US giant Pfizer is ready to offer 5 crore shots in 2021 itself but it wants significant regulatory relaxations including indemnification, sources said.
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The Big Story
The Central Bureau of Investigation got a new chief, Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, who was picked over at least two frontrunners, YC Modi and Rakesh Asthana. The two were knocked out of contention after CJI Ramana drew attention to the Supreme Court guidelines that made it clear that no officer with less than six months to retirement should be appointed a state police chief.
Only in the Express
Amid a widening gap between Covid vaccine supply and requirement, there is some good news and not so good news. Pfizer is ready to offer 5 crore shots this year but it wants significant regulatory relaxations, while another US giant Moderna will be able to launch its single-dose vaccine only sometime next year and is in talks with Indian firms to partner.
Meanwhile, Mumbai-based pharma company Wockhardt, which has been manufacturing vaccine vials for the UK at its foreign plant, told the Union government it can produce as many as two billion doses a year of most Covid-19 vaccines.
The Union government is keen on holding the Class 12 exam and is leaning towards holding it in a truncated format. On Sunday, during a consultation meeting, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal emphasised the pitfalls of promoting students without “reliable assessment”.
From the Front Page
Complainant “did not demonstrate any kind of normative behaviour” that a victim of sexual assault “might plausibly show”, she was not “traumatised nor terrified”, and “unatural”. These were some of the phrases the Honorable Additional Sessions Judge Kshama Joshi used in her 527-page judgment acquitting former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, while describing the woman’s “behaviour”, which it said, undermined the case.
Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi has been missing from his home in Antigua and Barbuda since May 23, according to a notice issued by the Caribbean nation’s police force. Meanwhile, his family has claimed that they are unaware of his whereabouts.
Must Read
In the last 55 days alone, 577 children across the country have been orphaned due to the pandemic. The latest count comes just as states across the country started announcing welfare measures for children whose parents and guardians succumbed to Covid-19.
Across four public health centres in rural UP’s Maharajganj district, the story is the same — vaccine hesitancy coupled with an acute shortage of jabs and a fear of wastage are hamstringing the inoculation drive.
In a letter to Twitter, the Congress demanded that the social media platform affix a manipulated media tag to the tweets of 11 Union Ministers claiming that they were spreading “false and malicious propaganda” against the party. This comes as Delhi Police served notices to the party’s social media head Rohan Gupta and spokesperson MV Rajeev Gowda as part of its probe into the alleged ‘toolkit’ issue.
And Finally
American gymnast Simone Biles shattered glass ceilings and made history yet again when she landed a Yurchenko double pike orbit at the US Classic on Saturday — a feat that no other woman has ever attempted in competition before her.
Delhi Confidential: As the B S Yediyurappa government attempts to contain a surge in Covid cases, a group of disgruntled party MLAs, unhappy with the CMs style of functioning, are learnt to have come to Delhi to push for a change in the top leadership in the state.
In today’s episode of ‘3 Things’, we discuss the alleged Congress toolkit and what it means for Twitter, why new draft proposals in Lakshadweep have led to turmoil and the latest vaccine-related news.
Until tomorrow
Leela Prasad G and Rahel Philipose
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