Month: July 2022

India reported the second confirmed Monkeypox case Kannur district on Monday, confirmed officials from Union Health Ministry and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

As per Kerala Health minister’s office, a 31-year-old male has been infected with the virus. He is undergoing treatment in Pariyaram Medical College Kannur.
“One more monkeypox confirmed in Kerala. The 31 year old man from Kannur is currently undergoing treatment at Pariyaram Medical College. The patient’s health condition is reported to be satisfactory,” said Kerala Health Minister Veena George.

The multidisciplinary central team of officials has been already deployed by the Union Health Ministry.

Those in close contact with him have been put under surveillance, the minister added.

Earlier on July 14 India reported the first Monkeypox case of a UAE traveller from Kerala.

The Union Health Ministry on Friday released new guidelines for the management of the Monkey pox disease. The Ministry listed out points for the general masses to avoid the contradiction of the disease which included avoiding contact with dead or wild animals (rodents, monkeys).

The official to ANI also said that no need to panic all fresh guidelines has been issued to all States and UTs.

“No need to panic as Centre has given fresh directions to all the states and Union Territories regarding Monkeypox. It spreads through close contact with lesions, body fluids, prolonged contact with Respiratory Droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding,” said official sources.

Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan cited the letter sent by the ministry on May 31 in which it had issued a comprehensive ‘Guidelines for Management of Monkeypox Disease’. As of now, there is no reported case of Monkeypox has been reported in India.

The health secretary asked all the states and union territories to take key actions like orientation and regular re-orientation of all key stakeholders including health screening teams at points of entries (PoEs), disease surveillance teams, doctors working in hospitals about common signs and symptoms, differential diagnosis, case definitions for suspect/probable/confirmed cases and contacts, contact tracing and other surveillance activities that need to be undertaken following detection of a case, testing, IPC protocols, clinical management etc.

He further asked to screen and test all suspect cases at points of entry and in the community.

“Patient isolation (until all lesions have resolved and scabs have completely fallen off), protection of ulcers, symptomatic and supportive therapies, continued monitoring and timely treatment of complications remain the key measures to prevent mortality,” he said.

Bhushan said that the intensive risk communication directed at healthcare workers identified sites in health facilities (such as skin, paediatric OPDs, immunization clinics, intervention sites identified by NACO etc.), as well as the general public about simple preventive strategies and the need for prompt reporting of cases, needs to be undertaken.

The hospitals must be identified and adequate human resource and logistic support should be ensured at identified hospitals equipped to manage suspect/confirmed cases of Monkeypox.

“I am sure, States/UTs shall make all efforts to ensure effective preparedness and take required action as per the guidelines. Union Ministry of Health shall continue to monitor the situation closely and will extend all requisite support in this regard,” he added.

According to WHO South East Asia regional director the region has been on alert for Monkeypox.

“The Region has been on alert for monkeypox. Countries have been taking measures to rapidly detect and take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of monkeypox,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia.

“WHO has been supporting Member countries in the Region assess the risk for monkeypox and strengthen their capacities to prepare and respond to the evolving multi-country outbreak,” she said. (ANI)

Leader of Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday said that 99 per cent of the votes from Punjab are going to Yashwant Sinha for the President post.

Speaking to the media persons outside the Punjab Assembly, Bajwa said the meeting of the Punjab Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has been called to avoid any mistake that may lead to the cancellation of votes.
“All MLAs will be guided about the process of casting votes for the election of the President to avoid any mistake that may lead to the cancellation of votes. Most of the MPs will be going to Delhi to cast their votes, they can come here too, then they have both the preference He also asserted that 99 per cent of the votes from Punjab are going to Yashwant Sinha,” said Bajwa.

Voting to elect the 15th President of India will be held on Monday as the tenure of Ram Nath Kovind will end on July 24.

National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and joint opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha are the two contesting candidates for election to the Office of the President.

A total of 4,809 electors will vote in the Presidential elections today. The polling will take place between 10 am and 5 pm in the Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.

The counting of votes will take place on July 21.

NDA’s Murmu has the support of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (Secular), Shiromani Akali Dal, both the factions of Shiv Sena and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

Murmu is a former Governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha minister. If elected, she will be the first tribal President of India and the country’s second female President.

Meanwhile, Sinha resigned from TMC before he was nominated as the Opposition’s candidate for the presidential poll.

The Opposition’s Sinha, a former Union Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government who later joined Trinamool Congress is backed by Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

As per Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The nominated members of either Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha or Legislative Assemblies of the States are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College and therefore, they are not entitled to participate in the election. Similarly, members of the Legislative Councils are also not electors for the Presidential election.

The value of votes of the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament is governed by Article 55(2) of the Constitution. (ANI)

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday amid protests by Opposition parties over inflation and GST rate hikes.

Opposition MPs protest in the Upper House and walk up to the Well of the House over inflation and increase in GST of some essential commodities.
Several Opposition MPs including Congress MP KC Venugopal, Communist Party of India (Marxist) floor leader in Rajya Sabha, Elamaram Kareem and others have given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 to discuss various issues like inflation, the recent increase in GST of some essential commodities and ‘Agnipath Scheme’.

Newly elected members also took oath as Rajya Sabha members as the Monsoon session of Parliament Commenced today.

Before the adjournment of the House, the Rajya Sabha observes silence as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu made obituary references to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former-UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, legendary Hindustani classical musician Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and others.

During his opening remark, Rajya Sabha Chairman appealed to all the members of the House to give their best performance to make this Parliament Monsoon Session a memorable one and to ensure to work together for the next 25 years of ‘Amrit Kaal’ to take India to new heights by the time our nation rejoices in the centenary year of its independence.

He expected that the Session will set the right tone for the functioning of this august House over the next 25 years of ‘Amrit Kaal’ which is a critical period to take India to an entirely new plane by the time our nation rejoices in the centenary year of its independence.

Recalling that this will be his last Parliament session, the Rajya Sabha Chairman said that the journey of five years has been quite a learning experience for him.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha also adjourned till 2 pm for voting in the Presidential election in Parliament premises.

Polling began at 10 am at the Parliament House and the state legislative assemblies with MPs and MLAs casting their votes to elect the President of India. The voting process will conclude at 5 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on July 21. (ANI)

Polling began on Monday in the Parliament and respective State Legislative Assemblies to elect a new President of India.

Draupadi Murmu is the NDA candidate, who is contesting against Yashwant Sinha, supported by the Opposition parties.
A polling booth has been set up inside the Parliament premises where Members of Parliament will cast their votes. The Rajya Sabha’s Secretary General is the Returning Officer for this election.

The President is elected by members of the Electoral College consisting of elected Members of Parliament and that of all the state Assemblies, including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Nominated Members of Parliament, state Assemblies and Members of Legislative Council are not eligible to vote. A total of 776 Members of Parliament and 4,033 MLAs will vote in the Presidential elections.

Meanwhile, the Monsoon Session of Parliament will commence today and will continue till August 12. There will be 18 sittings during the Session.

This session is important given the fact that the Presidential Election and the Vice Presidential Election will be held during this period. The Presidential Election is being held today while the Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6.

Price rise, Agnipath scheme and unemployment are some of the issues which are likely to be raised by the Opposition during the Monsoon session.

Various Bills including Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill are likely to be taken up in the session. (ANI)

As many as 12 people were killed after a Maharashtra Roadways bus they were travelling in fell off the Khalghat Sanjay Setu in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

“Twelve people died and 15 people have been rescued, MP Minister Narottam Mishra said adding that the Maharashtra Roadways bus was enroute from Indore to Pune.
The bus containing 55 people was going from Indore to Pune, when it lost its balance and fell off the bridge.

The Dhamnod Police and Khaltaka Police rushed to the spot and conducted rescue operations with the help of divers.

So far, two injured persons have been taken to the Dhamnod Government Hospital in Madhya Pradesh.

More details awaited. (ANI)

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Margaret Alva is the opposition’s joint candidate for the August 6 vice presidential election.

“Opposition’s candidate for the post of Vice President of India is to be Margaret Alva,” said NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
The announcement came a day after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar will be its candidate for the Vice Presidential election.

“We tried to contact West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee but she was busy in some conference. We also tried to contact Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. He announced support (for Yashwant Sinha) a few days ago & will announce his support (for Margaret Alva) soon,” Pawar added.

The opposition leaders finalised her name after a meeting held at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar which was attended by all major opposition parties including the Congress, TMC, CPIM, RJD, SP, and others.

She has earlier served as the governor of Rajasthan.

Margaret Alva was made Central Minister at the age of 42, which in those days was a rarity.

Alva was born in Mangalore in 1942, grew up in different parts of the former Madras Presidency, and imbibed the culture of the state, parts of which now belong to Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

Her father belonged to the Indian Civil Service. She was married into the Alva family, from Mangalore in South Canara, which has a composite culture.

She was drawn into the political scene while staying with her in-laws, both parliamentarians. She was elected for four successive terms to the Rajya Sabha, and one term in the Lok Sabha.

Alva assumed several responsibilities, under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao.

Born in an agrarian household in a remote village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, NDA Vice Presidential candidate Dhankhar completed his school education from Sainik School, Chittorgarh.

After finishing his graduation in Physics, he pursued LLB from the University of Rajasthan. Despite being a first-generation professional, he became one of the leading lawyers in Rajasthan.

Dhankhar has practiced in both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court of India. He entered public life after getting elected as a Member of Parliament from Jhunjhunu in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. Subsequently, he also served as a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990. In 1993, he was elected to the Rajasthan Assembly from the Kishangarh constituency in Ajmer district.

In July 2019, he was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal.

Nominations for the vice-presidential polls slated to be held on August 6, began on Tuesday.

The Election Commission made an announcement of the elections for the 16th vice president of India to take place on August 6, 2022.

The ECI has also issued directions for Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh to be the Returning Officer for the polls.

The nomination papers for the above election can be submitted starting Saturday up to July 19, 2022. The scrutiny for the nominations will take place on July 20 and the final list will be published on July 22.

As in the case of the election to the President of India, the eligible candidates will need to submit a few documents including a certified copy of the electoral roll with the name mentioned on it and an amount of Rs 15,000 at the time of submitting the nomination papers which shall be returned after the election process is over in case the candidate does not make it to the final list.

In case of the election of the Vice President of India, voting will happen in the Parliament and members of the Rajya Sabha will participate in this election as the vice president is also the de facto chairman of the upper house.

The poll for the upcoming vice president’s election is slated to take place between 10 AM and 5 PM on August 6, 2022, and the results are expected to be out on the same day.

In 2017, the NDA had nominated Venkaiah Naidu as its candidate for the vice-presidential election and he went on to become India’s 15th vice president. His term ends on August 10, 2022.

Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition parties for the presidential election while Draupadi Murmu is National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate. The Presidential election will take place on July 18. (ANI)

The Narendra Modi government has called for an all-party meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the crucial issue of the Sri Lanka crisis.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi made the announcement on Sunday saying, “On Tuesday, we are calling for another all-party meeting to brief on the Lankan crisis. We have requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to hold this briefing.”
According to the sources, the foreign secretary is likely to make a presentation before the members on the situation in Lanka and the assistance that India has given in the past to the island nation. And the meeting is likely to start at 5:30 pm.

“The government is calling for suo motto meeting to address the concerns of several political parties, especially in Tamil Nadu as they are worried about the Sri Lankan crisis and the influx of refugees in the state,” the sources said.

In his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin expressed his concern about the situation in Lanka and asked for permission to send relief material to the economically-hit nation.

Sri Lanka is facing an economic and political crisis. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 73, had gone into hiding after protesters stormed his residence on July 9 and his resignation has been finally accepted by the Parliament Speaker. And even Interim President Ranil Wickramasinghe also announced his resignation as Prime Minister.

The 225-member Parliament will elect the new president by a vote on July 20.

Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as president on a temporary basis on Friday, and Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians will cast their formal votes on July 20.

Currently, Sri Lanka is witnessing a severe shortage of fuel and other essential supplies and is in the throes of its worst economic crisis with soaring inflation. The oil supply shortage has forced schools and government offices to close until further notice.

Reduced domestic agricultural production, a lack of foreign exchange reserves, and local currency depreciation have fuelled the shortages.

Sri Lanka’s multiple crises have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the collapse of the crucial tourism industry, which provides foreign currency for imported fuel and medical supplies, and rocked by the supply chain crisis precipitated by the Ukraine war.

The economic crisis will push families into hunger and poverty – some for the first time – adding to the half a million people who the World Bank estimates have fallen below the poverty line because of the pandemic.

Amidst the crisis in Sri Lanka, India has extended this year alone support of over USD 3.8 billion for ameliorating the serious economic situation in the island nation as a mark of its Neighbourhood First policy. (ANI)

Several human rights and education activists urged world leaders in an open letter recently to mount diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools for girls in the war-torn country as the Taliban’s brutal regime in Afghanistan will soon complete a year in August.

Young girls and women have been compromising with their aspirations as it has been almost 300 days since their development has been distorted, the activists said adding, that if this situation persists, their aims and hopes will suffer greatly, reported Khaama Press.
World leaders, regional allies, and international organizations were urged in the letter to take serious actions to fulfil their commitments in order to promote and protect Afghan girls’ rights, especially the right to education which was snatched away from them after the Taliban-led Afghan government banned the education for girls in classes 6 and above.

Notably, the letter calls for solemn actions beyond a “declaration of solidarity” and only condemning the Taliban, demanding immediate financial assistance for Afghanistan’s educational system.

The letter also calls for funding for human rights organizations and the installation of alternative systems for girls’ education in Afghanistan.

“Although such actions (condemning and sharing sympathies) are done with good intentions, it appears that it does not make the Taliban accountable for ensuring the rights of women and girls,” the letter read.

Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls.

The Taliban’s decision to ban female students above grade six from going to school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels. Further, the Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women’s rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.

As a result of this, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education, work, public participation and health. Afghan women are staring at a bleak future due to a number of restrictions imposed by the Taliban governing aspects of their lives within 10 months of Afghanistan’s takeover.

According to HRW, women and girls are blocked from accessing health care as well. Reports suggest that women and girls facing violence have no escape route. Allowing girls into schools and other educational institutes has been one of the main demands of the international community.

The majority of countries have refused to formally recognize the Taliban amid worries over their treatment of girls and women and other human rights issues.

Women are no longer allowed to travel unless accompanied by men related to them and are being curtailed from wearing make-up as well as their reproductive rights. (ANI)

Amid multiple provocative activities by the Chinese Air Force on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) ahead of the military talks, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari today said whenever the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter jets come too close to the border, the Indian Air Force immediately responds by scrambling its combat aircraft to tackle the situation.
The Indian Air Force chief’s statement to ANI in an exclusive interview comes on a day when India and China are holding the 16th round of Corps Commander talks and the Chinese Air Force fighter jets provoked India on multiple occasions just before it.

“Chinese aircraft activity is closely monitored by us. Whenever we see Chinese aircraft or remotely piloted aircraft coming too close to the LAC, we take appropriate measures by scrambling or putting our aircraft on higher alert. This has deterred them quite a lot,” Chaudhari told ANI in an interview.

Asked why the Chinese Air Force was trying to provoke India just ahead of talks, he said, “I cannot point to any particular reason why they are doing it but we are monitoring it and we take immediate action by scrambling our fighter jets there.”

The IAF chief said that ever since the Galwan incident in June 2020, “we had started deploying our radars all along the LAC in eastern Ladakh sector. Gradually we have integrated all these radars with our Integrated Air Command and Control System so that we are able to monitor the air activity across the LAC.”

Chaudhari said the Air Force has also bolstered the surface-to-air-ground weapon capabilities along the northern borders and has also increased the number of mobile observation posts in that area.

“We get a lot of inputs from the army and other agencies deployed there. Chinese aircraft activity is closely monitored by us,” he said.

The first major incident of air violation took place in June last week when a J-11 fighter aircraft of the Chinese Air Force came very close to a friction point between the two militaries.

In the last week also, the Chinese side has done multiple provocative activities along the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh sector where they are flying very close to the LAC violating the Confidence Building Measures as per which the two sides cannot fly within 10 km of the LAC.

Indian Air Force has scrambled its MiG-29 and other aircraft deployed in the region to counter the threat posed by the Chinese aircraft to handle the possibility of any misadventure by the Chinese side. (ANI)

An Air India Express aircraft while operating from Calicut to Dubai was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed from one of the vents in the forward galley of the flight on Saturday.

A senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that the Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AXX operating flight IX-355 (Calicut-Dubai) was diverted to Muscat as, during Cruise, a burning smell came from one of the vents in the forward galley.”
“Crew carried out a non-normal checklist for smoke fire or fumes and diverted to Muscat and landed safely,” he said.

The official also told that the on-ground engineering inspections were carried out as a relevant task of the Fault Isolation Manual. He said that the Engine Ground run was carried out with both the ENGINE and auxiliary power unit (APU) operating.

“It was checked for smoke however, no fumes or smoke was observed from either engine or APU. There were no observations of the smell of fuel, oil, or hydrogen contamination. The oven in the forward galley was released under MEL (minimum equipment list),” the official noted.

Recently, three Aircraft of International airlines made emergency landings at various airports in the country in the last 48 hours, making it a day of technical emergencies for various airlines.

A senior official in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) informed that these landings were made in Calicut, Chennai, and Kolkata on Friday and Saturday.

All emergency landings happened because of various technical issues.

The Air Arabia aircraft while operating flight G9-426 from Sharjah to Cochin was involved in a Hydraulic failure. The aircraft landed safely on the runway. The aircraft has been towed to the bay.

In another incident, on July 16, an aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa to Bangkok made an emergency landing at Kolkata airport due to a pressurisation issue.

In a third similar incident, on July 15, an aircraft of Srilankan airlines made an emergency landing at Chennai airport due to a Hydraulic issue.

“We had two emergency landings of foreign operators on Saturday. Air Arabia at Cochin due to hydraulic issues and Ethiopian at Kolkata due to pressurisation issue,” said an official.

He added that on Friday, we also had Srilankan Airlines emergency landing in Chennai due to Hydraulic issues.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a detailed probe into all of the incidents, the official noted. (ANI)