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Now, Glenmark, Cipla, Sun Pharma In Talks With Foreign Vaccine Makers
Indian pharmaceutical majors Glenmark Pharma, Sun Pharma and Cipla are in early-stage talks with foreign vaccine manufacturers to bring in foreign vaccines into the country. Looks like they will follow a similar tie up like what Dr Reddys did with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that markets Sputnik V vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology & Microbiology. With this move, now it is getting increasingly clear that the Centre was keen to “diversify” vaccine control to multiple companies as against only Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech. For a country with 130 crore people it is a little risky to bank on two companies to manage the entire logistics. Though the government earmarked Rs 35,000 crore for vaccination under its budgetary provisions, Serum was only given just over Rs 3,000 crore which was clearly not enough to meet the sudden surge in demand. Hence the country faced shortages due to this policy-level confusion and as things stand it will clearly take a month or more for regularising Indian vaccination programme.
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Protestor says No Tokyo, IOC says Yes Tokyo
The postponed Games of the Summer Olympiad in Tokyo 2020 has become a celebration of the 125th year of the Olympic Movement. Under pressure to postpone/ cancel the Olympics from July 23 to August 9, because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headed by West German Thomas Bach — a gold medal winner in a fencing team event at the 1976 Montreal Olympics — and of which India’s Nita Ambani is one among the 103 powerful members — confirmed on May 13 that it would go ahead with the Summer Games. The IOC reasoned that only one positive case was reported from the 12 test events and also support from WHO for the countermeasures that will be implemented at the Games. The IOC also cited the series of “Playbooks” that outlines the rules to be followed by athletes and others during the Games. Doubts have been raised by athletes who point at the national emergency extended by the Japanese Government. Moreover less than 3% of Japan has been vaccinated so far and nearly 60% of Japan want the Olympics and Paralympics to be cancelled. At the virtual IOC press conference on May 13, an anti-Olympics protestor gate-crashed and raised banners with messages, “No Olympics in Tokyo” and “No Olympics anywhere.” Mailing a response to shortpost.in, Canadian Rob Koehler, the former Deputy Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency for 17 years plus and Director General of ‘Global Athlete’  — of which  more than one thousand athletes are members — expressed misgivings about the “Playbooks” saying: “Athletes are essential workers for the Games, unpaid workers, and they deserve the most robust Covid-19 protocols possible. Protocols that will protect the athletes and Japanese population. The IOC’s Tokyo 2020 Playbook abundantly falls short.”
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Wall Street Rockstar Takes Over As TN Finance Minister, Sends Expectations Soaring
Of the charmed circle of MK Stalin’s cabinet, the new Finance Minister,  Palanivel Thiagarajan is seen as a Wall Street poster boy, with his MIT Sloan School credentials, stints at Lehman Brothers (ahem, a not so bespoken qualification), and his stint at StanChart, Singapore. But above all his political DNA and public service provenance is impeccable. Born to wealth, grandson of a Justice Party Leader who was Tamil Nadu CM in the late 30s, and son of PTR Palanivel Rajan, former Speaker of TN Assembly and a cornerstone of DMK strength in Madurai. The famous Meenakshi Amman is the family Deity for their unshakable faith.  Palanivel Thiagarajan has a compelling telegenic presence. Add to this public profile mix, an American wife in the correctly saree clad Margaret Thiagarajan and two adorable sons Palani and Vel and you have the perfect formula for newsworthy curiosity. But don’t let all these optics divert your attention from what the newly minted Finance Minister is facing; a never before debt ridden and fiscal deficit reality in the second most industrialised and developed state in India. PTR has to grapple with the frightening Covid, face the problems of a nearly 5 lakh crore debt and a catastrophic drop in production and new jobs. Definitely a hot seat to cut one’s teeth as a finance minister. Goddess Meenakshi may be invoked with much faith by this family.
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Can Shruti Haasan Make It Big Like Her Dad?
Thirty-five year old Shruti Haasan, Kamal Haasan’s elder daughter pirouetted into the arc lights with much promise…a child star, singer and multilingual artist, this apple has not fallen far from the tree…the legendary Kamal Haasan. Shruti inherited not just drop dead gorgeous looks from her actress mother Sarika, but also immense talent and electrifying screen presence from Kamal. But after 15 films, a few hits, some flops, she has yet to get that role of a lifetime and come anywhere near her father’s mesmerising performance in innumerable box office hits. What has held her back? Cinema trackers say that she has also inherited her dad’s famous talent for falling in and out of love with fleeting flings. At the start of her career, actor Siddharth was much touted as her arm candy. Seems her co-star and music partner Dhanush was also smitten by her. Then came Michael Corsale, Shruti’s London amour de cour. A South Indian firang wedding was almost on the drawing board. Shruti and Corsale broke up, and stories of her plunging into alcoholic nirvana were bandied around. Shruti herself admitted that she had to be hung out to dry. More than a year later, she emerged from the hibernation, radiant and ravishing. But a new beau is in the wings: Santanu Hazarika, tattoo and doodle artist from Assam. Shruti Haasan has Uber loads of talent. Will she get back on her promising film track?
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Former TN CM Palaniswami Faces Enemies Within And Without
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami won his first battle post-polls when he was elected “unanimously” as leader of the AIADMK legislature party and appointed as Leader Of The Opposition. O Panneerselvam, former deputy CM, also former CM, waged a protracted bitter fight for the post until he knew he would be outvoted in the party and compromised. But the war is far from over.  EPS was bent upon retaining control of the party for the simple reason that OPS is seen as a Sasikala loyalist who would like to bring back the discredited “General Secretary” into the AIADMK fold. OPS may have been shabbily treated by the Sasikala’s Mannargudi Thevar clan when he was interim CM after Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016. He was said to have even complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about it but the PM laughed it away saying he was CM with the police department under him and should face no threat from anyone. EPS knows he has to be on constant guard. Though Sasikala announced her retirement from active politics, it was believed that it was strategic move on her part to wait for election results and try to take back the party if it was trounced in the polls. The good performance by EPS has saved him but his position and the party is safe only for now.

TRENDS & VIEWS

Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack

It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.