CNBC-TV18 Special Podcast

India’s political sphere is abuzz as elections dates in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur are coming closer. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh Cabinet saw its third minister Dharam Singh Saini resign from his post on Thursday. In Punjab, the Congress unit president took a dig at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal over his ‘Punjab model’ of governance. Mea...

While the Omicron variant becoming dominant in the metro, Delhi and Mumbai are likely to witness the peak of the third COVID-19 wave this week, Dr Anurag Agrawal, Director at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) said on Tuesday. Delhi, meanwhile, has ordered all private offices to remain shut and operate from home amid surging ca...

India’s daily coronavirus case tally surged past one lakh, according to Union Health Ministry data on Thursday morning. The figure includes over 3,000 cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Following the rapid rise in cases, the government has made it compulsory for all international arrivals to undergo seven-day home quarantine and has issued fresh guidelines, which will be effective from Janu...

India’s daily COVID-19 tally surpassed 90,900 on Thursday, Union Health Ministry data showed. Moreover, the country registered the biggest single spike of 495 Omicron cases, which takes the total number of cases of the new COVID variant to 2,630. However, according to reports, though big cities Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases the corresponding rise in hospitali...

India has reported the first death linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Rajasthan's Udaipur, reports citing the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The 73-year-old man died last week due to post-COVID-19 pneumonia coupled with comorbidities, officials said. Following the massive rise in coronavirus cases, several more states including Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, and Karnataka have int...

As the world grapples with the highly mutated Omicron variant, scientists have identified a new strain of the COVID-19 causing virus ‘IHU’ in Southern France. Researchers on Tuesday said it is too early to speculate on how the new strain behaves as far as infection and protection from vaccines is concerned. Meanwhile in India’s daily coronavirus case tally has surpassed 37,300 whereas the Omicron...

The Indian stock market started 2022 with a bang with gains as both Sensex and Nifty surged over 1.5 percent at close on January 3. However, market guru Mark Mobius says this year will be very different for the market and going back to basics will work. Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccination for children in the age group of 15-18 years began today with Covaxin as the only jab available for this age group...

The Indian equity benchmark indices closed higher for the third straight session on Thursday as concerns related to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 seemed to settle. The stocks of tech majors Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Birlasoft hit 52-week highs and experts say “IT is going to be in fashion.” Meanwhile, a blast inside the district court complex in Punjab’s Ludhiana left one person dead and three...

Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Wednesday said they have signed definitive agreements for their merger. The two companies will combine their linear networks, digital assets, production operations, and program libraries, they said. Meanwhile, Sensex and Nifty extended gains for the second straight session and closed over 1 percent higher,...

The Indian equity benchmarks rebounded on Tuesday after a two-day selloff, tracking gains in the IT and metal stocks. Telecom stocks, including Reliance Industries, Vodafone Idea, and Bharti Airtel, also rallied up to 7 percent during today’s session as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released October data. Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha has passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill,...

The concerns about the Omicron variant on coronavirus have resurfaced with the spike in cases around the world. This has spooked investors, triggering an intense selloff in global equities. Monday’s trading session started on a negative note, with benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 later slumping to more than four-month closing lows. Meanwhile, a UK new study has said there is no evidence that Omicron...

Indian equity benchmarks suffered sharp losses on Friday tracking a sell-off across global markets. Experts suggest central banks' hawkish stance, Omicron concerns, and FII selling seem to have spooked investors. However, Edelweiss Securities Sandip Agarwal sees three more years of the current IT upcycle. On the political front, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Punjab’s former chief minister A...

India could see a mild COVID-19 wave in January-February, Himanshu Baid, the managing director of Poly Medicure, said on Thursday, adding that the nation is much better prepared for it. Meanwhile, Mumbai Police has imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 until December 31 banning large gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. In a significant move, the Union Cabinet has cleared t...

Decorated air warrior Group Captain Varun Singh died at a military hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday, a week after he was seriously injured in the chopper crash near Coonoor that killed CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 armed forces personnel. Meanwhile, in the stock market, benchmark indices closed lower for the fourth straight session as fears of a hawkish Fed sent headline indices slumping...

India is likely to see a large number of cases of the COVID-19 variant Omicron, virologist and microbiologist Dr Gagandeep Kang said on Tuesday. According to her, a booster shot against coronavirus may provide 70-75 percent protection against symptomatic infection.  On the economy front, the wholesale price-based inflation surged to more than a decade high of 14.23 percent in November, compared to...

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, who died in a military chopper crash on December 8, was laid to rest with full military honours on Friday. His two daughters performed the last rites. Meanwhile, the share markets snapped a three-day gaining streak and ended the session flat. Despite Star Health’s tepid debut in the secondary market, ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala says though near-term...

Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper crash near Coonoor, was on Thursday moved to Bengaluru for better treatment, officials said. His condition is stated to be still critical. Meanwhile, the cremation of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika will take place in Delhi Cantonment on December 10. In this edition of Top News Podc...

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 more personnel of the armed forces died as the military chopper they were on board crashed in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and the armed forces condoled the deaths. Meanwhile, at the Reserve Bank of India monetary policy announcement, the central bank kept...

The Serum Institute of India has decided to reduce the production of the coronavirus vaccine Covishield by at least 50 percent from next week as it has not received further orders from the government, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the vaccine manufacturing firm told CNBC-TV18 on December 7. On the economic front, the Indian economy is showing strong signs of recovery from the devastation caused by the p...

Even as Indian equity benchmark indices erased opening gains at close on December 3, the shares of Vodafone Idea soared over 12 percent, hitting a 52-week high, on account of the telecom department returning bank guarantees to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore to the telecom. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there should be a global mechanism to monitor technology, whether it is a cry...

The cryptocurrency market has been gaining immense popularity. Between 2020 and 2021, the world of crypto gained considerable traction and has been witnessing mixed trends. There is increasing room for doubt lurking among investors while they try to decipher this global technological wonder. The crypto markets have witnessed extreme volatility in the last few days, experts on CNBC-TV18 have highli...

Two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union government said on December 2. It urged people not to panic and instead follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has reduced the VAT on petrol to 19.40 percent from 30 percent, bringing down the price of the fuel in the city by about Rs 8 per li...

The Indian government will bring in a new Bill on cryptocurrency once it is approved by the Union Cabinet, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 30 in Rajya Sabha. She also cautioned those who are investing in cryptocurrencies and asked them to be careful. In this edition of the Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com ’s Kanishka Sarkar shares the latest developments on the COVID variant Omi...

A new COVID-19 variant - B.1.1.529 has been detected in South Africa. The World Health Organization has said the early analysis shows this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study. In this edition of Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com ’s Kanishka Sarkar shares more about the new variant, its transmissibility, why experts have called it a cause of concern and...

While there remains uncertainty about the future of cryptocurrencies in India, one thing has definitely been clarified. That, it’s not becoming a legal currency. Finance Secretary TV Somanathan has said that cryptocurrencies will not be a legal tender by any means, it's absolutely off the cards. In this edition of Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com ’s Kanishka Sarkar shares more developments on crypto...