Upward trend goes on with highest Covid cases in 85 days

Upward trend goes on with highest Covid cases in 85 days

New Delhi:16.03.2021 

India recorded 26,291 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, its highest singleday spike in 85 days, taking the country’s infection tally to 1,13,85,339, according to Union health ministry data. The death toll due to the disease increased to 1,58,725 with118 more fatalities being recorded in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Registering an upward trend for five days in a row, the total active caseload has gone up to 2,19,262 which is 1.93% of the total infections in the country, while the recovery rate has dropped to 96.68%, the data stated.

As many as 26,624 infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on December 20.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,10,07,352, while the case fatality rate stood at 1.39%, according to the data.

India’s Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 22,74,07,413 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to March 14, including 7,03,772 on Sunday. PTI

Ashok Kumar, an independent candidate, campaigns wearing PPE suit at Kolathur after filing his nomination papers for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections

Kerala HC allows transgender woman to join NCC

Kerala HC allows transgender woman to join NCC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi:16.03.2021 

The Kerala high court has ordered that a transgender person be allowed to join the National Cadet Corps and has also directed that the law be amended to include transgenders in the NCC.

Justice Anu Sivaraman issued the directive after considering a petition filed by Hina Haneefa, a student of University College in Thiruvananthapuram. The court said the fact that the NCC Act does not recognise the third gender or that detailed guidelines are yet to be introduced for the integration of persons of the third gender into the NCC cannot be justification to deny the petitioner entry.

Ruling that denial of enrolment in the NCC in this case is unsustainable, the court said the petitioner is entitled to participate in the selection process and to be enrolled if successful.

It was pointed out by the court that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 recognises the right of transgenders to a life of dignity and prohibits discrimination against them. Provisions of the NCC Act cannot preclude the operation of the law on transgender rights, the court said.

The court also said the enactment on transgender rights was one intended to give effect to the rights guaranteed to such persons under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and that it has to be kept in mind when considering cases of this nature. A transgender has not only the right to be recognised as a transgender but also the right to self-perceived gender identity as per the law, the court noted.

Section 6 of NCC Act, which allows only males and females to enrol themselves in the NCC, was challenged by the petitioner. The NCC had contended that there was no provision in law to allow the entry of transgenders.

IN RIGHT DIRECTION

Transgender woman can join NCC: Kerala HC

Transgender woman can join NCC: Kerala HC

Kochi:16.03.2021 

The Kerala HC ordered that a transgender person be allowed to join National Cadet Corps and has also directed the law be amended to include transgenders in the NCC. Justice Anu Sivaraman issued the directive after a petition filed by Hina Haneefa, a student in Thiruvananthapuram. It said the fact the NCC Act does not recognise the third gender or that guidelines are yet to be introduced for the integration of persons of the third gender can’t be justification to deny entry. TNN

UGC: CA, CS, ICWA now equivalent to PG degrees

UGC: CA, CS, ICWA now equivalent to PG degrees

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:16.03.2021 

Candidates qualifying the Chartered Accountant (CA), Company Secretary (CS) or Cost and Works Accountant (ICWA) exams will now be treated quivalentto postgraduate degree holders.

University Grants Commission in an office order issued on Monday said: “UGC had received requests from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, to consider the qualification being awarded by them--CA, CS and ICWA, equivalent to post-graduation degrees,” UGC said in an official order.

“To consider this a committee was constituted by UGC.The commission considered recommendation of the expert committee and resolved that CA, CS and ICWA qualification be consideredequivalent to PGdegrees,” it added.

Following the order,ICAItweeted, “the University Grants Commission @ugc_india has resolved that CA Qualification will be treated equivalent to PG Degree based on requests submitted from @theicai. This will not only help CA’s for pursuing higher studies but will also facilitate the mobility of Indian CAs globally”.

Full report on www.toi.in

PM to interact with CMs on ramping up of vaccination drive

PM to interact with CMs on ramping up of vaccination drive

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:16.03.2021 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers on the Covid-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive on Wednesday as the Centre plans to ramp up the inoculation exercise amid a rise in infection in some states, official sources said.

PM will hold the meeting with CMs through a video conference to discuss the issues, an exercise which he has been holding regularly since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The meeting also assumes significance in the wake of increasing Covid-19 cases in many states.

Modi’s last interaction with chief ministers was in January before the vaccination roll-out.

He had announced that the Centre will bear the expenses of vaccinating nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first round and suggested that public representatives, a reference to politicians, should not be part of this initial exercise.

The meeting with CMs which will be held through a video conference assumes significance in the wake of increasing Covid-19 cases in many states

Can Ayurveda practitioners conduct surgery, asks IMA

Can Ayurveda practitioners conduct surgery, asks IMA

SC Seeks Response; Centre Says Practice In Vogue Since 2016

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:16.03.2021 

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) on a petition filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) challenging a recent decision by the former allowing Ayurveda practitioners to carry out certain surgical procedures. The IMA said this would play havoc with the health of millions.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh did not have to labour hard to convince a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian to issue notice to CCIM. However, when he sought a stay on the operation of CCIM’s 2020 modification of rules permitting Ayurveda practitioners from carrying out surgeries, solicitor general Tushar Mehta stepped in and said the government had substantial grounds to defend the CCIM rules.

Mehta said the IMA had “over-pitched” its concern and what was been said to be provided for now by CCIM had actually been in existence since 2016. Appearing for the Ayurveda practitioners’ association, advocate V K Biju said Ayurveda practitioners had been carrying out surgeries since 2000 as it was part of Ashtanga Ayurveda, under which surgeries were conducted centuries ago. Biju said the IMA was trying to belittle Ayurveda and the Indian system of medicine and displayed its lack of knowledge about Ayurveda’s history.

However, the IMA was scathing in its attack on CCIM and said it transgressed into the modern medicine system by prescribing certain practices/activities which were purely modern surgical procedures — forming an integral/ inseparable part of the system of modern medicine — as part of the curriculum and practice of Indian medicine.

“If the CCIM regulations permitting surgery by Ayurveda practitioners are allowed to be enforced, it would create havoc in the established system of medical care and treatment,” Singh said, adding that in the past, the SC and HCs had stepped in decisively to quash attempts by CCIM to transgress into the domain of modern medicine.

“While the earlier instances mostly pertained to the transgression into modern medicine by seeking to permit prescription of allopathic medicine by practitioners of Indian system of medicine, the impugned regulations present an extremely dangerous and critical situation where now, an attempt has been made by the CCIM to permit persons possessing qualifications under the Indian system of medicine to perform complicated modern surgical procedures which have a direct bearing on the health and right to life of millions of hapless patients,” the IMA said.

It added that modern surgical procedures had evolved after decades of research and study under the system of modern medicine. “CCIM has no power or jurisdiction to prescribe these modern surgical procedures to be performed by persons holding post-graduate Ayurveda degrees, which are confined to the system of Indian medicine. In the prevalent situation and the background, there is no permissibility whatsoever for CCIM to issue the impugned regulations,” the IMA said.

Full report on www.toi.in

Appearing for the Ayurveda practitioners’ association, advocate V K Biju said Ayurveda practitioners had been carrying out surgeries since 2000 as it was part of Ashtanga Ayurveda, under which surgeries were conducted centuries ago

Govt says LIC not being privatised

Govt says LIC not being privatised

New Delhi:16.03.2021

The government assured the Lok Sabha on Monday that it is not intending to privatise Life Insurance Corporation. It has only planned an IPO to raise the market share of the largest life insurer in the country and bring more investment for better prospects of its policyholders.

Reminding the opposition benches that his government introduced a moratorium on loan repayments to banks when the Covid pandemic hit the country, similarly, if there are problems faced by people in continuing payments of LIC premiums, the insurer may consider providing relief. “There is no plan to privatise LIC. We are just bringing an IPO,” minister of state for finance Anurag Thakur said while responding to questions on LIC disinvestment. TNN