-The Hindu 12-member team to go beyond present crisis, prepare road map for transparent budgeting with States The Supreme Court has constituted a 12-member National Task Force to streamline and ensure the “effective and transparent” allocation of liquid medical oxygen on a “scientific, rational and equitable basis” to States and Union Territories fighting COVID-19. The apex court had expressed its dissatisfaction at the Centre’s earlier “oxygen-for-bed” formula. This “rough-and-ready” arrangement, as the court...

-Press communiqué by Association for Democratic Reforms, dated 5th May, 2021 In a letter sent to Shri Sushil Chandra, Chief Election Commissioner and Shri Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioner on 5th May, 2021, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has requested for extending facilities allowing migrant workers to vote from their current residences away from home constituencies, at a time when similar facility is being worked out for the Non-resident Indians (NRIs) by...

-The Telegraph Centre’s revised policy has more than doubled the population of potential beneficiaries without immediate provisions for the extra doses needed India is likely to face extreme shortages of Covid-19 vaccines if all adults eligible for vaccination begin queuing up for the jabs from May 1, health and industry experts have said. The Centre’s revised vaccination policy has more than doubled the population of potential vaccine beneficiaries without immediate provisions for the...

-The Hindu An affidavit spanning over 200 pages said the Centre “is augmenting the oxygen supply on a war-footing, evolving and implementing innovative measures”. The government has informed the Supreme Court that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are “directly involved” in augmenting the oxygen supply on a “war-footing”. An affidavit spanning over 200 pages said the Centre, with “the active and constant supervision and direct involvement of...

-The Telegraph Many hospitals in Lucknow and other parts of the state had put up notices declaring an oxygen shortage and advising families to shift patients elsewhere Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has sent out a clear message to the state’s hospitals: keep your mouth shut about any oxygen crisis or face action. At an online meeting on Sunday evening, Adityanath asked senior administrative and police officers, including divisional commissioners and inspectors-general, to crack...