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India trials of Russian vaccine to end in March Drugmaker
Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Wednesday rolled out a preliminary timeline for the India trials of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine candidate, with the late stage expected to be completed by March next year.
Chief Executive Officer Erez Israeli said enrolment to the mid-stage trial of the Sputnik-V vaccine will start in the next few weeks and the trial was likely to end by December.
China buys about 30% of Indian steel exports
China was the top foreign buyer of Indian steel between April and September, government data showed on Wednesday, marking a rare rise in bilateral economic activity at a time of political tensions that have triggered some trade curbs.
China bought 1.9 million tonnes, cornering 29 per cent of India's finished steel exports, which hit their highest level in at least six years at 6.5 million tonnes, the provisional data showed.
Parliamentary panel slams Twitter
The head of an Indian parliamentary panel accused Twitter of disrespecting New Delhi's sovereignty on Wednesday, after mapping data showed Indian territory as part of China in what the social network said was a quickly resolved mistake.
Twitter executives appeared before the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill to explain the error that came to light last week. The company said the error had since been resolved.
Seaplane shuttle to world's tallest statue
SpiceJet is starting a seaplane service connecting the city of Ahmedabad with Kevadia, site of the world's tallest statue - a 182-metre tribute to India's first home minister Vallabhbhai Patel.
Flights will start on Oct 31, the 145th anniversary of Patel's birth, from Sabarmati riverfront and land near the so-called Statue of Unity.
Millions queue to vote in Bihar elections
Millions of Indians turned out to cast ballots in the Bihar state elections on Wednesday in the world's biggest polling exercise since Covid-19 emerged, with booths packed and many ignoring government advice on wearing masks and social distancing.
Some 70 million people are eligible to vote in Bihar. The election comes as India, the world's second most-infected nation, records between 40,000 and 50,000 new cases each day and looks set to surpass the eight million mark.
Change to land laws in Jammu and Kashmir
The Central goverment has amended a law in Jammu and Kashmir allowing Indian citizens to buy land.
A notification issued on Tuesday stated that the term "being permanent resident of the state" as a criterion has been "omitted", paving the way for even non-Kashmiri Indians to purchase land in the Himalayan region.
Assam-Mizoram border row resurfaces
A week after the fortnight-long Assam-Mizoram border dispute was purportedly resolved, the issue resurfaced on Wednesday as agitators in Assam blocked National Highway 306, the lifeline of Mizoram, demanding the state withdraw its security personnel from Assam's territory.
Police officials in Assam's Silchar said that over 100 people blockaded the highway at Lailapur, leaving more than 100 goods-laden vehicles stranded on both sides of the border.
Facebook's India policy head quits
Facebook's seniormost public policy executive in India will quit the firm, amid the social media company's recent tensions with the government over moderation of right-wing political content in the country.
Ms Ankhi Das, the public policy director for India, South and Central Asia, has decided to leave after working with the firm for nine years.
100-million-year-old fish in Kerala
It looks like a dragon, swims like an eel and has remained hidden for a hundred million years.
After a social media post made a researcher in Kerala curious, a type of fish was discovered in the watery underground rocks of the state that scientists have named Gollum, after the dark and conflicted character of JRR Tolkien's epic saga Lord of the Rings.
Filmmaker Johar's company asked to explain littering
The Goa government on Wednesday asked filmmaker Karan Johar's Dharma Productions to tender an apology for "littering" a village in the state during a film shoot recently and said that, if the company fails to do so, a fine would be imposed.
A controversy has erupted after residents of Nerul in North Goa uploaded videos showing the waste, allegedly generated by the crew of an upcoming film starring Deepika Padukone, dumped in their village after the shooting ended last week.
Goa government allows casinos to reopen
Casinos in Goa have been granted permission to reopen from Nov 1.
The state's six offshore casinos plus those located in five-star hotels will also be allowed to pay their annual fees monthly rather than in a single chunk.
20 TN engineering colleges without new students
Twenty engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu could not find a single candidate after four rounds of online counselling of students by the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions committee.
Last year, 16 engineering colleges in the state could not get a single student. This year, 56.4 per cent seats in 461 engineering colleges remained vacant after general counselling.
20-hectare island found in Manipur lake
A huge floating biomass has been spotted on the southern side of Manipur's Loktak Lake, in the state's Ningthoukhong area.
The sudden sighting of this island, which measures around 20 hectares and has "tou" (local grass), has baffled forest officials.
Wearing mask now mandatory in Bengaluru
With the Central health ministry saying that Bengaluru is the worst Covid-19-hit place in India, the city's civic body has made wearing masks mandatory to reduce coronavirus cases. It also warned violators of stringent action, including hefty fines.
The civic notification came after the Karnataka High Court on Oct 23 directed the state government to set up dedicated teams to ensure that people comply with the rules on wearing masks and maintaining social distance.
