Currently, phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate is going on in the United Kingdom, phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in South Africa.
The antiviral drug may cost around Rs 55,000 for an 11-dose course, or Rs 5,000 per injection -- much less than the price of imports from Bangladesh, reports Sohini Das.
The foreign envoys were taken to Hyderabad over a month after the ministry of external affairs briefed over 190 heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of leading international organisations on COVID-19 related issues.
Experts have said the reservation provision will set unrealistic goals for organisational hiring, but will also reduce productivity by reducing the available talent pool to a few people within the state.
Several private hospitals across the country said they have no clarity on procuring COVID-19 vaccines under the new policy announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that it has led to the vaccination being put on hold at their centres.
Facing accusations of delay in placing orders for vaccines, the government on Thursday defended its vaccine procurement policy saying it has been pursuing Pfizer, J&J and Moderna since mid-2020 for the earliest possible imports, and has even waived local trials for well-established foreign vaccine makers.
'We would love to have more players entering the market because that is how the business will grow.'
The government on Tuesday expressed concern over reports that automobile manufacturers are selling vehicles with purposefully downgraded safety standards in India and asked them to stop the 'unpardonable' practice. Speaking at a seminar on implementation of vehicle location tracking devices in order to enhance the safety on road, organised by auto industry body SIAM, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) secretary Giridhar Aramane also noted that only a few manufacturers have adopted vehicle safety ratings system and that too used only for their high-end models.
Many firms have asked those joining on April 1 to delay their on-boarding by 2-3 months. The outlook for the airline, tourism, hotel, and media industries is bleak too.
While sport climbing made its debut in the Olympics only this year, it has had a popular home in India for many years now.
PharmEasy, 1mg and Netmeds believe that their disruptive capabilities will power their brands despite the recent court ruling. The Drug Controller General of India recently directed all state FDAs to stop the online sale of medicines as per a Delhi high court order of last year.
Rajnath Singh outlined the major measures and initiatives taken by the Modi government to provide basic needs to people of India, including providing homes, building toilets to end open defecation, electricity, cooking gas and focusing on infrastructure development.
According to sources close to ANI, "Bharat Biotech has informed Union health ministry that it will rectify the issues pointed out by WHO in 15 to 20 days." "World Health Organisation (WHO)'s suspension is not related to safety or efficacy issues but limited only to supply for United Nations agencies."
'The F-21's capabilities far exceed all other torpedoes currently in service.'
As the pandemic pushed employers to explore and adapt new ways to stay in the business, a survey has revealed that 6 out of 10 organisations have adopted 'work from home' policy post Covid-19 relaxations. Over 65 per cent of the employers have either introduced 'work from home' as a policy or are evaluating the same reflecting a maturity and the confidence in their employees, according to a survey by Grant Thornton Bharat. The survey was conducted online by Grant Thornton Bharat among 4,650 respondents across social media platforms.
Ola Electric on Wednesday said it has commenced deliveries of its S1 scooters. The company said it organised special events in Bangalore and Chennai on Wednesday to deliver both S1 and S1 Pro trims to the first 100 customers. "Today is a landmark day for those who have joined the revolution with us as we begin our deliveries of Ola S1. "We are working hard to ramp up the production at the Ola Future factory to get the scooters in the hands of our customers as per their delivery windows," Ola Electric chief marketing officer Varun Dubey said in a statement.
The industry is expecting double-digit growth on a year-on-year basis, helped by a possible price correction after softening of raw material inputs and factors such as positive sentiments, pent up demand and improving economic conditions. Besides, a shift in consumer behaviour from price consciousness towards technologically advanced premium products with quality, value proposition and safety aspects leading to a rise in demand for home automation products is making the industry upbeat. With the government's production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods, which has witnessed a committed investment of Rs 4,614 crore, in place, many manufacturers are gearing up to make the most out of the opportunity as well as take steps towards reducing their dependency on imports and make products more affordable.
The draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification, 2020, which involves the procedure of issuing environmental clearances to various projects, was issued by the Environment Ministry in March this year and has received thousands of suggestions from the public.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that international travel should be made easier through mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, amid several countries adopting different sets of rules to allow foreigners to enter their territory in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vinay Umarji
In a series of tweets after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Oxford's vaccine Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for restricted emergency use, Modi said it will make every Indian proud that both the vaccines are made in India.
COVAX, 'the global COVID vaccine equity scheme', has so far delivered 65 million doses to 124 countries and economies but it is dependent on countries and manufacturers honouring their commitments.
If the DCGI grants regular marketing authorisation, Covishied will be the second vaccine in the world to receive such approval.
'WHO & an independent group of experts are scheduled to meet next week to carry out the risk/benefit assessment and come to a final decision whether to grant Emergency Use Listing to Covaxin,' the global health body tweeted.
How soon can India reach a point when there is no hidden underemployment and all who want work can find it at a fair wage and decent work conditions, asks Nitin Desai.
The recent drone scare at London's Gatwick airport has exposed the lack of preparedness against drones, says Pranjal Sharma.
Providing data, it said UK's Public Health England has reported high vaccine effectiveness (87.9 per cent) against the B.1.617.2 variant, most reported in India, in an observational study (concluded on May 22, 2021).
Officers sitting over untapped potential to make COVID-19 vaccines need to be charged with 'manslaughter' as it is leading to so many deaths, the Delhi high court said on Wednesday, observing that a lot of scope and infrastructure is available in India which is not being used.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
FMCG distributors on Thursday said it has suspended their boycott of certain products of oral care maker Colgate after talks with the company representatives over the issue of the price disparity between the traditional distributors and organised business-to-business channel. A day after a virtual meeting with Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd (CPIL) representatives, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) called off its stir to boycott certain products of the company starting from January 1, 2022. "From today, the movement against Colgate is postponed till further notice," the AICPDF said in a statement.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and the British International Investment (BII) have inked a pact to invest Rs 1,925 crore each in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the home-grown auto major to focus on four-wheel passenger electric vehicles. The Mumbai-based automaker and BII have executed a binding agreement to invest in the new entity -- "EV Co". According to the pact, BII will invest up to Rs 1,925 crore in the form of compulsory convertible instruments at a valuation of up to Rs 70,070 crore, resulting in 2.75 per cent to 4.76 per cent ownership in the EV Co, M&M said in a regulatory filing. EV Co will focus on four-wheel (4W) passenger electric vehicles, it added.
The Supreme Court said on Monday it will ask the Kerala high court to consider afresh the anticipatory bail pleas of four people, including a former director general of police (DGP), in a case of alleged frame-up of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage matter.
Covaxin has been indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.
'There may be some planted stories here or there, people trying to create manufactured controversies but the party is fully united. We will make sure the yatra is even more successful than it has been in other states'
The high court directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to issue a fresh communication to all the authorities concerned stating the obligation to make clear disclosure as to whether the food article is vegetarian or non-vegetarian.
'The prospects for both India and the global economy is that we are headed towards a very difficult time.' 'I see very uncertain at least 8-10 months for both India and the rest of the world.'
India's Rs 4.5-trillion fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector was one of the first to bounce back from the lockdown induced blues, reporting a year-on-year (YoY) growth in the October-December quarter last year. That said, the overall consumption figures continue to remain depressed. The FMCG market, which includes daily consumables like branded atta, hand sanitizers, edible oils, shampoos, razors, and so on, recorded 7.3 per cent value growth during the period, while the smartphone market grew by 21 per cent.
Nokia, that has already begun manufacturing of 5G equipment at its Chennai plant, is also readying for exporting the products to several key markets like the US.
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.
'The Make in India target of getting manufacturing to account for 25% of GDP by 2022 is quite impossible to achieve.' 'As for the role of technology in the average Indian's life, it is still quite basic -- mobile phones and Mars successes notwithstanding,' says T N Ninan.
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