India is ready for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today at a meeting with chief ministers of all states to review the coronavirus situation and the preparedness for the inoculation drive set to begin on January 16.
Public representatives are not part of the 3 crore corona warriors and frontline workers to be vaccinated first, PM Modi said, adding that the cost of vaccination for these 3 crore people would be borne by the central government.
India on Monday reported 16,311 new coronavirus cases which was 12 per cent lower than Sunday. With the addition of fresh infections, the overall cases in the country have crossed 1.04 crore cases so far, including 1.5 lakh deaths.
The Supreme Court today asked the central government whether it would pause the implementation of three controversial farm laws at the core of massive farmer protests near Delhi, saying the situation had gone worse. "Tell us whether you will put the laws on hold or else we will do it. What's the ego here?" . The court's sharp remarks came during a hearing on petitions challenging the farm laws and the farmer agitation at the Delhi borders.
"Each one of us we will responsible if anything goes wrong. We don't want any injuries or blood on our hands," Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said in sharp remarks.
The states of Delhi and Maharashtra have confirmed bird flu amid nationwide efforts to contain the spread. "Parbhani is the epicenter. About 800 poultry birds - all hens - died in the last two days. Their samples were given for testing. And now it is confirmed that the reason is bird flu," Deepak Madhukar Muglikar, District Collector, told NDTV. Parbhani is about 500 km from Maharashtra capital Mumbai.
