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Eco/Invest/Demography

India records over 1.26 lakh new COVID-19 cases, highest this year

With 685 new COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the toll in the country has mounted to 1,66,862. Currently, there are 9,10,319 active cases in the country. As many as 59,258 people were discharged or recovered from the disease during the same period.
Ten states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have shown a steep rise in the daily COVID-19 cases accounting for 84.21 per cent of the 1,26,789 new infections, the health ministry said on Thursday.

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Indian travellers ready to adopt ‘digital health passports’ to restart travel

Despite an overwhelming response to digital health passports, when queried further, there are concerns about security and privacy such as: • 34% of respondents are worried about data security risks with their personal information being hacked, • 28% of respondents are concerned about lack of transparency and control over how and where their data will be shared.

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UK launches new watchdog to keep tech giants in check

“Today is a major milestone in the path to creating the world’s most competitive online markets, with consumers, entrepreneurs and content publishers at their heart,” said UK Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden.

“The Digital Markets Unit has launched and I’ve asked it to begin by looking at the relationships between platforms and content providers, and platforms and digital advertisers. This will pave the way for the development of new digital services and lower prices, give consumers more choice and control over their data, and support our news industry, which is vital to freedom of expression and our democratic values,” he said.

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Passenger vehicle sales jump 28 pc in March, Covid concerns remain: FADA

Commercial vehicles witnessed a downswing of 42.20 per cent to 67,372 registrations versus 1.16 lakh in March 2020. Two-wheeler registrations totalled 11.95 lakh last month compared to 18.46 lakh in March 2020, marking an downturn of 35.26 per cent.

However, passenger vehicle registrations edged higher by 28.39 per cent to 2.79 lakh from 2.17 lakh in the year-ago period.

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India’s record COVID-19 surge continues, vaccines run short

Healthcare workers outside a government hospital in Mumbai city – India’s financial capital – were seen turning people away, asking them to call a helpline number set up by the municipal authorities. “We don’t know when the vaccine will be back in stock. It could be available later today or maybe tomorrow,” one of them said.

Notices saying “vaccine out of stock” were plastered outside a centre in a neighbouring suburb, along with helpline numbers. In two other districts in Maharashtra, local officials said inoculation efforts had been stopped and centres were closed.

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