25112020-TTB-01.qxd 11/25/2020 12:15 AM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.140 no.326 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 MUSK NOW SECOND RICHEST, SURPASSES GATES BUSINESS /thetribunechd TRUMP RELENTS, BIDEN FORGES AHEAD WITH BUILDING TEAM WORLD INDIA TO BUILD $250 MN DAM IN AFGHANISTAN BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com wednesday, november 25,2020 Will go by scientific advice on vaccine: PM Wants elaborate cold storage facilities for inoculation | Tells worst-hit states to keep positivity rate below 5% Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India was keeping a close watch on Covid-19 vaccine developments, which were in final stages, and would follow scientific advice on the matter. Virtually addressing the Chief Ministers of the eight worst-hit states — Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra — the PM warned against lowering the guard against the virus while planning for the vaccine rollout. He asked them to establish cold storage facilities and set up structures PM Narendra Modi holds a virtual meeting with the CMs of the states where Covid-19 cases have seen a sudden spurt after the festive season. PTI down to the block level to prepare for inoculation drives. Describing as “worrisome” the recent surge in some states, Modi urged the CMs to keep positivity rate below 5 per cent and case fatality rate below 1 per cent. “We are in the fourth stage of pandemic control. With the rising recovery rate, people have developed a false notion of security from the virus, leading to negligence. It’s a must to re-awaken peo- ple to the dangers of this virus,” said the PM, asking the CMs to step up awareness. He said India’s Covid vaccine plan would be ready soon and asked the states to send inputs on priority groups for inoculation. The Centre has, meanwhile, counted one crore health workers for the first stage of vaccination. On the vaccine, the PM said he couldn’t stop people from politicising the issue and that he would follow scientific advice on the matter. His reference was to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday asking which vaccine would India use. Modi said answers on vaccine dosage or pricing were not available yet, though the government was in touch with local and global developers to ensure the vaccine was procured in time. Govt blocks 43 apps, most with China link At15.3%, HP has highest positivity rate New Delhi, November 24 The government today blocked access to 43 more mobile phone apps, including Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate, for being prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of the nation. Sources said these apps have Chinese links. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said the order was based on reports received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination WHY THE ACTION Tribune News Service These apps were engaging in activities prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order. Shimla, November 24 The Covid situation in Himachal has become alarming with the hill state having the highest positivity rate of 15.3 per cent in the country, resulting in the health infrastructure crumbling. The state has left behind Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which were the main hotspots. The positive cases have shot up in the last fortnight, especially in the four IN BRIEF Centre of the Home Ministry. On June 29, the government had blocked 59 mobile apps. Again on September 2, 118 apps were banned under Section 69A of the IT Act. — TNS CM says may go in for stricter curbs | Makeshift hospitals to come up ALARMING SURGE NOVEMBER 7 DISTRICT CASES DEATHS Shimla 3,036 81 Mandi 3,442 46 Lahaul & Spiti 434 2 Kinnaur 488 7 NOVEMBER 24 CASES DEATHS 5,936 141 5,756 72 1,006 9 730 11 CAP ON GATHERINGS IN SIX NCR DISTRICTS INSIDE districts of Shimla, Mandi, Kullu and Kangra where night curfew has been imposed. There is shortage of beds, oxygen, oximeters and ambu- lances to ferry patients. Patients are being encouraged to go in for home isolation but with a huge number of positive cases requiring oxygen, hospitalisation becomes inevitable, said sources. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur claimed there was no shortage of oxygen but admitted that there was scarcity of beds due to the sudden surge. “We are closely monitoring the situation and, if need be, we can go in for stricter restrictions,” said the CM while talking to The Tribune. He said the setting up of makeshift hospitals too would be expedited keeping in mind the surging numbers. $20 Sputnik shots likely in India by Jan Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 24 A single dose of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will cost less than $10 in international market while the two-dose regimen would cost $20 (around Rs 1,400), announced Krill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, at a webinar on Tuesday. At the launch, the vaccine would cost half or even less than other mRNA vaccines with similar efficacy, claimed Dmitriev. The RDIF and its partners have launched production of the lyophilised (dry) form of the vaccine, which is stored at a temperature of 2 to 8°C. Such a regime enables the distribution of the vaccine in international markets as well as expanding its use in hardto-reach regions. The current agreements between the RDIF and leading foreign pharmaceutical companies allow the Sputnik V vaccine to be produced abroad for 500 million people per year, starting from 2021. The first international deliveries of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will be made to customers in January 2021. The second interim analysis of clinical trial data showed a 91.4 per cent efficacy 28 days after the first dose; efficacy is over 95 per cent 42 days after the first dose, said its makers Gamaleya Institute. Thaw in ties? Capt to 3L Pb farmers head for Delhi today meet Sidhu at lunch Tribune News Service Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service BrahMos supersonic missile test-fired NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday “successfully” test-fired the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos as part of a series of trials of the weapon, known for its precision strike capabilities. The range of the new land-attack missile has been extended to 400 km from original 290 km, but its speed has been maintained at 2.8 mach. — PTI UP okays ordinance against ‘love jihad’ LUCKNOW: The UP Government on Tuesday approved a draft ordinance to curb forcible or “dishonest” religious conversions, including those for the sake of marriage, which could land violators in jail for up to 10 years. Under the proposed law, a marriage will be declared “null and void”, if the conversion of a woman is solely for that purpose. — PTI Relief for Kangana in sedition case MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection from arrest to Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel in a case registered against them under sedition and other charges, and directed them to appear before the Mumbai Police on January 8. The court also questioned the police over invoking the sedition charge in the case. — PTI Chandigarh, November 24 After months of cold-shouldering, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today invited his former Cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu for a luncheon meeting tomorrow, setting the ball rolling for the cricketer-turned-politician’s likely return into the state Council of Ministers. Sharing the information on Twitter, the CM’s media adviser, Raveen Thukral, said the meeting agenda was to discuss state and national politics. The political circles, however, were abuzz with the possibility of Sidhu returning to the Cabinet by early next month. Sidhu was divested of the Local Bodies portfolio after the Lok Sabha polls in July last year and offered Power, which he didn’t accept and resigned from the Cabinet. With the BJP flexing its muscles and planning to con- Miffed leader may rejoin Cabinet by next month test all seats on its own in the next Punjab Assembly elections, Sidhu’s rehabilitation would come as a shot in the arm for the Congress, which is already in a confrontational mode with the saffron party over the central farm laws. Sources said the Congress high command’s larger concern was to ensure a miffed Sidhu, who had skipped party functions for quite some time, doesn’t leave the party. Chandigarh, November 24 Around 3 lakh farmers are set to leave for Delhi from Punjab tomorrow, as part of their “Delhi Chalo” protest against the three farm laws passed by Parliament. The farmers owing allegiance to 33 organisations are part of the United Farmers Front, an umbrella body of 472 farmer unions that will participate in the protest on November 26-27. The attempt by the BJP-led Centre to schedule the second round of talks with the protesting unions on December 3, has failed to cut much ice with Punjab farmers. The farmers will begin their march to Delhi tomorrow morning. Heavy police deployment has been made on all roads leading to Delhi through Haryana. Trucks carrying rations for farmers are already being denied passage through the BJP-ruled state. Farmer unions are prepared to stage indefinite dharnas wherever they are stopped. Farooq Abdullah Jammu house ‘built on state land’; admn releases list encroached state land at Sunjwan. Demanding a probe, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said powerful people were involved in “conscious land loot” under the Roshni “scam”. He said names of several top politicians, including NC leaders and former state ministers from the Congress, who allegedly benefitted from the Act, had come to the fore. Following directions by the High Court to make public land given under the controversial scheme, the UT administration came out with the list of beneficiaries, who allegedly encroached upon land in addition to what was allocated under the scheme. Earlier, three former ministers, several politicians and a former bureaucrat figured on the list. — TNS a human adenoviral vector platform that uses two different human adenoviral vectors ■ The vectors allow for a stronger and longer-term immune response compared to vaccines using same vector for two doses ■ 2 to 8°C storage enables its distribution in far-flung areas ■ 500 mntwin-dose annual pro- duction target beginning next yr ■ Jan 2021 the vaccine’s first international deliveries to begin EFFICACY POST 1ST DOSE 91.4DAY ON95% % ON 28TH 42ND DAY COVID-19CASES INDIA COUNT 91,77,840 TOTAL RECOVERED DEATHS RECOVERED 86,04,955 FRESH FATALITIES 480 TOTAL DEATHS 1,34,218 WORLD 5,98,46,744 4,13,89,630 14,08,651 Emmy award for Netflix’s ‘Delhi Crime’ Mumbai, November 24 Netflix’s India Original series “Delhi Crime”, helmed by Indian-Canadian director Richie Mehta, has bagged the best drama series honour at the 48th International Emmy Awards. Told from the perspective of the Delhi Police team probing the crime that made global headlines, the series deconstructs the Delhi gangrape case of December 16, 2012. Farmers demand the release of their leaders from the Narnaund police station in Hisar on Tuesday. Hry cops detain 72 farm leaders Chandigarh/Rohtak, Nov 24 Ahead of the “Delhi Chalo” demonstration by farmers, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has warned of action at the DelhiHaryana and Punjab-Haryana borders over the next three days even as the state police swooped down on the houses of farmer activists in the wee hours today to take them into “preventive custody”. Midnight raids and arrests Farooq among Roshni ‘beneficiaries’ New Delhi, November 24 Former CM and National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah has been named by the Jammu and Kashmir administration on a list that alleges that his residence in Jammu is built over “illegally possessed” land, a charge denied by the former. The list highlighted that the NC headquarters in both Srinagar and Jammu were legalised under the controversial Roshni Act. Displaying the list on its website, the administration revealed that Abdullah’s house was built over an acre of TWO-DOSE REGIMEN ■ Sputnik V vaccine is based on Not true, bid to malign party: NC New Delhi, November 24 The National Conference rejected the charge that Farooq Abdullah had “benefitted” from the Roshni Act, saying anyone claiming so was “lying”. Omar Abdullah said: "The news attributing to sources that Dr Farooq Abdullah is a beneficiary of the Act is false and is being spread with a malicious intent." The party did not answer specific accusations levelled by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. INSIDE CM warns of strict action if protesters turn violent were reported in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar and Ambala districts. Later in the day, the CM said the government did not approve of the farmers’ protest and plans were afoot to ensure law and order was not compromised. He said, “The public should avoid the Punjab-Haryana border on November 25 and 26 and the Delhi-Haryana border on November 26 and 27. Stern action has been planned to avert any law and order situation.” “Seventy-two activists have been detained so far and more such preventive arrests are likely,” Haryana DGP Manoj Yadava said. — TNS A STILL FROM ‘DELHI CRIME’ Mehta dedicated the honour to all women who not just endure violence that men inflict on them, “but are also tasked to solve the problem”. Actor Shefali Shah played Vartika Chaturvedi, whose character on “Delhi Crime” was based on former Delhi Police DCP Chhaya Sharma who cracked the case. — PTI Nikita murder: Cops reopen 2018 case, take custody of key accused Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Faridabad , November 24 Tausif (22), the main accused in the murder case of 21-yearold student Nikita Tomar, was remanded in two-day police custody here today. A production warrant was issued by the SIT in the case pertaining to abduction of the deceased in 2018. The case was reopened by the police following large-scale protests and demand by the victim’s kin. Nikita was shot dead on October 26 this year outside VICTIM WAS ABDUCTED, TAKEN TO UP ■ Nikita was murdered outside ■ In 2018, Tausif had abduct- her college in Faridabad on October 26 this year as she resisted a kidnapping bid by the main accused, Tausif ■ Tausif and his friend Rehan were nabbed the same day ed Nikita and taken her to UP before setting her free ■ Nikita’s father had lodged a police complaint then but later withdrew it after a reported compromise Aggarwal College here as she resisted the attempt of kidnapping by Tausif, who was nabbed the same day and sent to judicial custody. ACP Anil Kumar, head of the SIT probing the case, said Tausif had been taken into police custody to recover the vehicle used for kidnapping of the victim in 2018. Tausif had abducted Nikita and taken her to UP and Nuh district before releasing her.