CURRENT AFFAIRS
29 March 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) CoWIN upgraded to accept 1 crore registrations a day.
India’s CoWIN portal, for COVID-19 vaccine registration, has been ramped up to accept on one crore registrations and record vaccination of 50 lakh persons per day, R.S. Sharma, Chairman, Empowered Group on COVID vaccination told The Hindu on Sunday. Mr Sharma explained that the system has been geared up to accommodate the registration rush and vaccination load anticipated from April 1 when vaccination will be offered for anyone 45 years and above. The system shows a registration of over 6 crore beneficiaries as on Sunday. The system has been geared up to accommodate the registration rush and vaccination load anticipated from April 1 when vaccination will be offered for anyone 45 years and above. Seven States — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are reporting high numbers of daily Covid cases. These States account for 81.46% of the daily new cases registered in the last 24 hours, a statement issued by the Health Ministry on Sunday said. It added that Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 35,726, followed by Chhattisgarh with 3,162 while Karnataka reported 2,886 new cases.
B) Prepare for lockdown if rules aren’t being followed, says Maharashtra CM.
Amid a massive surge of cases in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asked officials to prepare a plan to impose a lockdown, saying people were not following safety rules. The decision was taken at a meeting attended by Mr. Thackeray, Health Minister Rajesh Tope, Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte, doctors of the COVID-19 task force and other officials, according to an official statement said. Officials and members of the task force expressed concerns over the rising number of cases, while the Chief Minister said the state may also face a healthcare crisis and see a shortage of infrastructure for treating COVID-19 patients.
C) BJP will win 26 of 30 seats in Bengal, 37 of 47 seats in Assam in Phase 1 polling: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed on March 28 that the BJP would win more than 26 seats in the first phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal. He said women from West Bengal have voted for the party in large numbers. Polling for 30 Assembly seats n West Bengal took place on March 27. Mr. Shah also claimed that BJP will win more than 37 out of 47 Assembly seats in Assam that went to the polls on March 27. He said West Bengal has been afflicted with appeasement politics and unfettered illegal migration. The funds for development work was usurped by political parties, the kind of mismanagement during COVID-19 and Amphan was seen. After 27-year communist rule, it was felt that some transformation will come, however nothing changed under Didi [West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee]. Bengal can develop, without appeasement a government can run, all can get religious freedom, he said. When asked about the high-voltage contest at Nandigram between Ms. Banerjee and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari, Mr. Shah said, Nothing special about Nandigram, it is just a seat for us, but if Nandigram does it then transformation will come. The maa maati maanush (TMC slogan) promises have been proved hollow, he said.
D) Mamata to attend 7 public meetings, 2 roadshows in 3 days as battle for Nandigram heats up
In the high-stakes battle of Nandigram Assembly constituency that goes to the poll on April 1, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will camp for three days beginning from Sunday addressing seven public meetings and two roadshows. She is facing her erstwhile protege and now rebel Suvendu Adhikari who joined BJP on the eve of the election, leaving her usual constituency of Bhabanipur. The contest is also for the ownership of the Nandigram agitation against land acquisition by the then Left Front government in 2008-09. Mr. Adhikari was the local Trinamool Congress face of the movement. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will attend seven public meetings and two road shows in 3 days. Her three-day halt in Nandigram constituency will begin with a visit to the Reyapura Shib Mandir Dol Mela at 4.00 p.m. on Sunday followed by a public meeting. Monday and Tuesday are heavy days for her with three public rallies and one roadshow each day. The idea is to cover the length and breadth of the Assembly constituency. The BJP is also pulling all stops. Home Minister Amit Shah will be addressing a public meeting here on Tuesday, the last day of campaigning.
E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,19,83,965 with the death toll at 1,63,085. Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended his prescription for honouring the frontline health workers during the initial days of the lockdown with measures such as banging steel utensils, clapping and lighting a lamp, saying that these went a long way in keeping the spirits up in the battle against COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking during the 75th edition of ‘Mann ki Baat’ that started in October 2014, Mr. Modi said that these expressions of respecting the ‘Corona warriors’ kept them going. You cannot imagine how much it had touched the hearts of Corona warriors and that is the very reason they resolutely held on the whole year, without tiring, without halting. Steadfastly, they endured to save the life of each and every citizen of the country, he said.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) India-U.S. begin two day naval exercise.
India and the U.S. on March 28 kicked off a two-day naval exercise in the eastern Indian Ocean region, reflecting the growing congruence in their defence and military partnership. The Indian Navy deployed its warship Shivalik and long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I in the ‘PASSEX’ exercise while the U.S. Navy was represented by the USS Theodore Rosevelt carrier strike group, officials said. A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships. Indian Air Force (IAF) fighters were also included in the naval exercise affording the IAF an opportunity to practice Air Interception/Air Defence with the U.S. Navy, close to Indian coast on March 28, 2021. In a first, enhancing jointmanship, Indian Air Force fighters were also included in the exercise affording the IAF an opportunity to practice air interception and air defence with the U.S. Navy, a spokesperson of the Indian Navy said. The exercise came over a week after U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin flew into India as part of his three-nation first overseas tour that signalled the Joe Biden administration’s strong commitment to its relations with its close allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The officials said the exercise began on March 28 and will conclude on March 29. The spokesperson said the exercise is aimed at consolidating the synergy and interoperability achieved during the Malabar exercise that took place in November last.
B) Philippines deploys aircraft as China ships spark tensions.
The Philippines on Sunday said it has started deploying its Air Force to carry out daily patrols over a flotilla of Chinese vessels that has sparked fresh tensions in the South China Sea. The latest dispute, Manila said, was triggered by what it described as a swarm of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels that have refused to withdraw from waters off the Whitsun Reef, near the disputed Spratly Islands, in an area located within Manila’s Exclusive Economic Zone. China, which claims ale most the entire South China Sea, has said the ships were sheltering there because of weather conditions, a claim that Manila, which has lodged a protest with China over what it called an incursion, has rejected. Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Air Force has now begun daily patrols over the fishing vessels, Agence France-Press reported from Manila on Sunday. The Navy and Coast Guard have also been deployed in the vicinity of the Chinese ships, sparking a stand-off near the reef. The stand-off follows a similar incident in 2019 triggered by Chinese fishing vessels near another disputed island in the Spratlys. As it did then. Manila has called on Beijing to acknowledge the 2016 arbitration case which recognised many of its claims. President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned the ruling in a meeting with the Chinese envoy in Manila this week, his spokesperson said. Beijing has rejected the arbitration, emphasising its sovereignty over the South China Sea.
