The Evening Wrap: 96 countries agree to accept India's COVID vaccination certificates

Ninety six countries have agreed to mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates with India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. The government continues to be in communication with the rest of the world so that beneficiaries of the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination programme are accepted and recognised, thereby easing travel for education, business and tourism purposes, Mandaviya said in a statement. “At present, 96 countries have agreed to mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and also those who recognise Indian vaccination certificates of travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield/WHO-approved/nationally approved Covid vaccines,” Mandaviya stated. Consecutively, persons travelling from these countries are provided certain relaxations as enunciated in the Union Health Ministry’s guidelines on international arrivals issued on October 20, 2021. For those who wish to travel abroad, the international travel vaccination certificate can also be downloaded from the CoWIN portal, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the U.K. Government has said that India’s Covaxin will be added to its list of approved COVID-19 vaccines for international travellers from November 22, meaning that those inoculated with the Bharat Biotech-manufactured jab will not have to self-isolate after arrival in England. The move follows the World Health Organisation’s (WHO's) Emergency Use Listing for Covaxin, which is the second most used formulation in India. Covishield, the India-manufactured Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, was added to the U.K.’s approved list last month. Rafale scam trail ends at PM’s door, says Congress The Congress party on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of covering up corruption in the Rafale scam and shying away from registering an FIR even 36 months after evidence emerged on middleman Sushen Gupta’s role in the deal. Addressing a press conference, party spokesperson Pawan Khera said the government is busy “burying the black melting pot of corruption, kickbacks and collusion”. And in doing so, it has undermined national security, jeopardised the interests of Indian armed forces, and caused a loss to the exchequer of ₹41,000 crore, he added. French investigative journal Mediapart in fresh revelations had exposed how middleman Gupta got hold of confidential documents belonging to the Indian Negotiating Team (INT) in 2015 from the Ministry of Defence. The documents detailed the stance of Indian negotiators during the final lap of negotiation and in particular how they calculated the price of the aircraft. This gave a clear advantage to Dassault Aviation (Rafale), Khera claimed, citing the Mediapart report. The corruption can be tracked to PM Modi’s doorstep, the Congress leader said. The evidence in this case had first came up on October 4, 2018 when two former Union ministers of the BJP — Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha — submitted a file to then CBI Director Alok Verma. On October 11 the attorney general of Mauritius also sent documents about the middleman Gupta, the Congress spokesperson said. Instead of following the trail, Khera said, the PM Modi-led committee removed Verma in the middle of the night and conducted a raid at the CBI headquarters. “This was part of the concerted conspiracy to bury the Rafale ghost,” he alleged. Khera pointed out that on March 26, 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had raided Gupta’s premises in connection with another case. “Is it not correct that the ED recovered a horde of top secret Defence Ministry documents from Gupta,” he asked. The documents, he claimed, included the ‘benchmark price document’ of August 10, 2015, the ‘record of discussions’ by the INT of the Defence Ministry, the ‘excel sheet of calculations made by Defence Ministry’ and ‘Eurofighter’s counter offer of 20% discount to Government of India’. Khera alleged that a note of June 24, 2014, sent to Dassault by Gupta, offering a meeting with “the political high command” was also recovered and asked if such a meeting had taken place with the “high command” in the Modi government. “This is nothing short of endangering national security, sedition and a gross violation of Official's Secrets Act,” he alleged. “Why did the ED not pursue these evidences further to investigate the scam? Why did the Modi government then not take action against Dassault, the political executive or the defence ministry officers who leaked the documents? Which ‘Chowkidar’ sold India’s national secrets,” Khera asked. The Congress leader also alleged that on Prime Minister Modi’s directions the anti-corruption clauses — “no bribery, no gift, no influence, no commission, no middlemen” — was removed. “Were the anti-corruption clauses deleted to escape responsibility from bribery and commission to be paid in the Rafale deal? Why was the deletion of anti-corruption clauses approved by the Prime Minister and the Modi government in September 2016, despite the Defence Ministry’s insistence upon including it in the inter-governmental agreement in July 2015,” Khera asked. BJP demands Rahul’s response on fresh ‘revelation’ by Mediapart Reacting to a French media report that commissions were paid between 2007 and 2012 for securing the Rafale deal with India, the BJP on Tuesday said the INC (Indian National Congress) should be renamed as “I Need Commission” and alleged that the failed negotiations for the aircraft took place when the Congress was in power and they failed because of the latter’s dissatisfaction with the ‘cut’. At a press meet at the BJP headquarters, spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the Congress, especially its former president Rahul Gandhi, who has been alleging corruption in the purchase of the fighter aircraft by the Modi Government, of spreading “canard, disinformation and lies”. Patra also sought Gandhi’s response to the fresh revelation by French investigative portal Mediapart. Mediapart has claimed that bogus invoices were used that enabled the French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least €7.5 million in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India. According to its investigation, the Dassault Aviation paid the kickbacks to the intermediary in Mauritius between 2007 and 2012, putting it in the time frame when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Patra alleged that it was clearly the dissatisfaction of the Congress and the Gandhi family that was the main reason behind the negotiations falling through during the UPA government. “The Mediapart story says that ‘corruption, influence-peddling and favouritism’ marked the deal during the UPA government,” he noted. “It will not be an exaggeration to say the INC be renamed as ‘I Need Commission’. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra, all say that I need commission.” The UPA Government had a deal within every deal, he said. The Congress had in the past said the allegations of corruption by the BJP against its ruling family and its members were driven by vendetta. Patra also said the alleged middleman Sushen Mohan Gupta, whose name has cropped up in the Rafale case, was also accused of pocketing commission in the purchase of VVIP choppers. “This is too much of a coincidence, and too much of a coincidence is always a conspiracy,“ he said. The Supreme Court and the CAG have already gone into the contents of the Rafale deal signed by the Modi Government and found nothing wrong in it, Patra said. He said Gandhi had made the alleged corruption in the purchase a big election issue during the 2019 polls but it failed to make any impact. The BJP retained power with a bigger majority, he said. Punjab Cabinet accepts resignation of Attorney General Deol The Punjab Cabinet has accepted the resignation of Attorney General A P S Deol and the post left vacant by him will be filled by Wednesday, said Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in Chandigarh. State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has been pushing for the replacement of Attorney General Deol, who had represented former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in cases related to the 2015 desecration incidents and police firing on protesters. Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Channi said the AG had resigned a few days ago. “The Cabinet today accepted it (resignation),” said Channi, adding that it would be sent to the State Governor. “Tomorrow, the new AG will be appointed,” said Channi. China capable of blockading its key harbours, says Taiwan China’s armed forces are capable of blockading Taiwan’s key harbours and airports, the island’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, offering its latest assessment of what it describes as a "grave" military threat posed by its giant neighbour. China has never renounced the use of force to bring democratic Taiwan under its control and has been ramping up military activity around the island, including repeatedly flying war planes into Taiwan’s air defence zone. Taiwan’s defence ministry, in a report it issues every two years, said China had launched what it called “gray-zone” warfare, citing 554 “intrusions” by Chinese war planes into its south western theatre of air defence identification zone between September last year and the end of August. Military analysts say the tactic is aimed at subduing Taiwan through exhaustion. At the same time, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is aiming to complete the modernisation of its forces by 2035 to “obtain superiority in possible operations against Taiwan and viable capabilities to deny foreign forces, posing a grave challenge to our national security”, the Taiwan Ministry said. “At present, the PLA is capable of performing local joint blockade against our critical harbours, airports, and outbound flight routes, to cut off our air and sea lines of communication and impact the flow of our military supplies and logistic resources,” the ministry said. China views Taiwan as Chinese territory. Its Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan is already an independent country and vows to defend its freedom and democracy. Tsai has made bolstering Taiwan’s defences a priority, pledging to produce more domestically developed weapons, including submarines, and buying more equipment from the United States, the island’s most important arms supplier and international backer. In October, Taiwan reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and south-western theatre of the zone over a four-day period, marking a dramatic escalation of tension between Taipei and Beijing. The recent increase in China’s military exercises in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone is part of what Taipei views as a carefully planned strategy of harassment. “Its intimidating behaviour does not only consume our combat power and shake our faith and morale, but also attempts to alter or challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to ultimately achieve its goal of ‘seizing Taiwan without a fight’,” the Ministry said. To counter China’s attempt to “seize Taiwan swiftly whilst denying foreign interventions”, the ministry vowed to deepen its efforts on “asymmetric warfare” to make any attack as painful and as difficult for China as possible. That includes precision strikes by long-range missiles on targets in China, deployment of coastal minefields as well as boosting reserve training. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,49,13,231 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,77,118. In Brief The Tamil Nadu government has announced a holiday for schools and colleges in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Chengalpet, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and Mayiladuthurai districts on November 10 and 11. The decision came hours after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy rainfall in several parts of the State on November 10 and 11. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 09 NOVEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( 96 countries have agreed to mutual acceptance of COVID vaccination certificates, says Health Minister; Covaxin in U.K.’s approved list from November 22 Ninety six countries have [agreed to mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates with India]( Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday. The government continues to be in communication with the rest of the world so that beneficiaries of the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination programme are accepted and recognised, thereby easing travel for education, business and tourism purposes, Mandaviya said in a statement. “At present, 96 countries have agreed to mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and also those who recognise Indian vaccination certificates of travellers fully vaccinated with Covishield/WHO-approved/nationally approved Covid vaccines,” Mandaviya stated. Consecutively, persons travelling from these countries are provided certain relaxations as enunciated in the Union Health Ministry’s guidelines on international arrivals issued on October 20, 2021. For those who wish to travel abroad, the international travel vaccination certificate can also be downloaded from the CoWIN portal, the ministry said. [Representational image.]  Meanwhile, the U.K. Government has said that India’s [Covaxin will be added to its list of approved COVID-19 vaccines]( for international travellers from November 22, meaning that those inoculated with the Bharat Biotech-manufactured jab will not have to self-isolate after arrival in England. The move follows the World Health Organisation’s (WHO's) Emergency Use Listing for Covaxin, which is the second most used formulation in India. Covishield, the India-manufactured Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, was added to the U.K.’s approved list last month. [underlineimg] Rafale scam trail ends at PM’s door, says Congress The Congress party on Tuesday [accused the Narendra Modi government of covering up corruption in the Rafale scam]( and shying away from registering an FIR even 36 months after evidence emerged on middleman Sushen Gupta’s role in the deal. Addressing a press conference, party spokesperson Pawan Khera said the government is busy “burying the black melting pot of corruption, kickbacks and collusion”. And in doing so, it has undermined national security, jeopardised the interests of Indian armed forces, and caused a loss to the exchequer of ₹41,000 crore, he added. French investigative journal Mediapart in fresh revelations had exposed how middleman Gupta got hold of confidential documents belonging to the Indian Negotiating Team (INT) in 2015 from the Ministry of Defence. The documents detailed the stance of Indian negotiators during the final lap of negotiation and in particular how they calculated the price of the aircraft. This gave a clear advantage to Dassault Aviation (Rafale), Khera claimed, citing the Mediapart report. The corruption can be tracked to PM Modi’s doorstep, the Congress leader said. The evidence in this case had first came up on October 4, 2018 when two former Union ministers of the BJP — Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha — submitted a file to then CBI Director Alok Verma. On October 11 the attorney general of Mauritius also sent documents about the middleman Gupta, the Congress spokesperson said. Instead of following the trail, Khera said, the PM Modi-led committee removed Verma in the middle of the night and conducted a raid at the CBI headquarters. “This was part of the concerted conspiracy to bury the Rafale ghost,” he alleged. Khera pointed out that on March 26, 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had raided Gupta’s premises in connection with another case. “Is it not correct that the ED recovered a horde of top secret Defence Ministry documents from Gupta,” he asked. The documents, he claimed, included the ‘benchmark price document’ of August 10, 2015, the ‘record of discussions’ by the INT of the Defence Ministry, the ‘excel sheet of calculations made by Defence Ministry’ and ‘Eurofighter’s counter offer of 20% discount to Government of India’. Khera alleged that a note of June 24, 2014, sent to Dassault by Gupta, offering a meeting with “the political high command” was also recovered and asked if such a meeting had taken place with the “high command” in the Modi government. “This is nothing short of endangering national security, sedition and a gross violation of Official's Secrets Act,” he alleged. “Why did the ED not pursue these evidences further to investigate the scam? Why did the Modi government then not take action against Dassault, the political executive or the defence ministry officers who leaked the documents? Which ‘Chowkidar’ sold India’s national secrets,” Khera asked. The Congress leader also alleged that on Prime Minister Modi’s directions the anti-corruption clauses — “no bribery, no gift, no influence, no commission, no middlemen” — was removed. “Were the anti-corruption clauses deleted to escape responsibility from bribery and commission to be paid in the Rafale deal? Why was the deletion of anti-corruption clauses approved by the Prime Minister and the Modi government in September 2016, despite the Defence Ministry’s insistence upon including it in the inter-governmental agreement in July 2015,” Khera asked. [underlineimg] BJP demands Rahul’s response on fresh ‘revelation’ by Mediapart Reacting to a French media report that commissions were paid between 2007 and 2012 for securing the Rafale deal with India, the [BJP on Tuesday said the INC (Indian National Congress) should be renamed as “I Need Commission”]( and alleged that the failed negotiations for the aircraft took place when the Congress was in power and they failed because of the latter’s dissatisfaction with the ‘cut’. At a press meet at the BJP headquarters, spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the Congress, especially its former president Rahul Gandhi, who has been alleging corruption in the purchase of the fighter aircraft by the Modi Government, of spreading “canard, disinformation and lies”. Patra also sought Gandhi’s response to the [fresh revelation by French investigative portal Mediapart](. [Thirteen India Specific Enhancements to the Rafale fighter jet were demanded by the Indian Air Force.]  Mediapart has claimed that bogus invoices were used that enabled the French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least €7.5 million in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India. According to its investigation, the Dassault Aviation paid the kickbacks to the intermediary in Mauritius between 2007 and 2012, putting it in the time frame when the Congress-led UPA was in power. Patra alleged that it was clearly the dissatisfaction of the Congress and the Gandhi family that was the main reason behind the negotiations falling through during the UPA government. “The Mediapart story says that ‘corruption, influence-peddling and favouritism’ marked the deal during the UPA government,” he noted. “It will not be an exaggeration to say the INC be renamed as ‘I Need Commission’. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra , all say that I need commission.” The UPA Government had a deal within every deal, he said. The Congress had in the past said the allegations of corruption by the BJP against its ruling family and its members were driven by vendetta. Patra also said the alleged middleman Sushen Mohan Gupta, whose name has cropped up in the Rafale case, was also accused of pocketing commission in the purchase of VVIP choppers. “This is too much of a coincidence, and too much of a coincidence is always a conspiracy,“ he said. The Supreme Court and the CAG have already gone into the contents of the Rafale deal signed by the Modi Government and found nothing wrong in it, Patra said. He said Gandhi had made the alleged corruption in the purchase a big election issue during the 2019 polls but it failed to make any impact. The BJP retained power with a bigger majority, he said. [underlineimg] Punjab Cabinet accepts resignation of Attorney General Deol The Punjab Cabinet has [accepted the resignation of Attorney General A P S Deol]( and the post left vacant by him will be filled by Wednesday, said Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in Chandigarh. State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has been pushing for the replacement of Attorney General Deol, who had represented former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in cases related to the 2015 desecration incidents and police firing on protesters. Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Channi said the AG had resigned a few days ago. “The Cabinet today accepted it (resignation),” said Channi, adding that it would be sent to the State Governor. “Tomorrow, the new AG will be appointed,” said Channi. [underlineimg] China capable of blockading its key harbours, says Taiwan [China’s armed forces are capable of blockading Taiwan’s key harbours and airports]( the island’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, offering its latest assessment of what it describes as a "grave" military threat posed by its giant neighbour. China has never renounced the use of force to bring democratic Taiwan under its control and has been ramping up military activity around the island, including repeatedly flying war planes into Taiwan’s air defence zone. Taiwan’s defence ministry, in a report it issues every two years, said China had launched what it called “gray-zone” warfare, citing 554 “intrusions” by Chinese war planes into its south western theatre of air defence identification zone between September last year and the end of August. Military analysts say the tactic is aimed at subduing Taiwan through exhaustion. At the same time, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is aiming to complete the modernisation of its forces by 2035 to “obtain superiority in possible operations against Taiwan and viable capabilities to deny foreign forces, posing a grave challenge to our national security”, the Taiwan Ministry said. “At present, the PLA is capable of performing local joint blockade against our critical harbours, airports, and outbound flight routes, to cut off our air and sea lines of communication and impact the flow of our military supplies and logistic resources,” the ministry said. China views Taiwan as Chinese territory. Its Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan is already an independent country and vows to defend its freedom and democracy. Tsai has made bolstering Taiwan’s defences a priority, pledging to produce more domestically developed weapons, including submarines, and buying more equipment from the United States, the island’s most important arms supplier and international backer. In October, Taiwan reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and south-western theatre of the zone over a four-day period, marking a dramatic escalation of tension between Taipei and Beijing. The recent increase in China’s military exercises in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone is part of what Taipei views as a carefully planned strategy of harassment. “Its intimidating behaviour does not only consume our combat power and shake our faith and morale, but also attempts to alter or challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to ultimately achieve its goal of ‘seizing Taiwan without a fight’,” the Ministry said. To counter China’s attempt to “seize Taiwan swiftly whilst denying foreign interventions”, the ministry vowed to deepen its efforts on “asymmetric warfare” to make any attack as painful and as difficult for China as possible. That includes precision strikes by long-range missiles on targets in China, deployment of coastal minefields as well as boosting reserve training. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,49,13,231 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,77,118.  [underlineimg] In Brief The Tamil Nadu government has [announced a holiday for schools and colleges]( in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Chengalpet, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and Mayiladuthurai districts on November 10 and 11. The decision came hours after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy rainfall in several parts of the State on November 10 and 11. 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