LIVE updates: BJP to contest all 117 Punjab seats, says state party chief

Bharatiya Janata Party chief JP Nadda on Sunday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the "bold decision" of lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic

9:26 AM

Preparations begin for BJP National Executive Committee meeting at Delhi

Preparations are in full swing for Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive meeting that will be held at the NDMC Convention Centre in Delhi on Sunday.

 

The meeting is expected to deliberate on recent by-poll results and decide on the strategy for upcoming Assembly elections.

 

The five-hour-long meeting is expected to start at 10 am today and the opening speech will be delivered by JP Nadda and culminate with the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

The meeting will be attended by 124 party members of which some leaders will attend through video conferencing.

 

9:20 AM

Petrol, diesel prices remain unchanged for third consecutive day

After big cuts in petrol and diesel prices following the Centre and states reducing taxes, fuel prices have remained unchanged providing further relief to consumers.

 

Accordingly, petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the third consecutive day on Sunday under the daily price revision mechanism followed by oil marketing companies.

 

So, the pump price of petrol in Delhi, which fell to Rs 103.97 a litre at 6 a.m. on Thursday from previous days level of Rs 110.04 a litre, remains at the same level on Sunday. The diesel prices also remained unchanged in the capital at Rs 86.67 a litre.

 

In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol continues to be priced at Rs 109.98 a litre and diesel Rs 94.14 a litre.

9:14 AM

Kerala CM inaugurates Arippara Hydro Electric Project

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday inaugurated the Arippara Hydro Electric Project completed by Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) which will generate 14 million units of electricity in a year.

 

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony virtually, Vijayan said, "Power generation should not be dependent on renewable energy sources alone. The left government have started many domestic power generation projects in the last five years."

9:14 AM

Bengal BJP to go for organisational change soon: Dilip Ghosh

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will have an organistional change soon, said party vice president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday.

 

"The party president and general secretary (Organisation) will talk to our state teamand on the basis of that, there will be some organizational change. Now the executive meeting is being held after a long time, after about one and a half years," said the former West Bengal BJP chief.

 

Ghosh said BJP president JP Nadda, union ministers, central office bearers of the party will be present in the meeting. The state leadership of the party will join the meeting virtually.

9:00 AM

BJP National Executive meet on Sunday, PM to deliver valedictory address

To discuss the forthcoming Assembly elections in five states and other current issues, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s National Executive meeting will be held on Sunday in the national capital, during which Prime Minister Modi will deliver a valedictory address.

 

This will be the first meeting of the BJP's key decision-making body, the National Executive Committee (NEC) after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well as the first during the party chief J.P Nadda's tenure.

 

The meeting will begin with Nadda's inaugural speech and will end with Modi's address.

 

It will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

8:44 AM

China reports 50 local cases as Covid outbreak continues to grow

China reported 50 new local Covid-19 infections on Saturday, as authorities said stringent curbs will remain to disrupt the virus’s domestic transmission.

 

Hebei province, which is close proximity to Beijing, reported 21 new cases, the National Health Commission said on its website. Chinese authorities are ring-fencing the capital city against the escalating pandemic outbreak ahead of the Winter Olympics.

8:30 AM

Karnataka: BBMP allows Anganwadis, playschools to reopen from Nov 8

Keeping in place all the COVID-19 protocols, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has allowed reopening Anganwadis and playschools from November 8 within the limits of BBMP as per recommendations of the Technical advisory committee.

 

As per an order issued by BBMP on Saturday, it said that the COVID-19 protocols will be followed in the schools and the physical classes will resume in the areas where Testing Positivity Rate is less than 2 per cent.

 

"All teachers should be fully vaccinated. They have to take consent letters from children's parents," the order said.

8:30 AM

Delhi air quality continues to remain in 'severe' category with AQI of 436

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi continues to remain in the 'severe' category, informed the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) on Sunday.

 

As per SAFAR's analysis at 6:15 am today, Delhi's overall air quality was found to be in 'severe' category with the AQI standing at 436.

 

However, Delhi's AQI was 437 on Saturday night wherein the concentration of PM 2.5 was 318, while that of PM 10 was reported to be 448.

8:29 AM

Nagaland reports 17 new COVID-19 cases, 1 more death

Nagaland's COVID-19 caseload rose to 31,922 on Saturday with the detection of 17 new infections, six more than the previous day, a health department official said.

 

The state's coronavirus death toll rose to 689 after a patient died in Dimapur district, he said.

 

Of the new cases, Dimapur reported 13 while Kiphire, Kohima, Mokokchung, and Phek districts reported one each.

 

8:29 AM

West Bengal pandemic scenario improves

Bengal's COVID-19 pandemic scenario improved slightly on Saturday with 670 fresh cases reported from different parts of the state taking the caseload in the state to 15,97,765, the health department said.

 

The state had reported 763 new cases of the contagion on Friday and 918 cases the day before.

 

The city also witnessed a decline in COVID infection as 181 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the department said in a bulletin.