Top headlines: Omicron brings curbs back, MF industry assets surge 30%

India questions China's developing country status on per capita basis. Read more about that in today's top headlines

India on Tuesday reported over 37,000 coronavirus cases, highest in 118 days, and is bracing for a surge in Omicron infections. With a sharp rise in cases, experts warn that a small proportion of severe Omicron infections could put the health infrastructure to the test. More on that in today's top headlines

Stricter Covid-19 curbs back in India

India is bracing itself for a surge in Omicron cases amid an increase in the test positivity rate, more than 37,000 cases on Tuesday (the highest in 118 days), and an uptick in hospitalisation.

The number of Omicron cases in the country detected till Tuesday morning reached 1,892. Read more

DPIIT asked to identify high-impact infra projects

The upcoming Union Budget 2022-23 is expected to give greater thrust to infrastructure creation and expedite connectivity projects in various economic zones.

The Cabinet Secretary-led panel for Gati Shakti has asked the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to ensure that “high-impact” infrastructure projects get on a fast track, and to kick-start the exercise of identifying projects for inclusion in the Budget, which will be presented by the finance minister on February 1. Read more

India questions China's developing country status 

India and China have mostly set aside their bilateral differences in order to champion the cause of developing countries at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). That seems to be changing.

During the latest round of China’s trade policy review, India questioned its northern neighbour’s claim that it was a developing country, since, going by the World Bank’s definition, its per capita income belongs to that of an upper middle income country. Read more

Mutual fund industry assets surge 30% to Rs 36.17 trillion

Strong performance by the equity markets and net inflows to equity schemes led to an increase in the assets size of the mutual fund (MF) industry. For the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the average assets under management (AAUM) of the industry stood at Rs 36.17 trillion -- growth of nearly 30 per cent over a year. Read more

Tighter norms likely to rein in wild HNI bets in IPOs, say experts

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi's) diktat to reserve a third of the portion for non-institutional investors (NII) for bids that fall between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 million may help democratise the way shares are bid for in this category during initial public offerings (IPOs), according to experts. Read more