National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate and MP from Kota, <keyword id="19896877" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Om-Birla" source="keywords">Om Birla</keyword> has been elected as the <keyword id="20133615" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Speaker" source="keywords">Speaker</keyword> of the <keyword id="20970264" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="18th-Lok-Sabha" source="keywords">18th Lok Sabha</keyword> on Wednesday. The motion moved by <keyword id="19898052" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister-Narendra-Modi" source="keywords">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</keyword> and seconded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was adopted by the house through a voice vote. The house echoed with 'Ayes' and 'Noes' and the pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Om Birla as the Speaker of the lower house. The opposition which had filed K Suresh as the Speaker candidate of the INDIA bloc did not press fro a division vote. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also extended wishes to Birla and accompanied him to the chair along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and PM Modi. After the INDIA bloc fielded K Suresh as its candidate, the appointment of Speaker became interesting as the election was held for the first time in decades. Traditionally, the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected through consensus between the ruling party and the Opposition. The contest between BJP's Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota in Rajasthan, and Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term parliamentarian from Kerala's Mavelikara came after the NDA refused to accept the opposition INDIA bloc's demand that the Deputy Speaker's position be left for the Opposition in exchange for its support to the NDA nominee. The NDA, which commands 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, was able to demonstrate its clear majority to ensure that Om Birla returns to the chair he held in the 17th Lok Sabha. The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha began on June 24 and will conclude on July 3. The 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/stanley-lifestyles-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111261779.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/stanley-lifestyles-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111261779.cms" target="_blank">Stanley Lifestyles IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-ce-4-lite-vs-poco-x6-which-phone-should-you-buy-under-25000/slidelist/111257892.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-ce-4-lite-vs-poco-x6-which-phone-should-you-buy-under-25000/slidelist/111257892.cms" target="_blank">OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite vs Poco X6 – which phone should you buy under ₹25,000?</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ipos-this-week-allied-blenders-and-vraj-iron-and-steel-look-to-raise-1671-crore/articleshow/111233159.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ipos-this-week-allied-blenders-and-vraj-iron-and-steel-look-to-raise-1671-crore/articleshow/111233159.cms" target="_blank">IPOs this week – Allied Blenders and Vraj Iron and Steel look to raise ₹1,671 crore</a>

Om Birla elected Speaker of 18th Lok Sabha by voice vote

Prime Minister <keyword id="19895781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi" source="keywords">Narendra Modi</keyword> will move the motion today in the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> to choose <keyword id="19896877" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Om-Birla" source="keywords">Om Birla</keyword> as the <keyword id="20133615" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Speaker" source="keywords">Speaker</keyword> of the lower house amid a tussle for the post with the opposition's INDIA bloc. In today's list of business, the remaining MPs who have not already taken the oath or made the affirmation to do so will sign the roll of members. Then, in what promises to be a stormy session, <keyword id="19899320" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PM-Modi" source="keywords">PM Modi</keyword> will bring the motion that Om Birla, a member of the Lok Sabha, be chosen as the Speaker of the House. Rajnath Singh will second the motion. Thereafter, Union Ministers like Lallan Singh, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Amit Shah, Chirag Paswan, HD Kumaraswamy, and Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu will also move the motion to choose Birla as the Speaker. As the opposition has also fielded K Suresh as its candidate against Birla, the election for the same will take place in the Lok Sabha when it resumes today. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria, and NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule will move the motion that K Suresh be chosen as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. At last, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will introduce the ministers and ministers of state who have recently been inducted into the council of ministers. Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected through consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. The contest will witness the BJP's Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota in Rajasthan, up against the Congress' Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term parliamentarian from Kerala's Mavelikara. Suresh is the longest-serving parliamentarian in the 18th Lok Sabha. Both the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress Party have issued three-line whips to their members, mandating their presence in the Lok Sabha today from 11 am until the end of the proceedings. The INDIA bloc is unlikely to push for a division of votes and only insist on a voice vote to make its point. Earlier, former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha PD Thankappan Achary said that elections for the key post have taken place earlier, though on rare occasions. "Election has always taken place, election has to take place, but the contest has happened rarely. But it has happened," Achary said, speaking to on Tuesday. The NDA, which commands 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, holds a clear majority, while the opposition INDIA bloc comprises 234 MPs. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/stanley-lifestyles-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111261779.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/stanley-lifestyles-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111261779.cms" target="_blank">Stanley Lifestyles IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-ce-4-lite-vs-poco-x6-which-phone-should-you-buy-under-25000/slidelist/111257892.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-ce-4-lite-vs-poco-x6-which-phone-should-you-buy-under-25000/slidelist/111257892.cms" target="_blank">OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite vs Poco X6 – which phone should you buy under ₹25,000?</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ipos-this-week-allied-blenders-and-vraj-iron-and-steel-look-to-raise-1671-crore/articleshow/111233159.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ipos-this-week-allied-blenders-and-vraj-iron-and-steel-look-to-raise-1671-crore/articleshow/111233159.cms" target="_blank">IPOs this week – Allied Blenders and Vraj Iron and Steel look to raise ₹1,671 crore</a>

PM Modi to move motion in Lok Sabha today to choose Om Birla as Speaker of the house

New Delhi, From appealing people not to vote for them to flaunting the unsuccessful tag, changing name in each election to losing huge sums of money in security deposits -- some tenacious <keyword id="20022603" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="independent" source="keywords">Independent</keyword> candidates have tried these all but losing elections became a habit for them. Tamil Nadu's K Padmarajan, who proudly calls himself the "Election King", might be the only candidate in the election fray who urges people not to vote for him, so he can retain his tag of being "most unsuccessful candidate", a feat also registered in the Limca Book of records. The 65-year-old tyre repair shop owner also finds pride in his entry in the <keyword id="19981515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="guinness-book-of-world-records" source="keywords">Guinness Book of World Records</keyword> for candidate with most contested elections. He claims to have lost Rs 80 lakh so far in security deposits which gets forfeited every time he loses an election besides expenses for filing nomination amid fanfare. Gearing up for his 239th attempt, Padmarajan has filed his nomination for the 18th <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> elections from Thrissur in Kerala and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. "I began fighting elections in 1988 from my home town of Mettur, located in Tamil Nadu. I have contested 238 elections so far including against former prime ministers <keyword id="20374221" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="atal-bihar-vajpayee" source="keywords">Atal Bihar Vajpayee</keyword>, P V Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. This will be my 239th attempt. I pick a unique battle every time," he told PTI. Asked about his campaign plans, Padmarajan said, "I ask people not vote for me, I don't want the votes but I want to continue to hold the tag of most unsuccessful candidate. I don't campaign but when I go for filing nomination, I do that in a grand way." From former chief ministers like Jayalalitha, M Karunanidhi, YSR Reddy and AK Antony to filmstars Hema Malini and Vijayakanth -- the list of bigwigs against whom Padmarajan has contested is long. Indore's Parmanand <keyword id="21190647" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tolani" source="keywords">Tolani</keyword> is taking forward his father's legacy who fought elections as independent candidate for three decades. "My father passed away in 1988 and I am taking forward his legacy. I have contested 18 elections so far including eight Lok Sabha and eight Vidhan Sabha. I will be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls too," 65-year-old Tolani told PTI. "My father's wish was that we do not have to stop the trend till someone from the family gets elected. If I am not able to do it in my lifetime, my two daughters will carry forward the baton," said Tolani, who is a property broker. <keyword id="21190648" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-prakash-kodekar" source="keywords">Vijay Prakash Kodekar</keyword> from <keyword id="19897309" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pune" source="keywords">Pune</keyword>, a retired staffer from state electricity board, has a different agenda behind contesting elections as independent candidate -- advocating zero budget poll campaigns. He can be seen pushing a steel cart on wheels in streets of Latur, where he is planning to contest the Lok Sabha polls. A flex board on the cart says "Main bhi Pradhanmantri". "The message why cannot any poor individual be the Prime Minister of the country. Why this exorbitant expenditure by parties on election campaigns? Polls can be fought on zero budget and the money can be utilised for public welfare," said 78-year-old Kodekar, who campaigns wearing a white dhoti. Having contested 24 elections so far, Kodekar uses a different name for different elections. "Some elections I have contested using the name Vijay, some with 'Rashtrapati' and some with the name 'Znyosho' -- as I am a disciple of Osho. I complete the name change formalities and then I contest the polls using the new name," he said. Hyderabad techie Ravinder Uppula, uses different campaign strategies for each Lok Sabha election he fights. In 2014 -- it was anti-corruption march and in 2019 it was a liquid only fast. "I promise during my campaign that if I get elected, I will get a lie detector test done every 100 days so public who votes for me doesn't feel cheated. That is how our politicians should do as well to weed out corruption," he said. Uppula, however, is disappointed with the poll campaign expenses. "It should not be an expensive deal to canvass in this country, an agenda and the right promise should be enough rather than the poll fray leaving the voters with no choice except voting for a smaller thief or a bigger thief," he added. The strange obsession of the independent candidates has also been featured in the book "The Power of The Ballot: Travail and Triumph in the Elections". Sharing the saga of some of the independent candidates' stint at the elections, the book decodes "why do some people contest every time knowing they will lose?" Kaka Joginder Singh, also known as "Dhartipakad", was a textile-shop owner who contested and lost over 300 elections. He died in 1998. In elections, he always contested independently, and always lost his security deposits. He earned the nickname Dhartipakad after several unsuccessful runs for the post of the President of India. The year with the greatest yield for him was during the tenth presidential elections in 1992 in which he earned fourth place in the polling with 1,135 votes, losing to Shankar Dayal Sharma; it was his best performance. He also contested elections from 14 states of India in the 1990s, mostly for state assemblies. Singh died in 1998. Long before <keyword id="19895781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="keywords">Narendra Modi</keyword> chose Varanasi as an election destination, the city had Narendra Nath Dubey "Adig". Often referred to as Kashi's Dhartipakad, he has been fighting every election as an independent candidate since 1984, losing his security deposit each time. He passed away in 2022.

PM campaign on a cart, most unsuccessful record: Independents who never call it quits

<ul><li>The Ministry of External Affairs every year organises internship opportunities of six months in two terms.</li><li>Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the online application for Term 2 has not opened yet, and the ministry will soon announce the dates.</li><li>The ministry will select 30 interns with a monthly stipend of ₹10,000 per month.</li></ul>The Ministry of External Affairs (<keyword id="6358274" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="MEA" source="Orion">MEA</keyword>) every year organises an internship opportunity for budding scholars to familiarise themselves with the process of formulation of foreign policy and its implementation by the Government of India. The duration of the internship is six months offered in two terms -- Term 1 (January to June) and Term 2 (July to December). Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the online application for Term 2 has not opened yet, and the ministry will soon announce the dates. Interested candidates can keep a check on their <a href="https://www.internship.mea.gov.in/">official website</a>. The ministry will select 30 interns and they shall report to, work under close supervision of the concerned head of division (HOD). They may be required to conduct research, write reports, analyse evolving developments, or carry out any other task entrusted to them by the HOD. All the interns will get a monthly stipend of ₹10,000 per month. Candidates will have to report to the Delhi office during the course of their internship. The ministry will bear the travel cost for outstation candidates who will have to fly to Delhi from their home state. Eligibility criteria for the internship — 1. All the candidates should be an Indian citizen. 2. The maximum age limit for the candidates is 25 years as on December 31, of the year of the internship. 3. Candidates should have a minimum educational qualification of a graduate degree from a recognised university. 4. Candidates belonging to these states are only eligible for the opportunity — Term 1 — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi. Term 2 — Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Puducherry. 5. 30%-50% seats are reserved for women candidates. Selection procedure — <ol><li>Application weightage will be based on academic performance assessed by percentage of marks obtained in Plus Two and graduation exams. </li><li>The number of candidates called for an interview will be three times the number of interns to be selected. </li><li>Candidates selected in the merit lists will be called for personal interviews to be conducted via online. </li><li>If any selected candidates opt out, the next candidates in the merit list will be offered the opportunity. </li><li>An intern can choose to terminate the internship giving prior notice of one week to the ministry. </li></ol>SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/morgan-stanley-rolls-out-returning-to-work-programme-for-those-who-are-thinking-to-re-launch-their-career-after-a-break/articleshow/87617905.cms">Morgan Stanley rolls out ‘Returning to Work’ programme for those who are thinking to re-launch their career after a break</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/maruti-suzukis-new-celerio-launched-in-india-checkout-price-and-features/slidelist/87629721.cms">Maruti Suzuki’s new Celerio launched in India — Checkout price and features</a>

Internship at Ministry of External Affairs: Checkout details, stipend and how to apply

<ul><li>Hiring trend in India’s banking and insurance sector is bouncing back after the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.</li><li>A recent report by online job platform Monster.com says that the finance and accounts sector saw an uptick of 11% in job postings in the month of June 2021.</li><li>List of job hirings in big banks for various roles in India</li></ul>The banking, financial services and investment (BFSI) sector is one of the most crucial sectors, as it is at the core of any economy's growth. Hiring trend in India’s banking and insurance sector is bouncing back after the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic and has shown a recovery from their recent slump, according to a May 2021 report by Naukri Jobspeaks. A recent report by online job platform Monster.com says that the finance and accounts sector saw an uptick of 11% in job postings in the month of June 2021 as compared to May 2021. Here is a list of job hirings in big banks for various roles in India — 1. <keyword id="45660" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yes-Bank">YES Bank</keyword> — Manager YES bank is hiring a manager in Kochi, Kerala in the large corporates south department for a full time role. Candidates should have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. The selected candidate will have to closely coordinate with the team leaders to ensure they effectively address the client's financial needs as when required structuring and restructuring needs. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://yesbankcareers.skillate.com/careers/jobs/LAR00001A/details">here</a>. 2. <keyword id="6653" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-bank">ICICI Bank</keyword> — Manager — Corporate and Commercial banking The bank is looking for a manager in Mumbai, Maharashtra for Corporate and Commercial banking department for a full time position. Candidates applying for this role should have an MBA or a post graduate diploma in management (PGDM) in any discipline or be a chartered accountant (CA) and have at least more than 2 years of industry experience. The key responsibility of the selected candidate would be to identify new business opportunities for the bank in the India-Canada corridor. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-manager-corporate-and-commercial-banking-icici-bank-ltd-mumbai-all-areas-5-to-10-years-150721005357?src=jobsearchDesk&amp;sid=16269185081622849_1&amp;xp=1&amp;px=2">here</a>. 3. <keyword id="6355975" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="axis-bank">Axis Bank</keyword> — Relationship Officer The bank is looking out for a relationship manager in Bhopal, Indore, and Raipur with1-5 years of job experience. Candidates from banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) are preferred.The responsibility of the candidates would be to manage sales of banking products and fulfilling needs and develop sales targets. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-relationship-officer-axis-bank-bhopal-indore-raipur-1-to-5-years-250621005469?src=jobsearchDesk&amp;sid=16269215796571287&amp;xp=1&amp;px=1">here</a>. 4. <keyword id="6357149" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-bank">HDFC Bank</keyword> — Branch Sales Manager The bank is recruiting a branch sales manager in Bengaluru, Karnataka for a full time position. The candidate must have 2-3 years of relevant experience and should have basic knowledge of banking products, good relationship management and presentation skills. The key responsibility of the candidate would be to maintain continuous customer engagement through customer visits/ contacts or proactive solutions of customer issues and queries. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://hdfcbankcareers.hirealchemy.com/#/description/9f26acee-5186-40aa-822e-39eeba0b7a20">here</a>. 5. Axis Bank — Branch Manager The bank is hiring branch managers at various places — Ludhiana, Shimla, Kurukshetra and Jammu for a full time role. The candidates should have an experience of at least 8-13 years in the banking sector. The key responsibilities of the candidates would be to enhance and contribute to the growth of the company through business development, prepare and review the monthly calendar of outbound activities. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-branch-manager-icici-bank-ltd-ludhiana-shimla-kurukshetra-jammu-8-to-13-years-100721001674?src=jobsearchDesk&amp;sid=16269215796571287&amp;xp=16&amp;px=1">here</a>. 6. YES Bank — Product Sales Manager The bank is looking for an experienced product sales manager for retail cash management services (CMS) sales department in Mumbai, Maharashtra for a full time position. The candidate should be an MBA in finance or CA and should have at least 3-4 years of experience in CMS or 5-7 years of experience in the banking industry. The candidate will be responsible for the steady flow of CMS management service businesses. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://yesbankcareers.skillate.com/careers/jobs/RET0001AA/details">here</a>. 7. ICICI Bank — Sales/Business Development Manager The bank is hiring an experienced sales/business development manager for the corporate market group at various locations -- Ranchi, Ahmedabad and Chennai for a full time role with an experience of 10-16 years in the industry. The key responsibility of the candidates would be to handle existing customer relationships, increase wallet share of cross border transactions. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-corporate-market-group-icici-bank-ltd-ranchi-ahmedabad-chennai-10-to-16-years-150721001928?src=jobsearchDesk&amp;sid=16269215796571287&amp;xp=9&amp;px=1">here</a>. 8. Federal Bank — Insurance Relationship Manager The bank is hiring an insurance relationship manager for Ageas Federal Life Insurance at various locations — Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bijapur and Belthangady for a full time role. The candidate must have a postgraduate degree in any discipline with a relevant experience of at least 2-4 years in the insurance sector. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-relationship-manager-banca-channel-federal-bank-ageas-federal-life-insurance-company-limited-vijayapura-bijapur-beltangadi-coimbatore-bangalore-bengaluru-1-to-3-years-100721003321?src=jobsearchDesk&amp;sid=16269268509135267&amp;xp=3&amp;px=1">here</a>. 9. HDFC Bank — Personal Banker The bank is hiring a personal banker with an experience of at least 1-2 years in the industry in Ludhiana, Punjab. The key responsibility of the candidate would be to maintain daily sales reports and ensure quality of relationships with customers. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://hdfcbankcareers.hirealchemy.com/#/description/a6e6f134-54a8-4ea8-a60d-a5e5b0b60c6e">here</a>. 10. IndusInd Bank — Sales Manager The bank is looking for a sales manager with an experience between 2-7 years in the banking industry at various locations — Delhi, Ghaziabad and Agra for a full time position. The key responsibility of this position would be to identify and develop new relationships for generating new business through dealers. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-am-dm-commercial-vehicle-new-refinance-delhi-up-west-indusind-bank-limited-delhi-ncr-ghaziabad-agra-2-to-7-years-291118600523?src=jobsearchDesk&amp;sid=16269281082683911&amp;xp=2&amp;px=1">here</a>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/these-are-some-of-the-universities-that-offer-free-education-for-international-students/slidelist/84463712.cms">Planning to study abroad? These are some of the universities that offer a free education for international students</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/news/indians-planning-to-travel-more-as-covid-19-restrictions-relaxed-in-many-states/articleshow/83867486.cms">Indians are making big plans of ‘revenge travel’ as COVID-19 restrictions get lifted in many states</a>

Banking jobs: HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and more are hiring across the country for various roles

New Delhi, In a major development, India on Saturday recorded 25,152 new coronavirus cases and 347 deaths, taking the total number of infected people since January past the one crore-mark, according to <keyword id="4585792" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-ministry-of-health-and-family-welfare">the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</keyword>'s data. The country crossed the grim milestone almost eleven months after the first case was reported on January 30 in Thrissur district of Kerala. Since then, the country has recorded 10,004,599 coronavirus cases and 14,51,36 deaths. The number of infections had crossed the 1 million-mark on July 17; 2 million on August 7; 3 million on August 23; 4 million on September 5; 5 million on September 16; 6 million on September 28; 7 million on October 11; 8 million on October 29; and 90 lakh on November 20. While it took over five months to touch 1 million, it amassed 6 million with August and October. India has been recording the second-highest numbers of coronavirus cases in the world since August this year, following the US, which had crossed the milestone of one crore infections on November 9. India also fought through a massive wave of infection in September when the pandemic peaked and recorded a highest single-day spike of 97,894 cases on September 16. Number of cases have drastically come down since. Notably the recovery rate is 95.46%, while the death rate is 1.45%. The <keyword id="9281338" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="active-caseload">active caseload</keyword> is also below four lakh for the last 12 days. India is one of the top countries with the highest recovery rate globally. According to <keyword id="3284300" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Health-Ministry">the Health Ministry</keyword>, the chasm between active cases and recovered cases is continuously widening. As many as 95,50,712 people have recovered while 3,08,751 remain currently active. A total of 16,00,90,514 samples have been tested for <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid-19</keyword> till date. Of these, 11,71,868 samples were tested on Friday, <keyword id="1256547" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Indian-Council-of-Medical-Research">the Indian Council of Medical Research</keyword> (ICMR) said. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with 18,88,767 cases till date. Over 76% of the daily new cases are being reported by 10 states and union territory and in the random order they include -- Kerala, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Over 75% of the deaths are being reported from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel as India has eight Covid-19 vaccine candidates, including three indigenous vaccines, under different stages of clinical trials which could be ready for authorization in near future. It includes AstraZeneca and Oxford university developed and Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield; Covaxin by Bharat Biotech Limited; ZyCoV-D by Zydus Cadila and Russian vaccine candidate Sputnik-V. The list also contains NVX-CoV2373 by SII, HGCO19 by Geneva, and two unlabeled vaccines -- Recombinant Protein Antigen-based vaccine by Biological E Limited and Inactivated rabies vector platform by Bharat Biotech. The central government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people during the first phase of vaccination. It will be offered to one crore healthcare workers along with 2 crore frontline and essential workers and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50 years with comorbidities such as diabetes, heart or liver ailments. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-mrs-bectors-food-specialities-ipo-allotment-status-online/articleshow/79808672.cms">Mrs Bectors Food Specialities IPO allotment: Here’s how to check share allotment status</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ikea-india-cfo-says-she-still-has-3500-crore-to-be-spent-in-india-the-pandemic-has-changed-targets-but-not-the-investment-plan/articleshow/79790938.cms">INTERVIEW: Ikea CFO says she still has ₹3,500 crore to be spent in India⁠— the pandemic has changed targets but not the investment plan</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/india-will-produce-300-million-doses-of-the-russian-sputnik-v-covid-19-vaccine-next-year/articleshow/79795341.cms">India will produce 300 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine next year</a>

India's COVID-19 caseload surpasses one crore-mark with 25,152 fresh cases

<ul><li>From jewellery maker, Kalyan Jewellers to an Indian Government’s “Miniratna” RailTel Corporation, a whole range of companies are looking to get listed on Indian stock exchanges this year. </li><li>According to Geojit Financial Services, as many as 80 companies have approached SEBI to tap the primary market. </li><li>These are likely IPO candidates that may list this year. </li></ul>The IPO market seems to be piping hot in 2020 compared to the same time last year. Despite the pandemic and the economic slowdown, <a href="https://www.chittorgarh.com/ipo/ipo_list.asp?a=mainline">IPOs worth ₹179.8 billion</a> have already hit the market in the past ten months compared to ₹126.87 billion worth IPO in 2019. And as many as 80 companies have approached SEBI in the current fiscal year to get the necessary approvals for IPOs, according to Geojit Financial Services. The recent IPO bonanza made a lot of money for investors. Jyoti Roy, equity strategist at Angel Broking believes that is because “the investors have been willing to invest in companies with good businesses and reasonable valuations.” <div type="image" title="IPO data" msid="78634632" hostid="261"></div> The IPO bonanza may not have ended yet. From jewellery maker, Kalyan Jewellers to an Indian Government’s “Miniratna” RailTel Corporation, a whole range of companies are looking to get listed on Indian stock exchanges this year. Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming IPOs scheduled this year: Equitas Small Finance Bank The Chennai-based microfinance lender, Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB), is looking to raise ₹532 crore from the IPO. The initial public offering will open on October 20 and will remain open till October 22. The company has appointed JM Financial, Edelweiss Financial Services, and IIFL Securities as its book running lead managers to the issue. RailTel’s ₹700 crore initial public offering The state-owned RailTel Corporation has filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offer of up to 8.66 crore equity shares. The company is likely to raise ₹700 crore through the IPO, a complete offer for sale by the Central government. It has appointed ICICI Securities, IDBI Capital, SBI Capital Markets as the book running lead managers to the issue. ESAF Small Finance Bank The Kerala-based ESAF Small Finance Bank had filed DRHP in January and subsequently got the approval from SEBI at the end of March. However, the bank delayed its initial public offering due to the volatile market conditions and said it would take a call on ₹976-crore initial public offering (IPO) after September. The ₹976-crore IPO of ESAF Small Finance Bank will comprise a fresh issue worth ₹800 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) aggregating up to ₹176.2 crore. Kalyan Jewellers Kerala based Jewellery maker, Kalyan Jewellers, is also expected to launch a ₹1,750 crore initial public offering (IPO) in <a href="http://www.marketsguruji.com/upcoming-ipos-in-india/">November</a>. The ₹1,750 crore IPO will be the largest in its sector. The issue will consist of a fresh fundraise of ₹1,000 crore and offer of sale by promoter TS Kalyanaraman and private equity firm Warburg Pincus of ₹750 crore. Burger King One of India'sIndia's fastest-growing food chains, Burger King, is also in line to raise as much as ₹1,000 crore by initial public offering. The firm aims to utilise the funds to double the number of restaurants by 2025, where it currently operates 216 in India, as per its DRHP. Burger King IPO is also likely to hit the market in November this year. Bajaj Energy The ₹5,450 crore IPO of Uttar Pradesh-based, one of the largest private-sector thermal generation companies, Bajaj Energy, is expected to hit the market by the end of this year. The IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares aggregating up to ₹5,150 crore and an offer for sale of scrips up to ₹300 crore by the promoter Bajaj Power Ventures, according to its DRHP. Some of the companies coming up with IPOs include MilkBasket, Lodha Developers, Anand Rathi Wealth Management, Barbeque Nation, NSE, Indian Railways Finance Corporation, among others. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mazagon-dock-shipbuilders-shares-list-at-49-premium-over-the-issue-price/articleshow/78613450.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders shares list at 49% premium over the issue price</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tepid-debut-for-uti-amcshares-list-at-12-discount-over-the-issue-price/articleshow/78613719.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Tepid debut for UTI AMC—shares list at 12% discount over the issue price</a>

IPOs have raked in nearly $180 billion so far in 2020 — Here’s a look at some other companies that may go public this year

India's largest opposition party blames national media for its lack of influence — but its new YouTube channel may only be targeting the Hindi belt

<ul><li>Given the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, a lot of companies have been implementing salary cuts, offering no pay hikes and more. </li><li>However, not every company has frozen recruitment. </li><li>This week we bring job openings across the top audit firms like PwC India, EY, Deloitte and <keyword id="6361649" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Goldman-Sachs">Goldman Sachs</keyword>.</li></ul>Given the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, a lot of companies have been implementing salary cuts, offering no pay hikes and have suspended hiring temporarily to keep up with the operational costs. However, not every company has frozen recruitment altogether, and a few such vacancies are listed here. Every week, Business Insider collates interesting vacancies across marquee organisations. This week we bring job openings across the top audit firms. Here are a few of those opportunities: EY <div type="image" title="EY Wikimedia" msid="75526476" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Wikimedia&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Position: Financial Analyst Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Experience: Not Specified Eligibility: Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Commerce or Business Management Audit major EY is hiring a Financial Analyst for its tax department. The selected hire will be responsible for posting entries into accounting systems, account reconciliations and publishing weekly progress reports. He will be required to have an understanding of engagement tools, data requirements and process maps. The candidate will also be conducting various skill training and process demos. To apply for the job, the candidate must be skilled in ERP systems, MS Excel, along with good communication and analytical skills. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1839964863/">here</a>. Goldman Sachs <div type="image" title="4930114ec09ec3b22d4eef9375d91c2f" msid="75526543" hostid="261"></div> Position: Finance Engineering - Software Developer Location: Bangalore Experience: Not Specified Eligibility: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering Goldman Sachs is looking to hire a Software Developer in Finance. The role requires building business solutions using technology. The selected candidate will be required to facilitate and develop process workflow, data requirements, and specifications for implementation. This includes design, testing strategies, and implementation plans. From requirements analysis and coding to testing and maintenance, he will be responsible for managing end-to-end system development cycle. The candidate must have expertise in full stack front end web development or server side Java development with relational databases, along with understanding of data structures, algorithms, software design and core programming concepts. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1710743318/">here</a>. Deloitte <div type="image" title="deloitte wikimedia" msid="75526503" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Wikimedia&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Position: Internal Audit Analytics- Sr. Consultant Location: Bangalore Experience: Minimum 4 years Eligibility: Bachelor of Engineering, MBA in Business Analytics or Finance, MSc in Statistics Deloitte is inviting applications for a senior consultant for Internal Audit Analytics. The selected hire will lead and perform analytics for Internal Audit clients. He will develop and implement data analysis, data collection and work on quality control plans, optimizing statistical efficiency. He will implement advanced analytics, machine learning and robotic process automation. To apply, the candidate must have experience in interpreting data, analyzing results using statistical techniques along with strong technical skills in SQL, SAS, Tableau, ACL, R, Python, PowerBI and Qlik. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1848361645/">here</a>. PwC India <div type="image" title="pwc" msid="75526508" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Wikimedia&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Position: Assistant Manager - O365 App Admin Location: Gurgaon, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai Experience: Minimum 6 years Eligibility: Not Specified PwC India is hiring a senior manager for Office 365 platform. The selected admin will look after the operations of the O365 platform including applications like SharePoint online, Team and OneDrive. He will monitor security, performance, interoperability and reliability of the platform along with providing troubleshooting options. The selected candidate will work with developers, O365 administrators, database administrators to design, develop, test and implement O365 capabilities. The applicants must have experience in maintaining SharePoint 2013 farms and SPO tenants long with the knowledge of HTML and JavaScript. Interested candidates can apply<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1843205025/"> here</a>. Deloitte <div type="image" title="deloitte" msid="75526529" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Flickr&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Position: Marketing Data Analyst Location: Hyderabad Experience: Minimum 4 years Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree, MBA Deloitte is hiring a marketing data analyst for its Client and Market Growth organizations (CMG). The candidate will be working on insight generation, development of business intelligence applications and reporting them. He will identify data issues and improve data quality across databases. He will provide analytical and reporting support for industries, marketing campaigns, test and measurement design, and post-campaign analysis. In addition, the role will require translating technical projects into a user-understandable language. To apply for the job, the candidate must have strong computing, analytical, statistical, data visualisation, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills. He should also have knowledge of marketing activities like campaigns, digital marketing, SEO, social media and email marketing. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1848665001/">here</a>. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tech-mahindra-new-deals-full-list/articleshow/75526386.cms">All the new deals signed by Tech Mahindra in the last three months</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/from-bigbasket-to-swiggy-to-nobroker-top-ten-indian-startups-that-raised-money-in-april-amidst-the-coronavirus-crisis/articleshow/75526547.cms">From BigBasket to Swiggy to Nobroker⁠— top ten Indian startups that raised money in April amidst the coronavirus crisis</a>

​Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, EY and other top audit firms hiring this week

By Shakoor Rather(Eds: Recasting overnight story) New Delhi, Apr 16 () Six Indian companies are working on a vaccine for COVID-19, joining global efforts to find a quick preventive for the deadly infection spreading rapidly across the world, says a top Indian scientist.Nearly 70 'vaccine candidates' are being tested and at least three have moved to the human clinical trial stage, but a vaccine for the novel coronavirus is unlikely to be ready for mass use before 2021. As COVID-19 infects more than 1.9 million in the world and claims 1,26,000 lives, Indian scientists are also part of the global fight against the disease. "While Zydus Cadila is working on two vaccines, Serum Institute, Biological E, Bharat Biotech, Indian Immunologicals, and Mynvax are developing one vaccine each," Gagandeep Kang, executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, told .Kang is also vice chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which noted in a recent study that the "global vaccine R&amp;D effort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in terms of scale and speed". But it is a complicated process with many stages of testing and many challenges, explained experts. A vaccine for the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, may not take 10 years that other vaccines do but it could be at least a year before it is proven safe, effective, and made widely available, they said."Vaccine development is a lengthy process which often takes years, with many challenges," said E. Sreekumar, chief scientific officer at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Kerala. "Generally, vaccines take several months to pass the different stages of testing, and then approvals also take time. For COVID-19, we don't expect a vaccine to come in this year," agreed Rakesh Mishra, director of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad. Vaccine testing typically begins with animal and lab testing before going on to different stages of human testing. "The human testing phase is composed of many phases," Sreekumar told . "Phase one trials are small-scale, usually involving few participants, to assess whether the vaccine is safe for humans. Phase two trials often involve several hundred subjects, and mainly evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine against the disease," he said. The final phase involves thousands of people to further assess the efficacy of the vaccine over a defined period of time, and can last several months, Sreekumar said. "That is why we don't see a vaccine coming in at least a year from now." Even after the vaccine is ready, he explained, there are a lot of challenges, including whether the vaccine is effective in all populations, and if it can be used for different strains of the novel coronavirus, which might start mutating as time passes."There are lots of vaccines which are being tested for COVID-19, some of which are in the stage 1 clinical trial," Mishra added. "But we still don't know how fast they will proceed towards a vaccine and they can take several months to reach any point," he said. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three vaccine candidates are in the clinical testing phase, meaning they are able to be tested on humans, while nearly 70 are in the preclinical phase -- either in lab testing, or animal studies. Though Kang named six companies, the WHO has listed only Zydus Cadila and Serum Institute from India as among the global firms working on a COVID-19 vaccine. As of April 8, 2020, said CEPI, the global COVID-19 vaccine R&amp;D landscape includes 115 vaccine candidates, of which 78 are confirmed as active and 37 are unconfirmed. Of the 78 confirmed active projects, 73 are currently at exploratory or preclinical stages, noted the CEPI team in an analysis published in the journal Nature reviews drug Discovery last week. The most advanced candidates have recently moved into clinical development, including mRNA-1273 from US-based biotechnology company Moderna, Ad5-nCoV from Chinese biopharma company CanSino Biologicals, and INO-4800 from American pharmaceuticals company Inovio.Others in this list include LV-SMENP-DC and pathogen-specific aAPC from Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute in China.Numerous other vaccine developers have indicated plans to initiate human testing in 2020, the CEPI scientists said.Experts believe the genome sequencing of the new coronavirus provided by scientists in China shows it shares 79 per cent of the same genetic material as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and 50 per cent of the same material as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a species of coronavirus which infects humans, bats, and camels. This allows developers to use groundwork already created in research for vaccines for those viruses. Australia's national science agency CSIRO announced earlier this month that it has begun preclinical tests of a vaccine developed by Oxford University in the UK. A striking feature of the vaccine development landscape for COVID-19 is the range of technology platforms being evaluated, including nucleic acid (DNA and RNA), virus-like particle, live weakened virus, and inactivated virus approaches. The CEPI noted that many of these platforms are not currently the basis for licensed vaccines, but experience in fields such as oncology is encouraging developers to exploit the opportunities that next-generation approaches offer for increased speed of development and manufacture. SAR MIN DVDV

Six Indian companies working on vaccine for COVID-19

<ul><li>More deserving <keyword id="6360075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Languages">languages</keyword> in India like <keyword id="56792" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tulu">Tulu</keyword> want to enter the list of <keyword id="6656444" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Scheduled-languages">scheduled languages</keyword>. </li><li>The demands quote the preamble of India promising equality of status and opportunity </li><li>Entering the list will widen the opportunities for these languages to grow and enrich themselves. </li></ul>The <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-case-for-including-tulu-in-the-eighth-schedule/article30496165.ece">Tulu-speaking population of the country has been urging the government</a> to expedite the steps to list it under schedule eight. They are concentrated in the two coastal districts of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. As per the census, there are as many as 18,46,427 of them. Here we discuss the advantages of getting listed under schedule eight and the wider implications of the issue. India is a land of cultural and linguistic diversity As per 2001 census, about 30 of Indian languages are being spoken by over a million people each. Besides this list, around 122 languages are spoken by not less than 10,000 people. There are also 1,599 other languages, most of which are considered as dialects belonging to some specific regions. For quite long, there have been demands to include many of these languages into the list of scheduled languages. List of scheduled languages in India At present 22 of Indian languages are listed in the eighth schedule including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Fourteen of these languages were already listed under the eighth schedule when the constitution of India came to force in 1950. In 1967, Sindhi was added. In 1992, Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included. In 2003, the four remaining languages including Dogiri, Bodo, Maithali, and Santhali were included. Demands to include more languages under eighth schedule For so long, the speakers of many other languages have been demanding that their language be included under Schedule 8. <a href="https://mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/EighthSchedule_19052017.pdf">As many as 37 languages</a> including Angika, Banjara, Bazika, Bhojpuri, Bhoti, Bhotia, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Dhatki, Garhwali (Pahari), Gondi, Gujjari, Ho, Kachachhi, Kamtapuri, Karbi, Khasi, Kodava (Coorg), Kok Barak, Kumaoni, Kurak, Kurmail, Lepcha, Limbu, Mizo, Magahi, Mundari, Nagpuri, Nicobarese, Himachali, Pali, Rajasthani, Sambalpuri, Shaurseni, Siraiki, Tenyidi, and Tulu -- are currently want the government to include them under schedule eight. Benefits of getting included under the eighth schedule When a language gets scheduled status in India, it comes to enjoy some inevitable advantages. Some of the significant advantages enjoyed by scheduled languages include <ul><li>It will become mandatory for the government to spare the efforts to develop the scheduled language so that it grows and evolves into an effective means of communication.</li><li>A scheduled language will come to be considered as an official language of the nation.</li><li>When included in the eighth schedule, Sahitya Academy will start recognizing the language and the books of the language will be translated in other languages recognized in India. </li><li>MPs and MLAs can start converse in this language in state assemblies and parliament. </li><li>Candidates will be able to write the competitive exams like Civil Services Exams conducted in the All India level in a scheduled language.</li><li>Including a language under schedule eight will place it on equal footing with other official languages which will provide equal status and opportunity to the said language.</li></ul>Wider implications to discuss As per the constitution, it is mandatory for the UPSC to include scheduled language as one of the qualifying papers - in addition to English. The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) must start including the scheduled language to talk of the denomination in currency notes. Therefore, there have also been some practical administrative difficulties noticed in listing more languages under schedule eight. However, India is a country of diverse languages and cultures and the constitution is committed to protecting and promoting the equality of status and opportunity to all people and all languages. The republic cannot turn a deaf ear to the demands mounting up from the speakers of the languages spoken by minority.

Tulu language: Demands On The Rise To Include More Languages Like Tulu In Eighth Schedule

By Shakoor Rather New Delhi, Apr 15 () Six Indian companies are working on a vaccine for COVID-19, joining the global race against time to find a preventive for the deadly infection spreading rapidly across the world, says a top Indian scientist.Nearly 70 'vaccine candidates' are being tested and at least three have moved to the human clinical trial stage, but a vaccine for the novel coronavirus is unlikely to be ready for mass use before 2021. As COVID-19 infects more than 1.9 million in the world and claims 1,26,000 lives, Indian scientists are also part of the global fight against the disease. "While Zydus Cadila is working on two vaccines, Serum Institute, Biological E, Bharat Biotech, Indian Immunologicals, and Mynvax are developing one vaccine each," Gagandeep Kang, executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, told .Kang is also vice chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which noted in a recent study that the "global vaccine R&amp;D effort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in terms of scale and speed". But it is a complicated process with many stages of testing and many challenges, explained experts. A vaccine for the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, may not take 10 years that other vaccines do but it could be at least a year before it is proven safe, effective, and made widely available, they said."Vaccine development is a lengthy process which often takes years, with many challenges," said E. Sreekumar, chief scientific officer at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Kerala. "Generally, vaccines take several months to pass the different stages of testing, and then approvals also take time. For COVID-19, we don't expect a vaccine to come in this year," agreed Rakesh Mishra, director of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad. Vaccine testing typically begins with animal and lab testing before going on to different stages of human testing. "The human testing phase is composed of many phases," Sreekumar told . "Phase one trials are small-scale, usually involving few participants, to assess whether the vaccine is safe for humans. Phase two trials often involve several hundred subjects, and mainly evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine against the disease," he said. The final phase involves thousands of people to further assess the efficacy of the vaccine over a defined period of time, and can last several months, Sreekumar said. "That is why we don't see a vaccine coming in at least a year from now." Even after the vaccine is ready, he explained, there are a lot of challenges, including whether the vaccine is effective in all populations, and if it can be used for different strains of the novel coronavirus, which might start mutating as time passes."There are lots of vaccines which are being tested for COVID-19, some of which are in the stage 1 clinical trial," Mishra added. "But we still don't know how fast they will proceed towards a vaccine and they can take several months to reach any point," he said. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three vaccine candidates are in the clinical testing phase, meaning they are able to be tested on humans, while nearly 70 are in the preclinical phase -- either in lab testing, or animal studies. Though Kang named six companies, the WHO has listed only Zydus Cadila and Serum Institute from India as among the global firms working on a COVID-19 vaccine. As of April 8, 2020, said CEPI, the global COVID-19 vaccine R&amp;D landscape includes 115 vaccine candidates, of which 78 are confirmed as active and 37 are unconfirmed. Of the 78 confirmed active projects, 73 are currently at exploratory or preclinical stages, noted the CEPI team in an analysis published in the journal Nature reviews drug Discovery last week. The most advanced candidates have recently moved into clinical development, including mRNA-1273 from US-based biotechnology company Moderna, Ad5-nCoV from Chinese biopharma company CanSino Biologicals, and INO-4800 from American pharmaceuticals company Inovio.Others in this list include LV-SMENP-DC and pathogen-specific aAPC from Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute in China.Numerous other vaccine developers have indicated plans to initiate human testing in 2020, the CEPI scientists said.Experts believe the genome sequencing of the new coronavirus provided by scientists in China shows it shares 79 per cent of the same genetic material as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and 50 per cent of the same material as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a species of coronavirus which infects humans, bats, and camels. This allows developers to use groundwork already created in research for vaccines for those viruses. Australia's national science agency CSIRO announced earlier this month that it has begun preclinical tests of a vaccine developed by Oxford University in the UK. A striking feature of the vaccine development landscape for COVID-19 is the range of technology platforms being evaluated, including nucleic acid (DNA and RNA), virus-like particle, live weakened virus, and inactivated virus approaches. The CEPI noted that many of these platforms are not currently the basis for licensed vaccines, but experience in fields such as oncology is encouraging developers to exploit the opportunities that next-generation approaches offer for increased speed of development and manufacture. It is conceivable that some vaccine platforms may be better suited to specific population subtypes such as the elderly, children, pregnant women, or immunocompromised patients, noted Sreekumar. The CEPI analysis shows most COVID-19 vaccine development activity is in North America, with 36 (46 per cent) developers of the confirmed active vaccine candidates compared with 14 ( per cent) in China, 14 (18 per cent) in Asia (excluding China) and Australia, and 14 (18 per cent) in Europe. "Given the imperative for speed, there is an indication that vaccine could be available under emergency use or similar protocols by early 2021," it said. This would represent a fundamental change from the traditional vaccine development pathway, which takes on an average over 10 years, even compared with the accelerated five-year timescale for development of the first Ebola vaccine, the organisation said."Although there is a lot of enthusiasm, but it will take its own course to bring out a vaccine for COVID-19," Mishra added. SAR MIN MINMIN

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