NO NOD FOR BHARAT BIO'S COVAXIN YET, WHO SEEKS 'ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATIONS'

The World Health Organisation's technical advisory group on Tuesday sought "additional clarifications" from Bharat Biotech for its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin to conduct a final “risk-benefit assessment” for Emergency Use Listing of the vaccine. The technical advisory group will now meet on November 3 for a final assessment.

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which has developed Covaxin, had submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) to the WHO on April 19 for the vaccine's Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

The Technical Advisory Group for Emergency Use Listing (TAG-EUL) is an independent advisory group that provides recommendations to WHO on whether a Covid 19 vaccine can be listed for emergency use under the EUL procedure.

The WHO has so far approved Covid-19 vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson & Johnson-Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm for emergency use.

Last week, the WHO had said it is expecting one additional piece of information from Bharat Biotech regarding Covaxin and emphasised that it has to thoroughly evaluate to ensure vaccines are safe and “cannot cut corners” before recommending a vaccine for emergency use.

11 CRORE MISSED 2ND COVID DOSE DEADLINE

Alarmed by a massive backlog of people whose second Covid-19 doses are overdue, the Centre will on Wednesday meet state health ministers to push for speedy saturation of the eligible people.

As many as 11 crore people in the country have not taken their second doses despite the lapse of the mandatory interval between the two Covid-19 vaccine shots.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will meet state counterparts tomorrow to look at ways of covering the left out population.

As of now, more than 76 per cent of India’s 94.4 crore adults have received at least one dose but only about 32 per cent of the adults have been fully inoculated with both the shots.

The Health Ministry has repeatedly flagged to states the challenge of achieving full vaccination of eligible people.

SC RESERVES ORDER ON RESERVATION IN JOB PROMOTION TO SCS/STS

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment on the issue of the grant of reservation in promotion to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in government jobs.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Nageswara Rao heard all the parties in the matter including attorney general K K Venugopal, additional solicitor general Balbir Singh, and other senior lawyers appearing for various states.

The Centre had earlier told the bench also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai that it is a fact of life that even after around 75 years those belonging to SCs and STs have not been brought to the same level of merit as the forward classes. Venugopal had submitted that it is more difficult for those belonging to the SCs and STs to get a higher post in group A category of jobs and time has come when the apex court should give some concrete basis for SCs, STs, and other backward classes to fill up vacancies.

US SENATORS URGE BIDEN TO WAIVE SANCTIONS AGAINST INDIA FOR BUYING RUSSIAN S-400

Two US Senators have urged President Joe Biden to waive Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions against India for buying military arms from Russia.

US Senators and India Caucus Co-Chairs Mark Warner and John Cornyn sent a letter to President Biden encouraging him to waive CAATSA sanctions against India.

India signed a USD 5.43-billion deal with Russia for the purchase of five S-400 surface to air missile systems during the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi on October 5, 2019, for long-term security needs.

Washington had indicated that the Russian S-400 systems may trigger CAATSA sanctions.

"While India has taken significant steps to reduce its purchases of Russian military equipment, it has a long history of purchasing arms from the Soviet Union, and later Russia. In 2018, India formally agreed to purchase Russian S-400 Triumf air-defence systems after having signed an initial agreement with Russia two years prior. We are concerned that the upcoming transfer of these systems will trigger sanctions under the CAATSA, which was enacted to hold Russia accountable for its malign behaviour," the letter read.

The senators said that while they shared the administration's concern regarding the purchase and the continued Indian integration of Russian equipment, such transactions between New Delhi and Moscow were declining.

KEY COVID NUMBERS

Current Active Cases Countrywide: 1,56,337

New Cases in last 24 hours: 13,499

Recovered in last 24 hours: 14,049

Change in no. of Active cases in last 24 hours: -1,134

No. of deaths in last 24 hours (Total Covid Deaths so far): 584 (4,55,684)

Daily Tests (Monday): 11,31,826

Daily Positivity Rate (Proportion of Positives among total Tested): 1.2%

Percentage of Population Vaccinated (At Least One Dose / Two Doses): 54.0% / 23.3%

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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IMRAN RELENTS, ARMY HAS ITS SAY OVER ISI CHIEF PICK

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was forced to backtrack after a 20-day standoff with Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa over the appointment of the next chief of spy agency ISI.

The Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday notified the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum as the new ISI chief, replacing Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, reportedly an Imran Khan favourite.

The impasse began on October 6 when the Pakistan Army announced a reshuffle of its top echelons that included the shifting of Lt General Hameed as the Peshawar corps commander. The Prime Minister’s Office did not issue an official notification of Lt General Anjum’s appointment as the new ISI chief, leading to speculation about the strain in civil-military relations.

For days, rumours of an army takeover had swirled in Islamabad. Lately, the government’s troubles multiplied after it faced a law and order threat from Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a radical Islamist organisation. The Bajwa-Imran Khan rapprochement coincided with an end to protests by the TLP that had claimed 10 lives, including those of three policemen.

U.S. ISSUES VACCINES-BASED ENTRY RULES FOR AIR TRAVEL

Most adults who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents and want to fly to the country on or after November 8 will have to be fully vaccinated, as per a new Presidential Proclamation signed by U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday. The rules, which also include pre-travel testing specifications, have been expected for weeks and will harmonise disparate, country-specific rules. For some jurisdictions and countries, including India, Brazil, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa and the U.K. , where entry into the U.S. has been the exception to the rule, it will mean a significant easing of restrictions.

“For purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines will be accepted that include the FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listed vaccines,” a senior administration official told reporters on a briefing call on Monday. Covishield – a version of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India – is on the WHO list.

Children under 18 are exempt from the vaccine entry requirement as many countries have not permitted children to get vaccines on the CDC list.

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A NAVY COMMANDER, 2 RETD OFFICERS HELD FOR LEAKING SUB INFO

The CBI yesterday said it had arrested five persons, including a serving naval Commander, on the allegations of leaking confidential information related to an ongoing submarine project in return for illegal gratification. All five arrested have been sent to judicial custody.

The arrested Commander ‘discussed’ details of Kilo-class submarine project with the two retired officers for ‘illegal gratification’

The CBI last month seized documents and digital proof during searches at 19 places in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and a few other locations Besides the 3 naval officers, two civilians have been held; all are in judicial custody

HUNDREDS AT KHERI RALLY, WHY ONLY 23 EYEWITNESSES: SC

The Supreme Court yesterday directed the UP Government to take measures to protect witnesses and get their statements recorded before magistrates in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

On being informed that only 23 eyewitnesses have come forward so far, the Bench said “ask your agency to see there are more than 23 witnesses” “Eyewitness evidence is more credible. It is always better to have first-hand evidence,” the Bench noted

“There was a crowd of 4,000-5,000 persons, who were all locals. Most of them were agitating even after the incident. This is what has been reported. All of them are serious witnesses. The identification of these people should not be a problem,” it said.

The Bench also asked the UP Government to file a separate report on the second FIR about the lynching of four persons, including journalist Raman Kashyap, and posted the matter for further hearing on November 8.

BIG TROUBLE FOR THOSE CHEERING PAKISTAN’S T20 WIN AGAINST INDIA

Two days after Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets at their T20 World Cup match in Dubai, many, mostly students, face police action for “cheering” Pakistan’s win. A day after police booked medical students in Srinagar under anti-terror laws, half-a-dozen people were detained in Jammu region; an FIR was lodged against three engineering students from the Valley at Agra who were also rusticated from their college; and a private school in Udaipur expelled a teacher over a WhatsApp status update.

Political leaders in Kashmir criticised the police action against the students, saying it would “further alienate” the people of the Valley.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said the pro-Pakistan slogans were only meant to “provoke” the BJP over the abrogation of Article 370. “They (those who celebrated the win) don’t have anything to do with them (Pakistanis)… They were children and young boys,” Abdullah said at a public meeting in Surankote in Poonch district/ “A volcano is building up even as they think they have silenced (the people).”

BIZ SENTIMENT HIT TWO-YEAR HIGH IN Q2 AS COVID SECOND WAVE EASED OFF: NCAER

As the second wave of Covid-19 eased off, business sentiment in the country hit an over two-year high in the 2nd quarter of the current financial year, according to a survey by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

The NCAER Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased by about 80 per cent to 117.4 in Q2FY22 from 65 in the year-ago quarter, while it jumped about 90 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The index was also up 13.8 per cent over the pre-pandemic period of the second quarter of 2019-20, when it stood at 103.1. However, companies were apprehensive about the rising costs of raw materials.

The index showed improvement -- sequentially, year-on-year, as well as compared with the pre-Covid period -- in all the four parameters that it is based on: Whether the overall economic conditions will be better in the next six months, financial conditions of the firms will improve in the next six months, present investment climate is positive, and present capacity utilisation is close to or above optimum level.

Against the popular notion that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) were not in a proper shape even after the Covid-induced lockdowns were relaxed, the NCAER survey showed that all sizes of firms had a higher confidence index quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year, and compared with the pre-pandemic period.

NO BAIL FOR ARYAN KHAN YET, BOMBAY HC ADJOURNS HEARING FOR WEDNESDAY

The Bombay High Court will continue on Wednesday hearing on a bail plea filed by Aryan Khan, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son, arrested in a case of alleged seizure of narcotic drugs from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast earlier this month.

Justice N W Sambre on Tuesday commenced hearing on the bail application.

Aryan Khan’s lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Satish Maneshinde argued that the NCB has no evidence against the 23-year-old, and he was wrongly arrested and has been kept in jail for over 20 days.

The court will on Wednesday also hear the arguments of Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the NCB.

Aryan Khan's advocates also submitted to the HC an additional note, stating that he has nothing to do with the allegations and counter allegations that are being circulated between the NCB's zonal director Sameer Wankhede and certain political personalities.

PAYTM RAISES IPO SIZE TO RS 18,300 CR; ANT TO OFFLOAD SHARES WORTH RS 5K CR

Digital financial services platform Paytm has raised its IPO size to Rs 18,300 crore from the earlier Rs 16,600 crore. Roughly half of the offer for sale (OFS) in Paytm’s IPO, which recently got approval from the SEBI will be done by Chinese investor Ant Financial. The OFS size will now inch up to Rs 10,000 crore, which means that Ant Financial is expected to offload shares worth Rs 5,000 crore.

The company is eyeing a valuation of $20-22 billion, sources said. Paytm was valued at $16 billion when it raised funds two years ago.

ADs FEATURING SHAH RUKH KHAN COMING BACK AFTER A PAUSE

After a brief pause, advertisements featuring Shah Rukh Khan are back on mainstream and social media channels as big brands ranging from chocolate makers to consumer-durable companies to edtech platforms, looking to cash in on the Bollywood superstar’s charisma.

T20 WORLD CUP: S AFRICA DOWN W INDIES; PAK BEAT NZ

Aiden Markram’s blazing, unbeaten fifty powered South Africa to an easy eight-wicket victory over the West Indies in the T20 World Cup Super 12s match, in Dubai, on Tuesday. The victory enabled the South Africans get back on track after the five-wicket defeat to Australia in their opening match.

The West Indies suffered their second reverse following the six-wicket loss to England in their opener.

It was a fine all-round performance from South Africa. They first weathered opener Evin Lewis's (56) onslaught to restrict the West Indies to 143 for 8 and then rode on solid batting from Markram (51 not out off 26 balls), Rassie van der Dussen (43 not out off 51) and Reeza Hendricks (39) to comfortably chase down the target with 10 balls and 8 wickets to spare.

In the second match yesterday, Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik’s late blitz steered Pakistan to their second straight victory as they beat New Zealand by five wickets, in Sharjah, to go top of Group 2.

The ball was on top for much of the match, and New Zealand looked to be heading to victory in their first game of the tournament when wickets tumbled through the middle overs, including one to an outstanding catch from Devon Conway. But Ali and Malik produced a flurry of boundaries at the death to reach the target of 135 with eight balls and 5 wickets remaining.

Earlier, pacer Haris Rauf took four wickets for 22 runs as Pakistan’s bowlers turned in a clinical performance to restrict New Zealand a meagre 134 for 8.

Today's Matches – Bangladesh vs England AND Namibia vs Scotland

QUINTON DE KOCK OPTS OUT WHEN ASKED TO TAKE THE KNEE

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma says "it wasn't ideal" to get a directive on taking the knee hours before the start of their T20 World Cup match against the West Indies and promised to be there for Quinton de Kock, who chose to withdraw from the game instead of following the order.

(Taking the knee is a symbolic gesture against racism whereby an individual kneels upon one knee in place of standing to attention for an anthem or other such occasion.)

A former captain in all three formats of the game, de Kock opted out moments before toss in Tuesday’s Super12s match, refusing to take part in the gesture supporting the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. "Quinton is an adult. He's a man in his own shoes. We respect his decision. We respect his convictions," Bavuma, who is South Africa's first black cricket captain, said at a media interaction, after his side defeated the defending champions by eight wickets.

After they were asked to bat after Pakistan won the toss, the Indian players did it to lend support to the Black Lives Matter movement. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul took the knee inside the playing area, while the other players did it outside the boundary rope, near the dug-out.

Captain Virat Kohli said the decision was communicated to them by the team management.

One is not sure if it was a one-off gesture or will India continue to take the knee going ahead.

FORMER PAK PACER WAQAR YOUNIS MAKES A SHOCKING STATEMENT

After the Sunday match between India and Pakistan, former Pakistan speedster and bowling coach Waqar Younis raised eyebrows by making a shocking statement. Speaking to a ARY News, Waqar told what impressed him the most in the Indo-Pak clash. "Sabse ache baat jo Rizwan ne ki. Usne ground mein khade hoke Naamaz padhe, hinduon ke beech mein....So that was really something very very special for me. (What I liked the most is what Rizwan did. He stood in the middle of the ground and read the prayers, in front of the Hindus)."

Harsha Bhogle called Waqar Younis's statement “dangerous” and said that the cricket world needed to be united and not divided by religion. He called Waqar Younis' comment as one of the most disappointing things he had heard. "A lot of us try hard to play such things down and talk up sport and to hear this is terrible.” “You would think that cricketers, as ambassadors of our game, would be a little more responsible. I am sure there will be an apology on the way from Waqar. We need to unite the cricket world, not divide it by religion,” he added.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. - Nelson Mandela

OFF TRACK

Jill and John got married. John thought this would be a modern marriage - equal roles for equal partners. So, the morning after their honeymoon, he brought Jill breakfast in bed.

She looked disdainfully at the tray, and snorted, "Poached? I wanted *scrambled*!"

Undaunted, the next morning, John brought his true love a *scrambled* egg.

"Do you think I don't like variety? I wanted *poached* this morning!"

Determined to please Jill, the *next* morning he thought, "third time's a charm" and brought her *two* eggs -- one scrambled and one poached. "Here, my love, enjoy!"

Jill looks at the plate and says, "You scrambled the wrong egg."