India recorded 24,492 new COVID-19 cases, registering more than 20,000 cases for the sixth day in a row, taking the infection tally past 1.14 crore, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.

The total cases in the country rose to1,14,09,831, while the death toll increased to 1,58,856, with 131 fresh fatalities, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies, on Tuesday, were in focus at the bourses, with six stocks, Infosys, Mindtree, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), Sonata Software, Coforge and Intellect Design Arena from the S&P BSE IT index hitting their respective record highs in intra-day trade on expectation of strong earnings.

At 10:04 am, the S&P BSE IT index, the top gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1.5 per cent, as compared to 0.35 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday asserted that Indian Railways will never be privatised but said private investment should be encouraged for more efficient functioning.

Replying to a discussion on Demands for Grants for Railways, Goyal said there has been no death of any passenger due to a rail accident in two years and the railways has been putting enormous focus on passenger safety.

Infrastructure company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday said it has received multiple orders across its business segments in the domestic market.

The company did not provide the value of the contracts but said the orders fall under the significant category, which ranges between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore according to the classification of contracts.

As many as 71.01 lakh employees' provident fund (EPF) accounts were closed during April-December 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, the government informed on Monday.

The number was 66.66 lakh in the same period last year, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

This financial year is about to end and the government has planned some major changes for the next financial year which starts from April 1.

During the Budget 2021 presentation, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made certain announcements, including changes in ITR for senior citizens. From the new fiscal, TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) will get changed.

Network 18 Media and Investments has settled a case with Sebi, pertaining to alleged failure to disclose Independent Media Trust (IMT) as a promoter in the draft papers for the rights issue, after paying Rs 1.56 crore towards settlement charges.

Network 18 Media and Investments or NW18 had approached Sebi to settle the matter through the settlement order.

Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) on Monday said that they will refund ticket prices for the last three T20Is between India and England as the remainder of the series will be played behind closed doors as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

The number of COVID-19 cases is rising in the country and as a result, it has been decided that the remaining three T20Is at the Narendra Modi Stadium will be played behind closed doors.

Amid rising coronavirus COVID-19 cases across the world, Germany, France and Italy on Monday (March 16) joined the list of Europena nations which have stopped the rollouts of AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot fears. It is to be noted that these countries decided to stop the use of AstraZeneca vaccine despite World Health Organization's insistence that it is safe to use the vaccine.

The Shiv Sena on Monday (March 15) reiterated its support for Maharashtra Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, claiming that Waze was targeted by the BJP-led government at the Centre for arresting Republic TV editor-in chief Arnab Goswami in the Anvay Naik suicide case. The Sena alleged in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' that Waze earned the ire of BJP as he had exposed the TRP manipulation case which also involved Arnab.

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