A test kit ‘OmiSure’ developed by Tata Medical and Diagnostics received Indian Medical Research Council’s nod on Thursday for quick detection of the Omicron COVID-19. Meanwhile, as the coronavirus case trajectory is rising at a rapid pace, hospitalisations too have started to rise. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting triggered has concerns about earlier-than-expected rate hikes, which has turned the investor sentiment negative globally. Here are some more top news of the day
ECONOMY/BUSINESS
Reliance Industries raises $4 billion in US dollar bonds
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday said it has raised $4 billion in a three-tranche US dollar bond issuance in what is the largest-ever foreign currency bond issuance from India. Check more details
Omicron to hit Q4 GDP by 0.40%, dent FY22 growth by 0.1%: Report
The Omicron variant spread will impact the January-March quarter GDP by 0.40 percent and shave off 0.10 percent from the FY22 growth, as many states resort to restrictions to limit infections, a domestic rating agency said. Read more
Fresh blow to Vodafone Idea: High Court stays order on number portability
The Delhi High Court has stayed the order of an appellate tribunal preventing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from taking coercive action against the telecom company for allowing only subscribers with certain tariff plans to port out, a report said. Read more
MARKETS
How market has reacted to budgets in the past
Since 2010, the Nifty 50 index has seen a decline before and on Budget day before rallying in the week and month after, reported Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Limited. Here’s what to expect this time
Paytm shares drop to fresh low, discount to issue price reaches 42%
Paytm parent One97 Communications’ shares fell for a third straight day on Thursday to an all-time low. The stock dropped 2.7 percent to a closing low of Rs 1,253.9 apiece on BSE, a discount of 41.7 percent to the issue price of Rs 2,150. Read more
US Fed to trim balance sheet; how will it impact global markets?
In the latest FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve officials intensified their battle against the hottest inflation in a generation by shifting to end their asset-buying program earlier and signalling they favour raising interest rates in 2022 at a faster pace than expected. Read more
INDIA
Omicron: Hospital admissions, oxygen requirements start to rise
India added nearly 91,000 new COVID cases in 24 hours, the highest single-day count since June 11, 2021. This is a seven fold increase in daily cases in the last five days. Read more
What transpired at the Ferozepur Flyover where PM Modi got stuck for 20 minutes
There is a high concern at the Centre as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade was stuck on top of a flyover in plain sight around 1:30 pm for nearly 20 minutes, just 30 km from the India-Pakistan border on Wednesday. Dig deeper
ICMR approves Tata MD developed real time RT-PCR test kit for quick Omicron detection
The Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) has given approval to the made-in-India test kit ‘OmiSure’ developed by the Tata Medical and Diagnostics. It is a real-time RT-PCR test kit for quick detection of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Check more details
WORLD
Why are Kazakhs protesting and why did Kazakhstan government resign?
As fuel prices doubled in Kazakhstan, it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back with outpouring anger coming from thousands of Kazakh who took to the streets to protest against the government. Dig deeper
Twitter convenes a team to prepare for Capitol riot anniversary
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol, Twitter Inc convened a team to prepare the social networking site to address any harmful content associated with the event, the company told Reuters. Read more
Omicron derails return-to-office plans; companies all over in wait-and-watch mode
With the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in India, fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus, companies are once again shelving plans to return to office. Read more
YOU & ME
From shampoos to biscuits, these products are expected to cost more in 2022
Consumers may bear the brunt of more expensive products as manufacturing companies plan to raise rates in another round of price increases. Here’s how much they will cost
Explained | What are decentralised applications or dApps?
The name decentralised application (dApp) may sound like a departure from your run-of-the-mill smartphone application that you use every day, but from a user’s point of view, the experience should all be the same. Know more
Soon, recharge mobiles, pay bills at ‘RailWire’ kiosks in 200 stations
Passengers in 200 railway stations across India will soon be able to recharge their mobiles, pay electricity bills, fill up Aadhaar and Pan card forms and even file taxes with help from Common Service Centre (CSC) kiosks to be set up by RailTel. Read more
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