Month: January 2022

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai on Wednesday said the state government will take a decision regarding COVID-19 rules and relaxation after consulting experts.

Speaking to media persons Bommai said, “While the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing in the state, hospitals are reporting less number of covid cases. It is suggested to focus on strengthening the OPD (Out Patient Department).”
“Following COVID-19 rules is very essential. The decision will take after the expert will review it and present full picture before us on Friday.”

Asked about withdrawing the weekend curfew, the chief minister said, “all these will be decided after the experts’ report in the next meeting.”

Meanwhile, Bommai said a video conversation was held on Tuesday with district officials about the COVID-19 control and vaccination program. Districts administration have been instructed to increase vaccination where the coverage is low.

The administration was also instructed to administer ‘precaution dose’ among health and frontline workers, he said.

Since 94 per cent of people are in home isolation, the department of health is constantly in contact with the infected people and providing medical kits, Bommai said.

The chief minister further informed that it is expected the COVID-19 cases to reach a peak in February here. Experts who have reviewed the trend in different states have predicted that a delayed wave could reach here at the end of January or the first week of February. (ANI)

Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) chief ministerial candidate Amit Palekar for the Goa Assembly polls on Wednesday assured a corruption-free Goa and promised to bring back the glory which the State lost in the last 20 years.

“I am guaranteeing you a Corruption-free Goa. We will get back Goa’s lost glory. A Goa everyone dreamt of. Goa which lost its identity in the last 20 years, we promise to get back that Goa. I will keep every word that I have said and that is my guarantee,” said Palekar.
Earlier today, the party’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal announced Amit Palekar as the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Goa Assembly polls.

“Amit Palekar will be AAP’s chief ministerial candidate for the Goa Assembly polls. Amit Palekar is an advocate by profession and comes from the Bhandari community,” said the Delhi Chief Minister.

“Bhandari Samaj is the biggest section of the society in Goa and are hurt that why no one amongst them is the chief minister. AAP’s Goa CM face is Amit Palekar. He has done a lot for goa, contributed a lot in corona times, and a new face who has never done politics,” said Kejriwal.

Before announcing the face, Kejriwal said that the people of Goa wants change because they are tired of the present party and government.

Kejriwal further said that the party had chosen an “honest man” as the face of its campaign in the coastal state. He also said that they had picked a person well known for the welfare work in the community.

AAP has also announced that it will contest all 40 seats in Goa.

Apart from the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Shiv Sena and other parties are also in the fray.

Goa will go to the assembly polls on February 14. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

India’a cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 158.88 crore on Wednesday after over 76 lakh vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

A statement from the ministry stated that with the administration of 76,35,229 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage reached 1,58,88,47,554, as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
This has been achieved through 1,70,80,295 sessions, it read.

Over 56 lakh precautionary doses of the vaccine have been administered.

The ministry informed that 56,66,263 precautionary doses have been administered so far. Of these, 21,52,696 doses were given to healthcare workers, 18,65,300 to frontline workers and 16,48,267 to those above 60 years with co-morbidities.

In the age groups 15-18 years, 3,73,04,693 vaccine doses have been administered.

India COVID vaccination drive completed one year on January 16, 2022.

The drive initially started last year by inoculating vaccines to healthcare workers, it was then expanded to frontline workers, followed by people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with comorbidities on March 1 last year. Later it was also expanded to all above 45 years of age on April 1, 2021 and then those above 18 years of age on May 1, 2021.

The vaccination drive for those between the age group 15-18 was started on January 3, 2022 and for administering the precautionary doses to the healthcare workers, frontline workers and sixty plus individuals then commenced on January 10 this year. (ANI)

Aparna Yadav, daughter-in-law of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday expressed gratitude to the party and said that “nation comes first” adding that she admires Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work.

“I am very thankful to BJP. The nation always comes first for me. I admire PM Modi’s work,” said Aparna Yadav after she joined the party at BJP headquarters in Delhi ahead of state Assembly polls.
“I have also been influenced with BJP’s works and schemes including Swachh Bharat mission, welfare of women, employment. I will work in my fullest capacity,” she added.

Aparna joined BJP today in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and BJP State president Swatantra Dev Singh.

Aparna is the wife of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son Pratik. They got married in 2011.

For the forthcoming assembly elections, Aparna has sought a ticket from the Lucknow Cantt assembly seat, as per sources.

Notably, Aparna made her political debut in 2017 assembly elections in the state by contesting from the Lucknow Cantt seat. However, she was defeated by BJP’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who had secured nearly 63,000 votes.

Besides polictics, Aprna runs an organisation named ‘bAware’ for the welfare of women. She also runs a shelter for cows in Lucknow.

In the past as well, she has praised BJP’s initiatives in the state and had also donated Rs 11 lakh for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Elections to the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10. The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7 in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

In an attempt to check whether COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is being followed in the markets, officials of Delhi Police conducted a foot patrolling in the Daryaganj and Jama Masjid areas on Tuesday evening.

Action was initiated against those who violated COVID-19 protocols. As many as 120 violators were booked under section 188 of CrPC for not following COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. Delhi registered 11,684 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours as the fall in the number of daily Covid cases continues, said the State Health Department on Tuesday.
As per the bulletin provided by the Delhi government, the positivity rate for the day has declined to 22.47 per cent. A total of 52,002 samples were tested during the last 24 hours.

With this, the total cases of the disease in the national capital have gone up to 17,34,181.

During the last 24 hours, 17,516 people recovered from the infection, taking the total recoveries to 16,30,644.

38 people lost their lives to the deadly virus during the last 24 hours. The death toll in the national capital due to the disease currently stands at 25,425.

There are currently 78,112 active COVID-19 cases in Delhi, out of which 63,432 are currently in home isolation. There are currently 37,540 containment zones in the national capital. (ANI)

In what could be a big blow to the Samajwadi Party ahead of upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Aparna Yadav, daughter-in-law of former state chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, is set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.

She is expected to meet BJP president JP Nadda after joining the party on Wednesday. According to the sources, Aparna Yadav has sought a ticket from the Lucknow Cantt assembly seat.

Amid the talks of Aparna Yadav joining the BJP, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had also said that BJP members are worrying more about his family than about themselves.

Aparna Yadav has in the past lauded some initiatives of the BJP government. She also donated Rs 11 lakh to the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Aparna Yadav contested the 2017 assembly elections from Lucknow Cantt seat and finished second. She was defeated by Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi and secured about 63,000 votes. Aparna is the wife of Prateek Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh’s second wife Sadhna Gupta.

There are many contenders for Lucknow Cantt seat in the BJP. Apart from Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, Rita Bahuguna Joshi is also seeking a ticket for her son from the seat.

Elections to the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10.

The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27, and March 3 and 7 in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

China’s debt-trap diplomacy continues in Africa through the Belt Road Initiative as it gains momentum in the continent through a slew of big infrastructural projects and the criticism of trapping African countries in debt by Chinese lenders is also coming to fore, writes Valerio Fabbri for the Portal Plus.

The total debt of African countries owed to China amounts to USD 145 billion, while the debts to be repaid this year are USD 8 billion so far.
China’s contribution to the investments in Africa, in 2018, was about 28 per cent indicating the increasing debt burden on the continent. This is highlighted by the fact that at least 18 African countries have been renegotiating their debts with China.

China’s “Debt Trap” policy follows a similar global pattern. Madagascar, Maldives and Tajikistan are the nations reeling under Chinese debts. Pakistan, an “all-weather friend” of China, remains another example, which, according to a recent World Bank Report, now finds its place in the world’s 10 largest borrowers.

Pakistan owes most of its debt to China. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which aims to connect Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Baluchistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is a flagship project of China’s BRI.

Further, it has been argued by various analysts that China is using “debt-trap” diplomacy to gain access to strategic assets in Pakistan. The infrastructure projects financed by Chinese banks have been causing African countries to fall into China’s debt trap, allowing the latter to reinforce its influence in the continent, writes Valerio Fabbri for the Portal Plus.

Under international pressure, China might not consider using its coercive methods to regain its loan amount, as it was in the case of Sri Lanka, where however it is certain that the Chinese investors will put the governments on the back foot to grab deals on their own terms.

Looking at the scale of China’s lending and the institutional weaknesses of the small, developing countries, the BRI projects pose grave risks to the debt structure and sovereignty of these states. The policy of China’s cooperation with developing countries being a partnership of equals, at best, seems like a mirage, while the reality looks far different from being what is narrated as a win-win, writes Valerio Fabbri for the Portal Plus. (ANI)

Nepal on Tuesday recorded the highest number of fresh COVID-19 cases since the onset of the pandemic registering 10,258 new infections in the past 24 hours.

Out of confirmed cases today, 8,730 were detected through the RT-PCR method and 1,528 from the antigen method.
Earlier during the first wave, Nepal had recorded 5,743 coronavirus cases on October 21, 2020. During the second wave, it shot up to 9,483 on May 11, 2021, the highest single-day rise of then.

Out of the samples tested in the last 24 hours, about 45 per cent of the samples has tested positive against the contagion, data from the Health Ministry showed.

Along with this, the statistics of the Ministry showed that infection has increased by multiple folds in the past one week alone.

The positivity rate of the Himalayan Nation as of Tuesday stands at 44.94 per cent on the basis of the daily tests performed in a single day. Within the last week, Nepal has increased its daily Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test by 31.43 per cent which is increasing by about 4 per cent on daily basis.

Upon analyzing the data of the Health Ministry, out of one thousand samples that undergo the test on a daily basis 386 have been turning out positive while it stood at 59.

In Kathmandu alone, 4,004 new COVID-19 positive patients have been registered while Lalitpur recorded 975 and Bhaktapur recorded 570 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, there was one coronavirus-related death reported in the past 24 hours. With this, the COVID-19 death toll in the country is 11,624 to date.

There are 39,044 active cases Tuesday against 30,877 active cases on Monday. In the past 24-hour period, 547 infected patients recovered, the Ministry announced. (ANI)

Aam Aadmi Punjab Punjab president Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday expressed his gratitude to his party and the people of Punjab after being declared as the AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections, and said that his party would be victorious with more than two-third majority and make the state “Rangla Punjab” again.

Earlier today, Mann was declared the Chief Ministerial candidate of AAP after the party received nearly 22 lakh responses on the phone number released last week asking people to give names of their preferred candidate for the face of the chief minister for the party in Punjab.
Speaking to ANI, Mann said, “I will try to get my party the victory with more than two-third majority. We have to make Punjab Rangla Punjab again.”

Asked about his priorities if he is elected as the chief minister in the upcoming polls, the AAP leader said that he would address the issues relating to drug addiction and the unemployment of youth.

“The biggest cause of drug addiction is unemployment. The working man does not take drugs. If people get employment, people start going to work, then the drug issue will end. But we will find the big fish as well,” he said.

“Unemployment is a big issue in Punjab, our youth has gone into depression, running away abroad. We will work for this, we will fix education, we will fix agriculture. Electricity is also a big issue. We have to end the mafia rule and fill the treasury of Punjab, give convenience to the people,” Mann added.

Expressing his gratitude toward his party and the people of Punjab, the AAP candidate said that common worker like him can become a chief ministerial candidate only in a party like AAP.

“Only a party like Aam Aadmi Party can elect a common worker like me, nepotism runs in all other parties. The age in which the party has given this responsibility to me, other parties do not even make the workers of that age the head of the district,” he said.

“We are from middle-class families, never thought in life that I will become CM candidate. I have pure intentions for Punjab and this responsibility bestowed upon me has certified the same,” Mann added.

Assembly elections in Punjab will be held on February 20. The counting of votes will be done on March 10. (ANI)