Instant messaging platform WhatsApp users will be able to connect with up to 32 connections simultaneously on voice and video calls, transfer up to 2GB files and add up to 1,024 members in a group, the company said on Thursday.

Besides, Whatsapp users will be able to broadcast messages to up to 5,000 users, who are part of their community and participate in polls, the company said, ”Today, we’re launching Communities on WhatsApp. It makes groups better by enabling sub-groups, multiple threads, announcement channels, and more. We’re also rolling out polls and 32-person video calling too. All secured by end-to-end encryption so your messages stay private,” Meta Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said on Facebook.

The company announced the feature in April and has started rolling them now, which will be gradually available to all users in the next few weeks. The Meta-owned platform is rolling out in-chat polls and will allow file transfer of up to 2GB files, which was limited to up to 16 MB earlier.

”WhatsApp is also releasing three more features: the ability to create in-chat polls, 32-person video calling, and groups with up to 1,024 users. Just like emoji reactions, larger file sharing, and admin delete, these features can be used in any group but will be particularly helpful for Communities,” the company said.

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Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices went into a tailspin in early trade on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty crashing over 5 percent, mirroring a sharp fall in global equities, after US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes and retaliation from China fanned fears that a full-blown trade war will impact economic growth across the globe.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex crashed 3,939.68 points or 5.22 percent to 71,425.01 in early trade. The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,160.8 points or 5.06 percent to 21,743.65.

All the Sensex firms were trading in the negative territory. Tata Steel dropped over 8 percent, followed by Tata Motors which cracked more than 7 per cent. HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries were the other big laggards.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tanked nearly 11 percent, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 plunged nearly 7 percent, Shanghai SSE Composite index dropped over 6 percent and South Korea's Kospi index sank 5 percent.

US markets ended sharply lower on Friday. The S&P 500 plummeted 5.97 percent, Nasdaq composite slumped 5.82 percent and the Dow tumbled 5.50 percent on Friday.

"Both China and Japan index declined by 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively. This escalates the stakes in the ongoing trade war and raises concerns about a potential global recession that could affect everyone. On Friday, the US S&P 500 dropped by 6 percent, and the Dow Jones fell more than 2,000 points, marking its worst week since the COVID-19 crisis. This came after China announced it would impose reciprocal 34 percent tariffs on all US imports starting April 10," Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, said.

The sharp increase in tariffs by both the US and China could lead to higher inflation, slower global growth, and intensify trade tensions, he added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,483.98 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 2.74 percent to USD 63.78 a barrel.

On Friday, the Sensex tumbled 930.67 points or 1.22 percent to settle at 75,364.69. The Nifty declined 345.65 points or 1.49 percent to close at 22,904.45.

Last week, the Sensex tanked 2,050.23 points or 2.64 percent, while the NSE Nifty declined 614.8 points or 2.61 percent.