Covid LIVE: Kerala logs 11k new cases after below 10k infections for days

Live news updates: Hindustan Unilever reports 9% per cent growth in Q2 profit; Reliance Retail acquires majority stake in fashion designer Ritu Kumar's firm.

10:03 PM

Maharashtra reports 1,825 new COVID-19 cases; 21 die, 2,879 recover

Maharashtra reported 1,825 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and a much higher recovery figure at 2,879, while 21 more patients succumbed to the infection, a health department official said.

 

A dozen districts, out of the total 36, did not did not report any new cases of the respiratory disease. With the additions of new cases, up nearly 190 from a day ago, and fresh fatalities, down more than half from the previous day, the state's infection tally shot up to 65,96,645, while the death toll rose to 1,39,886, he said.

9:34 PM

Goa completes 72% coverage of second Covid jab: CM

Goa has completed nearly 72 per cent coverage of the second Covid vaccination dose, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.

 

"72 per cent completion of the second dose has been completed. We have targetted 100 per cent coverage by October 30," Sawant told reporters here.

 

Goa was the second state to complete 100 per cent coverage of the first Covid dose last month, shortly after Himachal Pradesh achieved the feat.

8:55 PM

Khattar has announced to provide financial assistance of Rs 5 crore to the Uttarakhand govt

8:38 PM

Rescue team deployed to search group of over a dozen trekkers missing at Lamkhaga Pass

8:26 PM

Restoration work underway in Kalijhora, Kalimpong following heavy rainfall

7:45 PM

Attacks on Hindus: Mumbai BJP submits memorandum to office of Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh

Mumbai BJP unit president Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the office of Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh demanding strict action against rumour-mongers catalysing attacks against Hindus in that country.

Lodha was accompanied by Swami Vishweshwaranand Giri Maharaj, Mumbai BJP vice president Acharya Pawan Tripathi, VHP leader Dhananjay Pandit and others.

Hindus here feel hurt after learning about the alleged attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. It is happening chiefly because of home-grown terrorist organisations. They are spreading rumours and Hindus are being attacked, Lodha told reporters.

7:19 PM

Army inducts upgraded L70 anti-aircraft guns in forward areas along LAC in Arunachal Pradesh sector

In a major boost to its fire power, the Indian Army has deployed a sizeable number of upgraded L70 anti-aircraft guns in the high mountains along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh in addition to its existing M-777 howitzers and Swedish Bofors guns, officials said on Wednesday.

The deployment of the anti-aircraft guns having a range of 3.5 km in the treacherous region is part of a series of measures that the Army has taken to bolster its operational preparedness along the over 1,300-km LAC in eastern sector in the face of the 17-month standoff in eastern Ladakh.

The Army has already positioned a significant number of M-777 howitzer guns that were first received three years ago.

6:57 PM

42 people have died due to rains and landslides between Oct 12 to Oct 20: CM Vijayan

6:43 PM

Kerala reports 11,150 new cases, 82 deaths and 8,592 recoveries

6:21 PM

Bofors guns deployed in a forward area along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh

6:07 PM

Govt looking to vaccinate country's entire adult population by year-end: MoS Health

More than 99 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in India and the government has set a target of vaccinating the country's entire adult population by the end of the year, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar said on Wednesday.

While virtually addressing the FICCI's "Healthcare Excellence Awards ceremony, Pawar informed that under the 'Make in India' initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi India is one of the leading countries in the global medical devices market in the world.

Detailing the success amid challenges posed by COVID-19, the Union minister said, "More than 99 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country and the government has set a target of vaccinating the country's entire adult population by end of the year."

5:37 PM

Uttarakhand rains: 46 people dead, 11 still missing

Eleven people remained missing, boulders blocked roads and many villages went without electricity as authorities took stock Wednesday of the aftermath of the rains that battered Uttarakhand for over two days.

Forty-six people have died due to the rains since Sunday night and some are still feared buried under the debris of collapsed houses.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said it has rescued over 1,300 people from flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand. The federal force has deployed 17 rescue teams in the state.

5:10 PM

Death toll in rain-battered Uttarakhand's Champawat rises to 10

The death toll in rain-battered Uttarakhand's Champawat district went up to 10 after the four bodies buried in the debris were retrieved on Wednesday, informed the state government.

"With the weather clearing up, relief work is underway in the affected areas of the Champawat district. The death toll from the disaster in the district has gone up to 10 after four bodies buried in the debris were retrieved today," the officials said.

4:55 PM

Aryan Khan moves an application in the Bombay HC against the Special NDPS Court order

4:49 PM

Negative RT-PCR test report mandatory for all international passengers

4:04 PM

Waterlogging in Nainital main market following heavy rainfall

3:42 PM

Relief work underway in the affected areas of Champawat district

3:41 PM

Uttarakhand CM Dhami inspects flood-hit areas in Khatima

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday inspected the flood-hit areas of Khatima and interacted with the residents of the town.

Dhami reached Khatima on a tractor. He was also accompanied by Ajay Bhatt, the Minister of State (MoS) for Defence and a Lok Sabha MP from Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.

Speaking to ANI, Dhami said that a lot of loss had occurred, especially to the farmers and the instructions had been issued to the administration to provide compensation for the same.

3:28 PM

Situation still serious in flood-hit Uttarakhand: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed sympathy for the Uttarakhand flood victims and urged people to follow safety norms as the situation in the state was still serious.

He also asked Congress workers to extend all possible help in the relief work in the flood-hit state.

"My condolences to the Uttarakhand flood victims. The situation is still serious. Do follow the safety norms. My appeal to my Congress colleagues is to extend all possible help in the relief work," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

3:08 PM

Drugs case: Court rejects bail applications of Aryan Khan

Mumbai’s Special NDPS Court rejects bail applications of Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha

3:07 PM

Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stopped by police on their way to Agra

2:40 PM

Double engine govt is setting new records of procurement from farmers in UP: PM Modi

2:31 PM

2 people missing after an incident of landslide in Dungri village: Chamoli DM

2:04 PM

UP is trying its best to combat TB, 2.7 mn people got drinking water connections: PM

2:02 PM

PM Modi lays the foundation stone of various development projects in Kushinagar

1:25 PM

Amit Shah likely to visit Dehradun

Uttarakhand’s government says it has allotted Rs 10 crore each to district magistrates for relief work. Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to go to Dehradun this evening, according to new agency PTI. "We want to clear blocked roads first. Water had entered houses, local admin has been asked to make arrangements to ensure people don't lack food and water. Rs 10 crore each has been sanctioned for all DMs as relief fund," Chief Minister Dhami is quoted by as saying in agency reports.

12:53 PM

Rescuing tourists priority: Uttarakhand CM

Chief Minister Singh Dhami says his government’s priority is to rescue tourists stranded in rains. "Situation is slowly becoming normal at Char Dham Yatra", PTI quoted him as saying about the pilgrimage centre.

12:06 PM

'Massive damage' in Uttarakhand: CM Dhami

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami says there is "massive damage" in Uttarakhand due to rains this week. "It will take time to return to normalcy. Roads were washed away, there were landslides, rivers changed their routes, villages were affected, bridges collapsed," ANI quoted him as saying.

11:12 AM

Jack Ma travels to Europe after China crackdown on his company

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has travelled to Europe for an agriculture study tour: his first trip abroad since he ran into trouble with the Chinese government last year over violating anti-monopoly regulations, PTI reported from Beijing.

10:57 AM

350 places have got air connectivity in last few years: Modi

More than 900 new air routes have been approved in the last few years—service has started at more than 350 of these paces, says Modi at inauguration of Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh