Senior IPS Officer Nalin Prabhat To Head NSG

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Nalin Prabhat, a 1992 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the Director General of the National Security Guard (NSG).

New Delhi, Apr 19: Nalin Prabhat, a 1992 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the Director General of the National Security Guard (NSG).

“Nalin Prabhat, presently working as an Additional Director General in the CRPF, has been appointed as the Director General of the National Security Guard (NSG) in Level-16 of the pay matrix from the date of joining the post and up to August 31, 2028, i.e., date of his superannuation or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” read the official order.

The Central government has also appointed Sapna Tewari, an Odisha cadre IPS officer of 1992 batch, as the Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

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“Sapna Tewari, Additional Director, Intelligence Bureau, has been appointed as the Special Director (Level-16 in the pay matrix), IB, on 'in-situ' basis by temporarily upgrading the post of Additional Director held by the officer for a tenure of two years from the date of assumption of charge up to the date of her superannuation, i.e., April 30, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the order read.

(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)

Senior IPS Officer Nalin Prabhat To Head NSG

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