In Myanmar, at least 12 people were killed in firing by the security forces as the protests against the military government continued for the 42nd day yesterday. According to media reports, 5 people were killed and several others injured when police opened fire on a sit-in protest in Mandalay. One person was killed in Pyay and two in Yangon where three were also killed overnight in police firing on the protestors. A truck driver in Chauk died in a police firing.
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group has said that more than 70 people have been killed during widespread protests against the military seizure in Myanmar on February 1. Meanwhile, the acting leader of the country’s ousted civilian government Mahn Win Khaing Than addressed the public for the first time yesterday and vowed to pursue a revolution to overturn the junta.
Day: March 14, 2021
Deboard passengers refusing to wear masks despite repeated warnings, orders DGCA
Director General of Civil Aviation, DGCA has asked airlines to deboard passengers who do not wear their masks properly despite repeated warnings. The aviation regulator said, there must be strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols by air travellers. DGCA said it has been noticed that some travelers undertaking air journey do not adhere to COVID 19 protocols and do not wear masks properly or maintain social distancing after entering airport premises.
The DGCA has also directed that passengers shall wear masks and maintain social distancing norms at all times during the air travel. The mask shall not be moved below the nose except under exceptional circumstances.
J&K Police release names of 9 wanted terrorists & terrorist associates; announces reward on their information
Jammu and Kashmir Police has released a list of nine wanted terrorists and terrorist associates who are active in and around Srinagar. The police have announced the reward for anyone providing information about them.
The Kashmir Zone Police released the names and photographs of terrorists through its official Twitter handle yesterday. The police have also shared several phone numbers on which information about these terrorists can be given. The informers have been promised suitable rewards.
India’s total vaccination coverage nears three crore mark
India has inched closer to touch the significant milestone of administering 3 crore COVID-19 Vaccine doses. With over 15 lakh 19 thousand doses administered yesterday, the cumulative vaccination figure has surpassed the mark of 2 crore 97 lakh doses. India is one of the fastest countries in the world to achieve these figures in a short span of time.
The nation commenced the largest vaccination drive in the world on 16th January this year with vaccination of healthcare workers. Vaccination of front line workers began from 2nd February whereas the most recent phase began from 1st of this month encompassing vaccination of everyone aged above 60 years and above 45 years with specified co-morbidities. Health Ministry has informed that in just 13 days of the current phase over 78 lakh senior citizens above 60 years and nearly 13 lakh 86 thousand people above 45 years with co-morbidities have been administered the first shot of the COVID-19 Vaccine.
The Health Ministry has informed that the COVID-19 recovery rate in the country today stands at 96.75 per cent. It said, in the last 24 hours, 16 thousand 637 people were discharged after recovery. Till now, over 1 crore 9 lakh 89 thousand people have recovered from the COVID-19 infection. In the last 24 hours, 25 thousand 320 new cases were reported. The number of active cases in the country stands at nearly 2 lakh 10 thousand comprising around 1.85 per cent of the total reported cases.
The Health Ministry has informed that 158 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours due to COVID-19 taking the cumulative toll to 1 lakh 58 thousand 604. Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR has informed that over 8 lakh 64 thousand samples were tested for COVID-19 in the country yesterday. With this the cumulative testing figure has crossed the mark of 22 crore 67 lakh. As of today, two thousand 412 laboratories are engaged in the work of testing COVID samples across the country which includes one thousand 225 government and one thousand 187 private labs.
NIA arrests Assistant Police Inspector, Sachin Waze for his role in explosives laden vehicle found near Mukesh Ambani’s house
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze at midnight. Before arrest, he was quizzed for around 12 hrs at NIA office in Mumbai. NIA said, Waze has been arrested for his role and involvement in placing explosives laden vehicle near the house of industrialist Mukesh Ambani on 25th February. Charges under various sections of IPC including 286, 465 and 473 are levied against him.
NIA took over the case last Monday, after the Home Ministry’s order. Earlier, Waje had filed anticipatory bail plea in Thane sessions court. After hearing arguments from Waze’s lawyer yesterday, the court refused to grant interim protection and posted the plea for hearing on March 19. Initially Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch was investigating this case and Sachin Waze was the investigating officer.
The body of Mansukh Hiren, the alleged owner of the explosive laden car was found on 5th March in Thane Creek. His wife claimed that he was being pressurised for taking responsibility of car. She also claimed that during November 2020 to February 2021 Waze was using that car. Waze has denied the charges.
Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis raised the issue in Maharashtra Assembly and later the case was shifted to Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. Few days ago, Waze was transferred out from the Crime Branch.
Today is the last day to register for Pariksha Pe Charcha, PM’s interactive Programme for stress-free preparation of exam
Today is the last day of registration for Prime Minister’s interactive academic programme Pariksha Pe Charcha. Pariksha Pe Charcha is part of the larger movement – ‘Exam Warriors’ – led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to create a stress-free atmosphere for youngsters. Students can register for it through the official site of My Gov on innovateindia.mygov.in. This year’s Pariksha Pe Charcha is the 4th edition and will be held virtually.
This time, the Prime Minister’s massively popular interaction will not only have students but also parents and teachers. To get a chance to participate, students, teachers or parents can participate in Pariksha Pe Charcha competition hosted on MyGov Innovate platform. The competition is open for school students of classes 9 to 12. Each winner will get a specially designed Certificate of Appreciation.
A small group of students from among the winners will get the opportunity to directly interact with the Prime Minister and ask him questions. Each of these special winners will also get a digital souvenir of their autographed photograph along with the Prime Minister.
PM Modi holds talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Gotabaya Rajapaksa; reviews topical developments, ongoing cooperation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday. They reviewed topical developments and the ongoing cooperation between India and Sri Lanka in bilateral and multilateral forums.
They agreed to maintain regular contact between relevant officials, including in the context of the continuing COVID-19 challenges. Mr. Modi reiterated the importance of Sri Lanka to India’s Neighbourhood First policy.
Poverty in the pandemic
Global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years because of the disruption caused by COVID-19, exacerbating the impact of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing down poverty reduction, according to the World Bank. The pandemic may push another 88 million to 115 million into extreme poverty or having to live on less than $1.50 per day, resulting in a total of 150 million such individuals, the Bank said in its biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report.
Some 9.1% to 9.4% of the world will be affected by extreme poverty in 2020, the Bank said, compared to 7.9% in the counterfactual scenario where the pandemic had not raged across the world. Many of the newly poor individuals will be from countries that already have high poverty rates while many in middle income countries (MICs) will slip below the poverty line, as per the report. Some 82% of the total will be in MICs.
Sub-Saharan Africa, with 27-40 million new poor, and South Asia, with 49-57 million new poor, will be badly hit as per the Bank’s projections. According to it, in order to reverse this serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction, countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labour, skills, and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors.
As the Indian government decided not to release the 2017-18 All India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey data from the 75th Round, there is an “important gap in understanding poverty in South Asia”, the report said. Consequently, the Bank has estimated India’s poverty numbers for 2017 based on “strong assumptions”, resulting in “considerable uncertainties”. In fact, a number of results in the report are incomplete, or uncertain because of the lack of data from India which, as per the report, accounted for 139 million of the 689 million people living in poverty in 2017.
Consequently, there’s also a clear need for a range of social safety-net policies. These already exist in many developing countries, but their coverage and funding needs to be expanded substantially. Such policies include cash transfer programmes, universal one-off cash payments, in-kind food/vouchers, school feeding schemes and public works programmes.
In middle-income developing countries, these are funded by the national government, whereas in low-income countries, these are often co-funded by donors. Any set of policies should also incorporate “pay to stay home” or “pay to get tested” schemes.
Looking further ahead, the poverty impacts beyond 2020 are closely related to if or when an effective vaccine is developed. Even if we take the best-case scenario and a vaccine is discovered later this year, it’s uncertain how long it would take to reach the entire global population. It could take years.
There is no guarantee developing countries would get access to the vaccine at a reasonable cost, or if everyone in developing countries would get the vaccine for free. We could end up living in a new COVID-19 apartheid, with the vaccinated and non-vaccinated residing in separate areas and working in different labour markets. This is a startling but very real possibility that no one is talking about much yet.
While this might sound far off, there are already some countries — such as Chile — issuing “immunity passports”. Such passports might determine what work people can do by determining where they can go. This could leave the poorest without access to earning opportunities or only with lower-income opportunities if their movement is restricted. The crisis is increasingly looking like a long crisis. If so, it will have repercussions on global poverty for years to come.
Eduindex News 