CMYK APRIL 29 FRIDAY 37 37 A man spraying water on the bricks of ongoing construction of the Metro station near EM bypass. 28 Precipition: 10% Humidity: 67% Wind: 23 KM/H PAGE 3 Rs. 3 KOLKATA FRIDAY, 29 APRIL, 2022 PG-8, YEAR—8, ISSUE—336 (RNI NO.: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) CJI Ramana to chair conference of Chief Justices today MI News Service, New Delhi: After a gap of six years, a conference of Chief Justices of high courts, followed by a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices would be organised in the national capital on April 29 and 30 respectively. Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana will chair the 39th conference of Chief Justices of high courts - scheduled on April 29 on the Supreme Court premises - with an aim to address and resolve the issues concerning judiciary. "The conference shall review the progress made on the resolutions passed in the previous Chief Justices' conference 2016 and also to consider further steps that need to be taken to improve the justice delivery system in the country," said an official statement. "Besides the evaluation progress made vis-a-vis resolutions of Chief Justices' Conference 2016, following major issues are to be deliberated upon in the Chief Justices' Conference 2022: strengthening of the network and connectivity of all courts complexes pan India on priority basis; human resources/personnel policy; infrastructure and capacity building; insti An aerial view of the Vidyasagar Setu and the city in a summer afternoon. PIC: PRABIR BHATTACHARYA ❑ Continue PG 3 DCGI approves COVID-19 vaccine for children MI News Service, Hyderabad: The Drugs Con- troller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for the age group of 6-12 years. The Hyderabad-based Pharma company Bharat Biotech in a statement said that it had conducted phase II/III, open-label, and multicenter studies to evaluate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of Covaxin in healthy children and adolescents in the 2-18 age group. The clinical trials conducted in the paediatric population between June 2021 to September 2021 have shown robust safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity. "The data readouts were submitted to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) during October 2021, and received emergency use nod for children aged 12-18 from DCGI during December 2021," it said. Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, "We have established COVAXIN as a universal vaccine for adults and children. Safety of the vaccine is critical for children and we are glad to share that Covaxin has now proven data for safety and immunogenicity in children. We have achieved our goal of developing a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine for adults and children." against all variants of concern was reported. Data from neutralization studies against Delta and Omicron variants have been published along with the impact of cell-mediated immune responses. Since Covaxin, is an inactivated vaccine corroborative results are expected in chil- Clinical trials in children documented seroconversion at 95-98 per cent, four weeks after the second dose, indicating superior antibody responses in children when compared to adults and also displayed Th1 bias. "In earlier Covaxin studies in adults, cross-reactive memory T cells dren similar to that of adults," the statement further reads. A booster dose of COVAXIN in adults, generated robust neutralizing antibody responses against both Omicron (B.1.529) and Delta (B.1.617.2) using a live virus neutralization assay. "100 per cent of test serum samples showed neutralization of the Delta variant and more than 90 per cent of serum samples showed neutralization of the Omicron variant. These data add to the body of evidence that the broadspectrum mechanism of action of a whole virus inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, like Covaxin (BBV152), is a viable option in this continuously evolving pandemic," it added. Covaxin is formulated uniquely such that the same dosage can be administered to adults and children alike. Covaxin is a ready-to-use liquid vaccine, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius, with 12 months shelf life and a multi-dose vial policy. It further said that the same vaccine can also be used for two-dose primary immunization and for booster dose vaccinations, making it truly a universal vaccine. Bharat Biotech has readily available more than 50 million doses of COVAXIN in vials, and more than 200 million doses as a drug substance. Additional production capacity is also available to meet product demand. Atal Tunnel receives 'Best Infrastructure Project' award MI News Service, New Delhi: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) engineering marvel Atal Tunnel built in Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh received the Indian Building Congress' (IBC) 'Best Infrastructure Project' award on Thursday in New Delhi. More than thirty state-of-the-art infrastructure projects were nominated for the award. The strategic tunnel was adjudged by the Jury of the IBC as the Best Project for Excellence in Built Environment in 2021. Director General of the BRO, Lt General Rajeev Chaudhry, received the award during the 25th annual convention of the IBC for the achievement of the BRO in conCMYK structing this tunnel connecting Manali to the Lahaul-Spiti Valley. He said that the tunnel, besides offering the Armed Forces a strategic advantage by providing an alternate link to the critical Ladakh Sector, has also been a boon for the residents of Lahaul and Spiti District in Himachal Pradesh. The region has seen an unprecedented increase in tourist footfalls, and in a little more than a year the valley and the state have witnessed exponential growth in the socio-economic sphere. The tunnel, built by using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 3, 2020. It is equipped with a semi-transverse ventilation system, where large fans separately circulate air throughout the tunnel. An emergency tunnel has been integrated into the tunnel cross-section beneath the main carriageway for evacuation during emergencies. Fires inside the tunnel will be controlled within an area of 200 metres and fire hydrants are provided at specific locations throughout the tunnel. Pollution sensors continuously monitor the air quality in the tunnel and if the air quality is below the desired level, fresh air is injected into the tunnel via two heavy duty fans on each side of the tunnel. West Bengal govt announces plan to accommodate Ukraine-returned students MI News Service, Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced to accommodate students from the state who had to leave their studies in Ukraine due to the Russia-Ukraine war while blaming the Central government for not taking any responsibility of these students. Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat in Nabanna, Banerjee said that it is not possible for these students to spend a huge amount again for their education in another foreign country. "Two months on, the Central government has not yet taken any responsibility for the students who have returned from Ukraine. They have just asked the students to go to Poland and Hungary for their studies. But we have chalked out an idea as it is not possible for the students to spend a huge amount again for their education in another foreign country. The Chief Secretary, education secretary, medical health secretary have all been part of the plan," she said. According to the West Bengal government, a total of 422 people were brought back to West Bengal from Ukraine. Out of which, 412 are medical students-- 409 MBBS students and three Dental students. Total of six Engineering students and one Veterinary student. Along with the students, there were three labourers. After a meeting of the state official and Ukraine returned students on March Continue PG 3 16, CVs along ❑ Key accused in the Jahangirpuri case arrested from Bengal MI News Service, Delhi: The Special New Cell of Delhi Police has arrested one person from West Bengal who is said to be a key accused on April 16 communal clashes in Jahangirpuri, official sources said here on Thursday. The accused, identified as Farid alias Nilu, was arrested from his relative's place at Tamluk in East Midnapore district of West Bengal. Official sources told that a team of the Special Cell has already left West Bengal for Delhi along with the accused. The sources further said that Farid is accused of instigating the violence in Jahangirpuri. "Soon after the violence, he left Delhi and went to West Bengal to evade arrest," the sources said. Communal clashes had erupted in the Jahangirpuri area in northwest Delhi on April 16 during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in which nine people, including eight policemen, were injured. The police have till now arrested 39 people besides ap- prehending two juveniles, while one of the arrested person's relative was bound down for injuring a police inspector by pelting stones at him. The ongoing investigation into the communal clashes has revealed several accused's previous involvement in various criminal cases. The focus of the probe is currently on the prime accused -- Md Ansar -- whose pictures of flaunting a lavish lifestyle has even forced the Delhi Police to seek ED's help in the matter. CPI(M) opposes LIC IPO, calls it step towards 'destruction' of public character MI News New Delhi: Service, The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has firmly opposed the manner in which the Central Government has initiated the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) saying that it is a step towards the destruction of the public character of the corporation, "handing over priceless financial assets largely owned by nearly 29 crore policyholders." The Polit Bureau of the CPI (Marxist) in a statement said that the LIC has a unique place in the world of insurance, and was created through the nationalisation of private insurance companies in order to contribute to nation-building. "A hybrid saving-cum-risk coverage product was innovated and proved to be popular with ordinary people; this led to a rapid expansion of business. Where the Government of India invested only Rs 5 crore, the total life fund today is Rs 34 lakh crore," they said. ❑ Continue PG 3