Harpreet Chandi completed her solo journey to the South Pole on the 40th day after traveling 700 miles. Captain Harpreet Chandi started her preparations in French Alps where she underwent the crevasse training. She also trekked across Langjökull Glacier in Iceland and spent 27 days on the Icecap in Greenland.
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** Some of the most complex cloud projects are coming out of India, Microsoft executive says
In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Shivir Chordia, Azure Business Group Lead at Microsoft India, spoke about the growing cloud ecosystem, the pandemic’s role in driving cloud adoption across different sectors, and more.
** Mayank Agarwal among three nominated for ICC men’s player of month
Agarwal was the architect of the win in Mumbai against New Zealand with a Player of the Match-winning performance of 150 and 62 in the two innings.
India opener Mayank Agarwal was on Saturday nominated for the ICC Player of the Month award for December following his stellar performance in the Test series against New Zealand and South Africa.
Besides Agarwal, New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc were also short-listed for the award.
** PM Modi lauds feat of 2 crore children getting vaccinated
Vaccination of children in the 15-18 age group began on January 3 in the country.
Lauding the feat of over two crore youngsters in the 15-18 age group getting vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for continuing the momentum.
He tweeted, “Excellent! Well done my young friends. Let us continue this momentum. Urging everyone to follow all COVID-19 related protocols and get vaccinated, if you haven’t already.” He was reacting to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s tweet regarding the feat.
* Bengaluru virologist’s test kit ‘Omisure’ for Omicron variant cuts delays
“Globally, all other test kits for Omicron are either made for gene dropout or mutation specific detection. Omisure is the first test kit combining both.”
In a major and global breakthrough towards cutting down procedural delays in genome sequencing to ascertain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2, Dr V Ravi, former head of the Department of Neurovirology at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences and Head, Research & Development, Tata Medical & Diagnostic Centre, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and his team have developed the world’s first test kit, Omisure, that can detect the Omicron variant by combining S-gene target failure (SGTF) and S-gene mutation amplification (SGMA).
** Lt. Gen. Sengupta takes over as Leh-based 14 Corps commander
As India and China attempt to work out dates for the 14th round of Corps Commander level talks, the Army’s Leh-based 14 Corps saw a change of guard on Wednesday as Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta took over as the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Fire and Fury Corps, replacing Lt. Gen. P.G.K. Menon, who led the last few rounds of talks from the Indian side.
Lt. Gen. Sengupta was part of the Indian delegation during the 13th round of talks which ended in a stalemate, with both sides exchanging sharp statements on the outcome.
** Reliance raises $4 billion in India’s largest-ever foreign currency bonds issue
This is the largest ever foreign currency bond transaction in India, eclipsing ONGC Videsh Ltd’s $2.2 billion USD bonds issue of 2014.
Reliance Industries Ltd, the nation’s most valuable company, on Thursday said it has raised USD 4 billion (around ₹30,000 crore) in debt through the largest ever foreign currency bond issuance by an Indian entity.
The oil-to-telecom conglomerate plans to use the proceeds of the three tranche issues to retire existing borrowings.
** Dr. Reddy’s prices anti-COVID-19 molnupiravir capsules at ₹35 each
Molflu is expected to be available from early next week in pharmacies throughout the country, Dr. Reddy’s said
Pharma major Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on Tuesday said it would launch molnupiravir capsules 200 mg, the anti-viral drug that India recently granted emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 treatment, at ₹35 each under the brand name Molflu.
Each strip would have 10 capsules. With the recommended dose 800 mg twice a day for five days, the total course of 40 capsules would cost ₹1,400, making it among the most affordable treatment options available to patients, Dr. Reddy’s said.
** Sri Lanka Cabinet clears Trincomalee oil tank farm deal with India
Ashok Leyland has won the bid for providing 500 new buses to Sri Lanka, while the Sri Lanka Police force will procure 750 jeeps from Mahindra and Mahindra
Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has given its nod for a new deal announced by the Energy Minister last week , to jointly develop the Trincomalee oil tank farm with India.
According to a press statement issued by the Department on Government Information, on decisions taken at the first cabinet meeting of the year held on Monday, India and Sri Lanka “have reached an agreement to implement a joint development project” through diplomatic talks.
** ICMR approves India-made kit to detect Omicron
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a testing kit for detecting the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The kit is manufactured by Tata Medical and Diagnostics and is named OmiSure.
The RT-PCR kit, Omisure, was earlier sent to the ICMR for approval after continued testing. The kit will be used to confirm the Omicron in patients with its S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF) strategy.