CURRENT AFFAIRS
06 January 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) SII and Bharat Biotech issue joint statement after vaccine row.
Stating the important task in front of them is saving the lives and livelihoods of populations in India and the world, SII CEO Adar Poonawala and Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna Ella, jointly on behalf of the two firms, on Tuesday issued a statement communicating their combined intent to develop, manufacture and supply the COVID-19 vaccines for India and globally. The statement that came after a series of cross-statements made by the two companies in the past two days said that Vaccines are a global public health good and they have the power to save lives and accelerate the return to economic normalcy at the earliest. Both our Companies are fully engaged in this activity and consider it our duty to the nation and the world at large to ensure a smooth rollout of vaccines. Each of our Companies continue their COVID-19 vaccines development activities as planned, the statement said. Earlier in the day, Mr. Poonawala tweeted that he would like to clarify two matters; as there is confusion in the public domain, exports of vaccines are permitted to all countries and a joint public statement clearing up any recent miscommunication with regards to Bharat Biotech will be made. The tweet comes following a video press conference by Bharat Biotech chairman Krishna Ella on Monday evening lashing out at his detractors criticising the fast-track granting of emergency use authorisation to the firm’s vaccine Covaxin. In particular he seemed to be referring to Mr Poonawalla’s comment that only the vaccines of Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca were effective, while others were safe just like water. In response, Mr. Ella called the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine trial process lousy.
B) Vaccine rollout within 10 days of authorisation: Health Ministry
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stands at 1,03,68,774 with the death toll at 1,50,051. The total number of cases infected with the new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 first reported in the U.K. now stands at 58 in India with 20 new cases have been identified at NIV Pune, said the Health Ministry on January 5. All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective State governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on, said the release issued by the Ministry. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry today said it is prepared to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days from the date of authorisation, which was issued on January 3, but noted that the final decision lies with the government. Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said healthcare workers and frontline workers need not register themselves as their database has been populated on to the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner. Based on the feedback of the dry-run, the Health Ministry is ready to introduce COVID-19 vaccine within 10 days from date of emergency use authorisation, he said.
C) Supreme Court approves Central Vista project.
The Supreme Court, in a majority judgment, gave the green signal for the multi-crore Central Vista redevelopment project which envisages refurbishing the nation’s power corridor, including plans for a new Parliament building, a common Central Secretariat and a renovated Rajpath stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate. The majority opinion by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, who headed the three-judge Bench, and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari said the change in land use under the Delhi Development Authority Act in the restricted zone, the subject of the challenge pending before the court, was just and proper. Both judges upheld the exercise of power by the Centre to change the land use of the Master Plan 2021. The court did not find any infirmity in the grant of approval by the Central Vista Committee or the Heritage Conservation Committee. However, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, the third judge on the Bench, said land use change for the project was vitiated and bad in law. He noted there was no intelligible disclosure about the project for public participation. Justice Khanna concluded that there was no prior approval from the Heritage Conservation Committee. He found that the environment clearance was a non-speaking order and added he did not want to go into the merits of the project but directed the project to be remitted back to the Heritage Conservation Committee. Being numerically superior, the opinion of Justices Khanwilkar and Maheshwari stands. The court, while reserving the case for judgment in early November 2020, had said it would examine whether the project complied with land use and environmental regulations peculiar to the area that houses the Parliament and Central Secretariat buildings. On December 7, the court also allowed the foundation stone ceremony for the new Parliament building to go ahead as scheduled after the government gave an undertaking to keep in abeyance the construction or demolition of buildings and shifting of trees in the Central Vista area and wait for the court’s verdict.
D) India riding against Covid-19 wave with recovery, according to Finance Ministry.
While the global economic recovery had been hit by second waves of infections and more stringent lockdowns in several countries, India’s economy was riding against the COVID-19 wave with persistent improvements in economic indicators showing a V-shaped recovery, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The new year has dawned with the approval of long-awaited Covid-19 vaccine and initiation of vaccination drives in various countries. This gives strength to the optimism on both health and economic fronts despite continuing surge in global cases and the potential challenge of a mutant strain, the Department of Economic Affairs said in its monthly economy review for December. The effective management of Covid-19 spread despite the festive season and onset of winter season, combined with sustained improvement in high frequency indicators and V-shaped recovery along with easing of lockdown restrictions distinguish Indian economy as one riding against the Covid-wave, it said. Stressing that the agriculture sector, which clocked 3.4% growth in the first two quarters of 2020-21, remained the bright spot of the Indian economy, the review said a 2.9% rise in rabi sowing this year, along with accelerating tractor sales, suggested rural distress had been successfully addressed by the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). This rise in rural incomes is mirrored in the healthy, though moderated, sales in passenger vehicles, two and three wheelers and tractor, and a rebound in vehicle registrations for the first time after March 2020, the review said.
E) CCP recommends winter session of parliament from January 29.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) has recommended that the Budget session of Parliament commence from January 29 and conclude on April 8. According to the Committee’s recommendation, while Part 1 of the Budget session would be held from January 29 to February 15, Part 2 would be from March 8 to April 8. President Ram Nath Kovind would address the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on January 29, a Friday, and the Union Budget would be presented on February 1, sources said citing the CCPA recommendations. All COVID-related protocols would be followed during the session, the sources said. The final decision on the commencement of the session will be taken by the Union Cabinet of Ministers.
F) Laxmi Ratan Shukla quits, in another blow for TMC in Bengal.
In another major blow to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, Minister of State for Sports and former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla on Tuesday resigned from the State’s Council of Ministers. The move comes as the party is trying to grapple with several high profile defections and the resignation of Suvendu Adhikari. Mr. Shukla, an MLA from Howrah North Assembly seat, wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee informing her about his decision to resign from the party as well as the Cabinet. He had sent the resignation letter to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. The Trinamool Congress called the development unfortunate and said that it is like leaving a battlefield before the polls. Mr. Shukla neither specified the reasons for his decision nor what his future plans are. The State BJP leadership said the party is willing to provide him a platform if he wants to continue with politics.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Boris Johnson cancels visit amidst UK coronavirus crisis.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on January 5 cancelled a planned trip to India later this month, citing the need to oversee the pandemic response at home. The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Modi this morning, to express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the Prime Minister said that it was important for him to remain in the U.K. so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus. Mr. Johnson was supposed to be the Chief Guest of India’s Republic Day celebrations. India had extended the invite on November 27 during a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Johnson. The United Kingdom on January 4 announced full coronavirus lockdown, possibly until mid-February, to try to cut spiraling infection rates. The measures, which include the closure of primary and secondary schools, will come into effect January 6.
B) U.S., India cooperated on LAC action, says Juster.
The U.S. has cooperated with India to counter aggressive Chinese actions at the Line of Actual Control, its Ambassador, Kenneth Juster, confirmed on Tuesday, saying it was for the Indian government to give details of the nature of military cooperation during the ongoing eight-month stand-off between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation. Our close coordination has been important as India confronts, perhaps on a sustained basis, aggressive Chinese activity on its border, said Mr. Juster in a farewell address at the end of his tenure in Delhi to an audience including diplomats and journalists, at an event organised by think tank ORE. Mr. Juster said the Government of India would decide whether to release the details of the cooperation. While this is the first time an official is confirming the cooperation over the stand-off, the U.S. has assisted India with geospatial data, satellite maps and emergency procurement of extreme weather clothing. Officially, India has maintained that it is resolving the situation with China bilaterally and diplomatically. The U.S. Ambassador refused to comment on a specific question on whether the U.S. had alerted India to China amassing troops along the border earlier this year, when the PLA is believed to have transgressed over the LAC and claimed Indian territory. In an hour-long talk titled Ambition and achievement in the U.S.-India partnership detailing developments in the bilateral relationship from 2017, Mr. Juster said no bilateral relationship in the world is as broad and complex and rich in substance as that of the United States and India. He said bilateral defence and strategic cooperation had been particularly focused on the Indo-Pacific region during the Trump administration, where the U.S. military renamed its Pacific command Indo-pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and the Ministry of External Affairs established a new Indo-Pacific Division.
