CURRENT AFFAIRS
23 April 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Anyone above 18 can register for COVID-19 vaccines from April 28.
Registration for vaccination against Covid-19 for all those aged above 18 will begin on the CoWIN platform and Aarogya Setu app from April 28, a Press Information Bureau release has said. However, they will get appointments only after hospitals publish their schedules on CoWin, the nodal site for coordinating the vaccine drive. On Monday, the Centre announced that everyone above 18 years old will be eligible for a vaccine from May. Estimates for India’s adult population range from 800 to 900 billion and discounting those above 45 years and the 130 million who’ve got at least one dose, at least 500-600 million are expected to register for doses from Saturday. Unlike the ongoing vaccination drive, where the Centre is the sole buyer and supplier of vaccines to States, the May rollout will also include doses that have been independently purchased by States from vaccine manufacturers. It could also include shots of Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine authorised by the Central Drug Regulator. However, both Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII) are fulfilling existing commitments to the Centre and have said that they are unable to substantially ramp up supply before July. It’s also unclear when the first doses of Sputnik V will be available. Under the existing arrangement, beneficiaries can register for a vaccination slot and opt for a centre nearest to them. There is also an option for registering on the spot.
B) Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of Covid-19 situation; Bar Association files plea against transfer of pandemic-related cases from High Courts.
As the country grapples with the current wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of the prevailing grim situation and said it wanted a national plan on issues, including supply of oxygen and essential drugs for treatment of patients infected with the virus. Taking suo motu cognisance of the prevailing grim situation across the country, a Bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde said it would also consider the matter pertaining to the method and manner of Covid-19 vaccination, and the power of the high courts to declare lockdown amid the pandemic. It further said that at least six high courts are hearing Covid-19-related matters, leading to confusion and diversion of resources based on different priorities. The apex court appointed senior advocate Harish Salve as an amicus curiae to assist it in the suo motu proceedings. The Bench issued notice to the Centre and said it would hear the matter on Friday. The top court said at least six high courts — Delhi, Bombay, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Calcutta and Allahabad — are dealing with issues pertaining to the prevailing situation. It said these high courts are exercising their jurisdictions in bona fide and in the best interest. What is happening is that it is creating some kind of confusion and diversion of resources, the Bench observed. Incidentally, the various high courts, including the Delhi High Court, have been scathing in their criticism of the Centre’s handling of the Covid-19 situation.
C) Modi calls off campaign visit on April 23, to address voters virtually.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled his election rallies for Friday, looking at the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in the country, which topped 3,15,000 cases on Thursday. Tweeting his decision, Modi said that tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal. He was scheduled to address four meetings, including one at Shaheed Minar grounds in Kolkata. It’s not clear at the moment whether the suspension of the campaign is only for Friday’s meetings or the rest of the campaign time for the last two phases of the West Bengal Assembly polls. The BJP and other political parties came under increasing criticism after big rallies and crowded road shows continued amid sky-rocketing Covid-19 cases. West Bengal crossed five figures in daily cases as the election phases passed.
D) Centre invokes Disaster Management Act to enable unhindered transport of medical oxygen.
The Centre invoked the Disaster Management Act on Thursday, making district magistrates and senior superintendents of police personally liable to ensure unhindered inter-State movement of vehicles carrying medical oxygen and ensure that supply is not restricted to the State where the oxygen plant is located. The order comes hours after Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the governments of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were blocking the supply of oxygen to Delhi. Delhi procures medical oxygen from neighbouring districts in these States. The Union Home Secretary is the Chairman of the National Executive Committee under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Though the 2005 legislation was passed in the wake of the tsunami disaster, it was invoked for the first time in March 2020 to battle the pandemic. The order said that no restriction shall be imposed on the movement of medical oxygen between the States and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-State movement of oxygen carrying vehicles; No restrictions shall be imposed on oxygen manufacturers and suppliers to limit the oxygen supplies only to the hospitals of the State/ UT in which they are located. The order added that there shall be free movement of oxygen carrying vehicles into the cities, without any restriction of timings, while also enabling inter-city supply without any restriction and no authority shall attach the oxygen carrying vehicles passing through the district or areas for making supplies specific to any particular district(s) or area. It also prohibited supply of oxygen for industrial purposes, except those exempted by the Government.
E) New vaccine policy discriminatory, Sonia tells Modi, urges him to reverse it.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that the modified vaccine policy was not only discriminatory but also a complete abandonment of the youth and urged the government to reverse it. Gandhi, in her letter, said that in these said times, how can the Government of India permit such brazen profiteering from people’s misery? She said the aim of the government should be to vaccinate everyone above 18, regardless of their economic circumstances, but the policy implies that the Government of India has abdicated its responsibility to provide free vaccination for citizens between the age group of 18 to 45 years. It is surprising that despite the harsh lessons of last year and the pain inflicted on our citizens, the Government continues to follow an arbitrary and discriminatory policy, which promises to exacerbate existing challenges, she said. On Wednesday, the Serum Institute of India (SII), which manufactures Covishield, announced three rate slabs: ₹150 for the Central Government, ₹400 for State Governments and ₹600 for private hospitals per dose. This means that citizens will be compelled to pay these high rates to be vaccinated. This will also bleed the finances of State Governments. This begs the question, how can the same vaccine manufactured by the same company have three different prices? There is no rationale or justification that allows for such arbitrary distinction, Gandhi noted.
F) Assam unit of Congress moves poll candidates to resort.
The Assam unit of the Congress has herded its Assembly poll candidates to a resort in Sonapur, about 30 km east of Guwahati. The move ahead of election results on May 2 is apparently to stop the ruling alliance led by the BJP from luring its candidates away. The Congress had fielded 95 candidates in the three-phase poll that ended April 6. It left the remaining 31 seats to its coalition partners in the 10-party Mahajot, or grand alliance. The party believes the people will reject the BJP-led alliance and the party could indulge in horse-trading if the verdict on May 2 is fractured. Congress spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma played down the decision to keep its flock together. The candidates want to stay together for a few days in a relaxed environment away from public contact, she said on Thursday. But Rupjyoti Kurmi, the party’s three-time MLA from Mariani constituency, told a group of reporters that the BJP has been sending feelers to a few candidates. Everybody knows what happened in Goa and Manipur. The BJP will try to buy some victors among us or browbeat the Opposition MLAs with threats of implicating them in some case or the other, he said.
G) Delhi High Court dismisses WhatsApp plea against CCI order to investigate new privacy policy.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed plea of instant messaging app WhatsApp challenging a decision of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) calling for an investigation into its controversial new privacy policy. WhatsApp had contended that since the issue of its privacy policy was before the Supreme Court, the CCI did not need to order the probe. Not only WhatsApp, but social media giant Facebook, which owns the instant messaging app, also filed a similar petition challenging the competition watchdog’s March 24 decision. WhatsApp had said the CCI jumped the gun and started the probe when this was not a competition issue. It had said the issue with respect to personal data of users, and sharing of personalised data was already before the Supreme Court, hence CCI ought not to have intervened. The High Court, however, noted that CCI’s order of investigation could not be quashed merely because it did not await the outcome of the pending cases before the Supreme Court and High Court. CCI, on the other hand, had argued the probe order was made to gauge whether access to data would lead to abuse of dominant position. The commission had said it was dealing with the instant messaging app’s new privacy policy that could lead to excessive data collection of consumers and the sharing of data in an anti-competitive context. The commission had said it was not concerned with the privacy aspect of the issue as the Supreme Court was already seized of it.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Australia ends China deals on national interest grounds.
Australia said on Thursday that it cancelled two accords between Victoria State and China on the Belt and Road Initiative because they were out of line with the federal government’s foreign policy, which sees a free and open Indo-pacific as a key goal. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman responded by urging Australia to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological bias and immediately correct its mistakes and change course. The Chinese Embassy earlier criticised the move by Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne to veto two agreements signed by Victoria State as provocative, and said it would further damage ties. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the accords were cancelled because his federal government did not want other levels of government to enter into agreements that are in conflict with Australia’s foreign policy. They will always act in Australia’s national interest to protect Australia, but to also ensure we can advance our national interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific and a world that seeks a balance in favour of freedom, he said. Under a new process, States must consult with the Foreign Minister before signing agreements with other nations. Ms. Payne earlier told local radio the policy was not aimed at any one country. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, expressed doubt over that claim during a regular news conference in Beijing. He warned Australia against travelling further down the wrong path to avoid making the already strained China Australia relations worse.
B) Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe to visit Sri Lanka.
China’s Minister of Defence Wei Fenghe will visit Sri Lanka next week, in the second high-level visit from Beijing to Colombo in the past six months. The Minister will arrive on April 27 and leave on April 29, Mohan Samara. nayake, Director-General of the Department of Government Information, told. The Chinese Defence Minister and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General’s visit follows that of a highpowered delegation, led by senior Chinese leader and top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi, in October 2020. China has provided crucial support to Sri Lanka in the pandemic year, by way of a Sl billion loan, as well as a Sl.5 billion currency swap facility to help the Colombo government boost its foreign reserves. Closer cooperation President Xi Jinping, in a call with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month, assured him that China was ready to support Sri Lanka’s postpandemic recovery with closer cooperation. General Wei’s visit to Sri Lanka is the second to the region in recent months and comes months after China signed a military deal with Pakistan in December 2020, during his visit to Islamabad. The scheduled visit next week also assumes significance in the wake of heightened scrutiny within Sri Lanka, over China’s role and presence in the country, through infrastructure projects. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court is currently hearing a case, of nearly 20 petitions challenging a Bill, of proposed, special laws to govern the China-funded $1.4billion Port City coming up on reclaimed land on Colombo’s seafront. Critics of the Bill say it could pave the way to creation of a “Chinese colony” in Sri Lanka.
