CEPI partners with Biological E. Limited to advance development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccine candidate

CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Biological E. Limited, India (Bio E), a Hyderabad-based vaccines and pharmaceutical company, today announced a collaboration to advance the development and manufacture of Bio E’s COVID-19 subunit vaccine candidate. CEPI will initially contribute up to $5m toward the cost of scaling up the process for manufacturing the vaccine, and will explore providing additional funding to Bio E with the goal of potentially enabling the production of 100 million doses in 2021.   Bio E initiated a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety…

PM Modi inaugurates driverless Delhi Metro

India’s first driverless train on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi. He also launched the National Common Mobility Card, an inter-operable transport facility that allows users to pay for travel, toll duties, retail shopping, and withdraw money using one card.   The driverless trains will be fully automated, eliminating the possibility of human error, officials say. The service will be available on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line which connects Janakpuri West in West Delhi to Botanical Garden in Noida. This will be extended to Delhi Metro’s Pink Line (Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar)…

Karnataka consents to projects of nearly ₹23,000 cr

The Karnataka government has approved investments of ₹22,419 crore of three different proposals involving electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion battery manufacturing that have the potential to create nearly 5,000 new jobs.   Two proposals of Elest Private Limited of ₹14,255 crore and ₹6,339 crore of Elest Pvt Ltd and ₹1,825 crore project by Hyunet Private Limited were cleared by the chief minister -led State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC).   Karnataka has been proactively approving new investments into the state to help ease its deeply distressed economic condition. The state is also trying to…

FM Nirmala Sitharaman promises ‘never before’ like Budget

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will draft the Union Budget 2021 . The Budget to be like “never before” and help India emerge as the engine for global growth.   Further, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that while providing more funding for infrastructure, it would be important to bring in private partnerships for not just providing buildings and hospitals, but also for providing the capacities to run these hospitals.   She added, “100 years of India wouldn’t have seen a Budget being made post-pandemic like this.” To…

Ayodhya Mosque to build with Super Speciality Hospital on Land Allotted by Apex Court

Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) trust has released the first architectural design for a mosque in Ayodhya district in the allotted five-acre land by the Supreme Court of India.   The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) finalised the blueprint for construction on the five-acre land allotted by the Supreme Court.The design of the mosque has been prepared using modern technology, and it will be egg-shaped without any dome. The two-storeyed mosque will not have any minaret. Solar power will be installed in the mosque, and around 2,000 people will…

US FDA to probe on five allergic reactions on Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is probing on the five instances of individuals having allergic reactions to the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech’s for COVID-19, said by Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research .   It’s fair to say that there have been a few allergic reactions reported from different states of the union. I think that the total that is under investigation is roughly about five,” Marks said. The FDA official said that one component of the vaccine, polyethylene glycol,…

CBI books Transstroy (India) Ltd for ₹7,926-cr bank fraud

The CBI has booked Hyderabad-based Transstroy (India) Ltd and its directors for alleged bank fraud of over ₹7,926 crore in a consortium led by Canara Bank, in the biggest banking scam in the country so far surpassing the amount misappropriated by diamantaire Nirav Modi, as per the officials .   The former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and many others are connected in the connection with a bank fraud case.   The company’s chairman-cum-managing director Cherukuri Sridhar; Mr. Rao, its additional director; and another additional director, Akkineni Satish.…

A vegetable seller from Rourkela received notice from GST for Rs 110 crore

A vegetable seller of Rourkela has attracted towards GST fraud as a notice for Rs 110 crore tax evasion has been served to him. Kartik Kamila, who runs a small vegetable shop, was taken aback after getting the notice. He has been fraudulently represented as the owner of a market complex at Koelnagar in the steel city by the Lingaraj Trading company.   This apart, an amount of Rs 10 crore has allegedly been misappropriated as input tax credit through fake bank accounts. Kamila suspected that someone might have committed…

Vaibhav Sharma has arrested by Delhi Police relating to HDFC bank fraud

The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has arrested Vaibhav Sharma, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the private firm Zenica Cars India Pvt for allegedly defrauding HDFC and other banks to the tune of Rs 300 crore.    HDFC Bank had alleged embezzlement of Rs 102 crore against Zenica Cars India Pvt then CFO Vaibhav Sharma. Following the complaint of HDFC Bank, the investigation on the case was expedited.   As per the officials, accused Vaibhav Sharma took over the finance of this company in the year 2007.…

NEP implementation will once again make India Vishwa Guru: Pokhriyal

“Education is the backbone of any country as it plays a crucial role in technological developments and imparts various skills, values, and awareness,” said Union Minister for Education, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. The Union Minister was speaking during the inaugural session of International Conference on ‘Creating Global Perspective rooted in local values for sustainability’ virtually organized by Chandigarh University, Gharuan.   International dignitaries, renowned academicians and research scholars from 20 countries and 31 Universities took part in the International Conference and reached out to more than 10 million audiences across…