1. The Russian Direct Investment Fund said on Thursday that it will offer a booster or second dose of Sputnik V to other vaccine manufacturers, reported the Hindustan Times. It said that the booster shot has been adjusted to work against the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease.
  2. India recorded 67,208 new coronavirus cases, taking its overall tally to 2,97,00,313 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The new cases are 8% higher than Wednesday’s count. The toll rose by 2,330 to 3,81,903. The number of active cases stood at 8,26,740.
  3. The Central Board of Secondary Education informed the Supreme Court about its assessment criteria for Class 12 students and said it would declare the results by July 31. The board exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  4. The police in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur have filed a first information report against yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly spreading false information about various medicines being used in the treatment of the coronavirus infection.
  5. The Uttarakhand government has directed the Haridwar district authorities to register a case against private laboratories that have allegedly conducted fake coronavirus tests during the Kumbh Mela, held in April.
  6. The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday said that the country’s economy could suffer a loss of Rs 2 lakh crore in output the current financial year as a result of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
  7. A study by the United Kingdom government has found that Covid-19 infections increased by 50% between May 3 and June 7, reported The Guardian. The exponential surge coincides with the rise of the Delta variant that is now dominant in the UK. 
  8. A study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and the World Health Organization revealed that the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is not more likely to disproportionately affect children than adults.
  9. The “Delta plus” variant of Covid-19 could trigger a third wave of the pandemic in Maharashtra, the state’s health department has warned.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected over 17.69 crore people and killed more than 38.30 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.