Mizoram's sole LS seat records 50 per cent polling till 3 p.m.

by Swati Sucharita

Aizawl, Apr 19: Around 50 per cent of voters exercised their franchise till 3 p.m. on Friday in Mizoram's sole Lok Sabha seat amidst a tight security cover, officials said.

Election officials said that no untoward incident was reported so far from any of the 11 districts in the mountainous state.

Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Lalduhoma, former Chief Minister Zoramthanga and prominent leaders cast their votes in separate polling stations in Aizawl.

Polling started at 7 a.m. across the 1,276 polling stations in the state. Over 6.56 lakh electors, including 4.4 lakh female voters, were eligible to cast their votes to seal the electoral fate of six candidates, including a woman.

Like the 2019 parliamentary elections, a multi-corner contest is expected in the Mizoram Lok Sabha seat, reserved for the tribals.

The ruling Zoram People’s Movement, which is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time, has put up entrepreneur Richard Vanlalhmangaiha while the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) fielded its sitting Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena, as sitting member C. Lalrosanga had expressed his reluctance to contest again.

The Congress has nominated Lalbiakzama, a former police officer, and the BJP put up its state President Vanlalhmuaka.

The lone female nominee Rita Malsawmi, a singer and lyricist, was fielded by the Mizoram People’s Conference and one independent candidate is also vying for the seat.

More than 3,500 Mizoram Police personnel and 12 companies of the Central Armed Police Force, amounting to 1,080 personnel, have been deployed to ensure peaceful balloting. Voting would continue till 5 p.m.

(IANS)

India's Coal Output Rises 7.4 Per Cent To 73.26 Million Tonnes In April

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, May 2: India's coal production increased by 7.4 per cent in April to 78.69 million tonnes compared to the corresponding figure of 73.26 million tonnes for the same month last year, the Ministry of Coal said on Thursday.

During April 2024, Coal India Limited (CIL) achieved a coal production of 61.78 million tonnes (MT) marking a growth of 7.31 per cent compared to the same period last year when it was 57.57 MT.

Additionally, coal production by captive/others in April 2024 stood at 11.43 MT, reflecting a growth of 12.99 per cent compared to the previous year's production of 10.12 MT.

India's coal dispatches for April 2024 reached 85.10 MT, up 6.07 per cent compared to the same period last year when it was recorded at 80.23 MT.

During April 2024, CIL dispatched 64.26 MT of coal, with a growth of 3.18 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year when it was 62.28 MT.

Additionally, coal dispatch by captive/others in April was recorded at 15.16 MT (Provisional), reflecting a growth of 26.9 per cent from the previous year, which was 11.95 MT. (IANS)

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Covaxin Has Excellent Safety Record, Says Bharat Biotech

by Hemanta Pande

Hyderabad, May 2: Bharat Biotech on Thursday said that its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has an excellent safety record without any vaccine-associated incidents of blood clots, thrombocytopenia, TTS, VITT, pericarditis, myocarditis, etc, as it was developed with a single-minded focus on safety first, followed by efficacy.

The Hyderabad-based company issued a statement amid questions being raised in some quarters over the safety of Covid vaccines after global pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca admitted that its Covid vaccine Covishield, developed by researchers from Oxford University, can cause a rare side effect of blood clotting and low platelet count after immunisation.

As many as 175 crore doses of Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute, were reportedly administered in India.

Bharat Biotech mentioned that Covaxin was the only Covid-19 vaccine in the Indian government’s Covid-19 immunisation programme to have conducted efficacy trials in India.

"Covaxin was evaluated in more than 27,000 subjects as part of its licensure process. It was licensed under restricted use in clinical trial mode, where detailed safety reporting was carried out for several hundred thousand subjects," the vaccine manufacturer said.

The safety of Covaxin was also evaluated by the Ministry of Health.

"Ongoing safety monitoring (pharmacovigilance) was continued throughout the product life cycle of Covaxin. All the above studies and safety follow-up activities have demonstrated an excellent safety record for Covaxin without any vaccine-associated incidents of blood clots, Thrombocytopenia, TTS, VITT, pericarditis, myocarditis, etc.," it said.

"As seasoned innovators and product developers, the Bharat Biotech team was well aware that, while the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines may be short-lived, the impact on patient safety could last a lifetime. Hence safety is the primary focus for all our vaccines," it added. (IANS)

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India, New Zealand To Strengthen Links In Pharma, Agriculture Sectors

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, May 2: India and New Zealand have decided to strengthen bilateral trade and collaboration in the pharma, agricultural, and processed food sectors, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Thursday.

A delegation led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal visited New Zealand on April 26-27 and held a number of constructive meetings with the Minister for Trade of New Zealand, Todd McClay.

The 11th India-New Zealand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting was also held to work on ways to deepen the existing bilateral relations.

Both countries discussed the creation of working groups for sectors like pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food processing, storage and transportation.

Collaboration in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector was discussed at length, including the adoption of fast-tracking of regulatory processes and quality assessment of manufacturing facilities using, as appropriate, the inspection reports of comparable overseas regulators.

Greater sourcing of medicines from India and cooperation in the medical device sector were also discussed, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

The discussions also included cooperation in the horticulture sector, including cooperation in the kiwi fruit sector (quality & productivity, proper storage in pack houses and their suitable transportation) as well as the dairy sector.

Once working groups are established, India and New Zealand will review the progress made by them and the recommendations thereof at regular intervals.

The meetings addressed bilateral trade matters of mutual interest, including issues related to market access, non-tariff barriers (NTBs), and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on products like grapes, okra, and mangoes,

The services sector and enhancing its scale for bilateral trade was given special focus during the discussions held at various levels, which revealed great interest from both sides for increasing business-to-business as well as people-to-people contacts and to work on the skill gaps and how the same can be strengthened through capacity building and improving the ease of mobility. (IANS)

Mizoram's sole LS seat records 50 per cent polling till 3 p.m.

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