LIVE: Next 40 days crucial, India may see Covid rise in Jan, say officials

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Live news updates: The next 40 days are going to be crucial as India may see a surge in Covid-19 cases in January, official sources said on Wednesday citing the pattern of previous outbreaks. "Previously, it has been noticed that a new wave of Covid-19 hits India around 30-35 days after it hits East Asia. This has been a trend," an official said.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said the entire state was happy over the resolution passed by the state legislature on the border dispute, and he was sure that no land would be ceded to Karnataka. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde earlier in the day moved a resolution in both houses which said the state shall pursue legal remedies to incorporate in Maharashtra 865 Marathi-speaking villages in border areas that are presently part of Karnataka. "Entire Maharashtra has supported and expressed joy over the resolution brought by the Shinde-Fadnavis government," Bawankule told reporters. "I am confident that the government will not cede even an inch of land," he added. 

Congress leader KC Venugopal has termed the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra as a "national padayatra" and said that the party will hoist the national flag in Kashmir. Congress general secretary Incharge Organisation KC Venugopal and AICC Incharge Jammu and Kashmir Rajani Patil on Monday met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to discuss the upcoming Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the Washington-Moscow relationship is at its lowest point. "Indeed, Russia-US relations are in an extremely poor state. They have become practically frozen through the fault of Washington. Its confrontational anti-Russia policy is becoming increasingly exacerbated and comprehensive. It is objectively impossible to maintain any kind of normal communication with the Biden administration...," Lavrov told TASS news agency in an interview.

10:14 PM

7 killed in stampede at Chandrababu rally in Kandukuru

Seven people were killed and some others injured in a stampede at a public rally of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu Kandukuru in erstwhile Praskasam district of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday. As milling crowds jostled, a few of them slipped into a canal. In the stampede that ensued, two persons were killed and five others were injured. The bodies and the injured persons were shifted a hospital. Chinna Kondaiah of Gudlur mandal and Kakumanu Raja of Kandukur town died on the spot when they fell in an open drain.

 

 

7:31 PM

Serum Institute to provide 2 crore Covishield doses to central govt free of cost

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has offered two crore doses of Covishield vaccine to the central government free of cost amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in some countries, official sources said on Wednesday. According to an official source, Prakash Kumar Singh, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Serum Institute, has written to the Health Ministry offering the doses worth Rs 410 crore free of cost.It is learnt that Singh has sought to know from the ministry how the the delivery can be made.

 

6:22 PM

Centre has no plan to bring back mask mandate as of now: Report

The Centre reportedly has no plan to bring back the mask mandate as of now, despite the surge in Covid cases in some countries, including neighbouring China.Mirror Now, quoting sources, claimed that the government will now focus more on awareness.India reported a total 188 fresh Covid cases on Wednesday in the last 24 hrs, against 157 cases reported the previous day.

 

5:52 PM

Serum Institute to provide 2 crore Covishield doses to central govt free of cost; Sources

The Serum Institute of India (SII) has offered two crore doses of Covishield vaccine to the central government free of cost amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in some countries, official sources tell PTI.

According to an official source, Prakash Kumar Singh, director of government and regulatory affairs at the Serum Institute, has written to the health ministry offering the doses worth Rs 410 crore free of cost.

It is learnt that Singh has sought to know from the ministry how the delivery can be made.

SII has so far provided more than 170 crore doses of Covishield to the government for the national immunisation programme.

Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in some countries, including China and South Korea, the government has sounded an alert and asked states and Union territories to prepare for any eventuality.

 

5:40 PM

Boundary row: Mumbai belongs to Maharashtra, not to anyone's father, says Fadnavis

Strongly condemning remarks by some Karnataka leaders amid a raging boundary dispute with Karnataka, Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis says Mumbai belongs to the state and "not to anyone's father".

Speaking in the legislative assembly, Fadnavis says state's feelings will be conveyed to the Karnataka government and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Raising the issue in the House, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party said, "Law minister (of Karnataka) Madhu Swamy has demanded that Mumbai be made a Union territory. (BJP's) Laxman Savadi said Mumbai belongs to Karnataka and has rubbed salt on the Marathi people's wounds," Pawar said.

5:36 PM

SC to hear on January 2 plea against forced religious conversions

The Supreme Court will hear on January 2 a fresh plea seeking directions to the Centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversions by "intimidation, threatening, deceivingly luring through gifts and monetary benefits".

A bench of justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar is likely to take up the plea filed by advocate Ashutosh Kumar Shukla which has also sought creation of a special task force to keep check on deceitful religious conversions.

Contending that the State is obliged to protect fundamental rights of the citizens, the plea said the right to propagate one's religion does not give a right to convert any person to one's own religion.

5:20 PM

Former Maha minister Anil Deshmukh walks out of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, who has been granted bail by the Bombay high court in a corruption case,  walked out of the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai on Wednesday evening after a special CBI court issued the release order.

A vacation bench of the high court had on Tuesday rejected the CBI's plea seeking extension on the stay to Deshmukh's bail order.

Justice M S Karnik had granted bail to the NCP leader on December 12, but stayed the order for ten days as the CBI sought time to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

"I have full faith in judiciary. The high court has observed that I was implicated in a false case," Deshmukh said, as senior NCP leaders including Ajit Pawar welcomed him outside the jail.

In April this year, the CBI arrested him in a corruption case.

 

5:14 PM

Mallikarjun Kharge wishes speedy recovery to PM Narendra Modi's mother

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday wished a speedy recovery to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother after she was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad.

"We wish for the good health of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji's mother. Hope she gets well soon," Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.

 

4:42 PM

'Next 40 days crucial as India may see surge in Covid cases in January'

The next 40 days are going to be crucial as India may see a surge in Covid-19 cases in January, official sources tell PTI, citing the pattern of previous outbreaks.

"Previously, it has been noticed that a new wave of Covid-19 hits India around 30-35 days after it hits East Asia...This has been a trend," an official said.

The health ministry sources, however, said the severity of the infection is less. Even if there is a wave, deaths and hospitalisation will be very low, they said.

 

4:39 PM

Home Minister Amit Shah reviews security situation, development programmes in JK

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday reviewed the security situation and development issues in Jammu and Kashmir, where four heavily-armed terrorists who had come from Pakistan were killed early this morning, officials said.

In the pre-scheduled meeting, the home minister reviewed the prevailing security situation in the Union Territory and steps taken to deal with the Pakistan-backed terrorists and maintain peace.

The development programmes being carried out in the UT were also discussed threadbare at the meeting, an official said.

The meeting was attended by Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, senior officials of the ministry, paramilitary forces, the Jammu and Kashmir administration and police.

4:38 PM

Rahul wishes speedy recovery to PM Modi's mother, says 'love between mother and son eternal, priceless'

Rahul Gandhi has wished speedy recovery to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother, Hiraben, who was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad following health issues.

"The love between a mother and a son is eternal and priceless," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

"Modi ji, my love and support is with you in this difficult time. I hope your mother gets well soon," he said.

Hiraben Modi, 100, has been admitted to U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre. Her condition is stable, the hospital has said.

3:15 PM

ED attaches assets worth Rs 1.88 crore of former Odisha govt cleaning staffer in PMLA case

Assets worth Rs 1.88 crore of a former cleaning assistant working with the Odisha government have been attached under the anti-money laundering law, the Enforcement Directorate says.

The properties belong to Lingaraj Jena, a former 'safei mohareer' (cleaning assistant) in the office of the additional sub-collector (settlement) in Puri district.

The money laundering case of the ED stems from a case of alleged possession of disproportionate assets filed by the Odisha vigilance directorate against Jena.

 

3:05 PM

Andhra CM Jagan Reddy meets PM Modi, discusses Polavaram project

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed state issues and reiterated his demand for the release of pending funds for the Polavaram irrigation project.

In the nearly 50-minute meeting held at Modi's residence at Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi, Reddy underlined that his state has already spent about Rs 2,900 crore on the Polavaram project so far which the central government has not yet reimbursed.

He said his government is facing a resource crunch and requested the Centre to provide Rs 10,000-crore fund on an ad hoc basis for early completion of the project, official sources said.

The chief minister also sought early approval of the revised cost estimate of the Polavaram project pegged at Rs 55,548.87 crore.

2:30 PM

Air India not govt controlled; no longer amenable to writ jurisdiction: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a plea against Air India by the Indian Airlines Officers Association seeking pay and allowance arrears, saying the airline has ceased to be a government-controlled company and is no longer amenable to its writ jurisdiction.

Justice Jyoti Singh observed that the petition was undoubtedly maintainable when it was filed in 2016 on account of Air India then being a public body but with the change of circumstance with respect to its ownership, the court is precluded from granting the relief sought in the present proceedings.

It is an admitted position that during the pendency of the present writ petition, on 27.01.2022, 100 per cent shareholding of Air India has been acquired by M/s. Talace Pvt. Ltd. and Air India having ceased to be a Government controlled company, is no longer amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court.The writ petition cannot be entertained, said the court in its recent order.

 

2:17 PM

No other option but to implement IMF deal: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that his government has no other option but to implement the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to revive the cash-starved economy.

He regretted that if the government wanted to give any subsidy in any sector, it had to go to the IMF "which is a factor and a painful reality", the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Sharif as saying during a meeting on Tuesday.

The prime minister also said that the agreement with the IMF was blatantly breached by the Imran Khan-led PTI government in the past.