India adds 9,119 new Covid cases in 24 hours; active tally in country lowest in 539 days

India adds 9,119 new Covid cases in 24 hours; active tally in country lowest in 539 days

NEW DELHI: India logged 9,119 new coronavirus infections taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,45,44,882, while the active cases declined to 1,09,940, the lowest in 539 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll climbed to 4,66,980 with 396 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated […]

CBI Special Director Praveen Sinha elected to top Interpol panel

New Delhi: CBI Special Director Praveen Sinha was on Thursday elected as a delegate for Asia on the executive committee of the Interpol, capping an “intense” and “well-coordinated” campaign across the world by India, official sources said. The elections for various positions for the top panel were held were at the ongoing 89th Interpol General […]

SC to hear PIL challenging ordinances on power to extend tenure of CBI, ED directors

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will list for hearing a PIL challenging the validity of two ordinances under which the tenure of the directors of CBI and Enforcement Directorate can now be extended by up to three years after the mandated term of two years. A bench comprising Chief Justice N […]

Govt extends 5-kg free foodgrains scheme till March 2022

Govt extends 5-kg free foodgrains scheme till March 2022

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend distribution of 5kg foodgrains per month for free under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to over 80 crore ration card holders for four months till March 2022, a decision that will cost an additional Rs 53,344 crore to the exchequer. Free […]

Rahul Gandhi asks Centre to provide ‘credible data’ on Covid deaths in India

Rahul Gandhi asks Centre to provide ‘credible data’ on Covid deaths in India

NEW DELHI: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday demanded that the government provide credible data on Covid deaths in the country and pay a compensation of Rs four lakh each to families of those who lost their lives due to coronavirus. Gandhi shared a video in which families, who lost their dear ones due […]

Centre writes to 13 states, UTs, expresses concerns over declining Covid testing rates

Centre writes to 13 states, UTs, expresses concerns over declining Covid testing rates

NEW DELHI: Citing multiple surges in coronavirus cases in several countries, the Union Health Ministry has written to 13 states and union territories, including West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab, expressing concerns over declining weekly testing rates and spiking positivity rates in some districts. In a letter to Nagaland, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, […]

India adds 9,283 new cases in 24 hours; active tally in lowest in 537 days

NEW DELHI: India added 9,283 new coronavirus infections taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,45,35,763 while the active cases declined to 1,11,481, the lowest in 537 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll climbed to 4,66,584 with 437 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated […]

International flight services to normalise by this year end: Civil Aviation Secretary

NEW DELHI: International passenger flight services are expected to be normalised “very soon” and possibly by the end of this year, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Wednesday. Scheduled international passenger flights to and from India remain suspended since March 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension has been extended till November 30. Normalisation […]

Concept of Aadhaar data vault ‘fallacious’; adversely impacting purpose: RS Sharma

NEW DELHI: National Health Authority CEO and senior member of founding team of Aadhaar RS Sharma on Wednesday criticised some of the restrictions imposed by the Unique Identification Authority of India over use of the unique ID due to apprehensions around privacy. Sharma, who was the first director general of UIDAI, said that the concept […]

COVID-19 cases fall below 8,000 in country, lowest in 543 days

NEW DELHI: India logged 7,579 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 543 days, taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,45,26,480, while the active cases were the lowest in 536 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday. The death toll climbed to 4,66,147 with 236 fresh fatalities, according to […]