national
NewsFirstpostIndia-Pakistan 'engagement' notwithstanding, Kashmiri separatist leaders remain under lock and key
Despite the talks, in Kashmir the curbs persist on separatist leaders, with some of them who are lodged in New Delhi's Tihar Jail even complaining of being denied medical attention
NewsNews18India Records 2,95,041 Fresh Cases, 2,023 Fresh Fatalities in 24 Hrs With No Sign of Surge Abating- 10 Points
On Wednesday, India recorded over 2 lakh cases for seventh day in a row.
NewsFirstpostNATA 2021: Results for April Exam declared on nata.in; next test on 12 June
The first examination was held on 10 April at 196 centres in India and in countries like Kuwait, Dubai, Oman and Qatar
- NewsPTI
Poll verdict in Matua bastions crucial for BJP before CAA implementation
By Pradipta Tapadar Bongaon/Krishnanagar (WB), Apr 21 (PTI) With citizenship for refugees having emerged as one of the poll planks of the BJP in its battle for Bengal, Matua bastions and the verdict they present this election will prove to be a test case for the party that had been weighing the pros and cons before implementing a new law enacted for the purpose.
NewsThe QuintGTB Hospital Gets Oxygen on Brink of Exhausting Supply for 500
GTB hospital was expected to exhaust its oxygen supply used for the treatment of COVID patients by 2 am.
NewsFirstpostNarendra Modi says lockdown should be last resort, urges migrant workers to stay put and get vaccinated
The address came just hours after his meeting with vaccine manufacturers, in which he urged them to continuously scale up their production capacity to inoculate all Indians in the shortest possible time
- NewsPTI
COVID-19: Record 2,023 fresh fatalities, 2,95,041 cases in single day
<p>New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) The single-day rise in new coronavirus infections inched closer to 3 lakh, pushing India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,56,16,130, while the death toll increased to 1,82,553 with a record 2,023 daily fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.</p>
- SportPTI
Women's recurve team tops qualification as Indians storm to QF in 3 events
<p>Guatemala City, Apr 21 (PTI) Indian recurve archers had a blazing start on their return to the World Cup after nearly two years as the women's team topped the qualifications with Ankita Bhakat and Deepika Kumari's super show in the opening stage here.</p>
NewsNews18Who Runs Pakistan – Its Army or Radical Outfits?
Both PM Khan could not have taken this decision without discussing with the Pakistan army and its chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, to yield to the demands of an entity that they proscribed after arresting its leader on April 12.
NewsThe QuintCOVID Rages On: Who’ll Take Onus Of Policymaking & Remove Doubts?
Several institutions — PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, Health Ministry, etc — are crafting policy. Who is accountable?
NewsNews18EC Refutes Claims of Bengal Poll Observers Suggesting Merging of Last Two Phases of Voting
The demand to club the remaining phases of elections emerged as coronavirus cases continue to spike at an alarming rate.
NewsANIBrazil's COVID-19 cases top 14 million
Brasilia [Brazil], April 21 (ANI/Xinhua): Brazil reported 69,381 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 14,043,076.
- NewsPTI
Fundamental aspects put in place to ensure minimal impact of
<p>COVID-19 on economy, says CEA Chennai, Apr 20 (PTI) The impact of COVID-19 on the economy would not be 'very large' as the country has worked very well on converting the crisis created by the pandemic into an opportunity, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian said on Tuesday.</p>
NewsFirstpostUP, Maharashtra impose COVID-19 curbs, PM says lockdown last resort; Delhi sends oxygen shortage SOS
Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government had said that grocery and food shops will remain open only between 7 am to 11 am till 1 May, to discourage people from venturing out for non-essential chores.
- NewsPTI
CPI(M), TMC hit out at PM Modi over his address to nation on COVID-19 situation
<p>New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his address to the nation on Tuesday on the coronavirus situation, the CPI(M) said it was an admission of disaster that last year's lockdown had been and an attempt to shift the onus of dealing with the pandemic on state governments, while the TMC alleged that he was trying to fool people with words.</p>
NewsThe GuardianNarendra Modi: Covid resurgence in India like being ‘hit by a storm’
Prime minister faces mounting anger as new cases exceed 250,000 a day and oxygen supplies run outCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Narendra Modi addressing a state election rally earlier this month. The Indian prime minister has been criticised for continuing to address tens of thousands of people at such events. Photograph: Sonali Pal Chaudhury/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has warned the country’s resurgence of coronavirus was like being “hit by a storm” as new infections exceeded 250,000 a day, with hospitals at risk of being overwhelmed and cremations in some areas carried out around the clock. His government is facing mounting criticism for its handling of the crisis as oxygen, drugs, tests and hospital beds remain in critically short supply in the worst-hit areas. Modi, however, said that despite the huge scale of the health crisis lockdowns should be seen as a last resort. Fresh concerns over the second wave of Covid-19 came as the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, cancelled a planned trip earlier this week and India was added to the UK’s travel “red list” amid concern over a new variant that has emerged in the country. In a national address on Tuesday, Modi attempted to reassure Indians with promises of vaccines for everyone aged 19 and over and heaping praise on the country’s pharmaceutical industry. “The country is today fighting a very big battle against Covid-19. The situation had improved for a while, but the second Covid-19 wave has come like a storm,” Modi said. “I express my condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones due to Covid-19. Just like a member of your family, I am with you in this hour of sadness. The battle is long and difficult, but we have to overcome it together with our dedication and courage.” Modi’s address came just hours after he met with vaccine manufacturers via video conference and asked them to scale up production. It was unclear, however, how credible that effort was likely to be following last week’s appeal by India’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, for the US president, Joe Biden, “to lift the embargo of raw material exports” to allow more vaccine production. His speech followed mounting anger at the Indian prime minister, who has been criticised for continuing to address tens of thousands of people at state election rallies and for letting Hindu devotees congregate for a festival, with hashtags like #ResignModi and #SuperSpreaderModi trending on Twitter. India’s experience of coronavirus had seemed to buck the trend of other countries, with cases peaking at more than 100,000 a day last year before declining to an almost negligible 10,000 a day in the first months of this year in a country of 1.3 billion people. Cases began roaring back in recent weeks, however, with India apparently unprepared for a second wave on the scale that has emerged. As New Delhi, the capital, rushed to convert schools into hospitals, abandoned field hospitals in hard-hit cities reopened. One key issue has been the shortage of oxygen in many places with India trying to import oxygen while also diverting oxygen supplies from industry to hospitals. New Delhi’s government-run Sanjay Gandhi hospital is increasing its beds for Covid-19 patients from 46 to 160. But R Meneka, the official coordinating the Covid-19 response at the hospital, said he wasn’t sure if the facility had the capacity to provide oxygen to that many beds. The government-run hospital at Burari, an industrial hub in the capital’s outskirts, only had oxygen for two days on Monday, and found that most vendors in the city had run out, said Ramesh Verma, who coordinates the Covid-19 response there. “Every minute, we keep getting hundreds of calls for beds,” he said. Shahid Malik, who works at a small supplier of oxygen, said that the demand for medical oxygen had increased by a factor of 10. His phone has been ringing continuously for two days. By Monday, the shop still had oxygen but no cylinders. He answered each call with the same message: “If you have your own cylinder, come pick up the oxygen. If you don’t, we can’t help you.” Among those who have criticised the response was A Velumani, the chairman and managing director of Thyrocare, one of India’s largest private testing labs, who said that the current demand was three times that of last year. Laboratories were unprepared for the steep rise in demand for testing that came with the current surge, said Velumani, and everyone was “caught with their pants down”. India’s vaccination drive is also struggling with several states flagging shortages, although the federal government has claimed there are enough stocks. On Monday, it said that it would soon expand vaccinations to include every adult in the country, an estimated 900 million people. But with vaccine in short global supply, it isn’t clear when Indian vaccine makers will have the capacity to meet these goals.
- NewsPTI
COVID: Govt waives import duty on Remdesivir, its APIs
<p>New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Amid surging COVID-19 cases in the country, the government on Tuesday waived customs duty on Remdesivir, its raw materials and other components used to make the antiviral drug.</p>
- NewsPTI
Windy, pleasant weather in Delhi
<p>New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Strong winds barrelled through the national capital which witnessed cloudy skies, making way for a pleasant weather on Tuesday, even as the maximum temperature settled at 33.8 degree Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.</p>
NewsThe Quint‘Gyan’, Not Solutions: Cong, AAP React to Modi’s COVID-19 Address
AAP’s Sanjay Singh called out the Prime Minister for campaigning for the West Bengal elections during the pandemic.
NewsThe QuintBus Ferrying Migrants From Delhi to Tikamgarh Overturns, 3 Dead
The injured were rushed to JA Hospital in Gwalior for treatment.
SportThe QuintWhen RR’s Pace Hero Chetan Sakariya Nearly Abandoned His Dreams
Sakariya, who was a net bowler with RCB in IPL 2020, learnt about his debut on the eve of the RR’s’ season opener.
- NewsPTI
Sri Lanka plans travel bubble with India to revive tourism: Sri Lankan Airlines
<p>Colombo, Apr 20 (PTI) Sri Lanka and India are planning to have a travel bubble to revive tourism between the two neighbouring countries, the island nation’s national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines has announced.</p>
- NewsPTI
Confusion, panic over India's 'red list' travel ban by UK
<p>London, Apr 20 (PTI) Hundreds of Indian students and UK-based Indian-origin families have been sent into a mode of confusion and panic with India being added to Britain’s COVID-19 travel red list, which imposes a ban on entry to the country for all except British or Irish residents.</p>
NewsNews18We Have to Save Country From Lockdowns, They Should Be Last Resort: PM Modi's Plea to States
PM Modi appealed to citizens to come forward and help those in need, asked migrant workers not to leave cities in view of temporary restrictions in place.
