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We have never witnessed domestic or foreign pharmaceutical companies recall substandard or mislabelled drugs in India. India has been mulling the creation of a mandatory recall law for substandard drugs since 1976, and yet no law exists that mandates such medicine be removed from the market to this day. The issue has come up repeatedly in regulatory meetings in …

Recently, the Advertisement Monitoring Committee at the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) flagged 32 fresh cases of food business operators (FBOs) making misleading claims and advertisements. What are the regulations? FSSAI uses the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising & Claims) Regulations, 2018 which specifically deals with food (and related products). The Central Consumer …

Three civilians were killed after an Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 fighter jet crashed into a house in Rajasthan. About MiG-21: The MiG-21s are among the six fighter jets presently flown by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The MiG-21s are single engine, single-seater multi-role fighter/ground attack aircraft. It was inducted into the IAF in the early 1960s. …

The United States is getting ready to lift COVID-19 restrictions that have blocked migrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking asylum since 2020, a major policy shift with humanitarian and political implications. What is Title 42? The COVID restrictions, known as Title 42, were first implemented in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. Title 42 allowed …

In unanimous decision, Arab League readmits Syria after 11-year absence What is Arab League? The Arab League is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo in 1945. Initially it had six members: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria Currently, the League has 22 members. Syria’s participation was suspended from 2011 till recently. Each …

The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT) is working on technical and scientific terminology in 10 Indian languages that are under-represented in the learning landscape. Key details: The CSTT will bring out what it calls fundamental (basic) dictionaries with 5,000 words per language. These will be in digital, searchable format, and free of cost. Which …

Two drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease showed promising results. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurologic disorder that causes the brain to shrink (atrophy) and brain cells to die. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia — a continuous decline in thinking, behavioral and social skills that affects a person’s ability to function independently. The early signs of the disease include …

Bluesky has come to the fore as a potential claimant to Twitter’s throne. What is Bluesky? Bluesky is a micro-blogging platform and social website. It is built on the AT Protocol (Authenticated Transport Protocol). Bluesky might be classified as a Twitter competitor but it is different in terms of its structure, as it is meant to form part of …

The Petersberg Dialogue on Climate Change was held in Berlin recently. It was hosted by Germany and the United Arab Emirates. The focus of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue is on laying the groundwork for the COP28 Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates. Ministers from 40 countries attended the conference to discuss the way forward towards COP28. …

Aircraft lessors (in the Go First Airlines case) sought deregistration and repossession of 20 aircraft leased to the Wadia Group airline by filing applications with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) using their Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA). Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation, or IDERA, empowers lessors to get their …