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New Delhi: India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,04,50,284 with 18,645 infections being reported in a day, while the recoveries have surged to 1,00,75,950, according to the Union Health Ministry's data updated on Sunday. The death toll reached 1,50,999 with 201 more people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease so far surged to 1,00,75,950, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.42 percent, while the case fatality rate dropped to 1.44 percent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below three lakh for the 20th consecutive day. There are 2,23,335 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 2.14 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20 lakh-mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August, 40 lakh on 5 September and 50 lakh on 16 September. It went past 60 lakh on 28 September, 70 lakh on 11 October, crosse

New Delhi: Delhi's minimum temperature dipped to 7.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday, as cold winds from snow-clad Western Himalayas swept through the plains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The mercury is likely to drop to five to six degrees Celsius by 14 January, an IMD official said. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a minimum temperature of 7.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal. Delhi has registered above-normal minimum temperatures since 3 January, as a cloud cover persisted over the city under the influence of successive Western Disturbances. The city's minimum had settled at 10.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal, on Saturday, 9.6 degrees Celsius on Friday and 14.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the highest in January in four years, according to IMD. The cloud cover over the national capital has prevented a steep decline in the minimum temperature so far, the IMD official said. Clouds trap s

New Delhi: Over 1,200 birds were found dead across the country on Saturday, including 900 in a poultry farm in Maharashtra, with the Centre saying that the outbreak of avian influenza has been reported in Uttar Pradesh, taking the total number of affected states to seven. The Centre said confirmation of bird flu in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, is awaited as the samples have been sent for testing, it said. Besides Uttar Pradesh, the other six states where bird flu is confirmed are Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a ban on the import of live birds in the national capital and closure of Ghazipur poultry market, the biggest in the city, for the next 10 days in view of bird flu scare. Noting that there is no confirmed case of avian influenza in Delhi so far, the chief minister said samples have been sent to Jalandhar laboratory. He also said that a 24-hour helpline has been set up for assist

Bhandara: Many parents whose newborn babies were among those dead in the Bhandara hospital fire have blamed the staff there for dereliction of duty. Ten babies died after the fire broke out on Saturday at the Special Newborn Care Unit of the four-storeyed district hospital in Maharashtra's Bhandara district town, about 900 km from the state capital Mumbai. Kin of Geeta and Vishwanath Behere, whose two month- old daughter was among the 10 newborn babies who perished in the blaze, blamed the hospital authorities for dereliction of duty. They claimed that no doctor or nurse was present in the unit when fire broke out. They blamed the hospital administration for the tragedy and sought action against those responsible. Vandana Sidam from Ravanwadi in Bhandara district gave birth to a girl at Pahela primary health centre on January 3. The baby was shifted to the district hospital unit as its weight was below normal. Family members of Vandana, whose husband was working in Pune when

Jammu: PDP youth president Waheed Para was on Saturday granted bail by an NIA court, after remaining in custody for one-and-a-half months for his alleged links with terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen. However, he was whisked away by sleuths of a security agency as he came out of the district jail on being released but it was not immediately clear whether he was wanted in any other case or detained for questioning. The NIA is likely to challenge the granting of bail to Para in the high court. PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed concern over the latest detention of 32-year-old Para and sought the intervention of the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha for securing his release. Despite NIA Court granting bail to @parawahid after thorough court proceedings, he has now been detained by CIK in Jammu. Under what law & for what crime has he been arrested? This is brazen contempt of court. Request @manojsinha_ ji to intervene so that justice is served. — Mehbooba Muft

BJP's Kota MLA Madan Dilawar on Saturday triggered a controversy, sugg esting that militants and robbers wanting to destroy the country may have joined the farmers' agitation against the Centre's farm laws at the Delhi borders. The MLA further alleged that the so-called farmers are not worried about the country, enjoying picnic and luxuries besides relishing delicacies. In a video statement released in Kota, he suggested that the agitators are "conspiring" to spread bird flu by consuming chicken at the protest sites. The ruling Congress in the state reacted sharply to the remarks by the Kota's Ramganjmandi MLA, terming his statement as shameful, which reflects the BJP's ideology. In his video, Dilawar lashed at the protesters and said, The so-called farmers involved in the agitation are not worried about the country. They are not protesting but enjoying picnic, relishing chicken, biryani, cashew, almonds and are availing all sorts of luxuries. There m

A Tamil war memorial in Jaffna University was destroyed by the authorities in Sri Lanka, triggering protests by students and community groups and evoking strong reactions from Indian leaders who termed the incident as a big shock. Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jaffna Professor Sivakolundu Srisatkunarajah ordered the removal of the monument on Friday night amid heavy police presence. The monument was established in 2019 in the University of Jaffna in memory of the civilian Tamils killed in Mullivaikkal in one of the bloody episodes of the island nation's last leg of the three-decade old conflict in 2009. Tamil groups accused the government of destroying the war memorial to remember the Tamils. They said that the military bulldozed the memorial using heavy machinery, terming it a high-handed political act to hurt Tamil sentiments. "This is a deliberate provocative act knowing well that memorials are to do with emotions," S Sritharan, a Tamil legislator said. A g

India's COVID-19 vaccination drive — "the world's largest inoculation programme" — is scheduled to begin from 16 January, the Centre said on Saturday. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a day that the number of people infected by the new virus strain rose to 90 in the country. In his address at the inauguration of the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention, Modi noted India's image as the "world's pharmacy", and said it is ready with two locally manufactured COVID-19 vaccines to "protect" humanity. The figures of the nationwide COVID-19 situation stood thus on Saturday: With 18,222 new cases in 24 hours, the total caseload rose to 1,04,31,639, with active cases making up 2.16 percent of it. Meanwhile, 1,00,56,651 patients have recuperated so far, pushing the national recovery rate to 96.41 percent, the Union health ministry said. The toll climbed to 1,50,798 with 228 deaths

In a second such incident in nearly three months, a Chinese soldier was apprehended by the Indian Army at the southern bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh on Friday morning after he transgressed across the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), official sources said on Saturday. The capture of the soldier comes amid a massive deployment of troops by the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) in eastern Ladakh in view of the tense border standoff that erupted following a clash between the two sides in the Pangong lake area in early May. The PLA soldier had transgressed into the Indian side of the LAC and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in the area, the sources said. The Chinese soldier is being dealt with as per laid down procedures and the circumstances under which he had crossed the LAC are being investigated, they added. "The PLA soldier had transgressed across the LAC and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in

GATE 2021: The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2021 admit card correction window has been opened by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. The last date to apply for changes in GATE 2021 admit card is 13 January 2021. IIT Bombay released GATE 2021 admit card on 8 January on its official website —  gate.iitb.ac.in . Around 9,13,272 GATE admit cards have been issued this year. Students who have applied for two different subjects of GATE 2021 will have to download separate admit cards for each of the papers. For any discrepancy in GATE 2021 admit card, candidates will have to contact their respective zonal GATE office via email along with a copy to the organising institute, asking for changes in their hall ticket, NDTV reported . The subject of the email should mention "Correction in Admit Card." GATE 2021 will be held from 5 to 14 February 2021. The aptitude test will be conducted for a total of 27 subjects. The GATE 2021 score will remain valid for thr

The discourse has been rather charitable in abusing the Hindutva brigade when it comes to instances of communal violence. But the trend to offer a selective reading --  as has been presented in several shoddy attempt s -- and claim a grand theory is becoming rather stale. The irony of the timing perhaps, given the backdrop of the bogey being raised in light of the recent attacks on the Capitol in the United States of America, could not have been worse though: this is the month that marks the thirty first year of a genocidal exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from their homeland - a smear so dark on the face of India’s fake liberals that they can perhaps never remove it. Not that it matters – the animosity that they possess for the ‘uncultured’ and ‘barbarian’ natives of India perhaps overrides everything else that they witness. Nor is the hype on secularism ever visible when it comes to a state like Meghalaya. For more than four decades now, Hindus of Meghalaya have been at the receiving end

AP EAMCET counselling 2020 round 2 process will commence from 11 January. The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) has released the counselling schedule for admission into engineering and pharmacy programmes on its official website - apeamcet.nic.in. As per a report by Scroll , students who have not paid the processing fee in the first round of AP EAMCET counselling will have to pay online fee between 11 and 13 January. Candidates belonging to OC/BC category will have to Rs 1,200, while SC/ST applicants will be required to pay Rs 600. Also, the candidates who have not got their certificates verified during the first phase of counselling will have to attend the certificate verification round in the second phase. According to the notification, option selected by the candidates during the first phase will not be considered for the second phase of counselling for allotment of a seat. They will be required to again exercise a fresh choice based on available options.

Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) Departmental Examinations December 2020 will be conducted from 14 to 21 February 2021. The TNPSC has a released an official notification on its website - tnpsc.gov.in. The online application process has been started by the Commission on its official portal. Candidates meeting the eligibility criteria can enroll themselves by 29 January 2021. According to a report by The Indian Express , candidates will be required to pay a registration fee of Rs 30 along with the examination fee of Rs 200 for each paper. Those applying for the exam should be at least 16 years on the date of the issue of the notification (8 January 2021). TNPSC in the notification said that candidates will be required to furnish their particulars in One Time Registration before applying. It is mandatory for them to link their Aadhaar card details with the Departmental One Time Registration. Applicants who have already furnished their details in One Time Registration must

The Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), registration process for the post of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer, Grade-II/Executive ends today (9 January). Willing and eligible candidates can register at mha.gov.in or ncs.gov.in. The opening is a General Central Service, Group 'C' (Non-Gazetted, Non-Ministerial) post. The recruitment drive is being carried out to fill a total of 2,000 posts. According to a report by The Times of India , appointment to the post is temporary. However, permanent appointment will depend on numerous factors in the post in force at that time. Male applicants belonging to General, EWS and OBC categories will have to pay the examination fee of Rs 100 and processing charges of Rs 500. SC/ST and all female applicants as well as Ex-servicemen will be only required to pay the recruitment processing fee of Rs 500. Candidates will have to make the payment through debit, credit card, internet banking, UPI, SBI challan. The deadline to

Editor's note: In 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak upended lives and livelihoods in myriad ways. The novel coronavirus threw up new and unprecedented challenges, especially for people from marginalised sections of society. In a multi-part series , Firstpost explores how individuals from different walks of life lived through the year of the pandemic. This is part eight of the series. Read part 1 of the series here , part 2 here , part 3 here , part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here and part 7 here . *** For Villupuram-based journalist Krithika Srinivasan, 2020 was a year of many realisations. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it dawned on her that challenges of reportage from a small district during such a situation would increase manifold. Over the first few months, she realised that it could nevertheless be done. Most importantly, she realised by the end of 2020 that no matter what a journalist does to bring to light wrongdoing, there is only so much that will come out o

Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2021 answer key has been released by the Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur on its official website - xatonline.in. Candidates who have appeared for the admission test can match their responses against the answer key and calculate their score. According to a report by Careers 360 , to check XAT 2021 answer key, students will be required to enter their XAT ID and password. The answer key has been released in PDF format. The XAT result 2021 is expected to be declared in online mode in the third week of January. The result will mention the candidates’ individual scores in different sections, percentiles and overall performances. A report by NDTV said that XAT 2021, a national-level examination, was conducted in computer-based mode on 3 January. On 5 January, the XAT response sheets were released by XLRI. Steps to check XAT 2021 answer key: Step 1: Open the official website of XLRI XAT 2021 - xatonline.in. Step 2: Tap on the Login page on the

In the mid-80s, a spate of communal riots sparked off by religious processions led to a public debate on whether such processions should be banned. An entire generation of Indians has grown up since, and we are still seeing processions taken out in the name of religion ending in communal violence . Madhya Pradesh saw violence in the last week of December , when processions were taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to collect funds for the Ayodhya temple. The pattern of violence in Madhya Pradesh follows a formula perfected by the Sangh Parivar since the late 60s, when the first post-Independence riots took place. The formula: organise a procession as a show of strength; mark out a route that passes through a Muslim mohalla; linger in front of the mosque, play loud music especially if it’s namaz time, throw gulaal on the mosque, and shout incendiary slogans. Do this till Muslims are provoked into throwing stones at the processionists, then go on the rampage against them, knowing the

Theatre owners in West Bengal on Friday welcomed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to allow full occupancy of cinema halls in the state. Banerjee, while inaugurating the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival , announced the decision to allow cinema halls to operate at full capacity by maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols against the present occupancy limit of 50 percent and asked the Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay to issue a notification. The decision comes a few days after the single screen owners shot off a letter to the chief minister in this regard. They cited lesser revenues since the reopening of the cinema halls in October and no known instance of the spread of COVID-19 through theatres as the basis of their demand. Ratan Saha, Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) office-bearer and owner of Ajanta theatre, said the decision comes as a breath of fresh air for cinema hall owners who are reeling under the blow of the coronavirus-induced lockdow

Bhandara: Ten newborn babies died after fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of a hospital in Maharashtra in the wee hours on Saturday, doctors said. All the infants were between a month and three months old, a doctor said. Ten children died in a fire that broke out at Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Bhandara District General Hospital at 2 am today. Seven children were rescued from the unit: Pramod Khandate, Civil Surgeon, Bhandara, Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/bTokrNQ28t — ANI (@ANI) January 9, 2021 Fire broke out in the Bhandara district hospital at around 2 am, he said. There were 17 babies in the unit and seven were rescued, he added. Another doctor said a nurse first noticed smoke coming out from the neonatal section of the hospital and alerted doctors and other staff who reached there in five minutes. Fire brigade personnel rescued seven babies from the "inbound ward" of the unit but could not save the 10 other babies, he said. The cause of the fi

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday cancelled its order permitting 100 per cent occupancy in movie theatres and said the capacity shall be restricted to 50 percent. Days after allowing full capacity in cinemas following representations from the film industry, the government cited an advisory from the Centre and a petition in the Madras High Court over the matter for revoking its decision. Till further orders, occupancy shall be confined to 50 percent in all kinds of cinemas, including single and multiple screen movie halls and multiplexes, the government said in an official release. The Standard Operating Procedure to prevent the spread of coronavirus should be followed, it said. The government, however, allowed theatres to screen additional shows as per a directive of the Madras High Court and said the order would be in force with immediate effect. On 4 January, the government permitted 100 percent seating capacity in cinema theatres and directed them to follow the SoP

New Delhi:  More bird deaths were reported from some parts of the country on Friday amid cases of avian influenza, with the Haryana government planning to cull over 1.60 lakh birds in Panchkula district after samples tested positive for the disease, even as the Centre said that bird flu has been confirmed so far in six states. The Centre said bird flu has been confirmed so far in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, and asked these six states to contain the disease as per the action plan. Unusual mortality of 16 birds has also been reported at DDA park Hastsal Village in the National Capital, and samples have been sent to a testing lab. "So far, the disease has been confirmed from six states (Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat). "It is learnt that culling operations have been completed in both the affected districts of Kerala. The disinfection process is underway," according to an official sta

Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the Delhi airport on Friday as many passengers arriving from the UK vociferously complained against the national capital government's belated decision to make seven-day institutional quarantine compulsory for them irrespective of their COVID-19 test results. Passenger flights resumed from the UK to India in limited numbers from Friday onwards after remaining suspended for 16 days due to the emergence of a new coronavirus variant in that country. Air India's AI112 flight from London landed at the Delhi airport at around 10.30 AM. It was the only UK flight to land in Delhi on Friday and it had 256 passengers in it, said Gauri Agarwal, founder of the Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, which is handling coronavirus testing of all passengers at the Delhi airport. Only two passengers were found positive for COVID-19 when tested on arrival, she said later in the day. Vistara's former Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said on Twit

Bengaluru: Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar on Friday said the state is expected to receive 13,90,000 vials of vaccine against COVID-19 in a day or two. "The big good news for Karnataka is that I have received information from the Union Health Ministry that tomorrow or the day after probably we will be receiving 13,90,000 vials of vaccine for the state. It's a big happy news for all of us," Sudhakar said. Speaking to reporters after visiting a private hospital, where vaccination dry run is being conducted, he said, the vaccination will be first administered to health care workers. "We have registered 6.30 lakh healthcare professionals in Karnataka till date. Those who are left out, may be in some medical or dental colleges, we have requested them to register," he said adding that health workers will be followed by those with comorbidities, those above 60 years and those in other departments like Police and Revenue working against the pandemic. COVID-19

“We don’t know what your commission is doing. People in Delhi are not satisfied with your work. We are also not satisfied”. These remarks were made by a Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on 17th December. That was six weeks after the ordinance on “Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020” was promulgated on 29th October . The  super commission  subsumed practically every other law and agency dealing with air pollution in this region. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta responded to the judges’ scathing comments saying the government was “working on a war footing”. The bench will hear more on the “war footing” steps taken and their impact in the second week of January. Though the ordinance seeks to keep courts away from all things to do with air pollution management in the NCR, the reality is that the apex court continues to drive government action towards bringing down air pollution in the Delhi