PM Modi in Jabalpur today, to kick-start BJP’s poll campaign in MP

by Swati Sucharita

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

More than 3000 policemen under the supervision of over a dozen IPS officers have been deployed at the roadshow venue PM Modi will participate to seek support from voters for BJP’s debutant Lok Sabha candidate from Jabalpur, Ashish Dube.

Bhopal, Apr 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- the star campaigner of the ruling BJP, will kick-start the party's campaign for Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, by addressing his first public rally in Jabalpur, subsequent to a roadshow in the city later on Sunday evening.

Security has been strengthened hours before the PM’s visit as a 15 km surrounding area from the roadshow venue has been declared no-fly zone till 8 p.m. on Sunday. One km long stretch earmarked for the roadshow has been decorated with lights and flowers.

Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is also in charge of the Mahakaushal Lok Sabha cluster in Madhya Pradesh, along with his cabinet colleague and four-time MP from Jabalpur, Rakesh Singh, distributed ‘akshat’ (grain of rice mixed with turmeric and flowers) to the locals and invited them to welcome PM Modi at their doorstep.

Three of the six Lok Sabha constituencies of Madhya Pradesh to be polled on April 19 are from the Mahakaushal cluster -- Chhindwara, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Shahdol, Sidhi and Mandla.

PWD minister Rakesh Singh, who took over Jabalpur Lok Sabha constituency from BJP’s stalwart and former MP Jayashree Banerjee in 2004, won four consecutive elections maintaining the party’s victory trail in Jabalpur since 1996. Banerjee, an old alumni of Allahabad University and Jana Sangh-era politician, is the mother-in-law of BJP President JP Nadda.

Rakesh Singh defeated senior lawyer and Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP, Vivek Tankha twice in 2014 and 2019. He also headed the MP BJP unit during the state assembly elections in 2018. This time the BJP has made Ashish Dube its candidate against Congress’ Dinesh Yadav.

(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)

PM Modi in Jabalpur today, to kick-start BJP’s poll campaign in MP

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