We demand that transport be made available to all migrants to ensure that they reach home safely, increase their employment days to 200 under MGNREGA and provide Rs 10,000 as immediate financial help to the poor besides a financial package for small industries, he told reporters.

China on Wednesday said that the situation at the border with India is overall stable and controllable, and both the countries have proper mechanisms and communication channels to resolve the issues through a dialogue and consultation.

Amid reports of friction in the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, state Assembly Speaker Nana Patole on Wednesday said there is no such emergency or political situation and hat the situation in Maharashtra is not against the current government.

Justice Anu Sivaraman issued the directive after considering a petition (WP-C No. 9977/2020) filed by Jisha Prajith of Kozhikode and three others through advocate P Chandrasekhar. Contending that their husbands are unable to afford flight fares to return, they had sought a court directive to the central government to utilize Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) to provide flight tickets to expatriates who wish to return but are unable to afford tickets.

A doctor has questioned in the Supreme Court the Centre's new Standard Operating Procedure for front line Covid-19 healthcare workers by which it has ended the 14-day mandatory quarantine for them. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, SK Kaul and MR Shah took the affidavit filed by doctor Arushi Jain in her pending petition on record and gave time to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, to file the reply by next week.

The National Aids Control Organisation has written to the Union ministry of social justice sharing the concerns of injecting drug users, transgender persons, men having sex with men (MSM), female sex workers and people living with HIV/AIDS who are facing livelihood, food and shelter related challenges in the ongoing lock down to combat Covid-19.

Due to the dispute between the Centre and the Maharashtra government, lakhs of migrant labourers are still suffering badly, which is sad and unfortunate. It is important to stop levelling of charges and pay attention to these helpless people so that their lives can be saved from being completely ruined, she said in a tweet in Hindi.

The most vulnerable COVID-19 places are nerve centres of globalisation. I feel we will have a new world after this virus. I also think it going to reshape Europe. Balance of power between China and the US will be changed. Like 9/11 was a new chapter, this is a new book, Gandhi said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting with alliance partners at Varsha bungalow today.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday paid tribute to former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his 56th death anniversary and recalled him as a brave freedom fighter and the architect of modern India.

The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 4,337 and the total number of cases climbed to 1,51,767 in the country, registering an increase of 170 deaths and 6,387 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.The number of active coronavirus cases stands at 83,004, while 64,425 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

After the end of Lockdown 4.0 on May 31, the Centre may leave it to the states and Union territories to decide on future restrictions, to be imposed in their respective jurisdictions, outside a countrywide negative list that may continue to bar international flights and reopening of schools and colleges.

Watch this video to see how paid media distorts the truth to serve their masters and distract attention from REAL issues, Gandhi said on Twitter, sharing the video clip of his remarks made in the afternoon.

A day after the WHO suspended testing of hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 patients, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the use of the drug as a prophylaxis has been approved based on observational studies in India, which have indicated anti-viral properties with no major side-effects.

The Uttar Pradesh government is formulating a policy under which it can provide low-cost shops and houses to migrant workers who have returned to their native villages from different parts of the country owing to the lockdown. The Yogi Adityanath-led government has also completed skill mapping of 16 lakh workers, a first-of-itskind exercise in UP and perhaps across the country.

Rahul Gandhis statement on Tuesday that the Congress was only supporting the Maharashtra government and was not the key decision-maker and NCP chief Sharad Pawars Monday evening meeting with CM Uddhav Thackeray at the latters Matoshree residence fuelled the theory that the barely six-months-old Maha Vikas Aghadi regime may be charting its course through troubled political waters.

Indias count of Covid-19 cases was set to cross the 1.5 lakh mark, even as the number of fresh infections reported on Tuesday dropped slightly to its lowest number in the past six days at 5,502 while the deaths related to the virus rose by 172, the second highest single-day toll so far. By late Tuesday night, India had recorded 1,47,758 coronavirus cases.

A swarm of desert locusts that infested Jaipur on Monday morning could be headed towards the capital, if wind speed is favourable. Delhi has been kept on alert as such swarms are currently active in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which is the most affected state.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the plight of migrant workers during the lockdown following constant criticism by activists, activist-lawyers and even retired judges that the court was insensitive and had bowed to the government by refusing to entertain PILs highlighting the condition of workers who are walking home or are being herded into trucks.

As super-hot winds continued to pump into the region from the northwest ever since cyclone Amphan hit Bengal, severe heat wave conditions gripped many parts of north India on Tuesday, with Delhi experiencing its hottest day in May in 18 years. North India (along with south-east Pakistan) was the warmest region of the world on Tuesday.

India will remain firm on the ground in the ongoing troop confrontations in eastern Ladakh where it said China has violated the unresolved boundary and obstructed Indian patrols even as New Delhi remains committed to a peaceful and diplomatic resolution. India will soon resume border infrastructure construction activities derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asked the government to come clear on what is happening at the border with China in Ladakh and be more transparent.

India is planning to bring back home its one lakh stranded nationals from 60 countries under the second phase of the Vande Bharat mission, officials said on Tuesday.The second phase of the mission was to end on May 22. However, the government extended it till June 13.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed that parks across the state can be opened during morning time, State Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said on Tuesday.