| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Chinese malware may have targeted Indian power systems and seaports: U.S. firm Chinese state-sponsored actors may have deployed malware into Indian power grids and seaports as border tensions between India and China began escalating in May last, culminating in a deadly clash along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in mid-June. The alleged cyber intrusion was discovered and revealed by U.S. cyber security and intelligence firm, Recorded Future, according to the New York Times, which broke the story. An October 12 grid failure in Mumbai may have been caused by the Chinese malware, as per the report. The Massachusetts-based firm found that in the lead-up to the clashes, they noticed an increase in malware targeting the government, defence organisations, and the public sector. The Power Ministry confirmed that while attempts to breach systems were made, the power sector had not been impacted. Recorded Future told The Hindu that there was still some evidence of ongoing intrusion, although a significant amount of it has subsided recently. "There is evidence that some of the intrusions remain ongoing; however, a significant proportion of the activity appeared to cease in early to mid-February following notification," a spokesperson for Recorded Future, Caitlin Mattingly, told The Hindu via email on Monday. While the government has not contacted Recorded Future since the New York Times published its report, according to Mattingly, the company had been in touch with the government prior to the report's publication. "We shared technical details of the intrusions with the Indian government that would allow them to identify and respond to the incidents. We are not an incident response firm and so do not directly typically investigate internal incidents in organisations," Mattingly said when asked if Recorded Future is helping the government patch up the vulnerabilities. The intrusions, which began in May 2020, continued throughout the year. The New York Times' report quoted Recorded Future COO Stuart Solomon as saying the Chinese state-sponsored group (which the company calls 'Red Echo'), "has been seen to systematically utilise advanced cyber intrusion techniques to quietly gain a foothold in nearly a dozen critical nodes across the Indian power generation and transmission infrastructure." China's Foreign Ministry strongly hit out at the report, calling it "irresponsible", and attacked it for not offering evidence. "China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyber attacks," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. "Speculation and fabrication have no role to play on the issue of cyber attacks, as it is very difficult to trace the origin of a cyber attack," he added. Another Dalit minor girl found dead in U.P.; police register case of rape and murder A minor Dalit girl was found dead in a village in Akrabad tehsil of Aligarh on Sunday after she went to collect fodder for cattle in the fields, police said. Locals feel that the 17-year-old was raped and killed. The police have registered a case against unidentified persons for rape and murder. When a police team went to take the body for post-mortem, angry villagers blocked their way by setting fodder on fire. The SHO of the Gangiri police station was injured in pelting of stones by women. The body was later taken to Aligarh for post-mortem. The girl had gone out on Sunday morning. When she didn't return till afternoon, villagers started searching for her. Her body was found in a wheat field around one km from the village. Locals alleged that her clothes were disturbed and it seemed she was strangulated. Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj P said an FIR had been registered against unidentified persons for rape and murder of the victim. "Prima facie, it seems a case of murder. Other details would be clear after the post-mortem report. We have detained some locals for questioning and would soon solve the case." Earlier this month, in U.P.'s Unnao district, two Dalit minor girls were found unconscious and subsequently died, after which police registered a case of murder against unidentified persons. 'Will you marry her?' SC asks man accused of raping a girl repeatedly when she was a minor The Supreme Court today asked a State government employee whether he would marry a girl he was accused of raping repeatedly while she was a minor. The man refused, saying he was already married. A Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde subsequently stayed his arrest for four weeks so he could apply for regular bail. During the hearing, the court asked the lawyer for the accused to find out whether his client would be willing to marry the victim or risk the prospect of going to jail.  A view of the Supreme Court of India. File "We are not forcing you..." Chief Justice Bobde added a cautionary note, before the lawyer signed out of the virtual session to consult his client. The lawyer returned shortly thereafter to convey to the court that his client had refused to marry the girl. "I had initially asked for marriage... Right now, I cannot marry her... I am married," the lawyer reported back to the court what his client said. In another case, the Bench stayed the arrest of a man accused of rape after having falsely promised marriage. The accused had approached the court saying he was framed. He said they were in a live-in relationship and she had accused him of rape when their relationship turned sour. Their sexual intercourse during the period was consensual. The alleged victim said she was promised marriage and was "brutally and sexually abused". "When two people are living as husband and wife, however brutal the husband is, can you call sexual intercourse between them 'rape'?" Chief Justice Bobde asked the girl's lawyer. He replied that his client's consent was taken by fraud and the accused had threatened the girl. The court finally refused to entertain the plea of the accused to quash the FIR against him, but allowed him liberty to apply for discharge in the trial court, while staying his arrest. Covid-19 vaccine registration only on Co-WIN portal, says Health Ministry India today opened registration and started the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination that aims to cover people above 60 and those above 45 with specified co-morbid conditions. After multiple complaints on the first day from beneficiaries who claimed that they were not able to register for vaccination, the Health Ministry issued a clarification stating, "Registration and booking for appointment for COVID vaccination is done through CoWIN portal cowin.gov.in. There is no CoWin App for beneficiary registration. The app on Play Store is for administrators only."  Senior citizens waiting to register their names for COVID-19 vaccination at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital in New Delhi on March 1, 2021. "From March 1, the slots will be open from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m., and the appointments can be booked any time before 3 p.m., subject to availability," the Ministry added. The vaccine is being offered free at government COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs), while private centres are offering it at a capped price of ₹250 per dose. The Ministry also said that the Centre is supplying two approved vaccines for use in India — Covishield and Covaxin — and added that beneficiaries will not have a choice on which vaccine will be administered to them. To ramp up the vaccination capacity, around 10,000 private hospitals are empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals under the Central Government Health Scheme, and other private hospitals under State governments. Health Insurance Schemes can participate as CVCs. "Private health facilities which will serve as government COVID vaccination centres have been directed to follow strict norms of due process, quality and safety, including integration with the national Co-WIN technology platform," said a senior health official. Beneficiaries are also allowed three methods of registration — advance self-registration, on-site registration, and facilitated cohort registration. PM Modi takes first jab of COVAXIN Prime Minister Narendra Modi today morning took the first shot of COVAXIN, the Indian-researched and produced Covid-19 vaccine (produced by Bharat Biotech) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.  Sister P. Niveda, administering a dose of COVAXIN to PM Modi on March 1, 2021. Tweeting a picture of himself getting a shot, Prime Minister Modi said: "Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19. I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free!" Prashant Kishor joins Amarinder Singh govt in Punjab Four years after helping the Congress come to power in Punjab with a big win in the Assembly elections, Prashant Kishor has returned to the state, signing on as "principal advisor" to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who tweeted to say the two would "work for the betterment of the people of Punjab". "Happy to share that Prashant Kishor has joined me as my Principal Advisor. Look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Punjab!" Singh tweeted Monday. Punjab is scheduled to hold Assembly elections in early 2022. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,11,22,982 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,58,579. In Brief: Cooking gas cylinders used by households turned dearer on March 1, with national oil marketing companies increasing the price of the 14.2 kg liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refill by ₹25 each. It is the second such increase in five days. The new rate is effective for deliveries made from March 1 onwards. In Delhi, the cylinder will now cost ₹819 (from ₹794); in Kolkata, ₹845 (₹820); in Mumbai, ₹819 (₹794) and in Chennai, ₹835 (₹810). This is the fourth increase in LPG prices from February 4 and the sixth since December 2020, adding a total of ₹225 to the cylinder cost. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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