Odisha s COVID-19 tally mounted to 6,92,382 on Sunday as the state reported its highest single-day spike of 12,852 new cases, despite undergoing lockdown for more than two weeks, a health department official said. The state also registered 28 fresh COVID fatalities, the biggest one-day count, which took the toll to 2,484, he said. Of the new cases, 7,195 were reported from quarantine centres and the remaining 5,657 detected during contact tracing. Khurda district, which comprises the state capital Bhubaneswar, recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 1,909, followed by Cuttack (1,073), Angul (874), Sundergarh (848), Kalahandi (668), Mayurbhanj (586) and Balasore (508). The remaining cases were registered in several other districts. Taking to Twitter, the Health and Family Welfare department said, Regret to inform the demise of twenty-eight COVID positive patients while under treatment in hospitals.
India has approved the use of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Monday, confirming earlier reports of its imminent endorsement. India overtook Brazil to become the nation with the second highest number of infections worldwide after the United States, as it battles a second wave, having given about 105 million doses among a population of 1.4 billion. The RDIF, which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved the use of Sputnik V. India, the world s 2nd most populous nation, became the 60th country to register #SputnikV after positive results of local Phase 3 clinical study. Sputnik V is now authorized in 60 countries with population of over 3 bln people, a post on the Sputnik V official Twitter account said.
Mitron TV aims to double its user base to 100 million over the next six months as the Indian short-video firm introduces new monetisation mechanisms for creators on the platform, a top company executive said. The company, which has completed one year of operations, had seen strong jump in user base after the Indian government last year banned a number of apps with Chinese links, including Mitron TV s rival TikTok. It s been a very exciting journey in the first year, we more than 50 million net installs (downloads) on the platform, organically. We started as a two-member team last year, now we have more than 55 members, Mitron TV co-founder and CEO Shivank Agarwal told PTI.
Read more about TikTok most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide in March despite India ban on Business Standard. With more than 58 million installs in March, TikTok became the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide last month, said a new report
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said on Monday he does not expect any material impact from the change of exclusivity arrangement imposed by China s regulators, after an anti-trust probe found the firm had abused its dominant market position. Alibaba, China s largest e-commerce company, will introduce measures to lower entry barriers and business costs faced by merchants on its platforms, Zhang told an online conference for media and analysts.
China on Saturday imposed a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on Alibaba amid a crackdown on technology conglomerates, signalling a new era after years of laissez-faire approach. The e-commerce giant has come under intense scrutiny since billionaire founder Jack Ma s public criticism of the Chinese regulatory system in October.