- Friday, May 17, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Thursday, May 2, 2024:
Bharat Biotech on Thursday asserted that its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin is safe and devoid of any side-effects amid AstraZeneca’s admission that Covishield could cause complications in rare cases. In a statement, the company stated that Covaxin was developed with a single-minded focus on safety first, followed by efficacy. The vaccine was evaluated in more than 27,000 subjects as part of its licensure process, Bharat Biotech stated. It was licensed under restricted use in clinical trial mode, where detailed safety reporting was carried out for several hundred thousand subjects, it noted. The vaccine was also evaluated by the Indian health ministry, it said. Besides, safety monitoring (pharmacovigilance) was continued throughout the product life cycle of Covaxin, it stated.
Apex auditors of India and Nepal have signed an initial agreement to establish a platform for the capacity development and exchange of knowledge among auditing professionals. Comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect with Toyam Raya, auditor general of Nepal. The agreement aims to enhance collaboration and the exchange of expertise in the field of auditing between the two Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), the CAG said in a statement on Thursday. “Through this MoU, a platform will be established for the capacity development and exchange of knowledge and experience amongst auditing professionals and technical teams through collaboration in training programs and mutual assistance in conducting audits,” it said.
India and New Zealand are looking to increase collaboration in goods and services sectors such as pharmaceuticals, digital trade, and cross-border payment systems to promote bilateral trade. Issues to promote trade through these collaborations were discussed during the recent visit of Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal to New Zealand from April 26-27. The commerce ministry said that huge potential is there in both economies to further promote bilateral trade. “The meetings reviewed progress on market access issues, economic cooperation projects and explored opportunities for new initiatives,” it said.
Growth in India’s manufacturing sector slowed somewhat in April but remained steady, thanks to strong demand, prompting firms to ramp up buyings of raw materials at a near-record pace, a business survey has shown. India is the fastest growing among major economies and strong consumption is required to keep up the pace. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to expand 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal. The HSBC final India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, prepared by S&P Global, dipped to 58.8 in April from a 16-year high of 59.1 the month before, below a preliminary estimate for no change from the previous month. “April’s manufacturing PMI recorded the second fastest improvement in operating conditions in three-and-a-half years, bolstered by strong demand conditions,” Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said.
(With agencies)
