Month: March 2022

India reported new COVID-19 cases below the 2000-mark for the third consecutive day as the daily positivity rate dipped further to 0.28 per cent.

After 2,075 new cases on March 19, the Union Health Ministry recorded 1,761 new cases on March 20 and 1,549 new cases on March 21.

With 1,581 new cases in the last 24 hours, the cumulative caseload reached 43,010,971, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

As recoveries continue to outnumber fresh infections, the active cases have declined to 23,913, constituting 0.06 per cent of the country’s total positive cases. The weekly positivity rate stood at 0.39 per cent, the ministry said.

As many as 2,741 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,70,515. The death toll due to COVID climbed to 5,16,510 with 31 new fatalities.

India’s recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent while the fatality rate is at 1.20 per cent.

According to the health ministry, a total of 5,68,471 COVID-19 were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of tests conducted in the country to 78,36,13,628.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 181.56 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 2,14,38,677 sessions.

COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on March 16, 2022. So far, more than 34 lakh (34,19,633) adolescents have been administered with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination started on January 16, 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21, 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs. (ANI)

Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked by 80 paise per litre each on Tuesday morning, after a pause of over four months.

Petrol price in Delhi has gone up from Rs 95.41 to Rs 96.21 per litre while diesel in the national capital will now cost Rs 87.47 a litre. Petrol and diesel prices per litre in Mumbai will cost Rs 110.82 and Rs 95.00 respectively.

In Kolkata, petrol and diesel will cost Rs 105.51 and Rs 90.62 per litre respectively while the prices in Chennai will be Rs 102.16 and Rs 92.19 respectively.

After November, this is the first fuel price hike.

On November 2 last year the petrol price was hiked by Rs 35 per litre paise and on November 1 the diesel price was raised by 35 paise per litre.

Also, the petrol price on November 4 last year was lowered by Rs 6.07 in the national capital.

“Every day the prices of petrol and diesel are increasing and the middle class is affected. I request the government to control the prices and think about the middle-class people,” said a Delhi resident.

Another commuter, who was travelling to Meerut, said that the hike in price will hit his budget. “I have to go to Meerut every day. Now the price hike will affect my monthly budget. The price hike will affect our expenses,” he said.

“There is no increment in our salary and inflation is rising every day. Now the fuel prices are also hiked. Earlier the prices were less, so we used to manage,” said Manish, a Delhi resident.

The government raised the bulk diesel prices by Rs 25 a litre last week.

Also, Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel price was increased by 18.32 per cent to Rs 110,666.29 per kilolitre (kl) in the national capital, the steepest hike ever, according to a price notification issued by the government-owned fuel retailers.

On November 3 last year the Centre had cut excise duty by Rs 5 per litre on petrol and Rs 10 per litre on diesel to bring down the retail prices across the country.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri had said that nine states had not reduced VAT on petrol and diesel after the Centre’s move to reduce excise duty on the petroleum products.

“When we saw that relief needs to be provided to consumers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slashed rates of petroleum products on November 5, 2021. We took some steps and were ready to take more. Nine states did not take follow up measures. Taxation is only one aspect. We have to provide relief to consumers at the point of consumption,” the minister said answering a query in Rajya Sabha on the prices of petroleum products. (ANI)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to visit India on April 3, his first such visit after assuming office last year.

Naftali is undertaking the visit on the occasion of the commemoration of 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel.
Bennett is paying the visit to India from April 3-5 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official statement.

Both the leaders had earlier met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow in November last year. They also had a telephonic conversation on August 16, 2021.

“The visit by Bennett would be his first to India in his capacity as Prime Minister. This visit would take place on the occasion of the commemoration of 30 years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel and 75 years of India’s Independence,” MEA said in a statement.

India and Israel elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel in July 2017.

Since then, the two countries have continued to deepen their strategic partnership, with a focus on innovation and research, read the statement.

“The visit by the Prime Minister of Israel is expected to further strengthen our excellent bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including agriculture, water, trade, education and science and technology,” the statement added. (ANI)

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has tendered his resignation from the state Legislative Council days after he was elected as an MLA from Gorakhpur.

Adityanath was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council in 2017 after he took oath as the Chief Minister following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide victory in the Assembly polls. He also represented the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat several times until 2017.

Yogi Adityanath, who led his party to a thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to take oath as Chief Minister of the state for the second tenure on March 25, according to sources.

Adityanath will be the first Chief Minister in the last 37 years to return to power after completing a full term in the state.

Adityanath, a monk-turned-politician, won his first-ever Assembly election by a margin of 1,03,390 from Gorakhpur Urban constituency, defeating the Samajwadi Party candidate Subhawati Upendra Dutt Shukla. This is the first time that Adityanath has been elected as an MLA.

The BJP retained power in Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out of 403 constituencies, securing a 41.29 per cent vote share. (ANI)

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon on Tuesday following the ruckus created by the Opposition parties against rising fuel prices in the country.

Opposition parties including Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and Congress created pandemonium as the Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected their plea to hold discussion over rising fuel prices under Rule 267.
Trinamool Congress leader trooped into the well of the Upper House and started sloganeering against the government by showing placards soon.

As the Opposition party MPs did not consider Chairman’s request to allow the functioning of the House and begin the Zero Hour, Naidu adjourned the House till 12.

The ruckus started soon after the papers were laid on the table and Naidu addressed the House over World Water Day.

In the first hike in four months, the fuel prices have been raised in India. Diesel and petrol prices have been hiked by 80 paise. A litre of petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 96.21 and diesel will be sold at Rs 87.47 per litre. (ANI)

By Ajit K Jha

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was earlier quoted as saying that he often has a longing to retire from politics and be actively involved in social service, clarified on Monday that he does not plan to retire from active politics at the moment.

Speaking on the development, Azad said, “I did not say that I am leaving active politics or retiring, but I did say that I am fed up now. Sometimes I feel that by coming into politics, I am not able to do what can be done by leaving politics. That’s all. I want to change this thought process.”

Azad on Sunday said that he had serious reservations about the ability of political parties to bring about real transformation and civil society has an important role to play in difficult times. He also said that he often has a longing to retire from politics and be more actively involved in social service.

Upon being questioned whether Azad will bring about a change in the Congress party to eliminate caste-based politics in the country, he said, “From morning till evening, only one can hear that this is a Hindu area, who will go for campaigning here, who will go for campaigning in Brahmin areas, who will go for campaigning in Rajput areas, who will go for campaigning in Muslim areas, who will go for campaigning in Dalit areas etc. This shows that we are increasing casteism. No party is trying to end the politics of casteism and religion. There are good people in political parties who speak well. Unfortunately, they are not being given a chance.”

He added, “If people question that why I am saying all this thing now, then I want to tell that people who do not know me can say such thing. I have always tried to speak the truth from the beginning of my political career. I always tried to do good politics. Whether I am being listened to in the party or not, I don’t know but I will keep trying from my side.”

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday received the Padma Bhushan award in the field of Public Affairs. He received the award from President Ram Nath Kovind today.

Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. (ANI)

As the country reels under the prevalence of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal on Monday said that the threat of the Omicron variant has not gone away from India adding that the country has done a commendable job in inoculating the majority of the people in the country with COVID-19 vaccinations.

Speaking at an event in Delhi today, Agarwal said, “We provided vaccines to 99 countries across the world. India completed 250 million doses in 145 days. Right now, I’m proud to highlight that we have completed 1.81 billion doses of vaccination.”

“Threat of Omicron variant has not gone away from India, but we have been able to successfully manage as high as 23 times better than the world’s overall management of COVID-19 when it comes to saving precious lives,” said Agarwal.

Agarwal further highlighted that QR-coded digital certificates were given to every citizen for every COVID-19 dose delivered.

He said, “We gave QR-coded digital certificates to every citizen for every COVID-19 dose delivered. We have not leveraged technology, we have leveraged human resources in this country, which worked with commitment.”

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 181.52 crore (1,81,52,45,644) on Monday evening. More than 27 lakh (27,07,127) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm on Monday.

The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination started on January 16, 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on June 21, 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs. (ANI)

After days of speculation, Pushkar Singh Dhami was elected leader of BJP legislature party in Uttarakhand on Monday, paving the way for his taking over the reins of the state for a second time.

Dhami, who lost from the Khatima constituency in the Uttarakhand, led the party’s poll effort as Chief Minister during the assembly polls held last month.
The results were announced on March 10 and there was speculation if he will be chief minister for a second time.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi were central observers for the meeting. They announced that Dhami had been elected leader by the newly-elected party MLAs.

Several names, including that of former union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni, MLA Dhan Singh Rawat and Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj were among doing the rounds as possible choices for chief minister.

Dhami had lost to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri from Khatima by a margin of 6,579 votes in the state polls. He got a total of 41,598 votes with a vote share of 44.8 per cent against Kapri who got 48,177 with 51.89 per cent votes. Dhami had won twice from the seat.

The son of an ex-serviceman, Dhami was born in 1975 in Kanalichhina village in Pithoragarh district. He holds a law degree and worked as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer. He also had been a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Dhami served as the president of BJP Yuva Morcha in Uttarakhand twice between 2002 and 2008. He is believed to be a protege of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Dhami will be the 13th Chief Minister of the hill state. He belongs to the Kumaun region. The last two chief ministers before him were from the Garhwal region.

The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand and won 47 seats in the 70-member assembly. (ANI)

Ahead of no-confidence vote, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been concerned about political stability as several members of the National Assembly (MNAs) have deserted Khan’s party and joined the opposition ranks.

Dozens of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers came out in open defiance against the ruling party ahead of the no-confidence motion vote in the National Assembly.

Notably, in 342-seat National Assembly, the PTI-led ruling coalition has 178 seats and the opposition has 163 seats. As many as 172 seats are required to maintain a majority in the assembly; however, if seven or more lawmakers from the ruling coalition switch loyalties, Imran Khan would lose the majority, according to media reports.

The joint opposition made the requisition for the session along with the submission of the no-confidence motion against the prime minister on March 8. The Speaker summoned the session under Article 54 (3) and Article 254 of the Constitution, The Nation reported.

According to analyses, whatever the outcome of the no-confidence vote, Khan’s leadership of the PTI is already significantly dented, and the party may be staring at a period of political oblivion.

In Pakistan’s ever-dynamic political situation, last week proved to be particularly precarious for the PTI and set the stage for the political showdown later this week. (ANI)

As 125-year-old Swami Sivananda walked bare feet inside Rashtrapati Bhavan’s magnificent Darbar Hall to receive the Padma Shri award from President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, the applause from onlookers rang high and loud.

Dressed in a white kurta and dhoti, the yogi was a picture of simplicity and grace as he knelt and bowed down in front of Prime Minister and President as a mark of respect. The Prime Minister too got up from the seat and bowed to the veteran yoga legend.
The President stepped out and helped Sivananda rise to his feet, after which he honoured him with the award and the duo posed for pictures and were seen in conversation.

The oldest man to be conferred with the Padma Shri award, Swami Sivananda is a monk from Varanasi. Born in August 1896, he is cherishing his remarkable 125 years of living. Despite his distinctive age, he stands strong enough to perform yoga for hours, according to a write-up by Rashtrapati Bhawan on Padma Awardees.

Swami wakes up as early as 3 am in the morning and adheres to an undeviating routine. Standing 1.58 metres tall, Sivananda sleeps on a mat on the floor and uses a wooden slab as a pillow. Fit without any medical complications, he practices Yoga every day and performs all rituals on his own. He leads a simple life, eats a simple diet serves others with his selfless service.

In his childhood, poverty made him sleep empty stomach many times, while the rest of the time, his family could afford to feed him boiled rice and water. When Swami lost his parents and sister before he was 6, he denied the last rites of his family and chose the path of celibacy. His relatives gave him to a spiritual Guru.

He was brought to his Guruji’s Ashram at Nabadwip in West Bengal. Guru Omkarananda Goswami brought him up, imparted all practical and spiritual education including Yoga without school education, with whom, starting from London, Swami travelled across 34 countries including Europe, Russia, and Australia.

Swami dedicated his life to the welfare of society and owed his age to yoga, discipline and celibacy. He believes, ‘The world is my home, its people are my fathers and mothers, to love and serve them is my religion.’

For over three decades, he has been practising and teaching Yoga at Kashi ghats. Dedicating his life to human welfare, he has been serving leprosy-affected people at Puri for the past 50 years. His healthy & long life has drawn the attention of national & international organisations.

He perceives them as living God and serves them with the best available items. He arranges different materials like food items, fruits, clothes, winter garments, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking utensils based on their expressed need,” it said.

For his tremendous contribution to the field of Yoga, Swami believes Yoga is the way to lead a healthy life, it controls the senses, mind and will. It is a way to god and divinity.

Swami Sivananda has been honoured with various awards including the Yoga Ratna Award in 2019 at Bengaluru.

He was the senior-most participant from the country at a yoga demonstration on June 21, the World Yoga Day in 2019.

He was awarded Basundhara Ratan Award by Respect Age International for his contribution to society on 30 November 2019.

Till today, Swami is serving the underprivileged in different parts of the country – in North East India, at Varanasi, Puri, Haridwar, Nabadwip and so on, according to the Rashtrapati Bhavan document on Padma awardees. (ANI)