Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave a warm response to US President Donald Trump's note of thanks regarding India delivering the order of the hydroxychloroquine drug that the US had requested for, stating that times like these bring friends closer. India had partially lifted the ban on the export of the drug to deal with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, which is spreading like wildfire across the globe, with the US at the frontline.

Shares of IDBI Bank advanced up to 10.5 per cent to Rs 21.95 on the BSE on Thursday after the private lender said it has targeted to raise up to Rs 7,500 crore through rupee bond in the current fiscal.

At 9:34 am, the stock pared its gains partially to trade 5 per cent higher at Rs 20.8 apiece. In comparison, the headline S&P BSE Sensex index was trading 3 per cent higher at 30,773.60 levels.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday approved Alphabet Inc unit Google's request to use part of a US-Asia undersea telecommunications cable after the company warned it would face significantly higher prices to carry traffic by other means.

Google agreed to operate a portion of the 8,000-mile Pacific Light Cable Network System between the United States and Taiwan, but not Hong Kong. Google and Facebook Inc helped to pay for construction of the now completed telecommunications link, but US regulators have blocked its use.

Leading the way in manufacturing indigenous medical equipment, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday launched COVID-19 testing kits manufactured by Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ).

Minister for Industries, Mekapati Goutham Reddy, said that AMTZ is now manufacturing 2000 testing kits per day. Once it gets the laser welding equipment, the production will be scaled up to 25,000 units per day.

Stocks traded in the green in the opening session on Thursday as market benchmark SENSEX jumped over 700 points and stood at 30,619.77, amid strong investment. Meanwhile, Nifty rose more than 200 points to 8,952.70.

Sensex components like HDFC, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, and Hero MotorCorp were trading on a positive note. All NSE components were trading in the green, with Nifty Pharma and Financial Services gaining the highest.

President of the United States of America Donald Trump on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India delivering the order of the hydroxychloroquine drug that the US had requested for, to deal with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, which is spreading like wildfire across the globe, with the US at the frontline.

Trump said that it was terrific and that the United States will 'remember' this act by India.

In an attempt to provide some relief to taxpayers during the nationwide lockdown, the Income Tax Department on Wednesday announced that it will release all pending income tax refunds up to Rs 5 lakh immediately. The move is said to benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers.

In the context of the COVID-19 situation and with a view to providing immediate relief to the business entities and individuals, it has been decided to issue all the pending income-tax refunds up to Rs 5 lakh, immediately. This would benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers, read a statement by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday interacted with leaders of the political parties to discuss the situation arising out of the spread of coronavirus and the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

Modi held a video conference with floor leaders of various parties, including the opposition, in Parliament to discuss the COVID-19 crisis.

India has given a green signal to the order of the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) drug of three countries -- the United States (US), Spain, and Australia. All of these countries had placed an order for the drug earlier.

The US administration terms 'hydroxychloroquine' as a game-changing drug to deal with the COVID-19 crisis although there is still no consensus in the medical community on its use. India is the largest producer of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to erase 6.7 per cent of working hours globally during July-December, 2020 - equivalent to 195 million full-time workers, which far exceeds the effects of the 2008-09 financial crisis, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned on Tuesday.

Large reductions are foreseen in the Arab states (8.1 per cent, equivalent to 5 million full-time workers), Europe (7.8 per cent, or 12 million full-time workers) and Asia and the Pacific (7.2 per cent, 125 million full-time workers).

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