Sohini Das &Amp;Amp; Deepak Patel

Stories by Sohini Das &Amp;Amp; Deepak Patel

Akasa Air to launch flight operations in July

Akasa Air to launch flight operations in July

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2022

The commercial flight operations of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air will be launched in July instead of June. "As we get closer to the airline launch date, we can now confirm refined estimates on our timelines. "We expect our first aircraft delivery by early June 2022, with the intention to start commercial operations in July 2022," Vinay Dube, CEO, Akasa Air, told PTI.

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.

Air travel curbs eased; no PPE kits for crew, pat-down search restarted

Air travel curbs eased; no PPE kits for crew, pat-down search restarted

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2022

The relaxation has been given to facilitate "smooth conduct of air operations", the ministry's order stated.

SpiceHealth, AAI in blame game over Covid fiasco at Amritsar airport

SpiceHealth, AAI in blame game over Covid fiasco at Amritsar airport

Rediff.com   13 Mar 2022

SpiceHealth had on January 6 and January 7 tested 469 passengers who arrived on two charter flights from Italian capital Rome and found 298 of them to be COVID-19-positive.

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

Rediff.com   23 Feb 2022

Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia. While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that Russia would recognise their independence.

Number of Covid symptomatic kids jump, post-recovery issues a concern

Number of Covid symptomatic kids jump, post-recovery issues a concern

Rediff.com   14 Jan 2022

While the infection has been mild in most reported cases, those below two years of age are showing signs of acute infection.

'We have to ensure vaccines work against new variants'

'We have to ensure vaccines work against new variants'

Rediff.com   11 Jan 2022

Adar Poonawalla says it took a five-minute chat with his father Cyrus before making the decision to manufacture Covishield. The bet paid off, and handsomely. Serum Institute now has the capacity to make 4 billion doses of Covishield annually.

Covaxin shelf life extended, Bharat Biotech relabels old stocks

Covaxin shelf life extended, Bharat Biotech relabels old stocks

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2022

The company had in December said that the CDSCO had approved a 12-month shelf life for Covaxin, which was nine months earlier, Sohini Das reports.

Does India have enough jabs to expand vaccination drive?

Does India have enough jabs to expand vaccination drive?

Rediff.com   3 Jan 2022

A back of the envelope calculation shows that India has roughly over 680 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines consisting primarily of Covishield doses.

Covishield accounts for 88% of Covid jabs in India

Covishield accounts for 88% of Covid jabs in India

Rediff.com   1 Jan 2022

Serum Institute has the capacity to make 250 million doses of Covishield monthly.

Covaxin safe for children: Bharat Biotech

Covaxin safe for children: Bharat Biotech

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2021

Bharat Biotech is targeting to manufacture one billion doses of its intra-nasal vaccine in 2022 which is under clinical trials now.

'Antibodies induced by Covishield and Covaxin gradually increase and decrease'

'Antibodies induced by Covishield and Covaxin gradually increase and decrease'

Rediff.com   28 Dec 2021

'Antibodies remain in the blood for at least seven to nine months.'

Are You Eligible For A Booster Shot?

Are You Eligible For A Booster Shot?

Rediff.com   27 Dec 2021

'Someone may have diabetes, but at what level the disease qualifies as a comorbid condition is something a doctor will decide upon and certify accordingly.'

Covishield booster works against Omicron

Covishield booster works against Omicron

Rediff.com   24 Dec 2021

If the vaccine is recommended for use as a booster against Omicron, it may significantly boost the demand for Covishield in India.

India's vaccine makers prepare to take on Omicron

India's vaccine makers prepare to take on Omicron

Rediff.com   8 Dec 2021

As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.

Health expenditure's share in GDP down

Health expenditure's share in GDP down

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2021

The share of total health expenditure as part of the gross domestic product (GDP) went down to 3.3 per cent in 2017-18 from 3.8 per cent in the previous two years, according to the national health account data released on Monday by the health ministry. The share of government expenditure as part of total expenditure as well as GDP has gone up from from 3.78 per cent to 5.12 per cent between 2013-14 and 2017-18, which could also explain a decline seen in out of pocket expenditure in 2017-18. Health ministry also emphasised the increase in the government health expenditure as part of the total GDP from 1.15 per cent in 2013-14 to 1.35 per cent in 2017-18.

Nearly 33% of India's medical devices capacity lying unused

Nearly 33% of India's medical devices capacity lying unused

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2021

After ramping up production to meet the steep demand spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian medical device makers are now struggling with idle capacity. According to industry estimates, around a third of the installed capacity, especially for consumables, disposables, small-ticket electronic items, etc., is lying unutilised. Sample this: India used to produce just 6.24 million pieces of PPE kits per annum before the pandemic, but by June this was ramped up to 233.87 million pieces per annum.