Daily News Wrap | Largest tech startup incubator to come up soon; India sees 45% rise in COVID cases

National

Parliamentary panel to discuss affordability of cancer treatment with Health Secretary

The Parliamentary panel on Health and Family Welfare will meet to discuss 'Affordability of Cancer Treatment' with the Union Health Secretary. The committee will "hear the views of Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare on the Affordability of Cancer Treatment".

The meeting is significant as cancer in India is a matter of concern with cases increasing over the last two decades. It is expected to grow rapidly in the future due to demographic changes and epidemiological transitions (from communicable to non-communicable).

While the growing burden of cancer cases is a cause for concern for many oncologists, the varying cost of cancer care has made public health experts apprehensive.

As the cost break-up shows, cancer is an expensive illness to manage. Besides, screening for early detection, diagnostics and treatment, involves post-treatment care and rehabilitation. At the national level, the average total cancer care expenditure was around ₹1,16,218

In India cancer is the leading cause of death, with 7.84 lakh deaths recorded in 2018, and 13.92 lakh cases reported in 2020, according to World Health Organization.

India registers over 45% rise in new COVID cases

India has reported over a 45% single-day rise in new COVID cases after 17,073 infections were reported in a span of 24 hours. On Sunday, a total of 11,739 COVID cases were reported.

With increasing cases, the active caseload has surged to 94,420 cases, accounting for 0.22% of the country's total positive cases.

India's daily positivity rate has jumped to 5.62%. The country has also reported 21 new COVID deaths. The recovery of 15,208 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,27,87,606.

As of Monday morning, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 197.11 crores.

Finance

Indices close high, Sensex rises over 400 points

Domestic equity benchmark indices kept their opening session gains intact and closed Monday's trade on a positive, in line with strong global cues and potential value buying at lower levels after the recent losses.

This is the third consecutive session rally in a row. Sensex closed at 53,161.28 points, up 433.30 points, whereas nifty closed at 15,832.05 points, up 132.80 points.

Among the individual stocks, ONGC, Coal India, L&T, HCL Technologies, and UPL were the top five gainers among the nifty 50 companies, while Eicher Motors, Apollo Hospitals, HDFC Life, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Britannia were the top five losers among them, National Stock Exchange data showed.

Business

Largest technology startup incubator all set for opening in Hyderabad

The second phase of T-Hub is all set for inauguration in Hyderabad on June 28. Spread over 370,000 square feet and designed to house more than 1,500 startups, this will be the world's largest technology startup incubator.

The is expected to give a further boost to the startup and innovation culture in this technology hub.

The state government has invested more than ₹276 crores in the facility. T-Hub was established in November 2015. It is a public-private partnership between the state government and three premier academic institutes - IIIT-H, the ISB, and NALSAR University of Law.

The facility rents out office and meeting space, and offers services such as connections with mentors and investors, to startup companies. It hosts entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors, mentors and advisors. Several people from top academic institutes have taken the mentor's role.

T-Hub offers various programmes for start-ups and forged associations with a number of companies and like-minded organisations globally.

Zomato shares tumble post Blinkit acquisition announcement

Shares of Zomato tumbled sharply on Monday after the company's Board of Directors approved the acquisition of a cash-strapped, quick commerce company Blinkit for ₹4,447 crores.

The proposed acquisition will be an all-stock deal. Last year, Zomato extended $50 million loans to Grofers India Private Limited, which is now Blink Commerce. The shares of Zomato traded at ₹65.90, down 6.5% from the previous session.

The company's current market capitalisation is worth ₹52,242 crores, National Stock Exchange data showed.

Given the intense competitive intensity in the quick commerce space, and brokerage house, the path to profitability for Zomato group post the acquisition of Blinkit can get extended by at least a year to FY26 from FY25.

International

G7 leaders launch initiative rivalling China's BRI

G7 leaders have launched a detailed plan to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars and deliver quality, sustainable infrastructure in a move to counter Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

According to the BBC, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) relaunches a scheme unveiled at last year's G7 talks.

The G7 plans to make a commitment to provide financing for quality, high-standard, sustainable infrastructure in developing and middle-income countries. The goal is to offer better options for countries and for people around the world to invest in critical infrastructure.

Joe Biden said that the G7 leaders aim to mobilise nearly $600 billion by 2027. Of the total, the US will raise $200 billion via grants.

This will boost all G7 nations' economies. the aim of the latest project was to present a "positive powerful investment impulse to the world to show our partners in the developing world that they have a choice", the BBC reported.

Jinping's BRI, launched in 2013, provides financing for emerging countries to build infrastructures like ports, roads and bridges. it has also been criticised as a means of providing "predatory loans".

Technology

OnePlus confirms arrival of Nord 2T in India

The OnePlus Nord 2T is arriving in India, very soon. OnePlus set up a landing page on its own website and on Amazon in preparation for the arrival.

The Nord 2T is set to come with 80W fast-charging, a 50-megapixel camera, and OxygenOS 12.1 out of the box. It is also the first and only smartphone in the market with Dimensity 1300 chipset.

No release date or price has been announced yet, but rumours suggest it to be June 27. However, this might be the start of the campaign and not the actual day of the announcement.

There are speculations over the exact price of the Nord 2T. However, some rumours suggest the price to be ₹28,999, which would be cheaper than the European price.

Sports

Hooda helps India hammer Ireland by 7-wickets in rain-thwarted match

Opening the innings in India's T20I match against Ireland, Deepak Hooda struck an unbeaten 47 to help India hammer 111 runs in 9.2 overs and romp to a seven wickets win against Ireland in the rain-truncated first T20 International match.

Hardik Pandya had won the toss in Malahide on Sunday, but persistent rain delayed the start of play and the game was reduced to 12-overs-per-side when the umpires finally found the conditions fit for play.

The teams will meet again at the same ground in Dublin on Tuesday for the second T20I, where they will be hoping the rain stays away to get the full allocation of overs in.