India

Surendranagar, May 13 (PTI) Five prisoners, including four facing trial for murder, escaped from a jail in Gujarat's Surendranagar district in the early hours of Wednesday, an official said.

They broke locks of the barrack where they were lodged in Dhrangadhra sub-jail and then escaped by climbing the prison wall, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dhrangadhra, Rajendra Devdha said.

New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday announced that all canteens of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF and the BSF will sell only indigenous products from June 1 to 50 lakh family members of about 10 lakh personnel

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said the decision has been taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for opting local products and being self-reliant

KANPUR: Humidity and hot weather subsided in the afternoon as there was effected light rain today. The sky was still persisting with 45% cloud cover. The possibility of rain in the night can't be denied abruptly.

The day began with humid conditions and sunny sky. The change was only realised in the afternoon. The slight rains made the evening quite comforting. 

The real feel of the temperature stayed at 40 degrees Celsius and the humidity was recorded at 32%.

NEW DELHI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon his countrymen on Tuesday to try and make the COVID-19 pandemic crisis into an opportunity and become self-reliant in terms of manufacturing activities.

Addressing the nation on Tuesday night, Modi announced a special economic package of 267 billion U.S. dollars to make the country self-reliant amid a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

NEW DELHI, May 13 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Palm oil consumption in India is down by 40 per cent as demand from the food service dropped amid the coronavirus pandamic.

As India continues the world’s biggest shutdown, keeping most of its 1.3 billion population indoors, restaurants and hotels are either shut or working at a minimal capacity.

Mumbai, May 12 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has decided to release on temporary parole 17,000 of the total 35,000 inmates lodged across jails in the state to contain the spread of the COVID-19, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Tuesday.

Of these, 5,000 undertrial inmates have already been released.

The governments decision comes close on the heels of 185 inmates at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai contracting the viral disease, Deshmukh said.

Panaji, May 12 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said 95 per cent of industries in the state had resumed operations over the past few days going by electricity consumption figures after easing of coronavirus-induced lockdown restrictions.

Goa has been tagged a green zone as it currently does not have any active COVID-19 cases.

He added that some sectors were facing labour shortage as several migrants stranded in the lockdown had gone back to their native states, and asked such firms to employ locals to overcome the shortfall.

New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) India's industrial production contracted by a record 16.7 per cent in March, on account of poor show by mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors mainly due to the nationwide lockdown, government data showed on Tuesday.

The government had imposed the lockdown to contain COVID-19 from March 25.

The 16.7 per cent fall in factory output is the sharpest since April 2012, based on the new series of IIP data with base year 2011-12.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by 2.7 per cent in March, 2019.

New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court Monday ordered setting up of a high-powered committee headed by MHA Secretary to consider pleas seeking restoration of 4G internet services in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

A bench comprising Justices N V Ramana, Justices R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai said the committee would also include the Chief Secretary of the UT and the secretary of ministry of communications to look into the demands by petitioners seeking restoration of 4G internet speed there.

Kolkata, May 12 (PTI) The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education has asked its affiliated schools to promote all class 11 students as their annual exams could not be completed due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown.

In a letter dated May 11, council president Mahua Das said as decided by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee all class 11 students should be declared promoted to the next class.