Industrial units in rural areas will be allowed to function from April 20 provided they follow social distancing norms while all kinds of public transport will be barred and public places closed till May 3, according to guidelines issued on Wednesday to enforce the second phase of the lockdown.

Wearing masks/face covers in public places is now compulsory across the country. Besides, strict ban enforced on the sale of liquor, gutka, tobacco etc under the new Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines that come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3.

The PM also said necessary activities will be allowed from April 20 in identified areas of the country. Laying out the dos and don'ts for phase two of the pan India lockdown, the guidelines state that all work places should make adequate arrangements for temperature screening and must provide sanitisers at convenient places.

Services provided by self-employed electricians, IT repair personnel, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters will be allowed from April 20. Inter-state, inter-district movement of people, Metro, bus services will be prohibited till May 3. Manufacturing, industrial units with access control in SEZs, export oriented units, industrial estates, industrial townships will also be allowed to function from that date. Educational institutions, coaching centres, domestic, international air travel, train services will remain suspended, the ministry said. Public places such as cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, gyms, sports complexes, swimming pools and bars will be shut too till May 3.

Leave without pay for Vistara employees

Vistara chief Leslie Thng on Wednesday announced that senior employees will be going on compulsory leave without pay for up to three days between April 15 and 30 as a measure to further conserve the airline's cash flow amid lockdown to combat the COVID-19 threat. On March 27, the airline had also introduced compulsory leave without pay for up to three days between April 1 and April 14 for the same set of senior employees.

'Monsoon will be normal this year'

Southwest monsoon will be normal this year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday in its forecast for the four-month rainfall season in the country. In an online briefing, IMD Director General, M Mohapatra said the Long Period Average (LPA) of monsoon will be 100 per cent which falls in the "normal" category. "Monsoon will be normal this year," he said.

Gujarat CM Rupani goes into isolation

Gujarat Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani has decided to run the state administration without meeting anyone for the next one week after a Congress MLA whom he met tested positive for Coronavirus. Rupani's health is fine and he will run the state administration through technological facilities like video-conference, video-calling and tele-calling, Chief Minister's Office (CMO) secretary, Ashwani Kumar said on Wednesday. "No visitor will be allowed at the chief minister's residence for the next one week," Kumar said.

Doctors attacked in Moradabad

Stones were pelted at an ambulance carrying a team of medical personnel and police, which had gone to escort family members of a person who died of COVID-19 in UP's Moradabad, to a quarantine facility. "When our team boarded the ambulance a crowd started pelting stones. Some doctors are still there. We are injured," said the ambulance driver.

'Farmers will be paid in 3 days'

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Chaudhary said the farmers will be paid within three days of their crops purchased by the government. He has also asked the states to make arrangements for procurement. The government procurement of wheat in many states, including MP and Punjab, has started from Wednesday. Haryana has announced to start purchasing mustard first and then wheat from April 20.

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To ensure that the labourers and migrant workers can earn a livelihood once the lockdown is over, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation has started an initiative to introduce skill-based training among beggars and the homeless in the city. Tukaram Mundhe, Nagpur Municipal Cooperation Commissioner said, "After the lockdown was announced, we shifted the homeless and beggars to shelter homes and providing them with food, accommodation and other facilities."

With about 19 shelter homes around the cities accommodating close to 1,500-2,000 people, the commissioner said they are being provided with some skill development activities apart from having basic amenities. "We have also introduced skill development programmes for them. In the long run, we intend to take up the eradication of beggary program in Nagpur by providing them skills so that they can get employed," Mundhe said.

Glimpses of homeless beggars in Nagpur after a makeover by NMC:

NMC's shelter home took many #Homeless people under its care during the #lockdown

Some with special abilities were also given a complete makeover for health and sanitation purposes. #Covid_19india #homelessness pic.twitter.com/w11dVpnNBa

— Tukaram Mundhe (@Tukaram_IndIAS) April 12, 2020

"We are also giving them a makeover as we are providing them skill-based training so that they can earn their livelihood once the lockdown ends," said Manish Soni, Public Relations Officer, NMC.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2,916 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state, out of which 295 patients have recovered and 187 patients have succumbed to the virus.

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An Indian Air Force Cheetah helicopter headed to Chandigarh with medical samples made an emergency landing on Outer Ring Road here following technical snag, official statement said on Thursday. The chopper was proceeding from Hindon to Chandigarh on a COVID-19 task of carrying test samples of Leh.

Approximately 3 NM out of Hindon, the aircraft developed technical snag and carried out a safe precautionary landing on Outer Ring Road highway.

"The actions taken by the pilots were prompt and correct. No damage to any property has been reported. Recovery aircraft was launched immediately from Hindon. The aircraft was rectified and recovered back promptly and safely at Hindon," the statement added.

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With over 12,000 active cases of COVID-19 in the country that resulted in the nationwide lockdown getting extended till May 3, the government had on Wednesday issued a set of fresh guidelines till May 3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised speech on Tuesday announced measures that the government would undertake to tackle the pandemic.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry have also earmarked the districts in the country into three categories –red, green and orange zones as per the frequency of the cases reported from the areas. 

#COVID19 containment starts with the identification of hotspots and their categorization into Red, Orange & Green Zones: Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs pic.twitter.com/FbWUlfcyCd

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2020

The BMC will also come up with red and orange zones in Mumbai to mark containment zones for stricter implementation of the lockdown. While the plans are still being drafted, areas with a high number of positive cases of COVID-19 will be put in the red zone and will have no external essential service providers. Let's know more about these zones.

Red zone

According to the Union Health Ministry, the districts identified as hotspots are marked as red zones. These districts have reported a large number of Coronavirus cases and need focused attention. As much as  170 districts in the country have been marked as hotspots, which is further divided into two groups: (a) 123 districts where a large number of cases have been reported and  (b) 47 districts where cases were reported in clusters.

According to the Health Ministry, the districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of the cases reported in the country, the districts contributing to more than 80 per cent of the cases in a state or districts with doubling rates reported to be less than four days, can be classified as a 'hotspot' or a 'red zone'. The ministry also said that the government will provide door-to-door facilities and undertake containment activities in these districts for the next 14 days. Mumbai,  recording the highest number cases in the country with 3,081, has been declared a hotspot by the government.

Orange Zone

The districts that had reported less number of Coronavirus cases or not seen a surge of positive cases in the area have been marked as 'orange zone'. In these zones, limited services of public transport, farm harvesting activities and functioning of small scale industries manufacturing essential items such as flour, pulses, and edible oils have been permitted. A hotspot district can be declared an orange zone if cases reported in 14 days is less or none.

According to the health ministry, 16 districts in Maharashtra have been declared as an orange zone. The districts are Gondia, Washim, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Hingoli, Akola, Beed, Amravati, Jalna, Latur, Osmanabad, Satara, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and  Sindhudurg

Green Zone

According to the Union Health Ministry, the districts that have not reported positive cases of Coronavirus are classified as green zones. In these zones, essential items that generate state revenue would be given an extension. Small scale industries manufacturing essential items will be allowed to function freely, but with strict maintenance of social distancing.

Hotspots have to undertake effective containment activities to flatten the curve and bring the number of Coronavirus cases down in order to qualify as an orange zone and subsequently as a green zone in 24 days.

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Amid lockdown over COVID threat, Indian Railways has decided to start two special trains for military to meet operational requirements of Indian Army at northern and eastern borders, force said on Thursday. Indian Army is also coordinating with the railway ministry for plying of additional trains for military purposes in coming weeks.

Amid #lockdown over #COVID threat, #IndianRailways has decided to start two special trains for military to meet operational requirements of #IndianArmy at northern and eastern borders, force said on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/M7YRZjyliP

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) April 16, 2020

"To meet the operational requirements of Northern and Eastern borders, two military special trains are planned to be run," Indian Army stated. The force said that that both the trains for military purpose will start from Bengaluru. The first train will start on April 17 and reach Jammu and the second train will start on April 18 for Guwahati.

The route planned by the Indian Army is that the first train will start from Bengaluru and will have stoppage at Belgaum, Secundrabad, Ambala and terminates at Jammu. The second train will start from Bengaluru and stop at Belgaum, Secundrabad, Gopalpur, Howrah, New Jalpaiguri and terminates at Guwahati.

"This will enable decongestion of category A and B training establishments at Bangalore, Belgaum, Secundrabad and Gopalpur as well as assist in operational preparedness of active formations deployed in the borders," sources in Indian Army said.

The force said that the personnel due to rejoin units deployed in northern and eastern borders have undergone mandatory quarantine period and found medically fit. They will be now accommodated.

The force also stated that "further coordination with Ministry of Railways is in progress for planning additional trains in coming weeks".

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A heartwarming video of a monkey playing with a kite amid lockdown across the country is winning hearts online. The beautiful video was shared on Twitter by Susanta Nanda, an Indian Forest Service officer who is working in Odisha. In the video, a monkey can be seen flying a kite from the terrace of a building.

Evolution happening fast due to lockdown😂

Monkey flying a kite. Yes it’s a monkey for sure😁 pic.twitter.com/6W8MtpPK43

— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) April 16, 2020

In the 12-seconds video clip, the monkey can be seen on top of a building terrace holding the string of a kite and pulling it towards itself. As the video moves further, the monkey can be seen successfully pulling the kite and holding it as people in the background cheer him.

Can't even imagine that a monkey can fly a kite

— Heena Mehta (@HeenaMe61603627) April 16, 2020

While sharing the video with his 30,000 followers, Forest officer Susanta Nanda captioned it: Evolution happening fast due to lockdown. Monkey flying a kite. Yes it's a monkey for sure. The heartwarming video which has left people suprised has garnered over 20,000 views and counting.

Superb video! In all probability, it might have caught hold of a cut string and pulling it in, but definitely a rare catch!

— Jyoti Shankar Roy Choudhury (@JSRoyChoudhury) April 16, 2020

Hundreds of netizens took to the comments section of the post to share their views. One user wrote, "Rise of the planet of the apes - RELOADED," while another user wrote, "And he is doing it better than I ever could."

Preparing to challenge the human after lockdown 😂😂😂

— Kalung Nyipa (@KalungNyipa) April 16, 2020

A third user said, "At this Pace, Brace for a Jumanji." While explaining the video a fourth user commented, "Superb video! In all probability, it might have caught hold of a cut string and pulling it in, but definitely a rare catch!"

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Containment operations will be scaled down if no secondary positive case of COVID-19 is reported from a quarantine zone for at least four weeks after the last confirmed test has been isolated and all his contacts have been followed up for 28 days, the Union Health Ministry said. According to the ministry's 'Updated containment plan for large outbreaks COVID-19', a containment operation (large outbreak or cluster) is deemed to be over 28 days from the date the last case in that zone tests negative.

The closing of the surveillance for the clusters could be independent of one another provided there is no geographic continuity between clusters. However, the surveillance will continue for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI). States shall ensure that all required steps are taken to contain clusters within the large outbreak and chain of transmission is broken, it said.

The document stated that in India also, clusters and large outbreaks have been noted in parts of the country and unless they are contained in time, the risk of further spread remains very high. Large number of cases has been reported from Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The Centre has declared 170 hotspots — 123 hotspot districts with large outbreaks and 47 hotspot districts with clusters. Besides, it has identified 207 non-hotspot districts with clusters. In a bid to utilise the extended lockdown period to the maximum extent to contain the spread of Coronavirus, states have been asked by the ministry to classify districts witnessing higher number of cases or high growth rate as hotspots, districts where some cases have been found as non-hotspots, and those which have reported no cases as green zones.

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A video that captures a rare sight of four majestic tigers taking a stroll in the Satpura forest in Madhya Pradesh has been amusing netizens for quite some time now. In the undated video, the family big cats were seen taking a stroll as a vehicle of safari-goers parked behind them watched the sight in shock.

The 28-minute-long video posted by forest officer Ravindra Mani Tripathi on Twitter shows the big cats, some moving around while others seated. As a sight of the tiger would frighten anyone in real life, as one of the women can be heard in the video asking the driver to reverse the vehicle.

The video that was also shared by Ramesh Pandey IFS on Twitter was captioned as, "Such frequent sightings of 4 or more tigers were not so usual a decade back." The post has garnered more than 6,400 views and 500 likes and was retweeted 98 times.

After Pech, Panna, Tadoba and Dudhwa here goes a worth watching video from Satpura Forests MP as shared by @ravindramtripa1.
Such frequent sightings of 4 or more tigers were not so usual a decade back. #conservation pic.twitter.com/ukofC6cRmy

— Ramesh Pandey IFS (@rameshpandeyifs) April 16, 2020

The users commenting on the video has been praising the beauty of Satputa tiger Reserve and how lucky they were to catch a glimpse of the big cat in their tours.

Wow !! Beautiful. We did not opt for a safari at Satpura tiger reserve during our recent stay at Pachmarhi, as the chances of sightings are less. Next time we will try our luck :).

— Abhishek Jagdale (@CSABHI84) April 16, 2020

Lovely but why are people so loud and talkative even at this moment . Surprisingly it doesn’t distract the wildlife

— Liberator (@Tiksmum) April 16, 2020

Woww.. Satpura sighting is pretty difficult. Surprised to see four!! I remember forest guard saying, "Satpura is land of all animals cos predator is less here". And now here they come😮

— Chittra M (@masalaboxtravel) April 16, 2020

I have to say the IFS has done a tremendous job and everyone else who supported them

— Naveen Naidu (@NaveenN81477836) April 16, 2020

What do you think about the video?

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The Union Health Ministry on Saturday said 4,291 or about 30 per cent of the Coronavirus cases in the country have been traced to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi. In Delhi, 63 per cent of the reported 1,707 cases are linked to the same gathering.

The total number of confirmed cases in India is 14,792. So far, 488 people have succumbed to the disease. The mortality rate of COVID-19 is 3.3 per cent. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry, said that 4,291 cases are epidemiologically linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz event. "These cases are spread across 23 states and Union Territories, which include most of the high-degree burden cases. There are 84 per cent cases in Tamil Nadu, 63 per cent in Delhi, 91 per cent in Assam, 61 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 83 per cent in Andaman & Nicobar.

"If lockdown and social distancing norms are not followed, then the entire country would have to face the consequences," said Agarwal. He also added that 47 districts in 23 states have shown positive trends in the fight against the outbreak in the country. "One district each in Puducherry and Karnataka has not reported a positive case yet. Along with this, 22 new districts, split across various states, have also not reported new cases in the last 14 days," added Agarwal.

Probe in Tablighi funding
The role of money exchanger RM & RM Associates based in Delhi's Nizamuddin and a chartered accountant working with Tablighi Jamaat is being scrutinised by Crime Branch sleuths of Delhi Police to ascertain foreign remittance received by the Jamaat, a senior IPS officer said.

The role of RM & RM Associates was flagged by senior police officers in the case against Tablighi Jamaat. Deputy Commissioner of Police Joy Tirkey has been directed to probe the financial aspects in the case. Senior officers have issued directions to Tirkey to question owners and employees of RM & RM Associates. "They should be thoroughly questioned about the amount of remittance received from foreign countries by the Tablighi Jamaat," the direction stated.

Medical supplies flown
The Centre on Saturday said that under the Lifeline Udan initiative, 274 flights have transported around 463.15 tonnes of medical supplies across the country till April 17. "About 274 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and private carriers. Cargo transported till date is around 463.15 tonnes," the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said in a statement on Saturday.

GoM may enlist retired docs
A Group of Ministers' meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed the situation in the wake of lockdown. The meeting examined suggestions received to enlist services of retired doctors and medical students in the final year of their graduation.

Plasma Therapy in Gujarat
After Kerala, Gujarat has become the second state to have started Convalescent Plasma Therapy from Saturday to treat patients. An oral nod from the concerned Central Government agencies has been obtained and the state has started the preparations to commence the treatment of patients in two of the Ahmedabad hospitals. Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Gujarat, said, "We have obtained the Drug Controller General of India's (DCGI) approval over phone."

Punjab cop succumbs
Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) Anil Kohli, who was posted in Ludhiana city, on Saturday succumbed to the virus. The 52-year-old officer was diagnosed positive on April 13. The officer was on ventilator in a private hospital in Ludhiana since April 11, Civil Surgeon Rajesh Bagga said.

In a first-of-its-kind clinical use of convalescent plasma therapy in the state, doctors on Saturday decided to try to cure him by using plasma of another young volunteer patient. Doctors said he died due to multiple organ failure.

Railways makes contactless cubicles for COVID-19 doctors in Karnataka

The South Western Railway (SWR) zone's Hubballi workshop has produced a contactless doctors' cubicle to treat patients without direct contact, an official said on Saturday. "SWR Hubballi workshop has come out with an innovative idea by creating contactless cubicles so that doctors checking suspected patients do not come in direct physical contact with them," a SWR spokesperson said in a statement. Looking like a telephone booth of yesteryears, the transparent cubicle will enable a doctor to put his hands out through two flexible glove-like protrusions to reach the patient.

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The government on Sunday prohibited the sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms during the ongoing lockdown, four days after allowing such companies to sale mobile phones, refrigerators and ready-made garments. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from sale by the e-commerce companies from the consolidated revised guidelines, which listed the exemption given to the services and people from the purview of the lockdown.

The order said the following clause -- "E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" -- is excluded from the guidelines.

The previous order had said such items were allowed for sale through e-commerce platforms from April 20. However, the reason for reversing the order is not known immediately.

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Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday indirectly targeted Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari by saying that the Raj Bhavan "shouldn't become centre for political conspiracy".

In a sharp attack on Koshyari - without naming him - the Sena MP said he was somehow reminded of a 'shameless' governor, the late Thakur Ram Lal, who served in the Raj Bhavan in Andhra Pradesh in the early 1980s.

#ShivSena MP #SanjayRaut on Sunday indirectly targeted #Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari by saying that the Raj Bhavan "shouldn't become centre for political conspiracy". pic.twitter.com/1Y6fM0F85f

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) April 19, 2020

"Remember! History doesn't spare those who behave unconstitutionally. Samajhne walon ko ishaara kaafi hai!" Raut said in tweets on Sunday.

The Sena MP's outburst is viewed against the backdrop of a recent Maharashtra Cabinet request to the Governor to nominate Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as a Member of the Legislative Council for one of the two vacant seats from the Governor's quota.

This is to prevent a constitutional crisis as Thackeray must become a member of either house of the state legislature by May 28, failing which he would be required to step down.

In view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Centre has postponed all elections, but the picture is likely to become clear after May 3.

Thackeray was unanimously elected as the leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance government of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress, and took oath as the CM on November 28, 2019.

The Sena President's rise to power - the first ever member of the Thackeray clan to hold political office - came after Koshyari had sworn in a two-member government of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar, which collapsed in barely 80 hours.

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The government on Sunday prohibited e-commerce platforms from selling non-essential items during the lockdown, four days after allowing the companies to sell mobile phones, refrigerators and ready-made garments. Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from the cart of e-commerce companies.

The order said the following clause — "e-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" — is excluded from the guidelines. Asked why the government made a U-turn on the matter, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry, Punya Salila Srivastava said the COVID-19 situation has been very dynamic and the government is taking decisions on a day-to-day basis. When the government has realised that allowing non-essential commodities to sell through e-commerce platforms may affect the proper implementation of the lockdown, the decision was reviewed and reversed, she said at a daily joint briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak. The April 15 order had said e-commerce platforms were allowed to sell such items from April 20.

The reason for reversing the order was not known immediately, but there was a talk of some retail traders mounting pressure on the government that local shops be also allowed to sell non-essentials items, like e-commerce giants. e-commerce platforms, however, are allowed to sell essential commodities such as food, pharmaceutical and medical devices. The previous order said, "Supply of essential goods is allowed, as under: All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies should be allowed to operate, ensuring strict social distancing without any restriction on their timing of opening and closure." A day later, Home Ministry officials said electronic items such as mobile phones, TVs, refrigerators, laptop computers, ready-made garments, stationery items for schoolchildren would be available on the e-commerce platforms from April 20.

Coronavirus maintains its grip on India

Thermal screening of security personnel being conducted as they stand guard on a street in Bhopal, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

. There is no proposal for reduction of pension and no action is being contemplated by the government in this respect, the Centre said on Sunday. The assertion assumes significance as rumours are afloat that the government is contemplating reduction or stoppage of pension.

. The Uttar Pradesh government has removed a second chief medical officer in Gautam Buddh Nagar, a hotspot of Coronavirus, within a fortnight, the health department said. A P Chaturvedi was shunted out late on Saturday and D K Ohri, the principal of Agra's Regional Family Planning Training Centre, was appointed the additional CMO, the department said in an order.

. A one-and-a-half-month-old baby has died of Coronavirus infection at a hospital in Delhi, officials said on Sunday, in perhaps the first fatality of an infant due to COVID-19 in the national capital. The baby died at Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital attached to the Centre-run Lady Hardinge Medical College.

. SpiceJet has decided to send employees earning more than '50,000 per month on leave without pay on a rotational basis, sources said on Sunday amid flight services remaining suspended till May 3. This arrangement would be in place for three months, they added. The sources also told PTI that the salary for April is likely to be paid to staff for the days they were on duty.

. As COVID-19 continues its depredation across India and the world, a major row has erupted in West Bengal, with many in the medical fraternity and Opposition parties claiming the state is reporting fewer cases as only a minuscule proportion of the population is getting tested for the inscrutable enemy.

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The Centre on Monday said that around 50 journalists testing positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai is very unfortunate.

"Journalists testing positive for COVID-19 is very unfortunate news. When you (journalists) attend your call of duty, kindly take the required precautions, follow the norms of social distancing and wear face masks," Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare said at a daily briefing here.

#WATCH Journalists testing positive for #COVID19 is very unfortunate news. When you (journalists) attend your call of duty, kindly take the required precautions, follow the norms of social distancing & wear face masks: Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/0Xu9vP9xLw

— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020

This comes as 53 journalists in Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19. All of them are under isolation, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Responding to a question of whether asymptomatic people need to be tested, Agarwal said, "80 per cent cases are asymptomatic and mild symptoms and we can track them. Sampling criteria is very clear that anyone who needs to be tested will be sampled."

"We have been highlighting that there are two criteria of concerns -- areas having a large number of cases, areas having the rate of growth of cases is high and the doubling rate is low," he added. Agarwal stated health officials are ensuring effective intervention so that affected areas do not lead to a large number of cases further.

"We are coordinating with states and district administration and take necessary action. Three teams of the central government have been sent to Maharashtra which is working in Pune, Mumbai and a team co-ordinating between Maharashtra state with central government and district administrations," he said. Agarwal said that India's COVID-19 doubling rate has improved to 7.5 days from 3.4 days before the lockdown was enforced.

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The COVID-19 situation is "especially serious" in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata and a few other places in West Bengal, and violation of lockdown measures risk the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, the Centre said on Monday.

In a communication to state governments, the home ministry said there have been several incidents of violence against COVID-19 frontline healthcare professionals, complete violation of social distancing norms and movement of vehicles in urban areas. These should be stopped, it said.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 543 and the number of cases climbed to 17,265 in the country on Monday, according to the Union health ministry. The situation is "especially serious" in Indore in MP, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Jaipur in Rajasthan, and Kolkata, Howrah, East Medinipur, North 24 Parganas, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, the ministry said. There are 4,203 confirmed Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra of which 223 people lost their lives.

In MP, out of the 1,407 cases, 70 people have succumbed to the disease. Rajasthan has reported 1,478 cases of which 14 people died. In West Bengal, there are 339 confirmed cases of which 12 people died due to the infection, according to health ministry data.

UP CM to not attend father's funeral

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's father Anand Bisht died on Monday and will be cremated in Haridwar at a funeral which will not be attended by the CM, who said he is duty-bound to stay in his state. Bisht, 89, was admitted to the gastroenterology dept of the AIIMS after his health deteriorated.

'Flight restrictions to continue'

Restrictions on domestic and international flights will be lifted when the government is confident that spread of Coronavirus has been controlled, and poses no danger to Indians, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday, amidst reports of some airlines doing open bookings.

Pizza delivery boy's contacts test negative

After a pizza delivery boy in South Delhi district tested positive for COVID-19, his 16 high-risk contacts have tested negative for the virus, the administration said. According to B M Mishra, district magistrate (south), no person in the 72 houses, where the boy delivered food, has developed symptoms.

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Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that 54 people have been arrested in connection with the Padarayanapura incident and five FIRs have been registered so far.

A ruckus erupted in Padarayanapura on Sunday allegedly over the shifting of suspected COVID-19 persons to a quarantine facility by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials. "Fifty-four people have been arrested and five have been secured. We will book them under suitable sections. We will take them into custody and we will investigate the matter," said Bommai.

"Fifty-eight people were supposed to be taken for quarantine, 15 have been taken, 20 people were ready to go along with the officials but over 100 people damaged CCTV cameras, broke police barricades. Five FIRs have been lodged," he added.

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A 35-year-old man, whose father died of coronavirus in Pune 10 days ago and four other family members are still in hospital after contracting the disease, is in a state of shock and not able to muster courage to inform his mother about the father's demise.

The man, who is into vegetable business here in Maharashtra, is also saddened by the insensitive approach of people around, who stopped interacting with his family in this hour of crisis. His 60-year-old father died at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune on April 9. The deceased had co- morbid health conditions as he was diabetic and paralytic, according to health officials.

While his father was undergoing treatment, the 35- year-old man's wife, his two daughters and brother also tested positive for the viral infection and are currently admitted at an isolation facility in the city.

The man said after his father was diagnosed pneumonia, the latter was referred to the Sassoon Hospital where he tested positive for coronavirus on April 6. "Later, swab samples of 12 other family members and high-risk contracts were taken and among these, my wife, brother and my two daughters tested positive. The rest of us, including me, my one-year-old son, and mother were sent back and quarantined at a health centre," he said.

On April 9, he got the shocking news of his father's death and could not believe it. "It was unexpected as he was stable. We are still not able to come to terms with this. The saddest part is no one from the family could see him for one last time after his death and we could not even attend his last rites," he said. The last rites of his father were performed by members of social outfit Mulnivasi Manch, led by Anjum Inamdar, at a city-based burial ground, he said.

The man had requested Inamdar to click some photos and videos of the last rites so that the family could see it. "Since four of my family members are still in the hospital, I don't have the courage to tell my mother that our father is no more. Though we are going through lot of stress, I am trying to behave normal in front of my mother who is already shaken by what the family is going through," he said. The man said he might break the news of his father's death to his mother once the other family members recover from the deadly disease and return home.

"We are trying to cope up with the situation, but what has saddened me more is the indifferent approach of people towards our family after my father tested positive for coronavirus," he said, adding that many people known to him stopped interacting or communicating with his family. The family of another Pune resident, who works as an electrician, is also suffering due to the COVID-19 outbreak. His 50-year-old mother died of coronavirus at the Sassoon Hospital on April 14.

"It seems lives of all our family members have turned upside down after my mother's death. I am the sole breadwinner of my family. Since the lockdown, I am at home and trying to somehow managing our finances," he said.

Razi Khan, member of the Popular Front of India whose volunteers are closely working with the civic administration to perform last rites of coronavirus victims from the Muslim community, said till now they have buried 20 bodies in Pune. "We are burying the bodies which are not claimed by their family members as they are either quarantined or are kept in hospitals. In some of the cases, we managed to make the bereaved family members part of the last rites rituals through video calls," Khan said.

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Terming the Covid-19 crisis as a wake-up call, Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Group, on Monday slammed the housing policies under which slums are moved from one location to the another.

Speaking at a webinar, Tata said, "For the first time, the close proximity and low value structures that we have built are the cause of new problems. The last few months have taught us that we're suffering from close proximity".

"The corona issue is a wake-up call of what beholds us and what our concern is as it turns around us and holds us back. I think there should be a re-examination of what we consider to have acceptable standards in terms of quality of life. Perhaps there ought to be a revision in terms of the fact that we are dealing with communities, we're dealing with populations that need to be a part of new India," he underlined.

On the issue of slums being relocated, Ratan Tata said, "We just go to affordable housing, slum elimination. We're trying to remove slums by moving them to another location, high value housing is being put over there. Slums are the residue; we're building a vertical slum.

"For the first time, the close proximity, low value structures that we have built are the cause of new problems. The last few months have taught us that we're suffering from close proximity. We have the image we want to project of ourselves and there's a part we want to hide. We have social responsibilities as architects and builders."

He further said: "We are creating a community which we're ashamed of. We should be really driven by the desire of creating, it creates a world culture.

"I think the happenings of the last few months have should have been a wake-up call for us. We have been humbled to realise that a disease could run across the globe, totally changing the dimension of how we are and what we do."

"I think we have to consider this issue as being our problem, and not their problem. We need to concern ourselves with the quality of lives everywhere. We need to ask ourselves, are we ashamed of what we see or proud of what we see'. We need to consider urban communities as one," he said.

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Days after the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation expressed concern over alleged incidents of "Islamophobia" in India, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said India is heaven for Muslims and those trying to vitiate the atmosphere of prosperity cannot be their friends. Asserting that the social, economic and religious rights of Muslims are secure in India, Naqvi said "secularism and harmony" is not a "political fashion", but a "perfect passion" for India and Indians.

His remarks come after the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday urged India to take "urgent steps" to protect the rights of its minority Muslim community and stop the incidents of "Islamophobia" in the country. Asked about the OIC's criticism, Naqvi said, "We are doing our job with conviction. The prime minister whenever he speaks, he talks about the rights and welfare of 130 crore Indians." "If somebody cannot see this, then it is their problem. India's Muslims, its minorities, all its sections of the society, are prosperous and those people trying to vitiate this atmosphere of prosperity, they cannot be friends of Indian Muslims," he told reporters.

On criticism of India by scholars in Gulf nations, Naqvi said, "India is a heaven for Muslims and minorities." The social, economic and religious rights of Muslims are more secure and stronger in India than in other countries, he said. "If somebody is saying something with a prejudiced mindset, then he should look at the ground reality of this country and accept it," the minister said. "In this country, there is such a large population of Muslims. An analysis of their educational, social and economic conditions in the last five years should be looked at, their share in government jobs has increased and they have been educationally and economically empowered," Naqvi said. Muslims ave had an equal share in the progress of all sections and if India is progressing, the community is also progressing, he asserted.

"We should ensure that our strength of unity in diversity' is not get weakened under any circumstances, he said. "Professional bogus bashing brigades" are still active and conspiring to spread misinformation, Naqvi said. "We should remain cautious of such evil forces and we need to work unitedly to defeat their nefarious misinformation propaganda," Naqvi said. He also cautioned against fake news and conspiracies aimed at spreading misinformation, he said. The authorities have been working for safety and well-being of all citizens of the country and such type of rumours and conspiracies are a "nefarious design" to weaken the fight against coronavirus, Naqvi said. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire country is united in fight against coronavirus by breaking all barriers of caste, religion and region," he said.

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This year has brought so many firsts and new experiences and this year’s Earth Day, April 22, will certainly be among them. While people can’t get outside and participate in the same outdoor and collective experiences in person, they are celebrating the Earth on Twitter this year.

 The conversation on Twitter has spiked 285% around the discussion of 'action' and 'innovation' in sustainability and there have been more than 1 million Tweets tying this period of COVID-19  to impacts on the environment and 20 million unique Tweets about the environment since last Earth Day.

Ahead of Earth Day, Twitter has launched a new #EarthDay2020 emoji to encourage environmental conversations. To commemorate the 50th Earth Day, Twitter India (@TwitterIndia), Let Me Breathe (@LetMeBreathe_In) and Earth Day Network (@EarthDay_India) are partnering for #FightForFifty: a campaign that highlights 50 years of Earth Day and gives a common platform to 50 crowdsourced steps that we can take in our daily life to combat climate change and live sustainably.

Noted environmental activists and celebrities are joining the environmental conversation.

 Actress Dia Mirza (@deespeak) and singer-actor Monica Dogra (@MonicaSDogra) too participated in a Live Twitter Panel on April 21, 2020, to talk about 50 years of #EarthDay2020 and climate action. You can also watch the chat from last night to take a few points that Dia Mirza (@deepspeak) has advised for sustainable living #EarthDay.

This #EarthDay , join us for #FiftyForFifty Live with @deespeak, @MonicaSDogra, @EarthDay_India and @Tamseel_h to discuss what each one of us can do to save the planet. https://t.co/vkSUXPQ90o

— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) April 21, 2020

A small step for sustainability 🌱
Our planet is a lot more beautiful when it's green.
Let's keep it that way...#EarthDay2020#StayAtHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/BxKdEMsFqP

— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) April 22, 2020

When you realize “Heart” and Earth are spelt with the same letters, it all starts to make sense! Happy 50th #EarthDay!

#EarthDay2020 #WorldEarthDay2020 #EarthDayAtHome pic.twitter.com/bUs68xpOON

— Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) April 22, 2020

Nature is healing: Of late, as the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping people indoors, reduced industrial and human activities have led to the rejuvenation of nature. Twitter has been witnessing volumes of discussions around how the lockdown has given the environment a chance to revive its lost glory.

This #EarthDay, we are sharing with you a few pictures of guests from the wild coming out on the streets of India during the COVID19 lockdown. This includes a special visit by two peahens to the house of the U.S. Ambassador to India as well! #EarthDay2020 pic.twitter.com/F9hD46YX0k

— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) April 22, 2020

Earth is healing by itself.
#EarthDay #EarthDay2020 #EarthDayAtHome
Shot with @Sony @SonyAlpha @sony_india 77 Mark 2.
Post Processing: @SkylumSoftware pic.twitter.com/kUmePoP5x8

— Madhusudhan Reddy (@imMadhu1) April 22, 2020

Tweet, Tweet! It’s a bird: While people continue to spend time at home, they are taking up #BalconyBirding and reading books on nature.

I could speak to you about the importance of a single tree, but I will show you instead.

Flowering Neem tree, Delhi. pic.twitter.com/F2CMXGvLPN

— Neha Sinha (@nehaa_sinha) April 20, 2020

Last evening’s #balconybirding helped me make these photos, with a stunning sunset in the backdrop!

Parakeets, a kite and a crow, and an egret?

Nature is beautiful, even in cities! 🌇ðŸ¦Âœ#BirdWatching @sonyalpha pic.twitter.com/uh2lYLCvCS

— Isha (@ishaachitnis) April 20, 2020

Feed the #birds and they'll feed your soul with a look of gratitude.🥰🥰

Let's not forget to keep water & food for them in our balcony/terrace.

Celebrate #EarthDayAtHome by watching beautiful birds & squirrels enjoying their meal.

I enjoy this everyday.😇#EarthDay2020 pic.twitter.com/4XyfAPizr0

— Manu Gulati (@ManuGulati11) April 22, 2020

Reading Nature (@ReadingNature), a book club on Twitter, asked its followers to talk about their favourite #naturebooks on #EarthDay, and people are sharing some interesting reads through videos.

For #EarthDay, we asked you to tell us about the #nature books📚you have loved over the years & WOW! We are thrilled to share your stories thru the day!
We begin with Editor Scissorhands @bijal_v (who gave us the idea for this #thread) reading us some delightful kid-lit (1/n) pic.twitter.com/bwMtvu0r7p

— ReadingNature (@ReadingNature) April 22, 2020

To bring out more focused conversations on sustainability, Let Me Breathe (@LetMeBreathe_In) has also launched three #FiftyForFifty Twitter Lists on topics like Balcony Birders, Climate Activists and Sustainable Fashion. A Twitter List is a curated group of Twitter accounts. You can create your own Lists or subscribe to Lists created by others. Viewing a List timeline will show you a stream of Tweets from only the accounts on that List, usually around a particular topic of your choice.

Organisations such as the UNESCO MGIEP (@UNESCO_MGIEP), WWF India (@WWFINDIA) and Earth Day Network India (@EarthDay_IN) are organising virtual concerts with performances from the finest musicians as a tribute to the Earth.

SOUND ON 🔊

What better way to kick off this #EarthDay2020 than listening to @EarthDay_India's Ambassador, Dr. L Subramanium's "Earth song".#EarthDay #EarthSong pic.twitter.com/XTOKG7Iae7

— Earth Day Network (@EarthDayNetwork) April 22, 2020

Celebrate this 50th #EarthDay & #ShineYourLight with
🎼5 Grammy Award Winners
🎵40+ artists
🎧With @rickykej @baabamaal @ElsieLaura @wouterkellerman @VishwaMBhatt1 @LonniePark
🗓ï¸Â Wed. 22 April
⏰8:00 pm IST

RSVP your attendance now:https://t.co/k65HTgKft4 pic.twitter.com/gqEuQAehLT

— WWF India (@WWFINDIA) April 19, 2020

Let’s come together this #EarthDay to pledge our solidarity to the planet and collectively work for sustainability.

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In a significant move, the Union cabinet on Wednesday amended the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987 through an ordinance in order to ensure safety of health workers at a time when there has been a spate of attacks on them. Any violence against health workers may now bring steep fines and even imprisonments of up to seven years.

#Cabinet approves promulgation of Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 making such acts of violence as cognizable and non-bailable offences and to provide compensation for injury to healthcare service personnel or for causing damage or loss to the property

— K.S. Dhatwalia (@DG_PIB) April 22, 2020

This move comes hours after Home Minister Amit Shah addressed Nina Medical Association through a video conference, assuring them of safety and urging them to withdraw the symbolic protest scheduled for later this month against incidents of violence on health workers pressed into CVID-19 duty.

From now on, not just such violence is cognizable but also non-bailable offence. Additionally, it has provisions to provide compensation for injury to healthcare service personnel or for causing damage or loss to the property, the government said on Wednesday.

K.S. Dhatwalia, Principal Spokesperson for the government, tweeted: "Ordinance would help protect healthcare service personnel and their living/working premises against violence".

"This actually helps protect the entire health fraternity including doctors, nurses, paramedics up to ASHA workers, " said Union I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar. The Minister said the amendment was necessitated after incidents of violence were witnessed against them while discharging their crucial duty for the country.

The amendment has ensured that the investigation takes place in a time-bound manner. A special provision is also made in the ordinance in case vehicles or clinics are damaged. In such cases, two times the cost will be recovered from assailants.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a video conference with the chief ministers of all the states on April 27 over the COVID)-19 crisis. The Prime Minister has held two such interactions earlier with the chief ministers over the coronavirus situation and lockdown imposed to prevent its spread.

Before the lockdown was announced on March 24, the prime minister had interacted with the chief ministers on March 20 to discuss the means to check the spread of the deadly virus. In his last such interaction with the CMs, Modi had thanked the states for supporting the decision of the 21-day nationwide lockdown and praised how all the states have worked together as a team to check the spread of the virus.

The lockdown which was initially meant for 21-days was later extended till May 3 by the government. Meanwhile, the total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country rose to 19,984, including 15,474 active cases.

So far, 3,869 patients have been cured and discharged while 640 deaths have been recorded, as per the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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After agitated Congress workers filed multiple complaints against Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami, an FIR has been registered against him in a police station in Chhattisgarh's Raipur. The FIR in the Civil Lines police was filed on the complaint of state Congress chief Mohan Markam under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, relating to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.

In the complaint, Markam said that in his TV programme, the editor has instigated a crime and tried to disrupt communal harmony.

The Congress has also talked to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Mahararashtra minister Balasahab Thorat said. "I condemn the attempts made by Arnab Goswami to communalise the unfortunate incident at Palghar & also the derogatory language used by him against @INCIndia President Sonia ji Gandhi. I have spoken to CM @OfficeofUT & HM @AnilDeshmukhNCP Strict action will be initiated against him," he said, in a tweet.

I condemn the attempts made by Arnab Goswami to communalise the unfortunate incident at Palghar & also the derogatory language used by him against @INCIndia President Sonia ji Gandhi
I have spoken to CM @OfficeofUT & HM @AnilDeshmukhNCP Strict action will be initiated against him

— Balasaheb Thorat (@bb_thorat) April 22, 2020

The Congress has also initiated an online campaign against Goswami on various social media platforms.

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After agitated Congress workers filed multiple complaints against Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami, an FIR has been registered against him in a police station in Chhattisgarh's Raipur. The FIR in the Civil Lines police was filed on the complaint of state Congress chief Mohan Markam under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, relating to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.

In the complaint, Markam said that in his TV programme, the editor has instigated a crime and tried to disrupt communal harmony.

The Congress has also talked to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Mahararashtra minister Balasahab Thorat said. "I condemn the attempts made by Arnab Goswami to communalise the unfortunate incident at Palghar & also the derogatory language used by him against @INCIndia President Sonia ji Gandhi. I have spoken to CM @OfficeofUT & HM @AnilDeshmukhNCP Strict action will be initiated against him," he said, in a tweet.

I condemn the attempts made by Arnab Goswami to communalise the unfortunate incident at Palghar & also the derogatory language used by him against @INCIndia President Sonia ji Gandhi
I have spoken to CM @OfficeofUT & HM @AnilDeshmukhNCP Strict action will be initiated against him

— Balasaheb Thorat (@bb_thorat) April 22, 2020

The Congress has also initiated an online campaign against Goswami on various social media platforms.

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Asserting that 12 crore people have lost their jobs in the first phase of the lockdown, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said that it is imperative for the government to provide them with immediate financial assistance to each family to tide over this crisis and reiterated that the unemployment is likely to increase further as economic activity remains at a standstill. "Entitlement of food grains under the National Food Security Act has not yet reached the beneficiaries. 11 crore people who are in need of subsidized food grains, remain outside of the Public Distribution System. It should be our commitment to provide 10 kgs of food grains, 1 kg of pulses and half a Kg of sugar to each person of the family every month, in this hour of crisis," Gandhi at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting today.

"12 crore jobs have been lost in the first phase of the lockdown. Unemployment is likely to increase further as economic activity remains at a standstill. It is imperative to provide at least Rs.7,500 to each family to tide over this crisis. Migrant labourers are still stranded, jobless and desperate to return home. They have been hit the hardest. They must be provided with food security and a financial safety net in order to survive this period of crisis," she said. The Congress chief said that a special package should be announced urgently for the survival of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

"MSMEs employ close to 11 crore personnel today. They make up for one third of the GDP. If they are to be protected from economic ruin, it is imperative that a special package be announced urgently for their survival," she said. The Congress chief claimed that the Central Government does not appear to have a "clear" idea on how the situation will be managed after May 3, when the ongoing lockdown will end. "A lockdown of the present nature after that date would be even more devastating," she said.Gandhi said that the Congress has repeatedly urged the Prime Minister that there is "no alternative to testing, trace and quarantine programme."

"Unfortunately, testing still remains low and testing kits are still in short supply and of poor quality. PPE kits are being provided to our doctors and healthcare workers but the number and quality is poor," she said. The Congress chief said that farmers are facing serious difficulties. "The issues of weak and unclear procurement policies and disrupted supply chains need to be addressed without delay. Necessary facilities must be made available to the farmers for the next round of Kharif crops which will begin in the coming 2 months," she said.

In a veiled attack against the Centre, Gandhi said: "The states and local governments are the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. Funds legitimately owed to our states have been held back." She accused the BJP of spreading the "virus of communal prejudice and hatred" amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Let me also share with you something that should worry each and every one us Indians. When we should be tackling the coronavirus unitedly, the BJP continues to spread the virus of communal prejudice and hatred. Grave damage is being done to our social harmony. Our party, we will have to work hard to repair that damage," she said. The Congress chief applauded doctors, nurses, paramedics, health workers, sanitation workers and all other essential service providers, NGO and the lakhs of citizens providing relief to the most needy all over India.

Gandhi said that she had written "several times" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after lockdown came into force.

"I offered our constructive cooperation and also made a number of suggestions to alleviate the suffering of both rural and urban families. These suggestions had been formulated on the basis of feedback we have been receiving from different sources, including our Chief Ministers. Unfortunately, they have been acted upon only partially and in a miserly way. The compassion, large-heartedness and alacrity that should be forthcoming from the Central Government is conspicuous by its absence," she said.

The Congress leader asserted that the focus must continue to be on successfully engaging with health, food security and livelihood issues. "The lockdown continues and all sections of our society continue to face acute hardship and distress--particularly our kisans and khet mazdoors, migrant labour, construction workers and workers in the unorganized sector. Trade, commerce and industry have come to a virtual halt and crores of livelihoods have been destroyed," she said.

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Amid the total lockdown across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, a heartwarming video of a baby rhino is winning hearts for all the right reasons. In the video, a baby rhino can be seen making efforts to make new friends amid lockdown across the country.

A new friend in the colony👍

Baby rhino making new friends. Love this adorable baby’s 1st day out there. pic.twitter.com/Gfa5yxljDV

— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) April 21, 2020

The adorable video was shared by Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda, who is working in Odisha. In the 1 minute 15 seconds clip, the baby rhino, who is accompanied by his mother can be seen making innumerable attempts to make new friends in the forest.

New Kid on the Block... Backstreet Boyshttps://t.co/xfczdLYHx5

— Pankaj Thapliyal (@PankajT04765688) April 21, 2020

As the video moves forward, the baby rhino who is seen loitering around can be seen trying to form friendship with giraffes and fawn as the mother follows him wherever he goes. While sharing the adorable video with his followers, Susanta captioned it saying, "A new friend in the colony. Baby rhino making new friends. Love this adorable baby's first day out there."

Momma Rhino is the coolest. You know she has an eye on the baby at all times but love how she lets it explore in its own way 😊

— Smitha Murthy (@SmithaOne) April 21, 2020

The beautiful video which was shared on Tuesday has garnered over 4,000 views and about 600 likes. The cute and playful video of baby rhino left netizens gushing over the one minute sixteen second clip. One user said, "Woww! What a debut!," while lauding the mother another user commented, "Momma rhino is the coolest. You know she has an eye on the baby at all times but love how she lets it explore in its own way." A third user wrote, "So adorable..."

Woww! What a debut!

— Heena Mehta (@HeenaMe61603627) April 21, 2020

What do you think of the adorable video?

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Two families from Agartala in Trupura who had visited Chennai for medical treatmnet got stranded due to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to curb the rising number of coronavirus cases in India. But what followed was quite extraordinary as the families had to pay a whopping Rs 1.4 lakh to hire an ambulance to take them back to Tripura.

One family resides in South Tripura district's Udaipur area while the other stays at Mohanpur area of West Tripura district. Interestingly, the two families shelled out the huge sum and travelled over 3,700 kilometres for five days to reach Tripura from Chennai.

While speaking to Times of India, Chanchal Majumder, who stays in Udaipur said, "Both families had travelled to Chennai on March 20 for treatment and had planned to return in a week," He said that they were stuck in a hotel in the Southern Metropolis of Chennai after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 crisis.

Recalling the experience in Chennai, Majumder said, "Life became terrible as we were confined to one room and were suffering from shortage of amenities." He further said that till April 14 (the last day of 21-day lockdown) they could manage somehow but things started to get tougher since then and more so, he had to return home as his daughter's wedding is fixed to talke place on May 8.

Talking about how he managed to get transport amid the lockdown crisis, Majumder said that on April 15, they finally managed to hire an ambulance to get back home. On their way back home, the ambulance in which the two families were travelling was stopped at over hundred checkpoints but Majumder said that the police were kind enough to let them pass through after listening to their story.

"Food and water was not a problem. In many places, NGOs and and police officers offered us meals and water," Majumder stated. Upon reaching Tripura, both the families were sent in isolation for 14-days at a quarantine facility.

Tripura health officials said, "All five are doing good and none of them have shown any COVID-19 symptoms so far. However, just to be extra cautious, we have sent their samples for testing."

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Nearly 20 per cent COVID-19 patients have recovered so far in the country, said Lav Agarwa, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday, while the total cases of coronavirus have soared to 21,393.

In last 24 hours 1409 positive cases have been reported, which takes our total confirmed cases to 21,393: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/TVCj5RxGgw

— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2020

Addressing a press conference here, Agarwal said: "With 1,409 new cases, there are 21,393 positive cases in India now. So far, 4,257 people have recovered including 388 people who recovered yesterday. This takes our recovery percentage to 19.89 per cent."

Agarwal said that as on today, India has 12 districts that did not report a fresh case in the last 28 days or more. "There are now 78 districts in 23 States/UTs, which have not reported any fresh cases during the last 14 days," he added.

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In view of the crisis arising out of COVID-19, government on Thursday decided to freeze payment of additional instalment of dearness allowance (DA) to the Central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to pensioners falling due from January 1, 2020.

The decision comes after the Union Cabinet on March 14 approved a four per cent hike in DA to 21 per cent in a bonanza for 1.13 crore Central government employees and pensioners applicable from January, 2020 costing the exchequer Rs 14,595 crore.

In an office memorandum, department of expenditure, ministry of finance said that additional instalment of DA and DR falling due from July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021 will also not be paid. However, the allowance will continue to be paid at current rates.

The Central government employees will also not get any arrears in any future revision of DA/DR from from July 1, 2021. However, If a decision to revise DA rates is taken for July 1, 2021 period, the rate of allowance as effective from January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021 will be restored prospectively and will be subsumed in the cumulative revised rates effective from July 1, 2021, the office memorandum said.

Though the government did not give an estimate of how much it would save by disallowing DA revision for its employees, a four per cent raise approved by cabinet last month meant additional expenditure of around Rs 15,000 crore. For three half yearly periods, going by this yardstick, would result in savings of close to Rs 45,000 for the Centre.

Any change in DA rates benefits about 48 lakh Central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners. DA is paid by the government to its employees as well as pensioners to offset the impact of inflation.

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Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray here on Thursday asked the state government to drop 'moral issues' and permit liquor shops and restaurants to resume forthwith to enable it earn badly-needed revenue for its near-empty coffers.

In a letter to his cousin and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the MNS chief said since March 18, the state was in lockdown -- first till March 31, then till April 14 and now extended to May 3 -- with no certainty when it would be lifted.

In such times, there was no harm in keeping this option (wine shops) open since it's not intended to cater to the needs of the alcohol consumers but to start generating income for the government, Raj Thackeray said.

"The excise duty generated for the state via liquor amounts to Rs 41.66 crore daily, or Rs 1,250 crore monthly and Rs 14,000 crore yearly," he said.

In view of the 35 days of lockdown till now and future extensions, the loss of revenue from this sector could be calculated till now and also the future losses that might happen if the shutdown was prolonged, he said.

"It's not that there was a liquor ban in our state and we are asking to remove that. Prior to lockdown, the wine shops were open. The state government should not try to get caught in some moral issues at such a crucial time and take the necessary action," Raj urged Uddhav.

His statement came a couple of days after Health Minister Rajesh Tope made an open-ended statement that there should be no problems in permitting liquor shops, provided they followed social distancing norms.

Taking up cudgels on behalf of restaurants, Raj said big and small eateries were a sheer necessity in Mumbai where millions live on the affordable 'rice plate'. Besides, there are homes that need their services as they don't have the supplies or resources for cooking meals, and the government must consider this category also.

Touching upon other essentials like food, vegetables and fruits, he said while these were open and available, they needed to be organised and coordinated to revive the economic cycle. The MNS said it pertained not just to Maharashtra but also all other states since when and how much central assistance would come was uncertain.

"Let's face the reality and find solutions instead. The need of the hour is to be economically self-reliant and this solution provided needs to be taken seriously," said Raj Thackeray.

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New Delhi: An astounding 93.5 per cent people in the country believe that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is handling the coronavirus outbreak effectively, a survey revealed on Thursday.

The central government had imposed a 21-day nation-wide lockdown on March 25, which was later extended till May 3.

According to the IANS-C-voter COVID-19 tracker, the number of people who laid trust on the Modi government on the first day of the lockdown was 76.8 but that has now increased to 93.5 per cent as of April 21.

In the survey, the statement -- "I think the Indian government is handling the coronavirus (outbreak) well" -- was put forth before people between March 16 to April 21 and their answers were sought.

On April 16, 75.8 percent people said that they have faith in the government, but the percentage increased after the stringent curbs were imposed in the country.

Interestingly, an overall confidence in the incumbent government saw a sharp rise on April 1. A 89.9 percent people believed that the government is working well in comparison to March 31, when the percentage was 79.4

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter on Friday morning informing that he will be interacting with 'Sarpanchs' from across the nation. He will also launch an unified e-GramSwaraj portal and a mobile app on National Panchayati Raj Day. "At 11 AM today, PM @narendramodi would be interacting with Sarpanchs from across the nation via video conferencing. All Sarpanchs will be able to join this interaction through Doordarshan, from their respective homes adhering to social distancing norms," Modi tweeted.

He added that the village heads who were participating and will be sharing their views with him will be doing so from a Common Service Centre close to them. National Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated on April 24 as it marks a defining moment in the history of decentralisation of power to the grassroots level, with the institutionalisation of Panchayati Raj through the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992, which came into force on April 24, 1993.

The portal that PM Modi will launch is a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj which will provide the gram panchayats with a single interface to prepare and implement their Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

The Prime Minister will also launch the Swamitva Scheme on the occasion. The scheme provides for an integrated property validation solution for rural India; the demarcation of inhabited land in rural areas would be done by the use of latest surveying methods -- Drone technology with the collaborated efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India.

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Bhopal: With most establishments downing their shutters in light of the COVID-19 lockdown in Madhya Pradesh, many have lost access to essentials, including hygiene products.

However, a non-profit organisation run by students has come to the rescue of underprivileged women in the slums of Bhopal, by providing them sanitary napkins in these unprecedented times.

A city-based organisation called Manasa distributed at least 3,000 sanitary napkins in slum colonies across the city to help women who could not buy these monthly hygiene products
during the lockdown. "Our group, which primarily consists of students, raised money for poor women. We pooled in Rs 16,000 to buy sanitary napkins," founder of the organisation Janvi Tiwari said.

The 21-year-old got in touch with different agencies and NGOs that were involved in distributing essentials in ghettoes and got them to give away sanitary pads as well. "I realised that women living in slums would find it difficult to purchase sanitary products during the lockdown. I didn't want them to use unhygienic cloth strips that can cause
infections" said Tiwari, who is pursuing a degree in psychology.

With the lockdown in place, the supply of sanitary pads to the city has dwindled and they were trying to access more sanitary napkins for distribution, said Tiwari, who has been working on the issue of menstrual health for the last two years.

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YouTubers in the PUBG Mobile scene in India. Godnixon mostaly famous for his tips & tricks videos where he shows various unique ways in which you can make the best possible use of the area/buildings be it bridges, squad houses, triple storey builds, warehouses and so on. With over 845K subscribers on YouTube and around 60+ million views on his YouTube channel, he is one of the mainstream content creators out there for PUBG Mobile.

Amazed by the quality of content available on his channel, Fnatic India has decided to take GodNixon overboard as their content creator. Is this a move to help the Fnatic PUBG squad perform better than their performance right now with some help from one of the best content creators out there? Or is it just that they want to take a step forward in a positive direction so as to create more opportunities for budding content creators out there?

GodNixon is one of the figureheads of the Indian PUBG Mobile community and was chosen as the country representative for India during PMCO in 2019. In the announcement video, he revealed that at the moment he is stuck in a hotel in Bangalore as the entire country is under lock down and he can’t get back home. As a result, he hasn’t been able to release content as regularly as he would like to. However, he did mention that we can expect a variety of content from both him and Fnatic in the near future.

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After a late night order on reopening of shops amid the Coronavirus lockdown, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday issued a clarification saying that only standalone shops are allowed to open. It further stated that the order does not apply to COVID-19 containment zones or liquor stores. "In urban areas, all standalone/neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are allowed to open. Shops in markets/market complexes and shopping malls are not allowed to open," the ministry clarified.

The ministry clarified that sales by ecommerce companies will continue to be restricted to essential goods only. It also cleared that liquor stores will be shut as the relaxations do not apply to them. "Sale of liquor and other items continues to be prohibited as specified in the National Directives for COVID-19 management," it added.

Don't hurry: CAIT to traders
The largest traders' body Confederation of All India Traders lauded the decision, but issued a caution to the traders to follow orders by their state governments in the matter and also sanitise shops and market places before resuming business. CAIT's national general secretary Praveen Khandelwal said, "The central government has taken this decision only after fully assessing the present circumstances." "We appeal to traders across the country to not open their shops in their extreme enthusiasm. Since trade and shops is a state subject, only states governments are empowered to take the decision," Khandelwal added.

Shops to open in Gujarat
The Gujarat government on Saturday declared that all the individual shops, neighbourhood shops and other small commercial activities outside containment zones will be permitted from Sunday.

No gatherings in UP
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday made it clear that no public gatherings will be allowed in the state till June 30. "CM Adityanath has given strict instructions to the officers that no crowd of any kind can gather until June 30," Mrityunjay Kumar, media advisor to Aditynath, said on Saturday.

4 N-E states COVID-19 free
With the recovery of the second patient in Tripura on Saturday, four of the eight northeastern states—Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim—have become Coronavirus-free, officials said on Saturday morning. According to health officials, there are 15 active cases in Assam, 11 in Meghalaya and one in Mizoram, besides a 33-year-old trader from Dimapur, Nagaland, undergoing treatment at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital since April 12.

'Halting DA unnecessary'
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday opposed the Central government's decision to cut back hike in dearness allowance of government employees and pensioners. In a video message released by the Congress, Singh said, "We should be on the side of people whose DA is being cut. I believe it is not necessary at this stage to enforce hardship on government servants and armed forces personnel."

Man kills wife over kids' future

A man in Delhi allegedly killed his wife after an argument over their children's future turned violent. The couple has nine children and the ongoing lockdown created uncertainty over their future. This was the second marriage for both of them. The accused himself informed the police about the incident. The incident took place in Madipur JJ Colony, which has been declared a containment zone by the authorities. The accused used a stick to kill her.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India's fight against the coronavirus is "people-driven" and is being fought by the masses and the administration together. "India's fight against coronavirus is actually people-driven. This fight is being fought by the people and the administration together. Every citizen as a soldier is fighting this war," Prime Minister Modi said in his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' address.

The Prime Minister said a vast country like India which is starving for development and fighting a decisive battle against poverty has only this option to fight against coronavirus. "I am confident that in future, whenever there is a discussion regarding the pandemic there will be a reference to Indian's people-driven fight against the infection," he said

The Prime Minister said today's Mann Ki Baat is taking place "when we are in the midst of a 'Yuddh' (war).

"When I talk about a mask, I remember an old thing. You also would be remembering, there was a time when a person seen buying fruits would be questioned whether someone in the family was sick. It meant, fruits could only be consumed during illness, such was the thinking that time. But with changing times, this thinking also changed," he said.

"Similarly, perception regarding the mask is also about to change. You will see that mask will now become a symbol of civilised society. If you want to save yourself and others from disease, then you will have to use a mask. And, I have a simple suggestion, 'Gamcha'," he added.

He added that in changing times due to COVID-19, masks are becoming part of our lives. "We have not been habitual of seeing people around us with masks but this is happening now. It doesn't mean that all those who use masks are sick," the Prime Minister said.

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The Maharashtra government may extend the lockdown in the coronavirus-hit urban areas of the state after May 3, an official said on Sunday. The state government is closely monitoring the situation in areas outside the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Amravati, a senior state official said. "It is the cities where most of the COVID-19 cases are concentrated. If the state has to relax its current stringent lockdown measures, it would be in rural and least affected
areas of the state. However, we are looking at the scenario as rural and urban areas are connected," he said.

Despite minimum COVID-19 cases in rural areas of Pune district, the industries there have not resumed because most of their workforce live in cities, he said. We need to work out some plans for every city or district-wise to get things moving. The administration needs more time to come up with solutions, hence it is highly unlikely to lift the lockdown restrictions May 3 onwards in all parts of the state, the official said.

State Health Minister Rajesh Tope had on Saturday said the number of COVID-19 cases in the state is not coming down. "The state is yet to reach a stage where the number of coronavirus cases would stabilise. Till then, we cannot take the risk of allowing people to gather at public places in large numbers, Tope said.

The minister, however, said the state government would take a collective decision on what to do once the nationwide lockdown ends on May 3.

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When the country is under total lockdown, a picture of two cops is doing the rounds on the internet for all the right reasons. The picture shared by Madhur Verma, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Arunachal Pradesh has gone viral and won the hearts of netizens.

The picture shows two cops sleeping on the road with their helmets and the lathis besides them. The policemen look exhausted after long duty hours and catching up on a well-deserved nap on the footpath when many of us have the luxury to sleep in a comfortable bed within the confines of our homes. 

Take a look at the post 

Isn’t comfortable bed and an eight hour sleep such a luxury ?
Yes it is... if you are a cop !
Proud of these #CoronaWarriors pic.twitter.com/3H9ZrZupNp

— Madhur Verma (@IPSMadhurVerma) April 24, 2020

DIG  Madhur Verma shared the picture with his 1.18 lakh followers and captioned it: Isn't comfortable bed and an eight hour sleep such a luxury? Yes it is... if you are a cop! Proud of these #CoronaWarriors!

Many users appreciated the efforts of the cops and heaped praises on them.

Indian Police Force,contrary to it's bad reputation, is doing excellent duty in present time of grave fear&crisis.
I hope,they'll continue this good work.

— Mohan Garg (@mohangargg) April 24, 2020

a big salute to true warrior let's always respect nd support them🙏🙏

— Uma j (@sona7777) April 24, 2020

The hard-hitting picture struck a chord with netizens and garnered over 54 thousand likes and over 8 thousand re-tweets. Twitterati took to the comments section of the post to shower praises on the police officers for their selfless service to the nation.

We salute to all police force🙏ðŸÂÂÂÂÂŒ¹ðŸ™

— vijay sinha (@vijayv2) April 24, 2020

One user said, "God bless our corona warriors. Grateful for their selfless and much needed services," while another user said, "A big salute to true warriors. Let's always respect and support them." We can never pay back to these #CoronaWarriors No Words! 

We can never pay back to these #CoronaWarriors
No Words!https://t.co/wPvHvUMM3J

— पशà¥Âयनà¥Âतà¥Â€ शà¥Âà¤Â•à¥Âला 🇮🇳Pushyanti S (@pashyantii) April 24, 2020

India has been under lockdown since March 25 and the frontline workers, including the health workers and the police have risked their lives to serve the nation

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As the world struggles to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to the people to shun the habit of spitting in public places. Pointing out that it was a case of "better late than never", the Prime Minister said society has understood the negative impact of the spitting habit, which affects health and cleanliness of surroundings.

"We in India always knew that spitting in public places is wrong. Yet, it continued in places. Now is the best time to ensure we do not spit," Modi said in the 64th edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'. "This will increase basic hygiene and strengthen the fight against COVID-19."

The Prime Minister's address came at a time when the entire country is under complete lockdown -- a measure to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus which has so far claimed 824 lives and over 19,800 confirmed cases across the country.

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The Indian Newspaper Society, which petitioned PM Modi to grant a two-year tax holiday on media businesses, bump up DAVP advertisement rates and increase government's advertising outlay, has also urged the government to settle outstanding bills that central ministries owe to the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), which in turn pays media organisations for running advertising campaigns for ministries.

Dues totalling more than Rs 350 crore have not been paid to DAVP by various central ministries despite repeated requests by the INS and the Association of Radio Operators of India, which have demanded release of outstanding money for the bleeding print and broadcast sectors.

Industry sources said some pending payments are related to ad campaigns nearly 4-5 years ago. The health ministry, sources said, owes over Rs 61crore to DAVP. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) echoed INS's demand for a bailout package, requesting the government to allow advertisers to treat advertising money as investments and allow it to spread expenditure incurred in advertising over three years.

AAAI's demands for government intervention comes on the heels of persistent requests by media organisations to the Centre to clear outstanding DAVP dues and announce a bailout package for the industry. AAAI has sought the government's intervention to permit a loaded deduction of 200% on advertising expenditure, a move that is likely to encourage advertisers, both publicly listed and private, to advertise sooner and essay a faster economic recovery. In a letter to the Union government, the AAAI also demanded that the government clear its outstanding bills by way of income tax and GST refunds. To help the industry, AAAI said payments should not be taxed, and directions should be given to banks and advertising sector's debtors to provide cash flow to meet essential expenses.

Demands for relief packages have also been raised by Indian Broadcasting Foundation and News Broadcasters Association. While INS sought removal of 5% customs duty on newsprint, twoyear tax holiday for newspaper establishments, 50% increase in DAVP advertisement rates and 100% increase in budget spend for print media, NBA sought waiver of 18% GST on advertisements, or for it to be lowered to 5% to bring it on par with print media.

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The business of advertising agencies has shrunk by more than 70 per cent following the spread of Covid-19 and the lockdown. In a recommendation to the government, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), which is the national association of advertising agencies, has proposed that advertising expense be treated as an investment and the cost be amortised over the next three years.

The objective is to encourage a higher level of expenditure by profitable companies, which will in turn accelerate the revival of economic activity. In a letter to Prakash Javadekar, the Union minister of information & broadcasting, AAAI said on a Rs 100 expense, an advertiser be allowed to claim an expenditure of, say, twice that amount (Rs 200), while computing income tax.

The bulk of the agency's costs are fixed in nature, be it salaries, rent, electricity and communication, among others. "The income and cash flow has been in serious stress in the last month and unless there is some intervention, many businesses will either file for bankruptcy or will have to under-size considerably," the note said.

AAAI president Ashish Bhasin, who is also CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Greater South and chairman & CEO of India, told TOI, "Advertising industry is like the lubricant to the economy. And the lubricant for the advertising industry is liquidity. If we can infuse liquidity in advertising by encouraging profitable companies to continue to advertise, it will spur consumer demand, which in turn will kick-start the economy. The positive benefit from an improved consumer demand will far outweigh the offsets we are asking for."

With hotels, airlines and other industries impacted by the lockdown, Bhasin said overall average advertising industry revenues have come down by more than 70%. "We had earlier estimated a growth projection of 11-12% for this calendar year. However, with the current situation, we might just end the year with a degrowth," said Bhasin.

AAAI has requested the government to pay its dues to advertising agencies at the earliest possible. AAAI has also asked for an expedited refund of GST applications within 2-4 weeks.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to interact with Chief Ministers on Monday, via conferencing, on the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the country.

"At 10 AM, Shri Narendra Modi will be interacting with state Chief Ministers via video conferencing. They will be discussing aspects relating to the COVID-19 situation," PMO tweeted.

Today's meeting comes just a week ahead of the scheduled ending of nationwide lockdown. On March 24, the Prime Minister had announced a 21-day lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended till May 3.

Meanwhile, speaking on the forthcoming meeting with the Prime Minister, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said, "The CMs will explain the situation in their respective states at the conference. There will be some estimate on the situation in the country and in the states. Opinions on how the next plan of action will also be figured on Monday's conference. Hence, there will be clarity on the future course of action."

The Prime Minister has already held two such interactions with the Chief Ministers over the COVID-19 situation in the country.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a video conference with Chief Ministers over the COVID-19 situation, was seen covering his face with a traditional 'gamcha on Monday.

The Prime Minister's 'gamcha' was a plain white colour with a sea green check pattern. Covering the mouth and nose with a traditional 'gamcha' has been the go-to option for Modi in a bid to make people aware of how they can easily take precautions against coronavirus.

Modi wore a 'gamcha' previously for his address to the nation on April 14 during which he announced the extension of the national lockdown till May 3. During a video interaction with Sarpanchs on April 24, Modi again opted for a 'gamcha'. He was seen wearing a homemade white cloth mask in his previous meeting with Chief Ministers on April 11.

With 1,396 more COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's count of coronavirus cases has reached 27,892, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday. Out of the total cases, 20,835 patients are active cases and 6,185 cases have been cured, discharged, or migrated. The death toll stands at 872, with as many as 48 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.

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The mortality rate in Maharashtra due to coronavirus is 4.24 per cent said the State Health Department on Monday. "With 440 new COVID-19 cases, the total number of cases in Maharashtra has mounted to 8,068. Besides, the total number of deaths has reached 342 after 19 new deaths were reported," said an official statement from the Health Department.

The statement also said, "While India's mortality rate is 3.13%, the mortality rate in Maharashtra due to coronavirus is at 4.24 per cent."

According to the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country stands at 27,892, of which 6185 have recovered/migrated and 872 patients have succumbed to the disease.

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Restrictions enforced in West Bengal to fight Covid-19 will continue till May 21 with curbs on normal life varying in intensity based on the extent of spread of the viral infection in a particular area, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday.

"We want the restrictions to continue till May 21. We have to be careful till that time," Banerjee told media persons at the state secretariat Nabanna.

The Chief Minister, however, clarified that she was not announcing any extension on lockdown, as that decision will be taken by the central government. "I am talking of restrictions, which is different from the lockdown," she added.

Banerjee said while the restrictions would be strictly implemented in every red zone (areas with a large number of corona positive cases), the impact will be less severe in orange zones (areas with a limited number of cases in the past and with no surge in positive cases recently, where restricted activities would be allowed).

Districts with no coronavirus positive cases are included in green zones.

"If an area which is now an orange zone, shows an increase in the prevalence of the disease and enters the red zone, the restrictions will be made stiffer, and vice versa. There will be more relaxations given in the green zones, but the areas will be placed under stiffer restrictions if more positive cases are detected putting them under orange or red zone categories," she said.

The Chief Minister announced the formation of a cabinet committee on COVID management, chaired by Finance and Industries Minister Amit Mitra. Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, and Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya will be part of the committee. Mitra and Chatterjee will work from home.

The Chief Secretary, the Health Secretary, and the Home Secretary will be among the committee members. Banerjee said her government was discussing on resuming more activities in rural areas that come under the green zone.

She announced that home delivery companies, which were so long allowed to ferry only essential goods, would now be permitted to reach non-essential items also.

"We have to think of giving relaxations that won't harm the people," she said. She said though relaxations have been given on 100 days' job guarantee scheme, the problem was in getting labourers.

The Chief Minister appealed to the centre to ensure international borders were closed, and not allow domestic and international flights, and train services till the situation normalises. Inter-state bus services or travel also should not be allowed, except for emergencies.

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New Delhi: The Health Ministry on Tuesday said currently plasma therapy is at the experimental stage and there is no evidence yet to support that it can be used as a treatment for COVID-19.
Addressing a press briefing, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said currently there are no approved therapies for COVID-19 and there is not enough evidence to claim that plasma therapy can be used for the treatment of the disease.

"ICMR has launched a national-level study to study the efficacy of plasma therapy in the treatment of COVID 19," he said.

"Till ICMR concludes its study and a robust scientific proof is available, plasma therapy should be used only for research or trial purpose. If plasma therapy is not used in a proper manner under proper guidelines, then it can also cause life-threatening complications," said Agarwal.

The official said that the doubling rate of coronavirus cases now stands at 10.2 days.
He further said that in the last 24 hours, 1,543 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported, taking the total cases to 29,435.

"6,868 COVID-19 patients, which is 23.3 per cent of total cases, have recovered so far," he added.

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A total of 6,869 people have been cured of coronavirus in India so far, taking the recovery rate to 23.3 per cent, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

A total of 1,543 new cases of coronavirus have been identified, which take the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 29,435, said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry,
here on Tuesday.

On Monday, the ministry had put the recovery rate from COVID-19 at 22.17 per cent. Addressing a press conference here, Agarwal said: "With 1,543 new cases, there are 29,435 positive cases in India till now. So far, 6,869 people have recovered including 684 people who recovered yesterday. This takes our recovery rate to 23.3 per cent. This is a progressive increase in the recovery rate."

Agarwal said that in the last 28 days, 17 districts have had no new case. "This means we need to maintain constant vigil," he added.

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The portals of Kedarnath Temple were thrown open at 6.10 am on Wednesday after a six-month-long winter break. Amid the nationwide lockdown, pilgrims are prohibited from visiting the shrine. Covered in a thick layer of snow, the temple was decorated with 10 quintals of marigold flowers.

The process of opening the doors of Kedar Dham began at 3 am. Shiva Shankar Linga, the chief priest of the shrine, carried out the tradition of opening the doors. The first ''pooja" was performed in the name of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said a statement. A representative of the Devasthanam Board, BD Singh, along with 20 employees from Panchagai, was present here when the religious rituals and aarti were performed. Apart from this, around 15 policemen and administration officials participated in the aarti. All participants maintained social distancing during the rituals.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has extended warm wishes to the devotees and administration of the shrine. He prayed for everyone's good health and happiness. "With the blessings of Baba Kedar, we will surely be able to defeat corona. This time devotees could not visit the shrine but Lord Kedar's blessings are with us," he said.

This year Army band did not participate in the religious ceremony at a time of opening the portals of the shrine due to lockdown restrictions.

With the opening of the doors of Kedarnath Dham, three of the four dhams of Uttarakhand will be opened. While Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham opened on April 26 on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, the portals of Badrinath Dham will open on May 15.

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Congress leader and MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi has interacted with the local leaders of the party in his constituency and took stock of the situation during the covid lockdown. During the video conferencing that happened on Tuesday evening, the local leaders raised the issue of the condition of patients suffering from chronic ailments like kidney and liver disease.

Party sources said Rahul Gandhi assured his help to these patients and said that he would take care of the treatment of such patients. The sources also said that Rahul Gandhi has assured to help a 1,000 people for their medical treatment. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had sent thermal scanners and PPE kits to his constituency and had spoken to the collector Adeela Abdullah and Jafar Malik. The Congress MP has also allotted money from his MPLAD Fund.

Rahul Gandhi has been emphasising on conducting more tests.

He has also suggested easing of the lockdown as economic activity could start in the green zones. Rahul has been critical of the Centre for "the one-size-fit-all lockdown" which "has brought untold misery and suffering to millions of farmers, migrant labourers, daily wagers and business owners".

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Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, the health ministry on Tuesday, issued home quarantine guidelines for people who have very mild symptoms of COVID-19. According to the guidelines, those with mild syptoms can opt for home isolation but will have to be in constant communication with the District Surveillance Officer, and a hospital and will have to sign an undertaking.

The present guidelines were issued in addition to guidelines on appropriate management of suspect/confirmed cases of Covid-19 issued by the Health Ministry on April 7

.@MoHFW_INDIA has issued guidelines for Home Isolation of very mild/pre-symptomatic COVID-19 cases: Media briefing on #COVID19

Details: https://t.co/koNEShuVZ7 pic.twitter.com/6wUPLNg9Ne

— PIB India #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) April 28, 2020

As per the revised guidelines, patients who have mild symptoms or are pre-symptomatic can now opt for self-isolation at their homes but they need to follow the norms laid down by the Health Ministry. 

Who is eligibile for self isolation at home?

COVID-19 patients who have been clinically assigned as a very mild case or pre-symptomatic case by the treating medical officer are eligible for self-isolation at home.

What are the pre-requisites in order to self-isolate at home?

• Patients who are eligible for self-isloation at home must have a requisite facility at their place of residence for self-isolation. More so, the patients must also ensure that there is enough space for other members of the family to quarantine at home.
• The patient must have a caregiver who can look after the patient and provide care 24x7. 
• Another prerequisite is that there should be a communication link between the caregiver of the patient and the hospital during the entire duration of home isolation.
• The caregiver and all the close contacts of the COVID-19 patient should take Hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis as per the protocol and as prescribed by the treating medical officer.
• The patient has monitor his or her health and regularly inform their health status to the District Surveillance Officer for further follow up by the surveillance teams.
• Finally, the patient needs to fill an undertaking on self-isolation stating that they shall follow all home quarantine guidelines laid down by the Health Ministry.

When should a COVID-19 patient seek medical attention?

According to the revised guidelines issued by the Health Ministry, mild or pre-symptomatic patients shall seek immediate medical attention on the following grounds.

• When they face difficulty in breathing
• If they experience persistent pain/pressure in the chest
• Feel mentally confused or inability to arouse
• If they develop bluish discolorations of lips or face
• And if advised by treating medical officers

When will home isolation end?

Home isolation for COVID-19 patients can only be discontinued when the symptoms are clinically resolved and the surveillance medical officer certifies the mild or pre-symptomatic patient to be free of infection after the necassary laboratory testing.

Do's and don'ts for self-isolation patients and caregivers

• Caregivers must wear triple layered medical mask when in the same room with the COVID-19 patient.
• Caregivers should avoid direct contact with body fluids of the patient, especially oral or respiratory secretions.
• Caregivers must use disposable gloves while handling the patient. Hand hygiene should be undertaken done before and after removing gloves.
• Caregivers should pay strict attention to hand hygiene before and after preparing food, before eating, after using the toilet, and whenever the hands look dirty.
• Caregivers should avoid sharing cigarettes, eating from the same utensils, or exposing themselves to used towels or bed linen.
• COVID-19 patient should wear triple layer medical mask at all times. The patient must discard the mask after eight hours of use or earlier if they have become wet or visibly soiled.
• The patient must isolate themselves in a room and stay way from people.
• Patient must stay away from the elderly who maybe suffering from co-morbid conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal disease.
• During self-isolation, mild or pre-symptomatic patients must drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated and follow respiratory etiquette all the time.

With inputs from Agencies

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Chandumama Sonawane Hospital and Meera Hospital in Pune have been declared as dedicated hospitals for COVID-19 positive pregnant women, said Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Chandumama Sonawane Hospital is run by the PMC while Meera Hospital is a private hospital Meanwhile, the total number of positive cases in Pune district has climbed to 1,491 and the death toll stands at 83, informed the Health Department, Zilla Parishad, Pune on Tuesday.

Maharashtra, one of the most affected states in the country, has reported 9,318 COVID-19 cases so far The state reported 729 new cases on Tuesday, as per the latest data provided by the state Health Department.

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