Current Affairs in Short: 6 September 2021

COVID-19: DCGI approves Tocilizumab by Hetero for treating hospitalized adults

•The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on September 6, 2021, approved Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the generic version of Tocilizumab by Hetero in India for treating hospitalized adults with COVID-19.

•The EAU will enable medical practitioners to use the generic drug Tocilizumab for treating hospitalized adults with COVID-19 who are receiving systematic corticosteroids and require supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), stated the statement by Hetero.

•Hetero’s associate company ‘Hetero Healthcare’ will market TOCIRA (Tocilizumab) in India through its strong distribution network. Hetero’s biologics arm ‘Hetero Biopharma’ will manufacture the TOCIRA (Tocilizumab) at its biologics facility based at Jadcherla, Hyderabad.

•TOCIRA (Tocilizumab) 400mg/20ml by Hetero is the biosimilar version of Roche’s Actemra/RoActemra. TOCIRA will be available by the end of September 2021.

13^th BRICS Summit under chairmanship of India to be held on September 9

•The 13^th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit will be held on September 9, 2021, under the chairmanship of India

•India will be hosting the BRICS Summit for the third time after 2012 and 2016. The 2020 BRICS Summit was held virtually in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic under the chairmanship of Russia.

•The leaders of the BRIC countries had met the first time in St Petersburg, Russia, on the sidelines of the G8 Outreach Summit in July 2006. The leaders of the BRIC countries were formalized as BRIC during the first BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in September 2006.

•The 1^st BRIC Summit was held on June 16, 2009, in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Karnataka government to ban online gambling

•Karnataka government on September 4, 2021, decided to impose a ban on online games or betting by amending the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, excluding lottery. The ban includes online games that include transactions from electronic devices like computers or mobile phones.

•The amended bill will be tabled in the upcoming session of the legislature, which is scheduled to begin on September 13, 2021, and last till September 24, 2021.

•The decision to ban online gambling in Karnataka came in after the state government received several complaints regarding cyber fraud.

Health authorities attempt to detain Argentina players, Brazil vs Argentina FIFA WC qualifier suspended

•The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina was suspended on September 5, 2021, after Brazilian Health authorities tried to detain Argentina players.

•Three Argentina players namely Emiliano Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso, and Cristian Romero upon their arrival from the UK had only disclosed that they had been to Caracas where Argentina’s last World Cup qualifier against Venezuela was held.

•As per Brazil’s COVID-19 quarantine rules, these three players were to undergo mandatory quarantine but they breached the Brazilian rules. Travelers staying in the UK, South Africa, and India for the past 14 days are forbidden from entering the country unless they have permanent residency or are Brazilian citizens.

Pakistan’s men’s national cricket team head coach Misbah, bowling coach Waqar Younis step down

•Pakistan Men’s national cricket team head coach Misbah-Ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis have stepped down from the roles. The decision was informed to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on September 6, 2021.

•The Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq as interim coaches for the ODI and T20I series. The team management for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be appointed in due time.

•The Board informed that both Misbah and Waqar were appointed in September 2019 and each had a year left in their contracts.