In what comes as a leap in medical research and a first for India, doctors at the Max Hospital in New Delhi's Saket have started conducting 'plasma therapy' in the hopes of finding a cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a pandemic outbreak which is spreading like wildfire across the globe.

The sample case in this regard is a family of four from New Delhi's Defence Colony, all of who had contracted COVID-19 and were undergoing treatment at the Max Hospital.

The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare confirmed on Thursday that the total number of positive cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection has now crossed the 12,000-mark. India's tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases currently stands at 12,380, which includes 10,477 active cases and 1,489 cured, discharged or migrated.

The COVID-19 death toll in India has risen to 414.

Faced with severe pressure on revenues, TajGVK Hotels & Resorts Ltd, a joint venture of Tata group’s Indian Hotels and GVK group, is approaching lenders for a moratorium on loan repayments under RBI’s Covid-19-Regulatory Package.

TajGVK did not honour payment obligations falling due in March 2020, pertaining to a Rs 94.75 crore term loan, according to rating agency ICRA.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on Wednesday directed colleges and other educational institutions across the country not to insist on payment of fees till the ongoing nationwide lockdown is lifted.

The ministry issued guidelines to the institutions across the country and asked them to strictly comply with it.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday asked the Centre to issue guidelines and advisories to all the states and union territories to ensure that the implementation of coronavirus lockdown is done in a sensible manner respecting the rights, liberty and dignity of people.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Wednesday said that it has issued over 10.2 lakh tax refunds totalling to around Rs 4,250 crore till April 14. The amount is over and above the 2.5 crore refunds that have already been issued FY 19-20 till March 31 that totalled to Rs 1.84 lakh crore.

Through a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance, the CBDT said that about 1.75 lakh more refunds are in the process of issuance this week.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday released the complete list of 176 government and 78 private laboratories to test potential coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-affected patient samples. Notably, the virus has affected more than 12,000 people in India and claimed at least 400 lives in the country, while it continues to spread like wildfire globally.

The official website of the council provides an idea about the government and private testing facilities for coronavirus available in the country. These testing facilities are spread across the length and breadth of the country.

The Centre on Wednesday declared 170 districts in the country as coronavirus hotspots and 207 as non-hotspots. Hotspots are the regions that have reported a significant number of positive cases.

During the daily press briefing, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal stated that the government has asked the states to segregate the districts based on the number of cases they have reported. While the regions with the most cases are coronavirus hotspots, non-hotspots are those districts where less number of cases are found. The discricts where no case has been found is the green zone.

Good news, iPhone users - a new iPhone is here. However, it is not the iPhone 12, if you are wondering. This one has the same name as an earlier device but comes in a new packaging some new features. Read on to know how much it's gonna cost.

Apple has officially announced the new iPhone SE, which is a comparatively low-cost device that has a storage of 64 GB. It looks similar to the iPhone 8, as it has the same 4.7-inch screen, large bezels on top and bottom, and a home button with a Touch ID.

Startup Cipla Health, a subsidiary of Cipla, on Wednesday said it has partnered with Swiggy, Zomato and Dunzo for home deliveries of over-the-counter wellness products in the wake of the nationwide lockdown.

Leveraging on the extensive service delivery mechanism of the partners, Cipla Health will cater to 4 lakh people and cover 250 stores in 45 cities across the country, news agency PTI reported.

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