The Pandemic-Driven Desperation Is Worrying!

The two-year long COVID-19 pandemic (no signal that it’s ended) has jolted the Indian economy almost out of its roots, heightened by the fact that the economy had been under a lot of strain for at least two years prior the outbreak. The normal demand-supply equation has gone bizarre—the supply chain not yet being able to resume its normal course, with some of the key sectors suffering maximum damage, in light of insufficient demand as the common people now want to hold on to their savings fearing an uncertain future. Normally, with less demand and normal supply the prices should fall and this has led many experts to expect a recession soon or already in the process. However, prices only kept on rising, crossing a whopping level of 7% in the recent quarter that’s made the Reserve Bank of India increase the Repo rate twice in two weeks. With some knowledge of economics I feel that while the customers are not spending their money enough the suppliers not still getting the normal booming times want to break even or recompense by raising the prices, covering all the essentials as well the consumer durables. This brings us to the desperation displayed by almost all stakeholders to stay viable and to survive.

 

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or regular sources of income, fully or partly, in the two-year slump and are now desperate to generate some sure income for sheer survival. Apart from causing more shortfalls on the demand side, these people are mostly trying to take up any casual jobs and try doing their best. Therefore, it’s no surprise that people like us, in some level of safety in terms of survival, are getting marketing calls from such desperate casuals, accounting for more than 90% of the daily phone calls. Invariably, these calls are designed to make you part with your income/savings or to give you income in the way of personal loans.

 

The casuals working for the telecom companies, the banks, the insurance companies and the like daily sit with their phone database and call up one and all at a daily basis. They want to convince you cutting a deal like get a new connection or to port the existing connection, purchase a policy, go for a new credit card or confirm for a personal loan so that they can earn their commissions to justify their temporary occupation and to generate some income. I’m appalled that they don’t even spare the retired people, offering loans or cards or policies without bothering to find out if they were eligible at all. On getting a call like that I ask them what I am going to do with a personal loan now, because a retired person normally doesn’t have too many plans for new purchases and that it’d be like just paying back the loan every month, losing a sizeable amount of money in the process. But they insist that all are eligible based on their credit score or something like that. Add to this the food or the cab or other aggregators who shower you with repeated messages/promos/discounts to go for it. With obstructed and declining economic growth such kind of desperation is not going to end soon.

 

The desperation is visible in other fields too. That day, being almost roasted alive inside the house by the grueling humid heat, I decided to go out for a relief in the evening. As I entered a restaurant cum bar the somewhat emaciated valet assigned to open the doors for every customer, leaned toward me while opening the glass door, and to my great surprise asked me in a low tone, “You’ll eat something inside?” I stared at him, not facing such a situation ever in my life and asked him, “What?” he repeated his question. Angry now, I told him that I was going to decide after browsing the menu only, and went past him, not courteously.

 

Taking a seat I complained to a waiter about this peculiar behavior. He didn’t look surprised, but assured me he’d talk to him which he did later. I ordered a beer and as I started relishing the cool relief going down my throat I couldn’t help wondering about that valet. I felt sorry for him, standing out there in the heat, God knows for how many hours a day. ‘Maybe, most of the customers enter here just to cool off a little without ordering pricey dishes and thus depriving him of a tip’, I thought. This, in fact, got somewhat confirmed when, paying the bill, I left a tip the waiter told me to give it to the valet outside and that from there the money would be distributed to all of them. I took the note back and went outside. Unfortunately, he was not there, perhaps taking a break for himself. I waited a couple of minutes looking around, and then left sadly.

 

While taking a flight at times, out of absolute necessity, I’ve been observing the airports too, and was always surprised to see a lot of un-uniformed people loitering around, offering help to one and all like the railway porters. And recently, I got a shocker.

 

An elderly lady in perfect health and posture had just got down from a cab at an airport, offloading her baggage. She was traveling alone, apparently. A sickly elderly person approached her immediately, offering help till the boarding is completed for a little over a thousand bucks. The surprised lady was not yet able to decide what to do when the man while arranging a trolley for the baggage unfolded a wheelchair and asked her to occupy it. The lady got very offended and angry now. She stoutly refused and taking hold of her trolley set off for the airport entrance.

 

Desperation and the resultant frustration cum anger is hardly good news for a society. If continued for an indefinite period of time this may lead to violence and crimes. In India, we’ve been helplessly watching violent rivalries, riots in various places on silly excuses, general crimes and crimes against women. Hope the desperation gets a solution fast and the looming uncertainty ends soon. Unfortunately, the epidemiologists are at the moment are debating if the COVID-19 Fourth Wave has hit India or not. 

India Play Holi Amid Frayed Nerves Over Russian-Ukraine War And Concerns For A COVID-19 4th Wave!

The Festival of Colors, Holi, began in India with the symbolic burning of Holika (a demoness of ancient times representing the evil or the Satan) effigy last night. This festival is celebrated every year in the last full moon night of the Hindu calendar year. Today, the colors are submerging the country in a spirit of joy. The Indians righteously feel and justify the celebrations across the country as they have missed this for the last two years, and after all, this signifies the victory of good over evil. For the last one month the country has seen a return to near normalcy with all restrictions except for the mask removed, the schools/colleges reopening; and just when they felt that the Pandemic had finally entered the endemic phase came the WHO (World Health Organization) warning that the pandemic is far from over and it has been spiking globally again with more than 11 million cases new cases and over 43,000 deaths in the last week. Combine this with the Russia-Ukraine war raging now for over three weeks. Therefore, the Globe is in a real soup at the moment with the heady mix of war, pandemic and inflation—the last being fueled by the firsts. Indeed, we need victory over the evil forces desperately now.

 

Most of the international powers, super or otherwise, are really getting ruffled up now by what they call the Russian belligerence. True to its strategic interests Russia has been talking peace with Ukraine (that once Ukraine agrees to Russian conditions there'd be instant ceasefire) while stepping up the attacks, particularly targeting the civil population as alleged by Ukraine. The Ukraine official media has released pictures of airports, hospitals, schools, theatres and so on being hit by Russian missiles. The siege of Kyiv and other major cities continue. As anticipated, Russia had ignored the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to suspend its war immediately. Somewhat inspired by the recent Indian trends perhaps, Putin’s government has decided to label all antiwar Russians as traitors.

 

Photo: cnn.com

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his trademark green t-shirt, has addressed the US Congress recently, urging them to help now or never to avert the invasion. Although he has been renewing his appeals for a no-fly zone it was made clear to him that the no-fly zone declaration or sending MiG fighter jets was not possible as it would escalate the war globally. So, Zelensky asked for other military aid from the US and the European countries in his last address. President Joe Biden responded by granting a $800 million worth military aid in terms of anti-aircraft systems, anti-tank weapons and drones. President Zelensky’s passionately emotional appeal earned him a standing ovation from the US Congress while a sort of comedy was created too as one lawmaker raised the query as to whether Zelensky did not own a suit.

 

Unable to either stop or defeat Russia through endless rounds of economic sanctions President Biden used the strongest words so far calling Putin ‘a war criminal’ while maintaining his stand to not send US ground troops to Ukraine as any direct conflict between Russia and the NATO would result in World War-III. The US Senate also called for an investigation into the alleged war crimes by Putin. The US lawmakers are applying more pressure now on India to take a stand against Russia while India’s Indian Oil Corporation has bought 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia reportedly at a heavy discount. It was also reported that an Indian judge in the ICJ had voted against Russia in support of the court’s order.

 

With no end in sight for the Ukraine crisis the pandemic resurge has added more problems. The WHO warning said that one of the three sub-variants of Omicron, namely the BA.2 variant, has been found to be the dominant virus in the recent surge in China, South Korea and Hong Kong—China already putting nearly 37 million of its citizens under lockdown after reaching the highest ever daily-infection figures since the pandemic started; South Korea registering a record daily new cases of around 600,000 only yesterday, a supposed peak for the country; and Hong Kong reporting a rising trend of deaths, particularly because a large chunk of its elderly population is yet to be vaccinated.  A few cases of the BA.2 virus, also called the ‘stealth virus’ due to its ability to escape detection through the normal RT-PCR tests, are also being found in Israel. European nations like Germany, France and the UK among others are also showing rising infections in recent days. The WHO warns that the surge may be heading toward countries in eastern Europe too including Belarus and Ukraine, and appealed to the nations to not lax the testing/detection/contact measures further. President Biden is also put under more pressure due to the surge.

 

Some studies have reportedly said that the new surge or the COVID-19 Fourth Wave may reach India by June this year and may last for four months. Amid the relaxations, the elections and the celebrations the Government of India had taken a high-level meeting to study the new threat. In all, we are looking at a very volatile and uncertain future at the moment, confounded by the Ukraine war and an obstinately resurging two-year-old pandemic. The crude oil prices had come down to around $100 a barrel on the hopes of a truce between Russia and Ukraine; but now the uncertainty is bound to come back. All the growth rates as far as the starting-to-revive economies are being concerned are set to be revised downwards at any time. 

Explosive Iyer Helps India Seal T20I Series At 2-0 Against Sri Lanka!

Shreyas Iyer, one of the most promising youngsters for India in all formats, picked up his second consecutive and equally explosive half-century (in 31 balls) to guide India to a comfortable victory by 7 wickets over the visiting Sri Lanka in the second T20 International match at Dharamshala this evening, again remaining not out with a superb stroke-filled 74 in 44 balls and thus sealing the 3-match Series with an unassailable 2-0 lead. Iyer made 57 not out in just 28 balls in the first T20I match in Lucknow and combined very well with opener Ishan Kishan who came into his own with a fluent 89 runs in 56 balls helping India set a formidable target of 199/2. Sri Lanka batsmen faltered in the chase making only 137 runs losing 6 wickets. Ishan crafted a 111-run opening partnership with Rohit Sharma (44) in that match.

 

Today India won the toss and elected to field first perhaps because of the possible dew factor. Sri Lanka openers made a good start racing to 67 runs in the 9^th over when Danushka Gunathilaka (38) got out. After his fall the visitors lost the clue for a brief period losing quick wickets. But opener Pathum Nissanka carried on till the penultimate over scoring a brilliant 75 in 53 balls, and with a late explosion by captain Dasun Shanaka blasting 47 runs in just 19 balls. Sri Lanka scored 39 runs in the last two overs and set a target of 184 runs which seemed to be quite competitive for India without their strike batsmen of Kohli, Pant and KL Rahul.

 

Ishan Kishan attacked the Lankan bowlers from the very first over and the momentum was not disturbed ever after Rohit fell early to a fiery Dushmantha Chameera for the 5^thtime in around 40 balls in the last few matches. Iyer took charge from the word go and stroked all around the park in a perfectly cricketing way. Ishan was again stroking well, but got out for 16 runs perhaps a bit shaken after getting hit in the helmet by a Lahiru Kumara bouncer. Sanju Samson, in the team after a long break, lived dangerously for some time and then broke loose notching up 39 in 25. Ravindra Jadeja, also coming back into the team after a long fitness break, made a mockery of the competitive target by racing to 45 in just 18 balls, remaining not out. India won with three overs to spare.

 

Sri Lanka helped the India chase by a lot of misfields and dropped catches, not normally the case with them. Of course, they are too a young and inexperienced team; but they have a lot of promise in most of the batsmen and bowlers. For a change, we are seeing furious fast bowlers leading the attack for the team, Chameera and Kumara going past 90 miles an hour often, as against their traditionally strong spin attack aiming mostly to choke the opponents. The fairly grassy pitch at Dharamshala helped the fast bowlers of both sides in the initial overs. The Sri Lanka foursome pace-battery can be formidable in the first Test match in Mohali that also offers a pitch somewhat helping fast bowlers.

 

And, for the first time in the pandemic-hit India we’ve seen today a good and noisy crowd after cricket new normal in Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Lucknow. This victory here is the 11^th consecutive win for India in T20I cricket, and the 8^th white-ball triumph on the trot after cleaning out the West Indies 6-0 and now leading 2-0 against Sri Lanka. Although almost all of these victories are on the home turfs the best emerging thing about Team India is that they are winning with different permutations and combinations. The bench strength and the rich options, at least in the white-ball formats, augur well for the upcoming T201 World Cup later this year.

ECI Extends Ban On Public Election Rallies Till February 11: Economic Survey Tabled And Budget-2022 Tomorrow!

We must commend the constitutionally autonomous body of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for sticking to its strong resolve to make the upcoming 7-phase state assembly elections COVID-safe for all by extending the pandemic ban on rallies/roadshows till February 11 following a review for the second time today which is quite effectively done as the first phase of the elections begins on 10^th February. While announcing the dates for assembly elections in five states on 8^th January the ECI banned all public rallies, roadshows and bike or cycle marches till 15^thof that month subject to a review on 15^th January and in that review the ECI stuck to its ban, only allowing physical rallies subject to a maximum of 500 persons for the political party candidates to contest in the first phase from January 28, a date when all formalities of nominations for that phase are completed. Similarly, for the second phase the relaxed rallies to commence from 31^st January with the same restrictions.

 

Amid the current chock-a-block politico-financial scenario with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the first major virtual rally for Uttar Pradesh today, campaigning by all political parties hotting up for the first phase of polling, Parliament session starting from today and the Budget-2022 to be presented tomorrow, the ECI took the bold step of extending the ban and its commitment. Of course, with the apparent easing up of Omicron infection scare in most parts of the country the Commission has given some relaxations: open-air physical rallies to be allowed subject to a maximum of 1000 people instead of the earlier 500 limit; a maximum of 500 people to be allowed for indoor rallies; and for door-to-door campaigns the limit of supporters increased to 20 from 5 earlier.

 

However, it is not clear who will have to accomplish the near-impossible task of counting the people assembled in open-air rallies or roadshows and how to prevent hordes of supporters coming to attend. This syndrome is valid for all political parties, their supporters and their rallies or roadshows. The police cannot possibly set up barricades during the most democratic festival of the country. Further, allowing 500 people for indoor meetings is fraught with more serious danger of the spread of infections in closed environs. The earlier 50% capacity crowd seems to be the most desirable option still. But in totality, the consistent efforts of the ECI are laudable.

 

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman has today tabled the Economic Survey-2021-22 presenting a positive picture for the economy with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow at 8 to 8.5% for the coming fiscal year. The Survey reveals that this rate is compatible with reference to the latest forecasts by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank of real GDP growth at 8.7% and 7.5% for the next two fiscals. Besides, as per the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) growth projections, released on 25^th January, 2022, India’s real GDP is projected to grow at around 9 per cent in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 and at 7.1 per cent in 2023-24. This projects India as the fastest growing major economy in the world in all these three years. All such projections are based on the assumptions that there will no more debilitating effects from the pandemic and that the monsoon is going to be normal. Agriculture, the least affected sector by the pandemic, is to continue growing steadily; the industrial sector is expected to witness a strong rebound from a contraction of 7% in 2020-21 to a high positive of 11.8% in 2021-22; and private sector investment is to pick up strongly in the next fiscal.

 

The finance minister Sitharaman is going to present the Budget-2022 tomorrow, February 1, in the Parliament amid demands by various financial and industry experts that include strengthening the infrastructure investment, imposition of no unnecessary taxes, efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit, to boost consumption demand in the lower strata of the society, to increase the allocation for the healthcare sector and having a clear divestment or disinvestment policy. There are also expectations that the exemption limit or the standard deduction limit for income tax could be increased and many more sops anticipated for an economy devastated by the three waves of the pandemic. For all that we’ll have to wait till tomorrow.

Happy New Year 2022 To Our Dear Readers And Friends!

We wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2022! Let the New Year bring all the happiness, success and prosperity in your life, home, work and relationships. Most importantly, we wish you all very good and sustained health, and of course, a never-ending immunity against any intruding virus! We’ve decided to post our wishes well in advance, because the New Year is going to dawn in at different hours in different countries across the globe. And also, to avoid the last-minute hassles! Enjoy at home with your dearest members of your family!  Stay blessed!

 

You must be wondering that we’ve not touched the two-year-old roaring COVID-19 pandemic in a direct way at all! Well, because we want to end with a piece of good news! The Hindu Almanac calculations for the New Year (panchang 2022) say that sometime during the coming year we’ll all be ‘ferried across’ (as per an interpretation by a friend of mine) which clearly means that we’ll surely overcome the curse of the pandemic in the coming year! Hope this comes out to be true! Omicron, consisting of many existing mutants, could very well be the last to haunt us. Even otherwise, optimism and a positive frame of mind always help us conquer all obstacles. Let’s hope for the best! Thank you all for your continued interest in these humble pages!

UK Vs India: India Reciprocate With Tit For Tat COVID-19 Travel Measures!

It is indeed hard to believe that matters would come to a head between two friendly countries even after nearly two weeks of the United Kingdom’s unwarranted imposition of travel restrictionsfor Indian travelers. The Ministry of External Affairs of India then lodged a strong protest against such discriminatory and ‘colonial’ action and warned UK of reciprocal measures; and the UK government reportedly held extensive discussions with the Indian counterpart and decided to include Covishield, the Indian version of their own AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, in the approved list from the 4^th of October 2021, but did nothing about lifting the 10-quarantine restriction even for fully vaccinated travelers refusing to accept the Indian vaccination certification procedure and thus still keeping India in the ‘amber’ list of travel regulations. This has greatly irked the Government of India and they announced the ‘reciprocal’ measures yesterday which are plainly a ‘tit for tat’.

 

From the 4^th of October 2021, like the United Kingdom did after the backlash, the Government of India announced that the British travelers will have to undergo RT-PCR tests 72 hours before departure, another test on arrival in India and again on the 8^thday of their mandatory 10-day quarantine at their Indian home or at their destination irrespective of their vaccination status of whatever vaccine. Again, the British High Commission in India got reportedly hyper-activated holding ‘extensive’ discussions with India once more, both authorities discussing the ‘technicalities’ of the COVID-19 vaccination certification that seemed to be dwelt upon much earlier too. The delay by the World Health Organization in giving the final go to the India-made Covaxin for emergency use is putting India at further disadvantage. It is to be seen now if the friendly bilateral relations between the two countries would be able to prevail upon both   to sort out the matter by the 4^th of October, a date that would start adversely affecting travelers from both the countries.

 

Meanwhile, daily COVID-19 infections in India have been fluctuating again, after achieving the six-month low daily figure of around 18000 and daily deaths below the 200 mark. In the last 24 hours there were more than 24000 cases and 234 fatalities. Kerala, as usual, is leading; and the increase in the national numbers always reflects the rise in cases in Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram and to some extent West Bengal too where daily cases have again been crossing the 700 mark consistently. The step by the West Bengal government to stick to the same restrictions for Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the state, as adopted during 2020 except for lifting the night curfew during the Puja days only is most welcome and timely. Therefore, people of the state will have to take ‘darshan’ 10 meters away from the Puja pandals apart from the mandatory wearing of masks whereas only 25 members of the organizing committee would be allowed within the pandals for the big public pujas and only 12 members for the small pujas.

India Register The Lowest COVID-19 Daily Cases In Six Months As The Festival Season Looms Ahead!

For the last 3-4 days India have been registering less than 30,000 daily COVID-19 cases with daily fatalities also reducing. A lot of hope is being generated now as the country has seen less than twenty thousand cases in the last 24 hours, 18,795 to be exact, which is the lowest in six months, and the daily deaths have also come down to 179 fatalities in the same period. The state of Kerala is still leading, but the daily infections that had reached more than thirty thousand recently are 11699 in the last 24 hours and the daily fatalities that had overtaken Maharashtra crossing the 200 mark have come down to 58 in the same period. Maharashtra, the worst affected state in India with over 6 million total infections, has also registered less than 3000 cases in the last 24 hours which is the lowest since February 2021 and the deaths at 32 during the same period. Only two other states, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram, are still showing a rising trend of daily cases; all of the rest of India seem to be doing well in all respects: as per a recent report of the Government of India the positivity rate is over 5% in only 23 districts of the country.

 

To add to the positive scenario the country has crossed the required 10-million mark in daily vaccine jabs for the 5^th time—recently crossing the unexpected 20-million mark on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. However, to achieve the target of vaccinating the whole country by  December this year the rate needs to be sustained consistently on a daily basis, rather than concentrating on special days to jack up the jabs just to please the authorities examples of which could be seen in the recent past too. No doubt, the Government has been trying very hard to improve its image after the disastrous handling of the Second Wave of the Pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands of infected people, but the realities must be faced at all times in a totally non-political way. If the second wave is finally concluding the Government must ensure that the much-feared Third Wave is never allowed to take off. More than 80% of the country’s population has been given at least one jab; but the India-made Covaxin is yet to be approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use, particularly in light of the restrictions imposed rather irrationally by the United Kingdom for Indian travelers. 

There are various concerns though about the future course of the pandemic in India and if it can be controlled till early part of 2022 then only we too can be sure of being able to shake off the third wave and being assured by the ‘endemic theory’ that effectively ruled out further countrywide spread of the virus. Buoyed by the less than 5% positivity rate seen in most parts of the country, the speeded up vaccination and a new vaccine for children above the age of 12 to be available anytime soon, the states are opening up almost completely, this is being endorsed by the experts too. Quite a few of them have reopened schools and colleges and the worst-affected Maharashtra has also decided to reopen schools from 22^nd October and also reopen cinema halls/auditoriums from the same date. This combined with the looming festival season that would last till February 2022 poses as the biggest challenge for the fight against COVID-19. This is indeed going to be the litmus test. The Government of India has sounded restrictions in crowding, particularly in Durga Puja pandals, in districts where the positivity rate is still higher than 5%. However, considering the extended festivities to come we cannot rule out or be complacent about possible exponential rise again in the other states too. Therefore, the overwhelming needs remain to be strictly following COVID appropriate behaviour, avoiding big gatherings/parties and staying away from unnecessary travel or pleasure trips. The next 3-4 months are going to be crucial.

UK Vs India: The COVID-19 Vaccine Vexation!

In the recent cricket Test Series between England and India the 2-1 result in favour of the visitors still hangs in balance entirely due to the fact that a few non-playing members of Team India were found COVID-19 positive which implies that the fifth and the last Test had to be cancelled only because of India’s fault even though not a single playing member of the team got the infection. Now, the change in travel regulations for Indians visiting United Kingdom could be a fallout of the cricket hanger, meaning that the Indians are feared as more prone to getting or spreading the COVID-19 virus with its variants; that India is the originator of the more infectious Delta variant which is again mutating into the Delta Plus; and perhaps also possibly that the handling of the Second Wave of the pandemic in India had been disastrous. Therefore, basically the Englishmen could be feeling insecure with vulnerable Indians loitering around in their territories after sort of achieving the feat of living with the virus and opening up everything including the cricket stadiums to the crowds without the necessity of even masks. They are conveniently forgetting the basic truth that vaccine breakthroughs are possible also for fully vaccinated people everywhere in the world, not just India.

 

What the UK government has done is very wrong, unexpected and absurd: that the Indian travelers, irrespective of vaccinated or not, will have to undergo at least two RT-PCR tests and have to be on 10-day quarantine after arriving there. Apart from the unnecessary inconvenience and exorbitant costs involved, particularly for the Indian students going there to study, this basically implies that the vaccines in India are fakes, and a fully vaccinated person in India becomes ‘unvaccinated’ once s/he arrives in UK. Why? The Indian vaccine Covishield is in fact a licensed product of UK, being the officially valid version of their homemade AstraZeneca vaccine developed by the Oxford University, and in more significantly India had exported millions of doses of Covishield to their country earlier. The fully India-made Covaxin has been proved to be as effective as any other vaccine of the world in preventing at least the serious form of the disease and hospitalization.

 

The Government of India and the Ministry of External Affairs have already lodged a strong protest with the United Kingdom government calling the measures discriminatory and also warned of adopting reciprocal action. If unresolved, this is going to seriously hamper the healthy bilateral relations between the two countries. The UK foreign department has assured India of a relook into it, but so far the discriminatory regulations are not lifted. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also rebuked UK for such actions. However, it is the WHO that has not yet approved either Covishield or Covaxin for emergency use all over the globe despite the former’s link to the approved AstraZeneca and the latter being proven safe and effective. This raises a crucial question about the authenticity of the respective drug regulatory authorities of various countries: are all the regulators only country-specific and not valid for other regulators? This absurd situation must change, if only to give the proper respect to the medical scientists and experts involved tirelessly in the vaccine-making and the approving process in the shortest possible time. And the Indians figure prominently in the number of medical scientists or experts involved in the process across the world, apart from the fact the India has been the largest vaccine supplier to the world.

 

Earlier the discussion had been about ‘vaccine nationalism’; now as the situation warrants we’ll have to discuss about the syndrome of the ‘vaccine superpowers’ and the inequalities emerging out of that with one block denying or not recognizing the other block. For example, the Russian and the Chinese vaccines are yet to be accepted across the globe without WHO approval. Former US President Donald Trump still seems to have the trump card by giving everything, during his last year in office, into the development of the most modern Messenger RNA (mrna) vaccines, namely Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which are available for use across the globe. However, developing countries like India and other poor countries cannot afford these vaccines due to very high prices and the storage hassles. Ultimately, the WHO has to take up such vexing issues as it had earlier made international sharing of the ready vaccines compulsory for all countries.

 

The absolutely wrong and the discriminatory measures of the United Kingdom, almost smacking of racism, must be lifted as soon as possible and the WHO must expedite the approval process of the Indian vaccines and other proven vaccines of the world. The priority should be completely on freeing Planet Earth from the curse of the pandemic in the fast track, and definitely not on rivalries, racism, nationalism and bilateral or international fights or skirmishes.

As per latest reports UK has included Covishield in their list of approved vaccines which would take effect only from 4th October 2021. But to confound matters further the authorities have refused to accept India's CoWin vaccine certificates, and this means the 10-day quarantine plus tests continues still for Indian travelers. 

England Vs India: Finally COVID-19 Makes A Mess Of The Final Test!

The fifth and the last Test match between hosts England and visitors India was awaited by cricket lovers with much excitement with India taking an unbeatable 2-1 lead winning the fourth Test at the Oval, because the Indian fans wanted their team to seal the series win while the England fans wanted their team to bounce back and win the Test to share the final honors. All of them were in for a huge disappointment though. As soon as the junior physio of Team India tested COVID-19 positive on Thursday, the 9^th of September 2012, a day before the fifth Test was to start at the Old Trafford, total and clueless uncertainty enveloped the match; head coach Ravi Shastri and possibly one or two members of the team management including the senior physio (not confirmed) were already in isolation testing positive before the fourth Test. The practice session for India on that day was cancelled.

 

Since a physio is obviously to get involved with the players ‘physically’ there were risks of players getting infected if the match was allowed to go on, and many cricket mandarins of India had the prospects of the IPL-2021 starting in nine days in their minds. Perhaps getting concerned for the health of the English players a few of whom are also going to play in the IPL to be followed by the ICC T20 World Cup, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) asked the Indian Board BCCI to forfeit the fifth match which meant that in that eventuality the Series would be considered as drawn at 2-2. It was also instinctive on their part as nobody would want their team give up, as it were, the Series without a fight. The two respective Boards got into a seemingly endless bout of deliberations with no communication to the players.

 

On Friday, the 10^thof September 2021—the day the match was to start—the ECB changed its earlier statement slightly, now saying that India was unable to field a team due to the physio’s infection and that the match was cancelled. The Indian Board also said that fearing a rise in infections among the playing members the match had to be cancelled. Meanwhile all the Indian players were tested and found COVID negative. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma reportedly objected to the match being called off; although some other report said that they secretly wrote to the BCCI expressing their concern of more infections, because they felt the present status of ‘COVID negative’ might easily change in the course of two or three days. Anyway, the Boards took a long time in deciding, and announced that the fifth Test was cancelled just two hours before the scheduled start. Even the players of both the teams did not know it beforehand.

 

Now, the verdict of the Series in India’s favor has been the biggest question. If rains had washed out the match India would’ve won the series undoubtedly, but even though the pandemic is also a natural calamity the question is about taking precautions and following the strict protocols, and some in the English camp felt that the Indians were not careful enough. However, we feel that it is indeed unfortunate that the Series was held during a time when England decided to live with the virus after vaccinating most of their citizens, and the matches were fully open to the spectators who were not even asked to wear masks, and in such a situation the players or the non-playing members could get easily infected as they move through the crowds on various occasions, at least while moving through the pavilion stand. There was a soft bubble and necessary tests were done from time to time; and therefore it is not right to blame the Indian camp for their supposed lack of taking adequate precautions.

 

It was also reported that the ICC would intervene and give the final call on the official result of the Test Series. Perhaps to avoid an imbroglio or any injustice to any team the two Boards finally decided to reschedule the Test sometime next year as there was hardly any time left now with the IPL-2021 starting in nine days followed the all-important ICC T20 World Cup-2021 in UAE. But the problem is far from being resolved, because if the lone fifth Test is going to be held as a standalone or one-off match then how was it to be considered as part of the England Vs India Test Series of 2021, and if it was not considered a part then it must be declared now that India have won the Series at the 2-1 lead achieved after winning the fourth match.

 

Of course, if the IPL-2021 can be split into two halves—one half already played in Indian venues and the other half in UAE venues—at different time periods with the same league points and standings, then why not apply the same rule here too: hold the cancelled or rather now postponed fifth Test any time in 2022 in England and treat it as part of the 2021 Test Series, the result of which would finally decide the Series verdict. As per the latest international cricket schedule India is supposed to visit England again in 2022. There is an additional aspect of the issue: ECB stands to lose around 40 million pounds on broadcasting rights and hospitality sponsorships from the cancellation of the fifth Test, and therefore, it would be in the Board’s interest to reschedule the match and treat it as a part of the present Series.

 

The money-game or the money-challenge is everywhere in the game of cricket. Ideally, the series should naturally have been decided in India’s favour and the players should have been flown home immediately to give them the much-needed rest and to prepare them well for the T20 World Cup. But no, the IPL has to be completed for the same monetary stakes for the Indian Board. Another ideal alternative would have been to reschedule the fifth Test in a week’s time, depending on the situation, postponing the IPL-2021 to be held after the World Cup. But no again, for the same reasons; the stakes involve not only the Indian Board, but a large chunk of international cricketers and cricket boards. So then, let’s wait and watch, and enjoy whatever is offered.

 

Finally, the pandemic is far from over yet, and it has to be taken seriously. Cricket matches must go on being held under strict bubble and behind closed doors. Besides, it is inhuman to keep the cricketers in a bubble-to-bubble scenario and the mandatory isolation plus the endless tests for over a year now. Whatever be the stakes involved in cricket the matches should be held considering all humanitarian angles.

Politics And Sports In The Time Of Pandemic!

It was cruelly insensitive on the part of the Government of India to declare in Parliament that there had been no COVID-19 deaths during the second wave due to lack of medical oxygen in the country, when not only the thousands of the affected families but also millions other anxious or someway related families just cannot erase the nightmarish images of people dying gasping for breath on hospital beds, in the hospital passages/corridors/lounges, on the outside courtyards or on the streets, in the parked cars, within the four walls of homes; hospitals sending SOS for oxygen, desperate doctors even breaking down; and round-the-clock media reports and most disturbing visuals.

 

The reason given by the government is even more ludicrously insensitive: that the states did not report the deaths due to the lack of medical oxygen. Well, most of the states, particularly the ones ruled by the same dispensations would hardly advertise their failure or the stark lack of preparedness. The government is talking about the worst affected state of Maharashtra that too did not audit oxygen-related fatalities; the ruling party should know that it is the only state in the country that was adequately prepared with enough stocks of all requirements including medical oxygen cylinders. Instead, why don’t they talk about Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka? If they think this is some kind of image-building then they should rethink and concentrate on damage-control, because apart from being cruelly insensitive this act represents the lowest low of politics.

 

The Government of the union territory Delhi has made a most horrible claim: they constituted a  panel to audit oxygen-related deaths, but was disallowed by the all-powerful Lieutenant Governor to go ahead. Besides, what about the highest-level meets discussing desperate measures to streamline the supply of 02 or somehow increase its production, sanctioning setting up of numerous oxygen plants even within hospital complexes and to receive plane-loads of oxygen concentrators by several foreign countries including the UK and the US? Were all these sham? On the top of it, the denials about shortage of vaccines and the gross under-reporting of COVID-related deaths continue unabated. Normally insensitive people are compared with having rhino-like thick skin; however, on this inhumane count even the rhinos would turn their backs on them most disdainfully.

 

If  COVID-19 infections were not enough Israel’s NSO-Pegasus spyware, the legacy of 2019, has arisen again to re-infect the mobiles of a whole lot of journalists, activists, opposition political leaders and even existing ministers of the central government. While the NSO has been maintaining that it sells the spyware only to governments, the Government of India has not been giving convincing replies or arguments, and this is accentuated by the fact that there are many other governments in the federal union of India. Therefore, this is some politics or mystery that many never see the light of day unless the NSO closely inspects clients’ misuse and it finally destroys the software itself as somewhat indicated by them lately. The spyware is extremely difficult to detect and only it can self-destroy its traces within the mobile phones if it so desires.

 

In the sports arena all the matches of either football or cricket or tennis were played with no or limited-capacity crowds. Only the Euro Cup-2020, postponed last year, created quite a lot of excitement allowing crowds increase gradually to reach 60,000 or 75% of the capacity at the Wembley stadium, England from the semi-final stage while COVID-19 cases of the Delta variety increased by leaps and bounds on a daily basis there. The hosts England was much expected to win the Cup once they reached the finals creating history, but Italy’s penalty-shots victory generated a racial abuse at the stadium marring the reputation of the tournament. Meanwhile, England lifted all COVID restrictions and decided to coexist with virus, because with most of the citizens fully vaccinated hospitalization and fatality rates have been almost eliminated. Although this seems to be a practical solution, God forbid, it is fraught with dangers as more lethal variants can achieve vaccine-escape or immunity-breakthrough anytime.

 

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has proved its insensitivity to the pandemic dangers time and again. Of course, it had to participate in the World Test Championship Final between India and New Zealand in Southampton, England during June 18-23, 2021 with very limited crowds, and India lost that match due to colossal batting failure, all the euphoria it created when India qualified defeating England in the home series before the deadly second wave (then the BCCI had to suspend the IPL-2021 midway). However, the Indian team continued to stay in England to play a five-match Test Series against England starting August 2021, while COVID had infected a few members of staff including the most-favored Rishabh Pant. So much was the urge to get on with game that a second Team India was created under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan to take on Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, and the visitors have already sealed the three-ODI series leading 2-0.

 

And finally, the Tokyo Olympics, postponed since 2020, is starting tomorrow, the 23^rdof July 2021 as quite a few athletes have already been infected and some of them ruled out which is very unfair as it deprives them of achieving medals. The World Health Organization has warned that infections are bound to increase as the Games goes on. We don’t see any reason why the biggest tournament of the world having all the countries on board should be held at this juncture. How many of a COVID-ravaged India with the Third Wave feared to hit at any moment would have the spirit to celebrate the possible medal winners, except of course, the hordes of insensitive Covidiots or clones?           

 

But of course, as sports enthusiasts and optimists we do wish all success for the Games, the Indian contingent and all the participating athletes, and fervently hope that more waves of the pandemic are effectively prevented everywhere on planet earth.

A Lockdown Remix Experience In Peoples’ Land Kolkata!

If we can assume that people are already familiarized with the concept of lockdown as it has been more than a year since the national lockdown was imposed in India in March 2020, on the basis of this assumption we can go on to opine that the present version of the lockdown in Kolkata and the state of West Bengal has been a remix. Of course, the local media here has been terming this as only a ‘near-lockdown’, and we also know the kind of ‘mixed’ approaches adopted by various states of India to lockdown, but the experience here is unique and not related to most of the other states. We have decided to call it a remix, because under this process the old is often presented in a new getup to attract and excite the common people, and the state lockdown here has been a genuine remix with continuous tweaking to make it more and more user-friendly for the larger interests of the common people of West Bengal, particularly the state capital of Kolkata.

 

Yes, peoples’ interests. Nothing moves or gets implemented here that happens to adversely affect the prospects of the people in their easy and smooth going lifestyle—let it be their financial interests or social or cultural. It is extremely difficult here to increase local train, metro or bus fares, even when these become inevitable, because this would increase the cost of living in a significant way for the common people, and it has been seen that government after government avoided, as far as possible, taking the risks of going against the interests of their citizens. Similarly, posh or even moderately comfortable and convenient public restaurants/bars/eating joints are extremely rare here, because once modern comforts are provided the prices will have to be increased which would severely affect the footfalls; and therefore, you’d find here only street-side food or tea stalls, tented eating places and makeshift eating joints with almost no seating arrangements. I had written about my predicament on various occasions in this city when I was desperate to find a place to seat and take my food in relative comfort. However, my determination of ‘No Eating Standing’ only proved to be my greatest detriment.

 

Perhaps the renaissance of Indian literature that primarily started here during the British period made the people here highly educated, liberal and very conscious of their rights—political, social and intellectual, and the long rule of the Left for seven consecutive terms from 1977 to 2011 made them socialistic and believers of equal right and justice in society. Thanks to all these the state and its city of joy remained a peoples’ land of for the people, of the people and by the people. The latest example is there for all to behold: the people here thwarting the mightiest of political parties from grabbing political power here as the strategy and policies of that party never suited the politically conscious people here. Of course, in a modern perspective such people-centric policies do affect the development process adversely and this has indeed harmed the state. However, this is not the forum to discuss this issue and we must return to our basic subject—the lockdown syndrome here.

 

Lockdown was finally announced in West Bengal on the 15^th of May 2021 with first phase starting 16^th to 30^th May. It looked to be quite strict: only essential local markets to be open for just 3 hours during 7-10am, non-essential shops not to open anytime of the day and people not allowed loitering around in the streets after 9 pm, apart from all other closures of malls, cinema halls and so on. And then the tweaks: all sweet shops to remain open 10 am-5 pm; all Sareeand jewellery shops to function from 12 noon to 3 pm; and no supervision about non-essential shops like paan-cigarette shops or street-side tea/snack stalls also opening during the 7-10 am window. The state government does have sound economical considerations: small traders and vendors cannot be allowed to suffer like they did in the national lockdown; sweet-making is arguably the biggest industry in Bengal employing a huge population and common people here cannot exist without what they consider items with even medicinal values; similarly, Saree and ornaments are the traditional requirements of the people, apart from the huge numbers employed in these trades too.

 

As expected, the lockdown was extended till 15^th June. Although the basic windows of various openings were maintained the state government threw open one more avenue: all non-essential shops that were not allowed to open during the first phase could now function during 12 noon to 3 pm slot. The catch in this is that it is kept ambiguous if the shops functioning between 7 to 10 am could get one more business chunk in the new slot. Thanks to this ambiguity, almost all the shops are now doing effective business from 7 am to 3 pm with some, like sweet shops, even extending till 8 pm as there is not enough police intervention.  

 

As far as the Lives Vs Livelihood and the economy debates go the state government seems to be sticking to the peoples’ interests even under extraordinary circumstances; it is difficult to choose the right from wrong here. However, risks are being taken; there is no doubt about that. Fortunately, West Bengal was spared from an explosion of infections during the first wave and in the second wave too so far so good. When the first lockdown was imposed here there were around 19000 daily infections (nearly 4000 in Kolkata) and about 150 daily deaths; since the lockdown the figures have come down to around 5000 (less than 1000 in Kolkata) and less than 100 respectively. We hope the optimism and the spirit of the people hold good eliminating the virus altogether in near future as there seems to be little prospect of one more extension of the lockdown beyond 15^th June.

COVID-19 Second Wave: India Continue To Reel Under A Spell Of Death And Disease!

It has been the most horribly painful and depressing week of my life. There has been the spectre of death and unimaginable sufferings of fellow countrymen across India, from which you cannot turn away; reports are there in all news channels, something even the decidedly pro-government media cannot but report, reports and personal accounts across all social media platforms, the dread of the sudden telephone calls and so on. I am reminded of the horrors suffered by Italy and Spain last year, and shiver to imagine a full repetition in a vast and densely populated country like India; the saving grace so far being that the fatality rate here is fortunately still much lower than witnessed in Italy, Spain and other European countries; but even then, in terms of population the Indian numbers in infections and deaths are numbing, and the mutants are more lethal taking toll equally on the young and the old.      

 

The heart wrenching scenes are everywhere to behold: people crowding the hospitals for admission and on being denied forced to lie down on the streets/pavements/corridors and dying there due to lack of oxygen and medical treatment; patients dying in ambulances after waiting hours for admission and an oxygen cylinder; people dying in many hospitals, mostly in the national capital Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, due the erratic supply of oxygen; no relief even after dying as relatives of the dead patients have to wait hours, first for the ambulances or at the unending queue before the crematoriums with the ominous pyres burning day and night; people watching helplessly their inability to save their near and dear ones either in hospitals or in home isolation as they have to struggle for the precious oxygen cylinder; and huge queues before the vaccination centres with the most vulnerable senior citizens thus exposed for hours as the shortage of the vaccine doses continues still.

 

For the 7^thconsecutive day today the daily new infections in India have been in excess of an incredible (as compared to the first pandemic peak of around 97000 last year) mark of 3 Lakh, that is 3,00,000, and the daily deaths crossing the 2000 mark and even the 3000 mark in the last 24 hours. Such daily figures of new infections and fatalities are never witnessed before in any country of the world. Two days back the daily new cases crossed 3.5 Lakh and the next day a sense of a false relief was created with the new cases coming down to around 3.23 Lakh, because it has again risen to 3, 60,960 in the last 24 hours and the devastating figure of fatalities at 3293, with total COVID-19 deaths also crossing the 2-Lakh mark. The total number of active cases is approaching the never-before 3 million mark, and total pandemic infections closing on the 18 million mark, with the last few millions added in just days.

 

Whatever ‘light’ we seemed to see in our last post turned out to be a mirage, because all shortages of vaccines, oxygen, hospital beds, medicines, burial or cremation spots continue unabated. Despite the decision to cover all above the age of 18 for vaccination from the 1^st of May 2021, the shortage of the doses is yet to be resolved, with the seemingly crucial decision to decentralize the buying/distribution of vaccination turning out to be discriminatory. Within days of the decision the two vaccine manufacturers of India, the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech, announced the prices: the SII fixing Rs.400/- per dose for state governments and Rs. 600/- per dose for private hospitals while Bharat Biotech fixing a quite a high price of Rs. 1200/- per dose for the states and private hospitals. The feature of the discrimination is that both the firms are going to continue selling the vaccines @150 INR to the Government of India, the biggest bulk purchaser, and that the vaccines are going to be free at all government hospitals across India.

 

While the vaccine manufacturers have no other option but to increase the prices to make the production economically viable, the Indian states, with their limited resources, have been singled out for discrimination; and most of the states have already been forced to declare free vaccines due to the politics of vaccination started by none other than the national ruling party. The Government of India has been boasting of ‘one nation, one identity’, but it has failed miserably to ensure ‘one nation, one vaccination’ ideally based on a uniform buying price and then the provision of free vaccine doses for everyone everywhere across the country. It is feared by many economists/experts that such a differential discriminatory pricing policy would lead to lopsided distribution and even black marketing.

 

Further, although the supply of oxygen can done only by the central government there has been politics of allegations and charges between it and the state governments, as patients continue to struggle, gasp and die from the continuing shortage of oxygen. The bone of contention is apparently clear: while the medial liquid oxygen or oxygen 02 is never in shortage in terms of overall production across the country, the problem is of transporting it to the desired destinations through the extremely limited tankers and cylinders which are mostly at the disposal of the respective state governments.

 

There has been no admission of the naked shortcomings or apology for the unfortunate deaths from the central government whose supreme leader continues to speak his mind to the nation every month, but never wanting to know the minds of his citizens or deciding to admit the hardship and deaths caused to his subjects due to the scarcity. Some state governments also cannot escape the blame of indulging in mindless politics. For example, the Chief Minister of the worst-hit Delhi region by oxygen shortage seems to have only allegations to make rather than doing something concrete, and besides, he has been doing the unpardonable act of appearing in advertising spots across the news channels and spending tons of money at that. The Delhi High Court had to come in the act by severely criticizing both the central and the state governments.

 

And yes, polling yet to conclude in West Bengal with the last phase taking place tomorrow, the 29^th May. With just two phases and around two days left for rallies the Election Commission of India (ECI) finally had done the ‘too little too late’ act, banning political rallies, but still allowing public meetings of up to 500 attendees, it is not being clear under which COVID protocol. This too, had come after scathing attack on the ECI by the Kolkata and then the Madras High courts respectively.

 

Experts are hoping for a peak in mid-May for the second COVID-19 wave in India; however, at what more costs we are even scared to guess, if it comes at all. This huge man-made human tragedy (warnings available early as January 2021 regarding new mutants from UK, Brazil and South Africa that in the meantime having had the Indian forms of the devastating 'double mutant' or even 'triple mutant' were totally ignored) has, obviously, put the health infrastructure under the severest of pressures that led to avoidable loss of precious lives. Accidental hospital fires and other accidents arising out of the chaos add to the absolute disaster. But our ‘leaders’ would not still budge from politicking, and would rush to take credit whenever the second wave comes under control and the peak reached. We have to ask the question: are we Indians the citizens of a democracy or are just the expendables, considering the hopeless numbers of us thronging the miserable country? A question our imperious rulers would never bother about; the onus is on us only to pray and stay safe.