Month: November 2020

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday asserted that Kumbh Mela will be held in its “divine form” at Haridwar in 2021 despite the practical problems arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Sunday, Rawat attended a meeting with office-bearers of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) regarding the preparations for the 2021 Kumbh Mela, which will begin on January 14.

“The extent of the Kumbh Mela will depend on the status of the COVID-19 at that time. The suggestions of the ABAP and the religious fraternity will also be taken in the decisions, which will be taken according to the prevailing situation. The efforts of the state government will be aimed at ensuring that the devotees do not face any inconvenience,” Rawat said, adding the Kumbh Mela works are being reviewed periodically. “Departmental secretaries have been directed to monitor the works under progress consistently. Chief secretary has also been directed to review the situation in 15 days.”

Kumbh Mela officer Deepak Rawat said that most of the works will be completed by December 15. “Work on nine new ghats (river banks), eight bridges and roads being built for the Kumbh Mela is nearing completion. Special focus is on cleanliness. Works are also being done consistently on drinking water facilitation, parking facility and removal of encroachments,” he said.

As per a release by the Chief Minister’s Office, Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik said that well-planned arrangements will be made to ensure the devotees face no problem during the Kumbh Mela.

ABAP head Mahant Narendra Giri assured the government that the body will fully cooperate with the state government for the successful organisation of the Kumbh Mela.

Kaushik said that 35 to 50 lakh people are expected to take the holy dip in Ganga daily during the Kumbh Mela 2021. (ANI)

Pakistan Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari on Sunday deleted her objectionable tweet, where she said that French President Emmanuel Macron was treating Muslims like Nazis treated Jews in World War II, after France demanded her to withdraw her remarks.

In a tweet linking to an online article, Mazari on Saturday had said: “Macron is doing to Muslims what the Nazis did to the Jews — Muslim children will get ID numbers (other children won’t) just as Jews were forced to wear the yellow star on their clothing for identification.”

Dawn reported that the article, which claimed that the Macron administration will issue ID numbers exclusively for Muslim children under a new bill, now includes a clarification, stating that the ID numbers will not just be for Muslim children, but for all children.

Following this, Mazari in a tweet said that the article she had cited in her earlier post has been corrected and therefore, she had deleted her earlier tweet for the same reason.

“The French Envoy to Pak sent me the following message and as the article I had cited has been corrected by the relevant publication, I have also deleted my tweet on the same,” she tweeted.

Mazari’s earlier tweet was strongly condemned by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, which issued a statement demanding Charge d’affaires of Pakistan in Paris for rectification of Mazari’s tweet.

“Today, a member of the Pakistani Cabinet has expressed views through social media, in terms that are deeply shocking and insulting for the President of the Republic and for our country. These despicable words are blatant lies, loaded with an ideology of hatred and violence. Such slanderous comments are disgraceful at such level of responsibility. We reject them strongly,” the statement said.

It further said: “We have immediately informed the Charge d’affaires of Pakistan in Paris of our condemnation, in the strongest terms. Pakistan must rectify this statement and return to the path of dialogue based on respect.”

France in the last one month has witnessed several terror attacks after Charlie Hebdo announced the republishing of a controversial caricature and French President Emmanuel Macron refused to criticise it in early October.

Protests erupted in the Muslim countries over the incident. Social media users in many Muslim countries have also joined calls to boycott French goods.

Macron is facing renewed criticism in the Muslim world and abroad over his latest plans to tackle what he calls radical Islam, including asking Muslim leaders in his country to agree to a “charter of republican values”, reported Dawn.

On October 16, a terrorist beheaded a secondary school teacher Samuel Paty who used controversial cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo in his classes. On the morning of October 30, another terrorist attack occurred when a man stabbed three people to death and wounded several others in a church in Nice. (ANI)

In recent research, scientists have identified three drugs as promising therapeutics for the COVID-19, the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in its early stages.

The finding is a product of work by researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) collaborating with those at the University of New Mexico.

Based on virtual and in vitro antiviral screening that began in the earlier months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the researchers led at UTHSC by Colleen Jonsson, PhD, identified zuclopenthixol, nebivolol, and amodiaquine as promising therapeutics for the virus in its early stages.

Dr. Jonsson is a professor and the Endowed Van Vleet Chair of Excellence in Virology in the College of Medicine at UTHSC. She also directs the UTHSC Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL), where this research was conducted. The university’s RBL is one of roughly a dozen federally funded labs authorized to safely study contagious pathogens.

In a paper published in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science, the researchers propose the drugs as possible candidates for testing in future clinical trials to improve immune response to the virus. Amodiaquine is an older antimalarial, zuclopenthixol is an antipsychotic, and nebivolol is a blood pressure medication.

“Particularly in the context of this pandemic, there is a stringent need for high-quality studies that can provide critical knowledge concerning the COVID-19 disease and reliable treatment proposals,” the paper states.

“With these caveats in mind, we conceived a computational workflow that included independent in vitro validation, followed by assessing emerging candidates in the context of available clinical pharmacology data with the aim of proposing suitable candidates for clinical studies for early-stage (incubation and symptomatic phases) patients infected by SARS-CoV-2,” the paper further states.

“Given the need for improved efficacy and safety, we propose zuclopenthixol, nebivolol, and amodiaquine as potential candidates for clinical trials against the early phase of the SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researchers wrote.

Comparing the drugs to hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug most-frequently studied in clinical trials for use as a COVID-19 therapeutic, the researchers examined 4,000 approved drugs and found these three to act similarly to the hydroxychloroquine, and in some cases, more safely.

The research indicates they may also improve efficacy when combined in lower doses with remdesivir, an anti-viral given an emergency use authorization by the United States Food and Drug Administration as a therapeutic for COVID-19.

“Think of it as a whack-a-mole game. Instead of having one hammer, you have two hammers, which is more effective. We’re trying to give the scientific community two hammers, instead of one,” said Tudor Oprea, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, chief of the UNM Division of Translational Informatics, and corresponding author on the paper.

“This is a very exciting discovery and we are following up on the potential use of zuclopenthixol, nebivolol, and amodiaquine in additional research studies,” Dr Jonsson added. (ANI)

Post the signing of the Abraham Accord with Israel and Bahrain, the UAE seems to be moving away from its close friend Pakistan and towards India.

According to media reports on Sunday, there is growing speculation that Pakistani expatriates would be soon dispatched back from the UAE as well as from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as there continues to be pressure from the KSA and the UAE to accept Israel which Pakistan declined.

Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the US of “pressurising” Islamabad to formally recognise Israel. Khan said in an interview, as quoted by the Express Tribune, “I have no second thought to recognise Israel unless there is a just settlement, which satisfies Palestinians,” Khan said and added, “The pressure is because of Israel’s deep impact (influence) in the US. This (influence) was in fact extraordinary during the Trump’s stint.”

Last week, UAE made its move towards India more prominent by banning Pakistani citizens from entering the country citing reasons for combating the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

“We have learned that the UAE has temporarily suspended the issuance of new visit visas until further announcement for 12 countries, including Pakistan,” confirmed Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. But apart from Pakistan, the UAE authorities have banned entry to 11 such nations, which according to media reports, do not recognise Israel.

Reports suggest that the relations between Pakistan and the Gulf nation are getting “quite uneasy” with each other as there are signs of “increased thaw” as UAE has now signed the Abraham Accord.

Asserting that New Delhi and Abu Dhabi share the value of non-discrimination, Indian envoy to UAE, Pavan Kapoor, said that Indian nationals in UAE should always keep in mind that discrimination is against our moral fabric and the rule of law.

“India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this,” read a tweet from the Ambassador back in April.

The Ministry of External Affairs in August said that India welcomed the full normalisation in relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, saying that the two countries are New Delhi’s key strategic partners.

Speaking at a weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India has always supported peace, development and stability in West Asia.

“The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) received a call from UAE Foreign Minister on the announcement of full normalisation of relations between the UAE and Israel. India has consistently supported peace, development and stability in West Asia, which is its extended neighbourhood. In that context, we welcome the full normalisation of ties between UAE and Israel,” Srivastava said. (ANI)

A 150-metre long underground tunnel suspected to be used by terrorists for infiltration has been detected near International Border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba sector on Sunday.

The tunnel was detected in a joint operation by Border Security Force (BSF) and Jammu and Kashmir police.

“It seems terrorists involved in Nagrotra encounter used this 150-meter long tunnel as it’s a fresh one. We believe they had a guide who took them till highway,” said BSF Jammu frontier, Inspector General, N S Jamwal.

Director-General of Police (DGP), Dilbagh Singh said, “The police have shared the input of Nagrota encounter with BSF and they have discovered the tunnel suspected to be used by the terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed here from Pakistan.”

“On November 18 at around 8.30 to 9:00 pm they used this tunnel for infiltration and took 5 to 6 hours to reach at the highway, stayed here for almost 2 hours and then reached at Nagrota Toll Plaza, where the encounter took place,” said Mukesh Singh, Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone.

The tunnel exit was in thick bushes carefully concealed and meticulously covered with soil and wild growth. The mouth of the tunnel is strengthened and reinforced by the sandbags with markings of Karachi, Pakistan. It is a freshly dug tunnel and appears to be used for the first time. It appears that proper engineering effort has gone in making the tunnel which shows the hand of the establishment.

Security forces neutralized four terrorists in the Nagrota encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. Inspector-General of Police, Jammu Zone had said that it was possible that they were planning a big attack and targeting the upcoming District Development Council (DDC) elections in the Union territory.

The DDC elections will be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in eight phases between November 28 and December 19, and the counting of votes will take place on December 22. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India is not only meeting the targets of the Paris agreement on Climate Change but is also exceeding them.

Speaking at the G-20 Summit held via video conferencing, PM Modi also said that while the world currently is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is “equally important to fight climate change in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way”.

“Today we are focused on saving our citizens, economies from the effects of the global pandemic. It is equally important to keep our focus on fighting climate change. Climate change must be fought not in silos but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way,” he said.

“Inspired by our traditional ethos of living in harmony with the environment and commitment of my government, India has adopted low carbon and climate-resilient development practices. India is not only meeting our Paris Agreement targets but also exceeding them,” he further said.

Prime Minister Modi said that India has taken “concrete action” in many areas where LED lights have been made “popular” and smoke-free kitchens have been provided to over 80 million households. “This is among the largest clean energy drive globally. There are efforts to eliminate single-use plastics. Our forest cover is expanding and the lion and tiger population is increasing,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that India aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by the year 2030 and added that “we are encouraging a circular economy.”

India is making “next-generation” infrastructure such as; metro networks and waterways, he said adding that they would also contribute to a cleaner environment along with efficiency.

Prime Minister had also termed the Covid-19 pandemic as an important turning point in the history of humanity and the biggest challenge the world is facing since World War II.

Today, along with Prime Minister Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and, Japan PM Yoshihide Suga.

The Summit also saw the participation of heads of state or government of 19 member countries, the European Union, other invited countries and international organisations like the UN, IMF, FATF, OECD. (ANI)

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday categorically denied that there is rebellion in the party. Azad, however, added that some leaders are looking for reforms, which will ultimately help in revitalizing the party.

“There is no rebellion in Congres party, we are looking for reform. Rebellion means replacing someone. There is no other candidate for the post of party president. This is not a rebellion. This is for reforms. We are the ones who believe in directing what is necessary (for the betterment of the party),” Azad told ANI.

On being asked if Congress is going through an existential crisis as it contested on 70 seats in recently concluded Bihar Assembly polls and managed to win just 19, Azad said, “There is a need to revitalize and for that, we need to think of a new formula. We have to change the system.”

The Congress party’s strike rate was poorest among the alliance partners in the recently held Bihar assembly elections, in which even the Left performed better in the state which is not usually considered as their stronghold.

“We all are worried about losses, especially about Bihar and by-polls results. I don’t blame the leadership for the loss. Our people have lost the connection on the ground. One should have a passion for their party and to do everything for that,” he added.

The Congress party veteran, however, emphasized that grassroot leadership is required for the betterment of the party and said, “Polls are not fought by 5-star culture. The problem with leaders today is if they get a party ticket, they first book a 5-star hotel. They won’t go if there’s a rough road. Till the time 5-star culture is given up, one can’t win elections.”

“Office bearers should understand their responsibility. Till the time, office bearers are appointed, they won’t go. But if all office bearers are elected, then they will understand their responsibility. Right now, anyone gets any post in the party,” Azad said while indicating about a letter written by several Congress leaders to the Congress president in August calling for sweeping changes in the party’s functioning.

The letter reportedly mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party’s revival.

The Congress leader added, till the time, there is a change in functioning at every level, things won’t change.

“Leadership needs to give a programme to party workers and hold elections for posts. One should be so much indispensable that leadership asks for you in your absence,” said Azad.

Reiterating that he has no problem or issue against the high command of the party, he said, “I’m giving a clean chit to Gandhis due to Covid pandemic as they can’t do much right now. There’s no change in our demands. They’ve agreed to most of our demands. Our leadership should hold elections if they want to become a national alternative and revive the party.”

The senior leader further stated that Congress is at its lowest in the last 72 years.

“Nobody else can become a national alternative for BJP, BJP is a national party. For a national party, your thinking should be national, national presence is also important, secular thinking is also required. Congress is at its lowest in the last 72 years. Congress does not have even the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha during the last two terms. But Congress won 9 seats in Ladakh hill council elections even as we were not expecting such a positive result,” said Azad.

“In order to revive Congress party and to make it a national alternative, it is important o conduct election on the block to the national level, there is a need to provide programme to the party and accountability is also must,” he added.

Azad asserted that their party structure has collapsed and there is a need to rebuild the structure.

“Our party’s structure has collapsed. We need to rebuild our structure and then if any leader is elected in that structure, it will work. But saying that just by changing the leader, we’ll win Bihar, UP, MP, etc. is wrong. That will happen once we change the system,” said Azad.

On the recent abysmal performance of the party in the Bihar assembly election, senior leader Kapil Sibal has also asked for an urgent need for introspection for the party’s leadership.

Sibal, who is among 23 leaders who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding sweeping changes in the party, also said in the interview that reluctance to address issues was because the Congress Working Committee was “a nominated body”.(ANI)

Giving her fans proof that she is taking all COVID-19 precautions, actor Katrina Kaif on Sunday shared a video of her undergoing a COVID-19 test.

The ‘Bharat’ actor posted a video on Instagram, in which she is seen taking the test by a person dressed in PPE kit. In the clip, Kaif is seen sporting a white dress and no makeup as she took the test. A voice said “always smile” following which the actor slightly smiles while taking the test.

The ‘Namaste London’ star captioned the post as, “It’s gotta be done – testing for shoot #safetyfirst ( very important instructions from Danny “always smile”.

Of late, the actor has been quite active on social media and has been updating fans on her activities by posting pictures and videos.

Recently, the ‘Rajneeti’ actor returned from the Maldives after an exotic photoshoot. Kaif took to Instagram and shared that she had a five-day-long vacation with her team in the Maldives.

In the pictures, Katrina is seen smilingly posing along with her team members as they look into the lens. The actor looked beaming beautiful as she sported a no make-up look and left her luscious locks open. (ANI)

By Shailesh Yadav

The Law Committee of the GST Council after its intense deliberations on the issues of GST fake invoice frauds, spread over two days, has suggested two-pronged manifold measures that would warrant on one hand to tackle the menace of fake invoices and ineligible availing and passing on of input tax credit (ITC) by unscrupulous fraudsters, and on the other, would ensure not to impact the Ease of Doing Business provided by the GST’s liberal registration and refund regime, and simple self-compliance system with little checks, said the sources in the Department of Revenue (DoR).

Sources said that the urgent need to work out certain modifications in GST rules is evident from the fact that within ten days of a nationwide drive against the GST fake invoice frauds, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) Commissionerates have so far arrested 48 persons including one woman and three chartered accountants and have booked 648 cases besides identifying 2385 entities.

According to the sources, the Law Committee while suggesting systemic tightening, some modification in the registration process, use of Aadhaar and Aadhaar like registration modus opus, faced the biggest challenge to dig solutions which would not be impacting Ease of Doing Business, although, would effectively control the menace of fake firms and fly-by-night operators.

The Law Committee has come out with the measures which are taken on precise identification of potentially riskier taxpayers based on very well defined parameters run on the automated environment, thus, would not be impacting Ease of Doing Business for genuine taxpayers, businesses entities and traders.

Sources said that the Law Committee of GST Council has suggested a two-pronged strategy- one, for the fresh or new registration applicants and the other for weeding out of existing fake dealers from the systems. Law Committee has also suggested discussing these measures with states and other stakeholders before putting it formally to GST Council for further necessary action.

Sources said that the Law Committee in its considered view has suggested that new or fresh registration in GST may adopt the Aadhaar like registration process under which new registration can be done online with live photos and the use of biometrics with due verification of documents.

Such facilities can be provided at banks, post offices, and GST Seva Kendras (GSKs) just like Passport Seva Kendras or Aadhaar Seva Kendras. The GSKs can work on the pattern of Passport Seva Kendras to provide new registration facilities with required checks on fake registration.

According to sources, the Law Committee has suggested that a fresh registrant must go for compulsory physical verification and personal identification in case s/he opts for non-Aadhaar authentication based registration process and do not have income-tax return supported adequate financial capability. In such a case, s/he may have to submit a recommendation letter by two taxpayers of adequate reliability.

Further, if on the basis of document supported credentials, a registrant/dealer falls in the ‘trustworthy’ category then s/he can be given registration within seven working days; if s/he is not in the ‘trustworthy’ category then conditional registration shall be given within 60 working days only after physical verification of the place of business wherein in such cases input tax credit to their buyers shall be allowed only after filing of their return and the dealer/s would be required to pay a certain portion of their liability in cash instead of paying 100 per cent tax through ITC.

As per suggestions of the Law Committee, the dealer may also be required to deposit a portion of their due taxes through cash or via a bank guarantee of up to 2 per cent of their tax dues, instead of being allowed for 100 per cent tax payment through ITC.

They have to have some convincing income tax footprint available to establish their financial credibility to avail ITC based payment. For example, a dealer, say of, Rs.100 crore business needs to pay on an average a tax of Rs. 18 crore then s/he may be required to pay a sum of Rs. 3.6 lakh through bank guarantee instead of 100 per cent payment through ITC.

According to sources, Law Committee is of the view that to be categorized under the ‘trustworthy’ category, a registrant/dealer must have good income tax credential, no previous cancellation of GST registration on the same PAN for any violation of law and would need to undergo Aadhaar authentication as is required in case of an individual, proprietorship, partners, etc. The Committee is of the view that if an applicant may approach the jurisdictional officer, if feels aggrieved by any of the imposed condition/s, and may seek a waiver of such condition/s with all relevant documents to support her/his bonafide.

A jurisdictional officer, satisfied with the credentials verification, would waive some or all the restrictions. Also, a certain class of applicants (who appear riskier) shall be required to undergo in-person verification at GST Seva Kendras.

According to DoR Sources, to weed out existing fake dealers from the GST system, the Law Committee proposed full application of Business Intelligence and Fraud Analytics (BIFA) tool for precise identification of riskier dealers based on the riskier input supply chain and outward supply chain, abnormal taxpayer behaviour (in comparison to general behaviour) in terms of ITC availed, tax payment for catching fake dealer and taking appropriate action, including enforcement.

It suggested suspension of the first lot of riskier traders and identification of such taxpayers on the basis of significant criterion including non-filing of return for six months, said sources, adding that the committee underlined the fact that there are about six lakh dormant registrants in GST.

It further proposed that no income tax credential be given if 99 per cent tax is paid through ITC. There were about 35,000 such dealers who were given registration in 2018-19 and 2019-20, having GST liability of more than 50 lakh (yearly), more than 99 per cent tax paid through ITC and have no credential in income tax (did not pay income tax even of Rs 1 lakh in last three years).

Sources said that in the Law Committee’s opinion, once a dealer is suspended, he has to explain the discrepancy within the prescribed time limit for revocation of suspension. Also, measures shall be taken to build a full system-based workflow for suspension of risky dealers besides system integrated income tax credential verification and bank data verification for the credibility of the taxpayer (like done by CIBIL), cross verification of documents submitted, etc.

Also, sequential filing of returns and statements may be made compulsory to all new applicants from April 1, 2020. The Law Committee also endorsed a full system enabled input tax credit flow (e-invoice, auto-populated input tax credit, auto-filled ITC in return), etc. (ANI)

The price per dose of the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V will be much lower than that of the vaccines of US drug giants Pfizer and Moderna, said the Russian vaccine’s official Twitter account on Sunday.

“Translating pharma lingo: the announced price of Pfizer of USD 19.50 and Moderna of USD 25-USD 37 per dose actually means their price of USD 39 and USD 50-USD 74 per person. Two doses are required per person for the Pfizer, Sputnik V and Moderna vaccines. The price of Sputnik V will be much lower,” the official account said.

Russia became the first country to register the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine on August 11. Sputnik V was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry.

On November 11, Russia had said that its vaccine Sputnik V is 92 per cent effective at protecting people from COVID-19 according to the first interim analysis.

On November 17, Moderna, in its official statement, had announced that the independent, U.S. NIH-appointed Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the Phase 3 study of mRNA-1273 has informed Moderna that the trial has met the statistical criteria pre-specified in the study protocol for efficacy, with a vaccine efficacy of 94.5%.

Similarly, on November 18, Pfizer had said that final results from the late-stage trial of its coronavirus vaccine was found to be 95 per cent effective and had no serious side effects on older people. (ANI)