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Crunch fortnight awaits Sonia Gandhi, Congress

May 30, 2012

Sonia

New Delhi, May 30: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will be back in the capital from a brief summer break this week and will get down to taking decisions which will be crucial for the party and the UPA government in the interregnum before Lok Sabha polls. It is being seen as a crunch fortnight for the party.

Soon after her return from the cool climes of Kausani, Sonia has to consult UPA supporters, call a meeting of the Congress Working Committee and hold endless rounds of confabulations. At stake is who should be Congress's nominee for president: a pivotal call on which a number of crucial issues may hinge.

The CWC meeting, scheduled tentatively for June 4, is likely to focus on the economic crisis in the light of declining value of rupee, rising prices and the growing perception of the economy going downhill. The outcome, especially the stand on petrol price hike, will determine whether the party has the stomach for reforms before the realists within step up pressure for populism in view of coming elections.

But the organizational interest may be focused more on presidential elections: an issue which has to be settled outside the party talk shop.

The issue of who gets the nod will have a fallout for some nettlesome decisions to be taken later: reshuffle in organization and government, an imperative to tone up the two wings in the lead-up to the 2014 contest.

Congress's victory in the top contest is almost a certainty. The trouble is that because of lack of numbers, it is not a free agent in deciding its nominee. Its calculations went awry when Trinamool boss Mamata Banerjee vetoed Vice-President Hamid Ansari because of his perceived proximity to the Left. Then, Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose UP numbers make him one of the deciding factors, struck another blow to the vice-president's prospects by saying that he would not accept a former government servant as the president.

Thanks to the double whammy for Ansari, the candidature of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has been revived. Though she was on Congress's list, the Speaker had lagged way behind Ansari and Pranab Mukherjee. Thanks to the quirk, she is back in the reckoning and, according to some estimates, ahead of Ansari in current seedings.

That should have, ordinarily speaking, left Mukherjee as the sole contender for Sonia's coveted endorsement but for the continuing reluctance of a section of Congress to relieve the so-called Mr Dependable of the government. Unfortunately for them, Mukherjee is not too enamoured of the citation and is eager to eject from North Block to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ignoring him even on the ground of competence carries a strong risk of rendering him aloof and indifferent.

Mukherjee's movement from the government will present Congress with the tricky issue of finding his successor in the finance ministry as well as a leader of Lok Sabha, the latter being a bigger challenge considering the stature expected of the office.

The government also has to choose a successor to Ansari, perhaps even if he does not get elevated. No vice-president has got a second term after S Radhakrishnan. Congress may not like to make an exception; especially if the post becomes part of a package deal with Samajwadi Party: something which continues to be speculated about despite denials.

Whether the deal with Mulayam is eventually signed and what is going to be the state of ties with Mamata, perhaps even with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, may all turn on the choice that Congress make in the next fortnight.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the Oxford University developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the country.

Government officials said that the approval for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials by the SII was granted by DCGI Dr V G Somani late Sunday night after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Covid-19.

"The firm has to submit safety data, evaluated by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), to the CDSCO before proceeding to phase 3 clinical trials," a senior official said.

"As per the study design, each subject will be administered two doses four weeks apart (first dose on day one and second dose on day 29) following which the safety and immunogenicity will be assessed at predefined intervals," the official said.

As a rapid regulatory response, the expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday, after a detailed deliberation and considering the data generated on the vaccine candidate in phase 1 and 2 of the Oxford University trial, had recommended granting permission for phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the potential vaccine, 'Covishield', on healthy adults in India,  the officials said.

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 officials said that the SII had submitted a revised proposal on Wednesday after the SEC on July 28, following deliberation over its application, had asked it to revise its protocol for the phase 2 and 3 clinical trials besides seeking some additional information.

The panel had also recommended that the clinical trial sites which have been proposed for the study be distributed across India.

According to the revised proposal by the SII, 1,600 people aged above 18 years will participate in the trials across 17 selected sites, including AIIMS-Delhi, B J Medical College in Pune, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) in Patna, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, AIIMS-Jodhpur, Nehru Hospital in Gorakhpur, Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam and JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in Mysore.

"According to the application, it would conduct an observer-blind, randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of 'Covishield' on healthy Indian adults," the official said.

The SII, which has partnered with AstraZeneca, for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate for Covid-19 had submitted its first application to the DCGI on July 25 seeking permission for conducting the phase 2 and 3 trials of the potential vaccine. 

Initial results of the first two-phases of trials of the vaccine conducted in five trial sites in the UK showed that it has an acceptable safety profile and homologous boosting increased antibody response, sources had said.

To introduce the vaccine, SII, the world's largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced and sold, has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute (Oxford University) in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca. 

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: About 56 per cent of children were found to have no access to smartphones which have emerged as essential tools for online learning during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to a new study that surveyed 42,831 students at various school levels.

The study ''Scenario amidst COVID 19 - Onground Situations and Possible Solutions'' was conducted by child rights NGO Smile Foundation with an aim of analysing the access to technology.

The findings of the study showed that 43.99 per cent of surveyed children have access to smartphones and another 43.99 per cent of students have access to basic phones while 12.02 per cent do not have access to either smartphones or basic phones.

A total of 56.01 per cent children were found to have no access to smartphones, the study said.

"Concerning television, it was noted that while 68.99 per cent have access to TV, a major chunk of 31.01 per cent does not. Hence suggesting that using smartphone interventions for enhancing learning outcomes is not the only solution," it said.

At the primary level of education (class 1 to 5) 19,576 children were surveyed while at upper primary level (class 6 to 8) 12,277 children were surveyed. At secondary level of education (class 9 to 10) 5,537 children were surveyed and at higher secondary level (class 11 to 12) 3,216 children were surveyed.

The survey based on which the study was conducted used two approaches - over the telephone wherein the NGO reached out to the children whose database it already had -- students enrolled in various education centres of the NGO -- and second was through community mobilization wherein community workers went door to door to get answers.

The survey was conducted in 23 states, including Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, over a period of 12 days from April 16 to April 28.

The lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in March prompted schools and colleges to move to the virtual world for teaching and learning activities. However, many experts say the digital divide in the country may turn online classes into an operational nightmare.

As per official statistics, there are over 35 crore students in the country. However, it is not clear as to how many of them have access to digital devices and Internet.

Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee, Smile Foundation, said the findings clearly show that the digital divide is a real challenge, and multiple approaches need to be implemented to cater to all across the nation.

"As an exercise before we start any programme, we do a baseline study to understand the on-ground challenges so that our programmes can bring in real work and real change. With the onset of the pandemic, following indefinite school closures, it is more important than ever to understand the situation and how can we ensure that children are given quality education. Through this, we understand that customized modules need to be built in accordance with the channel of communication," he said.  

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Agencies
January 5,2020

New Delhi, Jan 5: A masked mob on Sunday entered the Sabarmati Hostel on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and assaulted several students and professors with sticks and rods.

"I have been brutally attacked by goons wearing masks. I am bleeding. I was brutally beaten up," JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh told reporters.

She has been admitted to the AIIMS here for treatment.

Several other students were also injured in the incident.

In a video of the incident, a group of goons with their faces covered can be seen assaulting students with wooden sticks and rods.

A tweet from the official handle of the JNUSU said, "Sabarmati Hostel: right now. They are beating the students who are inside. Knocking on doors with rods. People are jumping from balconies. #SOSJNU #EmergencyinJNU."

"Professors who were trying to protect us have been beaten up. These are unknown ABVP goons, not all are students, they have covered their faces, and they are moving towards the hotels near the West Gate. Stay alert. Make human chains. Protect each other. #SOSJNU #EmergencyinJNU," another tweet added.

Meanwhile, the ABVP's JNU unit claimed in a tweet: "Emergency in JNU. Leftist goons of JNU accompained with their cadre from other universities have crossed every limit. They have proceeded with unimaginable violence on ABVP activists of JNU."

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