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News Snippets

Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027

Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday

oppn parties

Free Booster Doses For 75 Days Is A Welcome Move

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-07-13 16:30:52

About the Author

Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

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In a welcome move, the Centre has announced that on the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal being celebrated for 75 years of Indian Independence, all adults will be given free Covid booster doses from 15th of July for 75 days, that is till 26th of September. Since the vaccination drive has lost steam and since free booster doses are currently being given to only senior citizens, frontline and healthcare workers, this is a good decision which will perhaps make people take the booster dose.

Ideally, the booster dose should have been free for all at government facilities, with an option for those who wished to pay for it to get jabbed at a private facility. But the government had allocated only Rs 5000cr in 2022-23 for jabs to 15-17-age-group and senior citizens, frontline and healthcare workers, with a promise to increase the allocation if needed. Since tax collections have improved, the government should have allocated Rs 10000cr more for vaccination this fiscal and that could have provided free booster doses to all adults at the reduced price at which the government gets the doses.

However, since that was not done, this limited window for booster doses should be used to bring the vaccination drive back on track. Statistics show that less than 31 percent of senior citizens have received the booster dose and, alarmingly, less than 1 percent in the age group of 18-59 has received it nationally. This needs to be changed and in these 75 days, the government should try to jab as many people as it can by launching a massive vaccination drive as it was done in the initial days.

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