# Covid-19 slows urban housing: Out of ₹2,03,427 crore committed to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), about ₹1,18,020 crore has been released so far to construct houses for eligible families in Indian cities. However, Covid-19-induced lockdowns, disruption in the supply of construction material, and financial constraints slowed down the progress of the government’s ambitious urban housing scheme.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/how-covid-19-affected-pm-urban-housing-scheme/article65381225.ece

# Credit card spends up: The quantum of spends on credit cards has almost reached pre-Covid levels, and there has been a significant increase in the number of credit cards, according to leading private sector banks.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/as-covid-ebbs-usage-of-credit-cards-sees-significant-increase/article65379862.ece

# Fails on IP challenges: The draft on the temporary waiver of TRIPS obligations for Covid-19 medical tools circulated by the WTO Secretariat failed to address intellectual property challenges as reflected in the proposal put forward by India and South Africa and should be rejected by members, a number of Civil Society Organisations have said.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/wtos-draft-text-on-trips-waiver-for-covid-19-doesnt-meet-india-south-africas-objectives-csos/article65381537.ece

# Mortality numbers linked to Covid: The increase in death registration in the calendar year 2020 as compared to 2019 is not entirely due to Covid fatalities, NITI Aayog member VK Paul has asserted. He said “exorbitant” multiples of coronavirus deaths being published by some agencies with respect to India must stop.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/increase-in-death-registration-in-2020-not-entirely-due-to-covid-fatalities-v-k-paul/article65380670.ece

# Daily tally: India reported 3,275 new Covid-19 cases and 55 deaths.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/covid-19-vaccination-india-inoculated-nearly-14-lakh-people-on-may-4/article65383867.ece

# Airborne virus: Whether the coronavirus is airborne or not is a question that is being debated ever since the virus outbreak was first reported two years ago. A multi-institutional study has again confirmed the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, highlighting the need for masks to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/airborne-covid-virus-particles-can-infect-humans-ccmb-study/article65379159.ece

# XE variant: India has a confirmed case of the XE variant of Covid, according to the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) bulletin. The location of the person infected has not been mentioned.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-variety/xe-covid-variant-detected-in-india/article65379828.ece

# Covovax update: Serum Institute of India’s CEO, Adar Poonawalla, on Tuesday said Covovax is now available for children across the country.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-variety/covovax-now-available-for-children-sii-ceo/article65379824.ece

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