Top News of Dec 14: Pre-budget consultations to begin on Wednesday; WPI inflation surges to decade-high and more

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold the first pre-budget consultation with different stakeholder groups starting Wednesday. The Wholesale price index-based inflation (WPI inflation) surged to 14.23 percent in November, compared to 2.29 percent in the same month in the previous fiscal. Serum Institute of India (SII) plans to launch a COVID-19 vaccine for children in the next six months. Here are some top news of the day

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold the first pre-budget consultation with different stakeholder groups starting Wednesday. The meeting will be held with experts from Agri and agro-processing industry. Read more

The Wholesale price index-based inflation (WPI inflation) surged to 14.23 percent in November, compared to 2.29 percent in the same month in the previous fiscal. The rise is primarily due to a hike in prices of crude oil, natural gas, food products, among others. Read more

The Asian Development Bank has scaled down India's growth estimate for the second time in three months. The multilateral development bank pegged the growth estimate at 9.7 percent for FY22, down from 10 percent projected earlier. Read more

In the ITC's first-ever investor meet, the chairman Sanjiv Puri said the company is identifying new vectors of growth in each business -- from hotels to infotech. He also stressed digital will be a major area of focus to drive revenue. Read more

The steep fall in the prices of many individual stocks has led to a perception that valuations, in general, have become attractive, but Dhananjay Sinha, MD & Chief – Strategist, JM Financial Institutional Securities says it is too soon to think this correction has created cheap value. Read more

The shares of Anand Rathi Wealth listed at a premium of 10 percent over the issue price. It surged to an intraday high of Rs 614 but gave up these gains to slip over 3 percent to Rs 583. Read more

Serum Institute of India (SII) plans to launch a COVID-19 vaccine for children in the next six months, the company's CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Tuesday. Read on 

The new H-1B Bill tabled by US Republican Representative Jim Banks lays out multiple proposals that will make it harder for foreign students and workers to be hired by American companies. Read details

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, which claimed eight lives, has urged the chief judicial magistrate to replace lesser charges in the case like causing death by negligence with attempt to murder, saying that it was a "pre-planned conspiracy causing death". Read on

Pfizer Inc's antiviral COVID-19 pill showed near 90 percent efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients. The drug retains its effectiveness against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Read on

An Arctic temperature record of more than 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) was reached in a Siberian town last year during a prolonged heatwave that caused widespread alarm about the intensity of global warming, a UN agency confirmed on Tuesday. Read on 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Time Magazine has extended its "Person of the Year" brand to include "Hero of the Year" recognition. The publication has awarded the Hero of the Year 2021 title to four vaccine scientists who developed the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more

The streaming service player Netflix slashed subscription prices in India amid strong competition from Amazon Prime and Disney+ Hotstar. The plans will roll out from December 14 and start at Rs 149 per month. Check more details here

Apple has released iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 and the update comes with several features that were anticipated in earlier releases. It contains features like app privacy reports, legacy contacts, hide by email improvements, and more. Here's how to activate these features.