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Scientists around the world and in India are concerned about ‘Delta plus’, an emerging form of the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.  This variant allows the virus to “escape” antibodies in recently approved treatment regimes.  WHAT IS DELTA PLUS VARIANT? Formally known as AY.1 or B.1.617.2.1, it’s a variant of Delta (B.1.617.2), which was first identified in India. It has an additional mutation called K417N, which has previously been identified in the Beta variant (first found in South Africa) and the Gamma variant (first detected in Brazil). The K417N, along with another mutation called K417T, is a mutation in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus. These variants are characterized as being highly infectious and may reduce the potency of vaccines.  WHY THE CONCERN? The Delta variant is now regarded as the most prevalent one in India, comprising nearly 31% of the 21,000 community samples processed until late May.  This variant has significant differen...

The Supreme Court issued notice on Delhi Police appeals against the Delhi High Court order granting bail to student-activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha.  They were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in a Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case. SC declined to interfere with the bail order, but the bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian said “in a bail application, a 100-page judgment discussing all laws is surprising us” and “can have pan-India ramification”. It directed that the judgment shall not be treated as a precedent and may not be relied upon by any of the parties in any of the proceedings. HC RULING The court reasoned that “the more stringent a penal provision, the more strictly it must be construed”.  By doing so, it raised the bar for the State to book an individual for terrorism under the UAPA. The three orders by Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani. The court held that the phrase ‘te...

The first ever 'green fungus' case has been detected in the country.  A 34-year-old Covid-19 survivor was diagnosed with green fungus infection in Madhya Pradesh's Indore. Green fungus, also known as 'Aspergillosis’ (in lungs, sinuses), includes high fever and nose bleeding.  Aspergillosis is an infection caused by Aspergillus, a common mold that lives indoors and outdoors. People with low or weak immune systems or lung diseases are at a higher risk of developing health problems due to Aspergillus. Aspergillosis is not contagious, it cannot spread from one person to another or from animals to humans.

Twitter has lost legal protection in India over its failure to appoint statutory officers in line with the new IT rules.  The microblogging platform lost legal indemnity in India after it failed to comply with new social media rules which required it to appoint key officers in India.  Twitter, however, said it had complied with the Indian government’s new IT rules and appointed an interim Chief Compliance Officer. THE LEGAL COVER An 'intermediary' status gives social media platforms immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them.  The implications of losing legal cover or status as a social media intermediary are serious.  Twitter would remain exposed to the provisions of law and not enjoy legal immunity as an intermediary and be liable like a publisher for objectionable content. With the legal cover provided by Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act gone, Twitter employees starting from its head in India will be held liable fo...

The government declared that from June 21, vaccines for everyone above the age of 18 years would be procured by the Central government and distributed free to the States.  This ended the month-­old controversial system of States being asked to procure vaccines for the 18-­44 years age group at prices announced by domestic manufacturers and import vaccines through open tenders.  The Centre’s announcement came after the Supreme Court on May 31 held that the Union government’s policy of not providing free vaccines to those in the 18­-44 years age bracket was prima facie “arbitrary and irrational”. THE NEW POLICY Under the latest policy, the Centre said it will procure up to 75% of the doses of vaccines from manufacturers. Private institutions can procure the remaining 25% of doses. Fresh orders for 44 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin had been placed by the Union government.  In addition, it also placed an order for 30 crore doses of a protein sub­unit vaccine produced b...

Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi, key accused in the Rs-13,000-crore PNB loan fraud case, was arrested in Dominica.  He illegally entered the country from Antigua, where he had been staying since 2018.   Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi remains in the custody of Dominican authorities with certain legal proceedings underway, and asserted that all efforts will continue to be made to bring back fugitives to face justice in India.  Antiguan PM Gaston Brown has told media that Choksi can be deported to India from Dominica itself,  Choksi’s lawyers have argued that he cannot be sent back to India as he is not an Indian citizen anymore.  Choksi acquired Antiguan citizenship in 2017, just over a month before he fled India in January 2018, and has even surrendered his Indian passport. According to Section 9 of the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955, any Indian citizen who acquires foreign citizenship ceases to be an Indian citiz...

The government has booked 30 crore doses of Hyderabad-based Biological-E's Covid vaccine, which is still in clinical trials.  The Health Ministry will make an advance payment of ₹ 1,500 crore to the company for what will be the second made-in-India vaccine to be used in the country after Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.  CORBEVAX Corbevax is a “recombinant protein sub-unit” vaccine, which means it is made up of a specific part of SARS-CoV-2 — the spike protein on the virus’s surface.  The spike protein allows the virus to enter the cells in the body so that it can replicate and cause disease.  However, when this protein alone is given to the body, it is not expected to be harmful as the rest of the virus is absent.  The body is expected to develop an immune response against the injected spike protein.  Therefore, when the real virus attempts to infect the body, it will already have an immune response ready that will make it unlikely for the person to fall...

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on May 31 wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her government cannot release Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay who has been asked to report to the Centre in what she called a "unilateral order". Bandyopadhyay, at the centre of fresh flashpoint between Mamata Banerjee and Centre, was to report to Delhi at 10 am but the CM said that he will stay and continue to manage her state's COVID-19 crisis.  On May 28, the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under Ministry of Personnel had issued an order recalling Bandyopadhyay and directed him to report by 10 am on May 31. Bandyopadhyay was served a show­ cause notice by the Union Home Ministry under Section 51 of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005. The Section pertains to “punishment for obstruction” for refusal to comply with a direction given by the Central government. RECALL OF CHIEF SECRETARY The DoPT order said that the ACC has approved Mr. Bandyopadhyay’...

WhatsApp moved the Delhi High Court against the IT Rules . It argued specifically against Rule 4(2) that mandates that a “significant social media intermediary providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer resource as may be required by a judicial order.  A “significant social media intermediary” is one with more than 50 lakh registered users. ARGUMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT A release by the Ministry of Electronics and IT has said that the traceability measure will be used by law enforcement as the “last resort” and will come by only in specific situations, such as “for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of an offence related to the sovereignty and integrity of India... or child sexual abuse material, punishable with imprisonment....” The assertion suggests that this requirement is in line with the Puttaswamy judgment that clarified tha...

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 28 chaired the 43rd GST Council meeting via video conferencing.  The GST Council meeting was convened for the first time in nearly eight months on May 28. The council’s last meeting was held in October 2020. The council is required to meet once every quarter.  DECISIONS Council has decided to exempt import of relief items and is being extended till August 31, 2021.  Import of medicine for black fungus, that is Amphotericin B, has also been included in the exempted category.  Import of Covid-related relief items, even if purchased or meant for donating to government or to any relief agency upon recommendation of state authority, to be exempted from IGST till August 31, 2021. FM Sitharaman announced Amnesty Scheme to reduced late fee returns.  Small taxpayers can file pending returns under this scheme. A ₹ 1.58 lakh crore borrowing plan may for immediate compensation dues was also announced. GST COUNCIL It is a cons...

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has served a defamation notice on Ramdev for alleged disparaging remarks against allopathy and allopathic doctors. It demanded an apology from him within 15 days, failing which it said it will demand a compensation of Rs.1,000 crore from the yoga guru.  Terming the remarks of the yoga guru a “criminal act” under section of 499 of the Indian Penal Code, the notice demanded a written apology from him within 15 days of its receipt. It said that a compensation of Rs.1,000 crore will be demanded from him at the rate of Rs.50 lakh per member of the IMA if he failed to do so. The notice has also asked Ramdev to make a video clip contradicting all his allegations and circulate it on the social media platforms where he had uploaded his earlier video levelling them. Ramdev was forced to withdraw a statement made in a viral video clip in which he is heard questioning some of the medicines being used to treat the coronavirus infection and saying th...

Recently, messaging platform WhatsApp has moved the Delhi High Court to challenge the traceability provision in the New IT Rules 2021 . Earlier the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) had sent a notice to WhatsApp asking it to withdraw a controversial update to its privacy policy which might be a threat to Data Protection of Indians. TRACEABILITY PROVISIONS It requires intermediaries to enable identification of the first originator of information on their platforms. Rule 4(2) of the Intermediary Rules states that a significant social media intermediary providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer resource as may be required by a judicial order or an order passed by a competent authority under the Information and Technology (IT) Act 2000. Failure to comply with this requirement would take away the indemnity provided to social media intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act. CONCE...

Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Khoda Patel is facing opposition from the people of the union territory and politicians — both from within Lakshadweep and neighbouring Kerala — over policies introduced by him since his appointment in December 2020. PRAFUL KHODA PATEL Praful Khoda Patel was made administrator of Lakshadweep in December 2020, after the death of former administrator Dineshwar Sharma.  A former BJP leader, Patel was the minister of state for home in Gujarat, when Narendra Modi was the state’s chief minister.  In addition to Lakshadweep, Patel also has the charge of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.  The appointment a departure from the earlier practice of appointing only IAS officers to the post. LDAR The contentious regulations include the Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 (LDAR). It gives the administrator powers to remove or relocate islanders from their property, for town planning or any developmental activity. It pu...

IPS officer Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, currently serving as the chief of CISF, has been announced as the new chief of CBI.  The post has been lying vacant since February first week when Rishi Kumar Shukla completed his tenure. The High-Powered Committee for selection comprises PM Narendra Modi, CJI N.V. Ramana and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress. The chiefs of CBI, IB and R&AW have fixed two-year tenures. NEW PRECEDENT BY CJI Rakesh Asthana and YC Modi were reportedly the Centre’s top choices for the post. YC Modi is currently the chief of the National Investigation Agency, retires at the end of this month.  Asthana is currently heading the BSF, retires in July.  Both, known to be trusted by the Modi regime and having served many years in the CBI, were supposed to be top contenders for the post. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana cited a Supreme Court guideline to rule out their nominations.  CJI Ramana cited before the committee the “six-month rule” mentioned in...

Indian Navy’s destroyer INS Rajput has been  decommissioned on 21st May 2021 at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.  The ship was the first Indian naval ship to be affiliated with an Indian Army's Regiment – The Rajput Regiment. A destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers.  INS Rajput served the nation for 41 years.  The Russian-built ship was commissioned on 4th May 1980 at Poti, Georgia by IK Gujral, then Ambassador of India to USSR.  Original Russian name = ‘Nadezhny’ meaning ‘Hope’ . Captain Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani was its first Commanding Officer. Motto: “Raj Karega Rajput” . OPERATIONS Operation Pawan- As a part of IPKF mission against LTTE between 1987 and 1990, for patrolling duties off the coast of Sri Lanka. Operation Aman, off Sri Lanka to assist the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)  Operation Cact...

After Black and White Fungus, a case of Yellow Fungus infection has been reported in Delhi NCR amid COVID-19.  The first case of yellow fungus infection has been detected in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Yellow fungus grows internally.  Lethargy, weight loss, low appetite, or no appetite at all are said to be common Yellow Fungus symptoms. Yellow Fungus causes can range from high humidity to old food, however, the primary cause is said to be poor hygiene. Amphotericin B injection, which is an anti-fungal drug is used in the Yellow Fungus treatment. DANGER It is said to be more dangerous than the other two types. This is because of the manner in which it affects the body's internal organs. Unlike the two other infections, yellow fungus starts off internally, causes pus leakage, slow healing of wounds, and, in serious cases, can also cause devastating symptoms such as organ failure and acute necrosis. FUNGUS A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms.  These ...

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approved India’s first self-use Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for Covid-19 named as CoviSelf. It is developed by MyLab Discovery Solutions, a Pune-based molecular company.  It uses a RAT and gives results within 15 minutes.  This test is synced with a mobile app, CoviSelf, which will help directly feed the positive case’s report on the ICMR portal. ICMR has advised this test only for those who have symptoms or are high-risk contacts of positive patients and need to conduct a test at home. RAPID ANTIGEN TEST It is a point-of-care test, performed outside the conventional laboratory setting, and is used to quickly obtain a diagnostic result. Like RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), the RAT too seeks to detect the virus rather than the antibodies produced by the body.

The central government asked states to notify black fungus or mucormycosis an epidemic.  An infection called white fungus or Candidiasis has also been found to affect some people. Covid-19 patients are more prone to white fungus as it affects the lungs and similar symptoms are created like that of coronavirus.  WHITE FUNGUS White Fungus or Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by a yeast (a type of fungus) called Candida. Candida normally lives on the skin and inside the body, in places such as the mouth, throat, gut, and vagina, without causing any problems. Candida can cause infections if it grows out of control or if it enters deep into the body (for example, the bloodstream or internal organs like the kidney, heart, or brain). The most common species that causes infection is Candida albicans. Medical experts consider White Fungus infection deadlier than Black Fungus (this is debatable, though. Some sources say the converse) because the former impacts the lungs, along wi...

The West Bengal government has decided to set up a Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad). The Legislative Council in the State was abolished in 1969.  FORMATION OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The states can have a Legislative Council in addition to the Legislative Assembly through Article 169 of the Constitution. For setting up the Council, a Bill has to be introduced in the Assembly and then a nod from the Governor is required. The Parliament can abolish a Legislative Council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist) by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members of each House present and voting, if the legislative assembly of the concerned state, by a special majority, passes a resolution to that effect. Special majority implies a majority of the total membership of the assembly and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the assembly present and voting. COMPOSITION AND TENURE Under Article 171 of the Constitution, the Legislative Council...

Cyclone Tauktae (pronounced Tau-Te), classified as a very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) and developed in the Arabian Sea, has wreaked havoc across India.  Cyclone Tauktae made landfall in Gujarat. It has left a trail of destruction as it swept through the coastal states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. The cyclone is a tropical cyclone, named by Myanmar.  It means 'gecko', a highly vocal lizard, in the Burmese language. TROPICAL CYCLONES A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. A characteristic feature of tropical cyclones is the eye, a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure. Storms of this type are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern Pacific and typhoons in South-East Asia and China. They are called tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region and Willy-willies in n...