From The Newsroom: UP unveils draft of The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021

In your evening news update, WHO likely to take a decision on including Covaxin in the emergency use list within four to six weeks; UP unveils draft of The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021; BJP dubs Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar a “rowdy”, and Kerala reports 40 Zika virus cases.

Soumya Swaminathan, WHO's chief scientist, said today the global health body is likely to take a decision on including Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin in the emergency use list (EUL) within four to six weeks.

Speaking at a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today, Swaminathan said, the WHO is reviewing Covaxin as its manufacturer Bharat Biotech is now uploading its entire data on the health body’s portal.

The draft of The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021 was released today in Lucknow and it plans to give incentives to couples who have one child while denying government benefits to those having more than two children in its new population policy.

The Bill would make couples with more than two children ineligible for state government jobs and also bar them from contesting panchayat elections while those with two children would receive two additional increments, subsidy in the purchase of house and rebate in the utility bills.

The BJP today dubbed Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar a “rowdy” after a video went viral showing him slapping a man who had his arms around him.

The incident took place yesterday at KM Doddi in Mandya where Shivakumar had gone to visit veteran politician G Madegowda who is ailing. The 50-second video that was widely shared on social media shows Shivakumar slapping a party worker and then chiding him.

The BJP tweeted, "Being the president of a national party, it is unforgivable to publicly assault a man."

Kerala has reported a total of 40 Zika virus cases.

Veena George, Kerala Health Minister, said, "Our department is on high alert and monitoring the situation closely. For Covid-19, we've always tried to keep the number of cases below medical capacity. No one died in Kerala due to lack of oxygen supply."

That's all for today. For more news and updates log on to deccanherald.com.

Source: DHNS/PTI