CURRENT AFFAIRS
28 April 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Election Commission bans victory processions on or after counting day.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 27 banned victory processions after the declaration of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Kerala Assembly election results on May 2, due to the surge in Covid-19 cases. The decision comes a day after the ECI faced flak from the Madras High Court over violations of Covid-19 protocols during campaigning for the five Assembly elections. The court blamed the ECI for the second wave of the pandemic in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases throughout the country, the Commission has decided to make more stringent provision to be followed during the process of counting, in addition to the existing broad guidelines dated 21st August, 2020, the ECI said in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States. It said no victory processions would be allowed after the counting of votes and only a maximum of two people would be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or their authorised representative to receive the certificate of election from the Returning Officer. The ECI had issued guidelines for elections during the pandemic in August last year and then reiterated them during the latest Assembly elections.
B) SC says it can’t remain a ‘mute spectator’, but won’t transfer COVID-related cases from HCs.
The Supreme Court cannot remain a mute spectator in the face of a national calamity. However, the apex court will not interfere in the work done by various High Courts across the country to monitor and manage life-saving Covid-19 management amid a second wave of the pandemic, a Special Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud made it clear on Tuesday. The Bench, also comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and S. Ravindra Bhat, sat for almost the whole day, grilling the Centre, States and authorities on the various aspects of COVID-management in a suo moto hearing. During a national crisis, the SC cannot be a mute spectator. The role of the Supreme Court is complimentary in nature. The court will examine issues which travel beyond the boundaries of States and have national repercussions, the Bench said, assuaging apprehensions that the apex court would derail the ongoing work of the HCs. Over 11 State High Courts are hearing Covid-19-related cases and passing orders on a daily basis. High Courts are best suited to make an assessment of ground realities in each States and find flexible solutions for problems faced by citizens. No need to interfere in the work of the HCs, the Bench observed. The Bench questioned the Centre about its vaccine pricing policy. It asked why different manufacturers were pricing their vaccines differently. Justice Bhat asked whether the Centre should not invoke a statutory regime and introduce uniform rates. The Bench asked how vaccines sold in private hospitals turn out more expensive. What is the rationale or basis for different manufacturers coming out with different prices? What is the Centre doing about it? Control the prices and bring them under a statutory regime under the Drugs Control Act or the Patents Act, the Bench addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre. Justice Bhat pointed out to the law officer, this is a pandemic and a national crisis. If this is not the time to issue such powers (to control prices), then when is it? The court directed the government to file an affidavit by April 30.
C) SC allows Vedanta to produce oxygen at the Sterlite plant in Tamil Nadu.
Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Vedanta to operate its oxygen production unit at its Sterlite Copper premises in Thoothukudi as an extraordinary measure to tide over the national shortage of oxygen amid the second wave of Covid-19. The court that the Tamil Nadu government had met stakeholders extensively both at the executive and political levels and decided to let Vedanta operate the plant, which would be able to produce up to 200 MT of liquid oxygen within 10 days. With this, the State overcame its initial objections to the reopening of the Vedanta premises, which were closed in 2018 due to environmental problems. They are inclined to allow Vedanta’s prayer to operate the oxygen plant as a standalone unit. The order is passed only in view of the national need for oxygen. The order will not create any equity in favour of Vedanta, Justice Chandrachud noted. The Bench asked the Tamil Nadu government to form a committee to monitor Vedanta, which will include the District Collector, Tuticorin; SP Tuticorin; District Environmental Engineer; Sub Collector Tuticorin; and two government officials with knowledge of the affairs. Vedanta will not be allowed to enter and operate the copper smelting plant under the garb of this order. It is in the nature of an oversight panel. The committee will work in tandem with local community members and address their concerns. The order will hold ground till July 31.
D) Thoothukudi residents oppose the plan to resume operations at a sealed Sterlite plant.
A cross-section of Thoothukudi has decided to oppose any move to allow Vedanta’s sealed Sterlite Copper plant to resume operations even to produce oxygen for medical needs. The copper smelter unit at SIPCOT Industrial Complex has remained idle after it was closed in May 2018 following the death of 13 anti-Sterlite protesters who were killed in a police firing. Sterlite Copper chief executive officer Pankaj Kumar had submitted an appeal to the State government seeking permission to operate its oxygen plant alone at the copper smelter complex to supply 1,050 tonnes of oxygen per day to hospitals. The company also moved the Supreme Court with its offer. On April 22, the Central government supported the company, while Tamil Nadu opposed it. The State government had asked the Thoothukudi administration to conduct a public hearing on the issue and send its report on April 23 to enable it to submit an affidavit before the Supreme Court. The district administration had invited select people both in favour of and against the move to resume operations for oxygen production for the public hearing at the Collectorate. As people protested against restricting the number of invitees, eventually about 50 were allowed to attend the public hearing chaired by Collector K. Senthil Raj. Journalists were asked to leave within minutes of the commencement of the hearing that ended within 30 minutes. The Collector did not brief journalists as he rushed to prepare his report to be sent to the State government.
E) Govt lashes out at the Australian newspaper for showing Modi in poor light.
Facing a barrage of criticism from a number of international newspapers for its handling of the coronavirus crisis, the government hit out at The Australian newspaper for reproducing an article that portrayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a poor light, accusing him of leading India into a viral apocalypse. In a letter addressed to the Editor of the Australian newspaper Christian Dore, the Indian High Commission in Canberra said that the article sought to undermine the Modi government for its approach to the pandemic, which the government said had been universally acclaimed. It is astonishing to see that your respected publication has chosen to reproduce a baseless malicious and slanderous article without bothering to check the facts of the case with any authorities in the Government of India, said the rejoinder, signed by India’s Deputy High Commissioner, who claimed that last year’s lockdown, the ongoing vaccination drive, an up-gradation in diagnostics and treatment facilities, as well as India’s “Vaccine Maitri” initiative, where it exported 66 million vaccines to 80 countries (now 95 countries), were counters to the article’s assertions. It is unclear why the government chose to respond to the article in Canberra, given that it had been reproduced from the original article in The Sunday Times, in the U.K. previously, and is one of the several scathing columns written internationally about the government’s response. On Monday, The Sydney Morning Herald also published a piece, written by the former High Commissioner to India and board member of the Australia India institute John McCarthy that said that Modi’s government has not distinguished itself, by allowing the Kumbh Mela and going ahead with massive rallies as the coronavirus pandemic spread.
F) No request for Covid-19 facilities at a five-star hotel, says Delhi High Court.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it has not made any request for creating Covid-19 facilities for its judges, staff and their families in a five-star hotel. Taking suo motu cognisance of news reports which said that 100 rooms at Ashoka Hotel in the national capital have been converted into a COVID health facility for judges of Delhi High Court on its request, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said, No communication has been made to anyone in this regard. They have not made any such request for taking over facilities of a five-star hotel, the bench said and directed the Delhi government to take corrective steps immediately. In an order issued by the sub-divisional magistrate of Chanakyapuri on April 25, it was stated that the COVID facility at Ashoka Hotel will be associated with Primus Hospital. The order also said that the facility was being set up at the request of the Delhi High Court. Terming the order as wrong, the bench said the image is projected as a result of it was that the Delhi High Court judges have taken it for their benefit or that the Delhi government has done it to appease the court. The High Court also did not agree with senior advocate Rahul Mehra’s claim that the media played mischief, saying the media is not wrong. It said that the media only pointed out what was wrong in the order and it was the SDM’s order which was wrong.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) The U.S. will share vaccines from AstraZeneca once the vaccine clear federal safety reviews.
The U.S. will begin sharing its entire pipeline of vaccines from AstraZeneca once the vaccine clear federal safety reviews, the White House said, with as many as 60 million doses expected to be available for export in the coming months. The move greatly expands on the Biden administration’s action last month to share about 4 million doses of the vaccine with Mexico and Canada. The AstraZeneca vaccine is widely in use around the world but not yet authorised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The move comes as the White House is increasingly assured about the supply of the three vaccines being administered in the U.S., particularly following the restart of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot over the weekend. Given the strong portfolio of vaccines that the U.S. already has and that have been authorised by the FDA, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorised for use in the U.S., we do not need to use the AstraZeneca vaccine here during the next several months, said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients. Therefore the U.S. is looking at options to share the AstraZeneca doses with other countries as they become available.
B) Iran, U.S. warships engage in a tense encounter.
American and Iranian warships had a tense encounter in the Gulf earlier this month, the first such incident in about a year amid wider turmoil in the region over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday. Footage released by the Navy showed a ship commanded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard cut in front of the USCGC Monomoy, causing the Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking on April 2. The Guard also did the same with another Coast Guard vessel, the USCGC Wrangell, said Commodore Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the Navy’s 5th Fleet. Such close passes risk the ships colliding at sea. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident. The interaction marked the first unsafe and unprofessional incident involving the Iranians since April 15, 2020, she said. However, Iran had largely stopped such incidents in 2018 and nearly in the entirety of 2019, she said. In 2017, the Navy recorded 14 instances of what it describes as unsafe interactions with Iranians.
