Confusion prevailed over the number of deaths due to coronavirus in the national capital, with data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 fatalities reported by the Delhi government. The toll of 68 shared by the Delhi government in its health bulletin on Friday is based on data collected from 10 hospitals, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College. According to the bulletin, AIIMS (Delhi and Jhajjar) reported two deaths, Safdarjung Hospital reported four, RML 26 and Lady Hardinge Medical College had none till Friday. However, officials from these hospitals said the number of people who died due to coronavirus in the national capital till Friday is higher than that reflected in the Delhi government's bulletin. AIIMS (Delhi Trauma Centre and Jhajjar) has recorded a total of 14 deaths, an official said. According to All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Medical ...

A man has been arrested for allegedly obstructing a public servant and damaging property in east Delhi''s Kalyanpuri area, police said on Saturday. The incident, which took place on Friday, was captured in a video and circulated on social media, they said. In the video, a shirtless man can be seen in inebriated state and obstructing a police gypsy. He repeatedly bangs on its windscreen and makes a crack on it. People are trying to take him out of the way, but he refuses and stands in front of the gypsy. "The incident took place on Friday around 4.30 pm in Trilokpuri area. The accused, identified as Harkesh, has been arrested. He was drunk at the time of the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Jasmeet Singh said. "A case under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and damage to ...

ReNew Solar Power has bagged 400 MW renewable energy projects at a tariff of Rs 2.90 per unit in an auction, according to an MNRE statement. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a central public sector undertaking, conducted e-reverse auction for the 400 MW renewable energy projects with round-the-clock supply. "India's renewable energy (RE) sector has witnessed history today, as the e-reverse auction (e-RA)for 400 MW RE projects with round-the-clock supply was concluded at an astounding first year tariff of Rs 2.90/kilowatt hour (kWh)," the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said. The capacity of 400 MW has been awarded to ReNew Solar Power Pvt Ltd after a closely fought auction which saw the lowest tariff drop by 69 paise over the course of almost 3 hours, it said. "Golden chapter added in Indian Renewable Energy story, as e-RA for 400 MW RE Projects with Round the Clock (RTC) supply conducted by SECI Ltd results in historic 1st year tariff of Rs 2.90/kWh. MNRE ...

Realtors' apex body Credai on Saturday said cement and steel rates have increased by 40-50 per cent in last few weeks despite the lockdown and alleged price cartelisation and unfair trade practices by the manufacturers. The association has written a letter to Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri seeking his intervention in the matter. "We would like to bring your attention to the cartelization by the cement and the steel manufacturers by imposing a sudden increase in their selling price," Credai said in the letter. Across various states, there has been an increase of Rs 100-250 per bag cement and about Rs 2,000-2,500 per tonne of steel, it added. During the past few weeks, there has been a sudden, steep increase in prices of essential raw materials such as cement and steel by 40-50 per cent despite the nationwide lockdown. The Centre has allowed construction work on sites where labourers are already available. Given the current crisis faced by the real estate ...

The "government" was responsible for the death of 16 migrant labourers who were mown down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district, Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said in its editorial on Saturday. The newspaper, however, did not make it clear whether it blamed the BJP-led Centre or the Sena-led Maharashtra government for the tragedy. "The government did not think of allowing them to go back to their native place, nor did it make arrangements for their food," the editorial said, adding that the authorities should have taken into consideration the problems of the poor before enforcing lockdown on account of coronavirus. The sight of 'rotis' strewn on the railway track where the migrants -- who had fallen asleep due to exhaustion while on their way to Madhya Pradesh -- were crushed to death showed a heart-wrenching and harsh reality, Samanaa said. "The labourers were in fine health and had no symptoms of coronavirus and still they died. The responsibility of ...

The NIA said that the agency along with Punjab and Haryana police arrested Ranjit Singh, allegedly a notorious narco-terrorist, from Sirsa on Saturday as he was acting as a conduit for Pakistan-based groups to push drugs into India and the money generated was used for terror activities. In a statement, National Investigation Agency (NIA) spokesman said that the probe into a drug case led to the fact that Pakistan-based terrorist organisations were using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India. The proceeds of narcotic trade were transferred to Kashmir valley through couriers and hawala channels for terrorist purposes, it said. Singh, who has been on the run for nearly a year, was arrested from Sirsa, the statement said.

BJP president J P Nadda said on Saturday that making "inhuman" comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is "extremely condemnable". "Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet. His tweet came after Shah, also Nadda's predecessor as the BJP president, asserted in a statement that he is "totally healthy" and rejected rumours being spread about his ill health on social media.

One more person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, taking the total number of cases in the state to 13, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Saturday. Of the total 13 COVID-19 cases, only two are active including the fresh case in Shillong. "Unfortunately we have another positive case in Shillong. Its a person working in the same house. As a precaution health department was retesting all the primary contacts and in the process we found this positive case. The person is safe and healthy and showing no symptoms," the chief minister tweeted. Senior Health department officials said the person had tested negative twice in the past. Meghalaya has reported 13 COVID-19 cases till date with one death. Ten persons have recovered from the disease. The first COVID-19 positive case in the state was Dr John Sailo Ryntathiang, who tested positive on April 13. The 69-year-old doctor died two days later and eight of his family members and two of his domestic help have also ..

: The number of active COVID-19 cases slid below the 1,000 mark to 999 in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday though the overall tally rose to 1,930 with the addition of 43 in the last 24 hours ending 9 am. The COVID-19 toll in the state also increased by three to 44 while 45 more patients were discharged from hospitals, according to the latest bulletin. Chittoor district saw a sudden spurt in cases, with 11 reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, as some people who returned from Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai city tested posted for coronavirus. It is suspected that these people contracted the disease at Koyambedu and several others who also returned from the place were sent to quarantine, sources here said. Visakhapatnam too continued to show an upward trend as five fresh cases were registered, taking the total in the district to 62. The major hotspots Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur reported six, 16 and two fresh cases. In the last 24 hours, Krishna reported two

The TCS World 10K Bengaluru run will be held on November 22 as the organisers on Saturday announced the new date for the rescheduled event. The race, the lone Gold Label event in Asia, was earlier scheduled to be held on the third Sunday of May, like the previous years, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Safety and precaution are paramount for the event. This re-scheduling of the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K, was imminent to regain some form of normalcy, especially for the travel and participation of our international stakeholders," said Vivek Singh, Joint-MD Procam International, the organisers of the run. "The support and co-operation received from all our stakeholders, has been unparalleled. 22nd November 2020, should give us all necessary time to heal, re-energise and deliver the event with our customary zeal," he added. The online registrations for the rescheduled event will commence on September 8. Race Director Hugh Jones said, "Postponing an event of

Despite having a valid official pass to move between Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of travellers have ended up at administrative quarantine centres set up by the government on the outskirts of the winter capital as part of its efforts to combat the coronavirus. The move is agitating the people who questioned the logic behind sending them to an institutional quarantine when they are given the passes in extremely exceptional situations, like a medical emergency or joining their duties after completing the formalities due to a lockdown. One such quarantine centre is set up at Excise and Taxation Training institute in Nagrota, 15 km from Jammu city, where 35 persons, including women and a seven-year-old girl, are anxiously waiting for their sample reports the outcome of which will decide their future at the sprawling facility. While a majority of them are expected to be released after their test reports are negative, four labourers from Amritsar in Punjab who had travelled from Srinagar to

The West Bengal government on Saturday said it had brought back around 6,000 residents stranded outside the state and ensured safe return of people of other states stuck here due to the lockdown, virtually refuting the claims of non-cooperation made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The state government is doing its best to ensure that migrant labourers -- those stranded in Bengal and also the state's people stuck outside -- return home, West Bengal Home Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay said. Bandopadhyay said so far around 6,000 people, including migrant labourers, pilgrims and students of Bengal, stranded in other states have come back. "We have also issued 18,000 passes to small trucks so that those stuck in West Bengal can return to their states," he said. He, however, declined to comment on the letter sent by Shah to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of migrant labourers and said it is not his subject to comment on. Shah has said the West Bengal government is not allowing .

Woman power came to the fore as the massive exercise to evacuate Indian citizens stranded abroad in various countries continued on Saturday with two flights to Malaysia and Oman being helmed by women. Two women-Captain Kavitha Rajkumar and Captain Bindhu Sebastian- commanded the Air India Express flights operated today from Tiruchirapalli and Kochi to Kuala Lumpur and Muscat respectively to bring back Indians stuck there due to the lockdown in place to contain the COVID-19 spread. Today was the third day of the repatriation exercise -'Vande Bharat Mission'. WhileCaptain Kavitha Rajkumar is commanding IX 682/681 on Tiruchirappalli-Kuala Lumpur, Captain Bindhu Sebastian is the commander of IX 443/442 on Kochi-Muscat- Kochi flight. While the Tiruchirapalli-Kuala Lumpur flight took off at 01.11 pm, the Kochi-Muscat flight took off at 01.17 pm. "I am extremely proud of being part of this evacuation mission," Captain Bindu Sebastian said in a video shared by an Air India ...

Eleven more COVID-19 fatalities have been recorded in West Bengal, raising the death toll in the state to 99, Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said on Saturday. At least 108 more people have tested positive for the virus in the state, taking the number of confirmed cases to 1,786, he said. The number of active cases stands at 1,243, the official said. Forty-nine patients have been discharged in the state since Friday following complete recovery from the disease, Bandyopadhyay said.

Four persons were detained by Ahmedabad police on Saturday for allegedly spreading misinformation about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's health by creating a fake Twitter account in his name. Earlier in the day, Shah had issued a statement saying that rumours about his health were being spread through social media, and he was in good health and not suffering from any disease. The local crime branch detained four persons for spreading misinformation about Shah's health, special commissioner of police (crime) Ajay Tomar said. A screenshot of a fake Twitter account in Shah's name with his photo, claiming that he was suffering from a serious ailment, had gone viral on social media platforms, Tomar said. The suspects were detained from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and they were being questioned, he said. A case has been registered in this regard under sections 66(c) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(d) (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information ...

Stopped by police from proceeding further, hundreds of migrant workers going home on foot created a ruckus at a Ganga bridge on the National Highway-24 in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district, officials said on Saturday. According to them, the workers started arriving at the bridge from the Delhi side on Friday afternoon and wanted to go home at the earliest. Dhanoura Circle Officer Monica Yadav said they had assured them that buses would be arranged for their journey but they were adamant on going home on foot. Amroha DM Umesh Mishra said they arranged buses for them but some of the workers on bicycles refused to go in these. They wanted to proceed on their bicycles, he said.

Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh on Saturday informed that India cricket skipper Virat Kohli and his wife actor Anushka Sharma have contributed Rs 5 lakh each for police welfare amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. "Thank you, @imVkohli and @AnushkaSharma for contributing Rs. 5 lacs each towards the welfare of Mumbai Police personnel. Your contribution will safeguard those at the frontline in the fight against Coronavirus. #MumbaiPoliceFoundation," Singh tweeted from his official handle. Earlier, Kohli and Sharma had given undisclosed amounts to the PM CARES fund and Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to support the fight against COVID-19. Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus positive cases in the country.

Bihar Information and Public Relations Minister Niraj Kumar on Saturday hit back at the Congress for demanding his resignation due to the expiry of his MLC tenure, asserting he is holding his ministerial post as per constitutional provisions. Congress national spokesperson and Bihar MLC Prem Chandra Mishra Mishra had on Friday termed as "unethical and against constitutional norms" the continuance of Bihar ministers Niraj Kumar and Ashok Choudhary in their posts despite the expiry of their tenures in the legislative council earlier this week. Both the JD(U) leaders were sworn-in as ministers a year ago, during a Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shortly after the NDA's stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha elections. They are among 17 members of the 75-strong legislative council whose tenure ended on Wednesday. The Election Commission is yet to announce a poll schedule for the Upper House. Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary and IPRD Minister ...

The Delhi High Court has asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to ensure that dispensation of medicines from its pharmacy, which was functioning in limited capacity due to the coronavirus lockdown, resumes without any delay. A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar asked AIIMS to work out the modalities and file a compliance report before May 14, the next date of hearing. The order came on a PIL claiming that outstation non-coronavirus patients who had come for treatment at AIIMS are not being provided medication from the hospital's pharmacy anymore due to the lockdown. The petitioner, Rachna Malik, further claimed that patients were unable to procure medicine as there was no endorsement on their OPD cards permitting dispensation of medicines as the OPD of AIIMS was closed due to COVID-19 lockdown. AIIMS told the court that its pharmacy has been made fully functional since May 6 and it operates from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm. It also told the court that it .

The number of active cases of coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh went up to 1,800 on Saturday, while nearly 1,400 people have been discharged so far, a senior official said. Principal Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said the national recovery percentage was 30 per cent but the figure was 43 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. "It is a matter of satisfaction that people are recovering and returning home," he said. The number of active infection cases is 1,800 as against 1,761 on Friday, while the number of people who have fully recovered has risen from 1,387 to 1,399, the official said. Prasad stressed that community surveillance will play an important role in coming days with the return of tens of thousands of migrants. There was a need for the 'gram nigrani samitis' in rural areas and 'mohalla nigrani samitis' in urban areas to work strictly, he said. "All those returning (to the state) are being kept in 21 days' home quarantine and those returning from abroad are also being put in quarantine.

Over 1 lakh migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh stranded in different parts of the country following the coronavirus-induced lockdown will return to the state by Saturday night on 114 trains, a senior government official said. Another 98 trains will reach the state on Sunday and Monday, while talks are on to allow 15 to 20 more, he said on Saturday. "Till Saturday morning, 97 trains have reached the state and another 17 will reach by the evening. With this, more than 1.20 lakh migrant workers and labourers will be back in the state," Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi said. These trains arrived at 36 railway stations of the state, with Lucknow and Gorakhpur receiving 11 trains each, he said. Awasthi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has stressed that no migrant should undertake the journey home on foot or bicycle. The government has also given permission for 98 more trains which will bring back migrants from other parts of the country on Sunday and Monday, he said, ...

The Karnataka government has allowed garment units in red zone districts, but outside containment zones, to resume operations with one third of the workforce. Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar in the May 8 order, said all recognised garment factories having an Importer- Exporter Code (IEC) and those registered with the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) can start operations with one third of the total workforce in red zone districts, but outside containment zones. It said the permission is subject to following of the Standard Operating Procedures. Currently Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural and Mysuru are the red zone districts in the state. The government had recently allowed certain industrial activities other than in the containment zones to operate, while relaxing the COVID-19 induced lockdown in the state. During the earlier phases of lockdown, only those garments involved in the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits for front line COVID ...

Fintech company Razorpay on Saturday said it will hire more than 50 people for critical roles across product and engineering teams, and is on schedule with appraisals, bonuses and promotions for its existing employees. With businesses seeing significant impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many startups have frozen hiring and slashed salaries. There have also been reports of layoffs by many firms. Razorpay said in view of the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, an increasing number of businesses are considering adopting online payment methods. "As a company, we are sufficiently capitalised and are on schedule with appraisals, bonuses and promotions for our employees, which will be announced this month end. We have always believed in rewarding our employees with healthy merit increases," Razorpay Head - People Operations Anuradha Bharat told PTI. While she did not disclose the quantum of hikes to be given, Bharat said the wage increases have been typically higher than the average

Healthcare firm HLL Lifecare on Saturday said its arm HLL Infra Tech Services has floated a tender seeking supply of over 1 lakh units of medical supplies towards COVID-19 testing on behalf of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). "The tender is seeking quotations for 40,000 units of viral transport media, 33,000 RNA extraction kits and 29,000 Combo RT-PCR COVID-19 tests," HLL Lifecare Ltd said in a statement. The tender is closing by May 10, the state-owned company added. "The viral transport media is used for transport of swabs collected for testing, RNA extraction kits are used to draw out RNA, which are single strand genetic materials of viruses, from samples which are then converted into reverse-transcribed into DNA while Combo RT-PCR tests has proven to be the 'gold standard' of COVID-19 diagnosis,"it said. HLL Lifecare is the procurement agency for hospitals and healthcare organisations under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Arunachal Pradesh government has made institutional quarantine for a period of 14 days mandatory for people returning to Arunachal Pradesh from across the country, a senior minister said on Saturday. Among the returnees, students will also have to go into institutional quarantine for the same duration, he said. Earlier a group of six students, lodged in a quarantine centre, was allowed to go home after five days when their swab samples had tested negative. People are coming back after the Centre allowed those stranded across the country in view of the lockdown to return to their respective states. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu at a meeting also decided to make RT-PCR test for detection of COVID-19 compulsory for the returnees, including the asymptomatic ones, state Home minister Bamang Felix told reporters here on Saturday. "We have decided to segregate returnees on the basis of green, orange and red zones and make arrangements ...

NCP chief Sharad Pawar has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to chief ministers of those states who are not allowing migrant workers to come back home. Pawar spoke over phone to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of repatriation of migrant workers to their home states during the coronavirus-induced lokdown period. "I humbly request our @PMOIndia Shri. Narendra Modi ji to intervene in this matter by talking to the CMs of the respective states who are not allowing these people to come back home," the NCP chief tweeted. Though he did not name any specific state, the NCP had recently accused the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka of not wanting to take back labourers hailing from the two states. "Had a telephonic conversation with Shri @OfficeofUT - Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @PiyushGoyal - the Union Railway Minister regarding the issue of migrant workers," Pawar twitted. He said Thackeray has

A huge fire broke out in the Aadharwadi dumping ground in Kalyan in Thane district on Saturday afternoon, an official said, adding that no injuries had been reported so far. The fire broke out at 1:30pm and heavy smoke along with a pungent smell was emanating from the site, said Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation Chief Fire Officer Dileep Gund. "Ten fire engines and ten water tankers have been deployed to douse the blaze. There are no casualties. The fire may have been caused by excessive heat," he added. The wind was making it difficult to control the blaze and it may take up to two days to completely put it out, he said, and informed that there was no shortage of water for dousing operations.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 836 on Saturday as 13 more people, including two nurses, tested positive for the disease, officials said. While 12 of the fresh cases are from the Kashmir Valley, one is from Jammu, they said. "Thirteen new COVID-19 cases were detected in the union territory on Saturday," the officials said. The total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir has now reached 836, they said. "Of these, 767 are in Kashmir, while 69 are in the Jammu region," they added. Among the fresh cases detected on Saturday, three are from Super Speciality Hospital, Shireen Bagh here -- including two staff nurses and an attendant of a patient from Shopian, said Dr Salim Khan, COVID-19 nodal officer at Government Medical College, Srinagar. According to the officials, there are 459 active cases in the union territory -- 446 in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu -- and 368 patients have recovered. A total of nine COVID-19 patients have died in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on grounds of violations of COVID-19 guidelines, arguing that it would lead to "grave losses" in revenue and complete halt in commercial activities. The Madras High Court had on Friday ordered closure of liquor outlets noting that there were huge crowds and no social distancing was being maintained by tipplers. It, however, allowed doorstep delivery of booze through online mode. The state government, in its appeal, termed the HC order a case of "judicial overreach" and said online sale and home delivery of alcohol were not possible in the entire state. "It is pertinent that online modes of effective liquor sales are not even available in the vast majority of state at present and can only be implemented after following the due procedures under law," said the appeal filed by government firm Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) which sells

A bulk of the COVID-19-related fact-checks in April were related to communal rumours, most of which were false allegations against Muslims of purposefully spreading the virus, claimed a report by BOOM Live. BOOM Live, a fact-checking platform that works with social media companies like Facebook, said its study analysed 178 fact-checks on COVID-19 related to misinformation/disinformation around the pandemic from January to May this year. "During April, a new trend was observed communally charged disinformation targeting Muslims became more frequent," the report said. By the end of April, a bulk of BOOM Live's fact-checks (34 unique fact checks) were on communal rumours, it claimed. The report further noted that after several members of the Tablighi Jamaat an Islamic missionary group tested positive, "Islamophobic rumours around them purposefully spreading the virus became viral on the internet". Other trends also witnessed in April were: spike in fake news related to politics, more .

The Prem Singh Tamang government in Sikkim has decided to reduce the salaries of the chief minister and ministers by 35 per cent for the next one year to mitigate the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the state's economy. As per decisions taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by the chief minister on Friday, utilisation of discretionary funds of the ministers have also been put on hold. The state government has decided to impose a ban on appointments under regular/work-charged/muster roll/adhoc/consolidated pay/ temporary basis for six months, a press release issued by the Information and Public Relations department said. The state government has also decided to impose a ban on replacement and purchase of new vehicles, computers and peripherals while the allocation under revenue expenditure in all departments will be curtailed by ten per cent. Among other things, there will be restrictions on advertisement or publication of notice inviting tender except ..

With 224 new instances of the novel coronavirus infection, the total number of cases reported in the national capital climbed to 6,542, the Delhi government said on Saturday. The fresh cases were reported between 4 pm to midnight of May 8. No fresh death due to the virus was reported in this period. Delhi has so far reported 68 deaths. Of the total cases reported in the city, 4,454 are active while 2,020 patients have been cured of the disease, the health bulletin stated.

The ruling JD(U) on Saturday slammed AAP for claiming that it bore the cost of ferrying migrant workers from Delhi to their home in Bihar, saying the party was speaking "half-truth" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment. The Janata Dal (United) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accused the Aam Admi Party (AAP) of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity". The JD(U) also came down heavily on Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav for lapping up the issue to attack the NDA dispensation, asking him to stop the rhetoric and do something good for the people of Bihar. The AAP had on Friday claimed that the Kejriwal government paid for the migrant labourers travelling home after the Bihar government left them in the lurch. The train carrying 1,200 migrant labourers left for Muzaffarpur, Bihar today. The Arvind Kejriwal government will bear their full travel cost, Delhi minister Gopal Rai had tweeted on Friday. In a ...

Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in greater strength on Saturday to curb free movement, a day after some people under quarantine were caught in a traffic jam in Bhadarwah of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, officials said. Out of the total 20 districts in the Union territory, Doda and Poonch in Jammu division are coronavirus free with no reported case till date. Doda district was recently declared a green zone by the administration and simultaneously some relaxations in lockdown restrictions were announced following which people started resuming their normal activities and vehicles also started plying in different areas, including Bhadarwah town. However, alarm bells started ringing when a group of labourers, who are under administrative quarantine after being brought back from outside Jammu and Kashmir this week, were caught in a massive traffic jam in the middle of the main market while being taken to a hospital in the hilly town for COVID-19 testing on Friday, the .

After hiking liquor price by 75 per cent early this week, the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to reduce the number of retail liquor outlets, by a further 13 per cent, to 2,934 by this month end to curtail alcohol consumption and help people "move towards a better life." According to Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Rajat Bhargava,the government has also taken a number of steps to check illicit distillation of liquor and inter-state trade of non-duty paid liquor. Now, the state government has also decided to constitute an independent Special Enforcement Bureau to deal with illicit liquor, with special focus on districts bordering neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana. Retail liquor business in the state is currently run by the government, through the AP State Beverages Corporation Limited, and the number of outlets was brought down to 3,500 from 4,380 in August last year. With the latest decision, the number will drop further to ...

In a bright sign for resumption of economic activities amid the Covid-led lockdown across the country, the migrant workers, who left various states for their native places amid the shutdown, have begun expressing willingness to return to work, indicate developments in Haryana. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Saturday said over 1.5 lakh migrant workers have applied on government portal, expressing their willingness to return back to work in the state. Vij said most of these 1.5 lakh workers, who have registered themselves to return, belong to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He also said on the same portal nearly 8 lakh migrant workers, however, have registered themselves for leaving the state. Nearly 1.5 lakh migrant workers want to return to Haryana while 8 lakh of them have registered themselves for leaving the state for their native states, Vij said. Most of the 1.5 lakh who want to come back are from Bihar, UP and MP. They want to come here as commercial activities have .

A number of entrepreneurs based in rural areas of the country have taken to manufacturing face masks amid dwindling demand for their regular produce in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said on Saturday. Around, 500 rural entrepreneurs have so far produced and sold 3.5 lakh such masks under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP), he said. They produce around 2,500 masks per day for health professionals, policemen, media personnel and cleaning staff, the official said. In West Bengal, 38 entrepreneurs manufacture nearly 600 masks a day in blocks of Dinhata, Pathar Pratima and Manikchak in different districts of the state. The entrepreneurs, trained under SVEP -- under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) -- have sold 49,000 masks in the state till date, he said. Apart from West Bengal, the programme is active in the rural belts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Haryana, he added. The masks are made in hygienic ..

The National School of Drama (NSD) is planning to take theatrical knowledge and experience to "every nook and corner" of the country" through an online series of lectures, demonstrations, master classes and hands-on training sessions. The webinar series, starting from Sunday, will offer one of a kind experience to those "who are not in physical contact with the regular theatre practice" given to the nation-wide lockdown during the COVID-19 crisis, Suresh Sharma, Director In charge, NSD announced on Saturday. "Due to this ongoing pandemic we feel that the artists are feeling very abandoned as they are not getting the chance to perform. Since we all know the act of theatre is all about a working together in a group, but due the ongoing situation this has become impossible. "National School of Drama has initiated an online platform where the people who are sitting at home can connect with us and utilize their time to grab the knowledge. This not only will help to enhance their skills ...

Two fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Saturday, both being foreign returnees who reached the state from Dubai and Abu Dhabi on May 7 and were among the expatriates airlifted by the Centre as part of its mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment. "One patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today.The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode. They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi- Kochi andDubai-Kozhikode flights, respectively," Vijayan told reporters. "There are 23,930 people under observation in the state out of which 334 are in isolation wards of various hospitals," he said. Out of the total 505 infected, Kerala has till now cured 485,Vijayan added. The state has reported three deaths.

Easing curbs further in non-containment zones with riders like social distancing, the Tamil Nadu government on Saturday allowed private sector firms to resume work with 33 per cent work force and also permitted reopening of tea stalls to offer take away services from May 11. The government also extended the timings for groceries and vegetable shops from the present 5 pm till 7 pm, effective Monday, throughout Tamil Nadu. These outlets can start work from 6 am as usual. As regards standalone and neighbourhood shops in Chennai, they can function from 10.30 am till 6 pm as against the present cut off time of 5 pm, an official release here said. In all other parts of the state, these categories of shops can be open between 10 am and 7 pm. In Chennai city and suburbs, all private sector companies can resume work and operate between 10.30 am and 6 pm. In the rest of Tamil Nadu, the firms can work from 10 am to 7 pm. However, the workforce shall be confined to 33 per cent of the ..

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned Pakistan on Saturday against its "persistent attempts" to spread narco-terrorism in India, asserting that the police force was "keeping a close watch" on anti-national activities across the border even during a crisis. Our eyes are open to what Pakistan is doing, Singh said, hours after the NIA arrested a "notorious narco-terrorist" who acted as a conduit for Pakistan-based terror groups. The central agency said in a statement that it, along with the Punjab and Haryana police, arrested Ranjit Singh alias Cheeta, a resident of Amritsar, from Haryana. It said investigation in a drug case against Singh showed Pakistan-based outfits were using narcotic trade to generate funds for terror activities in India. Assuring people that no matter how much the force has been busy with Covid duties, the Punjab chief minister said, the police was keeping a watch on the borders. "Pakistan is not letting up on its attempts to push drugs, weapons and drug ...

Activities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) resumed in Jammu division on Saturday after an almost two-month suspension owing to the coronavirus-forced lockdown, officials said. The decision to resume works under MGNREGA was taken following a Home Affairs order allowing select additional activities in rural areas outside containment zones to mitigate the economic hardships being faced by people due to curbs, a spokesperson said. Work has resumed on 5,800 projects in all the 10 districts of Jammu division. "More than 25,000 job card holders have been engaged in these works. The director of Rural Development Department RDD has instructed the officers concerned to complete all works under MGNREGA, while ensuring that guidelines for curbing COVID-19 spread are followed," the spokesperson said. While undertaking the works under the flagship scheme, the department is ensuring that rural infrastructure gets augmented through restoration of ...

After announcing on Friday that it was reinstating pay cuts of up to 25 per cent for its senior employees, IndiGo airlines said it would take a decision on restoring original salary "closer to the end of this financial year". The country's largest domestic airlines had on Friday announced pay cut ranging between 5 and 25 per cent, in addition to its leave-without-pay programme for May, June and July, for senior employees. The announcement, made through internal emails, came after a series of flip-flops on the matter as India's largest domestic airline struggled to stay afloat amid grounding of all commercial passenger flights due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. In the emails accessed by PTI, the airline said the salary cut will be effected from May till the end of the 2020-21 financial year. It has already paid full salary of April to its employees. The airline had first announced its decision to cut salaries on March 19 when the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic was ...

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday lashed out at the Rajasthan government, saying it gave politics precedence over people's health and failed to contain the coronavirus spread. The Jodhpur MP said asked the state Congress government to introspect over deficiencies in dealing with the situation in his constituency, which is also the hometown of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. "Had there been no deficiencies, the government would not have failed in tackling coronavirus in Jaipur and Jodhpur, said Shekhawat. He alleged that the state government gave priority to politics over people's health' due to which the condition worsened' in the state, especially Jodhpur. In a statement, Shekhawat also accused Gehlot of not taking serious steps to contain coronavirus cases, saying the chief minister was indulging in politics of appeasement. Referring to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's claim that the Centre did not release funds for the state, Shekhawat said adequate budget ...

Hockey India employees will have to review their health status on 'Aarogyasetu' App before starting for office and they can travel only if their status is 'safe' or 'low risk', according to an advisory issued by the sports body. The Hockey India advisory outlined the preventive measures which all its employees need to be follow at office to contain the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. The highly-contagious disease has so far claimed nearly 2000 lives and infected over 59,000 in the country, forcing the government to enforce a lockdown till May 17. "With reference to the directive issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India ... All the staff members should download 'Aarogyasetu' App on their mobile phones immediately," the advisory said. "Before starting for office, they must review their status on 'Aarogyasetu' and commute only when the app shows 'safe' or 'low risk' status. "The staff members

Retail jewellery chain Senco Gold and Diamonds on Saturday said it has reopened 11 stores in green and orange zones in four states -- West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Karnataka -- after getting the clearance from authorities. Further, the company plans to start operations across all locations in a phased manner after getting clearance from the concerned government authorities, it said, and added that the company will follow all safety measures while reopening the stores. Commenting on the development, Senco Gold and Diamonds Executive Director Suvankar Sen, in a statement, said that the company will ensure contact-less shopping experience by using new-age technology and emphasising on digital payments. On safety measures to be followed at stores, the company said it will ensure delivery of sterilised and sanitised jewelleries to customers. The company will also ensure sanitisation of jewelleries after every display to customers. To provide 'contactless experience' to customers, the ...

The Punjab Police on Saturday arrested from neighbouring Haryana Ranjeet Singh Rana, an alleged drug smuggler who was wanted in connection with a 532-kg heroin haul from Attari last year, officials said. He was arrested from a hideout in Haryana's Sirsa district, the police officials said. Facing over 10 criminal cases, Rana alias Cheeta was one of the key links in the network engaged in smuggling a large number of consignments of drugs and illegal weapons through the Indo-Pak border, the police said. Among other cases, Rana was wanted in the narcotics haul case in which the Customs department seized 532 kg of heroin worth Rs 2,700 crore on June 29, 2019 from 600 bags of rock salt at the Integrated Check Post in Amritsar's Attari. Rana was said to be the kingpin of the narcotics haul. "We have nabbed him (Ranjeet) from Sirsa," Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta told PTI. His brother Gagandeep Singh was also arrested, the state police chief said. Giving details of the

The first patient to receive plasma therapy as an experimental treatment for coronavirus infection in Uttar Pradesh died following a heart attack on Saturday. The patient, a 58-year-old doctor, was admitted at the King George's Medical University (KGMU) here. The doctor, who was on ventilator since the last 14 days, died on Saturday evening following heart attack, KGMU Vice Chancellor M L B Bhatt said. Since he had high blood pressure and diabetes, he was under the continuous observation of doctors in the isolation ward, Bhatt said. The patient was in a stable condition. His lungs had improved, but he later developed urinary tract infection. Two reports of his samples came out as negative (for COVID-19) today, the vice chancellor said. He, however, suffered a heart attack around 5 pm. Despite all efforts, he could not be saved, he said. The doctor from Orai in Uttar Pradesh was administered plasma therapy at the state-run KGMU on April 26. He was administered the plasma donated by a ..

A man was arrested in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl, police said. Indar Singh Tanwar (23) lured the girl by offering her Rs 100 when she was on her way to the fields and allegedly raped her behind a tree on Friday, said a police officer. Kotwali police station in-charge D P Lohia said the girl told her family members about the incident after returning home, and a complaint was filed. Tanwar was arrested under IPC section 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act and further probe was on, he said.

Mizoram became coronavirus-free with the discharge of the lone COVID-19 patient from a hospital on Saturday, officials said. It now shares a similar status with four other northeastern states -- Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Mizoram Health Minister Dr R Lalthangliana said the state's lone COVID-19 patient, a pastor, was discharged from Zoram Medical College (ZMC) on Saturday afternoon after 45 days of intense treatment. He was discharged from the hospital after four consecutive tests turned negative, the minister said. The pastor, who is in his early 50s and working under the Baptist Church of Mizoram, returned to the state from Amsterdam on March 16. He was pursuing higher study in theology in the Netherlands capital. He tested positive for novel coronavirus on March 24 and was admitted at ZMC along with his wife and two children. The pastor's wife and children were discharged from the medical college on March 28 after they tested negative for COVID-19. The state ..