Refrigeration and AC manufacturers on Monday said that it is safe to use air-conditioners during the COVID-19 pandemic and these do not pose a risk of spread of the disease.

      

Referring to the ongoing debate on the usage of Room AC at home and public space during pandemic, the Refrigeration and AC Manufacturers Associations said that it is absolutely safe to use with few additional precautions.

    

It has joined hands with the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers for implementation of air conditioning and ventilation guidelines in the residential and commercial spaces.

    

It has recommended guidelines, suggesting to keep the temperature of the room AC between 24-30 degree -- 24 for humid climate and 30 for dryers -- said RAMA in a statement.

   

 According to it, room AC units are designed to maintain the humidity between 40 and 60. In dry climates where humidity is less, it is recommended to increase the humidity by keeping water in a shallow pan, said RAMA.

    

It has also suggested "ventilate the room adequately by slightly keeping the window open during running with the exhaust fan running in the adjacent bathroom if possible and by keeping doors and windows open when AC is not operated."

    

Besides, it has also suggested to increase the frequency of filter cleaning.

    

While for the central air conditioning system, it has recommended the start-up of the system after a prolonged shutdown should follow protocols given in the ISHRAE guideline adopted by CPWD.

    

It has suggested keeping the temperature setting between 24 and 30 degrees and during non-working hours and weekends,  to keep the air circulation system running at all times without cooling.

    

RAMA and ISHRAE have planned to run a nationwide awareness drive for the air conditioning and ventilation guidelines to optimise residential, commercial and hospital buildings for COVID-19 prevention issued by ISHRAE. -- PTI

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, contesting his first election for a constitutional post, has declared that he and his family have assets worth Rs 143.26 crore, including movable and immovable property, but he

does not own a car.

He has put liabilities at Rs 15.50 crore, including loans.

In his maiden election affidavit submitted before the Election Commission of India on Monday, Thackeray has revealed details of his financial assets and sources of income.

His wife Rashmi Thackeray, who is also editor of Shiv Sena party mouthpiece 'Saamana', is earning her income from various businesses, according to the affidavit.

The other key revelation in the affidavit is that Uddhav Thackeray does not own a car.

There are 23 police complaints against him of which 14 are for either publication of "defamatory" content or cartoons in 'Saamana' as well as its sister concern 'Dupahar Ka Saamana', a Hindi newspaper.

He has not mentioned both his sons as dependents on him; hence their assets and liabilities are not reflected in the affidavit.

His elder son Aaditya Thackeray is his cabinet colleague and holds the portfolio of environment.

The Thackeray family has movable assets of Rs 61,89,57,443 and Rs 81,37,17,320 worth of immovable assets, as per the affidavit.

The liabilities stood at Rs 15,50,36,733.

As per his affidavit, the personal assets of Uddhav Thackeray are worth Rs 76.59 crore, out of which Rs 52.44 crore are immovable and Rs 24.14 crore movable.

His wife has property worth Rs 65.09 crore, out of which Rs 28.92 crore is immovable and Rs 36.16 crore movable. 

Through Hindu Undivided Family, the chief minister has Rs 1.58 crore movable assets.

The CM, who has loan worth Rs 4.06 crore, listed salary, interest, dividend and capital gain as his sources of income.

His wife, who has listed interest, rent, share of profit from firm, dividend and capital gain as her income sources, has loan worth Rs 11.44 crore, according to the affidavit.

Earlier in the day, Thackeray and four other candidates from the ruling alliance filed their nominations for the May 21 MLC polls.

Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq on Monday flayed Bollywood lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar's for his ‘azaan' remarks, terming it anti-Islam.  

    

In a tweet on Saturday, Akhtar had said the Islamic call for prayer on loudspeakers should be stopped as it causes 'discomfort' to others.

 "Being a responsible person, he should not have said such a  thing. Today, he is talking about banning loudspeakers but he did not say anything about banning liquor due to which people fell in drains, abused and met with accidents," the Sambhal MP told reporters.  

 

"You (Javed) see fault in azaan, which is an announcement of namaaz, and you become Muslim also. I want to say that his tweet is anti-Islam and will not be tolerated," he said.

 

The MP said the practice of azaan was continuing for past over a thousand of years, even when loudspeakers were not there. -- PTI 

Maharashtra on Monday reported 1230 new coronavirus patients, taking the tally of COVID-19 cases in the state to 23,401.

The state also reported death of 36 patients, taking the death toll to 868, said a health department official. -- PTI

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh is stable and his condition has improved, even as he tested negative for COVID-19, hospital sources said on Monday.

Singh, 87, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Sunday evening after he suffered a reaction to a new medication and developed fever.

The sources close to him said the senior Congress leader was "better" on Monday and did not have any fever during the day.

He, however, underwent a series of tests and some of the test results are awaited, they said.

Singh may be discharged in a day or so, the sources added.  

"His sample was taken for ruling out coronavirus infection and he has tested negative for it," a source said. 

The senior Congress leader was shifted from the intensive care unit of the cardio-thoracic unit to a private ward in the Cardio-Neuro Tower of AIIMS, it said.  

"Manmohan Singh was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication," the sources said.

"He is being investigated to rule out other causes of fever and is being provided adequate care. He is stable and under the care of a team of doctors," they said.

"All his parameters are fine, they said.

Singh, a senior leader of the opposition Congress, is currently a member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS.

A number of leaders expressed concern over his health and wished him a speedy recovery. -- PTI

West Bengal is being "unnecessarily targeted" over its handling of COVID-19, chief minister Mamata Banerjee told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, insisting she wants to fight the pandemic jointly with the Centre, TMC sources said.

She also demanded that the Centre formulate a "clear strategy" to fight the disease, sources in the state's ruling party said.

Banerjee, who spoke during a teleconference the prime minister had with chief ministers days before the third phase of the nationwide lockdown ends, highlighted the "contradictions" in the Centre's approach to tackling the

outbreak.

"On one hand the Centre wants the lockdown to be enforced strictly, and on the other it is resuming train services and reopening land borders," sources quoted her as having told the meeting while presenting her views on whether the lockdown should be extended beyond May 17.

It was not immediately known whether she spoke in favour of lifting the lockdown or extending it.

She suggested that states be allowed to decide on which sectors to open and which to keep shut keeping in mind the situation on the ground.

We want to fight the pandemic alongside the central government. But Bengal has been unnecessarily targeted politically. Instead of shifting the onus on the states, the Centre should come out with a clear strategy on the way

forward, she told the meeting.

The chief minister also asked the centre to release the legitimate financial dues to states. -- PTI

The proposed passenger train service between Delhi and Madgaon near here was to bring "non Goans" to the coastal state as it is now a green zone with no COVID-19 cases, said independent MLA Rohan Khaunte on Monday.

The railways had announced that it would run 15 pairs of trains from Tuesday between Delhi and Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

"We are fortunately in a green zone as far the COVID-19 outbreak is concerned. This tag of green zone has created a lot of attraction towards Goa, wherein non-Goans want to come here and stay," Khaunte alleged.

Taking a swipe at chief minister Pramod Sawant's statement on Monday that several people from across the border were being smuggled into Goa, Khaunte said it should be viewed seriously as "we don't know how many people have entered the state without being tested for COVID-19".

He said "influential people" were being allowed to come into the state at the expense of "genuine Goans".

He also claimed several houses that were closed during last month's health survey across the state have now opened with people living in them. -- PTI 

Nearly two months after all regular passenger services were suspended by the railways over the coronavirus crisis, 15 pair of special trains will be operated on select routes starting Tuesday.

   

Only asymptomatic passengers with confirmed e-tickets will be allowed in these trains and they will have to report at the station at least 90 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure. 

During the lockdown period, the railways has operated freight trains and parcel services to move essential commodities across the country. And from May 1, it also started migrant special trains called Shramik Specials to ferry stranded migrants to their hometowns.

The journey on these 15 pair of special trains will, however, be profoundly different from what it used to be before the coronavirus lockdown began. 

While wearing masks has been made mandatory, passengers will also have to download the Arogya Setu app on their phone. 

They will be compulsorily screened at the station and have been encouraged to carry their own blankets, water and food for the travel.

The trains will run at full capacity, but railway zones have been instructed to ensure that there are separate entry and exit gates at stations to the extent feasible so that there is no face-to-face movement of passengers. 

The zones will be guided by standard social distancing guidelines on stations and trains and observe the safety, security and hygiene protocols. 

Mumbai's slum sprawl Dharavi on Monday reported 57 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total case count to 916, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said.

The death toll stood at 29 so far in Dharavi, believed to be the biggest slum in Asia. 

"New cases were found from 90-feet road, Abu Bakar Chawl, Dharavi cross road, PV Chawl, Dhobi Ghat, Gautam Chawl, Muslim Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Dhorwada, Kuttiwadi and some other localities," he added. -- PTI

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav  Thackeray on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show "specific and concrete direction" on the ongoing lockdown.

A CMO official quoted Thackeray saying this during Modi's virtual interaction with chief ministers on Monday.

"Show us specific and concrete direction on lockdown, the states will implement the same," an official statement quoted Thackeray as telling the prime minister.

The statement said Thackeray also requested Modi to start local trains in Mumbai for essential services staff working in the city. -- PTI

The IRCTC website began booking tickets for travel on special trains after 6 pm, two hours behind the scheduled opening time of 4 pm, and all AC-1 and AC-3 tickets for the Howrah-New Delhi train were sold within the first 10 minutes.

The bookings were slated to open at 4 pm, but got delayed due to a technical glitch.

The Howrah-New Delhi train is scheduled to begin its journey Tuesday from Howrah at 5:05 pm.

As per the ticket availability on the website, all AC-1 and AC-3 tickets for the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi special trains were also sold by 6.30 pm.

Select passenger train services are beginning from May 12, between Delhi and some major cities across the country.

'Special trains are being uploaded in system. Booking will start soon,' the IRCTC tweeted at 4.43 pm, explaining the delay.

Sources said the website 'did not crash, but data was being uploaded'.

They had urged passengers to 'please wait'.   --  PTI

In the fifth video conference meeting with chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there is 'global recognition for India's success in handling the COVID-19 pandemic'.

He stated that the government of India appreciates the efforts made by all state governments in this regard.

"Let us stay the course as we move forward together," the prime minister said.

"We now have reasonably clear indication as to the geographical spread of the pandemic in India, including the worst affected areas," Prime Minister Modi said.

"Moreover, over the past few weeks, officials have understood operating procedures in a time such as this, right up to the district level. Yesterday again, cabinet secretary briefed the chief secretaries and health secretaries on the current situation and the steps being taken by us," he added.

Before taking a considered view, Prime Minister Modi said 'this time we decided to invite all chief ministers to speak'.

The interaction comes days ahead of the scheduled ending of the nationwide lockdown.

The ongoing lockdown, which was imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus, is scheduled to end on May 17.

At the fourth meeting with chief ministers on April 27, Prime Minister Modi discussed the emerging situation and the plan ahead for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The earlier meetings were held on March 20, April 2 and April 11. -- ANI

Citing increasing COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday came out against resumption of passenger train services in the state till May 31.

Participating in a video conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Ministers, he also urged the former not to allow regular air services till the month end in the state, where the number of coronavirus cases has crossed the 7,000 mark, an official release said in Chennai.

'We know from media that regular train service to Chennai (from Delhi) and from Chennai will commence from May 12.

'As the positive cases in Chennai are showing an increasing trend, don't permit train service up to 31.5.2020, in my state,' Palaniswami told Modi.

'I request you not to begin regular air services till 31.5.2020,' the release quoted the chief minister as having further said.

Modi chaired the fresh round of consultation with CMs on ways to strengthen the COVID-19 containment strategy and stepping up of economic activities as the 54-day nationwide lockdown nears an end.

The railways has announced resumption of a limited number of passenger services after an almost a 50-day hiatus since the national lockdown came into force in March.

As many as 15 trains are to run from Tuesday on the Rajdhani route from Delhi to all the major cities, including Chennai, in the country.

Tamil Nadu has been witnessing a steay spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past several days after the wholesale Koyambedu vegetable market emerged as a major hotspot.   -- PTI

The Aarogya Setu, COVID-19 contact-tracing app, is the safest application and was designed keeping privacy in mind, said Ajay Sawhney, chairman of Empowered Group-9, which has been given the responsibility for technology and data management for combating COVID-19 crisis.

"A lot of work was done over data privacy... Aarogya Setu app will continue to play a crucial role in India's fight against COVID-19. The app has been developed in order to alert people before they come in contact with infected patients, it also enables self-assessment," Sawhney said in a press conference in New Delhi.

He said that the application was 'designed keeping privacy in mind' and is the 'safest app'.

Sawhney said that the movement history of positive patients is combined with the self-assessment data submitted by others, which enables to identify potential hotspot areas and take preventive action. Information on 697 such spots have been sent to states, he added.

"A unique anonymous randomised ID is generated for the device of a new user, only this ID is used, name of the user is not used by the app," he further said.  -- ANI

The railways said bookings will now commence at 18:00 hours. 

While no official reason was stated as to why the website did not open, sources said "it did not crash, but data is being uploaded". 

They urged passengers to "please wait". Last checked, the IRCTC site was not even opening its home page. Till 4 pm, the Railways had not been able to publicise the train list or timings of the departure of the 15 trains. 

Why are we not surprised.

While 363 trains have already reached their destination, 105 trains are in transit. These 363 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh (1 train), Bihar (100 trains), Himachal Pradesh (1 train), Jharkhand (22 trains), Madhya Pradesh (30 trains), Maharashtra (3 trains), Odisha (25 trains), Rajasthan (4 trains), Telangana (2 trains), Uttar Pradesh (172 trains), West Bengal (2 trains) and Tamil Nadu (1 train).   These trains have ferried migrants to cities like Tiruchchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra,  Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur,Muzzaffarpur, Saharsa among others.         

From Monday, these Shramik Special trains started carrying around 1,700 passengers each instead of the earlier 1,200 to ferry as many workers home as possible. "The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Railways organised a video conference on movement of migrant labour by Shramik Special trains today morning. "Nodal officers of the States and UTs participated...Several issues were discussed and redressed during the VC and it was emphasised that migrant labour should be reassured that sufficient number of trains would be run for travel of all those wishing to go home," a statement from MHA said. More than a hundred trains are expected to run daily for next few weeks to facilitate faster movement of stranded workers to their native places, it added. Every Shramik Special train has 24 coaches, each with a capacity of 72 seats. Till now, only 54 people were allowed in a coach and the middle berth was not allotted to any passenger to maintain social distancing norms.         

While the railways has not yet announced the cost incurred on the special services, officials indicate that the national transporter has spent around Rs 80 lakh per service. The government had earlier stated that the cost of the services has been shared on a 85:15 ratio with states. Since the Shramik Special train service started, Gujarat has remained one of the top originating stations followed by Kerala. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh top the list of receiving states.   

Earlier, the railways drew flak from opposition parties for charging for these services.   In its guidelines, the railways has said the trains will ply only if they have 90 per cent occupancy and the "states should collect the ticket fare". PTI

The Foreign Minister had summoned Kwatra on Monday morning, Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement cited by The Himalayan Times.

The diplomatic note follows a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday objecting to India's move of opening a road link to Lipulekh.

According to sources, the Foreign Ministry has also sought diplomatic talks to resolve boundary issues at the earliest possible dates at Foreign Secretary-level talks.

However, following a strong objection from Nepal on Friday, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said the road going through Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district "lies completely within the territory of India".

"We have seen the press release dated May 9, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal pertaining to the inauguration of a road in India. The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the State of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India," the MEA said in a statement.

"The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders," said the MEA.

"The boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing. India is committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations with Nepal," added the MEA in the statement.India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had on Friday inaugurated the link road to Kailash Mansarovar yatra via video conferencing.  -- ANI

Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from those who are not sick, while quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. 

So far, four flights have landed in the city - one each from London, Singapore and Manila on Sunday and one from San Francisco on Monday, a BMC official said. 

Excluding the crew members, the flight from San Francisco had 105 passengers onboard, and the flights from London, Singapore and Manila carried 329,243 and 150 passengers, respectively, he said. 

"None of them has been shifted to an isolation facility," the official said. Out of the total passengers who landed here, those belonging to Mumbai were kept under mandatory institutional quarantine in hotels near the airport, while those hailing from other cities were taken to their respective places by state transport buses and tourist cabs, sources said. 

The civic body has reserved over 3,340 rooms in 88 hotels for keeping these passengers brought back to India under 'Mission Vande Bharat', under institutional quarantine. 

Only passengers with coronavirus symptoms like fever, cough, cold and breathlessness will be shifted to isolation facilities, whereas those without any such symptoms will be kept under mandatory institutional quarantine, as per the BMC. After landing at the airport here, all passengers were screened and also sensitised about coronavirus, the BMC official said. -- PTI

Image: Indians who arrived from Singapore wait to board buses to take them to quarantine centers, in Mumbai on Sunday. Pic: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 5th video conference meeting with Chief Ministers, begins. 

West Bengal Government has issued an order clarifying that operations including plucking in tea gardens is allowed with deployment of up to 50% of the total regular workforce at a time.

In the last 24 hours, total 6 Border Security Force jawans have tested COVID-19 positive. One each from Tripura and Delhi, 4 from Kolkata. All of them are under treatment in designated COVID Health Care hospitals.

"Around 6 lakh people working in these 25,000 firms have got back to work. In western Maharashtra alone, 9,147 industries have been given permission to restart work. Of these, a total of 5,774 have already resumed operations," he said. 

He said no permission for resumption of industries had been given in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad as these areas have high number of COVID-19 cases and are in the red zone, adding "we cannot take any risk of restarting work here". 

"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is determined to make the entire state a green zone," he said, and added that sops in power tariffs and loan repayment would be given to ease the burden of industries. PTI

After the hearing, the court observed that since High Power Committee has taken up the issue pursuant to directions of Supreme Court to decongest the jails and in view of earlier directions passed by this court, it would not be appropriate to intervene in the matter, at this stage.

The court, however, granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the High Power Committee for redressal of the issue raised in the petition and directed the respondent to place the copy of this order before the committee for its consideration.

The PIL, moved by social activist and lawyer Amit Sahni, said that apart from interim bails, parole and furlough, the jails can also be decongested if SRB meetings for releasing convicts are convened in a more frequent manner, as provided in the rules. -- PTI

@SushmaSwaraj. Miss you with every breath Ma." 

India misses her too, arguably one of our most loved FMs.  Swaraj passed away in August last year. 

Speaking to the reporters, Dr Vardhan said, "India's hidden ability has been highlighted as we are developing ventilators, PPEs, masks, sanitizers via new technologies. The theme of Technology Day this time is to re-boost our economy using Science and Technology. Today it has become very important to work on science that can find solutions to people's problems, we call it 'purpose science' or 'purpose economy," said Vardhan.

"One lakh PPEs are being developed in a day," he added.

"Today is an important day in the history of India. On May 11, 1998 our beloved Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji had formally announced the development of this country as a big nuclear power by conducting Pokhran tests. We are remembering Dr APJ Kalam and Atal Bihari Vajpayee today. This is the 22nd Technology Day," said Dr Vardhan. -- ANI

-- "Only those passengers with confirmed e-tickets shall be allowed to enter the station. The movement of the passenger(s) as well as the driver of the vehicle transporting the passenger(s) to and fro the railway station shall be allowed on the basis of the confirmed e-ticket," the order said. 

-- The Ministry of Railways will ensure that passengers shall be compulsorily screened and only those who are asymptomatic will be allowed to enter or board a train. 

-- The home ministry said all passengers shall be provided hand sanitiser at stations and in coaches. 

-- On arrival at their destination, the travelling passengers will have to adhere to such health protocols as are prescribed by the destination state or union territory. 

For the first time since March 25, when the lockdown began, a total of 15 trains for different destinations will leave New Delhi on Tuesday for which bookings began on Monday. Giving an indication that the government is inclined to allow more trains to ply, the home ministry said the movement of trains shall be permitted by the Ministry of Railways in a graded manner, in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"Train schedule, protocols for booking, entry and movement of passengers, and coach service specifications shall be widely publicised by the Ministry of Railways," the order said.  -- PTI

The central government, which spends approximately Rs 2.5 lakh crores every year on wages to staff, is keen to have a graded cut for different levels of employees, and intends to reduce expenditure by Rs 70,000 crores a year through this cut.  

The salary cut will be in place for a year, according to a top level official source in New Delhi who is familiar with the concept paper under the PMO's consideration.   

But the big question is, will Prime Minister Narendra Modi accept the proposal, and if yes from which month will it be enforced.   

While the decision may seem like an open and shut one, it will be Prime Minister Modi who will have to grasp the political nettle and hence may discuss the issue threadbare in the Union Cabinet.   

However, lending an air of certainty is the fact that a group of secretaries will be discussing the proposal this week, according to the official source. 

What is suggested is that while grade A class one all-India service officers will have a 30 percent cut in pay, section officers will have a 20 per cent pay cut.  

Defence, railways and postal employees account for more than 30 percent of the government's employees.   

-- R Rajagopalan in New Delhi

India's COVID-19 count reached 67,152 on Monday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The number of active cases in the country rose to 44,029, while 20,916 patients have been cured and discharged and one has migrated, according to the Ministry.The number of deaths in the country due to the infection reached 2,206. -- ANI

In an exclusive interaction with ANI, Kant informed that Aarogya Setu mobile application has been built to ensure privacy and security of personal information that was collected from people. It is based on "privacy-first by design" principle.

"Aarogya Setu has a clearly defined protocol for access to data. National Informatics Centre is the fiduciary of the data, and data is only shared with government officials directly involved in COVID-19 related medical and administrative interventions on a strictly need-to-know basis and limited in scope only to their direct work," said Kant.

Concerns over the Aarogya Setu App were raised when a French 'ethical hacker' claimed to have access of the users' data and had highlighted security bugs within the app which could privacy ramifications.

Clarifying apprehensions that some users may have related to data security, Kant said: "When an individual provides his/her mobile number for registration, the Aarogya Setu server assigns an anonymous, randomized unique device identity number (DiD) and associates it with their mobile device. This pair - the mobile number, DiD and other personal information is securely stored in a highly encrypted server."

After registration, the app asks for your name and mobile number (any name that you want to be called by, not your legal name). In addition, it asks for your age and gender (both have a direct co-relation to COVID-19 impact), profession (to ensure people who are in essential services are proactively assisted), countries visited in last 30 days and willingness to volunteer in times of need.

"All contact tracing and location information that might have been uploaded to the Aarogya Setu server is permanently deleted 45 days from the date of upload if you have not tested positive for COVID-19 within that period of time. If you are infected, all contact tracing and location information pertaining to you are permanently deleted from the server 60 days after you are declared cured of COVID-19," added Kant. -- ANI

GCC Biotech, located in Bakrahat is engaged in preparing the testing kits in its own laboratory. This indigenous test kit includes two steps - QRT PCR Master Mix Primer Probe and RNA Template each of which is developed in the laboratory itself.

Testing kits were prepared following three procedures all leads to testing quality of Proteins and Enzymes.

Raja Majumdar said: "It is a real-time test kit which can detect infection. Within 90 minutes, the patient can get the COVID result. The incubation period is not required for the test. Producing reagents is an advantage of the company. We are supplying the reagents across the country. We have the capacity to manufacture 1 Crore test kits per month." -- ANI

"It is sensible to rationalise that high temperature reduces the spread of SARS-CoV-2, unwarranted though assuming the virus vanishes down the summer," he told PTI. 

In April, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US announced that a warm and humid weather is linked to slower spread of the novel coronavirus, suggesting that Asian countries experiencing monsoon may experience lesser transmission of the virus. Their study assessed data on the number of COVID-19 infections in different parts of the world and compared it with two parameters of weather from all the regions -- temperature and humidity. PTI

"It has been brought to the notice of TRAI that few consumers have experienced bill shocks when they joined online conferencing platforms inadvertently dialling international telephone numbers. Considering that a large number of members of public have been using online conferencing platforms due to continued lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, it is necessary to alert them to check applicable charges for dialling such numbers/ helplines of such platform/App providers," the TRAI advisory read. -- ANI

"Today we discussed the outbreak of African Swine Fever. We had a long discussion with the district administration, veterinarians and the Kaziranga National Park authorities. Around 13,000 deaths have been reported so far from the state," Bora said.

"Kaziranga National Park authorities have dug a canal in Agoratoli range to prevent wild boars from going to nearby villages, in order to save them from the disease," he added. -- PTI

"If we do not help industries (large and small), we will have large-scale job losses which will contract demand significantly and will lead to further pressure on the utilisation of businesses and their liquidity," FICCI President Sangita Reddy said in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The situation will reduce government tax collections significantly and fiscal deficit will remain high (even without stimulus outflow) if the economic engine does not re-start, said Reddy. 

"The socio-economic impact of large-scale job losses and loss of demographic dividend will impact the future course of economic development even in medium-term," she said.

"We are staring at a significant contraction of demand and economy, and a cascading impact of long-term economic slowdown if the economic engine does not re-start immediately. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to immediately support the supply and demand side," she said.

Reddy called for interest-free and collateral-free loans to MSME companies (turnover of less than Rs 500 crore) for an up to 12 months period depending on the sector to enable them to cover fixed costs, salaries and other operational expenses. 

For non-GST paying companies, an alternate mechanism may be worked out (based on IT filing).

Even if the government was to give Rs one lakh crore of loans to MSME businesses, the cost of interest payment will be Rs 8,000 crore (assuming 8 per cent lending rate) which is 0.04 per cent of the GDP. This loan can be given with pre-conditions that businesses will continue to run and there will be no layoffs of workers, she said.

After one year, it can be converted into a grant if all conditions are met. Threshold tax collection could be one metric. -- PTI

Pronouncing the verdict on a batch of pleas filed by Foundation for Media Professionals, Soayib Qureshi and Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir, the bench said it needed to ensure balance of national security and human rights. PTI

Explaining the public health significance, ICMR said COVID-19 is a new disease and is a pandemic affecting all communities and countries and a robust data is needed in India to measure the public health impact of the ailment and to plan for timely health interventions. 

In its guidance for appropriate recording of COVID-10 deaths in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research said deaths with inconclusive test results, but in which coronavirus symptoms are present will be recorded as "probable COVID-19" fatalities. 

Deaths in which tests are awaited with the presence of symptoms will be recorded as suspected deaths, while those testing negative but have symptoms will be mentioned as clinically-epidemiologically diagnosed COVID-19, the guidance stated. 

Its clinical presentation ranges from mild to severe, and fatality depends on the severity of the illness, associated comorbid conditions and age of patients.  

"Patterns of disease and patterns of death can come from only standardised recording of clinical disease history and cause of death, and therefore epidemiological surveillance of disease and death are important.  

"Robust data is needed from every district and state in India to measure the public health impact of COVID-19 and to plan for timely health interventions and protect communities. "At the same time, other health conditions affecting populations need to be also monitored so that the health system is prepared for responding to the needs of the population,"' the document stated. 

Patients may present with other pre-existing comorbid conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, ischemic heart disease, cancer and diabetes mellitus. These conditions increase the risk of developing respiratory infections, and may lead to complications and severe disease in a COVID-19 positive patient.

As many as 1,383 migrant labourers reached Bhopal on board a Shramik special train on Monday, from Morbi in Gujarat. "The train departed from Gujarat, yesterday evening. They will be sent to their home districts by buses, these people are from 30 districts of the state. We have provided them with food. Quarantine facility has also been established for them," said Bhopal Sub Divisional Magistrate Rajesh Gupta.

Migrants were medically screened as soon as they reached the station in Bhopal. "We were stranded in Morbi since March 20. They did not charge us for the train fare, food arrangement was also made for us. I am very happy to return," said Dharmendra Lodhi, a migrant labourer. 

A resident of Kuwait for about 15 years, Rao worked as an endodontist at Kuwait Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, a government-owned company. Rao was a member of Indian Dentists' Alliance in Kuwait, an organisation of Indian dental professionals in Kuwait. The organisation mourned his loss. 

A total of 171 people arrived in Chennai from Kuwait on Sunday as part of the government's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various countries. Kuwait has reported 58 deaths and 8,688 infections due to the novel coronavirus. Globally, the death toll due to COVID-19 has gone up to 282,727 with over four million infections reported so far, according to Johns Hopkins University tally. PTI

However, indicating that a sportsperson will never die in her, she said that she might make a comeback around 2022 Asian Games if the country wants her to.

As per the National Sports Code, an active athlete cannot hold an official post in any federation, and citing this rule, Malik said it is important for her to announce retirement and set a good example to follow the rules and guidelines. -- ANI

The lockdown is set to end on May 17 after rising cases forced two extensions. "Once the lockdown is lifted, we will resume the training of our elite athletes followed by other SAI Training Centres in phased manner. I appeal sportspersons and all stakeholders not to rush because health and safety is our top priority presently," he tweeted. 

The national camps at Sports Authority of India Centres have been shut since mid-March to contain the virus, which has infected over 65,000 people and caused more than 2,000 deaths in India. Rijiju, on May 3, had stated that camps for all athletes will resume by May end. He said at first, training will be restarted for the Olympic-bound and those who are close to gaining qualification. 

"I thought of starting training of athletes at SAI centres from May 3 (the earlier stated end for the lockdown). Now we will have to do that in a phased manner by the end of this month. "Sports events don't get any relaxations under Disaster Management Act. We don't fall under the category of essential services," he had stated. -- PTI

The Indian Railways will gradually resume passenger train services from May 12 and will ask passengers to arrive at the station at least an hour before departure, the national transporter said on Sunday. 

Initially, the all air-conditioned services will begin on 15 Rajdhani routes and the fare would be equivalent to that of the super-fast train, it said. -- PTI

Angadi said that to avoid crowding at the railway stations, only the passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.

"Nobody is allowed to gather at railway premises unnecessarily. All passengers will undergo thermal screening for the detection of COVID-19, before boarding the train. Social distancing and other guidelines will be ensured during the journey. Those who want to board these trains have to buy the train tickets from IRCTC website. Ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed. It is in the service of people," he added.

"All passenger trains will be run only with AC coaches and limited stops. The fare will be equivalent to the ticket fare that is charged for the Rajdhani trains," said the ministry. These trains -- meant for 15 destinations across the country -- will run from New Delhi railway station. The online booking of tickets will start at 4 pm on May 11. 

"The only way economic and commercial activity can effectively begin, is to open road, rail and air services for passengers and goods," he added.

The Ministry of Railways on Sunday announced to run 15 pairs of passenger trains with AC coaches and limited stops from May 12. -- ANI

The agenda also included taking stock of interest rate transmission to borrowers by banks and progress on moratorium on loan repayments. The RBI had on March 27 slashed the benchmark interest rate by a massive 75 basis points and also announced a three-month moratorium to be given by banks to provide relief to borrowers whose income has been hit due to the lockdown. 

Earlier this month, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das held a meeting with heads of both public and private sector banks to take stock of the economic situation and review implementation of various measures announced by the central bank. -- PTI

"I would like to emphasise that all State/UT Governments should ensure that their field officials allow smooth movement of all medical professionals, nurses, para-medical, sanitation personnel and ambulances and ensure opening of all private clinics, nursing homes and labs with all their medical professional and staff," said Bhalla in a letter.

"Such movement must also be facilitated inter-State, whenever required," he added. "As you are aware, the services of the medical and para-medical staff are required urgently in meeting the challenge of COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the existing staff, apart from this duty, also have to render normal responsibilities such as conducting immunisation programmes, handling the onset of vector and other seasonal diseases and meeting other non-COVID emergencies," said the Union Home Secretary.

"In such a scenario, any restriction on the movement of medical professionals and paramedical staff can lead to severe constraints in rendering COVID and non-COVID medical services. As such, ensuring the unhindered movement of all such medical professionals is essentials for meeting public health requirements and saving human lives," it added.

The letter further pointed out that private clinics and nursing homes are also reported to have not been allowed to be open. "I would urge all States and UTs to ensure that such clinics and nursing homes continue to function without any hindrances," said Bhalla. -- ANI

According to the United Nations specialized agency, the global health crisis could lead to an annual tourism decline between 60 per cent and 80 per cent when compared with the 2019 figures. "This places millions of livelihoods at risk and threatens to roll back progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals," it said. 

"The world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Tourism has been hit hard, with millions of jobs at risk in one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the economy," UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said. 

Arrivals in March dropped sharply by 57 per cent following the start of a lockdown in many countries, as well as the widespread introduction of travel restrictions and the closure of airports and national borders. 

This translates into a loss of 67 million international arrivals and about USD 80 billion in receipts (exports from tourism). Although Asia and the Pacific shows the highest impact in relative and absolute terms (a decline of 33 million arrivals), the impact in Europe, though lower in percentage, is quite high in volume (-22 million), the agency said. 

Prospects for the year have been downgraded several times since the outbreak and uncertainty continues to dominate. Current scenarios point to possible declines in arrivals of 58 per cent to 78 per cent for the year. 

These depend on the speed of containment and the duration of travel restrictions and shutdown of borders. The agency has given three scenarios for 2020 based on possible dates for the gradual opening up of international borders. 

According to scenario 1, there could be a decline of 58 per cent in arrivals based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early July. 

Scenario 2 could see a 70 per cent decline if international borders are gradually opened and travel restrictions are eased in early September. 

Scenario 3 states that there could be a 78 per cent decline in arrivals based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions only in early December. 

Under these scenarios, the impact of the loss of demand in international travel could translate into loss of 850 million to 1.1 billion international tourists, loss of USD 910 billion to USD 1.2 trillion in export revenues from tourism and 100 to 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk. 

"This is by far the worst crisis that international tourism has faced since records began (1950). The impact will be felt to varying degrees in the different global regions and at overlapping times, with Asia and the Pacific expected to rebound first," the agency said. -- PTI

"Dr Manmohan Singh was admitted for observation and investigation after he developed a febrile reaction to a new medication," the sources said. "He is being investigated to rule out other causes of fever and is being provided care as needed. He is stable and under care of a team of doctors at the Cardiothoracic Centre of AIIMS," they said. 

"All his parameters are fine. He is under observation at the AIIMS," a source close to him has said.  A number of leaders expressed have expressed concern over his health and wished him a speedy recovery. -- PTI

The foremost requirement suggested is the appointment of safe management officers to put in place safe distancing measures, the ministry said on Saturday as per the Strait Times. The officers must ensure compliance, conduct checks regularly, and keep a record of inspections, the ministry added.

The second requirement suggested is conducting of meetings, conferences, seminars and social gatherings virtually, while practices such as eating in groups, must be postponed or cancelled.

Those who cannot work from home must stagger working or break hours. They should work in split teams or in shifts, and cannot meet colleagues in other teams. Those in the same shift or team must be at least 1m apart and wear a mask at all times, the ministry further stated.

Temperature screening and checks for respiratory symptoms for onsite workers is to be done twice in a day, apart from visitors. Employees and visitors also need to submit declarations of travel history before being allowed to enter offices and worksites. They should confirm that they have not received a quarantine or isolation order, stay-home notice, not been in close contact of any confirmed corona cases, or been issued medical certificates for respiratory symptoms, the new guidelines added.

Employers have also been asked to keep the records of employees for at least 28 days. They must also ensure that each employee visits only one clinic for checkups and must submit records of their medical certificates as well as diagnoses provided, only for Covid-19- related symptoms.

An evacuation plan must be prepared for unwell or suspected cases, as well as for other onsite personnel, the ministry said.Self-ordering options and contactless payment modes should be installed. Use of national digital check-in system SafeEntry to record all entries and exits, including employees and visitors should be put in place.

Lastly, common spaces, including lifts, pantries and visitor rooms, must be cleaned regularly. Employers should further encourage workers to download contact-tracing app TraceTogether, the ministry said. -- ANI

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, India is conducting 'Vande Bharat' Mission -- its biggest ever repatriation exercise since independence -- to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, including from the US, the UAE and the UK. Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return on special Air India flights from 12 countries in the coming days. -- ANI

Image: More than 300 Indians returned to Bengaluru from London on an Air India special flight early morning today. Pic: ANI

The monarch's remarks came amidst growing concern about the number of people not following the regulations such as compulsory wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing. 

South Africa is currently in a level 4 lockout in a five-level risk-based strategy for lockdowns, with fears that there may be a return to the highest level if people continue to disregard the regulations. 

In terms of the level 4 lockdown, some businesses have been allowed to reopen after an earlier total shutdown as the economy stutters and growing unemployment creates long queues for food handouts. 

Zwelithini reminded his audience of the response from the public during the previous epidemics and historical incidents such as the Spanish Flu and the World War II. "Those who lived during those difficult times (and complied) did not die and lived to tell the tale. We must also listen in order to ensure that we save this world for our future generations," he said. 

The monarch said that during the World War II, the nations were divided, but the world is now united in fighting the pandemic. Zwelithini commended President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet, singling out Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, who hails from his province, for what he described as a "sterling' job in leading the country in the fight against COVID-19.  -- PTI

"It is true that migrant labourers who are walking back to their home towns hundreds of kilometres away are in a way violating lockdown norms, but we are letting them go on humanitarian ground," Deshmukh said. 

Last month, hundreds of migrant labourers gathered near Bandra station demanding that transportation arrangements be made for them to go back to their native places. Police then baton-charged the workers to disperse them. Deshmukh said the state government earlier tried to be strict, but extension of the lockdown "pushed the migrant labourers to the edge". 

"They are so desperate to go home that they are ready to even face the wrath of law enforcement agencies. Hence, we decided not to be harsh with them. It is not alone my ministry but the government as a whole is trying to help them, the minister said.  Deshmukh said there was some communication gap (between the state government and labourers) which could have been corrected earlier. "We never thought the lockdown would get extended for such a long time. We tried to speak to migrant labourers. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also made several appeals, but the migrant workers decided to return home, he said. 

Deshmukh said the government tried to convince migrant labourers not to leave the state by telling them that some industries have resumed and there would be more relaxations in days to come. "During my visit to temporary shelter homes, a group of workers told me they might come back after Diwali, but now they want to go home, the minister said. They are taking a huge risk by setting off on foot to their native places as they do not have money and resources to complete the journey, he noted.  -- PTI

The 49-year-old jeweller, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March last year, is expected to be produced physically at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. 

However, given the social distancing measures being followed by prisons and courts, District Judge Samuel Goozee had conceded that an alternative would be for him to be produced via videolink. "Some prisons are producing prisoners in person, so I will direct Wandsworth Prison to produce Modi in person for the trial from May 11. If that is not practicable, his participation by live link remains a backstop," Judge Goozee said at the last remand hearing in the case on April 28. It has been agreed that a limited number of legal representatives will be present physically in court for the trial, while witnesses give their evidence via videolink. 

Modi will be able to observe the proceedings either from the dock, if the prison authorities agree to a physical transfer, or via the judiciary's common viewing system from Wandsworth Prison. The five-day hearing starting on Monday relates to the Indian government's extradition request certified by the UK government last year. -- PTI

United States Vice President Mike Pence is not planning to enter self-quarantine after his press secretary tested positive for coronavirus on Friday and plans to be at the White House on Monday, his office said on Sunday.

Pence spokesperson Devin O'Malley said the vice president "will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine."

"Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow," O'Malley said in the statement.

India has recorded more than 4,000 cases of coronavirus in India in the last 24 hours, taking its total count to 67,152. 

Of the total cases, there are 44,029 active cases, while 20,916 people have recovered. The death toll, meanwhile, has climbed to 2,206.

The over 4,000 cases is the biggest 1-day spike that India has witnessed since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. 

The United States has recorded 776 deaths linked to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 79,526, according Johns Hopkins University.

The daily increase was the lowest since March, with daily numbers in recent weeks ranging from 1,000 to 2,500.

The US remains the country with by far the highest number of confirmed infections - partly because of its large population and widespread testing.

There are now 1,329,260 cases, more than five times the tally of Spain, the second-worst affected country.

As India enters the last week of the 54-day coronavirus lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual meeting with chief ministers during which a strategy for a phased exit from the shutdown is to be discussed.

Modi's discussions with chief ministers of states and union territories on Monday at 3 pm are expected to revolve on steps for reviving the battered economy and scaling up all efforts to bring more 'red' zones with high COVID-19 case load into 'orange' or 'green' zones, as they push for stepping up economic activities in a calibrated manner.

The Centre also weighed the pros and cons of further easing of restrictions for a graded exit from the twice extended lockdown due to end on May 17 but sources said the curbs still in place are unlikely to be withdrawn in one go.

This will be Modi's fifth interaction with the chief ministers since the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has presented a plan to ease the lockdown, allowing people in England to spend more time outdoors from Wednesday.

Those who can not work from home should return to the workplace and some primary pupils will return to school, "at the earliest by June 1".

The next step could then see some hospitality businesses and other public places reopen -- "if the numbers support it" -- but not earlier than July 1.

A new Covid Alert System with five levels will govern how quickly lockdown restrictions can be eased.

The plans presented by Johnson only apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can decide their own schedule for easing - and have indicated they will not follow yet.

Model-cum-actress Poonam Pandey was on Sunday booked by Mumbai Police for violating the coronvirus-induced lockdown norms, an official said.

An FIR was registered against Panedy and a person accompanying her by the Marine Drive Police.

She was found roaming in her high-end car at Marine Drive without any reason, he said.

"A case has been registered against Pandey and Sam Ahmad Bombay (46) under sections 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of a disease dangerous to life) and 188 (Disobedience of order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under provisions of the National Disaster Act," said senior police inspector Mrityunjay Hiremath.