Monetary Policy Committee keeps key interest rate (repo) unchanged at 4% for 7th consecutive time; Consequently, reverse repo rate too remains unchanged at 3.35%; Bank rate also remains same at 4.25%;
If that outcome were to happen, the Modi government would be responsible for presiding over a self-inflicted national catastrophe.
The 27-year-old Rohini resident, who had tested Covid positive after returning to Delhi from Dubai, said, even after the home isolation restrictions are lifted, 'I have been told that I will be under 14-day observation at home, and doctors will check on me intermittently'.
The Premier League found a record 42 cases of COVID-19 among players and staff at various clubs over the past week.
Over time, as more mutations occur, the vaccine may need to be altered.
The patients were being administered paracetamol, and not Remdesivir drug, which was used for patients in the first and second COVID-19 waves, they said.
The Centre has asked states and Union territories to review, amend or do away with additional Covid-19 restrictions after considering the trend of new cases and positivity rate in their regions, citing sustained downward trend in the nationwide case trajectory.
A senior citizen was mistaken for dead at an elderly care centre in Shanghai and sent to a morgue where he was found alive, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into the shocking incident that triggered a new wave of anguish in the locked down city.
The Centre said there is an urgent need for states to consider strict COVID management and control measures to bring the situation under control.
The World Health Organisation has issued warning against XE, a new variant of Omicron first detected in the UK.
The government also said the coronavirus tracking app Aarogya Setu is secure as it has been designed keeping in mind the privacy of people and is playing a crucial role in India's fight against COVID-19.
IMD has said the temperature in April-June across most parts in India is expected to be 0.5-1 degrees Celsius warmer than normal. However, doctors and scientists say they haven't found any direct correlation between the speed of COVID-19 spread and warm weather.
Safety and Efficacy results from the final analysis will be available in June, and the final report will be submitted to a peer-reviewed publication.
Demonetisation and Agniveer reveal the two mindsets India has become. In both these government schemes, one sees a desire to play the country like an orchestra anchored by conductor/conductors, argues Shyam G Menon.
If two individuals in an indoor space are not wearing a mask, in just 10 minutes, the infected person can transmit the virus to the other person, while if both are wearing a fitted N-95 mask, it requires over 600 hours of exposure for transmission, he said.
The results reported from the observational studies, on average, show that vaccination had 95 per cent efficacy against severe disease both from the Delta variant and from the Alpha variant, and over 80 per cent efficacy at protecting against any infection from these variants.
Shares of Adani Group companies were in focus during Monday's session, with four of the six listed stocks being locked in the upper circuit of 5 per cent, bouncing back up to 11 per cent from their respective intra-day lows on the BSE. Adani Green Energy (Rs 1,115.85), Adani Transmission (Rs 1,297.65), Adani Total Gas (Rs 1,321) and Adani Power (Rs 120.60) were locked in 5 per cent upper circuit on the BSE. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Adani Enterprises rallied over 7 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, in intra-day trade. In comparison, the Sensex rose 0.44 per cent to 52,574.46 on Monday. Last week, all Adani group stocks had come under pressure after a media report suggested that the National Securities Depository (NSDL) had frozen accounts of three foreign funds that own stake in four of Adani Group companies.
Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava said the purpose of the COVID vaccine drive would be to break the chain of viral transmission.
He stressed that it is important to comply with health guidelines amid the pandemic, in order to decrease transmission and take the burden off healthcare systems.
The experts said there is a need to relook at the testing strategy in a way that it results in guiding the public health response and effectively limiting the spread of the disease.
Shares of Adani group companies witnessed a massive drubbing in morning trade on Monday, tumbling up to 25 per cent, amid reports that the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has frozen certain FPIs accounts that have holding in some of these firms.
Despite the demonetisation of 2016 and the rise in digital transactions that followed, the economy's dependence on cash has remained as high as ever. So when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a pilot project of its version of digital cash - called the central bank digital currency (CBDC) - on December 1, many questions were asked. Can the CBDC replace physical cash, even partially? Can it match cash in terms of convenience? Are CBDC transactions truly anonymous?
The first study used spatial analysis to show that the earliest known COVID-19 cases, diagnosed in December 2019, were centered on the Wuhan market.
The leadership needs to put all other government business aside, control the pandemic and save human lives. Searchlights are going to be held by the world community in the weeks and months ahead as the fatality rates start shooting up and Indians die like flies, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Beijing reported 53 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to over 500 cases as the capital continues enforcing strict anti-virus measures and postponed school reopening for a week as a precautionary measure.
An intranasal vaccine as a booster dose would be easier to administer in mass vaccination campaigns and has the potential to prevent transmission.
Uncertainty is emerging as the only certainty, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das as he emphasised on continued policy support at the December MPC meet during which members expressed concerns over spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, as per the minutes of the rate-setting panel released on Wednesday. After three days of deliberations, the six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on December 8 unanimously voted for status quo on policy rates for the ninth consecutive time. At the meeting, the RBI Governor said risks stalking the global economy have amplified with rapid spread of the virus mutations, including the Omicron variant, leading to countries scrambling for restrictions.
The UK reported 93,045 cases of coronavirus on Friday, another record high for daily infections for the third consecutive day, as Omicron overtook Delta to become the dominant variant in London and Scotland.
The COVID-19 vaccines can be "tweaked" to provide protection against new variants of the virus, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Director Dr Randeep Guleria said.
COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria said 12 people linked to the tournament exited isolation on Sunday, leaving three active cases still to be cleared.
It will be unfair to put a date for any COVID wave as the behaviour of coronavirus is unpredictable and a disciplined and effective pandemic response can help the country get away from any significant outbreak, COVID Task Force chief V K Paul said.
The government on Thursday allowed free inter-state wheeling of renewable energy used in the production of green hydrogen and ammonia as it seeks to boost usage of the carbon-free fuel and make India an export hub. Unveiling the first part of the much-awaited National Hydrogen Policy, Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh said the government is targeting production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. Oil refineries to steel plants require hydrogen to produce finished products.
The clarification by the National Securities Depository (NSDL) - which is tasked with monitoring foreign portfolio investor (FPI) investment in domestic stocks - that the accounts of top investors in Adani group stocks remain 'active' has helped prevent a $500-million selloff of shares. Analysts said a freeze of the FPI accounts, as reported by some media outlets, could have prompted global index providers to cut weighting of four Adani group companies from their global indices. Brian Freitas, an analyst at independent research provider Smartkarma, said if the FPI accounts were indeed frozen, FTSE and MSCI would have reduced weighting of Adani group companies at the next rebalance, since it would have meant that the large part of the free float was not tradeable.
According to the statement, a significant number of foreign nationals are living in India, especially in large metropolitan areas. In these areas, the potential of spread of COVID-19 is high due to higher population density. To counter any possibility of such occurrence, it is important to vaccinate all eligible persons.
While virologists say theoretically the vaccine that works on Delta should work on the Delta Plus variant as well, more research is needed.
'In India, a deadly wave of infection with the Delta variant stole 240,000 lives between April and June and disrupted economic recovery. Similar episodes could take place in the near term,' said the report.
All people who have arrived in Saudi Arabia from European countries, as well as other states where the new coronavirus strain has emerged, will have to self-isolate at home for two weeks. Those who have visited these countries in the past three months will need to get tested for Covid-19, according to SPA.
There was a 'fascist threat' to democracy in Sri Lanka and 'we can't let them tear up our Constitution', acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the crisis-hit nation on Wednesday, as he vowed to restore normalcy as well as stop the destruction of state property.
The number of new COVID-19 cases increased exponentially by 71 per cent globally during the week December 27-January 2 as compared to the previous week, while the number of new deaths decreased by 10 per cent, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, as the new Omicron variant led the spike.
The Union health ministry on Friday said while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, some of the mutations reported may decrease the efficacy of the jabs.
