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1 !" #$ %& " $ ' % () * +, (- " /(*/",%#."00", () 0") *0 (", )1"0( %(0" *,(2 %0"/" 3)4"2." " ! " # $ %& %'% ( ) % *' "+),1 " # -0 2 0-* % -3) "#%# ), (),"()1(%# ), 5 6-, (# ,%. '" # "/-* #0"." 7# (- %0 0"#( + ! #, " - ) . $ $. / 0 1 6 8 "8 $ ) $ ) $ $ $ 0 9) 0: ;$ "8 6 4 # ) $ ) ) ,%. % ()On a day when the nation-al Capital reported 496fresh Covid-19 cases in the last24 hours, the highest sinceJune 4, with the positivity raterising to per cent alongwith one fatality due to theinfection, the DelhiGovernment imposed YellowAlert in the city in a move tocontain rising Omicron andother Covid cases for the lastthree , colleges and train-ing and coaching institutions,gyms and cinemas will remainclosed and all type of gather-ings have been banned.

2 TheDelhi Metro will run at 50 percent of its seating capacity. However, the Directorateof Education (DoE) clarifiedthat online teaching learning,examinations and related activ-ities such as practicals, projectsand assignments for Classes 9to 12 would be conductedaccording to the the Delhi DisasterManagement Authority(DDMA) alert evoked mixedreactions from parents, otherstakeholders, including schoolprincipals and educationexperts, raised concern aboutincreasing learning alert, which comesunder the Graded ResponseAction Plan (GRAP), followsthe national Capital s biggestsingle-day spike in Covid-19infections in over six GRAP had beenapproved by the DDMA inJuly, in anticipation of a thirdwave of Covid-19 in Delhi.

3 Theplan gives a clearer picture ofimposition and lifting ofrestrictions according to also puts various restric-tions on functioning of shopsand public transport like estab-lishments of non-essentialgoods and services and mallswill open based on odd-evenformula from 10 am to 8 pm,while the Delhi Metro will runat 50 per cent of its seatingcapacity. Bars are allowed with 50per cent seating capacity from12 am to 10 pm. Political, religious and fes-tival gatherings have beenbanned. Maximum 20 per-sons can attend funerals andweddings. ,%. % ()Athird Covid-19 wave isaround the corner andIndia may see a spurt in growthrate within days, warnedexperts in a report put out byBloomberg on Monday.

4 It saidthat the country will head into an intense but short-livedvirus wave. It is likely that India willsee a period of explosivegrowth in daily cases and thatthe intense growth phase willbe relatively short, PaulKattuman, professor at theJudge Business School at theUniversity of Cambridge whichhas developed a Covid-19 Indiatracker, wrote in an email said new infec-tions will begin to rise in a fewdays, possibly within this week,adding that it was hard to pre-dict how high the daily casescould to the report,India is seeing a significant risein the number of Covid-19cases in many big cities, includ-ing Delhi and Mumbai. Thepositivity rate is also increasing,forcing several States toannounce curbs on the move-ment of and his team ofresearchers, developers of theIndia Covid tracker, are seeinga sharp rise in infection ratesacross India.

5 The tracker spot-lighted six States as a signifi-cant concern in a December24 note, with an adjustedgrowth rate of new casesexceeding 5 per cent. This hadexpanded to 11 Indian States byDecember 26, according to the tracker, which correctsfor day of the week effects andother week, India allowedbooster shots and includedteenagers aged 15 to 18 in theinoculation programme. Twomore vaccines as well asMerck s antiviral pill molnupi-ravir were approved by the localdrug regulator on policy decisionsunderscore hard lessons Indialearned after a deadly Delta-ledvirus wave in April and Maypushed infections to a record-beating 4,00,000-plus each overwhelmed the coun-try s hospitals and crematori-ums and left its citizens plead-ing for oxygen and other med-ical resources on social Cambridge Indiatracker had correctly calledthe peak of this devastatingsecond wave in May and alsoforecast in August that Indiawould see a slow burn in itsCovid infections curve until thevaccination coverage was suf-ficiently high.

6 ,%. % ()Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Tuesday unveiled27 roads and bridges, includingone at a height of more than19,000 feet in Ladakh, andwarned that any kind of con-flict cannot be ruled out intoday s uncertain the note of cau-tion, he listed the develop-ment of border infrastructureas part of efforts to boostIndia s preparedness to con-front any security faced the Chinese trans-gressions in Ladakh in 2020and responded adequately dueto infrastructure there, Rajnath 24 roads inauguratedat a virtual ceremony by himincluded one built at an altitudeof more than 19,000 feet on theUmling-La pass in southernLadakh.

7 The Minister said ithas now become the world shighest motorable road. The situation we faced inthe northern sector recently,and the manner in which wewere able to respond stronglyto the adversary, would nothave been possible withoutappropriate infrastructuredevelopment, Rajnath said ina reference to the easternLadakh row. In today s uncertainenvironment, the possibilityof any kind of conflict cannotbe ruled out. Such situationsmotivate us even more for thedevelopment of these areas. Itis a matter of pride that wehave the BRO for cooperationin the development of theseareas, Rajnath Defence Ministerrued that adequate attentionwas not given to developingborder infrastructure afterIndependence, but assertedthat there was a major change in the approach in thelast few years.

8 After Independence, ourpolicies were such that theinternal areas of the countrydeveloped, but the borderareas remained relativelydeprived of continued for a longtime. As we used to moveaway from Delhi, the graph ofdevelopment also kept fallingdown in the same , it was said peoplefrom border areas may be farfrom Delhi, but they are notfar from our heart. But as thetransport sector witnessedmajor expansion, it becamean old saying, Rajnath said.. ,%. % ()To protect consumers, theCentre on Tuesday banneddirect selling companies likeTupperware, Amway andOriflame from promotingpyramid or money circulationschemes, as it notified newrules for the industry to becomplied with within 90 , such companies willalso be liable for the grievancesarising out of the sale of goodsor services by its direct Consumer Protection(Direct Selling) Rules, 2021, asnotified by the nodalConsumer Affairs Ministry areto be complied with by bothdirect selling entities and directsellers using e-commerce plat-forms for sale.

9 As per the newrules, State Governments willhave to set up a mechanism tomonitor or supervise the activ-ities of direct sellers and directselling with PTI, a seniorConsumer Affairs Ministryofficial said, This is for the firsttime that the rules for thedirect selling industry are noti-fied under the ConsumerProtection Act. If these rulesare not complied with, thepenal provisions under the Actwill apply to them. According to the rules,direct selling entities anddirect sellers are prohibitedfrom promoting a pyramidscheme or enrolling any per-son to such scheme or partic-ipating in such arrangement inany manner whatsoever inthe garb of doing direct sell-ing are also bannedfrom participation in moneycirculation schemes in thegarb of doing direct sellingbusiness, the new rules rules will apply to allgoods and services bought orsold through direct selling, allmodels of direct selling and alldirect selling entities to con-sumers in India.

10 These rulesapply to those direct sellingentities also that are not estab-lished in India but offer goodsor services to consumers to the new rules,a direct seller should not visita consumer s premises withoutan identity card and priorappointment or approval. ,%. % ()Those above 60 with comor-bidities do not need a doc-tor s certificate to register for a precaution dose or third dose of a vaccine that arecipient has previously beeninoculated with, the Centresaid on in the 15-18 yearsage category will be eligible forshots from January 3 and therest can expect the same fromJanuary Monday, the UnionHealth Ministry had said thatthose over 60 years and comor-bidities could avail of a pre-caution shot following doc-tor s advice , echoing whatPrime Minister NarendraModi had said on December25.