The second wave of COVID-19 has hit India like a tsunami, Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has said, attributing the unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases to the recent state elections and religious festivals in the country.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to expunge critical remarks of the Madras High Court holding the poll panel responsible for surge in COVID cases in country, and also trashed the plea that media be restrained from reporting observations of judicial proceedings, saying it will be a retrograde act.

A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud, however, acknowledged that the high court's remarks were harsh, but did not expunge them saying they do not form part of the judicial order.

Amid the rising coronavirus COVID-19 cases in Kerala, the state government has decided to impose lockdown from May 8-16 to break the chain of transmission.

A tweet posted by Chief Minister's Office said that the lockdown will remain in place from May 8-16. As directed by the CM, the entire State of Kerala will be under lockdown from 6am on 8 May to 16 May. This is in the background of a strong 2nd wave of COVID-19, tweeted CMO.

India reported a record 412,262 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and a record 3,980 daily death toll, as a second wave of infections swamps the health system and spreads from cities into the vast countryside.

COVID-19 infections in the world's second most populous nation have surged past 21 million, with a death toll of 230,168, health ministry data show.

The tragic COVID-19 situation in India should raise the alarm bells for all of us and there will be reverberations across the region and the world in terms of virus-related deaths, virus mutations and supply delays unless the world steps up and helps the country now, the head of the UN children's agency has said.

Shares of IDBI Bank surged 15 per cent to Rs 43.50 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Thursday after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment along with transfer of management control in IDBI Bank.

At 09:21 am, the stock was trading 9 per cent higher at Rs 41.35 on the BSE on the back of heavy volumes. Around 2.7 million equity shares had changed hands on the BSE in the first few minutes of trade, as compared to an average 1.74 million shares traded in the past two weeks. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.10 per cent at 48,728 points.

Shares of Tata Steel rose 6 per cent and hit a new high of Rs 1,128.80 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Thursday after the company reported a higher-than-expected consolidated net profit, attributable to owners of the company, at Rs 6,644 crore in the March quarter (Q4) of FY21, against a net loss of Rs 1,481 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Revenue from operations jumped 39 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 49,977 crore on the back of higher steel prices and strong volumes, leading to strong operational gains.

As the spike in the COVID-19 caseload refuses to slow down, the Jharkhand government on Wednesday (May 5) extended the lockdown-like restrictions till May 13. The restrictions, first imposed on April 22 as Health Safety Week, were scheduled to end on Thursday (May 6).

The decision to extend the restrictions was taken at a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority, chaired by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The Ministry of Railways on Wednesday informed that a total of 70,000 isolation beds have been made available by the Railways in over 4,400 Covid Care Coaches.

In the fight against Covid, the Ministry of Railways is taking action to move Isolation coaches to places of demand (made by respective states) mobilising workforce and material for this task. The Railways has made available a fleet of more than 4,400 Isolation Coaches with around 70,000 beds to serve as Isolation Units.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and former union minister Ajit Singh passed away on Thursday (May 6) morning at a hospital in Gurugram due to COVID-19. He was 86.

Ajit Singh was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Gurugram after testing positive for coronavirus. According to reports, the RLD chief's condition deteriorated on Tuesday night due to a lung infection.

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