PAKISTAN TO ALLOW INDIA TO SEND WHEAT TO AFGHANISTAN: IMRAN

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Monday that his govt will allow India to send a humanitarian shipment of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to neighbouring Afghanistan through its territory after finalisation of the transit modalities.

Khan, who chaired the first apex committee meeting of the newly established Afghanistan inter-ministerial coordination cell in Islamabad, also took the opportunity to remind the international community of the collective responsibility to support Afghanistan to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

Currently, Pakistan only allows Afghanistan to export goods to India but doesn't allow any other trade through the border crossing.

Last month, India announced 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat for Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance and requested Pakistan to ship the food grain via the Wagah border.

PARLIAMENTARY PANEL ADOPTS DATA PROTECTION REPORT; OPPN MPs DISSENT

The Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, on Monday adopted its report with seven opposition MPs submitting dissent notes to various provisions of the draft law that seeks to regulate personal data processing.

Congress leaders and former ministers Jairam Ramesh and Manish Tewari, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O Brien and Mahua Moitra and BJD’s Amar Patnaik were among the MPs who dissented to the final report, with the majority objecting to provisions of the law that allows govt and its agencies to exempt themselves from the application of the law under specific exceptions such as security of the state and public order.

Congress' Gaurav Gogoi and Vivek Tankha also gave dissent notes.

"I am in unqualified agreement with all but two of the recommendations of the joint committee of Parliament," Ramesh, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha said in his dissent note to panel chairperson, BJP's PP Chaudhuri.

He, along with TMC MPs, objected to Section 35 of the bill which allows the govt to exempt itself and all of its agencies from the ambit of the law in the interest of "sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign countries and public order".

TMC MPs Derek O Brien and Mahua Moitra in a joint note said they expressed their dissent to the final report not only because of the Orwellian nature of the provisions contained in the bill but also the improper functioning of the committee itself.

BALAKOT HERO ABHI AWARDED VIR CHAKRA

Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani F-16 during the dogfight after Balakot air strikes in 2019, was conferred the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind at an investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday.

India’s pre-dawn air strikes on the Jaish-e-Mohammed facility at Balakot on February 26 in 2019 had led to the aerial skirmish a day later after the Pakistani Air Force launched a counter-attack with a strike package of advanced fourth-generation F-16 and JF-17 fighters, among others, to bomb Indian military targets across the LoC.

Varthaman, then a Wing Commander, was among the fighter pilots who scrambled from the Srinagar airbase to intercept the incoming jets. The attempt was thwarted by IAF but Varthaman’s MiG-21 was shot down after he had downed the F-16. He was held captive in Pakistan for three days before being repatriated. “Varthaman showed conspicuous courage, demonstrated gallantry in the face of the enemy while disregarding personal safety and displayed exceptional sense of duty,” said his Vir Chakra citation. Vir Chakra is India’s third highest wartime gallantry medal.

APPOINT COVID VAX AMBASSADORS: CENTRE TO STATES

Keen to scale up Covid-19 vaccination to cover the entire adult population by year end, the govt on Monday wrote to states asking them to appoint local level ambassadors to promote inoculation.

“Local heroes, influential figures within districts and villages who are themselves vaccinated can motivate peer groups. Trusted individuals and community leaders may be identified and appointed as ambassadors for vaccine drive. They may be oriented about the ongoing Har Ghar dastak drive to provide sound advice on the importance of taking both the doses and completing the schedule,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to chief secretaries and principal secretaries, health of all states.

The Health Ministry also said that referral codes on the CoWIN platform may be assigned for each ambassador and every individual they get vaccinated should be added to their tally through CoWIN.

“Certificates for those ambassadors who ensure full coverage and their facilitation should be done at panchayat level,” Bhushan said.

He also asked states to record vaccine schedule reminder messages in the voice of ambassadors and make calls to eligible people whose doses are due. Further the Centre asked states to organise workplace vaccination and provide badges to fully vaccinated employees.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST 2e/Nov

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Sunday (Monday Data is not yet available) 8,488

Active Cases as of Tuesday Morning 1,135,84 (-4,859)

Deaths as of Monday 4,66,147 (+236) (Monday’s figure of 236 deaths includes 180 from Kerala of which 105 were old deaths, as the data is being reconciled)

Total Vaccination as of Monday Morning: 1,17,63,73,499 (+71,92,154)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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US JOLTED INTO ACTION AFTER CHINA’S RAPID ADVANCES IN HYPERSONIC TECH

As the designated head of the US National Space Council, the challenge arising from China’s stunning lead over US in hypersonic technological capability, acknowledged by leading American generals, has landed on US Vice-President Kamala Harris’s table. Concern is permeating through US defence and strategic circles over China’s advances in the field.

Top US military officials admitted over the weekend that America has “catching up to do very quickly” to match Beijing’s hypersonic capability, while indicating even Russia has taken a lead in the field. “We’re not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians in terms of hypersonic programmes,” General David Thompson, vice-chief of space operations, said.

Admiral John Aquilino, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said that the US Space Force is working to “figure out the type of satellite constellation that we need” to track these missiles, and while “it’s a new challenge... it’s not that we don’t have an answer to this challenge. We just have to understand it, fully design it, and fly it.”

Easier said than done. US generals have been expressing concern over what they see as a slow and risk-averse acquisition driven by bureaucracy, even as China has raced ahead. But recent reports of Chinese advances appear to have jolted Washington into action.

The Pentagon announced last week that it has selected Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to research and develop a missile system that would be able to defend the US against a hypersonic weapons attack. The firms were awarded separate contracts totalling $60 million.

TALIBAN TO AF TV NETWORKS: STOP AIRING SHOWS WITH WOMEN ACTORS

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Sunday issued a new “religious guideline” that called on the country’s television channels to stop showing dramas and soap operas featuring women actors. In the first such directive to Afghan media issued by the ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, the Taliban also called on women television journalists to wear Islamic hijabs while presenting their reports.

And the ministry asked the channels not to air films or programmes in which the Prophet Muhammad or other revered figures are shown. The ministry called for banning films or programmes that were against Islamic and Afghan values. “These are not rules but a religious guideline,” a spokesman for the ministry, Hakif Mohajir, said. The new directive was widely circulated late on Sunday on social media sites.

The Taliban’s guideline for TV networks comes after two decades of explosive growth for independent Afghan media under the Westernbacked govts that ruled the country until August 15, when the Islamists regained power.

THE REST

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KISAN MAHAPANCHAYAT REITERATES 6 DEMANDS

BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday said that besides the repealing of the three agri laws, there are many issues of farmers that need to be resolved as a large number of them gathered in Lucknow for a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' to press their demands for a legal guarantee for MSP, among other things.

"It seems that after announcing repealing of the three farm laws, the govt does not want to speak to the farmers. The govt should make it clear that it has repealed the laws in the true sense and talk to us so that we can start moving to our villages," Tikait told reporters.

The 'mahapanchayat' has been called by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of the agitating farmer unions. It was planned months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced repealing the contentious agri laws. The SKM, at a meeting in Delhi on Sunday, decided to stick to the date.

The SKM has put forth six demands before the govt. Besides the legal guarantee for minimum support price, the farmers are demanding the removal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, withdrawal of cases against farmers, building a memorial to the protesters who lost their lives during the agitation and withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill. The issues of MSP, seeds, dairy and pollution needed to be resolved, Tikait said.

REPORT SHOULD BE MADE PUBLIC: SC-APPOINTED AGRI-PANEL MEMBER

Anil J Ghanwat, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed committee on farm laws on Monday said the panel’s report should be made public.

“It has been eight months since we submitted the report after studying the three farm laws. It should now be made public… After the govt’s decision to repeal the farm laws in the coming Winter Session of Parliament, it (report) is not relevant with regard to the three laws…But there are other suggestions on farmers’ issues,” Ghanwat said.

He said there was a meeting held on Monday and discussed in detail whether to make the report public or not. “The other two members gave me the freedom to take a call on this issue. I will decide after analysing the legal consequences, if any,” he said.       

The three-member panel had submitted its report to the top court in a sealed cover on March 19 on measures to end the deadlock. The other two panel members are Pramod Kumar Joshi (Director South Asia international Food Policy), and agriculture-economist and former Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Ashok Gulati.

ANDHRA PRADESH SCRAPS CONTROVERSIAL THREE CAPITAL MODEL

In a significant decision, the Andhra Pradesh Govt on Monday withdrew the contentious legislation that provided for a three-capital structure.

Andhra Pradesh had earlier proposed to separate the administrative, legislative and judicial capitals for the state. This move drew a lot of criticism as it would require people to shuttle between the Executive Capital Visakhapatnam to Legislative Capital at Amaravati and Judicial Capital to Kurnool, spread across hundreds of kilometres from north to south-west.

The state is yet to develop a new proposal on where it would like to house its capital city. The TDP had proposed Amravati on the bank of River Krishna, which is also a twin city of Vijayawada, as the Capital. The YSR Congress Party scrapped the project, alleging a scam on coming to power.

NO POSSIBILITY OF CAA REPEAL, SAYS MINISTER NAQVI AS FARM LAWS U-TURN REVIVES DEMAND

Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said there is no possibility that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, will be repealed. Calls from Muslim leaders and others for the repeal of the controversial law have gained a second wind after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of the three contentious farm laws Friday.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), said at a public rally in Barabanki Sunday that Uttar Pradesh would be turned into Shaheen Bagh — the former site of a major anti-CAA sit-in protest in Delhi — if CAA was not withdrawn. In a tweet, Owaisi also said: “If the govt implements the CAA and NRC we will take to the streets again. We demand that, the way the govt has taken back the three farm laws, CAA and NRC should be withdrawn as well.”

Leaders of influential socio-religious organisations have also demanded the repeal of the CAA.

RAILWAYS WITHDRAWS DRESS CODE FOR WAITERS ON BOARD RAMAYAN EXPRESS AFTER OBJECTION FROM UJJAIN SEERS

The railways on Monday changed the uniforms of its serving staff on board the Ramayan Express after seers from Ujjain objected to the saffron attire of the waiters.

The seers said it was an insult to the Hindu religion and threatened to stop the train in Delhi on December 12 if the dress code was not withdrawn.

The first Ramayan circuit train chugged off on a 17-day journey from the Safdarjung railway station on November 7. It will visit 15 places associated with the life of Lord Ram. Covering a distance of more than 7,500 km, the train will take pilgrims to places such as Ayodhya, Prayag, Nandigram, Janakpur, Chitrakoot, Sitamarhi, Nasik, Hampi and Rameshwaram.

SC GRANTS PROTECTION FROM ARREST TO PARAM BIR SINGH

The Supreme Court on Monday granted protection from arrest to former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in criminal cases lodged against him in Maharashtra and sought responses from the state govt, its DGP and the CBI on his plea.

Singh, who had accused the then Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption, has alleged frame-up in criminal cases.

Besides seeking protection from coercive steps, Singh has sought a CBI probe into the entire issue involving him.

“The petitioner shall join the investigation and shall not be arrested,” the bench ordered.

NAWAB MALIK’S TWEETS AGAINST NCB OFFICER WANKHEDE STEM FROM MALICE BUT NO BLANKET GAG ORDER: HC

The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to pass any interim orders to restrain Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik from making statements or posting content on social media against NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede or his family, but noted prima facie his tweets targetting the IRS officer in the recent past had actuated out of malice.

A single bench presided over by Justice Madhav Jamdar said the court did not believe at the present stage that the allegations made by Malik against Wankhede were “prima facie, totally false.”

The court, however, questioned the timing of Malik’s tweets against Wankhede. It said that Malik had started making allegations against Wankhede on Twitter from October 14, days after his own son-in-law, arrested by the NCB in a drugs  case, was granted bail.

However, since the allegations were of serious nature, pertained to Wankhede’s official duties, and had even resulted in inquiries being initiated by the Maharashtra govt and the NCB against the officer, the court could not impose a blanket prohibition on Malik, the HC said.

The HC’s judgement came on an interim prayer for injunction sought by Wankhede’s father Dnyandev against the state minister.

NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT NEED FOR BOOSTER VACCINE DOSE AGAINST COVID: ICMR CHIEF

There is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against Covid-19, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said on Monday underlining the completion of second dose for India’s adult population is the priority for the govt for now.

“Administering the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to all adult population and ensuring that not only India but the entire world gets vaccinated is the priority of the govt for now. More so, there is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against Covid-19,” Bhargava said.                 

According to officials, around 82 per cent of the eligible population in India have received the first dose of the vaccine while around 43 per cent have been fully inoculated.

INDIA-MADE COVAXIN NOW ON UK’S APPROVED TRAVEL LIST

Bharat Biotech manufactured Covaxin, one of the vaccines being administered in India to protect against Covid-19, is on the UK’s list of approved Covid-19 vaccines for international travellers from Monday.

It will benefit more fully vaccinated Indians planning travel to the UK without the need for a pre-departure PCR test or self-isolation at the address declared on their compulsory Passenger Locator Forms.

Like other fully vaccinated travellers, including those vaccinated with Covishield, they are required to pre-book a PCR or Lateral Flow Test on arrival in England, to be taken before the end of day 2.

Earlier this month, the Bharat Biotech manufactured Covaxin — the second most used formulation in India — had received its WHO EUL status.

SENSEX NOSEDIVES 1,170 POINTS

Equity benchmark Sensex plummeted 1,170 points on Monday, dragged by losses in Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank.

Among top losers, Reliance sank over 4 per cent, after the company shelved a proposed deal to sell a 20 per cent stake in its oil refinery and petrochemical business to Saudi Aramco for $15 billion.

"Finally the bears got their act together after a long wait as a series of events over the weekend gave them the upper hand with almost all the sectoral indices barring the metal index plunging,” said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Further, he said that even as IPO investors come to terms with the reality, the inflationary impact on demand across several sectors continues to worry the street.

INDICATORS

Sensex 58,466 (-1170), Nifty 17,417 (-348), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 74,859

Nasdaq 15,855 (-203) Dow 35,619 (+17), S&P 4,683 (-15)

US$-Rs. 74.31 GBP-Rs. 99.73, Euro-Rs. 83.69, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.22, Can$-Rs. 58.68, Aus$- Rs. 53.81

GBP 0.74 /US$, Euro 0.88 /US$, Jap.Yen 114.41 /US$, Aus$ 1.38 /US$, Sing 1.36 /US$, Bang Taka 84.22 /US$, Can$ 1.26 /US$, Mal Ring 4.18 /US$,

Pak Re 174.34 /US$, Phil Peso 50.63 /US$, Russian Rouble 74.21 /US$, NZ$ 1.43 /US$, Thai Baht 32.89 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 26.52 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 56,833

Dollar Index 96.54 Brent Crude 79.45 BDI 2,552

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,809 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,928 / 4,828, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 70,400 INDICATORS

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power. - Clint Eastwood

OFF TRACK

A man walks into a lawyer's office and enquires about the rates. The lawyer says fifty dollars for three questions.

The man asks, "Isn't that awfully expensive?".

"Yes," the lawyer replies, "What's your third question?"