Is there a 'Moscow strain'? Sputnik V vaccine maker believes so

COVID-19: Is there a 'Moscow strain'? Sputnik V vaccine maker believes so

There may be a new mutant of coronavirus in Russia's capital Moscow, so-called "Moscow strain", which may be behind the recent spike in cases in the city. The Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, is studying the effectiveness of the jab against the new strain, as per Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella named as chairman

Microsoft Corp on Wednesday named Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella as its new chairman, in place of John Thompson. Nadella, who took over as CEO in 2014 from Steve Ballmer, has been instrumental in scaling up its business including billion-dollar acquisitions like LinkedIn, Nuance Communications and ZeniMax. The top-level executive change comes just over a year after Gates stepped down from the board, saying he would focus on philanthropic works.

Paytm IPO: JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs likely onboard

One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm has roped in some of the most influential investment bankers for its proposed initial public offering (IPO). JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and ICICI Securities are likely to lead the issue, touted to be the largest IPO in the financial sector.

Economy still wrestling with Covid; vaccination speed, scale to shape recovery path: RBI report

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its latest report, said the Indian economy continues to wrestle with the second wave of the pandemic, though cautious optimism is returning. By current assessment, the second Covid wave's toll is mainly in terms of the hit to domestic demand. The central bank has said going forward, the speed and scale of vaccination will shape the path of recovery.

Pass on Covid drugs, medical oxygen GST cut benefit to consumers: NPPA to drug makers

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has asked drug makers and medical device makers to reduce the prices of products on which the goods and services tax (GST) rate has been slashed to pass on the benefit to consumers. The drug pricing regulator said change in tax and GST rates has an impact on the fixation of maximum retail price (MRP) of items which attract these taxes.

'India offers what innovators need': PM Modi invites world to invest in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the 5th edition of VivaTech summit, said on Wednesday that COVID-19 has put many conventional methods to test and that innovation is the only way out when convention fails. The PM invited the world to invest in India based on the five pillars of -- "talent, market, capital, eco-system, and culture of openness".