Delhi wakes up to dense fog on New Year's day; mercury drop to 1.1°C, lowest in 14 years

New Delhi: A severe cold wave swept Delhi on New Year's Day as the mercury plummeted to 1.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest in 14 years, and "very dense" fog lowered visibility to "zero" metres, affecting traffic movement.

On 8 January, 2006, the city had recorded a minimum of 0.2 degree Celsius.

The lowest minimum temperature recorded in January last year was 2.4 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, said "very dense" fog lowered visibility to "zero" metres at Safdarjung and Palam at 6 am.

According to the IMD, "very dense" fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres. In case of "dense" fog, visibility is between 51 and 200 metres, "moderate" 201 and 500 metres, and "shallow" 501 and 1,000 metres.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum of 1.1 degrees Celsius, the lowest in January in 14 years.

Delhi recorded a minimum of 3.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday. At 15.2 degrees Celsius, the city recorded the season's lowest maximum temperature on 18 December.

Srivastava said the minimum temperature will start rising under the influence of an "intense" western disturbance which will affect northwest India from 2 January to 6 January.

The minimum temperature is predicted to rise to 8 degrees Celsius by 4-5 January.

Light rain is also expected in the National Capital under the influence of the western disturbance from 3 January to 5 January.

The western disturbance will lead to moderate snowfall in the western Himalayan region, the IMD said.

In the plains, the IMD declared a cold wave if the minimum temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius. A severe cold wave is when the minimum is 2 degrees Celsius or less.

A cold wave is also declared when the minimum temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or below and is 4.5 notches less than normal.

A "severe" cold wave is when the minimum temperature dips to two degrees Celsius or the departure is more than 6.4 degrees.

The average minimum temperature in Delhi in December was the second-lowest in 15 years.

Data released by the IMD on Thursday showed that the mean minimum temperature (MMT) this December was 7.1 degrees Celsius. It was 7.6 degrees Celsius last year.

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In Kashmir's struggle between 'national integrity' and 'identity', land has remained a quiet catalyst around its politics

Land has always been integral to politics in Kashmir. While it has immensely shaped the political developments in the erstwhile state; it continues to hang high on recent developments as well. It won’t be surprising to see the future political formations being shaped around the issues concerning land. The debate intensified recently when the Centre notified the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third order, announcing a plethora of changes to the existing land laws, thereby heralding a new era in the land politics of Jammu and Kashmir.

Much has been talked about how politics in Kashmir has drastically changed after Article 370 was read down from the Indian Constitution last year. While alterations with the federal structure have been numerously enumerated upon, however, such analyses of Kashmir politics would rather give it only a perfunctory treatment if we don’t understand how intimately land has been linked to different epochs of post-1947 politics. 

In order to understand how land issues have shaped the politics in Kashmir throughout modern history, it is imperative to reflect upon the recent changes which would potentially change the agrarian relations in Kashmir forever. However, that would in no way diminish the importance land holds in Kashmir politics and we believe that land would remain a preponderant feature of how we analyse the regional political dynamism from within and without.

The recent changes

The central theme running throughout the recently notified legislations, such as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third order, the Big Landed Estates policy, and the newly formed Domicile Rules, is that they have massively liberalised the criteria for not only acquiring the residency rights but obtaining property in the whole of the erstwhile state.

These changes have however invited a mixed response; while the political parties and civil society groups from Kashmir have condemned the move aimed at ‘disempowering’ the ‘domiciles’, they perceive these changes aimed at altering the demographics of the region. The mainstream Indian response has been cordial to such changes with the ruling government realising its electoral promises to opening the gates of ‘paradise’ to them.

However, what was common to both of these is that they have personified land as something integral to ‘national integrity’ in the former case and ‘identity’ in the later, thus reiterating and upholding the tradition of land-centric populist politics in Kashmir.

Revisiting how land issues shaped politics post-1947

The agrarian history of Jammu and Kashmir has never seen a day of stability. In order to understand these nuances, it is important to reflect upon the backdrop of how different epochs of history have witnessed a sharp contestation over how land relations were structured.

After 1947, redistribution of land was probably the most powerful method to ameliorate the crises which the agrarian sector in Kashmir was engulfed with. Pre-1947 saw political mobilisations around land issues against the Dogra oppression and the regressive taxations being followed. In such a political milieu, the historic Big Land Estate Abolition Act, 1950 was introduced which radically reshaped the agrarian politics and ended feudal landlordism.

How much prosperity did the peasantry witness under the changed conditions is however another debate? It is, however, important to note that 4,250 acres of land were transferred to landless tillers, thus ushering a new era in the agrarian history of the state. (Aijaz Ashraf Wani, What happened to governance in Kashmir, OUP, 2019).

Different populist trends have marked the Kashmir history differently. In a situation where 95 percent of the Muslim population was landless, the possibility of any land restructuring was bound to benefit the Muslim peasantry directly, wrote David Devdas in The Wire.

After the early redistributions, the significance of land and politics over the issue further intensified. It is in this direction that during the Sadiq’s liberalisation era, the progressive taxation system was introduced to liberate the small land-owning class from the payment of land revenue. Another phase in land politics was witnessed during Mir Qasim’s rule. The introduction of the Jammu and Kashmir Reform Act 1972 redefined the land ownership and ceiling rights.

Sheikh Abdullah after resuming the charge in 1975 again resorted to the earlier strategy and Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act 1976 was thus passed in 1976; abolishing the absentee landlordism and redistributing the surplus land. This opened another chapter in the history of land reforms in the state which not only helped Sheikh to restore his lost glory but fashioned the future politics to operate within the populist frame which was crafted decades ago.

Why study history?

If language can shape the way we think, history should in every way fashion our understanding of the present. It thus becomes necessary to perceive the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act — also named Roshni Act 2001 — in the backdrop of various historical trajectories which have shaped the counters of state politics since 1947.

The Act was first passed in 2001 during Farooq Abdullah led NC-Congress coalition government. However, further amendments were introduced by Mufti Syed led PDP-Congress coalition government in 2007. In the changed political milieu of the state, it was first repealed in 2018 and transaction made under the scheme were probed after Article 370 was read down in 2019.

With such historical baggage, land issues in Kashmir reached new ascendency, thus stretching out their influence over the decades. If we appraise the major political developments since 1947, land has in one or the other way been the focal point of all the regimes to materialise their ‘legitimation crises’ upon land, no matter what the circumstances. Approaching to investigate and understand history in this way becomes more important now like never before. When politics around ‘identity’ and ‘development’ has juxtaposed, land would always be the centrepiece.

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From Galwan Valley clash to Yarlung Zangbo River hydro project, 2020 brought to fore decades-old mistrust in India-China ties

The mistrust between India and China became clear when Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled out of the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November 2019.

But back then no one could have imagined that a few months down the line the two countries would be involved in a skirmish that would not only lead to casualties on both sides, but would also see them firing shots after nearly 45 years, breaking some of the time-tested methods and protocols to resolve border issues.

While the world was busy fighting against the novel coronavirus that has killed over 1.8 million and infected nearly 83 million, in June soldiers from India and China were involved in a skirmish that killed 20 on the Indian side and higher toll on the Chinese side.

After months of diplomatic and military level talks, the border issue between India and China remains unresolved and has entered into other spheres of relations. India has already banned several Chinese apps on grounds of security while reports have hinted at the govt mulling raising tariffs on Chinese products.

Growing tensions are also said to be the reason behind 39 Indian sailors who are stuck in two cargo ships anchored in Chinese waters with Beijing restricting them from unloading the cargo or change staff.

Though China has blamed COVID-19 rules and regulations for the delay, denying any links between the stranded Indian ship crew on its Chinese ports and its strained relations with India. Efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically are still underway, but it would be immature to accept Beijing's official version for the logjam, especially since other ships have been allowed to unload their cargo.

China's plan to build a hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo (the Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra) river in Tibet has raised anxieties in India. The project is a crucial part of China's goal of reaching a carbon emissions peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060. As a riparian State, India has naturally raised concerns, but China has downplayed them by saying it would keep their interests in mind.

The border conflict, the tussle over the hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo River, and now the sailors row, all show one thing: that the decades-old mistrust between the two Asian giants is back. And with two nationalists leading the two countries, it's unlikely either of them will back off.

Decades-old mistrust comes to surface

India and China inherited their territorial disputes from the days of British colonial rule.

Three years after India's independence in 1947 and a year after the communists came to power in China, the new government in Beijing began strongly asserting its claims and repudiating earlier treaties, claiming they  were signed under duress, but which India maintains are fixed.

Beijing strengthened its resolve under Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader in decades, who has sworn not to surrender even an inch of territory.

In the 1950s, China started building a strategic road on the uninhabited Aksai Chin Plateau to connect its restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. India objected and claimed Aksai Chin as part of Ladakh, itself belonging to the former principality of Kashmir, part of which is now occupied by Pakistan.

Relations were further strained after India allowed Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to establish a self-declared government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala after he fled his homeland in 1959 during an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.

The differences led to a bitter monthlong war in 1962. Firefights broke out again in 1967 and 1975, leading to more deaths on both sides. Both countries since adopted protocols including an agreement not to use firearms, but those protocols have fractured in this year's clashes. After nearly 45 years, the armies of the two countries fired warning shots following the clashes in June in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.

After the 1962 war, both economies have grown substantially, but China has far outpaced India while enjoying a large trade surplus with its neighbour.

The growing economic rivalry has added to territorial and geostrategic differences. India has tried to capitalise on China's rising labour costs, and deteriorating ties with the United States and Europe, to become a new base for foreign manufacturers.

India grew concerned after China recently built a road through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir as part of Xi's signature foreign policy push, the multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which India has vehemently opposed.

Meanwhile, India's growing strategic alliance with the US has ruffled feathers in Beijing, which sees the relationship as a counterweight against Chinas rise. Indian fears of Chinese territorial expansion are bolstered by the growing presence of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean and Beijing's efforts to strengthen ties with not only Pakistan but also Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Beijing in the past few years has openly interfered in Nepal politics while Kathmandu has been continuously shuffling away from New Delhi. The current political crisis has revealed how deep these interferences run with China not only attempting to sway members of the ruling Nepal Communist Party but also the Opposition Nepal Congress Party.

Meanwhile, India is jockeying for strategic parity with China, massively ramping up its military infrastructure along the LAC. And so is China. The Galwan Valley clash was a direct result of infrastructure projects built by the two countries along the Line of Actual Control.

While India has built an all-weather Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road that not only improves access to the Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip (world’s highest landing ground) but also shortens the travel time from the airstrip to Leh to six hours from the current two days, China has reportedly started work on a helipad opposite the DBO airstrip. It is also building several other infrastructure projects, including a deep-buried complex, according to a report in India Today.

Already, India's decision to withdraw the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and divide it into two federal territories, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh, has irked China.

According to The Associated Press, shortly after the Modi govt announced the decision, lawmakers in the ruling BJP began advocating taking control of some China-run areas, alarming Beijing. Their rhetoric continues even today.

What lies in the future

Border tensions between the two neighbours have persisted despite talks at military, diplomatic, and political levels. However, with strong nationalists leading both countries, the border has taken on a prominence not seen in years. And it's unlikely that the issue would be resolved anytime soon.

It remains to be seen if a full military conflict may emerge between the two countries, but both will continue with their efforts to win allies and improve their infrastructure along the LAC.

China is unlikely to dial down its salami-slicing tactics to incrementally gain territory more so in the post-pandemic world, which has presented with new opportunities to increase its influence on India's neighbours.

As for India, as the only country standing against China's military ambitions in Asia, it will be difficult to avoid conflicts such as the Galwan Valley clash or the one which has seen China using COVID-19 rules to held hostage of Indian sailors.

While Chinese soldiers maintain the occupation of Indian territory in Ladakh and up the infrastructure, the Indian Army has gained control of at least one unmanned mountain top, taking a tactical advantage over the PLA.

If diplomacy fails, guns will talk, but one hopes both countries will continue to show restraint.

With inputs from agencies

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Farmers' Protest: Rajasthan protesters clash with Haryana Police near border; Kerala passes resolution against farm laws

Expressing solidarity with the agitating farmers in Delhi, the Kerala Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of the three contentious central laws as the farmers’ protest at Delhi’s borders entered its 36th day.

Meanwhile, Haryana Police on Thursday used a water cannon and tear gas as farmers on tractor-trailers broke through barricades at the Shahjahanpur border with Rajasthan, trying to push towards the National Capital. While farmers on around 25 tractor-trailers pushed past the Haryana Police barriers, others stayed behind on the Rajasthan side of the Shahjahanpur-Rewari border, police told PTI.

Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting at the National Capital’s borders with Uttar Pradesh at Chilla and Ghazipur as they demand a repeal of the three contentious farm laws. The borders are shut for those travelling from Noida and Ghaziabad.

The protestors said that the laws will dismantle regulated markets, and hurt their livelihoods by making them vulnerable to big corporations. They want the laws to be scrapped. The Centre has refused to address the demand for repealing the laws. It did, however, offer to make amendments to certain sections along with a written guarantee on MSP.

On Wednesday, the Centre held the sixth meeting with farmers, following which it said that it has arrived at a consensus on two out of four matters flagged by the protestors. The next round of talks will be held on 4 January.

Farmers break police barricades on Haryana-Rajasthan border

A group of protesting farmers from Rajasthan broke through police barricades on the Haryana-Rajasthan border on Thursday. These farmers are on their way to Delhi to join others who have been protesting against the Central Government's new farm laws for more than one month.

The Haryana Police used water cannon and tear gas as farmers on tractor-trailers broke through barricades at the Shahjahanpur border with Rajasthan, trying to push towards the National Capital.

While farmers on around 25 tractor-trailers pushed past the Haryana Police barriers, others stayed behind on the Rajasthan side of the Shahjahanpur-Rewari border, police said.

Farmers have been on a dharna at the site, blocking the road for several days in protest over the three new agri-marketing laws enacted at the Centre.

#WATCH किसान शाहजहांपुर में पुलिस बैरिकेडिंग को तोड़ते हुए राजस्थान-हरियाणा बाॅर्डर से हरियाणा में दाखिल हुए। pic.twitter.com/nuAj4XGurx

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) December 31, 2020

Farmer leaders at the site made clear that the protesters who forced their way into Haryana did not have their consent.

Kisan Mahapanchayat president Rampal Jat said the agitation was going on peacefully but some of the farmers forcibly entered Haryana, which was not expected of them.

Haryana Police officials said a group of farmers, mostly youths, broke through the barricades set up by them in a bid to move towards Delhi.

The Haryana Police tried to stop them using a water cannon and tear gas even as their leaders urged them not to go towards the National Capital, they said.

Police said the group broke through the barricades with their tractors and a few of them managed to enter the state's territory though they were stopped after some distance.

There were some young elements who came with tractors and broke through the barricades. We tried to stop them and gently persuade them. However, they were very aggressive and turned violent. They were not even listening to farmer leaders, Rewari Superintendent of Police Abhishek Jorwal told PTI over the phone.

Another police officer said the group became violent and at least one of them tried to drive his tractor in a very reckless manner, endangering lives of police personnel and some others who tried to stop it.

He said there were nearly 25 tractors, which broke the police barricades at Shahjahanpur.

Meanwhile, farmer leaders at Shahjahanpur called for peace in the agitation.

"We are sitting here peacefully and asking our members not to resort to violence," Kisan Mahapanchayat president Rampal Jat said. "We have sent some of our members to talk to those who entered Haryana to convince them to return," Jat added. Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal said it was done by some overexcited youths.

Kerala Assembly passes resolution against new farm laws

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution at a special session on Thursday which was unanimously passed by the House with the ruling LDF, Opposition Congress-led UDF, and the BJP supporting it.

The resolution introduced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was passed by voice vote and alleged that the central laws have been amended to help the corporates.

The Centre had presented and passed the three agriculture laws in the Parliament at a time when the agriculture sector was facing a severe crisis, he said.

"The three contentious agri laws were passed even without sending them to the standing committee of Parliament. If this agitation continues, it will severely affect Kerala, which is a consumer state," he said.

Stating that the reforms in the field of agriculture should be carefully envisioned, he said with the implementation of the new laws, the bargaining power of farmers would be weakened, giving an advantage to the corporate sector.

The laws did not have any provision to ensure legal protection for farmers, Vijayan said adding that they do not have the capacity to wage a legal battle with the corporates for this.

It was clear that the major cause of the agitation was the possible price drop for agriculture products due to these laws, he added.

As agriculture is the state subject and it is an issue which directly affects the states, the Union Government should have convened the meetings of inter-state committees and held detailed consultations, he said.

"So, the Kerala Assembly requests the Centre to accept the justifiable demands raised by farmers, who are the backbone of the country, and take immediate steps to withdraw the three controversial farm laws," Vijayan added.

BJP’s lone MLA in Kerala backtracks after supporting resolution

Hours after agreeing to Pinarayi Vijayan's resolution against Centre's farm laws, BJP's lone Kerala MLA, O Rajagopal, on Thursday, backtracked on his stand.

The BJP MLA first spoke in favour of the agricultural laws during the Assembly session. “These laws are for the benefit and protection of farmers – to do away with middlemen and commission agents,” he told the Assembly. “These laws give rights to farmers to sell their produce anywhere.”

The MLA, however, did not oppose the resolution against the laws. He told reporters after the Assembly session that he supported the resolution. “I agree with the substance of the resolution,” Rajagopal said.

Rajagopal was also told that he may be contradicting his party’s stand. “This may not be party stand,” he said in response. “These compromises are a part of a democratic system. We must go with the consensus. Before that consensus is formalised, I put my difference of opinions before people.”

Hours later, he issued a statement saying that he opposed the resolution. “I have clearly stated my stand in the Assembly during my speech,” he said, according to News18.

“I am not opposing the Centre’s bill and have not opposed the Central Government. This bill is good for farmers. I have even said that PM [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] is always ready for talks but the pre-condition by protesters to repeal the laws for talks, has delayed the process.”

FICCI seeks Punjab chief secretary's intervention on Jio towers vandalism

Industry body FICCI has written to Punjab Chief Secretary to intervene in incidents of "vandalism" of Jio's mobile towers, as it urged the state to step up efforts to ensure that such incidents do not occur.

FICCI, in the recent communication, said that with 1,800 towers being "vandalised", the subscriber traffic load is likely to shift to other towers in the vicinity, which could impact the quality of calls and internet data speeds there.

"The impact is also likely to be felt on services of other providers since calls landing on and originating from Jio's networks may face congestion due to lesser number of cell sites," said Rajinder Gupta, chairman, FICCI Regional Advisory Council in the communication dated 28 December.

Such incidents also "discourage" the industry from expanding its reach in the state.

"Against this backdrop, FICCI humbly requests for your kind intervention to take immediate action against the miscreants who caused this damage, and prevention of any further damage...," said the communication addressed to Chief Secretary of Punjab, Vini Mahajan.

With its telecom infrastructure in the state being damaged amid farmers' protest, Reliance Jio had recently written to Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh seeking his intervention for action against those responsible for the incidents of "sabotage and vandalism".

With inputs from PTI

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COVID-19 vaccine dry run in all states on 2 Jan, SEC meet tomorrow; cases of UK strain rise to 25

Ahead of an expert panel meeting slated for 1 January, Drug Controller General of India VG Somani on Thursday hinted at approval for COVID-19 vaccine, saying "...probably we will have a very happy New Year with something in hand."

Stepping up its preparations for the vaccine rollout, the Union health ministry said administrations of all states and union territories will conduct COVID-19 vaccination dry runs on 2 January.

"We are fully prepared to launch the world's biggest vaccination drive," asserted Prime Minister Narendra Modi but urged people to maintain caution even after inoculation, giving the slogan "Davai bhi, kadaai bhi (yes to medicine and yes to caution)".

The number of cases of the new coronavirus variant in the country rose to 25, with five more cases being detected. Restrictions in view of New Year's celebrations were imposed in several places across the country while Tamil Nadu extended lockdown restrictions, albeit with more relaxations.

Odisha imposed a night curfew across the state from 10 pm on Thursday till 5 am on 1 January (Friday) while the Delhi government announced curbs from 11 pm to 6 am on 31 December and 1 January. West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said a night curfew will not be imposed but the state government will take all precautionary measures to prevent large gatherings on the occasion.

DCGI hints at vaccine approval in New year

At a webinar organised by the Department of Biotechnology, the DCGI hinted that India is likely to have a vaccine in the new year. He talked about the efforts made by the Department of Biotechnology and said vaccine candidates have got funding. "...and probably we will have a very happy New Year with something in hand. That's what I can hint at," Somnai said.

An expert panel in the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will meet on Friday, the first day of the year, to further deliberate on the matter to consider emergency use authorisation applications by Serum Institute of India (SII) for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine and Bharat Biotech's 'Covaxin'.

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 had on Wednesday deliberated and analysed the additional data and information submitted by the SII and Bharat Biotech. The SII, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer have applied to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates and are awaiting approval.

Somani said the approval process was fast-tracked in view of the pandemic by quickly processing all applications, allowing parallel phase 1 and phase 2 trials without waiting for complete data. For restricted emergency use authorisation, he said, "There are certain parameters that if we get limited data or partial data of reasonable safety and efficacy, we will allow that vaccine to come into the immunisation programme into the market." The DCGI sought to assure that "there is no compromise at all in the safety, efficacy and quality except for accepting the partial data for emergency use authorisation."

Vaccine dry run in all states on 2 Jan

In another related development, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness at session sites for COVID-19 vaccination with principal secretaries (Health) and other health administrators of all states and UTs through video-conferencing.

The health ministry said a dry run for COVID-19 vaccination will be conducted in all state capitals in at least 3 session sites on 2 January to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges. For each of the three-session sites, the Medical Officer In-charge will identify 25 test beneficiaries (healthcare workers).

Some states will also include districts that are situated in difficult terrain/have poor logistical support, while Maharashtra and Kerala are likely to schedule the dry run in major cities other than their capital, the Union Health Ministry said.

"The objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to assess operational feasibility in the use of Co-WIN application in the field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guideway forward prior to actual implementation. This is also expected to give confidence to programme managers at various levels," the ministry said.

The Central government has also asked all states and UTs to ensure effective preparedness for the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

Dont believe in rumours regarding vaccine, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking after laying the foundation stone of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rajkot via video conferencing, exuded confidence that India is ready to roll out the world's biggest vaccination drivphae against coronavirus.

People should not believe in rumours and unfounded claims regarding the vaccine, Modi said and claimed that some persons have already started spreading such lies.

Efforts to make a 'Made in India' vaccine available to every eligible beneficiary in the country are in the final stage, Modi said, noting that new coronavirus cases are decreasing in the country.

Moderna vaccine show 94.1% efficacy: study

Results from the primary analysis of the ongoing phase-3 clinical trial of US biotechnology company Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine have revealed 94.1 percent efficacy of the therapeutic in preventing symptomatic infections and severe illness, according to a peer-reviewed study, published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

It found that among over 30,000 participants randomised to receive the vaccine or a placebo, 11 in the vaccine group developed symptomatic COVID-19 compared to 185 participants who received the placebo. The researchers said this demonstrates 94.1 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, adding that cases of the severe disease occurred only in participants who received the placebo.

The study enrolled 30,420 adult participants at 99 sites in the US. Eligible participants were 18 years old or more with no known history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and whose locations or circumstances put them at appreciable risk of the infection and high risk of severe COVID-19, the researchers said.

The participants received their first injection between 27 July and 23 October, followed by a second shot 28 days later. Each jab, given intramuscularly, had a volume of 0.5 millilitres (mL), containing 100 micrograms (g) of mRNA-1273 vaccine or saline placebo.

The researchers said overall, reactions to the vaccine were mild — about half of the recipients experienced fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, and headaches, more so after the second dose.

The co-principal investigator for the study and lead author of the paper Lindsey Baden said while these results are encouraging, they are limited by the short duration of follow-up so far.

India registers 21,822 new cases

India's COVID-19 caseload on Thursday rose to 1,02,66,674 with 21,822 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 98.60 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 96.04 percent, according to the Union Health Ministry's morning update. The toll increased to 1,48,738 with 299 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed

With a net decline of 4,616, active cases stand at 2,57,656 active coronavirus infections in the country and comprise 2.51 percent of the total caseload, the ministry said.

Of the new recovered cases, 77.99 percent are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and UTs. At 5,707, Kerala has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries, while 4,913 people recovered in Maharashtra followed by 1,588 in Chhattisgarh.

The ministry further said that 79.87 percent of the new cases are from 10 States and UTs. Kerala has reported the highest daily new cases at 6,268. It is followed by Maharashtra with 3,537 new cases.

Also, ten states and UTs accounting for 80.60 percent of the 299 new deaths. Maharashtra reported maximum casualties with 90 new fatalities. Kerala and West Bengal both follow with 28 daily deaths, it said.

Tally of new virus strain cases rises to 25

Separately, the health ministry said a total of 25 people in the country have tested positive for the new UK variant genome of SARS-CoV-2 so far. These 25 people include the 20 who were found positive with the mutated strain on Tuesday and Wednesday. "All 25 persons are in physical isolation in health facilities," the health ministry said.

Among the new five cases, the mutated UK strain was detected in four at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and one new case was sequenced at theInstitute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, it said. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts, and others.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said a total of 38 people have been found positive since coming to the National Capital from the UK recently and kept in a separate institutional isolation unit in the LNJP Hospital premises. "Four such patients have been found infected with the new UK strain of COVID-19. The persons who came in their contact have been also traced and tested, and it is not in them. So, only these four cases of the new strain in Delhi so far," he said.

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar exuded confidence that the 199 UK returnees who went untraceable will be tracked by the end of the day. "Of the 199 people, 24 were identified on Wednesday. Most probably, we will find out the rest of the people by the evening," the minister said.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja said as many as 32 people, who recently returned from the UK, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state and their samples have been sent to NIV Pune.

Restrictions for new year

Meanwhile, restrictions were imposed in various states and cities to avoid large gatherings for new years celebrations.  In Delhi, night curfew will be imposed from 11 pm on 31 December to 6 am on 1 January, and again from 11 pm on 1 January to 6 am on  2 January, said an order issued on Wednesday by Vijay Dev, Delhi Chief Secretary and chairman of the Executive Committee of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). It stated that not more than five people will be allowed to assemble at public places in Delhi during night curfew to avoid large gatherings.

However, there will be no restriction on the interstate and intrastate movement of people and goods during night curfew in Delhi, the chief secretary said in the order. The Delhi Police said no gatherings will be allowed in open public places like Connaught Place and India Gate during the night curfew.

The civic body in Mumbai permitted delivery of food from restaurants post 11 pm on Thursday in a bid to encourage people to celebrate at home."Don't Stop The Party, Mumbai - Just Take It Indoors After 11:00! Restaurants are allowed to home deliver food in the city post 11:00 pm," the BMC tweeted.

The civic body further stated that COVID-19 prevention norms will have to be followed to ensure that Mumbai rings in the new year safely.

The Maharashtra government has put in place a night curfew between 11 pm and 6 am, prohibiting the gathering of five or more persons in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parties will not be allowed at any hotel, bar, pubs, restaurants after 11 pm and the Mumbai Police too has announced a slew of restrictions.

Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena on Twitter said, "Govt (Government) of Odisha imposing night curfew from 10 pm of tonight to 5 am tomorrow across the state. The general public requested to cooperate. All essential services and movements are allowed to continue during the curfew hours."

The Kerala government has imposed restrictions saying celebrations should come to a close by 10 pm and public gatherings should be avoided. Drones would be used to track any violations, state Police chief Loknath Behera said, adding action would also be initiated against those indulging in noisy celebrations. Everyone should ensure strict compliance of COVID protocol in such gatherings.

West Bengal chief secretary said the current situation is not conducive to imposing a night curfew but urged people to cooperate with the administration and the police. "There will be special assistance booths at places like Park Street and Victoria Memorial where a large turnout is expected," he said.

The Kolkata Police has also taken measures to ensure that all COVID-19 safety protocols are adhered to and large gatherings on New Year's eve are prevented, as per the Calcutta High Court's order to check a spike in infections.

Tamil Nadu extends lockdown but with relaxations

The Tamil Nadu government has extended lockdown restrictions in the state till 31 January, while announcing relaxations (except in containment zones) such as lifting time restrictions on places of worship and allowing indoor and outdoor shootings for films and serials to be held without a limit on the number of participants, said reports.

As per a report by The News Minute,the state government has also increased the cap on visitors to 200 persons or 50 percent capacity of the indoor arenas where religious, social, political, sports, entertainment and cultural meetings are held.

According to the Indian Express, the government has denied permission for the public to gather at the beaches for Kaanum Pongal on 16 January. The E-registration process will continue for those entering the state, except from Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Schools in Kerala will reopen partially on 1 January while strictly following COVID protocols. The classes for 10th and 12th standards would begin with limited hours and a restricted number of students, official sources told news agency PTI.

The state health minister said that the academic year, which comes at a time of the COVID pandemic, should be dealt with confidence but caution. "Students should not be afraid to go to schools. The government has made all arrangements," she said, urging everyone to strictly follow the guidelines issued by the health and the educations departments.

With inputs from PTI

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Happy new year, Congress. Or is it?

As one of the darkest years for mankind slips into history, India’s once-mighty Congress party has little to raise the glass of champagne to.

It has been decimated in the Bihar elections, extinguishing the hope for its partner RJD. It did terribly in Jammu and Kashmir civic body elections and Hyderabad municipality polls. For the first time in three decades, the presiding Nehru-Gandhi family faces revolt from within.

And its president-forever-in-waiting, Rahul Gandhi, has left for Italy a day before the party’s foundation day.

This when the BJP’s ruthless election machinery is working tirelessly on the crucial state elections in 2021 in Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. There is not a single moment when the prime minister and BJP’s chief campaigner Narendra Modi or the Union home minister and master strategist Amit Shah is switched off.

These two have shown India that the winning machine never sleeps. The contrast could not have been sharper with the Congress scion, for whom politics seems to be a 9-to-5 corporate job with breaks, work-life balance, powerpoint presentations by savvy execs, unwinding at a chic bar after work, and awarding oneself the occasional holiday to Bangkok or Milan.

When you are the main challenger to the beast of a political force, it is suicidal to behave like Rahul.

It is not that the Congress is not a player in the forthcoming spate of elections. It is the main challenger in Kerala, a state with a tradition of alternately electing the Left and the Congress. This time, however, there is a strong public feeling that history may not get repeated. The Left may retain power.

If that happens, it would be humiliating and seriously undermining for Rahul. Sensing certain defeat in family stronghold Amethi, he also fielded himself from ‘safe seat’ Wayanad, winning it eventually and saving face. If the Congress loses in Kerala despite Rahul being an MP from the state, that 2019 face-saver will become smelly, dripping egg in 2021.

In Bengal, the Congress has managed to push itself to the irrelevant fringe after giving the state its first and finest chief minister ever, the legendary Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. Even when the Congress CM Siddhartha Shankar Ray was quelling the Naxal movement with an iron hand in the ’70s, none must have imagined the mendicancy his party would be reduced to four or five decades later.

In Assam, the Congress lost its supremacy just five years ago. Today, especially after Tarun Gogoi’s death, it looks like a rudderless, distant second. Maybe even third, if the new Assam Jatiya Parishad does surprisingly well.

In Tamil Nadu, it can improve its tally from 8 in 2016 if it fights in alliance with DMK and works hard. But that is a big ‘if’.

Rahul’s entire strategy seems to be to wait out Modi’s tenure and hope that power will automatically come and fall on his lap when people get disenchanted with the BJP. But the river of politics does not always flow that way.

In the last six years in power, the BJP has, with the determination of a heroin addict, expanded its base and taken over institutions and local bodies. The RSS has spread and deepened its ideological project in ways hard for most people to even fathom.

The Hindutva force has not just created Modi’s visible successors such as Amit Shah or Yogi Adityanath, but it is grooming new leaders away from the public gaze, to be brought on stage at the right moment.

The Congress, on the other hand, is trying its best to shield its prince from the dissenters. It is still avoiding an internal election, lest he is challenged and even defeated. It may well end up putting the reins back into an ageing, ailing Sonia Gandhi’s hand to desperately avoid taking a tough decision.

The party is up against a force it still has not been able to fathom. If the Congress continues in the mode it is currently in, 2021 is going to be another long quarantine from power.

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CBSE Class 10, 12 Exam 2021 Dates: Tests begin on 4 May and results by 15 July, says Ramesh Pokhriyal

The 2021 CBSE examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 will begin on 4 May and results will be declared by 15 July, Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Thursday.

Pokhriyal, during a session that was live streamed on both Facebook and Twitter, said that practical exams for both classes will begin on 1 March and that theory papers would continue till 10 June.

Announcing the date of commencement for #CBSE board exams 2021. @SanjayDhotreMP @EduMinOfIndia @cbse @mygovindia @MIB_India @PIB_India @DDNewslive https://t.co/PHiz3EwFvz

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) December 31, 2020

  The Union education minister told international students enrolled at CBSE schools in 25 countries that the ministry will look to address their problems as well. He also wished students on New Year's eve.

Pokhriyal said that owing to the COVID-19 situation, the CBSE would adopt various measures for the safety and security of every student. He assured students that the board exams would be conducted with the same proficiency as the NEET and JEE.

The minister further said that since many CBSE schools are in rural areas, online exams are not possible and hence they will be held in pen-and-paper (offline) mode. Following Nishank's address, the CBSE has released an important notice providing the dates for exams:

#exams2021#Students #cbseforstudents#cbsenews ⁦@DrRPNishank⁩ ⁦@DDNewslive⁩ ⁦@airnewsalerts⁩ pic.twitter.com/59J3qaadOj — CBSE HQ (@cbseindia29) December 31, 2020

 

Earlier, the minister had said that there is a lot of confusion and speculation regarding the conduct of the board exams and thus he will be clearing the air by declaring the dates of both Class 10 and 12 exams.

Pokhriyal had also posted a tweet addressed to students, guardians and teachers, assuirng them that all decisions that are taken with respect to exams will be for the well-being of the students.

CBSE had already reduced the syllabus for each subject by 30 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Amazon will soon launch Marathi language support on its platform following controversy in Maharashtra

E-commerce giant Amazon is working to bring in Marathi language support on its platform as well. The move comes after Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) wrote an open letter to Amazon’s CEO where it demanded language support for people living in Maharashtra. In the letter, the party also said that it will agitate against Amazon given that the company does not include the language support for the app as well as their website for customers in the state.

Final request with folded hands,hope you go through the facts put down in the letter and take necessary corrective steps accordingly to incorporate’Marathi’in the app option list at the earliest.@mnsadhikrut @JeffBezos @AmitAgarwal @GopalPillai @RahulSundaram6 @amazon @amazonIN pic.twitter.com/JVQiB8xqF4

— Akhil Chitre अखिल चित्रे (@akhil1485) December 23, 2020

"We have no intentions of getting into a legal tussle with Amazon but for our mother tongue we as Maharashtrians can go to any extent. The agitation on social media platforms (#NoMarathi_No Amazon) is just the tip of the iceberg," says MNS leader Akhil Chitre in the letter.

We are committed to enable Amazon online shopping experience across Indian languages including Marathi.

Work has already begun to launch Marathi shopping experience & seller registration soon.

We will continue to add more languages for enhanced customer & seller experience. pic.twitter.com/mNEDOmJWCA

— Amazon India News (@AmazonNews_IN) December 26, 2020

The Seattle, Washington-based giant took to Twitter and wrote, "We are committed to enable Amazon online shopping experience across Indian languages including Marathi. Work has already begun to launch Marathi shopping experience & seller registration soon. We will continue to add more languages for enhanced customer & seller experience." Amazon has also shared a screenshot along with the tweet to suggest that the language support would soon go live on its platform.

Meanwhile, Amazon has been working on adding language support for its various services. Right now, the e-commerce platform supports six languages in India and will be adding two more languages. Last month, the company also introduced Hindi language support for Alexa on Fire TV devices in India. The latest update by Amazon now allows Fire TV device users (inclusive of Fire TV Stick) to ask Alexa questions in Hindi. Until now, Alexa only had support for the English language.

(Also Read: Amazon Internet Services India falls into losses in FY20 even as revenue swells up 58 percent)

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Don't fall prey to scamsters seeking Aadhaar, OTPs for COVID-19 inoculation, warns UP health department

 Gorakhpur: The Uttar Pradesh health department has cautioned people against falling prey to tricksters seeking Aadhaar card numbers, one-time-passwords and bank details telephonically on the pretext of getting them registered for anti-COVID-19 vaccination.

A Gorakhpur district health official said the state government has launched no plan as yet to get general people inoculated against COVID-19 as the state’s priority is to vaccinate frontline anti-COVID-19 workers.

Accordingly, the phone calls being made allegedly on behalf of the state health department officials to the general public to get themselves registered for inoculation after sharing their Aadhar card numbers, OTP, bank details etc are sham and people must not fall prey to such calls, Gorakhpur CMO Dr Srikant Tiwari said.

"There is no need of giving any detail to anyone in the name of registration for vaccination as people could become victims of cyber crimes," he cautioned.

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2020, year of the pandemic: Forced into COVID duty with a newborn, TN nurse reveals unfair treatment of contractual health workers

Editor's note: In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak upended lives and livelihoods in myriad ways. The novel coronavirus threw up new and unprecedented challenges, especially for people from marginalised sections of society. In a multi-part series, Firstpost explores how individuals from different walks of life lived through the year of the pandemic. This is part four of the series.

Read part 1 of the series here, part 2 here and part 3 here.

***

“The manner in which people talk down in any given circumstance is what gets to me the most. There is a hierarchy at every level, from medical officers to staff nurses, from the nurses who are permanent to the temps, from these nurses to sanitary workers. I know this is how it works, but I didn’t feel it this much when I worked at a private hospital. Here, it is just inhuman at times,” says Sharon.

That Sharon is outspoken is something I realised within a single meeting. When I visited COVID-19 care centres across Tamil Nadu, very few healthcare workers spoke about their working conditions to me with full honesty. Sharon on the other hand, walked up to me minutes after realising that I am a journalist.

She told me that she is trying for a transfer to her hometown since she has an infant at home and that even though she’s breastfeeding, she is doing COVID-19 duty. She brought up the issue of regularisation of nurses, including herself, who were recruited in 2015. This was in May.

When I re-visited the district that she was working in for a follow-up story, I couldn’t find her. After inquiring around and a few phone calls, I was told that she had transferred out of the district, something which is usually close to impossible in such a short time. I caught hold of her number and gave her a call.

Sharon was transferred to her hometown, but not as I had assumed. She had to pay Rs 2 lakh for the transfer order. The entire transaction happened through various networks within the establishment. However, when the transfer order did arrive, she realised it still required her to travel three hours from her hometown to her workplace.

Every day, she travels 45 kilometres by bus and 18 kilometres on a bike one way, spending six hours a day just commuting to work and back.

"It is all a gamble, at the end of the day," says Sharon. But is it so, especially if all the circumstances that surround it are skewed against you?

For Sharon, things went south even before the year 2020, designated as the “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” by the WHO.

In December of 2019, Sharon received her posting as a government-appointed nurse, a month after she had delivered her second born. She had appeared for the Tamil Nadu Medical Recruitment Board (TNMRB) Exams in her third trimester. An occasion to celebrate, however, quickly turned into anxiety when she learned that her posting wasn’t in her hometown or anywhere around.

Moving away from home wouldn’t have been a problem if she weren’t the mother of two, one an infant, and the other a toddler. The pay was lesser than what she was earning at the moment at a private hospital, and so were the benefits. But the hope of life getting better in the future pushed her husband to quit his job, and the family moved 500 Kms away, to a new town.

With a 45-day old infant, Sharon reported to duty immediately, hoping that she would be granted maternity leave. Permanent nurses are given nine months of maternity leave. After a week of work, Sharon was told she can take the leave but there would be no pay.

This is not the case just for Sharon, but for all who are appointed under the MRB postings. From the time one is recruited till they are regularised, nurses receive a consolidated pay of Rs 14,000 a month. This means there is no ESI or insurance. There is no maternity leave or sick leave. There is one casual leave every month.

The Rs 14,000 monthly salary, however, was hard-fought.

After a high-pitched battle in 2017, which saw more than 3,500 nurses camping outside at the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) in Chennai — the state government didn't even allow the nurses to use the toilets during the protest — the nurses' salary was raised from Rs 7,000 to Rs 14,000. And that too, only after a direction of the Madras High Court. This raise meant nothing though. Almost all nurses' associations have dubbed the Rs 14,000 salary as grossly inadequate, and are still demanding ‘equal work for equal pay’ in line with the directive of the Madras High Court from 2018, besides seeking a complete upheaval of the consolidated pay contract system. Their demand is that they be treated like any other government employee since they are recruited only after clearing the TNMRB exams.

Three years and a global pandemic later, hikes, regularisations, or any changes are nowhere to be seen. Far from making working conditions better for nurses, the postings granted after the 2019 exam did not take into consideration the location preference, says Sharon. Many nurses that I met since the onset of the pandemic, across districts, have the same story.

“It isn’t that we can’t move, but how do we move with families, with such meager pay and no allowances whatsoever,” questions Sharon.

A directive of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016 directed all private hospitals to pay a minimum of Rs 20,000 to nurses working at their establishments and provide for all benefits. It is ironic that the same is yet to be implemented for government nurses.

The excuse that has been used by the Central Government while responding to courts pulling them up for underpaying nurses has been that health is a state subject, and hence there is only so much that they can do to get state governments to pay their nurses.

The Tamil Nadu government, on its part, has done nothing to address the grievances of the nurses, other than repress any form of discontent with an iron hand.

"The unions mostly say nothing against the government, in fact, some of them only do this transfer brokerage,” says Sharon.

Most of the unions are led by regularised staff.

When Sharon joined back for duty in February, after two months of unpaid leave, she was posted at a COVID-19 care centre. This is while she was breastfeeding her baby. Her responsibilities involved interacting with positive patients every day.

“It was a risk but I had no choice. Though there is a government order against this, it wasn’t a practical possibility as the department is already understaffed. I had to do it. I just washed up well every time after I went home, I couldn’t do anything more,” she explains.

A month into this, Sharon’s baby fell sick with a high fever and severe wheezing problems. She wasn’t given leave. The baby recovered the first time. The second time the child suffered from a bout of diarrhoea. Again, she was not given leave. All this pushed the family to leave overnight to their hometown.

By now, her husband was really worried. He told her that there is no point in waiting for a transfer, that they might as well borrow the money for the transfer and move. Sharon was in a fix, but she was worried for her child. She reached out to others who had followed the same route and they put her in touch with a broker, who helped her with the transaction.

Once they received the transfer order and moved back, things didn’t brighten up for Sharon though as now she had to travel six hours a day. Initially, she was kept out of COVID-19 duty as she was breastfeeding, but when her child turned one year old, they put her into COVID-19 duty, which involved her being quarantined away for more than a week. During this period, she had to discontinue breastfeeding her child.

“I wanted to breastfeed him for at least six months more, but again, I had no choice. I was told that six months of breastfeeding is sufficient and beyond that, I won't be allowed to keep away from COVID-19 duty,” she says.

While constantly dealing with a sense of disillusionment and helplessness, Sharon is still very ambitious about her career. She wants to pursue a master's if possible in the future.

“If I get regularised, then I’ve been told that I can take a few years off to study. Maybe then. But 8,000 nurses recruited before me after the 2015 TNMRB exams are yet to be regularised. I don’t know when my chance will come,” she says.

Sharon is in the eligible category for recruitment to AIIMS, after appearing for an exam this year, and she hopes she will soon get a step up from where she is at the moment.

“This is actually a step down for me,” she explains.

Sharon worked as a nurse for seven years before she wrote the TNMRB exams. But when she joined as a government nurse, she was hired at the entry-level. The board doesn’t take into account the varied experience of nurses who write the exams and treats them all as what we commonly refer to as ‘freshers’, irrespective of how many years of work they’ve already put in. Sharon, for instance, has been in highly challenging situations when she worked as an ICU nurse. But now, she works at a PHC, at the entry-level.

When she transferred to her hometown, the other nurses at the PHC did not even allow her to wear a nurse’s coat. “They said it is only for those with 10 years of experience, and that I should wear a dupatta instead,” recollects Sharon. She didn’t say anything, she just stopped wearing her coat.

That the TNMRB has no rationale or a system in place to account for the work experience of nurses taking their exams is worrisome. In addition, the Department of Health and Family Welfare has no system in place for non-regularised nurses like Sharon to share their grievances, whether it is work-related such as transfers or sexual harassment, or personal health problems.

All these nurses are at the mercy of the medical officers they report to. There was nobody that Sharon could turn to, immediately after she was pushed into work in 2020. When her infant son fell sick, Sharon wasn’t allowed to take leave both times. The second time she just left for her hometown with her sick baby, refusing to work anymore. But after a week, she decided to return as her job was the only source of income at the time.

And when she did try to explain her situation to the medical officer, she was subject to a volley of accusatory questions. "I just stood there, not knowing what to do or say,” says Sharon.

Since the start of 2020, Sharon suffered from severe postpartum depression for months, with her work circumstances only amplifying it. She could speak about this with nobody at work. There is no space for this conversation, let alone the options for counselling or treatment.

Sharon is glad that her husband, with whom she was in love since her school days, is around to take care of the children. Otherwise, she isn’t sure if she would still be working.

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Narendra Modi says India prepared for world's biggest inoculation drive, urges public caution post COVID-vaccination

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said new coronavirus cases are on the decline in the country but people should not let their guard down and continue adhering to COVID-19 norms even after vaccination.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rajkot through video conferencing, he exuded confidence that India is ready to roll out the world's biggest vaccination drive against coronavirus.

"I used to say 'jab tak davai nahi, dhilai nahi' but now our mantra for 2021 should be: Davai bhi, kadaai bhi (yes to medicine and yes to caution)," Modi said.

People should not believe in rumours and unfounded claims regarding the vaccine, Modi said and claimed that some persons have already started spreading such lies. Preparations to reach out to each beneficiary are in the final stage, Modi said, adding new coronavirus cases are decreasing in the country.

"In 2020, there was an atmosphere of disappointment and dismay due to the infection. There were doubts everywhere. But 2021 is coming up with a ray of hope in terms of its treatment," Modi said.

"Preparations are in full swing for the vaccination drive in India. Efforts to make a 'Made in India' vaccine available to every eligible beneficiary are in its last stage. We are fully prepared to launch the world's biggest vaccination drive" Modi said.

In comparison to other countries, India is in a better position in terms of infection and deaths due to coronavirus, as the country took "timely and effective steps", he said.

Modi paid tributes to healthcare and frontline workers, scientists and good samaritans for their sacrifices and services to the society during the pandemic. "We are working on mission mode to improve medical education in India. After the formation of National Medical Commission, the quality and quantity of health education will improve," he added.

Over Rs 30,000 crore of poor people's money has been saved due to the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Modi said. "Jan Ausadhi Kendras are also a friend of poor people during illness. Over 7,000 such kendras all over the country provide 90 percent cheaper medicines to people. Over 3.5 lakh poor patients use these kendras on a daily basis," he said.

In the last six years, work on 10 new AIIMS began and 20 super speciality hospitals are also being built in the country, Modi said, adding 2021 will emerge as "a year of health solutions".

"The world witnessed how India faced and overcame healthcare challenges this year. In 2021, India's contribution to bringing in healthcare solutions will be important. Since diseases are getting globalised, health solutions should also be globalised" he said.

The world should come up with a collective response and working in silos will no longer be effective, he said. "We all need to come together for our people" he added. India will emerge as the nerve-centre of global health, Modi said.

The Centre has planned to build 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres in far-flung areas under the Ayushman Bharat scheme for the poor, he said.

"Of these, 50,000 have already started, including 5,000 in Gujarat. Around 1.5 crore poor citizens receive free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under this scheme. In total, Ayushman Bharat saved Rs 30,000 crore of poor people. This is a huge amount" said Modi.

Modi said the AIIMS in Rajkot is for the people of Gujarat and will create around 5,000 direct employment opportunities.

Over 200 acre land has been allotted by the Gujarat government for the AIIMS campus near Khandheri village on the outskirts of Rajkot city. The institute will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,195 crore and is expected to be completed by mid-2022, said agovernment release.

The state-of-the-art 750-bed hospital will also have a 30-bed AYUSH block. It will have 125 MBBS seats and 60 nursing seats.

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MNREGA during COVID-19 pandemic: More households got work in 2020, but fund crunch a major concern, finds study

The importance of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as a safety net for the rural poor increased manifold during the COVID-19 lockdown. A report on the scheme prepared by a group of academicians and activists showed that while more people availed of it in 2020 compared to last year, the shortfall in funds allocated for the scheme is a major worry.

The report, a ‘NREGA National Tracker’, was published by People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) earlier this month. The report shows that over 1 crore more households took up work under the MNREGA in 2020 compared to last year, indicating that the scheme became much more significant during a period of unprecedented economic hardship. However, the average employment received per household this year (41 days) was lesser as compared to last year (48 days).

PAEG’s tracker based its findings on data gleaned from the MNREGA’s Management Information System (MIS), which is run by the Central government

From April 2020 to November 2020, there was a 43 percent increase in the number of person days generated, as compared to the same period last year. According to PAEG, this means that the government should have made provisions for at least 379 crore person days in the labour Budget this year. However, as of now, funds have been allocated only for 324 crore person days, the report notes.

Speaking to Firstpost, MS Raunaq, one of the authors of the report, said, “We arrived at the figure of 379 crore person days by assuming that the trend of a 43 percent increase in person day will continue for the rest of the financial year. We also took into account the fact that demand for MNREGA work varies from month to month. In general, the demand for MNREGA work is expected to increase from January to March, as this is the lean season in agriculture.”

Elaborating on the seasonal nature of work under the scheme, Pushpendra Kumar Singh, Chairperson of the Centre for Development Practice and Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences said, “After the harvesting of wheat in March and April and before the sowing of paddy in June and July, there is very little work in agriculture in several parts of the country. Thus, more people take up MNREGA work in the summers. Similarly, during other lean seasons in agriculture as well, more people take up labour under this scheme. ”

The report by PAEG also cites several other statistics to show that the MNREGA scheme is facing significant budget constraints. To illustrate, 45.6 lakh households that applied for a job card were not issued one this year. Further, official data shows that at the end of November 2020, only 19.8 percent of the allocated funds for MNREGA remained to generate employment for the upcoming four months of the financial year — from December 2020 to March 2021.

However, speaking to Firstpost, NN Sinha, Secretary, Union Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, said, “Demand for MNREGA has indeed risen this year — the data speaks for itself. But allocation of work has kept up with it. This is because the scheme is essentially a demand-driven programme. As far as allocation of funds is concerned, the Union government has allocated Rs 1,01,500 crore to MNREGA for the financial year 2020-2021, which is an unprecedented amount. Before this, the maximum amount that was allocated for the scheme was about Rs 73,000.”

There are also significant state-wise variations in the way MNREGA has performed through the past year. For example, in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, the percentage of households whose demand for MNREGA work was unmet was unmet at some point of the year was 25 percent and 23 percent respectively. On the other hand, West Bengal and Rajasthan did better on this front, and the corresponding figures for the two states were 7 percent and 8 percent respectively. Nationwide, 13 percent of households found their demand for work unmet at some point during the year.

However, data reveals only part of the picture. Vivek Anand, a TISS researcher who is part of a survey team currently examining the performance of MNREGA in Bihar, would attest to this. Vivek noted, “From what I have seen, there are several widespread malpractices in the implementation of the scheme. To illustrate, work done largely through mechanised means is sometimes shown as having been done through MNREGA. Often, the authorities are only interested in seeing the work that is being done, while official records such as the number of job cards issued and number of person days generated can be ‘managed.’ This system goes on as long as the ‘workers’ on the official records tell inspection teams that they indeed got work under the scheme. Even if someone complains, the local influential people ensure that things do not go out of hand.”

He further said, “On the whole, the status of implementation of the scheme differs from district to district, and even block to block. If the local administration is active, then more work gets done. However, in general, I have found that people who have good local connections got more work under MNREGA. As far as I have seen, the number of migrant returnees in Bihar who got work under the scheme were less.”

This indicates that the implementation of the MNREGA was inadequate in Bihar that arguably needed it the most. Bihar was the state where the largest number of migrant workers returned in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown, as noted by this article in The Indian Express.

Such inadequacies notwithstanding, the data does testify to the much-increased importance of MNREGA as a safety net during the hardships of the coronavirus lockdown. MS Raunaq notes, "In May, June and July, there was a massive increase in demand for work. From August to October, demand fell. As compared to August to October last year, the demand is still high. The increase in the number of person days generated till November this year (252.5 crore as against 176.7 crore till November last year) shows that the scheme has been a massive help for rural areas.

Speaking on the expected magnitude of work under MNREGA in the coming months, NN Sinha said, “One cannot make a blanket statement that work under the scheme will increase from January to March. This assumption may be true by and large for north India, but not the whole country. In regions such as Telangana, there is a lot of agriculture-related work due to the retreating monsoon. Thus, less work is taken up under MNREGA.”

Sinha further noted, “This year, the government contributed a lot of funds towards MNREGA. However, it would not be a good strategy to depend entirely on the scheme to deal with the shock of the pandemic. State governments must work towards ensuring that various sectors of the economy pick up pace. The need of the hour is sustained and sustainable employment.”

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Centre asks ED, RBI to act against Amazon, Flipkart for violation of FDI and FEMA rules

The Department for Promotion of Investments and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which falls under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has written to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asking them to take necessary action against Amazon and Walmart-owned-Flipkart.

The Centre has taken cognisance of various complaints made by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) for blatant violation of FDI Policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) by these companies.

In a letter dated 22 December, the DPIIT has asked the ED and the RBI to look at CAIT’s complaints alleging that Amazon and Flipkart had violated Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules and foreign direct investment (FDI) policy by adopting illegal structuring/investments and practices, reports The Hindu.

According to a press release issued by CAIT on Thursday, the Centre has also forwarded four complaints of CAIT, including violation of FDI policy in the deal between Flipkart and Aditya Birla Group, violation of FDI policy related to FDI in manufacturing which is being used for multi-brand retailing by various e-commerce companies, violation of FEMA and its rules by Amazon, and FEMA and FDI policy by Amazon and Flipkart and exploitation of loopholes by them.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that all efforts will be made in 2021 to clean up the e-commerce landscape of India. The idea is to end an era of manipulations, malpractices and exploitation, the release said. “CAIT will promote and encourage traders across the country to adopt digital commerce and digital payments as new instruments to widen business in India,” the release read.

CAIT has also announced that traders across the country will observe  2021 as "Bhartiya Vyapaar Samman Varsh" under the aegis of CAIT.  "All efforts will be made to clean the e-commerce landscape of India and an era of manipulations, mal-practices and exploitation will come to end as CAIT will promote and encourage traders across the country to adopt digital commerce and digital payments as new instruments to widen the net of business in India."

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UPSC releases official notification for online applications for NDA, NA; check at upsconline.nic.in

The official notification for online applications for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I) 2021 was released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on its official website on Wednesday (30 December).

Candidates who are interested and eligible can apply for it at upsconline.nic.in on or before 19 January 2021 till 6 pm.

Online applications can be withdrawn from 27 January to 2 February 2021, till 6 pm, reported Hindustan Times.

The report further added that the commission will conduct the examination on 18 April 2021 for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 147th Course, and for the 109th Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) commencing from 2 January 2022.

As per the official notification, candidates who are applying should have one photo ID viz. Aadhar Card/ Voter Card/ PAN Card/ Passport/ Driving License/ School Photo ID/Any other photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government.

The notification adds that the details of the photo ID will have to be provided by the candidate while filling up the online application form. The same ID has to be uploaded with the Online Application Form. The ID uploaded must be the same one that will be used for all future references. The candidate is also advised to carry the ID to appear for the exam.

As per a report in Times Now, there is no limit on the number of attempts. The age limit, however, is between 15 to 18 years. Furthermore, only students who have either qualified their Class 12 examinations or would be doing so by next year are eligible to appear. Class 11 students are not eligible to appear for UPSC NDA, NA examinations.

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CBSE Class 10, 12 Board exams 2021 date, time, admit card: Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to announce details at 6 pm today

Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ is going to announce the date and time for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 and 12 exams at 6 pm today (Thursday), 31 December. Ramesh Pokhriyal took to his social media handles on 26 December to state that he will be making the announcement on the last date of the current year.

📢Major announcements for students & parents!

I will announce the date when the exams will commence for students appearing for #CBSE board exams in 2021.

Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/Lvp9Lf0qsT

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) December 26, 2020

According to media reports, the minister has said that there is a lot of confusion and speculation regarding the conduct of the board exams. Hence he will be clearing the air by declaring the dates of both Class 10 and Class 12 exams.

Following the report, Nishank posted a tweet addressed to the students, guardians and the teachers, assuring that all the decisions that are taken with respect to the exams will be for the well-being of the students. All the calls will be taken with the future implications of the students in mind, he added.

मैं अपने सभी विद्यार्थियों, अभिभावकों, शिक्षकों एवं संस्थानों को आश्वस्त करता हूं कि परीक्षाओं संबंधी सभी निर्णय आपके हित एवं उज्ज्वल भविष्य को ध्यान में रखकर ही लिए जाएंगे। https://t.co/xe7USAq85P

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) December 30, 2020

According to Jagran Josh, the announcement will help students set to appear in the board exams prepare better. As the board has recently released CBSE Sample Papers 2021 & CBSE Marking Scheme 2021, students will know exactly how much time they have on their hands before sitting for the board exams. The sample papers can be downloaded from cbseacademic.ac.in.

Earlier, CBSE had reduced the syllabus for each subject by 30 per cent due to the COVID-19 situation. With schools being closed for months and the entire definition of normal being challenged in view of the pandemic, students have requested the education minister to postpone the board exams in 2021. There has been confusion regarding online conduct of the board exams, until officials clarified that CBSE board exams will be held offline following COVID protocols.

At least, 30 lakh students will be eagerly waiting for the announcement.

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Happy New Year 2021: Know which place ushers into new year first and which comes last

While for the first time in years, the New Year celebrations are going to be muted down to help control the spread of a fatal virus, a new year remains to be the harbinger of hope and positive changes, hence 2021 will be welcomed across the globe.

Due to the time difference across zones, clocks would strike 12 at different times and celebrate the new year hours before and after. Here is a chart to know which places are the first to usher in 2021 and which places will be the last:

Tonga

This archipelago on the South Pacific is actually the first to ring in the New Year, reported The Sun. Tonga is seven and half hours ahead of India and thus will celebrate New Year at 4.30 pm IST on 31 December.

According to Time and Date.com, Samoa and Christmas Island/ Kiribati are also one of the first places to celebrate a new year.

Baker Island and Howland Island

When the celebrations have been nearly over across the world, these small outlying islands in the United States get to begin their festivities. Baker Island and Howland Island will observe New Year at 5.30 pm IST on 1 January, as per a Hindustan Times report.

Just before them are the American Samoa Islands that celebrate New Year at 11 am GMT or 4.30 pm IST on 1 January.

In the middle of these extremes, New Zealand is one of the earliest countries to get their celebrations started. Soon, followed by most of Australia as the famous firecracker show from Sydney greets out TV screens every year.

After the southern hemisphere, Japan, Korea and a few other nations ring in the new year being about three hours and thirty minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time. China, Philippines, and Singapore soon follow up an hour later, with Thailand, Cambodia and large parts of Indonesia in tow. It is shortly after Bangladesh and Nepal, that India and Sri Lanka usher in the new year. Pakistan follows half an hour later.

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'Democratic spirit': Kerala Assembly passes resolution against new farm laws amid farmers' protests

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution demanding the scrapping of the three contentious central farm laws, against which farmers were agitating in Delhi, saying they were 'anti-farmer' and 'pro-corporate.'

The resolution was passed in a special session convened in compliance with COVID-19 protocols to express solidarity with the agitating farmers.

The members of the CPM-led LDF and Congress-headed UDF supported the resolution whole-heartedly.

Though the lone BJP member in the state Assembly, O Rajagopal raised objections against some references in the resolution, he did not object to it.

"There is a general consensus in the House. So, I did not object to the resolution. This is the democratic spirit," he told the reporters outside the House.

Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged the central farm laws have been amended to help the corporates.

"The three contentious agriculture laws were passed even without sending them to the standing committee of the Parliament. If this agitation continues, it will severely affect Kerala, which is a consumer state," he said.

After the nearly two-hour-long discussion, Speaker P Sreeramakrishan put the resolution for a voice vote and said it has been passed.

"Passing of the resolution reflects the sentiments of the House towards the farmers' cause," the Speaker said.

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Section 144 to be imposed in Bengaluru on New Year’s eve to prevent COVID-19 spread

In light of the prevailing COVID-19 situation, Bengaluru City Police will be imposing section 144 (prohibitory orders) on Thursday (31 December) from 6 pm to prevent crowding in public places on New Year’s eve. The restrictions will remain in place till 6 am on January 1, 2021. Besides, celebrations after 11 pm on Thursday are prohibited.

The decision to impose restrictions on the New Year’s eve has also been taken in view of the emergence of the new strain of the virus.

"'No-man' zones will be created at MG Road, Church Street, Brigade Road, Koramangala and Indiranagar and only those with advance reservation coupons for pubs, bars, restaurants will be allowed," livemint reported quoting Kamal Pant, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru.

Deccan Herald, quoting B R Ravikanthe Gowda, the joint commissioner of police (Traffic), reported that cops will also be checking for drunk driving at 668 places. He asserted that violators’ vehicles will be seized and their license will be cancelled. They will also be booked for drunk driving.

Check posts at 191 places have been set up to stop people from creating ruckus or loitering. People can’t evade breath tests even amid COVID-19 situation as police do not want coronavirus to be used as an excuse in case of drunk driving.

Hotels, malls, restaurants, clubs and other such establishments have been directed not to organise any special DJ events, shows, dance performances, music nights and musical bands, reported Times Now.

However, people have been allowed to celebrate within the premises of residential colonies while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines.

The Delhi government has also decided to impose night curfew from 11 pm on 31 December to 6 am on 1 January, 2021. The decision has been taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, whose UK strain is highly transmissible. Not more than five people are allowed to gather at public places in the national capital.

However, there will be no restriction on inter-state movement of people on New Year’s Eve and 1 January.

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India’s 'strategic inaction’ might be best policy as China ties itself up in knots trying to untangle Nepal’s mess

For a country that claims “it never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries”  — a claim that sounds increasingly incredulous — China’s meddling in Nepal during the Himalayan state’s latest political crisis has been blatant and unapologetic.

With its rise in power, Beijing has appeared increasingly disinterested in sticking to one of the key tenets of its foreign policy that professes “abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country”, as spelt out by former premier Zhou Enlai at the 1955 Bandung conference.

To a certain extent, it is inevitable for an emerging superpower to throw its weight around and intervene in the domestic politics and policies of other nations to protect its burgeoning interests. China, the presumptive superpower, is no exception. Even so, its recent machinations in Nepal carry an air of desperation as it seeks to navigate the complex dynamics of Nepal’s domestic politics, betraying a sense of urgency and frustration as its carefully laid schemes are at danger of coming unstuck.

The grammar of chaos and anarchy that dominates the multi-party democratic system in Nepal is seemingly getting the better of Beijing’s carefully constructed plans. China had engineered a merger of rival communist outfits — Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led CPN (Maoist Centre) and the KP Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML — in 2018 to put in place a China-friendly government in Kathmandu to safeguard its interests and investments. For a while, it worked swimmingly.

The ruling Nepal Communist Party led by Prime Minister Oli opened the door to Chinese investments worth billions of dollars and Belt and Road connectivity projects. In 2019, Nepal signed a transit protocol with China that allowed it access to seven Chinese sea and land ports for third-country trade, reducing dramatically its dependence on Indian ports.

China kicked off 35 projects under the BRI framework in Nepal that includes infrastructure development, energy, construction of integrated check posts, free trade area and irrigation. Chinese money flew in for a series of hydropower projects along with an investment of $130 million in a cement plant in Nepal that is expected to produce 3,000 tonnes of cement each day, notes professor Hari Bansh Jha in VIF.

Besides, the groundwork for the mega trans-Himalayan Kyirong-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railway project covering 287 km is already underway that alone may set Nepal back by $8 billion — one-third of the nation’s GDP. Nepal is hungry for FDI but the cost for many of these projects are prohibitive, and therefore the risk of Nepal falling into China’s debt-trap like so many other Asian nations, is high. In the last fiscal, over 90 percent of Nepal’s FDI came from a single source — China. Beijing pledged nearly $500 million in financial aid to Nepal in October 2019 when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit.

This pouring of massive resources bought Beijing unprecedented clout in Kathmandu. Subsequently, Nepalese prime minister Oli’s pro-China tilt and policies came along with antagonistic positions against India.

In June this year, Nepal’s Parliament passed an amendment to the Nepalese constitution, laying claim over the disputed territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura — that are under India’s control for the last 60 years  — as part of its new map. Nepal’s unilateral cartographic aggression was accompanied by frequent provocative statements from Oli who increasingly relied on anti-India nationalism to mitigate factionalism within his party and political challenges from rival Dahal (Prachanda), the NCP co-chair and a former prime minister. So dramatic has been Oli’s tilt towards Beijing that while he conjured up fantastic charges against India, he dismissed off-hand allegations made by Nepal’s Opposition leader that China was encroaching on Nepali land in Humla district and building infrastructure to solidify its claim.

Things were going well for China, but the factionalism within NCP became deeper due to Oli’s refusal to honour the power-sharing pact with Prachanda. Poor administrative response to the pandemic, Nepal’s economic downturn, rising unemployment and Oli’s sharp turn towards authoritarianism upstaged the balance of power. The power tussle between Oli and Prachanda resulted in a situation where the Oli faction became a minority in the ruling NCP and the prime minister faced increasing pressure to step down.

Sensing that his position was becoming untenable, beleaguered Oli in a stunning move that has since been called a Constitutional coup, dissolved the lower house of Parliament on 20 December, two years short of its five-year tenure.

The proximate cause of the move seemed to be Oli’s attempts to appoint former home secretary Prem Kumar Rai as the chief of Nepal’s top anti-corruption watchdog. Oli’s rivals suspect that the prime minister was planning to target Prachanda and his associates.

In the end, Oli had lost the majority in key sections of the ruling party: central secretariat, standing committee and the central committee. Oli had calculated that if he is forced to relinquish the chair, he won’t let Prachanda sit on it either. Facing resignation and a no-confidence motion from 90 lawmakers, Oli dissolved the Parliament and got President Bidhya Debi Bhandari to announce polls in April-May 2021.

In a subsequent address to the nation, Oli defended dissolution of the Parliament. He blamed his rivals for not allowing the government to function and said that instead of “unfair practices behind closed doors and reach a compromise” he felt that a “fresh mandate is the best democratic alternative.”

Nepal was thrown into political turmoil that may last months. This week, each of the rival political stakeholders — the Prachanda-Madhav Kumar Nepal-led faction of the NCP, Opposition party Nepali Congress led by Sher Bahadur Deuba and even the Janata Samajwadi Party took out separate protests. According to a BBC report quoting the police, at least 10,000 people were on the streets to participate in one of the marches, one of the most intense protests the country has seen since Oli dissolved parliament.

While protests were happening on the streets, the Supreme Court was busy hearing a bunch of petitions filed against Oli’s move to dissolve the Parliament. The court’s ruling may further add to Nepal’s instability. As Sudha Ramachandran writes in The Diplomat, should the Supreme Court “declare the dissolution of parliament as constitutionally valid, then Oli will continue at the helm of the interim government until general elections. Protests may then gather further momentum. The possibility of Oli deploying force to quell the unrest cannot be ruled out. He is also likely to get ordinances passed to strengthen, perhaps even prolong, his grip over power. All this means a period of prolonged uncertainty for Nepal.”

This is bad news for China that has repeatedly stepped in whenever the ruling NCP has been threatened by internal strife. Hou Yanqi, China’s activist envoy in Kathmandu has spent the better part of her tenure ensuring that the fragile peace holds up between the warring factions of ruling NCP. Just in May, she held a series of meetings with the NCP leaders without informing foreign ministry officials in contravention of diplomatic code. No institutional records were kept of those meetings that were explained as “both sides exchanging views on fighting Covid-19 pandemic” by Chinese embassy officials.

During a recent visit to Kathmandu to “bolster military cooperation between Nepal and China”, Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe — hastily sent by Beijing following a series of high-level visits by India — declared that China “firmly supports Nepal to safeguard its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

China presumably has little confidence in its own words. Notwithstanding Wei’s solemn proclamations, it has taken upon itself the responsibility of “safeguarding Nepal’s sovereignty”. Since the dissolution of the Parliament by Oli, China pressed Hou into service again who met with the President and the bickering factions without much success.

Beijing’s next move was to rush a four-member delegation led by Guo Yezhou, vice-minister of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The CPC’s foreign affairs department runs as a parallel power centre, sharing much of the work that China’s foreign ministry does, only at a more granular level and outside the ambit of formal international relations.

A unique tool of the ruling CPC, the International Liaison Department has been described by India’s former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale as “virtually a parallel foreign office, which not only systematically cultivates foreign personalities and their families in traditional ways but also plants its people as diplomats inside Chinese embassies so they can influence politics and policies in democracies under legal cover. Originally designed to work with fellow communist parties, it’s become a much broader group targeting any organization it thinks might prove a useful tool.”

The sending of Gou — who was apparently instrumental in forming the alliance between Oli and Prachanda’s Communist outfits in 2018 and knows all the Nepalese leaders well — is an indication that China is feeling threatened by the turn of events and wants to control the outcome.

Beijing’s preferred outcome would be to prevent a vertical split in the ruling NCP and resolve the issue so that the clock can be turned back. China is keen to preserve and consolidate the gains that it enjoyed under the NCP government in Kathmandu and perceives that in the case of elections, the Oli or the Prachanda factions will not be able to return to power on their own in the 275-seat House without taking help from Deuba’s NC, that is perceived to be in India’s corner. China is therefore anxious to prevent a split.

Reports indicate that the Chinese are offering large amounts of money to the bickering sides to ensure a patch up and during the spate of meetings with Nepalese leaders of every stripe, the Chinese delegation has made it clear that Beijing is “not happy with Oli’s move to dissolve the Parliament leading to split in the largest party (that) might serve the interest of the southern neighbour (India),” reports Times of India. Beijing has also warned that this turmoil would “negatively impact the China-funded projects and investments in Nepal”.

The result of frantic meetings with the warring NCP leaders is unclear. Some reports suggest a twin solution of either reinstating of the House and reunification of the factions or contesting mid-term elections through an alliance. Media in Nepal reports of a “unity formula” to keep the party intact.

The bottom line is that China wants the Communist factions to stay united but even after moving mountains, engaging with Nepalese leaders over four days, threatening sticks, dangling carrots and moving mountains, China’s preferred outcome seems out of reach. It seems the high-level Chinese delegation that returned on Wednesday, failed to ensure a patch up and subsequently China might be looking at recalibrating its Nepal policy.

China’s frustration with the turn of events is evident. Its foreign ministry spokesperson forgot its commitment of not interfering in internal affairs of other nations and advised Nepal to “properly manage internal differences” by “looking at the big picture”, which presumably translates to ‘preserving Chinese interests’.

China’s state-run media is piqued that Chinese interference in Nepal’s domestic politics is a talking point in India. Global Times, for instance, tied itself up in knots while defending Chinese moves in Nepal. In an article, it claimed CPC “always upholds principles of non-interference”, then claimed China’s role in solving Nepal’s “intra-party conflicts” is “entirely reasonable and legitimate”, then ended up declaring that it is none of India’s business.

India has so far watched the developments carefully from the sidelines, calling the dissolution of Parliament “internal matters for Nepal to decide as per its democratic processes.” This is one of the rare instances where ‘strategic inactivity’ might be the best option to pursue. Instead of wading into the mess, it would be better for India — the favourite whipping boy of Nepalese politics — to let the crisis play out.

This is not to say that China, for all its apparent discomfort at this stage, is out of the game in Nepal. It is far too invested and possesses enough influence to still force a favourable outcome. What is of note, however, is that frequent and intense political interference in domestic politics of sovereign states may not always be a useful strategy. This holds true for India as well.

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