The Evening Wrap: Centre seeks State vaccine panels

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Friday 30, October 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. Centre asks States to form committees for smooth Covid-19 vaccination drive The Centre has asked States to constitute committees for [coordinating and overseeing the Covid-19 vaccination drive]( so that disruptions in other routine healthcare services remain minimal. It also stressed the early tracking of social media to dispel rumours which could impact the community acceptance of coronavirus inoculation. Stating that the vaccination drive will span over a year with multiple groups being included “sequentially starting from health care workers,” the Health Ministry has sought the constitution of committees at state and district levels to review preparatory activities in terms of cold chain preparedness, operational planning, and strategies for state-specific challenges such as geographical terrain and hard-to-reach areas. In a letter to States and Union Territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has suggested the setting up of State steering committees (SSC) chaired by the chief secretary, a State task force (STF) led by additional Chief Secretary or principal secretary (health), and a district task force (DTF) to be headed by the district magistrate. Self-reliance mission is not ‘protectionist’ says Niti Aayog, proposes more PLIs to boost manufacturing Any tariff protection to promote local manufacturing in India will come with an in-built sunset clause, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Friday, asserting that the country’s self-reliance mission must not be equated to it becoming a ‘protectionist’ closed economy. He also said that the [government is set to extend the production-linked incentive scheme (PLIs)]( for manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and electronics announced under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat package, to six more sectors, Kumar said. Explaining the rationale for the PLI schemes that he said will soon become valid for ‘nine to ten’ sectors from four at present, the Niti Aayog vice chairman said they were meant to incentivise investors already in the country to put up globally comparable capacities in scale and competitiveness. He emphasised that India’s efforts towards self-reliance are not dissimilar to what other nations are doing to insulate themselves from global supply chain shocks and revive the economy. “But it will be done in a global context. It will be done with India remaining open and trying to regain its share in global and regional production chains, it will be done with respect to rule-bound multilateral trading orders. It will not imply in any sense, any form of isolation, closed economy or protectionism,” he said, adding that the India will do its best to increase the share of trade in its GDP. India has recently barred the import of several products, ranging from split air-conditioners to certain types of television sets and tyres, while imposing higher import duties or restrictions on import of several items. Parliamentary panel questions Paytm about Chinese investment, storing of data in servers abroad A parliamentary panel on Thursday [questioned Paytm representatives about the quantum of Chinese investment in the company]( and told them that the servers on which customer data is stored should be in India. Top officials of Paytm appeared before the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Personal Data Protection Bill and submitted their suggestions on key aspects of the proposed legislation, including the management and transfer abroad of sensitive personal data, sources said. [ File photo. ] File photo. Members of the panel from different political parties asked Paytm why its servers that store customer data are located abroad when it claims to be an Indian firm. The panel members told Paytm representatives that the server on which customer data is stored should be based in India, adding that they also wanted to know about the quantum of Chinese investments in the digital payment service and specifics about its “backend linkages”. Questions were also raised about a possible conflict of interest, considering that Paytm also sells its own products on its e-commerce platform. In its submission before the panel, Paytm said sensitive and personal data may be transferred outside India for the purpose of processing when explicit consent is given by the “data principal” for such transfer. Facebook, Twitter and Amazon have deposed before the panel, while representatives of telecom operators Reliance Jio and Airtel, and cab aggregators Ola and Uber have been asked to appear before it. Malabar naval exercise to begin next week off Visakhapatnam The first phase of the Malabar Naval Exercise with Australia, Japan and the U.S. is scheduled [to be held next week off Visakhapatnam](. This is the first time Australia will be joining the exercise after 2007, and the event will bring all four countries of the Quadrilateral grouping for military games. Over three years after Canberra’s request to join the exercise, India last week announced that the Australian Navy would participate in Malabar 2020. “Phase 1 of the Exercise Malabar 2020 involving participation by Indian Navy, United States Navy, Japan Maritime Self Defence Force, and Royal Australian Navy is set to commence off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal from November 03 to 06,” the Navy said in a statement. The second phase is scheduled to be held from November 17 to 20 in the Arabian Sea, an official source said. Rahul targets PM again over Chinese transgressions in Ladakh Congress leader [Rahul Gandhi took to twitter again to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi]( over his reluctance to name the country that has made incursions into Indian territory in Ladakh. [ A view of the Pangong Tso lake near the India-China border in Ladakh. File ] A view of the Pangong Tso lake near the India-China border in Ladakh. File [Posting a screenshot of a news report from The Hindu]( on a statement made by former BJP MP from Ladakh, Thupstan Chhewang, that Chinese troops have further transgressed into India, Gandhi tweeted in Hindi, “Even in severe cold, India’s jawans in Ladakh stay in ordinary tents and respond to Chinese attacks with tremendous fortitude. Bur the country’s PM goes around in a ₹8,400 crore aircraft and is scared of even mentioning China. Who is enjoying achhe din?” Chhewang had told The Hindu, “The border situation is critical. The Chinese troops have not only further transgressed into our areas but they have also occupied prominent positions in Finger 2 and 3 areas of Pangong Tso, even Hot Springs area they have not fully vacated... this is what we have come to know from locals.” Meanwhile, the Press Information Bureau has [denied claims made by Mr. Chhewang](. Mr. Chhewang told The Hindu that he stood by his claim. At least 8 dead in Turkey, Greece as strong quake strikes Aegean Sea At least [six people were killed in Turkey]( after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea on October 30, bringing buildings crashing down and setting off tidal waves which slammed into coastal areas and nearby Greek islands. The tremor could be felt as far away as in Istanbul and on Greek islands, where officials said eight people suffered light injuries on the island of Samos. High tidal waves were seen in both countries and led to flooding on parts of the Izmir coast. [People work on a collapsed house in an earthquake-hit area of Izmir on October 30, 2020 after major earthquake struck off western Turkey. ]People work on a collapsed house in an earthquake-hit area of Izmir on October 30, 2020 after major earthquake struck off western Turkey. In Samos, two teenagers were found dead, an emergency official said. The two, a boy and a girl, were confirmed dead after being found unconscious in an area where a wall had collapsed in an area of Vathy, a town on the island. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 81,33,883 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,21,647. India’s active [Covid-19 caseload has fallen below 6 lakh]( for the first time in nearly three months (85 days) with 5.94 lakh active cases on Friday. The active caseload was 5.95 lakh on 6th August, said a Health Ministry release issued on Friday. In Brief: The central cooperative [NAFED will soon begin importing onions]( in a bid to tame soaring prices, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. The government is already facilitating import of the kitchen staple by private traders, with 7,000 tonnes of the bulb already having arrived in the country, and another 25,000 tonnes expected to arrive before Diwali. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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