The Indian Weekender Friday, 23 October 2020

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INDIA
Friday, October 23, 2020 The Indian Weekender
NEWS in BRIEF
Should India review its relations with Taiwan?
China has reacted angrily to reports of possible talks between India and
Taiwan on a trade deal at a time when there is a growing debate in New
Delhi on whether the government should review its relationship with Taipei
against the backdrop of the border standoff in Ladakh.
India’s relations with Taiwan: India and Taiwan do not have formal
diplomatic relations but since 1995, both sides have maintained
representative offices in each other’s capitals that function as de facto
embassies. However, in a sign of the sensitivities involved, both offices
don’t mention the word “Taiwan” in their names. Taiwan has the Taipei
Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi, and India has the India Taipei
Association in Taipei.
Indian trials on multiple Covid-19 drugs make
progress, have Aatmanirbhar Bharat tilt
At least two existing medicines
that were repurposed for the
treatment of coronavirus disease
(Covid-19) have entered into
phase III clinical trials that are
being conducted by the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR). This includes the antiviral
medicine Umifenovir and a medicine that is used to treat blood infection
caused by resistant gram-negative bacteria MW Sepsivac. CSIR has also
been working with phytopharmaceuticals – or herbal medicines – including
an antiviral AQCH, which is about to enter phase III trial.
“We started a big clinical trial on MW Sepsivac as an immunomodulator
and this trial has gone well. Phase II data has come out and now we
are planning to launch the phase III trial. This immunomodulator will
become a great support for Covid-19 patients. We are also working with
phytopharmaceutical with AYUSH ministry. Today, our data for AQCH has
come. This will be the first phytopharmaceutical to be evaluated with the
modern trial approach,” said Dr S Chandrashekhar, director, Indian Institute
of Chemical Technology (IICT) that is coordinating the trials.
Eye on China, govt to bar universities from pacts
with India’s neighbours
The education ministry, after consultation with the Ministry of External
Affairs, is considering making it mandatory for Indian universities
to obtain prior permission from the government before signing any
memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with educational institutions of
countries that share land borders with India.
The proposal was mooted by the education ministry after an August 9
review of China-funded Confucius Centres attached to universities here and
also MoUs signed between Indian and Chinese universities.
The Confucius program is financed by the Office of Chinese Language
Council International which has been linked to China’s United Front Work
Department (UFWD) now headed by President Xi Jinping. Ostensibly
meant to teach Chinese language and culture, the Confucius program
has been accused of promoting China’s viewpoint and act as a vehicle
for propaganda. Several countries including Australia and the US have
previously had issues with the institutes.
Plasma therapy may not be used on patients
India is likely
to remove
convalescent plasma
therapy from the
National Clinical
Management
Protocol for the
coronavirus disease
(Covid-19) after it
showed no benefits
in treating patients of the viral disease.
Convalescent plasma therapy involves transfusing critically ill Covid-19
patients with convalescent plasma (antibody-rich plasma from patients who
recovered from the disease) so that they can fight the disease better.
“We have had discussions at the National Task Force (NTF) and we are
discussing further with the Joint Monitoring Committee.
"This (plasma therapy) may be deleted from the national guidelines,”
said Dr Balram Bhargava, director general, India Council of Medical
Research (ICMR).
ICMR had conducted a pan-India study to determine the role of
plasma therapy, and the Union health ministry had added it as one
of the investigational therapies in the national protocol for treating
Covid-19 patients.
“The largest trial on plasma therapy has been done in India with 464
patients in 39 hospitals and 350 doctors.
"This paper was accepted in the British Medical Journal and we have
received the proof and it is going to appear very soon. It is a full paper with
more than 10 pages of hardcore science talking about the role of plasma in
curing Covid-19,” said Bhargava.
BIHAR ELECTIONS:
EC takes note of packed
rallies, warns parties of action
for flouting Covid protocols
Taking a severe view of
crowded rallies held
recently in Bihar, the
Election Commission (EC) warned
political parties of action if its
instructions on maintaining crowd
discipline and taking Covid-related
precautions during campaigning are
violated again.
The poll watchdog simultaneously
instructed the Bihar Chief Electoral
Officer and its district machinery in
the state to “invoke appropriate and
relevant penal provisions” under the
Disaster Management Act, and the
Indian Penal Code against candidates
found violating EC’s orders.
The warning comes in the wake
of election rallies in Bihar becoming
more crowded and supporters not
wearing masks while in attendance.
Large crowds have been spotted
at rallies recently addressed by
RJD leader Tejashwi Pratap Yadav
and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil
Kumar Modi.
The EC’s guidelines of
August 21 mandate that physical
gatherings should be held
ensuring social distancing of at
least two metres between the
participants and that all of them are
wearing masks.
The guidelines do not mention
a limit on the number of people
who can attend rallies and meetings
and instead state that the maximum
number of attendees should not
“exceed the limit prescribed by State
Disaster Management Authority for
public gatherings”.
“Instances of such public
meetings have come to notice of the
Commission, where large numbers
of crowds have assembled in utter
violation of social distancing and
On India-US agenda, a plan to share defence
intel from Ladakh to South China Sea
The 3rd two plus two ministerial meeting next
week will see both India and the United States
consolidating military-to-military relationship
between the two democracies to move towards
institutionalised intelligence-sharing agreement and go
beyond tri-services exercises into unmanned, space and
underwater platform domains, people familiar with the
matter said.
On October 26-27, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary
Mark Esper in national capital Delhi for the third round
of the top strategic dialogue agreed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump back in
2017. The two sides are expected to sign off on a geospatial
military foundational agreement called BECA
(Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) that
is a precursor to India acquiring armed drones such
as the MQ-9B from the US that use spatial data for
pinpointed strikes.
The two sides are expected to build on past gains
at the meeting being held weeks before the US
Presidential elections on November 3, comfortable in the
knowledge that there is bi-partisan consensus within the
US on deepening India-US strategic relationship.
There is a strong possibility that the two sides could
work out a pact that allows institutionalised relationship
between the Defence Intelligence Agencies of the
two countries.
India and the US already share real-time intelligence
"The Commission has taken a
serious view of the laxity on
the part of political parties and candidates,
on the ground, in terms of maintaining
crowd discipline, and hereby reiterates and
further advises them to demonstrate utmost
vigil and care during electioneering
the political leaders/campaigners
are addressing the gathering without
wearing masks in complete disregard
of the guidelines/instructions issued
by Election Commission,” the
Commission said.
“By doing so, the political
parties and candidates are not
only flouting the guidelines of the
Commission with impunity, but
exposing themselves as well as the
public attending the rallies/meetings
to the danger of infection during
the pandemic… The Commission
has taken a serious view of the laxity
on the part of political parties and
candidates, on the ground, in terms
of maintaining crowd discipline, and
hereby reiterates and further advises
them to demonstrate utmost vigil
and care during electioneering.,” t
he EC said.
Candidates and organisers found
violating the poll watchdog’s
instructions in future could face
cases under Sections 51 to 60 of the
Disaster Management Act, 2005, and
Section 188 of IPC, which deal with
punishment for obstructing a public
servant from discharging her duty
and refusing to follow her order.
With 7.3 crore voters, the
upcoming Legislative Assembly
election in Bihar is not only the first
major electoral exercise in India
since the Covid-19 outbreak, but also
the largest anywhere in the world
so far.
through the communication agreement called COMCASA.
But the new pact would allow the two allies to share vital
tri-services intelligence on developments in all defence
matters ranging from the South China Sea to Ladakh.
This proposal has been hanging fire for quite some years
without any results.
Although BECA is still to be formally cleared by PM
Modi’s Cabinet, the agreement will enable India to buy
armed unmanned aerial and underwater platforms from
the US. These would be loaded with neighbourhood terrain
maps for pin-pointed destruction of acquired targets. The
terrain maps will also help in precision flying of US made
platforms acquired by India and hence enhance military
capability of platforms like Apache attack helicopters and
Chinook heavy lift helicopters.
While a decision to acquire armed drones has been
communicated to the US, the two countries are going
beyond mere exercises and into hitherto unexplored
domains like space and undersea.