LIVE: Delhi reports 535 fresh Covid cases & 0 death in the last 24 hours

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Delhi reports 535 fresh Covid cases & 0 death in the last 24 hours. Positivity rate stands at 23.05 per cent.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has escaped unhurt after his car was hit by a truck in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, said the police.

A fully loaded truck hit his car near Ramban along Jammu- Srinagar Highway, said cops. No one was injured in the incident, the cops added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Secunderabad-Tirupati Vande Bharat Express during his Telangana visit on Saturday. The redevelopment of Secunderabad Railway Station, at a cost of Rs 720 crore, will involve a major makeover with world-class amenities and an aesthetically designed iconic station building, reported ANI, citing the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The redeveloped station would have a double-level spacious roof plaza with all passenger amenities in one place along with multimodal connectivity for providing seamless transfer of passengers from rail to other modes among others, read a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

CR Kesavan, former Congress leader and great-grandson of India's first Indian Governor-General, C Rajagopalachari, joins BJP

India on Saturday recorded 6,155 fresh Covid-19 infections, while the number of active cases increased to 31,194, according to Union health ministry data. India's Covid-19 tally now stands at 44.7 million (44,751,259). The death toll climbed to 530,954 with 11 deaths, including two reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. At 31,194, the active cases comprise 0.07 per cent of the total infections. The national Covid-19 recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent, according to the health ministry website.

Going big on the textile industry, and under the 'Make in India' effort, the government has planned to set up seven mega textile parks under PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme. These parks will be set up in 7 states namely; Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

BJP and Congress leaders took swipe at each other on Friday during the poll battle in Karnataka as electioneering gathered pace in the southern state with almost a month left for polling. While the Congress taunted BJP over "delay" in the declaration of its candidate's list, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai hit back saying that the opposition party in the state did not have candidates on many seats and got them from other parties.

11:10 PM

Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) decreases CNG prices with effect from April 9

Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) decreases CNG prices with effect from April 9. CNG will now cost Rs 73.59 per kg in Delhi while Rs 77.20 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida & Ghaziabad, Rs 82.62 per kg in Gurugram.

11:09 PM

Haryana Govt makes wearing face masks mandatory in public places

6:37 PM

Capacity of Chennai airport increase by 50% today: Scindia

6:11 PM

President took a historic sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam

2:48 PM

Centre withdraws 3 TN coal blocks from auction list after Stalin's letter

Government has excluded three coal mines situated in Tamil Nadu's protected agricultural zone, from auction, after state's chief minister M.K. Stalin had urged the Centre to do so.

Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 4 to exclude three coal/lignite mining blocks located in the state's Cauvery delta region from the proposed coal block auction by the Centre.

The development, however, took a political twist after union Coal and Mines minister Pralhad Joshi tweeted on Friday that the decision was taken as the Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai had requested him to do so.

2:47 PM

Rise in Covid cases in Delhi: Hospitals, polyclinics asked to ramp up testing

Hospitals, polyclinics and dispensaries in Delhi have been instructed by health department authorities to scale up testing amid an upward trend in COVID-19 cases here in the past several days, sources said on Saturday.

More than 3,800 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the city during the March 30-April 7 period.

Delhi logged 733 Covid cases -- the highest in over seven months -- on Friday, with a positivity rate of 19.93 per cent, according to data shared by the city government's health department.

2:46 PM

End attack on Antony for his son's deeds: Cong

Senior Congress leader and UDF convenor M.M. Hassan on Saturday requested to stop the attack on the social media against veteran Congressman A.K. Antony after his elder son Anil Antony exited Congress and joined the BJP.

Hassan is a long time neighbour of Antony in the state capital city besides being a member in the cabinet of Antony during 2001-04.

Hassan said what's going on now is the huge social media attack against Antony for what his son did.

"We all saw and heard the harsh words that Antony said about what his son did. Mind you, his son is also a grown up personality and he can seek his way forward, but why blame Antony. This social media attack should stop," said Hassan.

2:46 PM

Covid: Mock drill in TN on Apr 10-11 to check preparedness to counter surge

The Tamil Nadu health department will conduct a mock drill to assess the prepared of the department in curbing the possibilities of a Covid-19 surge. The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in many districts of Tamil Nadu have touched above 5 indicating that things are not rosy.

However state Health Minister, Ma Subramanian expressed confidence in bringing things under control and told people not to worry about the slight increase in Covid cases. The minister has called upon people to strictly abide by the Covid protocol put forward by the government including wearing masks, safe distancing and washing hands regularly.

The minister said that the variant of Omicron that is present in the country was not lethal and hence called upon the people not to worry much but to be cautious.

2:45 PM

Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Arunachal village along China border on April 10-11

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on April 10 and 11 where he will launch the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' in Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government of India has approved the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' (VVP) with central components of Rs 4,800 crore, including Rs 2,500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26, a home ministry statement said on Saturday.

The VVP is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development.

2:40 PM

Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar mocks publicity around CM's Ayodhya visit

Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday slammed the "publicity" around the Ayodhya visit of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and also ridiculed relentless media updates on the latter's programme there.

Shinde will be proceeding to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh by helicopter on Sunday after arriving in Lucknow later in the evening on Saturday.

Shinde will offer prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple and the Ram temple, see the ongoing construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, perform evening 'aarti' on the banks of the Saryu river, meet seers, address a press conference and then return to Mumbai, as per the CM's aides.

2:39 PM

BJP chief holds meeting with K'taka leaders on probable candidates for assembly polls

A day before a meeting to finalise candidates for the Karnataka assembly polls, BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday held discussions with key state leaders, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BS Yediyurappa, on probable names.

The BJP's parliamentary board will meet on Sunday to finalise candidates for the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka assembly.

Before the discussions started, Chief Minister Bommai said, "We will discuss about all probable candidates. We have district and constituency wise details and recent survey outcomes. Keeping all that in mind, we will have a detailed discussion with national leaders."

2:39 PM

"Telangana needs to be wary of people nurturing dynastic rule, graft": PM Modi in Hyderabad

In a veiled attack on Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao-led government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Telangana needs to be very careful of people who nurture dynastic rule, nepotism and corruption.

Prime Minister Modi said he was pained at the non-cooperation of state government in the Centre's projects.

Addressing the gathering at Parade Ground, Hyderabad, PM Modi said, "Serving people with utmost devotion is our primary goal. But I am very pained about one thing... It hurts a lot when the development and welfare measures by the central government do not fructify well due to hindrances posed by state governments. This has been happening in Telangana."

2:09 PM

Due to lack of support from state government, several central govt projects getting delayed: PM Modi

1:34 PM

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on April 10-11

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on April 10-11, 2023. On the first day of his visit, he will launch the ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ in Kibithoo, a border village in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh on April 10, 2023.

12:53 PM

China holds military drills around Taiwan after Prez Tsai's US visit

China announced it will conduct military drills “around” Taiwan island for three days from Saturday, after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from visits to the US.

The People’s Liberation Army will hold drills and patrols in airspace and waters on the north, south and east sides of Taiwan from April 8 to 10, Eastern Theater Command spokesman Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement on Saturday.

The exercises will be conducted “according to plan,” Shi said, adding that they are a “stern warning against Taiwan separatist forces’ collusion with foreign elements.” He didn’t mention Tsai’s visits to New York and Los Angeles, which included meetings with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other US lawmakers.