BJP chief JP Nadda, in tweets, said Rahul Gandhi “does not attend a single meeting” of the panel but continued to question the armed forces.

Rahul Gandhi has been leading the Congress party’s attacks on the government over a range of subjects 

The ruling BJP, bombarded with questions from Rahul Gandhi on the China crisis, hit back today with a dig at his reported absence from meetings of the Standing Committee on Defence, a cross-party panel of MPs. BJP chief JP Nadda, in tweets, said the Congress MP “does not attend a single meeting” of the panel but continued to question the armed forces.

“Rahul Gandhi does not attend a single meeting of Standing Committee on Defence. But sadly, he continues to demoralise the nation, question the valour of our armed forces and do everything that a responsible opposition leader should not do,” Mr Nadda tweeted this morning.

“Rahul Gandhi belongs to that glorious dynastic tradition where as far as defence is concerned, committees don’t matter, only commissions do. Congress has many deserving members who understand parliamentary matters but one dynasty will never let such leaders grow. Really sad,” said the BJP president.

Rahul Gandhi has been leading the Congress party’s attacks on the government over a range of subjects including the June 15 clash with China in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty.

Reports have flagged, citing the Lok Sabha website, that Mr Gandhi has not attended a single meeting of the Standing Committee on Defence since it was formed last year.

The committee has met 11 times since September last year, and Mr Gandhi is not listed among those who attended each meeting.

The former Congress president’s sharp attacks on the government on China have included questions on whether Indian Territory was “surrendered” to the country in the long face-off with the country at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

In one of his recent tweets, Mr Gandhi said while the people of Ladakh claim that China has taken their land, the PM says otherwise and someone is “lying”. He also tweeted a video of residents of Ladakh accusing China of occupying Indian Territory.

Total lockdown in Madurai where 303 fresh cases were reported on Sunday as Tamil Nadu fully reopens malls with restrictions. IT companies allowed 100 per cent staff, told to arrange for transportation

Coronavirus: Tamil Nadu, with 1.1 lakh cases, will fully reopen malls from today except in Chennai

Tamil Nadu, the second worst-affected state by coronavirus in the country, will fully reopen malls from today except in Chennai, where the total lockdown ended June 30 as the district tally recorded a slight dip over the last few days. However, a total lockdown has been imposed in Madurai where 303 fresh cases were reported on Sunday taking its total to 4,085 cases with 2,975 active.

While malls can function with 50 per cent staff and without air conditioning, large showrooms can have only five customers at a time.

The state has also allowed IT and IT-enabled industries to reopen with 100 per cent staff though companies must provide transport and allow at least 20 per cent staff to work from home.

Bus services remain suspended across the state till July 15 and people will need e-passes for inter-district travel.

Small places of worship in villages of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur districts will also reopen from today with restriction in places, such as no distribution of prasad, no singing of bhajans individually or by choir, and use of individual prayer mats.

Places of worship in other districts, except Chennai, had reopened last week.

In Chennai, large showrooms, standalone shops, salons, restaurants, tea shops have been permitted to reopen without air conditioning, but malls, gyms and theaters will continue to remain shut.

Other restrictions that were in place before June 19 will also continue to apply as the district’s coronavirus tally remains high.ADVERTISING

IT and IT-enabled industries in Chennai can function only with 50% staff or a maximum of 80 members.

The movement of private vehicles in the city is no longer banned, autos and cabs can ferry 2 and 3 passengers, respectively.

Restaurants and tea shops can open, they can only offer takeaways.

Outside Chennai, though restaurants can offer dine-in services with maximum 50 per cent seating, the Restaurants’ Association has decided to continue with takeaways only.

The President of the Restaurants’ Association, Venkatasubbu, told NDTV, “We are concerned about the safety of our customers and employees. So except in one or two districts, restaurants will only offer takeaways.”

Some 4,150 people have tested positive in Tamil Nadu over the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state has crossed 1.1 lakh.

A dozen institutes have been selected for clinical trials of the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID vaccine), the government’s top medical research body has said.

The ICMR talked about plans to launch the vaccine for public health use by August 15

The first made-in-India coronavirus vaccine may be launched by August 15, with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) fast-tracking efforts to develop “Covaxin” in partnership with Bharat Biotech International Limited.

A dozen institutes have been selected for clinical trials of the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID vaccine), the government’s top medical research body has said.

The institutes have been asked by the ICMR to step up clinical trials as it is a “priority project” 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 pre-clinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine,” the ICMR said in a letter to the institutes.

The ICMR talked about plans to launch the vaccine for public health use by August 15, Independence Day.

“It is envisaged to launch the vaccine for public health use latest by 15th August 2020 after completion of all clinical trials,” said the research body.    

The final outcome will depend on the cooperation of all clinical trial sites involved in this project, the ICMR told the institutes, advising them to speed up approvals related to clinical trials and ensure that subjects are enrolled starting this week.

“Non-compliance will be viewed very seriously. Therefore, you are advised to treat this project on highest priority and meet the given timelines without any lapse,” said ICMR’s letter.    

The institutes selected for the clinical trial are in Visakhapatnam, Rohtak, New Delhi, Patna, Belgaum (Karnataka), Nagpur, Gorakhpur, Kattankulathur (Tamil Nadu), Hyderabad, Arya Nagar, Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Goa.

Worldwide, scientists are racing to produce a vaccine for the deadly virus that has infected over 10 million, including 600,000 in India, and caused more than 500,000 deaths.

No vaccine has yet been approved for commercial use against COVID-19. More than a dozen possible vaccines from over 100 being developed globally are being tested on humans. Some have shown potential in early-stage trials.

“We are committed to working with the government to address its concerns,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

• TikTok released a statement to highlight no legal action is in plans
• The government banned TikTok and other 58 apps on Monday
• TikTok India head earlier this week responded to the “interim order”

TikTok has refuted the media reports that suggest it will take legal action against the ongoing ban in India, and confirmed that there are no plans to pursue such action. The video-sharing platform owned by China’s ByteDance is currently in discussions with various government officials to resolve key issues. On Monday, the government imposed a ban on 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, CamScanner, UC Browser, and WeChat, stating that the move was taken in view of national security. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telcos in the country were directed to block access to all these apps shortly after the ban was announced publicly.

“There have been statements in the press concerning the possibility that TikTok might pursue legal action regarding the directive by the Government of India. We have no plans to pursue such action,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

The latest communication by TikTok comes just a day after its CEO Kevin Mayer called the ban “an unfortunate challenge in India” in a message to the company’s employees in the country. Shortly after the government’s decision came in public earlier this week, TikTok India head Nikhil Gandhi also responded to the ongoing restrictions and said that it was in the process of complying with the “interim order” passed by the government.

Sources suggest that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, in addition to Alibaba, Tencent, and UC Web, internally discussed various legal moves, though the plan is initially to convince the government by submitting clarifications.

“We are committed to working with the government to address its concerns. We comply with the laws and regulations of the Government of India. Ensuring the data sovereignty, security and privacy of our users has always been and will continue to be a top priority for us,” the spokesperson said.

PM Modi on Sunday, on his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio show, said that India had given a befitting response to China on Ladakh.

New Delhi: The Centre Sunday announced its decision to block 59 Chinese-owned mobile applications

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 4 PM on Tuesday, his office has tweeted. His address will come amid an ongoing stand-off between India and China at Ladakh’s Galwan valley and a surge in coronavirus cases that has shown little sign of slowing down.

PM Modi on Sunday, on his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio show, said that India had given a befitting response to China on Ladakh, praising the army which fought Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley earlier this month. He also spoke of the call for boycott of Chinese goods by the traders and the civil society.

“We will buy local and be vocal for local and this will help India become stronger,” he had said.

“If India knows how to maintain friendship, it can also confront someone and give an adequate response. Our brave soldiers made it clear that they will not allow anyone to taint the honour of Mother India,” he had added, referring to the clash with Chinese troops in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty.

The Centre on Monday announced its decision to block 59 Chinese-owned mobile applications including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser.

In a statement, the government said the apps were blocked “in view of information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

Last week, PM Modi praised the country’s efforts to fight the coronavirus. He had said that Uttar Pradesh, with a population size the same as four European countries badly hit by the coronavirus, had only a fraction of their death count.

“England, France, Italy and Spain – these countries at one time had conquered the world and were the biggest powers of the world, but if you add up the populations of all these countries it comes to 24 crore, but in India, UP alone has 24 crore. How effective UP has been can be seen from the fact that the four European nations together had 1,30,000 deaths due to COVID-19. But in UP, the number of deaths is 600. It shows that UP has been tacking the issue proactively and effectively,” he had said.

India’s tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 5,48,318, including 16,475 deaths. States like Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have been showing massive growth in coronavirus numbers despite efforts to break the chain of transmission.

The Centre on Monday released guidelines for Unlock2 in which it has extended the lockdown in containment zones till July 31. It has allowed some relaxations in other areas but schools and colleges, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, bars and assembly halls or metro services will remain closed.

India, a leading manufacturer of generic medicines, is expected to play a key role in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, with several institutes working in parallel

New Delhi: India’s first COVID-19 vaccine candidate, was developed in association with ICMR 

A potential COVID-19 vaccine, the first to be developed in India, has been given DCGI (Drug Controller General of India) approval for Phase I and II human clinical trials that are scheduled to start across the country in July.

Developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, in association with ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research), COVAXIN is an inactivated vaccine, created from a strain of the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus, that has shown promise in preclinical studies, demonstrating extensive safety and effective immune responses.

Drug manufacturers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus; a novel virus is one that has never previously been identified in humans, making the task of creating a vaccine that much harder.

India, a leading manufacturer of vaccines and generic medicines, is expected to play a key role in this race, with several institutes working on different drugs.

In May the government said as many as 30 groups were working on a vaccine. A top scientific advisor to the government said efforts that normally took 15 years and cost US$300 million were being condensed into a 12-month period.

Similar efforts are being mounted across the world, with a number of different drugs in different stages of trial.

The British firm has already begun large-scale, mid-stage human trials of the drug developed by researchers at University of Oxford.

Other possible vaccines being tested include one by American firm Moderna, which is scheduled to go into Phase III clinical trials from mid-July.

China’s military has been given permission to use a vaccine candidate developed in association with CanSino Biologics. According to Reuters the drug showed some promise in early clinical trials. The Ad5-nCoV is one of the eight vaccine candidates developed by Chinese firms to move into human trials.

Early last month US-based biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences Inc. said a five-day course of its antiviral drug Remdesivir showed a modest benefit to patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

The drug, which is administered intravenously, was the first to show improvement in condition of COVID-19 patients in formal clinical trials, according to news agency Reuters.

As pharma firms scramble to find that big breakthrough, which could mean millions in profits and millions of lives saved, experts have warned that early vaccines may come with limitations on what they can do.

The pandemic has already claimed over five lakh victims worldwide, including 16,475 in India. There are over 1.01 crore confirmed cases, including nearly 5.5 lakh in India – the fourth worst-affected country.

New Delhi: The highest single-day surge of COVID-19 cases crossed the 17,000 mark on Friday, pushing India’s tally to 4,90,401, while the death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

Updated at 8 am, the data showed the daily COVID-19 cases increased by the highest-ever 17,296 infections.

The number of active cases stands at 1,89,463 while 2,85,636 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the updated figures.

“Thus, around 58.24 per cent patients have recovered so far,” an official said. The total number of confirmed cases also include foreigners.

Of the 407 new deaths reported till Friday morning, 192 were in Maharashtra, 64 in Delhi, 45 in Tamil Nadu, 18 in Gujarat, 15 each in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Punjab, six in Karnataka, five in Telangana, four in Rajasthan and two in Jammu and Kashmir.

Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have reported one COVID-19 fatality each in the last 24 hours.