India

Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 (PTI): CPI(M) veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to an unprecedented consecutive victory in the April 6 assembly polls, was on Thursday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Kerala for the second successive term.

Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office to 76-year-old Vijayan in a low-key function at the Central Stadium here, which was held completely in adherencewith the COVID protocol.

It is the second stint of the Marxist veteran in the top office.

Raipur, May 20 (PTI) Farmers in Chhattisgarh will get an input subsidy of Rs 10,000 per acre for cultivating some crops identified by the government other than paddy from the Kharif season 2021-22, an official said on Thursday.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel here on Wednesday in a bid to encourage cultivation of crops other than paddy in Chhattisgarh, which known as the 'rice bowl' of central India because of extensive cultivation of rice in the state.

Ahmedabad, May 20 (PTI) As many as 53 people have lost their lives in incidents related to cyclone Tauktae in different parts of Gujarat, officials said on Thursday.

Most of the casualties were due to incidents of wall collapse due to the cyclone, which made a landfall on Monday night near Una town in Gir-Somnath and wreaked havoc for around 28 hours before it weakened into a depression, an official from the State Emergency Operations Centre said.

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over a hike in fertiliser prices, and said this will put an additional burden of Rs 20,000 crore on the farmers.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi said the government has increased the prices of fertilisers, petrol and diesel, and lowered agri subsidies and income of farmers.

Mumbai, May 19 (PTI) A special POCSO court here on Wednesday sentenced a 40-year-old man to jail for five years for molesting a minor girl in 2018.

The accused Sharvan Rathod, a farmer, was found guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for molestation and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by special judge AD Deo.

Chandigarh, May 19 (PTI) The Punjab government has allowed any individual or a group to open a makeshift COVID hospital in the state with a view to ramp up the bed capacity, a senior official said here on Wednesday.

'Invest Punjab' will grant permission, subject to clearance from the health department, to interested parties in opening up temporary COVID hospital within 24 hours.

Panaji, May 19 (PTI) Dr Santiago Lusardi Girelli (42), a musician from Argentina who was a visiting research professor at Goa University, succumbed to COVID-19 on Wednesday, a former varsity official said.

"Girelli breathed his last at a private hospital in South Goa where he was being treated for COVID-19," Ramrao Wagh, former director of the Visiting Chair Professor Program of Goa University, told PTI.

Girelli had tested positive for coronavirus infection a month ago when he underwent the test as he wanted to travel to Spain to meet his family, Wagh said.

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) After severe cyclonic storm Tauktae in the west coast, another cyclone -- Yass -- is likely to hit the east coast on May 26-27, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

A low pressure area is very likely to form over north Andaman Sea and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal around May 22, it said.

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) An AAP councillor has joined the investigation in a case wherein over 20 people were arrested for allegedly pasting posters across the city criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the COVID-19 vaccination drive, officials said on Wednesday.

A notice was sent to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor from Sitapur Praveen Kumar to join the investigation, a senior police officer said.

Mumbai, May 20 (PTI) With 38 people on board a barge that sank in the Arabian Sea four days ago still missing, Indian Navy ships worked through the night, using searchlights to trace any movement in the pitch dark waters, as hopes of finding more survivors began to recede on Thursday.

The Navy on Thursday morning launched a fresh aerial search and rescue mission, deploying helicopters to scour the waters off Mumbai coast, where the accommodation barge P305 went adrift in Cyclone Tauktae fury before it sank Monday.