Europe halts sale of Indian-sourced drug

European regulators have halted sales of several variants of clopidogrel, a drug widely used to stop blood clots, in a move that raises concerns about increased production of low-cost generic medicines from India. The European Medicines Agency said it had recalled batches of eight separate generic versions of the drug overseen by Acino Pharma, based in Germany, but with the raw ingredients made in India.


The recall will affect Acino, Sandoz, Hexal, and Ratiopharm. The action follows inspections by German regulators at the factory of Acino’s supplier Glochem Industries in Visakhapatnam in India, which concluded that it did not meet adequate “good manufacturing practice”. They however stressed that they had not identified any impurities in the clopidogrel and that its action was “precautionary”, with no consequences expected for patients. However, inspectors were not satisfied with the documentation drug manufacturers are required to maintain in order to prove that a standardised set of procedures are being followed to ensure safe and consistent production. The agency had concluded that “the processes used to manufacture the active substance … could not be trusted”. It said it “did not have sufficient confidence in the quality of the active substance, and this led to a lack of confidence in the quality of the medicines”.


FT

Highlights- Indian Budget 2010-11

• Section 80c investment limit hiked by Rs. 20,000.
• Service Tax rates unchanged.
• Customs duty on Gold and Platinum hiked.
• Excise duty on solar panels waived.
• Excise duty on CFL halved to 4%.
• Jewellery to be more expensive.
• CDs to be cheaper.
• Mobile phones to become cheaper.
• Refrigerators/Televisions Air conditioners to be costlier.
• Peak customs duty unchanged at 10%.
• Cement to be costlier.
• Excise duty on petrol and diesel raised to Rs 1/litre.
• 5% duty on crude petroleum restored.
• Excise on all non smoking tobacco raised.
• 7.5% duty on petrol and diesel restored.
• Excise on large cars,SUVs, MUV raised to 22%.
• Cigarettes to be costlier.
• Deduction of Rs 20000 on investment in infra bonds.
• Weighted deduction on R&D raised to 200% from 150%.
• No tax on Income up to Rs 1.6 lacs.
• Current surcharge on companies reduced to 7.5%.
• No tax on Income up to Rs 1.6 lacs.
• Minimum Alternate tax hiked to 18%
• 30% tax on income above Rs 8 lacs.
• 20% tax on income between Rs5 lacs to 8 lacs.
• 10% tax on income between Rs1.6 lacs to 5 lacs.
• IT dept to notify Saral 2 form for individual tax payers.
• IT exemption limit enhanced, surcharge withdrawn.
• 20 Kms of highway to be constructed everyday.
• More than 50% increase in funds for minority welfare.
• 15% rise in planned expenditure.
• Defence capex raised to Rs 60000 Cr.
• Home loans up to Rs 20 lacs to get intrest subvention of 1% up to March 11.
• Government to contribute Rs 1000 per month for pension security.
• Rs 1,900 Cr. allocated for UID project.
• Intrest subvention for housing loans up to 1 lacs.
• NREGA scheme allocation raised to Rs 41000 Cr.
• Allotment for renewable energy hiked by 61%.
• Setup Coal regulatory authority.
• 2% loan subsidy to farmers.
• Rs 165,000 Cr. additional for bank re-capitalisation.
• Chances of banking licenses to Pvt cos and NBFCs from RBI.
• Foreign direct Investment (FDI) policy to made more user friendly
• Reduce to 'Fertilizer Subsidy'.
• GST will implement from 2011
• Plan to implement 'Direct Tax Code' from April 2011

I pad the lattest from apple

Apple finally unveiled, labeled as the next-generation gadget which will bridge the gap between smart phones and laptops named as iPad. It's a half-inch thick and weighs about 700gm, with a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display running with a Apple A4 Chip with a 10-hour battery life.

It'll be available in 3 different disk space of 16, 32, and 64GB. Starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829. The WiFi-only model will be available in March , and the 3G models in April2010.

Few disappointments are no multitasking, no camera, no flash playability.