News Analysis India

Tag: Ashwini Choubey

  • Ashwini Choubey Expresses Disappointment After BJP Denies Ticket For LS Polls |

    New Delhi: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the coming Lok Sabha elections, Senior BJP leader and Union Minister of Forest and Environment, Ashwini Choubey interacted with the media for the first time, after the BJP denied him a ticket from the Buxer Lok Sabha. Ashwini Choubey expressed his feelings while exaggerating the chopai of ‘Lord Rama’ in Hindi and said ‘Meh Vish Pe Raha Hu’.

    Choubey further added that the party has always respected me and under the leadership of PM Modi the nation will always stay united. “Struggle is our life, and I have never extended my hand in front of anyone since childhood….. The party has given me everything… The party has always respected me. I belong to Buxar and I will always belong to it… Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the nation is united.” Ashwini said. 

    Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey reflects on the JP movement and said, “Today marks a historic day. Fifty years ago, Jayaprakash Narayan raised his voice on this very day. He was 72 years old at the time. Coincidentally, I am also 72 years old now. I was a fighter in the JP movement in 1974…”

    #WATCH | Patna, Bihar: On the JP movement, Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey says, “This is a historic day. 50 years ago, on this day, Jayaprakash Narayan had raised his voice. He was 72 years old at that time. Coincidently, I am also 72 years old now. I am a fighter of the JP… pic.twitter.com/gSfmqkvzbQ


    — ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2024

    The saffron party has fielded Mithilesh Tiwari from the Buxar Lok Sabha seat. However, the BJP has now included Ashwini Choubey among its star campaigners.

    Earlier, the BJP-led NDA demonstrated unity in Bihar with Chirag Paswan joining Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi in a large rally in Nawada on Sunday. While addressing the public rally, Prime Minister Modi took a dig at the Congress-led INDIA alliance, suggesting that the opposition alliance fears “Modi’s Guarantees.” Modi emphasized that a senior leader of the INDI Alliance had recently advocated for a ban on Modi’s guarantees.

  • India has successfully phased out consumption of ozone depleting substances: Ashwini Choubey

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India has successfully phased out the production and consumption of several major ozone depleting substances, Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Choubey said on Thursday.

    Chairing an event on the 27th Global Ozone Day, he also said that the country met all obligations of the Montreal Protocol by accessing technical and financial assistance from the mechanism of the Protocol. The theme of World Ozone Day 2021 is ‘Montreal Protocol – Keeping us, our food and vaccines cool’.

    “One of the reasons for India’s success in phasing out ozone depleting substances (ODS) is the involvement of key stakeholders both at the planning as well as implementation levels. Industries, research institutions, line ministries, consumers, among others, have been contributing significantly to the ozone depleting substances phase out programme of the Montreal Protocol in India,” Choubey said.

    Referring to Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which was recently ratified by India, the minister said that issues relating to minimising industrial obsolescence and adverse economic impacts should appropriately be addressed while developing a hydrofluorocarbon phase down strategy for implementing it.

    World Ozone Day is celebrated on September 16 each year to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol, an international environmental treaty for phasing out of production and consumption of ozone depleting substances, that came into force on this day in 1987.

    The Day is celebrated every year to spread awareness among people about the depletion of ozone layer and the measures taken to preserve it. The Ozone Cell, Ministry of Environment, has been celebrating World Ozone Day since 1995 at the national and state levels, the ministry said.

    Choubey also released the action plan for implementing recommendations of the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) for thematic area space cooling in buildings. The Action Plan has been developed after mapping of the recommendations given in the ICAP and after detailed discussions with various stakeholders, including line departments and ministries.

    “The ICAP, first-of-its-kind in the world to be developed by the environment ministry, addresses cooling requirements across sectors and lists out actions which can help reduce the cooling demand through synergies in actions for securing both environmental and socio-economic benefits. The ICAP aims to reduce both direct and indirect emissions,” the ministry said.

    Choubey also released a report on cold chain sector in India for promoting non-ozone depleting substances and low-global warming potential refrigerants, and another report on public procurement policies for refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment using non-ODS based refrigerants.

    He also released the winning entries of poster and slogan competitions held on the occasion across various schools in India. More than 3,900 students participated in the competition.

    Environment Secretary RP Gupta, UNEP India Head Atul Bagai, UNDP India Resident Representative Shoko Nada and various representatives of industries, industrial organizations and other stakeholders, and over 3,000 school children participated in the virtual event.

    India, as party to the Montreal Protocol since June 1992, has been successfully implementing the Montreal Protocol and its ozone depleting substances phase out projects and activities in line with the phase out schedule of the Protocol.

    India has phased out chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, halons, methyl bromide and methyl chloroform for controlled uses in line with the Montreal Protocol. Currently, hydrochlorofluorocarbons are being phased out as per the accelerated schedule of the Montreal Protocol.

    Hydrochlorofluorocarbons Phase out Management Plan (HPMP) Stage-I has been successfully implemented from 2012 to 2016 and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons Phase out Management Plan (HPMP) Stage-II is currently under implementation from 2017 and will be completed by 2023, the ministry added.

  • India records highest number of forest-fire alerts in three years: Government in Parliament

    MoS Environment Ashwini Choubey said 3,45,989 forest-fire alerts were sent by the Forest Survey of India using SNPP-VIIRS sensors.

  • Brahmins can’t be lured, will back party that promotes national interest: Ashwini Choubey on UP poll

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Amid Opposition parties’ vigorous attempts to woo Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the assembly polls next year, Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey Tuesday said they will not succeed in “luring” the community which will back the BJP as it has been working to “promote” Indian culture and national interest.

    “Brahmins are not a caste but a value system. They have always worked to promote Indian culture and national interest, and will stand with a party which does it,” he told reporters in the Parliament complex.

    He likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Maurya dynasty king Chandragupta, and said Brahmins will support him in the same way as Chanakya had backed the ancient king.

    A Brahmin teacher, Chanakya is famous for his political treatise Arthashastra and is credited for crafting strategy to topple the Nanda Empire and bring Chandragupta to power.

    Some Brahmin leaders, including Choubey, of the BJP had also held a meeting recently as they deliberated on various ways to keep the community in the party’s fold.

    While the community, estimated to constitute Uttar Pradesh’s 11 per cent population, has traditionally backed the BJP, Opposition parties have been reaching out to it ahead of the polls.

    Bahujan Samaj Party has announced a series of Brahmin meets, the first being in Ayodhya on July 23.

    The Samajwadi Party and the Congress have also taken measures to woo them, alleging that the community has been ignored by the Yogi Adityanath government.

    Taking a swipe at the BSP, Choubey alleged that its leaders have “abused” Brahmins in the past and made light of the Opposition’s attempts to woo them.

    He said he has been working to build statues of Parshuram and have a university named after the saint.

    Choubey, considered a staunch Hindutva leader, represents Bihar’s Buxar Lok Sabha constituency, which borders UP.

  • ‘Three new COVID variants reported in India’: Government informs Rajya Sabha

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Three new variants of COVID-19, from the UK variant, South Africa and Brazil, have been reported so far in India, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

    As on March 4, 2021, a total 242 samples have tested positive for different variants in India, Choubey said in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha query regarding the total number of people who have been infected with the new strains.

    On whether the people who have been infected once could get re-infected by the new virus strain,Choubey said as per World Health Organization, in the three countries where the pandemic is being driven by the variant mutants of SARS-CoV-2 virus, namely United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, the South African and Brazilian variants have the potential to reinfect persons who have been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.

    Recognizing that the mutant variants of SARS-CoV-2 are driving the pandemic in countries of their origin, namely United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, Government of India has revised its guidelines for international travel to minimize the risk of importation and further spread of these mutant variants in India, he said.

    A genomic consortium of 10 regional laboratories with National Center for Disease Control as the apex laboratory has been established to perform genomic sequencing of the samples from positive travellers and 5 per cent of the positive test samples from the community.

    Such international travellers who test positive are kept in special isolation ward, till such time they test negative.

    The contacts of such cases are also kept under institutional quarantine, till such time they test negative.

    “No case of re-infection by mutant variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus has been reported from India so far,” the minister said.

  • 81.59 lakh healthcare workers, 1.01 crore frontline workers registered on Co-WIN till March 2: Data

    As of March 2, a total of nine states and Union Territories have administered the 1st dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine to more than 90 per cent of the registered healthcare workers.

  • Expenditure incurred for COVID vaccination for HCWs, FLWs is Rs 480 crore: Union Minister

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The expenditure to be incurred as operational cost for COVID-19 vaccination of estimated three crore healthcare and frontline workers is about Rs 480 crore and vaccines’ cost is about Rs 1,392 crore, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

    In response to a question on whether the government plans to distribute the vaccine free of cost to any section of population in the country, the minister said, “Presently, the vaccine is being provided free of cost to healthcare workers and frontline workers.”

    As on February 4, a total of 96.28 lakh healthcare workers and 78.51 lakh frontline workers have been identified for COVID-19 vaccination, he said in a written reply.

    The database of frontline workers is in the process of getting updated on the Co-Win digital platform, he said.

    “The expenditure to be incurred as operational cost for vaccination of estimated 3 crore healthcare workers and frontline workers is about Rs 480 crore and vaccines cost is about Rs 1392.82 crore,” Choubey said.

    Two COVID-19 vaccines — Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited — have been granted permission for restricted use in emergency situation by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) so far.

    These two vaccines have been procured for COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country which began on January 16.

    Till January 26, a total of 200 lakh doses of Covishield and 28.03 lakh doses of Covaxin have been supplied, Choubey said.

    The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) provides guidance on all aspects of vaccination including prioritisation of population groups for vaccination.

    The NEGVAC has prioritised healthcare and frontline workers during the initial phase of COVID-19 vaccination followed by prioritized population groups of persons aged 50 years and above, and those aged less than 50 years with comorbidities.

    Presently, the vaccine is being provided free of cost to healthcare and frontline workers, Choubey said.

    The budget allocation of Rs 480 crore has been made for meeting the operational cost for COVID-19 vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers, in addition to the cost of the vaccines, Choubey said.

    Further, in the Union Budget 2021-22, an outlay of Rs 35,000 crore has been made towards COVID-19 vaccination and a commitment to provide further funds, if required, has also been expressed.

  • 165 lakh COVID vaccine doses procured so far at cost of Rs 350.25 crore: MoS Health Ashwini Choubey

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A total of 165 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin – have been procured so far at a cost of Rs 350.25 crore, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told Lok Sabha on Friday.

    Giving out the details of the number of vaccines already procured by the government, Choubey, in a written reply, said only two vaccines namely Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited have so far been granted permission for restricted use in emergency situation by the Drugs Controller General of India.

    “Therefore, only these two vaccines have been procured for COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country. A total of 165 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been procured so far, of which 110 lakh doses are of Covishield and 55 lakh doses are of Covaxin vaccine. The total cost of procurement of above mentioned doses of vaccines is Rs 350.25 crore,” he said.

    Choubey clarified that no pre-procurement agreements have been entered into.

    In response to a question on the logistical hurdles in deployment of these vaccines, including storage and transportation, the minister said there are no logistical hurdles in the deployment of these vaccines, including storage and transportation.

    The existing infrastructure under Universal Immunization Programme is being used and simultaneously strengthened for deployment of vaccines, including storage and transportation.

    A National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) has been established, which provides guidance on all aspects of COVID-19 vaccination, including prioritisation of population groups, procurement and inventory management, vaccine selection, vaccine delivery and tracking mechanism.

    The introduction of the vaccine is being taken up in a phased manner starting with priority groups of healthcare workers and frontline workers, subsequent to this, NEGVAC recommends covering prioritised groups of persons aged 50 years and above and those aged less than 50 years with comorbidities.

    A ‘Task Force on Focused Research on Corona Vaccine and other Science and Technology Issues’ chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) is facilitating research and development of vaccines, drugs, diagnostics and other related issues.

    The Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has granted permission to manufacture both Covishield and Covaxin as per the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

    As far as Covaxin is concerned, Bharat Biotech had submitted interim safety and immunogenicity data of phase I and II clinical trials carried out in the country along with safety data, including Serious Adverse Event (SAE) data, of the ongoing phase III clinical trial in the country.

    The data was reviewed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in consultation with Subject Expert Committee (SEC) comprising domain knowledge experts. The committee noted that this vaccine is inactivated whole virion coronavirus vaccine having potential to target mutated coronavirus strains.

    The data demonstrated a strong immune response (both antibody as well as T cell) and in-vitro viral neutralisation. The ongoing clinical trial is a large trial on 25,800 Indian subjects in which all the subjects have already been enrolled.

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    Moreover, the firm presented the safety and efficacy data from non-human primate challenge study also to CDSCO, where the vaccine has been found to be safe and effective. “After detailed deliberations, SEC recommended grant of permission for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, to have more options for vaccinations, especially in case of infection by mutant strains,” Choubey said in response to another question.

    Based on the recommendations of SEC, CDSCO has granted permission to Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad to manufacture Covaxin vaccine for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode with various conditions/restrictions.

    The Serum Institute of India, Pune has submitted safety immunogenicity and efficacy data of phase II/III clinical trials of AstraZeneca vaccine carried out in the UK, Brazil and South Africa along with the safety and immunogenicity data from the ongoing phase II/III clinical trial in the country.

    The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of CDSCO reviewed the proposal of restricted emergency use along with above details and the data received. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approval for AstraZeneca vaccine on December 30 last year along with its conditions/restrictions was also reviewed by the committee.

    The committee noted that the safety and immunogenicity data presented by the firm from the Indian study is comparable with that of the overseas clinical trial data.

    Based on the recommendations of SEC, CDSCO granted permission to Serum Institute of India to manufacture Covisheild vaccine for restricted use in emergency situation with various conditions/restrictions.

    Furthermore, CDSCO has granted permission to conduct clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines either manufactured in the country or outside the country. So far, as Serious Adverse Events (SAE) are concerned, 51 SAEs have been received by CDSCO from various clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine.