To mark International Women's Day, Business Standard consulted Dr Asha Dalal, director, obstetrics & gynaecology at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital about the crucial screening tests that women should undergo during various biological stages of their lives. Watch the video to know more

From Daughter to Mother: Prioritising Women's Health on International Women's Day

HPV vaccines, cervical cancer, Serum India

The government is likely to begin administering anti-cervical cancer vaccine in girls aged nine to 14 years in six states in June, official sources said on Sunday.
In the first phase of the vaccination campaign, 2.55 crore girls are targeted to be administered the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, an official source told PTI.
The Union Health Ministry has drawn a roadmap to roll out HPV vaccine in the universal immunisation programme and is likely to float a global tender in April for 16.02 crore doses to be procured by 2026, official sources said.
The Serum Institute's made-in-India vaccine against cervical cancer, CERVAVAC, was launched last month.
Prakash Kumar Singh, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Serum Institute of India (SII), has written a letter to the Health Ministry its first indigenous HPV vaccine will be available in the private market at an MRP of Rs 2,000 per dose, i

Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute

A day after the first indigenously developed Human Papillomavirus vaccine against cervical cancer was launched, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday said the vaccine will be available in small quantity this year and its production will be boosted next year to take care of the needs of the nation.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event after presenting the vaccine to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Poonawalla said the vaccine 'CERVAVAC' will be made available through the government programme this year.
The vaccine for 9-14-year-old was launched on Tuesday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Poonawalla, and Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India, Prakash K Singh.
It will be available at a much lower price than the internationally branded vaccines available in the market, Singh had said earlier.
The vaccine will be included in the National Immunisation Programme by
mid-2023, government officials had said.


Lancet report titled, "Global estimates of incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in 2020: a baseline analysis of the WHO Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative," highlights glaring reality

Image via Shutterstock

India would be in a position to roll out the indigenously developed Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV) against cervical cancer for girls in the age group of 914 under the National Immunisation Programme by mid-2023, NTAGI chairperson Dr N K Arora said.
The CERVAVAC vaccine is likely to be launched by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in April next year and will be available at a much lower price than the international vaccines available in the market, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the SII said on the sidelines of the South Asia meeting on HPV here.
The vaccine has received the DCGI's approval and been cleared by the government advisory panel National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) for use in the public health programme, Dr Arora told PTI.
At present, the country is fully dependent on foreign manufacturers for the vaccine. Three foreign companies manufacture the HPV vaccine out of which two firms sell their vaccines in India. .

Cervical spondylosis

Dr Singh said that WHO has called for action in several key areas to achieve the elimination target of four or less cases per 100,000 women

The locally developed Ceravac can play a critical role in the efficacy of the National Immunisation Mission

Serum India's product made in collaboration with state-run biotechnology department, expected to bring down prices

vaccine

India's first indigenously developed quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer will be launched here on Thursday, officials said on Wednesday
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had last month granted market authorisation to Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture an indigenously-developed vaccine against cervical cancer.
Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh will launch the vaccine at IIC Delhi. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla will be present at the event, the officials said.
According to the officials, the qHPV vaccine CERVAVAC has demonstrated robust antibody response that is nearly 1,000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted HPV types and in all dose and age groups.
Cervical cancer in India ranks as the second most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age.
The DCGI's approval had come following recommendation by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the CDSCO on Ju

SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla tweeted to make the announcement, 'For the first time, there will be an Indian HPV vaccine to treat cervical cancer in women that is both affordable and accessible'

Serum Institute of India

Country now depends on foreign companies and Serum's product is likely to bring down prices.

weekend

The HPV vaccine, administered to pre-pubescent girls to prevent cervical cancer, has received considerable bad press over its 14 years

Why aren't cancer drugs better? The targets might be wrong

The leading cause of cervical cancer is HPV, found in about 99 per cent of cervical cancer cases

Dr Nimmi Ramanujan, professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, demonstrating the use of the pocket colposcope

It's a cheap screening device that's gaining acceptance over the more intrusive speculum for its ability to capture cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions using high-quality pictures of the cervix

Nimmi Ramanujam

Nimmi Ramanujam's low-cost diagnostic device could transform women's health in poor countries, but the engineer says she drew on her musical skills for inspiration too.

Cervical cancer surfaces from the cervix and is primarily caused by HPV, which most commonly is contracted after sexual contact

Not thinking about an IPO as of now, says chairman

Dr Krishna Ella

Higher discounts on Russian oil this month may help Indian refiners reduce crude sourcing costs and trim fuel marketing losses even as Brent crude crosses $95/barrel, weakening the country's finances

oil refinery, crude oil, oil

India's rage is misplaced and hardly serves to endear the country to those appalled by the idea that it may have had a Canadian citizen killed

India Canada

Electronics & IT Minister says India can emerge as a global leader in this category

Ashwini Vaishnaw

NABARD to issue social sector bonds on Tuesday

Bonds, Govt bond

Expandables 4: The fourth installment of action thriller movie Expendables is finally released today. The movie is directed by Scott Waugh and officially titled 'Expend4bles'

Expandables 4

The Booker Prize comes with a cash prize of GBP 50,000, a trophy. The winner will be unveiled on November 26 at an award ceremony in London

Books

Officials said that ministries will have to expand their capacity to support the growing number of startups in the country

startups

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking an audit of the software used in electronic voting machines (EVMs) used by the Election Commission.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said no actionable material that the poll panel acted in breach of constitutional mandate in holding polls has been placed before it.
The Election Commission is entrusted with the control over elections. Presently, the petitioner places no actionable material before this court to show that the poll panel has acted in breach of its constitutional mandate. There is no material before us which casts doubt on EVMs, the bench said.
Before filing the petition, PIL petitioner Sunil Ahya had made representations to the Election Commission seeking an independent audit of the source code of the EVMs.
The source code is the brain behind the EVM and it is about survival of democracy, Ahya said.

The VVPAT machines, which will be attached to the EVMs, will allow voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate. (Photo: pib.nic.in)

VVPAT machines, VVPAT, EC, voting, EVMs,vote

Chandrayaan-3: Isro is gearing up to wake the Vikram lander and Pragyan from 'sleep mode' to face the sun's rays after they were put into deep sleep having completed their set tasks

Chandrayaan-3 Lander, ISRO

As many as 39 persons were injured, one of them seriously, when the private bus carrying them to the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Bhopal rammed into a stationary truck in Khargone district, police said on Monday.
The incident occurred under the Kasrawad police station limits on Sunday night, an officer said.
The prime minister is scheduled to address a mega meet of BJP workers in the Madhya Pradesh capital around Monday noon.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Manohar Gawli said the private bus rammed into the stationary truck near Gopalpura village.
Khargone District Hospital's civil surgeon Amar Singh Chouhan informed that 39 injured people were brought to the hospital.
"Most of the injured persons were discharged after initial treatment while one of them, who was seriously injured, was referred to Indore for further treatment," he said.
Chouhan said the injured persons informed doctors that they were going to Bhopal to attend the PM's function when the

accident

The CBI has registered a fresh FIR against IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd and its step-down subsidiary Spain-based Elsamex SA for allegedly misappropriating credit facilities to the tune of Rs 239 crore by cheating and diverting funds, officials said on Monday.
India Exim Bank had sanctioned a credit limit of Euro 35 million to Elsamex which is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based ITNL International Pte Ltd in 2015 for securing and executing overseas contracts.
IL&FS Transportation is already facing a CBI probe for causing a loss of over Rs 6,524 crore to a Canara Bank-led consortium.
In 2016, a consortium of Elsamex and ITNL won the bid for an Ethiopian project to design, manage and maintain the work of the Nekemte Bure Road upgrading project under an output and performance-based road contract.
The project needed disbursal of certain mobilisation advances, which were to be secured by guarantees sanctioned by Exim Bank. So, Euro 32.60 million was allocated under

financial fraud investigation, audit and analysis

Amazon Great Indian Festival sale page is now live. The date of the festive sale is not officially announced yet. It is expected that the sale may begin on October 11, 2023

Amazon

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled arrival in Bhopal, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Monday said she expects the PM to give a positive signal about carving out a quota for OBCs within the recently passed women's reservation bill.
Earlier last week, Bharti had expressed her disappointment for not including the OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota within the constitutional amendment bill which provided 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state legislatures.
"Prime Minister is welcomed in the land of Bhopal. He is the messiah of the poor and backward, I am sure he will give a positive signal on OBC reservation for women, Bharti posted on X on Monday morning, hours before the PM visits Bhopal where he will address a mega meeting of BJP workers.
Bharti had told PTI last week that she was happy that the women's reservation bill was introduced in Parliament, but was feeling somewhat dejected because it doesn't have the provision for reservation for OBCs.
The ..

Uma Bharti

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday announced that his government would accord full state honours to the funeral of organ donors from the state.
A decision to this effect was taken to honour the sacrifices made by those declared brain dead and their family members who come forward to donate the organs thereby saving several lives.
"Tamil Nadu is leading the country in organ donation and this has only been made achievable because of those families who come forward to donate the organs of those who have been declared brain dead," the DMK chief said in a social media post.
"It has been decided to accord state government honors henceforth during the performance of last rites to those individuals who are declared brain dead and their organs have been donated to others," he added.
Hailing the announcement, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) chief Anbumani Ramadoss said there would not be any other honor than this, as it respects the selfless sacrifices made by those who were declar

MK Stalin

PM Modi will engage in discussions and dialogues with these academic leaders, underlining the importance of higher education in India's growth and development

Cervical cancer

From Daughter to Mother: Prioritising Women's Health on International Women's Day

Vaccination of girls against cervical cancer can begin in 6 states in June

Production of vaccine against cervical cancer to be boosted: Poonawalla

India sees most number of cervical cancer cases, deaths in Asia: Lancet

Vaccine against cervical cancer to be included by mid-2023: NTAGI chief

Cervical cancer fourth most common among women, says WHO official

National Immunisation Mission: How indigenous vaccines can go a long way

India-made cervical cancer vaccine Ceravac to cost Rs 200-400 per dose

First indigenous vaccine for cervical cancer prevention to be out tomorrow

DCGI approves India's first qHPV vaccine to treat cervical cancer

Serum Institute likely to launch cervical cancer vaccine in India in Nov

Why has the controversy around the HPV vaccine still not died down?

Health guide: Here's all you need to know about cervical cancer

Pocket colposcope: New hope for India's teeming cervical cancer population

Nimmi Ramanujam's healing touch is a cheap tool to spot cervical cancer

Here's how we need to bolster the fight against cervical cancer