SURGE IN COVID CASES: UDDHAV WARNS OF LOCKDOWNS

From monitoring mutant strains to increasing the proportion of RT-PCR tests, the Centre has written to the five states - Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and  Madhya Pradesh - reporting a surge in cases to implement a multi-pronged strategy to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Warning that “a second wave is knocking on the door”, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray held a webcast Sunday telling people to observe precautions or be ready for another lockdown starting March 1. “The second wave has not yet come but it is knocking on our door. We will get to know in the next two weeks whether the second wave has come.”

“I will wait for eight days to get an answer to it. Those who don’t want a lockdown will wear masks, use sanitisers and maintain social distancing. Those who want a lockdown will not follow this,” said Tahckeray.

Select city areas in Amravati, Akola and Buldana districts in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra announced a lockdown for a week from Tuesday morning. The Pune district administration imposed fresh curbs, including on night-time movement, large gatherings and restaurants and bars. Schools and colleges will stay shut till February 28.

The centre is said to be alarmed about Maharashtra which is showing a weekly positivity rate of 8.10% against a national average of 1.79%.

Thackeray also urged private companies to stagger office timings to avoid crowding in trains and in offices, and announced that all political, religious and social processions and agitations are banned from Monday.

Kerala’s weekly positivity rate too is steep — ranging from 8.9% to 13.9%.

After a steady decline in daily no. of Active case over last two months, there has been a daily increase in this number over the last 5 days, and over 9 of the last 12 days.

In India, the total no. of Covid-19 cases identified since the start of pandemic stands at over 10.98 million while the current active cases are at around 1.42 lakhs. The total no. of deaths so far stands at a little over 1.56 lakhs

The last 7 days have seen an average of 12,336 new cases a day while the recoveries have averaged at 11,107 a day. The deaths by Covid-19 have averaged 95 a day over the last 7 days.

India continues to carry out about 7 lakh Covid tests a day, with a positivity rate of about 1.80% over the last 7 days.

The total no. of cases identified world-wide since the start of pandemic stands close to 111.95 million while the current active cases are at a little over 22 million. The total no. of deaths so far stands at about 2.47 million. The last 7 days have seen an average of about 3.67 lakhs new cases a day while the recoveries have averaged at about 8.14 lakhs a day. The deaths by Covid-19 have averaged 9,546 a day over the last 7 days.

‘SECURITY ALLIES’ DELHI, MALDIVES IN PACT FOR HARBOUR

In a significant move deepening their defence and security cooperation, India and Maldives Sunday signed a pact to “develop, support and maintain a Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard Harbour” for maritime security in the region.

The project is seen as key to India’s and Maldives’s strategic interests, particularly given Beijing’s increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean Region. Announcing the pact, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Maldives, tweeted, “Glad to sign with Defence Minister @MariyaDidi the UTF Harbour Project agreement. Will strengthen Maldivian Coast Guard capability and facilitate regional HADR ( Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) efforts. Partners in development, partners in security.”

ROLL BACK FUEL, LPG PRICE HIKE, SONIA WRITES TO PM

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding urgent withdrawal of fuel and LPG price hikes, saying “India deserves better”.

“Govts are elected to ease the burden of our people. I urge you to roll back these increases in fuel prices and pass on the benefit to our middle and salaried class, farmers and poor. I hope you will agree that it is time for your govt to focus on solutions instead of looking for excuses. India deserves better,” she said in her letter yesterday.

“What baffles most citizens is that these prices have been increased despite moderate prices of international crude oil. Crude oil price is nearly half of what it was during the UPA govt’s tenure. Therefore, your govt’s act of raising prices is little less than a brazen act of profiteering,” she alleged.

The Congress chief said the BJP govt had increased excise duty on diesel by 820 per cent and on petrol by 258 per cent over and collected upwards of Rs 21 lakh crore in the past six and a half years. “This unaccounted-for windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected,” she added.

MILITARY TALKS FAIL TO BREAK DEADLOCK ON ‘FRICTION POINTS’

There was no concrete breakthrough in the marathon military talks between India and China in de-escalating the remaining ‘friction points’ at Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh, but the two reiterated their commitment to work for a mutually acceptable resolution through further dialogue.

“The two sides will push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” said a joint statement issued after the 10th round of corps commander-level talks, which began at 10 am on Saturday and finished at 2 am on Sunday. It said the two sides “agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, and stabilise and control the situation on the ground”.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

TWO INDO-AMERICAN BIDEN NOMINEES FACE CONFIRMATION HEADWINDS

What would be a celebratory moment in PIO chronicles in America in terms of representation at the political high table is in jeopardy. Vivek Murthy and Neera Tanden, the two Indian-American nominees for cabinet-level positions in the Biden administration, are both facing headwinds in the confirmation process in a tightly-divided Senate.

Tapped to be the US surgeon general, Vivek Murthy’s liberal credentials that had met conservative opposition in the past have now compounded into coronavirus-related financial entanglements and are drawing scrutiny ahead of his confirmation this week. Murthy, according to media reports, has earned millions of dollars over the past year as a Covid consultant to the private sector, raising questions about his credibility and efficacy as a presidential adviser on the issue.

In Tanden’s case, her history of attacking Republicans and Democrats has been met with unforgiving censure. Large corporate donations to the Center for American Progress, the think-tank she headed, has also resulted in questions about whether she will function without bias as the head of the office of management and budget for which President Joe Biden has nominated her.

US COVID TOLL OVER 5 LAKHS

One year ago, when the coronavirus spread to the US, few public health experts predicted its death toll would climb to such a terrible height. At a White House briefing on March 31, Dr Anthony Fauci announced a stunning projection: Even with strict stay-at-home orders, the virus might kill as many as 240,000 Americans. Less than a year later, the virus has killed more than twice that number. A nation numbed by misery and loss is confronting a number that still has the power to shock: 500,000. That’s the number of Covid deaths in US so far. No other country has counted so many deaths during the pandemic. More Americans have perished from Covid-19 than they did on the battlefields of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined.

The milestone comes at a hopeful moment: New virus cases are down sharply, deaths are slowing and vaccines are steadily being administered. But there is concern that new, more contagious variants of the virus could quickly undo the nation’s progress and lead to another spike. It will still take months to vaccinate the American public, and it may be months before the pandemic is contained. By now, about one in 670 Americans has died of the virus.

THE REST

========

AHEAD OF FLOOR TEST IN PUDUCHERRY, 2 MORE MLAS QUIT

Ahead of the floor test today, the Congress-led coalition in Puducherry plunged into further crisis with two more MLAs, one each from the Congress and the DMK, resigning.

As of today, five Congress lawmakers have resigned and a sixth was earlier disqualified for anti-party work. The Puducherry Assembly has 33 seats, of which three are nominated.

With today’s developments, the Congress-led coalition is left with 12 MLAs while the Opposition has 14 MLAs.

STAND ON FARM LAWS UNCHANGED, CLARIFIES PUNJAB CM

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said Sunday that his statement on extension of the proposed suspension of the three farm laws had been misinterpreted to give a wrong impression that it was his “personal suggestion” that the 18-month hold on farm laws be extended. In fact, he said, he had made it clear that his remarks were based on feedback from some farm groups.

When asked about a way out of the impasse and whether he was aware of any offer by the Central govt (to farmer unions) to keep the bills in abeyance for 24 months, the CM had said, “It’s not my impression. This is what I hear from various groups which are working that there is talk within the farming community that the govt may come around to 24 months. Now, if they are offering 18 months and the farmers are demanding three years, somewhere a compromise may come in at two years. That is what we have heard. We keep meeting the farmers, some messages come directly, some indirectly.”

The CM’s statement came after leader of Opposition and AAP legislator Harpal Cheema tweeted that the CM was speaking the language of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by advising farmers to agree to keep the three farm laws in abeyance for 24 months.

In his statement, the CM pointed out that even in his speech submitted to Niti Aayog for circulation at Saturday’s meeting had categorically underscored the need for “urgent resolution” of the current agitation “to the satisfaction of the protesting farmers by addressing all their grievances.”

The CM said he was surprised that at Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s claim that no one spoke about the farm laws in the sixth governing council meeting held on Saturday.

CBI SUMMONS WIFE, SISTER-IN-LAW OF MAMATA'S NEPHEW IN COAL PILFERAGE CASE

A CBI team on Sunday went to the Kolkata residence of Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, serving a notice to his wife and his sister-in-law to join the probe in the coal pilferage case, a development that further raised the political temperature in poll-bound West Bengal.

The Trinamool Congress accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of political vendetta and Abhishek Banerjee said they would not be cowed down by such tactics.

"Don't try to intimidate us with jail, we have fought against guns and are not afraid of fighting against rats," a fuming Mamata Banerjee said at an event soon after the CBI action.

The BJP hit out at the TMC, accusing it of politicising the matter, and said the law will take its course.

BJP HEADS FOR WESTERN UP TO QUELL JATS UNREST

Days after the BKU’s Naresh Tikait suggested a social boycott of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, an MP, MLA and several leaders of the party visited Lisad village in Shamli Sunday afternoon in the first such foray by the party into ground zero of the Jat unrest over the farm laws in western Uttar Pradesh.

However, anger with the BJP over the laws was palpable, as its Muzaffarnagar MP and Union Minister of State Sanjeev Balyan and Buldana MLA Umesh Malik, among others, were met with slogans of “Balyan Murdabad” and “Kisan Ekta Zindabad” in village Baiswal.

The BJP attempt to retain its Jat base comes ahead of the zila panchayat elections. “BJP-backed candidates had won 25 of the 26 zila panchayats in west UP last time and the Jat community has a sizeable presence in at least 18,” pointed out a senior BJP functionary.

Denying that there was a boycott of the BJP, Balyan said, “We assured the people that we will make every possible attempt to ensure their grievances are taken to PM Narendra Modi.”

FARM LEADERS CHALLENGE DELHI POLICE, SAY ‘DO NOT COME TO PUNJAB’

It was a virtual show of strength and farm union’s unity on Sunday as thousands of farmers and farm workers gathered in Barnala where the leaders issued a direct challenge to Delhi Police asking it to not turn up in Punjab to arrest those who are being served notices for backing the agitation against the agri laws.

The farm leaders asked farmers to gherao Delhi Police personnel if they come to their villages to make an arrest.

“You need not bother about the notices where Delhi Police is asking you to appear before them and join the inquiry of January 26 episode. Burn the notices. Tear them. We challenge Delhi Police not to enter Punjab regarding these notices. Punjab Police should also not bother our people in connection with notices,” said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president, BKU (Ugrahan).

Referring to the Republic Day violence, Ugrahan said it was done by a group which acted at the behest of the govt.

GADKARI STANDS UP FOR GOOD BABUS

Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wondering in the Lok Sabha about the dependence on “babus” (bureaucrats), Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has showered praise on “babus” saying “not all were bad”.

Gadkari said when he was “annoyed”, he would sometimes say “something strange” to officials. Citing an instance, he said while inaugurating a National Highways Authority of India project, he said many things and media reports of the event gave an impression he was critical of “babus and engineers”.

Addressing the 221st mid-term council meeting of the Indian Roads Congress today, the minister said he “felt bad” about the reports as “there were many good people too who were working hard”.

He lauded senior NHAI officer Manoj Kumar, entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the Delhi-Mumbai express highway. “Under Manoj Kumar’s leadership, people are working day and night. The cost of the project, expected to be completed in a year and a half, is Rs 1 lakh crore,” he said.

The minister said NHIDCL personnel engaged in the Zojila tunnel project in Ladakh deserved praise as they were working at -12 degrees Celsius. He said whatever praise he got as a minister was due to the hard work of the officers and engineers in his ministry.

EDUCATION MINISTRY ORDER: GOVT SET TO MODIFY WEBINAR CHECKS AS SCIENTISTS OBJECT

Days after two science academies, representing over 1,500 top scientists and academics, expressed concern at a recent order mandating prior approval for holding online seminars and conferences, the govt on Sunday said it will “modify” the order “soon”.

Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan and Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said that the matter was under active consideration of the govt.

“This has been taken note of a couple of weeks ago. There is no intent to curb academic and research interactions at all. Modifications that both clarify and make enabling changes will be coming out very soon,” Vijay Raghavan said.

REGISTERING A ‘LIVING WILL’ AN ARDUOUS TASK DESPITE SC GUIDELINES

A retired professor of anatomy based in Mumbai in her 70s, Dr Lopa Mehta drafted her “living will”—an advance directive on end of life treatment in 2019. But she is still unable to get it registered despite guidelines that are part of the Supreme Court’s 2018 landmark judgment on passive euthanasia and living will.

It turns out that authorities and those keen on registering a living will are both struggling in the absence of standard procedures at the central or state level to implement the SC guidelines. The practical difficulties have triggered a demand from stakeholders for a comprehensive law on end of life care.

In a recent report, Vidhi Centre for Policy Research notes that executing the directives before the judicial magistrate first class and a three tiered process of approvals for actual decision-making are extremely arduous. Vidhi and the End of Life Care in India Task Force (‘ELICIT’) have come together to put out a model legal framework on end of life care in India in the form of a bill. They now plan to reach out to central and state govts and parliamentarians to advocate for a law.

IF IT'S AN AD, DISCLOSE IT UPFRONT: ASCI GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL INFLUENCERS

Do away with the grey, and let us have it in black and white. That’s the message the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has for digital media influencers.

ASCI has brought out draft guidelines for “influencer advertising on digital media”, an expanding and so far unmonitored landscape where the lines between personal and promotional content is often blurred. The self-regulatory body wants social media influencers to disclose upfront — through labels or in the case of audio media, by way of an announcement at the beginning and the end of the audio — that the content is promotional and paid for (in cash, kind, or as a barter).

Feedback on the draft guidelines are invited till March 8, after which ASCI will issue the final guidelines by March 31 — and these will be applicable to all promotional posts published on or after April 15. The onus of making the discloser will be on both the influencer as well as the advertiser.

DJOKOVIC CLAIMS NINTH AUS OPEN TITLE

A tournament that had to contend with many uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, climaxed with Novak Djokovic remaining an unbreakable force as he thrashed Daniil Medvedev to claim a record-extending ninth Australian Open title on Sunday.

The World No 1's 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 triumph under the lights at Rod Laver Arena secured his 18th Grand Slam title, bringing him within tantalising reach of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s all-time men’s record of 20.

Unlike Dominic Thiem last year, who pushed Djokovic to five sets, Medvedev never really threatened in his second Grand Slam final.

Djokovic made a mockery of the Russian’s 20-match winning streak and his pre-match barb that all the pressure to win was on the champion. He broke him seven times for the match and closed out the one-sided contest with a net-rush and a brilliant leaping volley.

Having extended his unbeaten record in nine finals at Melbourne Park, the Serb roared in triumph and wrapped up his team in a group hug.

Djokovic now has won six Grand Slam titles after the age of 30, equalling Nadal’s record.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Genius could be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way. - Charles Bukowski

OFF TRACK

I have just two superstitions. One, don't call someone a bad name if they have a loaded pistol. Two, don't call your girl friend Tina if her name is Rita."