Heena Sharma Blog

  The central government's Subject Expert Committee (SEC) has denied permission to Dr Reddy's Laboratories for conducting Phase 3 trials of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India. "The SEC has denied permission to Dr Reddy's to conduct phase-3 trials on the Russian vaccine Sputnik Light in India," sources told ANI here. After launching Sputnik V, Russia had introduced a new single-dose vaccine called Sputnik Light in May. Sputnik Light has also been developed by the Russian Ministry of Health, the Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The RDIF had earlier said that the Russian Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine demonstrates 78.6 per cent to 83.7 per cent efficacy among the elderly, according to real-world data collected by the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province (Argentina). According to the data from over 186,000 people aged 60-79, more than 40,000 of ...

  Twitter has announced that users can use their security keys as only form of two-factor authentication (2FA) on both mobile and web, which is the most effective way to keep the Twitter account secure. In March, Twitter had said it would soon let people use a security key as their only two-factor authentication method. Security keys are small devices that act like keys to your house. Just as you need a physical key to unlock the door to your home, you need a security key to unlock access to your account. "Security keys offer the strongest protection for your Twitter account because they have built-in protections to ensure that even if a key is used on a phishing site, the information shared can't be used to access your account," Twitter said in a statement on Wednesday. Security keys can differentiate legitimate sites from malicious ones and block phishing attempts that SMS or verification codes would not. Read More

  Amid the global shortage of the Covid-19 vaccines , a study conducted by Oxford University has found out that alternating doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines generate robust immune responses against the coronavirus. According to the study, 'mixed' schedules of these vaccines induced high concentrations of antibodies against the SARS-CoV2 spike IgG protein when doses were administered four weeks apart. This study, published on the Lancet pre-print server, means all possible vaccination schedules involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines could potentially be used against Covid-19. "The Com-COV study has evaluated 'mix and match' combinations of the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines to see to what extent these vaccines can be used interchangeably, potentially allowing flexibility in the UK and global vaccine roll-out," said Professor Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxf...

Microsoft , which unveiled Windows 11 last week, might roll out the OS on October 20, the media reported. A screenshot showed a Microsoft Teams message from Stevie Bathiche of the Surface Team to Microsoft's head of Windows and Devices, Panos Panay, saying "can't wait for October!". And the official promo materials from Microsoft on the Windows 11 website feature the date October 20 in the taskbar, GSMArena reported. Earlier, the company said that the new OS will be a free upgrade for Windows 10 users and will start rolling out "this holiday". According to the company, Windows 11 is made for gamers as it unlocks the full potential of the system's hardware, putting some of the latest gaming technology to work. With a high-performance NVMe SSD and the proper drivers, Windows 11 can soon load new games faster than ever thanks to a breakthrough technology called DirectStorage, which we also pioneered as part of the Xbox Velocity Architecture featu...

  Samsung Galaxy M32 goes on sale for the first time in India on June 28 at e-commerce platform Amazon, Samsung online store and select retail stores. The budget smartphone boasts super AMOLED fullHD screen of 90Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy M32 comes in 4GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB configurations priced at Rs 14,999 and Rs 16,999, respectively. As an introductory offer, consumers can avail an instant cashback of up to Rs 1,250 while paying with ICICI cards. The cashback offer brings the effective ownership price of the 4GB+64GB variant to Rs 13,749 and 6GB+128GB variant to Rs 15,749. As for the specifications, the Galaxy M32 sports a 6.4-inch fullHD+ super AMOLED screen of 90Hz refresh rate. The screen is touted to push the peak brightness in High Brightness Mode (HBM) to about 800 nits for good sunlight legibility. The display is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection against scratches. Read More

  The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which recently undertook a drive to vaccinate homeless persons and beggars against COVID-19 , has now started a campaign to inoculate potential super-spreaders in the township, a civic official said on Monday. In the first phase of the new campaign, 250 employees of various medical stores in Navi Mumbai were administered vaccine doses at a special camp organised on Sunday, civic spokesperson Mahendra Konde told PTI. He said those working at medical stores come in contact with a large number of people, including sick persons, frequently. Hence, the NMMC undertook the special drive to protect them from the coronavirus infection, he said. In the first round, 169 men and 81 women working at medical stores in Sanpada area of Navi Mumbai were covered, the official said. NMMC Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said medical shop staffers have been risking their lives in the fight against COVID-19. Read More

  Child care demands at home skyrocketed during the pandemic, but men and women did not split the burden equally. Globally, women took on 173 additional hours of unpaid child care last year, compared to 59 additional hours for men, a study released Friday by the Center for Global Development, a poverty non-profit, found. The gap widened in low- and middle-income countries, where women cared for children for more than three times as many hours as men did. Women have felt many of the pandemic's worst economic effects, including an estimated $800 billion in lost income, in large part due to increased demands on their time at home. The Covid-19 recession unraveled gains in pay equality, female labor force participation and unemployment, particularly among Black and Latina women in the U.S. Global job loss rates among women were roughly 1.8 times larger than those among men, according to a McKinsey & Co. estimate. And as U.S. workers return to the office, mothers are more like...

  After weeks of leaks and hype, tech giant Microsoft has officially announced the next version of its desktop operating system (OS) -- Windows 11 . The new OS will be a free upgrade for Windows 10 users and will start rolling out "this holiday". "We have simplified the design and user experience to empower your productivity and inspire your creativity. It's modern, fresh, clean and beautiful," Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer, Windows + Devices, said in a statement. "From the new Start button and taskbar to each sound, font and icon, everything was done intentionally to put you in control and bring a sense of calm and ease," Panay added. New in Windows 11, the company is introducing Snap Layouts, Snap Groups and Desktops to provide an even more powerful way to multitask and stay on top. These are new features designed to help users organise their windows and optimise their screen real estate. Read More

  The Delta variant , the significantly more transmissible strain of COVID-19 , is expected to become a dominant lineage if current trends continue, the WHO has warned after it was reported in 85 countries and continues to be detected in more places around the world. The COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update released on June 22 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that globally, the variant Alpha has been reported in 170 countries, territories or areas, Beta in 119 countries, Gamma in 71 countries and Delta in 85 countries. Delta, now reported in 85 countries globally, continues to be reported in new countries across all WHO Regions, 11 of which were newly reported in the past two weeks, the update said. WHO said the four current 'Variants of Concern' being monitored closely Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta - are widespread and have been detected in all WHO regions. Read More

  The rush by India’s states to end lockdowns as new coronavirus infections drop , rather than waiting for vaccination rates to rise, risks triggering fresh restrictions and holding back the nation’s recovery, according to Oxford Economics. “States are easing lockdowns based on lower test positivity rates rather than vaccination progress,” Priyanka Kishore, head of India and South East Asia Economics at Oxford Economics, wrote in a report to clients. “This risky strategy increases the chances of renewed outbreaks that would further delay the recovery.” Provinces including national capital New Delhi have begun reopening amid signs of infections plateauing, causing mobility rates to improve as of mid-June. While that’s likely to foster return of some demand in the near-term, there’s the risk of consumption and business activity suffering going ahead should newer restrictions be placed to control a resurgent virus wave. Read More  

  Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has stayed the transfer of 100 MHADA flats here to the Tata Memorial Hospital for providing temporary accommodation to cancer patients undergoing treatment there. State Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday confirmed the decision. Shiv Sena MLA Ajay Chaudhary told reporters that the decision to stay the transfer order was taken after he complained to the CM about objections to it from local residents. Notably, Awhad had taken the decision to allot 100 flats in buildings of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to the hospital. The keys of the flats were handed over to the hospital authorities in May by NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in the state. Chaudhary, who is an MLA from Sewri in Mumbai, said over 1,000 families living in the vicinity objected to the disturbance created by outsiders arriving there on a temporary basis. Read More

  A day after achieving a historic milestone of 88.09 lakh COVID-19 vaccinations , RS Sharma, Chief of Co-Win platform on Wednesday said as many as 1,08,949 vaccinators logged into Co-WIN on June 21 to facilitate this huge number of inoculation of Indians in one day. He added that the number was equivalent to Switzerland's population and more than that of any of the Nordic countries. "1,08,949 vaccinators logged into Co-WIN on June 21st to facilitate the inoculation of 8.6 million Indians in one day. This is equivalent to Switzerland's population and more than that of any of the Nordic countries," Sharma said. Adding to the new phase of universalisation of COVID-19 vaccination, which commenced from June 21, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said the vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to states and Union Territories for enabling better planning by them and streamlining t...

  NITI Aayog member Dr V. K. Paul on Tuesday said thwarting the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic is in the hands of the people as "it can be stopped if Covid appropriate behaviour is followed, and majority of the people get vaccinated". Paul's remarks came a day after a record 85 lakh Covid vaccination doses were administered across the country till Monday midnight with the beginning of the implementation of the revised Covid-19 vaccination policy, in which the Centre is procuring 75 per cent of domestically available vaccines for free jabs to the 18-plus population. He said the day one vaccination figures demonstrate India's ability to carry out vaccination on a large-scale for days and weeks together. "All this was possible because of planning and coordination between the Central and state governments and taking up the task work in a mission mode," Paul said. Read More

  More than six months after it was removed, Cyberpunk 2077 has returned to Sony's PlayStation Store but with a big warning for PS4 owners. "Users may continue to experience some performance issues with the PS4 edition while we continue to improve stability across all platforms," CD Projekt Red was quoted as saying by The Verge. "The PS4 Pro and PS5 versions of the game will provide the best experience on PlayStation," it added. Sony's listing for Cyberpunk 2077 has a similar warning and it goes a step further to try and dissuade PS4 owners from purchasing the game. "Purchase for use on PS4 systems is not recommended," said Sony's listing. "For the best Cyberpunk experience on PlayStation, play on PS4 Pro and PS5 systems," it added. Cyberpunk 2077 originally debuted in December with severe technical problems on last-generation Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. Read More

  Vietnam has received a fresh batch of China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines as part of the country's efforts to fight the worst wave of the pandemic. A brief handover ceremony was held at the Noi Bai International Airport here on Sunday, which was attended by Vietnam's Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and Chinese Ambassador to Hanoi Xiong Bo, reports Xinhua news agency. Vietnam pledges to quickly and safely administer the vaccines to those in need, Long said. In his speech, Xiong said: "I believe this batch of vaccines will help both Vietnam's epidemic prevention and control and its socioeconomic development." The handover of the vaccine came after Vietnam's Ministry of Health announced the approval of the jab for emergency use in the country on June 4. The new wave began in Vietnam in late April. Read More

  Vivo’s spin-off brand iQOO continues to make strides in the gaming smartphone segment with the launch of the iQOO 3 5G. Priced Rs 19,990, the smartphone is packed with features and specifications not common in the midrange segment. For starters, it is the first smartphone in India powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G 5G mobile processor. Moreover, it packs a fullHD resolution screen of 120Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate, a 64-megapixel based triple rear camera array, and a big capacity battery supported by 55W fast charger. The iQOO 3 5G seems to be a solid midrange smartphone. Is it? Let’s find out iQOO Z3 5G : Design It is easy to find a smartphone in the midrange segment packed with top-of-the-line specifications, but the search gets difficult if you throw in the thin and lightweight design requirement. Thankfully, the iQOO 3 5G does not compromise on the design front. It has a thin profile (8.5mm) and lightweight (185.5g) build. The phone comes in ‘Cyber Blu...

  AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing partner in Southeast Asia has missed a delivery target in Thailand and shipments to other countries in the region have been delayed, the latest setback for a shot that was meant to be the backbone of the global inoculation effort. Thailand was slated to receive and administer 6 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses in June but health authorities this week said they would be distributing only about 3.5 million of those shots this month. Pledging to still give out 6 million doses as planned, officials appear to be making up the shortfall with millions of shots from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Shipments of shots made by Siam Bioscience -- AstraZeneca’s Bangkok-based partner, which has links to the Thai royal family -- to Malaysia and the Philippines have also been delayed, though both countries say they don’t expect to be waiting for too long. The situation comes on top of delivery problems at India’s Serum Institute of India Ltd...

  Facebook is on a huge monetisation drive and now, Instagram users globally will see ads in short-video feature Reels from Friday. The ads will be full-screen, looping and up to 30-second long and will appear in between other clips, reports The Verge. Ads will be identified by a small "sponsored" tag below the name of the advertiser's account. Instagram started testing ads in India, Australia, Brazil and Germany in April and is now rolling those out globally. Ads can run up to 30 seconds and users can interact with them the way they would with organic posts (including skipping them altogether). Ads can also include "shop now" buttons, according to screenshots shared by the company. Facebook is also experimenting with a new ad format for Stories called sticker ads. Read More

  A single day rise of 67,208 new coronavirus infections were recorded taking India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,97,00,313, while the active cases declined to 8,26,740, the lowest after 71 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,81,903 with 2,330 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed   The active cases declined to 8,26,740 comprising 2.78 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.93 per cent. A net decline of 38,692 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 19,31,249 tests were conducted on Wednesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 38,52,38,220. The daily positivity rate was recorded 3.48 per cent . It has been less than 5 per cent for 10 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to...

  The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it will declare Class 12 board exam results by July 31, using performance in Class 11 and Class 10 as a factor in evaluating students. Total marks will be based on a school's past performance in Class 12 exams, multiple media reports said. About 40 per cent of the marks will be based on Class 12 pre-board, the Board told the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari, according to NDTV.com. The performance of the students in Class 11 and Class 10 exams will be factored in while making the assessments. While 30 per cent marks will be based on Class 11 final exam, 30 per cent marks based on best-of-three Class 10 marks will also be included while making the assessment, it said. Practicals will be for 100 marks and the students will be marked based on the marks submitted by the schools. Read More

  Apple in May announced free upgrade to its Music app with Lossless and Spatial Audio support. Though the upgrades have started rolling out globally in a staggered manner, users in India would need to wait a little longer. According to the company’s support account on Twitter, Dolby Atmos powered Spatial Audio on Apple Music will be coming to India soon. The information did not provide clarity on the release of Lossless on Apple Music. It may mean that the Lossless feature would not arrive along with Dolby Atmos but separately. Apple announced in May that its music streaming service Apple Music will get lossless audio and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos in June. Both the upgrades will be available for free to the Apple Music subscribers, including those on family and student plans. According to Apple, the default Apple Music setting will let users automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an Apple H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in spea...

  India saw a single day rise of 60,471 new coronavirus infections , the lowest after 75 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,95,70,881, while the daily positivity rate declined to 3.45 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,77,031 with 2,726 fresh deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed The active cases further declined to 9,13,378 comprising 3.09 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.64 per cent.A net decline of 59,780 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Also, 17,51,358 tests were conducted on Monday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 38,13,75,984. Read More

  Edtech company WhiteHat Jr on Tuesday said it has partnered non-governmental organisation CRY - Child Rights and You to inspire children to create real-world mobile applications and help the society for a better tomorrow. CRY will certify participating WhiteHat Jr students who create mobile apps furthering the cause of social impact and senior leaders from CRY will regularly engage with WhiteHat Jr students to inspire them to partake in social causes. "We receive hundreds of ideas every month from students who want to develop mobile applications with a vision to support the underprivileged or help contribute to society. This not-for-profit worldview in kids is incredibly inspiring and we're delighted to partner with CRY to reinforce it," said Karan Bajaj, Founder and CEO, WhiteHat Jr. Read More

  Leaders of G7 countries have agreed in an agreement at their summit to share at least 870 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines directly, at least half of which are to be delivered by the end of 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday. In a statement, the WHO said the G7 countries have reaffirmed their support for COVAX, a WHO-led international campaign for equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines globally, as "the primary route for providing vaccines to the poorest countries", Xinhua news agency reported. While welcoming the G7's commitment, COVAX partners have also called for their continued support for exporting the vaccines in significant proportions, promotion of voluntary licensing and not-for-profit global production. COVAX has been facing an urgent supply gap, according to the WHO, and is focused on securing as many shared doses as possible immediately. It will work with the G7 and other countries that have stepped up to share doses as rapidly ...

  The price of petrol crossed the Rs 100-mark in Ladakh and stood at Rs 101.95 per litre on Monday. The price of diesel in Bhopal was Rs 93.90 per litre Other states have also witnessed an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel. With the latest hike, petrol is now being sold at Rs 96.4 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.28 a litre in Delhi. On Sunday, petrol was available at Rs 96.12 per litre and diesel at Rs 86.98 per litre in the national capital. In Mumbai, the petrol price jumped to Rs 102.58 per litre and diesel rose to Rs 94.70 per litre. In Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, petrol prices went up to Rs 104.59 per litre and diesel price too went up to 95.91 per litre. Read More  

  While announcing new games for Xbox fans during the E3 2021 virtual gaming conference, Microsoft has also unveiled the first look of a cool Xbox Series X-shaped mini fridge. The Xbox Mini Fridge is "the world's most powerful mini fridge," according to the company, that will help gamers stay cool as they go through immersive play experience. When the Xbox Series X was first announced in 2019, people made memes on its shape and compared it to a refrigerator. Inspired by this, the company took to social media and after defeating Skittles in a Twitter poll, said that an actual mini-Xbox fridge will be released in holiday 2021. In April, Aaron Greenberg who is GM, Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft, tweeted: "Thanks to everyone who voted, this was down to the wire and thrilling to follow. Now that @Xbox won, we will move forward on our promise to make those Xbox Series X Mini Fridges. First one off the line will be filled with games & headed to our friends @...

  Apple supply chain's shift of operation to India, in line with the incentives provided by the government, has reportedly created around 20,000 job in the country to date. According to a report in DigiTimes Asia, the number could have been higher were it not for the Covid-19 pandemic . Manufacturers including Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron were all committed to creating certain numbers of job opportunities when they applied to enter the subsidies programme under India's Production Linked Incentive (PLI). As per the report, if Foxconn and Wistron successfully meet their hiring plans pledged in their PLI application, they will each be adding 23,000 people to their Indian operations by the end of March 2022. "The headcounts at Wistron's operation in India had been already approaching 10,000 when a riot by workers took place at its plant in December 2020, forcing the company to halt and restructure its systems and operations," the report claimed. Read More

  Covid-19 has been devastating. A future pandemic could be far worse. If scientists used a scale to classify pandemics like hurricanes, the fatality rate of Covid-19 would probably make it a “category two” out of five, according to Richard Hatchett, a former White House adviser who leads the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. “What’s the worst case?” he asked. “It’s a lot worse than Covid.” The specter of another global crisis, along with the potential emergence of a deadlier foe, is pushing disease trackers to begin preparations now, even as Covid continues to rage in some regions. Researchers and governments want to smash vaccine development records set during this pandemic, harnessing technologies such as messenger RNA, and build a stronger system that can respond swiftly to stop the next outbreaks from exploding when they do occur. Read More