India

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) State Bank of India (SBI) will try to keep the interest rates benign as long as possible with a view to supporting the economic growth, its chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara has said.

On the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on non-performing assets of the bank, the SBI chief said that as the lockdown was not pan-India, one will have to wait and watch to assess its impact on the banking sector.

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) As many as 462 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns totalling more than Rs 4.36 lakh crore, according to a report.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above. Of the 1,737 such projects, 462 reported cost overruns and 557 were delayed.

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Saturday directed all hospitals in the national capital to provide information on daily admissions and discharge of COVID-19 patients and of those admitted for over 10 days, since April 1.

A concern was raised in the court regarding optimal utilisation of ICU and oxygenated beds and ICU beds in hospitals and nursing homes across Delhi.

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to stay the counting of votes for panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh and said no victory rallies will be permitted during the counting or after the process is over.

At a special urgent hearing, which took place on a court holiday ahead of the counting beginning on Sunday, a bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Hrishikesh Roy also asked the State Election Commission to fasten responsibility on gazetted officers for observing COVID-19 protocols at counting centres across the state.

Patna, May 1 (PTI) Bihar chief post masterr general Anil Kumar has died of COVID, yet another high ranking official succumbing to the deadly virus in the state.

The officer was undergoing treatment for coronavirus at AIIMS Patna for past few days where he breathed his last at around 1:40 am late last night, sources in the hospital said Saturday.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar condoled death of the chief post master general of the state due to COVID.

Chaibasa, May 1 (PTI) Police on Saturday arrested six members of the banned outfit PLFI from Jharkhand's Chaibasa district and recovered arms and ammunition from them, an officer said.

On a tip-off police raided Horogada village and arrested the members of the banned outfit, a police spokesperson from Chaibasa said.

The police recovered a country made carbine with bullets from their possession besides mobile phones and pamphlets.

Lucknow, May 1 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday of ignoring ground realties and problems faced by people as the second coronavirus wave ravages the state.

In a statement Yadav said, "Congratulations to the chief minister for getting rid of COVID-19. But, the problem is that he is wearing his old glasses."

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has said he will return to India from London in a few days.

Poonawalla made the announcement soon after he spoke out about the pressures he was under over the production of COVID-19 vaccines to meet the ever-increasing demand in India as the country battles through a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 2 (PTI): The ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala is all set to retain power as it is leading at least in 94 of the 140 assembly seats as counting is still in progress.

If they win, they will buck the over four-decade-old trend of swinging between the Communists and the Congress- headed UDF in the southern state.

As per the Election Commission figures, the LDF is ahead in 85 seats, while the opposition Congress-headed UDF is leading in 44 segments and the BJP-NDA, in three constituencies.

NEW DELHI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally reached 19,557,457 on Sunday, with a single day spike of 392,488 cases, said the federal health ministry.

As many as 3,689 deaths were recorded since Saturday morning, taking the total death toll to 215,542.

There are a total of 3,349,644 active cases in the country, with an increase of 80,934 through Saturday, while 15,992,271 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far across the country.