NEW DELHI, Aug 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again topped the global rating amongst world leaders with an approval rating of 75 per cent, according to a Morning Consult survey. After PM Modi, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi came second and third respectively with 63 per cent and 54 per cent ratings. The list that featured 22 world leaders ranked US president Joe Biden at the fifth spot with a 41 per cent rating. Biden is followed by Canadian President Justin Trudeau at 39 per cent and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at 38 per cent. Morning Consult Political Intelligence is currently tracking the approval ratings of government leaders and country trajectories in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Earlier in January 2022 and in November 2021, Prime Minister Modi had topped the list of the most popular world leaders. This platform provides real-time polling data on political elections, elected officials and voting issues. Morning Consult conducts more than 20,000 global interviews daily. The global leader and country trajectory data is based on a seven-day moving average of all adults in a given country, with a margin of error of between +/- 1-4 per cent. In the United States, the average sample size is around 45,000. In the other countries, the sample size ranges from roughly 500-5,000. All interviews are conducted online among nationally representative samples of adults. In India, the sample is representative of the literate population. Surveys are weighted in each country by age, gender, region and, in certain countries, education breakdowns based on official government sources. In the United States, surveys are also weighted by race and ethnicity. Respondents complete these surveys in languages appropriate for their countries. (Agencies)

New Delhi, Aug 27: With 9,520 new COVID-19 cases being reported in a day, India’s tally of infections has gone up to 4,43,98,696, while the count of active cases has declined to 87,311, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,27,597, with 41 new fatalities being reported, including four deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The tally of active cases now comprises 0.20 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.62 per cent, the health ministry said.
A decline of 3,396 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.50 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.80 per cent, according to the ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,37,83,788, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent, as per the data.
According to the ministry, 211.91 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
India’s COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19, 2020.
The country crossed the grim milestones of two crore cases on May 4, 2021, three crore on June 23, 2021 and four crore on January 25 this year.
Thirty-seven new fatalities due to the disease were reported in the country a day back six from Haryana, four each from Maharashtra and Punjab, three each from Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and West Bengal, two each from Delhi, Gujarat and Odisha, and one each from Chandigarh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. (Agencies)

NEW DELHI, Aug 26: Terming pendency of cases a “huge challenge”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) N. V. Ramana on August 26 expressed regret for not being able to pay much attention to issues of listing and posting of matters for hearing in the Supreme Court.
The CJI, who is to demit office on Friday, said there is a need to deploy modern technology tools and artificial intelligence to find a solution.
“Even though we tried developing some modules, because of the compatibility and security issues, we could not make much progress,” Justice Ramana, who was heading the ceremonial Bench, said.
He said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the priority was running of the courts and unlike commercial establishments, “we cannot secure the technological tools from the market directly”.
“We have to admit the fact that the pendency is a huge challenge before us. I must admit that issues of listing and posting of matters is one of the areas on which I could not pay much attention. I am sorry for that,” the CJI said, adding, “We are busy in fire-fighting on all days”.
Recently, senior advocate and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Dushyant Dave had said that the CJI should not have the power to assign and list cases and a fully automated system for allocation be put in place in the top court.
He had referred to the problems faced by young lawyers in getting their matters listed in the apex court. In his first farewell speech for the day, Justice Ramana said the needs of the judiciary were different from those of the rest.
He said unless the Bar was willing to extend its whole-hearted cooperation, it would be difficult to bring in necessary changes. “The juniors who entered the profession look up to the seniors as their role models. I request all the seniors to guide them to be on the right path,” he said.
The CJI said Indian judiciary has grown with time and it cannot be defined or judged by one single order or judgment.
He said unless the credibility of the institution is protected, being the officers of this court, one could not command respect from the people and the society.
“Let all of us march forward with the discussion and dialogue in the process of giving speedy and affordable justice to the common man,” he said.
The CJI said he was neither the first one nor he would be the last one to contribute towards the development of the institution. “People may come and go but the institution remains forever,” he said.
“I thank all my colleagues and all the members of the Bar for their active support and cooperation. I will certainly miss you all. Thank you,” Justice Ramana, who became the 48th CJI on April 24 last year, said.
Attorney General K. K. Venugopal said 224 vacancies in the High Court were filed up and over 100 members in the tribunals were appointed during the tenure of Justice Ramana as the CJI.
He termed the CJI’s achievements “remarkable”, and said the vacancies were filled up during his tenure and for the first time, the apex court had a full strength of 34 judges. “What is outstanding for the CJI is the persuasion with which he was able to clear appointments and vacancies,” Mr. Venugopal said.
“I wish well for this new era in your career and I have no doubt that it will be as fruitful and productive as the one which your lordship has just concluded on the bench of Supreme Court of India,” he said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta hailed the achievements of the CJI and said he has performed his duty as the ‘ karta’ of the legal fraternity, as he did for his biological family.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, who is also the president of the SCBA, said Justice Ramana’s retirement is a great loss for all. “The prestige of the institution has also been maintained and a clear signal has been given that this court means business and this court will uphold the Constitution and this court will ensure that the constitutional rights of the people will never be compromised,” he said.
Mr. Dave broke into tears while bidding adieu to the CJI, saying he maintained checks and balances between the judiciary, executive and Parliament, and did so “with a spine”.
While Mr. Dave described Ramana as a citizen’s judge, his colleague and senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the court will remember him for “maintaining balance even in turbulent times”.
“I speak on behalf of vast multitude of citizens of this country. You stood up for them. You upheld their rights and the Constitution. When you took over, I was sceptical of what the court had gone through. I must say, you excelled our expectations. You maintained checks and balances between judiciary, executive and Parliament. You did with a spine,” Mr. Dave said.
Mr. Sibal added that Mr. Ramana has also taken care of the family of judges. “When the sea is calm, the ship will sail. We are going through very turbulent times. It is difficult for the ship to sail.”
“This court will remember you for maintaining balance even in turbulent times. You have ensured that dignity and integrity of this court is maintained. That the government is called to answer,” Mr. Sibal said. (Agencies)