The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification to make a mandatory provision of airbags for the person seated on the front seat of a vehicle. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said, “This has been mandated as an important safety feature and is also based on suggestions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road safety.” The ministry has made it mandatory for new models to have dual front airbags from April 1 2021, while for the existing vehicles the compliance date is August 31 2021.

An airbag is a vehicle protective device, designed to inflate during the collision of a vehicle. It prevents a passenger’s head and chest from striking the interior of the vehicle. According to the World Bank report, India accounts for 10% of all road accidents in the world. The frontal airbag will increase the safety level of the passenger by reducing the impact of a road crash.

Moreover, government is also considering to make other safety features such as Electronic Stability Control and Autonomous Emergency Braking in vehicles from 2022-23 onward.

Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli received his first dose of India-made Covid-19 vaccine – Covishield yesterday. Prime Minister Oli got vaccinated at the Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. After receiving the vaccine, PM Oli urged the eligible group to take the vaccine without any fear in order to defeat Covid-19. The vaccine was also administered on PM Oli’s wife Radhika Shakya. 69-year Oli has a history of comorbidities and underwent a kidney transplant in 2020.
 
The second phase of the inoculation drive officially began in Nepal yesterday. In the second phase, people over 65 years all across the country will get inoculated against the coronavirus. Nepal earlier this year received one million doses of Covishield vaccine from India in grant assistance and procured another two million, out of which one million is awaited.
 
Covishield, made by Serum Institute of India (SII), is the only vaccine being administered in Nepal. India, under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, has been providing coronavirus vaccines to its neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted the indomitable spirit of women on the International Women’s Day. In his message, Mr Modi says India takes pride in the many accomplishments of the women of the nation.

He said it is his government’s honour to be getting the opportunity to work towards furthering women empowerment across a wide range of sectors.

A top American scientist has said that the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines by India in collaboration with leading global institutions has rescued the world from the deadly coronavirus and New Delhi’s contributions must not be underestimated. Dr Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told a webinar that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is India’s gift to the world in combating the virus.

Dr Hotez is an internationally-recognised physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development. Dr Hotez said that he felt compelled to make this statement because India’s huge efforts in combating global pandemic is a story that’s not really getting out in the world. The webinar was organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH).

India’s drugs regulator gave emergency use authorisation to Covishield, produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin, indigenously developed jointly by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research scientists. Dr Hotez, who is considered the authority on vaccinations, is working on an affordable coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with Indian pharmaceutical companies.

India is called the pharmacy of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic with its vast experience and deep knowledge in medicine. The country is one of the world’s biggest drug-makers and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring coronavirus vaccines.

International Women’s Day is being observed today. The day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year to help forge a gender equal world, celebrate women’s achievements and their increasing visibility in every sphere of life. This day celebrates the cultural, political, economic and social achievements of women. It also highlights the extraordinary roles played by women in almost every walk of life and celebrates acts of courage and determination by ordinary women. The theme this year is – Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.
 
AIR correspondent reports that at every occasion, women have brought glory and laurels to the country and proved their abilities in various fields be it land, air and water. The Central Government has accorded high priority to the empowerment of women and undertaken many initiatives including access to education, better healthcare and improving gender sensitivity.
 
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has prevented gender biased sex selective elimination and ensured survival and protection of the girl child. Government also enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act to abolish the practice of instant Triple Talaq. The law has contributed towards women empowerment and dignity.
 
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has provided free of cost cooking gas to women. Now there is no need for women to venture into forests to get firewood for cooking.
 
Over 700 one stop centres have become operational in 35 States and Union Territories, providing a range of integrated service under one roof to the women affected by violence and in distress. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday dedicated to the nation, the seventy five hundredth Janaushadhi Kendra at Neigrihms in Shillong through video conferencing. Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister called upon the people to use medicines from JanAushadhi Kendra saying that people have saved more than 9,000 crore rupees through these centres. He said, the scheme has relieved the poor of their high medical expenses. He said, Jan Aushadhi centres are helping people from poor and middle-class families to save around 3,600 crore rupees every year.

The Prime Minister pointed out that more than 1,000 JanAushadhi Kendras are being run by women. He also interacted with the beneficiaries of the Janaushadhi scheme.

The National Committee set up to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence will hold its first meeting today to discuss modalities relating to preparatory activities. The 259 member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet virtually. The committee includes Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, Governors as well as leaders of different political parties including BJP President JP Nadda and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi.
 
Former President Pratibha Patil, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, former Prime Ministers HD Deve Gowda and Dr Manmohan Singh and Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Kailash Satyarthi are also part of the committee. AIR correspondent reports the Government has decided to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence in a befitting manner at National and International level in the form of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
 
The National Committee includes dignitaries and eminent citizens from all walks of life including Artists, Sportspersons, Business leaders, Gandhians and media persons. The committee will provide policy direction and guidelines for formulation of programs for the commemoration. The 75 years of India’s Independence falls on 15th August next year. The celebrations are proposed to be launched 75 weeks prior to this date on 12th of this month. 12th March is the 91st anniversary of the historic Salt Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 1 PM amid the protest and sloganeering by Congress MPs over the issue of rise in fuel and LPG prices. As the House met after the first adjournment at 11 AM, the Leader of Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge demanded to discuss the issue which was rejected by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh saying that the matter cannot be discussed. As the pandemonium continued, the Upper House was adjourned till 1 PM.

Earlier, on the first day of the second leg of the Budget Session, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue of rise in fuel and LPG prices saying that people are suffering due to the price rise. He said, petrol prices have reached to 100 rupees per litre and diesel price has touched 80 rupees per litre in the country. He said, LPG prices have also gone up and excise duties have been increased manifold which resulted in collection of more than 21 Lakh crore rupees. 

Afterwards, Congress demanded a discussion on the issue and started a protest. The Congress MPs came into the well and started sloganeering. Chairman of Rajya Sabha, M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the members to return to their seats saying that he does not want to take any drastic step on the first day.

 International women’s day is celebrated on the 8th of March all around the world, a tradition started in Soviet Russia as the soviet women gained suffrage in 1917. In some places, it is a public holiday, in some places, it is not; in some places, it is used as a day of protest and in some places, a day of celebration. Overall, it is a global celebration of women, their struggles and their contributions to the world.

This year’s UN theme for International Women’s day is ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,’ in the light of how female heads of state like Jacinda Ardern have responded to the pandemic in a way that should be inspiring for the rest of the world, proving that women are not fundamentally incompetent and in fact even serve as better leaders than men in many circumstances.

Women’s day everywhere should not serve as a day to simply contribute to appreciative gestures to women in men’s lives as the function they serve in their lives, but a day spent to also commemorate the struggles women have faced in establishing their human rights and how there is a long way to go before they achieve it. In this day and age, wherein brands have co-opted feminist messaging and boiled feminism down to taglines and discounts, it is important to realize how we need more women in leadership positions and important roles so our polity is not androcentric.

Today, we should celebrate women and their struggles and materially contribute to their liberation from their patriarchy. Women are an important element of any society, their oppression being a blemish on the world, their continual strength a source of energy for the world and justice. And that deserves to be commemorated every single day of the year.