Innholdsfortegnelse for 24 January 2022 i India Today

Since its invention nearly 3,000 years ago, the Greek alphabet has variously been deployed to denote different things: academic excellence, as in the Phi Beta Kappa Society; personality types, such as alpha males; even scientific phenomena, such as gamma rays. Only in May 2021 did it come to represent the multiple personalities of an organism that poses a severe threat to human existence. In an effort to dissociate any country with versions of the deadly virus, the World Health Organization chose to assign them letters of the Greek alphabet. Thus the world was introduced to the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and now the Omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Experts acknowledge Omicron as the fastest-spreading variant yet, which is responsible for the global resurgence of the pandemic, accounting for 1.7…

BULLI BAI: ‘Bulli Bai’ was an online app that put several Muslim women—journalists, activists and others—up for an online ‘auction’. Hosted on GitHub, a Microsoft-owned software-sharing platform, this app was developed in November and went public on December 31. There was no actual sale involved on either apps; the purpose was to degrade, humiliate and harass Muslim women SULLI DEALS: Similar to Bulli Bai, this app surfaced on GitHub in July 2021. It also targeted Muslim women. The app creator soon deleted it, and no action was taken by the police at the time…

NIRMATRELVIR BY PFIZER Suppliers in India: N/A  Drug Type: Anti-viral Approval: In process, decision awaited Included in MoHFW guidelines: No Starting price: N/A Efficacy: Results from Phase II and III clinical trials showed it reduced risk of hospitalisation or death by 89 per cent MOLNUPIRAVIR BY MERCK Suppliers in India: Cipla, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Labs and nine other companies  Drug type: Anti-viral Approval: Yes Included in MoHFW guidelines: No Starting price: Rs 1,399 for a 5-day course Efficacy: 50 per cent reduction in hospitalisation and death in early-stage infections RONAPREVE BY ROCHE Suppliers in India: Roche and Cipla Drug type: Combination of two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab” Approval: Yes Included in MoHFW guidelines: Yes Starting price: Rs 59,750 per dose Efficacy: Trials have shown it reduces hospital stays…

2022 was meant to be a crucial year for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After nearly two years of anxiety, rising prices, supply chain disruptions, declining investments and stagnant demand, this was the year to get the economy back on an even keel. However, Omicron’s rapid spread has only added to existing vulnerabilities. As some of India’s key states, including its most populous province, Uttar Pradesh, go to polls, the budget is likely to be populist. However, a whole host of factors, including an end to the dream run of rising tax revenues and disinvestment not yielding the desired returns, will restrict spending. Food and fertiliser subsidies will continue, and allocation for schemes such as MNREGA or the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, will increase. After two brutal years, Budget 2022-23…

ANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL, the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Maharajganj in Bihar, was in for a shock in February 2021 when he realised that the Bank of Baroda’s (BOB) branch in Chhapra, in Saran district, had suspended operations of his MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) account. Sigriwal’s aide rushed to the bank branch to enquire and returned with grim news. “The account had been put on hold. Fraudsters had withdrawn Rs 89 lakh from it using cloned cheques. These had been cleared by BOB’s Ahmednagar branch (in Maharashtra) on November 3, 2020,” says Sigriwal. Sigriwal approached Union home minister Amit Shah, whose ministry flagged the matter at various levels for a thorough investigation, including by the Bihar government. BOB, on its part, had already informed Bidhan Chandra Rai,…

LAST YEAR, AFTER SHE-FALI SHAH wrapped up a film shoot, the crew brought her a cake to cut. It was shaped like a question mark. The idea came from Suresh Triveni, director of the upcoming film, Jalsa, also starring Vidya Balan. “He was like ‘You are KBC [Kaun Banega Crorepati], man. You just don’t stop asking questions’,” says Shah. The actress’s filmography boasts of many highlights—there’s Satya (1998), Monsoon Wed  ding (2001), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Once Again (2018), there’s the short film Juice (2017) and, most recently, there was the critically acclaimed Netflix series, Delhi Crime (2019-). Shah is proud of her reputation as someone who chews her “director’s brain over every line, every moment”. “Either you convince me or I convince you,” she says. In Human, a…

Vivan Marwaha’s What Millennials Want is the latest addition to the trickle of books on ‘Young India’. It tells us nothing we don’t know already, from the practice of arranged marriages to the primacy of religion. Moreover, Marwaha’s conclusions have a stirring blandness. On demonetisation: “This is a generation that supports bold action.” The book ends with a sarkari insight: “India’s millennials are defined by their diversity, talent and potential, and they currently stand at a crossroads.” The author tries to rescue the impoverished observation with the braggadocio of scope: “…having camped out across 13 Indian states talking to more than 900 millennials, I can write with confidence…” Marwaha is a master at stating the obvious, which he thinks the use of italics will hide: a government job is a…

Q. What is it about long-format storytelling that you enjoy so much? OTT has completely changed the landscape for female actors. The content is far more exciting than anything we have done in the past. I love that there are women writers creating women characters who are so much more real and relatable. They are unapologetically imperfect. Q. What was it like working with Naseeruddin Shah in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati? Before Naseer saab came in, we were told he can be grumpy and has a short fuse. During the table read, he was just reading the dialogues. We had no idea what he would do in front of the camera. I thought it was quite cool. As an actor, you don’t need to show all your cards immediately. You allow…

When Ratan Tata wasn’t battling Cyrus Mistry over control of the Tata empire, it turns out he was quietly meeting a former bureaucrat to pen his memoirs. Ratan N. Tata: The Authorised Biography, written by retired IAS officer Thomas Mathew, will be out this November. In the works for two years, the biography has the 84-year-old Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group commenting on contentious issues—assuming charge in 1991, the politically-charged Singur agitation and his conflict with the Mistrys. The book triggered a six-month bidding war among publishers, which HarperCollins Publishers won recently with a Rs 2 crore offer. Mamata Rules With Omicron spreading swiftly, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is playing Didi to the hilt. The Trinamool Congress government is distributing pre-cooked food—brown rice, chicken, veggies and fruits—to…

OMICRON SYMPTOMS ↘ According to a CDC study, the four most common Omicron symptoms are cold, fatigue, nasal congestion and runny nose ↘ An ongoing study by King’s College London also lists nausea, loss of appetite and night sweats as symptoms. It also reports that 1 in 50 is likely to get long-term health complications post Omicron WHEN TO TEST ↘ Doctors advise a test as soon as any symptom appears. This is because treatment efficacy improves if started between Day 3 and 5 after symptom first appears ↘ RT-PCR test is still the most assured confirmatory diagnosis for Covid TREATMENT OPTIONS ↘ People with mild symptoms are advised rest, a light diet, plenty of fluids and only paracetemol to treat fever (in consultation with a doctor) ↘ Moderate cases…

CORBEVAX Biological E Limited Protein sub-unit 1 country COVOVAX Serum Institute of India Protein sub-unit 3 countries ZYCOV D Zydus Cadila DNA 3 countries MRNA1273 Moderna RNA 85 countries SPUTNIK V Gamaleya Nonreplicating viral vector 74 countries AD.26. COV2.S Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) Nonreplicating viral vector 100 countries AZD122 Oxford Astra Zeneca Nonreplicating viral vector 134 countries COVISHIELD Serum Institute of India Nonreplicating viral vector 47 countries COVAXIN Bharat Biotech Inactivated 13 countries Manufacturer Type No. of countries where it is approved Only Covishield and Covaxin are being used for the booster doses…

On January 8, the Election Commission of India, while announcing a seven-phased voting calendar for the poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand, made a parallel ruling that changes the complexion of these assembly elections. No physical rallies and roadshows will be allowed till January 15. The Omicron explosion necessitates it, and we must wait to see whether the pandemic’s graph allows a reversal of the order—for now, all bets are off. This takes away one core trait of Indian elections: its colour. No autorickshaws with screeching ghettoblasters, no festooned crowds holding up traffic, no netas waltzing door-to-door with fixed smiles in grotty mohallas and no flag-bearing rent-a-crowd rallies. Whether UP (voting in all seven phases, February 10-March 7), Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa (voting on February 14)…

Work can be all-encompassing, taking most of our time. Although my work is my happy place, my biggest stressbuster is spending time with my family, especially playing with my grandson and sharing his curiosity in everything around him. The love of my family and friends keeps me grounded and makes me who I am. Their trust and togetherness gives me the courage to challenge myself, take risks and make bold decisions. I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to society’s well-being through platforms like ‘Titliyan’. The NGO is my dream project, co-founded with my wife Anita and aims to spread happiness and education among underprivileged children to give them a chance to realise their dreams by tapping into the positivity, innocence and curiosity they are born with. As…

Tahir Raj Bhasin’s eightyear cinematic journey has seen him play a 1940s movie star (Manto, 2018), a celebrated cricketer (’83, 2021) and a dreaded baddie (Mardaani, 2014). The one thing missing from this résumé was the clichéd role of a quintessential romantic hero. Finally, this January, he gets to play that part, not once but twice—in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (Netflix) and Ranjish Hi Sahi (Voot Select). In YKKA, we see a woman’s love for Bhasin’s character border on fatal attraction. Playing “an ordinary guy caught up in extraordinary circumstances”, Bhasin describes the show as a “genre bender”. Packed with dark comedy and Bollywood pulp, YKKA is what the actor even calls a “driller—a drama romantic thriller”. The title, says Bhasin, puts a twist on the meaning of the hit…

What do you get when you mix an eminent singer-songwriter, known for his organic approach to music, and a label that is all about the zeroes and ones of artificial intelligence? The answer is ‘Shehzaada Shehzaadi’, a lovely ditty by Ankur Tewari, made in collaboration with AI-powered music label Snafu. Launched in 2018, the label recently raised $6 million (Rs 44.5 crore) in funding, with investors like ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog and Grammy-nominated songwriter Savan Harish Kotecha. Snafu works like this: an AI-powered algorithm analyses data from over 150,000 songs per week and identifies which artists need amplification, based on listener engagement and the music itself. “When my manager first told me that the label was interested in working with me, I was quite apprehensive,” says Tewari, adding that he likes…

On January 1, 2022, a landmark of sorts was reached when the world’s largest free trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), came into force. Fifteen countries from the Asia-Pacific, including China, ratified it. India’s decision to opt out of the RCEP in 2019 generated much controversy, but there is enough ex post facto justification for its doing so. First, China is now clearly looking inward. So, the potential for India to seek market access in China in the medium to long term may be limited, not to mention the ongoing border stand-off in Ladakh. Second, the RCEP partners have not satisfactorily addressed the issue of non-tariff barriers we raised. Third, the issue of services, which is of capital importance to India, did not get the attention that it…

The phones don’t stop ringing at Delhi’s Manipal Hospital. Worried kin of Covid patients are calling constantly, a majority insisting their loved ones be given the latest wonder treatment—monoclonal antibodies (maBs) cocktail. We have been there before. If it was the demand for hydroxychloroquine and plasma therapy in the first wave, the second wave saw remdesivir, ivermectin, steroids such as dexamethasone and tocilizumab as the drugs du jour. This time, it’s maBs. The antibody cocktail had proved highly effective in preventing severe disease and death during the second wave. Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman of Medanta-The Medicity, the first hospital to introduce the treatment in the country, had at the time said that it held “great promise in reducing hospitalisation rate and could even be administered to children”. MaBs are lab-prepared…

HOTELS, BARS & RESTAURANTS SIZE (2019-20) $32 billion (`2.4 LAKH CRORE) NO. OF JOBS 48 million Impact Weekend curfews, 50% capacity, low cap for weddings are hurting What can bring relief Direct salary transfers, waiver of utility bills Source: ibef.org, industry estimates TOURISM SIZE (2019-20) $75 billion (`5.5 LAKH CRORE) NO. OF JOBS 39 million Impact Travel bans, Covid fears keeping tourists away What can bring relief Boosting domestic tourism, creating better infrastructure AVIATION SIZE (2019-20) $20 billion (`1.4 LAKH CRORE) NO. OF JOBS 66,900 Impact Poor business leading to cancelled flights What can bring relief The airlines want govt to set standards on air traffic movement and capacity utilisation, remove fare caps, lower duty on jet fuel RETAIL SIZE (2019-20) $779 billion (`57.6 LAKH CRORE) NO. OF JOBS 43…

PUNJAB PUNCHLINE IN PUNJAB Comedian versus comedian? A touch of tragedy may always lie beneath the hurly-burly of Punjab’s politics, but if the buzz is to be believed, Amritsar East constituency is in line to see plenty of speech balloons from two contestants associated more with laughter emojis. Bhagwant Mann, comedian-turned-MP and AAP’s Punjab convenor, is bracing himself to take on the cricketer-turned-entertainer-turned-neta, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. No laughing matter this, of course. Both are chief minister aspirants in their current parties. After securing anticipatory bail in a drugs case, Akali Dal heavy-weight Bikramjit Majithia is also gearing up to challenge Sidhu in Amritsar East. What may play spoiler in this prize fight is the prospect of another one: a strong lobby in the Congress wants Sidhu to…

By the end of each bank working day in 2020-21, Indian banks had been defrauded of Rs 80 lakh by way of forged cheques and card/internet frauds. The loss amounted to over Rs 1 crore if other kinds of bank scams were taken into account. Since banks—as per RBI policy—are mandated to compensate account holders for the funds, the victims of such scams invariably lose interest in the progress of the investigation. With time, the overworked police also drop these cases off their priority list. This is why the swindled money is not recovered in a majority of the cases. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the police registered 4,047 cases of online banking frauds in 2020 even as investigation was pending in 2,267 such cases from previous…

Making the claim that Madras was modern India’s first substantial city, Sriram tells us the story of the city’s achievements and building. Journeying through Chennai’s past, it arrives at the present beautifully. Built in 1872, the D r Bhau Daji Lad Museum is, of course, a repository of all things old, but it’s many artefacts also explain Mumbai’s present. In this book, Mehta chooses 101 objects that can time-travel. It can sometimes be hard to make sense of Banaras’ sacred geography, but author Nilosree Biswas and photographer Irfan Habib wonderfully navigate Kashi’s mythic labyrinth in this lush coffee-table book.…