Retail cheque payments fall to 2.96% in FY20 amid digitisation push: RBI; Develop COVID vaccine delivery system akin to polls, disaster management: PM Modi; Digital media, news agencies given a year to comply with 26% FDI cap. Watch this and more news on News Blast.Also Read: Gold price trades flat for second day; silver rates at Rs 61,500

The local unit opened at 73.38 per US dollar at the interbank forex market, then lost ground and fell down 7 paise to 73.42 over its previous close of 73.35 on Friday

Gold, Silver prices in India on October 19: On MCX, Gold price traded flat at Rs 50,605 today over its previous close of Rs 50,547 per 10 gm. Silver September Futures traded Rs 112 lower at Rs 61,564 per kg today

India Stock Market Highlights Today: ONGC, followed by NTPC, HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and Nestle India were among the top gainer on Sensex pack. On the other hand, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.

The shots planned for the initial phase would include a booster dose as well. The list comprises four categories of beneficiaries including frontline workers, healthcare professionals, people above 50, and people with comorbidities

COVID-19 led to largest global economic contraction in 80 years: World Bank, IMFThe World Bank and the International Monetary Fund said the global economic contraction caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is the largest in the last eight decades, raising the world poverty rate, exacerbating inequalities and damaging long-term economic growth prospects. The WB and IMF concluded their annual meeting here on Friday, which heavily revolved around the impact of COVID-19.India gained over a...

Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, is currently being evaluated in a global Phase 3 study ongoing at more than 120 clinical sites worldwide including the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Argentina

Strong international cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines could speed up the world economic recovery and add $9 trillion (6.9 trillion pounds) to global income by 2025; Constituting merely 3 per cent of the organised furniture market in India, the online furniture industry has emerged as one of the fastest-growing e-commerce segments in the country; Calling for continued vigilance and a high state of preparedness against the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday directed health authorities to scale up COVID-19 testing and sero-surveys. Watch this and more on News Blast.Also Read: For the first time, RBI to carry out open market operations in state bonds

As part of its effort to fast-track COVID-19 vaccine development, Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has cut the size of Phase 2 clinical trials of its indigenous coronavirus vaccine Covaxin by half; Bicycle sales in India have grown by over two-folds in the last five months as people are opting for this cheapest mode of transport to cover short to medium distance; Russia on Wednesday announced that it has granted regulatory approval to another COVID-19 vaccine named EpiVacCorona. Watch this and more on News Blast.Also Read: Need to develop more disease-specific health insurance policies: IRDAI

Gold, Silver prices today: Overseas, gold price fell below the key $1,900/ounce psychological level amid faded hopes of coronavirus relief package in the US

Akhilesh Yadav says he's in constant touch with doctors and that his father's condition is normal; the 80-year-old SP patriarch had earlier reported problems while breathing

India Stock Market Highlights Today: Tech Mahindra, followed by HCL Tech, TCS, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and ITC were among the top losers on Sensex today. On the other hand, Tata Steel, ONGC, NTPC, Asian Paints, M&M, Nestle India and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers

We now need to increase production of the first vaccine and the second vaccine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that the priority was to supply the Russian market with the vaccines

Indian economy will contract 10.3 per cent in the financial year 2020-21, said the International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook report; A Tanishq advertisement on Hindu-Muslim marriage has been pulled off from social platforms after a major backlash; Reliance Industries Ltd has its eyes on smart electricity meter market after signing multi-billion dollar deals for Jio Platforms and Reliance Retails. Watch this and more on News Blast.Also Read: Indian economy will recover from COVID-19 crisis with correct policies: IMF

Gold, Silver prices today: Gold October Futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange traded Rs 90 higher at Rs 50,335 after hitting an intraday high and low of Rs 50,395 and Rs 50,270, respectively

India Stock Market Highlights Today: Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto were among the top laggards today. On the other hand, ONGC, followed by NTPC, PowerGrid, UltraTech Cement, ITC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC were among the top gainers.

Coronavirus vaccine: There are four US-based companies whose vaccine candidates have moved into the crucial phase-3 development phase. This includes--Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax

Coronavirus update: The Health Ministry said that five states have the maximum caseload in the country -- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Coronavirus pandemic: Record high daily infections in several eastern European countries and sharp rebounds in the hard-hit west have made clear that Europe never really crushed the COVID-19 curve as hoped

China was the first to report the outbreak, identified the pathogen and shared the genome sequence with the world, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson