CMYK TUESDAY www.thestatesman.com 12 JANUARY 2021 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC* KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘PANDEMIC WILL RESULT IN CAPITAL SHORTFALL FOR LENDERS’ DEMOCRATS TO STEP UP BID TO IMPEACH TRUMP P10 WEATHER Fog/mist in the morning and partly cloudy sky later. Temperature likely to be in the range of 29-19 degree Celsius. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.91% TEMPERATURE Max: 28.4°C (3) SUN RISES 06:18 hrs MOON RISES 04:17 hrs New moon on 13 P8 P4 ‘Centre to bear expenses for Single-day Covid deaths below 170 first round of vaccination’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SNS & PTI Min: 20.9°C (7) SUN SETS 17:10 hrs MOON SETS 15:18 hrs January THUMBNAILS People sit near a bonfire on a cold evening in the Capital on Monday.  DEEPAK Union minister hurt in car accident; wife killed: Union Minister Shripad Naik's wife and personal secretary died on Monday after the car the three were travelling in met with an accident in Karnataka. His wife and his personal secretary Deepak, who were critical after the crash, died in the hospital, police confirmed. The minister is out of danger. The accident occurred in Ankola district of Karnataka. Covid vaccine vials to arrive in Kolkata today: The first consignment of around 70-80 lakh vials of Covid-19 vaccines is likely to reach the city on Tuesday, a senior official of the state health department said. Four vehicles have been readied to ferry the consignment from the city airport to state-owned Central Family Welfare Stores at Bagbazar-the biggest depot for stockpiling vaccines in Bengal. Five walk-incoolers and four walk-in-freezers have been P3 prepared to store the vials. NEW DELHI, 11 JANUARY rime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday that the Central government 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. Interacting with state chief ministers, Modi underscored the enormity of what he described as the world’s biggest vaccination exercise, which begins from 16 January, saying over 30 crore citizens will get the jabs in the next few months in India against only 2.5 crore people vaccinated so far in over 50 countries in around a month. The two already approved made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines are more cost-effective than any other in the world and have been developed as per the country’s needs, he said at the meeting held over video conference to discuss the Covid-19 situation and the vaccination roll-out. Besides the two vaccines ~ Covishield developed by Oxford and BritishSwedish company AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, four others are in the pipeline, Modi said, asserting that P INOCULATION DRIVE The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Centre’s vehement opposition to its suggestion that the implementation of three new farm laws be held back for the time being so as to help find an amicable solution to the ongoing farmers’ protest against them at Delhi borders. While rapping the Centre for its handling of farmers’ protest against the new laws, the apex court said that either the implementation of these statutes be held back or the top court itself will proceed to do so on the recommendation of a court-appointed committee which is to be constituted. We don’t see why there is an insistence on implementation of the law, a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said, adding, We are not experts on economy and you Indian Army hands over apprehended PLA soldier to China NEW DELHI, 10 JANUARY WHO team to visit China It is a matter of  Over 30 crore citizens will get the Covid-19 jabs pride that both in the next few months in India against only 2.5 crore the vaccines are ‘made in people vaccinated so far in over 50 countries in around India. it can be imagined how much hardship a month. Three crore healthcare  The two already India would have faced if it had to and frontline workers approved made-in-India depend on forwill get Covid-19 vacci- Covid-19 vaccines are Cov- eign vaccines nation in the first round ishield developed by Oxford and suggested that pub- and British-Swedish comlic representatives, a ref- pany AstraZeneca and manerence to politicians, ufactured by Serum Instishould not be part of this tute of India, and Bharat initial exercise Biotech’s Covaxin The two-approved vaccines are more cost-effective than any other in the world and have been developed as per the country’s needs. More vaccines may be available when the exercise moves into second round, says PM India’s fight against the pandemic will enter a decisive stage with the vaccination roll-out. More vaccines may be available when the exercise moves into the second round, he added. The Prime Minister also sought to dispel concerns expressed by some Opposition leaders and experts over the approval given to Covaxin without the availability of efficacy data, asserting that scientists have taken all precautions to provide citizens with effective vaccines. The Prime Minister said he has been maintaining from the beginning that the scientific community will have the final word on the issue. India’s drug regulator has given nod to Covishield and Covaxin for the emergency use authorisation. It is a matter of pride that both the vaccines are ‘made in India’, he said, adding that it can be imagined how much hardship India would have faced if it had to depend on foreign vaccines. Noting that the first round of vaccination is meant for healthcare and frontline workers, he said, “This is my personal suggestion and no one should take it otherwise. We public representatives are not part of it.” In some countries, including the US and Israel, leading public figures have taken the jabs while top functionaries in a few others have chosen to follow the standard protocol and wait for their turn. Talking about the Covid19 situation in India, Modi said the country is in a much better place than many others in terms of the pandemic’s spread, and added that this is a matter of happiness but should not induce carelessness. The panic visible among the people six-eight months back is no longer there, and the increasing confidence BEIJING, 11 JANUARY among them in the fight against the pandemic has had a positive impact on economic activities as well, the prime minister said. Modi also asked states to ensure that rumours do not get spread about the vaccination exercise. China said on Monday that a group of experts from the World Health Organization will arrive in the country on Thursday for a long-anticipated probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, ending the uncertainty and delay which drew sharp criticism from the world health body. Confirming the visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China supported scientists around the world to conduct a global study on the origins and transmission P9 routes of the virus. Govt places order with SII for 11m doses of Oxford vaccine NEW DELHI, 11 JANUARY The government on Monday placed a purchase order with Serum Institute of India (SII) for 11 million doses of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, each costing Rs 210, including the GST, official sources said. Dispatch of the vaccine is likely to start by late Monday evening, they said. According to the order, each dose of the vaccine has been priced at Rs 200 and with GST of Rs 10 it would cost Rs 210. The HLL Lifecare Limited, a public sector undertaking, issued the supply order on behalf of Union Health Ministry. The Covishield vaccine doses would be initially shipped to 60 consignment points from where those would be distributed further. The Health Ministry is also likely to soon sign a purchase order for Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech. Put farm laws on hold or we will: Top court to Centre NEW DELHI, 11 JANUARY P12 Modi underscores the enormity of ‘world’s biggest vaccination exercise’ in his meet with CMs Min. 53% SNS & PTI OFF TO GABBA AS TALKS END UNCERTAINTY RAJINI ASKS FANS TO STOP PROTESTS OVER HIS POLITICAL ENTRY CJI PULLS UP CENTRE OVER AGRI-LAWS “We don’t see  “We are doing this why there is an because you have failed insistence on imple- to solve the problem. The mentation of the Union of India has to take law. Tell us whether the responsibility. The you are going to laws have resulted into hold on these laws a strike and now you or we will do this.” have to solve the strike.”  The top court said it will constitute a committee headed by a former Chief Justice of India to resolve the impasse. After the implementation of farm laws are stayed, you can carry on protest and we don’t want anyone to say that we stifled the protest, Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Bobde told advocates appearing for several organisations  (Centre) tell us whether you are going to hold on these laws or we will do this. Attorney General K K Venugopal told the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, that a law cannot be stayed unless the court finds it vio- Farmers protest against farm laws at Singhu Border, in the Capital on Monday.  SNS lates fundamental rights or constitutional schemes. Law has to be without the power to legislate, only then it can be stayed. No petitioners have raised any such issues, Venugopal said. The bench however observed, We are doing this because you have failed to solve the problem. The Union of India has to take the responsibility. The laws have resulted into a strike and now you have to solve the strike. The bench also said, Of course, usually we are against stay of any laws. The top court said it may stay the implementation of these laws as talks between the government and farmers are breaking down because the Centre wants to discuss these legislations point by point, while the farmers want them to be repealed. When the Attorney General said that laws cannot be stayed in such manner, the bench said, We are at this position. We are sorry to say that you have not been able to solve this problem. You as the Union of India has failed to solve the problem and the agitation. The bench referred to the apex court’s last year order staying the implementation of 2018 Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs. The bench said that till date it has not been told anything by the Centre on the proposal given by the top court to keep the implementation of these laws at abeyance for some time. We are still thinking it is equally important that we stay the implementation of law without staying the laws, the bench said. The top court said it will constitute a committee headed by a former Chief Justice of India to resolve the impasse. After the implementation of farm laws are stayed, you can carry on protest and we don’t want anyone to say that we stifled the protest, the bench told the advocates appearing for several farmer organisations. The apex court asked the parties to suggest two-three names of former CJIs including former CJI R M Lodha who can head the apex courtappointed panel. The court was hearing a clutch of pleas challenging the new farm laws as well as the ones raising issues related to the ongoing agitation at Delhi borders. India continues to report sustained decline in daily new cases with 16,311 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data. Daily fatalities have fallen below 170 after 229 days, it said. The total number of persons found infected with the mutant UK strain of Covid19 is 96. All these people were kept in single-room isolation at designated healthcare facilities by the respective state governments, it had earlier said. The situation is being monitored and regular advice is being given to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG laboratories. With 16,311 new coronavirus infections reported in the last 24 hours on Monday, India recorded the lowest one-day figure in over six months taking India’s overall tally to 1,04,66,595, the Ministry data showed. Before this, the lowest number was recorded on 5 January when 16,375 cases were reported in a day. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said 161 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours taking the death toll to 1,51,160, As per the ministry data, till now, 1,00,92,909 have recovered. Currently, there are 2,22,526 active cases. The recovery rate stands at 96.43 per cent while the fatality rate is 1.44 as per cent. The total number of samples tested up to 10 January are 18,17,55,831, the Indian Council of Medical 1,04,66,595 2,22,526 16,311 16,959 1,51,160 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. MONDAY 11 JANUARY 2021 Research said. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state till date with 19,69,114 total cases. About 82.25 per cent of the daily new cases are being reported by nine states~ Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Gujarat. Bengal adds 612 fresh cases: West Bengal today registered 612 fresh Covid cases and 16 deaths due to infection. The total Covid case count is 5,61,321 and death toll is 9,957 in the state till now while there are 7,538 active cases. Kolkata recorded 164 cases and 3 deaths and North 24 Parganas recorded 162 fresh Covid cases and 6 deaths. In the last 24 hours, 939 patients were discharged from hospitals taking the number of recovered patients to 5,43,826 and discharge rate to 96.88 per cent. Bird flu confirmed in 10 states so far: Govt PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI, 11 JANUARY The Centre on Monday said bird flu has been confirmed in 10 states so far and stressed on increased surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos and poultry farms. “Till 11 January, 2021, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in 10 states of the country,” the department of animal husbandry and dairying said in a statement. The outbreak was confirmed in seven states, namely Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh~ as on 10 January. On Monday, bird flu has also been confirmed in Delhi, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. States have been asked to build awareness among the public and avoid the spread of misinformation and to prevent panic. “States/ UTs have been requested to increase surveillance around water bodies, live bird markets, zoos, poultry farms, etc. along with proper disposal of carcass, and strengthening of biosecurity in poultry farms,” it said. The Centre has also directed states to maintain adequate stock of PPE kits and other accessories required for culling operations. It has asked state animal husbandry departments to ensure effective communication and coordination with health authorities for close vigilance of the disease status and avoid any chances of transmission of the disease into humans. Details on Page 5 Vihari, Ashwin pull off memorable draw at SCG Anushka,Virat welcome baby girl PULAKESH MUKHOPADHYAY MUMBAI, 11 JANUARY NEW DELHI, 11 JANUARY KOLKATA, 11 JANUARY The Indian Army handed back to Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier, who was apprehended on 8 January, at Chushul-Moldo this morning. As per the laid down procedures, medical examination of the PLA soldier was done before he was handed over to the Chinese side, The Indian Army said. The Indian Army had apprehended the Chinese soldier on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control near the south bank of Pangong Tso in Ladakh. Troops from either side are deployed along the LAC since friction erupted last year due to mobilisation and forward concentration by China," the Army said on Saturday. SNS Years, even decades, later, the story will be told and retold for posterity, by fireplaces and at dinner tables. Monday’s inconclusive, nerve-jangling end to the Sydney Test would have made Indians all over the world happy quite obviously because their injury-ravaged and racially slighted team fought successfully to stave off a resurgent host who had been smelling victory and a 2-1 lead in the four-match Test series. But the inhibiting circumstances, part of which was the bitterly unrelenting hostile milieu so far from home, and the outcome the third Test eventually yielded also added a dimension to the exchanges that, while not quite ennobling in their entirety, euphemistically speaking, enriched the cricket-watching experience of today’s young fans of the game, who might now begin to see things in a new light, one that could leave them in no doubt that Twenty20 was not all there was to it. The conventional format lends itself to dramatic developments occurring over a period of time in a way that the shorter forms cannot ever be associated with due simply to the fact that the struggle is harder when the battle is longer. Victory was perhaps a bridge too far but, adding to the drama of the day, India did more than enough in the final session unmistakably to rattle a battle-hardened, abra- Victory was perhaps a bridge too far but, adding to the drama of the day, India did more than enough in the final session unmistakably to rattle a battle-hardened, abrasive Australian team sive Australian team determined to clinch it and trying out all the tricks in the book and some outside it. That the hosts’ globally acclaimed bowling could not account for more than five of the visitors’ wickets in the fourth innings when Indian batsmen were expected to wilt naturally underlined India’s combative excellence, illustrating once again how a lot of progress had been made in a country whose first Test series triumph Down Under had been achieved as late as 2018-2019. And India’s defiance tested Australian nerves: that was quite palpable. The stern face, the grimace, the vicious sidelong glance, the suspicion of an expletive: the television screen showed it all. Hanuma Vihari, nursing a hamstring injury, dealt with 161 balls for just 23 runs and CMYK Ravichandran Ashwin, who had had treatment on his ribs, made 39. They guided India to 334 for five, 73 runs adrift. A punitive 97 from Rishabh Pant and a gutsy 77 from Cheteshwar Pujara were also among the vignettes of an in-your-face resistance which were glory stories in their own right. The Pant-Pujara partnership, worth 148 runs, and the Ashwin-Vihari one, which produced 62, underscored a collective drive to swim rather than sink, no matter how choppy the waters were. Catches did come to be dropped, but Australia too had made the most of similar Indian lapses. Some big Australian knocks were punctuated with lives allowed by fielders. Pant had come in for a lot of criticism then; Monday was in a way his day of redemption. Brisbane could explode into an epic-with Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and KL Rahul still out injured and Ravindra Jadeja not exactly in fine fettle-encounter worthy of everyone’s attention, especially the young ones’. Thereby hangs a tale. When England, midway through the 1970s, began selling limited-overs cricket, one of the points emphasised used to be that the old game sometimes ended in draws after five long days. Some Indians, after 1983, parroted it endlessly. Sydney 2021 has seen an example of it, but wasn’t it a draw that only the Australians minded simply because they couldn’t force a victory? Actor-producer Anushka Sharma and cricketer husband Virat Kohli on Monday announced the arrival of their first child, a baby girl. Kohli, who shared the news on Twitter, said both the baby and Sharma were healthy. “We are thrilled to share with you that we have been blessed with a baby girl this afternoon. We thank you all for your love, prayers and good wishes. “We are feeling beyond blessed to start this new chapter of our lives. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Love, Virat,” Kohli said. Former cricketer RP Singh, badminton ace Saina Nehwal were among the first to conPTI gratulate the couple.