Karnataka decides to get 2 crore COVID vaccine doses through global tender
Bengaluru, May 11: Two crore COVID vaccine doses will be procured through global tender in order to meet the increased demand and to facilitate vaccination of the age group of 18-44 years, Deputy Chief Minister and state COVID task force head C N Ashwath Narayan said on Tuesday.
In addition to this, an order has already been placed for three crore vaccine doses -- one crore Covaxin and two crore Covishield, he said.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting he chaired here, his office said in a statement.
"Till now, we had depended only on vaccines supplied by the central government and it was not procured from the open market by floating tender. Now, it has been instructed to float the tender and to complete the process within seven days," Narayan said.
Authorities have also been instructed to procure one lakh pulse oximeters and these will be distributed to all the districts and taluks.
It will be the responsibility of the Distruct Health Officers and Taluk Health Officers to collect the pulse oximeters back after the infected user gets cured.
Later they will be used for creating a pulse oximeter bank, he said.
Narayan said 10 lakhs of Ivermectin, the tablet which is required to treat the infected, has been procured and its supply will begin on May 14.
It has been further decided to procure 25 lakh tablets and make them available in all hospitals across the state.
Thirty-five lakh zinc tablets and one crore calcigen tablets will be procured and made available in all district hospitals, taluk hospitals, PHCs, and community health centres, Narayan said.
Currently, 10.50 lakh RAT (Rapid Antigen Tests) kits are in stock and this will be enough for seven days.
A total of 50,000 RAT kits are being supplied every day. In addition to this, it has been decided to procure 37 lakh RT-PCR kits.
The minister said triaging would be made mandatory to avoid unnecessary occupancy of beds and requested urban residents not to go to villages to get vaccinated.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
