Cement prices in southern India grew by around 18% year on year, which is nearly double the prices in other regions of the country. The cement industry in the southern part of the country has exhibited strong production discipline in the face of weak volumes.

According to Motilal Oswal, prices in South India have been strong and are up 18 per cent YoY (flat QoQ), while prices in North, West and Central India are up 7 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent YoY, respectively, and 3 per cent, 1 per cent and 2 per cent QoQ, respectively.

In what seems like a ray of home amid the grim COVID-19 pandemic situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that experts believe wait for COVID-19 vaccine will not be long, it may be ready in a few weeks.

PM Modi chaired an all-party meeting with ministerial colleagues and select opposition leaders on Friday to discuss the Coronavirus pandemic situation and the potential availability of a vaccine in the near future and its distribution in India.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has sent a legal notice to Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, seeking an unconditional apology for her derogatory tweets against farmers and activists involved in the farmers protest against the Centre's three Farm Laws, the committee's president said on Friday.

The BSE Sensex crossed the 45,000 mark for the first time ever, after the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the accommodative stance would continue for the rest of FY21 and revised the growth prospects.

Around 11.10 am, Sensex touched an all-time high of 45,033.19 points.

The Nifty50, also touched a fresh all-time high of 13,250.30 points.

RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 4 pc, maintains accommodative stance

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent and maintained the policy stance at accommodative.

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made a unanimous decision to maintain status-quo after a three-day meeting that began on December 2.

India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 95.71 lakh,while the total number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 90 lakhpushing the national recovery rate to 94.20 per cent,accordingto the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to95,71,559 with 36,595 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,39,188 with 540 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Shares of UltraTech Cement surged 4 per cent to hit a fresh record high in the early morning trade on the BSE on Friday. The stock crossed Rs 5,000 mark to scale the peak of Rs 5,104 after the company said its board has approved increasing the firm's capacity by 12.8 mtpa (MT), with a mix of brown field and green field expansion at a capex of Rs 5,477 crore. The company surpassed its previous high of Rs 4,998, touched on December 2, 2020.

The additional capacity will be created in the fast-growing markets of the east, central and north regions in the country, UltraTech Cement said in a press release.

The counting of votes for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election began on Friday morning.

As per early trends, BJP has taken a lead and both TRS and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM are trailing behind.

After campaigning by regional and national political parties, voting for the GHMC elections was held in 150 wards on December 1.

Britain will be the first country in the West to roll out a Covid-19 vaccine, beating the United States and Europe in a race to control the pandemic that has left close to 1.5 million dead globally. UK’s drug authority—Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)--on Wednesday granted an emergency licence to the antidote developed by American pharma major Pfizer along with Germany’s BioNTech, inspiring confidence in people and economies around the world after a year of extreme pain and losses.

Gold price today jumped to Rs 51,610 from Rs 51,320 per 10 gm, while silver was trending at Rs 62,400 per kg, according to the Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery prices vary across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making changes.

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