Daily News Wrap | US Senate passes new gun control bill; India's daily COVID cases surge past 17,000

National

India's daily COVID cases surge past 17,000

India on Friday recorded 17,336 fresh COVID cases, a significant
rise from previous day's 13,313 count, according to Union Health Ministry's data. During the same period, 13 fatalities took the nationwide death toll to 5,24,954.

Meanwhile, the active caseload has also jumped to 88,284, accounting for 0.20% of the total positive cases. The daily positivity rate has also risen to 4.32%.

Also in the same period, a total of 4,10,649 tests were conducted across the country. As for vaccinations, the COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 196.77 crore.

Over 3.62 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of COVID-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive.

Garuda Aerospace drones deployed in Assam flood rescue

Integrated drone manufacture and Drone-as-a-Service (DAAS) provider, Garuda Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. has deployed its drones in Assam to support the state disaster management department's rescue efforts amid the ongoing floods and landslide situation.

Garuda Aerospace has an advanced fleet management software which will also be used in the rescue efforts.

The drones are being used to deliver emergency food and medicines packets to survivors and victims, the Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace said.

Finance & Business

Sensex rises 349 points; banking, infra stocks go up

Sensex and Nifty, were trading with a gain of nearly 0.7% on Friday, led by good buying support in banking, financial and infra stocks.

The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex traded 349.55 points higher at 52,615.27 points against its previous session's close at 52,265.72 points. This is the second consecutive day of gains in the benchmark Sensex.

The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 119.10 points higher at 15,675.75 points against its previous day's close. The Nifty gained 143.35 points on Thursday.

There was good buying support in banking and financial stocks. Bajaj Finance soared 2.79% to ₹5,599.65. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India surged 1.92, 1.93, 1.53 and 1.26% respectively.

There was selling pressure in IT stocks, that resulted in Tech Mahindra slumping 1.46% to ₹976.70. Meanwhile, Infosys, HCL Technologies, TCS and Wipro slipped 1.30, 1.10, 0.84 and 0.61% respectively.

Go First to operate between Kochi & Abu Dhabi

Go First, formerly GoAir, is all set to commence tri-weekly flights from Kochi to Abu Dhabi starting from June 28. The flights will operate every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

The inaugural flight will depart from Cochin International Airport at 2005 hrs. (local time), arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 2240 hrs. (local time). On the return, the flight G8 064 will depart from Abu Dhabi at 2340 hrs. (local time) and arrive at Kochi at 0510 hrs. (local time).

Through this, the airlines aims to strengthen their international footprint to the Middle East. Through this they will strengthen their connectivity in the Middle East, which can open many more routes in the near future.

Startup Watch

WaterScience Foretells Rapid Growth in Non-drinking Water Filtration Segment

WaterScience, a Bengaluru-based D2C startup that markets a range of water purification solutions, announced that it expects to double its growth rate, touching revenues of ₹100 crores in the next three years.

According to the company, there is a huge market for filtered non-drinking water especially in urban cities. Considering over 4,00,000 household users, the company estimates the market for non-drinking water filters to be at $3 billion with bath filters accounting for $1.5 billion, appliance filters for $0.5 billion. Whole-house systems are estimated at half a billion USD.

The non-drinking water segment is expected to grow at an exponential rate over the next few years as awareness increases. As water quality control get more challenging, point-of-use filters and water-saving devices will be as ubiquitous as drinking water filters, informed Pavithra Rao, a Cofounder of WaterScience.

Launched in 2016, WaterScience manufactures filters that purify water for non-drinking use cases. They also offer many products such as filters for showers and taps, washing machines, kitchens, as well as main water lines. The company recently raised funding from Velocity.in, a revenue-based financier and Aditya Somani, a veteran angel investor.

International

Ukraine submits new lawsuit against Russia

Ukraine has submitted a new lawsuit against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The lawsuit is over Moscow's ongoing illegal invasion of Kiev.

As per the reports, the lawsuit addresses Russia's egregious human rights violations during the initial phase of the war. From the onset of Russia's invasion in the early hours of February 24, until the effective withdrawal of its ground forces from around Kiev and other cities in northern Ukraine on April 7.

Ukraine seeks full withdrawal of Russian forces and an award of monetary compensation for these violations. The Ministry claimed that, the first stage of the Russian military invasion (February 24-April), the damage amounts to at least $80billion.

On March 1, the Court ruled that Russia should stop attacks and bombing on civilian properties in Ukraine.

US Senate passes new gun control bill, first in 28 years

Amid the frequent incidents of gun violence in the US, the Senate has passed a gun control bill for the first time in 28 years. 15 Republicans joined Democrats in the upper chamber of Congress to approve the measure.

The new legislation includes a series of measures.

• Tougher background checks for customers younger than 21 years.

• There is also $15 billion in federal funding for mental health programmes and school security upgrades.

• It calls for funding to encourage states to implement "red flag" laws to remove firearms from people considered a threat.

• It closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners.

Democrats and Republicans have both equally supported proposed gun control for the first time in decades.

The last significant federal gun control legislation was passed in 1994, but it expired a decade later.

Uvalde, Texas, witnessed the country's third-deadliest school shooting on May 24, when an 18-year-old killed 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School.

Technology

HP India brings new gaming portfolio to avid Indian gamers

HP India on Thursday updated its gaming lineup to offer best-in-class technology, enhanced performance and improved design to the avid Indian users.

With a starting price of ₹67,999, the latest generation of HP's gaming portfolio comprises new OMEN 16, OMEN 17, Victus 15, and Victus 16 laptops that are powered by Intel Core 12th Gen and AMD Ryzen 6000 series processors.

• Equipped with a 16.1-inch display and 16:9 aspect ratio, OMEN 16 provides gamers with an immersive visual experience.

• The micro-edge bezel display on the OMEN 17's 17.3-inch screen gives edge-to-edge immersion for a more screen-to-chassis ratio.

• Meanwhile, the Victus 15 offers a conventional backlit keyboard and a performance blue and Mica silver colour scheme.

• The Victus 16 brings players to an approachable, yet elevated gaming experience that is infused with OMEN's DNA.

Sports

FIFA Rankings: Indian women's team leaps to 56th, men's team rises 104th

The Indian men's senior national football team reaped rewards after their stellar Asian Cup qualification as they advanced two places up from 106th to 104th in the latest FIFA world rankings.

The Indian women's senior national football team too earned fruition as they advanced three places up from 59th to 56th.