Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification this afternoon freezing Dearness Allowance (DA) to its employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners at current rates till July 2021. The additional installments, due on January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021, will not be paid. However, DA and DR at current rates will continue to be paid.
The government is likely to save Rs. 37,530 crore in the Financial Year 2020-21 and 2021-22 on account of this decision, sources told The Indian Express. As state governments normally follow the Centre's orders on DA/DR, it is estimated that states could save Rs. 82,566 crore by implementing similar orders. Thus, the total anticipated saving of the Centre and states will be Rs. 1.20 lakh crore, which will be used to fight the Covid-19 battle and its fallout.
In other news, a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) was held this morning, during which party president Sonia Gandhi said an extension of the lockdown would be even more devastating as it has caused acute hardship and distress to society. During the meeting, former PM Manmohan Singh said the key to success against the virus was cooperation between the Centre and states.
AMID INCIDENTS of violence against healthcare personnel deployed in fighting COVID-19, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared an ordinance to make such attacks a non-bailable offence, with a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
Briefing reporters on the Cabinet decision, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, will cover all healthcare personnel, including ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers at the community level. The amendments will also apply to harassment by landlords and neighbours.
According to the proposed amendments, if the injuries inflicted are not grievous, the jail term may range from three months to five years, and the fine will be Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh.
Lack of virus testing stokes fears in world’s refugee camps
There are over 70 million people worldwide who have been driven from their homes by war and unrest, up to 10 million are packed into refugee camps and informal settlements, and almost none have been tested for the coronavirus.
While the relative isolation of many camps may have slowed the virus’ spread, none is hermetically sealed. Without testing, the virus can spread unchecked until people start showing symptoms. If it does, there will be few if any intensive care beds or ventilators. There might not even be gloves or masks.
Explained: Can Covid-19 spread from the faeces of an infected person?
If someone going outdoors during the lockdown needs to use a public toilet, or if someone shares a toilet at home with someone who might have contracted COVID-19, is there a risk of being infected through the faeces of the infected person? The short answer: it is possible in theory, but very unlikely to happen.
Emerging information on the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2, which causes COVID-19 disease, suggests that the virus can be present in some cases. But as the Health Ministry notes in its FAQs, spread of the novel coronavirus through the faecal route is not the main feature of the outbreak. The primary route remains droplets from an infected person coughing or sneezing. Spread through this route is far more common than spread through touching infected objects and then touching one’s face, mouth or nose.
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Ramzan, the holy Islamic month of fasting and prayers, will start on Friday in the Gulf region amid the global coronavirus outbreak and severe restrictions imposed to check the spread of the killer disease.
In the UAE, the Moon Sighting Committee announced on Thursday that the moon marking the beginning of the month of Ramzan has been sighted and that April 24 will be the first day of the fasting month. This year is expected to be an extremely low-key Ramzan with social-distancing imposed across the world, including Saudi Arabia which is home to Islam's holiest shrines.
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"Based on the sighting of the new month's moon, it has been decided that Friday is the start of the month of Ramzan," the Saudi Arabian Royal Court was quoted by the official SPA news agency. However, the country's COVID-19 Follow-up Committee has asked citizens to continue adhering to the advice and instructions of the Ministry of Health during the fasting month. (PTI)
Three Soldier Craftsmen undergoing training at Military Station Baroda are part of the 217 cases reported in Vadodara until Thursday. Late on Thursday evening, the defence PRO Wing Commander Puneet Chaddha confirmed that three personnel have been shifted to the SSG hospital for further treatment.
According to the defence spokesperson, the three personnel tested Covid19 positive on April 22. "All protocols and necessary actions have been taken by the Army authorities. All three jawans have been admitted to SSG hospital," the statement said. The three personnel-- one aged 32 and two aged 29 -- do not have a travel history and were on training at the military station in Sama area since February 20.
The Army spokesperson said that the three personnel were advised to undergo Covid19 screening during a checkup for the entire formation. Vadodara Municipal Corporation authorities confirmed that the three cases had been reported under the jurisdiction. Further Investigations and contact tracing is underway.
With industries shut and people indoors, the Yamuna river appeared cleaner as pollution levels dropped significantly.
Two accused in the Padarayanapura violence who were arrested and lodged at Ramanagara district jail test positive for COVID19. Former CM HD Kumaraswamy has urged the Karnataka government to shift all 54 Padarayanapura violence accused from the jail.
At least 54 people were arrested on Monday for allegedly trying to clear the barricades and vandalise a pandal put up at Padarayanapura in Bengaluru, which has been sealed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to contain the spread of COVID19.
According to the officials, the mob started protesting and vandalising the barricades when civic body officials along with the ASHA workers arrived there on Sunday evening to take 58 secondary contacts of a deceased COVID-19 patient into government quarantine centre. The area was sealed after 10 positive cases until 17 April were reported from here.
In an effort to keep strict vigil along the Indo-Myanmar border with increasing cases of COVID-19 in Myanmar, security have been beefed up in the border areas, particularly in Churachandpur district of Manipur. A company of India Reserve Battalion (IRB) has been dispatched to Behiang village, bordering Myanmar in Churachandpur district, as an unconfirmed report surfaced that four villagers of Tiddim village in Myanmar tested positive for COVID-19.
A low-cost method of testing coronavirus or COVID-19 developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, has reportedly been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). According to a press release from the institute, the COVID-19 detection assay was developed by a research team from IIT-Delhi’s Kusuma School of Biological Sciences (KSBS).
The institute claims “the assay was validated with a sensitivity and specificity of 100 per cent”. This makes IIT-Delhi the first academic institute to have obtained ICMR approval for a real-time PCR-based diagnostic assay. Read the full story here
While the nationwide lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus has brought a baggage of woes for everyone, the disabled living in a Tripura slum are faced with an uncertainty and no respite in sight.
At least one sixth of 60 families living at the Purba Pratapgarh Ramakrishna Basti in the outskirts of Agartala city consist of members suffering from physical disabilities. Barring one, none has, so far, received any government benefit, including the disabled pension scheme, despite having credentials certifying their physical or mental challenges. Read the full story by Debraj Deb here
A 75-year-old woman from Bantwal with history of hypertension, stroke and pneumonia died of COVID-19 at Wenlock District Hospital, Dakshina Kannada, on Thursday.With this, the death toll in Karnataka now stands at 18.
Two more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Gurgaon Thursday, while nine others recovered and were discharged. Total cases in the district now 47, of who 35 have recovered. Gurgaon District Magistrate revised the list of containment zones — 10 in Gurgaon city, 11 in Sohna, three in Pataudi. Gurgaon areas include Sun City, Sector 47, Sector 39, Jharsa village, Devi Lal Colony, Jharsa village, Om Nagar, Meghdoot Apartments.
The Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom has emerged as being among the worst affected minority groups in the coronavirus pandemic, according to official data on the deaths in hospitals across England. Those identifying with Indian ethnicity made up the largest chunk under the ethnicity breakdown of data, at around 3 per cent of the overall death toll, adding up to 420 deaths. More details here.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today announced that the Covid labs set up at the Pariyaram Government Medical College at Kannur and the Kottayam Medical College has got the approval from ICMR for Coronavirus testing. The lab at Kannur Medical College will start functioning from tomorrow.
The UV sterilised lab, spread over 2,200 sq. ft., is equipped with four real-time PCR machines. In the first phase, this lab will be able to do 15 tests per day which will be gradually increased to conduct 60 tests in the next phase.
Minister of External Affairs talked with his counterparts in Russia, Brazil, United States, Saudi Arabia and Oman. "The changing world of corona era diplomacy. Strong friendships thrive even virtually. A busy day talking to Foreign Ministers of Russia, Brazil, United States, Saudi Arabia and Oman," Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.
After the first COVID-19 patient recovered and was discharged from hospital on April 16, the second coronavirus patient from Tripura tested negative on Thursday. With this the state has become corona-free, declared Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. Taking to Twitter, Deb wrote “UPDATE! The Second corona patient of Tripura has been found NEGATIVE after consecutive tests. Hence our State has become Corona free. I request everyone to maintain Social distancing and follow Government guidelines. Stay Home Stay Safe."
Eight more persons tested positive for Covid-19 at Yavatmal on Thursday, taking the cumulative total in the district to 24. "We had taken some people into institutional quarantine after tracing those who had come in contact with a Tablighi traveller who had tested positive earlier. Of them, eight more were found to be Covid-19 positive on Thursday taking the cumulative total in the district to 24," Yavatmal Collector M D Singh said. "Ten persons have so far been discharged after treatment," he added.
Meanwhile, these are the top devlopments on corovairus situation globally
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his American counterpart Mike Pompeo on Thursday spoke over phone and discussed bilateral and international cooperation to contain and mitigate the novel coronavirus.
Four children under the age of 10 years tested COVID-19 positive today in Tamil Nadu.
Pakistan said on Thursday that it was concerned over what it called a “systematic campaign” against Muslims in India amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country. India on Sunday trashed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments alleging targeting of Muslims in the country in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said, “a systematic campaign is unfortunately underway in India to demonize Muslims who face increased exclusion as well as threat of mob violence.” Read more
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday unveiled via video link a Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) developed by DRDO that will help in speeding up COVID-19 screening, a statement said. The first such Mobile Viral Research Lab (MVRL) that will speed up coronavirus screening and related R&D activities was developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), the Hyderabad-based laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in consultation with ESIC Hospital, Hyderabad, the statement said. (PTI)
Watch today's top developments in coronavirus situation across India and world
The Union government Thursday said no legal action will be taken against the CEO of a company nor a factory will be sealed in case an employee tests positive for COVID-19. In a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said some apprehensions, based on wrong interpretation of the guidelines, have been raised in the media and by some companies having manufacturing facilities. (PTI)
Srivastav said that India has gifted 5 million HCQ tablets to countries in the neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, Eurasia and West Asia- North Africa regions."We are also providing 1.32 million paracetamol tablets to our neighbouring and other partner countries," Srivastava added.
MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, "We have given clearance to commercial consignments of around 285 million HCQ tablets to 40 countries. Commercial consignments of around 500 million paracetamol tablets for 60 countries have also been cleared."
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that six SUV-sized high speed testing machines, which are in high demand, are being sourced from Roche in USA. Apprising the media of the kind of help India has extended to other countries till now, Srivastava said, "We have gifted 5 million HCQ tablets to countries in the neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, Eurasia and West Asia- North Africa regions."
With very few vehicles on roads, only essential commercial units functioning due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown and a weather favourable for dispersion of pollutants, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has reported 46 per cent reduction in PM2.5 levels and 50 per cent depletion in PM10 concentrations in the national capital.
The apex pollution control body has analysed data from continuous ambient air quality monitoring network of 38 stations in Delhi between March 16 and April 15. Air quality trends have been studied in two phases — pre-lockdown phase of March 16 to 21 and the lockdown phase from March 25 to April 15.
In its report, the CPCB said, “Significant reduction in PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 levels observed. Overall, 46 per cent reduction in PM2.5 and 50 per cent reduction in PM10 concentration observed during the lockdown period.”
Two COVID-19 patients who were discharged from a hospital in Patan district of North Gujarat after they had tested negative, tested positive for a second time on April 22 after their mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Following this, district health authorities have readmitted them to Patan Civil Hospital in Dharpur as per treatment protocol. The two patients are a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman, both natives of Sidhpur.
District Development Officer of Patan, DK Parekh said that a total of nine patients had recovered from COVID-19 at Patan Civil Hospital around a week back. After being discharged, all nine patients were shifted to a quarantine facility in Sidhpur. After the completion of their quarantine period, when their tests were conducted again before letting them return home, seven patients tested negative and two tested positive.
Ten fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Kerala on Thursday, taking the total active cases in the state to 129 with 23,000 people under observation, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Four of the new cases were reported from the high range Idukki district, two each from Kozhikode and Kottayam and one case each from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, he said in his daily media briefing on the disease situation.
SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) distributed 1 million meals in 27 days of lockdown across 8 states of the country. Children in orphanages, daily wage earners, transgender communities, women-headed households, tribal families, slum dwellers, socially marginalised groups and commercial sex workers were reached out.The organisation has also launched a special helpline +91-9821746747 to provide immediate emergency assistance so that those in dire need can get speedy help and guidance.
In view of the extension of the lockdown in several states, Essar Foundation has decided to increase its ongoing commitment of providing 1.25 million meals to 2 million meals to the poor and needy affected in India. Apart from the provision for daily meals, Essar Foundation has also donated 150,000 masks and sanitisers to hospitals, police stations and BMC workers, 5,000 PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to hospitals and police stations. Relief material is being distributed across Maharashtra, the state most acutely affected by the pandemic, and in the vicinity states like Gujarat, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
A month into the nationwide lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India have risen to 21,700, including 16,689 active cases, 4,325 recoveries and 686 deaths. Express photographers brings to you exclusive lockdown pictures from across the country. Click here to see more
Over 1,000 elderly people of Kolkata and five districts of south Bengal have received pension at their doorstep during the last fortnight of the lockdown, thanks to the efforts of the India Post. Payments to the tune of more than Rs 90 lakh have been made to these people of North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad and Birbhum, besides the city, said Postmaster General of Kolkata Region, Niraj Kumar. "We are not charging anything for this service. Our objective is to help people especially the elderly and the needy, when they are unable to come out of their homes due to the lockdown," Kumar told PTI on Thursday. (PTI)
Punjab recorded 26 more cases on Thursday taking the total to 283.
According to the latest update by Home Ministry, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India have risen to 21,700, including 16,689 active cases, 4,325 recoveries and 686 deaths.
145 people recovered from COVID-19 in Karnataka so far. Total coronavirus positive cases till now is 445 and toll is 17.
It is important to reach out to patients who are missing out of treatment because of the stigma and panic, said Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS director, adding that it is important to see patients as symbols of hope and victory not stigmatise. "It is important to encourage more and more people to get tested, get treated," he said.
Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS director, said the ordinance, bringing in 7 years of jail punishment for attack on healthcare workers, passed on Wednesday would go a long way in protecting and boosting the morale of healthcare workers. He also pointed out patients are facing unjustified stigma which in turn is causing increase in mortality and morbidity because people coming for treatment only when symptoms worsen.
Here are some more pointers from goverment presser
# There were only 14,915 tests done till March 23 and now they have crossed 5 lakh in a month, said C K Mishra chairman empowered group 2. "We are conscious that we need to ramp up testing, will continue to do that," he added.
# When US did 5 lakh tests they had 80k positive, India has 20k positive
# Growth has been linear no exponential
# The percentage positivity has not changed too much with increased testing
# There are 1,94,026 isolation beds and 24,644 ICU beds in 3,773 facilities; 12,371 ventilators too.
Some important pointers from government presser
# Total 21,393 cases so far; recovery rate over 19%, said Health Ministry
# 12 districts with no new cases in 28 days
# No new cases in 78 districts for 14 days
# Ministry of Home Affairs told states to exempt senior citizens' caregivers, and pre-paid mobile recharge services from lockdown, said P S Srivastava Joint Secretary, MHA.
# Electrical shops, book shops will remain open
# Mosques will remain closed
Ministry of Health presser underway.
The Thane Police crime branch on Thursday arrested 25 members of the Tablighi Jamaat against whom two FIRs had been registered at the Mumbra police station on April 2. The sections included violation of lockdown guidelines and tourist visa rules. They were produced before a court and released on bail on Thursday as per a crime branch officer. The two groups including Bangladeshi and Malaysian nationals had also visited the Nizamuddin Markaz congregation at Delhi that later emerged a COVID-19 hotspot. Those arrested include 13 Bangladeshi and eight Malaysian nationals against whom an FIR has been registered. According to the police, they were huddled together at a mosque in Mumbra and did not observe social distancing measures.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar urged Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to run special long-distance trains from Mumbai and Pune after the lockdown ends on May 3 to ferry migrants workers stuck in Maharashtra to their native states. According to an official statement, in a letter to
Goyal, Pawar said that the migrant workers, stranded across Maharashtra, may step out in large numbers to return to their states after May 3 when the train services will resume. This can lead to a law and order situation and the Railway Ministry should run special trains to avoid this, he demanded.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said he has ordered detailed audit of every COVID-19 death by experts to understand and check the high mortality rate in the state. The government is also strengthening its pandemic containment measures under the guidance of an expert team.
The mortality numbers in the state were high largely due to co-morbidity and lack of health-seeking behaviour (patients come late to hospital), said Captain Amarinder. Despite the high mortality rate of 6.2%, the rate of growth of COVID-19 in the Punjab was lower than India, with the cases doubling in 16 days against the national average of 9 days. In percentage terms, cases in Punjab had steadily declined from 2.57% of the total cases in India (as of March 31) to 1.22% in 3 weeks (till April 22), showing effective containment of COVID-19 in the state, said Captain.
Karnataka passes ordinance to prevent attack on healthcare workers. Those attacking public servants will face three years imprisonment and Rs 50,000 penalty. Also, twice the amount of damage caused to public and private properties will be recovered.
Amid cheers by hospital staff, four coronavirus patients discharged from Moga Civil Hospital after recovery. Moga district now has ZERO active cases. They are Tablighi Jamaat followers and will be sent home once inter-state borders open.
The country’s largest budget airline carrier Indigo has informed its employees that it will not be cutting their salaries amid the ongoing lockdown. In an email sent to its employees, the airline said that in deference to the government’s wishes of not reducing pay during the lockdown, the management has decided not to cut the salary of the employees for the month of April.
The government is likely to save Rs. 37,530 crore in the Financial Year 2020-21 and 2021-22 on account of this decision, sources told The Indian Express. As state governments normally follow the Centre's orders on DA/DR, it is estimated that states could save Rs. 82,566 crore by implementing similar orders. Thus, the total anticipated saving of the Centre and states will be Rs. 1.20 lakh crore, which will be used to fight the Covid-19 battle and its fallout.
Due to Covid-19, the government has decided to freeze the dearness allowance to central government employees and dearness relief to pensioners at current rates till July 2021. However, DA and DR at current rates will continue to be paid. In a notification, the Ministry of Finance states: "As and when the decision to release the future installment of DA and DR due from July 1, 2021 is taken by the Government, the rates of DA and DR as effective from January 1 2020, July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021 will be restored prospectively and will be subsumed in the cumulative revised rate effected from July 1, 2021."
China will donate $30 million in cash to the World Health Organization (WHO) to help it fight Covid-19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. The country has already donated $20 million in cash to the international organisation on March 11. The funding comes a week after US President Donald Trump withdrew funding to WHO over its response to the pandemic.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayansamy and Assembly Speaker V P Sivakolundu were among a host of ministers, MPs and MLAs to be tested for the coronavirus today at the legislative assembly premises. (Photos via ANI)
Around 250 Britishers who were stranded in India following the lockdown announcement departed to their country on a special British Airways flight from the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar today, reports ANI.
It is difficult at this stage to accurately assess the cost of the disruption in economic activities due to the lockdown, but it will be severe. The severity of the slowdown necessitates more government support. In fact, government spending may well have to be front-loaded. But it is also necessary for the Centre to spell out a broad strategy on how it intends to support.
On Sunday, 19-year-old Parvez Ansari woke up with high fever and acute cough at his rented residence in a migrant colony in Amraiwadi of Ahmedabad, and made a video call to his family back in Ranchi in Jharkhand. The family was shocked. Between their last photo of Ansari one-and-a-half months ago and Sunday, he appeared to have transformed from a cheerful teenager to a scrawny figure, unable to even speak properly. Ansari had been trying to come home but couldn’t due to the lockdown, they added. After the family reached out to them, officials took Ansari to hospital. They said he had tuberculosis and had suffered kidney failure.
A 51-year-old man who refused to collect groceries from a delivery man after learning that he was a Muslim was arrested in Mumbai on Tuesday, hours after his Islamophobic comments were recorded on video by the employee. The target of the communal remarks was 32-year-old Barkat Patel, a Mira Road resident working with grocery service Grofers.
During the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said cooperation between the Centre and states is key to success of our fight against Covid. ”It is necessary to focus on a number of issues in this fight... it will very much depend upon the availability of resources,” he said.
The Telangana government has issued a notification stating that only the primary contacts of positive cases shall be brought to the government identified quarantine centres, and their samples will be tested. Further, the home quarantine period has been extended from 14 to 28 days, and monitored daily.
Kerala has consistently stayed ahead of the coronavirus curve, with its 70% recovery rate being the highest in the country. Kerala has so far tested 20,821 samples, also the highest for any state. Its robust healthcare system and effective strategies have helped set it apart. Read our explainer.
People of Indian origin in the UK have emerged as the worst affected ethnic group from the coronavirus pandemic, according to an official data on COVID-19 deaths in hospitals across England. Figures released this week by the National Health Service (NHS) England show that of the 13,918 patients who died in hospitals till April 17 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, 16.2 per cent were of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background and those identifying with Indian ethnicity made up 3 per cent of that.
This was followed by Caribbeans as the second-largest ethnic group affected in the COVID-19 death toll at 2.9 per cent, followed by Pakistanis at 2.1 per cent. (PTI)
During a Congress Working committee meeting held in Delhi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said the pandemic has increased disturbingly 'both in spread and speed' since the last meeting held three weeks ago. She also said that suggestions by her were acted upon 'partially and in a miserly way.' 'The compassion, large-heartedness and alacrity from the Central Government is conspicuous by its absence,' she said adding that the migrant labourers are the hardest hit.
“Unfortunately, they have been acted upon only partially and in a miserly way. The compassion, large-heartedness and alacrity that should be forthcoming from the Central Government is conspicuous by its absence,” she said.
Maharashtra may still be grappling with the coronavirus crisis in May, but Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also has a constitutional crisis to resolve by then. Thackeray, who took oath on November 28, will have to get elected to either of the houses of the state legislature before May 24, as Article 164(4) of the Constitution stipulates. However, the Election Commission has already postponed Rajya Sabha polls, byelections and civic body elections in the wake of the pandemic. Sources in the BJP — which was accused of having a role in Maharashtra Governor B K Koshiyari not approving the state cabinet’s recommendation to nominate Thackeray as MLC from the governor’s quota — said the issue was just “constitutional and not political”.
With more than 3,000 convicts across Delhi being granted bail or furlough to prevent overcrowding in jails in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Delhi High Court has devised a new way of making sure convicts mark their attendance — via WhatsApp video calls and through Google Maps. Pritam Pal Singh brings you the details.