Sohini Das And Aneesh Phadnis

Stories by Sohini Das And Aneesh Phadnis

Gennova's mRNA Covid vaccine gets nod for Phase 2-3 trials

Gennova's mRNA Covid vaccine gets nod for Phase 2-3 trials

Rediff.com   25 Aug 2021

If things go according to plan, the vaccine would be available in the market by the end of this year.

Why Air India is leaving passenger luggage behind at Delhi airport

Why Air India is leaving passenger luggage behind at Delhi airport

Rediff.com   23 Aug 2021

Air India is leaving behind some 50 bags at the Delhi airport as it flies to the US, reducing what it carries after the closure of Afghanistan's airspace increased flight time by at least 30 minutes. Air India flies the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft to New York, Newark, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco.

Indian students hung out to dry

Indian students hung out to dry

Rediff.com   21 Aug 2021

With Canada, Australia extending restrictions, admission seekers are deferring their studies or looking elsewhere.

More bad news: Vodafone Idea may get notice for licence fee delay

More bad news: Vodafone Idea may get notice for licence fee delay

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2021

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is in the process of issuing a show-cause notice to Vodafone Idea (Vi) for delaying the payment of licence fee. Companies pay 8 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue as licence fee. This also includes a universal service obligation levy. The fee is collected from each of the 22 telecom circles in the country on a quarterly basis.

Novovax Covid vaccine likely to get nod in India ahead of US

Novovax Covid vaccine likely to get nod in India ahead of US

Rediff.com   18 Aug 2021

Adar Poonawalla said he was hopeful that Covovax, the Novavax vaccine made by SII, will be launched around October this year for adults and for children by the first quarter of next year, depending on DCGI approvals.

Vi lost 12.4 mn subscribers in Q1, most since March '20

Vi lost 12.4 mn subscribers in Q1, most since March '20

Rediff.com   16 Aug 2021

Vodafone Idea (Vi) lost 12.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of FY22, the most since the fourth quarter of FY20, as the second wave of Covid hurt its operational and financial performance. Vi had managed to trim subscriber losses in the third and fourth quarters of FY21. However, it lost 12.4 million subscribers and its customer base shrunk to 255.4 million in the first quarter of FY22. Sequential fall in 4G users was modest, indicating that most of the loss was in the low-margin 2G segment.

Despite nod foreign Covid vaccines likely to be delayed over indemnity clause

Despite nod foreign Covid vaccines likely to be delayed over indemnity clause

Rediff.com   11 Aug 2021

India is not keen to 'bow down' to demands related to indemnity against legal liabilities in case any vaccine recipient develops severe adverse reactions post inoculation.

Minimum one-way Delhi-London airfare zooms over Rs 1 lakh

Minimum one-way Delhi-London airfare zooms over Rs 1 lakh

Rediff.com   9 Aug 2021

Minimum one-way air fares between Delhi and London are priced upwards of Rs one lakh in August due to limited number of seats, data collected by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows. The United Kingdom has included India in the amber list and the change came into effect from Sunday. With this, passengers from India needn't undergo institutional quarantine and can self-isolate at home for 10 days.

Meeting 1.35 bn vax dose target in Aug-Dec a long haul

Meeting 1.35 bn vax dose target in Aug-Dec a long haul

Rediff.com   6 Aug 2021

While Covishield supplies would meet the target of 500 mn doses between August and December, it looks like Covaxin would miss the target of 400 mn unless the partner sites of Bharat Biotech ramp up very rapidly, reports Sohini Das.

AstraZeneca finds small clot risk after 1st Covid shot

AstraZeneca finds small clot risk after 1st Covid shot

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2021

But no extra risk after second dose, shows study led and funded by drug maker, reports Sohini Das.

Russia reaches out to Kerala for Sputnik V plant

Russia reaches out to Kerala for Sputnik V plant

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2021

The government may look at areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility. If successful, this would be one of the few sites of Sputnik V owned by Russian firms outside that country. Shine Jacob and Sohini Das report.

How India can 'keep' Vodafone Idea

How India can 'keep' Vodafone Idea

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2021

The government should convert Vodafone Idea's (Vi) debt into equity to avoid a duopoly in the telecom sector, Deutsche Bank Research said in its report on Monday. This, the bank suggested, would be the only viable solution in the backdrop of the Supreme Court dismissing the telecom company's application for recomputation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

3rd wave: Govt creating 30-day stock of key Covid medicines

3rd wave: Govt creating 30-day stock of key Covid medicines

Rediff.com   26 Jul 2021

'The Centre is planning to procure five million vials of Remdesivir ahead of the third wave. What's better is that this time, the government is paying us in advance,' said a senior executive of a Mumbai-based pharma player which makes Remdesivir. Sohini Das reports.

Tata Sons sets the ball rolling for buying Air India

Tata Sons sets the ball rolling for buying Air India

Rediff.com   21 Jul 2021

Tata Sons has started the process of due diligence of state-owned Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Sources said the group has appointed Bain and Company and Seabury Group for this purpose. Once complete, a financial bid will be submitted and a deal to take over the airline is likely to fructify by end of this year or even earlier, people involved in the process said. Simultaneously, the group has brought in veterans in the aviation business from Delta and United Airlines to prepare a plan for post-merger integration of Air India with its existing airline ventures. Tata Sons operates Vistara - a 51:49 percent joint venture with Singapore Airlines and Air Asia India, in which Tatas hold 83.67 per cent stakes.

Zydus Cadila to begin vaccine trials for kids above 5 yrs soon

Zydus Cadila to begin vaccine trials for kids above 5 yrs soon

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2021

So far, no other vaccine has been approved globally for children below 12 years. Sohini Das reports.

Trade margins capped at 70% for oximeters, BP meters, other medical devices

Trade margins capped at 70% for oximeters, BP meters, other medical devices

Rediff.com   14 Jul 2021

The medical devices, which have been in high demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, will now see a drop in prices, as the earlier margins were up to 709 per cent for some of these products.

Over 200 Indians stuck in Serbia due to surprise quarantine rule

Over 200 Indians stuck in Serbia due to surprise quarantine rule

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2021

Serbia has become one of the transit points for Indians heading to Canada and the US. Canada requires passengers from India to take an RT-PCR test from a third country, while the US wants them to spend 14 days outside of India. As a result, many students are taking the Serbia route to Canada, and the US.

Serum to double Covid vaccine output in 2022

Serum to double Covid vaccine output in 2022

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2021

SII would be scaling up its AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine manufacturing capacity to 200 million doses a month from 100 million a month now, reports Sohini Das.

Explained: What the Brazil-Covaxin row is about

Explained: What the Brazil-Covaxin row is about

Rediff.com   9 Jul 2021

Three entities are at the centre of this controversy: The Brazilian government, Bharat Biotech and a Singapore-based company called Madison Biotech.

India may get 4m doses of Pfizer, Moderna by August from COVAX

India may get 4m doses of Pfizer, Moderna by August from COVAX

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2021

However, before the Moderna and Pfizer messenger ribonucleic acid (or mRNA) vaccines come to India via this route, the legalities around the indemnity clause will have to be settled, reports Sohini Das.