Appointment paralysis: Following the trend of delayed appointments in key positions such as those of Lok Pal and Information Commissioner, now successor of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat is “unlikely to be named soon” by the central government

Third wave: Over 1.5 lakh new Covid cases; Number of patients requiring oxygen in poll-bound Punjab triples in a single day; 41% of people support a ban on all political rallies; IndiGo to cancel around 20% of its flights; Ahead of budget session, 400 parliament staffers test positive 

More evidence that vaccines work: In Bangalore, unvaccinated are 30 times more likely to land up in ICU; While India has made significant strides in vaccination, 13% of eligible Indians (ages 15+) are yet to receive vaccine; Another 38% have just one dose

Disquiet in Delhi over UNSC aid resolution on Afghanistan: A United Nations Security Council resolution has created disquiet in New Delhi even though India backed the resolution; Delhi claims that this gives the Taliban an effective “free pass” on terrorist safe havens, human rights, the formation of an inclusive government, and unhindered access for humanitarian work

Widespread opposition to delimitation in Kashmir: The principle that population determines the number of elected representatives has been discarded by a commission proposing more legislature seats for Hindu-dominated Jammu over Muslim-dominated Kashmir; The commission proposed that each legislator in Jammu represent 125,082 voters compared to 146,563 voters in Kashmir