Top headlines: India's first nasal vaccine for Covid-19; new seat belt rule

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday approved the country’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine — Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC — for restricted emergency use in those aged above 18 years. Days after a car accident killed former Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday announced the central government would now make it mandatory for all travellers in a car to wear a seat belt. Read more on these in our top headlines.

India's first nasal vaccine for Covid-19 gets DCGI nod for emergency use

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday approved the country’s first intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccine — Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC — for restricted emergency use in those aged above 18 years. It’s only the second such vaccine in the world, after CanSino Biologics’ vaccine in China, to get regulatory approval. Around 100 mucosal (nose and mouth) Covid-19 vaccines are under development across the world.

iNCOVACC is a chimpanzee adenovirus vectored recombinant nasal vaccine that has been specifically formulated to allow intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost effective in low- and middle-income coun¬tries, the company said. The vaccine is stable at 2-8°C. Read more

Wearing rear seat belt set to become mandatory, says Nitin Gadkari

Days after a car accident killed former Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday announced the central government would now make it mandatory for all travellers in a car to wear a seat belt. He said a penalty has already been decided for defaulters, regardless of whether they are in the front or rear seat.

The minister was speaking at the ‘India@75 — Past, Present and Future’ conclave organised by Business Standard in New Delhi. Read more

Divestment drive: Govt looks to privatise PSUs in fertiliser sector

The Centre may look at privatising public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the fertiliser sector. It could be the first non-strategic sector where the government may implement its new Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) Policy, 2021.

The central government is learnt to be considering Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, National Fertilisers, Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Fertilizer Corporation of India, and other fertiliser PSUs for privatisation. The process of privatising fertiliser PSU Project & Development India (PDIL) is already underway, and the Centre has received a good response from interested parties. Read more

Xiaomi's 5G phones to get standalone network updates from October

Chinese device maker Xiaomi will provide a software upgrade over the air (OTA) from October to all its seven million 5G phone buyers since May 2020, so that their phones can be powered by a standalone (SA) network that Reliance is planning to launch. Currently, these 5G phones work only on a non-standalone (NSA) 5G network.

The company has ruled out a sub-Rs 10,000 phone in its portfolio this year until 5G chipsets prices fall. Read more

Digital lending norms: Fintech firms seek clarity on RBI's FLDG stance

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) stance on first loss default guarantee (FLDG) in the recently-released digital lending norms has put fintech players, who use this model extensively, in a spot of bother.

They are now looking to approach the regulator, through their industry bodies, to seek clarity on this issue. Read more