Tag: motivation

CURRENT AFFAIRS
04 May 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Cannot stop media reports on court observations, says SC.

Media cannot be stopped from reporting oral remarks made by judges during a court hearing. The honest and full reportage of these comments gives the public an insight into whether judges are genuinely applying their minds to resolve a crisis, the Supreme Court told a hurt Election Commission of India (ECI) today. The ECI had complained to the Supreme Court about certain oral comments made by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court. The HC judges had accused the ECI of being solely responsible for the super-spread of Covid-19 through uncontrolled election rallies and campaigning. Instead of patting the EC officials on their backs, the HC judges had said the ECI should be charged with murder. Soon after, a troubled ECI had approached the HC to take back its words and restrain the media from reporting the comments as FIRs for murder were registered against the poll body officials. But the HC had, on April 30, refused to budge, saying there were more pressing issues at hand. They cannot expect the media not to report dialogues. Oral observations are as important as orders… Unfolding of process of judicial thinking is equally of interest to the public, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud addressed the ECI, represented by senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi. Public interest is not limited to judgments, but also the raising of questions in a court hearing, the dialogue between the Bar and the Bench. All of these show the public whether there was a genuine application of mind by judges. The Bench said the ECI’s prayer to stop media from reporting the comments from the Bench was simply far-fetched. When Mr. Dwivedi complained that the HC should not have accused another constitutional authority like the ECI of murder, Justice Chandrachud said judges were humans too. Their comments may be borne out of frustration, but were certainly made for the cause of larger public interest. Justice Shah said the ECI should take oral observations of judges in the right spirit.

B) 23 Covid-19 patients die in Karnataka hospital, triggering fears of oxygen shortage

A surge in the deaths of Covid-19 patients in Chamarajanagar in Karnataka has sparked panic among the people regarding oxygen scarcity. Against a daily average of eight to 10 deaths, a total of 23 Covid-19 patients died late on Sunday. All the patients who died were on ventilator and had co-morbidities. The deaths were not necessarily due to oxygen shortage, Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar M.R. Ravi told. Even though he clarified that the deaths were not linked to non-availability of oxygen, Ravi said it was difficult to source oxygen from Mysuru. The suppliers, who were under pressure to meet Mysuru’s requirements, were finding it difficult to ensure regular supply to Chamarajanagar. Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar, who is in charge of Chamarajnagar district, announced has ordered a death audit of the tragedy. In a hurriedly-convened press conference, he said, Not all deaths, which occurred over 24 hours, were due to oxygen shortage. A death audit will reveal the exact cause, he said. However, he admitted that there was a shortage of oxygen to the district and there was a crisis for two hours post mid-night on Sunday. The district, categorised as one of the most backward in Karnataka, is dependent on neighbouring Mysuru for oxygen supply. The minister said that he had requested the Chief Secretary to ensure a regular supply of oxygen to the district. 

C) EC official was threatened, will approach courts over Nandigram poll result, says Mamata.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that her party will approach the court on the Nandigram election results. Speaking to journalists outside her residence, Banerjee said that the returning officer for Nandigram was threatened that he could lose his life if he ordered a recounting of the votes for the constituency. While she lost from Nandigram, her party has won 213 of the 292 seats that went to polls in West Bengal. Everywhere there is one result, at one place it is different. Then suddenly the server went slowly for four hours, and then there was load-shedding for forty minutes. They have changed many things, including machines, Banerjee said. She asked what grounds the Election Commission had to refuse a recounting of votes. Anyone can demand recounting of votes. What stake does the Election Commission have to deny re-counting, Banerjee asked. Banerjee also brought to fore a message that the returning officer (RO) had allegedly sent to an acquaintance. In the message, the RO had allegedly said that his life would be in danger if he ordered a recount. Look at the situation. The RO says there is a threat on his life, she said, as she asked a journalist to read out the message loud. The Nandigram Assembly seat had kept both the TMC and the BJP on tenterhooks till late on Sunday evening. After the end of 17 rounds of counting, the ECI website showed that BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari had defeated Banerjee by a margin of 1,956 votes. Meanwhile, TMC supporters continued to protest outside the counting center in Purba Medinipur district. Banerjee said that the EC should ensure that the EVMs used for polling in Nandigram are properly preserved.

D) Election Commission should be disbanded: Congress.

Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma, on Monday lashed out at the Election Commission of India (EC) for being ‘partisan’ and asserted that the present poll body should be disbanded as it had betrayed the trust of voters. He also suggested that the Supreme Court should decide the criteria for a person to qualify for the position of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioner (EC). The present Election Commission should be disbanded and the actions of its members probed. The EC has disgraced itself and betrayed the voters’ trust. A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court should decide on the composition, qualifying criteria for the appointment of the CEC and the ECs, and firm guidelines for the conduct of free and fair elections as per the Constitution, Sharma said in a statement, a day after results of Assembly elections to four States and one Union Territory came out. The senior Congress leader said that the conduct of the EC during the recent elections has raised serious concerns and accused the Commission of violating its Constitutional mandate under Article 324 to conduct free and fair polls. Blatantly partisan, its actions in Bengal were shocking and condemnable. There have been instances where it acted as a willing accomplice of the BJP, he said. Sharma said that the EC must be held accountable for fuelling the surge in Covid-19 cases and increasing the suffering of the people by allowing unrestricted mass rallies and violations of COVID protocols.

F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 2,00,86,109 with the death toll at 2,20,184. As the second wave of coronavirus continues to engulf several parts of the country, the Centre on Monday said some states are showing very early signs of plateauing in daily new cases, while some remain a cause of concern. Addressing a news briefing, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said 13 States, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Punjab, are showing early signs of plateauing, while States like Bihar, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal are showing an increasing trend in daily cases. Amid a shortage of medical oxygen in the country, he said the government is exploring the feasibility of converting existing nitrogen plants to produce oxygen. Chhattisgarh, where 15,583 cases were reported on April 29, recorded 14,087 fresh cases on May 2. Similar was the case with Delhi, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He said 12 States had active cases of more than a lakh each. They were Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The Centre has worked out a tight, new deadline for the ₹20,000 crore Central Vista project, according to which the Prime Minister’s new residence shall be completed by December 2022. The Central Vista projected has been declared an essential service so that construction work can continue uninterrupted even as the national capital remains under lockdown and continues to reel under oxygen shortage amid an alarming surge on new cases of Covid-19.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Russia turns to China to make Sputnik V jabs to meet demand.

Russia is turning to multiple Chinese firms to manufacture the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in an effort to speed up production as demand soars for its shot. Russia has announced three deals totaling 260 million doses with Chinese vaccine companies in recent weeks. It’s a decision that could mean quicker access to a shot for countries in Latin America, the West Asia, and Africa that have ordered Russia’s vaccine, as the U.S. and the EU focus mainly on domestic vaccination needs. Earlier, criticism about Russia’s vaccine have been largely quieted by data published in The Lancet that said large-scale testing showed it to be safe, with an efficacy rate of 91%. Yet, experts have questioned whether Russia can fulfill its pledge to countries across the world. While pledging hundreds of millions of doses, it has only delivered a fraction. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry peskov has said demand for Sputnik V significantly exceeds Russia’s domestic production capacity. To boost production, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which bankrolled Sputnik V, has signed agreements with drug makers in India, South Korea, Brazil, Serbia, Turkey, Italy and others. There are few indications, however, that manufacturers abroad, except for those in Belarus and Kazakh. Stan, have made any large amounts of the vaccine so far. Airfinity, a U.K.-based science analytics company, estimates Russia agreed to supply 630 million doses of Sputnik V to over 100 countries, with only 11.5 million doses exported so far.

B) U.S. officials in West Asia to reassure jittery allies over Iran. 

Top Biden administration officials and U.S. Senators crisscrossed the West Asia on Monday, seeking to assuage growing unease among Arab partners over America’s re-engagement with Iran and other policy shifts in the region. The trips come as the U.S. and Iran, through intermediaries in Vienna, discuss a return to Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that former President Donald Trump abandoned three years ago. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies, excluded from Obama-era nuclear negotiations, have repeatedly pressed for a seat at the table, insisting that any return to the accord must address Iran’s ballistic missile programme and support for regional proxies. Sen. Chris Coons, a key Biden ally, told reporters in Abu Dhabi that he hoped to allay the sheikhdom’s understandable and legitimate concerns about the return to the landmark deal and to create broader engagement with Gulf partners. Mr. Coons said that close consultation with the UAE about the ongoing talks in Vienna was important, expected and happening, adding that he hopes the Emiratis may not just be notified, but actually help. He did not in any way mean to suggest that there was some deal in the works where the Emiratis would be securing anything, he said. Vienna is the place where the U.S. government is negotiating. Senator Chris Murphy joined the flurry of diplomatic activity in the region this week, jetting to Oman, Qatar and Jordan for dialogue on a political solution to the war in Yemen.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
03 May 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Mamata Banerjee decisively stops BJP juggernaut in Bengal.

In the biggest story of this cycle of State assembly elections, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee led her party to one of its biggest political victories in the past three decades by single-handedly stopping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) juggernaut from coming to power in Bengal and paving way to become Chief Minister for a third consecutive time in the State. The West Bengal Assembly polls saw a high-voltage campaign with the BJP putting all its might into the State. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders campaigned vigorously in the State holding several public meetings and road shows. Yet the Trinamool Congress logged one of its biggest ever victories, winning a vote share of over 48% at the time of writing this newsletter. The victory also puts the 66-year-old Ms. Banerjee at the forefront of national politics with all the leaders of Opposition parties congratulating her for the massive win. Till late evening, with counting still on, the party had leads and victories in over 217 of the 292 seats that went to polls. In the 2016 Assembly polls, the TMC had won 211 seats and the percentage of votes polled was about 44.9%. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, lost from Nandigram against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by a narrow margin of about 1,736 votes. The TMC has demanded a recounting of votes in Nandigram though Ms. banerjee bruised off the setback. Some initial readings of the polling data indicated Muslims that comprise about 27.01% of the State’s population have overwhelmingly supported the Trinamool Congress. In districts like Malda and Murshidabad , which are minority-dominated areas, the State’s ruling party was leading or winning over 80% seats. The Trinamool Congress was also leading in a majority of seats of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly. The State’s ruling party was leading or emerged victorious in all the 11 seats in Kolkata.

B) DMK heading for big win in Tamil Nadu, Stalin ends long wait for CM chair. 

After a decade in opposition, the DMK, in alliance with the Congress, is heading for a big win in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly. At the time of writing, the alliance is leading in over 140 seats. DMK president M.K. Stalin said the new government to be formed under him would actually be run by those who were aspiring for an ideal government for Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has announced the victory of the DMK. The State will win hereafter, he said in a statement. It wasn’t entirely the landslide that many opinion polls predicted however, with the incumbent AIADMK leading in 80-plus seats. Actor Kamal Haasan and his Makkal Needhi Maiam or MNM failed to make any kind of impact, with Mr. Haasan himself trailing. It has been a long journey for Mr. Stalin, who has had to wait four decades since his entry into politics to occupy the seat once held by his father M Karunanidhi. Even though he rose from being youth wing leader to legislator, Chennai Mayor, Minister and Deputy Chief Minister over the years, Mr. Stalin had to constantly prove his mettle. He was often compared adversely with his redoubtable father. Afraid of a backlash against being seen as promoting him in the party and government, Karunanidhi allowed him only a step-by-step elevation, lest his rise be seen as meteoric. Mr. Stalin’s tenure as mayor gave him a foundation in administration. He was made Minister of Rural Development and Municipal Administration after the party was elected to power in 2006. He strengthened women self-help groups in the State and his growing influence in the administration and party led to his promotion as the State’s first Deputy Chief Minister in 2009. Meanwhile, he also became the DMK’s treasurer.

C) Left Front on course for a historic win in Kerala.

The ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala is heading for a historic relection, the first government in Kerala in nearly four and a half decades to beat the trend of anti-incumbency. At the time of writing the LDF was leading in 99 of the 140 seat assembly while the the main opposition the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Congress was leading in 41 of the seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) i snot on course to win any seats. BJP candidate Metro Man E Sreedharan lost to Congress leader Shafi Parambil in Palakkad constituency of Kerala by a margin of 3,859 votes. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dedicated the historic victory of the Left Democratic Front in the assembly polls to the people and said it proved that there was no room for communal politics in the state. Flaying both the Congress-led UDF and BJP-NDA and a section of the right-wing media for trying to tarnish the image of the government and its development and welfare programmes, he said the people have rejected their ‘vicious propaganda’ by giving the Left a decisive mandate.

D) BJP will return for second term in Assam.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition will return to Assam for a second term with a clear majority in the Assembly. The majority mark for the 126 seat assembly is 64 and at the time of writing the BJP had won 15 seats and was leading in 42 others. The party’s allies, the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People’s Party Liberal were on course to win 11 and seven seats, respectively. The leads and wins of the alliance added up to a total of 75 seats. Among the Opposition parties, the Congress had won five seats and was ahead in 25. Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front was leading in 14, while Bodoland Peoples Front was ahead in two seats and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was leading in one seat.

E) Defectors change the game in Puducherry. 

The spate of defections of several heavyweights that triggered the fall of the Narayanasamy-led Government before completing term, is now scorching the electoral prospects of the Congress alliance with many former associates notching up crucial wins for the rival front as early results of the April 6 elections came in on Sunday. At the time of writing, The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has crossed the halfway mark in the 30-seat Puducherry Assembly. Its lead in 16 seats gives the alliance the majority needed to form the government in the Union territory. Whereas, the Congress-DMK-led alliance was leading in nine seats.

F) Ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply to all hospitals, 13 Opposition parties tell Centre.

Top Opposition leaders on Sunday, in a joint statement, asked the government to focus all its attention on ensuring uninterrupted oxygen supply to hospitals across the country and undertake a mass free vaccination programme against COVID-19. The statement comes just a day after, at least, 12 critical patients including a doctor died on Saturday at Batra Hospital, a leading private hospital in Delhi, because of an oxygen crisis. Signatories to the statement include former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M K Stalin and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Other signatories include National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja and Tejashwi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on the augmenting oxygen requirements from industrial units and add more oxygen beds to meet the surge in demand. Apart from the deaths in Batra Hospital on Saturday because of a shortage in oxygen supply, less than a fortnight ago 20 COVID-19 patients died without oxygen at Jaipur Golden Hospital and 25 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital. So severe has been the oxygen crisis in the capital that many hospitals have had to approach the High Court to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply. The government had, however, denied that there was any shortage and put it to logistics issue in transporting oxygen to places that has seen increased demand for oxygen.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Afghan fighting leaves scores of Taliban fighters dead: Ministry. 

Fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban has left more than 100 insurgents dead in the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday, as the U.S. military pressed on with its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Taliban and government forces clashed across several provinces, including in the former insurgent bastion of Kandahar where the U.S. military carried out a precision strike on Saturday as it formally began the final troop pullout. Another 52 Taliban fighters were wounded in the clashes, the ministry said in a statement, without giving details of any casualties suffered by government forces. The Taliban did not offer any comment on the fighting, but both sides are known to exaggerate casualties inflicted on the other. Fighting on the ground has continued unabated in recent months as peace efforts aimed at ending the 20 year conflict have faltered. The U.S. military formally began withdrawing its remaining 2,500 troops from the violence-wracked country on Saturday, as ordered by President Joe Biden last month. The pullout of all U.S. forces will now be completed by the 20th anniversary of the September Il attacks, as announced by President Biden.

B) India receives aid from Taiwan.

India on Sunday received assistance from Taiwan, including oxygen concentrators and cylinders, with more batches of medical equipment set to follow from Taipei. A first batch, consisting of 50 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders, landed in New on Sunday on a Boeing 747 of China Airlines, the government owned airline of Taiwan. Taiwan’s deployment Of medical supplies is testament to the close collaboration and partnership across multiple agencies on both sides, said a statement from the Taipei Economic and cultural Centre (TECO, Taiwan’s representative Office in India. India and Taiwan do not maintain formal diplomatic relations or embassies. India, meanwhile, has not yet accepted Beijings offers of aid and assistance that were conveyed again on Friday both in a message from President Xi Jinping to prime Minister Narendra Modi and in a phone call between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. India has preferred to source medical supplies from China on a commercial basis. A large number of such orders have been placed by Indian companies with Chinese firms, with the production of at least 40,000 oxygen generators currently under way, China’s Ambassador to India Sun Weidong told the Communist Party-run Global Times. As far as I know, Chinese companies have been accelerating production of at least 40,000 oxygen generators orders placed by the Indian side, and they are working around the clock to deliver them as soon as possible. Many Chinese firms and private organisations are also using their own channels to provide various forms of help to India, he said. Mr. Sun said on Twitter the past two weeks witnessed 61 freight flights from China to India in operation and China had, since April, supplied more than 5,000 ventilators, 21,569 oxygen generators, over 21 million masks and around 3,800 tons of medicine to India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
02 May 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) 12 patients, including a doctor, die as Delhi’s Batra Hospital runs out of oxygen.

Twelve patients at Delhi’s Batra Hospital, including a senior doctor, died on Saturday and at least two other hospitals reported precipitous drops in their oxygen stocks. With the death of the 12 patients in the south Delhi hospital which announced at 12.30 p.m. that it had run out of oxygen the number of hospital patients who have lost their lives in the deepening crisis in the last eight days has gone up to 57. Batra first reported the deaths of eight, and revised the toll to 12 by evening. They are trying to resuscitate five other critical patients, Dr. S C L Gupta, medical director of Batra hospital, told PTI earlier in the day. Six of the patients who died were admitted to the ICU, he said. Among those who died due to the lack of oxygen were Dr R K Himthani, head of the gastroenterology department who had been admitted to the hospital for the last 15-20 days. He said the government had sent out SOS messages about oxygen shortage on Saturday. The hospital had informed authorities about lack of oxygen in the morning when only 2,500 litres were left. Then, at around 12.30 pm, hospital authorities claimed they had run out of oxygen. The tanker arrived at 1.35 pm. Dr. Bankata had said at 12:15 pm that the oxygen situation was  extremely critical  and the hospital is not being able to  support ventilated patients . Around 1 pm, he said in a video statement,  We have just run out of oxygen. Currently we are surviving on some oxygen cylinders, but that will also run out over the next 10 minutes.  The hospital has a total of 307 Covid-19 patients, the doctor said.

B) Supply 490 MT oxygen to Delhi today or face contempt: HC to Centre.

The Delhi High Court on Saturday warned the Central government of initiating contempt proceedings against its officers for their failure to fulfill the 490 metric tonnes of oxgen allocated for Delhi even for a single day. A bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli said,  Pertinently, the allocation to Delhi, which was earlier of 480 MT (since April 20, 2021), and now is of 490 MT has not been fulfilled even for a single day. In case, this order is not implemented, the concerned officers of the Central Government viz. Piyush Goyal and Sunita Dawra shall remain present during the hearing on May 3,  the high court ordered. Looking to the situation, we make it clear that we may even consider initiating Contempt Proceedings in case of non-compliance,  the high court cautioned. The High Court gave the direction after taking a serious view of a statement made by Dr. S. Bankata, Executive Director of Batra Hospital that there was a delay in supply of Oxygen due to which oxygen supply was interrupted for about an hour and a half, which has led to loss of 12 lives, including a doctor of the hospital. Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, informed the court at 03:05 p.m. that he has received an SOS message from Bidhuri, who is the officer tasked with the job of ensuring supply to hospitals in Delhi, that Delhi’s reserves are exhausted. Mehra said there was no supply or minimal supply from the plants of Linde and Air Liquide on Saturday. He expressed serious concerns as to how the Capital would tide over the shortage on Saturday, as a lot of hospitals and nursing homes have run out of medical Oxygen, or would do so in the coming few hours. During the hearing, the high court also remarked that Delhi is not an industrial State, and does not have availability of cryogenic tankers of its own which could be requisitioned under the Disaster Management Act like other States have done.

C) 18 dead in fire at Covid-19 hospital in Gujarat.

Sixteen Covid-19 patients and two nurses died in a tragic fire in the ICU ward of Welfare Hospital in Bharuch. This is the second fire incident in which multiple casualties were reported from Gujarat. Earlier this week, five persons had died when a fire broke out in an ICU ward of a private Covid-19 hospital in Surat. There were around 50 other patients at the four- storeyed Welfare Hospital when the fire broke out in the COVID-19 ward at 1 a.m. In the Bharuch hospital, the fire occurred in an ICU ward and quickly spread to the entire floor of a four storey building where more than 50 COVID-19 patients were undergoing the treatment. A total of 18 persons died in the fire including 16 patients and two nurses,  a statement issued by the district police stated. The deceased included eleven female and seven male.

D) More than 700 teachers died of Covid-19 during U.P. panchayat polls: Priyanka Gandhi.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday alleged that over 700 teachers have died of Covid-19 because of their involvement in the conduct of panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh amid a catastrophic onslaught of the second wave. She said it is  nothing less than a crime against humanity  and charged the State Election Commission (SEC) with  playing along. The party in-charge of U.P. claimed that a pregnant woman was among the victims. The State government’s actions amounted to ‘terrorising’ the people and hiding the truth from them, she said. The polling for the four-phase elections ended on Thursday with a turnout of 75% in the final phase.  These elections have been conducted in almost 60,000 gram sabhas of U.P. without any thought of the catastrophic onslaught of the second wave. Meetings were conducted, campaigning continued, and the spread of Covid-19 in U.P.’s villages is now unstoppable. People are dying in numbers far, far above the deceitful official figures,  Vadra said in a series of tweets. People were dying in their homes across rural U.P., and these deaths are not being counted as pandemic-related because people aren’t being tested, she claimed.

E) Supreme Court refuses to defer counting process of U.P. panchayat elections.

The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to intervene in an appeal to defer the counting process in the Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections on May 2 after the State and Election Commission gave assurances that Covid-19 protocols would be adhered to. Appearing before a Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Hrishikesh Roy in a special sitting, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, for the State, said essential measures (protocol) for safety and security of everyone concerned in the counting centres, including the recent notifications on April 29 and April 30 on COVID, would be complied with. Bhati said strict curfew would be imposed in areas notified by the authorities, in particular, in and around the counting centres. The curfew would continue till the declaration of results. That will ensure that only the candidates and their authorised representatives would be able to visit/enter the counting centres and gathering of general public is avoided,  the order noted. The court also recorded that the undertaking given by the State Election Commission that the CCTV recording would be done at the counting centres and preserved.

F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,93,03,178 with the death toll at 2,12,966. Some private hospital chains commenced the Covid-19 immunisation drive for the 18-44 age group at limited centres in the country on May 1, officials said. Apollo Hospitals sources said the drive commenced at its centres in Hyderabad and Kolkata, but not in Delhi. They said that they are waiting for the vaccines to arrive and that the immunisation in Delhi is likely to begin either by Monday or Tuesday. Max Healthcare announced the drive will begin at  select hospitals in the network in the NCR of Delhi . The drive is yet to begin at Fortis Healthcare since it is waiting for the vaccine doses to arrive, sources said, adding it will start later in the day. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that the lockdown in the Capital would be extended by one more week. This means restrictions will be in place till May 10. This will be the second extension of the lockdown in the city to contain the pandemic and, effectively, mean that restrictions remain in force continuously for three weeks. India on Saturday received the first consignment of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The CBIC in a tweet said that Hyderabad customs expedited the clearance of the vaccine imported from Russia. The government last month allowed emergency use of imported vaccines to curb the spread of coronavirus infection and waived customs duty on their imports.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) U.S. to restrict travel from India starting May 4. 

In view of the very high numbers of Covid-19 cases and multiple strains of the virus in India, the United States will restrict travel of non-citizens from the country, starting on Tuesday, Eastern U.S. time. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Friday afternoon prohibiting the entry of non-citizens (the administration has done away with the term ‘alien’) who have been physically present in India for 14 days prior to their entry or attempted entry into the U.S. There is a long list of exemptions and the order will be reviewed every 30 days. H-1B and L holders and their dependants are not automatically exempt from the restrictions. The entry restrictions do not apply to lawful permanent residents (LPRs or green card holders); non-citizens married to Americans or green card holders; non-citizen parents or legal guardians of minors (under 21) who are U.S. citizens or green card holders; siblings of unmarried citizens or LPRs, provided they are both under 21 and unmarried and other categories of travellers. Those travelling on immigrant visas are also exempt from the restrictions, a State Department spokesperson confirmed. All routine visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy New Delhi and the consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata are cancelled until May 15 and at the consulate in Mumbai until May 28  due to Covid-19, a State Department spokesperson said.

B) Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan agree to a ceasefire after deadly clashes. 

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on Saturday claimed another breakthrough in their bid to end the worst clashes at their shared border in memory as several thousand Kyrgyz demonstrators rallied against what they called an invasion attempt by their Central Asian neighbour. Clashes between communities over land and water along the long-contested border are regular occurrences, with border guards often getting involved. However, this week’s violence was by far the most serious during the Central Asian pair’s 30 years of independence. Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry said that its death toll from the shooting that began between the two militaries on Thursday had reached 34, with a hundred injured. The two Presidents spoke by telephone Monday in a bid to preserve the ceasefire that was agreed on Thursday but which broke down on both Friday and Saturday. That prefaced a meeting of delegations headed by the countries’ respective national security committee chiefs, in which the pair agreed to create working groups to help enforce the ceasefire, Kyrgyzstan’s national security committee said. Russia said it hoped the countries would strictly follow the commitments made during bilateral talks.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
01 May 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Citing supply issues, several States defer COVID-19 vaccination for people above 18.

The several States including Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have deferred the third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, which is scheduled to be rolled out for all adults from May 1. Punjab, Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to have flagged a shortage of vaccine. Delhi Chief Minister on Friday said all citizens would be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the next three months, but appealed to citizens against queuing up outside vaccination centres in the Capital from Saturday. Our intent is to ensure that all the citizens of Delhi are vaccinated against COVID in the next 3 months. We are yet to receive vaccine shots to be administered and are in touch with the company manufacturing it; we should start receiving it over two to three days, Mr. Kejriwal said during a digital briefing.  Karnataka’s Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar too made a similar appeal. They have placed orders for one crore doses of vaccine and the manufacturers are yet to officially give us confirmation as to when they will be able to deliver. Till we intimate you, please do not visit hospitals although you have enrolled on the CoWIN portal, the Minister said. The State has an estimated 3.5 crore people in this category. Tamil Nadu had placed an order of 1.5 crore doses of vaccine, which is yet to arrive. State Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan told reporters: instead of waiting till tomorrow (and disappoint people), he wish to clarify (now) that we are unsure when and how much out of 1.5 crore doses of vaccine sought by Tamil Nadu, will arrive. The Arunachal Pradesh government has officially deferred the roll-out of the COVID-19 inoculation drive for those in the 18-44 years age group until further orders citing technical issues. The Jammu and Kashmir administration said the new date for vaccination drive will be announced once the supply is established. Similarly, a senior official of Telangana health department said though the state government is in touch with vaccine manufacturers, there is no certainty on when the stocks would be available for the mass vaccination. In Andhra Pradesh too, according to a senior official in the government, inoculation may not start on May 1 in the state as planned due to delay in procurement of vaccine from manufacturers.

B) Clampdown on citizens seeking COVID-19 help on Internet will be treated as contempt of court: SC.

The Supreme Court on Friday warned State governments and police against clamping down on the spread of information or calls for help through social media from citizens affected by COVID-19. The observation was made during a suo moto hearing in which the court had taken cognizance on issues related to oxygen supply, drug supply, and vaccine policy in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, said there should not be any clampdown on information. A Special Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, L. Nageswara Rao and S. Ravindra Bhat said any move by any State to punish citizens who take to the social media to seek help for oxygen cylinders, COVID-19 drugs, beds, hospitalisation, etc, amid a rampaging second wave would attract contempt of court action. Justice Chandrachud said free flow of information in the 1970 famine enabled the government to tackle problem effectively as compared to clampdown during the 1918 pandemic. Justice Rao reminded the States that this was a time of great crisis. The Bench said empathy and action should be the rule of the day. At one point, Justice Chandrachud questioned how the Centre intended to ensure registration for vaccines for illiterate people considering the fact that the COWIN app registration was mandatory. The Bench also asked how the Centre expected a sense of equity from the vaccine manufacturers. Justice Bhat pointed out that manufacturers were charging ₹150 from the Centre while vaccines to the States were priced at ₹300.

C) Facebook to roll out vaccine finder tool on a mobile app in India. 

Facebook on Friday said it is partnering with the Indian government to roll out a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app in India, which will help people identify places nearby to get inoculated. The social media giant had, earlier this week, announced a $10 million grant for emergency response efforts for COVID-19 situation in the country. Partnering with the Government of India, Facebook will begin rolling out its Vaccine Finder tool on the Facebook mobile app in India available in 17 languages to help people identify places nearby to get the vaccine, Facebook said in a post on the platform. In this tool, vaccine centre locations and their hours of operation have been provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore. Also, more than 2.45 crore people have registered themselves on the Co-WIN digital platform ahead of Phase-3 of the COVID-19 vaccination for those above 18 years that is set to start from May 1. Facebook said its tool will also show walk-in options (for 46 years and above) and a link to register on the Co-Win website and schedule vaccination appointment.

D) COVID cases may peak next week, according to a government advisor. 

India’s coronavirus cases may peak between May 3-5, according to a mathematical model of a team of scientists advising the government, a few days earlier than a previous estimate as the virus has spread faster than expected. Their belief is that by next week, the daily new cases nationwide would have peaked, M. Vidyasagar, head of a government-appointed group of scientists modelling the trajectory of infections, told Reuters. The group previously told senior government officials in a presentation on April 2 that cases would peak between May 5-10, said Mr. Vidyasagar. They said (at that presentation) that it was not a matter of putting up some structures that would come up in July or August, because by then the wave will have ended, he said. Try to figure out how we’re going to fight the fight for the next four to six weeks, that was the message. Don’t waste a lot of time putting up long-term solutions because your problem is right now. The real number of infections is believed to be 50 times more, said Mr. Vidyasagar, as many people who contract the disease show no symptoms.

E) Modi tells Ministers to address local issues, gather feedback.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked Ministers to reach out to people in their respective regions to help them and gather feedback regarding the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 in the country. The Council of Ministers met via video conferencing to discuss the second wave, terming the current crisis a once in a century crisis, a government statement said. PM Narendra Modi said that all arms of the government are working unitedly and rapidly to deal with the situation. He also urged the Ministers to stay in touch with people of their respective regions, help them and keep getting their feedback. He stressed upon the need to ensure that issues at the local level are promptly identified and addressed, the statement read. The Ministers reviewed the efforts made by the Central and state governments over the past 14 months, it said. The Council of Ministers also stressed the importance of COVID appropriate behaviour– wearing a mask, keeping physical distance of 6 feet and washing hands frequently. The Council reiterated that the participation of society is a key aspect to accomplish the gigantic task ahead and expressed confidence that the country will rise to the occasion and defeat the virus, the government said.

F) West Bengal government announces partial shutdown.

The West Bengal government has announced a partial shutdown amid the massive surge in coronavirus cases. The state on Thursday logged its highest ever count of 17,403 fresh cases. Shopping complexes, beauty parlours, cinema halls, sports facilities and spas will remain shut, markets will be allowed to function for only five hours every day – 7-10 am and 3-5 pm. Restaurants, bars, gyms and swimming pools will remain shut, the state government said, adding home deliveries and other online services will be permitted. Counting for the eight-phased Assembly elections will take place on May 2. The state government has said all anti-Covid rules will have to be followed at the counting centres.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan seek to ease cross-border tensions.

A ceasefire on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan largely held on Friday following a day of intense fighting between the two ex-Soviet Central Asian neighbours that killed 39 people and wounded more than 175. More than 7,000 Kyrgyz residents have been evacuated from the area engulfed by the fighting as troops from the two countries exchanged gunfire around a water supply facility near the village of KokTash, located in western Kyrgyzstan on the border with Tajikistan. Both nations have claimed the area around the water supply facility in KokTash, a dispute dating back decades to when they were both part of the Soviet Union. Kyrgyz officials reported firing on the border early on Friday but later said the truce was being observed. Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Health Minister, Jalalidin Rakhmatullayev, told the Interfax news agency that 31 people died and 154 others were injured in the clashes, which marked the worst outbreak of hostilities between the two countries since they gained independence in the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Local officials in Tajikistan’s city of Isfara reported eight dead and over 30 wounded.  A large part of the TajikKyrgyz border remains unmarked, fuelling fierce disputes over water, land and pastures. The latest conflict erupted on Wednesday when Tajik officials attempted to mount surveillance cameras to monitor the water supply facility amid the tensions over water distribution, and Kyrgyz residents opposed the move. Both sides began hurling stones at each other and troops quickly entered the fray.

A) 45 dead in Israel pilgrimage stampede. 

A massive stampede at a densely packed Jewish pilgrimage site killed at least 45 people in Israel on Friday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised an investigation into one of the nation’s worst disasters. The nighttime carnage struck after pilgrims thronged to Meron at the site of the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second century Talmudic sage, where mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews, or haredim, mark the Lag Baomer holiday. The Health Ministry put the death toll at 45. The Magen David Adom rescue agency said an estimated 150 had been injured. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was helicoptered in to the scene in Israel’s far north, said the Mount Meron disaster was one of the worst to befall the country since its foundation seven decades ago. What happened here is heartbreaking. There were people crushed to death, including children, he said in a tweet. He promised a thorough, serious and in-depth investigation in order to ensure that such a disaster does not This year’s pilgrimage drew tens of thousands of people who were seen packed together joyfully singing, dancing and lighting bonfires before the deadly In a cruel irony, the Baomer holiday celebrates the end of a plague that killed thousands of Talmudic students at the time of Rabbi Bar Yochai.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
30 April 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Exit polls project tight race in West Bengal, predict DMK-led alliance to win in Tamil Nadu.

Exit polls on Thursday forecast a tight contest between the incumbent Trinamool Congress and the BJP in the high-profile West Bengal assembly polls, while the ruling Left combine was projected to retain power in Kerala and so was the case for the saffron party in Assam. Exit polls also projected DMK-led opposition alliance as a winner in Tamil Nadu, while the Congress-led alliance was seen losing the neighbouring Puducherry by some pollsters. As the first exit polls began getting telecast soon after the eight-phase elections ended in West Bengal, the ruling TMC was seen in a tight contest with the BJP in assembly polls for the politically important state, while projections for the neighbouring Assam gave a clear edge to the BJP-led alliance over the Congress-led opposition. In West Bengal, the Republic-CNX polls gave the BJP a slight edge by projecting 138-148 seats for the party in the 294-seat assembly and 128-138 seats to the TMC. However, Times Now-C Voter predicted a clear majority for the TMC by projecting 162 seats for the party and 115 for the BJP. In Assam, India Today-Axis My India predicted 75-85 seats for the BJP in the 126-member assembly and 40-50 to the Congress-led opposition. Today’s Chanakya predicted 70 seats for the saffron alliance and 56 for the Congress-led opposition. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the ruling Left combine and the DMK-led opposition alliance respectively were projected ahead of their respective rivals. Jan Ki Baat exit polls, however, predicted a strong majority for the BJP in West Bengal, giving it 162-185 seats, against 104-121 to the ruling TMC.

B) Delhi and Madras High Courts pull up Centre on pandemic management.

The Madras High Court on Thursday wondered what the Centre had been doing for the last 14 months, instead of jostling now, when the second wave of Covid-19 is at its peak. The court said there cannot be ad-hocism in dealing with a pandemic and that the Centre should have acted in a planned and informed manner with expert advice. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee made the observations when Additional Solicitor General R. Sankaranarayanan listed out the measures being taken by the Centre now to control the pandemic and said that the second wave was unexpected. The submissions were made during the hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation petition. The Delhi High Court also posed some tough questions to the Centre, asking it to explain why Delhi has been allotted less oxygen that it needed whereas other states such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have been given more than what they had asked for. Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, had claimed that while Delhi’s requirement was 700 MT per day, it was allocated 480 and 490 MT (metric tones) , and the Centre has not increased it. The court was informed that Maharashtra, which had demanded 1,500 MT, was allocated 1,661 MT, and Madhya Pradesh, which had asked for 445 MT, had been allocated 543 MT. A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said that the Centre has to either show some justification for this or make amends. It gave the Centre a day to respond.

C) Facebook blocks hashtag calling for PM Modi to resign, unblocks it after outcry.

Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday temporarily blocked posts with a hashtag calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The blocking comes a couple of days after the Indian government had asked social media platforms to take down around 100 posts which it alleged were done to create panic about the Covid-19 situation in India by using unrelated, communally sensitive posts and misinformation. Following this, microblogging website Twitter had removed over 50 posts from its platform. A majority of these tweets were critical of the Centre’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. As per The Guardian, Facebook’s temporary block led to hiding of about 12,000 posts highlighting the plight of patients and families dealing with the pandemic amid shortage of beds and medicines. They temporarily blocked this hashtag by mistake, not because the Indian government asked us to, and have since restored it, a Facebook spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. A lot of users on Twitter and other platforms had drawn attention to the blocking of the hashtag before Facebook moved to restore the blocked posts.

D) Centre, States failed to prepare for predictable second wave, says International Commission of Jurists.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Thursday called on the Centre and the State governments to comply with court orders regarding oxygen supply, hospital beds and medicines for Covid-19, adding that the governments had failed to prepare for the second wave of the pandemic. The Indian government must urgently remedy failures that have aggravated the impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and led to people in the country suffering record-high rates of infection and death, the ICJ said in a statement. It urged the Centre and the State governments to follow judicial orders regarding medical care and vaccines. ICJ secretary-general Sam Zarifi said that the Indian federal and State governments failed to prepare for the predictable second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, aggravating the horrific impact of the pandemic and the avoidable tragedy of between 1,500 to over 3,000 deaths daily. The ICJ noted that India had reported over 2,00,000 cases every day since April 15 and 3,60,960 cases on April 27, the highest in the world. Many hospitals have reportedly turned away patients due to lack of space, and some hospitals have asked those they admit to sign forms accepting the risk in case of death caused by exhaustion of oxygen supply. The government’s failures have driven people to seek recourse in the courts, the ICJ said.

E) Bharat Biotech reduces Covaxin price for States.

Covaxin-maker Bharat Biotech on Thursday said it will supply the vaccine to State governments at ₹400 per dose. A reduction of ₹200 from the ₹600 it had set last week for State government supplies, the announcement comes a day after Serum Institute of India said it is lowering the price of Covishield for States to ₹300 per dose, from the earlier announced ₹400. Bharat Biotech said that recognising the enormous challenges to the public health care system, we have made Covaxin available to State governments at a price of ₹400 per dose. Stating it is deeply concerned with the critical pandemic circumstances that India is facing, the company said it wished to be transparent in our approach to pricing. The price, a statement said, was determined by internally funded product development, several operationally intensive BSL-3 manufacturing facilities, and clinical trials.

F) Umpires pull out of IPL amid Covid-19 concerns.

India’s top umpire Nitin Menon and his Australian counterpart Paul Reiffel have pulled out of the IPL due to personal reasons. It is learnt that Menon, a resident of Indore, left the IPL bio-bubble after his wife and mother tested positive for Covid-19. Menon is the only Indian in the ICC elite panel of umpires and was recently praised for his work during India’s home series against England. Yes, Nitin has left as his immediate family members have Covid-19 and he is currently not in a mental state to conduct games, a BCCI official told PTI. In Reiffel’s case, the Australian government imposing a travel ban from India in the wake of the rising Covid-19 cases led to his quick departure. Menon is the second Indian to pull out after Indian off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who withdrew from the tournament. Three Australians, Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, and Adam Zampa, have have left home due to the unprecedented health crisis in India. However the BCCI is going ahead with the tournament and interim CEO Hemang Amin has assured all players and support staff that they remain safe in the bio-bubble.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) The U.S. advises citizens to leave India as soon as possible as Covid-19 cases surge.

The United States has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice and asked its citizens to leave India as soon as it is safe to do so in view of the escalating Covid-19 pandemic and limited access to medical care. The highest level of advisory came in the backdrop of the announcement of oxygen-related support and medical assistance from the Joe Biden administration to India. New cases and deaths from COVID-19 have risen sharply throughout India to record levels. COVID-19 testing infrastructure is reportedly constrained in many locations. Hospitals are reporting shortages of supplies, oxygen, and beds for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related patients, announced a ‘Health Alert’ from the U.S. State Department. The advisory said access to medical care had become severely limited in India due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and urged U.S. citizens to opt for direct flights between India and the U.S. that were currently operating daily. The Level 4 Travel Advisory has urged U.S citizens not to travel to India because of the pandemic.

B) China launches a key module for its permanent space station. 

China on Thursday launched the main module of its first permanent space station that will host astronauts for the long term, in the latest success for a programme that has realised a number of its growing ambitions in recent years. The Tianhe, or the Heavenly Harmony module, blasted into space atop a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Launch Center on the southern island province of Hainan. The launch kicks off the first of 11 missions necessary to complete, supply and crew the station by the end of next year. China’s space programme also recently brought back the first new lunar samples in more than 40 years and it also expects to land a probe and rover on the surface of Mars later next month. Minutes after the launch, the fairing opened to expose the Tianhe atop the core stage of the rocket, with the characters for China Manned Space emblazoned on its exterior. Soon after, it separated from the rocket, which will orbit for about a week before falling to Earth, and minutes after that, opened its solar arrays to provide a steady energy source. A message of congratulations from state leader and head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping was also read to staff at the Wenchang Launch Center.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
29 April 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

A) Glitches on CoWIN platform as COVID-19 vaccination registration begins for 18+.

As the registration of all citizens above 18 years of age for vaccination against COVID-19 started on the CoWIN portal at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, many people took to social media to complain about the technical problems they faced. The third phase of the inoculation drive, which would also include those between 18 and 45 years, is scheduled to begin from May 1. Some of them complained that the portal was not responding while others complained that it had crashed. At 4.35 p.m., a tweet from the verified Twitter handle of the Aarogya Setu mobile application said the CoWIN portal is working and that there was a minor glitch at 4 p.m., which was fixed. Cowin portal is working. There was a minor glitch at 4 pm that was fixed. 18 plus can register, it said. After registration, taking an appointment to get a Covid-19 vaccine jab would be mandatory for those aged between 18 and 44 years as walk-ins will not be allowed initially, officials had said. Appointments will be based on slots made available by states and private vaccination centres. Those above 45 years of age can still avail the facility of on-site registration to get vaccinated, they had said. An increased demand is expected once the vaccination is opened for all. For the purpose of crowd control, registering on the CoWIN portal and making an appointment to get a vaccine will be mandatory for those aged between 18 and 45 years. Walks-in will not be allowed in the beginning so that there is no chaos, an official had said. The inoculation process and the documents to be provided to get the jab remain the same. Media reports, citing government sources, said that the site, post-glitches, was getting 27 lakh hits a minute.

B) Shift journalist Kappan to a hospital in Delhi, SC tells U.P. govt.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to shift journalist Siddique Kappan to a hospital in Delhi, like the Ram Manohar Lohia or the AIIMS. A Bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and A.S. Bopanna directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the State, to shift Mr. Kappan to a Delhi hospital for proper medical treatment. The order came despite serious objections raised by Mehta on behalf of the State. Mehta said Kappan was found COVID-negative in an RT-PCR test and he cannot be singled out among other inmates for treatment in a hospital in Delhi. He said he could be kept in a hospital in Mathura. He said there were hundreds of other inmates with or without co-morbidities. But the Bench pointed out that the plea concerned the health of a man. The Bench said the State has an obligation to protect the health of an individual. It said it was not going into anything except that Kappan received medical treatment in a hospital outside U.P. Once he is sound of health, the court said, he would be brought back to Mathura jail, from where he could take appropriate measures for relief in accordance with the law, the Bench noted.  The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) alleged that Kappan has been chained to a cot in the hospital he was admitted to, after falling in the bathroom and later testing positive for Covid-19.

C) SII cuts Covishield price for states to ₹300 per dose.

With a number of States expressing their inability to commence the third phase of vaccination from May 1 owing to vaccine scarcity, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday announced that it was reducing the price of its Covishield vaccine to the States from ₹400 to ₹300 per dose as a philanthropic gesture. As a philanthropic gesture on behalf of SII, I hereby reduce the price to the states from ₹400 to ₹300 per dose, effective immediately; this will save thousands of crores of state funds going forward. This will enable more vaccinations and save countless lives, said SII CEO Adar Poonawalla on Twitter. SII had earlier given its per dose pricing of its ‘Covishield’ vaccine as ₹150 for the Central government, ₹400 for State governments and ₹600 for private hospitals while Bharat Biotech (which rolls out ‘Covaxin’) had quoted ₹150 for the Centre, ₹600 for State governments, and ₹1200 for private hospitals. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope today said that despite the Centre announcing the third phase to begin from May 1, it would not be possible to begin the vaccinations on that date as the only two indigenous producers SII and Bharat Biotech could not supply the requisite amounts of doses for the smooth conduct of the inoculation drive.

D) India declines UN’s offer of assistance, says it has ‘robust system’

India has declined assistance offered by the United Nations of its integrated supply chain for Covid-19-related material, saying the country has a robust system to deal with the required logistics, a spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. One of the things we did is we offered the assistance of our integrated supply chain if it was required. We’ve been told at this point that it’s not needed because India has a reasonably robust system to deal with this. But our offer stands, and we’re willing to help in whatever way we can, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the UN Chief, said in response to a question by PTI. On whether any shipments of essential materials from UN agencies are expected to reach India amid the crisis, Haq said, None have been sought so far, but like he said, they do have people, including our people who deal with operational and logistical issues who are willing to help, if we’re needed, and we’re in touch with our counterparts in India to see whether that will be useful.

E) Home Ministry notifies GNCT Act that effectively makes L-G the ‘government’ of Delhi.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued a gazette notification stating that the provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory (GNCT) of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, would be deemed to have come into effect from April 27. This comes a day after the Delhi High Court cautioned the Delhi government to put its house in order over the issue of inadequate oxygen supply in the city, adding that the Centre would be asked to take over if the Delhi government couldn’t manage the situation created by the pandemic at hand. The Act, which gives the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi more teeth and substantially waters down the powers of both the elected government and the Legislative Assembly, will clarify the expression Government and address ambiguities in legislative provisions to promote harmonious relations between the legislature and the executive. Coming as the development does in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Act is expected to trigger another round of confrontation between the L-G and the Delhi government under the AAP.

F) EC mandates rules for Assembly polls’ counting day.

The Election Commission of India (EC) on Wednesday made it mandatory for all candidates and their agents to have either negative Covid-19 test results or both doses of a vaccine before entering the counting halls on May 2, when votes in the five ongoing Assembly polls are tabulated. The EC issued instructions for counting of votes in the West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry elections at a time the country is going through an unprecedented surge of Covid-19. On Tuesday, the EC had banned all victory processions on May 2, and restricted the number of people accompanying winning candidates to collect their certificate of election from the Returning Officer to two. In view of the second wave of the pandemic and in order to ensure a completely Covid-safe arrangements during counting, the Commission has been regularly consulting the Chief Secretaries and the Chief Electoral Officers of all five poll going States/ UT and has taken their views and safety measures/ protocol to be followed during the pandemic, an EC statement said. The EC ordered the District Election Officers (DEO) to be the Nodal Officers for counting centres in order to make sure Covid-19-related rules are followed. No candidates/agents will be allowed inside the counting hall without undergoing RT-PCR/RAT test or without having two doses of vaccination against Covid-19 and will have to produce negative RT-PCR report or RAT report or vaccination reports within 48 hours of start of counting, the EC instructions read. It added that the DEO should make arrangements for the tests before counting day.

G) Trinamool candidate’s widow files case of culpable homicide against West Bengal Deputy Election Commissioner.

In a first, the widow of Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Kajal Sinha, who recently died of Covid-19, has filed a case of culpable homicide against Sudip Jain, Deputy Election Commissioner In-Charge of West Bengal, accusing the Election Commission of India (EC) of deliberate and intentional omission leading to her husband’s death. Sinha was the TMC candidate from the Khardaha Assembly constituency, which went to polls in the 6th phase of the ongoing West Bengal Assembly election on April 22. He died three days after voting for his seat was held on April 25. Other than Sinha, three other candidates died during the prolonged election campaign in the State. Two candidates were from the Jangipur constituency the Revolutionary Socialist Party’s Pradip Nandi and Congress’ Rezaul Haque. Samir Ghosh, independent candidate from Baisnabnagar Assembly constituency, also succumbed to Covid-19. In her complaint, Nandita Sinha said that the EC had shown complete unpreparedness, negligence, lack of accountability and utmost disregard towards the lives of the common people.  West Bengal alone, she said, has 95,000 Covid-19 cases and the EC had decided to carry out elections over eight phases spanning over 33 days despite the already precarious situation in the rest of the country. It has malignantly chosen to continue with eight phases of polls despite having reason to believe that the infection would spread at an alarming rate causing widespread death across West Bengal and the nation, she said. She also accused the EC of intentionally not taking any steps to ensure Covid-19 protocols were followed at public rallies.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) India, Australia, Japan push for supply chain resilience. 

The Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) formally launched on Tuesday by the Trade Ministers of India, Japan and Australia brought a wary response from China, which has described the effort as ‘unrealistic’. Piyush Goyal, Minister for Commerce and Industry, launched the SCRI along with Dan Tehan, Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, and Hiroshi Kajiyama, Japan’s Minister for Economy, Trade and lndustry. The three sides agreed the pandemic revealed supply chain vulnerabilities globally and in the region and noted the importance of risk management and continuity plans in order to avoid supply chain disruptions. Some of the joint measures they are considering include supporting the enhanced utilisation of digital technology and trade and investment diversification, which is seen as being aimed at reducing their reliance on China. The SCRI aims to create a virtuous cycle of enhancing supply chain resilience with a view to eventually attaining strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in the region, a statement said. China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday described the move as ‘unrealistic’. The formation and development of global industrial and supply chains are determined by market forces and companies choices, spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. Artificial industrial ‘transfer’ is an unrealistic approach that goes against the economic laws and can neither solve domestic problems nor do anything good to the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, or to the stable recovery of the world economy.

B) EU lawmakers give nod to the post-Brexit trade agreement.

European Union leaders, their British counterparts, and European businesses expressed hope on Wednesday that the final ratification of the post-Brexit trade deal will open a new, positive era of cooperation despite the many divisive topics remaining between the former partners. Lawmakers at the European Parliament voted 660-5 with 32 abstentions to endorse the free trade agreement. Voting took place on Tuesday but results were not announced until Wednesday morning. After EU lawmakers ratified the agreement ensuring that free trade continues between the two sides without tariffs and quotas, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the vote marked the final step in a long journey, providing stability to our new relationship with the EU as vital partners, close allies and sovereign equals. Relations between the EU and the U.K. have been strained since a Brexit transition period ended on January 1. The two sides have argued so far this year over issues ranging from violations of the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, COVID-19 vaccine supplies to the full diplomatic recognition of the EU in Britain.