India develops first indigenous antibiotic: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh
New Delhi: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh on Saturday announced that India has successfully developed “Nafithromycin,” the country’s first indigenously discovered antibiotic effective against drug-resistant respiratory infections and particularly beneficial for cancer patients and diabetics with poor infection control.
According to the minister, this marks the first time an antibiotic molecule has been entirely conceptualised, developed, and clinically validated within India, representing a major step toward self-reliance in the pharmaceutical sector.
Dr. Singh highlighted that India has sequenced over 10,000 human genomes and plans to expand this to one million. He also revealed that India’s gene therapy trial recorded a 60–70% correction rate with zero bleeding episodes, a major milestone in the nation’s medical research. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, underscoring India’s growing leadership in advanced biomedical innovation.
The minister further stated that the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), with an outlay of ₹50,000 crore over five years, of which ₹36,000 crore will come from non-government sources, aims to strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem.
Inaugurating a three-day medical workshop on “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Multi-Omics Data Integration and Analysis,” Dr. Singh emphasized the need for a self-sustainable scientific ecosystem to drive long-term research growth.
He also announced India’s first successful indigenous gene therapy trial for haemophilia treatment, conducted at Christian Medical College, Vellore, with support from the Department of Biotechnology.
Dr. Singh underlined that artificial intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force in healthcare, governance, and decision-making. He commended institutions such as Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for pioneering interdisciplinary approaches that integrate AI, biotechnology, and genomics to improve healthcare outcomes.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
