Breaking News: Bharat Biotech submits phase-3 data of nasal COVID vaccine as booster shot

"PM Modi has accepted our proposal to come to Mandi on Dec 27 for the completion of 4 years of our govt in Himachal Pradesh. We'll inaugurate projects worth Rs 11 crores, including the Dhaula Sidh hydropower project & Renukaji multipurpose project", said Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur. 

There is no clear evidence yet on the transmissibility, immune evasion or severity of Omicron in India, said Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) in its latest bulletin while noting that the variant continues to grow rapidly as a variant of concern globally.

"At this time, there is no clear evidence regarding transmissibility, immune evasion, or severity in India," INSACOG said.

According to PMO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the telephone with President of Russia Vladimir Putin. In their conversation, the two leaders followed up on some of the issues discussed during the recent visit to India by President Putin.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, more than 58 lakh (58,06,977) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today. India’s cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 138 crore landmark. 

Two-time MLA from Porvorim Rohan Khaunte, one of the most intellectually challenging voices in the Opposition in Goa, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with hundreds of followers on Friday in presence of party's Goa in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and party's state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based 'Automatic Water Supply System' for residents of Cantonment Boards on Defence Estates Day 2021, according to the Ministry of Defence. The ministry informs that, the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG) created the module of the GIS-based water supply system for Cantonment Boards under the guidance of the Defence Secretary and Director General of Defence Estates, Delhi.

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who was being quizzed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe into the Panama Papers expose, left the ED office after 5 hours of questionind.

Sitting MLA from Curtorim, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenço who resigned from Congress today, is set to join TMC. He landed in Kolkata today and will meet the party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tomorrow, Dec 21.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Prayagraj on December 20. PM Modi will hold a massive rally and launch key projects in Prayagraj.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced that it has deferred its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland amid the Omicron outbreak. The Annual Meeting was scheduled to take place in Davos-Klosters between 17-21 January 2022. It is now planned to be held in early summer, the WEF informed.

"The World Economic Forum will defer its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in the light of continued uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak. The Annual Meeting was scheduled to take place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland between 17-21 January 2022. It is now planned for early summer," the organisation said in a statement.

PM Modi interacts with leading CEOs of companies across banking, infrastructure, automobiles, telecom, consumer goods, textile, renewables, hospitality, technology, healthcare, space, electronics sectors.

As per sources, Bharat Biotech has submitted a phase 3 clinical trial application to DCGI for its booster dose of their intranasal COVID vaccine that can be given to Covaxin and Covishield vaccinated people.

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 5 pm today as Opposition ruckus got fierce after a verbal spat between Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Bachchan and treasury benches. 

Moderna claimed that a booster shot of its Coronavirus vaccine significantly raises the level of antibodies that can thwart the Omicron variant.

The foreign ministers of Central Asian countries called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on the sidelines of the India-Central Asia Dialogue. 

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met His Holiness the Dalai Lama and said, "India stands with Tibet". The meeting which was held at the residence of the Dalai Lama lasted for an hour. 

Tibetan spirit Himachal Pradesh's spiritual leader Dalai Lama called India a role model of religious harmony in the world. He met with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in Dharamshala. 

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at Himachal Pradesh's McLeodganj in Dharamshala. Dalai Lama said, "India a model of religious harmony". 

"As of now, India has 161 Omicron cases. We're monitoring the situation daily with experts. With our experience during the 1st & 2nd waves, to ensure that we don't face problems when variant spreads, we've arranged a buffer stock of important medicines", said, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Rajya Sabha.

The court issued a notice to continue the ban on Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation. The Centre has notified a seven-member legal team headed by solicitor general Tushar Mehta to defend its decision to ban Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) as an unlawful organization under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

"Under PM Modi's leadership, with the efforts of our healthcare workers, 88% of first doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered; 58% of second doses administered so far. The majority of the population in India is vaccinated today", said, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Rajya Sabha. 

"Today all states/UTs have adequate quantity of vaccines, 17 cr doses available with them. Our manufacturing capacity increased. Today India has the capacity to manufacture 31 cr doses of vaccine/month. In next 2 months, it'll further rise to 45 cr doses/month", he added.

'The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' was passed in Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to allow electoral registration officers to seek the Aadhaar number of people who want to register as voters "for the purpose of establishing the identity".

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan reached the office of the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi on Monday in connection with the 2016 Panama Paper case. She had earlier skipped two summons and sought time from the agency. 

The case, as per the Enforcement Directorate, involved alleged contravention of the FOREX laws by numerous well-known names leaked in the papers. The actor was issued the summons on November 9 under Section 37 of FEMA.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said the Delimitation Commission has come out with a document that is prepared objectively. All associated members regardless of parties appreciated work done by Delimitation Commission and NC members were also satisfied by parameters followed by the Commission.

The Gujarat ATS held a press briefing on the seizure of a Pakistani fishing boat that was found carrying 77 kg of heroin worth Rs 400 Crores. Six people who were on board have been arrested by the Coast Guard and further investigation is underway. 

Addressing the media, Union minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal said the12 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs should realize their mistake and apologize to the Chair. The Opposition leaders did not come for the meeting called by the Government today, he said.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today expressed disappointment over the lack of progress in resolving the stalemate on the issue of suspension of 12 Members of the House. He called for discipline and decorum in the House.

Given the rise in cases for some days, now all COVID-19 positive cases in Delhi will be sent for genome sequencing for Omicron, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday. At least 28 cases have been reported in the city so far. The CM emphasized the need for double vaccination and adherence to safety protocols. He also urged the Centre to allow booster doses to the citizens. 

Goa Congress working president Aleixo Reginald who was announced as a candidate by Congress last week for upcoming assembly polls has resigned as MLA. Sources claim that Reginald is likely to join the TMC, in another setback for the Congress which has suffered numerous defections in the days leading to elections. 

Two RSS workers have been arrested, in connection with the alleged murder of SDPI leader KS Shaan in Kerala's Alappuzha district. The police claimed that the RSS workers were involved in the planning and conspiracy and claimed to have substantial leads to identify the culprits soon.

State Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) KS Shan was murdered by unidentified assailants in Alappuzha during the late hours of Saturday. Pertinently, the incident was reported hours after two political murders in the state, including that of BJP leader Ranjeet Sreenivas.

In another blow to Congress in Assam, another sitting MLA Sashikanta Das defected from the party on Monday and is likely to join the BJP. He has switched over to the treasury bench in the office of Chief Minister at Assam Legislative Assembly.

Welcoming Das, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the leader will join the government in all aspects and ultimately join the BJP in some time.

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Election Laws (Amendment Bill) containing a slew of electoral reforms including the linking of Voter ID with Aadhaar on a voluntary basis. The bill was cleared in the lower house of the Parliament after the Opposition debate concerning the security of citizens. Speaking in favour of the bill, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju pointed out that amendment was necessitated by the Supreme Court. 

The follow-up conclave of the Delimitation Commission is being held at Delhi today, wherein Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), BJP's spokesperson for J&K Jitendra Singh amongst other leaders are attending the associate members meeting. The delimitation exercise refers to the demarcation of boundaries of Parliamentary or Assembly constituencies, the process is carried out at regular intervals to ensure that each constituency has approximately an equal number of voters. 

Five officials including BJP MPs Jitendra Singh, Jugal Kishore, National Conference's S Akbar Lone, Hasain Masoodi, Farooq Abdullah arrived in the capital earlier today for the commission's meeting. 

The Minorities Commission has asked the Punjab government to file a report before December 26, on the Sacrilege incidents that have created that uproar in the election-going state. National minorities commission issued notice to the Congress-led government on Monday on the alleged sacrilege attempts at Kapurthala Gurudwara and the Golden temple.

A Pakistani fishing boat with six crew members and carrying 77 kg of heroin worth around Rs 400 crore was apprehended in the Indian waters off the Gujarat coast, officials said on Monday.

The drug seizure was made on Sunday night in a joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), they said. 

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday paid a courtesy call to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at McLeodganj in Dharamshala. In the pictures released by the Tibetan government, Bhagwat was seen gifting a Ganesha idol to His Holiness. 

Bhagwat is on a five-day tour to Himachal Pradesh.

Two new Omicron cases of COVID-19 were reported in Delhi, taking the tally to 24, said Delhi Health Department on Monday.  Out of these 24 patients, 12 have been discharged and 12 are under treatment, it added. 

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was summoned in connection with the Panama Paper case, sources said on Monday. She had sought time on two occasions. It is learned that the actor had filed a plea for an adjournment to the multi-agency special investigation team. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting with senior ministers including Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal, in Parliament, to discuss various issues and government strategy for the ongoing Winter Session.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi has submitted notice in Lok Sabha "to oppose Election Laws (Amendment), Bill 2021 which proposes to link Aadhaar to electoral roll enrolment."

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha to discuss "Statehood and inclusion of Ladakh in Schedule VI of Consitution of India."

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has written a letter to External Affairs Minister  S Jaishankar condemning the arrest of Indian fishermen from the southern state by the Sri Lankan Navy. Stalin said EAM has assured to follow it up on the matter and assure fishermen's safety and right to livelihood.

The floor leaders of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha held a meeting on Monday to discuss further strategy on revoking suspension of 12 members and demand for resignation of MoS Home Affairs in the Lakhimpur Kheri issue. They will also deliberate on the topic of invitation sent by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi to hold talks with Opposition leaders.

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 12 more Indian fishermen and seized two fishing trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters, taking the number of Indians apprehended in the last two days to 55, an official statement said on Monday.

The arrests were made in seas South of Mannar in the Sri Lankan waters on Sunday. It comes a day after the Navy arrested 43 Indian fishermen and seized six fishing trawlers in seas Southeast of the Delft Island in Jaffna.

Amid the fear of spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has appealed to citizens to avoid gatherings and parties during the upcoming Christmas festival and New Year, and warned of stringent action against those who flout rules.

Maharashtra has so far reported 54 cases of the Omicron variant. Out of these, 22 are from Mumbai, including cases found through screening at the international airport here, as per official data.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has turned to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the hope of speeding up state-level mining clearances for commencing production of coal from blocks allotted to its power projects in Chhattisgarh where the party is in power.

In a letter to the party president last week, Gehlot said the delay in mining clearances for the Parsa coal block from the Chhattisgarh government could leave 4,340-megawatt generation capacity in Rajasthan stranded because the
mineable reserves of two mines fueling Rajasthan’s power plants since 2013 are expected to be exhausted by the end of this month.

Jammu University cancels exams to be held today and tomorrow amid a strike by protesting Power Development Department Employees. Jammu Kashmir High Court Bar Association has also ordered lawyers to abstain from work in protest against failure of JK Administration to provide electricity and water supply.

Sensex plunges 1040 points to trade at 55,971 in the opening session; Nifty at 16,677.

PM Modi will visit Prayagraj on Dec 21 and participate in a program to be attended by over 2 lakh women. The Prime Minister will transfer Rs 1000 crores to self-help groups benefitting around 16 lakh women. He will also lay the foundation stone of over 200 supplementary nutrition manufacturing units, said the PMO. 

Sajad Lone led Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference (JKPC) pulled out of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Sunday. 

In a letter to Farooq Abdullah, Lone said, "It is difficult for us to stay on. There has been a breach of trust between partners which we believe is beyond remedy. The majoritarian view in our party is that we should pull out of the alliance in an amicable manner rather than waiting for things to get messier. And I am confirming that we will no longer be a part of the PAGD alliance."

"We are divorcing from the alliance, not its objectives. We will continue to adhere to the objectives that we set out when this alliance was made. And the PAGD leadership should be assured that we will extend support on all issues which fall within the ambit of stated objectives," Lone added. 

A man was seriously injured when he came under the wheels of a reversing car at Saoner in Nagpur district of Maharashtra, police said on Sunday. 

Immediately after the accident on Saturday, the car sped away in the direction of Nagpur carrying the injured person along, a police official said. 

Five more tested positive for Omicron in Karnataka. The total number of Omicron positive cases in the state climbs to 19

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the floor leaders of "like-minded" parties in Parliament today. The meeting is scheduled to be held at 9.45 am today.

Meanwhile, the Central government has also called a meeting of five political parties today whose MPs have been suspended from the Rajya Sabha to break the deadlock between the government and the Opposition in the House.

12 Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended from the House on the first day of the Winter session of Parliament from 5 Political Parties

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist, who was arrested in connection with the Rohini district court blast case, allegedly attempted suicide by consuming a toxic substance in police custody, said police sources on Sunday.

Bharat Bhushan Kataria was arrested on December 17 for allegedly planting a low-intensity bomb inside the Rohini district court in Delhi on December 9.

According to Delhi Police sources, Bharat Bhushan Kataria is undergoing treatment at AIIMS and is completely stable.
The police sources said that the DRDO scientist drank a toxic substance after which he was rushed to the hospital. He was admitted to AIIMS after complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting.

Further, the police sources informed that Kataria is continuously misleading the police during interrogation.

A team of the Election Commission of India led by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra will be on a three-day visit to Goa from December 20 to take stock of the poll preparedness ahead of the State Assembly elections in 2022. 

The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year has surged to 208, the national police said Monday. At least 239 people were injured and 52 were missing after Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago, the police tally showed.

More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Rai slammed into the country on Thursday as a super typhoon. 

Parts of Jammu and Kashmir are reeling under darkness as employees from J&K Power Development Department are refraining from restoring electricity in the areas that developed snags. The strike from Power department employees is in protest against the move to privatize grid stations. The Jammu and Kashmir administration is yet to negotiate with the protesting employees. 

Meanwhile, The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has sought the intervention of the Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant n the ongoing work boycott by the 21000 electricity employees and engineers of Jammu & Kashmir.

Congress leader Ashwani Handa extended support to protesting Power Development Department (PDD) employees on Sunday and demanded that electricity and water bills be waived off as people suffer a lot due to terrorism. He also hinted that the decision of involving the Army hints at the emergency-like situation.

Parts of Jammu and Kashmir are reeling under darkness as employees from J&K Power Development Department are refraining from restoring electricity in the areas that developed snags.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) condemned the alleged sacrilege attempt at Golden Temple in Amritsar and called it a 'conspiracy' to make society fight among themselves.

"The incident of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib which took place at Golden Temple Amritsar on December 18 is unfortunate," reads a statement issued by RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale.

"Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Sri Guru tradition is a matter of common heritage and reverence for all of us and is the storehouse of knowledge of India. The forces that make society fight among themselves are conspiring and they keep doing it," it added.

Indian Coast Guard, in a joint operation with Gujarat ATS, has apprehended a Pakistani fishing boat 'Al Huseini' with 6 crew in Indian waters carrying 77 kgs of heroin worth approximately Rs 400 crores, said PRO Defence, Gujarat.

There is no resolution in sight for the stalemate in the Rajya Sabha over the suspension of 12 MPs as a united opposition on Sunday rejected the government's outreach to resolve the logjam.

The opposition said they will not attend the Monday morning meeting convened by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal as invitations were sent to leaders of the four parties whose MPs have been suspended and not to the entire opposition.

Former US President Donald Trump has spoken against the idea of boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, saying such actions hurt the athletes.

"No, because I watched Jimmy Carter do it [in 1980] and it was terrible. It was terrible. It hurts the athletes. There are much more powerful things we can do than that," Trump said in an interview with Fox News, broadcast on Sunday.

The ex-president went on to say that he would like to see the US competing and winning "every single medal," Sputnik reported. 

Earlier in the month, the Joe Biden administration announced that the US would not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics due to alleged human rights violations by China. 

In the wake of protests after the desecration of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Sangolli Rayanna statues in different parts of the state, the Karnataka Police has extended the prohibitory order placed under section 144 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) from December 20 to 22 in Belagavi.

In wake of protests after the desecration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Sangolli Rayanna statues on Saturday night, a prohibitory order has been extended under Sec 144 CrPC from 6 am on Dec 20 to 6 am on Dec 22 in Belagavi," said Police Commissioner Dr. K Thiyagarajan.

Earlier on Saturday, Karnataka Police Commissioner had extended the curfew till December 20, Monday 6 am.