Tag: vaccination drive

Women health — how important is HPV vaccination

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Even as the subject healthcare often gets just a passing mention in most Union Budgets in India, it was worth noting that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strongly advocated in the Interim Budget 2024 vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) for girls for the prevention of cervical cancer in India.

HPV, a common virus transmitted through sexual contact, has the potential to cause serious health issues, including cervical cancer, genital warts, and other cancers of the reproductive tract. To combat the spread of HPV and its associated diseases, vaccination has emerged as a crucial preventive measure, particularly for adolescents and young adults. And, its benefits include: 

Protecting adolescents and young adults

The HPV vaccine is highly effective in preventing infection with the types of HPV most linked to cancer and genital warts. By vaccinating adolescents and young adults, we can provide them with long-lasting protection against HPV-related diseases, including cervical cancer, which is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide.

Preventing cervical cancer

Cervical cancer affects a million women worldwide every year, making it one of the most adverse effects of HPV infection. The HPV vaccination targets the strains of HPV that are most often linked to cervical cancer, providing considerable protection against the disease. Studies have shown that vaccination can reduce the incidence of cervical precancers and early-stage cervical cancer, potentially saving thousands of lives annually.

 Reducing the Risk of Genital Warts

Vaccination is also effective in reducing the risk of genital warts. In addition to cervical cancer, HPV infection can also cause genital warts, a common and highly contagious sexually transmitted infection. The HPV vaccine provides effective protection against genital warts, reducing the risk of transmission and the burden of associated healthcare costs and emotional distress. 

Promoting Herd Immunity

High vaccination rates among adolescents and young adults not only protect individuals who receive the vaccine but also contribute to herd immunity within the population. Herd immunity occurs when a significant portion of the population is vaccinated, making it harder for the virus to spread and protecting those who are not vaccinated, including individuals who may be unable to receive the vaccine for medical reasons.

 Empowering Adolescents and Young Adults

By vaccinating adolescents and young adults against HPV, we empower them to take control of their sexual health and reduce their risk of HPV-related diseases later in life. The vaccine is safe, and effective starting at age 11 or 12 and up to age 26 for those who have not been previously vaccinated. Both boys and girls need to receive the HPV vaccine to protect against certain types of cancer.

 The HPV vaccine offers numerous benefits for adolescents and young adults, including protection against cervical cancer, genital warts, and other HPV-related diseases. By promoting vaccination and increasing access to the vaccine, we can improve the health and well-being of individuals worldwide, while also reducing the burden of HPV-related diseases on healthcare systems and society. Healthcare providers, policymakers, and parents need to work together to ensure that all adolescents and young adults have access to this life-saving vaccine.

—The author, Dr. Praveen, is Surgical Oncologist, HCG Cancer Center, Vijayawada. The views expressed are personal.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

National Vaccination Day 2024: History, significance, theme and more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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National Vaccination Day, also known as the National Immunization Day, is observed in India annually on March 16. On this day, we spread awareness about the importance of vaccines. According to the World Health Organization, vaccination is an effective and safe way of preventing harmful diseases before one contracts them. A vaccine uses the body’s natural defences to build a resistance wall to specific infections and make the vaccinated individual’s immune system stronger.

Vaccination plays a crucial role in maintaining public health. It can be considered by looking at their effective results in reducing the prevalence of several deadly diseases like measles, chicken pox, tetanus, rubella, polio, and most recently COVID-19.

On the occasion of National Vaccination Day this year, let us take a closer look at the history, significance, and more.

History

National Vaccination Day was first observed in 1995 when the government of India launched the Pulse Polio Immunisation program to eradicate polio from the country.

On March 16 1995, when the first dose of the oral polio vaccine was administered in India as a part of the WHO’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which began in 1988. The vaccination program was popularised through a nationwide campaign named, ‘Do Boond Zindagi Ki’.

Significance

In recent years, National Vaccination Day has gained major attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that, the Indian government has also been promoting vaccination campaigns to protect the population from the virus and prevent the spread of the disease.

National Vaccination Day focuses on the importance of vaccination in the fight against life-threatening diseases. It also aims to educate people about how the role of vaccination can contribute to a healthier country.

It provides a platform to initiate the discussion of why we need to get our family and ourselves vaccinated against diseases.

Theme

Every year, the day is celebrated under a specific theme. In 2023, the theme was, ‘Vaccine Prevents the Unwanted’.

This year, India will be celebrating National Vaccination Day with the theme of ‘Vaccines Work For All’. This theme is a call to highlight that safe and effective vaccinations are necessary for all human lives. They can be accessible and workable for all to prevent diseases, regardless of age, gender, location, or socioeconomic status.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Relieved as AstraZeneca partnership worked well; Covovax could be filled at Biocon or our facility: Adar Poonawalla

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India scripted history after it touched the 100-crore vaccination milestone, only the second country to do so after China. The PM tweeted ‘we are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians’.

It took India 278 days to reach this mark after the inoculation drive was kick-started in January. A little over 22 percent of the country’s population has received two jabs, while close to 53 percent have been administered a single dose until now.

Read Here: India hits 100-crore vaccination mark: Key facts and timeline

Serum Institute’s Covishield has accounted for a whopping 88 crore doses, completely dominating India’s vaccination drive.

In this special edition of Sanjeevani, CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan spoke to Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, on this milestone and the road ahead.

On partnership with AstraZeneca, Poonawalla said, “At that time, we had absolutely no idea which vaccines would work. But I had to commit and play some bets, calculated risks. We bet on some very good scientists. We bet on our partnership that we had with them on the malaria vaccine, and also on the science.

It was very important also then, as it is now, to bet on a technology that was relatively easier than others, just to scale up, and that is why we have been able to contribute so hugely to the vaccination program not only in India, but globally too. We have seen cold chain issues, and scale-up issues with other manufacturers. They have really tried their best and they will scale up. But this is why we chose and placed a large commitment in terms of capex and opex at that time with AstraZeneca Oxford and that has all worked out really well one year down the line. So, we are all very relieved and grateful that it has worked out.”

Read Here: Agreements signed with 11 countries for mutual recognition of COVID vaccines: Govt

On scaling up production, Poonawalla said, “We are going to reach close to between 220 to 240 million doses in October. Every time, every few months we speak, I am adding another facility; now this is the end of the road. There are no more buildings physically left in my campus to convert. We have made a lot of sacrifices, and (of) a lot of other products, so that we can give India and the world as much Covishield (as possible) and then eventually Covovax. We are at the maximum output of around 240 million-odd doses that we hope to give on a monthly basis between October and November-December. Of course, part of that will be for exports, but again that will be decided by the Indian government as well.”

He added, “We are going to be making a lot of bulk vaccine for Sputnik Light, and Covovax eventually. Of course, Covovax has already started. Maybe, the fill-finish could be done using other partners. We are talking to a few companies at the moment, and I think at the right time they will make that public as well.”

On the fill-finish business, Poonawalla said, “About 30 to 40 million doses a month is what we are looking for fill-finish, and we are already talking to somebody but being a listed company, I can’t disclose who that is. At the appropriate time, once we have an agreement, they will make that public. In addition to that, Covovax could be filled at Biocon’s facilities, it could be filled at our place, we are still exploring that we have enough fill-finish for Covovax. It was mainly for Sputnik Light that we were looking for other partners.”

He added, “If we do Covovax filling, it will most probably be with Biocon which is our partner in so many other things now. We will wait and see. But the quantum will be around 30 to 40 million doses a month, starting January.”

On the current order book, Poonawalla said, “Government have placed orders of around 200 million doses per month between October and December. There aren’t further orders beyond that. That will depend on (how) the booster strategy for India eventually pans out based on science. At the moment, it is around 600 million doses, of which we started supplying some in October, and that is for Covishield. We don’t have any other orders for any other vaccines and we don’t feel we will probably need that, as we want to focus on most of those vaccines for the export markets. Covishield is approved in most countries — Europe, UK, so many other countries, even Australia, I think so from the Indian citizens who want to travel, and get on with their lives, whether it is business, tourism, students, Covishield is perhaps one of the most accepted vaccine coming out of India. There are going to be some other new Indian vaccine manufacturers as well, who should be accepted very soon once WHO approves them.”

He added, “Sputnik Light and Covovax are still months behind that. And that is why my strategy has been to give Covishield to all Indians and then look at exporting the other vaccines to other countries.”

For full interview, watch accompanying video…

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

As India crosses 1 billion Covid jabs, overcoming rural-urban divide is the real success story

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything we have witnessed in the last hundred years and the second wave was particularly devastating. Just as we start breathing easy, literally and figuratively, there is a fear of the third wave hitting us and disrupting our lives again.

It is clear that we will have to live with COVID-19 for quite some time and the only effective way to do it is through strict implementation of COVID-appropriate behaviour of masking, distancing, hand washing, avoiding large crowds, and mass vaccination of all eligible citizens at the earliest.

Fortunately, there were some very important lessons learnt from the second wave, which have shielded us from a potential third wave so far.

One of the most successful stories in our war against COVID-19 has been the advent of vaccination against the virus and the universal availability of the vaccine. There were many steps that we had to take urgently to make COVID vaccination a success, which were:

1. Vaccine availability at subsidized rates

2. Fighting vaccine hesitancy

3. Fixing the inequitable distribution of vaccines

4. Pushing rural vaccination drive

Fortunately, for us, all this has happened in quick succession and we have on many days vaccinated more than 1 crore people a day and averaged about 25 crore vaccinations in September, which is a phenomenal success story.

Vaccination is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal to not only check the spread of COVID-19 but also reduce the morbidity and mortality of this viral infection.

Though the vaccination process started in the right earnest in mid-January, we did have some initial hiccups. However, we overcame them rapidly and are now on the right track.

We have reached the landmark figure of administering 100 crore or 1 billion vaccine doses, which is more than the collective population of UK, US, Brazil and Russia. India and China are the only countries to reach this figure. Kudos to the government on achieving this herculean task; a majority of citizens have been able to avail of free vaccine doses.

Mass vaccination, diligent surveillance in the form of aggressive testing and genomic analysis of the virus to detect any mutation to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic events that happened with the spread of the deadly Delta variant during the second wave, and COVID-appropriate behaviour are the only measures that can shield us from another round of devastation.

Almost 70 per cent of the Indian population now has COVID antibodies, either due to natural exposure or due to vaccination. As of now, 100 crore vaccine doses have been administered to about 70 crore people. More than 28 crore people are fully vaccinated to date. In other words, nearly 74 per cent or close to three-fourths of the adult population in India have received at least one dose, while 30 per cent have got both doses. These are very important factors, which will mitigate the effects of the third wave if and when it hits us.

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE VACCINE
One of the main concerns during the vaccination programme was the possible inequitable distribution of vaccine, especially to the rural areas, and overcoming the urban-rural divide.

Most of the large urban centers, including the metropolitan cities, have registered fairly good vaccine coverage. The requirement to get vaccinated in order to attend work or to travel or even shop coupled with relatively lower vaccine hesitancy could have played a role in a large number of people getting the shot. It is wonderful news that rural areas too, in general, are not lagging behind in vaccination. In fact, data show that many districts, on an average, have provided over 80 per cent of their population with at least one vaccine dose; the coverage of the second dose is about 30 per cent. Fortunately, there does not seem to be a sharp urban-rural divide in terms of vaccination coverage.

THE ROAD AHEAD
Despite the phenomenal work in speeding up vaccination in the last few months, there is still a steep climb ahead. India is aiming to fully vaccinate its entire adult population by the end of this year. That means an additional 90 crore doses have to be administered between now and December 31, which certainly is an uphill task. We need to consistently administer an average of 1.25 crore vaccines per day for the next two-and-a-half months to achieve this. We certainly cannot rest on our laurels and slow down the pace of vaccination till this happens.

After we achieve full vaccination of adults, the only section left behind will be children and hopefully with the expert committee giving emergency approval for Covaxin for children aged 2-18 years, this lacuna too will be taken care of, and we will be on the path towards universal vaccination. This, as the COVID pandemic is becoming endemic, unless the virus rapidly mutates to a more deadly form.

Though the overall situation seems optimistic, it is still necessary for us to not let our guard down and it is essential to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour of masking, distancing, hand washing and avoiding large crowds till we are absolutely sure we have conquered the COVID-19 virus.

All in all, we are on the road to recovery and we should not take any retrograde step that can push us back to the miserable days faced during the second wave of COVID-19.

–Author Dr Sudarshan Ballal is Chairman, Manipal Hospitals. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Low 2nd dose offtake, Covaxin supply remains big challenge for India’s vaccination drive

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s vaccination drive is nearing the 100 crore milestone. However, the Covaxin supply remains a challenge with only 1.5 crore doses supplied in October to date against the company’s promise of 5 crore doses. Low second-dose off-take is another big concern with the gulf between two doses currently at over 41 crore.

As the countdown to the 100 crore landmark begins, the first dose is almost nearing saturation and the low second dose off-take is a big concern and the union health ministry has written to states on the matter.

As of October 19, more than 70 crore first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, but only 29 crore second doses have been administered, and the gulf between both the doses is as high as 41 crore doses.

Also Read: COVID-19 vaccine: What new US travel policy means for Indians

Amongst the different age groups, nearly 40 crore first doses have been administered among those in 18 to 44 years of age, but just 11 crore second doses have been administered in that age group.

In the 45 to 59 year age group, nearly 17 crore shots have been administered. But the number of second doses administered is only half of that. The gulf between both the doses in the 60 plus age group is a bit narrow at just 4 crore doses.

One reason for this could be the 12-week gap between two doses of Covishield, which remains the dominant vaccine accounting for nearly 90 percent of the shots. But in the last two weeks, we have seen that the second dose has started outpacing the first dose offering some hope for the vaccination drive.

Also Read: Delhi gets first kid-friendly COVID-19 vaccination centre; all you need to know

Now the other major challenge has to do with the production constraints for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. In October to date, sources said 1.52 crore doses of Covaxin have been supplied to the central government, this is well below par.

On September 1, we heard Dr Krishna Ella Bharat Biotech’s founder telling CNBC-TV18 that the company aims to supply 5 crore doses in October, and they are well falling short of that mark. In September, we can see that more than 3.1 crore doses of Covaxin were supplied to the government which was again below the projections.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Health Ministry urges states, UTs to focus on coverage of 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccines

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As the nation closes in on administering a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the Health Ministry has urged states and union territories (UTs) to focus on administering the second dose of vaccines to the population.

In a press statement, the Health Ministry has said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan took a detailed review of the ongoing with states and UTs. Bhushan has also pitched for wider coverage of the second dose as the Centre is aiming to further relax international travel SOPs.

According to the ministry’s press statement, the secretary has assured that states have adequate availability of doses especially to boost the second dose coverage.

While there is a sizeable number of beneficiaries who are eligible to receive a second dose but have not received that was a review statement made by the health secretary asking states to cover this particular gap as soon as possible.

Also, the Centre assured the states that they are willing to provide additional vaccine doses. However, states have an adequate number of doses. The centre has also asked states and union territories to come up with suggestions on maximizing the coverage, identify and prioritize districts having low coverage.

States should also focus on local challenges, the need for additional COVID vaccine canters, improving access in rural areas etc.

On the international travel SOPs, the ministry has clearly stated that soon it is likely to advise for further relaxations in the international travel SOPs.

The process of reviewing the guidelines and SOPs is in consultation with stakeholders like the Home Ministry, Bureau of Immigration, Civil Aviation Ministry, External Affairs Ministry is underway and they will be incorporated soon along with the suggestions from the states.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Should government revoke 25% vaccine quota for private sector? Experts discuss

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s active COVID cases have slipped below four lakh for the first time in the past four months as fresh infections have risen by less than 30,000 for the first time since mid-march, while recoveries have increased by more than 42,000. Some of these drops in new cases could also be on account of lower testing on Sundays, which often results in a drop in infections reported on Mondays — number of single day deaths stood at 415, pushing India’s COVID death toll above 4.21 lakh.

India’s anti-COVID vaccination drive has crossed the 44 crore doses mark, with 66 lakh jabs administered on Monday. This has led to the 7-day average for inoculations rising over 41.5 lakh, the highest level in nearly a month. So far 9.5 crore people or nearly 7.5 percent of India’s population has been fully vaccinated, while around 25 crore people have received their first jabs. There might have been an improvement in the vaccination strike rate, but India may still fall short of its July target of administering 13.5 crore doses.

The government has pulled up the private sector for not picking up the 25 percent vaccine quota allocated to them. So, has the time come for the Centre to rethink the quota provision for the private sector?

The private sector is sitting on vaccine supply saying there is no off take, there is underutilisation of the current supply, while government centres were seeing shortage and that is why many vaccine government centres shut down in states, including the BMC in Mumbai. Tamil Nadu government is now looking at how they can collaborate with the private sector and get the CSR funds to acquire vaccines for all.

To take the discussion forward, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Sanjeev Novago, Managing Director and CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines; Dr. Iyappan Ponnuswamy, Medical Director, Kaveri Hospital; R Ramakumar, Professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; and Harish Manian, MD and the CEO, MGM healthcare. Gentlemen, appreciate you joining us here on the programme.

Is it time for the government to review (vaccine policy) because it’s very clear private sector is sitting on supply but there is no offtake and government centres have more demand, less supply?

R Ramakumar said, “Is it time for a review? My quick answer is very much Yes. But I think India needs to go back to the policy of 100 percent procurement by the central government and free and universal vaccination to everyone in the country. You know that to begin with, it’s important to understand that a market like the vaccine market is always more efficient, transparent and equitable, when it is more unified, systematically structured, not when it is fragmented., what the government did with the earlier 50: 25:25 strategy. And later, of course, in a, in a different way with a 75:25 strategy was to fragment the vaccine market, different prices for different vaccines for different buyers. That is a very bad strategy to follow if you want an efficient vaccine market.

He further said, “Experience across the world has shown that every country in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, every wherever you want to see all of them 100 percent procurement by a single central federal government and then giving it to everybody free and universally. That’s the strategy to follow for India.”

What did India do here?

“It fragmented the vaccine market making it inefficient and opaque one; number two, it kept the prices at such high level that it became completely unaffordable to a majority of the Indian population. Essentially, the price of these vaccines in the private hospitals means vaccines were reserved for the rich to the extent of 25 percent. That was a very perverse policy. In my view,” Ramakumar said.

“The Supreme Court had said that India’s vaccine policy should be just equitable and non-discriminatory on all three counts that liberalised vaccine policy of 50:25:25 or 75:25. Both of them fail on all these three counts. They are unjust, they’re inequitable, and they are discriminatory in nature. These prices are completely unaffordable to a large section of the Indian population, “said Ramakumar.

In Tamil Nadu, the government is trying to work out a partnership between hospital providers and corporations to try and get them to use their CSR money to procure vaccines. Kaveri Hospital is one of the hospitals that is going to be part of this. Can you explain to us what is the plan?

Dr Ponnuswamy said, “The government is in talks with the corporates. So mainly the CII, the confederation of Indian industry is partnering with the state government and the private hospitals are trying to strengthen inoculation plan. From tomorrow the programme is starting. So we’re having the chief minister who’s going to start this project. So CII is building a procurement of this vaccines and the priavate hospitals are happening in the immunisation/vaccination.”

For the entire discussion, watch video.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Reliance Foundation administers over 10 lakh COVID vaccine doses to RIL employees, family members

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Reliance Foundation, the philanthropy arm of India’s largest company by market value, has administered over 10 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses to company employees and their families as well as associates and partners. Soon after the government opened up vaccination for private companies, Reliance Foundation launched the vaccination drive in April, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The drive covered employees and their families as well as associates and partners of the company. To date, over 98 per cent of all eligible employees have been covered with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Besides, Reliance Foundation and Reliance Foundation Hospital have begun free vaccination for underprivileged communities, wherein additional 10 lakh doses will be administered under the ‘We Care Initiative’, they said. This is the largest free-of-cost corporate vaccination programme.

Mass vaccination is the topmost priority for India and a way to fight the current crisis. At Reliance Industries Ltd’s annual general meeting last month, Nita M Ambani, chairperson of Reliance Foundation, had committed to vaccinating the general community.

“Executing this Mission on a nationwide basis is a humungous task. But it is our dharma, our duty to every Indian, our promise of safety and protection. Our firm belief that together, we can, and we will overcome,” she had said. As part of Mission Vaccine Suraksha, over 10 lakh doses have been administered already, to employees and family members across Reliance. Over 171 vaccination centres across the country are vaccinating employees, associates, joint venture partners and all their family members including the off-roll workforce, retired employees and eight family members of each of these groups.

Now, vaccination for the community has been rolled out to administer an additional 10 lakh doses to communities near plant locations and to the general population through NGOs, sources said. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Reliance Foundation has stayed committed to its social responsibility of safeguarding internal as well as external communities.

The initiatives include the supply of free medical oxygen to meet the needs of one lakh patients on a daily basis, over 2,000 COVID-care beds and facilities supported across the country, providing over 7.5 crore meals to vulnerable communities affected by the pandemic and distributing over one crore masks and safety messages to frontline workers, daily wage earners, transport workers and other groups. Reliance has contributed a significant 4 per cent of the country’s total CSR spend during 2019-20, sources added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow