Is India looking to roll out the Covid-19 vaccine on December 25, which is the Good Governance Day? At an all-party meeting convened on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the vaccine roll-out is just a few weeks away.

A community medicine expert involved in testing the robustness of Covin — the existing electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network rechristened for the purpose of Covid-19 vaccine administration — hinted that the vaccine rollout could be either on December 25, birth anniversary of first BJP Prime Minister, or on January 1.

Doctors and other health care personnel numbering around one crore would get the first Covid-19 vaccine shots, followed by other frontline corona warriors such as sanitation workers, police personnel, etc. The government has promised to cover nearly 25-30 crore Indians by July 2021.

A PSU stock’s viral rise

The stock price of PSU Bharat Immunological and Biologicals Corporation has seen a sharp surge after hitting a multi-year low of ₹5.41 on March 31, 2020. Within five months, the stock rose to ₹45.15 in August and again corrected to ₹21.35 by October 22, 2020. But since then, Bharat Immunological shares have seen buying interest and are currently hovering around ₹37.60.

The buzz is that the stock has been gaining on hopes that it will be mandated to distribute the Covid vaccine.

The company, which is into production and supply of high quality polio vaccine, may bag distribution order.

But there is a strong word of caution from seasoned investors betting on this stock on rumours. Besides, making losses in the last few quarters, it is listed only on the BSE, giving retail investors few exit options from this PSU stock, they cautioned.

Knocking the SC’s doors

There is buzz in banking circles that the Laksmi Vilas Bank-DBS deal may reach the Supreme Court. Even in the case of 2G spectrum when the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dithered to act on complaints, the matter travelled to SC, which cancelled the licences.

Bankers in private say that the same routine is being played out now. The PMO has already received a letter from MP Subramanian Swamy demanding action against RBI and its Governor for the hurried and arbitrary decision in the LVB matter.

Now, if the government ignores this, as is it is likely to, then the action may shift to the SC, say industry observers.

It is being felt that shareholders of erstwhile LVB could salvage some compensation if they knock the Supreme Court’s doors. So will the apex court annul this hurriedly consummated marriage by the RBI? Observers say the RBI has strong case and was well within the law in clearing the deal. It is a different story that public is not made fully aware of the RBI’s decision.

Back on track or beaten track?

The newly appointed EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis seems to have breathed fresh air into the long-languishing India-EU negotiations for a Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA). India is hopeful that the free trade talks could now re-start as the EU Trade Commissioner has written to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and discussions are on for holding the ‘high level dialogue at the Ministerial level’ soon.

The ‘high level dialogue’ mechanism launched at the India-EU Summit earlier this year had a broad agenda one of which was “fostering progress’’ on the trade and investment agreements. But given the fact that it was the EU’s inflexible position on issues such as market access for wines and spirits, automobiles and financial services that was mostly responsible for the stalemate, it may be a bit too soon to judge whether the bloc is serious about getting back to the negotiating table.

 

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