Govt seeks feedback of industry on antibiotics in updated NLEM

AMR refers to the ability of a bacterium, virus or some other microbe to stop an antibiotic (or antimicrobial) from working against it.

Business Standard : The government-appointed committee tasked with preparing the new National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) on Monday asked for industry feedback on which group of antibiotics should be excluded from the list.

The suggestions were sought during a stakeholders' meeting in Delhi, the focus of which was fighting the menace of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India. The expert committee, sources claimed, is considering the industry proposal to issue a draft NLEM list for public consultation in the interest of transparency and seek industry comments in a time-bound manner.

AMR refers to the ability of a bacterium, virus or some other microbe to stop an antibiotic (or antimicrobial) from working against it. This results in treatments becoming in-effective and infections not only persist but also spread to others.

Industry sources claimed that the Standing National Committee on Medicine (SNCM), which is working on drafting the new NLEM, has asked the industry to get back with their list of groups of antibiotics that need to be removed from the NLEM as Indian population has become resistant to these. Also, the SNCM wants to know which other groups of antibiotics be included on the list this time. The NLEM 2015 has roughly 376 medicines and medical devices.

The sources said industry representatives proposed that all non-effective drugs be deleted from the NLEM and drugs for which resistance is building up should not be considered. The industry feels inclusion in the NLEM may result in over-prescription and overuse, and increase the cases of resistance.

"Only the Access category of the WHO AMR list should be considered for inclusion in NLEM," the industry said. The expert committee, however, said that drugs from all three categories of WHO AMR list — i.e., Access, Watch and Reserve — are under consideration for preparing the new NLEM.

A recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found that two of every three healthy Indians that it tested had antibiotic-resistant organisms in their digestive tracts.

Delhi pollution: AQI still in 'severe' category, Odd-even enters Day 2

The odd-even scheme, which kickstarted on Monday has entered Day 2 with only odd-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads.

Pollution levels in the national capital surged on Tuesday morning as the air quality remained in the 'severe' category. A day after high wind speed helped bring down pollution levels in the city, SAFAR, the government-run monitoring agency, said Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) was 411 at 7:00 am. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad too recorded 'severe' overall air quality.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.

Above 500 is severe-plus emergency category.

The odd-even scheme, which kickstarted on Monday has entered Day 2 with only odd-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida (493) and Gurugram (405), also breathed polluted air.

Taking a grim view of the surge in pollution levels, the Supreme Court yesterday slammed authorities for failing to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR and said they have left people to die.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta took serious note of crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh and said it cannot go unabated every year.

"Can we survive in this atmosphere? This is not the way we can survive," the bench said. The bench called the pollution in Delhi-NCR as atrocious and said no one is safe even inside homes.

The Centre, in response said that the number of 'good' to 'moderate' days increased to 175 in 2019 against 157 in 2018. According to the Centre, the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali, stubble burning and adverse meteorology conditions exacerbated the pollution level in Delhi-NCR.

Passing a slew of other directions to prevent rise in air pollution levels, it imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on anyone carrying out construction and demolition activity in Delhi-NCR, and a fine of Rs 5,000 on offenders involved in garbage or waste burning. The Bench said it had “no sympathy for farmers indulging in it (stubble burning) as they are putting lives of others at risk”.

Business Standard

Delhi pollution: Odd-even scheme starts as AQI hits 708, schools shut

In the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida (720) and Gurugram (833), also breathed extremely polluted air.

Even as India's capital city scrambles to tackle its epic air pollution problems, there seems to be no end to the woes of people residing in Delhi and its adjoining areas. On Monday morning, Delhi air quality was in 'severe-plus emergency' category. SAFAR, the government-run monitoring agency, said Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) was 708 at 6:30 am. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad too recorded severe-plus emergency overall air quality.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe. Above 500 is severe-plus emergency category.

The odd-even scheme and road space rationing scheme kickstarted today, with only even-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads on the first day of the exercise. The impact of the scheme is yet to be seen.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida (720) and Gurugram (833), also breathed extremely polluted air.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor, SAFAR, said the city's overall AQI reached as high as 708 around 5 pm, which is 14 times the safe level of 0-50.

ALSO READ: Delhi air pollution: 19 flights cancelled, over 550 delayed and 37 diverted

On Sunday, low visibility due to heavy smog disrupted flight operations at the Delhi airport, with 37 flights diverted to other airports and more than 250 departures and 300 arrivals delayed, officials said.

NASA satellite imagery showed vast swathes of the northern plains, covering Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, blanketed under a smoky haze.

Weather experts said any significant improvement in the situation is highly unlikely unless there is rainfall, which may occur on November 7 and 8 under the influence of Cyclone Maha and a western disturbance.

Business Standard

Foreign hand: Govt sources say int'l lobbies may be behind WhatsApp spying

Govt sources said WhatsApp withheld information from the govt after the May revelations of a spyware targeting Indian users.

The government is exploring options to assess the extent of the impact caused by NSO Group’s spyware on Indian individuals even as home ministry sources said there are fears that international lobbies might have been involved in spying.

These lobbies, the ministry says, are trying to create a narrative around Indian governance as well as the economy.

“We have been investigating the spying allegations for some time and are trying to understand the extent of the damage done. We are also looking at lobby groups active in India to figure out if they were involved in this and why, and come out with a report soon on this issue,” said a senior official looking into the investigation.

WhatsApp said on October 29 it was filing a federal complaint in the US against Israeli technology firm NSO Group for a cyberattack that exploited a vulnerability in the chat app’s video-calling feature, which could compromise the target person’s device. According to reports, 121 Indians were also affected in the breach.

The breach was first reported in May this year but gathered steam in India after WhatsApp’s complaint and activists and journalists saying they received communication from Toronto-based Citizen Lab, which helped WhatsApp’s investigation of the breach.

Sources said some other investigative agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) might be involved at a later stage. However, no such decision has been taken yet in this regard.

While NSO has maintained it sells only to governments, the India has so far not categorically accepted or denied buying NSO software by either the Centre, states, or government agencies. WhatsApp has said it will cooperate with the government to “do all we can to protect users from hackers attempting to weaken security”.

Business Standard

Experts raise alarm bells on talent flight amid crackdown on audit firms

On the other hand, officials at regulatory and enforcement agencies said the audit firms tend to put the blame on individuals after finding themselves in the dock for their alleged role in frauds.

Amid a crackdown on erring auditors in cases of alleged financial irregularities, some experts and top executives at some audit firms are raising alarm bells about a possible flight of fresh talent from the profession.

While few are willing to speak openly against actions taken by regulatory and enforcement agencies against auditors for failing to flag financing bungling, senior executives at major audit firms said it was wrong at times to ban an entire audit network for alleged lapses by one or two individuals.

On the other hand, officials at regulatory and enforcement agencies said the audit firms tend to put the blame on individuals after finding themselves in the dock for their alleged role in frauds.

The officials have often pointed out that auditors are supposed to be the conscience-keepers of a company and it is their duty to ring the alarm bells even at the slightest hint of a financial wrongdoing.

In recent times, there has been a spate of actions against auditors, including against PwC in the Satyam case and against Deloitte and BSR in the IL&FS matter.

Markets watchdog Sebi has moved the Supreme Court against the Securities Appellate Tribunal's ruling that had quashed a two-year ban on PwC in connection with the Rs 7,800-crore Satyam scam.

In the IL&FS case, the Bombay High Court has granted a stay on NCLT proceedings against the company's erstwhile auditors, while some auditors were recently arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police in the NSEL matter, though they were released subsequently on bail.

Some auditors, including in the case of IL&FS matter, have come under the scanner of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) while National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is looking into alleged accounting lapses at Infosys.

"There are fewer people now who are excited to join the audit profession, primarily due to a narrative that has got built around it in the recent times," said one of the partners at a leading audit firm, citing actions taken by regulatory and enforcement agencies and the judiciary.

Business Standard

CAIT to launch a nation-wide movement against Amazon and Flipkart

Union Minister Piyush Goyal had last month said the government was looking into alleged predatory pricing by Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon.

Business Standard : Traders' body CAIT on Sunday said it will launch a nation-wide movement to protest against e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart, alleging that they are flouting FDI policy norms and destroying the country's retail business.

In a statement, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, "Both Amazon and Flipkart still continue to sell goods on their portal at predatory pricing, deep discounting, controlling inventory, promoting preferential sellers and influencing prices."

Union Minister Piyush Goyal had last month said the government was looking into alleged predatory pricing by Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal criticised the attitude of Amazon and Flipkart and said the traders' body is all set to launch a national movement on this issue soon.

The traders' body has also convened a meeting of its National Governing Council in New Delhi on November 10.

Khandelwal informed about the different phases of the movement and said that on November 13, CAIT delegations will submit a memorandum to all MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha across the country. On November 20, dharna will be organised in about 200 cities in all the states of the country.

On November 25, traders' march will be organised in 500 districts of the country and a memorandum will be handed over to district collectors.

On November 28, protest marches will be organised in more than one thousand towns and cities of the country against the unethical business practices of these companies.

On December 2, Traders' rally will be held in all the state capitals in which thousands of traders from across the state will participate and on the same day, the CAIT delegation will submit a memorandum to the chief ministers of all states.

Khandelwal also said that on this issue, a rally of prominent business leaders from all over the country will be held in Delhi around December 10, which will include thousands of traders from all over the country, while in January CAIT will hold a three-day National Traders Convention in the national capital, to be attended by over 10,000 merchants across the country.

Air purifier, pollution mask sales spike as Delhi battles health emergency

While Hindware is expecting sale of its air purifiers to double this year, brands like Xiaomi, Blue Star and Daikin, too, are expecting significant rise in sales.

Business Standard : As air quality in the Capital continues to deteriorate, sale of preventive items like air purifiers and pollution masks have spiked significantly. Manufacturers are observing a 30 to 100 per cent rise in demand compared to the same period last year.

While Hindware is expecting sale of its air purifiers to double this year, brands like Xiaomi, Blue Star and Daikin, too, are expecting significant rise in sales. Haier, which has recently launched its air purifying products for home, is already observing a spike in demand from the markets in Delhi and adjoining regions that contribute over 80 per cent of the total market volumes. Rakesh Kaul, president, CEO and whole-time director at Somany Home Innovation, a Hindware group firm, said that over the past three to four years, the degrading air quality and increasing concern towards health issues has fuelled sales of air purifiers and pollution masks in the country.

But with the current situation in Delhi NCR, where schools are being shut and there is an increase in the number of health-related issues being reported, there has been a significant growth in the air purifier market.

Firms are not only focusing on meeting the heightened demand as a public health emergency is underway in the region, they are also taking measures to ease the purchasing process. Some of the firms are even concerned about the side effects of complete dependence on artificial measures like air purifying machines and masks as lack of any holistic measures to curb air pollution is haunting citizens.

Panasonic, for example, is offering extended warranty and consumer finance options to make purchases accessible and affordable, said Syed Moonis Ali Alvi, general manager for air purifier business at the Japanese firm. A Xiaomi spokesperson said the company has set up a dedicated page on its shopping portal for air purifiers and pollution masks.

Management of other firms like Blue Star and Nirvana masks are rather concerned about the unavailability of natural solutions to the growing problem. The deteriorating quality of air that began with fire cracker pollutions on Diwali last week, has now got worse.

B Thiagarajan, joint managing director at Blue Star, said that while installing air purifiers at homes, offices and in cars help in reducing pollution levels inside the premises, it is the ultimate step when no other options are available.