Year: 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, researchers are examining reasons why various countries were impacted differently. It has been suggested that the severity of COVID-19 is higher in countries that do not have a history of Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccination programs. Clinical trials are underway to investigate the possibility that they confer some immunity to COVID-19.   Mohamed Abukar, MSc, GlobalData Clinical Trials Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The BCG vaccination has been suggested to induce heterologous immunity against non-mycobacterial pathogens. There are multiple clinical trials to investigate the relationship between…

Oil companies are dealing with a plethora of challenges due to the sudden decline in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Distant storage locations increase costs as transportation fees get factored in with storage fees. Additionally, the relatively short shelf life of gasoline and jet fuel, and the limitations of storing light crude alongside heavy crude, add further challenges for these companies, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.   Haseeb Ahmed, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, comments: “North America is battling a severe shortage of storage capacity. The…

Japan has already witnessed a significant downturn in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases since the national emergency was declared. However, the country is likely to see additional surges in the future, according to an infection trajectory forecast model by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.   Kasey Fu, Director of Epidemiology at GlobalData, comments: “As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, analyzing differences in the infection trajectory is important to understand how the virus will continue to spread.”   GlobalData has forecasted Japan’s trajectory in the next several weeks, along with the country’s…

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the ‘Pravasi Raahat Mitra’ App, aimed at aiding migrant citizens coming to Uttar Pradesh from other states so that they can take advantage of government schemes. The data collection of these migrant citizens will be done through the app that has been developed by the state revenue department in collaboration with United Nation Development Program.   The app will also help to monitor their health besides providing jobs and livelihood, related to their skills. Apart from this, data of people from rural and…

Due to the pandemic, industries have been suffering a lot. In an effort to gain more firms for India, the Centre is seeking to lure more than 1,000 US businesses, including medical devices giant Abbott Laboratories, to relocate from China even as President Donald Trump’s administration has been accusing Beijing for its role in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report .   The report states that the government in April reached out to more than 1,000 companies in the US through overseas missions to offer incentives for manufacturers seeking to move out of China, according to officials.   India is prioritizing medical equipment suppliers,…

With pandemic coronavirus that has covered the entire earth, each country is trying its bit to create a vaccine against deadly COVID-19. This week, Health Secretary, Alex Azar said that the U.S. expects to be able to start manufacturing the drugs itself, whoever makes the scientific breakthrough. Still, in the first months of the pandemic, signs of geopolitical rivalry have been there for all to see, and trust lacking even among allies.   The US has been accused by Berlin of ‘modern piracy,’ for allegedly snatching away shipments of Chinese protective gear earmarked for Germany, a…

Major gas leak in Visakhapatnam is adding to the crisis in India with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. At least 12 persons, including a six-year-old girl, have died and hundreds were admitted to hospital following the leakage of a poisonous gas from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, this morning. The gas leak occurred at the LG Polymers Plant between 2.30 am and 3 am. The toxic gas spread over a radius of three km, affecting at least five villages, including R.R. Venkatapuram, Padmapuram, B.C. Colony and Kamparapalem. Some reports said around 800…

As the deadly virus which has already claimed lakhs of lives around the world, has impacted global movie business over the past few months. There is a sharp increase in the  TV viewership is surging during the pandemic.   India is a terribly under-screened nation. In 2018, China had over 60,000 screens. In comparison, India doesn’t even have 10,000. There are only eight screens per million people, with two-thirds of Indians lacking access to movies when they are released.     As per the survey conducted jointly by KPMG and Eros Now, Indians spend more…

Observed every year on 11th of May, National Technology Day underlines India’s technological advancements and the spirit to develop cost-effective technologies that offer solutions for the betterment of society as a whole. As the nation and its scientific community would be celebrating the National Technology Day on Monday, May 11th, 2020, it is imperative that we talk about one of the technological innovations that have changed our lives for better – FASTag, an electronic toll collection (ETC) system in India which is operated by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).…

A horrifying incident took place today on rail tracks that killed 15 migrants this morning after a cargo train ran over them in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad. They were sleeping on rail tracks when the accident happened, officials said, adding that the driver tried to stop the train.   They were a part of a group of 20 migrants who were walking from Jalna in Maharashtra to Bhusaval in Madhya Pradesh, 157 km apart.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “extremely anguished” at the death of migrant workers. “Extremely anguished by the loss of lives due…