MANGALURU  FRIDAY  NOVEMBER 20, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION OXFORD STUDY CONFIRMS COVID SHOT’S RESPONSE IN ELDERLY The results of Oxford’s Phase-2 trial, published in the Lancet, show the vaccine is better tolerated in people above 56 years FINDINGS GOOD NEWS FOR INDIA The Oxford University on Thursday confirmed that the Covid vaccine it is developing with AstraZeneca produced strong immune responses in older people, who are at highest risk. The Oxford shot is the best bet for India as it is being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute and does not need the cold chain facility for storing unlike Pfizer’s vaccine candidate ■ Phase-3 ‘VACCINE CAUSES FEW SIDE EFFECTS’ ■ ■ The study involved 560 adults, 240 of them over 70 years It showed that the vaccine provokes a response in T-cells that target the virus within 14 days of the first dose and a protective antibody response within 28 days of the booster dose The Lancet report says the vaccine causes few side effects RESULTS OF THE OXFORD VACCINE ARE LIKELY TO BE RELEASED BY CHRISTMAS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Big-time retooling of development models Policy framework aimed at liberalising tech industry: PM B I S M A H M A L I K @ Bengaluru PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India’s regulatory framework is being simplified to promote innovation in the technology sector and the government is actively engaging with key stakeholders for this. “You must be aware of the recent decisions taken by the government to ease compliance burden for the tech industry We are actively . engaging with the stakeholders in the IT industry to chalk out a future policy framework for liberalising the sector and removing the compliance burden,” Modi said while virtually inaugurating the 23rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit, 2020. He was referring to the recent announcement by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) on removing ITeS/BPO firms from the OSP (Other Service Providers) compliance burden. Hailing MEITY’s recent approval to IT firms allowing their employees to work from anywhere in India, Modi said the policy decisions are aimed at liberalising the burgeoning tech industry “India is currently at a sweet spot. . Our tech solutions have the potential to go global and, due to technology our schemes have , gone beyond files and changed the lives of people on a large scale,” the PM added. While admitting that the pandemic had caused disruption in the economy the PM said , P4 that it is not the end of the road. Through technology we have enhanced human dignity. Millions of farmers receive monetary support in one click. At the peak of Covid lockdown it was technology that ensured India’s poor received proper and quick assistance. The scale of this relief has few parallels Narendra Modi Prime Minister The new development paradigm is a strategic decision we have made based on the current stage and conditions of development in China and with full consideration given to globalisation and changes in the external environment Xi Jinping President, China China to ride on domestic demand J AYA N TA R O Y C H O W D H U R Y @ New Delhi Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Deputy CM Dr C N Ashwath Narayan and Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar at the inauguration of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 in Bengaluru on Thursday | SHRIRAM BN K’taka eyes pole position in bio, digital economies EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru THE Karnataka Government is aiming to achieve the top position in India’s bio-economy and digital economy. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said one of the key goals of the state is to achieve 50 per cent market share of the national bio-economy (biotechnology economy) of $100 billion by 2025, and added that necessary steps have already been taken in this direction. Addressing the inauguration of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020, Yediyurappa assured of Karnataka playing a pivotal role in making India a $5 trillion economy and pointed out that the state already has the most progressive start-up ecosystem. He pointed out that four of the seven start-ups, which had become ‘start-up unicorns’ in India in 2020, were from P4 Karnataka. Education minister for just a few hours R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ Patna BARELY hours after taking charge, Bihar’s newly minted education minister Dr Mewalal Chaudhary was forced to resign on Thursday after corruption charges swirling around him threatened to take the shine off Nitish Kumar’s fourth consecutive term as CM. Nitish, who is learnt to have directed the minister to quit, reallotted education as additional charge to Ashok K Chaudhary, who already holds the portfolios of building construction, social welfares, science and tech and minority welfare. Dr Chaudhary is an accused in a corruption case related to irregularities in the appointment of assistant professors in the Bihar Agriculture University when he was its Vice Chancellor. He, however, tried to brazen it out, saying “no chargesheet has been filed yet,” but couldn’t make the stink go away . After retiring in 2015, he managed to get the JD(U)’s Tarapur ticket and won. In 2017, a corruption case was lodged against him at Bhagalpur’s Sabour police station based on a directive from the then governor-cum-chancellor, who went by the findings of inquiry panel that examined his appointment of 166 candidates. The JD(U) then expelled him but he managed to somehow creep into the party about two years later. How and why no chargesheet has been filed against him yet despite his antecedents, remains a mystery . THREAT THWARTED Security personnel inspect the encounter site at Nagrota Ban toll plaza in Jammu on Thursday. A fierce gunfight broke out between terrorists and the forces here earlier in the day, which ended in the killing of four terrorists | PTI EXPRESS READ Quota for kids of Covid warriors in med schools Moody’s ups FY’21 India growth forecast New Delhi: Wards of healthcare workers who died while on Covid duty will get reservation in admission to MBBS and BDS courses from the central pool from next year, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said | P7 New Delhi: Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday upped India’s growth forecast to (-) 10.6 per cent for the current fiscal, from its earlier estimate of (-) 11.5 per cent saying the latest stimulus prioritises manufacturing and jobs, and focuses on growth. P11 SEEKING RELIEF Upset Pulakeshi Nagar MLA to write to Sonia B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru FISSURES in the Congress party seem to be widening with Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy planning to write to the All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi next week stating that he had got no support from KPCC chief D K Shivakumar. “He is instead backing former Bengaluru mayor and DJ Halli corporator Sampath Raj, who has been arrested in the DJ Halli arson case and is said to have incited the mob to burn down my house on August 11,” said Srinivasamurthy . Speaking to TNIE, the MLA said that he was deeply anguished that Shivakumar has not extended any support to him even though his house was burnt down by a mob reportedly instigated by Sampath Raj. “There has been no word of sympathy or support from the KPCC president even after three months. Even when Sampath Raj was arrested by the police, he is seen supporting him. Last month, when the Central Crime Branch (CCB) had submitted the charge sheet (in the DJ Halli violence and burning down of the MLA’s house) naming Raj, I had written to Shiva- kumar to expel him from the party but he has not responded till date,” said Murthy . He however, acknowledged support from former CM and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and former minister Zameer Ahmed Khan. “The two have been with me since the time of the incident,” he added. Murthy said that he would pen down his grievances to the Gandhis. “If I am not getting any help from my KPCC president, I will have to knock on the doors of the AICC president for justice and help,” he said. When Raj’s personal assistant and relative Arun was arrested by the police, I had written to the City Police Commissioner to probe his role in the violence Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, MLA, Pulakeshi Nagar STARTING next year, China will rely more on domestic consumption to drive future growth for its $14.34-trillion economy, which has used an export-led model to accelerate its way out of poverty in the past four decades. “From next year on, China will embark on new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country We will foster . a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other,” Chinese president Xi Jinping on Thursday told a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation chief executives. The ratio of foreign trade to GDP has already dropped from 67% in 2006 to less than 32% in 2019, according to Chinese government data. In comparison, India’s foreign trade as a percentage of GDP stood at 40% in P7 2019. Supreme Court restores dismissed PIL on farm laws EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Supreme Cour t on Thursday restored a dismissed public interest litigation (PIL), which challenged the constitutional validity of the Centre’s three farm sector refor m laws on the grounds that Parliament did not have powers to legislate on agriculture, as it is a state subject. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde had last month issued notice to the Centre on a batch of petitions against the farm laws. However, it had dismissed the PIL filed by lawyer M L Sharma against the same laws and asked him to approach the high court instead. During a brief hearing on Thursday the bench said, “We , will restore and keep your matter for admission after two weeks.” Sharma pointed out that he could not argue it on the day it was dismissed. “If I could not appear before the court and argue myself, then it amounts to non-appearance,” he reasoned. “The point on which we had dismissed it was that there was no cause of action,” the bench said. Hafiz Saeed gets 10 more yrs in two terror financing cases E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi MUMBAI terror attack mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was on Thursday sentenced to over 10 years in prison by a Pakistan court in connection with two terror financing cases. Saeed, who is in the Kot Lakhpoat jail since February, was earlier sentenced to 11 years in jail in two other cases of terror financing. All sentences, including the previous ones, shall run concurrently the court said. “The Anti-Ter, rorism Court (ATC) of Lahore on Thursday sentenced four leaders of JuD in two more cases,” a court official said.