India ready to produce over 5 billion Covid vaccine doses next year: PM Modi at G20
Rome, Oct 30 (PTI): India is ready to produce over 5 billion Covid vaccine doses next year to help the world in the fight against the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a G-20 Summit session here on Saturday and asserted that it was necessary that the WHO approves Indian vaccines at the earliest.
The prime minister in his intervention at the session on "global economy and global health" also flagged the issue of facilitating international travel and talked about the mechanism of mutual recognition of vaccine certification as a means of achieving this, according to the text of his intervention shared by his office.
Prime Minister Modi expressed satisfaction over the G20's decision to come up with a 15 per minimum corporate tax to make the global financial architecture more "just and fair", Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, briefing reporters on Modi's engagements here.
The decision is aimed at ensuring that companies pay a certain amount of tax in countries they are located in, Shringla said.
"It is pertinent to mention that it was in 2014 that the prime minister had first proposed the idea of a minimum corporate tax in order to prevent to some extent evasion of taxes," Shringla said.
"Today, from this G-20 platform, I want to tell you all that India is ready to produce more than 5 billion vaccine doses for the world next year," Modi said.
This commitment of India will go a long way in preventing the spread of coronavirus infection, he said.
"Therefore, it is necessary that Indian vaccines are approved by the WHO at the earliest," he asserted.
A technical advisory group of the UN health agency will meet on November 3 to conduct a final "risk-benefit assessment" for Emergency Use Listing of Covaxin. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.
Sringla said the prime minister conveyed that India has not only administered one billion doses but more importantly "we are ready to produce over 5 billion vaccine doses by the end of next year", Shringla said.
"This obviously will be available not only for our citizens but the rest of the world and that this is our own contribution to reducing...vaccine inequities, especially in the developing world," he said.
Prime Minister Modi also emphasised on vaccine research and manufacturing.
He also highlighted India's medical supply to over 150 countries and contribution in maintaining the global supply chain during the pandemic.
Stressing on the need for resilient global supply chains, Prime Minister Modi spoke about India's bold economic reforms and invited G20 nations to make India their partner in economic recovery and supply chain diversification.
He also spoke about "One Earth, One Health" vision in the context of fighting the pandemic and future global health issues, Shringla said.
The prime minister spoke about "our vision of 'One Earth, One Health'" which is essentially the need for a collaborative approach in the international domain in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
"I am talking about collaboration in research and development, collaboration across the board in developing mechanisms that can cope with future pandemics and future global health issues," Shringla said.
The concept of 'One Earth, One Health' is something that was enunciated by the prime minister and was well received by G20 leaders because this is something that is very important to the international community as "we are looking at comprehensive global solutions" that can address issues and problems such as inequities and problems that developing countries face, he said.
Prime Minister Modi also brought out the fact that despite challenges, India continued to be a trusted partner in the context of reliable supply chains during the pandemic.
Answering a question on the corporate tax decision, he said Prime Minister Modi had spoken about it in the 2014 G20 summit.
"He first mentioned the concept in 2014 G20 summit. Today there is satisfaction over the fact the G20 has adopted this. This has become a global norm. This is a very important step in ensuring a more rationalised global tax structure and better cooperation in the international domain when it comes to issues like tax evasion, money laundering, and corruption."
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
