GOVT DEFENDS ITS DECISION TO INCREASE GAP BETWEEN COVISHIELD DOSES

The Health Ministry on Wednesday released minutes of the two meetings of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) to show there was no dissent among experts about extending the Covishield dose interval to 12 to 16 weeks and that the recommendation was unanimous.

The minutes were released a day after Reuters quoted three NTAGI members to say they had agreed to advance the interval to 8 weeks, but not 12 to 16 weeks.

Meanwhile, one of the scientists Reuters quoted, Mathew Varghese, has denied talking to Reuters on the issue of his alleged dissent.

The minutes of the meetings held on May 10 and 13 reveal the other two scientists Reuters quotes —Dr. J P Muliyil, Professor, CMC Vellore, and Dr. M D Gupte, former Director, NIE, Chennai— as present in the meeting but not having dissented on record.

“It may be noted that the decision of increasing the gap is based on the scientific reason regarding behaviour of adenovector vaccines and has been discussed thoroughly in meetings of Covid-19 Working Group and Standing Technical Sub-Committee (STSC) of NTAGI with no dissent from any member,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The govt has said NTAGI is watching Covishield evidence closely and issues of dosing could always be reviewed if needed.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 8,21,392

New Cases in last 24 hours: 67,270

Recovered in last 24 hours: 1,03,910

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -38,970

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 2,330 (3,81,931)

Daily Tests (Tuesday): 19,30,987

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 3.2%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 16.0% / 3.7%

Most Affected States:

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

1          Karnataka         1,51,566           /           7,345    /           148

2          Maharashtra     1,36,661           /           10,107  /           1,236

3          Tamil Nadu       1,14,335           /           10,448  /           270

4          Kerala  1,09,799           /           13,270  /           147

5          Andhra Pradesh            71,466  /           6,617    /           57

6          Odisha 42,217  /           3,535    /           44

7          Assam  38,306  /           3,386    /           36

8          West Bengal     21,152  /           3,187    /           69

9          Telangana        19,975  /           1,489    /           11

10        Jammu and Kashmir     11,381  /           635       /           12

11        Chhattisgarh     11,126  /           573       /           12

12        Punjab  10,046  /           675       /           48

13        Manipur            9,078    /           752       /           10

14        Gujarat 8,242    /           298       /           5

15        Uttar Pradesh   6,496    /           251       /           49

16        Rajasthan         4,962    /           280       /           9

17        Tripura 4,923    /           536       /           5

18        Puducherry       4,495    /           430       /           6

19        Meghalaya        4,464    /           495       /           8

20        Goa      4,044    /           310       /           13

21        Bihar    3,990    /           370       /           9

22        Himachal Pradesh         3,733    /           210       /           4

23        Haryana           3,579    /           249       /           39

24        Uttarakhand      3,572    /           353       /           12

25        Mizoram           3,413    /           268       /           2

26        Madhya Pradesh           3,273    /           160       /           34

27        Sikkim  2,965    /           147       /           1

28        Arunachal Pradesh        2,810    /           250       /           Nil

29        Delhi    2,749    /           212       /           25

30        Nagaland          2,699    /           111       /           2

31        Jharkhand        2,246    /           190       /           3

32        Chandigarh       462       /           41        /           2

33        Lakshadweep    447       /           42        /           Nil

MODI CALLS FOR ‘REPAIR AND PREPARE’ AS INDIA EMERGES FROM PANDEMIC

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for focus on ‘repair and prepare’ as the nation emerges out of a devastating pandemic.

“Over the past year, we have witnessed a lot of disruption in different sectors. Much of it is still there. Yet, disruption does not have to mean despair,” he said at VivaTech Summit. “Instead, we must keep the focus on the twin foundations of repair and prepare,” he said referring to the need to augment healthcare infrastructure in the country as well as prop up the economy.

Indian economy suffered its worst contraction in decades in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, as the pandemic-induced lockdown impaired economic activity. The govt, however, continued with the reforms that would help sustain higher growth rates after the world emerges from the pandemic. India implemented huge reforms across sectors - from mining to space, from banking to atomic energy, he said.

“This goes on to show that India as a nation is adaptable and agile, even in the middle of the pandemic. India offers what innovators and investors need….I invite the world to invest in India based on the five pillars of talent, market, capital, eco-system and culture of openness” Modi said. 

TWITTER HAS FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE GUIDELINES: IT MINISTER

Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad made a series of tweets yesterday saying there were numerous queries arising as to whether Twitter was entitled to "safe harbour provision". “The simple fact of the matter is that Twitter has failed to comply with the intermediary guidelines that came into effect on May 26,” said Prasad.

"Safe harbour provision" referred to by Prasad in his tweet means if social media companies comply with the rules, they are not liable for content posted on their platforms. Non-compliance could make the company liable for criminal action in case of complaints.

Prasad said it was astounding that Twitter, which portrayed itself as the flag bearer of free speech, chose the path of deliberate defiance when it came to the intermediary guidelines.

“Additionally, it chooses a policy of flagging 'manipulated media' only when it suits its likes and dislikes,” he said. This "manipulated media" tag was recently given by Twitter to posts made by senior BJP leaders, including Union Ministers, claiming that some ‘toolkit’ was allegedly prepared by the opposition Congress to defame the Modi govt  during the Covid surge in April-May.

“What happened in UP was illustrative of Twitter’s arbitrariness in fighting fake news. While Twitter has been over-enthusiastic about its fact-checking mechanism, its failure to act in multiple cases like UP is perplexing and  indicates its inconsistency in fighting misinformation. Indian companies, be it in pharma, IT or other sectors, going to do business in the US or in other foreign country voluntarily follow the local laws. Then why are platforms like Twitter showing reluctance in following Indian laws designed to give voice to the victims of abuse and misuse?" said the Minister.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

NO HINT OF WARMTH AS BIDEN, PUTIN MEET IN GENEVA

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to hold arms control and cybersecurity talks, recording small gains and big differences at a first summit they both described as pragmatic rather than friendly. The discussions in Geneva lasted three hours — less than Biden’s advisers had said they expected — but the US president said they had been intense and detailed, and that “we didn’t need to spend more time talking”.

The scheduling of separate press meets meant there was none of the joviality that accompanied a 2018 meeting in Helsinki between Putin and Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump.

Putin, who was first to brief reporters, said the meeting had been constructive, without hostility, and had showed the leaders’ desire to understand each other. He said it was “hard to say” if ties with the US would improve, but that there was a “glimpse of hope”.

Biden, speaking shortly afterwards, said he had told Putin his agenda was “not against Russia” but “for American people”. He, too, in a businesslike tone, said: “This is not about trust, this is about self-interest.” But he said there was a “genuine prospect” of improving relations. “I pointed out to him, we’ve significant cyber capability” Biden said. “In fact, (if) they violate basic norms, we will respond... I think that the last thing he wants now is a Cold War.”

The Russian president said there was an agreement between the leaders to return their ambassadors to their respective postings. Both countries had pulled back their top envoys to Washington and Moscow after Biden called Putin a “killer” in an interview in March. Both men said Moscow and Washington shared a responsibility for nuclear stability, and would hold talks on possible changes to their recently extended New START arms limitation treaty.

Putin showed little appetite for compromise on a range of other issues, dismissing Washington’s concerns about Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, about Russia’s increased military presence near Ukraine’s border, and about US suggestions that unidentified Russians were responsible for a series of cyberattacks in US.

In perhaps his strongest remark, Biden said the consequences would be “devastating for Russia” if jailed Navalny, who has recovered from a hunger-strike to protest against his detention conditions, died.

Putin said Navalny had ignored the law and added that he did not want riots in Russia or protests akin to Black Lives Matter movement.

Biden called the comparison “ridiculous”. There were no invitations to Washington or Moscow.

THE REST

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CONGRESS LEADER ADHIR CHOWDHURY-LED PAC MEET TURNS UGLY OVER COVID JAB AGENDA

The first meeting of the reconstituted Public Accounts Committee of Parliament witnessed unsavoury scenes on Wednesday with the BJP and JD(U) members objecting to chairman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “political comments” criticising the govt Covid vaccine policy.

Chowdhury is learnt to have proposed that Covid vaccine procurement and distribution be taken up as an agenda item for PAC investigation for the current year. The agenda was not accepted because there was no consensus on the same.

Under PAC rules consensus is mandatory to take up any subject.

The PAC members said their objection was to the “political statement the chairman was making at a platform which is not meant for political point scoring.”

Congress sources said Adhir was not allowed to speak.

UP DEPUTY CM: NATIONAL LEADERSHIP TO DECIDE CM FACE

Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday said the BJP parliamentary board and its national leadership will decide under whom the upcoming state assembly elections will be fought. "It does not matter under whose leadership the election is being fought. The BJP is the largest party in the world. It is not a private limited company like the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress," he added.

Rejecting speculations of a change in leadership in the state, he said the govt is running under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and there is no problem anywhere.

ACTIVISTS STAY IN JAIL DESPITE BAIL, POLICE GO TO SC

Objecting to the Delhi High Court order granting bail to three student activists booked under the UAPA anti-terror law in a Northeast Delhi riots case, the Delhi Police approached the Supreme Court Wednesday, urging it to immediately stay the order.

In Special Leave Petitions, the Special Cell of Delhi Police said the High Court conducted a “mini trial” in a bail matter and “watered down” provisions of the UAPA “which will have wide ramifications and will affect all the cases registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)” under the Act.

The Delhi Police filed the SLPs even as it sought time until June 21 to conduct verification of the addresses and sureties of student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha who were granted bail Tuesday by the High Court. They remained in custody Wednesday – they were arrested in May 2020 and later booked under the UAPA.

Following the HC order, the three students moved applications in a city court for their immediate release on bail. But on Wednesday, police told the court of Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Bedi that they would be able to file the verification report only by June 22.

ASJ Bedi adjourned the matter for Thursday

‘NO CALF SERUM IN COVAXIN’: CENTRE REFUTES CONGRESS CLAIM

The Congress party yesterday made remarks over Covaxin \manufacturing process, and accused the govt of hiding facts. However, a clarification in this regard was soon issued by the Centre refuting the remarks.

Gaurav Pandhi of the Congress social media team shared a screenshot of an RTI response from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, claiming that cow calves are slaughtered to obtain the serum used in manufacturing Covaxin. “In an RTI response, the Modi Govt has admitted that COVAXIN consists Newborn Calf Serum …..which is a portion of clotted blood obtained from less than 20 days young cow-calves, after slaughtering them. THIS IS HEINOUS! This information should have been made public before,” claimed Pandhi.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, however, said that the claims have been made by twisting and misrepresenting the facts.

“Newborn Calf Serum is used only for preparation/ growth of Vero cells. Different kinds of bovine and other animal serum are standard enrichment ingredient used globally for Vero cell growth. Vero cells are used to establish cell lives which help in the production of vaccines. This technique has been used for decades in Polio, Rabies, and Influenza vaccines,” said a clarification issued by the ministry.

It said that these Vero cells are washed with water and chemicals many times after growth to make them free from the newborn calf serum. “The final vaccine (COVAXIN) does not contain newborn calf serum at all and the calf serum is not an ingredient of the final vaccine product,” said the ministry.

Bharat Biotech also issued a similar clarification after the uproar.

ADVANCE TAX COLLECTION SURGES 146% DESPITE COVID-19-LED ECONOMIC DISRUPTION

The advance collection of corporation tax and personal income tax in the first quarter grew 146 per cent over last year, while overall net direct taxes doubled during this period compared to 2020, reigniting hopes of sustained economic recovery despite the disruption caused by the second wave of the pandemic.

Collection in the first quarter grew to Rs 28,780 crore against Rs 11,714 crore, the preliminary data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes showed on Wednesday. Of the advance tax, corporation tax accounted for Rs 18,358 crore and personal income tax Rs 10,422 crore.

Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA Ratings, said the jump in direct tax collection in Q1 FY22 relative to Q1 FY21 reflected “healthy exports and a continuation of various industrial and construction activities, given the lower stringency of the staggered regional lockdowns in 2021 vs. the nationwide lockdown in 2020”.

The Budget has estimated revenues from direct taxes at Rs 11.08 trillion, which will need a growth rate of 17 per cent over the 2020-21 actuals. Last year, the direct tax mop-up at Rs 9.47 trillion was 9.7 per cent lower than the previous year due to the impact of the pandemic, but exceeded the revised estimates, which stood at Rs 9.05 trillion.

MICROSOFT NAMES NADELLA AS CHAIRMAN, REWARDS HIM FOR REFOCUSING COMPANY

Microsoft Corp. named Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella as board chairman, strengthening his influence at the world’s largest software maker after more than seven years as the top executive.

Nadella, 53, succeeds John Thompson, 72, who will return to the role of lead independent director, a position he held before being named chairman in 2014, Microsoft said Wednesday in a statement.

The change is a vote of confidence in Nadella, who was appointed CEO in February 2014.

When Nadella took the CEO job, Bill Gates stepped down as chairman of the company he co-founded, significantly reducing his role at Microsoft, and Thompson was tapped to replace him. The idea was that Nadella would benefit from mentoring by Thompson, a technology executive for several decades.

Microsoft has undergone a rebirth during Nadella’s leadership, recovering from failures in the mobile phone and internet search market, as well as a waning of the importance of its flagship Windows operating system. The company’s shares have soared more than sevenfold and its market value is approaching $2 trillion as Microsoft has been restored to the ranks of the top technology companies.

PORTUGUESE SUPERSTAR CRISTIANO RONALDO'S SNUB COSTS COCA-COLA $4 BILLION

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo removed Coca-Cola bottles placed in front of him at a European Championships press conference in Budapest, which reportedly cost the global beverage giant a staggering $4 billion.

A well-known fitness enthusiast, Ronaldo set aside two Coca-Cola glass bottles which lay in front of him during a press conference ahead of Portugal’s opening Euro match against Hungary on Monday. In a video that has since gone viral, the 36-year-old Juventus striker picked up a bottle of water instead saying “Agua!” in Portuguese, seemingly urging people to choose water over aerated drinks. According to media reports, the share price of Coca-Cola, one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020, slipped from $56.10 to $55.22 almost immediately after Ronaldo's gesture. The market valuation of Coca-Cola went from $242 billion to $238 billion, a fall of $4 billion.

Reacting to the incident, Coca-Cola in a statement said “everyone is entitled to their drink preferences” with different “tastes and needs”.

TWO INDIA SQUADS PLAYING IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS MAY CONTINUE

India fielding two different squads in different locations due to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic can become a norm as it allows more bilateral cricket and some respite to all-format players from bio-bubble fatigue, said BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal on Wednesday.

In a rare instance, Shikhar Dhawan will be leading a second-string Indian team in Sri Lanka next month when the Virat-Kohli-led side will be in the UK ahead of the Tests against England.

Kohli has already spoken about the need to give players a break from the bubble life besides managing their workload.

“It is imperative to come up with new ideas to deal with the loss of bilateral cricket that has happened over the last 18 months,” Dhumal said.

India have picked as many as six uncapped players for the Sri Lanka tour comprising three ODIs and as many T20 Internationals from July 13. All games will be played in Colombo.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: You won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you. - Ajahn Chah

OFF TRACK

There was a couple sleeping. The wife had a bad dream, she woke up and started crying.

Her husband comforted her and asked why she cried, she replied: “I had a dream that a very rich and handsome man kidnapped me.”

Husband: “It is ok honey, it was just a dream.”

Wife responded loudly: “That is why I’m crying.”