NATIONAL NEWS
A) The government used ‘Indian double mutant strain’ in the Supreme Court affidavit.
The government used the term Indian double mutant strain in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court just days before it officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant. A May 9 affidavit refers to the Indian double mutant strain while detailing the steps taken by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology to develop Covaxin. The affidavit was filed in the court three days prior to a Ministry of Health statement on May 12, taking exception to media reports which referred to the B.1.617 variant as an Indian variant. The Ministry condemned these media reports as baseless and unfounded. It said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had not associated B.1.617 with the term Indian variant. Instead, it considered the virus a variant of ‘global concern’. The WHO had also clarified in a tweet that it does not identify viruses or variants with names of countries they are first reported from. We refer to them by their scientific names and request all to do the same for consistency. But the May 9 affidavit runs contrary to WHO even in this aspect. In fact, the affidavit calls variants UK variant, Brazil variant, South African variant and caps the list with the Indian double mutant strain. The Ministry of Health was one among the many Ministries consulted before the May 9 affidavit was filed in the apex court. The introductory paragraph in the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs said the document was filed in compliance with the instructions received from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Railways. Congress leaders like Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh pointed out the anomaly between the May 9 affidavit and the official objection of the Health Ministry on May 12. My colleague @Pawankhera found a Govt of India affidavit to Supreme Court using the term ‘Indian double mutant strain’. And they tell the world not to. Govt also uses the UK variant, Brazil variant, etc. in its official communication, Mr. Ramesh tweeted.
B) COVID patient’s body thrown into the river in Uttar Pradesh, the family booked.
The family of a person who died of COVID was booked in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district after they were caught in a video dumping his body into a river in broad daylight. The video, shot by someone driving on the bridge from where the body was dumped, was widely shared on social media. This comes on the heels of the Uttar Pradesh government trying to fend off criticism over countless bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims found floating in the Ganga in several districts. In the video from Balrampur, two men, including one wearing a PPE kit are seen mounting the body, which is wrapped in a bag, to be thrown over the bridge on the Rapti river. V.B. Singh CMO Balrampur said an FIR had been lodged against the family of the person whose body was thrown into the river. Mr. Singh said the body was of one Premnath Mishra of Siddharthnagar, who was admitted to hospital on May 25 and died three later on May 28. The body was handed over to his family as per COVID protocol, the CMO said. Mr. Singh said that the prima facie it came to light that the family had thrown the body into the river and appropriate action would be taken in the matter. Ever since bodies were seen floating in the Ganga, the police have set up pickets and patrolling by boats to prevent such disposals and even offered people a support sum of ₹5,000 for cremation if they cannot afford it.
C) Public sector banks to lend up to ₹5 lakh to individuals for COVID-19 treatment.
Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have announced that they will provide unsecured loans of up to ₹5 lakh to individuals to meet their and family members’ COVID-19 treatment cost. This comes in the wake of the ongoing second wave of the pandemic that has swept across the country unleashing untold miseries on families across income groups. This forms part of three new loan products announced by them on Sunday to provide fresh lending support to vaccine manufacturers, hospitals/dispensaries, pathology labs, manufacturers and suppliers of oxygen, ventilators, importers of vaccines & COVID-related drugs logistics firms, and individuals suffering from COVID-19. As per these announcements made at a joint press conference by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and State Bank of India (SBI), individuals including salaried, non-salaried, and pensioners can avail of unsecured personal loans from ₹ 25,000 to ₹ 5 lakh to meet COVID-19 treatment. The repayment tenure is 5 years and SBI would charge interest of 8.5% per annum. Other banks are free to decide their interest rate. The PSBs have also offered to provide up to ₹2 crores as healthcare business loans to existing hospitals, nursing homes for setting up oxygen plants along with a power backup system under the ECGLS. Capped at an interest rate of 7.5% these loans are backed by a 100% guarantee cover of National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) under ECLGS 4.0 which was announced by the Department of Financial Services and Government of India. The loan tenure is 5 years. The banks have also come out with business loans for healthcare facilities. Up to ₹.100 crore, each would be advanced to firms in Metro cites to set up/expand healthcare infrastructure and to manufacturers of healthcare products such as vaccines and ventilators. While firms in Tier 1 and urban centers can avail loans of up to ₹ 20 crores, the ones in Tier II to Tier IV can avail up to ₹ 10 crores. The loan tenure is 10 years. All these schemes being offered by PSBs will form part of the COVID loan book and are under priority sector lending.
D) Congress releases a seven-point charge sheet against Modi’s seven years in charge.
The Congress on Sunday released a seven-point ‘charge sheet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government which has now completed seven years in power. The party accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of reversing all economic gains made by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, insensitive treatment of the farmers, inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and failing to protect the country against threats from China. Randeep Surjewala, Congress general secretary and in-charge of the communication department, in a virtual press conference, said the Modi government was the weakest government India had had in 73 years. When the UPA government demitted office in 2014, the GDP was 8.1%, Mr. Surjewala said. Even before the pandemic hit in 2019-20 the GDP had fallen to 4.2%. In the first quarter of 2020-21, the GDP was down to minus 24.1%, and in the second quarter, it is now minus 7.5%. It is estimated that in 2020-21 the GDP will be close to minus 8%, he said. The government came to power on the promise of providing two crore employment. In seven years they should have provided 14 crore jobs. Forget about 14 crore jobs, the unemployment rate is at a 45-year high, he added. The Congress leader also slammed the government for its insensitive attitude towards the farmers. He said that the BJP government wanted big corporations to replace small farmers. He also accused the government of going back on their promise of implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. This government is not against poverty, they are against the poor, he said pointing at the World Bank report that claimed that during the UPA years 27 crore persons overcame extreme poverty while the PEW Research Centre in 2020 said the middle class had shrunk in India with nearly 3.20 crore people being pushed off the grid.
E) Serum Institute promises 9-10 crore Covishield doses in June.
Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the government that it will be able to manufacture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of Covishield in June, official sources said on Sunday amid complaints by States about the shortage of anti-coronavirus vaccine jabs. In a recent letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, SII said its employees have been working round the clock in spite of various challenges because of the pandemic. We are pleased to inform you that in the month of June we will be able to manufacture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of our Covishield vaccine to the country as compared to our production capacity of 6.5 crore doses in May, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, said in the letter. Mr. Singh also thanked Mr. Shah for his valuable guidance and continuous support at various stages of their endeavor to make India ‘aatmanirbhar’ (self-sufficient) in COVID-19 vaccines and making it available for the people of the country. Serum Institute of India has always been sincerely concerned about the protection of the citizens of our country and the world at large from COVID-19. Under the leadership of our CEO, Adar C Poonawalla, our team has been working relentlessly shoulder to shoulder with our government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he said in the letter. We assure you that with the support of the Government of India and under your kind guidance, we are trying our best by utilizing all of our resources to increase our production capacity of Covishield in the coming month also. In early May, SII had communicated to the Centre that production of Covishield would be ramped up to 6.5 crores in June, seven crores in July, and 10 crores each in August and September.
F) India has sent a jet to Dominica for Mehul Choksi’s extradition, says Antigua PM.
The government has maintained its silence on the Mehul Choksi deportation case in the Caribbean islands, even as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda claimed that he had information that India has sent a jet to Dominica to provide documentation and take custody of the fugitive businessman. Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne said India is going all out to ensure that Mr. Choksi, who is wanted for the ₹13,578 crores Punjab National Bank fraud case, is deported to India, and indicated that Indian officials were in Dominica’s capital Roseau to escort him back on a Qatar Airways private jet parked now at the Douglas-Charles airport nearby, that landed there on May 28. Yes, I can confirm there is a jet there. My understanding is that the Indian government has sent certain documentation from the courts in India to confirm that Mr. Choksi is indeed a fugitive and my understanding is that the documentation will be used in the court case that will be heard at the court next Wednesday, Mr. Browne told Pointe FM radio channel, where he broadcasts his own show, on Sunday. According to publicly available information on Flight tracker sites, the jet, a Qatar Executive flight-A7CEE arrived traveled to Dominica from Doha to Delhi to Madrid, indicating it began its journey on May 27, the day before Mr. Choksi was produced in Dominica’s Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs declined to comment on the issue. Mr. Choksi, who has been on the run from India since 2018, disappeared from Antigua last Wednesday and was arrested by Dominican authorities on Friday bearing grievous injuries from what his lawyers claimed was a kidnap attempt.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Israel, Egypt officials meet in a bid to solidify the Gaza ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Egypt’s intelligence chief and sent Israel’s Foreign Minister to Cairo on Sunday, amid efforts to build on a ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas a week ago that ended the worst violence in Egypt helped broker the truce that has held since May 21, a diplomatic success that thrust it into the spotlight, and is working with the United States and other regional partners to expand it into a more permanent ceasefire. Mr. Netanyahu said his meeting with Abbas Kamel in Jerusalem dealt with regional security issues and ways to prevent Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza, from siphoning off civilian aid to strengthen its capabilities. Palestinian officials put reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars from Israeli strikes in Gaza, where medical officials said 248 people were killed during 11 days of fighting. Israel is also repairing damage caused by Palestinian rockets and missiles, which killed 13 people in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi’s trip to Cairo was the first such visit in 13 years. Mr. Ashkenazi said he would discuss with Egyptian counterparts establishing a permanent ceasefire with Hamas, along with ways to help rebuild Gaza. Egypt announced on Saturday that Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry would receive Mr. Ashkenazi, but did not give further details of the talks. Both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Ashkenazi said a key aim for Israel was to secure the return of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers held for years in Gaza. Hamas has refused to hand them over.
B) China’s space station plans gather pace with cargo docking
China took another step towards completing the construction of its first space station by the end of next year following the launch and docking of a cargo spacecraft early on Sunday. The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, described by China’s state media as the delivery guy for China’s space station, was launched late on Saturday on a Long March-7 rocket from the island of Hainan and docked eight hours later with the space station’s first core module called Tianhe, or heavenly harmony. The launch was the third landmark for China’s space program in recent weeks. China landed a spacecraft on Mars on May 15 carrying its first Mars rover, Zhurong. The Tianhe module, which the cargo spacecraft docked with on Sunday, was launched on April 29. The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft carried a range of supplies, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, and will be followed by the launch of another cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-3, and two manned missions, Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, later this year, each carrying three astronauts who will spend several months in orbit. The Shenzhou-12 launch is slated for mid-June. The six missions to follow this year, including for the space station’s second and third modules, Wentian and Mengtian, will close to complete the construction of China’s first space station, expected to be finished in 2022. The CMSA said Tianzhou-2, with a maximum takeoff weight of 13.5 tons and 6.9 ton-payload capacity, is the largest cargo spacecraft in service. The spacecraft is carrying cargo and propellant that will replenish the supplies of the Tianhe module, the agency said. Official broadcaster China Global Television Network said its supplies include food for the crew that will follow in the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 missions, including famous stir-fried Chinese dishes like shredded pork with garlic sauce and Kung Pao chicken.
