A three-day Combined Commanders’ Conference will begin today at Kevadia in Gujarat. Theaterisation of armed forces, self-reliance in defence sector and evolving threats in the region will be the focus areas during the three-day annual event.  

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address the top commanders of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force tomorrow.

During the conference, the setting up a new air defence command and maritime command is likely to be discussed at length. Implementation of the air defence command timeline is also likely to come up for discussion.

The formation of theatre commands will synergise the capabilities and combat potential of the three forces during war and peace.

Air defence command and maritime command are part of the restricting plan of the Indian armed forces as was announced by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat last year.

The newly created Department of Military Affairs is working towards the creation of joint military commands along with theatre command for the last one year.

India will commemorate Chabahar Day today on the margins of the Maritime India Summit-2021. The event will be held virtually. Ministers from Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan will participate in the event.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will address the Ministerial Level opening session. Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya will deliver the keynote address.

The Ministerial level opening session will be followed by two webinar sessions on the Development of Port Infrastructure: Unleashing Opportunities and Boosting Business through Trade Promotion and Regional Connectivity.

Indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has demonstrated interim clinical efficacy of 81 per cent in its phase three trial. The trial involved 25 thousand 800 participants across 21 sites.

The first interim analysis is based on 43 cases of which 36 cases of Covid-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 7 cases observed in the Covaxin group resulting in vaccine efficacy of 81 per cent.

The vaccine is developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr. Balram Bhargava said that the journey of completely indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in less than eight months’ time showcases the immense strength of Atmanirbhar Bharat. He said, it is also a testament to India’s emergence as a global vaccine superpower.

Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech said that Covaxin demonstrated high clinical efficacy against Covid-19 and significant immunogenicity against the rapidly emerging variants. 

Government has allowed round-the-clock COVID-19 vaccination in order to expedite the immunisation drive. In a tweet, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government has lifted the time restriction to increase the speed of vaccination.

He said people can now get vaccinated 24 by 7 according to their convenience. Dr Harsh Vardhan said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the value of health as well as the time of citizens.

Easing restrictions, all private hospitals were on Tuesday allowed to give the vaccines if they adhere to the laid down norms, while the 9 am to 5 pm timing was also done away with.

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind was administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at an army hospital in Delhi yesterday.

On Monday, Prime Minister Modi was administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS, New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need for the education system to overcome linguistic barriers so that talent from rural areas gets the opportunity to flourish. He said, the new National Education Policy will be implemented on a mission mode towards this purpose.

Addressing a webinar on effective implementation of the provisions in the Union Budget for the education sector, Mr Modi said academics and experts of every language should make available the best content in the country and the world in Indian languages.

He said, it is necessary to produce content in Indian languages for every area of expertise, be it medical, engineering, technology or management.

Asserting that there is no dearth of talent in the country, Mr Modi said those living in villages and the poor, who do not know any language other than their local language, have no shortage of talent. We should not let the talent of our villages, our poor die due to language difficulties, he said.

Prime Minister said, the second biggest focus after health in this year’s budget is on education, skill, research and innovation. Mr Modi pointed out that to build a self-reliant India, confidence of the youth is equally important. 

Every year since 2009, 4^th March has been designated as World Day of the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation. Although there are exceptions, sexual exploitation overwhelmingly involves women and children, and it is a problem of worldwide proportions. It has been estimated that every second of the day an average of eight women, girls and often young boys, are trapped by international criminal networks where the sole aim is to sexually exploit them, traffic them and enslave them.

This process obviously robs them of their basic human rights, including their right to freedom, their dignity, their right to live where they choose and the right to control their own bodies.

Although the problem is a worldwide one, some places are more vulnerable than others. These include areas in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and some Latin American and Caribbean countries. Trafficked women from these areas are generally taken to destination countries in the so-called developed world for the purposes of prostitution.

Although older teenage girls can be involved in this traffic, younger girls and boys who are involved in sexual exploitation will generally stay close to their region of origin. UNICEF estimates that more than 3 million children worldwide are affected by prostitution and that children make up more than a third of all sex workers in Asia.

Often this situation arises when poorly informed and ill-educated parents, who have no resources, are unable to raise their children under acceptable conditions. They are approached by shady characters who give them assurances that if the children are voluntarily entrusted to them they will be guaranteed a bright and better future away from their present impoverished environment.

Once they are cut off from their families and friends, the children lose their identity and become the easy prey of crime syndicates who exploit them by forcing them into sex work.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that nearly a million people are trafficked every year for purposes of sexual exploitation. Although 98% are women and girls, this number also includes a significant number of boys and young men.

The major international crimes are trafficking in drugs and weapons, but sexual trafficking follows closely behind and is now a highly lucrative international criminal industry. According to the ILO, human trafficking for sexual exploitation makes between US$ 7 billion and $12 billion a year on the initial “sale”. However, once the victims of trafficking arrive in the destination country and are exploited, a further US$32 billion will be generated by the “industry”.

Although huge sums of money are made, the victims rarely receive any of this, making human trafficking a modern form of slavery.

Prostitution is just one element in the sexual exploitation industry. Another is sexual tourism. In some countries, notably in Southeast Asia, restrictions have traditionally been less restrictive than in other parts of the world. This encouraged the growth of an industry where tourists, chiefly men, would travel to countries where they could indulge in sexual activity with under-age boys and girls.

In October 2012 the BBC reported that the problem of sex tourism was getting worse, with Child Protection charities warning that worldwide an estimated 250,000 people travel abroad every year for the purpose of having sex with minors. Sexual tourism is increasingly responsible for child prostitution around the world.

In the past many paedophiles were helped to escape justice by a lack of cross border legal co-operation, but in recent years there has been a crack-down on this problem as charities, the travel industry and international law enforcement agencies have been increasingly working together. In many cases it is now possible to prosecute paedophiles in their home countries for offences that have taken place overseas.

Yet another issue is child pornography. Depiction of pornographic acts involving minors is universally considered to be a major form of child abuse and for this reason it is considered to be immaterial whether the pornographic act is forced or consensual.

In most countries it is illegal to use the Internet to access material showing images of certain sexual acts, particularly those involving children or young people. In addition to its abusive nature, the bulk of this material would only have been produced following some form of coercion. Whenever such material is viewed, producers are encouraged to produce more, which in turn results in more children being abused.

World Day of the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation sets out to draw attention to this major worldwide problem. As so often happens with matters that thrive in the darker parts of society and teeter on the brink of illegality, sexual exploitation often goes unnoticed.

Even rich countries are affected. A report published in 2001 suggested that in the United States 300,000 children were running the risk of sexual exploitation that could be considered as commercial.

The sad truth is that this unpleasant trade is capable of destroying the lives of countless people every year, but it is a trade that can only function as a result of the perverse demands of others. The answer is to eliminate these demands and there will no longer be any need for supply, but that is a very uphill task.

At least by having a special day there is a chance of raising the international profile of the problem and that surely is a step in the right direction.

Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir topped the medals tally in the second edition of Khelo India Winter National Games. J&K won 11 gold, 18 silver and 5 bronze medals. The five-day mega sports event which began on 26th of February, concluded in the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in the north Kashmir’s Baramulla district yesterday.
 
The event was e-inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his address, Mr Modi had said that the second edition of Khelo India winter games is a major step towards making Jammu and Kashmir a hub of the winter games. In the event, more than 1,000 athletes from 27 states and union territories took part. The event was organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the J&K Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The United States has slapped sanctions on Russian individuals and entities over the near-fatal poisoning of prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent. Speaking to reporters, the senior White House officials said the sanctions were being imposed in coordination with the European Union, and urged the release of Navalny from prison.

The white house said these sanctions mark the first of several steps by the Biden administration to respond to a number of destabilizing actions. The sanctions are the first against Russia by the Biden administration. Meanwhile, Russia has condemned moves to impose sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said those who continue to depend on these measures should probably give it some thought. Vladimir Chizov, Russia’s envoy to the EU, said Moscow would respond to the latest round of EU sanctions imposed.

President Ram Nath Kovind today received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. He was administered the vaccine at R.R. Hospital in the national capital. 

In Swiss Open Badminton Championship, many Indian players will play their singles opening matches today including P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, H.S. Prannoy, P. Kashyap and Sai Praneeth.In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth won his first round match beating fellow Indian Sameer Verma 18-21, 21-18, 21-11 today.In Women’s singles, P.V. Sindhu will take on Neslihan Yigit of Turkey, Saina will be clashing with Phittayaporn Chaiwan of Thailand.

Ajay Jayaram will meet Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin and P. Kashyap will square off against Spain’s Pablo Abian. Olympic hopeful Praneeth, who was forced to withdraw from the last event in Thailand after testing positive for COVID-19, will clashes with Israel’s Misha Zilberman.

Young Lakshya Sen, who missed the Thailand events due to an injury, will be rearing to go when he opens against Victor Svendsen of Denmark. H.S. Prannoy takes on Mark Caljouw of Netherlands, while Sourabh Verma will open against Switzerland’s Christian Kirchmayr.

In the men’s Doubles, the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will play against the Scottish pair of Chistropher and Mathew Grimley. Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy will play their women’s doubles match against German pair of Annabella Jaiger and Stine Kuspert. 

Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate for the first time in Exercise Desert Flag which is beginning in Al-Dhafra airbase in UAE from today. Exercise Desert Flag is an annual multi-national large force employment warfare exercise hosted by the United Arab Emirates Air Force. The Indian Air Force is participating in the Exercise along with air forces of United Arab Emirates, United States of America, France, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Bahrain. The exercise will conclude on 27th of this month.

The Indian Air Force is participating with six Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, two C-17 and one IL-78 tanker aircraft. C-17 Globemaster will provide support for induction or de-induction of the IAF contingent. Su-30 MKI aircraft will undertake long range ferry, routing direct from India to the exercise area with aerial refueling support from IL-78 tanker aircraft. The aim of the exercise is to provide operational exposure to the participating forces while training them to undertake simulated air combat operations in a controlled environment.

The participating forces will get an opportunity to enhance their operational capabilities along with mutual exchange of best practices. The large-scale exercise involving diverse fighter aircraft from across the globe will provide the participating forces, including IAF, a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge, experience, enhance operational capabilities and interoperability. Exercising and interaction with the participating nations in a dynamic and realistic warfare environment will also contribute to strengthen international relations.

Over the last decade, IAF has regularly hosted and participated in multi-national operational exercises, wherein collaborative engagements are undertaken amongst the best air forces of the world.

The COVID-19 recovery rate in the country has touched 97.06 per cent. The Health Ministry said, over 13 thousand people were discharged in the last 24 hours. Till now, over one crore 8 lakh 12 thousand people have recovered from the COVID-19 infection. In the last 24 hours, around 15 thousand new cases were reported. With this, the total number of cases have reached over one crore 11 lakh. The Ministry said, 98 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. So far, over one crore 56 lakh beneficiaries have been vaccinated.
 
The Union Government has removed time constraints for COVID vaccination at hospitals and has allowed the facility for 24×7 vaccination facility. Confirming the decision today, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that Hospitals don’t have to necessarily stick to a fixed schedule to vaccinate people against COVID-19 and can extend or advance the vaccination schedule any day. He added that this will help speed up the vaccination drive as more and more people become eligible for the life-saving jabs.
 
Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that since all hospitals including private and government are involved in the inoculation drive and are linked with the CoWIN system, the flexible schedule allowed by the government will be applicable to both. He asserted that the flexible timing will also avoid crowding at the vaccination sites. The Health Minister added that States and Union Territories in consultation with private hospitals should open vaccination slots for 15 days to a month and announce this as part of their vaccine timetable.
 
The Centre has also decided to allow all the private hospitals empanelled to Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PM JAY) Central Government Health Scheme and similar State Health Insurance Schemes can function as COVID Vaccination Centres.
 
In a press release, the government has said, the decision was taken to utilise 100 per cent capacities of all private hospitals. The government also permitted those private hospitals not empanelled with the three schemes as a COVID Vaccination Centres. It said, the private hospital will be worked as COVID Vaccination Centres, if they have adequate number of vaccinators, adequate space for observation of the vaccinated, adequate cold chain arrangement and adequate arrangement for management of AEFI.
 
Ensuring the adequate allocation of vaccines to all hospitals, the governemnt said the Centre has adequate stock and will provide the required vaccine doses to the States and UTs. It added that States and UTs should not store, reserve, conserve or create a buffer stock of the COVID vaccines at the State and district levels. The government also asked the all Private Vaccination Centres to have in place effective crowd management protocols along with facilities for seating, water and proper signage.

On World Wildlife Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted all those working towards wildlife protection. He said, be it lions, tigers and leopards, India is seeing a steady rise in the population of various animals.

Mr Modi added that people should do everything possible to ensure protection of the country’s forests and safe habitats for animals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the Union Budget has broadened government’s efforts to link education with employability and entrepreneurial capability. He said, the second biggest focus after health in this year’s budget is on education, skill, research and innovation.
 
Addressing a webinar on implementation of Budget in education sector, Mr. Modi said to build Atmanirbhar Bharat, the youth of the country needs self-confidence which is directly connected to their education, knowledge and skill. He said, the new National Education Policy has been developed with this key thought. He also said, in the new National Education Policy, the use of the Indian languages has been encouraged and it is the responsibility of the experts of every language, how the best content of the world should be made available in Indian languages.
 
The Prime Minister said, it is an injustice to the nation to keep knowledge and research in limits. With this mindset, the government is opening up several sectors like agriculture, space, atomic energy and DRDO for youth. He added that India has tested the Hydrogen Vehicle and now the country has to make itself industry-ready to utilize hydrogen as a fuel for transport. He also said, future fuel and green energy are very important so as to make the country self-reliant in the energy sector. Thus, the Hydrogen Mission announced in the budget is a massive project.