Karnataka govt thinking of making corona vaccine available at PHC and CHCs: Dr K Sudhakar
Bengaluru, Mar 4: The government was mulling extending the availability of COVID-19 vaccines to the primary and community health centres to cover more people during the vaccination drive, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Thursday.
"At present Covid vaccine is being administered at Taluk hospitals, we are considering extending the service to PHCs and CHCs so that more and more members of the public can get the vaccine at the earliest," the minister said in a statement.
He said he would discuss the availability of coronavirus vaccines in PHCs and CHCs for speedy vaccination of senior citizens.
Sudhakar said the government is encouraging people above 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities to get the vaccine voluntarily.
He pointed out that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the vaccine made in India, people should take it without doubting its efficacy.
Sudhakar said no adverse effect has been reported so far.
The vaccination drive for the general public started in the state on March 1 and so far 38,811 people above the age of 45 have been vaccinated.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
