As thermal power generation units across the country grapple with coal shortage, India's largest power generator NTPC is looking at several methods to augment supply to states. It is also relying on gas-run units to improve power supply in the middle of a coal shortage.

NTPC, however, added sta­tes were not scheduling po­wer from gas-based stations but were drawing from the grid. Gas-run power units sell power at higher rates than coal, hydro and renewable energy units as most rely on imported gas.

The current happenings in Afghanistan have raised new security questions, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Monday, asserting the Central government is alert and capable of dealing with any situation.

He also said no anti-national force should be allowed to encourage terrorism from across the border by taking advantage of the developments in Afghanistan.

India saw a single-day rise of 42,909 new COVID-19 infections, which took the total tally of cases to 3,27,37,939, while active cases registered an increase for the fifth consecutive day, according to Union health ministry data updated on Monday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,38,210 with 380 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

Walmart-backed payment firm PhonePe on Monday said it has received a broking licence from the insurance regulator, which will enable it to distribute insurance products from all insurance companies in the country.

In a statement, the company said, the new broking licence will allow it to start offering personalised product recommendations to its more than 300 million users, and offer a much more diverse portfolio of insurance products for Indian consumers.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Monday said it will hike prices across models from next month amid rising input costs.

In a regulatory filing, the company said, over the past year the cost of company's vehicles continue to be adversely impacted due to increase in various input costs.

PayU Finance, a digital lending player backed by Prosus Ventures, has seen its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) segment double in a year and touch a consumer base of 3 million. The firm, which has seen its lending business touch 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels, is now aiming to provide full-stack financial services to its customers.

Prashanth Ranganathan, chief executive officer (CEO), PayU Finance, believes that in the next five years, the company will be able to create a loan book of $1.5 billion — combined between LazyPay and PaySense, making it one of the largest digital lenders in the country.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said that if the crops sown by the farmers in the state during the ongoing kharif season get destroyed due to drought-like conditions, then they would be given a financial assistance of Rs 9,000 per acre.

Shortage of rainfall has given rise to drought-like conditions in several areas (of Chhattisgarh). The state government stands with farmers in this time of crisis, an official statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated shooter Avani Lekhara for clinching a gold medal in Tokyo Paralympics and said that it was possible due to her industrious nature and passion for shooting.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister wrote, "Phenomenal performance @AvaniLekhara! Congratulations on winning a hard-earned and well-deserved Gold, made possible due to your industrious nature and passion towards shooting.

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 216.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.50 million and vaccinations soared to over 5.19 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Monday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and vaccination tally stood at 216,356,046, 4,500,291 and 5,191,545,258 respectively.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday extended his greetings to countrymen on the occasion of Janmashtami.

Hearty greetings to all the countrymen on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami. This festival is an opportunity to learn about the life story of Lord Shri Krishna and dedicate ourselves to his messages. I wish that this festival brings happiness, health and prosperity to everyone's life, tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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