Live: India records 255,874 coronavirus cases, 614 deaths in a day

Live news updates: India recorded 255,874 fresh coronavirus cases and 614 fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to data released by the health ministry.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that it was dangerous to assume the Omicron variant would herald the end of Covid-19, exhorting nations to stay focused to beat the pandemic.

"It’s dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant and that we are in the end game," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a WHO executive board meeting of the two-year pandemic that has killed nearly 6 million people.

Air India is likely to be handed over to the Tata group by January 27, said a senior executive of the debt-laden national carrier in a message to employees. A senior government official involved with the disinvestment told Business Standard the government was finalising mandatory processes like the closure of financial statements. Tata, the salt-to-software conglomerate, last year won the bid to acquire Air India at Rs 18,000 crore.

Swiggy doubled its valuation to $10.7 billion in a funding round that raised $700 million, as booming demand for quick delivery of food and grocery in India drives up investments in the sector. The food delivery firm said on Monday it had raised $700 million in the fundraise that was led by US investment firm Invesco and also included Baron Capital Group, Sumeru Venture, IIFL and Kotak. Existing investors Alpha Wave Global and Qatar Investment Authority also took part in the round.