The Evening Wrap: ECI announces poll schedule for 5 States from Feb. 10

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the election schedule for the Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh State Assemblies. The Commission also banned all physical campaigning till January 15 due to the increasing COVID-19 cases across the country. Announcing the poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the decision was taken after taking inputs from health officials and much deliberation. Polling for Uttar Pradesh’s 403 Assembly seats would be held over seven phases on February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7. Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand will all vote on a single day, February 14. Elections in Manipur will be spread over two phases on February 27 and March 3. Counting for all 690 constituencies across five States, where a total of 18.34 crore citizens are eligible to vote, would be carried out on March 10. COVID-19 vaccination | Use only Covaxin for 15-18 age cohort: Bharat Biotech COVID vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has appealed to healthcare workers to be “highly vigilant and ensure that only Covaxin is administered to individuals in the 15-18 years age group”. The appeal was issued late on Friday night and comes following reports of other COVID-19 vaccines being administered to this cohort. Currently only Covaxin is approved for the 15-18 age group. “Covaxin received approval based on clinical trial evaluation for safety and immunogenicity in the 2-18 years age group,” Bharat Biotech said in its announcement. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation on Saturday called for stringent implementation of public health and social measures as COVID-19 cases increased in most countries of southeast Asia, with some witnessing an exponential rise. FCRA nod for Missionaries of Charity restored The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 7 restored the FCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC), the Catholic religious congregation set up by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration is mandatory to receive foreign donations. The move comes just days after the Ministry issued a statement that the FCRA registration of the MoC was not renewed as “some adverse inputs were noticed”. The registration was renewed, making MoC eligible to receive and utilise foreign funds in its bank accounts even as the U.K Parliament debated the issue, seeking to know if the British government had raised the issue of blocking of overseas funds of the MoC and other NGOs with India. Court documents show Novak Djokovic had COVID-19 last month Novak Djokovic's lawyers filed court papers Saturday in his challenge against deportation from Australia that show the tennis star tested positive for COVID-19 last month and recovered, grounds he used in applying for a medical exemption to the country's strict vaccination rules. The No. 1-ranked Djokovic was denied entry at the Melbourne airport late Wednesday after border officials canceled his visa for failing to meet its entry requirement that all non-citizens be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Djokovic was given a medical exemption backed by the Victoria state government and Australian Open organisers on Jan. 1, based on information he supplied to two independent medical panels, and he was approved for a visa electronically. But it has since emerged that the Victoria state medical exemption, allowed for people who tested positive for the coronavirus within the last six months, was deemed invalid by the federal border authorities. ‘Bulli Bai’ | Niraj Bishnoi not cooperating in probe: police Main accused in the Bulli Bai app case Niraj Bishnoi has tried to harm himself twice while in police custody but he is being taken care of, police officials said on Saturday. Police said Bishnoi is trying to delay the investigation and not co-operating in interrogation. “He had also tried to harm himself twice and is also threatening to end his life. He is being take care of while he is in custody. His medical examination has been conducted and he is stable and unharmed. This may be due to his mental condition or perhaps, he wants to delay the investigation,” a senior police officer said. PM Modi lauds feat of 2 crore children getting vaccinated Lauding the feat of over two crore youngsters in the 15-18 age group getting vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for continuing the momentum. He tweeted, “Excellent! Well done my young friends. Let us continue this momentum. Urging everyone to follow all COVID-19 related protocols and get vaccinated, if you haven’t already.” He was reacting to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s tweet regarding the feat. “Shielding Young India against COVID-19. Over 2 crore children between the age group of 15-18 vaccinated against #COVID19 since 3rd January. Congratulations to all my young friends who got vaccinated,” he had said. Vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group began on January 3 in the country. PM security breach: Union minister Thakur rues statements by Congress leaders, questions Sonia Gandhi's ‘silence’ Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Saturday questioned remarks made by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and other Congress leaders following the breach of Prime Minister's security. He also questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi's ‘silence’ on the issue. In a major security lapse, prime minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by farm protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday. “The states are responsible for the prime minister's security wherever he visits. The entire country expressed concern over what happened in Punjab," Mr. Thakur told reporters here. The Punjab government did not take the incident seriously, he alleged. The law will take its own course now as the matter was before the Supreme Court, Mr. Thakur said. “But the way Punjab chief minister, the state Congress president and other leaders made comments on this issue was sad. It shows what they think and how they speak about the prime minister," he said. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,53,65,646 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,83,516. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 08 JANUARY 2022 [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]( Assembly polls in 5 States from Feb. 10, ECI bans physical campaigning till Jan. 15 The [Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the election schedule]( for the Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh State Assemblies. The Commission also banned all physical campaigning till January 15 due to the increasing COVID-19 cases across the country. Announcing the poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the decision was taken after taking inputs from health officials and much deliberation. Polling for Uttar Pradesh’s 403 Assembly seats would be held over seven phases on February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3 and March 7. [Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra addresses a press conference in New Delhi to announce dates for elections in five States. ]  Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand will all vote on a single day, February 14. Elections in Manipur will be spread over two phases on February 27 and March 3. Counting for all 690 constituencies across five States, where a total of 18.34 crore citizens are eligible to vote, would be carried out on March 10. COVID-19 vaccination | Use only Covaxin for 15-18 age cohort: Bharat Biotech COVID vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has appealed to healthcare workers to be “highly vigilant and ensure that only Covaxin is administered to individuals in the 15-18 years age group”. The appeal was issued late on Friday night and comes following reports of other COVID-19 vaccines being administered to this cohort. Currently only Covaxin is approved for the 15-18 age group. “Covaxin received approval based on clinical trial evaluation for safety and immunogenicity in the 2-18 years age group,” Bharat Biotech said in its announcement. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation on Saturday called for stringent implementation of public health and social measures as COVID-19 cases increased in most countries of southeast Asia, with some witnessing an exponential rise. [underlineimg] FCRA nod for Missionaries of Charity restored The [Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 7 restored the FCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC)]( the Catholic religious congregation set up by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration is mandatory to receive foreign donations. The move comes just days after the Ministry issued a statement that the FCRA registration of the MoC was not renewed as “some adverse inputs were noticed”. The registration was renewed, making MoC eligible to receive and utilise foreign funds in its bank accounts even as the U.K Parliament debated the issue, seeking to know if the British government had raised the issue of blocking of overseas funds of the MoC and other NGOs with India. [underlineimg] Court documents show Novak Djokovic had COVID-19 last month [Novak Djokovic's lawyers filed court papers Saturday in his challenge against deportation from Australia]( that show the tennis star tested positive for COVID-19 last month and recovered, grounds he used in applying for a medical exemption to the country's strict vaccination rules. The No. 1-ranked Djokovic was denied entry at the Melbourne airport late Wednesday after border officials canceled his visa for failing to meet its entry requirement that all non-citizens be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. [Melbourne: Protesters and fans of Serbia's Novak Djokovic gather outside the Park Hotel, used as an immigration detention hotel where Djokovic is confined in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022.]  Djokovic was given a medical exemption backed by the Victoria state government and Australian Open organisers on Jan. 1, based on information he supplied to two independent medical panels, and he was approved for a visa electronically. But it has since emerged that the Victoria state medical exemption, allowed for people who tested positive for the coronavirus within the last six months, was deemed invalid by the federal border authorities. [underlineimg] ‘Bulli Bai’ | Niraj Bishnoi not cooperating in probe: police [Main accused in the Bulli Bai app case Niraj Bishnoi]( has tried to harm himself twice while in police custody but he is being taken care of, police officials said on Saturday. Police said Bishnoi is trying to delay the investigation and not co-operating in interrogation. “He had also tried to harm himself twice and is also threatening to end his life. He is being take care of while he is in custody. His medical examination has been conducted and he is stable and unharmed. This may be due to his mental condition or perhaps, he wants to delay the investigation,” a senior police officer said. [underlineimg] PM Modi lauds feat of 2 crore children getting vaccinated [Lauding the feat of over two crore youngsters in the 15-18 age group getting vaccinated against COVID-19]( Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for continuing the momentum. He tweeted, “Excellent! Well done my young friends. Let us continue this momentum. Urging everyone to follow all COVID-19 related protocols and get vaccinated, if you haven’t already.” He was reacting to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s tweet regarding the feat. “Shielding Young India against COVID-19. Over 2 crore children between the age group of 15-18 vaccinated against #COVID19 since 3rd January. Congratulations to all my young friends who got vaccinated,” he had said. Vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group began on January 3 in the country. [underlineimg] PM security breach: Union minister Thakur rues statements by Congress leaders, questions Sonia Gandhi's ‘silence’ Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting [Anurag Thakur on Saturday questioned remarks made by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi]( other Congress leaders following the breach of Prime Minister's security. He also questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi's ‘silence’ on the issue. In a major security lapse, prime minister Narendra Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by farm protesters in Ferozepur on Wednesday. “The states are responsible for the prime minister's security wherever he visits. The entire country expressed concern over what happened in Punjab," Mr. Thakur told reporters here. The Punjab government did not take the incident seriously, he alleged. The law will take its own course now as the matter was before the Supreme Court, Mr. Thakur said. “But the way Punjab chief minister, the state Congress president and other leaders made comments on this issue was sad. It shows what they think and how they speak about the prime minister," he said. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 3,53,65,646 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,83,516. 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