Month: January 2021

CRPF-DRDO Set To Launch Bike Ambulance

By LokMarg

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS), DRDO, have developed ‘RAKSHITA’ – a bike ambulance to attend urgent evacuation needs of security force personnel in event of a medical emergency or battle injury in conflict zones. It will be launched tomorrow in Delhi.

Sources claimed that these bikes will give assistance to CRPF jawans and paramedics in case of any injuries during encounters. “These bikes will be more useful in areas like Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada etc., as it is tough for the force to take big vehicles or ambulances inside the jungle,” a CRPF official said.

The bike has been developed after the CRPF noticed a need for such bikes to reach fast to the narrow roads in tensed areas, especially in the Naxalite zones. There have been instances where medical facilities couldn’t reach on time and a delay in medical assistance ended up making the patients’ situation more critical.

The INMAS works in the area of biomedical and clinical research with reference to radiation, neurocognitive imaging and research. It functions under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), it is the Research and Development (R&D) wing of Ministry of Defence Government of India. (ANI)

Hardik Pays Tribute To Dad: ‘Rest In Peace, My King’

By LokMarg

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya paid tribute to his father, who passed away on Saturday. The cricketer said he will miss his father’s presence each day in his life.

Taking to Twitter the all-rounder wrote, “My daddy As I said to your yesterday Your last one ride. Now rest in peace my king You were a Happy soul! I will miss you everyday dad Love you always.”

Earlier on Saturday, Baroda skipper and Hardik’s brother Krunal Pandya had left the bio-bubble created for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Vadodara as the all-rounder’s father passed away.

Krunal has left the bubble in order to be with his family and as a result, he would not be playing for Baroda in the ongoing Indian T20 tournament.

“Yes, Krunal Pandya has left the bubble. It is a personal tragedy, Baroda Cricket Association mourns this loss of Hardik and Krunal,” Baroda Cricket Association CEO Shishir Hattangadi had told ANI.

Krunal had played three matches in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq tournament so far, managing to take four wickets. In the first match against Uttarakhand, Krunal also managed to score 76 runs for Baroda.

Baroda has so far won all its four matches in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The side is at the top of Elite Group C with 16 points. Hardik Pandya is not playing the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy but he began his training for the upcoming white-ball series against England. (ANI)

Gunmen Kill Two Woman Judges In Kabul

By LokMarg

Two woman judges were killed and a woman employee of the Ministry of Education along with a driver and another person were wounded in an unidentified gunman attack in Kabul on Sunday, reported a security force source, cited TOLO News.

As per the eyewitnesses, the attack took place on Sunday morning around 8:30 am local time. Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle, killing two women and wounding another, reported TOLO News.

Kabul police have yet not disclosed the identity of women. Meanwhile, no group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

A wave of assassinations across Afghanistan has rattled the nation amidst the ongoing intra-Afghan peace talks to resolve the conflict in the country.

Meanwhile, the United States’ announcement of reducing the number of its troops to 2,500 in Afghanistan as per the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha last year in February has created another security concern for Afghanistan.

Moreover, the attack on female judges clearly denotes why Afghanistan is considered the worst place for women in the world. (ANI)

Bengal Polls: Cong, Left To Seal Seat-Sharing By End-Jan

By LokMarg

By Siddharth Sharma

As West Bengal Assembly polls are inching closer and BJP and Trinamool Congress are utilising every day to intensify political slugfest, the third front in the state — Congress-Left alliance — is in the process to wind-up the seat-sharing formula by end of this month.

According to a source in the party, top leadership in the party has asked the state leadership to finalise the seat-sharing formula by end of January so that parties can work on the next level of choosing the candidates for the polls.

Congress has formed a committee of senior leaders of the state to formulate the talks with the Left parties. The committee members have already conducted three meetings with coalition partners in Kolkata.

Another meeting, which will be the fourth one, is scheduled to take place on Sunday in the capital of the state.Jitin Prasad, the AICC in-charge of the state, said: “We have set up a committee of senior leaders and they are well capable enough to take the call on seat sharing keeping in mind the best of the interest of both party and the state.”

On seat-sharing, he said that Congress is focusing on both the “quality and quantity” of seats.

According to the senior functionary of the party in West Bengal, things are not the same like other states. “Congress party’s stand was clear in the last election of the Assembly in 2016 as it fought on 92 seats and won 44 out of it, while Left parties won 32 out of the rest 202 seats.”

The source said that Left parties are somehow rigid about the seat share formula, observing that they have ruled the state for long and they should be given space as per their wish but “Congress wants to fight on more seats than the last time although nothing has been finalised yet, but Congress wants to divide seats according to the vote share.”

“At the same time, AICC leadership also considering the Bihar results into consideration where the party fought on more seats than the previous elections and it won lesser seats than the previous Assembly polls. However, as the talks are on, things will get settle down at the state level while the final formula will be adopted by the central leadership of both the parties,” the source added.
On January 4, Congress constituted a four-member committee led by its West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to hold talks with Left parties regarding seat-sharing and joint programmes for West Bengal polls.

Apart from Chowdhury, the members of the committee are Abdul Mannan, Pradip Bhattacharya and Nepal Mahato.

Chowdhury had announced last month that the Congress will fight the assembly polls in the state with the Left parties. (ANI)

Has the Indian Supreme Court Blurred Separation Of Powers?

By LokMarg

The doctrine of the separation of powers requires that the three principal organs of State – that is the executive, the legislature and the judiciary – should be clearly divided in order to safeguard citizens’ liberties and to guard against governmental tyranny.

One of the earliest and clearest statements of the separation of powers was given by the infamous social commentator and political thinker Montesquieu at the beginning of the French Revolution in 1748:
‘When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty… there is no liberty if the powers of the judging is not separated from the legislative and executive… there would be an end to everything, if the same man or the same body… were to exercise those three powers.’

Therefore, according to the strict interpretation of the separation of powers, none of the three branches may exercise or interfere with the power of the other, nor should any person be a member of any two of the branches. For instance, only by creating three separate institutions is it possible to have a robust system of democratic checks and balances between them.

The Constitution of India does not expressly provide for the separation of powers. Unlike the Constitutions of the US and Australia. However, it still recognises and incorporates the doctrine of the separation of powers between the three principal organs of State. Therefore, whilst no formal or codified lines have been drawn between them, it is widely recognised and accepted that the doctrine of the separation of powers ‘runs through’ the Constitution of India.

Furthermore, there is often an overlap in the scope of the functions of the three branches. Primarily, owing to the parliamentary form of colonial Government in India. In other words, the dividing line between the executive and the legislature is naturally rather a fine one. Nevertheless, under India’s Constitution, the executive can legislate using:

The ordinance making powers of the President and the governors; and delegate executive legislation.

The legislature also exercises some form of control over the judiciary in that it can legislate on the Constitution itself, the jurisdiction and powers of the criminal and civil courts and it can also impeach judges when they are found to be acting or to have acted ultra vires (outside of their jurisdiction).

The judiciary has wide powers to review and strike down unconstitutional executive and legislative decisions and actions. However, the legislature can make such rulings ineffective by amending the law while staying within the constitutional limits. This concept is known as ‘legislative overruling’ and is a prime example of the inherent checks and balances under the Constitution which further strengthen the separation of powers in India.

Moreover and despite the fact that the three branches interconnect and have functional overlaps, the Indian judiciary has recognised the doctrine of the separation of powers as a fundamental feature of the Indian Constitution and an essential principle underpinning the rule of law.

During the course of a recent hearing relating to the Three Farm Laws, the Indian Supreme Court reportedly observed that it has the jurisdiction to stay the implementation of parliamentary legislation and did in fact go on to direct an interim order to that effect. In other words, a judicial order that prevents the executive or the legislature from implementing the Three Farm Laws into India’s domestic legislation.

However, this decision was taken despite the Supreme Courts own reasoning or judicial guidance laid down in the landmark case of Divisional Manager Aravali Golf Course v Chander Haas 2007. In which it was stated:
‘Before parting with this case we would like to make some observations about the limits of the powers of the judiciary. We are compelled to make these observations because we are repeatedly coming across cases where Judges are unjustifiably trying to perform executive or legislative functions. In our opinion this is clearly unconstitutional. In the name of judicial activism Judges cannot cross their limits and try to take over functions which belong to another organ of the State.

Therefore, the Supreme Court has specifically stated that judges must exercise judicial restraint and must not encroach on the jurisdictional capabilities or legislative actions of the legislature or the executive. In other words, the Supreme Court has previously declared that there is a broad separation of powers in India’s Constitution and that each primary organ of the State must remain within its limits and not intrude on the domain or jurisdiction of another.

Therefore, it follows that when the Indian Parliament enacted the Three Farm Laws in September 2020 Parliament was and remains the only organ of State who could repeal the laws or suspend their operation by enacting alternative legislative provisions. However and as previously mentioned, the Supreme Court can declare parliamentary legislation ultra vires if it finds it to be unconstitutional, but it has no jurisdiction to temporarily stay its enforcement without recording a judicial finding that it is on prima facie examination (at first glance) unconstitutional . Therefore, as no such finding has been made in the case in hand, this action cannot be said to amount to anything less than either a monumental demonstration of support on behalf of the judiciary for the plight of India’s small farmers, or a wholly unconstitutional and undemocratic judicial act which in turn should be immediately redressed.

Nevertheless, another fault line that could emerge from the Supreme Court’s intervention stems from the appointment of a four member committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge ‘for the purpose of listening to the grievances of the farmers and the views of the government and to make recommendations’. However, the Supreme Court has previously set up similar committees, delegating some of its powers to committee members to implement or oversee specific laws or an order of the court. For instance, in 2017 the Supreme Court directed the establishment of family welfare committees whose mandate would be to assess complaints of domestic violence before they were investigated by the police. However, this decision attracted widespread criticism and was eventually rolled back. Nevertheless, a committee working to alleviate the pressures and restraints on India’s police force is one thing but a committee recommending whether three pieces of primary legislation must be stayed or repealed is another thing entirely and caution must be paid to the unconstitutionality of it all.

ALSO READ: International Implications Of India’s Farm Laws

For instance, whilst the Supreme Court’s decision clearly reflects the legitimacy of the ongoing farmer protests – the Supreme Court would not have issued an interim order if it considered the farmers legal case against the Government to be wholly without merit. If appropriate caution is not exercised by the Supreme Court Judges this judicial decision could have far reaching negative implications for India’s future democratic governance and the rule of law. In other words, public confidence in the judiciary and in the Government is inevitably going to be affected as India’s population begins to lose faith in the sanctity of Parliaments legislative authority.

Perhaps the Supreme Courts objective was to break the ongoing deadlock between the farmers and the Government. For instance, do not forget that prior to the week commencing the 01 December 2020 PM Narendra Modi and his majority government had failed or refused to consult or to negotiate with the farmers and the farmer leaders – a decision which in itself amounts to a clear violation of Articles 2, 10, 11 and 15 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas 73/165 (UNDROP) (of which India is signatory) and various other primary instruments of international law. For more information on this point please see Sikh Human Rights Group working paper entitled Applicable International Treaties, Conventions and Regulations Re: India’s Agricultural Crisis.

Nevertheless, Sikh Human Rights Group respectfully submits that the Supreme Court judges must quickly come to the realisation that the judiciary cannot single headedly resolve the issues surrounding the Three Farm Law and must concurrently declare the Three Farm Laws unconstitutional whilst refraining from trespassing on the inherent jurisdiction of the legislature and the executive. 

For instance, according the Articles 253 and 254 of the Constitution, the power to ratify international Treaties and Conventions is vested with the Government (executive) and there is no need to place the Treaty or Convention before Parliament (legislature) even if the Treaty or Convention has monetary obligations. Therefore, international intergovernmental agreements to uphold the provisions of specific international Treaties and Conventions, such as the UNDROP, are actionable or the provisions are actionable in India’s domestic courts without express Parliamentary legislation to that effect.

Therefore, as Article 9(3) of the UNDROP provides that:
‘States shall take appropriate measures to encourage the establishment of organizations of peasants and other people working in rural areas, including unions, cooperatives or other organizations, particularly with a view to eliminating obstacles to their establishment, growth and pursuit of lawful activities, including any legislative or administrative discrimination against such organizations and their members, and provide them with support to strengthen their position when negotiating contractual arrangements in order to ensure that conditions and prices are fair and stable and do not violate their rights to dignity and to a decent life’.

In SHRG opinion this provision clearly provides the Supreme Court with legitimate grounds to declare the Three Farm Laws ‘unconstitutional’ as Article 21 of the Constitution specifically states that ‘no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty’.Which in turn has previously been held by the Supreme Court to encompass a constitutional right to earn a livelihood or a decent standard of living. For example, in the case of Olga Tellis v Bombay Municipal Corporation (1986) it was stated by the presiding Supreme Court judges that:
‘The question which we have to consider is whether the [constitutional] right to life includes the right to livelihood. We see only one answer to that question, namely, that it does. The sweep of the right to life conferred by Article 21 [of the Constitution] is wide and far-reaching. It does not mean, merely that life cannot be extinguished or taken away as, for example, by the imposition and execution of the death sentence… That is but one aspect of the right to life an equally important facet of that right is the right to livelihood because, no person can live without the means of living, that is, the means of livelihood’.

By Mr Carlos Arbuthnott

(The writer is a Master of Laws in international human rights and Human Rights Officer with the Sikh Human Rights Group. Views expressed are personal)

Disha Patani

Disha Shares No-Makeup Selfies

By LokMarg

Bollywood star Disha Patani on Sunday soared temperature as she treated fans to a stunning no make-up selfie.

The ‘Malang’ star hopped on to Instagram as she sports a cheetah print deep neck furry top while flaunting her natural glow.

Disha mesmerised her fans as she left her golden locks open, while she effortlessly posed for the picture. The actor seems to be travelling as one can catch a glimpse of the seat and roof of her car, and sun rays kissing her skin through the window pane.

Patani is also seen donning a tiny silver necklace moulded in the shape of ‘Love’.

As the gorgeous picture of the star speaks for itself, the ‘MS Dhoni’ star left a flower emoticon as a caption to the post.

The actor also shared some more pictures featuring savoury sweets as she spent the weekend binging on them. The photos on her Instagram Stories show a box of jalebis and she wrote alongside,” My fear jalebi, you are mine today.”

Patani also shared pictures of chocolate mouse and fruit tart on her Instagram Story.

More than 6 lakh fans liked the post within an hour of being posted, while many left red heart and fire emoticons in the comments section as they adored the pictures. (ANI)

Taapsee Pannu Binges On Laddoos

By LokMarg

Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu who will be seen essaying the role of a sprinter in her upcoming sports drama ‘Rashmi Rocket’ on Sunday treated fans to a glimpse from her ‘healthy indulgence’ in laddoos and revealed that she isn’t a ‘protein bar kind of person’.

The ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ star hopped on to Instagram and shared pictures of herself binging on her favourite laddoos.

In the picture, Pannu is smilingly posing for the camera as she holds the savoury sweet, while she binges on it.

Sporting a no make up look, the actor bore a casual style as she sported a grey tank top and cargo pants. The picture sees Taapsee as slightly tanned, while her luscious locks are styled into wavy curls.

Along with the photo, the ‘Pink’ star noted, “Not a Protein Bar kind of person. What works for me are laddoos approved by my superwoman @munmun.Ganeriwal .”

“Filled up with the goodness of besan, coconut, nuts, gond and ghee. She calls it the ‘Protein Energy Balls’ and I call it my ‘healthy indulgence’#rashmirocket#eatingwise#healthyistasty,” added Pannu.

The actor’s upcoming sports flick is directed by Akarsh Khurana and co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Neha Anand and Pranjal Khandhdiya.

The drama, which chronicles the story of a girl Rashmi and her journey from a tiny village to athletic contests is expected to release sometime in 2021. Besides that, she also has ‘Looop Lapeta’ and ‘Haseen Dillruba’ in the pipeline. (ANI)

23 Die In Norway After Receiving Pfizer Vaccine

By LokMarg

Twenty-three people died in Norway within days of receiving their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine with 13 of those deaths apparently related to the side effects of the shots, New York Post reported citing the health officials.

All 13 were nursing home patients and at least 80 years old.

Common reactions to the vaccine, including fever and nausea, “may have contributed to a fatal outcome in some frail patients,” New York Post quoted Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, as saying in a statement on Friday.

While officials aren’t expressing serious concern, they are adjusting their guidance on who should receive the vaccine.

More than 30,000 people in Norway have received the first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccine since late last month.

Agency’s medical director Steinar Madsen has stated that the “agency is not alarmed by this.”

“It is quite clear that these vaccines have very little risk, with a small exception for the frailest patients. Doctors must now carefully consider who should be vaccinated. Those who are very frail and at the very end of life can be vaccinated after an individual assessment,” he said.

The agency reported Thursday that a total of 29 people had suffered side effects, including the 13 people who died.

Twenty-one women and eight men experienced side effects, officials said.

Besides those who died, nine had serious side effects — including allergic reactions, strong discomfort and severe fever — while seven had less serious ones, including severe pain at the injection site, New York Post reported.

According to health officials around 400 people die each week in the nursing home population.

A Pfizer rep said the company is “aware of reported deaths” following the administration of the vaccine in Norway and is working with the Norwegian Medicines Agency to gather all the relevant information.

The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Norway is 58,202, while the death toll stands at 517, according to the Johns Hopkins University (ANI)

RML Resident Docs Oppose Bharat Biotech Vaccine

By LokMarg

As India started its vaccination drive against COVID-19 on Saturday, members of Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) at RML hospital here expressed doubts over Covaxin, saying there is “lack of complete trial”.

Dr Nirmalya Mohapatra, Vice President of RML Hospital RDA said they had come to know that only Coxavin, has been provided to the hospital.

Covaxin is being manufactured by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR.

“Clinical trials of the vaccine are being held. I would have participated in COVID vaccination drive if we would have had been provided with Covishield vaccines too,” he said.

RDA also wrote to a letter to Medical Superintendent of the hospital expressing its apprehensions about the use of Covaxin in vaccination drive at the hospital.

“Covaxin vaccine manufactured by the Bharat Biotech is being preferred over Covidshield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in our hospital. We would like to bring to your notice that the residents are a bit apprehensive about the lack of complete trial in case of Covaxin vaccine and might not participate in huge numbers thus defeating the purpose of vaccination. We request you to vaccinate us with Covishield which has completed all stages of the trial before its rollout,” the letter said.

Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who visited the RML hospital to inspect the vaccination process, said both Covisheild and Covaxin have been approved for restricted emergency use after a thorough evaluation by DCGI.

“People should not follow rumours. Those (doctors) who are creating doubts about Covaxin are wrong. They are unaware,” he told ANI.

The minister referred to medical superintendent of RML hospital and AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria taking Covaxin shot.

Dr Rana AK Singh, Medical Superintendent of RML Hospital said that it was a matter of pride for him to have received COVID vaccine, particularly Covaxin.

“I feel completely safe and there is no doubt on the vaccine. It is India’s indigenous vaccine and our scientists and DCGI have worked really hard to get this vaccine for us. I request people not to fall to rumours and (get misguided by) misinformation.”

Dr Nandini Duggal, Head of Microbiology at Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, who took COVID-19 vaccine shot, said vaccines are always made with a lot of effort and Indian COVID-19 vaccines have been manufactured after plenty of study and research.

“There are certain tolerable reactions (cough and little pain) that people are bound to face. And they are well informed in advance,” she said.

Speaking about her own experience of getting vaccinated, Dr Duggal said she felt no pain. (ANI)

Modi Launches Vaccination Campaign Against Covid-19

By LokMarg

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India’s vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus via video conferencing.

Billed as the world’s largest vaccination program, covering the entire length and breadth of the country, the drive aims to first inoculate millions of its healthcare and frontline workers and reach an estimated 3 crore people by the end of its first phase.

A total of 3006 session sites across all states and union territories will be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the inaugural day, the union health ministry has said.

In the first phase government and private sector health care workers, including Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) workers, will receive the vaccine.

The drive will be held daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except on the days earmarked for routine immunisation programmes.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday termed the country’s vaccination drive as the “beginning of the end of Covid-19.” He also urged people to trust the indigenously manufactured vaccine, saying the government has given emergency use approval after proper scientific scrutiny.

In the next phases of the vaccination drive, people aged over 50, and those who are below 50 years but have serious health conditions or co-morbidities will be vaccinated, according to the health ministry.

Dry-runs at vaccination centres across the country have been held with lakhs of healthcare staff across districts being trained.

The drugs regulatory body of India has currently approved two vaccines. Pune-based Serum Institute of India has developed the Covishield vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University while the Covaxin has been developed by Hyderabad’s Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Medical Council of research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology.

The vaccination programme in the country will use Co-WIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work), an online digital platform developed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which will facilitate real-time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualized tracking of beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccine. This digital platform will assist programme managers across all levels while conducting vaccination sessions.

A dedicated 24×7 call centre – 1075 – has also been established for addressing the queries related to Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine rollout and the Co-WIN software.

The full initial procurement amount of 1.65 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines against Covid-19 have been allocated to all States/UTs in the proportion of Health Care Workers database, Union Health Ministry stated.

India reported 15,158 new COVID-19 cases, 16,977 discharges and 175 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry’s data on Saturday. The cumulative caseload in the country reached 1,05,42,841 including 2,11,033 active infections and 1,01,79715 recoveries. The death toll has climbed to 1,52,093.

Most of the states have received the first batch of coronavirus vaccine doses including Delhi which has received 2,74,000 vaccine doses, followed by Maharashtra receiving over 9 lakh doses and Andhra Pradesh around with 4.7 lakh doses.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference on Thursday said, “So far, we have received 2,74,000 doses of vaccine from the Centre. Each person will be administered two doses and the Centre provides 10 per cent extra vaccine, taking damage into account. So the 2,74,000 doses will be sufficient for around 1,20,000 health workers.”

States and union territories have geared up for the vaccination drive.

In the national capital Delhi, the drive will be launched from the state-run LNJP Hospital by Chief Minister Kejriwal and Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain. Healthcare workers will get the jab in a total of 81 centres. The Union health minister will visit the new OPD Wing of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi to witness the launch of the inoculation drive. He will join doctors and around 100 potential vaccine beneficiaries at the centre.

In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will launch the vaccination drive from a centre at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai on Saturday. As many as 4,000 health workers will be administered Covid-19 vaccine every day at nine vaccination centres in the city the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

In Gujarat, 161 centres will deliver the vaccine, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.

As many as 700 healthcare workers will be administered the COVID-19 vaccine in Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.

According to a state government release, 332 locations have been identified for the launch of the drive in Andhra Pradesh.

Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender will take the first jab of the vaccine. He said: “A total of 140 centres have been shortlisted for the distribution of the vaccine. Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrashekhar Rao has appealed to the MLAs, MPs, and Ministers to part in the inauguration of vaccine distribution program at centres in their constituencies”

A total number of 243 centres have been prepared for the first phase of vaccination drive across the state on January 16, including 10 centres in Bengaluru, Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.

A total 7,17,439 health warriors will be vaccinated in the initial phase and we are aiming to vaccinate 24,300 people on the first day itself. We have 8,14,500 doses of vaccine and the initial phase is expected to complete within a week, said the minister.

In Kerala, the Health Department has prepared a list of 133 Covid-19 vaccination sites in the State. In Tamil Nadu the vaccines will be administered at 166 centres across the state, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said.

Andhra Pradesh has received 4.7 lakh doses of Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin for the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive. A state government release said that 332 locations have been identified for the launch of the drive in Andhra Pradesh. The release said it is expected that in the next 15 days all health care workers in the state will be vaccinated. After 28 days the second dose is to be administered.

Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday received the first batch of Covishield from Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune. As many as 1,46,500 doses of the Covishield vaccine have been received out of which 79,000 are for the Kashmir division and 67,500 are for the Jammu division. Choppers were used to transport the vaccines to far-flung snow-capped areas. The vaccine is being stored at the Divisional cold chain stores at Jammu and Kashmir divisions from where it will be distributed to all districts maintaining the cold chain at all levels. Vaccination would begin today at 30 centres across the Union territory.

A total of 59 sites have been identified in Punjab and 77 in Haryana for the vaccination drive. In Chandigarh, there will be four sites for administering the Covid-19 vaccine.

In Uttar Pradesh, 311 centres have been identified across the state’s 75 districts.

Other states and union territories have also made preparations for the rollout of the vaccine. (ANI)