India's Covid-19 caseload rose to more than 9.9 million with 22,890 new infections being reported in a day, while total recoveries crossed the 9.5 million-mark, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Friday.

With 338 more fatalities, the death toll reached 1,44,789, while the total Covid-19 cases mounted to 99,79,447, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) traded 1 per cent higher at Rs 1,296 on the BSE on Friday in an otherwise subdued market on report that the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, L&T Hydrocarbon (LTHE), is the lowest bidder for HPCL Rajasthan Refinery.
The stock of the construction & engineering company was trading close to its 52-week high level of Rs 1,384, touched on February 1, 2020. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.25 per cent at 46,767 points, at 12:20 pm.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies rallied at the bourses on Friday with sector giants Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys hitting their respective record highs, after Accenture reported better-than-expected results for the quarter ending November 30. For all of fiscal 2021, Accenture now sees revenue growth of between 4 per cent and 6 per cent, up from a previous forecast range of up 2 per cent to 5 per cent all in local currency.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil climbed on Thursday and touched a nine-month high, with traders optimistic about progress toward a U.S. fiscal stimulus deal and record-breaking refining demand in China and India.

U.S. lawmakers edged closer to agreement on a $900 billion virus-relief spending package on Wednesday.

Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the use of GPS-based (Global Positioning System) toll collection will ensure India becomes “toll plaza free” in the next two years. He also said this would help the exchequer earn Rs 1.34 trillion in the next five years.

The central government has finalised GPS-based toll collection to ensure seamless movement of vehicles across the country.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India continues to be in regular touch with authorities in China to resolve the issue of several ships with Indian crew stranded in Chinese waters.

The government continues to be in regular touch with the Chinese authorities to seek a resolution of these issues at the earliest and also to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the crew are taken care of, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath on Thursday (December 17) gave his approval to the design, name and logo of the international airport to be constructed in Noida’s Jewar, an official statement informed.

It will be named Noida International Greenfield Airport while a picture of ‘stork’ – the state bird – will used in its logo. The airport will be designed on the lines of other major airports like those in London, Moscow and Milan.

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi has slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for tearing copies of farm laws at the one-day session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and said he is a "new chameleon".

Addressing a press conference here, Member of Parliament from New Delhi Lekhi said that the farm laws were notified in the Delhi Gazette on November 23.

Months after dissent from senior Congress leaders, party's interim president Sonia Gandhi will meet many of the party's state and central leaders, including the dissenters, news agency ANI reported.

Through the meeting, Congress' top leadership has begun taking steps to redress grievances and other pending issues of the party while chalking out a strategy on key issues.

With an eye on the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come up with its 'Special-7' to chalk out a strategy.

The BJP in West Bengal is deploying seven central leaders for the upcoming assembly poll. The leaders are--Sanjeev Balyan, Gajendra Shekhawat, Arjun Munda, Mansukh Mandaviya, Keshav Maurya, Pradhan Singh Patel and Narrotam Mishra.

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