The Yamuna was flowing close to the warning mark in Delhi on Saturday, but the water level is expected to recede, officials said.

"The water level was recorded at 204.14 meters at the Old Railway Bridge at 7 pm. It was 204.23 at 10 am and 204.41 metres at 5 pm on Friday," an official of the irrigation and flood control department said.

The warning level is 204.50 metres, and the danger mark is 205.33 metres.

Water was being released into the Yamuna at the rate of 7,862 cusec at 6 pm from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana's Yamunanagar district. The flow rate was 12,210 cusec cusec at 1 am on Saturday, the maximum in the last 24 hours.

"The flow rate has remained between 8,000 cusec to 25,000 cusec over the last three days, which is not very high," he said.

One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litre per second.

The water discharged from the barrage, which provides drinking water to Delhi, normally takes two-three days to reach the capital.

The water level rose on Friday due to rains in Delhi and neighbouring areas, he said.

An IPS officer who was part of the Mumbai police's team which was probing actor Sushant Singh

Rajput suicide case has tested positive for coronavirus infection.

The IPS officer and all other members of his family have contracted the viral infection, a senior police official said on Saturday.

He was sent on leave and has been quarantined at home, the police official said.

The Rajput death case has been taken over by the CBI.

The infected officer had questioned Rajput's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, and the CBI team which is now in Mumbai to probe the case had also met him recently, he said.

Earlier two IPS officers of Mumbai police had tested positive for the viral infection.

The pandemic has claimed the lives of at least 62 personnnel of Mumbai Police. Around 4,500 have been infected.

More activities are now allowed outside coronavirus containment zones in the centre's latest Unlock4 guidelines. However, the lockdown rules will still be in force at COVID-19 containment zones till September 30, the home ministry said in a notification this evening.

States are not allowed to impose any localised lockdown outside containment zones without consulting with the centre, the Home Ministry said.

"States not to impose any local lockdown outside containment zones. State or Union Territory governments shall not impose any local lockdown (state, district, sub-division, city or village level) outside the containment zones, without prior consultation with the central government," the order said.

It said the containment zones will be demarcated by the district authorities at a micro level after taking into consideration the Home Ministry's guidelines to effectively break the chain of coronavirus transmission.

Within the containment zones, strict perimeter control will be maintained and only essential activities are allowed. The government said the containment zones will be updated on the websites of the district collectors.

There are no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement, and separate permission is not needed to go from one state to another.

Metro train services can resume in a phased manner from September 7 and social and other functions will be allowed with a limit of 100 people, the central government said on Saturday as it announced new steps to ease COVID-19 restrictions as part of the fourth phase of unlocking.

Schools, colleges, swimming pools and indoor theatres will remain closed. This phase, called "Unlock 4", will be in effect till September 30.

The last set of guidelines for Unlock 3 that came on July 30 ended night curfew and allowed the opening of gyms and yoga institutes that are not in containment zones. Restrictions remained in place in all other areas that involve large gatherings - be it educational institutions, public parks or cinema halls.

Coronavirus cases have been rising steadily across India, at around 70,000 new infections every day, with the total number of cases crossing 34 lakh behind the United States and Brazil. More than 62,000 people have died in the country so far.

The Supreme Court on Monday will spell out the sentence on a contempt case against lawyer Prashant Bhushan for his tweets against the judiciary and Chief Justice of India SA Bobde.

Bhushan in the last hearing on Tuesday refused to apologise for his tweets, though the government's top lawyer who is assisting the court had suggested he should be pardoned with a warning.

After a back-and-forth in the courtroom and an emotional statement by outgoing judge Justice Arun Mishra, the Supreme Court had reserved its judgment.

"If you are hurting someone, then what is wrong in apologising?" Justice Arun Mishra had said. "For how long the system will suffer all this? I am retiring in a few days. Will it be okay if you or others start attacking me? You should apply balm if you have caused hurt," he had said.

Prashant Bhushan, held guilty of contempt, refused to retract or apologise for his tweets after the court's three-day window ended on Monday. In a 100-page statement, he said the tweets represented a bonafide belief that he holds and an apology, conditional or unconditional, would be insincere. Retracting now would be a "contempt of my conscience" and the court, he said.

The Supreme Court had sought an unconditional apology and had asked the 63-year-old to "reconsider" his statement. On Tuesday, the court told Bhushan to consider withdrawing the statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Mann Ki Baat in the 68th edition of his monthly radio programme at 11 am on Sunday.

PM Modi had sought ideas and suggestions from people on Twitter earlier this month about topics for his radio programme where he addresses the country and range of issues.

The PM had tweeted to ask people to send their inputs by writing to him using NaMo or MyGov App or by recording their messages by calling on 1800-11-7800. Phone lines have been opened from August 10.

In the previous edition of Mann ki Baat, which was also a date when India celebrates Kargil Vijay Diwas, PM Modi had paid tributes to soldier who fought valiantly against Pakistans forces during the Kargil War. He also said that despite efforts to establish cordial relations Pakistan remained resolute in pushing cross-border terrorism.

PM Modi also reminded citizens to not let their guard down amid the rising cases of the coronavirus disease. He said that it is necessary to wear masks when outside and asked those who think wearing them is troublesome to reflect upon the amount of time frontline workers have to spend in a day wearing masks. He reiterated that people need to follow all precautions to prevent Covid-19.

A 58-year-old uncle of cricketer Suresh Raina died while four members of his family sustained injuries allegedly in an attack by robbers in Punjab's Pathankot district.

The deceased has been identified as Ashok Kumar, a government contractor. 

 

According to police, the incident took place at Thariyal village in Punjab's Pathankot on the night intervening August 19 and 20.

Kumar's elder brother Shyam Lal confirmed that the victim was the cricketer's uncle. He said Raina is expected to visit the village.

Earlier, a senior police official had said they can't confirm the victim's relationship with the cricketer.

According to police, three to four members of the notorious 'Kale Kachhewala' gang had come with an intention to loot, attacked Ashok Kumar and his family members at their house in Thariyal village near Madhopur of Pathankot.

At the time of the attack, they were sleeping on the terrace of their house.

Ashok Kumar suffered head injuries and died on the same night, police said.  

Confirming Kumar's death, Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana had earlier said he had no confirmation about the victim's relation with the cricketer.

"We are investigating the matter," said the SSP.

According to police, robbers decamped with some cash and gold from the house.

Kumar's 80-year-old mother Satya Devi, his wife Asha Devi, sons Apin and Kuashal suffered injuries, said police.

While Satya Devi has been discharged from hospital, others are still undergoing treatment, said Pathankot Superintendent of Police Prabhjot Singh Virk.

BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj was forcibly home quarantined on Saturday for 14-day for violating COVID norms, a senior district official said.

 

The MP from Uttar Pradesh had come to Giridih, over 200 km from Ranchi, to take part in a programme from Unnao via Dhanbad.

   

Maharaj, who was returning to Dhanbad by road to take a train to Delhi, was intercepted by the district administration near Pirtand police station and sent on quarantine at Shanti Bhawan ashram, where he had gone to take part in a programme, Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar Sinha said.

   

The action been taken in accordance with a state government order of 14 days quarantine for people coming from outside to the state, the DC said.

   

"He had not informed the state government about his visit and therefore we have put him in quarantine for 14 days," Sinha said.

     

India's COVID-19 recoveries have crossed 26 lakh pushing the recovery rate to 76.47 per cent, which the Centre said has been made possible due to the strategic policy of "testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently" in supervised home-isolation, facility-isolation and hospitals.

  

The case fatality rate has also been low when compared to the global average. It is on a continuous decline and currently stands at 1.81 per cent, the ministry underlined on Saturday.

A significant feature of India's management of COVID-19 cases is the growing rate of recovered patients. A higher number of patients are recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation, it highlighted.

These recoveries are being achieved because of adherence to the 'National Standard Treatment Protocol' by all health facilities across the country, and due to daily monitoring of positive cases under home-isolation, the ministry said.

With 65,050 patients having recuperated from COVID-19 in 24 hours, the total number of recoveries have surged to 26,48,998.

Two students have approached the Supreme Court through a letter petition to Chief Justice of India SA Bobde seeking postponement of National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test and Joint Entrance Exams on humanitarian grounds amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A third-year law student and a 12th class student wrote a joint letter petition to CJI Bobde on Friday seeking his intervention to quash the decision of the Government of India to hold the NEET and JEE examination in September amid the ongoing pandemic. 

The letter said the issues required urgent and kind attention of the court and added that the decision of the government to hold NEET and JEE examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic is a "clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution in as much as it forces all students, who wish to participate in the said examinations, to either endanger their lives and health by exposing themselves to the virus or risk their academic future by losing a chance to appear in the said entrance examinations."

It said that COVID-19 is emerging as one of the most dangerous pandemics in human memory and added that hundreds of thousands of people have died and millions have been infected worldwide. It said even if they survive they will face long terms consequences of this disease.

The letter further said that more than three million people have been infected in India and over 50,000 people have lost their lives.

"To protect the lives of the people, the Courts, Parliament, most legislative assemblies, all academic institutions are closed. Most government and private offices are working at 50 per cent capacity to avoid the spread of infection. So many precautions are being taken to protect the lives of adult citizens of India, which is a very welcome step. However to the utter shock of all students, their lives are being considered to be less valuable then the lives of these VIPs and the 17-18-year-old students are being forced to endanger their lives to appear in the entrance examination when the pandemic is at its peak," the letter petition said.

A meeting of the political affairs committee of the National Conference began on Saturday, the first such gathering of the top decision-making body of the party after the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August last year.

 

The PAC meeting began at party headquarters Nawa-i-Subah under the chairmanship of National Confenence president Farooq Abdullah, a NC leader said.

He said party's vice president Omar Abdullah and other senior leaders, including general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, are present in the meeting.

The leaders from the Jammu region, who are part of the PAC, have joined via video conference, the NC leader added. 

This is the first meeting of the NC's political affairs committee after the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August last year and divided the erstwhile state into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Last week, Farooq Abdullah held meetings with over a dozen party leaders, in batches over three days, at his Gupkar residence here. The leaders, whom the NC president met, were under detention for the past one year and the party had challenged their detention in a court. However, the government had submitted in the court that those leaders were not under custody and were free to move anywhere. 

In a big step in the backdrop of an ongoing conflict with China in eastern Ladakh, India is likely to convey to Russia that its troops would not be participating in the multinational military exercise Kavkaz-2020 where Chinese and Pakistani troops are also going to be there. 

The Indian authorities have also taken into account the worsening global COVID-19 situation where India alone is witnessing over 70,000 positive cases daily to take a decision regarding participation in the wargames being held in the Astrakhan area of Southern Russia.

"A high-level meeting was held in South Block in which External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat were present. After the meeting, it was discussed that it would not be right to take part in the multilateral exercise where Chinese and Pakistani military personnel would also be present," defence sources said.

Sources said while India is locked in a military conflict with the Chinese in eastern Ladakh and on high alert all along the 4,000 kilometre Line of Actual Control, it cannot be business as usual for us to be participating in multilateral military exercises with them.

India and China had clashed in the Galwan valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian troops had lost their lives while the Chinese also suffered a number of casualties with scores of Chinese soldiers killed and injured there.

Sources said Indian defence minister would be visiting Russia on September 4-6 for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers' meeting but it is unlikely that the Indian representative would be holding any talks with his Chinese counterpart.

During the meeting, India may raise the point of expansionist policies of the Chinese along the Indian border but a final decision in this regard would be taken closer to the event, sources said.

India was invited by Russia to participate in the tri-services exercise with a contingent of around 200 personnel to Southern Russia in September for the multi-lateral Kavkaz-2020.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, has recovered and is likely to be discharged shortly.

In a statement, AIIMS said, "Amit Shah is admitted at AIIMS, New Delhi for post Covid care. He has recovered and is likely to be discharged in a short time."

Amit Shah was admitted at AIIMS on August 18 after for post-Covid care following suggestions from doctors.

At AIIMS, Amit Shah was under observation and a team of doctors led by AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria was monitoring his condition.

In it medical bulletin on August 18, AIIMS has said Amit Shah has been complaining of fatigue and body aches for the past three-four days. "He is comfortable and continuing his work from hospital," AIIMS had said.

The Union minister tested positive for Covid-19 on August 2 and was admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon. A team of doctors from AIIMS, New Delhi was also monitoring his health updates.

Amit Shah was the first Union cabinet minister to test positive for coronavirus. Since then, four other Union ministers have tested positive in India with Ayush minister Shripad Naik being the latest.

US President Donald Trump said he considered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a great friend and expressed concern over his decision to step down for health reasons.

I want to pay my highest respect to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ... a great friend of mine, Trump told reporters on Air Force One. I just feel very badly about it.

Trump said Abe loved his country very much and said he planned to call him.

Abe announced on Friday he was resigning because of poor health, his long-running battle with ulcerative colitis ending a tenure as Japans longest-serving prime minister.

Abe, the first foreign leader to meet with Trump as president-elect, forged close ties with him, playing golf and engaging in frequent phone calls and meetings.

Congress alleged "quid-pro-quo" relationship between Facebook and the BJP on Saturday and wrote a letter to the social networking platform founder Mark Zuckerberg seeking information about steps the company is planning to take to investigate the matter.

"We draw your attention to the article in Time magazine dated Aug 27, 2020 that reveals more information and evidence of biases and a quid-pro-quo relationship of Facebook India with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party," read the letter by Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal to Zuckerberg. 

Venugopal said the article makes three main points that are "alarming and violate both the spirit and the law of operations of foreign companies in India".

"The BJP has been allowed to exercise control of WhatsApp's India operations in return for a possible licence for its payment operations, which is critical for the future of WhatsApp in India. More than just one person in your company's leadership team in India is biased and partisan in favour of the ruling BJP in their professional endeavours. The problem is larger, deeper and more pervasive than initially assumed," read the letter.

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook Inc.

"The WhatsApp platform used by 400 million Indians has been willingly allowed by your India team to be appropriated for hate speech and the consequent tearing of India's fabric of social harmony," it said.

Venugopal said Congress party wants to know about steps Zuckerberg's company is planning to take to investigate these matters.

"In light of the above new revelations and evidence, as the principal opposition political party and the party of India's freedom struggle, we urge you to let us know what steps your company is planning to take to investigate these matters and draw a plan of action to stem the rot in your India operations," read the letter.

"We will also be pursuing legislative and that a foreign company cannot continue to cause social disharmony in our nation for their pursuit of private profits," he stated.

The party had earlier sent a letter to Zuckerberg on August 17 drawing his attention to an article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Facebook's Hate-Speech Rules Collide with Indian Politics" that outlined Facebook India team's "blatant biases and interference" in India's democracy, Venugopal stated.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday alleged that anti-national and anti-poor forces were spreading hatred and venom of violence in India and the influence of 'tanashahi' (dictatorship) on the country's 'lokshahi' (democracy) was rising.

She also said that the founding fathers of the country would have never imagined that the Constitution and democracy will be in danger 75 years after the Independence as "bad thinking is now dominating, freedom of expression is in danger and democratic institutions are being ruined".

Gandhi was addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Chhattisgarh assembly building to be built in Nava Raipur, the upcoming capital city of the state, through a recorded video message in Hindi.

"For the past some time, an attempt is being made to derail our country. New challenges have come before our democracy. Today, the country stands at a crossroads. Anti-poor and anti-nation forces and those who rule by making people fight against each other have been spreading hatred and

venom of violence," she said.

"Bad thinking is dominating good thinking, freedom of expression is in danger and democratic institutions are being ruined. The influence of 'tanashahi' has been increasing on 'lokshahi'," she added.

The BCCI on Saturday revealed that two players are among a total of 13 who have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the IPL after it came to light that over a dozen members of the Chennai Super Kings contingent have been infected by the dreaded virus in Dubai.

 

The two players who have tested positive include a white-ball T20 specialist seamer for India and a top-order India A batsman. the Board did not reveal any names. The tournament start September 19 and will be played across three cities in the UAE.

"Thirteen personnel have tested positive of which 2 are players. All the affected personnel as well as their close contacts are asymptomatic and have been isolated from other team members. They are being monitored by the IPL Medical Team," the BCCI press release stated.

The release stated that a total of 1,988 RT-PCR COVID-19 tests were carried out between August 20 and 28 across all participant groups in the UAE.

These include players, support staff, team management, BCCI staff, IPL operational team, hotel and ground transport staff.  

       

"As per the IPL 2020 Health and Safety Protocols, testing on all participants will be conducted regularly throughout the IPL 2020 Season," it further stated.

All positive cases need to go through a 14-day quarantine period following which they will have to return two negative RT-PCR tests before being allowed inside the bio-bubble for the tournament. 

A second Chennai Super Kings player tested positive for COVID-19 even as all-rounder Suresh Raina pulled out of the Indian Premier League citing "personal reasons". 

The player in question is a right-handed top-order batsman, who has been a part of India A teams in the recent past and is a prolific performer in Ranji Trophy. 

On Friday, a T20 specialist pacer had tested positive along with at least 10 members of the contingent in Dubai. While it is expected that Raina will be issuing a statement later in the day, sources close to the franchise said that one of the biggest draws in IPL desperately needs some downtime to be with his young family at the moment.

The 33-year-old had retired from international cricket earlier this month

"Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the remainder of the IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time," CSK tweeted CEO K Viswanathan's statement.

CSK's quarantine period in Dubai has already been extended till September 1.

"Suresh's absence will be a big blow for the CSK and also, he is one of the biggest draws in IPL. But in these times, if any player doesn't feel 100 per cent and has some other pressing priorities, any team respects that and CSK is no different," a senior IPL official privy to development in CSK camp said on conditions of anonymity.

While it is understood that the tournament is not under threat as of now but one franchise becoming a "COVID-19 hotspot" is slowly becoming an issue for other teams as well as the BCCI.

The Border Security Force has detected a tunnel just beneath the India-Pakistan international border fence in Jammu, officials said on Saturday.

The force has launched a major search operation in the area to look for other such hidden structures that aid infiltration even as it is analysing the spotted structure, they said.

BSF Director General Rakesh Asthana has directed his frontier commanders to ensure that the anti-infiltration grid is intact and there are no gaps along this front, they added.

The tunnel, about 50 metres from the border fence on the Indian side, was located by a BSF patrol on Thursday in the Samba sector of Jammu.

The force later examined the tunnel and found plastic sandbags on its mouth that had "Pakistani markings" on them, officials told PTI.

The tunnel, as per sources, has a depth of about 25 feet at the opening and the border force has launched a mega search operation along the IB in this area to detect any other such clandestine structure that can aid infiltrators to cross over from the Pakistan side and also help in smuggling of arms and narcotics.

About 8-10 plastic sandbags that have 'Karachi and Shakargarh' written on them have been recovered from the opening of the tunnel and the bags have a manufacturing and expiry date embossed on them indicating they were manufactured recently, officials said.

The nearest Pakistani border post is about 400 metres from the tunnel, they said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the BJP has a hold over WhatsApp and said the platform now needs the approval of the Central government to launch its payment services in India.

"America's Time magazine exposes WhatsApp-BJP nexus: Used by 40 Cr Indians, WhatsApp also wants to be used for making payments for which Modi Govt's approval is needed. Thus, BJP has a hold over WhatsApp," Gandhi tweeted while citing a media report. 

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook Inc.

Earlier on August 16, the former Congress chief had alleged that the BJP and the RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in the country.

He also alleged that they spread fake news and hatred through these social media platforms to influence the electorate.

"BJP & RSS control Facebook & Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," he tweeted earlier citing a media report. 

Actress Rhea Chakraborty, who is accused of abetting the suicide of film star Sushant Singh

Rajput, reached the DRDO guest house in Mumbai for the second consecutive day on Saturday for questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation, an official said.

A vehicle carrying Rhea Chakraborty (28) reached the DRDO guest house in suburban Santacruz, where the probe team is stationed, around 1.30 pm. She was escorted by a police van.

Earlier in the day, the CBI team requested the city police to provide security to the actress and the cops acted on the request, an official said.

 

Rajput's flatmate Siddharth Pithani, cook Neeraj Singh, domestic help Keshav, manager Samual Miranda and accountant Rajat Mewati were already being quizzed by the CBI team since Saturday morning at the guest house.

On Friday, Rhea was interrogated by the central agency team for more than 10 hours and was allowed to return home under police escort as a large number of media personnel were present outside her building.

As many as 151 Maharashtra Police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 and five others have lost their lives in the last 24 hours, according to the state police department on Saturday.

According to the Maharashtra Police, so far a total number of 14,792 cops have tested positive for COVID-19 and while 11,867 have recovered after treatment, 153 others lost their lives due to the virus. 

Meanwhile, 2,772 cops are active COVID-19 patients in the state. Police have registered as many as 2,43,934 offences under Section 188 (disobedience or order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Also, 340 incidents of assualt on police have been reported in the state.

Moreover, the Maharashtra Police has arrested 34,017 people for flouting COVID-19 guidelines and fined a total amount of Rs 23,36,44,394. As per the police, 72 incidents of attack on health professionals have been reported and 829 people have been found violating quarantine measures in the state.

According to official data, there are a total number of 1,81,050 active COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, while 5,43,170 people have recovered after treatment and 23,775 others have lost their lives due to the virus.

Based on the request made by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Mumbai Police provided security to actress Rhea Chakraborty, who is accused of abetting the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, an official said on Saturday.

The CBI officials, who are in Mumbai to probe the actor's death case, made the request to the city police on Saturday, he said.

The CBI had on Friday questioned the actress at the DRDO guest house in suburban Santacruz in connection with the case.

"On the request made by the central probe agency, we have provided security to Rhea," the police official said.

Recently, she had said in a social media post that there was a threat to her and her family's life and sought protection from Mumbai police. She took to Instagram and shared a video where her father was seen being hounded by the media outside her building compound.

She said that she and her family members are trying to step out of their house to cooperate with the investigating agencies like the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate - but are not able to do so due to the crowd gathering outside the residence.

Rajput was found hanging at his flat in Bandra on June 14.

The United States may have four Covid-19 candidate vaccines in large-scale clinical trials by the middle of September, according to a report by the USA today. 

Health and Human Services Deputy Chief of Staff Paul Mango, who is also the agency's liaison with Operation Warp Speed, said that the US government was very pleased with the progress. 

He added that the agency felt it was "absolutely on track", if not a little ahead, in terms of their overall objective - which was tens of millions of (doses of) safe and effective vaccines approved for calendar year-end. Mango said that each Phase 3 clinical trial would enroll 30,000 volunteers and that the two underway currently were about halfway there.

Britain is preparing to revise its laws to allow the emergency use of any effective coronavirus vaccine before it is fully licensed -- but only if the shots meet required safety and quality standards. 

In a statement Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government said it was adopting reinforced safeguards to allow the country's medicines regulatory agency to grant temporary authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine, provided it meets safety and quality standards.

The proposed regulations would allow coronavirus vaccines to receive an emergency approval allowing people to be immunized while the full licensing process is being finished. Typically, vaccines are only used after the licensing review has been completed, a process which can take several months.

India has received the highest rainfall in August this year since 1976 -- 25 per cent more than the average, after recording 10 per cent less downpour than the average in July, thus setting a new record after 44 years, the IMD said.

The India Meteorological Department however, has forecast that the monsoon may slow down in September.

"The forecast so far has been correct regarding the monsoon. The distribution of the monsoon across the country has been better and consistent. There was strong rainfall in August, but in September, the monsoon may gradually weaken. However, areas that received less rain may see increased rainfall," said IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

The latest IMD report said: "From August 1-28, India has received 296.2 millimeters of rainfall, while the average rainfall during the month is 237.2 millimeters. Thus, the country has received 25 per cent more rainfall in August than the average.

"Previously in 1976, the month of August received 28.4 per cent more rainfall than the average, while the highest rainfall in August was in 1926 -- between 1901 and 2020. In 1926, 33 per cent more rainfall was recorded than the average."

According to the IMD data, the highest rainfall in August has been in central India -- 57 per cent above the average, while the east and northeast India received 18 per cent less rainfall than the average.

Unlock 4.0, the fourth phase of opening of the economy after coronavirus lockdown, will start from September 1.

Officials have said Unlock 4 guidelines, which will be announced later this week, only mention the activities which will be prohibited while the rest can resume.

Here is a look at what will change during Unlock 4.0:

The Centre is likely to allow resumption of metro services, which were halted since March 22, in Delhi and the NCR from September 1. Contactless ticketing system will be put in place and passengers will not be allowed to use tokens anymore.

Flouting Covid-19 norms such as not wearing a mask, sitting on seats meant to be left vacant in order to maintain social distancing and spitting or littering on the station premises will attract hefty fines.

Schools and colleges will remain to be shut, while bars will be allowed to serve liquor over the counter for takeaways.

Cinema halls will also remain shut as it wont be feasible to run shows with only 25-30% capacity due to physical distancing norms.

Local trains in Mumbai will not resume in this phase. Mumbai police has also warned motorists that they will impound vehicles if they cannot show a valid reason for being out.

Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee has shown improvement in the renal parameters following dysfunction earlier. The veteran politician is also being treated for his lung infection.

In an update on Saturday, the Army Research and Referral Hospital said, Honble Shri Pranab Mukherjee is being treated for lung infection. His renal parameters have improved. He continues to be in deep coma and on ventilator support. He remains haemodynamically stable.

A patient is haemodynamically stable when the blood circulation parameters - blood pressure, heart and pulse rate, are stable and normal.

Pranab Mukherjee continues to be in a state of deep coma following the critical brain surgery on August 10. He was admitted to the Army hospital on August 10 for the surgery to remove a clot in the brain, following which his health worsened.

Pranab Mukherjee had also tested positive for coronavirus the same day before surgery.

According to doctors treating 84-year-old Pranab Mukherjee, he is under intensive care and is being treated for a lung infection and renal dysfunction.

Bhartiya Janata Party president J P Nadda will chair a meeting of all the party MPs from Bihar and senior party leaders on Saturday to finalise its poll strategy for the upcoming state assembly elections.

According to sources, all the BJP MPs from Bihar including union ministers Ravishankar Prasad, Giriraj Singh, R K Singh, Nityanand Rai and Ashwini Choubey are likely to attend the meeting at the party office to discuss preparations for Bihar elections.

"BJP chief wants to know the ground reality ahead of the election and will discuss the seat-sharing to know the views of the MPs for the upcoming polls.

"The meeting with MPs is considered to be very important as their feedback will also be used in seat-sharing for National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," sources said.

The sources further said that Nadda will start his Bihar tour if lockdown is lifted in the state.

National General Secretary Bhupender Yadav was appointed as party's state in-charge in December last year.

Bihar has 243 Assembly constituencies and elections in the state are due in October-November as the tenure of the current Assembly is scheduled to end on November 29.

The Election Commission has not yet taken a final call on poll dates in Bihar due to coronavirus pandemic and has sought suggestions from political parties.   -- ANI

Sitharaman on Thursday had said the economy has been hit by the pandemic, which is an 'Act of God', and it will see a contraction in the current fiscal.

Taking a swipe at Sitharaman over the remarks, Chidambaram said, 'If the pandemic is an Act of God', how do we describe the mismanagement of the economy during 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. Before the pandemic struck India?'

'Will the FM as the Messenger of God please answer?' the former finance minister asked.

Chidambaram also slammed the Centre for asking states to borrow more to make up for revenue losses due to pending GST dues.

He asserted that the two options given by the Modi government to the states to bridge the GST compensation gap are unacceptable.

'Under the first option the states are asked to borrow by pledging their future receivables under Compensation cess. The financial burden falls entirely on the states,' Chidambaram said.

'Under the second option, states are asked to borrow from the RBI window. It is more market borrowing, only by a different name. Again, the entire financial burden falls on the states,' he said in a series of tweets.

Chidambaram claimed that the central government is absolving itself of any financial responsibility.

This is a 'gross betrayal' as well as a 'direct violation of the law', he alleged. -- PTI

JUST IN: India's COVID-19 case tally crosses 34 lakh mark with a spike of 76,472 new cases and 1,021 deaths in the last 24 hours.

COVID-19 case tally in the country stands at 34,63,973 including 7,52,424 active cases, 26,48,999 cured/discharged/migrated and 62,550 deaths, says the ministry of health and family welfare.  -- ANI

he Odisha government has decided to provide free transportation and accommodation to the applicants of Joint Entrance Exams (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in the state, said Asit Tripathy, state chief secretary.

Tripathy informed that a total of 37,000 students will be appearing for the JEE mains examination and for that, a total of 26 exam centres have been set up in seven cities in Odisha.

As per the directions by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the students who are appearing for the examination and need transportation and accommodation will be provided with the same facilities free of cost by the state government.

"The district administrations have been advised to facilitate the movement of candidates and their parents without any hindrance due to the lockdown and shutdown," he said.

Speaking about the hotels in the state, Odisha Chief Secretary said: 'At present hotels are not functional due to COVID-19, therefore, Chief Minister has ordered that Engineering College Hostels/ ITIs will be opened and they will provide free accommodation to the NEET and JEE applicants.

'The chief minister has also directed for the opening of nodal centres in every district to help the students and their parents. The candidates have to inform the nodal centres regarding their transport and accommodation requirements.'  -- ANI

In a major initiative by the Central government, as many as 35 'Made in India' ventilators have been provided to District Hospital Udhampur, under the Prime Minister's Citizens Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM CARES) fund in the fight against COVID-19.

Dr Vijay Raina, Medical Superintendent of the District Hospital, Udhampur told ANI, "The government has provided ventilator support to all district hospitals, on short notice. We will install them shortly."

"Earlier ICUs with ventilators were available only in medical colleges. We use to refer to patients to other hospitals who have ventilators. When numbers started increasing, we faced difficulty when we had severely ill patients who need ventilator support. Now we can save them even here," he added.

The hospital superintendent thanked Centre for providing ventilators to district hospitals in a short span of time amid COVID-19 crisis.

"Out of every 100 patients who come here, around 90 of them are asymptomatic who can be treated at home. Earlier, we used to feel helpless while treating symptomatic patients who may experience breathing issues and high fever," said Dr Raina.

People of Udhampur visiting the district hospital also expressed their gratitude to the government for taking up this initiative.

"This is the biggest gift given by the Government of India to Udhampur district amid COVID-19 crisis. I would like to thank the government for their support. This will benefit the people of the district," said Ashish, a resident who visited the hospital.

"People from Udhampur were earlier referred to Jammu due to lack of ventilator facility but now ventilators have been made available in the district in a large number. It is a good initiative and I would like to thank the government for providing us with the ventilators to combat COVID-19," said another resident. -- ANI

Three unidentified terrorists were killed in an encounter with police and security forces in the Zadoora area of Pulwama on Saturday, Kashmir Zone Police said.

One soldier, who was critically injured in the encounter, succumbed to his injuries, according to a Public Relations Officer of Defence, Srinagar.

The encounter between security forces and terrorists broke out at 1 am on Saturday.

Incrimination materials including arms and ammunition have been seized from the encounter site and the search operation is underway.

'Pulwama encounter -- Update: 03 unidentified terrorists killed. Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition seized. Search going on. Further details shall follow,' the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.

'Op Zadoora, Pulwama. Update. Three terrorists eliminated. One AK and two Pistols recovered. One soldier was critically injured and succumbed to his injuries. Joint operation in progress,' Chinar Corps, Indian Army tweeted.

On Friday, two unidentified terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kiloora area of Shopian district, police said. -- ANI

American actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his role in Black Panther, has died of cancer, the BBC reported, quoting his family.

The 43-year-old actor died at his home in Los Angeles with his wife and family by his side.

Boseman had not spoken publicly about his diagnosis.

'A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,' his family said in a statement.

'From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and several more -- all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honor of his career to bring King T'Challa to life in Black Panther,' it said.

Boseman's family said he was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago.  -- Agencies

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Friday that the COVID-19 recovery rate in the country has improved to 76.28 per cent, but added that the pandemic should not be taken lightly.

He said this while virtually inaugurating a Rs 237 crore-worth super speciality hospital built by the Centre in Indore, which is the worst-hit district in Madhya Pradesh in terms of the coronavirus infection count and deaths.

"The national COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 76.28 per cent, while the mortality rate has come down to 1.82 per cent which was the lowest in the world," he said.

Nearly four crore tests have been conducted on people. Of them, nine lakh were done on Thursday alone, he said.

"Although our country is better equipped to deal with the viral infection than the rest of the world, we should not take the pandemic lightly," he said.

Through a video conferencing function, he called upon the leaders to make people in their area aware about the disease and motivate them to follow the government guidelines to stop the spread of the disease.

"I have full faith that if we all work unitedly, we under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are going to succeed in the fight against coronavirus," the minister said.

He added that the work to build 75 super speciality hospitals in the country was going on at a fast pace.

On the pandemic situation in Madhya Pradesh, he said that the number of cases were big at four to five places and the Centre will focus more on them.

Vardhan said that efforts are on to open a branch of the National Centre for Disease Control in Bhopal this year.

According to him, the state government has made available 12,000 sq ft area to the Centre for setting up this branch.

The facility will have a laboratory to check and conduct research on diseases, including COVID-19, he said, adding that with the help of the central government, 14 new medical colleges are being set up in MP.  -- PTI