LIVE News Updates: Chhattisgarh CM writes to PM, requests him to reconsider privatising Nagarnar Steel Plant

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel (in file photo) writes to PM Narendra Modi, requesting him to reconsider the decision to privatize Nagarnar Steel Plant in Bastar, reports ANI.

14,718 new COVID-19 cases and 355 deaths reported in Maharashtra today. The total number of positive cases now stands at 7,33,568 including 5,31,563 recoveries and 23,444 deaths. Number of active cases 1,78,234: State Health department.

Two persons died in an incident of elevator collapse at Kannamwar Nagar, Mumbai's Vikhroli today: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra

Goa's Director of Health Services Jose D'Sa has tested positive for coronavirus, a state government spokesperson said on Thursday.

D'Sa has been admitted to a private hospital for treatment after he tested COVID positive following an antigen test, the spokesperson said.

The Directorate Of Health Services is the key government agency at the forefront of the state's COVID management efforts.

Reacting to the development, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat said that with D'Sa testing COVID-19 positive and getting himself admitted to a private hospital, it was proven that the state government apparatus for fighting the pandemic was in shambles.

The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh will be beginning the Phase II trial of oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate -- COVID shield from the first week of September.

The premier institute has received approval from its internal ethical committee and is awaiting the signing of the tripartite agreement between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Serum Institute of India (SII) within the next two days, Madhu Gupta, principal investigator appointee of the vaccine-trial, told IANS.

140 new COVID-19 cases and 128 recovered cases reported in the last 24 hours in Manipur. Total number of cases rises to 5,725 in the state, including 1,743 active cases, 3,957 recovered cases and 25 deaths till date: State Health Department, Manipur.

During 18th meeting of WMCC last week, India & China had a candid & in-depth exchange of views on existing situation in border areas. Both sides have reaffirmed that they will continue to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of troops along LAC in western sector: MEA

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a red alert stating that extremely heavy rainfall is very likely in four districts of eastern Madhya Pradesh, where monsoon activities have revived in the last 24 hours.

It also issued orange and yellow alerts for some other districts in the state.

All the alerts are valid till Friday morning, an official said.

The red alert, issued by the IMD's Bhopal office, said that extremely heavy rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning is likely to occur at isolated places of Balaghat, Tikamgarh, Damoh and Sagar districts.

A truck hired for carrying weapons of the army collided head-on with a car and the drivers of both the vehicles were injured, police sources said on Thursday.

The lorry was going from here to a defence facility in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, the sources said.

The accident took place on the Kundannoor-Thevara bridge on Wednesday night, they said.

On being informed about the collision, defence personnel went to the scene and shifted the arms consignment to the navy base here, the sources added.

Justice A R Lakshmanan, former Judge of the Supreme Court, who banned smoking in public places and issued a telephonic order to permit a student to write a university exam, has passed away following a heart attack.

He was 78 and he died at a hospital in Tiruchirappalli yesterday at 11.30 pm, his family said on Thursday.He is survived by two sons and two daughters.

Phase 6 of Vande Bharat Mission scheduled to begin on Sept 1, based on an assessment of demand by our missions abroad, flights are being rescheduled by Air India group & pvt carriers. Bubble arrangements with different countries will continue as per schedule in next phase 2: MEA, reports ANI.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar accuses Modi govt of "playing with lives" of youths by being 'adamant' on holding JEE and NEET exams amid COVID-19 pandemic.

655 new COVID-19 cases (158 from Jammu & 497 from Kashmir) 528 recoveries and 4 deaths reported in Jammu & Kashmir today. Total cases stand at 35,135, including 7,743 active positive cases, 26,721 recoveries & 671 deaths: State Health Department, Govt of J&K.

A 70-year old woman and her 12-year granddaughter were killed and two women injured in three separate incidents of partial house collapses in Mumbai, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Thursday.

In the first incident, a portion of a toilet block in the old 3-storied Mishra Building in Byculla came crashing down in south Mumbai.

Noor Qureshi, 70, and her granddaughter Aliya R. Qureshi were taken to the Sir J.J. Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

In the second incident, a portion of a two-storied house suddenly caved in at Gautam Nagar in Deonar, north-east Mumbai. One woman sustained injuries and was admitted to the Shatabdi Hospital.

We also saw labour reforms recently; reform exercise not going to stop now: PM Modi at event on making India self-reliant in defence sector

Total number of COVID-19 cases in the state is now 5,410 including 1,453 active cases, 3,883 recoveries and 30 deaths: Himachal Pradesh Health Department.

92 deaths and 10,621 fresh COVID-19 reported in Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours. The total number of COVID19 cases in the state is now 3,93,090 including 94,209 active cases, 2,95,248 recoveries and 3,633 deaths: State Health Department, reports ANI.

1450000000000 tax cut benefit given to big businesses. But no interest waiver on loans for middle class. #SuitBootKiSarkar, tweeted Rahul Gandhi.

JEE exam centres have been increased to 660 from 570 while there are now 3,842 NEET centres, up from 2,546 for the convenience of students. Students have also been allotted exam centres of their choice: Ramesh Pokhriyal, Union Education Minister

Months after the Delhi Police named suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain as one of the main conspirators in the Delhi riots, the East MCD on Thursday sacked him from the post of Councillor.

The proposal to sack Hussain was brought to the House as a monthly agenda and was passed unanimously. His membership was scrapped under section 33(2) of the Delhi Municipal Act.

The said sections stated that if during three successive months, a councillor is, without permission of the Corporation, absent from all the meetings thereof, the Corporation may declare his seat vacant.

Meanwhile, a Delhi Court on August 21 took cognisance of the charge-sheet filed against Tahir Hussain in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the riots in the city in February.

An elderly woman was killed when a portion of a dilapidated building in the city's Beliaghata area collapsed in the early hours on Thursday, police said.

The about 150-year-old building collapsed after a heavy shower, the police said.

The woman, who was in her early 70s, her son and grandson were residents of the building on Beliaghata Main Road. They were trapped under the debris when it collapsed at around 5 AM on Thursday, they said.

Police along with the personnel of the disaster management department faced a tough time while rescuing them, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

"The woman was rescued from under the debris in a very critical condition. She was declared brought dead by the hospital where she was rushed," he said.

The son is undergoing treatment in a hospital, the officer added.

At least 30 lawmakers, nearly 25 per cent of the total strength of 117, have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a list released by the Punjab Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

However, seven of them have recovered. But a majority of the legislators may not attend the one-day Monsoon session of the Assembly on Friday as they are home quarantined.

State Rural development Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa was the first Minister to test positive for coronavirus but he has recovered and rejoined office.

After him, Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa tested positive followed by Revenue Minister Gurpreet Kangar and Industries Minister Sham Sunder Arora.

New Zealand on Thursday reported seven new COVID-19 cases, as the government outlined rules for the mandatory use of face coverings on public transport from August 31 onwards.

The new cases included one imported, a woman who arrived in New Zealand on August 22 from abroad, reports Xinhua news agency.

She has been staying in a managed isolation facility in Christchurch and tested positive on day 3 of her time in managed isolation, according to the Ministry of Health.

9 CBSE students approach Supreme Court seeking extension of deadline of August 31 for 2020-2021 college admissions until the result of the compartment examination is announced by CBSE, reports Bar and Bench.

Maharashtra: Mumbai Police escorts Rhea Chakraborty's father Indrajit Chakraborty from their residence. Earlier today, he was summoned by Enforcement Directorate.

Karachi neighbourhoods reported light to heavy showers on Thursday as a new spell of monsoon began in the city.

Several of the city's major roads witnessed severe traffic jams, while many areas also experienced power outages, reports Dawn news.

According to data released by the Met Department, the heaviest spell was witnessed in the PAF Masroor Base area, where 22 mm of rain was recorded.

According to the Met Office, the city will continue to receive rain until Thursday night.

Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Suhail Rajpput has urged people not to leave their homes.

SC declines permission for carrying out Muharram procession across country, asks petitioner to move Allahabad HC

Sixty-four more persons, including five BSF personnel, tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya on Thursday, taking the northeastern state's tally to 2,114, a health department official said.

Of the 64 new cases, 29 were reported from East Khasi Hills district, 27 from East Garo Hills, four from West Garo Hills, two from South West Garo Hills, and one each from North Garo Hills and South Garo Hills.

"Five BSF personnel are among the new patients -- four of them in West Garo Hills, and one in South Garo Hills," Health Services Director Aman War said.

Personnel from the Thane police came to the rescue of a destitute woman who delivered a baby on a footpath in the city on Thursday, an official said.

Rekha Gunjalkar (27), who lived on the pavement under SATIS bridge, delivered a baby girl in the early hours of the day and was lying in a state of pain when a passer-by chanced upon her and alerted the Thane Nagar police station, the official said.

Chhattisgarh: Rain lashes parts of Raipur. Spells of rainfall are likely in the city for the next 6 days, according to the weather forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), reports ANI

633 new COVID-19 positive cases and 6 deaths reported in Rajasthan. Total number of cases now at 75,303 including 14,646 active cases and 998 deaths: State Health Department, reports ANI.

3,384 new COVID-19 positive cases, 3,343 recoveries and 7 deaths have been reported in Odisha. Total number of cases now at 90,986 including 27,672 active cases, 62,813 recoveries and 448 deaths: State Health Department, reports ANI.

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that its 2004 verdict holding that states do not have the power to further sub-classify the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, for grant of quotas in jobs and admissions to educational institutions, needs to be revisited.

A 44-year-old businessman, Lalit Kathpal, was shot dead allegedly by three bike-borne men near his home in Agra's posh Kamla Nagar colony.

A fire which broke out in a four-storey building in Fort area of south Mumbai was doused in the early hours of Thursday after hectic efforts for about six hours, a civic official said.

The Allahabad high court has granted bail to 16 Tablighi Jamaat members, who are foreign nationals and were allegedly hiding in Prayagraj during nationwide lockdown.

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed the 24 million mark, while the deaths have increased to over 824,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

India's COVID-19 case tally crosses 33 lakh mark with 75,760 fresh cases and 1,023 deaths, in the last 24 hours. The COVID-19 case tally in the country rises to 33,10,235 including 7,25,991 active cases, 25,23,772 cured/discharged/migrated & 60,472 deaths: Ministry of Health

A fair and inclusive Covid vaccine access strategy should have been in place by now. But there are still no signs of it. GOI’s unpreparedness is alarming, tweeted Rahul Gandhi