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Govt launches Mission COVID Suraksha to accelerate Indian COVID-19 vaccine development

By
The Commune
-

The Government of India (GOI) has announced the third stimulus package of ₹900 Crore for the “Mission COVID Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission” which will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research & Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines.

The COVID-19 Vaccine development Mission with end-to-end focus from preclinical development through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory facilitation for deployment, would consolidate all available and funded resources towards an accelerated product development. This will help accelerate development of approximately 5-6 vaccine candidates and ensure that these are brought closer to licensure and introduction in market for consideration of regulatory authorities for introduction in public health systems, to combat further spread of COVID infection.

The important objectives of the fund will be accelerating pre-clinical& clinical development; licensure of COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are currently in clinical stages or ready to enter clinical stage of development, establishing clinical trial sites, and strengthening the existing immunoassay laboratories, central laboratories and suitable facilities for animal studies, production facilities and other testing facilities to support COVID-19 vaccine development. The other important objective will be supporting development of common harmonized protocols, trainings, data management systems, regulatory submissions, internal and external quality management systems and accreditations.   Capabilities for process development, cell line development and manufacturing of GMP batches for animal toxicology studies and clinical trials will also be supported under the Mission. A key element will be development of suitable Target Product Profile so that vaccines being introduced through the mission have preferred characteristics applicable for India.

Led by Department of Biotechnology and implemented by a dedicated Mission Implementation Unit at Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC),the existing activities under National Bio Pharma Mission (NBM) and Ind-CEPI Mission will provide complementary strengths to this Mission.

Phase-I of the COVID Suraksha Mission has been allotted ₹900 Crore for a period of 12 months.

A total of 10 vaccine candidates have been supported by Department of Biotechnology so far at both academia and industry and as on date, 5 vaccine candidates are in human trials including the Russian Vaccine Sputnik-V with at least 3 more in advanced stages of preclinical to enter human trials shortly.

Dr RenuSwarup, Secretary Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology   and Chairperson BIRAC said, “Mission COVID Suraksha is our targeted effort to enable development of indigenous, affordable and accessible vaccines for our country and will complement the National Mission of AtmanirbharBharat”.“India has exhibited enormous strength in vaccine manufacturing and through this National COVID Vaccine Mission, we are confident that our vaccine manufacturers will develop affordable and accessible vaccine not only for India but the world”, she added.

(Published from PIB)

Islamic cleric in WB says Muslims are real majority

By
The Commune
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The appeasement policies of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given way for Islamist leaders to issue threats to the Hindus living in the state. 

In a provocative speech, Abbas Siddique, a radical Islamic cleric at Furfura Sharif, claimed that Muslims are the real majority constituting 35% of the population. “This is Bengal. We Muslims are 35% here. We are in majority. Because Adivasis, Mathuas, Dalits are not Hindus.”

https://twitter.com/abhijitmajumder/status/1332385175745961984

Political analyst say that this is the classic strategy deployed by Mamata – ‘Unite Muslims, Divide Hindus’ which gave her two electoral victories.

This is the same maulvi who when the COVID pandemic was stretching its tentacles across India said “May Allah send such a terrible virus to India that 10 to 20 to 50 crore people die in India.” He said that he does not mind whether he will live or die but will surely ‘take Hindus with him’.

It is to be noted that this Islamist cleric had earlier asked Mamata, why she had sent such girls to the parliament who were useless referring to TMC MPs Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty.

Trouble for Mamata Banerjee is brewing with the likely prospect of Abbas joining hands with Asaduddin Owaisi who is the Amir of The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM). He was accused of dividing Muslim votes in Bihar and playing spoilsport to the Mahagathbandan alliance’s victory. 

Mamata is worried that the same might repeat in 2021 Bengal Assembly polls and is in a very delicate political situation as Abbas Siddique had initially asked Mamata for 50 seats. The two Islamic religious institutions that dominate West Bengal are the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and Furfura Sharif. In the North, Jamiat is influential Furfura holds the sway in the south. In 2011, Furfura played an important role in Mamata’s accession to power.

With many important leaders and supporters of Mamata deserting TMC,owing to her high-handed behaviour and the possibility of her losing the Muslim vote bank, her return to power in 2021 looms large. 

Kerala: CPM’s sinister plans for local body polls exposed, “Vote before 11 AM, spread rumour that someone in the booth has COVID”

By
The Commune
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The local body elections in Kerala are scheduled to be held in three phases on December 8, 10, and 14 with counting of votes happening on December 16. Elections will happen for 941 gram panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 86 municipal councils, and 6 municipal corporations. With the BJP expanding its base in the state, the CPM is afraid of losing its ground and is resorting to win the elections by hook or crook.

Recently, it was revealed that there were independent candidates with similar names to that of the BJP candidates in wards where the BJP has a higher chance of winning. To add to this, the Kerala State Election Commission was allotting the ‘rose’ symbol (which looks similar to ‘lotus’) to these independent candidates with names identical to the BJP candidate’s name in order to confuse the voter. According to a report by Deccan Herald, at least eleven wards in Thiruvananthapuram have independent candidates with their names identical to that of BJP’s candidates and rose flower as a symbol.

For instance, the BJP candidate for Kazhakoottam ward is Anu G Prabha. An independent candidate named Anu is contesting with the ‘rose’ symbol. Similarly, M S Archana with rose flower symbol is about to play spoilsport to BJP’s Archana Manikantan. There are similar namesake independent candidates contesting under the rose symbol at four other local body wards in Thiruvananthapuram district.

BJP Kerala President K. Surendran has alleged that it was a deliberate attempt by the Pinarayi Vijayan government and the pro-left employees at the State Election Commission to spoil the chances of BJP in the elections. The party has decided to move the Kerala High Court seeking a rearrangement of the order of candidates in the EVM.

Meanwhile, another ploy of the Communist party has come to light. In a video that is going viral on social media, a CPM functionary can be heard advising the cadres to cast their votes before 11 AM and spread a rumour that someone in the booth has COVID so that nobody else comes to vote for other parties.

“By 11 AM all our votes should be gone to our parties. The CPM has decided that all the votes should be cast by 10:00-10:30 AM. Thereafter, go to every house and spread a rumour that someone in the booth has COVID so that no one else comes to vote, especially oldies.”, the CPM functionary says.

The BJP’s rise in Kerala seems to be posing a serious challenge to the Communist regime. The party had put up an impressive performance in the 2015 local body elections winning 35 out of 100 seats in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation alone. This time the national party is looking forward to expand its footprints in other areas making the Communist party to resort to deploy sinister plans to arrest its growth.

Serum Institute all set to apply to DCGI to manufacture Covishield COVID-19 vaccine

By
The Commune
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The world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, the Serum Institute of India (SSI) is going to apply for the emergency use authorisation for the Covishield COVID-19 vaccine developed by University of Oxford and AstraZeneca in two weeks, reports Economic Times.

Adar Poonawalla whos the chief executive officer (CEO) SII met with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, who had visited the facilities of the pharma companies which are working on the development of vaccines against the disease in Pune.

SII is in the process of applying to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and will submit data to the authority for analysis.

According to Poonawalla,  the Government would purchase as many as 30-40 crore doses of the Covishield vaccine from SII by June 2021.

It is clear that the vaccine will first be distributed in India, and thereafter in COVAX countries, which are mainly in Africa. He stated, “The UK and European markets are being taken care of by AstraZeneca and Oxford. Out priority is India and COVAX countries.”

Pooonawalla also said he was very impressed by the amazing knowledge of vaccines PM Modi has.

Jonas Masetti, the Brazilian Vedantin who found mention in Modi’s Mann Ki Baat

By
The Commune
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Leaving away the hustles and bustles of the life of a stock broker, Jonas’ calling came from the land of the Vedas making him embark on the spiritual path and is now disseminating Vedic wisdom in Brazil.

Jonas Masetti who studied to be a mechanical engineer, teaches Vedanta and Bhagvad Geetha to people in Brazil. He runs an institution named Vishvavidya, located in the hills of Petropolis, which is situated at an hour’s distance from Rio De Janeiro.

But before all this began, he was an entrepreneur running a consulting firm and rubbing shoulders with top management companies. Despite having family, girlfriend, money, professional success, Jonas was not at peace with himself. From there, Jonas’ trajectory follows the template of the typical accomplished but dissatisfied individual looking for peace and satisfaction in life. He met one of Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s disciples in Brazil and had dedicated himself to learning Vedanta. However, his endless seeking put him on a journey to India where he became a disciple of Swami Dayanand Saraswati and stayed there for four years.

Jonas studied Vedanta Philosophy, Yoga ,Sanskrit and Indian Culture, staying at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Coimbatore for three years. Jonas became Vishvanatha and returned to Brazil to spread Vedas and the Vedanta philosophy.

Today, Jonas offer both online and courses in Vedanta, Sanskrit and Yoga in Portuguese. He also offers spiritual retreats to give Brazilians an ashram like experience. During the last seven years, through his free open courses on Vedanta, Jonas has taught over a lakh & a half students.

Jonas has a vibrant social media presence. He has around 34,000 followers on Instagram and his YouTube channel has close to 1.2 lakh subscribers. His rendition of Sanskrit verses is sharp and his Vedanta discourse in Brazil shows how much effort he has put in studying and grasping the nuances of divine knowledge.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chanced upon Jonas Masetti’s work. Speaking about Jonas Masetti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Mann Ki Baat today said “Many people came to India to discover and study them and stayed back for ever, whereas some of them returned to their respective countries as carriers of this culture.”

“Jonas is not only doing great work – he is doing it through a language understood by a large number of people.”, said PM Modi congratulating him on his efforts and wishing him well for his future endeavours.

Islamists deface Hampi heritage with ISIS style graffitis

By
The Commune
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Two separate incidents on the anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks has raised concerns over the growing threat of Islamists in Karnataka.  A graffitti which read  “Do not force us to invite Lashkar-e-Taiba and Taliban to deal with Sanghis and Manvedis. #LashkarZindabad”, painted on the walls of an apartment complex in Mangalore triggered stirred shock waves across India.

Graffiti supporting terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban seen in Mangaluru

On the same day, ISIS-style graffitis in Arabic were found on the walls of Hampi, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the important places of pilgrimage for Hindus.

Kalinga Rights Forum, a New-Delhi based non-governmental organization which brought this to light has registered a complaint with the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ministry of Home Affairs, Minister of Culture, Bangalore City Police and the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

It has asked for the slapping of National Security Act (NSA) on the perpetrators. The Home Ministry has forwarded the complaint to Joint Secretary Padam Lochan Sahu, for immediate action. The Culture Ministry and the Chief Minister’s Office too has taken cognizance of the complaint. However, no replies have been received received from ASI.

Hampi is an important Hindu shrine with ancient temples built during the heyday of the Vijayanagara Empire. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hampi is comes under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India.

The ruined idols and sculptures in Hampi bear witness of the atrocities committed by the Islamic forces belonging to the Sultanate after the Battle of Tallikota.

This incident is being seen as an attempt to rub salt on the wounds of Hindus by radical Islamists by attacking a place of historical and cultural significance.

Earlier, in February 2019, miscreants had damaged the pillars of the temple ruins in Hampi. The accused were arrested on 8 February and were booked under Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. The were made to restore them to their original state and also pay a fine of ₹70,000.

Last week, a Hoysala-era idol of Mahakali at the Doddagaddavalli Temple located in Hassan district was found damaged. This temple built in the 12th Century by Hoysala dynasty too comes under the control of an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

PM Modi reviews vaccine development and manufacturing process at 3 facilities, asks scientists and doctors for suggestions to improve vaccine distribution

By
The Commune
-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a 3-city tour to Serum Institute of India in Pune, Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad and Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad today, to personally review the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine. The PM’s visit was aimed at getting a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens.

On his visit to Serum Institute of India, Pune, the Prime Minister was briefed about the institute’s plan to ramp up manufacturing of biotechnology company Novavax’ Covishield vaccine and the progress on the same. The PM  interacted with the team comprising doctors and scientists and also visited the vaccine manufacturing facility.

Earlier in the day, the PM visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad to know more about the indigenous DNA based vaccine being developed by Zydus Cadila. He complimented the team for their work and assured them that the Government of India is actively working with them to support them in this journey.

During his visit to Bharat Biotech facility in Hyderabad, the Prime Minister was briefed about their indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. The PM congratulated the scientists for their progress in the trials so far.

The scientists expressed joy that the Prime Minister met them face to face in order to boost their morale and help accelerate their efforts at this critical juncture in the vaccine development journey. Prime Minister expressed pride in the fact that India’s indigenous vaccine development has progressed at such a rapid pace so far. He spoke on how India is following sound principles of science in the entire journey of vaccine development, while also asking for suggestions to make the vaccine distribution process better.

Prime Minister stressed that India considers vaccines as not only vital to good health but also as a global good, and it is India’s duty to assist other countries, including the nations in the neighbourhood, in the collective fight against the virus.

He asked the scientists to express their free and frank opinion on how the country could further improve its regulatory process. The scientists also presented an overview of how they are also developing various new and repurposed drugs to better fight COVID-19.

Cows found mutilated in Delhi, locals allege police of cover up

By
The Commune
-

Recently on the night of November 24, heads of more than 10 idols kept at the Shiva Shakti Temple in Begumpur area of Delhi were found beheaded by unidentified persons.

Now, videos have emerged showing the heads of several mutilated cows lying on the streets of Ghazipur in Delhi. The video, showing the severed heads of cows scattered in a pool of blood on the streets of Ghazipur, have now become viral on social media.

As such incidents continue to unfold in the area, angry locals have lodged a complaint with the police. It has been revealed that they had lodged complaints against two or three similar incidents earlier with the police which did not see any action being taken.

Locals have alleged the police of trying to cover up the incident. It was reported that the police were removing severed heads fearing the media would arrive soon. However, they demanded the police to let the severed heads be there until media reaches the spot so that the incident can be brought to light.

But the police had immediately removed the severed heads. No one has been arrested so far.

People in the area have said that such incidents have been going on in the area for the past one year and that protests were held every time such an incident takes place.

However, people in the area note that the police disperse the protests and resorts to covering up the problem.

Indu Makkal Katchi to contest in all 234 constituencies in 2021 TN Assembly Elections

By
The Commune
-

The Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) on Friday (November 27) announced that it will be contesting in all the 234 constituencies for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled to happen in May 2021.

The IMK’s move comes in the wake of the alliance between the BJP and the AIADMK getting sealed.

Speaking to The Commune, IMK founder leader Arjun Sampath said that IMK wishes to be a credible alternative to the Dravidian parties which have been alternatively ruling the state for the past 5 decades adding that time has now come for nationalistic and ‘divine’ politics in the state. “The values of nationalism and divinity has been on the wane after 1967, when the DMK came to power. The politics of IMK will revive both these values among the Tamil masses”, Mr. Arjun Sampath said.

When asked about how different is IMK’s politics from the ‘spiritual politics’ espoused by Rajinikanth and the politics of BJP, Mr. Arjun Sampath distinguishing between ‘spiritual’ and ‘divine’ politics said that IMK is a party that stands for the latter.

He said “We are not doing spiritual politics. We are a Hindu party trying to save the Hindu divinity that is under attack from all sides. We are here to protect the interest of Hindus by representing them in the political arena. ”

“We welcomed Rajinikanth when he announced that he wished to change the system through spiritual politics. But he is yet to launch the party. He has said that he will be taking a decision by January. We will have to wait for that”, he added.

With respect to the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Arjun Sampath said it was a nationalist party but not a Hindu party as it has a separate ‘minority wing’.

“In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections we extended our support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi belonging to the BJP. This is the Assembly elections. All the parties are accommodating and giving representation to Muslims and Christians. I am not talking about giving seats to Muslims or Christians present in their party. The Dravidian parties accommodate even Muslim fundamentalist organizations like Tamil Maanila Muslim League, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi. But they don’t accommodate Hindu organizations.”, he said.

Mr. Sampath added that both Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the AIADMK leadership have fixed DMK as their mutual enemy and have entered into alliance to keep them at bay. “We are here to represent the interest of Hindus. If Rajinikanth flouts the party, we will extend our support to him and work towards making him win in the elections. In case if he doesn’t come, we will go alone in all 234 constituencies as the face of ‘divine’ politics”.

When asked if not his move to field candidates in all 234 constituencies split the Hindu votes thereby giving advantage to the DMK, he opined that it was not to split but to consolidate Hindu votes that they wish to go alone in the polls. “There needs to be a party that is vocal about Hindu rights and issues. Who else other than IMK is there in Tamil Nadu to do that?”, he said.

However, he added that they would work with the BJP or AIADMK if they recognize IMK and accommodate the party into the NDA alliance. “As far as we are concerned, we need Hindu interests to be represented. If no party is ready to that, we will go alone come what may!”, Mr. Arjun Sampath concluded.

 

Woman abused by husband’s family to pay dowry sends distress call on Twitter, BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan comes to the rescue

By
The Commune
-

A married woman from Coimbatore took to Twitter to seek help as she was facing harassment from her husband’s family to pay dowry.

According to her tweets, Bhavya Darshini fell in love with Joseph and married him 5 years ago. They have a 4 year old boy and the woman is currently 2 months into her second pregnancy. She mentioned that her widowed mother sent money regularly to support her.

Since the time they got married her husband’s family kept forcing her to get dowry from her parents. She said that  her husband’s family is now asking for cash and 100 sovereigns of gold which they are not in a position to afford.

https://twitter.com/BhavyaDarshini/status/1331982887801896963

Her tweets further said that her in-laws are not permitting her son to stay with her. The woman said that she is in a situation where she has to either commit suicide or sign the divorce. She also added that her in-laws are resorting to character shaming her.

Not able to bear the abuse, Bhavya had gone to file a complaint at the Puliakulam All Women Police Station. However, she claimed that there was no proper response and that she did not receive the CSR from the Police.

Responding to the woman’s SOS, BJP National Women’s Wing President Vanathi Srinivasan, replied to her tweet asking her not to worry and to contact the local BJP office bearer.

The police looked into the matter and the Puliakulam Police Station Inspector Amutha reached out to her and have assured to take proper action.

Image

Bhavya later took to Twitter again to thank everyone including Vanathi Srinivasan and the local BJP leader Satheesh for helping her.

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The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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