SC DIRECTS NDMA TO PAY EX GRATIA TO KIN OF COVID VICTIMS

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to pay an ex-gratia compensation to the kin of those who died due to Covid, saying the authority is statutorily mandated to provide minimum relief, including ex-gratia to the victims of the pandemic.

Holding that by not providing an ex-gratia amount, the NDMA had failed in discharging its statutory duty, a Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan directed the NDMA to determine in six weeks the ex-gratia amount to be paid to the family of each Covid victim.

The Bench however said it would not be proper for the court to direct a particular amount to be paid.

It ordered the Centre to issue appropriate guidelines to simplify issuance of death certificates in deaths due to Covid or complications related to it.

The order came on PILs seeking an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of those who lost their lives due to Covid pandemic.

The Centre had opposed it, contending that giving an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh each to kin of Covid victims wasn't possible due to limited resources as it would affect pandemic response on other aspects, leading to more damage than good.

It had also cautioned the court against stepping into the domain of the executive as it might have unintended constitutional ramifications.

However, the top court dismissed the Centre's argument that no such ex gratia can be paid.

MEA PERSUADING INDIVIDUAL EU STATES TO APPROVE COVISHIELD, COVAXIN

Indian diplomats are working with individual member states of the European Union (EU) to ensure that citizens vaccinated with Covishield and Covaxin do not face problems in entry if and when they open their borders to nations hit by deadly Covid variants.

At the same time, South Block has conveyed to EU Member States that India will institute a reciprocal policy for recognition of the EU Digital Covid Certificate.

If and when Covishield and Covaxin are included in the EU Digital Covid Certificate that comes into effect from July 1, India has offered to reciprocally exempt the concerned EU Member State from mandatory quarantine.

Switzerland, Germany, and Iceland are among the countries that have decided to permit entry to Indians vaccinated with the AstraZeneca version made by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla played down on Wednesday Covishield not getting approved for the EU green pass, saying, “It is not a controversy at all. It’s been blown out of proportion.” “The EMA is correct in asking us to apply, which we have through AstraZeneca a month ago, and that process has to take its time. In a month we are confident the EMA will approve Covishield. There is no reason not to as it is based on AstraZeneca data and our product is identical to Astra-Zeneca more or less,” he said.

ENSURE PROJECTS DONE ON TIME: PM TO HIS MINISTERS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked his ministers to focus on the key objectives of the government and spread awareness among people about following Covid-19 protocols and vaccination to keep the third wave of the pandemic at bay. The PM saw presentations of the ministries of civil aviation, road transport and telecom during the four-hour meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The PM asked the ministers to ensure that the projects for which they have laid the foundations are completed within their tenure.

Modi is said to have made brief remarks during the presentations with focus to make every minister aware of the work done in infrastructure. The PM is scheduled to chair a review meeting of some ministries on July 5 as he has been doing in the past few weeks.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 5,17,642

New Cases in last 24 hours: 48,855

Recovered in last 24 hours: 62,025

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -14,161

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 991 (3,99,475)

Daily Tests (Tuesday): 19,60,757

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.3%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 20.6% / 4.4%

Most Affected States:

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

1          Maharashtra     1,16,364           /           9,771    /           141

2          Kerala  1,00,877           /           13,658  /           142

3          Karnataka         76,505  /           3,382    /           111

4          Andhra Pradesh            38,338  /           3,797    /           35

5          Tamil Nadu       38,191  /           4,506    /           113

6          Odisha 28,189  /           3,371    /           48

7          Assam  25,088  /           2,479    /           30

8          West Bengal     20,585  /           1,478    /           29

9          Telangana        13,388  /           917       /           10

10        Manipur            6,012    /           592       /           9

11        Chhattisgarh     5,964    /           403       /           1

12        Jammu and Kashmir     4,600    /           364       /           7

13        Meghalaya        4,216    /           352       /           7

14        Mizoram           3,794    /           256       /           1

15        Tripura 3,620    /           431       /           2

16        Punjab  3,134    /           258       /           19

17        Gujarat 3,013    /           90        /           3

18        Uttar Pradesh   2,946    /           N.A.     /           N.A.

19        Arunachal Pradesh        2,762    /           286       /           4

20        Puducherry       2,354    /           264       /           1

21        Goa      2,274    /           240       /           6

22        Uttarakhand      2,101    /           322       /           221

23        Sikkim  2,023    /           220       /           2

24        Bihar    1,756    /           260       /           4

25        Himachal Pradesh         1,625    /           143       /           2

26        Rajasthan         1,471    /           100       /           3

27        Haryana           1,437    /           87        /           14

28        Delhi    1,379    /           94        /           6

29        Nagaland          1,341    /           128       /           2

30        Jharkhand        914       /           85        /           Nil

31        Madhya Pradesh           570       /           33        /           15

32        Lakshadweep    311       /           28        /           Nil

33        Chandigarh       154       /           14        /           Nil

34        Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu      44        /           5          /           Nil

35        Andaman and Nicobar Islands   31        /           1          /           Nil

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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CHINA CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF COMMUNIST PARTY

China is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of it's ruling Communist Party on Thursday with a flyby of fighter jets and helicopters at Tiananmen Square in the centre of capital Beijing.

President Xi Jinping is scheduled to deliver what state media have described as an "important" speech at the iconic Tiananmen Square, where there has been heavy security.

Events are being held across China, including in Hong Kong, which is simultaneously holding commemorations of its 1997 handover from British to Chinese control.

While former president of People's Republic of China Mao Zedong and other past leaders are also featured, the centenary celebrations appear designed to polish Xi's credentials as having achieved key breakthroughs in poverty alleviation and economic progress while raising China's global profile and standing up to the West.

CANADA: MORE UNMARKED GRAVES FOUND NEAR INDIGENOUS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL RUN BY CHURCH

Two churches in Canada went up in flames Wednesday amid calls for a papal apology over abuse at indigenous residential schools where hundreds of unmarked graves were recently discovered.

A First Nations group in Canada's British Columbia said Wednesday it found 182 bodies using radar detection equipment near the site of a former residential school for indigenous children.

St. Eugene's Mission School near Cranbook was operated by the Catholic Church from 1912 until the early 1970s.

Wednesday's discovery follows two similar discoveries at two other church-run schools in Canada in recent weeks.

First, 215 children were discovered in unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, also in British Columbia, in May.

Last week, 751 more bodies were detected at a school in Marieval in Saskatchewan.

Until the late 20th century, the children of Canada's First Nations were forcibly enrolled in 139 residential reform schools. There they were physically and emotionally abused by teachers and principals who refused them the right to speak their language and practice their culture.

A commission of inquiry established that Canada had committed "cultural genocide" and conceded 4,000 had died in the process of forced assimilation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has addressed the issue, calling it a "harmful government policy."

THE REST

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FINALLY, NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU GETS AN AUDIENCE WITH RAHUL GANDHI

A sulking Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is at loggerheads with Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday finally got an audience with former party president Rahul Gandhi.

Earlier in the day, Sidhu had held a meeting with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi had denied any scheduled meeting with the former cricketer-turned-politician and said 'no meeting with Sidhu' to media people waiting outside his residence.

Ironically, Rahul Gandhi did not meet Amarinder Singh, who was also in the national capital a few days ago to meet senior party leaders over the crisis in state unit.

Sidhu has raised a banner of revolt against Amarinder Singh and has gone public with his grievances, much to the discomfort of the Congress.

Sidhu had resigned from the Punjab Cabinet after he was divested of the local bodies portfolio in 2019. He has attacked the chief minister over the alleged delay in justice in the 2015 incidents of sacrilege and subsequent police firing.

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE REMAINS HIGH IN INDIA: PEW RESEARCH

A new Pew Research Center report, based on a face-to-face survey of 29,999 Indian adults fielded between late 2019 and early 2020 – before the COVID-19 pandemic – takes a closer look at religious identity, nationalism and tolerance in Indian society. The survey was conducted by local interviewers in 17 languages and covered nearly all of India’s states and union territories. Here are key findings from the report.

Indians value religious tolerance, though they also live religiously segregated lives. Across the country, most people (84%) say that to be “truly Indian,” it is very important to respect all religions. Indians also are united in the view that respecting other religions is a very important part of what it means to be a member of their own religious community (80%). People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.

But Indians’ commitment to tolerance is accompanied by a strong preference for keeping religious communities segregated. For example, Indians generally say they do not have much in common with members of other religious groups, and large majorities in the six major groups say their close friends come mainly or entirely from their own religious community. That’s true not only for 86% of India’s large Hindu population, but also for smaller groups such as Sikhs (80%) and Jains (72%).

Moreover, roughly two-thirds of Hindus say it is very important to stop Hindu women (67%) or Hindu men (65%) from marrying into other religious communities. Even larger shares of Muslims oppose interreligious marriage: 80% say it is very important to stop Muslim women from marrying outside their religion, and 76% say it is very important to stop Muslim men from doing so.

For many Hindus, national identity, religion and language are closely connected. Nearly two-thirds of Hindus (64%) say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian. Among Hindus who say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian, 80% also say it is very important to speak Hindi to be truly Indian.

Dietary laws are central to Indians’ religious identity. Hindus traditionally view cows as sacred, and laws on cow slaughter have recently been a flashpoint in India. Nearly three-quarters of Hindus (72%) in India say a person cannot be Hindu if they eat beef. That is larger than the shares of Hindus who say a person cannot be Hindu if they do not believe in God (49%) or never go to a temple (48%).

Similarly, three-quarters of Indian Muslims (77%) say that a person cannot be Muslim if they eat pork, which is greater than the share who say a person cannot be Muslim if they do not believe in God (60%) or never attend mosque (61%).

Whether or not Muslims should be allowed to go to their own religious courts remains a hotly debated topic. The survey finds that three-quarters of Muslims (74%) support having access to the existing system of Islamic courts, but followers of other religions are far less likely to support Muslim access to this separate court system.

NO WRONG DONE, SAYS BIOTECH AFTER BRAZIL PUTS OFF DEAL

Bharat Biotech has denied any wrongdoing after Brazil on Wednesday temporarily suspended the $324-million deal to procure India-made Covaxin amid graft allegations that have hit the country’s top brass, including President Jair Bolsonaro.

The deal, involving procurement of 20 million Covaxin doses, came under a cloud after accusations of high pricing ($15 per dose), hasty talks and pending regulatory clearances for the vaccine.

Bharat Biotech yesterday said all due processes were followed and no advance payments had been received from Brazil.

The Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga tweeted about the deal, saying: “According to the CGU’s (auditor) preliminary analysis, there are no irregularities in the contract but due to compliance the Ministry of Health opted to suspend the contract for further analysis.”

Bolsonaro’s government is under the scanner for alleged irregularities over the deal. In a controversy that has come to be called “CovaxinGate”, Bolsonaro has been accused of ignoring possible corruption in the $324-million deal to purchase 20 million doses of Covaxin.

Bharat Biotech signed a contract with Brazil in February this year for supplying Covaxin at $15 per dose. The Brazilian media has reported that although Bharat Biotech had initially quoted a price of $1.34 per dose, the Brazilian government agreed to pay $15 per shot — after having ignored an offer from Pfizer in 2020 at a lower price.

SMALL SAVINGS INTEREST RATES KEPT UNCHANGED

Having withdrawn a cut in rates soon after announcing the same in April, the government has decided to keep the interest rates for small savings schemes unchanged for the July-September quarter, the fifth in a row. The government’s move, coming amid rising inflation and falling incomes, is likely to provide some relief to lower income earners and senior citizens who will continue to earn higher interest income than fixed deposits in banks.

The last revision in small savings rates was for April-June 2020. Given Wednesday’s decision, the senior citizens’ scheme will fetch an interest rate of 7.4% per annum, while the PPF scheme will provide an interest rate of 7.1%. The National Savings Certificate will fetch 6.8%, Kisan Vikas Patra 6.9% and 5-year time deposits 6.7%.

These rates on fixed income instruments are second only to the 8.5% interest offered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation for 2019-20 and proposed for 2020-21.

SUSPENSION OF SCHEDULED INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER FLIGHTS EXTENDED TILL JULY 31

The coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till July 31, aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday.

"However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on select routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) added.

Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020 and under bilateral "air bubble" arrangements with select countries since July 2020.

ABHIMANYU MISHRA, THE YOUNGEST EVER CHESS GRANDMASTER

After months of uncertainty induced by the pandemic, together with a cash-crunch travelling around the world in these difficult times, Indian-origin American Abhimanyu Mishra has become the youngest-ever chess Grandmaster in the world.

At 12 years, four months and 25 days, he obliterated the long-standing record held by Sergey Karjakin, who was 12 years and seven months old when he attained the title. Three years ago, India’s R Praggnanandhaa had almost surpassed him, but missed the opportunity by a whisker. As did many assaults on the 19-year-old record until Abhimanyu’s moment.

INJURED SERENA BIDS TEARFUL ADIEU TO WIMBLEDON

Serena Williams bid a tearful goodbye to Centre Court on Tuesday. She took in the sights before waving to the house that was on its feet applauding their seven-time champion. The American was forced to retire hurt from The Championships midway through the opening set (3-3) of her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Serena was heartbroken. In a statement, the American said, “My love and gratitude are with the fans and the team who make being on Centre Court so meaningful. Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked on — and off — the court meant the world to me.”

Serena slipped twice during her 34 minutes on Centre Court, both times just behind the baseline, where the grass appears lush. She injured her right leg. A little before the American superstar arrived on court, Frenchman Adrian Mannarino had a nasty fall and was forced out of a gripping contest with Roger Federer.

Tournament referee Gerry Armstrong later approached the Swiss seeking his opinion of the courts. “The court is playing normally, as we know it,” the eight-time champion said. “It feels a tad more slippery under the roof. You have to move very, very carefully. If you push too hard in the wrong moments, you go down. I feel it’s drier during the day, the wind takes the moisture out of the grass,” Federer said.

INDICATORS

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GBP 0.72 /US$, Euro 0.84 /US$, Jap.Yen 110.74 /US$, Aus$ 1.33 /US$, Sing 1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 83.33 /US$, Can$ 1.23 /US$, Mal Ring 4.14 /US$,

Pak Re 157.88 /US$, Phil Peso 48.77 /US$, Russian Rouble 72.94 /US$, NZ$ 1.43 /US$, Thai Baht 32.00 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.01 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 34,335

Dollar Index 92.40 Brent Crude 75.13  BDI 3,383

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,773 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,674 / 4,574, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 72,900

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Men do not desire to be rich, but to be richer than other men. - John Stuart Mill

OFF TRACK

An American soldier stationed in Afghanistan recently received a letter from his girlfriend back home. It read as follows:

Dear Greg, I can no longer continue our relationship. The distance between us is just too great. I must admit that I have cheated on you twice, since you've been gone, and it's not fair to either of us. I'm sorry. Please return the picture of me that I sent to you. Love, Becky..............

The soldier, with hurt feelings, asked his fellow soldiers for any snapshots they could spare of their girlfriends, sisters or ex-girlfriends. In addition to the picture of Becky, Greg included all the other pictures of the pretty gals he had collected from his buddies. There were 57 photos in that envelope.... along with this note:

Dear Becky, I'm so sorry, but I can't quite remember who you are. Please take out your picture, and send the rest back to me. Take Care, Greg.