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New Delhi: The Union health ministry on Thursday dismissed media reports based on a published research paper alleging that India’s COVID-19 mortality count is much higher than the official figure, which is “fallacious and completely inaccurate”.

The ministry said the country has a robust system of reporting deaths, including those caused by COVID-19, and the data is compiled regularly at different levels of governance, starting from the gram panchayat level to the district level and the state level.

“The reporting of deaths is regularly done in a transparent manner. All deaths are compiled by the Centre after being independently reported by states and UTs.

“To project that COVID deaths have been under-reported is without basis and devoid of justification,” the ministry said in a statement.

There have been some media reports based on a published research paper alleging that the Covid mortality count in India is much higher than the official figure and the actual numbers have been undercounted, it said.

The study estimates that the Covid death toll in the country till early November 2021 was between 32 lakh and 37 lakh, as compared to the official figure of 4.6 lakh.

“As has been stated earlier for similar media reports, it is again clarified that these reports are fallacious and completely inaccurate. They are not based on facts and are speculative in nature,” the statement issued by the ministry said.

Based on globally acceptable categorisation, the government has a comprehensive definition to classify Covid deaths, which has been shared with the states and the states are following it, the ministry added.

Furthermore, the government has been urging the states to update their mortality numbers in case certain deaths were not reported in time at the field level and hence, remains completely dedicated in getting the correct picture of the pandemic-related fatalities, it said.

The government has urged the states and Union territories through several formal communications, video-conferences and deployment of central teams for correct recording of deaths in accordance with the prescribed guidelines.

The Union health ministry has also regularly emphasised the need for a robust reporting mechanism for monitoring district-wise cases and deaths on a daily basis. Therefore, to project that Covid deaths have been under-reported is without a basis and devoid of any justification, the statement said.

The study quoted in the media reports has taken four distinct sub-populations – the population of Kerala, Indian Railways employees, MLAs and MPs, and school teachers in Karnataka — and uses a triangulation process to estimate the nationwide death count.

“Any such projections based on limited datasets and certain specific assumptions must be treated with extreme care before extrapolating the numbers by putting all states and country of the size of India in a single envelope. This exercise runs the risk of mapping skewed data of outliers together and is bound to give wrong estimations, thereby leading to fallacious conclusions,” the ministry said.

The sheer justification that the study has credence since its findings and estimates are in convergence with another study is baffling, defies logic and highlights the bias with which the article has been written, it added.

The media reports further claim that “experts believe India’s civil registration system is vulnerable to gaps. The current civil registration system has little interoperability with health information systems, there is potential for gaps in recording of deaths”.

It is reiterated that the government has followed a transparent approach regarding Covid data management and a robust system of recording all deaths caused by the viral disease already exists, the statement said.

In order to avoid inconsistency in the number of deaths being reported, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued the “Guidance for appropriate recording of COVID-19 related deaths in India” for correct recording of all deaths in accordance with the ICD-10 codes recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), it said.

The dates of COVID-19 cases and deaths are being put in the public domain on a daily basis since the outbreak of the pandemic and similarly, the states are releasing regular bulletins with all details, which are also in the public domain, the ministry said.

It is an established fact that there shall always be differences in the number of deaths recorded during a profound and prolonged public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic and well-conducted research studies on mortalities are usually done after the event, when data on mortalities are available from reliable sources, it said, adding that the methodologies for such studies are well established, the data sources are defined as also the valid assumptions for computing mortality.

In the case of an analysis of Covid mortality in India, it must be noted that there is an added push in the country to capture and report all deaths caused by the disease due to the entitlement to monetary compensation of the next of kin of every Covid victim, the ministry said.

The entire process is being continuously monitored by the Supreme Court, it pointed out.

“Therefore, likelihood of under-reporting of COVID deaths in the country is significantly less. Hence, the conclusion that the ‘undercount’ is due to reluctance or inability of families and local authorities is fallacious and far from the truth,” the ministry said.

Jammu: A mild intensity earthquake with its epicentre in Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra area shook the region on Thursday, an official said.

The earthquake of magnitude 3.5 occurred at 3.02 am, the National Centre for Seismology said.

It said that the earthquake had a depth of five km with its epicentre lying 84 km east of Katra.

The official said there were no reports of any damage so far.

Lee Hsien Loong Singapore PM

Singapore: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong invoked India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru while arguing how democracy should work in the city-state during a passionate debate in Parliament.

“Most countries are founded and start off on the basis of high ideals and noble values. But more often than not, beyond the founding leaders and the pioneer generation, over decades and generations, gradually things change,” Lee said on Tuesday during the debate on the Committee of Privileges’ report on complaints about untruths told by former Workers’ Party lawmaker Raeesah Khan.

“Things start off with passionate intensity. The leaders, who fought for and won independence, are often exceptional individuals of great courage, immense culture, and outstanding ability. They came through the crucible of fire and emerged as leaders of men and nations. They are the David Ben-Gurions, the Jawaharlal Nehrus, and we have our own too,” he said.

Imbued with enormous personal prestige, they strive to meet the high expectations of their peoples to build a brave new world, and shape a new future for their peoples, and for their countries. But beyond that initial fervour, succeeding generations often find it hard to sustain this momentum and drive, Lee said.

The texture of politics changes, respect for politicians declines. After a while, the electorate comes to think this is the norm, and you cannot expect better. So, standards get debased, trust is eroded, and the country declines further, the prime minister said.

“Many political systems today would be quite unrecognisable to their founding leaders. Ben-Gurion’s Israel has morphed into one which can barely form a government, despite four general elections in two years. Meanwhile, a stream of senior politicians and officials in Israel face a litany of criminal charges, some have gone to jail.

“While Nehru’s India has become one where, according to media reports, almost half the MPs in the Lok Sabha have criminal charges pending against them, including charges of rape and murder. Though it is also said that many of these allegations are politically motivated,” Lee said.

The 70-year-old prime minister said each succeeding generation must protect and build upon the system that Singapore has inherited.

“This requires us to uphold integrity, enforce rules and standards, apply the same rules equally to everyone, make sure nobody is above the law. If we can do that consistently, persistently, unflinchingly then we have a shot at making things work. People can trust our leaders, our systems, and our institutions.

“Our democracy can mature, deepen and grow more resilient, as both the governed and the governing embrace and express the right norms and values. Singapore can continue to flourish. But if we allow ourselves to slacken loosen standards here, just a bit; overlook a lie there, just this time the virtuous cycle will stutter and start to fail,” he said.

The Committee of Privileges, chaired by Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, was looking into Workers’ Party parliamentarian Khan’s conduct after she admitted on November 1 that she had lied in Parliament. This was over a claim that she had accompanied a sexual assault victim to a police station where the victim was treated insensitively.

The committee has recommended that Khan be fined SGD 25,000 for stating an untruth in Parliament on August 3. She repeated the untruth on October 4, for which the committee is recommending an additional fine of SGD 10,000.

In November, Khan confessed in Parliament that she had in fact heard this anecdote in a support group she was part of, and had shared it without the victim’s consent.

Khan, 29, resigned as a WP member and MP on November 30, a mere 15 months after being sworn in as Singapore’s youngest MP after the 2020 general election.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1494216518196133889&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.varthabharati.in%2Fsports%2Fsingapore-pm-invokes-nehru-to-argue-how-democracy-should-work-during-a-parliamentary-debate&sessionId=67960c2855200acaf100a80dc2ae5d4b49f47146&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2582c61%3A1645036219416&width=550px

Union Minister Dr Bhagwat Karad

Aurangabad: A proposal has been sent to the Union government for renaming 13 airports, including the one in Aurangabad, and a decision on the same will be taken by the cabinet, Union Minister Dr Bhagwat Karad said.

Speaking to reporters after arriving in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad city on Wednesday, the Union minister of state for finance said a proposal to rename the airport after Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji was sent to the Centre earlier.

“I have been regularly following up on the issue. At least 13 airports in the country are to be renamed and the cabinet will take a decision about these airports,” Dr Karad said.

Earlier, while speaking at a virtual inauguration ceremony of an establishment in Aurangabad, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said that legislators who go to Delhi should pursue the matter of renaming of the airport and get it done. 

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to provide information sought by him on various issues at the earliest.

Dhankhar, who has been at loggerheads with the TMC government, claimed that his queries have not been responded to.

He had on February 15 urged Banerjee to visit him at Raj Bhavan during the week to discuss several issues to avert a “constitutional stalemate”.

The governor, however, said that he has not received any response from her so far.

“Hon’ble CM Mamata Banerjee has been urged to make it convenient for an interaction at Raj Bhavan anytime during the week ahead as lack of response to issues flagged has potential to lead to constitutional stalemate which we both are ordained by our oath to avert.

“Impressed upon Hon’ble CM Mamata Banerjee that ‘Dialogue, discussion and deliberation, particularly amongst constitutional functionaries, like the Chief Minister and the Governor, are quintessential to democracy and inseparable part of constitutional governance’,” he said in a series of tweets on Thursday.

Dhankhar urged Banerjee to respond to all issues flagged thus far by him at the earliest.

“There has been no response, now for long, to issues legitimately flagged,” he said in a letter to Banerjee dated February 15, a copy of which was attached to the tweet.

He said it was the chief minister’s constitutional duty under Article 167 to impart information to the governor.

Mangaluru: Dr. Sekiba Ali Kadur secured the first rank and gold medal in Karnataka MDS (Dentistry) examinations. 

Dr. Sekiba reportedly obtained the first rank in the Dental Postgraduate Examinations (Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics) conducted under the Rajiv Gandhi Health and Science University. 

Daughter of the couple Ali Kadur and Zuhura Ali, residents of Kadur at Paivalike panchayat in Kasaragod district, Dr. Sekiba was studying at the Hasanamba Dental College and Hospital in Hassan, pursuing a degree in MDS. 

She had completed her BDS at the Victoria Medical College in Bengaluru. Before that, she finished her PUC education at the Vitla PU College in Dakshina Kannada district. Dr. Sekiba obtained her Primary education at Paivalike Panchayat’s Kadur Government School and later studied in the Kurudapadavu School as well. 

Dr. Sekiba’s achievement is truly a matter of pride for the Kannadigas residing in the border regions. Having studied in Kannada medium, Dr. Sekiba has garnered admiration from Kannadigas. 

Hasanamba Dental College Principal and head of the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Dr. Sahadev C. K., and the chairman of Hassan’s S.H.D.C.H. Yathish H.C have congratulated Dr. Sekiba’s efforts and achievements.