Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) plans to apply for emergency use approval (EUA) for the Russian Sputnik V from the Indian drug regulator in March and launch the vaccine around the same time.

Meanwhile, DRL is in discussions with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to expand the scope of this partnership on Sputnik to other countries where Hyderabad-based pharma major has strong presence.

The vaccine of US-based Novavax, a prime contender for use in India, has shown 89.3 per cent efficacy in phase 3 clinical trials conducted in the UK.

Its Indian partner, Serum Institute of India (SII), has applied to the regulator to conduct bridge trials here, and is planning to start manufacturing soon in the country.

For those interested in cryptocurrencies, the government of India has listed a bill to be introduced in the Parliament during the Budget session of the 17th Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to ban private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ripple, Ether, and others in India.

The government is likely to table the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021.

The Centre on Friday directed all states and union territories to start inoculating frontline workers along with healthcare workers against COVID-19 from the first week of February. Vaccination of healthcare providers began on January 16, 2021.

The Health Ministry said on Friday that more than 33 lakh healthcare workers had been administered the vaccine so far. 4,40,681 beneficiaries were vaccinated till 7 pm today, the fourteenth day of nationwide Covid-19 vaccination, it said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has postponed his two-day visit to West Bengal starting Saturday amid the tense situation in the national capital, sources told IANS.

Shah was supposed to leave for Kolkata on Friday night to participate in party programmes on Saturday and Sunday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued fresh clinical advice on Tuesday (January 26) for treating COVID-19 patients, including those displaying persistent symptoms after recovery, and also said it advised using low-dose anti-coagulants to prevent blood clots.

The other things in the guidance that are new are that COVID-19 patients at home should have the use of pulse oximetry, that's measuring the oxygen levels, so you can identify whether somewhat at home is deteriorating and would be better off having hospital care, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a UN briefing in Geneva.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 20 crore for the October to December quarter as against a consolidated net loss of Rs 570 crore in the year-ago period.

Not accounting for impairment cost, the company's net profit in the quarter would have been at Rs 882 crore, it said.

Delhi Police Special Cell has lodged an FIR under sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sections of IPC dealing with sedition and issued lookout notices against farmer leaders to investigate the violence at Red Fort in Delhi on January 26, even as the Ghaziabad administration gave an ultimatum to the protesters at UP Gate to vacate the site by midnight.

Infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday said it has received an up to Rs 2,500-crore contract for Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor project.

The heavy civil infrastructure business of L&T Construction has secured a significant contract from two packages of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor, L&T said in a regulatory filing.

As the race for 5G progresses in the country, Bharti Airtel took an edge by becoming the first telecom operator in India to demonstrate 5G services successfully. Bharti Airtel announced on Thursday (January 28) that it orchestrated live fifth-generation (5G) service over a commercial network in Hyderabad.

Bharti Airtel explained that it used state of the art dynamic spectrum sharing so as to operate both 4G and 5G networks in the same spectrum block.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.