Author: Ashish Paikray

World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement issued on April 2nd confirmed the suspension of Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech, through UN procurement agencies and gave recommendations to the countries that received the vaccine to take action as appropriate. This suspension came after a EUL inspection done from 14th March to 22nd March 2022 and in a statement WHO quoted “This suspension is in response to the outcomes of WHO post-Emergency Use Listing (EUL) inspection (14-22 March 22) with the need to conduct process and facility upgrade to address recently identified GMP deficiencies (Refers to good manufacturing practices deficiencies) there’ll…

India gets its first steel slag road in the city of Surat which has become the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road built as part of a joint-venture project by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Union Ministry of Steel, Government think-tank NITI Aayog and Arcelor Mittal-Nippon Steel (AM/NS) at Hazira. About the project The six-lane public road is a kilometer-long stretch in Hazira industries which also houses the AM/NS plant was completed in early March and the road is being used by the heavy-duty…

India and Nepal on Saturday launched several projects on connectivity and energy cooperation initiatives, including a cross-border passenger train. Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba urged his Indian counterpart PM Modi held high level talks at Hyderabad house in New Delhi. The two sides inked 4 key pacts which aims to expand co-operation in the areas of Railways and energy between the two nations. The border issue had become a major irritant in bilateral ties under his predecessor, KP Sharma Oli. The previous Nepal government had issued a new political map and claimed territories of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura, and Lipulekh Pass.…

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday traveled to the parliament house in a hydrogen-based Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) and has already been intercepted by many as a strong indication of a shift in stance by the center that has so far backed conventional battery-powered electric vehicles or BEVs. The special vehicle Union Minister for Transport and Highways traveled in a Toyota Mirai, which houses 3 hydrogen tanks and can be refueled in an estimated five minutes. Toyota Mirai is powered by a 182 hp electric motor housing a 1.24kWh Lithium-ion battery pack. Car is powered by hydrogen or…

Imran Khan is on his last legs as Prime Minister of Pakistan and is probably a guest for a few days now once again Pakistan Army has asserted its dominance over the country’s politics. With the departure of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement party from the ruling coalition leaving the PTI-led government as a minority in Parliament, PM Imran Khan is set to lose an opposition no-confidence motion expected to be voted upon on April 3. Until late in the evening, PM Imran Khan was closeted with aides as rumors flew, he might step down and not face the vote despite…

Barely into the regime change in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state and center have locked horns with new CM Bhagwant Mann threatening to protest from the streets to parliament against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement on March 28 which stated “Central services rules will apply to employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The congress and Akali Dal are on the same page as AAP on this matter and leaders across the parties call it “another big blow to the rights of Punjab”. Akali Dal patriarch and former CM Parkash Singh Badal said the center…

India annual merchandise exports have hit $400 billion for the first time, achieving the target set by the government 9 days ahead of schedule. The government is confident of clocking $410 billions of exports by March 31 as India has been shipping out goods worth more than $1 billion a day. Products that led to $400 billion? Engineering goods, petroleum products, gems and jewelry, chemicals, and ready-made garments of all textiles were the top five commodities exported from India. Exports of engineering goods rose by 32% in the first 11 months of this fiscal compared to the last financial year…

Former Maldives president Abdulla Yameen Who was jailed on corruption charges in 2019 has returned to politics with a campaign against Indian influence in the country even though Maldives food security depends a lot on imports from New Delhi. Abdul Yameen who is the political manager of the China-based “India Out” campaign was freed from house arrest recently after a top court overturned a money-laundering and embezzlement conviction, allowing him to potentially make a return to politics. As the president of Maldives, Yameen had laid the foundation of the Chinese debt trap in 2015 when he was sentenced to five…

A joint forum of trade unions- All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has called a two-day Strike  i.e Bharat Bandh from Monday. Trade unions such as INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC, and LPF are a part of this joint forum. The nationwide strike aims to impact essential services like electricity, banking, transportation, and railways. The joint platform of central trade unions held a meeting in New Delhi on the 22nd of March to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all-India strike on 28th -29th March. General secretary of AIPUC,…

Multiplex chains PVR Limited and INOX Leisure Limited have decided to merge to form the largest entertainment company in the country.  The boards of both the companies on Sunday approved the amalgamation and the share exchange ratios.    Accordingly, INOX shareholders will receive three shares in PVR for 10 shares of INOX and after the merger, PVR promoters will have 10.62%, while INOX promoters will have a 16.66% stake in the combined entity.   How big is it?  After the merger, the promoters of INOX will become co-promoters in the merged entity along with the existing promoters of PVR.  Further,…