Indian shares drop as country struggles to curb surge in Covid-19 infections

According to details, the NSE Nifty 50 index dropped 2.4% at 14,264.10 by 0345 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex also showed a downward trend of 2.4% at 47,660.55.

A day earlier, India witnessed its tenth record daily increase in coronavirus cases with the capital city of New Delhi under a weekend curfew.

On the other hand, the state of Maharashtra which is said to be the worst-hit state by pandemic has already implemented harsher restrictions, effective from April 15.

State owned banks led the declines among sectors as it dropped over 5% at open, on track for its third straight session of losses.

Private Banks fell over 4%, with lending heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank leading the losses on the benchmark index. Metal stocks lost 3.3%.

The five most affected states include Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.

India is presently experiencing the most contagious and deadly wave of coronavirus with record number of cases and fatalities every-day. There are several states in India that are witnessing shortage of oxygen supply, lack of manpower and malfunctioning ventilators, says a report from the Centre. The government has instructed strict enforcement of coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Several states are considering imposing complete lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

India has been reporting more than 200,000 daily cases since 15 April. Casualties too have been rising with country reporting 1,620 deaths from the virus on Sunday.