PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday turned to India’s sporting heroes for support in the herculean battle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and more than 40 accomplished champions such as Virat Kohli and P V Sindhu responded by vowing to raise awareness and spirits amid a national lockdown. The athletes, along with Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, participated in nearly an hour-long video call which started at 11 am...

THREE alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a drone equipped with infrared camera which can help in thermal screening of groups without human intervention and identify suspected COVID-19 cases at an early stage once the lockdown is lifted. The drone also has a loudspeaker which can be used by personnel to monitor places especially with high disease prevalence and give appropriate instructions...

Ministry of Rural Development on Friday said that it is releasing a lump sum amount of Rs. 500 per head to women account holders under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) for April and the same have been credited to the designated accounts of individual banks on April 2. This follows the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26 regarding ex-gratia payment of Rs 500 for each woman PMJDY account holder for the next three months under the PM Garib Kalyan Package amid coronavirus ..

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged people to switch off the lights at their homes and light up lamps, candles or mobile phone torches for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5 to display the country’s “collective resolve” to defeat coronavirus. In a video message of over 11 minutes, Modi also asked people to maintain the “lakshman rekha” of social distancing by staying indoors and not getting together in groups during the exercise...

VICE President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged Governors and Lt Governors to motivate spiritual and religious leaders to advise their followers against holding congregations and practice social distancing to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. Addressing Governors, LGs and administrators along with President Ram Nath Kovind via video, Naidu also asked them to focus on the arrangements made to ensure harvesting, storage and procurement of agriculture produce in their respective States and Union ..

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday urged Muslims to observe Shab-e-Barat staying inside their homes and also suggested that the birth anniversary celebrations of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar be postponed to avoid a Nizamuddin congregation-like episode. Pawar said Ram Navami, being observed on Thursday, is celebrated with fervour every year across the country. “Unfortunately, there is this threat of coronavirus this year and we have to observe some restrictions...But I am sure people must be remembering ..

THE 21-day lockdown following the novel coronavirus outbreak has resulted in an increase in domestice violence cases, the National Commission of Women said on Thursday. “There have been different kinds of complaints related to the domestic violence, in which husbands are abusing them (women) and calling them COVID-19,” NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma told the media. “From March 24 till April 1, the NCW has received 69 domestic violence complaints and it is increasing day by day...

THE Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the state Government order to state-owned Bevco to supply liquor at the homes to those who got prescriptions from Government medical doctors about withdrawal symptoms and thus needing drinks. Congress MP T N Prathapan, who approached the court, said: “Just fail to understand why the Kerala Government has been so adamant on this instead of concentrating on its work to fight coronavirus spread...

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told Chief Ministers to focus on COVID-19 containment measures -- testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine -- in the next few weeks with a common goal to ensure minimum loss of life, and pitched for formulating a “staggered” exit strategy from the ongoing lockdown. ..

WITH 235 more people being confirmed positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,069 and the death toll to 53 in the country on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country is 1,860, while 155 people were either cured or discharged and one had migrated, it said. In its updated data at 6 pm, the Ministry reported three fresh deaths -- one from Gujarat and two from Delhi. Maharashtra has reported the most ..

THE number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra increased by 33 to 335 on Wednesday while six patients died, taking the death toll to 16, health officials said. Thirty of the new cases were found in Mumbai alone, two in Pune and one in Buldhana, said an official. The State had reported 302 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said earlier in the day that the number of cases would increase further because there were around 5,000 persons in “high-risk” category...

THE Centre Wednesday told the Supreme Court that 250 Indian pilgrims stranded in Qom, Iran, have tested positive for coronavirus and have not been evacuated, while over 500 have already been brought back. The top court observed that it is thinking of asking the Indian embassy to constantly monitor the situation and be in touch with the stranded Indians in Iran. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said it will pass the orders in favour of the petitioners and would ask the Indian embassy ..

RAILWAYS is scrambling to provide information regarding thousands of passengers who travelled on five trains with people who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, many of whom have tested positive. All these trains began from Delhi between March 13 and March 19 - the Duronto Express to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, the Grand Trunk Express to Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Express to Chennai, New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express and the AP Sampark Kranti Express...

THE coronavirus pandemic is a reminder of the interconnected nature of the world and the need for adopting a global response to it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday in a message to his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang. Modi, in the message to Li marking 70 years of diplomatic ties between India and China, also said good bilateral relations are conducive not only for the two countries, but also important from the perspective of peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world...

DELHI Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced Rs one crore for the families of healthcare personnel if they lose their lives while dealing with coronavirus cases in the national capital. Interacting with doctors, the Chief Minister said that at present, the Delhi Government gives Rs one crore to the families of soldiers belonging to the national capital if they die in the line of duty. “Your contribution is no less than a soldier’s...

THE Kerala Government has decided to issue special passes for tipplers, who have withdrawal symptoms and doctor’s prescription, to purchase liquor from the Excise department. A Government Order in this regard was issued on Monday night, despite objection from doctors’ association, to supply liquor to tipplers under..

AS MANY as 72 new coronavirus cases were detected in Maharashtra on Tuesday, 59 of them in Mumbai alone, taking the total number of COVID-19 patients in the State to 302, a health official said. This is the largest increase in the number of cases within a day probably in the country, the State official said. Besides Mumbai, Ahmednagar reported three cases, while two cases each came to light in Pune, Thane, Vasai, Virar and Kalyan-Dombivali cities, he added...

THE recovery of an elderly couple, aged 93 and 88, in Kerala from coronavirus in the face of high mortality rate in the older population globally due to the infection has brought a ray of hope to other patients, with some experts describing it as “rarest of the rare” case. Thomas and his wife Mariyamma, hailing from Ranni locality in Pathanamthitta municipality in Central Travancore region, tested positive and remained critical for days, before recovering completely from the infection...

IN A bid to encourage people to stay fit during lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a video of a yoga asan which he practices. “Whenever I get time, I practice Yoga Nidra once or twice a week,” he wrote on Twitter. Yoga nidra is known for relieving stress. “It furthers overall well-being, relaxes the mind, reduces stress and anxiety,” he wrote...

THE Supreme Court asked the Centre on Tuesday to prevent migration of people due to coronavirus and set up within 24 hours a portal for disseminating real time information on the pandemic to counter the panic being spread through fake news. “Panic will destroy more lives than the virus”, the top court said and asked the Centre to get trained counsellors and community leaders of all faiths to calm down the migrants, who are kept in shelter homes across the country...

THOUSANDS of prisoners in overcrowded jails across the country are being released on interim bail or parole in an unprecedented step to prevent the spread of coronavirus and also to avoid any clashes, as authorities scramble to stop the pandemic in its tracks. In Delhi’s Tihar prison that is bursting at the seams, 1,500 inmates..

AT A time when the world is fighting COVID-19 pandemic and several countries are grappling with the rising cases of coronavirus, the initiatives taken by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for containing the menace are being lauded by many activists and analysts worldwide. Speaking to ANI, an activist from ..

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Monday shared 3D animated videos of him performing yoga on Twitter to show how he remains fit. “During yesterday’s #MannKiBaat, someone asked me about my fitness routine during this time. Hence, thought of sharing these Yoga videos,” he tweeted. “I hope you also begin practising Yoga..

TAMIL Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has donated Rs one crore each to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund and Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund of Tamil Nadu, the Raj Bhawan said on Monday. The donation made from the Governor’s Discretionary Grant has been done to assist the Centre and State in their fight to tackle the spread of coronavirus, the release said..

THE coronavirus pandemic is expected to dampen economic growth “substantially” in the South Asian region, including India, and though the Central banks and Governments have responded by providing stimulus, the measures will not come close to offsetting the loss of economic activity, says a report. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said dense living conditions, low hygiene awareness and overburdened healthcare systems make the South Asian region vulnerable to the worst effects of an outbreak. “Chronic ..

INTERNATIONAL oil prices on Monday plunged to a 17-year low but retail petrol and diesel prices in India remained on freeze as oil companies continued to set off gains against the excise duty hiked by the Government. Brent crude futures dropped to around USD 23 per barrel - the lowest since November 2002, while US crude briefly dipped below USD 20 as coronavirus lockdowns dried up demand while the crude surplus ballooned. Petrol and diesel prices in India, however, remained on freeze for the 14th ..

THE New York city-based ‘India Abroad’, the iconic ethnic Indian-American weekly newspaper with a 50-year-long legacy, has announced the shut down of its print edition, a media report said. Founded by Indian-American publisher Gopal Raju in 1970, the oldest Indian newspaper in North America rose to great heights of popularity as it effectively filled the gap of a publication catering to the Indian diaspora in the US, said the American Bazaar in a report on Saturday...

AS THE clamour for protective gears to fight the novel coronavirus grows among healthcare workers in the State, a group of researchers of a premier institute has come up with a prototype of a face shield for those attending to COVID-19 patients. Santanu Dhara and Sangeeta Das Bhattacharya, researchers at the School of Medical Science and Technology, IIT Kharagpur, have designed the face shield with transparency sheet, sponge, folded paper, cardboard, rubber band and double-sided tape all of which ..

UTTAR Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday issued directions to officials to keep in quarantine the approximately one lakh people who have arrived in the State in the last three days from other parts of the country. According to a State Government spokesperson, Adityanath said that in the last three days, one lakh people have come to UP from other States...

VIROLOGIST Minal Dakhave Bhosale led from the front to create India’s first coronavirus testing kit even when she was in the last stage of her pregnancy. Bhosale’s efforts paid the price with her team delivering the testing kit in a record time of six weeks. Bhosale gave birth to a baby girl just a day before submitting the kit to the authorities for evaluation. “It was like giving birth to two babies,” Bhosale told PTI over the phone. The virologist said both the journeys - that happened in parallel ..

THE Centre on Sunday asked State Governments and Union Territory administrations to effectively seal State and district borders to stop movement of migrant workers during the nationwide lockdown and warned that those violating the curb will be sent to 14-day quarantine. During a video conference with Chief Secretaries and DGPs, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla asked them to ensure that there is no movement of people across cities or on highways as the lockdown continues. ..

INDIA, the world’s third largest energy consumer, has enough petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) in stocks to last way beyond the three-week nationwide lockdown as all plants and supply locations are fully operational, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) chairman Sanjiv Singh said. Singh, who continued to oversee the mammoth operations of ensuring that fuel reaches every nook and corner despite bereavement of his father on the day 21-day lockdown was declared, said there is no shortage of any fuel in the country ..

TATA Trusts on Saturday pledged Rs 500 crore for prevention and relief activities of the coronavirus pandemic. The philanthropic organisation, which hold 66 per cent in the holding firm of the Tata Group, Tata Sons, said the fund has been earmarked for personal protective equipment for medical personnel on the front lines..

FROM Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rating agencies and economists, all welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s steps to reduce the cost of borrowing and infusing liquidity in the market in its war against the impact of coronavirus pandemic. Following are the comments made by key leaders, businessmen and economists: * Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Today RBI has taken giant steps to safeguard our economy from the impact of the Coronavirus. The announcements will improve liquidity, reduce the cost of ..

RESEARCHERS claim that half of the patients they treated for mild COVID-19 infection still had the novel coronavirus for up to eight days after symptoms disappeared, a finding that explains why controlling the spread of the disease has been difficult. The research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, assessed 16 patients with COVID-19, who were treated and released from the Treatment Center of PLA General Hospital in Beijing between January 28 and February ..