The Evening Wrap: Centre agrees to grant permanent commission to 11 women Army officers

The Central government on Friday agreed to grant permanent commission (PC) to 11 women Army officers who meet the eligibility criteria, after the Supreme Court threatened to initiate contempt proceedings. The Centre, which was initially reluctant, conveyed its acquiescence to a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud to grant PC to the officers within 10 days. Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers, who have not approached the court but nonetheless meet the various eligibility criteria, would be granted PC in three weeks, the government informed the court. In October, the court similarly intervened with the government in favour of granting PC to 39 other SSC women officers. “We appreciate the fair stand of the Army authority in putting at rest all outstanding issues pertaining to women SSC officers,” the court recorded at the end. The Bench, also comprising Justice A.S. Bopanna, was hearing a contempt petition filed by the 11 officers, who alleged they were denied PC despite crossing the eligibility threshold. However, the court said that “by way of abundant caution, it is clarified that those officers who have disciplinary and vigilance clearance will be eligible to grant of PC, subject to their meeting of other conditions...” In August, a little over 72 women officers approached the court, challenging the Army’s decision finding them ineligible for PC. They said they were disqualified despite satisfying the 60% assessment threshold for PC as prescribed by the court in a judgment in March last. The order had directed the government to grant PC to “Women Short Service Commissions Officers who obtained 60% marks in their assessment subject to their meeting the medical criteria prescribed by the Army’s August 1 2020 order and receiving disciplinary and vigilance clearance.” PM to inaugurate Kashi temple corridor on December 13 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project on December 13 in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, alongside families of those who had been displaced due to the project. The project inauguration comes with just a few months to spare for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and has significance in terms of cultural politics for the State. According to senior sources in the BJP, at least 400 families were asked to vacate the area, many of the encroachments around the historic temple cleared to make way for the project that encapsulates the vision of the Holkar queen of Indore, Ahalya Bai Holkar, who created a series of temples and vistas leading up to the Ganga ghat. “Over the years, there were buildings, housing and other construction that came up around the temple and that entire vista was obscured. The project has restored it. Those displaced have been given compensation, and will be joining the inaugural ceremony,” said a source. The project connects the temple with the ghats of the Ganga, with a paved walkway around 320 metres long and 20 metres wide. It will also have facilities for a museum, library, a facilitation centre for pilgrims, and a Mumuksha Bhawan (salvation house). According to Shashi Kumar, head of U.P. BJP’s social media cell, the function would see the presence of the main ‘archakas’ of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ (of which Kashi is one), with water from all major rivers of the country being brought in for the ‘abhishek’ of main deity Baba Vishwanath (Lord Shiva). “A sound and laser show on the history of the temple, and its repeated reconstruction from destruction will be part of the event, and the Ganga ghats will be lit up as in the manner of ‘Dev Dipawali’,” he told The Hindu. The project is an important one for Modi and was pegged at ₹600 crore (approximately) after it was launched in March 2018. An estimated ₹300 crore was spent on purchasing land and buildings around the temple complex, and for resettlement compensation alone. Battle of ideologies is most important in today’s India: Rahul Gandhi Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the battle of ideologies has become one of the most important ones in today’s India, while accepting that the ideology of his party had been overshadowed by the “hate-filled orientation” of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “It is important to understand why we find ourselves in the situation where we find ourselves. Today, whether we like it or not, we have to accept that the divisive ideology of the RSS and the BJP has overshadowed the loving, affectionate and nationalistic ideology of the Congress. Our ideology is alive and vibrant but it is overshadowed,” Gandhi said. He was speaking at the inaugural session of a four-day national orientation camp for organisation training at Sewagram Ashram in Wardha district of Maharashtra. The moment we crystallise ours’ [ideology], we will envelope them [the BJP-RSS]. Just like Lord Shiva used to consume poison, Congress ideology will make the BJP’s ideology, [of] hate disappear,” he said. Commenting on the training, Gandhi said that spreading the Congress’ ideology was “only one part of it”. “Our ideology spreads only when fear and pain within an individual is overcome. We must focus on strengthening our workers to make them fearless and pain-less. We are countering the ideology which thrives on fear and pain. We stand with smile, love and respect to others crossing the boundaries of caste, religion and region, against those who offer nothing but hate, anger and abuse,” he said. Stressing that the ideology which the party follows has been the foundation of India’s culture for thousands of years, Gandhi pointed out that Hinduism and Hindutva are two entirely different things. “Why do Hindus need Hindutva when they follow Hinduism?” “Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh or a Muslim person? No. But Hindutva is. I have read the Upanishads and nowhere is it written to kill an innocent man. But I can see it in Hindutva. Our orientation comes from Lord Shiva, Kabir, Guru Nanak to Mahatma Gandhi. We stand for what they stood for in their times,” he said. The Lok Sabha MP added that the party had stopped propagating its ideology aggressively among its own people for various reasons. “The central way to do it is by training our own people and channelising how it is different being a Congress person than being an RSS person. We have to spread it effectively, first among ourselves and then others. This is the foundation mission of Congress workers,” he said. Talking about those who quit the party to join the BJP but returned, Gandhi said he had spoken to one of the leaders from Uttarakhand, who had rejoined the Congress a few days ago. “I asked him, ‘why did you come back?’ He told me that the BJP was suffocating, he couldn’t breathe freely in that party,” said Gandhi. Earlier, Sachin Rao, All India Congress Committee training in-charge, while explaining the background to the training camp, said that this was being organised at an extremely important and crucial stage for both the party and the country. “The idea of India has never been under attack from the forces of fascism as well as from the regional forces of caste, religion, trying to shatter the politics of this country,” Rao said. He said that training is an important aspect of a party’s struggle against this as it’s necessary to understand what workers were fighting for and how to go about it. “This is not only for leaders but also for every last worker of each [polling] booth,” he said. Covaxin safe, shows 77.8% efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19: Lancet study Two doses of Covaxin, India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, offer 77.8% protection against symptomatic disease and present no serious safety concerns, according to an interim analysis of its phase 3 trial published in The Lancet on Friday. Covaxin, an inactivated whole virus vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, recently received emergency use approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) for people aged 18 and above. The phase-3 trial findings indicate that Covaxin induces a robust antibody response with no severe vaccine-related adverse events or deaths reported among the trial participants, the authors of the study said. The majority of the adverse events, including headache, fatigue, fever, and pain at the injection site, were mild and occurred within seven days of vaccination, they explained. The vaccine is administered in a two-dose regimen, 28 days apart, and can be stored and transported between 2-8 degrees Celsius. The trial took place from November 16 to May 17 this year, with participants aged 18 and older randomly assigned to receive two doses of the vaccine or a placebo. The researchers “recorded 24 positive cases among 8,471 people in the vaccine group and 106 positive cases among 8,502 people in the placebo group, suggesting an overall vaccine efficacy of 77.8 per cent”, the authors said. HC expresses displeasure against targeting of Manika Batra by TTFI The Delhi High Court Friday expressed strong displeasure that star table tennis player Manika Batra was being allegedly targeted by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for dragging the sports body to the court by raising her grievances. Justice Rekha Palli said the player cannot be targeted and if she was being targeted, then it was a “serious problem”. The high court was hearing a petition by Batra seeking quashing of rules mandating compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp for selection in international events. It directed the TTFI to place before it the communications with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) regarding Batra, who made a complaint against the national sports body. The court’s order came after Batra, the country’s top-ranked women’s table tennis player, claimed that she was being targeted by the national federation for raising her grievances in the court and now the international federation was also treating her like an accused. The averment was vehemently denied by the counsel for TTFI. The high court had on September 23 stayed the TTFI’s rule mandating compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp for selection in international events and had asked the Centre to conduct an inquiry into Batra’s complaint against the sports body. On Friday, the court was informed by the Centre’s counsel Apoorv Kurup that the enquiry report was ready and the judge asked them to file it in a sealed cover before it. “List the matter on November 15 on which date TTFI will place on record copy of all its correspondences with International TT Federation in respect of the petitioner after September 23, 2021,” the court said. During the hearing, senior advocate Sachin Dutta, appearing for Batra, said the player has become the federation’s target and they are targeting her after the court’s stay order. “The international federation is treating me like an accused since the national federation must have written to them… I am unable to concentrate on practice for the championships,” her advocate argued. Taking note of the submission, the judge said, “Then what the ministry is doing? They should look into it… She can’t be targeted. I want some serious steps to be taken. This federation has to go and an ad-hoc committee should be appointed.” It further said, “What is the purpose of the federation? You want to promote the player and the sport or do all these things only?” On being asked by the court if TTFI has approached the international federation claiming that there are issues regarding Batra and they should take action, the national federation’s counsel Jinendra Jain denied it and said it was done based on media reports. Batra, who was left out of the Indian contingent for the Asian Table Tennis Championships, 2021, has alleged that the national coach Soumyadeep Roy “pressurised” her to “throw away” an Olympic qualifier match in favour of one of his trainees. The court had earlier said the rule mandating compulsory attendance at the national camp has been enforced “at a point when there was a complaint pending against the national coach” and the same “does not inspire confidence”. The court had said the Centre may seek the stand of the national coach and also issued notice on the petition. Earlier, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, had stated that the federation’s rule on compulsorily attending the national camp was in the teeth of the sports code and defeated merit. The TTFI had defended the rule and stated that such a mandate was present in other sports as well, including weight lifting and judo. In the petition, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Khel Ratna awardee has alleged that the federation was carrying out its selection processes in a non-transparent manner, targeting certain individuals such as herself. She has asserted that the national coach, in a clear conflict of interest, was running a private table tennis academy simultaneously and on one occasion, “pressurised the petitioner to throw away a match only with a view to help one of his trainees at his private academy to qualify for the Olympics, 2020”. “This incident happened on March 17, 2021, in respect of the match to be held on March 18, 2021, at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2021 organized by ATTU. Not only did the petitioner refuse to comply with such an unethical, illegal and immoral request, but she also immediately communicated this to the Adviser, TTFI, on March 18, 2021,” the plea reads. “After the conclusion of Olympics, the respondent no.1 (TTFI) issued Rules and Regulations dated September 4, 2021 (received by the petitioner on September 27, 2021) informing her that attending of National Coaching Camp is compulsory, failing which she would not be selected for any upcoming international event,” it said. The plea stated that Table Tennis is an individual sport, which requires specialised training with support staff and thus the rule against personal coaching is arbitrary, irrational, absurd, and has no nexus with achieving excellence in an individualised sport. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,43,98,466 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,62,012. In Brief India’s industrial output fell 2.6% month-on-month in September even as retail inflation inched up marginally to 4.48% in October with a sharper rise in urban price trends, as per data from the National Statistical Office. Compared to September 2020, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 3.1% in this year September, the pace of growth dipping sharply from the 12% recorded in August. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 13 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]( Centre agrees to grant permanent commission to 11 women Army officers The Central government on Friday [agreed to grant permanent commission (PC) to 11 women Army officers]( who meet the eligibility criteria, after the Supreme Court threatened to initiate contempt proceedings. The Centre, which was initially reluctant, conveyed its acquiescence to a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud to grant PC to the officers within 10 days. Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers, who have not approached the court but nonetheless meet the various eligibility criteria, would be granted PC in three weeks, the government informed the court. In October, the court similarly intervened with the government in favour of granting PC to 39 other SSC women officers. “We appreciate the fair stand of the Army authority in putting at rest all outstanding issues pertaining to women SSC officers,” the court recorded at the end. The Bench, also comprising Justice A.S. Bopanna, was hearing a contempt petition filed by the 11 officers, who alleged they were denied PC despite crossing the eligibility threshold. However, the court said that “by way of abundant caution, it is clarified that those officers who have disciplinary and vigilance clearance will be eligible to grant of PC, subject to their meeting of other conditions...” [ ]  In August, a little over 72 women officers approached the court, challenging the Army’s decision finding them ineligible for PC. They said they were disqualified despite satisfying the 60% assessment threshold for PC as prescribed by the court in a judgment in March last. The order had directed the government to grant PC to “Women Short Service Commissions Officers who obtained 60% marks in their assessment subject to their meeting the medical criteria prescribed by the Army’s August 1 2020 order and receiving disciplinary and vigilance clearance.” [underlineimg] PM to inaugurate Kashi temple corridor on December 13 Prime Minister [Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project on December 13 in Varanasi]( his parliamentary constituency, alongside families of those who had been displaced due to the project. The project inauguration comes with just a few months to spare for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls and has significance in terms of cultural politics for the State. According to senior sources in the BJP, at least 400 families were asked to vacate the area, many of the encroachments around the historic temple cleared to make way for the project that encapsulates the vision of the Holkar queen of Indore, Ahalya Bai Holkar, who created a series of temples and vistas leading up to the Ganga ghat. “Over the years, there were buildings, housing and other construction that came up around the temple and that entire vista was obscured. The project has restored it. Those displaced have been given compensation, and will be joining the inaugural ceremony,” said a source. The project connects the temple with the ghats of the Ganga, with a paved walkway around 320 metres long and 20 metres wide. It will also have facilities for a museum, library, a facilitation centre for pilgrims, and a Mumuksha Bhawan (salvation house). According to Shashi Kumar, head of U.P. BJP’s social media cell, the function would see the presence of the main ‘archakas’ of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ (of which Kashi is one), with water from all major rivers of the country being brought in for the ‘abhishek’ of main deity Baba Vishwanath (Lord Shiva). “A sound and laser show on the history of the temple, and its repeated reconstruction from destruction will be part of the event, and the Ganga ghats will be lit up as in the manner of ‘Dev Dipawali’,” he told The Hindu. The project is an important one for Modi and was pegged at ₹600 crore (approximately) after it was launched in March 2018. An estimated ₹300 crore was spent on purchasing land and buildings around the temple complex, and for resettlement compensation alone. [underlineimg] Battle of ideologies is most important in today’s India: Rahul Gandhi Former Congress president [Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the battle of ideologies has become one of the most important ones in today’s India]( while accepting that the ideology of his party had been overshadowed by the “hate-filled orientation” of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “It is important to understand why we find ourselves in the situation where we find ourselves. Today, whether we like it or not, we have to accept that the divisive ideology of the RSS and the BJP has overshadowed the loving, affectionate and nationalistic ideology of the Congress. Our ideology is alive and vibrant but it is overshadowed,” Gandhi said. He was speaking at the inaugural session of a four-day national orientation camp for organisation training at Sewagram Ashram in Wardha district of Maharashtra. The moment we crystallise ours’ [ideology], we will envelope them [the BJP-RSS]. Just like Lord Shiva used to consume poison, Congress ideology will make the BJP’s ideology, [of] hate disappear,” he said. Commenting on the training, Gandhi said that spreading the Congress’ ideology was “only one part of it”. “Our ideology spreads only when fear and pain within an individual is overcome. We must focus on strengthening our workers to make them fearless and pain-less. We are countering the ideology which thrives on fear and pain. We stand with smile, love and respect to others crossing the boundaries of caste, religion and region, against those who offer nothing but hate, anger and abuse,” he said. Stressing that the ideology which the party follows has been the foundation of India’s culture for thousands of years, Gandhi pointed out that Hinduism and Hindutva are two entirely different things. “Why do Hindus need Hindutva when they follow Hinduism?” “Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh or a Muslim person? No. But Hindutva is. I have read the Upanishads and nowhere is it written to kill an innocent man. But I can see it in Hindutva. Our orientation comes from Lord Shiva, Kabir, Guru Nanak to Mahatma Gandhi. We stand for what they stood for in their times,” he said. The Lok Sabha MP added that the party had stopped propagating its ideology aggressively among its own people for various reasons. “The central way to do it is by training our own people and channelising how it is different being a Congress person than being an RSS person. We have to spread it effectively, first among ourselves and then others. This is the foundation mission of Congress workers,” he said. Talking about those who quit the party to join the BJP but returned, Gandhi said he had spoken to one of the leaders from Uttarakhand, who had rejoined the Congress a few days ago. “I asked him, ‘why did you come back?’ He told me that the BJP was suffocating, he couldn’t breathe freely in that party,” said Gandhi. Earlier, Sachin Rao, All India Congress Committee training in-charge, while explaining the background to the training camp, said that this was being organised at an extremely important and crucial stage for both the party and the country. “The idea of India has never been under attack from the forces of fascism as well as from the regional forces of caste, religion, trying to shatter the politics of this country,” Rao said. He said that training is an important aspect of a party’s struggle against this as it’s necessary to understand what workers were fighting for and how to go about it. “This is not only for leaders but also for every last worker of each [polling] booth,” he said. [underlineimg] Covaxin safe, shows 77.8% efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19: Lancet study Two doses of Covaxin, India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, offer 77.8% protection against symptomatic disease and present no serious safety concerns, according to [an interim analysis of its phase 3 trial published in The Lancet]( on Friday. Covaxin, an inactivated whole virus vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, recently received emergency use approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) for people aged 18 and above. The phase-3 trial findings indicate that Covaxin induces a robust antibody response with no severe vaccine-related adverse events or deaths reported among the trial participants, the authors of the study said. [The phase 3 trial findings indicate that Covaxin induces a robust antibody response with no severe vaccine-related adverse events or deaths reported among the trial participants. File image.]  The majority of the adverse events, including headache, fatigue, fever, and pain at the injection site, were mild and occurred within seven days of vaccination, they explained. The vaccine is administered in a two-dose regimen, 28 days apart, and can be stored and transported between 2-8 degrees Celsius. The trial took place from November 16 to May 17 this year, with participants aged 18 and older randomly assigned to receive two doses of the vaccine or a placebo. The researchers “recorded 24 positive cases among 8,471 people in the vaccine group and 106 positive cases among 8,502 people in the placebo group, suggesting an overall vaccine efficacy of 77.8 per cent”, the authors said. [underlineimg] HC expresses displeasure against targeting of Manika Batra by TTFI The [Delhi High Court Friday expressed strong displeasure]( that star table tennis player Manika Batra was being allegedly targeted by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for dragging the sports body to the court by raising her grievances. Justice Rekha Palli said the player cannot be targeted and if she was being targeted, then it was a “serious problem”. The high court was hearing a petition by Batra seeking quashing of rules mandating compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp for selection in international events. It directed the TTFI to place before it the communications with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) regarding Batra, who made a complaint against the national sports body. The court’s order came after Batra, the country’s top-ranked women’s table tennis player, claimed that she was being targeted by the national federation for raising her grievances in the court and now the international federation was also treating her like an accused. The averment was vehemently denied by the counsel for TTFI. The high court had on September 23 stayed the TTFI’s rule mandating compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp for selection in international events and had asked the Centre to conduct an inquiry into Batra’s complaint against the sports body. On Friday, the court was informed by the Centre’s counsel Apoorv Kurup that the enquiry report was ready and the judge asked them to file it in a sealed cover before it. “List the matter on November 15 on which date TTFI will place on record copy of all its correspondences with International TT Federation in respect of the petitioner after September 23, 2021,” the court said. During the hearing, senior advocate Sachin Dutta, appearing for Batra, said the player has become the federation’s target and they are targeting her after the court’s stay order. “The international federation is treating me like an accused since the national federation must have written to them… I am unable to concentrate on practice for the championships,” her advocate argued. Taking note of the submission, the judge said, “Then what the ministry is doing? They should look into it… She can’t be targeted. I want some serious steps to be taken. This federation has to go and an ad-hoc committee should be appointed.” It further said, “What is the purpose of the federation? You want to promote the player and the sport or do all these things only?” On being asked by the court if TTFI has approached the international federation claiming that there are issues regarding Batra and they should take action, the national federation’s counsel Jinendra Jain denied it and said it was done based on media reports. Batra, who was left out of the Indian contingent for the Asian Table Tennis Championships, 2021, has alleged that the national coach Soumyadeep Roy “pressurised” her to “throw away” an Olympic qualifier match in favour of one of his trainees. The court had earlier said the rule mandating compulsory attendance at the national camp has been enforced “at a point when there was a complaint pending against the national coach” and the same “does not inspire confidence”. The court had said the Centre may seek the stand of the national coach and also issued notice on the petition. Earlier, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, had stated that the federation’s rule on compulsorily attending the national camp was in the teeth of the sports code and defeated merit. The TTFI had defended the rule and stated that such a mandate was present in other sports as well, including weight lifting and judo. In the petition, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Khel Ratna awardee has alleged that the federation was carrying out its selection processes in a non-transparent manner, targeting certain individuals such as herself. She has asserted that the national coach, in a clear conflict of interest, was running a private table tennis academy simultaneously and on one occasion, “pressurised the petitioner to throw away a match only with a view to help one of his trainees at his private academy to qualify for the Olympics, 2020”. “This incident happened on March 17, 2021, in respect of the match to be held on March 18, 2021, at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2021 organized by ATTU. Not only did the petitioner refuse to comply with such an unethical, illegal and immoral request, but she also immediately communicated this to the Adviser, TTFI, on March 18, 2021,” the plea reads. “After the conclusion of Olympics, the respondent no.1 (TTFI) issued Rules and Regulations dated September 4, 2021 (received by the petitioner on September 27, 2021) informing her that attending of National Coaching Camp is compulsory, failing which she would not be selected for any upcoming international event,” it said. The plea stated that Table Tennis is an individual sport, which requires specialised training with support staff and thus the rule against personal coaching is arbitrary, irrational, absurd, and has no nexus with achieving excellence in an individualised sport. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,43,98,466 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,62,012.  [underlineimg] In Brief [India’s industrial output fell 2.6%]( month-on-month in September even as retail inflation inched up marginally to 4.48% in October with a sharper rise in urban price trends, as per data from the National Statistical Office. Compared to September 2020, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 3.1% in this year September, the pace of growth dipping sharply from the 12% recorded in August. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.  Today's Top Picks [[Parties call for action against Kangana] Parties call for action against Kangana]( [[Johnson & Johnson plans to split into two companies] Johnson & Johnson plans to split into two companies]( [[Data | How the Chennai rainfall occurred] Data | How the Chennai rainfall occurred]( [[‘Kurup’ movie review: Dulquer Salman’s crime biopic takes too many liberties with a real-life story] ‘Kurup’ movie review: Dulquer Salman’s crime biopic takes too many liberties with a real-life story]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](