Indian house prices will fall for the first time in at least a decade this year and next as the coronavirus pandemic leads to mass job losses and hammers demand and the economic outlook, a Reuters poll showed.

The Indian property market was being hobbled by a cash crunch even before the coronavirus outbreak, which has already infected more than 350,000 in the world's second most populous country.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank on Friday sold 3.96 per cent stake in its general insurance arm ICICI Lombard for Rs 2,250 crore. This was done to strengthen the bank’s balance sheet in light of the pandemic that is expected to worsen the bad loans problem of the banks.

Petrol price on Friday was hiked by 56 paise per litre and diesel by 63 paise a litre, taking the cumulative increase in rates to Rs 7.11 and Rs 7.67 per litre respectively in less than two weeks.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 78.37 per litre from Rs 77.81, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 77.06 a litre from Rs 76.43, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Drug major Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Friday said it has received final nod from the health regulator for Fingolimod capsules.

The capsules are used in the treatment of adult patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

Reliance Industries is net debt-free after raising a record Rs 1.69 lakh crore from global investors and a rights issue in almost two months, said group chairman Mukesh Ambani in a statement on Friday.

The statement came after Reliance said on Thursday Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will buy a 2.32 per cent stake in its digital unit Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.

In the first investment by any private equity fund manager in real estate post the lockdown, HDFC Capital Advisors, part of HDFC, has invested in a mid-income housing project in Mumbai.

HDFC Capital invested Rs 275 crore in the project of Kalpataru in Kandivali area of Mumbai, sources in the know said. The project has total area of 1 million sq ft.

Ten Indian soldiers, including four officers, were released by the Chinese Army after a hectic round of negotiations at the Major General-level talks between the two sides in the Galwan valley.

The officers and jawans were held by the Chinese after the violent face-off between the two countries on June 15-16 where 20 Indian troops, including a colonel, lost their lives.

At least eight terrorists were killed by security forces in two separate operations in Awantipora and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Three terrorists were gunned down by the security personnel in Awantipora's Pampore on Friday, informed Dilbag Singh DGP Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an all-party meeting on Friday over the ongoing India-China border situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The meeting is scheduled to take place at 5 pm.

Those who are expected to attend Friday's all-party meet are: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan, Siromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal, TRS chief and Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, Biju Janata Dal President and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, CPI-M Secretary General Sitaram Yechury, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, YSR Congress president and Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, JDU president, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, DMK president MK Stalin, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, BSP chief Mayawati.

CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) Lucknow has received permission for carrying out Phase III trial of antiviral drug Umifenovir, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute(CDRI) Lucknow, has received permission for carrying out Phase III randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled trial of efficacy, safety and tolerability of antiviral drug Umifenovir, the Union Health Minister tweeted.

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