Newsletter 29 May (Weekly)

Top of the Week

Political Controversies over Covid Vaccination in India, a consistent decline in the Cases reported
US Secretary of State Blinken reaffirms Biden’s commitment to deepening India-US ties
India terms WHO-convened study on COVID-19 origin as ‘important first step’, calls for cooperation of all
India lashes out at UNGA chief over ‘misleading’ remarks on Kashmir issue
‘Stop beating around the bush and comply,’ MeitY tells Twitter

Political Controversies over Covid Vaccination in India, a consistent decline in the Cases reported

Vaccination status up to Now: (as per GOI)

There is only 1 Indian company (Bharat Biotech), which has Intellectual Property. GoI has ensured that 3 other companies/ plants will start production of Covaxin apart from enhancing Bharat Biotech’s plants, which have increased from 1 to 4.
Covaxin production by Bharat Biotech is being increased from under 1 Cr per month to 10 Cr month by Oct. Additionally, the three PSUs will together aim to produce up to 4.0 Cr doses by Dec.
With constant encouragement from the Govt, Serum Institute is ramping up Covishield production of 6.5 crore doses per month to 11.0 crore doses/ month.
GoI is also ensuring in partnership with Russia that Sputnik will be manufactured by 6 companies coordinated by Dr. Reddy’s.
The Govt is supporting the efforts of Zydus Cadila, BioE as well Genova for their respective indigenous vaccines through liberal funding under the Covid Suraksha scheme as also the technical support at national laboratories.
The development of Bharat Biotech’s single-dose intranasal vaccine is proceeding well with GoI funding, and it could be a game-changer for the world.
The estimate of production of over 200 crore doses by our vaccine industry by the end of 2021 is the result of such efforts and unstinted support and partnership.
1^st Dose (16,47,79,253) 2^nd Dose (4,41,23,192) Total Doses (20,89,02,445)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Modi Govt over the Covid situation in the country.

Rahul Gandhi said, “lockdowns are only a temporary step and do not stop the virus but only delay it”. He added “vaccination drive and added that at this rate India would be ravaged by a 3^rd, 4^th and possibly even a 5^th wave of Covid. The rate of vaccination needs to be increased to ensure that the virus does not get space to mutate (!!).” Above all, he also suggested to make a penal to beat covid. He also said that PM Modi’s “nautanki” is behind Covid-19 second wave.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Fri said that by Dec end, 216 crore doses (means 108 cr people) of vaccine doses will be ready and India will vaccinate all of its citizens against the coronavirus while addressing a press conference. India has administered 20 crore vaccines so far.
He said, “If Rahul Gandhi is indeed worried about vaccination rates, he should concentrate on how Congress-governed states are conducting their respective vaccination drives.” Those states have not been able to vaccinate people aged between 18-45 years even though quotas were assigned to them,” Javadekar further added.

US Secretary of State Blinken reaffirms Biden’s commitment to deepening India-US ties

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to deepening the US-India comprehensive global strategic partnership, his spokesperson has said.
Jaishankar, who is on an official trip to the US, is the first Indian Cabinet minister to visit the country since Joe Biden became president on Jan 20.
The leaders discussed a broad range of issues, including COVID-19 relief, efforts to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation through the Quad, and a shared commitment to combating the climate crisis and enhancing multilateral cooperation, including at the UN Security Council, he said.
Blinken and Jaishankar also discussed regional developments, the coup in Burma, and continuing support for Afghanistan, Price said, adding that the two leaders pledged to continue their cooperation on shared economic and regional security priorities.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson earlier told reporters that the meeting demonstrated our deep commitment to the partnership and to strengthening it in the years to come.
Today’s meeting between Blinken and Jaishankar, one of the first in-person visits that we have had in Washington since the beginning of the pandemic, showcased the breadth and depth of our relationship with India, which we view as one of the most important partnerships in the region and the world, he said.
EAM, S Jaishankar on Fri (local time) appreciated US solidarity and cooperation in dealing with India’s second wave of COVID-19. During a press briefing in Washington, Jaishankar’s remarked, “If I were to describe objectives, for one, of course, was to express our appreciation for the solidarity, very strong solidarity that was shown during the second COVID-19 wave in India and to work with the US on the vaccine production.”
Jaishankar discussed a wide range of issues related to shared priorities and regional security challenges including Quad during his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Regarding Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Jaishankar said “the strategic group has filled the gap that has emerged in contemporary times where there are global or regional requirements.”
Meanwhile, Chinese Mouthpiece Global Times looked visit as “Indian EAM S Jaishankar is reportedly planning to have discussions with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to the US. Their discussions will “definitely include topics targeting China,” but may have a little real impact on this biggest neighbor of India.”
In another article, on May 24^th, it wrote “In general, India embracing Europe and the US is more likely to be a diplomatic move. In the future, leaders from India and the West might hold a summit or “2+2 dialogue,” during which they would boast their shared values and issue a joint statement against China explicitly or implicitly.”
On May 28^th, “US-India strategic partnership will help to end the COVID-19 pandemic”, said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan after meeting with EAM, Dr. Jaishankar on Thu (local time).
The US Agency for International Development’s administrator Samantha Power met Dr. Jaishankar during which they discussed shared priorities for development and humanitarian assistance amid the current surge of Covid-19 across India, a spokesperson of the agency said on Fri.

India terms WHO-convened study on COVID-19 origin as 'important first step', calls for cooperation of all

India on Friday termed the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global study on the origins of COVID-19 as an “important first step” and stressed the need for next phase studies to reach robust conclusions.
In response to media queries on WHO convened global study on the origin of COVID-19, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the follow up of the WHO report and further studies deserve the “understanding and cooperation” of all.
New Delhi’s response comes amid reports that the WHO is expected to restudy the “dominant theory” that the SARS-CoV-2 probably originated and spread across the world from China’s Wuhan lab.
According to CNN, previously overlooked Chinese data on extensive screening of animals for coronavirus around the time the pandemic erupted is among several areas identified for further study by WHO scientists investigating the origins of the virus, as per a source.
President Biden had on Wed ordered the US intelligence agencies to investigate the emergence of the deadly pandemic and report back to him in 90 days, while WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a U.N. briefing on Fri that experts would prepare a proposal for WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, but that there was no set timeline
World Health Organization (WHO) experts are preparing a proposal on the next studies to be carried out into the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, a spokeswoman said on Friday. The US called on Thu for the WHO to carry out the second phase of its investigation into the origins, with independent experts given full access to original data and samples in China. Britain made a similar appeal.
The records are contained in a nearly 200-page annex posted alongside the WHO panel’s March report that received little attention among global experts at the time. However, no date has been set for the team’s return to China, but the source said any future visit to the country — where the virus emerged in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, in late 2019 — may involve “smaller groups supporting specific studies first.
The WHO team investigating the origins of coronavirus visited the Hubei Center for animal disease control and prevention in Wuhan on Feb 2, 2021.
According to Indian data from Jan 12, the COVID-19 virus has mutated 24300 times and generated 8572, varients from only 6837 genomes sequenced, for the first time in history. As per a research paper published in 2018, the usual mutation rate of a retrovirus was estimated at 0.04 per million replications, which in this case increased to an average of 2 mutation/ month.
Interestingly, among 7000 variants sequenced in India, at least more than 100s of varients are of concern while 65 are of serious health concern worldwide.
45k Covid-19 cases/day: IIT warns Delhi to be ready for the worst-case scenario: Delhi needs to be prepared to handle around 45,000 Covid-19 infections daily with 9,000 patients needing hospitalization in the “worst-case scenario” of a third wave hitting the capital hard, a report by IIT-Delhi says. To overcome such a crisis, the city would need 944 metric tonnes of oxygen daily to be shared between hospitals and refillers, mentioned the report filed in Delhi high court on Friday.
A growing problem: three weeks ago, it looked as if multiple variants were behind a series of surges in India. Genomic data indicated that B.1.1.7, first identified in the United Kingdom, was dominant in Delhi and the state of Punjab, and a new variant dubbed B.1.618 was present in West Bengal. B.1.617 was dominant in Maharashtra. (with inputs from ANI, The Mints, Nature, Biosciences, etc.)

To be sure, no group of scientists has claimed that the Covid-19 virus was intentionally created as a bioweapon. However, a growing body of scientific opinion has come to believe that the virus’ origin in a Wuhan lab, through accidental escape or accidental infection of lab employees or lab animals, is as likely as a naturally occurring spillover from wildlife to humans. According to the State Department’s fact-sheet, “Scientists in China have researched animal-derived coronaviruses under conditions that increased the risk for accidental and potentially unwitting exposure.”- Brahma Chellaney (1)

India lashes out at UNGA chief over 'misleading' remarks on Kashmir issue

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Volkan Bozkir’s recent visit to Islamabad has drawn backlash from across the border after the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) voiced objections to the former’s “misleading and prejudiced remarks” on the Kashmir issue.
During his three-day visit, he had said in a press briefing, with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that it was Pakistan’s duty to bring the issue of Jammu and Kashmir to the UN platform with more vigor.
Bozkir had lamented what he said was a lack of large political will for the resolution of the Kashmir issue compared to the Palestinian issue which had more will behind it.
He had called on all parties to refrain from changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir and said a solution was to be found through peaceful means following the UN Charter and UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions as agreed in the Simla Agreement between Pakistan and India.
Reacting to the press conference, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India had “expressed strong opposition” to Bozkir’s comments.
“His remarks that Pakistan is ‘duty-bound to raise this issue in the UN more strongly are unacceptable. Nor indeed is there any basis for comparison to other global situations,” MEA said.
“We express our strong opposition to the unwarranted references made concerning the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the President of the Bozkir during his recent visit to Pakistan. When an incumbent President of the UN General Assembly makes misleading and prejudiced remarks, he does a great disservice to the office he occupies. The PGA’s behavior is truly regrettable and surely diminishes his standing on the global platform.”

'Stop beating around the bush and comply,' MeitY tells Twitter

After Twitter raised concerns about the “potential threat to freedom of expression” over the new IT rules, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has asked the microblogging company to “stop beating around the bush” and “comply with the laws of the land”.
What MeitY said: In a statement issued on Thu, MeitY asserted that India had a “glorious tradition of free speech and democratic practices” and Twitter’s statements were an ‘attempt to dictate its terms to the world’s largest democracy.
“Through its actions and deliberate defiance, Twitter seeks to undermine India’s legal system. Twitter refuses to comply with those very regulations in the Intermediary Guidelines based on which it is claiming safe harbor protection from any criminal liability in India,” MeitY said.
What twitter said: (Thu) “Concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and potential threat to freedom of expression for people we serve.
We have concerns with regards to intimidation police’s tactics in response to enforcement of global Terms of Service and core elements of the new IT Rules,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

Background:

The actual problem started after Jan 26^th, after Darbar Sahib Flag hosted at RED FORT, parallel to tricolor, and thereafter a #ModiWantsGenocidesFarmer, trend on Twitter. GoI then asked Twitter to remove this trend and blocked the account holders. Twitter did it but revoked the accounts in 3-4 hours and the trend continued.
IT ministry then come into action and issued a notification nearly a month later, which stated that all social media intermediary platforms, with significant users, have to open their one office in India and appoint an Indian authority, which must be Indian along 2-4 grievance readdress officers. Also, they have to follow the Law of Land. Compliance of the same must be executed within 3 months.
Earlier on Mon, the Delhi Police visited the Twitter India offices after it issued notice to Twitter seeking an explanation on what grounds it tagged BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra’s tweet on the alleged Congress toolkit designed to target the Central Govt as ‘manipulated media’.
The Delhi Police Special Cell asked Twitter to explain the rationale and share all the information on how it described the toolkit as manipulated media.
Now on Thu, (after the deadline of the previous notification), the IT Ministry said that Twitter has a large user base in India and earns significant revenue but is also the most reluctant to appoint an India-based grievance redressal mechanism, MeitY said, stating that the Centre’s rules empower ordinary users who become victims of abuse on the platform to seek redress.
The Ministry further said that Lawmaking and policy formulations are the sole prerogatives of the sovereign and Twitter is just a social media platform and it has no locus in dictating what India’s legal policy framework should be”.
Regarding concerns raised about the representatives of the company in the country, MeitY assured that their representatives and will always remain safe in India and there is no threat to their safety and security.

In the Name of Freedom of Expression, Twitter is Waging War against the Indian State

In the name of freedom, an equally venal, arbitrary, and rapacious foreign corporation is effectively waging war against the Indian state, all wrapped up in the garb of “freedom of expression”. That company—Twitter—has a history of opacity, partisanship, cartelization, and ruthlessly suppressing ideas that don’t suit it. Yet, we are meant to believe that a tiny shady board sitting in San Francisco, California is somehow more responsive and accountable to the Indian people than a government elected by 900 million registered voters. Our freedom of expression is under threat from this elected Govt, while a company sitting over 12,000 km away that does not have a single empowered employee in its India offices is fighting for the people.-Abhijit Iyer Mitra

Today, tech companies can be worth more than the GDP of several nation-states combined. While previously only one or two entities would exist at any given point in time, the tech boom has meant we have some companies listed at over $2 trillion, at least 10 over $1 trillion, and hundreds over $100 billion. Cumulatively, never in history has so much wealth been concentrated in the hands of the unelected or the unaccountable.

Why is it that those same people who screech about trespasses on individual liberty cheer when social media giants act as judge, jury, and executioner and consider themselves over and above Indian law while refusing to cooperate with Indian institutions legally mandated for the purpose?

INTERNATIONAL

Nepal PM Oli assures availability of COVID-19 vaccines to public

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday emphasized the importance of vaccines to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and assured the public of the availability of the vaccines. He was addressing the nation.
The PM said Nepal had received more than 3.2 million vaccines through grants and one million vaccines through procurement.
Thanking the countries for extending help to Nepal in fighting the COVID-19, Oil said, “We are grateful to India, China, and its Sichuan and Tibetan governments, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Finland and other friendly nations for their significant support in our fight against COVID.”
The PM said the pandemic has hit developing countries the hardest and that, “Developing countries will fall further behind as there is a shortage of life-saving medicines, including vaccines. Today, the unequal distribution of vaccines has become a topic of global debate.”
Speaking on the ongoing political developments, the Prime Minister said there haD been repeated obstacles in our efforts to ensure political stability and strengthen our democracy.
He noted that Nepal has been recommended for upgrading from underdeveloped to developing countries and that economic growth WAS promising before the onset of the pandemic.
“For the first time, the export trade has crossed the one trillion target, the trade deficit is declining. Employment opportunities are increasing in the country and the outflow of labor is decreasing, ”said Oli.
PM Oli said that his government’s priority is to modernize and commercialize agriculture and move it forward in coordination with industry and services by many development projects on the way for Nepal and is also planning on the expansion of roads, railways, water, and airways.
“Based on historical treaties, maps, facts, and evidence, the remaining issues arising from the border relations with allied India will be resolved through diplomatic channels.”
Earlier in his address to the foreign media, the PM had said that his government is engaged in dialogue with India to bring back the disputed tri-junction of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani area from India’s control.

Pak: National Assembly extends NAB ordinance amid protest

Amid strong protest from the opposition over an incomplete quorum, the National Assembly of Pakistan on Fri extended the newly amended National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance-1999 for another 120 days.
The opposition claimed that NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had allowed the passage of a resolution for a second extension of the NAB Ordinance despite the absence of quorum due to which all business of the lower house of parliament should have been suspended.
The issue of some private housing societies also came under discussion as lawmakers said that Jammu Kashmir Employees Housing Society (JKEHS), Senate Employees Housing Society (SEHS), and the Supreme Court Employees Housing Society (SCEHS) had nothing to do with these institutions whose names had been used to launch these societies.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member Shagufta Jumani said when she and many of her colleagues came to parliament in 2002, they had invested in SEHS and except a few, who got their investment refunded, the hard-earned money of many parliamentarians was stuck up, with the fate of the society still hanging in the balance.
When MNA Iqbal Ahmed complained about massive fraud in the JKEHS, the interior secretary said NAB was investigating the case. The official then said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Govt had not issued any No Objection Certificate to any housing society during its tenure.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal said the Punjab govt had not restored local Govt institutions for over two months despite the Supreme Court orders. He demanded that the apex court take legal action against Punjab CM Usman Buzdar for violating its orders.
However, the session resumed after some time.
When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan presented a resolution for extending the NAB Ordinance, Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Sikandar Rahpoto drew the attention of the chair towards the lack of quorum.
However, the Speaker allowed the passage of the resolution to which the opposition strongly objected.
President Dr. Arif Alvi had in Feb promulgated the ordinance for NAB’s prosecutor general (accountability), the post seen as the most significant after NAB’s chairman as no reference can be filed without the PG’s approval. The ordinance not only led to the reappointment of SA Haider as the prosecutor general (accountability) for another term of 3 years but also lifted the bar for another similar extension. Haider’s term had expired on Jan 28.