LIVE! Rajasthan minister meets Gehlot, says all is well

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Fri, 27 May 2022

Rajasthan minister meets Gehlot, says all is well

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Ashok Chandna

23:53 Rajasthan minister meets Gehlot, says all is well

A day after expressing anguish over the conduct of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's principal secretary and asking to be freed of his ministerial responsibilities, Rajasthan Sports Minister Ashok Chandna met the senior Congress leader in Jaipur on Friday and asserted everything was okay within the party.

The Congress family is united for 2023 state polls, Chandna said in a tweet after the meeting with the chief minister this evening.

"There was a long and meaningful discussion on all the subjects with the honorable chief minister. He is the guardian of the Rajasthan Congress family," Chandana tweeted, adding whatever decisions the CM takes will be right.

He said the BJP should take care of its own house.

"The Congress family is united and in mobilisation for #Mission2023," he tweeted in Hindi, referring to the state assembly polls due next year.

On Thursday, Chandna had made his displeasure against Gehlot's principal secretary Kuldeep Ranka public through a tweet, referring to him as the "minister of all the departments", and saying he did not want to hold on to the "dishonourable" ministerial post. -- PTI

In a rare instance, a special CBI court has directed former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala to pay Rs 5 lakh to the agency in "defraying the expenses incurred" in the investigation and prosecution of a disproportionate assets case against him, in which he has been sentenced to four years in prison, officials said.

The court said in fixing the fine amount with regard to the offence under section 13(1)(e) read with section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, it has to give due consideration to the pecuniary resources acquired by the convict for which he is unable to account for satisfactorily.

The court said in the present case, of the total disproportionate assets of Rs 2.81 crore, assets worth Rs 2.48 crore have been confiscated and only the balance of Rs 32.5 lakh is required to be considered in fixing the amount of fine.

"Therefore, this court, while exercising its power...imposes a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the convict. Out of the said fine, Rs 5 Lakh shall be given to the CBI in defraying the expenses incurred in the prosecution and investigation. In the event of default in the payment of fine, the convict shall further undergo simple imprisonment for six months," the court said.

"I have not heard of a convict in a corruption case being directed by the court to pay for the costs incurred on the investigation. It is a welcome move," an official said.

Announcing the quantum of sentence, the special judge for CBI cases sentenced Chautala on Friday to undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50 lakh for possessing disproportionate assets. -- PTI

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22:55 India administers over 193 crore Covid vaccine doses so far: Govt

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 193.11 crore on Friday, the Union health ministry said.

More than 12 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm, it said.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late night. \

A total of 59,794 precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered to those aged 18-59 years till 7 pm on Friday, taking the total number of precaution doses given in this age-group to 20,80,089 so far, according to the health ministry data.

Till 7 pm, 3.36 crore children in the age group of 12-14 years and 5.93 crore adolescents in the age group of 15-18 have been administered the first dose, it showed.

The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase.

Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year. -- PTI

India on Friday slammed the comments by OIC-IPHRC criticising India for judgment in the case of Yasin Malik.

"India finds unacceptable the comments by OIC-IPHRC on Friday criticising India for judgment in the case of Yasin Malik," said the ministry of external affairs.

Through these comments, OIC-IPHRC has implicitly expressed support for terrorist activities of Yasin Malik, which were documented and presented in the court, said the MEA. -- ANI

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21:41 Mizoram records lowest infant mortality in country for 2nd consecutive year

Mizoram has the lowest infant mortality rate in the country with three deaths per thousand live births, as per data published by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

The Northeastern state made the achievement for the second consecutive year, officials in Aizawl said.

Nagaland with an IMR of four secured second place, followed by Sikkim and Goa having an IMR of five each, as per the Sample Registration System bulletin 2020.

While the national average was 28, Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR in the country at 43, it said.

Among the Northeastern states, Assam has the highest infant mortality rate of 36, followed by Meghalaya at 29 and Arunachal Pradesh at 21, as per the data.

The IMR of Mizoram in 2016 was 27.

It reduced to 15 in 2017 and further reduced to five in 2018 and three in 2019, they said.

The Mizoram health department attributed the achievement to the hard work and dedication of healthcare workers, and staff of departments such as education, public health engineering, social welfare and rural development.

The infant mortality rate, which is widely accepted as a crude indicator of the overall health scenario, is defined as the infant deaths (less than one year) per thousand live births in a given time period in a particular region. -- PTI

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21:28 Vista's executive enclave cost up by Rs 100 cr

The estimated project cost of the executive enclave which will house a new prime minister's office has gone up by over Rs 100 crore to Rs 1,316 crore as the CPWD floated a fresh tender cancelling its earlier one, according to the agency's bid document.

A Central Public Works Department official said the increased scope of work under the project, including additional information and communication technologies components, has led to a marginal rise in the estimated cost.

In its earlier tender, the CPWD had estimated the cost of construction and maintenance of the executive enclave at Rs 1,160.17 crore.

Ahluwalia Contracts India Limited had emerged as the lowest bidder, quoting around 1,119 crore for the project. Apart from the PMO, the executive enclave will house the Cabinet Secretariat, India House and National Security Council Secretariat.

'India House' will be used as a conference facility like the Hyderabad House where high-level talks, especially with top visiting leaders of various countries, are currently held.

According to the new bid document issued earlier this week, the project's estimated cost for construction and five-year maintenance contract is Rs 1,316 crore.

Potential bidders can submit pre-qualification documents by June 8 and the contractor will have to complete the work within 24 months, it states. -- PTI

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21:05 Delhi reports 445 new Covid cases, positivity rate at 2.04%

Delhi on Friday logged 445 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.04 per cent, while no new death was reported due the viral disease, according to data shared by the city health department in New Delhi.

With the new cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally increased to 19,05,512 while the death toll stands at 26,208, the department said in its latest bulletin.

A total of 21,816 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the capital the previous day, it said.

On Thursday, the national capital had recorded 403 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death, while the positivity rate was 1.76 per cent. Delhi on Wednesday had reported 425 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 1.89 per cent, while four more people succumbed to the viral disease.

On Tuesday, the national capital had recorded 418 fresh COVID-19 cases, while the positivity rate stood at 2.27 per cent.

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemic.

The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave of the pandemic.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delhi decreased to 1,627 from 1,661 on Thursday, the bulletin said.

As many as 1,113 patients are under home isolation, down from 1,180 the previous day, it said, adding that there are 393 containment zones in the capital.

There are 9,595 beds for COVID-19 patients in Delhi hospitals and 85 of those are occupied, the bulletin said. -- PTI

20:53 Covid vaccination drive: Top 20 countries

China continues to be the table topper while India in the second spot in the top 20 countries by number of persons vaccinated against COVID-19 till Friday.

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20:30 Consignment of 25 tonnes of medical supplies from India reaches Lanka

India on Friday handed over 25 tonnes of medical supplies worth over $700,000 to Sri Lanka as part of its ongoing efforts to help the island nation combat its worst economic crisis and shortage of medicines.

"Ongoing commitment to the people of #SriLanka!!!...," the high commission of India in Colombo tweeted.

Acting high commissioner Vinod K Jacob handed over the donation of more than 25 tonnes of medical supplies with a value of SLR 260 million ($732,970 approx) to Sri Lankan health minister Keheliya Rambukwella in Colombo, it said, sharing photographs of the consignment handover.

The humanitarian supplies which came on board INS Gharial also include kerosene for use by Sri Lankan fishermen, the High Commission said in another tweet, adding that these supplies will be distributed among the beneficiaries in the coming days.

Last month, India extended an additional $500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka import fuel as the country has been struggling to pay for imports after its foreign exchange reserves plummeted sharply in recent times, causing a devaluation of its currency and spiralling inflation. -- PTI

The Akshay Kumar-led period drama Prithviraj will now be titled Samrat Prithviraj, Yash Raj Films announced on Friday following multiple discussions with the Shree Rajput Karni Sena that had objected to the earlier name on grounds that it was disrespectful.

YRF's decision comes a day after the Karni Sena wrote to it demanding a title change.

The group -- its protests had led to a name change for Sanjay Leela's Bhansali's 2018 period film Padmavat -- wanted the title of the film on the legendary warrior king to reflect his status as Samrat (emperor).

"As per the multiple rounds of discussions between us, and to peacefully and amicably resolve the raised grievance, we will change the title of the film to Samrat Prithviraj," the production house said in its response to Karni Sena national president Mahipalsingh Makrana.

"We are highly appreciative of the mutual agreement reached between us that you have no further objections with regards to our film and that all other points raised by you earlier are no longer a point of contention between us," YRF said in the letter.

The banner went on to thank the Karni Sena and its members for understanding its "good intentions' on the depiction of the great warrior in the film, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi and featuring Kumar as the Rajput king.

YRF added that the team never intended to hurt anyone's sentiments and wished to "celebrate the bravery of Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan". -- PTI

The iconic rifle and the soldier's war helmet, which were part of the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate, were moved to the National War Memorial on Friday.

The defence ministry said the armed Forces "shifted the inverted rifle and the helmet from India Gate, which was the symbol of fallen soldiers of 1971 war, to Param Yodha Sthal at National War Memorial".

It said the rifle and the helmet were installed in the midst of busts of Param Vir Chakra awardees.

"With this ceremony, the integration of the memorial of fallen soldiers of 1971 war with National War Memorial has been completed," the ministry said in a statement.

The ceremony was led by the chief of integrated defence staff to the chairman, chiefs of staff committee Air Marshal BR Krishna and attended by Adjutant General equivalents from the three services.

The Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate was merged with the eternal flame at the National War Memorial in January.

The NWM is around 400 metres away from the India Gate.

The Amar Jawan Jyoti was constructed as a memorial for Indian soldiers who were killed in action in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, which India won, leading to the creation of Bangladesh. It was inaugurated by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi on January 26, 1972. -- PTI

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19:29 HC orders to exhume body of 3rd Hyderpora victim

The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday ordered for exhuming the body of a civilian, who was dubbed as a terrorist by police during the Hyderpora encounter in November last year, and handing it to his family for last rights.

"I am inclined to allow this petition of the father of the deceased Amir Latief Magrey and direct the respondents (Jammu and Kashmir government) to make arrangements for exhumation of the body/remains of the deceased...from the Wadder Payeen graveyard in presence of the petitioner," Justice Sanjeev Kumar said in his 13-page order.

The court said that however, if the body is, "highly putrefied and is not in deliverable state or is likely to pose risk to public health and hygiene, the petitioner and his close relatives shall be allowed to perform last rites as per their tradition and religious beliefs in the...graveyard itself."

In that situation, the state shall pay to the petitioner Mohammad Latief Magrey a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for deprivation of his right to have the dead body of his son and give him a decent burial as per the family traditions, religious obligations and faith which the deceased professed when he was alive, the order said. -- PTI

18:59 Tracking monsoon progress

The southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala during the next two to three days, marking a sluggish start to the seasonal rains that are the lifeline of India's agri-based economy.

Earlier, the India meteorological department had forecast the onset over Kerala on Friday (May 27) with help from the remnants of Cyclone Asani, that struck the Bay of Bengal a fortnight ago.

The forecast had a model error of four days. -- PTI

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18:50 34 gram panchayats in Maharashtra to pass resolutions to ban widow rituals

All 34 gram panchayats in Maharashtra's South Kolhapur assembly constituency will pass resolutions on June 6 to eradicate funerary rituals that see women forcibly wiping off vermilion and breaking bangles of a widow, Congress MLA Rituraj Patil said on Friday.

It was on June 6 that legendary warrior king Shivaji was coronated as 'Chhatrapati', and the day is celebrate with fervour as Shiv Rajyabhishek Din.

In a statement, Patil said he had been meeting sarpanchs, deputy sarpanchs, gramsevaks of these 34 villages over the last two weeks on the issue.

The move to ban such 'widow rituals' was first made in Herwad village in Kolhapur's Shirol tehsil, which passed a resolution on May 4 disallowing wiping off vermillion from the forehead of the widow, removing her 'mangalsutra' and other jewellery, breaking her bangles etc.

Patil said he has convinced all the gram panchayats in his constituency to replicate the Herwad model by passing such a resolution.

Incidentally, the Maharashtra government had recently advised 28,000 village panchayats to pass such resolutions and implement the changes. -- PTI

A special NIA court in Mumbai has sentenced an ISIS terrorist to seven years imprisonment for a conspiracy hatched in Syria for radicalising Indian youth through internet wherein they were instructed to fabricate an IED locally.

Mohammed Shahed Khan, a resident of Parbhani in Maharashtra, was handed down a seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 45,000 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code Act and the Explosive Substance Act, a National Investigation Agency spokesperson said.

The case pertains to the conspiracy hatched by ISIS operatives in Syria for radicalising Indian youth through internet wherein an IED was fabricated locally on their directions, he said.

The case was initially registered in July 2016 and reregistered by the NIA in September 2016. A chargesheet was filed in October, 2016, the spokesperson said. -- PTI

18:12 Sensex top gainers

Equity indices extended their winning run to a second straight session on Friday, buoyed by robust demand for IT, bank and auto stocks amid a supportive trend overseas.

Tech Mahindra was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 4.10 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, M&M, Infosys, L&T and Bajaj Finserv.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, who is currently in judicial custody, has been admitted to a hospital after he complained of high blood pressure and chest pain, his aide said on Friday.

Deshmukh was suffering from "uncontrolled high blood pressure and chest pain," and was admitted to an ICU at the civic-run KEM Hospital in Mumbai for Stress Thallium Heart Test on May 25, he said.

The 72-year-old former minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case in November 2021.

Earlier this month, a court had rejected Deshmukh's plea seeking permission to undergo a shoulder surgery at a private hospital.

He could get the medical procedure done at the state-run JJ Hospital in the city, it said. Deshmukh, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, stepped down as home minister after former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused him of corruption.

The CBI subsequently booked him in a corruption case. -- PTI

A Mohali court on Friday sent sacked Punjab minister Vijay Singla to 14-day judicial custody.

Singla, who held the health portfolio in the state government, was arrested on corruption charge on Tuesday after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sacked him as he was accused of demanding "one per cent commission" in tenders and purchases by his department.

Earlier, the court had sent him to three-day police custody till Friday.

Pardeep Kumar, who was Singla's Officer on Special Duty, too has been sent to judicial custody till June 10.

The next date of hearing is June 10. Singla and his OSD Kumar were booked on a complaint by superintending engineer Rajinder Singh, posted at Punjab Health System Corporation.

The officer had alleged that they demanded Rs 1.16-crore bribe from the allotment of projects and "one per cent commission" in government contracts. -- PTI

UP assembly Speaker Satish Mahana/ANI

17:35 UP assembly Speaker warns confiscation of ringing mobile phones

Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly Speaker Satish Mahana on Friday warned that if anybody's mobile phone rings during the proceedings of the House, then it will be confiscated.

Mahana asked House members to switch off their mobile phones.

Mahana's warning came as the mobile phone of a member rang on Friday during the Question Hour.

Reacting to it, the Speaker said, "This is not appropriate. Now, if anybody's phone rings, then it will be confiscated. During the proceedings of the House, the members should switch off their mobile phones." -- PTI

An aide of top film producer Boney Kapoor has filed a complaint against an unidentified person after the latter's credit card was fraudulently used to carry out transactions totalling Rs 3.82 lakh, a Mumbai police official said on Friday.

As per the complaint, which was filed in Amboli police station on Wednesday under provisions of the IPC and Information Technology Act, the accused has used the credit card to carry out five online transactions on February 9 by obtaining Kapoor's details and password, he said.

Kapoor found out about the fraud when an executive from his bank called up for credit card bill payment on March 30, the complainant has told the police.

A probe has begun and efforts are on to nab the accused, the Amboli police station official said. -- PTI

File pic: The vehicle fell into a gorge in Ladakh

16:55 7 soldiers killed as vehicle falls into gorge

Seven soldiers were killed when a vehicle carrying them skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge near Shyok river in Ladakh on Friday, officials said.

A party of 26 soldiers was moving from Partapur transit camp to a forward location in Turtuk in Leh district, they said.

The vehicle carrying them skid off the road and fell into a gorge, resulting in injuries to all of them, the officials said. The rescue operation was carried out swiftly and all the soldiers were evacuated to field hospital in Partapur, they said.

Seven of them succumbed to injuries, the officials said, adding many other personnel have also suffered grievous injuries and are undergoing treatment. PTI

Sameer Wankhede

16:32 NCB sleuth Wankhede faces action in Aryan case

Anti-narcotics officer Sameer Wankhede, who initially investigated the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case, faces action for allegedly submitting a fake caste certificate and "shoddy investigation" into the drugs case, reports ANI.

NCB chief SN Pradhan say, "The principle of preponderance and probability is not applicable to NDPS Act. There should be beyond reasonable doubt, we did not find such evidence.

"There should be physical corroboration of WhatsApp chat. Courts have clarified that WhatsApp chat, in itself, holds no value.

"You can talk about anything on WhatsApp but if not corroborated with physical evidence, it's not complete evidence."

Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik had alleged Wankhede had used fake documents to land a government job, after which the Narcotics Control Bureau, or NCB, officer had last November gave what he claimed was his original caste papers to prove that he is a Dalit to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

Equity markets extended their rally on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty jumping over 1 per cent each, in tandem with a positive trend in global equities.

Buying in Infosys and banking counters helped markets maintain their winning run. The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 632.13 points or 1.17 per cent to settle at 54,884.66. During the day, the benchmark zoomed 684.1 points or 1.26 per cent to 54,936.63.

The broader NSE Nifty jumped 182.30 points or 1.13 per cent to end at 16,352.45. From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies were the prominent gainers. In contrast, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and Nestle were the laggards. -- PTI

JKLF chief Yasin Malik is an accused in the case

15:51 1989 abduction case: CBI summons Rubaiya Sayeed

A CBI court in Jammu has issued summons to Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, to appear before it on July 15 in a case related to her abduction in 1989, officials said on Friday.

This is the first time that Rubaiya Sayeed has been asked to appear in the case. She had been freed after five terrorists were released in exchange.

Rubaiya Sayeed, who stays in Tamil Nadu, is listed as a prosecution witness by the CBI which took over the investigations into the case in early 1990.

Yasin Malik, chief of the banned JKLF who has recently been sentenced to life imprisonment in a terror funding case, is an accused in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case. PTI

15:43 Hotness personified

A hangover pic from Karan Johar's birthday bash. Malaika Arora posted this pic with her sister Amrita and bestie Kareen Kapoor. "Ok , we sure know how to make an entrance ... @amuaroraofficial @kareenakapoorkhan '. N @karanjohar you sure know how to throw a party (p.s . We missed u @therealkarismakapoor )"

For more images take a look here.

Resumption of 'Char Dham yatra' after a gap of two Covid-marred years is a welcome development for thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on it, but the death of 78 pilgrims on way to the Himalayan temples in less than a month is causing concern.

Though the death of pilgrims due to cardiac problems is something which happens every year, the toll is unusually high this season after the yatra commenced on May 3 with the opening of the Yamunotri and Gangotri temples.

A look at the data of pilgrim deaths in previous years shows that over 90 Char Dham devotees died in 2019, 102 in 2018 and 112 in 2017 during the entire season which lasts nearly six months from April-May to October-November every year.

Pradeep Bhardwaj, who heads Six Sigma Healthcare that provides free medical facilities in Kedarnath, attributed the high number of deaths to a combination of factors, including absence of an acclimatisation mechanism, weak immunity of pilgrims most of whom have Covid history, precarious weather and inadequate arrangements considering the heavy rush of pilgrims.

"As most of the pilgrims are not used to such high altitudes they should be given a break in their journey at lower heights to help them acclimatise themselves with the kind of weather they are going to confront in higher altitudes.

"They are not able to cope with the abrupt climatic change that they experience after coming from lower altitudes to the Himalayan temples located averagely at a height of 10,000 to 12,000 ft," Bhardwaj , a qualified doctor told PTI.

He said many pilgrims do not come with proper clothing as they are not aware of the extreme cold conditions prevailing in the high altitudes. "We have noticed that many of those who died on way to Kedarnath died of hypothermia which is caused by extreme cold conditions," he said.

The weather in Kedarnath often turns bad in the afternoon. A bright sunny day in no time gives way to overcast conditions with isolated rains. As there are no rain shelters within three km radius of Kedarnath, pilgrims often get drenched and are finally down with hypothermia, he said.

Of the 78 deaths so far, Kedarnath has reported the highest number of pilgrim casualties with 41 fatalities. Weak immunity of pilgrims who have Covid history is another reason for the high number of casualties, he said. Health checks before the pilgrims begin the arduous trek to the temples is also a must.

There should be more community kitchens on way to Kedarnath than there are, Bharadwaj said, adding that 50,000 pilgrims are coming in place of 10,000 and there are just three community kitchens to cater to them.

Drawing a comparison, he said there are 130 community kitchens on way to the Amarnath temple which is also visited by people from across the country like Kedarnath.

Health screening of pilgrims before they underake the journey to the high altitudes should be done on a larger scale , Bhardwaj said. Kedarnath-Badrinath Mandir Samiti chairman Ajendra Ajay said the pilgrims have ignored the health advisory issued by the state government. "Pilgrim footfall at the Himalayan temples is much higher than their carrying capacity which is causing inconvenience to them.

"Despite the government's advisory that they should not undertake the journey if they have Covid history and suffer from post coronavirus complications, they are setting out on the pilgrimage throwing all cares to the wind. It is proving fatal especially in case of the elderly," Ajay told PTI.

Shahrukh Pathan, whose photograph of pointing a gun at an unarmed policeman during the communal riots in Northeast Delhi went viral, received a grand welcome during a visit to his home on parole, according to a video.

The footage, which has gone viral on social media, purportedly shows Pathan being cheered by a huge crowd as he walks through a lane in the presence of security personnel to meet his ailing father on Monday.

A senior jail officer said Pathan was sent to his home by a court order on a four-hour custody parole.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra posted the video on his Twitter account and rued that a person who pointed a gun at the police was being made a hero.

"The person who pointed a gun at the police is being made a hero. In Delhi, several places have become mini-Pakistans. This mentality has become Delhi's and the country's enemy. I want to clearly say that we Delhiites are not afraid of them and this mentality will be crushed in Delhi," Mishra tweeted in Hindi along with the video.

In the photograph that went viral a couple of years ago, Pathan could be seen pointing his country-made pistol at a policeman on the Jaffrabad-Maujpur road. He also allegedly fired several rounds.

The violence, which erupted on February 23, 2020, in Jafrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajan Pura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad areas of northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. PTI

15:02 Ex-Haryana CM OP Chautala gets 4 years in jail

Delhi Court awards four-year jail term to former Haryana CM O P Chautala in disproportionate assets case imposes Rs 50 lakh fine.

As per the chargesheet filed by the CBI, Chautala is responsible for amassing assets worth Rs 6.09 crore, allegedly disproportionate to his legitimate income, between 1993 and 2006.

In May 2019, the Enforcement Directorate had attached over Rs 3.6 crore worth of properties of the former Chief Minister located in New Delhi, Panchkula, and Sirsa.

He was also convicted in the JBT scam in January 2013.In 2008, Chautala and 53 others were charged in connection with the appointment of 3,206 junior basic trained teachers in Haryana during 1999-to 2000.In January 2013, a court sentenced Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala to ten years' imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Chautala was found guilty of illegally recruiting over 3,000 unqualified teachers. Though out on parole, Chautala was released from the Tihar Jail on July 2, 2021 from a 10-year prison sentence after completing the due formalities.

He was the Chief Minister of Haryana four times between 1989 to 2005.

A day after Rajasthan sports minister asked to be relieved from his post over the conduct of the CM's principal secretary, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said Ashok Chandna's tweet should not be taken seriously as he might be under pressure due to the workload.

Chandna on Thursday expressed anguish over the conduct of Gehlot's principal secretary, referring to him as the "minister of all the departments", and said he would prefer being removed as a minister.

Chandna made his displeasure public through a tweet, saying he does not want to hold on to the "dishonourable" ministerial post.

Gehlot said Chandna had organised a state level sports programme earlier and in the same way, a similar event -- 'Rural Olympics' is going to be held for the first time in Rajasthan in which 30 lakh people are likely to participate.

"A huge load is on him. Maybe he (Chandna) came under tension and made some comments. It should not be taken seriously... will talk to him," Gehlot told reporters.

The chief minister said he had not talked to the minister till now.

"He seems to be working under pressure, such a big responsibility has come on him, will see," Gehlot said.

In his tweet, Chandna had said, "I request the honourable chief minister to relieve me of this dishonourable ministerial post and give the charge of all my departments to Shri Kuldeep Ranka ji. He is anyway the minister of all the departments," he tweeted in Hindi, without elaborating.

Ranka is the principal secretary to the chief minister. The development comes just days ahead of Rajya Sabha elections in Rajasthan and indicates resentment within the party. Just a week ago, Congress MLA from Dungarpur Ganesh Ghogra sent his resignation to Gehlot in protest against a police case against him. PTI

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13:58 Hindu man killed over relationship with Muslim woman: Police

Vijay Kumar (25) was killed for his alleged interfaith relationship in Wadi town of Kalaburagi district of Karnataka. A case has been registered under 302 & 34 IPC and SC/ST Act at Wadi PS.

"The girl's father & brother stabbed my son," stated the deceased's mother in the FIR.

"Vijay Kumar was murdered by two men namely Shahabuddin and Nawaz on May 25 because of his friendship with Shahbuddin's sister. Last year the accused had assaulted Vijay and warned him against speaking to his sister. Both accused are in police custody," Isha Pant, SP Kalaburagi.

13:35 Aryan Khan cleared in drugs-on-cruise case

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and five others were cleared in the drugs-on-cruise case by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday.

The anti-drugs agency has filed a 6,000-page chargesheet, naming 14 accused, after drugs were found on a cruise ship off Mumbai last year.

Aryan Khan, who had been arrested following the raids, has not been named as an accused.

Sounding a note of caution, the Reserve Bank said on Friday said there is a risk of high wholesale price inflation (WPI) putting pressure on the retail inflation, albeit with a lag.

In its annual report, the RBI said that the cost-push pressures from high industrial raw material prices, transportation costs and global logistics, and supply chain bottlenecks continue to impinge on core inflation.

"The substantial wedge between wholesale and retail price inflation amidst a sharp rise in manufactured products' inflation poses the risk of a possible passthrough of input cost pressures to retail inflation with a lag, although slack in the economy is muting the pass-through," the central bank noted.

The conflict over Ukraine and the consequent spike in commodity prices has overcast the outlook for inflation in India as in the rest of the world, it added.

To control spiralling prices, the government had recently cut excise duty on petrol and diesel and also waived import duty on some raw materials used in the steel and plastic industry. Besides, export duty was hiked on iron ore and iron pellets.

A rise in price across all items from fuel to vegetables and cooking oil pushed WPI or wholesale price inflation to a record high of 15.08 per cent in April and retail inflation to a nearly eight-year high of 7.79 per cent. -- PTI

Sambhaji Raje withdraws his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections. "I have withdrawn my nomination to avoid horse-trading. I'm a descendant of Shivaji Maharaj and I also have my own pride. I'll strengthen Swarajya organisation in Maharashtra," he says.

With Shiv Sena fielding Kolhapur district chief Sanjay Pawar for a Rajya Sabha seat instead of Sambhaji Raje, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had announced its support to the former Parliamentarian.

Raju Patil, the lone MNS MLA, said he will extend his support or vote to Raje for the Upper House.

National Conference (NC) president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has been summoned by the ED for questioning in a money laundering case in Delhi on May 31, official sources said on Friday.

The questioning is reported to be in connection with a case of alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) that is being probed by the federal agency.

The summon has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for appearance at its headquarters here on May 31.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had in 2020 attached assets worth Rs 11.86 crore of Abdullah in this case.

The 84-year-old NC patron has been questioned by the ED a number of times in the case. The ED had alleged that Abdullah "misused" his position as the president of the JKCA in the past and made appointments in the sports body so that the BCCI sponsored funds could be laundered. PTI

12:38 Structural reforms essential for growth: RBI

Making a strong case for structural reforms, the Reserve Bank on Friday said they are essential for sustained, balanced and inclusive growth, and also to deal with the after-effects of the pandemic.

In its annual report, the Reserve Bank of India also stressed that the future path of growth would be conditioned by addressing supply-side bottlenecks, calibrating monetary policy to bring down inflation and boosting capital spending.

"Undertaking structural reforms to improve India's medium-term growth potential holds the key to secure sustained, balanced and inclusive growth, especially by helping workers adapt to the after-effects of the pandemic by reskilling and enabling them to adopt new technologies for raising productivity," it said in the chapter on 'Assessment and Prospects'.

The escalation of geopolitical tensions into war from late February 2022 has delivered a brutal blow to the world economy, battered as it has been through 2021 by multiple waves of the pandemic, supply chain and logistics disruptions, elevated inflation and bouts of financial market turbulence, triggered by diverging paths of monetary policy normalisation, it added.

"... the immediate impact of geopolitical aftershocks is on inflation, with close to three-fourths of the consumer price index at risk. The elevation in international prices of crude, metals and fertilisers has translated into a term of trade shock that has widened trade and current account deficits," the report said. -- PTI

The Supreme Court collegium has recommended transfer of six high court judges.

A three-member Supreme Court collegium comprising Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices UU Lalit and AM Khanwilkar, which deals with transfer/repatriation/elevation of judges of high courts has recommended the transfer of the six judges.

Among the judges who have been transferred include Justice Purushaindra Kumar Gaurav from Madhya Pradesh High Court to Delhi High Court and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanulllah from Andhra Pradesh High Court to Patna High Court.

The collegium's decision, which was uploaded on the apex court website, said Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash has been transferred from the Orissa High Court to Calcutta High Court and Justice Subhasis Talapatra has been transferred from the Tripura High Court to the Orissa High Court. Justice Lanusungkum Jamir has been transferred from the Manipur High Court to the Gauhati High Court and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur has been transferred from the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court to the Bombay High Court. PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday started questioning Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for the second consecutive day in connection with an alleged scam pertaining to the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was home minister.

Karti reached the CBI headquarters around 9.30 am and deposed before the investigators.

Before joining the probe, Karti wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, mentioning "I am distressed to bring the matter of grave importance to your urgent notice.

"This issue concerns my rights and privileges as a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha). Over the course of the past few years, my family and I have become targets of a relentless campaign by the present Government and its Investigating Agencies who are trying to silence our voices of dissent by foisting one fake case after another. Such targeted intimidation of a Member of the House amounts to a breach of privilege," reads the letter.

The letter further mentioned that he was becoming a victim of a grossly illegal and patently unconstitutional action.

"Shockingly, even my draft notes and questions which I had intended to ask witnesses summoned to the Committee, were also seized. Furthermore, my handwritten notes pertaining to the depositions made to the Committee by Witnesses were also seized - for reasons best known to the Agency," stated the letter.

Karti further mentioned in the letter that the actions by the CBI interfered with his parliamentarian duties and urged for immediate cognizance of the issue citing a breach in parliamentary privilege as a pivotal reason.

The CBI had questioned Karti for more than eight hours on Thursday when he joined the probe for the first time following a special court direction which had ordered him to join the investigation within 16 hours of his arrival from the United Kingdom and Europe, where he had gone with the permission of the Supreme Court and the special court.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court granted him interim protection from arrest till May 30 in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Chinese Visa case. -- ANI

The Union government is planning to repurpose the Co-WIN platform for India's Universal Immunisation Programme and other national health programmes while continuing with its current function of recording Covid vaccination and issuing certificates.

The vaccination record under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) is now maintained manually.

'Once Co-WIN is repurposed to include the UIP, the entire vaccination system will become digitised, thus easing tracking beneficiaries and facilitating real-time monitoring,' Co-WIN chief and CEO of the National Health Authority Dr R S Sharma told PTI.

'It will do away with the hassle of keeping a physical record. Once the immunisation programme is digitised, beneficiaries will get certificates on the spot. They can also download it. These certificates will be stored in Digi-lockers,' he explained.

Dr Sharma said efficient record-keeping helps create an evidence-base that helps in planning effective interventions.

The Universal Immunisation Programme is one of the largest vaccination projects in the world aimed at protecting children and pregnant mothers from preventable diseases.

Under it, the government provides shots for 12 vaccine-preventable diseases, such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, and hepatitis B, for free.

Stressing the importance of an integrated immunisation information system, an official said it helps in the effective management of vaccination programmes at national, state and district levels.

The data available at the individual level can be collated at the population level for making them available for those involved in framing public health policies, the official said.

'Since Co-WIN has proved its worth in COVID-19 vaccination, a decision has been taken to bring UIP under the ambit of this platform even as recording Covid vaccination on the portal will continue,' the official stated.

The other national health programmes which may be included in the portal include family planning, and child and maternal health, among others. -- PTI

A Nepali rapper with an educational degree in structural engineering, Balendra Shah, an independent candidate in lately held local level elections, has been elected as the mayor of the capital city Kathmandu.

According to the Election Commission, Balendra Shah who is known as 'Balen' amongst the youths of Kathmandu secured 61,767 votes to get elected to the post of Mayor.

Shah's erstwhile rival Sirjana Singh of Nepali Congress fell back with 38,341 votes while the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) candidate Keshav Sthapit, also the former Mayor of the capital received 38,117 votes.

Standing tough against the established political parties, Shah had announced his candidature for the metropolitan constituency two and a half years ago.

The elected mayor had completed higher secondary education (Plus Two) from VS Niketan in Kathmandu and graduated from Himalayan White House College with a degree in Engineering.

Shah has a bachelor's degree in structural engineering from a university in India and had worked in various districts of Nepal for development work.

Alongside, Balen, the CPN-UML's Sunita Dangol has won the post of deputy mayor. As per the vote count results published late on Thursday night, Dangol's rival Rameshwar Shrestha fell back with 23,806 votes.

In the May 13 election, a total of 35,034 people's representatives have been elected in the various local bodies as the vote-counting are still underway. --ANI

Photo: Kind courtesy @AshokChandnaINC/Twitter

10:32 Free me: Rajasthan minister to Gehlot on Twitter

Rajasthan Minister Ashok Chandna on Thursday appealed to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to relieve him of the ministerial post and to give all the departments to Kuldeep Ranka, the principal secretary to Gehlot.

Chandna took to Twitter to vent out his anger.

He wrote, 'Honourable chief minister, I have a personal request to you. Free me from this cruel ministerial post and give the charge of all my departments to Kuldeep Ranka ji, because anyway, he is the minister of all the departments. Thank you.'

Chandna is the minister of sports and youth affairs, skill development, employment, entrepreneurship, and disaster management and relief in the Rajasthan government.

Last week, Congress leader Ganesh Goghra resigned from Congress.

He alleged that despite being a ruling party MLA and the Youth Congress' state president, he was being neglected and his voice was being suppressed by local administration and officers.

Reacting to this state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Satish Poonia tweeted, 'The ship is sinking...The trends for 2023 have started arriving.'

Political upheavals in the state bureaucracy are a matter of concern as the Rajya Sabha polls are near where every vote is crucial. -- ANI

Another model was found hanging from the ceiling of her room in her family residence in Kolkata's Patuli area on Friday, the second such incident in three days, police said.

Her mother claimed that the deceased, identified as Manjusha Niyogi, was suffering from acute depression after the death of her friend and colleague in the industry, Bidisha De Majumder, two days before.

De Majumder, a popular face in bridal make-up photo-shoots, was also found hanging inside her rented apartment in Dumdum area on Wednesday evening.

Niyogi's body was sent to a hospital for post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of death, a police officer said.

"My daughter was severely depressed following her friend Bidisha's death and was constantly talking about her since then," Niyogi's mother said.

Popular television actor Pallabi Dey was also found hanging inside her rented apartment in Garfa area around a fortnight ago. -- PTI

10:11 Sensex jumps 500 points in early trade

Equity markets continued their previous day rally, with the Sensex jumping 500 points in early trade, mirroring positive trends from global equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 500.05 points to 54,752.58.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 159.2 points to 16,329.35.

From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro and Bajaj Finance were the prominent gainers in early trade.

In contrast, NTPC, Power Grid, Nestle, Dr Reddy's and Tata Steel were the laggards.

The Sensex rallied 503.27 points or 0.94 per cent to settle at 54,252.53 on Thursday.

The Nifty gained 144.35 points or 0.90 per cent to end at 16,170.15. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading in the green.

Stock markets in the US had ended significantly higher on Thursday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.17 per cent to $117.60 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree as they offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,597.84 crore on Thursday, as per stock exchange data.

"FPI selling, the main trigger for the market weakness in India, is showing signs of exhaustion. DIIs (domestic institutional investors) and retail buying and overwhelming FPI selling along with short covering can trigger a near-term rally," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. -- PTI

Get your booster shots if you are due

09:51 Active COVID-19 cases in India rise to 15,814

India logged 2,710 new coronavirus infections in a day taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,31,47,530, while the active cases rose to 15,814, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll climbed to 5,24,539 with 14 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 400 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.58 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was 0.52 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,26,07,177, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 192.97 crore.

A bombed hotel in Chernihiv, Ukraine

09:47 Ukraine may get 'gamechanger' rockets from US

The Biden administration is preparing to step up the kind of weaponry it is offering Ukraine by sending advanced, long-range rocket systems that are now the top request from Ukrainian officials, multiple officials say, reports CNN.

The administration is leaning toward sending the systems as part of a larger package of military and security assistance to Ukraine, which could be announced as soon as next week.

Senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have pleaded in recent weeks for the US and its allies to provide the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS.

The US-made weapon systems can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of kilometers -- much farther than any of the systems Ukraine already has -- which the Ukrainians argue could be a gamechanger in their war against Russia.

Another system Ukraine has asked for is the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, a lighter wheeled system capable of firing many of the same types of ammunition as MLRS.

09:33 China holds mega videoconference on economy

China held a rare nationwide meeting via teleconference Wednesday to bolster an economy battered by Covid, reports CNBC. The timing and scale indicated to analysts the level of urgency and current challenges for the country to achieve its target of around 5.5% GDP growth for the year.

Read the full report here.

In an effort to minimize the impact of the ongoing fuel crisis on the common man, Transport and Highways Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that public transport will be restructured soon.

"The most appropriate step that can be taken as a public transport service is to reorganize and improve public transport, taking into account the need to meet the daily requirements of the home and obstacles that have befallen the education of children as well as the overall standard of living," Colombo Page quoted Minister Bandula Gunawardena as saying.

He also said the railway system played an integral part when Sri Lanka transitioned from a self-sustainable economy to an export centric plantations economy.

The decision to restructure the public transport of the country was decided at the meeting held at the Sri Lanka Railways Headquarters where discussions were focused on giving special attention to resolving how the acute fuel crisis that Sri Lanka is currently facing should not impact the daily lives of the people, reported Colombo Page.

The discussion focused special attention on how the acute fuel crisis that Sri Lanka is currently facing has had a negative impact on the daily lives of the people.

According to the minister, reorganizing and improving the public transport is the most appropriate step which can be taken as a public transport service.

He also pointed out the need to meet the daily necessities of home alongside the obstacles which had befallen the education of children, and the overall standard of living in Sri Lanka, reported Colombo Page.

In addition, to resolve the fuel scarcity in the country, he said that the number of trains currently running should be increased significantly reported Colombo Page.

Fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia

09:04 Brokenhearted man dies after wife slain in shootout

Fourth-grade teacher Irma Garcia was killed in her Texas classroom on Tuesday, massacred along with her co-teacher and 19 students. Two days later, a family member says her brokenhearted husband died.

The motive for the massacre the nation's deadliest school shooting since Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago remained under investigation, with authorities saying the 18-year-old gunman had no known criminal or mental health history.

The alleged shooter, Salvador Ramos, was inside the Robb Elementary School classroom in Uvalde for more than an hour before he was killed in a shootout, authorities said Thursday.

The rampage has rocked a country already reeling from gun violence, and the toll has continued to climb in Uvalde, a largely Latino town of some 16,000 people about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the Mexican border.

Joe Garcia, 50, had dropped off flowers at his wife's memorial on Thursday morning, The New York Times reported. He pretty much just fell over after returning home and died of a heart attack, his nephew John Martinez told the newspaper.

08:58 Geetanjali Shree wins International Booker

Author Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel 'Tomb of Sand' has become the first book in any Indian language to win the prestigious International Booker Prize.

Her novel titled Ret Samadhi, was translated into English as Tomb of Sand by Daisy Rockwell.

It is also the first Hindi-language book to be shortlisted for the GPB50,000 prize.

Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things had won the Man Booker prize in 1997. The Man Booker prize is only open to Commonwealth countries.

'Congratulations to Geetanjali Shree and @shreedaisy who have been longlisted with Tomb of Sand: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/tomb-of-sand #2022InternationalBooker #TombofSand #GeetanjaliShree #DaisyRockwell@TiltedAxisPress,' The Booker Prizes said in a tweet.

It is a story set in the shadow of the partition of India, which follows an elderly woman after the death of her husband.

'Yessss! Translator Daisy Rockwell and author Geetanjali Shree win the International Booker for 'Tomb of Sand' ('Ret Samadhi' in the original). A first win for a Hindi novel, an Indian novel, a south Asian novel. Congratulations! @TheBookerPrizes,' Bengali writer Arunava Sinha tweeted.

Geetanjali Shree is the author of several short stories and novels.Her 2000 novel Mai was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award in 2001.

"I never dreamt of the Booker, I never thought I could. What a huge recognition, I'm amazed, delighted, honoured and humbled," said Shree, in her acceptance speech.

There is a melancholy satisfaction in the award going to it. Ret Samadhi/Tomb of Sand' is an elegy for the world we inhabit, a lasting energy that retains hope in the face of impending doom.

The Booker will surely take it to many more people than it would have reached otherwise, that should do the book no harm, she said.

Reflecting upon becoming the first work of fiction in Hindi to make the Booker cut, the 64-year-old author said it feels good to be the means of that happening.

"But behind me and this book lies a rich and flourishing literary tradition in Hindi, and in other South Asian languages. World literature will be the richer for knowing some of the finest writers in these languages. The vocabulary of life will increase from such an interaction," she said.

Rockwell, a painter, writer and translator living in Vermont, US, joined her on stage to receive her award for translating the novel she described as a love letter to the Hindi language.

"Ultimately, we were captivated by the power, the poignancy and the playfulness of Tomb of Sand', Geetanjali Shree's polyphonic novel of identity and belonging, in Daisy Rockwell's exuberant, coruscating translation," said Frank Wynne, chair of the judging panel.

"This is a luminous novel of India and partition, but one whose spellbinding brio and fierce compassion weaves youth and age, male and female, family and nation into a kaleidoscopic whole," he said.

The book's 80-year-old protagonist, Ma, to her family's consternation, insists on travelling to Pakistan, simultaneously confronting the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist.

A US Presidential Commission has recommended the translation of key government websites, such as the White House and other federal agencies, in languages spoken by Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, including Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi.

A series of recommendations to include these languages were recently approved by the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans (AA), Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (NHPI).

The full commission at its meeting here early this month had recommended that federal agencies should provide key documents, digital content, and forms on their websites translated into multiple AA and NHPI languages.

It also recommended that public and emergency alerts should be accessible to persons with limited English proficiency.

The full commission also recommended that the federal government should ensure that emergency/disaster prevention, planning, response, mitigation, and recovery programmes are inclusive of and reflect the lived experiences of limited English proficient populations.

The set of recommendations now move to the White House for the president to take a final call on it. Such a series of recommendations is in the pipeline for some time now after Indian-American Ajay Jain Bhutoria had run a multi-language publicity campaign for Democratic candidate and now US President Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election. Election campaigns in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Telugu and other South Asian languages helped the Biden campaign make a deep impact in the community.

Based out of Silicon Valley and a successful entrepreneur, Bhutoria is now one of the members of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (Commission). During the commission's meeting, he argued that providing information in languages specific to the audience will help bridge the information divide. -- PTI

Maharashtra, followed by Manipur and Uttar Pradesh, have recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in 2020, when 1.6 lakh people succumbed to the virus in the country.

In 2020, the total number of registered deaths in the country was 81,15,882 of which 18,11,688 were medically certified deaths.

According to the Report on Medical Certification of Cause of Death 2020, the highest deaths (29.4 per cent) due to the COVID-19 was reported for the age group 70 years or above followed by 55-64 years (23.9 per cent).

As per recommendation of Indian Council of Medical Research, codes for covering deaths due to COVID-19 has first time recorded as a separate major cause group.

Deaths reported due to COVID-19 has contribution of 8.9 per cent in total medically certified deaths.

There were 1,60,618 COVID-19 deaths in 2020 of which 1,14,217 were male and 46,401 were female.

As per the registered medically certified deaths in 2020, Maharashtra has recorded the highest percentage of medically certified covid deaths with 17.7 per cent followed by Manipur (15.7 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (15.0 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (13.5 per cent), Uttarakhand (12.8 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (12.0 per cent), Punjab (11.9 per cent) and Delhi (10.8 per cent).

The report did not provide the actual number of COVID-19 deaths, state and Union Territory-wise.

No medically certified COVID-19 death has been registered in Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep during 2020.

According to the Union Health Ministry, as on Thursday, a total of 5,24,525 covid deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,47,857 from Maharashtra, 69,643 from Kerala, 40,106 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,207 from Delhi, 23,519 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,203 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

As shown in the RGI data, the highest deaths (29.4 per cent) was reported for the age group 70 years or above followed by 55-64 years (23.9 per cent).

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