Concerned about the rise of antibiotic resistance and the time it takes for drugs developed abroad to reach Indians, the government is considering holding its own clinical trials. Clinical trials for new drugs have so far primarily been conducted only by private Indian or foreign drug firms. But given the stringent nature of India's regulatory environment for clinical trials, several pharmaceutical companies have moved their trials out of India. As a result, only 1.2 per cent of global clinical trials take place in India.
According to a senior government official, the plan is to do "collective bargaining" for certain medical devices and implants by assuring a bulk requirement to the manufacturers. "The requirement for these devices runs into millions. We assure them that the requirement is going to be in bulk. In return, they should offer us better rates," he said.
The government said that "in exercise of extraordinary powers in public interest, conferred by paragraph 19 of the DPCO, 2013", the ceiling prices of 21 key formulations had been increased. These formulations include common medicines like BCG vaccines, penicillin, malaria and leprosy medicines (Dapsone), life-saving drugs like Furosemide (used to treat fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease), vitamin C, some common antibiotics, and anti-allergy medicines.
'BSNL employee cost is Rs 14,500 crore and we anticipate that around 80,000 should opt for VRS.'
The company will now focus on specialty products in Japan; it is open to inorganic opportunities, especially in India.
Revenue from convenience fees has grown at a compound annual rate of 85 per cent for multiplex chain operator Inox Leisure and 58 per cent for PVR.
The asset monetisation exercise in the first phase will help BSNL shave off its Rs 14,000-crore debt. The government has said that these firms are strategically important and will not be closed down or divested.
Analysts at rating agency ICRA say the debt level of the telecom companies is very high and the ecosystem for the premium band is not in place.
Home minister heads several groups of ministers, including the one to decide the revival package for Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam. His ministry also takes decisive calls on national security in relation to telecom operations as well as equipment and technology used in the industry.
The intention of the government is to cap prices of drugs that are essential and which the public widely uses.
While some states have proposed to dilute the hefty penalty provisions in the Act, there are those like West Bengal which have refused to implement right away.
The drug that it would supply is called Olanzapine, used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
GSK is continuing with investigations into the potential source of the NDMA, which is a known environmental contaminant and found in water and foods, including meats, dairy products, and vegetables.
It is learnt that the defence ministry is refusing to let go of its 100 MHz spectrum, which was allotted earlier. In that case, the department of telecommunications (DoT) will be left with only 175 MW of 5G spectrum of the total 300 MHz.
BSNL is providing telecom services in remote parts of the country and maintaining 17,000 to 18,000 exchanges, incurring Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 crore losses every year. Otherwise, these villages will be cut off.
Maharashtra govt, California-based Zipline to launch the automated delivery service funded by Serum Institute.
Gadkari said the NHAI was working on setting up an InvIT to monetise its projects for mobilising resources through capital markets.
Airtel Xstream will allow its subscribers to access live TV, video, music, news and sports on an over-the-top smart stick, interned-enabled set top box, and handheld devices.
What worked for Airtel was that its data traffic growth was 13 per cent sequentially and its average data usage was even higher than Jio's at 11.9 gigabyte per month per user.
Used smartphones are gaining popularity in the hinterland, the main market for JioPhone. Share of JioPhone in the feature phone market had shrunk from 47% in Q2 of 2018 to 28% a year after.
