Senate Finance confirmation hearing concluded without a vote on Xavier Becerra’s nomination as Health and Human Services Department secretary. Republicans continued to express concerns with his background and views. But he is expected to win enough votes to clear the committee.

Novartis counters speculation around pandemic-related staff cutbacks in India, saying that it actually upped the number of hires across its operations since January 2020. A senior executive separately provides a buoyant outlook for the Swiss firm’s global services operations in Hyderabad, which has added a significant number of new roles.

The company’s revenue was down just 1% year-over-year in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, despite the ongoing impact of the pandemic.