| A government cannot "abdicate" its duties to feed migrant workers, especially during a pandemic, merely because they did not have ration cards, the Supreme Court said in a judgment on Tuesday. "There is a large number of such migrants who do not possess any card. Their above disability is due to their poverty and lack of education. The State cannot abdicate its duty towards such persons, especially in the wake of the pandemic where large numbers of migrant workers are not able to get jobs which may satisfy their basic needs," a Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and M.R. Shah observed in an 80-page judgment. The court set July 31 as the deadline for the Centre and the States to ensure their "bounden duty" that none among the estimated 38 crore migrant workers, who form one-fourth the country's population, go hungry during the pandemic. These workers too have made "considerable contributions" to the country's growth and economic development, noted the judgement. The court ordered the State governments to frame schemes to distribute dry ration to migrant workers by July 31. "The States/Union Territories have to make extra efforts to reach migrant labourers so that no migrant labourer is denied two meals a day," Justice Bhushan, who wrote the judgment, said.  The Centre has to supply whatever additional quantity of food grains a State demanded. The allocation of additional food grains and running of community kitchens in prominent places to feed workers should continue throughout the pandemic, the court directed. Right to food, one of the "bare necessities of life", was an intrinsic part of the right to live with dignity, the court told the government. It ordered all the States to fully implement the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) by July 31. The scheme allows migrant labourers covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to access food at any fair price shop with his or her ration card in any part of the country. The court slammed the Labour Ministry for its "unpardonable apathy" in not completing the work of the ₹ 45.39-crore National Database for Unorganised Workers (NDUW) portal to register and identify migrant workers and unorganised labourers to ensure their rights, welfare and food security. The court had ordered the Ministry to finalise the NDUW module way back in 2018. The Centre has blamed the delay on "software" problems. The court ordered the Centre to get its act together and complete the work on the portal by July 31. The Labour Secretary has to file a report in a month thereafter. The Centre should complete the registration of workers by December 31 this year or all their "welfare schemes" would be considered "tall claims on paper". Justice Bhushan observed, "The Ministry is not alive to the concerns of the migrant workers. The non-action of the Ministry is strongly disapproved". The court said an unorganised worker was entitled to direct bank transfer if there was a State policy. The Bench directed the States/Union Territories to register establishments and license contractors under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 and ensure that they provided the authorities complete details of the workers employed with them.  Why wait for Centre's approval, Bombay HC asks Maharashtra govt, on door-to-door vaccination The Bombay High Court on June 29 asked the Maharashtra government why it needs an approval from the Centre to start a door-to-door vaccination programme against Covid-19 for senior citizens, the specially-abled, and bedridden persons in the State. The State government on June 29 filed an affidavit in the HC, saying home vaccination on an experimental basis can be started, but only for those who are completely immobile and bedridden.It, however, also said the proposal will have to be first approved by the Union government. "Why do you [Maharashtra government] need approval? Health is a State subject too. Is the State government doing everything after taking approval from the Centre? Have States like Kerala, Bihar and Jharkhand taken approval from the Union government?" a Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni asked. The Bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two advocates — Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari — seeking a direction to the Union government to start door-to-door vaccination for senior citizens above the age of 75, specially-abled persons and those who are bedridden.  Earlier, the Union government had said door-to-door vaccination cannot be introduced currently due to various reasons, including vaccine wastage and the risk of adverse reaction to the vaccine. The court had then asked the Maharahstra government if it was willing to start door-to-door vaccination in the State. In its affidavit, the State Family Welfare Board said the Maharashtra government has been following guidelines laid down by the Union government for vaccination and till date, it (State) has not made any request for door-to-door vaccination. As per the affidavit, door-to-door vaccination can be introduced on an experimental basis for bedridden persons. It said even for these people, a certificate has to be issued by the person's doctor, saying the person is not likely to have any adverse reaction to the vaccine, and if there is any such reaction, then the doctor concerned shall be entirely responsible to manage and administer appropriate medical treatment to the person. The affidavit also said family members of the person concerned shall have to provide a written consent before the vaccine is administered to the person at home. "In order to avoid vaccine wastage, at least 10 beneficiaries concerned shall be made mandatorily available in closed proximity as one vial contains 10 doses of vaccine," it further said. The affidavit said if this proposal is accepted by the State government, then the same shall be sent to the Centre for approval. The Bench posted the matter for further hearing on June 30. Central Vista project: SC dismisses plea against the verdict of Delhi HC refusing to halt work The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed against the Delhi High Court judgment refusing to halt the Central Vista redevelopment project work in the Capital amid the Covid-19 pandemic and imposing ₹1 lakh fine on the petitioners. A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar asked the petitioners, Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi, why there were "selective". The court asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, for the petitioners, repeatedly why his clients chose to focus entirely on the Central Vista project and not other public projects in the Capital. "You have been selective about one project. We do not find in your writ petition anything about any other project.... You have been selective about one project only," Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, on the Bench, addressed Luthra. At one point, Justice Khanwilkar cautioned Luthra that he was not responding to the queries from the Bench, and "if this is your attitude, ₹1 lakh is less". Luthra said he was trying to respond to the court to the best of his abilities. The court referred to the observations made by the High Court that the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition was "motivated". The Bench recorded in its order that the petitioners had continued to "pursue" their petition against the Central Vista project "for reasons best known to them" despite the government's affidavit that it was "fully compliant" with Covid-19 safety protocol. The contents of the government affidavit were not challenged by the petitioners, the court noted. "Mr. Luthra, let me say this to you… PILs have their own sanctity," Justice Maheshwari remarked. In their appeal, the petitioners said the High Court's judgment on May 31 and imposition of an "exorbitant" fine had "a chilling effect on public-spirited individuals raising genuine issues of public health and on the right of citizens to question the actions of the government". The High Court judgment had said the Central Vista project was "vital and essential" and had found the petition "motivated". Cipla gets govt nod to import Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine Cipla Ltd. on Tuesday received approval from the country's drugs regulator to import the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. for restricted emergency use. Niti Aayog member (Health) V.K. Paul said new drug permission for restricted use has been granted for Moderna's vaccine, paving the way for vaccine to be imported into India. This will be the fourth vaccine for India. Cipla had filed an application on June 28 seeking permission to import the Moderna vaccine, referring to DCGI notices dated April 15 and June 1 stating that if a vaccine is approved by the USFDA for EUA, it can be granted marketing authorisation without bridging trial and assessment of safety data of first 100 beneficiaries. Moderna has also informed that the U.S. government has agreed to donate to India a certain number of doses of the Moderna vaccine through COVAX and has sought approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for these vaccines. Several foreign vaccine makers such as Pfizer and Moderna have demanded an indemnity bond that will exempt them from legal claims in case there are any adverse effects from the vaccines when administered in India. FM's latest economic revival package a hoax, says Rahul Gandhi A day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced new sops to give a boost to the Covid-19-hit economy, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called the economic package a hoax. "No family can spend the Finance Minister's 'economic package' for their living, food, medicine or their children school fees. Not a package, another hoax!" he tweeted. On Monday, the Minister had announced ₹1.5 lakh crore of additional credit for small and medium businesses, funds for the healthcare sector, additional loans to tourism agencies, visa fee waiver for foreign tourists, and extra funds for the healthcare sector. "Some elementary truths: Credit guarantee is not credit. Credit is more debt. No banker will lend to a debt-ridden business," former Union Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram said in a series of tweets. "Debt-burdened or cash-starved businesses do not want more credit, they need non-credit capital. More supply does not mean more demand (consumption). On the contrary, more demand (consumption) will trigger more supply," he stated. Aadhaar to be accepted as ID proof for GRE, TOEFL Indian students writing the GRE or TOEFL examinations will be allowed to use their Aadhaar cards as identification proof from July 1. Making the announcement, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) said on Tuesday that many students have faced difficulties in getting passports due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. The ETS conducts both the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), standardised tests which are an admission requirement for many universities in the United States and elsewhere. According to the ETS website, a passport is the only accepted identification proof so far for those taking the tests in India. "With most cities in India facing some form of restriction due to imposed lockdowns, students are not able to apply for a passport or even renew their existing passports," said Ray Nicosia, Executive Director of the Office of Testing Integrity at ETS. "Since the Aadhaar Card is now one of the most widely accepted forms of identification in India, we are confident that accepting this form of ID will be helpful for Indian students who are interested in registering for TOEFL and GRE tests." This is a temporary measure, which comes into effect from July 1 and will apply until further notice, according to an ETS statement. Monsoon session of Parliament likely from July 19 The monsoon session of Parliament is likely to begin on July 19 and will go on till August 13. There is no clarity as of now whether the existing Covid-19 protocols will continue. So far, 403 members out of the 540 members of the Lok Sabha and 179 members out of 232 in the Rajya Sabha have got both doses of vaccines. This session will have 20 sittings. Since the pandemic began, all the three sessions of Parliament had to be truncated due to the rising number of Covid-19 positive cases. This will be first session since the May 2 results of the Assembly elections in four States and the Union Territory of Pudducherry. Following the victory of the TMC in West Bengal, the DMK in Tamil Nadu and the CPI (M)-led Left Front in Kerala, the Opposition will be in a stronger position. The Opposition parties are likely to take up the management of the pandemic, especially the second wave, and the vaccination drive. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,03,41,996 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 3,97,985. In Brief The U.S. State Department announced the appointment of Atul Keshap, a senior foreign service officer with years of experience in South Asia, as Chargé d'Affaires (CDA) ad interim, in New Delhi, to replace Daniel Smith, who is retiring. Keshap's appointment highlights the fact that the White House is yet to send to the U.S. Senate the nomination of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, whose name has been doing the rounds for the Ambassador role in New Delhi since the end of May. Keshap was formerly the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and played a key role in developing the U.S.-Maldives defence relationship. He also served as Deputy Assistance Secretary for South Asia and was posted previously to the American Embassy in New Delhi. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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