Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said major foreign pharmaceutical companies manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines were demanding indemnity and sovereign immunity waiver to supply their vaccines in India, but the government made it clear that these firms are welcome to do business here but on our terms.

He was speaking at the launch of a book titled 'A Nation To Protect - Leading India Through The Covid Crisis' and authored by Priyam Gandhi Mody.

Ten gram of 24-carat gold is selling at Rs 50,510 on Saturday, up Rs 540 since the last trade as demand rises for the safe-haven bullion.

The yellow metal (22-carat) is selling at Rs 46,300, up Rs 500 from Friday according to the Goodreturns website. One kg of silver is selling at Rs 63,800, increasing by Rs 400.

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 421.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.87 million and vaccinations to over 10.31 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 421,348,262 and 5,872,338, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 10,317,284,055.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved proposals worth Rs 235 crore to Andhra Pradesh under the 'Garbage Free Cities' vision, the largest one-time approval of funds for legacy dumpsite remediation, a statement said on Friday.

The Centre's share in these proposals will be Rs 77.66 crore, a ministry official said, adding that rest of the amount will be borne by the state.

Buoyed by late but steady Kharif onion arrivals that is expected to remain till Rabi arrival from March 2022, the all-India average retail price of onion as on February 17 was Rs 35.28/kg, which is 22.36 per cent lower than that of the last year, as per an official statement on Friday.

Prices of onion remained substantially stable during 2021-22 due to effective market intervention through the Price Stabilisation Fund, the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ministry statement said.

As part of the resolution process, the RBI-appointed administrator on Friday invited expressions of interest (EoIs) for sale of debt-ridden Reliance Capital promoted by Anil Ambani Group.

The RBI had on November 29 last year superseded the board of Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL) in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues.

Vistara on Friday said it has entered into an association with Allianz Partners to provide optional travel insurance to its passengers.

Effective February 16, Vistara customers have the option to avail travel insurance while booking their domestic or international flights, the airline's statement noted.

Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd (MEML) on Friday said it has partnered with Common Service Centres (CSC), a government organisation that helps provide employment in rural India, to promote adoption of electric vehicles.

Through this association with CSC, MEML will offer its range of electric vehicles like the Treo and Alfa to aspiring customers in the rural markets, the company said in a statement.

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group is getting ready for two separate ventures that may see investments worth $15 billion in chip and display manufacturing space in India. One will be with Hon Hai Technology Group (also known as Foxconn) to manufacture 28-nano meter semiconductor chips based on a technology developed by the Taiwanese multinational. The other venture is meant for a display manufacturing unit.

For the display venture, the company is in talks with at least seven global majors including LG, Sharp and Japan Display for a potential technology or equity partnership.

State-run miner Coal India Ltd. warned production of the fuel may fall, risking new threats to the nation’s energy supply, if the company isn’t able to raise prices.
The world’s largest coal producer is facing cost pressures from a looming rise in salaries and on higher prices of diesel used to power mine equipment. Some of the company’s units are finding it difficult to survive without a price hike, Chairman Pramod Agrawal said on a call with analysts.

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