India

Bhopal/Agar Malwa, Nov 22 (PTI) The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is planning to levy a cess to raise money for the welfare of the cow, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Sunday.

Addressing a public meeting in Agar Malwa, Chouhan invoked "Indian culture" while speaking about the "gaumata" tax.

"I am thinking of imposing some minor tax to raise money for the welfare of the 'gaumata' (cow) welfare and for the upkeep of cow sheds....Is it alright?" the BJP leader asked while the people replied in the affirmative.

Dehradun, Nov 23 (PTI) Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya has tested positive for COVID-19.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had called on Maurya at the Raj Bhawan here on Saturday.

In a tweet on Sunday evening, Maurya said, "My corona report has come out positive. I am asymptomatic and have no problems. I have isolated myself under the supervision of doctors. I request everyone who came in contact with me over the last few days to get themselves tested."

Barabanki (UP) Nov 23 (PTI) An 18-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped and raped by two men in a village here, police said on Monday.

The two men kidnapped the woman from her house on Saturday evening and took her to a nearby agricultural field, where they raped her, SP Arvind Chaturvedi said.

The woman's younger brother and father were present in the house at the time of the incident but could not make out what was happening.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) Delhi's minimum temperature dropped to 6.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the lowest in the month of November since 2003, as a cold wave swept parts of the city.

Thane, Nov 21 (PTI) A woman, who had converted to Christianity a few years back, was buried by one of her sons after her death in Maharashtra's Palghar recently, while her another son who followed Hinduism performed her symbolic cremation, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place at Avande village in Wada tehsil of Palghar district two days back as a fallout of the dispute between the deceased woman's two sons, each following Christianity and Hinduism, over the way her last rites should be performed, they said.

Mangaluru, Nov 22 (PTI): The appointment of Mala Adiga as policy director of Jill Biden, the first lady of US president-elect Joe Biden, has brought joy to Kakkunje village in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district.

She belongs to the family of K Suryanarayana Adiga, founder of the erstwhile undivided Dakshina Kannada districts private sector Karnataka Bank Limited, and Aravind Adiga, who won theMan Booker prize in 2008.

Mala Adiga is the niece of Nirmala Upadhya who is her fathers elder sister.

Chandigarh, Nov 21 (PTI) In a move that may bring relief to the state facing an acute shortage of essential supplies, Punjab farmer bodies protesting against the Centre's farm laws on Saturday decided to lift their blockade of passenger trains for 15 days from Monday.

However, the farmer bodies said they will again block the rail tracks if the government failed to resolve their issues.

Patna, Nov 22 (PTI) Three Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bihar's Gaya district on Sunday, officials said.

The encounter took place around midnight in the Barachatti forest area of the district, that is about 100 kms from the state capital here. The Maoists were killed in the early hours.

Three bodies of Naxals have been recovered from the encounter spot that includes zonal commander Alok Yadav, they said.

New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) Petrol price on Sunday was hiked by 8 paise per litre and diesel by 19 paise, the third straight day of increase in rates as the firming international oil rates broke a nearly two-month-long hiatus in price revision.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 81.46 per litre from Rs 81.38, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.

Diesel rates went up from Rs 70.88 to Rs 71.07 per litre.

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (NNN-PTI) – India’s COVID-19 tally reached 9,050,597 today, even as 46,232 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 132,726, as 564 more patients died since yesterday.

There are still 439,747 active cases in the country, while 8,478,124 people have been discharged from hospitals after medical treatment, added the data.