LOWER DEATH RATE TO 1%, STRESS ON TRACING: PM MODI TO WORST-HIT STATES

Containment, contact tracing, and surveillance are the "most effective

weapons" in the battle against Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on

Tuesday said to the chief ministers of 10 states that are currently the

worst affected by the pandemic.

The Prime Minister urged the chief ministers to follow the mantra of testing

and tracing all those who have come in contact with an infected individual

within 72 hours.

The 10 states - Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, UP, Bihar, W Bengal,

Telangana, Assam, Gujarat - account for almost 80 per cent of India's

current active caseload.

Modi told the chief ministers in the video conference on Tuesday that they

should set themselves the target of bringing the fatality rate in their

states to under 1 per cent. Fatality rate is the ratio of deaths to positive

cases, expressed as percentage. India's national case fatality ratio (CFR)

fell to 1.99% on Tuesday.

If the "virus is defeated in these 10 states, the entire country will emerge

victorious in the battle against Covid-19," Modi said.

He said there was an "urgent need to ramp up testing" in Bihar, Gujarat,

Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Telangana.

".Testing has reached 7 lakh every day and is increasing continuously. We

are seeing the results, which are helping us to identify and prevent

infection. The average fatality rate in our country was very low compared to

the world even earlier; it is a matter of satisfaction that it is constantly

decreasing," he said.

Modi told the states that "experts are now saying that if we identify cases

within 72 hours of onset, then this infection slows down to a great extent".

Therefore, "containment, contact tracing, and surveillance" should be

followed "like a mantra, with the same earnestness as washing hands, social

distancing, and wearing masks", he said.

TO REWARD HONEST TAXPAYERS, PM MODI PLANS NEW, 'TRANSPARENT' SCHEME

Ahead of Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting

with all Principal Chief Commissioners and Chief Commissioners of Income Tax

on August 13 to launch a new tax programme, 'Transparent Taxation -

Honouring the Honest'.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address the officers through a web

telecast on August 13 at 11 am.

Over the past 3-4 weeks, the Prime Minister's Office is learnt to have held

several meetings with senior tax officials on faceless assessment and

scrutiny of income tax returns. "The address to income tax officers is

likely to focus on faceless assessment and transparency boosting measures

for the taxpayers with special focus on reducing hassles for individual

taxpayers," a senior income tax official said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Friday said faceless assessment

and charter of rights for taxpayers were being worked upon as part of an

overall simplified tax regime.

EVERY WORKER WANTS RAHUL TO HEAD PARTY: CONGRESS

The Congress, on Tuesday, said every party worker wants Rahul Gandhi to be

its president and hoped that good things would happen in future.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Rahul had shown the

courage and mettle to take on the government by "pointing out and

criticising every anti-people policy".

He said: "Not 99 per cent, but 100 per cent of Congressmen and women across

India, those who belong to Congress ideology, those who have faith in the

Congress philosophy and those who have sacrificed their self to tread the

path of the Congress party want Rahul Gandhi to be the Congress president."

"This is not because he is Rahul Gandhi, but, because he is the person who

has always shown the courage and the mettle to take on the government by

pointing out and criticising every anti-people policy," Sujrewala said at a

virtual press conference.

Asked whether Rahul was reluctant to assume the role, Surjewala denied so

saying he resigned on a moral ground taking moral accountability of the

party's rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 23,27,932 (+61,246) / 2,05,14,404 (+2,64,851)

Total Deaths 46,188 (+835) / 7,45,693 (+6,967)

Total Recovered 16,38,101 (+56,461) / 1,34,34,416 (+3,21,185)

Active Cases 6,43,643 (+3,950) / 63,34,295 (-63,301)

TOP IMPACTED NATIONS SO FAR: (AND SOME OF INDIA'S NEIGHBOURS)

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 53,05,957 / 1,67,749 /

27,55,348 / 23,82,860

2 Brazil 31,12,393 / 1,03,099 /

22,43,124 / 7,66,170

3 India 23,28,405 / 46,188 /

16,38,101 / 6,44,116

4 Russia 8,97,599 / 15,131 /

7,03,175 / 1,79,293

5 South Africa 5,66,109 / 10,751 /

4,26,125 / 1,29,233

6 Mexico 4,92,522 / 53,929 /

3,32,800 / 1,05,793

7 Peru 4,83,133 / 21,276 /

3,29,404 / 1,32,453

8 Colombia 4,10,453 / 13,475 /

2,30,427 / 1,66,551

9 Chile 3,76,616 / 10,178 /

3,49,541 / 16,897

10 Spain 3,73,692 / 28,581 / N/A

/ N/A

11 Iran 3,31,189 / 18,800 /

2,88,620 / 23,769

12 UK 3,12,789 / 46,628 / N/A

/ N/A

13 Saudi Arabia 2,91,468 / 3,233 /

2,55,118 / 33,117

14 Pakistan 2,85,191 / 6,112 /

2,61,246 / 17,833

15 Bangladesh 2,63,503 / 3,471 /

1,51,972 / 1,08,060

TOP IMPACTED INDIAN STATES SO FAR

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 5,35,601 / 1,48,553 /

3,68,435 / 18,306

Tamil Nadu 3,08,649 / 52,810 / 2,50,680

/ 5,159

Andhra Pradesh 2,44,549 / 87,597 /

1,54,749 / 2,203

Karnataka 1,88,611 / 79,605 /

1,05,599 / 3,398

Delhi 1,47,391 / 10,868 / 1,32,384

/ 4,139

Uttar Pradesh 1,31,763 / 48,998 / 80,589 /

2,176

West Bengal 1,01,390 / 25,846 / 73,395 /

2,149

Bihar 86,812 / 29,307 / 57,039 / 465

Telangana 82,647 / 22,628 / 59,374 /

645

Gujarat 73,238 / 14,027 / 56,516 / 2,695

Assam 64,407 / 19,175 / 45,074 / 155

Rajasthan 54,887 / 13,677 / 40,399 /

811

Odisha 48,796 / 13,641 / 34,806 / 349

Haryana 43,227 / 6,645 / 36,082 /

500

Madhya Pradesh 40,734 / 9,105 / 30,596 /

1,033

Kerala 36,932 / 12,721 / 24,042 / 121

Jammu and Kashmir 25,931 / 7,462 / 17,979 /

490

Punjab 25,889 / 8,463 / 16,790 / 636

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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

US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JOE BIDEN PICKS KAMALA HARRIS AS HIS RUNNING MATE

Joe Biden named California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate on

Tuesday, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a

major party's presidential ticket and acknowledging the vital role Black

voters will play in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump.

"I have the great honor to announce that I've picked @KamalaHarris - a

fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public

servants - as my running mate," Biden tweeted. In a text message to

supporters, Biden said, "Together, with you, we're going to beat Trump."

In choosing Harris, Biden is embracing a former rival from the Democratic

primary who is familiar with the unique rigor of a national campaign.

Harris, a 55-year-old first-term senator, is also one of the party's most

prominent figures and quickly became a top contender for the No. 2 spot

after her own White House campaign ended.

The vice presidential pick carries increased significance this year. If

elected, Biden would be 78 when he's inaugurated in January, the oldest man

to ever assume the presidency. He's spoken of himself as a transitional

figure and hasn't fully committed to seeking a second term in 2024. If he

declines to do so, his running mate would likely become a front-runner for

the nomination that year.

Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California. Her

mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a breast-cancer scientist who had emigrated

from India in 1960 to pursue a doctorate in endocrinology at UC Berkeley.

Her father, Donald Harris, is a Stanford University emeritus professor of

economics, who emigrated from Jamaica in 1961 for graduate study in

economics at UC Berkeley.

SCIENTISTS UNEASY AS RUSSIA APPROVES 1ST CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

Russia on Tuesday became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine,

a move that was met with international skepticism and unease because the

shots have only been studied in dozens of people.

President Vladimir Putin announced the Health Ministry's approval and said

one of his two adult daughters already was inoculated. He said the vaccine

underwent the necessary tests and was shown to provide lasting immunity to

the coronavirus, although Russian authorities have offered no proof to back

up claims of safety or effectiveness.

"I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity," Putin said.

"We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for

our country and the entire world."

However, scientists in Russia and other countries sounded an alarm, saying

that rushing to offer the vaccine before final-stage testing could backfire.

What's called a Phase 3 trial - which involves tens of thousands of people

and can take months - is the only way to prove if an experimental vaccine is

safe and really works.

By comparison, vaccines entering final-stage testing in the U.S. require

studies of 30,000 people each.

"Fast-tracked approval will not make Russia the leader in the race, it will

just expose consumers of the vaccine to unnecessary danger," said Russia's

Association of Clinical Trials Organizations, in urging government officials

to postpone approving the vaccine without completed advanced trials.

THE REST

========

SACHIN PILOT RETURNS HOME AND TO PARTY

A day after he brokered truce with his party, Rajasthan Congress leader

Sachin Pilot Tuesday said there should not be any space for "personal

ill-feelings" in politics and there should not be any "vendetta politics".

The Congress leader returned to Jaipur a day after he met former party

president Rahul Gandhi on Monday. The meeting signalled an "amicable

resolution" of nearly a month-long Rajasthan political crisis ahead of the

crucial assembly session beginning August 14.

Pilot held a press briefing at his residence in Jaipur. Addressing the

media, Pilot said, "Saddened, surprised and hurt by statements made against

me. But wanted to set an example for future generations and did not react."

He maintained that he did not demand any post from party, adding there

should not be any vendetta politics. He also said the sedition case against

him was in no way "justifiable".

A large number of his supporters gathered outside his residence to welcome

him as he drove down to Jaipur from New Delhi.

The truce was brokered after the Congress announced to form a three-member

committee to address, in a time-bound manner, the issues raised by Pilot and

the rebel MLAs. With 18 MLAs backing him, Pilot had been raising questions

over the working style of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

3 KILLED IN POLICE FIRING IN BENGALURU AMID VIOLENCE OVER FACEBOOK POST

Three people were killed in police firing in Bengaluru and 60 police

personnel injured as violence broke out in the eastern part of the city on

Tuesday night over a derogatory Facebook message on Prophet Muhammad, posted

allegedly by a relative of a Congress MLA. The person who allegedly posted

the message has been arrested. 110 people have been arrested for violence,

stone-throwing and assault on police personnel.

Protesters set many vehicles on fire and surrounded MLA Srinivas Murthy's

house in the city.

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai released a video message, saying

people should not take law into their own hands. He condemned the incidents

of arson and looting and said that additional police forces had been sent to

the area. He said that the police has been given a free hand to bring down

the situation under control.

SC EXPANDS RIGHTS FOR DAUGHTERS IN HINDU UNDIVIDED FAMILY PROPERTY

In a significant judgment aimed at ensuring "right of equality" of a

daughter in a Hindu Undivided Family, the Supreme Court Tuesday held that

she will have coparcenary right, or equal right to family property by birth,

irrespective of whether her father was alive or not as on September 9, 2005

- when Parliament recognised this right by amending the Hindu Succession Act

of 1956.

Effectively granting retrospective status to the amendment, a Bench of

Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and M R Shah ruled: "The provisions

contained in substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 confer

status of coparcener on the daughter born before or after amendment in the

same manner as son with same rights and liabilities.Since the right in

coparcenary is by birth, it is not necessary that father coparcener should

be living as on 9.9.2005."

The decision by the three-judge Bench is significant since three separate

two-judge Benches of the apex court had previously given contrasting

decisions on the issue in different cases following the amendment.

Hearing an appeal by Delhi resident Vineeta Sharma on a suit for partition

of family property filed in February 2002 following her father's death in

December 1999, the Bench said it had to settle the law, given the different

judgments delivered earlier.

PRANAB MUKHERJEE'S HEALTH CONDITION WORSENS

Former President Pranab Mukherjee, who underwent a brain surgery, continues

to remain critical and is on ventilator support, the Army's Research and

Referral (R&R) Hospital in New Delhi said in a statement.

"Former President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee was admitted to Army

Hospital (R&R) Delhi Cantt at 12:07 hours on 10 August 2020 in a critical

condition. Workup at the hospital revealed a large brain clot for which he

underwent emergency life-saving surgery. Post-surgery he continues to remain

critical on ventilatory support. He was also found to be COVID-19 positive,"

statement from the hospital read.

ABDULLAHS' HABEAS CORPUS PETITIONS: J&K ADMIN SAYS NONE DETAINED

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has told the high court that none of

the 15 National Conference leaders, for whom party president Farooq Abdullah

and vice-president Omar Abdullah have filed habeas corpus petitions seeking

their release, had been detained.

The NC said the UT administration's response was "fallacious and far from

reality", and that the "excuses put forth by the administration in the court

of law are misleading and contemptuous".

Farooq and Omar Abdullah had filed petitions in the J&K High Court in July

seeking the release of 16 NC leaders and functionaries from house arrest,

pointing out that they had remained in detention for more than a year.

Omar said, "Administration failing in providing security to political

workers, evidenced by the spree of attacks against BJP workers, because the

police is too busy being jailers rather than protectors. Security NO reason

to detain people in their homes."

KERALA GOLD SMUGGLING CASE: COURT REJECTS CONSULATE EX-STAFFER BAIL PLEA

The NIA court in Kochi has rejected the bail application of former executive

secretary of UAE Consulate Swapna Suresh in the gold smuggling case.

However, the court has observed that there is nothing on record to show that

the proceeds of smuggling had been used for terrorism or that Suresh had any

links with terrorism.

The court made the observations regarding terrorism in the case after

perusing two volumes of the case diary. The NIA has so far arrested 12

people, including one person acquitted in a case pertaining to the chopping

of a palm of a professor for alleged blasphemy in 2010. Anti-terror laws

were invoked in that case.

RAHAT INDORI PASSES AWAY, HAD TESTED COVID-19 POSITIVE

Lyricist and poet Rahat Indori has passed away. He was 70. Quoting a doctor

from Sri Aurobindo Hospital, news portal ANI tweeted that the poet suffered

from two heart attacks today and had 60 per cent pneumonia. "Urdu poet Rahat

Indori (file pic) passes away at the hospital. He suffered two heart attacks

today and could not be saved. He was admitted to hospital on Sunday, after

testing positive for #COVID19. He had 60% pneumonia," reads the tweet.

CURTAINS DOWN ON 26-YEAR-OLD ISRO SPY CASE

The Kerala government on Tuesday handed over an additional compensation of

Rs 1.30 crore to former scientist of the ISRO Nambi Narayanan to settle the

two-and-half-decade-old spy case in which he was implicated by the state

police.

A case was filed by Narayanan (79) in the sessions court in

Thiruvananthapuram after the Supreme Court in 2018 ordered that his arrest

in the case was "unnecessary and he was implicated" and granted him an

interim relief of Rs 50 lakh. The court had also observed that Narayanan

deserved more and he could approach a lower court for proper compensation.

Earlier, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had also ordered a

relief Rs 10 lakh to him.

The ISRO spy case relates to allegations of transfer of certain confidential

documents and secrets of the county's cryogenic engine technology to enemy

countries by two scientists and four others, including two Maldivian women.

The case surfaced in 1994. However, in 1998, the Supreme Court had quashed

the case after accepting the CBI inquiry report that it was cooked up. When

the espionage case was unearthed, Narayanan was in-charge of the cryogenic

division. He was the first to introduce liquid fuel rocket technology. The

country's space technology had to suffer badly due to the espionage case, he

said in one of the interviews pointing to a larger conspiracy in the case.

"Hated by all I thought of committing suicide on several occasions. But I

never wanted to die as a traitor. I lived all these years only to tell

this," Naryanana had said in one of the earlier interviews.

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Silver (Rs. Per KG) 75,160

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude

towards them. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

OFF TRACK

Two men went bear hunting. While one stayed in the cabin, the other went out

looking for a bear. He soon found a huge bear, shot at it but only wounded

it.

The enraged bear charged toward him, he dropped his rifle and started

running for the cabin as fast as he could. He ran pretty fast but the bear

was just a little faster and gained on him with every step. Just as he

reached the open cabin door, he tripped and fell flat.

Too close behind to stop, the bear tripped over him and went rolling into

the cabin.

The man jumped up, closed the cabin door and yelled to his friend inside,

"You skin this one while I go and get another!"