Delhi received over 48,000 doses of Covaxin for the 45 plus age group on Saturday, and it will mostly be used for administering second doses since the quantity is less, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi said.

Delhi also received over 83,000 doses of Covishield on Friday, she said.

Till May 28, there were no Covaxin doses available for any age group in Delhi.

Issuing the vaccination bulletin, she said, "We received over 48,000 doses of Covaxin on Friday from the Centre for the 45 plus people, healthcare and frontline workers.

"Since the quantity is less, they will mostly be used to inoculate those who have received the first dose of the vaccine."

While the vaccination of the 18-44 years age group remained suspended for the sixth day, she alleged that the Delhi government was not receiving the vaccines while the private hospitals were inoculating those in this age group by charging exorbitant rates.

"How is it that private hospitals have vaccines and they are charging anywhere between Rs 900 to even Rs 1,400 for a single dose of vaccine? We urge the Centre to supply vaccines for this age group.

"As we begin the unlock process, these will be the people who will be stepping out after offices reopen. They need to be vaccinated," she said.

Atishi also questioned the Centre over not approving Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

"Why has Centre not approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines? Their manufacturing can also be done in India. Our country is considered the vaccine capital. Why are we dependent on two companies when they have said that they do not have the manufacturing capacity for producing vaccines that can be used to inoculate the entire country?" she said.  -- PTI 

The government on Saturday announced a string of measures, including a pension for dependents of those having lost their lives due to COVID-19, among other benefits for the families who lost their earning members to the pandemic.

Besides family pensions, insurance benefits under the Employees' Deposit-Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme have been enhanced and liberalised.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said these steps will help mitigate financial difficulties faced by these families.

Modi said his government stands in solidarity with these families.

To help these families live a life of dignity and maintain a good standard of living, the benefit of the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) pension scheme for employment-related death cases is being extended to even those who have died due to Covid, the PMO said in a statement.

Dependent family members of such persons will be entitled to the benefit of pension equivalent to 90 per cent of the average daily wage drawn by the worker as per the existing norms.

This benefit will be available retrospectively with effect from March 24 last year and for all such cases till March 24, 2022.

The enhancement of insurance benefits under the EDLI scheme will in particular help the families of employees who have lost their lives due to the pandemic, the PMO said.

The amount of maximum insurance benefit has been increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, and the provision of minimum insurance benefit of Rs 2.5 lakh has been restored and will apply retrospectively from February 15, 2020 for the next three years.

To benefit families of contractual and casual workers, the condition of continuous employment in only one establishment has been liberalised, with the benefit being made available to families of even those employees who may have changed jobs in the last 12 months preceding his death, it said.

Detailed guidelines of these schemes are being issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the PMO added.

In a tweet, Modi said, 'Family Pension under ESIC and EPFO- Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme will provide a financial cushion to those families who have lost their earning member due to COVID-19. The Government of India stands in solidarity with these families.'   -- PTI

Upset over Yoga guru Ramdev's remarks on allopathy, members of the federation of resident doctors' associations on Saturday said they will hold a nationwide protest on June 1 and observe it as a 'black day'.

In a statement, the federation has also sought an 'unconditional open public apology' from Ramdev.

A controversy had erupted after he was heard questioning some of the medicines being used to treat the coronavirus infection and saying that 'lakhs have died from taking allopathic medicines for COVID-19'.

The remarks were met with vociferous protests, following which Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan asked him to withdraw the 'extremely unfortunate' statement.

On Sunday, Ramdev was forced to withdraw a statement.

A day later, the yoga guru posed 25 questions to the Indian Medical Association (IMA )in an 'open letter' on his Twitter handle, asking if allopathy offered permanent relief for ailments.   --  PTI

A 59-year-old COVID-19 patient, who was also detected with black, white and yellow fungus, has passed away in Ghaziabad, the doctor treating him said on Saturday.

"Kunwar Singh was under treatment but passed away due to toxemia (blood poisoning by toxins) at 7.30 pm on Friday," Dr B P Tyagi, an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist at Harsh Hospital in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar area, told PTI.

The doctor said Singh, a lawyer from Sanjay Nagar in Ghaziabad, had approached him recently with Covid conditions.

"The yellow fungus, besides white and black fungus, was detected during endoscopy on May 24," Tyagi added.

Meanwhile, he said his hospital is treating another 59-year-old man from Muradnagar who has also been detected with yellow fungus infections.

"The fungus in Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Muradnagar, was detected near his brain. Half of his jaw has been removed," he said.

He too has toxemia but the level of infection is lesser than what Kunwar Singh had, the doctor said, adding the patient is on anti-fungal medication.

Ghaziabad, adjoining Delhi, in western Uttar Pradesh has recorded 432 deaths linked to Covid-19 so far and 1,957 active cases of coronavirus, according to official figures updated till Friday.   -- PTI

Prime Minister's Office said that the government will ensure free education for children who lost their parents to COVID-19.

Children having lost parents to COVID-19 will also get monthly stipend after turning 18, fund of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 23 from PM CARES Fund, the PMO said.

Children having lost parents to COVID-19 will be assisted for higher education loan; interest to be paid from PM CARES Fund, it said.

They will get free health insurance of Rs 5 lakh till 18 years; Premium will be paid by PM CARES Fund, the PMO said.

"It's our duty as society to care for our children and instil hope for a bright future. Children represent future of India; We'll do everything to support, protect them," Modi said.   -- PTI

A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to businessman Navneet Kalra in a case pertaining to the seizure of oxygen concentrators from his upscale restaurants, including Khan Chacha, in New Delhi.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg has directed the accused not to contact the customers to whom he had sold the concentrators, not to tamper with evidence or influence the witnesses, and join the investigation as and when called by the police.

During a recent raid, 524 oxygen concentrators, which are a crucial medical equipment used for COVID-19 patients, were recovered from Khan Chacha, Town Hall, and Nege & Ju restaurants owned by Kalra.    

The businessman, accused of black-marketing the critical medical device, was nabbed from Gurugram on May 16 and formally arrested the next day.

He had been on the run ever since the police raided his restaurants and seized the medical devices.

A court had later sent him to judicial custody till June 3.

During the course of hearing on the bail plea, Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava, representing the Delhi Police, told the court that the businessman committed a white-collar crime and made profit by selling medical devices at exorbitant price to those on death beds.

Kalra's lawyers, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa and advocate Vineet Malhotra, opposed the contentions of the police and said that their client is being made a scapegoat and had no criminal intent to cheat people as he sold the oxygen concentrators to merely help family and friends.

The police claimed that the concentrators were imported from China and were being sold at an exorbitant price of Rs 50,000 to 70,000 a piece as against its cost of Rs 16,000 to Rs 22,000.   -- PTI

Alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre was pursuing 'vendetta politics', West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday appealed to the Union government to withdraw its order recalling Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay and allow the senior bureaucrat to work for people amid the COVID-19 crisis.

She also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were trying to create problems for her government at every step as they were yet to come to terms with BJP's defeat in the assembly elections.

Banerjee further stated that she was ready to touch Modi's feet if told to do for the sake of West Bengal's growth and development.

"Because you (Modi and Shah) cannot digest BJP's defeat in (Bengal), you have started creating problems for us from Day one. What is the fault of the chief secretary?

"Recalling the chief secretary amid the COVID crisis goes on to show that the Centre was indulging in political vendetta," she asserted.

Talking about the criticism she faced for skipping the review meeting with Modi on cyclone devastation, Banerjee said, "It was supposed to be held between the PM and the CM. Why were BJP leaders called to the session?"

She also claimed that opposition leaders were not invited to similar review meetings held in Gujarat and Odisha, the two states that also faced cyclone fury over the past few days.   -- PTI

The Centre has stopped allocation of antiviral drug Remdesivir to states as the supply of the critical medication has surpassed the demand, Union Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya said on Saturday.

'Now the country has enough #Remdesivir as the supply is much more than the demand. So we have decided to DISCONTINUE the Central Allocation of Remdesivir to States,' Mandaviya said in a tweet.

The Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers noted that the supply of the drug, which is being used to treat COVID-19, has been ramped up over 10 times from just 33,000 vials a day on April 11, 2021 to 3,50,000 vials per day currently.

The government has also increased the number of plants producing Remdesivir from just 20 to 60 plants within a month, he added.

Besides, the Centre has decided to procure 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir to maintain it as a strategic stock for emergency requirement, Mandaviya said.

'But I have also directed @nppa_india & @CDSCO_INDIA_INF to continuously monitor the availability of Remdesivir in the country,' he noted.

In order to improve supply, the government has already waived customs duty on Remdesivir, its raw materials and other components used in making the antiviral drug in order to help augment domestic availability and reduce the cost of the injection.

On April 11, in view of increased demand for Remdesivir, the Centre banned the export of the injection and its active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) till the situation improves.

Various drug companies have also cut the prices of Remdesivir injection following intervention of the government.   -- PTI

A village in Maharashtra's Solapur has successfully managed to contain COVID-19 cases after a campaign was launched to raise awareness among the villagers.

After a few cases of the coronavirus were reported earlier in March, panic spread across Ghatne, a village in Mohol Taluk, with a population of about 1,500.

The death of a man due to COVID made matters worse, and many wanted to leave.

Rituraj Deshmukh, the village's 21-year old Sarpanch gathered the elders and proposed a campaign -- Be positive. Apna gaon corona negative -- to combat the spread of the virus.

As part of the campaign, villagers underwent free COVID-19 tests with the help of ASHA workers, and a close check was kept on their oxygen levels.

"After one person died of COVID, a dull atmosphere of fear was all around the village. People were terrified that they would contract the virus. Many wanted to leave. When we launched the campaign, I told people to have courage and not leave the village," Deshmukh told ANI.

He added, "We checked peoples' temperatures every day, distributed masks, sanitisers and soaps and educated people on the importance of maintaining hygiene. We also spread awareness on social distancing and how to treat a person who was sick."

Rather than fearing COVID-19, the people of village Ghatne fought it, and today, there is not a single active case in the village. -- ANI

The health condition of former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kolkata after being diagnosed with COVID-19, is stable, a statement issued by the medical facility said on Saturday.

Bhattacharjee, however, continued to have shortness of breath and is in a state of drowsiness, it said.

The 77-year-old politician is presently conscious, alert and talking, the hospital authorities said.

'Mr Bhattacharjee is stable. He is, however, having drowsiness and shortness of breath and is on intermittent BiPAP with 3 litres of oxygen, and his oxygen saturation is maintaining at 92 per cent,' the statement said. Bhattacharjee tested positive for COVID-19 on May 18.

'He has mild dry cough and a heart rate of 60 per minute. His blood pressure is stable and urine output is satisfactory. His capillary blood glucose levels are normal now,' the statement of the hospital said.

Doctors are continuing to inject Remdesivir and taking other supportive measures, it added.

The health condition of Bhattacharjee's wife Mira is also stable, an official of the hospital said.

Bhattacharjee's wife had recovered from the coronavirus infection and was discharged from the medical facility earlier this week, but she was readmitted, following a panic attack, he added.   -- PTI

Mumbai police have registered a case against television actor Munmun Dutta for allegedly using a derogatory term against a community, an official said on Saturday.

The case relates to the remark that the Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma actor made in a video about make-up, which she had posted on a social media platform on May 9, in which she used a word for a specific community, police said.

The video had gone viral on social media platforms.

"The case against Dutta was registered on May 26 based on a complaint lodged by Naresh Bohit (40), a community leader and a worker of a political party, at Goregaon police station on May 12," the police official said.

Since the actor resides in Amboli police station limits, the complaint application was forwarded to that police station, he said.

After the investigation, the first informatio report against the actor was registered on Wednesday. She has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and section 3 of the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act, the official said.

The actor had drawn flak for her remark, following which she had issued an apology on May 10, in which she said that she used the word due to her 'language barrier'.

Earlier, similar cases were registered against the actor in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, police said.   -- PTI

The death toll in the Aligarh hooch tragedy went up to 22 on Saturday, while 28 more people are still in critical condition, an official said in Aligarh.

Seven people have died since Friday night, he said, and added that the condition of 28 people undergoing treatment at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College hospital, AMU, and the Malkhan Singh District Hospital are critical.

Locals fear the death toll can rise further as reports from several villages are still trickling in.

On Friday, Additional District Magistrate (Finance) Vidhan Jaiswal said 15 people had died in villages falling under three separate police stations -- Lodha, Khair and Jawan.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani told news persons on Saturday that five people have been arrested so far, including Anil Chaudhary, alleged kingpin of the spurious liquor racket.

The police have booked 12 people in three different cases till now.

Several raids were carried out in various parts of the district throughout the night and are still continuing.

A reward of Rs 50,000 each has been announced on the arrest of Rishi Sharma and Vipin Yadav, associates of Anil Chaudhary, the SSP said.  -- PTI

As some states are engaged in floating global tenders for covid-19 vaccine supply, the central government has so far provided, both through the free of cost category and through direct state procurement category, 22,77,62,450 vaccine doses to the states and union territories.

Furthermore, more than 4 lakh (4,86,180) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the states and union territories in the next three days, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said that more than 1,82,21,403 COVID vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories to be administered.

"Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 20,80,09,397 doses (as per data available at 8 am today)," it said.

The Union health ministry said that nearly 20,89,02,445 vaccine doses were administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. -- ANI

Central Reserve Police Force chief Kuldiep Singh has been given the additional charge of the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to replace Y C Modi, who retires on Monday, a Home Ministry order said.

Modi, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, was appointed chief of the federal anti-terror probe agency in September 2017.

Consequent upon superannuation of Y C Modi, DG, NIA, on May 31, 2021, the competent authority has approved that Kuldiep Singh, Director General, CRPF, shall hold additional charge of the post of DG, NIA, till the appointment and joining of the successor or until further orders, the MHA order issued on Saturday said.   -- PTI

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked all states and union territories (UTs) to upload data of children who have lost either one or both parents to COVID-19 on its portal.

Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani had on Tuesday said as many as 577 children across the country were orphaned after their parents succumbed to COVID-19, citing reports of states and union territories from April 1 till March 25.

The announcement by the apex child rights body comes a day after the Supreme Court directed all district officers across the states/UTs to fill data related to children who have lost either one of both parents to Covid within 24 hours on the Bal Swaraj portal under the Covid Care' link.

Bal Swaraj is an online tracking portal of the NCPCR for children in need of care and protection.

Keeping in view the current situation of COVID- 19, the Commission has extended the use of this portal for tracking children who have lost both parents or either of them and provided a link under the name of Covid Care' on this portal for filling of data of such children by the concerned officer/department, the NCPCR said in a letter to all principal secretaries of the states and UTs's Women and Child Development Department.

The NCPCR said the login ids of district child protection officers for uploading the data and filling up the forms of social investigation report and individual child care plan as provided by the commission have been issued.

The login ids for all principal secretaries for uploading of data on the portal concerned with the state government have also been issued.  -- PTI

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he had a productive meeting with visiting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during which they discussed the bilateral ties, COVID-19 relief efforts, India-China border situation and Afghanistan and vowed to work together to address areas of shared concern.

Jaishankar, the first Indian Cabinet minister to visit the US since Joe Biden became president on January 20, met Blinken on Friday.

"Blinken welcomed Jaishankar to the Department of State, where he reaffirmed the US administration's commitment to deepening the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said after the meeting.

"Productive discussion today with Dr S Jaishankar on regional security and economic priorities to include US COVID-19 relief efforts, India-China border situation, and our support for Afghanistan," Blinken said.

"As friends, we will work together to address these areas of shared concern," Blinken said in a tweet, hours after the meeting with Jaishankar at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

It has been more than a year since the military standoff between India and China erupted in eastern Ladakh on May 5, 2020 during which there were fatalities on both sides for the first time in 45 years. They have made limited progress in achieving disengagement at the Pangong lake area while negotiations for similar steps at other friction points remained deadlocked.

In his tweet, Jaishankar said that he had a productive discussion with Blinken on various aspects of bilateral cooperation as well as regional and global issues.

"Covered the Indo-Pacific and the Quad, Afghanistan, Myanmar, UNSC matters and other international organisations," he said.

"Also focused on Indo-US vaccine partnership aimed at expanding access and ensuring supply. Appreciated the strong solidarity expressed by the US at this time. Today's talks have further solidified our strategic partnership and enlarged our agenda of cooperation," Jaishankar said.

In an interaction with a group of Indian reporters, responding to a question, Jaishankar did not mention if China was discussed in particular.

"Our discussion was on the entire Indo-Pacific region. The discussion was on security issues in the Indo-Pacific region," he said.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's growing military manoeuvring and aggression in the region.

The Chinese military is also actively eying the strategic Indian Ocean region to step up Beijing's influence.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.

In 2017, India, Australia, Japan and the US gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the 'Quad' or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.

Observing that the US is India's strategic partner and has a strong relationship with it, Jaishankar said that it is but natural that the two countries discuss their challenges. The talks at the ministerial level are basically at an assessment level, he said.

The issue of S-400, a multi-billion-dollar missile system that Indian plans to buy from Russia, was not raised in any of the meetings, he said.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson said that there were just discussions of developments on the India-China border. -- PTI

The Indian Coast Guard ship 'Sajag' is all set to be commissioned by National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval on Saturday.

In a tweet, the ICG said that Sajag, the third in a series of five offshore patrol vessels, has been indegenously designed in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India vision. 

"#ICG ship 'Sajag', 3rd in series of five Offshore Patrol Vessel indigenously designed & built by M/s GSL #Goa in lines with Hon'ble PM's vision @makeinindia, a fine example of #AtmanirbharBharat, will be commissioned today by Shri Ajit Doval, KC, National Security Advisor," the ICG tweeted. -- ANI

Taking credit for delivering the modernity and prosperity which Chinese people have dreamed of for over a century, the Chinese Communist Party is pulling out all the stops to celebrate 100th anniversary of the party.

From elementary school essay competitions to patriotic films to an unending parade of speeches, banners and news headlines, China is in the midst of celebrating the CCP's 100-year anniversary, reported Axios.

The journey started from 1921 when CCP was formed. 

China at that time was driven by feuding warlords, deeply mired in poverty, and powerless on the international stage. 

The Republic of China was established in 1912, but its government was weak and largely unable to solve China's problems.

By contrast, the China of 2021 is an emerging superpower. Beijing has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, a nuclear arsenal and the world's second-largest economy. China's geopolitical prominence is cemented abroad while authoritarian pressures grow at home, reported Axios.

The CCP continues to claim full credit for these accomplishments. In February, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the end of extreme poverty in China.

But China's GDP per capita remains far below that of developed countries and hovers just under the global average of around USD 11,000. Access to high-quality health care and education is still out of reach for many, reported Axios.

For many Chinese people, especially ethnic and religious minorities, a succession of ideological crackdowns carried out by Xi and his hardline supporters has also cast a shadow over their futures.

The CCP has made it through a century of turbulence, and it's come out on the other side more powerful than ever.

The centennial celebrations are "an opportunity to draw continuity across the party and across Chinese civilization," said Peter Mattis, a senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. -- ANI

India on Saturday recorded 1,73,790 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally to 2,77,29,247, according to the Union health ministry data.

The fresh infections of the viral contagion recorded on Saturday are the lowest India has seen in 45 days.

In the last 24 hours, at least 3,617 people have died due to coronavirus disease, data updated at 8am showed. 

A total of 3,22,512 people have succumbed to the virus in the country.

The informal grouping of four countries in the Indo-Pacific region comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States fills a very important gap that has emerged in contemporary times, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.

"Quad today fills a very important gap that has emerged in contemporary times, where there are global or regional requirements, which cannot be filled by a single country. It cannot even be filled by one bilateral relationship, and which is not being addressed at the multilateral level," he told a group of Indian reporters as he concluded most of his meetings here on Friday.

Jaishankar, who is on an official trip to the US, is the first Indian Cabinet minister to visit the country since Joe Biden became US President on January 20.

He asserted that India has clarity on its membership to Quad, adding that he had been personally involved with its progress over the past several years, including when he was India's foreign secretary.

The Quad aims at strengthening a rules-based order in the strategically-important Indo-Pacific amidst China's aggressive actions in the region.

"We are members of Quad. When we are members of anything, we are very keen about it, otherwise, we won't be its members. We have clarity on the Quad," Jaishankar underlined.

Quad was one of the key issues of discussion between Jaishankar and top officials of the Biden administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

 

"Quad used to (and) still does discuss maritime security and connectivity, in recent years. It has started to discuss technology issues, supply chain issues and vaccine production. There are marine, sort of safety quality issues. So, there are a whole set of issues," the minister noted.  

Without naming any country, Jaishankar said there are "many, many concerns" which have to be addressed by somebody. -- PTI

The Trinamool Congress said on Friday that the Centre's decision to seek the services of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay was because the people of the state gave an overwhelming mandate to Chief

Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy described it as "forced central deputation" of the chief secretary.

"Has this ever happened since Independence? Forced central deputation of a Chief Secretary of a state? How much lower will Modi-Shah's BJP stoop," Roy said.

"All because people of Bengal humiliated the duo and chose Mamata Banerjee with an overwhelming mandate," he added.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the decision was taken to derail the good work done by Bandyopadhyay, "a true soldier of Mamata Banerjee".

"The BJP is yet to accept their loss in the assembly elections and that is why they are doing such petty politics. This is nothing but vindictive politics of the BJP," he told PTI.

"At a time when Bengal is facing the COVID pandemic and the devastations caused by cyclone Yaas, the central government is trying to make the people of the state suffer. They are acting like an enemy to the people of Bengal," Ghosh said.

BJP's state general secretary Sayantan Basu told PTI that it was an administrative decision by the Centre.

"It is an administrative issue involving two governments and the state BJP has nothing to comment on it," he said.

The Centre sought services of Bandyopadhyay and asked the state government to relieve the officer immediately with a direction to him to report in Delhi on Monday.

Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, was earlier due to retire on May 31 after completion of 60 years of age. However, he was granted a three-month extension after the chief minister wrote to the Centre.

In a communiqu to the state government, the Personnel Ministry said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the placement of the services of Bandyopadhyay with Government of India as per provisions of Rule 6 (1) of the Indian Administrative Service (cadre) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect.

Bandyopadhyay took over as the chief secretary of West Bengal after Rajiva Sinha retired in September last year. -- PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held wide-ranging talks with his United States counterpart Antony Blinken and thanked the Biden administration for its "strong support and solidarity" with India at a moment of "great difficulty" for the country in combating the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Jaishankar, who is on an official trip to the US, is the first Indian Cabinet minister to visit the country since Joe Biden became US President on January 20.

 

Welcoming Jaishankar to the State Department, Blinken said in the early days of COVID-19, India was there for the US, something which the country "will never forget".

 

"Now we want to make sure that we are there for and with India," he said.

 

Addressing reporters at the State Department in a joint media interaction before the two leaders headed for the meeting, Jaishankar said, "We've a lot of issues to discuss. I think our relations have grown stronger over the years and I'm very confident that it'll continue to do so."

 

"I also want to take the opportunity to express to the Secretary, through him to the administration, (and) to the United States for the strong support and solidarity and at the moment of great difficulty (for us)," he said.

 

Blinken said the US and India are working together on many important challenges of "our time".

 

"We are united in confronting COVID-19 together...We are united in dealing with the challenge posed by climate change and we are partnered together directly through the QUAD and other institutions in the United Nations in dealing with many of the challenges that we face in the region, he said.

 

The Quad is a grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia that aims at strengthening a rules-based order in the strategically-important Indo-Pacific amidst China's aggressive actions in the region.

 

"The partnership between the US and India is vital, strong, and I think it is increasingly productive," Blinken added.

 

Jaishankar is also the only third foreign minister to have visited the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department to meet his US counterpart Blinken. The other two were Jordan's Ayman Safadi and Columbia's Foreign Minister-Designate Marta Lucia Ramirez, who met Blinken earlier in the day.

 

The Indian delegation included Ambassador of India to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu; MEA Joint Secretary Shilpak Ambule; Deputy Chief of Mission Sudhakar Dalela; and First Secretary Chitrangna Singh.

The United States and Britain are stepping up calls for the World Health Organisation to take a deeper look into the possible origins of COVID-19, including a new visit to China where the first human infections were detected.

WHO and Chinese experts issued a first report in March that laid out four hypotheses about how the pandemic emerged. The joint team said the most likely scenario was that the coronavirus jumped into people from bats via an intermediary animal, and the prospect that it erupted from a laboratory was deemed 'extremely unlikely'.

Late Thursday, the US diplomatic mission in Geneva issued a statement saying the first phase of the study was "insufficient and inconclusive," and called for a "timely, transparent, evidence-based and expert-led Phase 2 study, including in the People's Republic of China".

The statement, coming in the middle of the WHO's annual assembly in Geneva, demanded access for independent experts to "complete, original data and samples" relevant to the source of the virus and early stages of the outbreak.

"We appreciate the WHO's stated commitment to move forward with Phase 2 of the COVID-19 origins study, and look forward to an update from Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus," the statement said.

Also Thursday, the British ambassador in Geneva, Simon Manley, said the first phase study was "always meant to be the beginning of the process, not the end".