COVID-19: PM MODI TO ADDRESS NATION TODAY: INFECTION COUNT AT 151India is looking at expanding the pool of random testing samples for COVID-19 to include patients with atypical pneumonia, which presents symptoms slightly different from pneumonia. WHO country representative Dr Henk Bekedam said that India does need to test more, and is already moving in that direction by looking at atypical pneumonia patients.Random sampling of atypical pneumonia cases would be an expansion from random tests being done currently of patients in ICU with severe respiratory illnesses and influenza-like symptoms, to check for community transmission.On Wednesday, the number of positive COVID-19 cases rose to 151. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Thursday at 8 pm to talk about steps being taken against the virus.The CBSE postponed Board examinations scheduled from March 19 to March 31. The Board will announce the new schedule by the end of the month after “re-assessment of the situation”. The National Testing Agency, too, put JEE (Main), scheduled to be held on Apri 5, 7, 8 and 9, on hold. JEE (Main) is the entrance examination for admission to National Institutes of Technology.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday said 300 more of the 1,020 random samples it had taken in March for testing across the country for community transmission had tested negative. On Tuesday, it said the first batch of results for 500 samples were negative. The results of the remaining 220 samples will be available today.Earlier, another batch of random tests, done uptill February 29, had come out negative.At the review meeting Wednesday, PM Modi stressed on actively engaging with individuals, local communities and organisations to check COVID-19. He also expressed his gratitude to all those at the forefront of combating the virus, including state governments, the medical fraternity, paramedical staff, armed and paramilitary forces, and aviation and municipal staff.The Indian Army reported its first patient after a 34-year-old soldier of Ladakh Scout regiment tested positive, prompting the government to ask all paramilitary forces to go into "battle mode". The government issued an advisory explaining soldiers' responsibility in containing the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.GOVT IN SUPREME COURT: NRC NECESSARY FOR SOVEREIGN COUNTRYIn its first legal response before the Supreme Court on a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), the central government has said that it is a “necessary exercise for any sovereign country”.Responding to a batch of petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, B C Joshi, Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs, submitted in an affidavit on March 17 “that the preparation of a national register of citizens is a necessary exercise for any sovereign country for mere identification of citizens from non-citizens”.In its affidavit, the government put on record that its powers to bring in a nationwide NRC have existed in the statute books since 1955. The government cited the Foreigners Act, 1946 to claim that it had “absolute and unfettered discretion” to expel foreigners and “an unrestricted right to expel remains”.The government cited examples of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where citizenship cards are issued. “It may not be out of place to mention that as per information available in open sources in many countries, there is a system of maintaining register of their citizens. In fact, national identification cards are issued based upon the exercise of identification of citizens in these countries,” the affidavit said.GOVT COMES UNDER FIRE FOR ‘SURVEILLANCE’ BID, SAYS FIXING CALL DROPSThe government came under attack in Lok Sabha Wednesday for seeking call data records of all mobile subscribers across pockets of the country, with the Congress calling it a “matter of great concern” and demanding adjournment of business in the House to discuss the matter. Though his notice was not allowed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress members tried to raise the issue in the House.The Indian Express reported Wednesday that cellphone operators had red-flagged ‘surveillance’ after local units of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought call data records of all mobile subscribers across several pockets of the country for specific days over the past few months.In an official statement, the Ministry of Communications said: “There is no infringement of privacy of any person. No personal details are collected. There is no tracking of any phone number.” It said data of calls had been sought to address “numerous complaints” regarding “quality of service of Telecommunications Network, call drops, echo, cross connections, incomplete or poor caller experience”.Earlier, outside the House, Congress leader Manish Tewari said: “The reports which have emerged in the public space are extremely disturbing because the government has decided that it will carry out mass surveillance against the citizens of India.” “A sinister, pre-meditated, orchestrated plot has been put in place in order to unleash a mass surveillance programme on the citizens of India, which is an absolute transgression of the Right to Privacy guaranteed by the Supreme Court in a 9-0 judgment,” he said.IN RARE MOVE, SC REMOVES MANIPUR MINISTER FROM STATE CABINETIn a rare move, the Supreme Court Wednesday invoked its plenary powers and ordered forthwith removal of BJP lawmaker and Manipur Forest Cabinet Minister TH Shyamkumar, restraining him from entering the Assembly till further orders.The top court rarely invokes its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to remove a cabinet minister from any government.Shyamkumar had won the Assembly polls in 2017 as a Congress candidate but later joined the BJP government. The plea of his disqualification is still pending with the Speaker.The top court had on January 21 taken note of inordinate delays in deciding 13 pleas for disqualification of lawmakers pending since April 2017 and had asked the Manipur Assembly Speaker to decide within four weeks the plea of a Congress leader seeking disqualification of Shyamkumar.DIGVIJAYA SINGH ANNOUNCES HUNGER STRIKE IN BENGALURU AFTER BEING DETAINEDCongress leader Digvijaya Singh was yesterday taken into preventive custody in Bengaluru after he tried to meet the 22 rebel Congress MLAs lodged at a resort there. After his arrest, he announced a hunger strike.In a tweet, Singh said, “We have been taken to the local DCP office by Bengaluru police. I demand that we must be allowed to meet our MLAs, who are in BJP’s captivity. I announce my Hunger Strike, till we are allowed to meet our MLAs. We live in Democracy, not Dictatorship.”“I am a Rajya Sabha candidate and I am not allowed to meet our MLAs,” Singh told reporters even as the police whisked him away from the spot to the police station.Claiming that the rebel MLAs were under pressure, Singh hoped that they would withdraw their resignations and remain with the ruling party. Singh alleged. “BJP has abducted Democracy. I am in Bengaluru to meet our MLAs. I am not allowed to meet them by Karnataka Police,” Digvijaya Singh tweeted. “I am not armed. I am not a threat to them,” Singh said in another tweet.INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS======================A WORD ABOUT HERD IMMUNITYLast week, the UK’s Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance hinted at a strategy that would allow the novel coronavirus to infect 60% of the country’s population so that a degree of “herd immunity” could be achieved. Following widespread criticism, and with Imperial College London projecting a dire scenario if the pandemic remains uncontrolled, the UK has now retracted — and is looking at self-isolation for the elderly.Herd immunity refers to preventing an infectious disease from spreading by immunising a certain percentage of the population. While the concept is most commonly used in the context of vaccination, herd community can also be achieved after enough people have become immune after being infected.The premise is that if a certain percentage of the population is immune, members of that group can no longer infect another person. This breaks the chain of infection through the community (“herd”), and prevents it from reaching those who are the most vulnerable.However, the discussion on herd immunity to fight COVID-19 in the UK has not been based on this conventional definition. The UK government had wanted the entire population to be exposed to the novel coronavirus infection, so that the majority could develop immunity to COVID-19.THE REST========DEFENCE COUNCIL FINALISES PROPOSAL FOR 83 TEJAS JETSThe Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has paved the way for procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bengaluru, by finalising contractual and other issues related to the biggest deal for the indigenous combat aviation industry — charting a path for the Indian Air Force of the future. The proposal now awaits the Cabinet’s nod.The order is crucial for maintaining the strength of fighter squadrons in the IAF which is down to 30 against an authorised 42 squadrons. Even if these Tejas Mk-1A supplies happen on time, IAF will be left with an alarmingly low 26 squadrons by 2021, rising to 30 by 2027. The IAF last had 42 fighter squadrons in 2002 — each squadron generally has 18 aircraft.CORONAVIRUS: THIRD BATCH FROM IRAN REACH ARMY FACILITY AT JAISALMERAs many as 195 Indians from Iran were brought to Jaisalmer by a special plane on Wednesday evening. The passengers were screened at the Airport and shifted to the Army Wellness Facility at Jaisalmer Military Station.With the arrival of this third batch of evacuees, the total number of quarantined people housed at the Army Wellness Facility in Jaisalmer Military Station rose to 484.Army authorities have confirmed that all the quarantined persons are stable and are making full use of the facilities available in the Wellness Facility.India yesterday also evacuated its 405 citizens, including students, stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Indian High Commission there said on Wednesday.SC ASKS CENTRE, J-K ADMN TO INFORM BY NEXT WEEK IF IT IS RELEASING OMAR ABDULLAHThe Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir administration to inform by next week if it is releasing former chief minister Omar Abdullah, who has been detained since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and M R Shah told counsel appearing for the Centre that Abdullah’s sister Sara Abdullah Pilot’s plea against his detention will be heard on merit if he is not released soon. “If you are releasing him, then release him soon or we will hear the matter on merits,” the bench said.AGR DUES: SUPREME COURT LASHES OUT AT DOT, TELCOS; SAYS MUST PAY ALL DUESThe Supreme Court on Wednesday once again came down heavily on the Department of Telecommunications, which had filed a petition seeking relief for telcos in paying the dues linked to AGR. The court shot down the DoT proposal that telecom companies might be permitted a 20-year staggered payment and exemption from penalties and interest in relation to the AGR dues.A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S A Nazeer, and M R Shah refused to take up the Centre’s plea for allowing telecom firms to pay the AGR dues in 20 years, saying the application would be taken up after two weeks. The court was also critical of the companies for trying to evade the payment, while pulling up the media for not reporting facts as they were. The court has asked telcos to pay the full dues as assessed by the DoT and has agreed to look at the manner of payment. The court has summoned the DoT officials responsible for allowing telcos self-assessment of dues. It said neither the DoT nor the telcos would be spared.It ordered the telecom department to immediately withdraw the move of allowing self-assessment of dues, while stating that the companies cannot “hoodwink” the court. If required, the MDs of the telecom companies will be summoned and may even be sent to jail, it observed.According to DoT estimates, the telecom industry was liable to pay Rs 1.47 trillion in AGR-linked dues following the SC order on October 24, 2019. Telecom firms however assessed their AGR dues at a fraction of what the government had calculated and paid to the govt accordingly. SC has now questioned the very basis of self-assessment of the AGR dues by telcos. “Who permitted self-assessment without the permission of the court,” Mishra asked.IOC BATTLES TO KEEP TOKYO GAMES ON TRACKThe International Olympic Committee is facing its strongest headwinds in decades as it briefed national committees today on the state of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics amid the coronavirus pandemic, with voices of dissent growing louder.The IOC has remained committed to staging the Tokyo Games as planned from July 24 to August 9, saying on Tuesday after a meeting with international sports federations that measures against the virus were delivering results. The coronavirus has so far killed more than 8,200 people and infected over 200,000, with the epicentre now in Europe.The Olympics body has refused to publicly consider cancellation or postponement as possible options, even as other major events including soccer’s Euro 2020 and Copa America and the French Open tennis Grand Slam announced postponements on Tuesday.The virus has also wreaked havoc with Olympics qualification tournaments, with athletes struggling to train, travel or compete and many pre-Games qualifiers cancelled or postponed.Tokyo is set to host some 11,000 athletes and 57% have already earned their spot at the Games. The remaining 43% will clinch their place through modified qualifiers, or previous performances based on ranking.Under the current exceptional circumstances, the IOC said, solutions needed to be found that were appropriate, though they might not be ideal for all athletes. “This is an exceptional situation which requires exceptional solutions,” the IOC said yesterday.First, the cancellation in 1940. Then, the mass boycott in Moscow in 1980. Forty years on, the upcoming Tokyo Games are the “cursed Olympics” once again, said Japan’s finance minister. "It’s a problem that’s happened every 40 years — it’s the cursed Olympics — and that’s a fact,” Taro Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said in a parliamentary committee yesterday. Japan had won the bid to host the Summer and Winter Olympics in 1940 — in Tokyo and Sapporo, respectively — but both Games were cancelled due to the Second World War.INDICATORSSensex 28,869 (-1710), Nifty 8,469 (-498), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 58,047Nasdaq 6,990 (-345) Dow 19,899 (-1,338), S&P 2,398 (-131)US$-Rs. 74.34 GBP-Rs. 88.28, Euro-Rs. 81.40, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.23, Can$-Rs. 51.75, Aus$- Rs. 43.85GBP 0.84 /US$, Euro 0.91 /US$, Jap.Yen 107.64 /US$, Aus$ 1.69 /US$, Sing 1.43 /US$, Bang Taka 83.31 /US$, Can$ 1.43 /US$, Mal Ring 4.37 /US$,Pak Re 158.27 /US$, Phil Peso 51.50 /US$, Russian Rouble 78.44 /US$, NZ$ 1.70 /US$, Thai Baht 32.39 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.96 /US$, Norway NOK 10.81 /US$Bitcoin - USD 5,292Dollar Index 101.83 Brent Crude 26.53 BDI 612Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,482 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,090 / 3,990, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 39,300THOUGHT FOR THE DAYThe more frugal I am forced to be the more resourceful I become. - Jeffrey FryOFF TRACKI was so glad that this was my last child support payment. Month after month, year after year, those payments, ever since my divorce!So I called my daughter to come over to my house, and when she got there, I said to her, "Baby girl, I want you to take this last check over to your mother's house and tell her that this is the last check she's ever going to get from me, and I want you to come back and tell me the expression that's on her face."So my daughter took the check over to my ex-wife.As she came back to report to me, I said, "Now what did your mom have to say?""She told me to tell you that you ain't my daddy, and to watch the expression on your face.