After Mahua Moitra moves SC, UIDAI withdraws tender for social media monitoring agency

Agencies
December 18, 2019

New Delhi, Dec 18: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) told the Supreme Court on Tuesday it has withdrawn the controversial tender seeking to invite bids for a social media monitoring agency to deal with misconceptions about Aadhaar.

The authority contended before Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph that it will not float another tender in the future. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra had moved the apex court challenging the UIDAI's decision and terming it an utter violation of right to digital privacy.

In July 2018, the authority had floated a tender inviting bids for an agency with technical capability to monitor and track online conversations. This agency would have done a sentiment analysis of all such conversations and flagged any discrepancy in sentiments and worked out and neutralised negative sentiments.

The authority claimed the utility of this monitoring agency would help in gauging public sentiment in connection with Aadhaar and also assist in sorting out misconceptions, often resulting in misgivings, with the unique identification project.

Moitra, in the petition filed through Nizam Pasha, claimed the process of engaging a social media monitoring agency is a tool aimed at social media surveillance. "This is just another social media surveillance centre by another name," she said in the petition.

The Centre withdrew the tender floated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting after it was challenged before the apex court in another PIL filed by Moitra.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing with advocates Pasha and Ranjeeta Rohatgi, requested that the statements made by UIDAI be recorded in the order and the PIL was disposed off in terms of the statement. This is the second occasion when the Centre has backtracked on its plans of social media surveillance in PILs filed by Moitra.

After several hearings on the matter, the UIDAI on Tuesday told the court the tender has expired and it has no plans of reviving the tender or floating a similar tender.

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: India's COVID-19 count crossed 60 thousand on Sunday, with Maharashtra being the worst-affected due to the infection so far, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The number of total confirmed cases in the country rose to 62,939, including 19,358 patients who have been cured and discharged or migrated, according to the Ministry.

The total number of active cases in the country, therefore, stands at 41,472.

The number of deaths in the country due to the infection reached 2,109 on Sunday.

While Maharashtra, with 20,228 cases is the worst-affected state, it is followed by Gujarat with 7,796 and the national capital, Delhi, with 6,542 cases. Tamil Nadu, is marginally behind Delhi with 6,535 cases.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: A Delhi court Thursday issued fresh death warrants for execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case for March 20 at 5.30 am.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana fixed March 20 as the new date of execution after it was told by the Delhi government that the convicts have exhausted all their legal remedies.

The lawyer for the four death row convicts also told the court that there was no legal impediment for the court to proceed in fixing the date of execution.

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News Network
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday paid tribute to the senior doctor of city government-run LNJP Hospital who died battling COVID-19, saying the society has "lost a very valuable fighter".

The 52-year-old doctor served in the front line of the war against the pandemic at the government facility, and died of novel coronavirus infection in an ICU of a private hospital on Sunday.

"Dr Aseem Gupta, a senior doctor of LNJP Hospital succumbed to Covid yday. He was known for going out of his way to serve his patients. We have lost a very valuable fighter. Delhi salutes his spirit and sacrifice...," Kejriwal tweeted.

The chief minister also said in his tweet that he has spoken to Dr Gupta''s wife and "offered my condolences and support".

LNJP Hospital is a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government. It recently completed 100 days of being declared a coronavirus facility.

"LNJP Hospital has displayed great fortitude in the face of acute challenges. It''s recovery rate is going up, death rate is reducing, ICU capacity is being ramped up - the hospital is saving so many lives," the chief minister said.

A condolence meeting to pay respect to Dr Gupta has been scheduled at 1 pm in the office of the Medical Director of the hospital, a senior official said.

The doctor, a consultant anaesthesiologist died at the Max hospital, Saket in south Delhi, a private dedicated COVID-19 facility.

"He was a front line anaesthesia specialist who contracted COVID-19 infection while on duty. He tested positive on June 6, when he had mild symptoms and was shifted to a quarantine facility. His symptoms aggravated on June 7 and he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the LNJP Hospital," the LNJP Hospital said in a statement on Sunday.

He was shifted to Max Hospital, Saket on June 8 on his request, it said.

The doctor was battling the disease for the last two weeks at Max Hospital, where he succumbed to the illness on Sunday, the statement said.

He was Specialist, Grade I, in the Department of Anaesthesia at the LNJP Hospital, the statement said.

Several hundreds of healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 till date in Delhi.

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