The Union Home Ministry has announced the Unlock 4 guidelines that will be effective from 1 September. Under the guidelines, the MHA has said that metro trains will resume operations in a graded manner from 7 September. The government has allowed the social, academic, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious, political functions and other congregations of up to 100 people from 21 September. This is a significant development in light of Bihar assembly elections, scheduled to be held in October.
School, colleges and other educational coaching institutions will remain shut until 30 September. In another key directive, the MHA has also stopped the state governments from imposing local lockdowns outside the containment zones without consultation with the central government. Several state governments such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been imposing lockdown over the weekend. They wouldn’t be allowed to do so under Unlock4.
International air travel will remain prohibited except as permitted by the MHA.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in India has gone past 34 lakh with a single-day reporting of 76,472 cases. The number of people killed by the COVID-19 pandemic in India now stands at 62,550. However, according to the government, India’s recovery rate has further improved to 76.47.
LIVE UPDATES on this tory and other big news items of the day will appear below:
15:46 PM: Railways invites bids to redevelop New Delhi Railway Station into an integrated commercial, retail & hospitality hub, complete with state-of-the-art amenities for passengers: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal
15:30 PM: The #Haryana government on Sunday revoked its order on closure of all markets and shopping malls, except those dealing in essential goods, every Monday and Tuesday to prevent the spread of #coronavirus. (IANS)
15:24 PM: Sonia Gandhi, Congress’ longest serving chief, in best position to decide on way forward for settling leadership issue: Salman Khurshid (PTI)
11:32 AM: A policeman and three #terrorists were killed during an encounter in #Srinagar, officials said on Sunday. The dead policeman has been identified as Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Babu Ram. (IANS)
10:28 AM: India’s #COVID19 tally crosses 3.5 million with a single day spike of over 78k cases and 948 deaths. (IANS)
09:58 AM: Active COVID-19 cases in country stand at 7,65,302, while 27,13,933 people have recovered:Union Health Ministry. (PTI)
09:54 AM: Chip giant #Qualcomm led the global cellular Internet of Things (IoT) module chipset shipments in the first quarter this year, capturing a third of the market with 36.1 per cent share, according to a new report. (IANS)
09:14 AM: Three militants, assistant sub-inspector of Jammu and Kashmir Police killed in a gunfight on the outskirts of Srinagar. (PTI)
02:01 AM: News agency PTI reports that porn star and Bollywood actress Sunny Leone’s name has appeared on the college merit list in West Bengal for the third day on Saturday. Authorities have filed a police complaint after Sunny Leone’s name figured in the list for English honours in Barasat Government College on Saturday. Sunny Leone’s name appeared alongside US porn star Dani Daniels and former porn star Mia Khalifa.
