DIGITAL HEALTH IDS FOR ALL; MEDICAL FILES TO BE PASSÉ

Decks were cleared for the generation of digital health IDs of all Indians with PM Narendra Modi launching the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission yesterday. The initiative would facilitate maintenance of patients’ record in digital format for easy access by doctors. It would also bring hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and laboratories on a single online platform for citizens to choose from.

Terming the mission’s launch as historic and “an unprecedented phase in health reforms in India”, the PM said it had the potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery with huge benefits for the poor and middle classes who postpone treatments due to varied difficulties. “The mission will make hospital access easy. At present, the digital solution of one hospital is restricted to that hospital only. Patients have to repeat tests and registrations every time they seek fresh consultation elsewhere. They have to move around with old medical files. This wastes time of patients and doctors and causes avoidable expenditure. Absence of medical history can also lead to contradictory treatment. The mission solves this,” the PM said.

He said health records of citizens would be digitally protected and patients and doctors could access these whenever they want. “Doctors, nurses and paramedics will be registered on the digital platform along with labs and pharmacies. All stakeholders will be brought on one platform,” he said.

“Labs and pharmacy identification will become easy. Treatment and healthcare policy systems will become more effective since doctors and hospitals can use the mission for remote counselling,” the PM said.

BANDH DISRUPTS LIFE IN FARM STIR CENTRES

Farm groups in Punjab, which have been at the forefront of the struggle against the Central farm laws, brought the state to near standstill on Monday as the Bharat bandh paralysed rail and road traffic, and business establishments were shut in all towns and cities. While the impact was less severe in Haryana, the western part of Uttar Pradesh saw some toll plazas being blocked and trains cancelled due to protests on tracks.

Impact of the bandh was visible in Rajasthan’s agriculture-dominated Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts, where major mandis and markets remained closed.

The bandh failed to have a big impact in rest of country, except normal life affected in Kolkata and places in Kerala.

The Bharat bandh call was given to mark a year of the ongoing farmers agitation in Punjab and 10 months on the borders of Delhi.

Expressing support for protesting farmers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the farmers’ non-violent ‘satyagraha’ is still resolute but the “exploitative” government does not like this and that is why a ‘Bharat Bandh’ has been called.

The Congress had asked its workers, state unit chiefs and heads of frontal organisations to take part in the Bandh.

ICMR EXPERTS FAVOUR PHASED REOPENING OF SCHOOLS

Schools need to be reopened in a phased manner, starting with primary sections with proper implementation of multi-layered Covid-19 mitigation measures, according to experts at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

In an opinion piece published in The Indian Journal of Medical Research, the experts cited a UNESCO report which stated that school closures in India for more than 500 days have affected over 320 million children. It has hit hard children from the relatively deprived hamlets and slums with many not being able to read more than a few words.

A survey has found that students missed out on social interactions, lacked physical activity and had a sense of loosening the bonds of friendship due to prolonged school closures, mentioned the piece ‘Reopening of schools during Covid-19 pandemic: A persistent dilemma’.

In the opinion piece that has synthesised scientific evidence from within India and abroad on the justification for reopening of schools, experts said knowing that Covid-19 transmission is an “over-dispersed” phenomenon, testing strategies in schools could serve as key interventions to check the potential spread of the virus.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 2,84,060

New Cases in last 24 hours: 14,898

Recovered in last 24 hours: 24,237

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -9,520

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 181 (4,47,406)

Daily Tests (Sunday): 11,65,006

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

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 47.5% / 17.0%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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TALIBAN, AF EX-GOVT DISPUTE ENDS WITH NO UN SPEECH

The dispute between Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers and its former government over who should speak at the United Nations’ annual meeting of world leaders finally has an answer: no one. The Taliban had challenged the credentials of the ambassador from Afghanistan’s former government, and asked to represent the country at this year’s General Assembly summit, which began September 21 and ended on Monday. But all challenges to credentials must be heard by the assembly’s credentials committee, which generally meets in November and did not convene earlier to hear the challenge.

‘PANDEMIC CUT LIFE EXPECTANCY BY MOST SINCE WWII’

The Covid-19 pandemic reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War Two, according to a study published on Monday by Oxford University. Life expectancy fell by more than six months compared with 2019 in 22 of the 29 countries analysed, which spanned Europe, the US and Chile. There were reductions in life expectancy in 27 of the 29 countries overall.

The study said most life expectancy reductions across different countries could be linked to official Covid deaths. “The fact that our results highlight such a large impact that is directly attributable to Covid shows how devastating a shock it has been for many countries,” said Dr Ridhi Kashyap, study’s co-lead author. Nearly 5 million reported deaths have been caused by coronavirus so far.

There were greater drops in life expectancy for men than women in most countries, with the largest decline in American men, who saw life expectancy drop by 2.2 years relative to 2019. Overall, men had more than a year shaved off in 15 countries, compared to women in 11 nations.

PANIC BUYING LEAVES UP TO 90% OF FUEL PUMPS DRY IN BRITISH CITIES

Up to 90% of British fuel stations ran dry across major English cities on Monday after panic buying deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers that retailers are warning could batter the world’s fifth-largest economy. A dire post-Brexit shortage of lorry drivers emerging after the Covid pandemic has sown chaos through British supply chains in everything from food to fuel, raising the spectre of disruptions and price rises in the run up to Christmas.

Just days after PM Boris Johnson’s government spent millions of pounds to avert a food shortage due to a spike in prices for natural gas, the biggest cost in fertilizer production, ministers asked people to refrain from panic buying. But queues of dozens of cars snaked back from petrol stations across the country on Sunday, swallowing up supplies and forcing many gas stations to simply close. Pumps across-British cities were either closed or had signs saying fuel was unavailable on Monday.

Britain is said to be considering calling in the army to ensure fuel supplies reach consumers.

Britain’s retail industry warned the government on Friday that unless it moves to alleviate an acute shortage of truckers in the next 10 days significant disruption was inevitable in run-up to Christmas.

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NEW VERSION OF AKASH MISSILE SUCCESSFULLY FLIGHT-TESTED

A new version of the Akash missile was successfully flight-tested on Monday from the integrated test range at Chandipur in Odisha.

"In comparison to the existing Akash system, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active RF seeker for improved accuracy. Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under a low-temperature environment at higher altitudes," said an official.

The modified ground system of the existing Akash weapon system was for the flight test. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated the DRDO, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and other stakeholders on the successful trial of the Akash prime missile.

CYCLONE GULAB: VISAKHAPATNAM AIRPORT FACES SEVERE WATERLOGGING

The Visakhapatnam International Airport today witnessed severe waterlogging following heavy rainfall due to cyclone 'Gulab' in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh.

The cyclonic storm, which crossed the Bay of Bengal coast near Kalingapatnam on Sunday night, caused widespread rains in several districts of Andhra Pradesh on Monday and also left a trail of destruction.

Visakhapatnam received a 30-year high rainfall of over 33.3 cm in 24 hours due to the cyclone.

CJI QUESTIONS PRIORITY LISTING FOR CORPORATE MATTERS

Taking exception to lawyers frequently mentioning corporate matters for urgent listing, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Monday said he would streamline the system of mentioning urgent cases.

Noting that cases of the weaker sections and criminal matters were taking a backstage, the CJI said, “We have to wait. We are streamlining the (mentioning) system and here corporations want their matters to be listed first.”

Referring to pending criminal appeals, family disputes and cases of poor people, the CJI said, “There are pending criminal appeals, bail matters and other cases of people from weaker sections. They are lagging behind.” After taking over as the CJI in April, Justice Ramana had discontinued the practice of allowing direct mentioning of cases for urgent listing before the Benches and has instead asked the lawyers to mention their cases before the designated official.

Instead, he had started a new system of mentioning cases for urgent hearings before top court officials instead of directly before Benches to ensure that senior lawyers were not given “special priority”. “We do not want to give any special priority to the senior lawyers and deprive the junior lawyers of opportunities. So this system was made, where all can make the mention before the mentioning Registrar”, he had said.

2 LOCAL LEADERS HELD FOR 'INCITING VIOLENCE' DURING ASSAM EVICTION DRIVE

Two local leaders were arrested for allegedly inciting violence during the eviction drive at Sipajhar in Assam's Darrang district on September 23 in which two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in police firing and over 20 injured, an official said on Monday.

The arrested are Shan Mahmood, president of Chanua gram panchayat, and Hasmat Ali, a former president of the Baznapathar gram panchayat and they are presently in the custody of CID which is probing the incident, a district police official said.

'The two were arrested on Sunday night for instigating the people to attack the police during the eviction drive,”the official said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had alleged on Saturday that there is evidence that the Popular Front of India was involved in the violence during the eviction drive and has written to the Centre to ban the outfit.

FILING PILs HAS BECOME AN INDUSTRY IN ITSELF, CENTRE TELLS HC

Filing public interest litigations (PILs) has become an industry and a career in itself, the Centre said in the Delhi High Court on Monday as it argued that the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner deserved no intervention.

“(They say) there are good officers. Who are they? Are they the persons who possibly felt aggrieved? PIL is an industry, a career by itself, which was not envisaged,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued before a bench headed by Chief Justice D N Patel which reserved its verdict on lawyer Sadre Alam’s PIL against Asthana’s appointment.

Mehta, representing the Centre, stated that Asthana was appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner after following the due procedure, as applicable to the national capital, and a PIL could not be permitted to be a “forum for settling scores”.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, representing Asthana, claimed before the bench, which also comprised Justice Jyoti Singh, that the petitioner was “a proxy for somebody who does not want to come in the front” and holds “personal vendetta”.

Both Centre and Asthana objected to the intervention plea filed by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), which has already moved the Supreme Court against the appointment.

“Neither the petitioner nor the intervenor is entitled to be heard by the court because of the malafide conduct,” said Rohatgi.

SET UP DIGITAL ARCHIVE TO RECOGNISE CONTRIBUTION OF WORKERS IN MAKING NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING: PM MODI

Reviewing the ongoing construction work of the new parliament building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a digital archive must be set up to recognise the contribution of workers employed there.

He also told officials to ensure Covid-19 vaccination and monthly health check-up of all workers engaged at the site, a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement said on Monday.

The prime minister had visited the site on Sunday evening and had laid emphasis on timely completion of the project.

He interacted with workers engaged at the site and also enquired about their well-being.

Prime Minister Modi stressed that they are engaged in a “pious and historic” work.

The digital archive at the site should also reflect their personal details, including their name, place they belong to, their picture, while noting their contribution to the construction work, he said. Workers should also be given a certificate about their role and participation in this endeavour, the statement said.

PM’S VISIT TO CENTRAL VISTA PROJECT SITE ‘THOUGHTLESS, INSENSITIVE’ GESTURE: CONGRESS

The Congress on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting the construction site of the Central Vista project, and dubbed it as a “thoughtless and insensitive” gesture.

The party also said the timing of the Central Vista project was questionable as the country was still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic after losing precious lives during the second wave.

“We would have supported him had he visited some hospital site. I am sorry we cannot support a gesture as thoughtless, as insensitive as this,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters. “I don’t know if the prime minister was seen visiting a hospital or an oxygen plant under construction. Three months ago, we were trying to save our loved ones and today our PM goes to visit the Rs 25,000 crore Central Vista project, the timing of which is questionable. The country is yet to recover from the pain, grief and sorrow that we went through,” he said.

WOMEN MAKE ONLY 29% OF WORKFORCE IN ORGANISED JOB SECTOR

India’s organised job market is severely skewed against women with employment opportunities for them mostly restricted to traditional sectors of education and health.

Disaggregated data from the government’s quarterly employment survey (April-June) covering 10,593 units employing over 10 workers across nine non-farm sectors show massive gender disparity.

Out of all estimated workers in manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, education, health, accommodation & restaurant, IT/ BPO and financial services, 70.7 per cent are male and 29.3 per cent female. Women workforce share is higher among employee category and negligible in the self-employed category.

Of the entire organised job market in the nine sectors, 98.3 per cent of the total estimated employment is in the employees category and just 1.7 per cent in the self-employed section.

Across both segments, women remain at the bottom of the ladder. Men make up 69.2 per cent of the employees and women 29.1 per cent.

The self-employed category has 1.5 per cent are male and 0.2% female workers.

THE LANCET UNDER FIRE FOR ‘DEHUMANISING WOMEN’

World’s leading medical journal The Lancet is under fire for using objectionable terminology for woman’s form, drawing sharp reactions from activists, readers and feminists who termed the expression “dehumanising”, “sexist” and “incredibly demeaning”.

At the heart of the row is a front page reference in The Lancet’s latest edition, which says “Historically, the anatomy and physiology of bodies with vaginas have been neglected”.

Activists, readers and feminists have termed the said expression as “dehumanising”, “sexist” and “incredibly demeaning”

The reference first appeared in article “Periods on Display”, which was published earlier this month. The article examines taboos around menstrual health. It is now fully reproduced in The Lancet’s September edition and has a pointer on the front page.

A section of reproductive rights activists termed the use of the expression “a new low”, while others said it amounted to “medical misogyny”.

IPL MATCH 40: HYDERABAD SPOIL RAJASTHAN’S CHANCES

Opener Jason Roy and skipper Kane Williamson fired gutsy half-centuries to steer Sunrisers Hyderabad to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in Dubai, on Monday.

Opting to bat, the Royals scored 164 for 6 on the back of a well-calculated 82-run knock by skipper Sanju Samson.

However, the total proved insufficient as Roy (60 off 42) and Williamson (51 not out) led the team to only their second win of the season. Sunrisers reached 167/3 with 9 balls top spare.

The defeat dented the Royals' play-off chances as they remain in sixth spot, with eight points.

RR (Placed 6th) – 10 Matches, 4 Wins; SRH (Placed 8th) 10 Matches, 2 Wins

Today’s Matches: KKR vs DC; MI vs PBKS

INDICATORS

Sensex 60,078 (+30), Nifty 17,855 (+2), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 68,710

Nasdaq 14,970 (-78) Dow 34,869 (+71), S&P 4,443 (-12)

US$-Rs. 73.68 GBP-Rs. 100.90, Euro-Rs. 86.25, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.05, Can$-Rs. 58.31, Aus$- Rs. 53.62

GBP 0.73 /US$, Euro 0.85 /US$, Jap.Yen 110.84 /US$, Aus$ 1.37 /US$, Sing 1.35 /US$, Bang Taka 83.89 /US$, Can$ 1.26 /US$, Mal Ring 4.18 /US$,

Pak Re 169.05 /US$, Phil Peso 51.02 /US$, Russian Rouble 72.58 /US$, NZ$ 1.42 /US$, Thai Baht 33.48 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.52 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 42,508

Dollar Index 93.44, Brent Crude 79.74 BDI 4,717

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,753 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,628 / 4,528, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 64,700

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us. – Voltaire

OFF TRACK

Taking his seat in his chambers, the judge faced the opposing lawyers.  "So," he said, "I have been presented, by both of you, with a bribe."

Both lawyers squirmed uncomfortably. "You, attorney Leon, gave me $15,000. And you, attorney Campos, gave me $10,000."  The judge reached into his pocket and pulled out a check. He handed it to Leon.

"Now then, I'm returning $5,000, and we're going to decide this case solely on its merits".