MORE ON CENTRE’S VACCINE POLICY AFFIDAVIT TO SC

Clearing a cloud of claims over monetary aid given to Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it has provided no financial assistance to either Bharat Biotech or Serum Institute for development of vaccines but financial support of Rs 46 crore was extended for clinical trials.

“No governmental aid, assistance or grant is made either for research or development of either Covaxin or Covishield. However, they were given some financial assistance for conducting clinical trials,” the Centre said in its affidavit filed late on Sunday night in the SC. It clarified that the ICMR spent Rs 46 crore on clinical trials of the two vaccines.

The Centre also informed the court that it has given 100% advance money to BBIL) and SII, totalling Rs 2,520 crore, for procurement of vaccine doses for the months of May, June and July. SII was paid Rs 1,732.5 crore for 11 crore doses of Covishield and BBIL was paid Rs 787.5 crore for 5 crore doses of Covaxin.

The Supreme Court will take up the Centre’s affidavit on vaccine policy and pricing for hearing on May 13.

As a Bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat started proceedings on Monday, Justice Chandrachud said although he had got the affidavit late on Sunday night and the other judges had got it on Monday morning, things had been easy as he had read the report in The Indian Express, which “had it before us”.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who appeared for the Centre, tendered an apology.

The Indian Express reported on Monday that the Centre had, in an affidavit filed late on Sunday, told the court that its vaccination policy had been framed with equitable distribution with limited availability, vulnerability, and the fact that vaccinating the entire country was not possible in one go, “as the prime consideration”. The policy was “just, equitable, non-discriminatory and based upon an intelligible differentiating factor between the two age groups (45 plus and those below)”, it had said.

The Centre also told the Court that it was “actively engaging itself with global organisations at a diplomatic level to find out a solution” to the surge in demand for vaccines and drugs to fight Covid-19 “in the best possible interest of India”.

As such, “any discussion or a mention of exercise of statutory powers” for granting compulsory licenses for their manufacture “can only prove to be counter-productive at this stage”, it said.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 37,10,896

New Cases in last 24 hours: 3,29,348

Recovered in last 24 hours: 3,55,941

Increase in Active cases in last 24 hours: -(minus)30,472

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 3,879 (2,50,025)

Daily Tests: 14,74,606

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 24.8%

Most Affected States:

(S. No. / State / No. of Active Cases / New Cases in last 24 Hrs / Deaths in Last 24 Hrs)

1          Maharashtra     5,90,818           /           37,236  /           549

2          Karnataka                     5,71,006           /           39,305  /           596

3          Kerala              4,19,725           /           27,487  /           65

4          Uttar Pradesh   2,25,271           /           21,277  /           278

5          Rajasthan                     2,03,017           /           16,487  /           160

6          Andhra Pradesh            1,89,367           /           14,986  /           84

7          Tamil Nadu       1,52,389           /           28,978  /           232

8          Gujarat             1,36,158           /           11,592  /           117

9          West Bengal     1,26,663           /           19,445  /           134

10        Chhattisgarh     1,25,104           /           11,867  /           172

11        Haryana                       1,13,232           /           12,718  /           161

12        Madhya Pradesh           1,11,223           /           9,715    /           81

13        Bihar                1,05,103           /           10,174  /           75

14        Delhi                85,258  /           12,651  /           319

15        Odisha             85,054  /           10,031  /           17

16        Punjab              75,800  /           8,549    /           198

17        Uttarakhand      74,480  /           5,541    /           168

18        Telangana                    62,797  /           4,826    /           32

19        Jharkhand        57,903  /           6,187    /           129

20        JnK                  49,951  /           3,614    /           56

21        Assam              37,500  /           5,803    /           77

22        Himachal Pradesh         34,417  /           4,359    /           53

23        Goa                  32,262  /           2,804    /           50

24        Puducherry       14,169  /           1,266    /           23

25        Chandigarh       8,653    /           863       /           7

26        Manipur                        4,604    /           424       /           13

27        Meghalaya        3,062    /           409       /           5

28        Nagaland                      2,884    /           133       /           10

CONG. VETERANS SLAM ALLIANCES WITH AIUDF, ISF; SONIA GANDHI SETS UP A PANEL

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday told a meeting of the Congress Working Committee that she is setting up a committee to look into the party’s humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections, thus deftly avoiding an immediate stock taking which could have resulted in venting of anger and questioning of the leadership. The CWC also shied away from addressing the tricky leadership issue by deferring elections for the post of Congress president once again citing the pandemic.

There was some plain speaking nevertheless at the CWC, which met for the first time after the election debacle. Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, one of the signatories of the letter 23 leaders had written to Gandhi last year seeking changes in the party, pointed out that the party’s performance would have been the same in Assam had it not aligned with the AIUDF, bringing to the table the unease in the party over the alliance with the Muslim outfit.

Azad, sources said, also pointed out that the central leadership should be involved and kept in the loop in policy matters like alliances. He was possibly hinting at the Congress’s association with Indian Secular Front (ISF) in West Bengal. Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, another member of the G 23, had earlier argued that the Congress’s alliance with parties such as ISF militates against the core ideology of the party and Gandhian and Nehruvian secularism and that these issues need to be approved by the CWC.

Earlier, Gandhi set the tone for the CWC meeting saying the party should take note of the serious setbacks. “To say that we are deeply disappointed is to make an understatement. I intend to set up a small group to look at every aspect that caused such reverses and report back very quickly. We need to candidly understand why in Kerala and Assam we failed to dislodge the incumbent governments, and why in West Bengal we drew a complete blank,” she said.

By making such a strong statement and announcing setting up of a committee, Gandhi ensured that the CWC does not get into a blame game on the results.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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GAZA MILITANTS FIRE ROCKETS AT JERUSALEM; ISRAEL RESPONDS WITH AIRSTRIKES; 9 DEAD

In a sudden crescendo of violence on Monday evening, militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward Jerusalem and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes. The exchange followed a police raid that morning on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, that left hundreds of Palestinians and a score of police officers wounded, capping weeks of unrest in the city.

At least 45 rockets were fired from Gaza shortly after 6pm, the Israeli army said.

Palestinian health officials in Gaza said nine residents of Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, including three children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. An Israeli military spokesman said he could neither confirm nor deny Israeli responsibility for the deaths and suggested that they might have been a result of friendly fire.

The attacks capped a day of violence in Jerusalem, which began when police entered the mosque compound around 8 a.m. and fired rubber-tipped bullets and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinians. The Palestinians had stockpiled stones at the site in expectation of a standoff with police and Jewish far-right groups.

By the afternoon, more than 330 Palestinians had been injured, with at least 250 hospitalized, according to a representative of the Palestinian Red Crescent. Tensions were already high in Jerusalem. Palestinians have been demonstrating daily since April against the planned expulsions of Palestinians from their homes in the city.

SHUT DOWN & VACCINATE, SAYS FAUCI TO INDIA, URGES WEST TO RUSH SHOTS

America’s leading infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci is making a strong and urgent case for developed countries and pharma companies to rush Covid-19 vaccines and raw materials to make vaccines to India saying vaccinating the population is the best possible “endgame” to contain a pandemic that is devastating the sub-continent. Fauci’s plea comes amid steep decline in vaccination in the US, and a measure of control over Covid-19 in other western countries, all sitting on stockpiles of unused vaccines. Western drug companies are also insisting that they will ramp up production of vaccines themselves rather than loosen control over patents or raw materials, maintaining that sending vaccines to India is a quicker way to meet its needs.

The Biden administration said last week it will support waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, but given the reluctance of several countries and pharma majors to toe Washington’s line, this appears to be a non-starter. Even if the global bureaucracy jumpstarts it, drug companies say transfer of technology and capacity constraints in India will take time to resolve, despite India’s domain expertise.

Fauci suggestion: simply rush raw materials and readymade vaccines to India.

The US now has an oversupply of shots to an extent many states are not even picking up their quota from the government.

In the short term, Fauci suggested a nationwide shut down in India was inevitable to break the cycle of transmission. “You’ve got to shut down. I believe several of the Indian states have already done that, but you need to break the chain of transmission, and one of the ways to do that is to shut down,” he said.

THE REST

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TALKS FOR NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF OPPOSITION PARTIES TO START SOON: RAUT

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that talks for the formation of an alliance of opposition parties at the national level will start in a few days, and he has discussed the issue with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

He also said that Congress will be the soul of such an alliance. "There is a need to have a strong alliance of opposition parties in the country. But there can't be an alliance without the Congress party. It will be the soul. Leadership can be decided through consultations," Raut told reporters.

"The Maha Vikas aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra was formed after three ideologically different parties (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) came together and the leadership was unanimously given to Uddhav Thackeray. This is an ideal alliance, which is working fine," he said.

The Congress is a pan-India party, whether in government or in opposition, he said.

"I discussed these issues with NCP president Sharad Pawar, but since he is indisposed, he is in Mumbai. Talks of forming an alliance of opposition parties will start in a few days," the Sena's Rajya Sabha member said.

TEACHING COMMUNITY COUNTS ITS DEAD

From senior professors to para-teachers in rural pockets, from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh, both bearing the brunt of the raging pandemic, all sections of the teaching community are reeling under the loss of colleagues and friends.

Among the institutions that have been hit hard is Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), which has lost close to 50 members in the current wave, including serving and retired teachers, teachers in its school, and non-teaching staff members, spokesperson Rahat Abrar said.

At Delhi University (DU), teachers estimate that around 24 members of the teaching staff have lost their lives in this wave. Jamia Millia Islamia has lost four professors, and a total of 15 staff members to Covid, according to its Public Relations Officer.

School communities have been even more fractured in the last month or so, especially government teachers in various non-teaching duties. In UP, Pawan Shankar Dixit, a government school teacher in Barabanki who is fighting Covid himself, has a list of 31 teachers who have died in the district since April 18.

PLASMA THERAPY FOR COVID ‘IRRATIONAL, NON-SCIENTIFIC’: EXPERTS

In an open letter addressed to the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Dr VijayRaghavan, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a group of 18 clinicians and public health professionals have expressed concern over the “irrational and non-scientific” use of plasma in Covid treatment.

Urging the government to review its guidelines on plasma therapy, the signatories cited the three most noted studies against the use of plasma — the ICMR-PLACID Trial, the Recovery Trial conducted by the University of Oxford and Argentina’s PlasmAr Trial — all of which found no benefits of the use of plasma in Covid treatment.

JAB SHORTAGE FORCES HEALTH STARTUPS TO DEFER PLANS TO VACCINATE INDIA INC

As the government’s vaccination drive falters for lack of vaccines, the efforts of healthcare start-ups such as 1mg, Practo and PharmEasy to vaccinate millions of corporate employees have also been delayed for the same reason.

Hyderabad-based healthcare start-up ekincare has partnered with 1mg to facilitate Covid-19 vaccination for the employees of corporates such as Oyo, Flipkart, Swiggy, BlackRock, Micron and KPMG.

1mg co-founder & CEO Prashant Tandon said the company has set up the network at the back end and the administration capacity – a network of some 2,500 administrators - so that they can vaccinate people at scale. “Most of the manufacturers are constrained with pre-orders. It could take three to four weeks for the vaccination programme to begin. The only thing stopping us getting started is the access to vaccines,” said Tandon.

The company is in talks with all vaccine makers, including international suppliers, for stock. “In every city we will not have ready infrastructure so we are looking at $1.5-2 million investments for additional infrastructure,” said Tandon.

Mumbai-based PharmEasy has said that it aims to vaccinate over 30 million people within the next few quarters via camps and vaccine centres, leveraging its presence across India with over 80,000 partner retailers, 5,000 doctors and a state-of-the-art pharma supply chain facility enabling last-mile delivery of cold chain products.

Practo said over 500 corporates have expressed an interest in joining the programme in the first phase. “Right now, we are accessing the demand for the vaccines,” said a company spokesperson.

USERS NOT ACCEPTING PRIVACY TERMS TO FACE LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY: WHATSAPP

WhatsApp will not delete any account for not accepting its new privacy update, but users not agreeing to the controversial terms after "several weeks" will not be able to access their chat list, and eventually, will not be able to answer incoming phone or video calls over the app.

Last week, the Facebook-owned company had said users not accepting its privacy policy update by its May 15 deadline will not face deletion or lose functionality of their accounts on the said date.

WhatsApp, on its website, said it is continuing to remind those who haven't had the chance to review and accept the terms, and after a period of several weeks, "the reminder (that) people receive will eventually become persistent".

It, however, did not divulge the timelines set for these reminders.

Explaining the course of action after 'persistent' reminders are sent to users, WhatsApp said: At that time, you'll encounter limited functionality on WhatsApp until you accept the updates.

“INDIAN MARKETS IGNORING COVID-19 IMPACT, SET FOR CORRECTION:”

Investors in India’s $2.8 trillion equity market are underestimating the economic impact from the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak, which will delay any recovery and could trigger a “correction” in stocks, according to the country’s top-performing fund manager.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has climbed for two straight weeks, a period during which the nation’s tally of daily virus infections as well as related deaths have hit records. Domestic institutional investors, including mutual funds and insurers, poured a net $1.5 billion into stocks in April, helping offset a similar outflow from foreign funds. That trend has continued so far in May.

The market “is completely ignoring the present situation,” said Samir Rachh, who oversees 130 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) of assets at Nippon India Mutual Fund in Mumbai. Recent gains have been “driven by a huge amount of liquidity,” he said.

A CHAMPION’S FALL FROM GRACE

At the peak of his prowess, Sushil Kumar single-handedly lifted Indian wrestling to unprecedented heights but as police looks for him in relation to a murder case, the sport’s image has taken as much a beating as that of the trailblazing grappler. Sushil’s international success triggered a revolution and created an inspirational legacy. The reserved grappler from Najagarh’s Baprola village is till date India’s only world champion (2010) in the sport. He is also the only one to claim two individual Olympic medals, an exceptional feat for a country which has seen very limited success at the Games.

His achievements had a tremendous impact as Indian wrestling witnessed the rise of Yogeshwar Dutt, Geeta and Babita Phogat, their cousin Vinesh, Rio bronze medallist Sakshi Malik and World medallists Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia after that.

However, the fraternity is now shellshocked as the police on Monday issued a ‘look-out circular’ (LoC) against the champion wrestler, who is untraceable since the brawl that led to the death of a young wrestler.

The incident has come at a time when Indian wrestling is celebrating its highest number of quotas -- eight -- for the Olympics. The anticipation of a best ever performance at the Tokyo Games is hard to miss.

INDICATORS

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GBP 0.70 /US$, Euro 0.82 /US$, Jap.Yen 108.81 /US$, Aus$ 1.27 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 83.15 /US$, Can$ 1.21 /US$, Mal Ring 4.10 /US$,

Pak Re 151.48 /US$, Phil Peso 47.80 /US$, Russian Rouble 73.95 /US$, NZ$ 1.37 /US$, Thai Baht 31.05 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.42 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 55,350

Dollar Index 90.20 Brent Crude 67.91  BDI 3,183

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,837 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,591 / 4,491, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 71,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. - Bertrand Russell

OFF TRACK

This was about the time when Bollywood's famous villain Ajit’s son was a young boy of 8. He sits at his desk writing a Christmas list to Jesus. He first writes, "Dear Jesus, I have been a good boy the whole year, so I want a new..." He looks at it, then crumples it up into a ball and throws it away.

He gets out a new piece of paper and writes again, "Dear Jesus, I have been a good boy for MOST of the year, so I want a new..." He again looks at it with disgust and throws it away.

He then gets an idea. He goes into his father’s library, takes a statue of the Virgin Mary, puts it in the closet, and locks the door. He takes another piece of paper and writes, "Dear Jesus. If you ever want to see your mother again..."