointed senior advocate P S Narasimha as amicus curiae to assist in the matter. The bench directed that the matter be listed after two weeks. Earlier in the day, the apex court agreed to hear the plea of the Uttar Pradesh government against the high court order after the state requested urgent listing of the matter. The high court had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose strict restrictions, including closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in five cities Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Nagar and Gorakhpur but stopped short of calling it a complete lockdown.
B) As Delhi hospitals run out of oxygen, HC tells company not to divert it from capital.
Multiple government hospitals in the city said that their oxygen stock will last only for seven to twelve hours and people will die if they do not get oxygen. Delhi has been witnessing a huge jump in cases, with a positivity rate of almost 30%. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also reiterated there was a serious oxygen crisis and again sought help from the central government. Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi. I again urge centre to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi. Some hospitals are left with just a few hours of oxygen, he said in a tweet. We need oxygen very badly. Have enough to last only seven to eight hours,Dr. D.S. Rana, chairman of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a private hospital, told. If we don’t get oxygen on time then many will die. 120 patients in ICU are heavily dependent on oxygen. 80% of the other patients are also dependent on oxygen. We have informed about it to both central and state governments, Dr. Rana said. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is one of the largest private hospitals in the city. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court issued notice to INOX, which produces oxygen, as to why contempt action should not be initiated against it for not complying with court orders to supply oxygen and directed the presence of the company’s Managing Director on the next date of hearing on April 22, PTI reported. The court also sought the presence of the Uttar Pradesh government on the next date. The direction came after senior advocate Rahul Mehra told the bench that INOX did not supply oxygen to Delhi as directed by the court, claiming that doing so would lead to a law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh from where the supply was to come. The court in its order also directed the Centre to issue appropriate orders and also meet the representatives of the steel and petrochemical industries to divert some portion of their oxygen for medical needs for a period to tide over the prevailing pandemic.
C) In address to nation, PM bats for ‘micro-containment zones’ over lockdowns.
In a special address to the nation today evening, Prime Minster Narendra Modi urged the youth to take the lead in encouraging Covid-19-appropriate behaviour, and said that if everyone were to strictly follow COVID protocols, then there would be no need for a lockdown, which could disrupt economic activity. He also said that where needed, ‘mirco-containment zones’ could be used as a strategy to curb the spread of infections rather than a blunt instrument such as a lockdown. Pointing out that India is today much better equipped to tackle the second wave of the pandemic compared to the same time last year when the nation didn’t have many elements of the COVID-specific infrastructure such as test kits and PPEs, he said the government is fully cognizant of the current challenges and is working hard to ramp up production of oxygen cylinders, medicines, and vaccines to meet the surge in demand following a spike in infections. Stating that he shared the pain of ordinary citizens who have been hit hard by the pandemic and have lost loved ones, he saluted the contributions of thousands of frontline workers, or ‘COVID warriors’, who have worked tirelessly to save lives while risking their own.
D) ICSE Class 10 exams cancelled amid Covid-19 surge.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Monday told schools that the ICSE Class 10 examinations had been cancelled due to the rising Covid-19 cases. In a letter to all heads of schools that were presenting candidates for the exams, CISCE chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon said: Given the present worsening situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the CISCE has decided to cancel the ICSE (Class 10) 2021 examination. The safety and well-being of our students and teaching faculty is our topmost priority and of paramount interest. He said the April 16 circular, which made the exams optional, had been withdrawn. In addition all CISCE-affiliated schools were advised to begin the admission process for Class 11, if they had not already done so, he said. Schools should prepare a schedule for starting online classes for Class 11 students. The CISCE was committed to a fair and an unbiased criterion on which basis the Class 10 results would be declared. The criterion and the date of result declaration would be announced later, he said.
E) Both election commissioners test positive.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner (EC) Rajiv Kumar have tested positive for Covid-19 and have been working from home, according to Election Commission of India (ECI) officials. Chandra, who took over as CEC from Sunil Arora on April 13, had assumed charge of the new role from home as he had been Covid-19 positive then, an official said. An ECI spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that Chandra and Kumar had tested positive for the pandemic and were working from home. The development comes at a time when the Commission is short of one EC, following the elevation of Chandra from EC to CEC, and while the West Bengal Assembly elections are ongoing.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Pakistan Parliament to decide on French envoy’s expulsion.
A resolution was tabled in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday for the expulsion of the French Ambassador from Pakistan over the issue of blasphemous cartoons being published in the European country. Amjad Ali Khan of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e lnsaf (PTI) party presented the resolution in the National Assembly. Technically, it was not an official document as it was moved by a member in his private capacity but it was accepted for discussion. The resolution condemned the publication of blasphemous caricatures by French magazine Charlie Hebdo in September last year and expressed regret over the French President’s encouragement of the elements hurting the sentiments of the hundreds of millions of Muslims in the name of freedom of expression. It stated that a debate should be held in the House on the expulsion of the French Ambassador from Pakistan. The main Opposition Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-lslam (JUI-F) attended the session but the Pakistan People’s Party boycotted it. Ahsan Iqbal of PML-N demanded that the government should bring a new resolution after discussion with the Opposition. Speaker Asad Qaiser said that he would like to give time to the House for discussion to come up with the consensus document and adjourned the session until Friday.
B) U.S. envoy to Moscow returning to Washington for consultations.
Washington’s envoy to Moscow will return to the United States for consultations, the U.S. Embassy said on Tuesday, after Moscow recommended that Ambassador John Sullivan temporarily leave amid soaring tensions. Ambassador Sullivan is returning to the United States for consultations this week, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Moscow said in a statement. He believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations, the statement quoted Mr. Sullivan as saying. The announcement came amid a spike in tensions between Moscow and Washington over a litany of disputes, including alleged meddling in the U.S. elections, Russia’s troop build-up along Ukraine’s borders and the deteriorating health of President Vladimir Putin’s imprisoned critic Alexei Navalny. U.S. President Joe Biden is pursuing a tougher line against Mr. Putin but has also proposed that the two leaders meet for a summit in a third country later this year. Mr. Sullivan said he would return to Moscow in the coming weeks, before any meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin. Moscow has said it is studying the summit proposal. Moscow recalled its own envoy, Anatoly Antonov, from Washington for consultations in March and last week the former Cold War foes announced a wave oftitfor-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats.
