PM MODI OFFERS CO-WIN MODEL TO REST OF THE WORLD

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday offered India’s Co-WIN platform to the world for adaptation to local use.

Speaking at the global Co-WIN conclave being attended by health and technology experts from abroad, Modi said having been used in India, “you can be sure the software has been tested in the real world for speed and scale”.

Pointing out that vaccination is the best hope for the humanity to emerge successfully from the pandemic, PM Modi pointed out that right from the beginning, India had decided to adopt a completely digital approach while planning its vaccination strategy as it thought such an approach was necessary if the post pandemic world has to return to normalcy.

In addition, such proof must be safe, secure and trustworthy. People must have a record of when, where and by whom they have been vaccinated. Given how precious each dose of vaccine is, the government was also concerned that each dose should be tracked and wastage minimised. This was not possible without an end-to-end digital approach.

The Indian civilisation considers the world as one family and the pandemic made people realise the fundamental truth of this philosophy.

Co-WIN was prepared in an open-source format so that it could be available in any and all countries.

The government has claimed that about 50 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama and Uganda, have shown interest in knowing about Co-WIN.

GUPKAR SAYS LET DOWN BY MEETING WITH PM MODI: ‘BEFORE POLLS, STATEHOOD’

In its first joint statement after the June 24 all-party meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) Monday said it was “disappointed” with its outcome.

In the statement, issued a day after the allies met Sunday, the PAGD said restoration of statehood was the BJP’s commitment on the floor of Parliament. “So any Assembly election must be held only after restoration of full statehood for J&K. To this end, the PAGD has decided to reach out to other political parties in J&K with a view to take a common position on the issue,” it said.

The statement comes a day before the Delimitation Commission is scheduled to visit J&K to interact with political parties, public representatives and state government officials on redrawing boundaries of existing Assembly seats.

The Gupkar group, a coalition of mainstream political parties of J&K, mainly the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party and the CPM, had met Sunday at the residence of PAGD Chairman Farooq Abdullah.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior Congress leader and former CM of J&K had earlier said that the government must restore full statehood to J&K before elections are held.

In the all-party meeting on June 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured political leaders from J&K that his government was committed to reviving the democratic process through Assembly elections as early as possible and sought their participation in the delimitation exercise. In the Central government’s scheme of things, statehood will be restored after the polls.

CBSE ANNOUNCES ASSESSMENT SCHEME FOR CLASSES X, XII FOR NEW SESION

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday announced a special assessment scheme for class 10 and 12 board exams for next year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, splitting the academic session into two terms.

The board has also announced plans to rationalise the syllabus for 2021-22 academic session and to make the internal assessment and project work more "credible" and "valid".

As per an official order by Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academic), CBSE, the term one exams will be held in November-December, 2021 while the second term exams will be conducted in March-April, 2022.

"The syllabus for the academic session 2021-22 will be divided into two terms by following a systematic approach by looking into the interconnectivity of concepts and topics by the Subject Experts," he said.

"The Board will conduct examinations at the end of each term on the basis of the bifurcated syllabus. This has been done to increase the probability of having a board conducted examinations at the end of the academic session," he said.

"Efforts will be made to make internal assessment, practical, project work more credible and valid as per the guidelines and moderation policy to be announced by the board to ensure fair distribution of marks," he added.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 4,58,629

New Cases in last 24 hours: 34,007

Recovered in last 24 hours: 51,845

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -18,390

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 552 (4,03,310)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 15,22,504

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 2.6%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 21.6% / 4.8%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

OPEC+ IN CRISIS AS SPECTER OF DESTRUCTIVE INFIGHTING LOOMS

The OPEC+ oil cartel is facing its biggest crisis since a price war at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The UAE, the group’s fourth-biggest producer, argued against a deal proposed by Saudi Arabia and Russia to extend quota limits until the end of next year, rather than ending them in April as originally planned.

The UAE agreed with the other 22 OPEC+ members that monthly output cuts should be eased by 400,000 barrels a day from August, but said the extension should be treated separately.

The group normally settles its differences in private and likes to put on a show of unity. But this rift runs so deep that the energy ministers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia aired their grievances in interviews with Bloomberg Television and other media on Sunday.

The OPEC and its allies were meant to reconvene on Monday to try to bridge the divide, but called their meeting off. Without a deal, markets will be left in limbo at a time when they’re clamoring for more oil, prices for which are already up around 50% this year.

The UAE claims it can pump much more than the 3.2 million barrels a day baseline accorded to it under OPEC+’s quota system. Energy Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei said that level’s “totally unfair and unsustainable.” The country wants an increase to 3.8 million barrels daily if the supply agreement -- signed in April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic was crushing oil demand -- is extended until the end of 2022.

Mazrouei said the UAE has roughly one-third of its output idle, meaning it’s “sacrificing” its production to a greater extent than other OPEC+ members.

Saudi Arabia argues that it’s withholding much more oil than the UAE -- and has done for years. Riyadh also insists that the extension is needed to put energy markets at ease because of the continued threat to fuel consumption from the pandemic.

TALIBAN FORCE AF TROOPS TO FLEE TO TAJIKISTAN

More than 1,000 Afghan security personnel have fled across the border into Tajikistan after Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan, the Tajik border guard service said on Monday, while dozens of others were captured by the insurgents. The crossings on Sunday underscore a rapidly deteriorating situation in the country as foreign troops near a full withdrawal after 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani spoke to his Tajik counterpart, President Emomali Rakhmon, by phone to discuss the developments. Tajik president’s office said that Rakhmon expressed concern about “forced crossings” by members of the Afghan security forces.

Rakhmon on Monday ordered the mobilisation of 20,000 military reservists to bolster the border with Afghanistan. Tajikistan is looking into setting up camps for potential refugees from Afghanistan, government sources said.

Rakhmon also made a flurry of international calls to discuss the situation with allies in the region, including Russian counterpart Putin whose country has a big military presence in Tajikistan. Putin reassured him that Moscow would support the former Soviet republic to stabilise its border if needed.

Meanwhile, Russia, Turkey and Iran reportedly suspended operations at their consulates in north Afghanistan amid security concerns.

UK PM OUTLINES END TO COVID CURBS

British PM Boris Johnson set out plans on Monday to end social and economic Covid-19 restrictions in England in two weeks’ time, a test of whether a rapid vaccine rollout offers enough protection from the Delta variant. Johnson confirmed the government aimed to end restrictive steps on July 19, with a final decision to be taken next week. He said the step would eliminate formal limits on social contact, the instruction to work from home, and mandates to wear face masks.

Johnson is betting the vaccination programme, which has weakened the link between infections and hospitalisations, can prevent the health service being overwhelmed by a new Covid wave.

THE REST

=========

ACTIVIST STAN SWAMY, UNDER ARREST, DIES IN A MUMBAI HOSPITAL

Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, 83, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, died in Holy Family Hospital in suburban Bandra, yesterday.

The tribal rights activist was admitted to the private hospital on May 29 from the Taloja prison following the HC's order on a petition filed by him, seeking medical attention as he was then suffering from Covid and Parkinson's disease.

When the National Investigation Agency (NIA) summoned Father Stan Swamy to its Mumbai office in October last year, its officials said the Jesuit priest and rights activist was to be interrogated further in connection with the Elgar Parishad case.

Swamy was arrested on October 8 and flown to Mumbai the next day, but the central agency did not seek his custody for interrogation. The following day, October 9, the NIA court, where Swamy was produced, sent him to judicial custody in Taloja Central Jail, where he remained until he was shifted to a private hospital on May 28, where he died on Monday.

“What was the need for his arrest as not a single day’s custody was sought?” asked Swamy’s lawyer Mihir Desai before the Bombay High Court on Monday, minutes after the bench was informed of Swamy’s death.

Swamy’s death led to outrage among politicians and activists.

MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY: 12 BJP MLAs SUSPENDED FOR 1 YEAR

Twelve BJP MLAs were suspended on Monday from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for one year after the state government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber.

Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis termed the allegation as false and said Jadhav’s account of the incident was “one-sided”.

However, Jadhav sought a probe into the allegation that some Shiv Sena members and he himself made uncharitable remarks, and said he was ready to face any punishment if it was proven true.

The motion to suspend the MLAs was moved by state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anil Parab and passed by a voice vote.

Objecting to the decision, BJP members, led by Fadnavis, said the opposition would boycott the House proceedings. “This is a false allegation and an attempt to reduce the numbers of opposition benches, because we exposed the government’s falsehood on the OBC quota in local bodies,” Fadnavis said.

SHOCKING: SUPREME COURT ON FIRS UNDER JUNKED SECTION OF IT ACT

The Supreme Court on Monday expressed shock that people were still being booked under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act that was scrapped by it in 2015.

Under the said section, a person posting offensive messages could be imprisoned for up to three years as also fined. The provision gave sweeping powers to police to arrest people for posting “offensive” comments online

“Shreya Singhal judgment is of 2015...It’s really shocking. What’s going on is terrible,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice RF Nariman said.

Advocate Sanjay Parikh, representing the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said despite directions issued by the court in 2019 that all state governments should sensitise police personnel about the judgment, thousands of cases had been registered under the scrapped provision.

“We have seen those figures. Don’t worry we will do something,” said the Bench, which issued a notice to the Centre, asking it to reply in two weeks.

Attorney General KK Venugopal told the Bench that on a perusal of the Act, it could be seen that Section 66A featured in it. However, the footnote made it clear that the provision had been scrapped. “When a cop has to register a case, he sees the section without going through the footnote. We can put a bracket after the section to mention it has been scrapped,” he said.

DELHI’S NEW EXCISE POLICY TO PROMOTE MICROBREWERIES

Delhiites will now be able to fill their bottles or ‘growlers’ with freshly brewed beer from any microbrewery in the city as the Delhi Excise policy for 2021-22 promises to promote such establishments.

The policy allows microbreweries to supply draught beer to bars and also provide takeaway services. Senior officials of the excise department said the move will allow people to go to such microbreweries and take away freshly brewed beer.

The policy document also stated that draught beer shall also be allowed to be served at permitted events, banquet halls that have temporary licences such as P-10, P-10E etc.

INDIA-BORN SIRISHA BANDLA TO FLY INTO SPACE WITH VIRGIN'S RICHARD BRANSON

Indian-origin astronaut, Sirisha Bandla will be taking care of the researcher experience on the Unity22 mission, when a Virgin Galactic test flight travels to the edge of space on July 11.

Andhra Pradesh-born Bandla will be one of the six space travellers aboard 'VSS Unity' of Virgin Galactic, scheduled to take off to space on July 11 from New Mexico alongside the founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson.

The girl from Guntur district, who was brought up in Houston will become the second India-born woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla.

UK billionaire and founder of the Virgin Galactic company Richard Branson announced on June 2 that he will make a spaceflight on July 11, earlier than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Bezos is also going to make a spaceflight on board the New Shepard spaceship, which is scheduled for July 20.

PESKY CALLS: GOVT IMPOSES PENALTIES OF UP TO ₹10,000

Unable to effectively control the menace of pesky callers and unsolicited messaging, the government has finally decided to slap financial penalties on offenders, also putting in place a mechanism to dismantle the infrastructure of repeated troublemakers, including disabling their numbers and mobile devices.

To opt out of any promotional SMS henceforth, a mobile phone subscriber will need to send an SMS to 1909 with the message ‘STOP’ followed by the name of the company which has been sending the nagging, unwanted communication.

“This will block all the promotional communications from all the headers registered against the said entity, except transactional messages,” the telecom department said. Apart from unregistered telemarketers, the government has prescribed the stringent regime for even the registered marketers who may be crossing their permissible briefs.

In case of registered telemarketer, the per violation penalty ranges from Rs 1,000 and goes up to Rs 10,000, with disconnection happening when the unwanted communication goes on for three months in particular cases, or exceeds 50 cases in a month for two months.

MARY KOM, MANPREET TO BE INDIA’S FLAG BEARERS AT OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY

Celebrated boxer M C Mary Kom and men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh will be flag bearers at opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics.

One of India’s biggest hopes, wrestler Bajrang Punia will be flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has communicated the decision in this regard to the Organising Committee of the Games.

At its executive board meeting last year, the International Olympic Committee had made provisions for flag-bearers from both genders at the opening ceremony.

The Tokyo Games are scheduled to open on July 23 and over 100 Indian athletes would be gunning for podium finishes at the showpiece event.

FEDERER THE OLDEST EVER TO ENTER WIMBLEDON QUARTER FINALS

Eight-time champion Roger Federer, on Monday, became the oldest man to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since the Open Era began in 1968. Federer, who will be 40 on August 8, eased past Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-interrupted contest, to make the last-eight at at Wimbledon for the 18th time.

While the great Swiss had an up and down game, Novak Djokovic kept it short and sweet on Centre Court, stringing a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Chile’s 20th-ranked Cristian Garin.

Some 100 meters from that much chronicled stadia is Court No.18, where a near four-hour round-of-16 clash was played. Karen Khachanov finally put out birthday boy Sebastian Korda 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 to make his first quarterfinal in the grass-court major.

In an upset on Court 1, Felix Auger-Aliassime upset No. 4-seeded Alexander Zverev. Auger-Aliassime endured a spirited comeback attempt from Zverev to win 6-4, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4.

In what will be his 58th Grand Slam quarterfinal, Federer will face either second seed Daniil Medvedev or Hubert Hurkacz, the 14th seed, for a place in the semifinals. Medvedev was leading Hurkacz 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 3-4 when play was halted for the night due to rain.

The other Men's Singles Quarter Finals are lined up thus:

N. Djokovic(1) vs M. Fucsovics

K. Khachanov(25) vs D. Shapovalov(10)

M. Berrettini(7) vs F. Auger-Aliassime(16)

Women's SIngles Quarter Finals line up:

A. Barty(1) vs A. Tomljanovic

K. Muchova(19) vs A. Kerber(25)

K. Pliskova(8) vs V. Golubic

O. Jabeur(21) vs A. Sabalenka(2)

INDICATORS

Sensex 52,880 (+395), Nifty 15,834 (+112), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 58039.88

(US Markets were closed yesterday on account of Independence Day Holiday)

US$-Rs. 74.26 GBP-Rs. 102.79, Euro-Rs. 88.09, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.21, Can$-Rs. 60.16, Aus$- Rs. 55.89

GBP 0.72 /US$, Euro 0.84 /US$, Jap.Yen 110.97 /US$, Aus$ 1.32 /US$, Sing 1.34 /US$, Bang Taka 83.16 /US$, Can$ 1.23 /US$, Mal Ring 4.15 /US$,

Pak Re 156.99 /US$, Phil Peso 49.25 /US$, Russian Rouble 73.35 /US$, NZ$ 1.42 /US$, Thai Baht 32.09 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 27.08 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 33,866

Dollar Index 92.18 Brent Crude 77.60  BDI 3,224.00

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,797 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,743 / 4,643, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 75,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. - Bill Gates

OFF TRACK

Joe's wife likes to sing so she decided to join the church choir. From time to time she would practice while she was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Whenever she would start in on a song, Joe would head outside to the porch. 

His wife, with hurt feelings, said, "What's the matter, Joe? Don't you like my singing?" 

Joe replied, "Honey, I love your singing, but I just want to make sure the neighbors know I'm not beating you."