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Gopeshwar:  More than two months after the glacial disaster in Chamoli district, one more body was recovered on Saturday from the barrage site of Tapovan hydel project, taking the toll in the tragedy to 80. Rescue teams recovered one more body from the barrage site of the NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project on Saturday, the Chamoli District Disaster Control Room said. Another body was recovered from Tapovan tunnel on Friday, it said. An avalanche on 7 February had caused large-scale damage to the project besides totally demolishing the Rishiganga hydel project at Raini village in the district. Eighty bodies and 35 human body parts have been recovered so far from different places hit by the disaster, the control room said. While 48 bodies have been identified, 126 people are still missing, it said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2RKFzvF Press Trust of India

10:39 (IST) Coronavirus LATEST Updates Uttarakhand cancels Class 10 board exams, postpones Class 12 exams   Under the leadership of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, it has been decided to cancel Class 10 board exams and suspend the Class 12 board exams for the protection and safety of students in view of the coronavirus pandemic, said state education minister Arvind Pandey. He urged people to abide the COVID-19 directions issued by the state and Central governments. प्रिय विद्यार्थियों एवं प्रदेशवासियों, यशस्वी मुख्यमंत्री श्री @TIRATHSRAWAT जी के कुशल नेतृत्व में प्रदेश में कोरोना महामारी के दृष्टिगत परीक्षार्थियों की सुरक्षा और बचाव हेतु उत्तराखण्ड विद्यालयी शिक्षा परिषद की कक्षा 10वीं की बोर्ड परीक्षाओं को निरस्त करने … 1/3 pic.twitter.com/0XAC7SvLGb — Arvind Pandey (@TheArvindPandey) April 18, 2021 10:28 (IST) Coronavirus LATEST Updates Four COVID-19 patients dead in fire at Raipur hospital; probe ordered   Authorities have ordered an investigation

Triggering a row with the Centre amid the surge in coronavirus cases, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday claimed he tried to discuss the issue of oxygen supply with Narendra Modi on phone but was told that the prime minister was busy campaigning for the West Bengal elections. The chief minister made the statement during an online meeting with industrialists and representatives of trade bodies while underlining the need for ramping up oxygen supply and other health infrastructure to deal with the pandemic. "Maharashtra needs oxygen supply and all oxygen produced is being used for medical purposes. I contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need for oxygen supply, but he wasn't available on phone yesterday since he was busy with the West Bengal poll campaign. But the Centre is cooperating with the state," Thackeray was quoted as saying during the interaction with the industry in a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office. "Keep

New Delhi: Delhi on Saturday recorded the biggest jump in its daily COVID-19 tally with 24,375 fresh cases, and 167 people died due to the disease in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate also shot up to 24.56 percent — meaning every fourth sample being tested in the city is turning out to be positive. A day ago, 19,486 COVID-19 cases and 141 related deaths were reported in the city. Amid escalating coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the pandemic situation in the city has become "very serious and worrisome", with oxygen stock, and Remdesivir and Tocilizumab drugs for patients in short supply. He said the number of beds are also running out fast and the Delhi government is trying to escalate beds on a large scale in the coming days. "The cases of COVID-19 are rising fast in Delhi. In the last 24 hours, around 24,000 fresh cases have been reported. Within a day, the number has gone up from around 19,500 to around 24,000. So, the

The situation in India worsened further on Saturday with several states registering record highs in daily cases and deaths, and more reports emerging of hospitals turning away COVID-19 patients due to the unavailability of beds and oxygen.  In Uttar Pradesh, a COVID-19 patient was reportedly told to die during a conversation with a help centre. Daily cases surpassed two lakhs for the third consecutive day on Saturday. The country added 2,34,692 new coronavirus cases and 1,341 fatalities due to the disease pushing its COVID-19 tally to 1,45,26,609 and the death toll to 1,75,649, the Union Health Ministry said. As India's COVID-19 tally inched towards 1.50 crore and the death toll climbed above 1.75 lakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union health Harsh Vardhan held meetings to review measures taken by states for prevention, containment and management of the recent surge. Some of the public figures who tested positive on Saturday included Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, JD

Social media has brought the world so close to our nose that we often fail to see it properly. The shadow of COVID-19's larger and arguably more travel-savvy avatar was looming over India for a while, but we failed to see the larger picture. And now as the virus storm rages with greater vigour each day, we are still stuck in identity politics and a bitter struggle for electoral power. We believe in reasons which may have led to this only if they suit our agenda, and junk totally valid grounds of the pandemic’s return if those reasons do not fit into our political and religious biases. While one set looks away from endemic corruption and incompetence of the Maharashtra or Delhi government, another won’t talk about the irresponsible mass-electioneering by the central stalwarts who could have set a good precedent. If some of us refuse to see the naked, unmasked pandering of minorities by the Mamata Banerjee administration, others won’t ask the Yogi Adityanath government why not eno

The Congress Working Committee on Saturday accused the central government of "colossal mismanagement" in the war against the COVID pandemic and cautioned of an "unprecedented catastrophe" unless urgent corrective measures are taken. The highest decision-making body of the Congress, chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi, met here virtually to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country and suggest measures to the government to tackle the crisis. Addressing a press conference after the meet that lasted over two-and-a-half hours, Congress' senior spokesperson P Chidambaram said concrete suggestions made by CWC members would be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a letter by former prime minister Manmohan Singh. "We charge the central government with colossal mismanagement of the war against the pandemic," a CWC statement said while accusing the central government of failing on 14 different fronts in handling the pandemic. "We regret to s

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is all set to conduct the NDA I Exam 2021 tomorrow (Sunday, 18 April) at various centres across the country. The examination will be organised tomorrow in offline mode as per the schedule and there is no news regarding the postponement of the examination till now. The exam will be held in two shifts. The first shift begins at 10 am and the second shift will start at 2 pm. This test is conducted for admission to the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the NDA. This recruitment drive will fill up 400 vacancies. Examination details The written examination  includes two papers: a Mathematics paper and a General Ability Test paper. The exam is for five hours with two and half hours for each paper. While the maximum marks for Mathematics is 300, the General Ability Test comes with maximum marks of 600. Instructions to follow Aspirants appearing for the entrance examination tomorrow need to follow few important instructions issued by the commis

The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday granted bail to RJD president Lalu Prasad in Dumka treasury case of the multi-crore rupees fodder scam, paving way for his release from jail. The bail was allowed to Prasad by Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh. The court directed him neither to leave the country without permission nor change his address and mobile number during the bail period. Prasad had acquired bail in three other cases of the fodder scam and was waiting for judgement in the instant case related to illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury in 90s to come out of the jail. The septuagenarian RJD supremo was airlifted to AIIMS New Delhi in January last in view of his bad health. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3ttTcx4 Press Trust of India

The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST) 2021 exam for admission to Class 6 has been postponed by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS). The entrance exam was slated to be held on 16 May. The exam has been cancelled for all the states and Union Territories except Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya. Applicants can check the notification by visiting the official website navodaya.gov.in . As per the notification, a new date will be announced at least 15 days prior to the date of the examination. Students or their parents can check the notification by following these steps: Step 1: Visit navodaya.gov.in Step 2: On the homepage, check for the ‘What’s New’ section Step 3: Click on the 'Notification regarding postponement of date for conduct of Class VI JNVST 2021' link Step 4: Download it and take a print out if necessary Here’s the direct link to access the notification: https://ift.tt/2jLYmWA The NVS undertakes admission tests for Class 6 for Jawahar Navodaya V

The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) has released the admit cards for the Officer Scale I examination. Applicants can download their hall tickets by visiting the official website gicofindia.com from 16 April till 9 May. There are 44 posts available in the cadre of Assistant Manager (Scale-I). The selected candidates will be posted in Mumbai Head Office. Later on, they can be posted anywhere in India as well as abroad as per the requirement. Applicants can follow these steps to download the admit card:       Visit the official website https://www.gicofindia.com/en/       On the homepage, go to the ‘Quick Links’ section       Now, click on the ‘Officer Scale 1’ link       A new page will open       Now, log in through your registration number and password (either in Hindi or in English)       The GIC Officer Scale I 2021 admit card will appear on the screen       Take a printout and save a copy for later use Alternatively, this direct link can also be used by candi

A Delhi court has granted bail to actor-activist Deep Sidhu, who was arrested in connection with the Red Fort violence on Republic Day. Special Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen granted relief to the accused on Friday on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties of a like amount. Sidhu was arrested on 9 February in connection with the Red Fort violence on Republic Day during a farmers' tractor parade against the Centre's three new agriculture laws. The court noted that the accused was in custody since 9 February, 2021, with 14 days of remand in police custody. It said that a police plea for further incarceration for the sole purpose of voice sampling was not justifiable. The prosecution's case rests largely and on the contents of video recordings and footage available and accessible to all on social media sites in the public domain, and there is, therefore, a remote possibility of the accused applicant being able to interfere with the content on such platform, the judge

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has begun the registration process for the June session of the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) 2021 from today, 16 April. Candidates can visit the official website nbe.edu.in to register. The eligible candidates who have completed their medical course from abroad and need a registration certificate from the Medical Council of India (MCI) to practice in India must submit the FMGE application form by 6 May. The exam will be a Computer-based Test (CBT) that will be held on 18 June. This test is conducted for medical graduates who have Indian Citizenship or are Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) Eligibility Criteria : Only those candidates whose qualifying exam has been approved by the Indian Embassy are eligible to appear for the June session paper. Applicants can follow these steps to apply: Step 1: Visit the official website, nbe.edu.in Step 2: Click on the ‘FMGE 2021’ tab, on the homepage Step 3: Seconds after clicking on the t

The second wave of COVID-19 in India has proven to be more challenging and aggressive than the first wave of the pandemic, which led to a nationwide lockdown in March last year. Just over three-and-a-half months into 2021, the daily cases have not only surpassed the high reported in 2020 but more than doubled . The impact of the pandemic is clearly visible across the country with bodies piling up in crematoriums and long queues of ambulances outside hospitals. The impact of the pandemic is being felt not just in the metro cities, but also in smaller towns — with shortages being reported of beds and oxygen supplies. However, despite the severity of the health crisis, election rallies and religious congregations like the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar have continued, raising questions over the seriousness to tackle the spread of the deadly virus. It is only Saturday that the organizers of the Kumbh Mela exhorted people not to congregate in large numbers in Haridwar, after an appeal from

The Odisha Joint Entrance Examination Committee has announced the examination forms for Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE 2021). Those interested can apply by visiting the official website ojee.nic.in . The exam is scheduled to be held from 17-24 June and will be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode for all the courses of B.Pharm/MCA/Mtech/MBA/M.Tech (Part-Time)/ MArch/M Plan/MPharm/Int. MBA and lateral entry to Bpharm/BTech courses in Government and Private Universities and Colleges of Odisha. Candidates can follow these steps to apply: Visit the official website https://ojee.nic.in/ On the homepage, click on the course form you want to apply Now, start the registration and fill in the required details and save the registration number/user id and password After registration, start filling the application form Upload photo and documents and submit the application Download the confirmation page for future reference No changes will be allowed in the form after subm

The marks of the Engineering Services Examination (ESE) 2020 recommended candidates have been announced today, 17 April by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The recommended applicants can visit the official website upsc.gov.in to check their scorecard. The commission organises the exam in civil, mechanical, electrical and electronics, and telecommunication engineering disciplines. Among the 347 vacancies, a total of 302 eligible candidates have been selected for the posts. Here are the steps that recommended candidates can follow to check and download their marks: Step 1: Visit the official website - upsc.gov.in Step 2: On the homepage, search for the ‘What’s New’ section and click on it Step 3: On the new page, tap on "Marks of Recommended Candidates Engineering Services (Main) Examination, 2020" link and wait for the PDF to open Step 4: As soon as a new PDF opens; search for Name, roll number, and marks Step 5: Save the PDF for future reference or use

The correction window for Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) Class 10 and Class 12 admit cards has been extended. Now, students can make the corrections till 10 May. Earlier, the last date to make changes was 15 April. The decision has been taken as the state government recently took the decision to postpone the board exams till June. The state’s School Education Board informed about the date extension via its official Twitter handle . In the post, the department stated that the decision has been taken in view of the current coronavirus situation in Madhya Pradesh. Candidates who wish to download their admit cards without any changes can follow these steps: - Visit the official website, https://ift.tt/2IhDyxb - On the homepage, go to the ‘Admit Card’ link - A new page will open. Enter registration number - The admit card will be displayed on the screen - Take a print out, if required, and save a copy for later use Alternatively, this direct link can be used t

Kolkata: A controversy erupted on Friday after the BJP released a purported audio clip in which West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is heard telling the Trinamool Congress nominee of Sitalkuchi to hold rallies with the bodies of the four people killed in CISF firing during polling on 10 April. Claiming that such a conversation never took place, the TMC described the audio clip as "bogus" and wondered whether the Centre is tapping a chief ministers phone. Firspost  could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio clip, which was released on the eve of the fifth phase of the polls. Releasing excerpts of the telephonic conversation between Banerjee and Partha Pratim Ray, the TMC candidate of the Sitalkuchi seat, the BJP's IT Cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that the "chief minister is trying to instigate riots by asking her party leaders to take out rallies with bodies". "She is heard asking her party candidate to frame the case in suc

UPSC AC LDCE 2021:  The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the written exam results for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Assistant Commandant (AC) Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (LDCE) 2021. Candidates can check the official website —  upsc.gov.in  — for more details. The exam was held on 14 March. Those selected will have to undertake the Physical Standards/Physical Efficiency Tests and Medical Standards Tests. CISF will inform candidates about the date, time, and venue of these exams shortly. In case, any shortlisted candidate does not receive any intimation regarding the further process, h/she may get in touch with the authorities as soon as possible. Applicants can follow these steps to check the result: Step 1: Visit the official website https://ift.tt/2G2dF5E Step 2: On the homepage, click on the ‘What’s New’ link Step 3: A new page will open. On the page, click on the UPSC AC LDCE 2021 written exam result link Step 4: Now, t

The final marks of the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination 2018 have been declared by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on 16 April. In an official notification , the commission informed the candidates that the final marks have been released on its website ssc.nic.in. Previously, the commission had declared the final result on 1 April. Candidates can check their marks from 16-30 April. Here are the steps that students can follow to view and download their marks: Step 1: Visit the website https://ift.tt/3mVU7Ea Step 2: In order to log in, enter your registration number, roll number, date of birth and email ID or mobile number, and examination name. Click on ‘Submit’ Step 3: On the new page, the final marks will be visible. Download this page Step 4: Take a print out and keep it safely for future reference The exam will fill as many as 12,929 Group B and C posts in various departments. The application process started on 5 May, 2018 and ended on 4 June, 2018, as noted b

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit India particularly hard, with daily infections surpassing the peaks of the first wave at 200,000-plus a day for the past few days. India has become the pacesetter in global infections. The saving grace is that the variants doing the rounds seem to be less lethal, though more transmissible. Though mortality rates are lower , that can hardly be a reason for complacence. The Central and the  state governments must move more quickly than they have to contain a potentially disastrous situation. Before getting to possible actions, one point needs to be made forcefully. The default option of both authorities – across the board – and sections of the citizenry is to blame the people at large: for congregating in numbers; for failing to socially or physically distance; for failing to wear masks; and for other myriad failures. This is an unhelpful way of looking at the situation, because many people have few options in many cases; they are weary

After Delhi, Chandigarh has also imposed a weekend lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown started from Friday, 16 April at 10 pm and will remain in force till 5 am on Monday, 19 April. People are advised to not to step out unless it is necessary or there’s an emergency. Here is the list of what is allowed: - Law and order services, emergency duty and municipal services are allowed to function during the lockdown. - Executive magistrates, health-, electricity-, and fire-personnel, and journalists with accreditation need to show their identity cards when out in the city . - Services like ration shops and vendors, food, groceries, fruits, vegetable, dairy, milk booths, meat, fish, animal fodder can open but will only provide home delivery. - Manufacturing units involved in essential commodities will remain open and will be given a restricted movement curfew pass. Such passes will also be issued to those who are getting married over the weekend. - All medical-related f

New Delhi: A record single-day rise of 2,34,692 COVID-19 cases and 1,341 fatalities have pushed India's overall count to 1,45,26,609 and the toll to 1,75,649, the health ministry said on Saturday. The case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.21 percent. The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has surpassed the 16-lakh mark, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed. Registering a steady increase for the 38th day in a row, the tally of active COVID-19 cases has climbed to 16,79,740 in the country, accounting for 11.56 percent of its total caseload. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has gone up to 1,26,71,220 thereby taking the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 87.23 percent, 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, crossed 80 lakh on 29 October, 90 lak

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday the ongoing Kumbh in Haridwar should now have symbolic participation due to the COVID-19 crisis. Modi tweeted that he spoke to Swami Avdheshanand Giri of Juna Akhara over telephone and inquired about the health of saints, many of whom have contracted the infection, and also conveyed his appreciation for their cooperation with the local administration. "I prayed that two 'shahi snans' have taken place and Kumbh (participation) should now be kept symbolic. This will boost the fight against this crisis," the prime minister tweeted in Hindi. मैंने प्रार्थना की है कि दो शाही स्नान हो चुके हैं और अब कुंभ को कोरोना के संकट के चलते प्रतीकात्मक ही रखा जाए। इससे इस संकट से लड़ाई को एक ताकत मिलेगी। @AvdheshanandG — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 17, 2021 Responding to Modi's call, Avdheshanand urged people to not come to the Kumbh mela for bathing in large numbers due to the COVID-19 situation and to follow the rule