Man injects cyanide in wife’s drip, arrested

Man injects cyanide in wife’s drip, arrested

Bharuch:  09.08.2021

A man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing his wife by injecting cyanide solution into her drip bottle while she was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ankleshwar town nearly a month ago, police said.

The crime, which was committed by the accused as a result of marital discord, came to light on the basis of a forensic report received by the police on Friday, nearly a month after victim Urmila Vasava (34) died while undergoing treatment for chest pain, an Ankleshwar city police station official said.

The FSL report established that Vasava died as cyanide was injected into her body, which the police said was procured by her husband Jignesh Patel from the factory in Ankleshwar, where he worked.

On the morning of July 8, the victim complained of chest pain and was taken to the private hospital. PTI

Oppn may use ‘OBC bill’ to seek 50% quota cap removal

Oppn may use ‘OBC bill’ to seek 50% quota cap removal

Subodh.Ghildiyal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 09.08.2021 

The opposition may use the 127th constitutional amendment bill in Parliament, intended to restore power of states to maintain “state list” of OBCs, to demand that the government make a provision to remove the 50% cap on reservations.

While the removal of 50% cap on quota is an old demand of OBC outfits, there is an indication that even Congress may join the bandwagon as part of the 127 th amendment bill. The convergence of views emerged as part of a discussion held between Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Congress and NCP leaders on Sunday night. The bill seeks to undo the May 5 Supreme Court judgement, which was delivered in the Maratha quota issue where the quota provision was rejected because of the 50% cap that it breached.

The Modi government is set to introduce the 127th amendment bill in Lok Sabha on Monday and it will come up for discussion in the two Houses during the week.

As the opposition is demanding that a discussion on Pegasus be held before any other agenda, a meeting of floor leaders of opposition parties called by leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge will take a final call on whether to join the debate on OBC bill and make a break in the blockade of Parliament. There is a view in the opposition that they can join the debate as it’s their issue, while pushing for their agenda of 50%, thereby holding the blockade temporarily.

The demand for 50% cap waiver is an issue the BJP government will have to negotiate. The discussion between Maharashtra parties and Congress showed “that there was little benefit in restoring the power of states to identify state list of OBCs if the cap on reservation stayed”. It was said that 27 states have pending issues of reservation hampered by the 50% ceiling.

While the opposition parties, which comprises many regional outfits, are for the bill, it is also seen as a government ploy to break the blockade over Pegasus.

While the removal of the 50% cap on quota is an old demand of OBC outfits, there is an indication that even Congress may join the bandwagon

Tourist spots to be open from today in Kerala; Onam fete in virtual mode

Tourist spots to be open from today in Kerala; Onam fete in virtual mode

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram:  09.08.2021 

All tourist destinations in Kerala will be opened on Monday and they will be fully functioning hereafter, state tourism minister PA Muhammed Riyas said here on Sunday.

He also said the tourism department would celebrate Onam on a virtual platform this year. The state could not undertake Onam week celebrations due to pandemic last year.

Tourism centres are being opened with an eye on domestic tourists. All those who have taken at least one dose of vaccine will be allowed to stay at hotels and resorts while a similar condition will be applicable for employees also, he said. The minister said such tourist accommodations would be allowed even in containment zones. A mobile application was being prepared by connecting all unexplored tourist locations in the state.

The state’s tourism sector has suffered a loss of approximately Rs 33,000 crore during March-December 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. In addition, an approximate Rs 7,000 crore has been lost by way of foreign exchange, he said. On Onam celebrations, Riyas said Kerala’s arts, culture, food varieties and prominent tourist destinations would be showcased virtually with the help of visual media and other means. The Onam flower carpet, to be themed as humanity's world flower carpet, will be in digital format that can be uploaded on the department website, he said.

Onam fete in virtual mode again

‘World entering era of biology & computational science’

‘World entering era of biology & computational science’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.08.2021 

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson of Biocon, said that while the first two decades of this century belonged to information technology, the world is now entering an era of biology and computational science. “Through research-led innovation, I believe we can power economic development by transforming healthcare, agriculture, livestock management, industrial processing, and environmental sustainability,” she said at Bennett University’s annual convocation, where she was conferred an honorary doctor of philosophy degree in biotechnology.

Conferring the degree on Mazumdar-Shaw, Bennett University vice-chancellor, Dr Prabhu Aggarwal, said the name Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and biotechnology are synonymous in India. Mazumdar-Shaw, he noted “has leveraged advanced science, innovative tech platforms and international research collaborations to develop therapies that can lower treatment costs, increase access and improve healthcare outcomes for diseases like diabetes and cancer”.

Suresh Narayanan, chairman & MD at Nestle India, was also conferred an honorary doctor of philosophy in management. Aggarwal said Narayanan’s rise up the ranks in the corporate world “reflects his extensively rich and incredibly wide-ranging experience of over 35 years in the FMCG Industry, spanning multiple countries and cultures".

Narayanan dedicated the degree to his parents, wife and daughter. “I happened to join this call from my parents’ home in Chennai and while both of them are not around to see me receive this honour, I know for them there was a very high value for education. My father with his middle-class income afforded the best education that he could at that point in time to make me worthy of being a good citizen of India,” he said.

Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh, who was a special guest at the convocation, told graduating students to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. “Uncertainty, volatility, ambiguity – this is the only certainty that you will have. The skills that you need will constantly change. Your ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty is going to become your biggest competitive advantage and therefore one of the skills I have learnt is to step out of my comfort zone and become comfortable with the uncomfortable,” she said.

Ghosh added that India’s tech industry has become more agile for not just resilience, but resilience with empathy. That, she said, has been key to the kind of success the industry is seeing even in the Covid crisis.

KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW

My entrepreneurial journey has taught me the importance of business purpose, building credibility, and about taking untrodden paths

SURESH NARAYANAN

Remember that in adversity you will learn the most. In good times, everybody can be great. In terrible times, the diamonds in the dust shine

Doctors’ stir enters 5th day

Doctors’ stir enters 5th day

09.08.2021

Ahmedabad:

A total of 78 units of blood were donated by resident doctors at Civil Hospital on Sunday as part of their ongoing stir. The doctors also indicated at intensifying the protest from Monday onwards as they have not heard from the state government.

The protest entered its fifth day on Sunday as hundreds of resident doctors gathered outside the BJ Medical College and shouted slogans. “We are garnering support from various national organizations including the Indian Medical Association (IMA). It’s not only for us, but for the rights of the frontline healthcare workers who gave their best during the pandemic.” The state government maintains that the demands are not justified with all benefits extended to the doctors during their pandemic duty. “The state needs to plan long-term and doctors are required at various district levels,” said an official. TNN

Vax certi can be available via WhatsApp

Vax certi can be available via WhatsApp

New Delhi:  09.08.2021 

Citizens who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 can now get their vaccination certificate through WhatsApp within seconds, the central government said on Sunday. Presently, people have to download their vaccination certificate by logging into the CoWin portal.

“Revolutionising common man’s life using technology! Now get Covid-19 vaccination certificate through MyGov Corona Helpdesk in three easy steps. Save contact number: +91 9013151515. Type and send ‘Covid certificate’ on WhatsApp. Enter OTP. Get your certificate in seconds,” Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s office tweeted.

Cumulatively, 50,68,10,492 Covid vaccine doses have been administered in the country, as per a provisional report till 7 am on Sunday, with 55,91,657 doses being given in a day. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2. The government expanded the vaccination drive to cover everyone above the age of 18 from May1. PTI

Mix & match of Covishield & Covaxin safe: ICMR study

Mix & match of Covishield & Covaxin safe: ICMR study

Umesh Isalkar & Sushmi Dey TNN

Pune/New Delhi:  09.08.2021 

A combination of Covishield and Covaxin could not only be safe but elicits better immune protection and the adverse effects were no different as a same vaccine regimen, ICMR’s analysis of a “serendipitous” Covid-19 vaccine-mix in Uttar Pradesh shows.

The study examined18 individuals in UP who inadvertently received Covishield as the first jab and Covaxin as the second. Researchers compared the safety and immunogenicity profile of this group with two groups of individuals who received either Covishield or Covaxin.

“The findings suggest that immunisation with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity,” the pre-print of the Indian Council of Medical Research study published in MedRxiv says.

The blood samples of the 18 individuals who were mistakenly given Covishield and then Covaxin jabs in April-May were analysed at different stages for 60 to 70 days after vaccination.

“The mix-and-match of Covishield and Covaxin as first and second dose provoked a superior immune response than two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin,” said senior ICMR scientist Rajni Kant, the study’s chief investigator. This is the first report of mixed immunisation that has demonstrated safety and significantly improved immune response.

The findings are important as experts have asked if Covishield and Covaxin doses can be mixed to get around supply shortages. Currently, deliberate mixing of the two vaccines is not advised. But to conclusively prove these findings, the ICMR researchers said a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) would be needed as the current sample size was small.

Findings show immunogenicity profile in people who received both the vaccines was superior against Alpha, Beta and Delta variants, IgG antibody and neutralising antibody response was significantly higher compared as in the case of homologous groups. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which reports the effects of heterologous prime-boost vaccination with an adenovirus vectored vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine,” the researchers said.

The immunisation program against Covid-19 in India started with two vaccines--adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine Covishield and inactivated whole virion BBV152 -Covaxin--and homologous primeboost approach was followed.