COVAXIN EFFICACY 81%, CAN FIGHT MUTANTS
In a positive development for India’s self-reliance push, the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has shown 81 per cent efficacy in interim results of the phase 3 trials. Developed jointly by Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Covaxin is a whole-virion inactivated vaccine.
Its phase 3 clinical trials started in mid-November. Nearly 25,800 participants, aged between 18 and 98 years, including 2,433 over 60 and 4,500 with comorbidities, were enrolled.
The ICMR said Covaxin’s ability to neutralise the UK variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 has been established.
ICMR chief Balram Bhargava said: “The bench-to-bedside journey of the indigenous vaccine in less than eight months showcases the immense strength of Atmanirbhar Bharat to fight the odds. It is also a testament to India’s emergence as a global vaccine superpower.”
With the publication of this data, doubts shrouding Covaxin safety would end.
INDIA TO SELL BRAHMOS MISSILES, DEFENCE EQUIPMENT TO PHILIPPINES
India on Tuesday signed a key pact with the Philippines for the sale of 'defence material and equipment', which are likely to include BrahMos cruise missiles.
Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who was also present at the pact's signing ceremony in Manila, has reportedly said that his country is buying BrahMos missiles.
India and Russia have been planning to export the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines and several other countries, Russian Deputy Chief of Mission in India Roman Babushkin had said on November 12 in an online briefing.
The BrahMos missile is produced by an Indo-Russian joint venture and it can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or from land platforms.
DISSENT AGAINST THE GOVT NOT SEDITIOUS, SAYS SC DISMISSING PLEA AGAINST FAROOQ ABDULLAH
The Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking sedition charges under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah over some of his reported remarks after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution stating that “the expression of a view which is a dissent from a decision taken by the Central government itself cannot be said to be seditious”.
A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Hemant Gupta said “there is nothing in the statement which we find so offensive as to give a cause of action for a court to initiate proceedings.”
It added that “the petitioners have nothing to do with the subject matter and this is clearly a case of publicity interest litigation for the petitioners only to get their names in press”.
“We discourage such endeavours”, said the bench which went on to dismiss the petition and imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on petitioners Rajat Sharma, Secretary and Trustee, Viswa Guru India Vision of Sardar Patel; and Uttar Pradesh resident Neh Srivastava. The fine is to be deposited with the SC Advocates Welfare Fund within four weeks.
The petition said that on October 11, 2020, Abdullah, who is a Member of Parliament, and President of National Conference, had on live TV said that “ye property tumhare baap ka nahi hai and (that) he will get Article 370 restored with the help of China”.
The apex court’s observations come amid growing criticism of the government over the frequent use of this colonial provision to allegedly quell dissent. The top court has also had the occasion to deal with petitions in which the provision has been invoked, some of them still pending.
This also comes close on the heels of the observations by a trial court in Delhi that “offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of governments”, while granting bail to Bengaluru activist Disha Ravi arrested in connection with the Toolkit FIR.
WHY CHANGE GOALPOST, SALMAN KHURSHID ASKS G-23
Disquiet is growing in the Congress over the public stances taken by G-23 led by veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad with former minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday asking why the letter writers were changing the goalpost and asking if it was fair to kick the very ladder one had used to climb up in life.
“We thought the G-23 made their point and were informed that party elections will be held when appropriate, something they agreed to in their interaction with the Congress president and later at the CWC. But are they changing the goalpost once again with the public display of disquiet,” saidKhurshid, adding that even the unrewarded, unknown Congress worker cared about democracy.
“Just as the names of national martyrs are engraved on India Gate, there are records in the Congress office where innumerable names are embossed as part of our history. For most of us, that is enough recognition,” observed the former Law Minister.
Khurshid also said the growing dark footprint of communal forces had pushed the Congress into forced errors where it shied away from speaking about minorities.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
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IN SETBACK FOR BIDEN, TANDEN GETS NOMINATION WITHDRAWN
US President Joe Biden faced his first major political setback on Tuesday, having to withdraw his nomination of Indian-American Neera Tanden for director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget in the teeth of bipartisan opposition from Senate grandees who took offence at her unvarnished social media posts.
Tanden, who would have been the first Indian-American and first woman of colour to lead the powerful budget agency, wrote to Biden taking herself out of consideration, while conceding she saw no path to confirmation and submitting that she did not want to distract the White House from other priorities.
Biden accepted her request while indicating she may yet serve in his administration in a role that will not require a Senate confirmation. “I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my administration. She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work,” he said in a statement.
US presidents typically face one or two such setbacks in the nomination process.
‘IT’S MASSACRE’: MYANMAR FORCES FIRE ON PROTESTERS SANS WARNING
The security forces in Myanmar resorted to live fire with little warning in several towns and cities, witnesses said on Wednesday, as the junta appeared more determined than ever to stamp out protests against the February 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Today it was the bloodiest day since the coup happened on the 1st of February. We had today... only today... 38 people died. We have now more than over 50 people died since the coup started, and many are wounded,” UN special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said in New York.
The escalation of the crackdown has led to increased diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis — but there appear to be few viable options. The UNSC is expected to hold a closed meeting on the situation on Friday, council diplomats said. Still, any kind of coordinated action will be difficult since two permanent members, China and Russia, would almost certainly veto it.
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SASIKALA TAKES EVERYONE BY SURPRISE, SAYS SHE IS QUITTING POLITICS
With just a month to go for Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala, who was released from a Bengaluru prison on January 27, issued a statement Wednesday that she has decided to “step aside” from politics and that she will pray for Amma’s (Jayalalithaa’s) “golden rule”.
While Sasikala’s surprise and sudden decision is expected to help the ruling AIADMK and avoid splitting of votes, it comes as a jolt to her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who was ousted from AIADMK along with her in 2017. After defeating the AIADMK and DMK candidates in the high-decibel RK Nagar — Jayalalithaa’s constituency — bypoll in December 2017, he launched his own party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), in March 2018. The party garnered a vote share of more than 4 per cent in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
Minutes after her statement, Dhinakaran told media persons he was not in agreement with her on the decision. “I tried to speak to her, convince her… I told her this is unnecessary now, and requested her to remain in politics. I delayed the release of her statement for about 30 minutes. But I cannot stop her from taking her personal decision, isn’t it?” he said.
SEX CD SHAKES UP POLL-BOUND BJP, BSY GOVT, MINISTER RAMESH JARKIHOLI QUITS
An influential minister in the BJP government Ramesh Jarkiholi submitted his resignation to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday, a day after a video CD allegedly involving him and a young unidentified woman was played by local television channels.
On Wednesday, Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi denied any wrongdoing. Although he was initially adamant he wouldn’t quit, he submitted his resignation later on “moral grounds” through his brother and BJP MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi.
The resignation came in the wake of pressure from the BJP at the Centre as well as the state following fear the allegations will embarrass the party ahead of polls to four states and a Union Territory.
Chief Minister Yediyurappa and BJP leaders refused to comment on the issue. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said “police will investigate” the allegations brought against the minister through a third party.
KHARGE QUESTIONS LSTV-RSTV MERGER
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has raised questions on the merger of Lok Sabha TV (LSTV) and Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) into a single channel – Sansad TV – and said that the two channels were created with some “good intention”.
“I don’t know with what intention they have decided to merge the channels. In my opinion, it is better to have separate channels because the telecast can be done in detail and the issues which come up in each House can also be analysed and discussed in detail,” he says.
“When you have hundreds of channels, what is the harm in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha having separate channels,” he asked.
Kharge said the channels also hold discussions on issues raised in each house, and “once they are merged…what will happen?” He wondered whether the channels are being merged to curtail expenses. “You are dismantling an existing building and doing so many things…and small things you are doing away with,” he said.
MODI’S PHOTO ON VAX DOC, PETROL PUMPS VIOLATES CODE: TMC TO EC
A delegation of TMC leaders on Wednesday met Election Commission officials here and alleged that the use of PMNarendra Modi’s photo on advertisements of various central schemes and the Covid vaccination certificates, distributed by the Union Health Ministry, violated the model code of conduct.
The ruling party in West Bengal termed it as a “blatant misuse of official machinery” and sought the intervention of the poll panel to remove hoardings advertising Central government schemes with images of Modi at petrol pumps, state minister Firhad Hakim said after meeting the EC officials.
After the complaint, the Election Commission directed all petrol pump dealers and other agencies to remove hoardings advertising central government schemes that carry photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the premises of the facilities within 72 hours, an official said here.
THE I-T DEPARTMENT RAIDS PROPERTIES OF ANURAG KASHYAP AND TAPSEE PANNU
The properties linked to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actor Tapsee Pannu and Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhashish Sarkar were raided by the Income Tax department on Wednesday as part of a tax evasion investigation against Phantom Films, which was dissolved in 2018.
Officials said that raids were part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films and its former promoters Kashyap, director-producer Vikramaditya Motwane, producer Vikas Bahl and producer-distributor Madhu Mantena.
Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik has alleged that the raids were an attempt to suppress the voice of those who speak against the central government. "Central agencies like ED, CBI, and Income Tax are being used to target those who take an anti-government stand and speak against the policies of the regime," he was quoted as saying by PTI. “Both (Kashyap and Pannu) were raising their voices against the Modi government,” he added.
When asked about the link between the raids and the Bollywood celebs views against the government, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said, "This is too much...Probe agencies undertake investigations based on credible information and the matter later goes to courts as well.”
POLICE DELIBERATELY ‘FRAMED’ BUS CONDUCTOR IN GURUGRAM SCHOOL MURDER
Fabrication of evidence, incorrect entries in case diaries, pressure tactics to extort false statements and a concocted confession — this is how the Haryana Police allegedly framed a bus conductor for the murder of a 7-year-old boy in a private school in Gurugram.
According to a CBI chargesheet, four policemen “knowingly fabricated the false evidence and prepared incorrect documents with an intention and knowledge to falsely implicate Ashok Kumar as an accused” in the 2017 case.
On 8 September 2017, a class 2 student was found inside the school premises with his throat slit. After the murder case was registered, the local police arrested Ashok Kumar, a school bus conductor, on the same day.
However, following widespread outrage, the case was later handed over to the CBI, which arrested a class 11 student of the same school for the murder.
Supported by the statements of school teachers, employees, Ashok Kumar’s colleagues as well as forensic experts, the CBI in its supplementary chargesheet detailed how the Haryana Police had “cooked up” the story to frame the bus conductor.
GLOBAL FREEDOM WATCHDOG REPORT DOWNGRADES INDIA FROM ‘FREE’ TO ‘PARTLY FREE’
Washington-based noted think tank Freedom House has demoted India’s freedom score from “free” to “partly free”, saying rights and civil liberties “have been eroding since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014”, specifically referring to attacks on Muslims, use of the sedition law, and the government’s coronavirus response including the lockdown.
India’s score decreased from 71 to 67, with 100 being the ranking for the most free country, and its rank fell from 83 to 88 out of 211 countries.
In a press release, Freedom House underscored a “pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government and its allies have presided over rising violence and discriminatory policies affecting the Muslim population and pursued a crackdown on expressions of dissent by the media, academics, civil society groups, and protesters”.
Freedom House noted that the change in India’s status from “Free” to “Partly Free” was the most significant for 2020, “meaning less than 20 per cent of the world’s people now live in a Free country — the smallest proportion since 1995″.
FLYING WITH JUST A CABIN BAG WILL GET CHEAPER
Last week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowed airlines to unbundle services, including check-in baggage, implying airlines can charge for them as extra. Currently, it is compulsory for airlines to allow at least 15 kg of luggage without any charge.
Unbundling — dividing the product or service into separate elements and selling them each at different prices — is a profit maximisation strategy, primarily aimed at attracting the price-sensitive customer. This is not the first time that the DGCA has allowed hand luggage fare.
The last time the DGCA had permitted this was in 2016. It made it mandatory that in case a passenger books hand luggage fare but turns up with extra luggage at airports, airlines can charge only Rs 200 extra. “It just tied the hands of airlines and killed the initiative. A large section of people started booking hand-luggage-only fare but turned up with more luggage. The Rs 200 charge was not a big issue.
The new commercial freedom provided to airlines will allow them to create lower fare structures, helping low-cost airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia to entice their customers during Covid times.
Moving passenger baggage is an intensely manual operation and increases costs for airlines.
KIERON POLLARD SMASHES SIX SIXES IN AN OVER
Kieron Pollard became the only second batsman in the history of T20Is to hit six sixes in an over. He reached the feat during the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Antigua.
Pollard, the West Indies captain, slammed the six sixes off Akila Dananjaya. Interestingly, Dananajaya also took a hat-trick in the previous over, having dismissed Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran off successive deliveries.
Pollard hit Dananjaya all around the park, and after hitting the sixth six of the over, he turned towards the dressing room and bowed to his Windies teammates, as they stood up and applauded the masterclass from their skipper.
Before Pollard, India's Yuvraj Singh had been the only player in international T20 to slam six sixes. He achieved the feat during the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, slamming Stuart Broad for 36 runs in an over in a group match.
Overall, Pollard is the third batsman to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket. South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs was the first cricketer to achieve the feat, scoring 36 runs in an over against The Netherlands in the 2007 ODI World Cup.
4TH TEST GETS UNDERWAY: ENGLAND WIN TOSS, BAT FIRST
It's crunch time in the race for World Test Championship qualification, and Joe Root has won his third toss of the series.
The tourists have made a couple of changes, altering the balance of their side by bringing in batsman Dan Lawrence and spinner Dom Bess, with seamers Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad dropping out.
India have included Mohammed Siraj in place of Jasprit Bumrah.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
He who is too busy doing good finds no time to be good. - Rabindranath Tagore
OFF TRACK
One evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"
The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't dear," she said. "I have to sleep in Daddy's room."
A long silence was broken at last by his shaking little voice: "The big sissy."
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