We take a look at the top five news stories of today. To know more about these stories, click the links:

  1. Dr Reddy's Labs denied nod to conduct Phase-3 trials of Sputnik Light Covid-19 vaccine: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/sputnik-light-dcgi-denies-permission-to-dr-reddys-for-phase-3-trials/article35074415.ece

  2. FM Niramala Sitharaman speaks exclusively to BusinesssLine: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/plugging-gaps-in-gst-was-not-a-roving-expedition/article35070324.ece

          Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6iCzOiWwNOSEECmDrMorFj?si=3c7b2tFETSu4GqKF-LwlKg&dl_branch=1

The WHO has said the Delta variant of Covid-19 is now present in nearly 100 countries as per conservative estimates, and warned that in the coming months the highly transmissible strain will become the dominant variant globally.