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 ..

A 25-year-old man was thrashed and left unconscious with serious injuries on suspicious of being a coronavirus carrier' in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh. The incident took place on Friday evening outside a chemist shop in the Shivpuri locality of Aligarh. Police have booked six people in this regard. Abdul Samad fell unconscious after the accused attacked him, alleging that he was a coronavirus carrier', police said on Saturday. He was rushed to Malkhan Singh District Hospital by members of his family who arrived at the spot after people raised an alarm. According to the victim's father Laiqur Rehman, Samad was feeling dizzy after his Ramzan fast on Friday night. He had gone to a chemist shop in the neighbourhood to purchase some medicine where he was accosted by some people, who abused and beat him up without any provocation. Had not the family rushed him to the hospital, the injuries could have been fatal, the father claimed. Samad is now out of danger and has been referred to Jawaharlal .

A 21-year-old married woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging at her house in a village in Bundi district on Saturday, police said. The deceased woman was identified as Uma Jangid (21), wife of Dinesh Jangid and a resident of Nayagaon village of Kapren town in Bundi district, SHO of Kapren police station Budhiprakesh Nama said. The woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan of her room on Saturday early morning while other members of the family were asleep, the SHO said. Prima facie, it appears that the woman took the extreme step due to family reasons, he opined. However, no suicide note was recovered from her possession. Uma got married to Dinesh in 2017. Her parents who had reached here after the death said their daughter did not have any complaints about her in-laws, the policeman said, adding that the couple did not have any child. The body was handed over to her family members after a post-mortem was conducted later in the day, Nama said. A case was ..

A 62-year-old man died due to coronavirus in Noida, becoming the second COVID-19 fatality in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, officials said on Saturday. The man, a resident of sector 66, died on Friday but the report of his COVID test came out as positive on Saturday, they said. "He expired yesterday (Friday) evening. The cause of the death was cardio-respiratory failure," District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said in a statement. Another person who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday is a 52-year-old man residing in sector 45's Khajoor Colony, the officer said. "Total 100 reports have been received in the last 24 hours of which two were positive and the rest negative for COVID-19. The cumulative positive cases of coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar are now 216," Dohare said. On the brighter side, two patients were discharged after recovering from the disease on Saturday, according to the statement. The two men, aged 23 and 40, were undergoing treatment at the ...

Police have arrested a couple for allegedly snatching mobile phones from people in central Delhi, officials said on Saturday. Following reports about a couple on white scooter snatching mobile phones, Arjun (22) and Vaishali Kaushal (20) were arrested near Railway Colony, Kishanganj, they said. The woman riding pillion on the scooter used to snatch the mobile phones from people, a senior police officer said. Arjun had been involved in 31 cases. Three months ago, he married Vaishali, a tattoo artist, and both are addicted to drugs, police said. Vaishali had also allegedly snatched the mobile phone of a jewellery showroom security guard in Karol Bagh, they added.

BJP leaders on Saturday reacted strongly to rumours about Home Minister Amit Shah's health, with party president J P Nadda terming these as "inhuman" comments which are "extremely condemnable". Several leaders of the ruling party took to Twitter to express their anguish at the rumours on social media after Shah put out a statement to assert that he was "totally healthy" and rejected speculation of his ill-health. They also wished Shah, Nadda's predecessor as party president, a long and healthy life. BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said spreading such rumours could be a "political ploy" of those who are rattled by Shah's working style and decisions. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed that people behind them are "enemies of the nation". In his tweet, Nadda said, "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

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 ...

A youth was arrested in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Muzaffarnagar's Kidwai Nagar on Saturday, police said. He was arrested after almost four months of the incident. Police said the girl was raped by the accused, identified as Nadeem, on January 16. He has been on the run since then, they said.

State-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd on Saturday said it reported a 35 per cent increase in sales of complex fertilisers, marketed under Suphala brand, last month. "Despite enormous logistic and other challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown, Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilizers Ltd (RCF)...registered an increase of 35.47 per cent in sale of its NPK fertilizers SUPHALA in the month of April, 2020 as compared to April 2019," an official statement said. Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda congratulated the RCF for this sale performance. He expressed satisfaction that different fertiliser PSUs under his ministry are working hard to assist Indian farmers in overcoming difficulties of the lockdown announced to curb COVID-19 spread, the statement said. RCF chairman and managing director S C Mudgerikar said the company is ensuring continuous supply of fertilisers to the farmers, with adequate safety and hygiene. RCF has contributed Rs 83.56 lakh to PM-CARES Fund and

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 .

ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 6.91 per cent growth in March quarter net at Rs 1,251 crore on a consolidated basis, after setting aside over Rs 2,000 crore in provisions for potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. On a standalone basis, the second largest private sector bank's profit grew 26 per cent to Rs 1,221 crore as against Rs 969 crore in the year-ago period. For fiscal year 2019-20, it reported a 135 per cent jump in standalone profit to Rs 7,930.81 crore. From an asset quality perspective, the bank reported an improvement in gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio to 5.53 per cent as against 6.70 per cent in the year-ago period and 5.95 per cent as of December 2019, despite over Rs 5,300 crore in fresh slippages during the reporting quarter. ICICI Bank President Sandeep Batra said it had slippages of Rs 4,300 crore in the preceding December quarter, and the additions on this front can be attributed to two accounts -- a West Asian healthcare company and a Singaporean oil

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 ...

The Gujarat government on Saturday announced exemption from certain labour laws for 1,200 days to firms that want to set up new units in the state in order to "boost economic activities" post-lockdown. Earlier, governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh had offered concessions from labour regulations in their states to attract investment. The government also announced relief amid coronavirus pandemic for industries which use natural gas supplied by Gujarat Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, by giving more time to pay gas bills. "Companies in Gujarat, India and abroad willing to bring new projects and set up new units in the state will be freed from labour laws for 1,200 days, except those related to the minimum wages and industrial safety," said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Local MSME owners willing to set up new units will also get this exemption, he said. In a tweet, Chief Minister's Office said that ...

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 .

They had started their journey on foot from Maharashtra hoping to reach Madhya Pradesh, but it was their bodies that reached their home districts of Shahdol and Umaria by special trains on Saturday afternoon. The bodies of sixteen migrant labourers who were mown down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district were brought to Jabalpur by two bogies attached to a special train. From Jabalpur, the coaches were further sent to Shahdol and Umaria, said a police officer. A bogie with five bodies reached Umaria around 3 pm, where district officials received them and sent them to their villages in ambulances, he said. The five deceased belonged to two villages Chilhari and Maman. Another bogie with 11 bodies reached Shahdol around 4 pm. Local Member of Parliament Himadri Singh and senior officials were present at the railway station. These 11 deceased belonged to the villages of Antoli and Shahargarh of Shahdol district. In both the districts, officials accompanied ...

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 ..

Bihar Health minister Mangal Pandey on Saturday flagged off 28 ambulances to seven districts of the state affected by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). Of the 28 ambulances, eight were despatched to the most-affected Muzaffarpur district. East Champaran, West Champaran got five each, Sitamarhi four while Samastipur, Gopalganj and Siwan districts got two ambulances each, an official release said. With this, the total number of ambulances has increased to 426 in 11 districts affected by AES in the state, it said. As many as three children have lost their lives in over a month due to AES at Sri Krishna Medical College hospital in Muzaffarpur which accounted for about 120 deaths due to the same disease last year. The minister flagged off the ambulances at a function held at the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare (SIHFW) here. Over 700 AES kits were sent in the 28 ambulances to 366 health institutes in the AES-affected districts, it said. The kits comprise 11 types ..

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday set up a high-level committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan to examine fiscal challenges facing the state owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest the way forward to improve its fiscal position. The committee, which will also consist of Finance Secretary S Krishnan as coordinator, will submit its report to the government within three months, according to a Government Order. The committee, with 21 members, would assess the overall immediate and medium term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different sectors of the state's economy including the impact of lockdown, additional costs and implications due to social distancing and their precautionary measures. Also, it would assess the opportunities and threats in the short and medium term, suggest measures required to help the important sectors of the economy to overcome the impact of the virus pandemic. Apart from identifying specific reform measures to ..

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 ..

Four policemen, including an assistant sub inspector, were injured when a group of men attacked them in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan on Friday night. The incident occurred in Chhoti Sadri area near the house of the state Cooperative Minister Udai Lal Anjana with the BJP alleging that Anjana too slapped a policeman, a charge denied by the minister. A former up-sarpanch Kanhaiya Lal had a spat with some youths in Kesunda village over some petty issue. After some time, the youths caught Kanhaiya Lal and thrashed him, police said. On information, a team of four policemen, led by ASI Shishupal Singh, rushed to the spot where the members from Kanhaiya Lal hit them. The policemen got injured. The ASI has received critical injuries, Chhoti Sadri police station's SHO Ravindra Pratap Singh said. Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria wrote a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday alleging that the minister, Udai Lal Anjana slapped a police constable after which the mob present .

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 ...

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl on multiple occasions, recording the act and using it to blackmail her in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said. The incident took place in a village under the Khanpur Police Station limits and the arrest was made on Friday, they said. The 17-year-old girl and her father had approached the Jhawalar SP with their complaint on Thursday, following which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, DSP and Circle Officer Bhanwar Singh Hada, who is investigating the case, said. The accused, identified as Saddam Hussain Pinjara, was on Saturday produced before a Jhalawar court which sent him to two days' police remand. In her complaint, the minor alleged that the accused, who is her neighbour, took her to an isolated place around three months ago and raped her at knifepoint and also clicked her pictures and recorded the

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

The 23-year-old daughter of a policeman who died of the novel coronavirus infection last month in Madhya Pradesh has been appointed as sub-inspector in the force by the state government, said an official on Saturday. The 59-year-old policeman, in charge of Neelganga police station in Ujjain district, died in an Indore hospital on April 21 after getting infected while performing his duty in a containment area, the official said. "Minister for Home and Health Narottam Mishra spoke to the 23-year-old woman on Saturday over phone and told her about the appointment as PSI as announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. She is likely to join duty next week," a state public relations department official said.

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 ...

A man allegedly killed his five- month-old daughter in Pune's Bavdhan area on Saturday morning after a fight with his wife, police said. The incident took place at around 5:45am, an official said. "The accused had a fight with his wife on May 8. On May 9, at around 5:45am, he strangled his five-month old daughter. He has been nabbed," he said.

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 ..

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was discharged from a Lucknow hospital where he was admitted after he complained of stomach and urine-related issues. The Samajwadi Party founder, admitted to Medanta Hospital on Wednesday, was discharged on Saturday afternoon and he is fine now, party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said. He had gone to the hospital for a routine check-up but the doctors admitted him for observation, Chaudhary said. Chaudhary said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met him on Friday and enquired about his health.

India's top chess players, including talented youngsters such as R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin and national champion Aravindh Chithambaram will take part in the Indian Chess.com League to be played online from May 15-17. A total of 10 teams will take part in the tournament which will see the participation of over 25 Indian Grandmasters. The tournament's main vision is to bring out the best players of our country to play against each other in a team format, the organisers said. GM Priyadarshan Kanappan, the league commissioner said, "The Sports League was something that I had been very familiar with as I lived in the US where you had leagues for all sports; so I always used to wonder if we could replicate that format in India, and that's how this league idea happened." "The lockdown helped us in a big way, as chess players have no avenue to play in over the board events, so we were able to convince the top players to play in an online league format," he added. Praggnanandhaa .

All the state universities in West Bengal will implement the academic calendar in their respective institutions within a month after the lockdown is lifted, Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday. Chatterjee, who earlier in the day held a videoconference with vice-chancellors of all the state universities, told reporters at an online press conference that the VCs have decided on how to conduct the classes and the final semester examinations. "The academic calendar, including examinations, will be put into effect within a month after the lockdown is lifted," he said. Chatterjee said the institutions have also received the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines in this regard and the issue came up in the meeting held during the day. He had earlier said that the UGC guidelines reflect the recommendations made by the state government on issues such as conducting terminal examinations in the post-lockdown period. "The faculty members of the universities .

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 ..

A 44-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly selling e-cigarettes to minors in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area, police said on Saturday. The accused was identified as Pooja Sawhney, a resident of Rajouri Garden area of the city. She is from an affluent family, they said. "Police received a complainant that a woman was supplying e-cigarettes and other psychotropic substances to minors. We learnt that the accused would come to deliver the same in the Mukherjee Nagar area," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said. A trap was laid and the woman was caught red-handed while delivering the banned product on Friday, the police said. During investigation, it was found that the woman operated a cartel and used to target minors from well-off families as they can easily bear the high cost of the products, they said. She had formed groups on social media and accepted orders from there. The whole process of placing orders and payment was carried out online, a ...

The Karnataka government has clarified that migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons can hire and use buses provided by state-run road transport corporations on payment basis for travel to other states with relevant permissions. Inter-State travel of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourist, students and other persons stranded in different states due to lockdown were recently permitted to travel through notified entry and exit points of Karnataka by the government. The Shramik special train services too have been ferrying migrant labourers stranded in the state to destinations like Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh among others. In a circular, Revenue (Disaster Management) Principal Secretary T K Anil Kumar said similar facility on payment basis be made available by state run road transport corporations- KSRTC/NWKRTC/NEKRTC/ BMTC to transport workers to industries permitted under the issued guidelines.

IIT Kharagpur Director V K Tewari has said central institutes like the IITs and NITs have a major role to help the micro, medium and small enterprises (MSME) by guiding them to manufacture personal protective equipment, parts of diagnostic kits and other products required in the Covid-19 era. Tewari advocated creating mobile apps for the MSMEs, hit hard by the novel coronavirus triggered lockdown, to provide them with training by the institutes. "For instance, if we provide them (MSME units) with designs of gloves, masks meeting certain guidelines, they can come up with products in 3-4 months. Similarly, these enterprises can be roped in for making parts of diagnostic kits and PCR machines... after required training," he said. Delivering an address on Facebook Live on the page of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishads (ABVP) West Bengal unit on Friday, the IIT-KGP director suggested that such units may also be asked to produce PPE. "We have to know what the MSMEs want, what .

An 81-year-old man was among 85 people discharged from Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday after recovery, with health officials saying the octogenarian might be the oldest in the state to have overcome the coronavirus infection. All 85 were discharged from Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS). "The 81-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus on April 27. After 12-day treatment, he was discharged along with 84 others in the evening from SAIMS after two consecutive negative tests," an official said. The 81-year-old is the oldest person in the state to have been discharged after recovery, he said. Indore is among the worst hit in the country by the virus outbreak and currently has 1,780 COVID-19 patients. A total of 87 people have so far died due to the infection.

Nearly 3,000 patients were provided assistance for treatment and medicines by the Srinagar district administration in Jammu and Kashmir through its helpline amid teh coronavirus-driven lockdown, officials said. The IVRS-based call centre was inaugurated by Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu on April 17 and it replaced a series of helpline numbers launched in March aimed at attending to health emergencies on priority during the lockdown. A dedicated fleet of 10 vehicles and a team of 12 professionals have been deputed on the job round-the-clock for attending to issues related to health emergencies, demands related to dialysis, chemotherapy, diabetes and other such ailments, the officials said. Apart from the IVRS call centre, they said four mobile numbers have also been made available. Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary empanelled 13 dialysis centres across the city for providing dialysis services, the expenses of which are borne by the district administration. Most ..

The Sikkim government will allow people stranded in different parts of the country to return to the Himalayan state on their own vehicles from May 11. A limited number of vehicles will be allowed to enter Sikkim everyday and priority will be given to patients, a press note said. Over 6,200 persons of Sikkim stranded outside the state have registered for evacuation and more than 500 of them have returned by Sikkim Nationalised Transport (SNT) buses in the past four days. Since only regulated movement is allowed during the lockdown period so people intending to return on their own vehicles or vehicles hired for the purpose shall be required to fill a form at the COVID portal of the state government for seeking prior approval, the press note said. Persons desiring to travel on their own vehicles must wait for approval after they apply for permission. On approval, a link will be sent to the registered mobile number which can then be downloaded and carried along on the travel .

In this special feature "My Budget" we aim to walk together with our readers on planning their 'budget'.

We have discussed the need of covering risk and how does one ascribe a value for it. Covering risk is foremost for financial planning, especially for a person with dependents.

Regular saving in relatively safer financial instruments yielding moderate returns can work wonders over a long period of time.

What is the best thing about the Budget?I am glad the government is coming down hard on black money and the illegal accumulation of money. It will be good to see if they can really track all this money and use it for the benefit of the country.And ...

The model terms the Budget as pro-growth

Says it would have been great if the Budget had provided tax holidays to international sporting events