HYDERABAD  SUNDAY  FEBRUARY 28, 2021  `8.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION U.S. OWES INDIA $216 BN AS ITS DEBT SOARS TO $28 TRILLION Republican opposing Biden’s $1.9 tn Covid relief package warned it would worsen the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio BORROWING FROM NOT FRIENDLY COUNTRIES DEBT DOUBLED DURING OBAMA YEARS On a day the House of Representatives approved the package in a 219-212 near party-line vote, Republican Senator Alex Mooney said US will have to borrow more to fund the stimulus from countries that aren’t friends. The biggest creditors are Japan and China, whom the US owes $1 trillion each. The $29 trillion debt means the US has borrowed $84,000 per citizen | P9 ■ ■ Mooney said the national debt doubled during Barack Obama’s tenure and added $10,000 per citizen in the past one year alone The relief package aims to tackle the economic fallout from the pandemic, including direct financial aid to average Americans, support to businesses and boost the national vaccination drive $104 tn ESTIMATED ADDITION TO THE NATIONAL DEBT BY 2050 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Use Azad’s services to unite Cong, say dissenters FAYA Z WA N I @ Srinagar IN a show of strength, Congress dissenters, termed G23, said the party had weakened in the past decade and vowed to work for strengthening the party . “We have assembled here and had also gathered earlier and we will unitedly strengthen the party,” senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said while addressing the Shanti Sammelan in Jammu on Saturday . Besides Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar, Manish Tewari and Vivek Tankha addressed the sammelan, the first coming together of the dissident Congress leaders at a single platform. Not happy with the party for not accommodating Azad in some capacity in the party, Sibal said, “When we felt they were freeing Azad from parliament, we felt very bad. We felt he should not been freed from parliament. He is a very senior party leader and I don’t I don’t understand why Congress is not utilizing services of the experienced Azad.” Azad, who arrived in Jammu on Friday after retiring from the Rajya Sabha, said with Gandhi’s ideology they would fight , the new struggle. “We will carry forward his ideology and self service of Gandhi will remain with us.” KTR certain Vani’s clean image will bag Hyd seat E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E lies, he alleged. Rama Rao di@ Hyderabad rected the TRS leaders to highlight the injustice done to TelSCRIPTING a strategy to win angana by the Narendra Modi the Hyderabad-Rangareddy- government and how the prices Mahbubnagar Graduate MLC of gas, diesel and petrol have seat, TRS working president on been skyrocketing. “We have Saturday called on party lead- filled 1.32 lakh jobs, without ers to explain the development giving any scope for corrupworks taken up by the Telan- tion. Close to 14 lakh youths got gana government in the last six jobs in private sector,” he years. added. He also asked them to ensure The leader pointed out that that voters are not carried away the State government employby the BJP’s false ees have a close assopropaganda. “The BJP ciation with the TRS is banking on false and they had worked propaganda. The Conwith the party during gress had history, but The BJP is banking the separate Telangahas no future. These na movement. The on false two parties cannot TRS working presipropaganda. The question the TRS candent directed the parCongress had didate for the Hydera- history, but has no ty leaders to meet evebad seat, S Vani Devi, future. These two ry voter personally . cannot question who has a clean imCongress neglected age,” Rama Rao, who the TRS candidate PV, says Harish for the Hyd seat, is also the State IT Vani Devi, who has Finance Minister T Minister, said during a clean image Harish Rao alleged a meeting with MLAs KT Rama Rao, TRS that the Congress nevand GHMC Corporaworking president er respected late Prime tors at Telang ana Minister PV NarasimBhavan. “Vani Devi has so many plus ha Rao and could not even conpoints. Even our opponents struct a memorial for him. “But hold her in high esteem. I have Chief Minister K Channo doubt that the graduates drasekhar Rao has respect for will like our candidate’s clean PV and constructed PV Ghat on Necklace Road. Voting for image,” Rama Rao said. Coming down heavily on the PV’s daughter Vani Devi is re,” BJP he alleged that its leaders, specting PV Harish said at an , who are students of “What- meeting in Uppal. The announcement of Vani sApp University”, have been spreading lies among voters. Devi’s candidature has got ConEven BJP candidate N Ramach- gress and BJP leaders worried, P4 andra Rao, who is a lawyer, tells he said. Twitterati have field day over ‘GDP’ IT Minister KT Rama Rao spent the weekend engaging with Twitterati in an easy and playful banter regarding the steep hike in fuel prices. The Minister posted a ‘general knowledge’ question on GDP. While TRS fans dutifully obliged and replied, “Gas, Diesel, Petrol”, critics hit out at the Minister’s sarcasm and gave different versions of the GDP full form, which were not too flattering | P4 Vaccine at private hospitals to cost L250 S U M I S U K A N YA D U T TA @ New Delhi THE Union ministry of health and family welfare on Saturday fixed the cost of Covid-19 vaccines, set to be offered to those above 60 years and people over 45 years with specified comorbidities, at `250 per shot in private hospitals and also finalised a list of 20 und e rly i n g c o n d i t i o n s, o r comorbidities. Top sources in the ministry also said that in the beginning, only Covishield, developed by Oxford UniversityAstraZeneca, will be made available in about 20,000 private hospitals where the expanded Covid-19 vaccination drive is set to begin. The list of comorbidities includes those having diabetes for over 10 years or with complications and hypertension. Also, people diagnosed with solid cancer since July last year, lymphoma, blood cancer or myeloma, those with HIV and acid attack survivors with involvement of the respiratory system will be eligible. @ Hyderabad TWO Class IX students of St Andrews School in Bowenpally went missing on Saturday after the school management allegedly humiliated them for not paying fees. The girls were later found safe near East Marredpally . Their parents had lodged a police complaint, seeking action against the management, but no case was registered. Bowenpally Inspector K Ravi Kumar said CCTV footage showed that the students came out of the school and got into a vehicle. Later, they went missing but by evening the girls reached their homes safely . There have been differences between the school’s management and a few parents over fees and a case is also pending in court in this regard. One of the girls’ mothers, Sujatha, alleged that the school management had humiliated her daughter because the fees for February had not been paid. Members of the parents’ association said a couple of children studying in Class IX had As per the agreement between the manufacturers, representatives of private hospitals and the government, the vaccine makers will get `150 per jab while hospitals will earn `100 per shot for every dose of the vaccine administered. “States have been explained that the private hospitals functioning as Covid vaccination centres can be subject to a ceiling of `250 per person per dose along with the electronic and financial management mechanism in this regard,” the ministry said in a statement. Around 10,000 private hospitals empanelled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, nearly 687 hospitals empanelled under the Central Government Health Scheme and other private hospitals empanelled under state health insurance schemes can participate in the vaccination drive, it added. The price of the vaccines was fixed after several rounds of meetings between government officials, led by V K Paul, member (health) Niti Aayog, E X P R ESS N E WS S E RV I C E @ Hyderabad STOCK STATUS Vaccine availability Karnataka Covishield Kerala Covishield Covishield, Tamil Nadu Covaxin Covishield, Telangana Covaxin Covishield, Andhra Pradesh Covaxin Covishield, Odisha Covaxin State who heads the National Expert Group on Covid19 Vaccine Administration, and representatives of the two vaccine manufacturers, Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India. The price for each dose of the vaccine for individuals will be less than the price at which the government had procured the vaccines in the first and second Current prolonged use of oral corticosteroids/immunosuppressants Decompensated cirrhosis Severe respiratory disease with hospitalisation in last two years Lymphoma/leukaemia/ myeloma Diagnosis of any solid cancer or or after July 1, 2020 or currently on cancer therapy Sickle cell disease/bone marrow failure/aplastic anemia/thalassemia major Primary immunodeficiency diseases/HIV infection Disabilities due to intellectual disabilities/muscular dystrophy/acid attack with involvement of respiratory system/ persons with disabilities having high support needs/multiple disabilities phases of the vaccination drive for healthcare and frontline workers. The Centre had paid `200 per dose for Covishield by Serum Institute of India and `295 per dose for Covaxin by Bharat Biotech, excluding taxes, when it had procured 110 million and 55 million doses of the two vaccines respectively last month. Devil is in the detail; States in fix over quantity of doses S U M I S U KA N YA D U T TA @ New Delhi WHILE the Covid-19 vaccination drive is entering the next phase on Monday to cover everyone above 60 years and those above 45 years with co-morbidities, states are still grappling with basic details. According to sources, many states are in the dark about how many doses, or which vac- cine, will they receive. Officials in the Union health ministry said talks are on with Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech to gauge the available stock of vaccine vials that can be immediately dispatched to states. An estimated 12 crore people come under this vulnerable group, of which 11 crore are people older than 60 years. Sources said while the government has fixed a price of `150 per dose for vaccine makers in private hospitals, manufacturers are not happy “How . can the price of the vaccine in private hospitals be lower than the rate at which the Centre had procured it earlier for the first phase,” said an official. “The companies were reluctant in accepting the price,” NOW, JUDGE WHO GAVE DISHA BAIL GETS THREATS K A N U S A R D A @ New Delhi SOON after activist Disha Ravi was granted bail in the toolkit case, a section of social media users targeted additional sessions judge Dharmendra Rana for making observations critical of the government. Rana’s is not an isolated case of a judge facing online abuse and threat after delivering a verdict. This was highlighted by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna on Saturday when he said a ‘disturbing trend’ of activists criticising judges for unfavourable verdicts had started. While stating that criticism of judgments in good faith is healthy for democracy legal experts suggest, ed punitive action against those transgressing the ‘criticise the judgment, not the judge’ dictum. Senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde said: “Most of the ill-informed criticism of Judge Rana is due to a sentence, saying sedition cannot be used to minister to the wounded vanity of governments. That sentence is a quote from a British judge, ruling in favour of an Indian citizen against the colonial government of pre-independence India. Most ill-informed criticism can and must be shrugged off, but if there is anything particularly vicious, the High Court must take preventive or punitive steps CONTINUED ON P8 at an appropriate time.” Humiliated over fees, two students run away from St Andrews School E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E TS medicos trained and ready to jab 50 lakh people Initially, 20K facilities will get Covishield alone; list of 20 comorbidities finalised accompanied their parents to a parents-teachers meeting on Saturday when a discussion on the fees ensued. It was here that the management humiliated the children and insisted that they pay the complete fee in order to receive the report cards and to be promoted. Reportedly, unable to bear the humiliation, the girls escaped from the school and went missing. They were later found near Shenoy Nursing Home at East Marredpally VV Sharma, , of the Parents Association of India, said. On February 11, a Class X student killed herself at Neredmet over a similar issue. Shanmukh detained for rash driving YouTuber and social influencer Shanmukh Jaswanth Kandregula was detained by police when he crashed his car into three parked cars and two bikes on Jubilee Hills Road No 10 | P5 WITH THIS ISSUE PRESENT TENSE, FUTURE HAZY PLUS 12 PAGES the source added. Officials in a few states said they need additional doses at least a day before the next phase starts . “We do not want a situation where entitled beneficiaries queue up at a health facility and we have to tell them that enough vaccines are not available,” said a health department of ficial from West Bengal. THE Telangana Health Department trained District Medical Health Officers and vaccinators on Saturday ahead of the mammoth Covid-19 vaccine rollout which begins on March 1 for the general public. It is learnt that Telangana, at first, may not start the drive across all 1,500 centres but only at a select few in the district headquarters. The officials are apprehensive about the vaccination process slowing down if beneficiaries do not carry their mobile phones or a valid ID and the possibility of a delay in receiving the OTP . Those with comorbidities need to carry a doctor’s certificate listing the chronic health problems they suffer from. This will decide their eligibility to receive the vaccination. According to the guidelines, the vaccination will be priced at `250, which is inclusive of `100 service fee which will be charged by hospitals. Express has learnt that nearly 300 private hospitals empanelled under the Centre and State health schemes will participate in the drive. The guidelines have further asked States to scale up the drive post March 6. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said 75 per cent health and frontline workers had been vaccinated. He said this a virtual conference held by Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba with all Chief Secretaries.