The Evening Wrap: SC rejects six-State plea against conduct of JEE/NEET

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Friday 04, September 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Supreme Court rejects plea by six States against conduct of JEE/NEET A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Ashok Bhushan, [dismissed a plea filed jointly by ministers from six non-BJP-ruled States]( against the conduct of the JEE Mains and the NEET-UG amid the pandemic. The Bench, also comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Krishna Murari, found no merit in the plea to review an apex court order of August 17 that refused to entertain a petition by students to postpone the NEET and the JEE. “We have carefully gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We find no merit in the review petitions and the same are accordingly dismissed,” the court said in a short order. The court similarly dismissed the review petitions filed by Puducherry MLA R.K.R Anantharaman and N. Vinoba Bhoopathy. The court decided the review petitions in chambers. ‘Haphazard plans’ The Ministers had submitted that lakhs of students should not fall prey to the Centre’s “knee-jerk” and “haphazard” plans, which will prove “worse than the disease itself”. The National Testing Agency (NTA) had notified the JEE between September 1 to 9. The NEET for medical seats are scheduled for September 13. The Ministers said the months from April to September 2020 were characterised by inaction, confusion, lethargy, and inertia on the government’s part. The Union government had suddenly woken up to hurriedly fix the exam dates. “The remedy will prove to be worse than the disease itself,” the petition had said, adding that the situation was grave enough to recall or postpone the exams. Precautionary deployments made along LAC: Army Chief The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was tense and the Army had undertaken precautionary deployments, [Army chief Gen. Manoj Naravane said]( today, the second day of his visit to Ladakh. “The situation along the LAC is slightly tense. Keeping in view the situation, we have undertaken some precautionary deployments for our own safety and security along the LAC so that our security and integrity remain safeguarded,” Gen. Naravane said. [Army Chief Gen Manoj Naravane interacts with troops in Ladakh, September 4, 2020]Army Chief Gen Manoj Naravane interacts with troops in Ladakh, September 4, 2020 He said the situation had been tense for the last two or three months but there had been continuous engagement with China both at the military and diplomatic level. “We are very sure that we will resolve our differences through talks. We will ensure that the status quo is not changed and we are able to safeguard our interests,” he added. The visit to Leh comes amid heightened tensions on the South Bank of Pangong Tso following “provocative movements” by Chinese troops in the area, in response to which the Indian Army took over some unoccupied heights in the Chushul sector to preempt them. Bihar elections and bypolls to be conducted together, says EC The Election Commission of India (ECI) has [decided to conduct 65 bye-elections]( in various States along with the Bihar Assembly polls. The poll schedules would be announced at an appropriate time, it said. Bye-elections were due for 64 Assembly constituencies and one Parliamentary seat, said the ECI, in a meeting held today. The Commission reviewed the reports and inputs from Chief Secretaries/Chief Electoral Officers of many of the States concerned. They had sought deferment of by-polls in view of various factors, including extraordinarily heavy rains and pandemic-related constraints. Considering that the Bihar Assembly polls have to completed before November 29, the ECI will be holding the by-elections around the same time. “One of the major factors in clubbing them together is the relative ease of movement of Central Armed Police Forces/other law and order forces, and related logistics issues”, it said. Explosion in Cuddalore firecracker factory kills seven women [Seven women were killed]( and two others sustained serious injuries in an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit in Kurungudi, near Kattumannarkovil in Cuddalore district on Friday. While five women died on the spot, two others succumbed to burns at the Kattumannarkovil Government Hospital. The condition of two women is said to be critical. The licensed unit, which resumed operations recently, had nine women working at the time of the accident. As a fire broke out, the country-made crackers stocked in the premises exploded. The concrete structure, including the roof and the walls, collapsed. Covid watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus]( cases from India stood at 40,11,515 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 69,605. [A transport worker sprays disinfectant on an SETC bus at Koyambedu bus depot in Chennai on September 4, 2020. ]A transport worker sprays disinfectant on an SETC bus at Koyambedu bus depot in Chennai on September 4, 2020. All MPs attending the Monsoon Session of Parliament, beginning from September 14, will have to bring a certificate of testing negative for Covid-19 to enter the House. The requirement is part of a set of guidelines issued by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat in accordance with the recommendations of the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Union Health Ministry. Evening Wrap Vaccine Watch Patients involved in early tests of a Russian coronavirus vaccine developed antibodies with “no serious adverse events,” [according to research published in The Lancet]( on Friday, but experts said the trials were too small to prove safety and effectiveness. [ The report said the data showed that the vaccine was “safe, well tolerated, and does not cause serious adverse events in healthy adult volunteers”. ] The report said the data showed that the vaccine was “safe, well tolerated, and does not cause serious adverse events in healthy adult volunteers”. It has also raised concerns among Western scientists over a lack of safety data, with some warning that moving too quickly on a vaccine could be dangerous. Russia denounced the criticism as an attempt to undermine Moscow’s research. In the Lancet study, Russian researchers reported on two small trials, each involving 38 healthy adults aged between 18 and 60, who were given a two-part immunisation. Each participant was given a dose of the first part of the vaccine and then a booster with the second part 21 days later. They were monitored over 42 days and all developed antibodies within the first three weeks. In Brief: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said women police officers could play a pivotal role in preventing the children of Jammu and Kashmir from taking the “wrong path”. Addressing the ‘Dikshant’ ceremony, or [passing out parade, of the Indian Police Service (IPS) probationers]( at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) through video-conference, he said, “We have to work towards stopping children from taking the wrong path. Women officers could counsel their mothers and bring the children back to the mainstream.” Peace and security in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) region demands a climate of trust, non-aggression, respect for international rules, and peaceful resolution of differences, [Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said]( on Friday, in what is seen as an indirect message to China. In his address at a ministerial meeting of the SCO in Moscow, Singh also referred to the Second World War and said its memories teach the globe the “follies of aggression” of one state upon another. Both India and China are members of the SCO, an eight-nation regional grouping which primarily focuses on issues related to security and defence. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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