COVID MAYHEM: 31.67% OF TOTAL CASES, 35.63% DEATHS IN INDIA IN MAY ALONE

India reported more than 88.82 lakh coronavirus infections in May alone during the raging second wave of COVID-19, accounting for 31.67 percent of the over 2.8 crore cases reported in

The month of May also saw 1,17,247 fatalities due to the disease, which is around 35.63 percent of the total 3,29,100 deaths recorded so far.

The daily cases peaked on May 7 when the country registered 4,14,188 infections in a span of 24 hours, while daily deaths were the highest on May 19 with India reporting 4,529 fatalities due to COVID-19.

The daily new cases remained below three lakh since May 17 and the country has recorded less than two lakh daily new cases for four consecutive days.

The active cases had peaked on May 10 at 37.4 lakhs. The figure now stands at 18.9 lakhs.

The active cases comprise 7.22 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 91.60 percent.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 18,90,975

New Cases in last 24 hours: 1,26,629

Recovered in last 24 hours: 2,54,975

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -1,31,128

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 2,782 (3,31,909)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 16,83,135

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 9.1%

Most Affected States:

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

1          Karnataka                     3,13,730           /           16,604  /           411

2          Tamil Nadu                   3,01,781           /           27,936  /           478

3          Maharashtra                 2,53,367           /           15,077  /           500

4          Kerala                          2,07,324           /           12,300  /           174

5          Andhra Pradesh            1,53,795           /           7,943    /           98

6          West Bengal                 87,048  /           10,137  /           131

7          Odisha                         81,258  /           8,313    /           35

8          Assam                          51,694  /           4,348    /           65

9          Rajasthan                     42,654  /           1,498    /           68

10        Uttar Pradesh               37,044  /           1,472    /           151

11        Punjab                          36,433  /           2,192    /           118

12        Chhattisgarh                 35,741  /           2,163    /           32

13        JnK                              35,095  /           1,525    /           37

14        Telangana                    34,084  /           2,524    /           18

15        Gujarat                         32,345  /           1,681    /           18

16        Uttarakhand                  28,371  /           1,156    /           51

17        Madhya Pradesh           23,390  /           1,205    /           48

18        Haryana                       18,580  /           1,246    /           82

19        Bihar                            16,235  /           1,113    /           59

20        Himachal Pradesh         13,622  /           865       /           16

21        Goa                              12,763  /           602       /           24

22        Puducherry                   11,147  /           627       /           18

23        Delhi                            11,040  /           648       /           86

24        Jharkhand                    8,907    /           831       /           13

25        Manipur                        8,791    /           869       /           14

26        Meghalaya                    6,913    /           408       /           14

27        Tripura                         6,594    /           394       /           6

28        Nagaland                      4,947    /           117       /           Nil

29        Sikkim                          4,029    /           146       /           3

30        Arunachal Pradesh        3,755    /           322       /           Nil

31        Mizoram                       2,903    /           99        /           4

32        Lakshadweep                1,802    /           149       /           1

33        Chandigarh                   1,767    /           124       /           8

SC QUESTIONS GOVT’S VACCINE POLICE

Wondering if the mandatory registration requirement on the CoWIN portal for people to access COVID-19 vaccines is practical given the digital divide in the country, the Supreme Court Monday asked the government to “wake up and smell the coffee” and ensure that its vaccine policy is flexible enough to accommodate changes to address concerns.

The Centre, in reply, said that it is not oblivious to ground realities and since this is a dynamic situation, no policy is cast in stone. It also said it hopes to vaccinate all eligible persons by the end of 2021.

A bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, L Nageswara Rao and S Ravindra Bhat was hearing a suo motu matter on issues relating to COVID-19 management

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the online registration decision has been taken since vaccines are not unlimited and if walk-in is allowed there will be crowding. Walk-in is now allowed, subject to availability of vaccines, he said.

Earlier, the bench questioned the differential pricing of vaccines for the States and the Centre and sought to know if the latter would be procuring doses for the States too. “What is the rationale for the dual pricing policy?” Justice Bhat asked. “You are asking the States to pick up and compete with each other.”

Mehta replied that the government had explained the rationale in its earlier affidavit and it is wrong to say that States are competing with each other. “There is no competition. It’s not about one State paying more and getting more.”

Mehta told the bench that the Centre had negotiated the price with vaccine makers and there is a uniform price for all States. “I would earnestly urge that you do not travel this path. The world is facing this crisis. The availability of vaccine manufacturers is few. I would wish, as a citizen and officer of the Court, that any indication that SC is examining even the price structure, it will hamper…” he said.

The bench gave the Centre two weeks to file an additional affidavit addressing the concerns it had expressed.

SUPREME COURT: SEDITION LAW NEEDS RELOOK, ESPECIALLY FOR MEDIA

Restraining the Andhra Pradesh police from taking coercive action against two TV news channels charged with sedition, the Supreme Court Monday said it is of the view that section 124A of the IPC, which deals with the offence, will need interpretation — especially on its application with regard to freedom of the press.

Turning to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Justice D Y Chandrachud said that he had this case in mind when he made the remark about sedition in the other hearing Monday on Covid management. In that hearing, Justice Chandrachud had said that “a news report yesterday showed that dead bodies were being thrown in the river. I don’t know if a sedition case has been filed against the news channel yet or not”.

The bench gave the state government four weeks to respond to the channels’ petition but did not stay the investigation in the case.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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REPORTS SAY US SPIED ON EU LEADERS; MACRON DEMANDS CLARIFICATION

French President Emmanuel Macron urged the U.S. to clarify media reports that American intelligence monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European politicians with the help of Denmark.

Denmark’s state broadcaster DR cited a classified report saying that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service allowed the U.S. National Security Agency to use the country’s internet cables for spying on Merkel and politicians in France, Sweden and Norway.

“If the information is correct, then that’s unacceptable between allies, and even less so between European allies,” Macron told reporters after a bilateral meeting with Merkel. “We expect complete openness and a clarification of the facts from our Danish and American partners.”

The aim isn’t just to find out what spying activities happened in the past, but also to determine “which practices are still going on today” in order to maintain trust between the U.S. and Europe, he said, adding that “there’s no room for suspicion between us.”

Merkel said she agreed with Macron’s position.

CHINA ALLOWS COUPLES TO HAVE 3 KIDS

China’s ruling Communist Party said on Monday that it would allow all married couples to have three children, ending a two-child policy that has failed to boost the country’s declining birthrates or address an impending demographic crisis. The move reflected concerns that the rapidly rising number of elderly in China could exacerbate a shortage of workers and strain the economy in the near future.

In 2013, as Chinese officials began to understand the implications of the country’s aging population, the government allowed parents who were from one-child families to have two children themselves. Two years later, the limit was raised to two children for everyone, effective January1, 2016.

The new policy change will come with “supportive measures, the official Xinhua news agency said. Among those steps, China will lower educational costs for families, step up tax and housing support, guarantee the legal interests of working women and clamp down on “sky-high” dowries, it said, without giving specifics. It would also look to educate young people “on marriage and love”.

WHO TO USE GREEK ALPHABETS AS LABELS FOR COVID STRAINS

In the backdrop of communication from several countries and agencies to consider ‘easy to pronounce’ and ‘non-stigmatising’ labels for SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest (VOI) and variant of concern (VOC), the WHO Monday announced that it will be using greek alphabets as labels for the two categories of mutations.

The WHO has said the VOC B.1.1.7, samples earliest documented in United Kingdom (September 2020) will be called Alpha;

VOC B.1.351, samples earliest documented in South Africa (May 2020) will be called Beta;

VOC P.1, samples earliest documented in Brazil (November 2020) will be called Gamma;

and B.1.617.2, samples earliest documented in India (October 2020) will be called Delta.

These new names will make it easier and more practical to discuss by non-scientific audiences.

The WHO, however, said that the established nomenclature systems for naming and tracking SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages by GISAID, Nextstrain and Pango are “currently and will remain in use by scientists and in scientific research”.

THE REST

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GDP CONTRACTS BY 7.3% IN 2020-21

The Indian economy contracted by 7.3 per cent during the financial year 2020-21, weighed down by a nationwide lockdown that hit consumption and halted most economic activities. This is the first full-year GDP contraction in the past four decades since 1979-80, when it had shrunk by 5.2 per cent.

The GDP, however, grew at 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter and 0.5 per cent in the third quarter. The first two quarters of the financial year saw negative growth.

According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday, India’s real GDP contracted to Rs 135 lakh crore in 2020-21 from Rs 145 lakh crore at the end of March 2020. To regain Rs 145 lakh crore size, the economy will have to grow by 10-11 per cent in 2021-22, but the second Covid wave disrupted the momentum of economic activity.

DELHI HIGH COURT REFUSES TO HALT CENTRAL VISTA PROJECT, FINES PETITIONERS

Holding the Central Vista Project to be of national importance, the Delhi High Court Monday dismissed a petition which had sought a stay on construction on it in the midst of a pandemic, calling it “motivated” and imposing on the petitioners a cost of Rs 1 lakh.

“The construction of Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project cannot be seen in isolation. In fact, the whole Central Vista Project is an essential project of national importance, where the sovereign functions of Parliament are also to be conducted. Public is vitally interested in this project,” said a Division Bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh.

The challenge to the on-going construction of one particular project is “a pointer to the ill-intent and lack of bona fides of the petitioners in filing the present petition”, the Bench said.

The Centre had sought that the petition be dismissed with “exemplary costs” on the ground “that it is an abuse of the process of law”. The petitioners were translator Anya Malhotra and historian and documentary filmmaker Sohail Hashmi.

Seeking dismissal of the petition, the Centre termed it “one more attempt” to stall the project and called it a facade to “satisfy some kind of a vanity in mind of certain individuals”. “Such attempts are going on since the inception of the project under one pretext or the other and in one name or the other,” the Union government said.

TANKS, CORVETTE WARSHIPS, LIGHT COPTERS IN NEGATIVE IMPORT LIST OF 108

Continuing its series of policy interventions to reduce India’s dependence on foreign military equipment, the Defence Ministry on Monday announced a second negative import list of 108 items, and light, medium and heavy combat armoured vehicles are part of it.

India will not import any tanks starting December 2021.

The list, which includes light helicopters to Corvette warships and wheeled armoured platforms, mentions 108 weapons, platforms, ammunition and other military equipment that will be banned for imports starting December 2021 to end of 2025 in a progressive manner.

The first negative imports list of 101 items was announced in August 2020. India has been one of the largest importers of weapons in the world for over a decade, and the government intends to encourage the domestic defence manufacturing industry.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has mentioned on several occasions over the last few years that the government hopes the industry will act as an engine for growth, setting a target of $25 billion by 2025 for defence manufacturing in India.

WEST BENGAL CHIEF SECY QUITS, JOINS AS DIDI’S ADVISER

West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay has been caught in the crossfire of the tussle between PM Modi and CM Mamata Banerjee. At a press conference in Kolkata yesterday, the CM announced his superannuation as well as appointment as her Chief Adviser.

“We need the services of Alapan Bandyopadhyay very badly. He has retired as Chief Secretary but I haven’t allowed him to leave ‘Nabanna’ (state secretariat). I will not allow a bright officer like him to leave us,” Mamata said, announcing Bandyopadhyay’s appointment as Chief Adviser for three years.

Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, was scheduled to retire yesterday after completion of 60 years of age. However, he was granted a three-month extension by the Centre on May 24 following a request by Mamata.

On Friday, Bandyopadhyay was abruptly transferred to Delhi following a fracas resulting from Mamata’s refusal to take part in a meeting convened by the PM in Kalaikunda to review losses suffered by West Bengal in Cyclone “Yaas”.

In a letter to the PM on Monday, Mamata refused to relieve Bandyopadhyay.

The CM said Bandyopadhyay’s retirement order was issued before a letter reached her from Delhi.

DECISION ON CLASS 12 EXAMS IN TWO DAYS, CENTRE TELLS TOP COURT

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it would decide in two days if ICSE and CBSE Class 12 examinations would be conducted this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the outset, Attorney General KK Venugopal urged a Bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar to adjourn the matter, saying a meeting had been called to take a decision on the issue.

“No difficulty. You can take a decision...But if you are departing from the policy last year, you must give good reasons as the last order was after detailed deliberations,” the Bench told Venugopal. “Take whatever decision that’s appropriate, but what has been expressed by the petitioner is that last year’s policy should be followed. Almost a similar situation was prevalent last year,” the SC said.

DELHI ALLOWS HOME DELIVERY OF LIQUOR VIA APP

Home delivery of liquor through mobile apps or websites will be permitted in the national capital under the amended excise rules governing the trade of alcohol in the city. According to the Delhi Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2021, published in a gazette notification on Monday, holders of L-13 license will be allowed to deliver liquor at the doorstep of people.

In a related development that will bring cheer to the restaurant industry, the amended rules also allow independent restaurants, clubs and bars attached with hotels to serve liquor in open spaces such as terraces, balcony or courtyards.

AFTER PADDY RECORD, WHEAT PROCUREMENT AT ALL-TIME HIGH

Amid protests against the three farm laws, the procurement of wheat has soared to an all-time high, a record seen with paddy as well.

The latest data available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) shows wheat procurement reached 405 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) till May 29 in the ongoing rabi marketing season (RMS)—4 per cent higher than 390 LMT in RMS 2020-21. The current year’s wheat procurement figure is the highest ever.

In the current rabi marketing season, the highest wheat procurement—132 LMT—has been reported from Punjab. The state is followed by Madhya Pradesh (127 LMT) and Haryana (84.93 LMT). Last year, Madhya Pradesh was the top wheat procuring state.

During this rabi season, wheat procurement has been higher in both Punjab and Haryana, which are the epicentre of farmers’ agitation. Last year, the wheat procurement figures for Punjab and Haryana were 127 LMT and 74 LMT respectively.

The record wheat procurement comes just after the all-time high procurement of paddy. In the 2020-21 kharif marketing season, paddy procurement was 789 LMT—compared to 773 LMT in KMS 2019-20, according to FCI data. The highest paddy procurement has been reported from Punjab. It is followed by Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana.

According to FCI, the total stock of food grains—wheat, rice and coarse grains in the central pool is around 1,000 lakh metric tonnes—wheat (525.65 LMT), rice (304.85 LMT), unmilled paddy (262.20 LMT equivalent to 176 LMT of rice) and coarse grain (7.50 LMT). In May last year, foodgrain stock in the central pool was around 800 LMT.

The current foodgrain stock is much higher than buffer stock norms. According to the current foodgrain stocking norms, effective since July 2017, a total quantity of 210.40 LMT of wheat and rice is required as the operational stock and strategic reserves as of April 1, followed by 411.20 LMT as of July 1, 307.7 LMT as of October 1, and 214.10 LMT on January 1 every year.

FRENCH OPEN, DAY 2: FEDERER DAZZLES

Roger Federer marked his return to the Grand Slam arena in dazzling fashion with a 6-2 6-4 6-3 first-round defeat of qualifier Denis Istomin at the French Open today. The 39-year-old Swiss had not played a Grand Slam match since the 2020 Australian Open and had managed only one claycourt match in the build-up to Roland Garros.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev beat Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-3 7-5 in an entertaining clash to finally win his first-ever match at Roland Garros on his fifth attempt.

Bianca Andreescu became the highest women’s seed to fall so far as she lost a three-hour marathon match against Tamara Zidansek in the first round. The former US Open champion, seeded sixth, went down 6-7(1) 7-6(2) 9-7 to Tamara.

Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens, the 16th seed, was beaten 6-1 3-6 6-4 by Slovenia’s Polona Hercog. — Reuters

INDICATORS

Sensex 51,937 (+515), Nifty 15,583 (+147), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 72336.28

(US markets were closed yesterday on account of Memorial Day)

US$-Rs. 72.43 GBP-Rs. 102.80, Euro-Rs. 88.42, UAE Dhm-Rs.19.71, Can$-Rs. 60.00, Aus$- Rs. 56.00

GBP 0.70 /US$, Euro 0.81 /US$, Jap.Yen 109.62 /US$, Aus$ 1.29 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 83.28 /US$, Can$ 1.20 /US$, Mal Ring 4.12 /US$,

Pak Re 153.58 /US$, Phil Peso 47.64 /US$, Russian Rouble 73.34 /US$, NZ$ 1.37 /US$, Thai Baht 31.18 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.34 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 37,258

Dollar Index 89.74 Brent Crude 70.12  BDI 2,596

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,913 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,770 / 4,670, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 72,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Resolve to be thyself; and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery. - Matthew Arnold

OFF TRACK

A waiter asks a man, “May I take your order, sir?”

“Yes,” the man replies. “I’m just wondering, exactly how do you prepare your chicken?”

“Nothing special, sir. We just tell it straight out that it’s going to die.”