Pavan Lall And Sohini Das

Stories by Pavan Lall And Sohini Das

BMW X4 lords over other cars on the road

BMW X4 lords over other cars on the road

Rediff.com   18 Jul 2022

The X4 offers an imposing presence that you cannot miss even in a crowd of other cars, says Pavan Lall.

For the first time, Centre allows a private player to process opium

For the first time, Centre allows a private player to process opium

Rediff.com   14 Jul 2022

The central government has for the first time allowed a private company, Bajaj Healthcare, to process opium to extract alkaloids used to make pain-killers, cough syrups, and even cancer drugs. Two government factories in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, do the work yet, processing some 800 tonnes of opium gum annually to extract alkaloids. The government on Tuesday gave Thane-based Bajaj Healthcare an initial contract to process 500 tonnes of opium gum annually and wants production to be at 800 tonnes per annum (tpa) in the next five years, indicating the state's exit from the highly-regulated sector.

Jeep's comeback vehicle Meridian lacks the bite

Jeep's comeback vehicle Meridian lacks the bite

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2022

The Meridian feels comfortable and upright with the quality of gadgetry, interiors and plastics expected from an international brand car. However, it lacks the overall premium-ness that may come with a top-end Japanese car or even a mid-range German car, says Pavan Lall.

Millions of Covid vaccine doses are set to expire in India

Millions of Covid vaccine doses are set to expire in India

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2022

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is sitting on 200 million doses of Covishield that were manufactured in December and are set to expire in September. The company is likely to destroy these vaccines if nothing works out, Sohini Das reports.

Volkswagen's Virtus bets big on the sedan segment

Volkswagen's Virtus bets big on the sedan segment

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2022

The Virtus is indeed designed to look, act and behave like a well-built European sedan that swims in the segment between the compact sedan VW Vento and the larger Passat, says Pavan Lall.

'We can't get rid of COVID-19 for a long time to come'

'We can't get rid of COVID-19 for a long time to come'

Rediff.com   10 Jun 2022

'There will be ups and downs, and we have to plan how we live with it now.'

SIIto test Novavax's Omicron-specific vaccine

SIIto test Novavax's Omicron-specific vaccine

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2022

The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the manufacture of this Sars-CoV-2 spike protein recombinant nano-particle vaccine for 'examination, test, and analysis', reports Sohini Das.

Smaller towns witness strong growth in sales of medicines

Smaller towns witness strong growth in sales of medicines

Rediff.com   27 May 2022

Medicine sales grew at a fast clip in smaller cities like Madurai, Meerut, Agra, and Varanasi in the last 12 months. The domestic pharmaceutical market, overall, has grown 12.3 per cent in this period, according to data from IQVIA MAT for April. MAT refers to the moving annual turnover or the turnover of the last 12 months. The data further showed that the top 30 cities contributed around 32 per cent to sales.

20-30% new products may be open to USFDA inspection

20-30% new products may be open to USFDA inspection

Rediff.com   23 May 2022

With all major US export-oriented drug manufacturing plants in the country up for inspection in 2022, some estimates peg that at least 20-30 per cent of the new product launches lined up for the US will be subject to on-site inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The last two years saw limited physical inspections due to travel restrictions during the pandemic. "Pre-Covid, the frequency and number of inspections of manufacturing plants in India by USFDA had increased significantly," analysts from ICICI Securities Research noted. "With growing ANDA filings, especially for complex products. "We expect this trend to return with the environment normalising," analysts from ICICI Securities Research noted.

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Rediff.com   16 May 2022

An analysis of WHO data shows that most of the countries with an older cohort of population and higher in the development index had a lower excess mortality rate than India.

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2022

'A patient visits for any other treatment, but a routine Covid test finds him to be positive.' 'Not only are they, but their whole family is also coming out to be positive.'

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2022

Indian drug firms get a shot in the arm in the $12 bn Australian drug market as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia agrees to accelerate the drug approval process in that country for Indian players who already have an approved plant and product from one of the stringent regulatory authorities like US, EU or Canada. From current sales of $340 mn, the Indian firms can see a significant upside in sales; felt Dinesh Dua, former chairman of the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), and the MD of Nectar Lifesciences. He highlighted that only 12 percent of the Australian drug market is generic, as against 80-90 per cent in the US or EU. Of this $1.5 bn generic drug market in India, Indian companies have a small share.

Meet India's Latest Billionaire

Meet India's Latest Billionaire

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2022

'It has taken us 15 years to get to where we are. It obviously doesn't happen overnight.'

Slavia is Skoda's big bet on the sedan segment

Slavia is Skoda's big bet on the sedan segment

Rediff.com   7 Apr 2022

While the Slavia comes in eight different variants, it's the base model that starts at around Rs 10.7 lakh that is most likely to take a bite out of the market share of its competitors, says Pavan Lall.

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources close to the development said the company had no further supply commitments to the WHO, and therefore, there was no suspension of any upcoming orders, reports Sohini Das.

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources indicated that there were no fresh orders from the Government of India, and their supply commitments have ended as of March 31, reports Sohini Das.

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2022

No expecting mother ever needs to travel for more than 30 minutes to reach one of their hospitals, believes the Cloudnine group.

India's pharma cos hit by 'China-made disruptions'

India's pharma cos hit by 'China-made disruptions'

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

With intermittent disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials from China, the Indian pharma industry has braced itself with bigger inventory. Even smaller drug makers are now carrying a month of buffer stock of key raw materials, said industry insiders. The lockdown in various Chinese provinces, including Shanghai, is likely to delay shipments by two weeks to a month, said domestic players. Shipments are critical for the Indian drug industry, which imports 70 per cent of its raw material from China.

Maruti bets big on Nexa in quest for premium market dominance

Maruti bets big on Nexa in quest for premium market dominance

Rediff.com   25 Mar 2022

Seven years after it announced Nexa, there's no mistaking the seriousness with which Maruti wants the segment to grow, says Pavan Lall.

Kia Carens: Made by an Asian company for Indian roads

Kia Carens: Made by an Asian company for Indian roads

Rediff.com   9 Mar 2022

High ground clearance, a wide cabin and tall stance all mean that the Carens glides over bad roads with ease and comfort and an engine performance that is adequate in terms of the power of this vehicle, says Pavan Lall.