A COURSE CORRECTION: STATES NOT TO PROCURE ANY VACCINES, CENTRE WILL PROVIDE FOR FREE

Reversing his government’s Covid-19 vaccination policy amid a chorus from states that it should take over vaccine procurement, and probing questions recently from the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Monday that the Centre will provide free vaccines to states for inoculation of all above age 18 from June 21.

In an address to the nation, Modi said the Centre will buy 75 per cent of doses from vaccine makers, including 25 per cent of the state quota, and give it for free to state governments. No state government, he said, will have to spend on vaccine procurement.

He said private sector hospitals can continue to procure 25 per cent of vaccines, but the service charge will be capped at Rs 150 per dose over the fixed price of the vaccine.

Modi also announced extension of the free foodgrain scheme, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), until November this year. Under it, 5 kg foodgrain — rice/wheat/coarse grains — is provided free of charge once a month to all beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013. The scheme, launched during the first Covid wave last year, was until now only for two months — May and June.

In his 32-minute speech, the Prime Minister also took a swipe at Opposition-ruled states and their leaders. He said on the basis of suggestions received from various parties and Chief Ministers, it was decided that those at greater risk would be given priority in vaccination. The vaccination drive, from the January 16 launch date to April-end, was going on under the supervision of the Central government, he said. However, several state governments demanded that the task of vaccination should be decentralised and they should be given responsibility, he said.

“In the midst of decreasing Corona cases in the country, different suggestions started coming to the Central government… It was asked, why is the Government of India deciding everything? Why are state governments not being given exemption?… Things like ‘one size does not fit all’ were also said. It was argued that since health is primarily a state subject, it is better that the states should do all this,” Modi said.

After much deliberation, the Central government, he said, changed the system, which was in place since January 16, and allowed states to undertake 25 per cent work of vaccination.

“Within two weeks in May, some states began to openly say that the earlier system was good. Gradually, many state governments got involved in it. Those who were advocating that the work of the vaccination should be left to the states also started changing their views,” he said.

“On the states’ demand, we also thought that the countrymen should not suffer, their vaccination should be done smoothly. For this, the old system, in place before May 1, should be implemented again,” he said.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 12,97,254

New Cases in last 24 hours: 87,377

Recovered in last 24 hours: 1,86,072

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -1,00,810

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 2,115 (3,51,344)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 15,87,589

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 6.4%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 14.0% / 3.5%

Most Affected States:

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

1          Karnataka         2,38,824                       11,958              340

2          Tamil Nadu       2,32,026                       19,448              351

3          Maharashtra     1,74,320                       10,219              340

4          Kerala  1,48,177                       9,313                211

5          Andhra Pradesh            1,14,510                       4,872                86

6          Odisha 68,321              6,118                41

7          Assam  48,672              3,804                37

8          West Bengal     26,886              5,887                103

9          Telangana        23,771              3,841                32

10        Jammu and Kashmir     23,524              977                   16

11        Chhattisgarh     21,224              1,279                26

12        Punjab  19,995              1,269                84

13        Gujarat 16,162              778                   11

14        Rajasthan         15,744              629                   31

15        Uttar Pradesh   15,681              694                   81

16        Uttarakhand      14,122              395                   32

17        Manipur            8,984                598                   15

18        Madhya Pradesh           8,860                571                   32

19        Bihar    8,239                761                   35

20        Haryana           8,024                640                   39

21        Himachal Pradesh         7,555                656                   18

22        Puducherry       7,546                482                   10

23        Goa      5,981                69                    80

24        Tripura 5,958                235                   6

25        Meghalaya        5,327                438                   5

26        Jharkhand        5,312                358                   6

27        Delhi    5,208                231                   36

28        Nagaland          4,703                145                   3

29        Sikkim  4,051                59                    Nil

30        Arunachal Pradesh        3,440                360                   Nil

31        Mizoram           3,161                112                   2

32        Lakshadweep    845                   38                    3

33        Chandigarh       740                   48                    2

COURSE CORRECTION BECAUSE OF SUPREME COURT RAP, OUR PRESSURE: OPPN

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government would revert to the system of centralised procurement of vaccines against Covid-19 and that it would provide them free of cost to states, the Opposition said the “course correction” was due to a “realisation” that its “flawed policy” had led to a collapse of the inoculation drive.

The Opposition Chief Ministers also made it known that the change in policy was because of their pressure and the Supreme Court’s criticism of the government’s vaccine policy.

Welcoming the decision to “reverse” the government’s “previous position”, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin demanded that states now be “given complete control of registration, validation and administration procedures of the vaccination”, pointing out that the PM himself had “stressed multiple times” that health is a state subject.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said she had written to the Prime Minister and the Centre multiple times demanding free vaccination. “Took him four months but after much pressure, he has FINALLY listened to us & implemented what we’ve been asking all this while. The well-being of the people of India should’ve been prioritised since the very start of this pandemic. Unfortunately, this delayed decision by the Prime Minister has already cost many lives,” she tweeted.

Calling the decision to supply vaccines free of cost to states the “most appropriate response at this hour”, Kerala CM Pinarayi Viyayan pointed out that he was happy that “our request has been positively responded to by the Prime Minister.”

Rajasthan CM Gehlot denied that states had demanded that they be allowed to buy vaccines. “As per my information, no state has made such a demand. It seems the Prime Minister’s advisors have given him wrong information…,” he said.

Congress communication department head Randeep Surjewala said the party and its leadership had been repeatedly demanding universal and free vaccination but the government kept ridiculing the suggestion. Now the government has done a somersault after the Supreme Court reprimand, he said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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GLOBAL CASES AT SLOWEST PACE SINCE MARCH

Fresh Covid-19 cases for the week ended June 6 were the lowest since mid-March, at 3 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins. Weekly cases worldwide have been declining for six weeks as the outbreak in India wanes and global vaccination efforts ramp up. The US reported the lowest number of daily cases — 5,455 — since March 2020, when the virus began its rapid spread across the country.

The global toll is also easing, falling from a peak of over 92,000 a week at the end of April to less than 80,000 in the last week of May. A revision of Peru’s fatalities — the country more than doubled its official death count — skews comparisons for the latest week.

Despite the trend, rising cases in places from Uganda to Indonesia are a reminder that the pandemic won’t disappear anytime soon.

GOOGLE TO CHANGE GLOBAL ADVERTISING PRACTICES IN LANDMARK ANTITRUST DEAL

Google said it would make changes to its global advertising business to ensure it did not abuse its dominance, bowing to antitrust pressure for the first time in a landmark settlement with French authorities. The deal with the French competition watchdog could help rebalance the power over advertising in favour of publishers, which held sway over the business in the pre-internet era but lost control with the rapid rise of Google and Facebook.

The settlement, which was announced on Monday and also saw Google fined 220 million euros ($268m), is the first time the US tech giant has agreed to make changes to its huge advertising business, which brings in the bulk of its revenue.

“The decision to sanction Google is of particular significance because it’s the first decision in the world focusing on the complex algorithmic auction processes on which the online ad business relies,” said France’s antitrust chief Isabelle de Silva. The watchdog found that Google’s ad management platform for large publishers — Google Ad Manager — favoured the company’s own online ad marketplace — Google AdX — where publishers sell space to advertisers in real-time.

THE REST

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18 WORKERS DIE IN PUNE FACTORY FIRE, DISTRICT COLLECTOR ORDERS INQUIRY

A massive fire at a factory in Pune district’s Mulshi taluka on Monday claimed the lives of 18 workers. Most of the victims were women, according to fire brigade officials. The fire was reported at SVS Aqua Technologies, a factory in Urawade near Pirangut in Mulshi taluka, around 3.30 pm.

Fire brigade officials confirmed that 18 persons, most of whom were women, died in the incident. PMRDA fire chief Devendra Potphode said 37 workers were inside the factory when the fire broke out. Eighteen of the workers died in the blaze and several others were injured.

After a rigorous fire-fighting operation, the fire was extinguished by around 6.30 pm.

“The district collector has ordered an inquiry. Police have lodged an offence. Responsibility will be fixed on the basis of the inquiry report. Priority is being given to bring the fire situation under complete control and provide treatment to the injured,” said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar  in a statement.

GOA TO ACT AGAINST PVT HOSPITALS FOR NOT REPORTING 67 COVID DEATHS

The cumulative Covid-19 death count in Goa climbed to 2,840 on Monday from 2,760 on Sunday as these 67 deaths were added along with 13 fatalities reported in the state on Monday.

The Goa government is set to take action against private hospitals which failed to report 67 Covid-related deaths on time.

While one of the 67 deaths took place on August 5, 2020, the rest took place in April-May this year. The lapse came to light while the health department was reviewing data related to Covid-19 in which some hospitals had reported no deaths.

UNDERWATER PROTESTS, 12 HOUR FAST IN LAKSHADWEEP

In Lakshadweep, several people on Monday held an underwater protest and staged a 12-hour fast demanding administrator Praful Patel’s recall for his ‘anti-people’ measures and seeking withdrawal of draft legislation on development. The protestors, both under sea water and outside of their homes, held placards with slogans like “Revoke LDAR” (Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation) and “Justice for Lakshadweep.”

The people who took to protest came under the banner of “save Lakshadweep forum” and posted pictures of protest in social media.

Opposition parties in Lakshadweep and in Kerala have alleged that Patel unilaterally lifted restrictions on the use of alcohol in the Muslim-majority islands, banned beef products, citing Animal Preservation and demolished fishermen’s sheds built on the coastal areas, saying they violated the Coast Guard Act.

The BJP has however defended Patel, claiming that the protests were a result of his efforts to end “corrupt practices” involving local politicians and usher in development there.

MUMBAI UNLOCK: RESTAURANTS, GYMS REOPEN AFTER 2 MONTHS

Restaurants, gyms, salons, public grounds and other commercial establishments reopened after nearly two months on Monday in Mumbai, which falls in level-3 of the Maharashtra government’s five-level ‘unlock plan’.

The BMC appealed to citizens not to let their guard down and follow all precautions to check the spread of Covid-19.

The city buses were allowed to ferry passengers with 100 per cent seating capacity, though local trains were restricted for those working in medical and essential services.

The BMC in a tweet said, “Mumbai, a gentle reminder! While we are getting back on track with the phase-wise opening, we can’t go off the rails on our common main goal - a Covid free Mumbai. Let’s reopen, but with care. Follow all precautions!”

The Maharashtra government has announced a five-level plan to relax the coronavirus-induced restrictions in the state, based on the weekly positivity rate and the occupancy of oxygen beds.

Malls, multiplexes and theatres remain closed for now.

SEVERE TURBULENCE HITS VISTARA FLIGHT, 8 INJURED

As many as eight passengers were injured on a Vistara flight from Mumbai to Kolkata on Monday, which encountered severe turbulence 15 minutes before landing. Of the eight, while five suffered only minor injuries, three were taken to the hospital.

The flight UK775 was being operated on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and was carrying 113 passengers on board. It departed from Mumbai at 1.48pm and arrived into Kolkata at 4.28pm

“We are saddened by this unfortunate experience our customers had, and are closely monitoring the health status of those injured. We are investigating the incident on priority, and will share a further update at the earliest,” a Vistara spokesperson said.

GOVT ISSUES SOPs ON GIVING 2ND JAB OF COVISHIELD BEFORE 84 DAYS

Those intending to undertake international travel for education purposes, joining employment and as part of the Indian contingent to the Tokyo Olympics will be allowed to take the second dose of Covid vaccine Covishield prior to the prescribed time interval of 84 days after the first dose.

However, according to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Union health ministry on Monday, even in these cases, the second dose will only be administered after 28 days from the date of the first dose.

The Co-WIN system will soon provide the facility for the administration of the second dose in such exceptional cases, the ministry said.

SEBI BARS FRANKLIN MF FROM STARTING DEBT FUNDS FOR 2 YRS

Markets regulator Sebi on Monday barred Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (FTMF) from launching new debt schemes for two years for mismanaging some of its fixed income funds. Sebi also fined FTMF Rs 5 crore for not adhering to rules relating to categorisation of MF schemes. In addition, it asked the management to refund Rs 512 crore in fees to investors in the six debt schemes which the fund house had decided to close down on April 23, 2020.

In a separate order, Sebi also barred Vivek Kudva, a director at FTMF and head of its parent’s Asia-Pacific region, from the market for one year and asked him to pay Rs 4 crore as a fine. Along with Vivek, his wife Roopa, former MD & CEO of Crisil and now head of Omidyar Network, has also been barred from the market for a year and fined Rs 3 crore. Vivek, Roopa and Vasanthi Kudva (Vivek’s mother) had withdrawn money from some of FTMF’s debt funds even as negotiations were on internally within the fund house about the stress in these schemes. The fine imposed on Vivek includes the penalty that’s due to his mother, Sebi said.

In April 2020, FTMF had announced closure of six of its debt funds, which then had total assets under management worth nearly Rs 25,900 crore. Following this decision, Sebi had started investigations to see how these funds were launched. It found that although these funds were sold under various names and projected to be differentiated in their management approach, in reality all were being managed as credit risk funds. This is a type of high-risk fixed income money management style.

TWITTER SEEKS MORE TIME FROM GOVT TO COMPLY WITH NEW IT RULES

Social media platform Twitter is learnt to have approached the government seeking more time to comply with the new IT rules. The company said that it intends to comply with the rules but needs more time due to the pandemic situation in India.

The response from Twitter comes after the government issued a strongly-worded final notice to the company last week regarding its non-compliance with the new rules. However, the notice did not mention a specific date for the micro-blogging site to comply with the rules.

FRENCH OPEN: SINGLES DOWN TO LAST 8s

Men’s Singles

N.Djokovic (1, SRB) vs M.Berrettini (9, ITA)

R.Nadal (3, ESP ) vs  D.Schwartzman (10, ARG)

A.Zverev (6, GER) vs A.Davidovich Fokina (Unseeded, ESP)

S.Tsitsipas (5, GRE) vs D.Medvedev (2, RUS)

Women’s Singles

C.Gauff (24, US) vs B.Krejcikova (Unseeded, CZE)

M.Sakkari (17, GRE) vs I.Swiatek (8, POL)

E.Rybakina (21, KAZ) vs A.Pavlyuchenkova (31, RUS)

T.Zidansek (Unseeded, SLO) vs P.Badosa (33, ESP)

INDIA BEAT BANGLADESH 2-0 AFTER CHHETRI’S DOUBLE STRIKES

India recorded their first win in FIFA World Cup qualifiers in six years after talisman Sunil Chhetri struck twice for a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh in the joint preliminary round match here on Monday.

The double strikes meant India registered their first win in what was turning out to be one of their worst World Cup qualifying campaigns in many years. It was also their first victory in World Cup qualifiers away from home in 20 years.

ENGLAND BOWLER OLLIE ROBINSON SUSPENDED FOR ABUSIVE TWEETS

England fast bowler Ollie Robinson was suspended from international cricket pending an investigation into discriminatory tweets he posted from 2012-13.

Robinson will not be available for the second Test against New Zealand starting Thursday, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Sunday.

Robinson made his Test debut in the first match of the series at Lord’s, taking seven wickets across New Zealand’s two innings and also hitting 42 in England’s first innings.

The tweets he posted when he was 18 and 19, which were racist and sexist in nature, resurfaced during the first day of the Test and Robinson was close to tears as he issued an apology after stumps.

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GBP 0.70 /US$, Euro 0.82 /US$, Jap.Yen 109.37 /US$, Aus$ 1.29 /US$, Sing 1.32 /US$, Bang Taka 83.16 /US$, Can$ 1.20 /US$, Mal Ring 4.12 /US$,

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Dollar Index 90.01 Brent Crude 71.06  BDI 2,428

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,902 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,851 / 4,751, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 76,100

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. - Leonardo da Vinci

OFF TRACK

A smart young girl once went for a job at an airline

”Why do you want to be a stewardess,” the interviewer asked her.

“It would be a great chance to meet men,” said the girl.

The interviewer looked at her and said, "But you can meet men anywhere."

The girl promptly asked, “Strapped down?"