India saw 3,86,452 new coronavirus infections in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day rise so far, pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,87,62,976, while active cases crossed the 31-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll increased to 2,08,330 with 3,498 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Retail giant Walmart on Friday announced that it will donate up to 20 oxygen-generating plants and 20 cryogenic containers for oxygen storage and transportation to India, as well as more than 3,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 oxygen cylinders for delivering oxygen therapy to patients at home or in hospital.

These are being sourced globally and will be donated to hospitals and NGOs in India for distribution as the country gasps for oxygen amid the lethal second Covid wave.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said he has tested negative for COVID-19.

The chief minister had isolated himself on April 13 after some officials he came in contact with tested positive for coronavirus. He tested positive the next day.

Amid the second COVID-19 wave, officials of the Tihar Jail in Delhi have written to the Delhi government requesting emergency parole for some prisoners.

Four prisioners died recently due to the coronavirus.

We wrote the to the government a few days back. It is under the consideration of the government. In this second COVID-19 wave, four prisoners have died so far, an official said.

Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested five people from Uttarakhand for allegedly manufacturing fake Remdesivir injections.

Raids were conducted in Haridwar, Roorkee and Kotdwar of Uttarakhand. We busted an illegal factory being used for manufacturing fake Remdesivir injections, the police said.

Shares of information technology (IT) services major Wipro jumped 4.5 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 511.95 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday after the company revised its IT services revenue guidance for the quarter ended June 2021.

Wipro in an exchange filing earlier today said it expects revenue from its IT services business to be in the range of $2,324-$2,367 million during the first quarter of FY22. This translates to a sequential growth of 8-10 per cent.

L&T Finance Holdings Ltd (LTFH) on Friday reported a 30.9 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 265.97 crore for the quarter ended March 2021 (Q4 FY21). Profits were down due to one-time exceptional expenses like stamp duties for merger of subsidiaries and provisions for tax claims on Infra Debt Fund, said the company.

The company had posted consolidated net profit of Rs 384.86 crore in fourth quarter ended March 2020 (Q4 FY20). Its annual net profit for FY21 declined to Rs 948.88 crore from Rs 1,700.26 crore in FY 21.

In yet another piece of the tragic news of an immense loss to the Indian film industry, Tamil director-cinematographer KV Anand passed away on Friday morning in Chennai following a heart attack. He was 54.

The news of his demise left his fans and members of the industry in shock as they tweeted condolences after the news broke online.

A woman living in southwestern France has been detected with the coronavirus variant first detected, regional health agency director Benoit Elleboode said on Thursday.

A first case, involving a woman who travelled to India and is living in southwestern France, was confirmed on Thursday, the ministry said. Two other people who travelled to India were infected with the so-called Indian variant in southeastern France, the ministry said.

Senior Advocate and eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee passed away on Friday due to COVID-19. Born in 1930 in Bombay, Soli Jehangir Sorabjee began his legal practice in the year 1953 at the Bombay High Court.

He was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court of India in 1971. He was in the legal profession for nearly seven decades and also served as the Attorney General for India twice - first from 1989-90 and second from 1998 to 2004 during the tenure of the first NDA government.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.