With 3,614 fresh cases, the lowest since May 12, 2020, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 4,29,87,875, while the number of active cases of the infection has dipped to 40,559, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

The death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 5,15,803 with 89 more fatalities, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday presented the Budget for 2022-23 with a proposed expenditure of Rs 2.56 lakh crore and a projected revenue deficit of Rs 17,036 crore.

Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath presented the ambitious budget although the government fell short of its expenditure estimates in 2021-22 by a whopping Rs 55,182 crore.

India and China on Friday are holding another round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the 22-month-long standoff in some friction points in eastern Ladakh, two months after the last round of such talks failed to yield any significant outcome.

The 15th round of Corps-Commander level talks was scheduled to begin at 10 am at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the dialogue said.

The Supreme Court on Friday appointed its ex-judge AK Sikri as chairperson of the High Powered Committee (HPC), which would consider the cumulative and independent impact of the Chardham project on the entire Himalayan valley.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant accepted the resignation of Professor Ravi Chopra as chairperson of the committee after he wrote a letter in January wishing to relinquish his post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Gujarat begins on Friday, during which he is scheduled to address the 'Gujarat Panchayat Mahasammelan'.

The sammelan will be attended by over 1 lakh panchayati raj representatives from the state. Before leaving for Gujarat, Modi tweeted, "Leaving for Gujarat, where I will be attending various programmes today and tomorrow. At 4 PM today, will address a Panchayat Mahasammelan, where several representatives from Panchayati Raj institutions will attend."

India logged 4,194 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,29,84,261, while the active cases dipped to 42,219, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll climbed to 5,15,714 with 255 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

Shares of Sarda Energy & Minerals hit a record high of Rs 1,024.95, surging 6 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade on expectation of healthy earnings going ahead. The stock of iron & steel/intermediates products-maker surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,000 touched on March 3, 2022.

Sarda Energy on Thursday informed that the rating agency India Ratings has assigned fresh ratings ‘IND A-’/Stable for a long term issuer rating of the Company's Subsidiary - Madhya Bharat Power Corporation Ltd (MBPCL).

Shares of Cipla hit a record high of Rs 1,014, up 3 per cent on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade and surpassed its previous high of 1,005 touched on September 29, 2021. The stock of pharmaceutical company traded higher for the fifth straight day, up 6 per cent during this period. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.13 per cent at 55,535 points at 11:14 am.

In the last 10 trading days, the stock has rallied 10 per cent after the company on February 27, announced that it has received an approval from the Subject Expert Committee (“SEC”) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (“CDSCO”) to conduct local trials on anti Covid-19 pill Paxlovid on February 24, 2022.

Oil prices settled about 2% lower on Thursday after a volatile session, a day after its biggest daily dive in two years, as Russia pledged to fulfil contractual obligations and some traders said supply disruption concerns were overdone.

Since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, oil markets have been the most volatile in two years. On Wednesday, global benchmark Brent crude posted its biggest daily decline since April, 2020. Two days earlier, it hit a 14-year high at over $139 a barrel.

The price of ten gram of 24-carat gold decreased by Rs 1,750 on Friday to Rs 52,580, while the rate of silver decreased by Rs 1,800 per kg to Rs 69,400.

Ten grams of 22-carat gold is selling at Rs 48,200 after a decrease in rate by Rs 1,600.

In Delhi and Mumbai, the price of 10 grams of 24-carat gold stands at Rs 52,580.

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