A new study has found 97 per cent of Australian employers believe there are major benefits in hiring people living with disability.…
Centre says it’s open to suggestions on farm Acts, but won’t repeal them
The central government is open to considering some suggestions from farmers on ways to improve the three agricultural Acts but will not repeal them as they have been passed by Parliament, sources said.
The bigger question of incorporating any provision that could give a legal standing to the minimum support price (MSP) is also not being considered at this stage as that will dilute the freeing up the market, the sources added.
“Any legislation is not an end in itself and there is always scope for improvement and if farmers’ groups feel that their advice can better the legislations, it could be surely considered, which can then be incorporated into the Acts either by way of amendments or through tweaking of the rules,” a senior official said.
The comments came a day before more than 30 farmers’ groups are scheduled to meet Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Food Minister Piyush Goyal for another round of talks to break the deadlock.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for seven days at Delhi’s borders calling for the repeal of the
Pfizer vaccine not coming to India soon as trials yet to be conducted
While the UK government has cleared Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine for use in public, the same is unlikely to be available anytime soon in India.
For one, US giant Pfizer’s India arm has not yet applied for conducting clinical trials here, according to sources, and secondly, the vaccine has stringent temperature requirements (-75 degree Celsius), which make it unviable for cold-chain logistics in India.
A government official in the know indicated that Pfizer has not yet applied for holding clinical trials on Indian volunteers, as is a pre-requisite for the regulator here to give authorisation to a particular investigational drug or vaccine.
AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is being tested in a phase-3 trial on over 1,600 subjects in India by Serum Institute. So, is the Sputnik V, developed by Russia. It is being tested on Indians by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.
“Pfizer’s phase-3 study has enrolled 43,358 participants with 42 per cent having diverse backgrounds. It will be making this data available to governments across the world to seek regulatory approvals. Once we have a go-ahead from the government, we will work with the authorities to determine the pathway required for deployment in India. The goal
American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX Flight Aims To Reassure
The Boeing 737 MAX will take another key step in its comeback to commercial travel on Wednesday by attempting to reassure the public with a test flight by American Airlines conducted for the news media.
After being grounded for 20 months following two deadly crashes, US air safety officials in mid-November cleared the MAX to return to service following changes to the plane and pilot training protocols.
Brazilian authorities have also okayed the MAX to fly again, while European officials are expected to approve the MAX’s return by the end of January 2021. China remains the main mystery as far as when it expects the MAX to fly again.
American Airlines plans an initial commercial flight on December 29.
The test flight Wednesday between American’s headquarters in Dallas and its maintenance center in Tulsa is intended to bolster public confidence in the jet.
The MAX had been a cash cow for Boeing prior to the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes that together claimed 346 lives. Those calamities plunged the aerospace giant into a crisis that
WeWork closes Northbridge space
Within 18 months of signing a 15-year lease, WeWork has closed its Northbridge operations.…
GST mop-up crosses Rs 1 trn for second straight month on festive sales
Reinforcing the economic recovery trend, goods and services tax collection surpassed the Rs 1-trillion mark for the second consecutive month in November, according to the official data. Although slightly lower than the previous month, the robust mop-up could be attributed to the festival season demand, experts said, cautioning that this might not be sustainable in the coming months.
GST collection stood at Rs 1.049 trillion in November, as against Rs 1.051 trillion in October, the data released by the finance ministry on Tuesday showed. This is also the third straight month when GST collection rose year-on-year (YoY), indicating the reinstatement of normalcy in economic activity after months of disruption caused by the Covid-19 lockdown.
The November collection was 1.42 per cent higher than that in the same month a year ago, down from 10.25 per cent YoY growth in October and 3.87 per cent in September. These collections mostly account for transactions done in October, and hence represent the impact of the festival season. The lower e-way bill generation in November, at 55.3 million compared to 64.1 million in October, suggests that the December GST mop-up may be lower.
“The trends regarding the sustainability of demand
