New Delhi [India], May 6 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday questioned the process of the World Health Organization (WHO) in projecting excess mortality estimates due to COVID, and said that the source of the data must have accuracy while also stating that the health body itself does not vouch for the verification of the source.

New Delhi [India], May 5 (ANI): After World Health Organization's (WHO) excess mortality estimates for COVID, the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Balram Bhargava on Thursday said the country has systemic data pool and it does not need to rely on "modelling, extrapolations and press reports" for ascertaining COVID-related death.

New Delhi Mar 26 PTI Several traders associations in the national capital on Saturday cast doubt on Delhis government plans of promoting the night-time economy saying the law and order situation in the city is poor and it is not safe to open businesses and shops beyond a particular timeDelhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia presented a Rozgar Budget focussing on creating 20 lakh jobs in five years by setting up an electronic city and promoting the night-time economy retail and wholesale markets in the capitalReacting to the budget Sanjeev Mehra president of Khan Market Traders Association said the night-time economy will overburden the policeThe idea of promoting the night-time economy will overburden the police and it is not safe in the city to open shops beyond a particular time If the business is not there in the day itself then what is the purpose of opening shops during nighttime Mehra saidOn job creation Mehra said the market is still reeling under the impact of shutdown due to COVID-19 We cannot expect job creation until the condition of the market goes back to the pre-Covid period Echoing similar sentiments Atul Bhargava president of the National Delhi Trade Association said there is no purpose in keeping the shops open beyond 11 pm as usually there is no sale Bhargava also suggested that the government must focus on the infrastructure development of marketsPromoting night markets is not a good idea given the law and order situation of the city And we have seen there is no sale beyond 930 pm Bhargava said Under its Rozgar Budget the Kejriwal government also announced that it will organise shopping festivals to promote retail and wholesale markets in the city An amount of Rs 250 crore has been allocated for this in the 2022-23 budgetThis too has received a lukewarm response from the traders The traders have said that such initiatives have failed in the past It is good that the government is taking such initiatives as now the market is opening because the COVID-19 situation is improving and businesses will pick up Moreover international flights are also resuming tourist movement will also increase We are hopeful that these initiatives help in improving the businesses said Darshan Kakkar president of Palika Bazaar AssociationThough it is a good idea to start shopping festival proper planning is necessary as the festivals were organised in the past and they failed Kakkar saidMeanwhile the Confederation of All India Traders CAIT has termed the budget hopelessIt reflects the negative attitude of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the trading community of Delhi and we strongly condemn the Budget said CAIT Secretary-General Praveen KhandelwalKhandelwal said it is most unfortunate that at a time when the trade of Delhi is reeling under great financial constraint and trying to overcome with the adverse impact of COVID pandemic the city government has not allocated any fund for the development of business in Delhi neither it is coming to the rescue of traders who are facing financial crunch PTI VA CK

Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 21 (ANI): Over 70,000 people have been arrested in connection with the manufacturing of illicit liquor in the last one and half year in Andhra Pradesh, informed officials.

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals has submitted the phase-II and phase-III trials data of India's first mRNA COVID vaccine to the regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday, said sources.

New Delhi [India], January 20 (ANI): Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) head Dr Balram Bhargava, in a health briefing, on Thursday asserted that deaths have been considerably reduced due to COVID-19 vaccinations in this third surge of the coronavirus infection.

New Delhi [India], January 5 (ANI): Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) head Dr. Balram Bhargava on Wednesday stated that the oral anti-viral drug Molnupiravir capsules are not included in the national task force treatment for COVID-19 as it has side effects.

New Delhi [India], January 5 (ANI): An RT-PCR test kit for detecting new coronavirus variant Omicron has been developed in India in partnership with Tata MD and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General of ICMR on Wednesday.

New Delhi Dec 30 PTI All COVID-19 vaccines are primarily disease-modifying and dont prevent infection while hybrid immunity achieved through vaccination coupled with natural infection mount a stronger response and robust antibody titers after the second dose the government said on ThursdayICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the durability of immunity post COVID-19 vaccination persists for nine months and the durability of immunity post-infection is also for about the same period of timeHybrid immunity which is developed as a result of vaccination and natural infection mount a stronger response and robust antibody titres after the second doseIf you have had an infection and vaccination your immune response is more than only infection or vaccine So the important thing is that vaccination is absolutely essential he saidHe however stressed said that masking before and after vaccination is a mustEarlier and currently circulating strains of coronavirus spread through the same routes Bhargava said adding treatment guidelines for the infection remain the sameHe said 90 per cent of Indias adult population has been administered the first dose of coronavirus vaccine while 635 per cent people are now fully vaccinated PTI UZMPLB ZMN

New Delhi Dec 30 PTI There have been extensive deliberations on whether the precautionary third dose of Covid vaccine for healthcare and frontline workers and citizens above 60 years with comorbidities should be the same as the first two doses and a decision is expected soon the government said on ThursdayAddressing a press conference ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said the government will issue clear cut recommendations on this before January 10 when administering of the precautionary dose to healthcare and frontline workers and those above 60 years with comorbidities will beginWe are having an extensive debate on which vaccine to be given as a precautionary dose Weve had a series of meetings in NTAGI National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation yesterday the day before and today We are deciding what is the population that will require this vaccine which includes frontline workers healthcare workers and 60 plus with comorbidities What are new vaccines available and which vaccine can be given in terms of safety and in terms of efficacy Bhargava saidSo we are analysing all the data that is available in terms of which vaccine can be givenwhether it is going to be the same one or it is going to be different one Before January 10 we will have to clear cut recommendations on the same The drug controller and the NTAGIare meeting and that decision will be taken he saidAccording to the Guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination of children between 15-18 years and precaution dose to healthcare and frontline workers and 60 years population with comorbidities issued by health ministry prioritisation and sequencing of the precaution dose for them would be based on completion of nine months from the date of administration of second dose which is 39 weeksTheywill be able to access vaccination for the precaution dose through their existing Co-WIN account the guidelines which will come into effect from January 3 statedEligibility for the precaution dose will be based on the date of administration of the second dose as recorded in the Co-WIN system which will send an SMS for availing the precaution dose when it becomes due the guidelines stated PTI PLBUZM ZMN