Sept_20

India- Russia Pact for Sputnik V Availability in India

partnered with the Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine.

  •  first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik-I launched by the Soviet Union
  • India’s Covaxin has been approved for human clinical trials.
  • Another Indian vaccine ZyCoV-D has entered phase I/II of clinical trials
  • It has been developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in collaboration with the Russia’s defence ministry.
  • It is based on the DNA of a SARS-CoV-2 type adenovirus, a common cold viru

The approval for a vaccine is given by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

MoHFW–>  Directorate General of Health Services–> CDSO = National Regulatory Authority (NRA) 

G-20 Foreign Ministers Meet

 Saudi Arabia hosted the G-20 foreign ministers meeting with focus on cross-border movement amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

 foreign ministers acknowledged the importance of opening borders, and promoting measures to allow the economy to thrive in light of the protective measures for the Covid-19 pandemic.

India apprised the G-20 foreign ministers about steps taken by India including Vande Bharat Mission and creation of travel bubbles for the welfare and protection of foreign citizens stranded in India as well as its own citizens abroad.

  • Earlier, in the 3rd G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting held in july 2020, G-20 came up with the G20 Action Plan to deal with the pandemic.
    • The Action Plan includes a list of collective commitments under the pillars of Health Response, Economic Response, Strong and Sustainable Recovery and International Financial Coordination.
  • The G-20 also organised a virtual meeting of G-20 Digital Economy Ministers to highlight the digital initiatives taken by the countries to deal with Covid-19

India’s Proposal:

  • Development of voluntary ‘G-20 Principles on Coordinated Cross-Border Movement of People’ with three elements:
    • Standardisation of testing procedures and universal acceptability of test results.
    • Standardisation of Quarantine procedures.
    • Standardisation of ‘movement and transit’ protocols.
  • Governments around the world need to ensure that interests of foreign students are protected and movement of stranded seafarers back to their home country is facilitated.