Today News Diary on 27 Feburary 2021

1. COVID-19 vaccine: Private hospitals can charge up to ₹250 per dose

2. IAF's Suryakirans, Sarang and Tejas to take part in Sri Lankan Air Force's 70th anniversary celebrations

3. Delhi varsity awards “digital degrees” — a first in country

4. Reliance partners with Google, Facebook for digital payment network bid: report

5. India ‘out of recession’, GDP grows 0.4%

6.Women’s squad vs South Africa: Shikha Pandey axed, rookie keeper Shwetha gets maiden call-up

7. Bombay HC dismisses plea of national president of BJP’s Minority Morcha for 'X' category security

8. ‘Nendran’ banana to be shipped to Europe

G.K. Snapshots

Congress dissenters pitch for Ghulam Nabi Azad at Jammu meeting

“People say 'G23', I say Gandhi 23, with the belief, resolve and thinking of Mahatma Gandhi, this nation’s law and Constitution was formed. Congress is standing strongly to take these forward. ‘G23’ wants Congress to be strong,” Congress leader Raj Babbar said during the ‘Shanti Sammelan’ meeting in Jammu.

Onus of creating ‘enabling environment’ for further progress rests with India, says Imran Khan

India and Pakistan issued a joint statement on February 25 to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the LoC.

India-Pakistan ceasefire along LoC will have no bearing on counter-terrorism operations in J&K, says Army

The Army’s northern commander Lt. Gen. Y.K. Joshi said the agreement between India and Pakistan to strictly adhere to the ceasefire pact along the Line of Control would have no bearing on the counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Coronavirus | Cabinet Secretary reviews surge in COVID-19 cases

Enforce pandemic-appropriate behaviour and deal firmly with violations, States told.

Countdown begins for PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1 mission

The launch in Sriharikota, is tentatively scheduled at 10.24 a.m. IST on February 28, subject to weather conditions.

Attorney General refuses consent for contempt proceedings against Ranjan Gogoi

Statements do not in any manner scandalise the court, says K.K. Venugopal.

ED attaches ₹84-crore assets in SKSCCL case

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth ₹84 crore in connection with the cheating case involving Sree Kanva Souhardha Co-operative Credit Limited (SKSCCL). Funds to the tune of ₹650 crore were collected from over 13,000 investors on the promise of phenomenal returns.

India-Bangladesh hold Home Secretary-level talks to discuss security issues

Both sides discussed early completion of fencing along the India-Bangladesh Border as agreed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

Coronavirus | U.S. House passes $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan

The new President’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote.

Coronavirus | U.S. set to approve third vaccine, but fears grow for poorer nations

Johnson & Johnson stressed its vaccine was proven to work with a single shot, and could be stored long-term at standard fridge temperatures.

Myanmar police fire rubber bullets to disperse protesters in Yangon

Myanmar has been shaken by a wave of pro-democracy protests since a military coup toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Victims of Nigeria school abduction freed

Kidnappers have freed 42 people, including 27 children, snatched from a school in central Nigeria on February 17, officials said on February 27, a day after more than 300 schoolgirls were abducted by gunmen in the northwest.

U.S. drops key obstacle to global digital tax: Janet Yellen

The U.S. shift — part of a broader repositioning by President Joe Biden from the “America First” agenda of former President Donald Trump — prompted immediate praise from Germany and France, which said a deal was now “within reach” following the U.S. pivot.

Bumrah released from Indian Test squad due to personal reasons

The Board said no addition to India's squad will be made for the final Test.

Today News Diary on 27 Feburary 2021

1. COVID-19 vaccine: Private hospitals can charge up to ₹250 per dose

2. IAF's Suryakirans, Sarang and Tejas to take part in Sri Lankan Air Force's 70th anniversary celebrations

3. Delhi varsity awards “digital degrees” — a first in country

4. Reliance partners with Google, Facebook for digital payment network bid: report

5. India ‘out of recession’, GDP grows 0.4%

6.Women’s squad vs South Africa: Shikha Pandey axed, rookie keeper Shwetha gets maiden call-up

7. Bombay HC dismisses plea of national president of BJP’s Minority Morcha for 'X' category security

8. ‘Nendran’ banana to be shipped to Europe

News in Detail

1. COVID-19 vaccine: Private hospitals can charge up to ₹250 per dose

The COVID-19 vaccine will be given free of cost at government hospitals, while people will need to pay for it at private facilities

Private hospitals can charge up to ₹250 per dose of COVID-19 vaccine, official sources said on Saturday as India prepares to vaccinate people aged above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities from March 1. The COVID-19 vaccine will be given free of cost at government hospitals, while people will need to pay for it at private facilities.

"Rs 250 will be the ceiling — ₹150 cost of vaccine plus ₹100 service charge. This arrangement will remain effective till further orders," a source said.

The Union Health Ministry on Friday had said beneficiaries would be able to self-register in advance by downloading the Co-WIN 2.0 portal and through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu, which will show the government and private hospitals serving as COVID-19 vaccination centres (CVCs) with date and time of the available schedules.

The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination, the ministry said.

There will be facility of on-site registration so that eligible beneficiaries can walk into identified vaccination centres, get themselves registered and inoculated.

The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16. This is now to be exponentially expanded to the age-groups — all citizens above 60 years and those within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities — from March 1.

All beneficiaries, regardless of the mode of access will have to carry any one of the following photo ID documents — Aadhaar Card, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), Photo ID card specified at the time of registration in case of online registration (if not Aadhaar or EPIC), certificate of co-morbidity for citizens in age group of 45 years to 59 years (signed by a registered medical practitioner), and employment certificate/Official Identity Card for healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs).

States and UTs on Friday explained the simplified process of registration, which shall be through three routes — advance self-registration, on-site registration and facilitated cohort registration.

Under the first route, beneficiaries will be able to self register in advance by downloading the Co-WIN 2.0 portal and through other IT applications such as Aarogya Setu.

"This will show the government and private hospitals serving as CVCs with date and time of the available schedules. The beneficiary would be able to choose the CVC of his/her choice and book an appointment for vaccination.The facility of on-site registration allows those who cannot self register in advance to walk into the identified CVCs and get themselves registered on-site and then vaccinated," the ministry said.

Under the facilitated cohort registration mechanism, the state and UT government will take proactive lead, the ministry said in the statement.

Specific date(s) for COVID-19 vaccination will be decided where target groups of potential beneficiates will be vaccinated. State and health authorities will ensure that that the target groups are actively mobilised and brought to the vaccination centres. ASHAs, ANMs, Panchayati Raj representatives and Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be utilised for mobilising the target groups.

Vaccination will be free of charge at the government vaccination centres. The beneficiary will have to show a photo ID document for proof of age (preferably Aadhaar card or EPIC card) and certificate of co-morbidity (if required). Those taking the COVID vaccine at any designated/empanelled private health facility will have to pay a pre-fixed charge.

2. IAF's Suryakirans, Sarang and Tejas to take part in Sri Lankan Air Force's 70th anniversary celebrations

The IAF and SLAF have seen active exchanges and interactions for a number of years in diverse fields like training, operational exchanges and through professional military education courses.

Suryakirans, Sarang and Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will participate in an air show in Colombo from March 3 to 5 as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lankan Air Force, the Indian Air Force said on Saturday.

The IAF's aerobatic display teams, the fixed wing 'Suryakirans' and rotary wing 'Sarang', along with Tejas arrived at Colombo on Saturday.

"Suryakirans, Sarang and LCA Tejas will participate in an air show at Galle Face, Colombo, scheduled from March 3 to 5 as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of SLAF," the IAF said in a statement.

The IAF and SLAF have seen active exchanges and interactions for a number of years in diverse fields like training, operational exchanges and through professional military education courses.

"IAFs participation in the 70th anniversary celebration of SLAF is a further manifestation of the strong professional bonds that the two air forces share," the IAF said.

The IAF Suryakiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) had earlier toured Sri Lanka in 2001 for the 50th anniversary celebrations of SLAF. As the IAF aircraft take to the skies of Colombo to mark the event, they will script another significant chapter in the traditionally strong IAF-SLAF ties, it added.

3. Delhi varsity awards “digital degrees” — a first in country

The Delhi University (DU) on Saturday awarded over 1.76 lakh “digital degrees” — a first in the country, according to acting Vice-Chancellor P.C. Joshi. The 97th convocation also saw 670 Ph.D. degrees being conferred, highest in the last five years, according to officials.

Apart from the degrees awarded to bachelors and masters graduates, 156 medals and 36 prizes were also awarded to students across disciplines.

Due to the pandemic, the convocation was held with social distancing norms in place with arrangements made for parents and guardians to view online telecast from the University’s Convention Centre.

On the endeavours in the last few months, Mr. Joshi said, “The university has initiated an innovative scheme called the ‘Vidya Vistar Scheme’ to establish academic linkages between partner colleges and departments of fellow universities. Aimed at maximising the utilisation of resources available with the university through academic collaboration and cooperation with partner institutions, the scheme is deemed to be instrumental in augmenting collective human resources.”

Mr. Joshi also said the varsity was the first in the country to conduct the Open Book Examination during the pandemic.

4. Reliance partners with Google, Facebook for digital payment network bid: report

Citing three unnamed sources, a media report said that the group led by Reliance and Infibeam was in the advanced stages of submitting their proposal to the Reserve Bank of India

India's conglomerate Reliance Industries has partnered with Facebook Inc,Google and fintech player Infibeam to set up a national digital payment network, according to a media report on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

Last year, India's central bank invited companies to forge new umbrella entities (NUEs) to create a payments network that would rival the system operated by the National Payments Council of India (NPCI), as it seeks to reduce concentration risks in the space.

Set up in 2008, NPCI is a not-for-profit company, which as of March 2019 counted dozens of banks as its shareholders,including the State Bank of India, Citibank andHSBC. It processes billions of dollars in payments daily via services that include inter-bank fund transfers, ATM transactions and digital payments.

Citing three unnamed sources, the report said that the group led by Reliance and Infibeam was in the advanced stages of submitting their proposal to the Reserve Bank of India.

A spokesperson for Infibeam declined comment on the report,saying the company was bound by the confidentiality of process,while Reliance, Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Digital payments in India could rise to $135.2 billion in2023, according to an Assocham-PWC India study in 2019.

Facebook and Google are already partnered with Reliance and own stakes in Jio Platforms - the unit which houses Reliance's music, movie apps and telecoms venture.

The RBI this week extended the deadline for all parties to submit NUE applications until March 31 from February 26.

The report said RBI is expected to take another six months to study all the proposals being submitted and that it is not expected to give more than two new "for-profit" NUE licences.

The RBI did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier media reports have said other parties in the fray include a group led by Amazon and ICICI Bank; another combination led by the country's salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group and private lender HDFC Bank;and a venture involving India's largest mobile payment platform, Paytm, domestic ride-sharing company Ola and IndusInd Bank.

5. India ‘out of recession’, GDP grows 0.4%

India’s economy resurfaced to growth territory in the third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2020-21, clocking a 0.4% rise in the gross domestic product (GDP), as per data from the National Statistical Office (NSO).

GDP had shrunk in the first two quarters by 24.4% and 7.3% as per revised data, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, marking a technical recession. The NSO has also revised its advance national income estimates for FY21 to project an 8% decline in GDP, compared with the 4% growth seen in FY20. The NSO had earlier estimated a 7.7% shrinkage for FY21.

The Finance Ministry termed the 0.4% real GDP growth in Q3 as a return to ‘the pre-pandemic times of positive growth rates’ and a reflection of a ‘further strengthening of V-shaped recovery that began in Q2’.

India’s farm sector remained resilient, clocking a 3.9% growth in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy in the October-to-December quarter, after recording a 3.3% and 3% rise in the first two quarters, respectively.

For the full year FY21, the NSO expects only two sectors to record positive growth in GVA — agriculture (3%) and electricity, gas, water & other utilities (1.8%).

Overall GVA is expected to contract 6.5% in the year, led by an 18% dip in trade, hotels and other services, a 10.3% decline in construction, and an about 9% fall in mining and manufacturing GVA.

In Q3, manufacturing, construction and financial, real estate and professional services staged a return to growth for the first time in the year after two bad quarters. Manufacturing GVA grew 1.6% after dipping 35.9% and 1.5% in the first two quarters. Construction saw the sharpest recovery – with GVA rising 6% after falling 49.4% and 7.2%.

Services including trade, hotels, transport and communication remained in trouble, with GVA declining 7.7%, though it was better than the -47.6% and the -15.3% reading in Q1 and Q2.

The Finance Ministry said the resurgence in manufacturing and construction augured well for them to drive growth in FY22 and added that services, which account for more than 50% of India’s GVA and the biggest source for pushing consumption, had done remarkably better in Q3. “Real GVA in services has also improved from a contraction of 21.4% in Q1 to a negligible contraction of 1% in Q3,” the Ministry said.

“Given the uncertainties around investments and exports, recovery prospects... hinge critically on uptick in private consumption... one would expect support from public policy,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, chief economist and head of research, Bandhan Bank.

6.Women’s squad vs South Africa: Shikha Pandey axed, rookie keeper Shwetha gets maiden call-up

Veteran medium pacer Shikha Pandey was on Saturday dropped from India's ODI and T20 squads that will take on South African women in a twin series starting March 7.

The most debatable decision by the Neetu David-led selection committee, however, was the exclusion of teenage batting sensation Shafali Verma in the ODI squad which has plodders like skipper Mithali Raj and Punam Raut, whose strike-rates have come under the scanner time and again.

Squads:

India Women’s squad for ODI series:
Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), D. Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Swetha Verma (wicket-keeper), Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Poonam Yadav, C. Prathyusha, Monica Patel

India Women’s T20I squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C. Prathyusha, Simran Dil Bahadur.

7. Bombay HC dismisses plea of national president of BJP’s Minority Morcha for 'X' category security

There has to be some special reason or material to show that additional and special security is indeed justified, the court stated.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently dismissed a plea filed by Jamal Siddiqui,the National President of BJP’s Minority Morcha, seeking a direction from the court to authorities to provide him with 'X' category security.

A division bench of justices Sunil Shukre and Avinash Gharote said: “There has to be some special reason or material to show that additional and special security is indeed justified. After all, the State does so by incurring huge expenditure of public money.”

“Then, there are also dangers involved in providing such special security. One of them could be of any possible misuse of the special security by the person to whom it is provided. This is the reason why there is a well established procedure which must be followed before any decision is taken for providing special or additional security to a person. Such special security would not come as a matter of right and matter of course, rather it would follow the special need of the person and peculiar urgency of the situation,” the court stated.

The order read, “It is the assessment of the State alone, and not of an individual demanding special security, which is material. A person demanding special security, may, for his own reasons see that there is a threat to his life or property or both from the world at large and therefore may lead his life constantly under fear. But, such opinion of a person about danger to his own life or property, in a given case, may only be a figment of imagination or due to some peculiar psychology of that person. But, in reality, the agency entrusted with duty to protect a citizen, may find that the own threat perception of such a person is illusory or unrealistic or blown out of proportion.”

The bench added, “The agency of the State which is under a duty to protect its citizen is required to discharge it’s duty in such a case cautiously, carefully, diligently and in the best of interest of the person concerned and also the State. Such agency would examine the whole issue by making an inquiry into the matter, would collect inputs provided to it by various sources and then would take an appropriate decision regarding how would it perceive the factor of threat to the person demanding security.”

8. ‘Nendran’ banana to be shipped to Europe

Shortage of supply from Latin America opens up market in European Union

A protocol has been developed for exporting the “nendran” variety of bananas to European countries.

The public sector Nadukkara Pack House at Muvattupuzha aims to export at least 2,000 tonnes of nendran bananas each year.

These bananas are traditionally exported to the Gulf countries. The European Union presents huge market opportunities for Indian banana producers and exporters owing to the shortage of supply from its traditional suppliers like Latin American countries.

It is hoped that the success of the project will pave the way for new market prospects, by integrating Kerala in the global value chain and thereby ensuring farmers better and consistent prices. The reduced logistics cost though the sea route, which is 1/7th of the cost of air transportation, is expected to augment the income of farmers by 20%.

Thus, the development of sea protocol was a pre-requisite to meet this increasing demand. And the State, in a first of its kind experiment, set up a Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) mode for the same.

The venture commenced in May 2020 and farmers were selected in Thrissur district. Export-oriented package of practices developed by National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy, the Technical Partner was disseminated to farmers through training.

In the latest export, around 10 tonnes of banana are intended to be shipped to London.

The bunches that will be harvested on February 27 will be transported to the APEDA Certified Pack House at Nadukkara, Muvattupuzha, while ensuring meticulous post-harvest handling measures. After the packhouse treatments, involving cleaning, sorting and grading of bunches the produce will be packed in cartons, pre-cooled and flagged off from the Pack House on March 5. It will be shipped after necessary port clearance to London Gateway Port.

The produce is expected to be launched through wholesalers as well as through branded retail chains in South U.K. and Scotland.