Lancet report hails Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, approved in the country last month, produced antibody response in all participants with no serious adverse events in small human trials, according to the first peer-reviewed results of the preventive published in The Lancet journal.

Results from early-phase non-randomised vaccine trials in a total of 76 people show that two formulations of the vaccine have a good safety profile detected over 42 days, and induce antibody responses in all participants within 21 days.

Russia licensed the two-shot jab for domestic use in August, the first country to do so and before any data had been published or a large-scale trial.

Secondary outcomes from the trial suggest the vaccine also produces a T cell response within 28 days, the researchers said. The two-part vaccine includes recombinant human adenovirus type 26 (rAd26-S) and recombinant human adenovirus type 5 (rAd5-S), which have been modified to express the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

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First regional voters’ awareness centre to come up in Jaipur

The Election Commission will set up the country’s first regional voters’ awareness centre in Jaipur, which will cater to four states — Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

The centre will carry out various awareness activities under the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said that land for construction of the SVEEP Regional Centre has been allotted by the state government at Jagatpura.

What is SVEEP programme?

SVEEP is a flagship programme of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India. Since 2009, the EC has been working towards preparing India’s electors and equipping them with basic knowledge related to the electoral process.

SVEEP’s primary goal is to build a truly participative democracy in India by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision during the elections. The programme is based on multiple general as well as targeted interventions which are designed according to the socio-economic, cultural and demographic profile of the state as well as the history of electoral participation in previous rounds of elections and learning thereof.

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Govt to set up National Institute of Tribal Research at IIPA campus

The tribal affairs ministry signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) for setting up of National Institute of Tribal Research (NITR) at the IIPA campus in New Delhi. 

The proposed national institute will be functional in a few months and be engaged in research in collaboration with NGOs spread across the country. 

The network of Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) was started in 1953. The first such institute was set up at Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 1953 followed by other two institutes at Ranchi (Bihar) and Chhindwara (MP) in 1954.

Functions of TRIs:

* Conducting research and evaluation studies.

* Undertaking capacity building and training of personnel and institutions working in the area of tribal development.

* Collection of baseline data and their dissemination.

* Organising tribal festivals.

* Conducting seminars and workshops.

* Documentation and their customary laws.

* Setting up of tribal museums.

* Providing planning inputs to state governments.

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