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'BJP not unbeatable': Chidambaram on 'mandate' to JMM-Cong alliance

News Network
December 24, 2019

Chennai: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday thanked the people of Jharkhand for giving an "overwhelming mandate" to the Congress-JMM alliance and said that BJP was not unbeatable.

"We are very happy and we congratulate and thank the people of Jharkhand for giving the JJM-Congress alliance an overwhelming mandate. This is a resounding victory. We are very very happy. Please remember, in the last three months, the BJP was dented in Haryana, denied in Maharashtra and now defeated in Jharkhand," he said while addressing a press conference here.

The Congress leader stressed that BJP is not unbeatable and said that the ruling party at the Centre can be defeated if all Opposition parties rally together.

"The BJP is not unbeatable. If all opposition parties rally together and understand the dangers faced by the country and come together...surely the BJP can be defeated. And the BJP will be defeated in future elections also," said Chidambaram.

Talking about the rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC, under the leadership of DMK, Chidambaram said, "Students, youth joined in large numbers. This is the kind of solidarity that has to be shown when there is a grave threat to the Constitution of India."

The Congress leader asserted that "challenge before us is no small challenge" and said, "It is a very fundamental challenge to the very idea of India. It is a challenge to the Constitution given to us by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar."

"In order to confront this challenge and defeat this challenge, we must remain united and we must fight the BJP and its agenda resolutely," noted Chidambaram.

Referring to the Sri Lankan Tamils, Myanmar Rohingyas and Pakistani Ahmadiyas as among the most persecuted minorities in the whole world, Chidambaram said, "And yet the Home Minister says is there any evidence they have been targeted. I am surprised."

"The Prime Minister said -- we have not given any thought to NRC. We have not made any preparation for NRC. We have never said NRC will be implemented throughout the country -- What is he saying? Why don't you fact check the Prime Minister?" the Congress leader questioned.

JMM-led alliance, which includes Congress and RJD, on Monday won an absolute majority in the Jharkhand elections by winning 47 seats in 81-member assembly. The alliance defeated the BJP which won 25 seats.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: Even as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in various parts of India, more than 1 million people have recovered and discharged till now, informed Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health, here on Thursday.

"More than 1 million people have recovered from COVID-19 in the country. This landmark recovery has been achieved because of the selfless work and dedication of our doctors, nurses and frontline workers," Bhushan said at a press conference.

Giving the number of cured persons, Bhushan said, "More than 1,020,000 patients have recovered. They have been discharged. It is a great achievement."

He said, "The recovery rate has shown positive trends. It was 7.85 per cent in April and today it is 64.4 per cent, which is another heartening news which tells us that whatever battle is put by the Union government in collaboration with state governments is showing results."

"Sixteen states of the country have a recovery rate that is more than the national average. Of these, Delhi has a recovery rate of 88 per cent, Ladakh 80 per cent, Haryana 78 per cent, Assam 76 per cent, Telangana 74 per cent, Tamil Nadu & Gujarat 73 per cent, Rajasthan 70 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 69 per cent and Goa 68 per cent," Bhushan said.

He said effective clinical management lead to a decrease in case fatality rate. In June it was 3.33 per cent and now 2.21 per cent.

Bhushan said the case fatality rate in India today is 2.21 per cent and it's among the lowest in the world. Twenty-four states and Union Territories have lesser fatality rate than that of the country.

Herd immunity in a country of the size and population of India can not be a strategic option. It can only be achieved through immunisation.

"Over 18,190,000 tests have been conducted in the country including RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests. There has been a week-on-week increase in average tests per day. India is conducting 324 test per 10 lakhs population per day," Bhushan said.

He added, three vaccine candidates, are in phase 3 clinical trial. These three are in the US, UK and China. In India, two indigenously developed vaccine candidates are in phase I and II of clinical trials. 

Trial of the first vaccine involves 1,150 subjects at eight sites, second on 1,000 subjects at five sites.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Jan 27: Bidders for Air India Ltd. will need to absorb $3.26 billion of its debt, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration tries once again to sell the national carrier.

The entire company will be sold but effective control needs to stay with Indian nationals, according to preliminary terms published Monday. Bids are invited by March 17 with Ernst & Young LLP India as transaction adviser.

Air India, which started in 1932 as a mail carrier before winning commercial popularity, saw its fortunes fade with the emergence of cutthroat low-cost competition. The state-run airline has been unprofitable for over a decade and is saddled with more than $8 billion in debt.

Indian regulations allow a foreign airline to buy as much as 49% of a local carrier, while overseas investors other than airlines can buy an entire carrier. The government didn’t find a single bidder when it tried to sell Air India in 2018.

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News Network
June 30,2020

Hyderabad, Jun 30: Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech announced that it has successfully developed Covaxin, India's first vaccine candidate for Covid-19, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV).

The Drug Controller General of India - CDSCO, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare granted permission to initiate Phase I & II Human clinical trials after the company submitted results generated from preclinical studies, demonstrating safety and immune response. Human clinical trials are scheduled to start across India in July 2020.

The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune and transferred to Bharat Biotech.

The indigenous, inactivated vaccine developed and manufactured in the company's Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad.

Announcing the vaccine development milestone, Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director said: "We are proud to announce COVAXIN, India's first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19. The collaboration with ICMR and NIV was instrumental in the development of this vaccine."

Dr Ella added, "The proactive support and guidance from CDSCO has enabled approvals to this project. Our R&D and Manufacturing teams worked tirelessly to deploy our proprietary technologies towards this platform."
Expedited through national regulatory protocols, the company accelerated its objective in completing the comprehensive pre-clinical studies. Results from these studies have been promising and show extensive safety and effective immune responses.

Speaking about Bharat Biotech's prowess, Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director said, "Our ongoing research and expertise in forecasting epidemics has enabled us to successfully manufacture a vaccine for the H1N1 pandemic."
"Continuing our focus on creating the only BSL-3 containment facilities for manufacturing and testing in India, Bharat Biotech is committed to advancing vaccine development as a matter of national importance to demonstrate India's strength in handling future pandemics," she added.

Bharat Biotech's track record in developing vero cell culture platform technologies has been proven in several vaccines for Polio, Rabies, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Chikungunya and Zika.

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