Dalmia Group to begin clinical trials for Astha-15

Ministry of Ayush has given green signal to start clinical trials to evaluate its efficacy, safety as the drug can reportedly cure COVID-19

Dalmia Group has reportedly formulated a drug that can cure COVID-19. Astha-15, a product of Ayurveda has been acknowledged by Ministry of Ayush and given the green signal to start clinical trials to evaluate its efficacy and safety.

Researchers and Ayurvedic doctors are confident that Astha-15, a polyherbal combination, will work as a treatment of COVID-19. The Dalmia Centre for Research and Development (DCRD), after years of extensive research, manufactured this polyherbal combination of 15 herbs that are also mentioned in the Indian System of Medicine. 

Dalmia Healthcare will begin its multi-centre Phase III trials within the set parameters. Its researchers will follow the set regulatory guidelines of Informed Consent, The Declaration, Insurance Terms, and EC approvals will be diligently followed.

“We are conducting human trials of our highly efficient Ayurvedic composition which can potentially help in curing COVID-19 patients. Successful human trial of our medicine will not only curtail the impact of the contagious virus all across the world but will also establish the supremacy of Ayurveda, our ancient system of medicine over any other methods of healthcare” said Sanjay Dalmia, Chairman, Dalmia Group of Companies.

The study comes in the back of the Ministry of AYUSH last month recommending the use of herbal products like tea, spices, to overcome the pandemic.

The polyherbal combination ‘Astha-15’, made available by the Group on March 16, has previously undergone a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled study on patients, in specialty Govt Hospital for Throacci medicine, Chennai, India. As per the double-blind study, the drug acts as a bronchodilator, decongestant, anti-inflammatory, lung detoxifier, and didn’t show any side-effects.

COVID-19 pandemic: Government launches national program Vidya Daan 2.0 to strengthen e-learning content

India is not new to online education. Many private and government colleges in the country had been conducting online classes. Now, due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, education of students across schools is impacted and there has been a need to strengthen the e-learning system of education.

Considering the growing need for good quality digital content and to provide the qualitative common national program, Government of India recently launched a national program Vidya Daan 2.0.

The Indian government, of late, has taken a slew of measures to enhance the quality of education. With platforms like SWAYAM, DIKSHA, it has made best-quality education available to over 3 crore students in India, says Sanjay Dalmia, a renowned Indian nationalist, who believes that we need to reach less-digitized regions.

With this programme, academicians and organizations can develop fun and engaging e-learning content aligned with the curriculum. From explanatory videos to animations, assessments, individuals have the opportunity to give back to society. The content once submitted would be reviewed & monitored by a panel of academic experts. The approved content would be released for use on the DIKSHA app to help millions across the nation, whose education has been hampered due to the lockdown, especially in rural areas.

VidyaDaan 2.0: How important is this program?

The content available on the portal will help in creating a uniform structure, ensuring easy accessibility. It would be made available for use across government departments, schools and other institutions. “This is a great opportunity to empower the students with more effective, comprehensive and pertinent curriculum,” believes Sanjay Dalmia, however, we need to ensure that the technological interventions in education are fast tracked and made more thorough, he added.

VidyaDaan 2.0 could also be leveraged by teachers from rural areas to improve their pedagogical training and hence, the quality of education.