Tag: bharat biotech

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Avenue Supermarts Reports 31% Rise in Revenue in Q1 – Top Indian Market News

Avenue Supermarts reports 31% YoY rise in revenue in Q1

Avenue Supermarts Ltd reported a 31.27% YoY increase in standalone revenue to Rs 5,031.75 crore for the quarter ended June 2021 (Q1 FY22). It had posted a revenue of Rs 3,833.23 crore in the corresponding quarter last year (Q1 FY21). The total number of stores at the end of June 30, 2021, stood at 238. Avenue Supermarts owns and operates the chain of ‘D-Mart’ supermarkets across India.

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Zomato gets SEBI approval for Rs 8,250 crore IPO

Food delivery platform Zomato has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise funds via an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 7,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) by Info Edge India Ltd worth Rs 750 crore. Zomato aims to use Rs 5,625 crore of the net proceeds of the IPO towards funding organic and inorganic growth initiatives. According to reports, the company plans to launch its IPO by mid-July.

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Lumax Auto to set up joint venture with Alpine Co. for electric parts

Lumax Auto Technologies Ltd has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Japan-based Alpine Co. Ltd. The parties have agreed to establish a 50:50 joint venture in India to manufacture and sell electronic devices and components, as well as software related to the automotive industry. Lumax Auto Technologies is a leading manufacturer of shifters, telematics, antennas, two-wheeler chassis, seat structures, etc.

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Tata Steel transfers stake in HSMS, TSAML to subsidiary companies

Tata Steel Ltd has announced the transferring of its 26% stake in Himalaya Steel Mill Services Pvt Ltd to Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Ltd (TSUISL) for an undisclosed amount. The company has also transferred its 100% stake in Tata Steel & Advanced Materials Ltd (TSAML) to another subsidiary company— Tata Steel Downstream Products Ltd (TSDPL).

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Gujarat Industries restores Unit-2 of Surat plant

Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd (GIPCL) announced the restoration of Unit-2 (125 megawatts) of its Surat Lignite Power Plant (SLPP) situated at Surat, Gujarat. The company operates a 4×125 MW power plant at SLPP. GIPCL had declared forced shutdown at Unit-2 of SLPP from December 16, 2020, due to a major technical snag in economizer beams. The beams have been replaced, and maintenance works at the plant have been completed.

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CSB Bank’s deposits grow 14%, advances up 24% in Q1

CSB Bank Ltd reported a 14.17% YoY increase in total deposits to Rs 18,652.80 crore for the quarter ended June 2021 (Q1 FY22). The current and savings account (CASA) deposits grew 7.95% YoY to Rs 6,171.71 crore in Q1. Gross advances rose 23.71% YoY to Rs 14,146 crore during the same period. CSB Bank’s advances against gold and gold jewellery rose 46.16% YoY to Rs 5,617.68 crore at the end of the April-June quarter.

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Bharat Dynamics to set up test facility in Vishakhapatnam

Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will set up a first-of-its-kind environmental test facility (ETF) in Vishakhapatnam. Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, laid the foundation stone for establishing the ETF at the Vishakhapatnam unit of BDL. The ETF will consist of vibration testing, thermal chamber, and walking chamber for a whole torpedo (underwater missile).

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HCL announces multi-year agreement with Fiskars Group

HCL Technologies has announced a multi-year agreement with Finland-based Fiskars Group. The IT company will accelerate Fiskars Group’s digital journey through applications and infrastructure modernisation. HCL Tech will standardise Fiskars’ IT and business processes, drive operating model transformation, and increase overall digital maturity. Fiskars Oyj Abp manufactures and markets consumer products across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific.

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Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin 77.8% effective against symptomatic Covid-19

Bharat Biotech said the final efficacy analysis of Covaxin shows that it is 77.8% effective against symptomatic Covid-19. The vaccine offers 65.2% protection against the emerging Delta variant. Covaxin was also found to be 93.4% effective against severe cases of symptomatic Covid-19. The Phase-3 clinical trial was an event-driven analysis of 130 symptomatic Covid-19 cases (reported at least two weeks after the second dose) conducted at 25 sites across India. The data from the trials are yet to be peer-reviewed.

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Market News Top 10 News

Govt Finalises Covid-19 Vaccine Transport Module – Top Indian Market News

Some ampoules with ncov-2019 vaccine in a box. to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Govt finalises Covid-19 vaccine transport module

The Central Government has prepared a detailed draft for air transportation of Covid-19 vaccines. Pune will be the central hub from where the vaccine distribution will take place. There are a total of 41 destinations (airports) across the country that has been finalised for the delivery of vaccines. The movement of vaccines to different parts of India is likely to begin by today or tomorrow. The development comes ahead of the Covid-19 vaccine dry run in all states across the country on January 8.

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Tata Power secures 110 MW solar power project worth Rs 488 crore from KSEB

Tata Power Company Ltd has bagged a contract worth Rs 488 crore from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to develop a 110 MW solar project. The energy will be supplied to KSEB under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), valid for 25 years from the date of scheduled commercial operation. The plant is expected to generate about 274 million units (MUs) of energy per year and annually offset approximately 274 million kg of carbon dioxide. 

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SBI raises $600 million from overseas bond sale at coupon rate of 1.8%

State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday raised $600 million (~Rs 4,403 crore) from selling bonds to international investors at a coupon rate of 1.80%. The issue, oversubscribed by 2.1 times, is part of the SBI’s $10 billion (~Rs 73,392 crore) medium-term note programme. The 5.5-year issue, denominated in US dollars, was priced at 140 basis points (bps) over the US treasury. The bonds issued through SBI’s London branch will be listed on Singapore Exchange and India INX.

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L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering secures offshore contract from ONGC

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) has received an order from state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The contract involves engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning of a new living quarter platform, ‘NQL Platform’ with 120 men capacity. The platform will be constructed at NQ Complex in ONGC’s Mumbai High Asset on the west coast of India. The value of the contract ranges between Rs 2,500-5,000 crore.

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SEBI to allow more players to set up stock exchanges, depositories

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), through a discussion paper, has proposed to ease ownership norms for entities that plan to start new stock exchanges in India. According to the discussion paper, any resident individual/domestic institution can set up a market infrastructure institution such as a stock exchange or a depository with 100% control, provided it is a public limited company. Earlier, individuals (resident or foreign), either directly or indirectly, could not hold more than 5% in a stock exchange or a depository.

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NMDC resumes diamond mining in Panna after forest department approval

The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has allowed National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (NMDC) to resume operation of its diamond mine at Majhgawan in Panna district. The operation was suspended as the environmental clearance for the mine came to an end on December 31, 2020. The state government has now extended the lease for the next 20 years. The matter of renewal of lease is pending before the State Wildlife Board and National Wildlife Board.

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Bharat Biotech enrolls over 25,800 volunteers for Covaxin Phase-3 trials

Bharat Biotech has enrolled 25,800 volunteers for Phase-3 clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine- Covaxin. The recruitment was supposed to be concluded by December 31 but was extended by a week since it was short of 4,000 volunteers at that time. The trials will be conducted at around 30 clinical sites throughout India. On January 3, Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield (manufactured by SII) and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin had received approval from India’s drug regulator DCGI for emergency use authorization.

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ABB India launches new range of circuit breakers for electrical retail market

ABB India Ltd has launched Formula DIN-Rail, a complete range of Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs), Residual Current Circuit Breakers (RCCBs), and Isolators for the electrical retail market. The company stated that its new range meets international standards and is manufactured in ABB’s Smart Buildings factory in Bengaluru. The ABB Formula DIN-Rail portfolio would be available through the ABB Electrification business retail network across India. It will also be available on ABB eMart, the company’s online marketplace.

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Mahindra Logistics launches EV-driven last-mile cargo delivery service

Mahindra Logistics Ltd (MLL) has announced the launch of its electric vehicle (EV) based last-mile cargo delivery service under the brand name ‘EDel’. The new service would initially operate across 6 major cities in India, including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. MLL plans to expand EDel to a total of 14 cities in the next 12 months.

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Lupin gets USFDA nod for generic diabetes drug

Lupin Ltd has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Empagliflozin and Metformin Hydrochloride extended-release (ER) tablets. The tablets are indicated for the treatment of diabetes. The product will be manufactured at Lupin’s Nagpur-based manufacturing facility. As per IQVIA MAT November 2020 data, Empagliflozin and Metformin Hydrochloride ER Tablets had estimated annual sales of $357 million (~Rs 2,618 crore) in the US.

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Editorial

Is India prepared for Covid-19 Vaccination? Storage, Transportation and Mock Drills

The new year started with a glorious update. DGCA has approved restricted emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech shots. Both the vaccines will soon hit the market. The first in line to receive the vaccines is our health workers who have been working tirelessly since last one year. Other people who come under the priority list are those above 50 years of age and those below it having comorbidities.

https://twitter.com/adarpoonawalla/status/1345605880381784067

The main concern in 2020 was till when we can expect a vaccine? Now, in 2021, our concern is how the developed vaccine will be distributed? When it comes to India, the concern grows even further. How can the government vaccinate a country of more 1.3 billion people? Is it necessary to vaccinate everyone? How long will it take to manufacture enough vaccines for the population? How will this fragile vaccine be distributed? This all sums up to one question: How prepared India is for the Covid-19 vaccination process? Let’s find out some of the recent developments as we step in the new phase of the war against Coronavirus. 

The cold storage & training issues

The vaccines approved needs a minimum temperature every time to be effective. This temperature may vary from 2 degrees to 8 degrees. Thus, the Indian government had to put special attention to cold storage and transportation. Last month, the government notified that 29000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be utilized in the vaccination process. Many of these units have already been transferred to the states so that the vaccination drive does not get delayed. Glass vials and syringes need to be stocked in huge numbers.

Godrej is one of the leading private companies which is looking to build products which can help the government in this vaccination process. They have already announced that it will commission 11,856 units of vaccine refrigerators and deep freezers within the next 6 months. This comes after they won a tender under the Universal Immunization Programme of the union health ministry. 

Our airports have to play a pivotal role in the speedy transportation of vaccines. India’s largest airport which is in Delhi has already geared itself with cold storage facilities since last month. It has developed cold chambers which can store at least 27 lakh vials at a given point. Also, they have the capability to transport 80 lakh vials per day. This is great news for the people of Delhi who have already seen three peaks of virus till now.

It is clear that logistics is a problem, but so is the human resource. Special training modules have been designed for every rank of personnel. Medical officers, vaccinator officers, data managers, ASHA coordinators, people in transport & storage, all are being trained to deal with this special and limited vaccine. More than 1,14,000 vaccinators have already been trained so far for the world’s largest immunisation exercise.

Mock Drill 

Any nation-wide vaccination programme imposes a huge challenge in front of the government. Any lapse during the distribution can lead to fatal consequences. A more cautious approach is required and this is what the Indian government has put their focus on. 

Recently, they have conducted mock vaccine drills in four states of the country to test the smoothness of the operations. These four states were Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Assam. Now, the national government has announced a dry run of vaccination will be rolled out in each state. The mock drill took place at 286 session sites across 125 districts.

This process will help the government to take note of the glitches in the system if any. The focus is to keep a check on the functionality of Co-WIN application, cold storage & transportation, and the human resource preparation which will be required when the vaccine actually comes out. 

During these dry runs, dummy vaccines are being transported from the central storage facility to cold chain points. Volunteers were sent SMSes with a date, place and time to get vaccinated. Every person who is vaccinated will be monitored for the next 30 minutes to see if there’s any ill-reaction happening to the individual. The whole process gives a rough idea about the time required and logistics that will be involved every day.

Conclusion

The world’s largest immunisation exercise won’t be easy at all. More than 75 lakh beneficiaries have already been registered on Co-WIN software. This number will only increase from here. The CM of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has already stated that he expects vaccination to start around mid-January. Does it mean that within a fortnight, we will be seeing our health workers getting vaccinated? How successfully can India achieve this challenge? Can Narendra Modi and his government live up to the strong image it has worldwide? All of these questions will be answered in the next few weeks. Here, we hope that this immunisation drive works out well and we return to the pre-covid life as soon as possible.

Studies actually suggest it would be well over 2022 June before we can vaccinate all of India. The vaccines are said to be safe by experts, and the vaccination process is starting very soon. What are your opinions on this largest vaccination process in the world? Let us know in the comment section!