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As ICMR study proves high efficacy of made in India Covid vaccines, read how politicians and media had stoked vaccine hesitancy against Covaxin

OpIndia Staff
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As ICMR study proves high efficacy of made in India Covid vaccines, read how politicians and media had stoked vaccine hesitancy against Covaxin

Today, the ICMR announced that the indigenous Bharat Biotech-developed Covaxin neutralizes multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 including the double mutant strain, according to a study. ICMR shared the update through a tweet which also entails an infographic detailing the results of the study.

ICMR also announced that the infection rate among those who have taken two doses of Covaxin is 0.04%, while the rate after two doses of Covishield is 0.03%, which means that both vaccines being administered in India are highly effective.

These results announced by the ICMR will hopefully put to rest the multitude of doubts and vaccine hesitancy manufactured by political actors and figures in the media for months. For many months, these doomsday predictors fueled vaccine hesitancy by making all kinds of baseless claims about Covaxin. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, here is a brief snapshot of how these doomsday prophets were utterly proven wrong.

The Political Opposition

Back in January 2021, after the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines Bharat Biotech’s vaccine Covaxin and SII’s ‘Covishield’, opposition leaders had indulged in peddling propaganda by targeting the government over the efficacy and safety of the vaccines and resorting to fear-mongering ahead of the release of the cure for the pandemic.

It is an old saying that Opposition is just Government-in-waiting, however many opposition figures took a narrow view when it came to indigenous vaccines and did not think of the national interest. Rather than encouraging people to be immunized, many opposition leaders played politics over life-saving vaccines.

In January 2021, the Chhattisgarh government of Bhupesh Baghel came out against Covaxin. In February, Chattisgarh’s Health Minister TS Singh Deo aggravated the situation by writing a letter to Union Health Minister Dr. Harshavardhan to halt the supply of COVAXIN into Chhattisgarh, raising unfounded doubts about the made in India vaccine.

Shashi Tharoor, thought of as one of Congress’ “more educated” leaders, also joined the fear-mongering brigade against COVAXIN in January, falsely labelling the government’s approval as “premature” and “dangerous”. In hindsight, we can confidently declare that Shashi didn’t know what he was talking about. Also, the vaccine was undergoing Phase-3 trials at the time, so the “not yet had Phase 3 trials” part was just straight up false.

Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the pandemic, the Thiruvananthapuram MP was not only discrediting the scientists and other experts who have put all their efforts to develop the vaccine but also pushing the innocent people away from the cure.

Senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi did not shy away from making bizarre and absurd claims about COVAXIN, stating that just like BJP and PM Modi were using agencies including CBI, Income Tax Department and ED against opposition leaders, they might use the vaccine to target the opposition leaders.

He said that the vaccine will be misused by the BJP against political adversaries and justified the calls for the boycott of vaccination drive. He also supported Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s insane claim that indigenous vaccines like COVAXIN are BJP’s vaccines.

Former Union Minister and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also pushed for uncertainity and doubt in the case of COVAXIN, directly calling upon Union Minister Dr. Harshavardhan to clarify. Cleary, Mr. Ramesh did not consider Bharat Biotech to be “first rate”, because if he did, he would not raise fears and doubts about COVAXIN in the first place.

Deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma also raised aspersions on the efficacy of Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine by alleging that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) “dispensed” with mandatory protocols and verification of data by granting COVAXIN its approval.

Mr. Sharma, who heads the Parliamentary Panel on Home Affairs that extensively dealt with the issue, said no country had dispensed with mandatory Phase-3 trials and verification of data, and the issue of granting authorization needs to be taken carefully.

In one of the most despicable comments politicizing vaccines, SP President Akhilesh Yadav said that he doesn’t trust “BJP’s vaccines” and will wait for his government to form. This comment earned him righteous condemnation from all across the political spectrum, resulting in him doing a U-Turn just a day later.

RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav, son of Fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav, also pushed vaccine hesitancy in January. In a statement, he said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the first shot of Covid-19 vaccine, then, we will also take it,” implying that there was something inherently dangerous about the vaccine. However, PM Modi did take the vaccine immediately after he became eligible for it as per the rules set by his govt.

The Media Narrative

Whilst it is outrageous of our politicians to lie and mislead people about something even as vital and important as vaccines, it does not come as a surprise. The real scandal, however, is our media dutifully going along with vaccine sceptic narratives. A repeat offender of this vaccine skepticism was Shekhar Gupta’s The Print, with it pushing many articles sowing doubts about the efficacy of indigenous vaccines.

Nitin Pai, who regularly gets to opine in Shekhar Gupta’s publication, termed DCGI’s approval of Covaxin “a political jumla” which reinforces Modi’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. In the headline itself, The Print puts the word approval in quotation marks, implying that somehow Covaxin’s approval was not based on science. Hopefully, this is not the level of discourse being offered at Pai’s Takshashila Institution, otherwise, a lot of people should ask for their money back.

Sandhya Ramesh, ironically The Print’s Science reporter, shared an article written by a colleague in The Print, literally characterizing Covaxin as “India’s most controversial Covid vaccine”. For a few clicks and hits, The Print has no qualms in labelling life-saving vaccines as “controversial”, encouraging vaccine hesitancy.

Saket Gokhale, a person who likes to spam frivolous RTIs and considers himself an activist, could not resist from being away from peddling lies and misinformation. Gokhale, whose understanding of science is equivalent to the Congress party’s perceived integrity, found illogical ways to discredit the ingeniously produced vaccine. He attributed false statements to DCGI VG Somani to attack the Made in India vaccines and in the process exposed himself as a spectacular fool with zero understanding of the vaccine and its trial results.

India is going through a difficult time, as many different parts of the country are witnessing a surge in Coronavirus cases. In this situation, there is nothing more important than to promote immunization and provide vaccines to every eligible citizen possible. However, such efforts will not be as effective if the political opposition and the media class push vaccine hesitancy, just for the sake of undermining PM Modi.

Therefore, when it comes to vaccines, prudent statements based on facts are the only way to go. Not half-guesses with dubious sources backing it up.

Is Serum Institute really making a huge profit and charging discriminatory price from states for Covid-19 vaccine? Read details

Raju Das
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Is Serum Institute really making a huge profit and charging discriminatory price from states for Covid-19 vaccine? Read details

Ever since various pharmaceutical companies developed vaccines for Covid-19, several non-NDA parties and left-liberals in India have launched a vested campaign against Indian companies, while batting for foreign companies. Led by the Congress party, this anti-BJP section has been attacking the Indian origin Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech, while asking the govt to approve foreign vaccines, even if they are highly costly compared to Indian companies. The latest target of this left-liberal attack is the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, after the company announced prices for COVISHIELD to be charged from state governments and private hospitals.

The company announced the rates today after the central govt had opened up Covid-19 vaccination, allowing vaccine manufacturers to sell 50% of their production to state governments and private hospitals, while the remaining 50% will have to be sold to the central govt. The Centre had directed the companies to declare the price for states and private sector before 1st May, and accordingly, SII announced the prices today, which is ₹400 for state governments and ₹600 for the private sector.

However, it didn’t go down well with the left-liberals, and they started attacking the company, accusing it of making huge profit by setting these prices. The attack was led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who found another industrialist after Ambani and Adani to attack PM Modi with.

The Kerala MP claimed that the vaccines will only help a few industrialists, and the prices will help ‘Modi’s friend’ to earn a huge profit. However, Rahul Gandhi was not the only one to launch an attack on the company and its CEO Adar Poonawalla. A large number of politicians, journalists, radical Islamists and left-liberal activists started attacking the company on the same allegations.

Most of them accused SII of discriminating between states and centre, as they pointed that the company is selling COVISHIELD to the centre at ₹150, therefore it should charge the same amount from states also.

TMC MP Mahua Maitra wanted to know if there is anyone who is a citizen of a state who is not a citizen of India, as the prices are different for the state and centre.

Rana Ayyub even wanted to ask tough questions to Adar Poonawalla, as if he is a public representative.

No huge profit, but end of loss

Although it is correct that at present Serum Institute of India is supplying the vaccine to ₹150 plus tax per dose to the government of India, it is completely incorrect to accuse that it will be making a huge profit by selling at ₹400 per dose to the states. This is because, the company is selling the vaccine at a loss to the centre, and it can’t continue doing that. Today Adar Poonawalla said in an interview with CNBC the company needs to pay 50% of its revenue as royalty to AstraZeneca, and the company is making a loss of approximately ₹150 per dose.

It is important to note that the company is supplying the vaccine to a concessional rate only for a limited period of time, as it has already announced earlier. Adar Poonawalla had earlier announced that the company will supply the first 100 million doses of the vaccine to govt of India at a low rate, and after that, they will selling the same at ₹1,000 per dose in the private market.

“We’ve given a special price of Rs 200 for the first 100 million doses only to Government of India on their request that we want to support common man, vulnerable, poor, healthcare workers. After that we’ll be selling it at Rs 1000 in private markets,” the SII CEO had said in January.

This means, it was already known that the company will increase the price after supplying 100 million doses, and now they are charging a much lower price of ₹600 from the private market instead of ₹1000 they had announced earlier. Only, the company is supplying more than double of its initial commitment at the lower rate. Because, after the initial contract of 100 million doses, the government of India signed another contract last month with the company for the supply of 110 million doses at the concessional rate, and the company is still supplying vaccine under that contract. The company is expected to complete the delivery by July, after which the centre will have to sign a new contract, and the company has made it clear that no more discount will be offered from now.

The SII CEO also said that they had proposed the price of ₹600 for both state governments and private sector, and talked to some states on the issue. But the state govts requested to bring the price down, after which the company decided to charge a lower price of ₹400 from the states. This means, state govts were aware that the prices will be higher than the current price charged from the centre, as they were part of the discussions on it.

Centre will also be charged ₹400

Adar Poonawalla revealed another important point in his interview with CNBC. He said that after the company supplies the fresh batch of 110 million doses to the central govt as per the contract, they will charge ₹400 from the centre for any new purchase order. He said that the price of ₹400 has been set for all governments, and there is no discrimination.

SII was giving concession to Indian govt, and some other countries too, as those governments had placed order with the company for the vaccine even before the trial data of the vaccine was published. The countries had taken a risk by placing order committing to purchase an untested product, and that’s why they were offered a lower rate. But now that the efficacy of the vaccine has been proved, there is no need to offer such discount.  

It is also to be noted that in exchange for the discounted rate, the govt of India has offered an advance of ₹3000 crore for SII. The company needed the fund for expanding its vaccine production capacity, and the central govt provided the fund as a credit against future supply of doses.

Centre’s citizen vs state’s citizen

The argument that SII is discriminating among citizens by charging different prices from centre and states does not make sense at all, as there are no different citizens belonging to the centre and the states, as TMC MP Mahua Maitra and many others seem to believe. The vaccines that the centre is buying, which it will continue to do so, are supplied to state governments only. It is not that PM Narendra Modi or his cabinet is consuming the vaccine themselves. The vaccines are given to Indian citizens in all the states in India.

The centre is vaccinating people over 45 years of age free of cost in all the states, which it will continue to do so. It is not that the Modi govt is vaccinating a different set of people ignoring citizens in Indian states, as the opposition leaders and left liberals are suggesting.

In fact, as Adar Poonawalla said today, the states have been given an option to buy vaccine themselves, they are not compelled to do so. If the states think they can’t afford the vaccine, they can choose to not buy the vaccine, and continue the vaccination program using the doses supplied by the centre.

Charity vs business

By claiming that SII is making profits from selling vaccines, the left liberals want to imply that the company should spend crores of rupees from its pocket to protect the people of India from the Chinese virus. SII has invested a large amount of money to expand its capacities to produce the vaccines, both Covishield and the upcoming vaccine Covavax. In fact, immediately after the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was developed and finalised, the company had started manufacturing and stockpiling it, so that millions of doses are available by the time vaccine is approved after the clinical trial. Had the vaccine proved to be a failure, it would have lost crores of rupees. Although organisations like GAVI and Gates Foundation shared some of the risk, the company invested fund in the vaccine project, which comes at a cost.

No company can sustain by selling a product at cost price, it has to earn a reasonable amount of profit to expand its operations, mitigate risks, spend in R&D etc. Therefore, it is not reasonable to expect SII to supply the vaccine at even cost price, and it impossible that the company will continue to sale at loss. The company had already announced it was offering the discount only for a limited quantity of vaccine, and after that, they will increase the price. SII has supplied double the committed quantity at concession and charging much less than the earlier announced price. They can’t be expected to continue doing charity forever.

Foreign vs Indian company

It is interesting to note that while many people are against SII increasing the price of COVISHIELD, they themselves had argued that those who can afford should be allowed to purchase costly foreign vaccines. Congress leaders had demanded that those who can afford price of ‘Advanced Pfizer and Moderna vaccines’ should not be denied access, and govt should approve their use.

But now when now a similar choice has been made available at much lower rates, the same people objecting. It may be noted that the doses of Pfizer and Moderna costs between ₹2000-₹3000, while the Oxford vaccine is being sold at a much lower rate to the private sector by SII. Although the price may be slightly more than ₹600 to account for logistics, it will still much lower than the rate of foreign vaccines.

It shows that Indian left-liberals only want to bring the Indian industry down, while promoting foreign companies. Not just COVISHIELD, and Covaxin, Indian vaccine manufacturers sell almost all other vaccines at much lower price compared to their global counterparts. On the other hand, pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer are known for overpriced drugs and their greedy nature. It has to be noted that Pfizer wanted Latin American countries to pledge their national assets, including federal bank reserves, military assets, to protect the company from any future liability arising out of adverse reactions of the vaccine or its own negligence, fraud or malice. And the Indian left-liberals are campaigning for such while opposing Indian companies selling vaccines at much lower price.

‘Remdesivir is not magic bullet, 85 percent of Covid patients do not need hospitalisation: Top doctors issue advisory

OpIndia Staff
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‘Remdesivir is not magic bullet, 85 percent of Covid patients do not need hospitalisation: Top doctors issue advisory

Amidst the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country, top doctors—Dr Randeep Guleria, director of AIIMS, Dr Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health, and Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman of Medanta Hospitals, advised people on how to battle out the new wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Brought together by ANI, the top doctors spoke on a range of issues, from dispelling myths about the ineffectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 to importance of maintaining COVID appropriate behaviour such as masking up properly and regularly to unwarranted hoarding of essential life-saving drugs like Remdesivir and medicinal oxygen.

“Get yourself tested for COVID-19, it is the most important thing”: Dr Shetty

Dr Shetty of Narayana Health advised people to check their oxygen saturation levels every 6 hours. Issuing an advisory, Dr Shetty said, “If your oxygen saturation is above 94% then there is no problem. But if it is falling after exercise, then, you need to call a doctor. It’s important you get the right treatment at the right time.”

Dr Shetty also added that COVID-19 should not be taken lightly and asked people to get tested for the infection even if their symptoms do not indicate that they are down with the coronavirus. “Any patient complaining about anything in their body, it is COVID unless proven otherwise,” Dr Shetty said.

“There is a possibility that you may be asymptomatic, then, doctors will tell you to stay at home, isolate yourself, wear a mask and check your oxygen saturation every 6 hours. If you have any symptom like body ache, cold, cough, indigestion, vomiting- I have one important message- get yourself tested for COVID-19. It is the most important thing,” he added.

Remdesivir is not a ‘Ramban’: Dr Trehan dispels doubts regarding the crucial antiviral drug

Dispelling doubts about COVID-19 that are doing the rounds among the masses, Dr Trehan of Medanta said that a very small percentage of people would require hospitalisation. He said the hospital beds should be utilised judiciously & with responsibility.

Dr Trehan also spoke on the usage of antiviral drug Remdesivir that has been in huge demand ever since the second wave of the coronavirus struck India. He said that they have made a protocol to not administer Remdesivir to everyone who tests positive. Only after doctors look at test results, symptoms, comorbidities of a patient, he said, should the drug be administered. “Remdesivir isn’t a ‘Ramban’, it only decreases viral load in people who need it,” Dr Trehan said.

The chairman of Medanta advised patients to make judicious use of oxygen. He urged patients to not hoard oxygen which would unnecessarily deprive others of the gas and asked them to stop its wastage.

“Today we have enough oxygen if we try to use it judiciously. I want to tell the public that if you don’t need oxygen then don’t use it as a security blanket. Waste of oxygen will only lead to depriving someone who needs it,” said Dr Trehan, the chairman of Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon.

85 per cent of people infected with COVID-19 would not need hospitalisation: Dr Randeep Guleria

Speaking on the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, Dr Randeep Guleria, the chairman of AIIMS, Delhi, said that more than 85% of people will recover without any specific treatment in the form of Remdesivir etc. He added that most will have symptoms like the common cold, sore throat etc. and within 5-7 days, they will recover with symptomatic treatment. Only 15 per cent may go to moderate disease level, the doctor said.

Dr Guleria also said that most people can ward off COVID-19 by simply taking paracetamol. He said Remdesivir is not a magic bullet and urged people to simply remain hydrated, consult with their doctors to recover from COVID-19.

“Important to understand that most of us who in home isolation or in the hospital because of panic doesn’t actually need any specific treatment. Only a small percentage require Remdesivir. Don’t consider this as a magic bullet,” Dr Guleria said.

With respect to the oxygen demand, Dr Guleria said that people whose oxygen saturation is above 94 per cent do not need to take supplemental oxygen. He even suggested that even those people whose oxygen levels drop to 90-92 per cent are not in the immediate need for oxygen. In such cases, Dr Gurelia said, patients should continuously monitor their oxygen levels and consult with their doctor for their treatment.

“As a country, if we work together, use oxygen and Remdesivir judiciously, then, there will be no shortage anywhere. In terms of the number of people who need oxygen and oxygen supply, we are well balanced,” he said.

Dr Guleria urged people to stop hoarding Remdesivir and oxygen cylinders, stating that others might be deprived of the critical supplies if they continue to store up the antiviral drug and oxygen.

The chairman of AIIMS also quashed the rumours that vaccines are ineffective against COVID-19. He asked people to get vaccinated and said that the vaccines protect people from severe effects of the virus. However, he cautioned people to still remain masked up even if they have had their doses of vaccines.

“Vaccines prevents from getting diseases in form of severe illness, going to ICU, during that time one can still test positive for RTPCR test and can be infectious…wearing a mask after getting vaccines is important to prevent those who are yet to take vaccines and who are susceptible to the COVID-19 infection,” he said.

After lobbying for foreign vaccines, Rahul Gandhi calls Serum Institute’s Adar Poonawalla ‘Modi’s friend’, claims few industrialists will earn profit from vaccine

OpIndia Staff
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After lobbying for foreign vaccines, Rahul Gandhi calls Serum Institute’s Adar Poonawalla ‘Modi’s friend’, claims few industrialists will earn profit from vaccine

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has decided that attacking Indian businessman is the best strategy to defeat Narendra Modi. After relentlessly accusing the Modi govt of working only for select ‘friends’ like Ambani and Adani, he has made Indian vaccine manufacturers the target of latest attack. After several attempts to diss India‘s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, Rahul Gandhi is now after Adar Poonawala, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Serum Institute of India which is making Covishield, the Covid-19 vaccine from Oxford University-AstraZeneca.

After Adani-Ambani, now Adar

In the latest attack, Rahul Gandhi has labelled Adar Poonawalla as ‘Modi’s friend. In a tweet attaching SII’s vaccine rates for the state governments and private hospitals announced by the company earlier today, he implied that the Centre is supporting a few companies to ‘earn profits’.

Prior to this, Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his same old allegation of wanting to sell the country to a few industrialists. Only this time, he has added Adar Poonawalla to the Adani-Ambani list. 

These remarks come after the central government liberalized the sale of Covid-19 vaccine in Phase 03 of the vaccination drive to boost the inoculation process. 

Rahul Gandhi’s tweets reek of an attempt to allege that the Modi government has taken this step to help vaccine makers earn undue profits. 

At this juncture, we must specify that Adar Poonawalla in his latest interview to CNBC-TV18 categorically specified that the company is not here to take advantage of the pandemic and is suffering a loss of Rs 150 per dose. He added that SII has to pay 50% of the price to AstraZeneca as royalty.

In a not-so-astonishing move, Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders have been campaigning for foreign vaccines. In fact, when the Russian made Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik-V was approved by the Modi govt, he had taken credit for the same.

Rahul Gandhi claims it was after the opposition put up a fight did the Centre make way for foreign-made vaccines and claimed the GOI appreciated the opposition for its suggestions.

It is interesting to note that while advocating costly American vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, the opposition leaders were saying that let those who can afford to buy the costly foreign vaccines. But now when an Indian company is charging only the cost as the price, they are terming it as ‘Modi’s friend making profit’.

Vaccination drive in India

India is currently running the largest vaccination drive with a total of 13cr+ doses of Covid-19 vaccine administered as of Monday and 17.5M people fully vaccinated.

The government has additionally extended support to the manufacturers to ramp up the production and plans to invite new players at the domestic and international levels.

TMC, Kashmiri Journalist and propagandists found posting fake images and videos amidst Covid-19 crisis

OpIndia Staff
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TMC, Kashmiri Journalist and propagandists found posting fake images and videos amidst Covid-19 crisis

Misinformation and fear-mongering have become the biggest tools for the opposition parties, left-leaning liberal journalists and propagandist to cause disruption and panic in the country. At the moment, India is facing a Covid-19 pandemic. Amidst such times, everyone needs to restrain themselves from spreading any misinformation. However, some see it as an opportunity to spread their propaganda.

Kashmiri journalist post old photo as recent

A Kashmiri journalist identified as Aarif Shah posted a photograph of an old lady hooked to an oxygen cylinder while sitting on the road. Shah wrote, “This is where India is right now,” suggesting the photo was taken recently. By the time we published this report, Shah had deleted the tweet. However, it had crossed over 1000 RTs by that time. We tried to find if he had posted any apology for the misleading tweet, but he did not.

Aarif deleted the post after backlash.

The same image was shared by the RVCJ group as well, but it seems now they have deleted the post after backlash. In the post, they had written, “nothing can be worse than this.”

RVCJ’s now-deleted post. Source:Spoof_Junkey

TMC’s official Twitter handle of ‘Banglar Gorbo Mamata’ also shared the same image. By the time this report was published, this post was still up on the account.

TMC’s tweet.

When we reverse searched the image, it was found that the photograph was from the 2018 ANI report where a man was allegedly made to wait for an ambulance at Agra Medical College while carrying an oxygen cylinder on his shoulder. The photograph was taken when he kept the cylinder down for a while. We are not saying that there is nothing wrong with what happened in 2018 but passing it as a recent one fuels not only the misinformation but also causes fear among the public.

The report is from 2018. Source: Screenshot from ANI’s 2018 report

Photograph from Maharashtra passed on as from Gujarat

Swara Bhaskar’s friend and Director of Anaarkali Of Aarah, Avinash Das, shared an image on April 20 in which people were seen lying down on the floor with drips attached to their arms. He wrote, “Gujarat model of healthcare! Picture of Tapi district, where corona patients are being treated in tents.”

Misleading tweet by Avinash Das

The same image was shared by the official Twitter handle of ‘Banglar Gorbo Mamata’, which is TMC’s 75-day outreach program. In the tweet, they wrote, “Gujrat. PM Cares?” and used the hashtag #ModiHataoDeshBachao.

TMC’s misleading tweet

When we reverse searched the image, it turned out to be from Navapur, Maharashtra. It was not even about Covid, but it was about treating typhoid patients. Due to the shortage of beds in hospitals amidst rising cases of Covid, the patients had to get treatment in tents. The image is from Maharashtra’s Navapur and is dated April 20, 2021.

Reaction from Netizens

Netizens are criticizing such misleading posts and demanding action against those who have posted them.

What does the law say?

Though India does not have any specific law that can deal with the misinformation, there are some provisions in IPC, IT Act and Disaster Management Act that can be used against such posts.

According to Section 505(1) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, anyone who makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumours or report that may cause fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public can be punished with imprisonment that may extend to 3 years or fine or both.

According to the Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, whoever, by means for any communication device or computer resource cheats by impersonating can be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.

According to Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, whoever makes or circulates a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic, can be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to one year or with a fine or both.

Moneycontrol deletes report, NDTV brazens out misleading reports on oxygen export after central government calls out malicious propaganda

OpIndia Staff
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Moneycontrol deletes report, NDTV brazens out misleading reports on oxygen export after central government calls out malicious propaganda

Several media outlets recently made misleading assertions that India had exported a large quantity of medical oxygen from January 2021 to March 2021. The reports by mainstream media organisations, including Moneycontrol, News 18 and NDTV, suggested that India had exported nearly 9,300 MT of oxygen in the financial year ending 31st March 2021. Some reports also claimed that India exported 9,884 MT of medical oxygen from January 2021 to March 2021. These reports were used and propagated by opposition leaders to attack the Modi govt, accusing the govt of exporting oxygen at time the country is facing a shortage of the commodity.

The reports of oxygen exports were staunchly refuted by the Indian government, who termed the reports as misleading and asserted that malicious propaganda is being spread regarding the export of oxygen by India during the pandemic. It further slammed the media organisations who peddled the falsehoods, claiming that they had mistaken industrial oxygen for medicinal oxygen.

After the Indian government termed the reports of oxygen exports as misleading, Moneycontrol deleted its original article and expressed regret for portraying a misleading picture of the industrial oxygen exports from India.

“This article has been deleted because it portrayed a misleading picture of industrial oxygen exports from India and was causing unnecessary panic. The export of oxygen for largely industrial purposes in the first three quarters of 2020-21 (April 2020 to January 2021) was to the extent of 9,294 metric tonnes. This represented a little more than one day’s production capacity in the country. The article should not have been published in the first place. The error is regretted,” the corrigendum posted by Moneycontrol read.

The corrigendum came in the wake of a report published by Moneycontrol which claimed that India exported nearly 9,300 metric tonnes of oxygen in the first three months of 2021. Money Control did not specify whether the exported oxygen was medical oxygen, fit for patients, thereby adding to the panic.

The misleading news about India’s oxygen exports was also shared by habitual fake news peddler NDTV. However, instead of showing basic courtesy of apologising for spreading misinformation, NDTV brazened out the lies it had spread about India’s oxygen export.

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Even after the government clarification on the misleading reports about the oxygen exports, NDTV ran a story alleging that India’s oxygen exports rose to over 700 per cent in January 2021 as compared to 2020.

Media outlets mistake industrial oxygen for medicinal oxygen to allege that GoI exported oxygen in the midst of pandemic

On April 21, the Government of India had rubbished the claims that India exported 9,884 MT of medical oxygen from January 2021 to March 2021. It said that malicious propaganda is being spread that India had exported scarce medical oxygen during the pandemic year of 2020-21. “This is absolutely false and industrial oxygen exports are being mistaken as medical oxygen,” the central government said.

The sources in government further added that there are two categories of exports of liquid oxygen that are medical and others (industrial). During April-February 2020-21, India indeed exported 9884 MT of industrial oxygen, but the amount of medical oxygen exported was only 12 MT.

Majority of these industrial oxygen export was in December & January when medical oxygen consumption reduced to 1418 MT/day from 2675 MT/day in September. Against near 7000 MT/day capacity, this resulted in no threat to medical oxygen supply while protecting jobs in the oxygen industry.

India becomes the fastest country in the world to administer over 13 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses: Centre

OpIndia Staff
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India becomes the fastest country in the world to administer over 13 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses: Centre

India is one of the fastest countries to administer over 13 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, taking only 95 days to do so, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. All these doses have been given free by GoI to state governments.

The United States took 101 days while China took 109 days to administer these many doses, the ministry said.

As per the provisional report cited by the government, cumulatively, India has administered 13,01,19,310 doses through 19,01,413 sessions.

Out of these 13 crore people who have been vaccinated, 92,01,728 are the healthcare workers(HCWs) who have taken their first doses. There are 58,17,262 HCWs who have received their second dose as well. The number also includes 1,15,62,535 frontline workers (FLWs) who have got their first dose and 58,55,821 FLWs who have taken their second dose.

Besides, 4,73,55,942 people above the age of 60 have been administered the first done and 53,04,679 the second dose.

In the age group 45-60, 4,35,25,687 beneficiaries have taken their first dose and 14,95,656 the second dose.

The ministry also said eight states—Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala—account for 59.25 per cent of the total doses given in the country so far.

On the 95th day(April 20) itself, 29,90,197 vaccine doses were administered, which include 19,86,711 beneficiaries across 42,384 sessions for the first dose, and 10,03,486 for the second dose.

The country’s vaccination drive was embarked on January 16, with healthcare workers(HCWs) being amongst the first to be vaccinated. The vaccination for the frontline workers(FLWs) started from February 2.

In the subsequent phase of the vaccination drive that started on March 1, people over 60 years of age, and people aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions, were made eligible for the inoculation.

For people above the age of 45, India launched vaccination from April 1.

Now, the government has announced vaccination for everyone above the age of 18 starting May 1. Even after 1st May, GoI will continue giving all vaccine doses in its 50% quota to states for free.

The additional quota provides states with flexibility which most of the states had demanded, to customise their vaccination drive as health is a state subject.

Netflix stock dips due to a dramatic slowdown in subscriber addition, company blames production delays due to Covid-19

OpIndia Staff
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Netflix stock dips due to a dramatic slowdown in subscriber addition, company blames production delays due to Covid-19

The video-streaming platform Netflix saw its shares fall as much as 11% in after-hours trading yesterday after reporting only 3.98 million new global subscribers last quarter, a far cry from the 6.2 million additions anticipated by Wall Street analysts. The company also said that it expects only 1 million new subscribers over the next quarter.

Netflix has blamed this slowdown in subscribers on the Coronavirus pandemic, attributing the production delays of its big-ticket movies and TV shows to COVID-19.

“We believe paid membership growth slowed due to the big Covid-19 pull forward in 2020 and a lighter content slate in the first half of this year, due to Covid-19 production delays,” said Netflix in a letter to its shareholders.

Analysts believe that Netflix is facing increasing competition in the video streaming market, especially in the U.S., with Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu, AT&T’s HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, and Comcast NBCUniversal’s Peacock all competing for subscribers. However, the company has denied this factor in its report, saying that it doesn’t believe competition played a factor in the below-par subscriber numbers.

“We don’t believe competitive intensity materially changed in the quarter or was a material factor in the variance as the over-forecast was across all of our regions,” said Netflix.

The streaming giant expects to bounce back in the second half of 2021, with content delayed due to Covid-19 delays slated to return.

“As we’ve noted previously, the production delays from Covid-19 in 2020 will lead to a 2021 slate that is more heavily second-half weighted with a large number of returning franchises,” the company added.

The company said that production has resumed and running in nearly all of its major markets. Netflix said that it expects to spend more than $17 billion in cash on content this year.

‘Chacha mayor hain hamare’: Raipur mayor’s nephew Shoaib Dhebar misbehaves with cops when caught without mask, video viral

OpIndia Staff
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‘Chacha mayor hain hamare’: Raipur mayor’s nephew Shoaib Dhebar misbehaves with cops when caught without mask, video viral

In an embarrassing video that has gone viral on social media, Raipur mayor Aijaz Dhebar’s nephew can be seen roaming without a mask in public, flouting this basic covid norm.

Additionally, on being caught by the police, Shoaib Dhebar reportedly dialled his uncle to come to his rescue and misbehaved with the cops.

Shoaib Dhebar threatened the police on being stopped for stepping out without a mask in public amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic which has left Chhattisgarh as one of the worst affected states in the country. 

Shoaib who was accompanied by a pillion rider can be heard saying that he was on his way to purchase a mask when questioned by a cop. He can be seen yelling at a cop for allegedly ‘mistreating’ him. 

Chalan of Rs 5?

A social media user shared that Shoaib was let go after being fined for a mere Rs.5. The user has also tweeted an image of the Chalan.

However, some media reports have stated that the Rs 5 Chalan was made by mistake and later another image had surfaced on social media where it was shown that Shoaib was fined Rs 500. The police commissioner has reportedly stated that he is not aware of the incident.

Calling it an unfortunate incident, Aijaz Dhebar tweeted saying, “law is the same for everyone, whether it is a relative of mine or the Prime Minister.”

He further added that at a time of crisis one must respect the frontline warriors and that his nephew has been warned for his misbehaviour.

Not sure which law is being talked about here as the fine for not wearing a mask in a public place in Chhattisgarh was increased five times to Rs 500 in March. The decision was taken after the state of Chhattisgarh was hit hard by the second wave of the pandemic. The state has been recording over 100 deaths every day since April 10.

Kerala professor compares Modi with Hitler and right-wing with Nazi Germany in lecture to students, spews venom on Hindus and ‘Hindu parties’

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala professor compares Modi with Hitler and right-wing with Nazi Germany in lecture to students, spews venom on Hindus and ‘Hindu parties’

Gilbert Sebastian is an assistant professor at the Central University of Kerala. He is also the Secretary of the Central University of Kerala Teachers Association, (CUKTA) Kasaragod. A Post Doctoral fellow from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Sebastian teaches in the Department of International Relations and Politics. A purported audio clip of one of his lectures on Fascism and Nazism in which he continuously spewed venom against Hindus, Swastika, Hindutva, RSS, BJP and other Hindu organisations went viral on social media.

OpIndia got access to the audio of half of his lecture and the slideshows that he allegedly used during the lecture. Sebastian claimed that across the world, ‘Right Wing’ governments were coming into power and called it “Right-Wing resurgence in the world”.

Right-Wing comes to power because of middle and business class

In his lecture, Sebastian claimed that to come to power, Right Wing uses lucrative promises. He gave the example of the great depression of the 1930s during which Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany came to power. He claimed these Right Wing political parties promised jobs, better income and infrastructure to come to power. Not only the middle-class but the corporate world also helped them to win the elections.

Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow

Sebastian claimed that the same tactics were used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to win the elections in India. He claimed BJP won the elections on the pretext of jobs and infrastructure, but they have done nothing since they came in power.

Interestingly, Sebastian completely ignored the fact that since the Modi-led BJP government came into power in 2014, India has progressed in several sectors. Distributing electricity connections, gas connections, homes, DBT for different government schemes, soil health cards, multiple AIIMS, improved road infrastructure, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and several other schemes have helped India to improve its position in terms of infrastructure. Blinded with the hate for BJP, Sebastian continued to mislead his students.

BJP does appeasement to attract Dalits and working-class – claimed Sebastian

Sebastian claimed in Kerala and other South Indian states, as people are educated, they do not support BJP. Mainly Dalits and the working class do not trust BJP, he added. However, nowadays, some Dalits and the working-class are supporting the party, but that is because of the political appeasement BJP does. According to him, Dalits can be lured to vote for BJP by appeasement.

A similar statement was made by a TMC leader recently. On April 10, TMC leader Sujata Mondal Khan had labelled Dalits as ‘beggars by nature and claimed that they sold themselves to the BJP. She said, “There is a saying that some are beggars by nature while others are beggars by circumstance. The Scheduled Castes here are beggars by nature.”

The fake information on Hindu Holy Symbol Swastika

During his lecture, when Sebastian talked about the Nazi’s Hakenkreuz, he referred it to as Swastika and tried to make it look like that both the symbols are the same. When he mentioned Hakenkreuz as Swastika at the very beginning of the lecture, he asked the students if they know where else this symbol is used. For a few seconds, no one spoke up. He again asked them if they are aware of who uses the symbol. One of the students said that it is used in temples, but he did not take the name of any religion.

Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow

Irked by the fact that no one was ready to say anything on the blunt misleading comparison, he again forced the students to speak up. One of the students spoke up, but he was not audible. Then he asked the student to write it in the comment section on Zoom. The student said the Swastika symbol represents Kali or Shakti, whom he referred to as the ‘Black Female Goddess’.

There are two aspects of this part of his lectures that are incorrect. First of all, Hakenkreuz is NOT Swastika. It is the hooked cross. There was no reason for a Catholic party to adopt a sign from Hinduism. The second aspect is what Swastika represents.

Contrary to what Sebastian taught in his lecture, Swatika comprises of ‘su’ meaning ”good” and ‘asti’ meaning ”to be”. In other words, well-being. It dates back some 6,000 years to rock and cave paintings. Scholars generally agree it originated in India.

It has also meant a symbol of good luck, prosperity and all things auspicious for other ancient cultures, including the Vikings and Greeks, besides Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. It finds mentions in the Vedas as well. It symbolises many things like Surya (the sun) and Brahma, the creator. It is seen as a power symbol and is also the emblem of Ganesha, the god of good luck. In both Hinduism and Jainism, the Swastika is used to mark the opening pages of account books, doors and thresholds.

‘RSS is the ‘Brows Shirts’ of India’ – said Sebastian

He further said that, unlike other political formations, fascism uses semi-autonomous civil society groups as militant outfits. For example, the Blackshirts in Italy and the Brown Shirts in Germany. He proceeded and put the RSS & VHP in India in the same category. He also claimed that RSS was inspired by Adolf Hitler and subtly compared the brown shirts of Nazis with RSS’s attire.

Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow

‘Hindu parties have militant outfits’

Sebastian said Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) is the mother of all Hindu parties in India. BJP is the political outfit of RSS. He did not stop there and claimed that Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal are militant groups of RSS. He further alleged that the Hindu NRIs sitting abroad send money for VHP and Bajrang Dal to create unrest in the country.

He claimed that BJP is only at the front of RSS. Many autonomous Hindu bodies in India allegedly do the dirty work for RSS. He added that Congress itself is the main organisation. But in RSS, there are a lot of autonomous bodies that work under the main organisation.

Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow

Then came the most bizarre statement. He claimed that as BJP is only the political front, someday, RSS will announce that there will be no elections in the country and will abolish BJP. “They might do that. I am serious. They might do that,” he said. He claimed that as the autonomous bodies under RSS do the dirty work, the organisation is able to present itself with a clean image.

Screenshot from Sebastian lecture’s slideshow

He also blamed Bajrang Dal for the 2002 riots in Gujarat. Sebastian conveniently ignored the fact that the riots in 2002 were not initiated by any Hindu organisation. They happened in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning incident in which 59 innocent Kar Sewaks were burnt alive by a large Muslim mob.

North Indian Hindus are the root cause of atrocities against women in India

Sebastian claimed that the Hindus living in North India are the root cause of atrocities against women in India. He gave the example of the Nirbhaya case. He said one of the main accused was regular with his daily ‘pooja path’. In the documentary, India’s daughter, that accused claimed that the answer to women like Nirbhaya is rape. “But he used to do pooja path. What kind of hypocrisy was that?” he added.

During his lecture, he kept spewing venom against India, BJP, RSS, Hindus and other Hindu organisations. He spread misinformation about Swastika and Hindus. He tried to paint Hindus as criminals, uneducated, ill-informed and rioters. As OpIndia only got hold of half of his lecture, it is not known what he had said in the remaining lecture.

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