India

NEW DELHI, Mar 20 (NNN-PTI) – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 11,555,284 today, with both the daily cases and new deaths hitting the highest numbers this year.

A total of 40,953 new cases and 188 more deaths were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry. The death toll mounted to 159,558.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, expressed concern at the sudden rise in cases, and called for immediate steps to curb a possible second wave of the pandemic in the country.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Visiting United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he and his Indian counterpart had discussed India’s planned purchase of Russia’s S400 air defence system, adding that Washington had asked all its partners to stay away from Russian equipment to avoid U.S. sanctions.

There has been no delivery of S400 systems to India and so the possibility of sanctions was not discussed, Austin told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday.

Bengaluru, Mar 20 (PTI) India and France are working on their third joint satellite mission, even as the bilateral space collaboration is entering into multiple domains, including human spaceflight programme, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said.

Sivan, also Secretary in the Department of Space, said many French companies are keen to tap into opportunities thrown up by recent reforms injected into the space sector by the Government.

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the government, alleging that under it unemployment, price rise, poverty and income of its "friends" have increased.

"What did this government increase? Unemployment, inflation and poverty. And, only the earnings of friends," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

He cited a media report that claimed 9.9 crore people were part of the middle class before the COVID-19 outbreak and they were reduced to 6.6 crore after it.

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) With a little over a month left before Chief Justice of India SA Bobde retires, the government has started the process of appointment of next CJI, asking the incumbent to recommend his successor, sources said Saturday.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Friday sent a letter to Justice Bobde, who is set to retire on April 23, seeking his recommendation, the sources said.

Ballia (UP), Mar 20 (PTI) A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a four-year-old girl at a village here, police said on Saturday.

Revti police station SHO Yadvendra Pandey said around 10.30 am on Friday, the accused lured the girl to his house and raped her.

On a complaint of the girl's mother, a case has been registered against the accused under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act.

The girl has been sent for a medical examination, police said.

Lahowal (Assam), Mar 19 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday assured that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in Assam if the party is voted to power in the state in the coming Assembly poll.

It will be ensured in the state assembly that the CAA is not implemented in Assam, Gandhi told students of Lahowal College in Dibrugarh district.

"In the other states, we will stop it (CAA implementation) after we (Congress) come to power at the national level," he said.

Dehradun, Mar 19 (PTI) Facing flak over his "ripped jeans" comment, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday said he apologises for the remark if it has hurt anybody.

But at the same time, he repeated his objection to ripped jeans, saying he has no problem with jeans with but wearing "torn" ones is "not right".

Referring to his remark made earlier this week, Rawat told the media that he had commented that nowadays children bring a costly jean home and then cut it with a scissor.

Bhopal, Mar 19 (PTI) In view of the spurt in coronavirus cases, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced lockdown in Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur cities every Sunday till further orders, an official said here.

The lockdown will be in force from Saturday 10 PM to Monday 6 AM.

Besides, all educational institutions will remain closed in these three cities till March 31, said a public relations department official on Friday.

Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 1,140 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths.

Thane, Mar 19 (PTI) A 29-year-old building supervisor was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a special POCSO court in Thane for raping a teen girl in 2015.

Judge SB Bahalkar, in his order on Thursday, convicted Mangesh Kamble under sections 376(2)(i) and 354B of IPC as well as POCSO Act for raping a 14-year-old girl on September 11, 2015 at a construction site in Mira Road, Additional Public Prosecutor Varsha Chandane said.