HOSPITALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKE PART IN COVID MOCK DRILL

Hospitals across the country participated in the two-day-long mock drill to check preparedness for treating Covid-19 patients as cases of the viral infection continue to rise. India, on an average, recorded 5,555 Covid-19 daily in the last one week as compared to 3,108 the week before, according to data shared by the Union Health ministry.

A total of 33,685 health facilities – 28,050 government and 5,635 private – across 724 districts participated in the mock drill conducted on Monday and Tuesday. The healthcare facilities were checked for availability of oxygen beds, isolation beds, ventilators, oxygen concentrators, PSA plants, and oxygen cylinders.

Although the Centre has only suggested that people follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, some states have issued masking mandates.

Haryana government has made masks mandatory for any gathering of more than 100 people. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai has also made it mandatory for patients, visitors, and employees of hospitals. Kerala has made masks mandatory for pregnant women, elderly, and those with lifestyle diseases. In Puducherry, masks are compulsory in public places.

NEW DATA PROTECTION BILL TO BE INTRODUCED IN MONSOON SESSION, GOVT TELLS SC

The Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday a new data protection bill is ready and will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament in July, as the apex court heard a matter related to privacy concerns of social media users.

Attorney General R Venkataramani told a Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph the bill will address all the concerns raised in the present petitions.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, submitted the court should not link the court hearings to the legislative process as the court was told on three previous occasions that the bill on data protection is likely to be passed. The legislative process is complex and may be referred to some committees, he said.

Countering Divan's argument, Venkataramani said consultation is a continuous process and the bill has gone  through a "very qualified consultation process.” "Don't say we are taking time. We want a good law to come," Venkataramani asserted.

TAKING AWAY POSTS WON’T STOP ME FROM REPRESENTING PEOPLE OF WAYANAD: RAHUL GANDHI

In his maiden visit to Wayanad since his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said BJP can take away all his posts but it can’t stop him from representing the people of Wayanad.

Addressing a Congress-led UDF rally at Kalpetta town of Wayanad district along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders, Rahul said the disqualification will only deepen his relation with the people. “MP is only a position, BJP can take away that tag, they can put me in jail, take away my house and my posts, but they cannot stop me from representing the people of Wayanad.’’

Rahul said the government was “uncomfortable with my questions and the issues I had raised”. “This (disqualification) is the biggest gift they could have given me. When the BJP is taking away my house, disqualifying me as an MP and attacking me… I realise that I am right,’’ he said.

UKRAINE MINISTER LEAVES DELHI IN A SPOT

In a proposal expected to put Delhi in a bind, the visiting First Deputy Foreign minister of Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova, on Tuesday said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be happy to address the G-20 summit in New Delhi, to be held in September this year.

Dzhaparova, who was speaking at the government-funded think tank Indian Council of World Affairs, also asked India to involve Ukrainian representatives in the G20 meetings, as the war had impacted the global economy.

This pitch of allowing Zelenskyy to address the G20 leaders’ summit is an interesting proposal and could put Delhi in a spot, since India has voted in favour of allowing the Ukraine President to address the UN, which Russia had voted against.

Zelenskyy had addressed the G20 summit at Bali through video-conference.

Dzhaparova said that as a global leader and current Chair of G20, India can play a greater role in bringing peace; she hoped that Indian officials will visit Kyiv soon. Shesaid National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who has travelled to Moscow thrice since the Russia-Ukraine war began, can visit Kyiv for a “balanced approach” on New Delhi’s part. On India’s role so far, she said, “Being with Russia, we are again very sincerely saying so, is actually being on the wrong side of history. Supporting Russia means it is to be in the evil visionary picture of the world.”

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

100 FEARED DEAD IN AIR STRIKES ON REBEL-HELD REGION IN MYANMAR

Myanmar’s military regime continued its relentless campaign of airstrikes on Tuesday by bombing a large gathering in rebel held territory, killing at least 100 people in the junta’s deadliest attack since seizing power in a coup over two years ago.

At least 30 children were among the dead in the attack in Sagaing Region, said an emergency worker at the scene and an official of the shadow National Unity Government, which considers itself to be Myanmar’s true government. The death toll was expected to rise.

Photos from the village being shared on social media showed more than a dozen burned and mutilated bodies, while videos showed a destroyed building, burned motorcycles and debris scattered over a wide area. The apparent target of the attack was a celebration to mark the local resistance movement’s opening of an administration office. Only the charred frame of the building remained standing after the air raid, a video and photos showed.

As the rebel forces have become increasingly better armed, the military has doubled down on its strategy of carrying out deadly air raids and attacking civilians, including the killing of monks and civilians at a monastery last month.

‘MORE ON LEAKED US INTELLIGENCE OVER UKRAINE, RUSSIA

US intelligence has serious concerns over the viability of a coming Ukrainian counter offensive against Russian forces due to issues with training and supplies, according to a leaked document reported by Washington Post on Tuesday. The document is part of a trove of highly sensitive material that has been posted online, sparking a US criminal investigation into a breach the Pentagon says poses a “very serious” risk to national security.

Ukraine is expected to launch an attack on invading Russian troops in the spring — its first major military push of the year. But the top secret document says tough Russian defences and “enduring Ukrainian deficiencies in training and munitions supplies probably will strain progress and exacerbate casualties during the offensive,” the Post reported.

Another document says Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the production of 40,000 rockets for shipment to Russia, telling officials to keep it secret to “avoid problems with the West”, the Post reported in a separate article. But Washington has pushed back against that report. “We have no indication that any such plan has ever been executed,” a senior administration official said. “Egypt is aclose partner and we are regularly engaged with its leadership on a host of regional and global issues,” the official said.

THE REST

=========

DAY AFTER SKYMET'S WARNING, IMD PREDICTS NORMAL SOUTH-WEST MONSOON

In a relief for the agriculture sector, India is expected to get normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season despite the evolving El Nino conditions, the India meteorological department said on Tuesday.

The IMD prediction comes just a day after a private forecasting agency, Skymet Weather, predicted "below-normal" monsoon rains in the country.

India has already seen four consecutive years of 'normal' and 'above-normal' rains during the monsoon season.

Normal rain is critical for India's agricultural landscape, with 52 percent of the net cultivated area relying on it. It is also crucial for the replenishing of reservoirs critical for drinking water apart from power generation across the country.

Rainfed agriculture accounts for about 40 percent of the country's total food production, making it a crucial contributor to India's food security and economic stability.

El Nino, which is the warming of the waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America, is generally associated with the weakening of monsoon winds and dry weather in India.

A DEFIANT SACHIN PILOT STAGES PROTEST, HEADS TO DELHI FOR TALKS WITH LEADERS

Defying the Congress leadership which had warned him that his decision to stage a public protest would be treated as an “anti-party activity”, Rajasthan party leader Sachin Pilot sat on a five-hour symbolic hunger strike in Jaipur Tuesday, demanding action in alleged corruption cases against the previous Vasundhara Raje government – a political move aimed at targeting the state government led by his party rival Ashok Gehlot.

The party central leadership, which had taken a stern view Monday on Pilot’s decision to stage a protest, remained silent on Tuesday.

AS DISAGREEMENTS GROW IN MVA, UDDHAV CALLS ON SHARAD PAWAR

Amid differences of opinion between Maha Vikas Aghadi allies including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party on a number of issues, Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray called on NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday evening at his residence Silver Oak in South Mumbai.

The meeting between the two leaders lasted for over an hour. Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and Pawar’s daughter and NCP leader Supriya Sule were also present for the meeting.

None of the leaders made a statement to the media after the meeting.

SC: INVOKING NSA IN CASES OF POLITICAL NATURE ABUSE OF LAW

Expressing “amazement” at the decision of the UP government to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against Samajwadi Party leader Yusuf Malik for allegedly threatening an additional municipal commissioner, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said this amounted to “abuse” of the law and added the Act should not be invoked in cases of political nature.

“Is it a case of NSA? It is a case of non-application of mind by the authorities and improper procedure. We are quite amazed the Act is being invoked in cases for recovery of revenue for property. We quash the proceedings and set him free forthwith”, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said.

Malik was detained by UP police in April last year under Section 3(2) of NSA after two FIRs were filed against him for threatening government officials and preventing them in discharging their public function, including recovery of revenue from property of his relatives.

PREVENTIVE DETENTION LAWS MUST BE USED ONLY IN RAREST OF RARE CASES: SC

Noting that preventive detention laws in India are a colonial legacy with a great potential to be abused, the Supreme Court has advised courts to use such laws only in the rarest of rare cases.

“Preventive detention laws in India are a colonial legacy, and have a great potential to be abused and misused. Laws that have the ability to confer arbitrary powers to the state, must in all circumstances, be very critically examined, and must be used only in the rarest of rare cases,” a Bench led by Justice Krishna Murari said.

Courts must analyse cases arising from such laws with extreme caution to ensure there were checks and balances on exercise of power by the government, the Bench – which also included Justice V Ramasubramanian -- said on Monday.

“In cases of preventive detention, where the detenue is held in arrest not for a crime he has committed, but for a potential crime he may commit, the Courts must always give every benefit of the doubt in favour of the detenue, and even the slightest of errors in procedural compliances must result in favour of the detenue,” it said, setting aside an order for detention of one Pramod Singla who was accused of gold smuggling.

VEDAS, PURANAS TO FETCH STUDENTS CREDITS UNDER NEW FRAMEWORK

Students will be able to earn credits for specialised knowledge in Puranas, Vedas and the Indian Knowledge System, according to the final report on the new National Credit Framework (NCrF) released by the University Grants Commission on Monday.

The NCrF is a set of guidelines to be followed by schools, colleges and universities in adopting the credit system. It also brings the entire school education system under the ambit of credits for the first time. So far, only the National Institute of Open Schooling followed a credit system. The NCrF also covers skill and vocational education.

The document lists 18 major Vidyas, or theoretical disciplines; and 64 kalas, applied sciences or vocational disciplines and crafts that can count towards credits earned during school education.

The NCrF states that knowledge in the 18 Vidyas, including four Vedas, the four subsidiary Vedas (Ayurveda–medicine, Dhanurveda – weaponry, Gandharveda-music and Silpa – architecture), Purana, Nayaya, Mimansa, Dharmashastra, Vedanga, the six auxiliary sciences, phonetic, grammar, metre, astronomy, ritual, and philosophy can be considered for “creditization”.

RSS CALLS AS FAKE A LETTER CIRCULATING ON SOCIAL MEDIA EXHORTING HINDUS TO ENTRAP MUSLIM GIRLS

The RSS on Tuesday termed “completely fake” a purported letter written in its name exhorting Hindus to entrap Muslim girls and bring them back to the Sanatan religion.

The purported letter has been circulating on social media.

The two-page letter written on a purported letterhead of the RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the ruling BJP, is marked to the Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena among others. "This letter in the name of RSS, circulating on social media, is completely fake," head of media relations of the RSS Sunil Ambekar clarified in a tweet.

IMF LOWERS INDIA’S GROWTH PROJECTION TO 5.9 PER CENT FOR CURRENT FISCAL

The IMF on Tuesday lowered India's economic growth projection for the current fiscal to 5.9 per cent from 6.1 per cent earlier.

In its annual World Economic Outlook, IMF also lowered the forecast for 2024-25 fiscal (April 2024 to March 2025) to 6.3 per cent from the 6.8 per cent it had predicted in January this year.

The growth rate of 5.9 per cent in the 2023-24 fiscal compares to an estimated 6.8 per cent in the previous year.

IMF growth forecast is lower than projections by the RBI. RBI sees a 7 per cent GDP growth in 2022-23 and a 6.4 per cent in the current fiscal that started on April 1.

The government is yet to release full-year GDP numbers for 2022-23.

Despite a significant drop in growth rate projections from 6.8 per cent in 2022 to 5.9 per cent, India continues to be the fastest-growing economy in the world, the World Economic Outlook figures revealed. China's growth rate is projected to be 5.2 per cent in 2023 and 4.5 per cent in 2024 against its growth rate of three per cent in 2022.

On the surface, the global economy appears to be poised for a gradual recovery from the powerful blows of the pandemic and Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine. China is rebounding strongly following the reopening of its economy. Supply-chain disruptions are unwinding, while the dislocations to energy and food markets caused by the war are receding, said IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. "Simultaneously, the massive and synchronous tightening of monetary policy by most central banks should start to bear fruit, with inflation moving back toward its targets.

BENGALURU IN CLOSE RACE WITH DELHI IN DIRECT TAX COLLECTION: I-T DEPT DATA

Bengaluru, which houses global and Indian IT giants, is set to overtake Delhi to become the second-highest contributor in the country’s direct tax collection, after Mumbai, an internal analysis of the Income-Tax Department showed.

India’s technology capital has shown a high growth of 525 per cent in direct tax collection, comprising personal income tax and corporation tax, during the period 2007-08 to 2022-23.

In FY23, it collected Rs 2.04 trillion as against Rs 32,692 crore in FY08.

On the other hand, Mumbai and Delhi collected Rs 4.95 trillion and Rs 2.07 trillion, respectively, during the fiscal year ended |March 31, 2023.

In 2007-08 Mumbai was at Rs 1.14 trillion and Delhi at Rs 47,639 crore. The analysis highlighted that Mumbai’s contribution to the direct tax kitty remained the highest but it had come down to about 30 per cent in 2022-23 from over 37 per cent from 2007-08.

IPL MATCH 16: MUMBAI INDIANS CLINCH LAST-BALL THRILLER OVER DELHI CAPITALS

Rohit Sharma was at his vintage best en route to his first IPL half-century in 25 innings before Mumbai Indians overcame some tense moments to pull off a last-ball win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi yesterday.

David Warner laboured to 51 off 47 balls before Axar Patel flaunted his much improved batting skills again with an impactful 54 off 25 balls to push Delhi Capitals to a competitive 172 after Mumbai Indians put the hosts in to bat.

With the pitch on the drier side compared to the first game in New Delhi and finger spinners getting plenty of assistance from it, Mumbai Indians had a tricky task at hand but with his classy 65 off 45 balls, Rohit helped his side record their first win of the season.

With Cameron Green (17 not out off 8) and Tim David (13 not out off 11) in the middle, Mumbai needed five runs off the last over but Anrich Nortje bowled brilliantly to take the game down to the very last ball. David got the required two off the final ball for a much needed victory.

SO far, MI have 1 win from 3 matches while DC have none from 4.

INDICATORS

Sensex 60,158 (+311), Nifty 17,722 (+98)

Nasdaq 12,032 (-52) Dow 33,685 (+98), S&P 4,109 (Nil)

(US$-Rs. 82.05 GBP-Rs. 101.90, Euro-Rs. 89.44, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.33, Can$-Rs. 60.83, Aus$- Rs. 54.63

GBP 0.80 /US$, Euro 0.91 /US$, Jap.Yen 133.42 /US$, Aus$ 1.50 /US$, Sing 1.33 /US$, Bang Taka 104.87 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.41 /US$,

Pak Re 287.41 /US$, Phil Peso 54.90 /US$, Russian Rouble 81.75 /US$, NZ$ 1.61 /US$, Thai Baht 34.24 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.65 /US$)

Bitcoin - USD 30,303

Dollar Index 101.79 Brent Crude 85.58 BDI 1,560.00

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 2,005 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 6,076 / 5,570, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 80,400

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defeats. - Alexis de Tocqueville

OFF TRACK

A young woman sat in her stalled car, waiting for help. Finally, two men walked up to her. "I'm out of gas," she purred. "Could you push me to the gas station?"

The men readily put their muscles to the car and rolled it several blocks. After a while, one looked up, exhausted, to see that they had just passed a gas station.

"We just passed a station! How come you didn't turn in?" he yelled.

"Oh, I never go there," the girl shouted back. "Their toilet is never clean."