Indian shares rose more than 1.5% in this year's first trading session on Monday as banking and auto stocks rallied despite a surge in the country's Covid-19 cases. At the closing bell, the NSE Nifty 50 index was up 1.57% at 17,625.70 and the benchmark S P BSE Sensex 1.60% higher at 59,183.22 points. Meanwhile, India's unemployment rate hit a four-month high in December, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in December from 7.0% in November, its highest since 8.3% in August.