Current Affairs in Short: 11 January 2021

Serum Institute receives order for 11 million vaccine doses from India

• The Serum Institute of India (SII) has received the Government of India's order for 11 million doses of the Covishield vaccine. 
• The vaccine will be available at a price of Rs 200 per dose. The COVID-19 vaccination drive will officially begin in the country on January 16.
• The decision was taken at a meeting on January 9, 2021 in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the status of COVID-19 in the country and the preparedness of the states and union territories for COVID-19 vaccination against the disease.
• India will be giving priority to healthcare workers and the frontline workers, followed by those above the age of 50 years and under-50 population groups with co-morbidities.

WHO team to visit China to probe origin of coronavirus on January 14 

• An international team of experts from the World Health Organisation is scheduled to arrive in China on January 14, 2021 to probe the origin of coronavirus. 
• The team’s visit to China has been a bone of contention as China had earlier delayed granting permission to the 10-member team of experts. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had expressed disappointment last week over China not finalising the necessary permissions for the expert team's arrival.
• The WHO Chief had made it clear that the mission was a priority and it was eager to get it underway as soon as possible. 
• The delay by China had fuelled concerns that China was obstructing global efforts to trace the origins of COVID-19. 

Brazil seeks 2 million doses of Covishield vaccine on priority basis from India 

• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has requested India for 2 million doses of Covishield vaccine on a priority basis. The Oxford COVID-19 vaccine-Covishield has been produced indigenously by the Serum Institute of India in Pune.
• The Brazilian President requested in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi  to expedite the shipment of the Covishield vaccine to Brazil without impacting India's vaccination program.
• The Brazilian National Immunization Program has finalized Covishield and India's own indigenously developed vaccine-Covaxin for emergency use in the country. 

ISRO to adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Labs across country to promote education

• The Indian Space Research Organisation has decided to adopt one hundred Atal Tinkering Labs across the country to promote space education and space technology-related innovations for school students.
• NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar said in a special message that he is extremely elated that different Government Departments and Ministries are working in synergy to create an Atmanirbhar Bharat. 
• He further said that the collaboration between NITI Aayog and ISRO is one of the prime examples of such effort. He said that it will provide a great opportunity to the young budding space researchers and astronauts to learn from the best minds of the country and become living inspirations for their schools, families and local communities.
• ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Sivan also expressed hope that the collaboration will help in promoting innovation and the spirit of experiential learning among the school kids compared to traditional learning.

PM Modi encourages youth to take part in Prarambh' on January 15-16

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the youth of India on January 11, 2021 to be a part of the Start-Up India International Summit 'Prarambh' on January 15-16.
• The Prime Minister highlighted that virtual events have given a great opportunity to the youth to be a part of many domestic and global forums and one such opportunity is the  Start-Up India International Summit. 
• The summit seeks to bring together the best minds from industry, investment, academia, banking, finance and young start-up leaders.