Germany, France, Italy and Spain join countries suspending AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
BERLIN :A cascading number of European countries — including Germany, France, Italy and Spain — suspended use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday over reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, though the company and international regulators say there is no evidence the shot is to blame. Pune-based drugmaker Serum Institute of India partnered with […]
‘In public interest’: Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin recommended for emergency approval
NEW DELHI: The government of India on Saturday said that the expert panel of India’s drug regulator has recommended granting permission for restricted emergency use of the indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ in “public interest as an abundant precaution.” The Subject Expert Committee of Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation had met on January 1 and […]
About Rs 1.04 lakh crore GST revenue collected in November
NEW DELHI: The gross GST revenue collected in the month of November, 2020 is Rs 1,04,963 crore of which CGST is Rs 19,189 crore, SGST is Rs 25,540 crore, IGST is Rs 51,992 crore (including Rs 22,078 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 8,242 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on […]
North Korea toughens rules of entry to sea to fight coronavirus
By HYUNG-JIN KIM SEOUL: North Korea is further toughening restrictions on entering seawaters as part of elevated steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic, state media said Sunday, two days after South Korea said the North had banned sea fishing. The Korean Central News Agency reported the country is mobilizing more anti-virus units and establishing strong […]
Covid-19 pandemic: India rejects lockdown possibilities, issues 19 Standard Operating Procedure
NEW DELHI: In the wake of ongoing Covid-19 cases in India, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued a 19-point Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) giving nod to states and UTs to impose local restrictions if necessary. The SOPs, part of a month-long guidelines issued by the MHA, will be effective from December 1 […]
Q&A: Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race?
NEW DELHI: Drug makers and research centres around the world are working on COVID-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants well underway. The following is what we know about the race to deliver vaccines to help end the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than […]
Moderna to charge $25-$37 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine
FRANKFRUT: Moderna will charge governments between $25 and $37 per dose of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, depending on the amount ordered, Chief Executive Stephane Bancel told German weekly Welt am Sonntag (WamS). “Our vaccine therefore costs about the same as a flu shot, which is between $10 and $50,” he was quoted as saying. On […]
Pfizer CEO sold $5.6 million stock on the day it announced vaccine results
NEW DELHI: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sold $ 5.6 million worth of company stock on Monday—the same day it said its and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective. Axios reported the same day the Pfizer stock soared almost 8 per cent. As per the Axios report, the stock sale is perfectly […]
Coronavirus has pushed back luxury car segment in India by 5-7 years: Audi
NEW DELHI: The coronavirus pandemic has hit hard the luxury car segment in India, taking it back by five to seven years, and it will take two to three years to reach the levels witnessed around 2014-2015, according to a top official of German auto major Audi. With gradual recovery taking place post Covid-19 induced […]
EPFO adds 10.06 lakh net subscribers in August 2020
NEW DELHI:The provisional payroll data published by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on 20th October 2020 reveals that the subscriber base of EPFO increased by around 20 lakh during the first five months of FY21. Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown across the country had adversely affected the enrolments during the first quarter of the current […]
Air India facing a very challenging financial situation: Hardeep Puri
NEW DELHI: India’s Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri has called Air India’s leave without pay (LWP) scheme a “win-win for employees and management”, and pointed out that Air India has not laid off a single employee even as international and domestic carriers have resorted to cost cutting through layoffs. In a letter to Rajya Sabha […]
Common man’s Diwali in government’s hands:Supreme Court on loan moratorium
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the Narendra Modi government (Centre) that the common man’s Diwali is in the government’s hands, as it sought implementation of the decision to waive interest-on-interest for loans up to Rs 2 crore for eight categories. The top court gave time till November 2 to the Centre to […]
Unmarried men at higher death risk from coronavirus: Study
LONDON: Being a man, having a lower income, a lower level of education, not being married, and being born in low-or middle-income countries — these are factors that relate to an elevated risk of dying from Covid-19, warn researchers. “We can show that there are independent effects of various separate risk factors that have been […]
India gets 2nd set of Swiss bank account details via info exchange pact
NEW DELHI/BERNE: India has got the second set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and entities under the automatic exchange of information pact with Switzerland, marking a key milestone in the government’s fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad. India is among the 86 countries with which Switzerland’s Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has […]
India’s GDP expected to contract by 9.6 per cent this fiscal: World Bank
By Lalit K Jha NEW DELHI: The World Bank on Thursday said that India’s GDP is expected to contract by 9.6 per cent this fiscal which is reflective of the national lockdown and the income shock experienced by households and firms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the country’s economic situation is much worse […]
Key pact inked to allow Swiss developer to begin work on Jewar airport project
NOIDA: The Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) and Zurich Airport International AG on Wednesday signed a key agreement that would allow the Swiss developer to begin work at the site of the upcoming Jewar airport near Delhi, officials said. The ”concession agreement” for the Greenfield airport, estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore, was inked between […]