Left, Right & Centre

As Moderna begins its phase three trials on 30,000 volunteers, one the US's leading doctors tells NDTV that this is an unprecedented development in the history of vaccine development.

After the world's largest vaccine trials enter phase three, WHO Chief Scientist tells NDTV that first mass production of vaccine is expected by first half of 2021. Dr Swaminathan says different end-points are being looked at in different trials and short term results will be known in next six months.

Scalene Hypercharge Corona Canon, a device to contain the spread of covid virus, has received approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Union. It is developed by Bengaluru-based De Scalene. Chairman of the firm Dr Rajah Vijay Kumar speaks to NDTV.

After a trial by fire in court, the Indian Air Force finally gets its first Rafale fighter jets. The first batch of Rafale fighters are on their way to India. In an interview to NDTV, Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, Former Chief of the Western Air Command, says: "Rafale is a fully integrated aircraft. I took over as the Deputy Chief, 2-3 months after the negotiations were completed and contract had been signed. I had the opportunity to defend the Rafale and I was sure in my mind we had done nothing wrong."

Squadron Leader Dalip Singh Majithia has turned 100. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, India's oldest fighter pilot says: "I still feel that I am a part of the Indian Air Force when I meet officers."

In 1999, as the Kargil war was winding down, we had the opportunity to fly with Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena, India's first woman combat aviator. Flight Lieutenant Saxena flew Cheetah helicopters during the war and participated in daring missions observing the damage caused by India's artillery fire. Her Cheetah helicopter was vulnerable and completely defenceless. The story that we put together in 1999 inspired the film Kargil Girl, which has been produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. We are delighted at being a small part of the process that made Flight Lieutenant Saxena and her exploits be known to the rest of India and are thrilled that this is now a film being released on Netflix. This is the story of Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena (retd).

Over 3,000 COVID-19 patients in Bengaluru are untraceable, the authorities have said. "These people are missing for a reason. Are they afraid of being ostracised, are they worried about BBMP (civic agency)? This needs to be addressed," said Dr Ravinder Mehta, chief of Pulmonology and Critical Care, Apollo Hospital, Bengaluru, tells NDTV. As many as 3,338 people infected with the novel coronavirus are untraceable in Bengaluru, which is 7 per cent of total coronavirus positive people in the city. A search is underway to trace them.

The battle lines are drawn in Rajasthan; while the Ashok Gehlot cabinet passed a proposal to convene the assembly, the BJP met with the Rajasthan Governor. Is the state heading towards a constitutional crisis, after the rebellion by Sachin Pilot and MLAs loyal to him?

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has submitted a list of 102 MLAs to the Governor. This as the Governor wrote to the Chief Minister saying, neither justification nor any agenda has been proposed to call the session on such a short notice. He also spoke of explanation being sought on how to convene the session amidst coronavirus pandemic.

The aviation sector in the country is in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. There have been job losses, massive retrenchments and no clear signs of when our airlines will return to some sort of profitability. In the midst of this, there are new opportunities as well. SpiceJet, in association with Actor Sonu Sood, has been bringing back Indian nationals stranded in Kyrgyzstan and the airline today announced that it has secured the rights to fly to the United States of America.

Government sources have told NDTV that the momentum in the disengagement process in Ladakh appears to have lost steam with a stalemate emerging in the Depsang Plains region, Gogra and the Fingers region along the Pangong Lake, where India and China had started a mutual disengagement by creating a buffer zone between both sides. What then are the options available to India?

Speaking on the border tension between India and China, Lt Gen DS Hooda, former Northern Army Commander, tells NDTV that the ball is in India's court and "we need to rely on diplomacy, economic pressure but we cannot completely rule out the military option."

On Left, Right & Centre: Analysing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the US-India Business Council, as he reached out to US investors with a message - this is the best time to invest in India.

The Oxford vaccine, so far tested with promising results, could be made available in India by November. The Serum Institute of India, which took a huge gamble on the Oxford vaccine even before the results started coming out, is hopeful of a bright future. On the show, an exclusive interview with Adar Poonawalla, CEO and Owner of Serum Institute of India.

Oxford and Wuhan vaccine trials have shown promise in early testing. Both trial vaccines were well tolerated with no serious adverse reactions according to Lancet, the foremost medical journal. In India too, human trials for made in India vaccine have begun. AIIMS Director in Delhi says, "They will have 100 volunteers for phase 1 trials and will have the data from trials in 3 months. (Video courtesy: University of Oxford)