Daily Briefing: India may see more heat waves, says climate report; over 60% doses given to rural population; and more

A look at the top news today, August 10, 2021

Good morning,

Big Story

Eight, Teen Murti Lane, in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, was once the epicentre of many Third Front formation efforts. The house — where CPM’s Harkishan Singh Surjeet lived — came alive Monday night as top leaders of almost all Opposition and non-BJP parties came together for dinner at the invitation of its present occupant, Kapil Sibal. On the table was just one agenda: the need for all Opposition parties to join hands to take on the BJP in 2024.

Express In Tokyo

Somewhere in between long bus trips from one venue to another in Tokyo, plenty of sporting history happened as India tallied 7 medals including a gold. The Indian Express recalls all about Tokyo’s magnificent architecture, their mobile workstations that doubled as doze-downs on the run, and the indescribable Japanese hospitality that make these difficult-to-pull-off pandemic Games possible.

From the Front Page

While the BJP managed to get the Janata Dal (United) to join the Union Cabinet, its attempts to rope in a key regional party from the south, the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party, with offers of Cabinet posts, fell through after the regional party rejected the idea at the last minute.

Increasing heat waves and droughts, rainfall events and a likelihood of more cyclonic activity — this is what is in store for India and the subcontinent over the coming decades, according to a report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report, ‘Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis’, is the first part of IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report —its latest evaluation of the state of Earth’s climate and the impact on the planet and life forms.

In what represents a significant shift, India’s Covid-19 immunisation drive has taken a rural turn now: more than six out of 10 shots in the last three weeks were administered in rural vaccination centres, according to official data. Of the total 9.87 crore doses administered in the last three weeks, 6.22 crore doses were in rural parts, which is 63 per cent of the total doses. The daily average in rural areas now stands at 29.66 lakh.

Must Read

At a time when the row over alleged surveillance via the Pegasus spyware has disrupted proceedings in Parliament, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that the Ministry of Defence has had no transaction with NSO Group Technologies — the Israeli cyber security company is the developer of Pegasus.

For three years now, Bihar has not received a single application for the Post-Matric Scholarship, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students. Officials blame it on “technical issues with the National Scholarship Portal” but are unable to explain why this has not been sorted out in three years, and why other states, including neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, have done exceedingly well in providing benefits of this scheme to SC/ST students.

Three years ago, these three little sisters lost their only surviving parent. Two of them found their way to different orphanages in Hyderabad, the youngest wandered the streets. It would have taken nothing short of a miracle — or a movie script — for them to be reunited ever again. But on Sunday, the sisters were back together, courtesy photos from a science fair.

And Finally

Explaining the importance of the Gulf in shaping the geopolitics of Afghanistan, C Raja Mohan writes: “Over the decades, different nations from the Gulf have sought to influence the outcomes in Afghanistan. For now, it is Doha’s moment in the Afghan sun. Since 2011, it has formally hosted the Taliban delegation in Doha and taken the lead in promoting the so-called peace process in Afghanistan.”

Delhi Confidential: On the occasion of releasing the PM-Kisan installment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with half-a-dozen farmers through video-conference. While interacting with a farmer from Manipur, Thingche Gangte, Modi said, “At this time, the whole country has become a fan of Manipur. It seems people have started calling Manipur as Mirapur,” Modi said, referring to weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu’s achievements at the Tokyo Olympics.

Until tomorrow,

Rounak Bagchi 

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