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Indian Express By:  Express News Service   New Delhi: December 19, 2017 Zika is an infection spread by the Aedes egypti mosquito. Infections in pregnant women can cause children to be born with brain deficiencies The Drugs Controller General of India has granted permission to an Indian firm to conduct Phase-I clinical trials for a Zika vaccine. Zika is an infection spread by the Aedes egypti mosquito. Infections in pregnant women can cause children to be born with brain deficiencies. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey told the Lok Sabha on Monday that an Indian firm had submitted an application to the drugs controller. “The application was on the Zika virus vaccine, along with non-clinical (animal) toxicity data, claiming 100 per cent efficacy in animals for grant of permission to conduct the Phase-I clinical trial. Based on the evaluation of application, in consultation with the Experts Committee, the DCG (I) has grant...

Economic Times PTI  Dec 18, 2017 NEW DELHI: The government has informed the Lok Sabha that about Rs 5,000 crore was spent on printing of new Rs 500 currency notes post demonetisation.  As per the information provided by Minister of State for Finance P Radhakrishnan in a written reply, as many as 1,695.7 crore pieces of Rs 500 denomination note were printed till December 8.  The amount spent on production of Rs 500 notes was Rs 4,968.84 crore, he said.  The minister also informed that the RBI printed 365.4 crore pieces of Rs 2,000 notes. The cost incurred is about Rs 1,293.6 crore.  Similarly, Rs 522.83 crore have been spent on printing of 178 crore pieces of Rs 200 notes.  "New design notes in the denomination of Rs 50, 200, 500 and 2,000 have been introduced after demonetisation," the minister said.  In another reply, he said the surplus transfered from the RBI to the government has declined by Rs 35,217 crore in 2016 -17 mainly on acc...

Bloomberg By ,PTI |  Dec 18, 2017 Bloomberg Media is the consumer-facing media organisation of Bloomberg, the  multi-platform media company  for business and finance.  The first iteration of TicToc by Bloomberg will feature a mix of live video and reporting from Bloomberg journalists around the world, as well as breaking news content from consumers, curated and verified by Bloomberg editors with a real-time distillation of the related conversation on Twitter, it said in a statement "We are seeing a shift in the media landscape today: more content companies are partnering with platforms to create hybrid businesses that better serve consumers and society. With TicToc by Bloomberg, we are fusing the best of Bloomberg and Twitter to build a fast and credible modern news experience," Bloomberg Media Chief Executive Officer Justin B Smith said.  The 24-hour news network has got seven sponsors on board including  Goldman Sachs , AT&T Business, CA Technolog...

Dawn By  Anwar Iqba l December 18, 2017 WASHINGTON: The Trump admi­nistration has informed Congress that it will take unilateral steps in areas of divergence with Pakistan while expanding cooperation between the two countries where their interests converge. In a report to Congress, which was released to the media this weekend, the Pentagon also underlined the need for a joint US-Afghan platform for combating more than 20 militant groups active in the region. This is the Pentagon’s first report on Afghanistan since Aug 21, when President Donald  Trump announced his new South Asia strategy , which deepens American military involvement in Afghanistan while urging Pakistan to back US efforts for defeating the Taliban. The report to Congress emphasised the need for a “fundamental change” in the way Pakistan deals with the alleged terrorist safe havens on its territory. The Pentagon also informed the lawmakers that the new US strategy calls for a whole-of-governmen...

The Hindu AFP United Nations ,   December 17, 2017  Resolution calls for any such decision to be declared void and is likely to be backed by most members The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution affirming that any change to the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be reversed, in response to the U.S. decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital. Egypt circulated the draft text on Saturday, and diplomats said the council could vote on the proposed measure as early as on Monday. Breaking with the international consensus, U.S. President Donald Trump this month announced that he would recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv, sparking protests and strong condemnation. The draft resolution stresses that Jerusalem is an issue “to be resolved through negotiations” and expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem”, without specifically mentioning Mr. Trump’...

Economic   Times PTI – December 19, 2017 India's bulk drug imports from top five countries stood at Rs 18,372.54 crore in 2016-17 with China accounting for 66 per cent, Parliament was informed today.  In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State, Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya said the other four major countries from where India imports bulk drugs are Germany, the US, Italy and Singapore.  India's import of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from China stood at Rs 12,254.97 crore in 2016-17, while that from the US was at Rs 820.18 crore.  API import from Italy was at Rs 701.85 crore during the year under review, while the same from Germany and Singapore was at Rs 485.11 crore and Rs 422.01 crore respectively.  "It may be mentioned that most of the imports of bulk drugs/API (are) being done in the country because of economic considerations," Mandaviya said.  As India is a signatory to the WTO and TRIPs agree...

Economic Times PTI Updated: Dec 19, 2017 Tata Teleservices BSE 3.34 %, Telenor, VideoconBSE 2.98 % and Reliance Jio are among five telecom firms which have understated revenues by over Rs 14,800 crore, resulting in a short fall of nearly Rs 2,578 crore to the exchequer, government auditor CAG said today.  As per the report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India tabled in Parliament, government was paid Rs 1,015.17 crore less in licence fee, Rs 511.53 crore in spectrum usage charge, and Rs 1,052.13 crore as  interest applicable on delay in payment.  The five telecom companies it named are Tata Teleservices, Telenor, Videocon Telecom, Qaudrant (a Videocon group firm) and Reliance Jio.  The government collection from Tata Teleservices is short by Rs 1,893.6 crore, Telenor - Rs 603.75 crore, Videocon - Rs 48.08 crore, Quadrant - Rs 26.62 crore and Jio - Rs 6.78 crore for licence fee, SUC and applicable interest charges.  CAG said: "To sum up th...

The Hindu Special Corrospondence New Delhi,   December 18, 2017  Expenses extremely high than in developed countries’ Out of pocket medical expenses make up about 62% of all healthcare costs in India, said Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Chairman T.S. Vijayan. ‘Need to reduce’ “There is a need to bring down out of pocket expenses of patients, currently at about 62% of all healthcare costs,” Mr. Vijayan said at a FICCI event on Monday. “This is extremely high and leads to impoverishment of patients. In comparison, out of pocket hospital expenses in developed countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. is 20% and in BRICS countries about 20-25%.” Mr. Vijayan also highlighted the need to create health insurance products that were simple and intelligible to customers, provided coverage to the aged and infirm and those suffering from chronic ailments, brought down distribution costs, and ensured that there was no profiteering to the det...

The Hindu Subi Chaturvedi December 19, 2017 Cybersecurity needs to be integrated in every aspect of policy and planning India is one of the key players in the digital and knowledge-based economy, holding more than a 50% share of the world’s outsourcing market. Pioneering and technology-inspired programmes such as Aadhaar, MyGov, Government e-Market, DigiLocker, Bharat Net, Startup India, Skill India and Smart Cities are propelling India towards technological competence and transformation. India is already the third largest hub for technology-driven startups in the world and its Information and Communications Technology sector is estimated to reach the $225 billion landmark by 2020. However, these achievements come with a problem: innovation in technology, enhanced connectivity, and increasing integration in commerce and governance also make India the  fifth most vulnerable country in the world in terms of cybersecurity breaches , according to the Internal Security Threa...

The Hindu By Carlo Pizzati  December 18, 2017 Even as leaders tap into discontent, there won’t be any promised return to the past Today’s so-called crisis of  globalisation   is nothing more than a new variable of the old battle between protectionism and free trade. On the one hand it is the tribalists while on the other it is the globalists. On one side there are the anti-Amazon, pro-retailers, losers of a global challenge, while on the other, there are the pro-Amazon, e-commerce winners. Nothing more, really. The opening of trade walls has accelerated industrial evolution in such a way that workers have had to learn to adapt to almost every generation. The difference, today, is that the evolution didn’t happen within a lifetime, but a few times within that lifetime. This is why the Indian farmer, who initially moved to the city to work in a call centre, had to reinvent himself as an Uber driver and is now worried about driverless cars — all within one lif...