Covid LIVE: Delhi, Maharashtra, Bengal see big jump in cases

Mumbai sees 12% rise in daily Covid cases while Gujarat and Karnataka also see an uptick in cases

9:03 PM

Gujarat reports 1,069 fresh COVID cases

8:50 PM

Delhi: People throng to Connaught Place

8:16 PM

West Bengal reports 4,512 new COVID-19 cases

8:14 PM

Maharashtra reports 9,170 new cases

6:59 PM

Kerala reports 2,435 fresh COVID cases

6:56 PM

Delhi reports 2,716 fresh COVID cases today

6:43 PM

Mumbai reports 6,347 fresh COVID cases in a day

5:41 PM

Top J&K official to head probe panel on Vaishno Devi stampede

5:36 PM

Initiate process of setting up makeshift hospitals, govt tells states

4:52 PM

Union Minister Jitendra Singh inspects Vaishno Devi Bhawan stampede site

4:35 PM

Four people have died in the landslide at a mining site in Bhiwani

3:07 PM

Centre, J&K admin making efforts to provide relief to injured in Vaishno Devi shrine stampede: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the central government is in constant touch with the J&K Administration and full care is being taken towards the relief work for those injured in the stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

 

Speaking at a programme to release funds under the PM-KISAN scheme, Modi expressed his condolences and said he has spoken to Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.

 

Earlier in the day, Sinha said a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the stampede in which at least 12 people were killed and 20 others injured.

1:56 PM

2 injured, several missing after landslide at mining quarry in Haryana

1:46 PM

Top crypto service providers' offices being searched for GST evasion

1:29 PM

Vaishno Devi stampede: Survivors blame 'mismanagement', shrine board refutes charge

A sudden rush of devotees at the Vaishno Devi shrine here to mark the beginning of the New Year triggered the stampede that resulted in the death of 12 people, some of the survivors said, blaming "mismanagement" for the tragedy.

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, however, denied the charge, saying all necessary arrangements were made in view of the expected rush, while Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh blamed a minor altercation for the unfortunate incident.

"Nothing but mismanagement was the cause for this tragic accident. They were aware about the possible rush but allowed the people in unhindered," a pilgrim from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh said while waiting outside a mortuary to identify a dead body.

1:25 PM

Omicron less severe as it mostly avoids attacking lungs: Report

A series of recently published studies found that the fast-moving Omicron variant may be less severe than other Covid strains because of the way it attacks the lungs, media reports say.

According to The New York Times, studies on mice and hamsters have found that Omicron produced less damaging infections to the lungs, and instead was limited largely to the nose, throat, and windpipe.

Previous variants would cause scarring in the lungs and serious breathing difficulty, coating NYT, The Times of Israel reported.

"It is fair to say that the idea of a disease that manifests itself primarily in the upper respiratory system is emerging," Roland Eils, a computational biologist at the Berlin Institute of Health who has studied how coronaviruses infect the airway was quoted as saying.

1:16 PM

Vaishno Devi stampede: Jitendra Singh, J-K DGP reach Narayana Superspeciality Hospital in Katra

Union Minister Jitendra Singh Jammu and Kashmir's Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh on Saturday reached the Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital where the injured are undergoing medical treatment following the stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan in Katra.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said, People who got admitted here are stable. We may add some technical solutions for the yatra. Earlier people use to visit the shrine during festivals, nowadays youngsters want to visit the shrine on 1st day of the year: PM Modi is monitoring the situation."

As per the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board's statement at around 2:15 am stampede happened near Gate No. 3 at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan, in which a total of 12 pilgrims lost their lives and 15 pilgrims got injured in the incident of which four have been discharged so far.

1:16 PM

Khattar, Amarinder, Badal condole loss of lives in Vaishno Devi stampede

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, his former Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh and several other leaders on Saturday condoled the loss of lives in a stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

At least 12 people died and over a dozen were injured in the stampede that took place around 2.30 am on Saturday near gate number three outside the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine atop the Trikuta hills, about 50 km from Jammu.

 

"Deeply saddened to hear about the accident that took place at Mata Vaishno Devi at Jammu. May God grant peace to the departed souls and I pray for speedy recovery of the injured. My condolences to the bereaved families. We are ready to help in any way possible," Khattar said in a tweet.

1:06 PM

PM releases Rs 20,900 cr to farmers under PM-KISAN scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday released over Rs 20,900 crore to more than 10.09 crore farmers across India as 10th installment of financial aid under the PM-KISAN scheme.

Modi released the amount to beneficiaries at an event held through video conference.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year is provided to the eligible farmer families, payable in three equal installments of Rs 2,000. The money is transferred directly to the bank account of the beneficiaries.

1:06 PM

Nissan Motor India posts 2-fold jump in domestic wholesales in Dec

Nissan Motor India Ltd on Saturday reported over two-fold jump in domestic wholesales in December 2021 at 3,010 units for its two brands Nissan and Datsun.

 

The company had a wholesales of 1,159 units in the same month of 2020.

 

The company's domestic sales in the April-December 2021 period were 27,965 units as against 6,609 units in the year-ago period, Nissan Motor India said in a statement.

 

1:00 PM

WHO chief optimistic that pandemic will be beaten in 2022

The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he is optimistic that the Covid-19 pandemic will be defeated in 2022, provided countries work together to contain its spread.

Ghebreyesus warned against "narrow nationalism and vaccine hoarding" in a new year statement, reports the BBC.

His comments come two years since the WHO was first notified of cases of an unknown pneumonia strain in China.

He warned that continuing inequity in vaccine distribution was increasing the risk of the virus evolving.

12:54 PM

Maharashtra warns of massive spike in Covid-19 cases, deaths

In a New Year shocker, the Maharashtra government has warned of the possibility of 8 million cases and 80,000 deaths as the third wave has apparently set in the state.

 

"Number of Covid infections in the third wave is going to be very huge," said Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Dr. Pradeep Vyas in a missive to all district collectors and health officials late on Friday.

 

"If there are 8 million Covid cases in third wave..., even if 1 per cent case fatality is presumed, we can land up with 80,000 deaths," said Dr. Vyas in the grim communication.

12:38 PM

Power consumption rises 4.5 per cent to 110.34 bn units in Dec

India's power consumption grew by 4.5 per cent in December to 110.34 billion units (BU) over the same period a year ago, according to power ministry data.

In December 2020, consumption was 105.62 BU, up from 101.08 BU in December 2019.

Experts are of the view that power consumption as well as demand has grown at a steady pace in December with improvement in economic activities across the country.

12:19 PM

Lee says Singapore to bring in much-needed migrant workers

Singapore will bring in much-needed migrant workers and ensure international talents feel welcome and are able to complement Singaporeans, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday.

 

Singapore taps labour, skilled manpower and professionals mostly from Bangladesh, China, India and the Philippines.

 

"We will also press on to bring in much-needed migrant workers and ensure international talents feel welcome and are able to complement Singaporeans, the Channel News Asia reported, citing the Prime Minister's New Year message, laying out the recovery path for the COVID-19-battered economy.

12:18 PM

New Year: Varanasi welcomes 2022 with Vedic rituals

As a part of the celebrations, on the occasion of New Year, Varanasi welcomed 2022 in a traditional manner with Vedic rituals.

 

The style of welcoming the new year at Assi Ghat in Varanasi is traditional as well as Vedic. People welcomed the new year by chanting 'Veda Mantras' and performing 'Yagya'.

 

New rays of the sun were also welcomed in a traditional manner with Vedic rituals and prayers for the welfare of mankind and nature.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an MP from the constituency extended greetings on the first day of 2022 on Saturday and expressed hope that the New Year will bring an abundance of joy and good health to everyone.

12:02 PM

US travel chaos stretching into New Year amid Covid-19 surge

Travel disruptions are slated to persist in 2022, as heavy holiday traffic in air and on ground overlapped with a spike in coronavirus cases in the US, and airlines, train companies and even their regulators grapple with staff unavailability as a result of the pandemic's ever more contagious variants of Omicron and Delta.

 

The US set a new record high of over 640,000 daily Covid-19 cases on Friday, according to latest data of Johns Hopkins University. A total of 647,067 new cases and 1,409 new deaths were reported across the nation on Friday. The single-day increase of cases has set a new record since the onset of the pandemic in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Heading into the New Year's weekend, when return flights will produce another crest in air travel, airlines have been canceling more than 1,000 flights a day to, from or within the US.

12:02 PM

US travel chaos stretching into New Year amid Covid-19 surge

Travel disruptions are slated to persist in 2022, as heavy holiday traffic in air and on ground overlapped with a spike in coronavirus cases in the US, and airlines, train companies and even their regulators grapple with staff unavailability as a result of the pandemic's ever more contagious variants of Omicron and Delta.

 

The US set a new record high of over 640,000 daily Covid-19 cases on Friday, according to latest data of Johns Hopkins University. A total of 647,067 new cases and 1,409 new deaths were reported across the nation on Friday. The single-day increase of cases has set a new record since the onset of the pandemic in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Heading into the New Year's weekend, when return flights will produce another crest in air travel, airlines have been canceling more than 1,000 flights a day to, from or within the US.

12:02 PM

Kejriwal expresses grief over Vaishno Devi shrine stampede

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of lives in a stampede at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu, and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured.

At least 12 people died and over a dozen were injured in the stampede at the famous temple triggered by a heavy rush of devotees, officials said.

"Extremely sorry to know about this incident at Mata Vaishno Devi temple premises. My sympathies to kin of the dead. I pray to the god for speedy recovery of all the injured," Kejriwal said in a tweet.

11:52 AM

Over 57.8 mn Income Tax returns filed for 2021-22 till Friday evening

More than 57.8 mn Income Tax Returns for the assessment year 2021-22 were filed till 7 pm on Friday as compared to 59.5 mn Income Tax returns for AY 2020-21 filed till January 10, 2021.

 

"More than 57.8 mn #ITRs for AY 2021-22 filed till 7pm today compared to 59.5 mn #ITRs for AY 2020-21 filed till 10th January, 2021(extended due dt for AY 2020-21). This includes 3.574 mn ITRs filed today with 0.455 mn ITRs filed in last one hour. #FileNow," tweeted the official account of the Income Tax Department on Friday evening.

 

The last day to file income tax returns was on December 31, 2021.

11:51 AM

At 24, Trinamool Congress eyes national stage

Twenty-four years after Mamata Banerjee formed the Trinamool Congress on January 1, 1998 to unseat the Left Front from power in West Bengal, her party has transcended the geographical boundaries of the eastern state and now attempts to expand its footprint across the country to pose a direct challenge to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

 

With the national opposition in shambles, the TMC, which Banerjee floated after quitting the Congress, is attempting to grab that space by challenging the grand old party, branding it as "war-weary" and accusing it of failing to put up a fight against the BJP.

 

At the same time, the party is positioning itself as the "real Congress" and the only outfit to oppose the saffron camp tooth and nail, after its landslide victory in this year's assembly elections in West Bengal despite the BJP's massive campaign to unseat her from power.