Knowledge is power essay

New Delhi [India], The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) DG Balram Bhargava has written a letter to Bharat Biotech and principal investigators of medical colleges to complete the trial procedure of indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in a fast track method, so that results of a clinical trial can be launched by August 15. Bharat Biotech had recently received a nod for a clinical trial of its vaccine - Covaxin. "This is the first indigenous vaccine being developed by India and is one of the top priority projects which is being monitored at the topmost level of the Government. The vaccine is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of virology. Pune- ICMR and BBIL are jointly working for the preclinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine," the letter read. A total of 12 institutes have been asked by the ICMR to fast track clinical trials of the vaccine as it is being considered the topmost priority projects which are being monitored b...

Using the element of surprise PM Narendra Modi fired a pro-poor move with an electoral spin on a day the opposition was busy attempting to corner him on the border stand-off with China and plight of the masses due to Covid-19 and economic distress. Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his 16-minute speech, one day before Unlock 2.0 guidelines would kick in, by asking people not to go easy on social distancing and hygiene measures as lockdown restrictions are being eased across the country. He next asked authorities to emulate Bulgaria where PM Boyko Borissov was fined Rs 13,000 for failing to wear a mask during a church visit on June 23. Then came the main announcement of PM Modi's address -- he said that the government has decided to extend the free ration scheme for 80 crore people for five more months till the end of November. The PM's shortest address since lockdown 1.0 was on air exactly when a meeting of core commanders of the Indian and Chinese armies was on and Congress...

The rising clamour to boycott Chinese goods in the wake of the Galwan Valley clash that left 20 Indian soldiers dead last week has pushed hundreds of workmen and illumination artists in Hooghly's Chandernagore to the edge of uncertainty. People in the town's globally famed illuminations trade say they will be in peril if raw material imports such as LEDs, power-supplying units and integrated circuits (ICs) stop from China. At least 25,000 people are estimated to work in Chandernagore's illuminations industry. Around 4 lakh people in the state are dependent on the illuminations business that uses Chinese raw material to a large extent. Artists and workmen have asked the government to arrange for indigenous, low-cost products if a formal boycott of Chinese products was inevitable. "We are seeing people aggressively burning Chinese products and wanting a blanket boycott of all Chinese goods. What will happen to the illuminations industry? We urge the government to produce...