Breaking News: November 12, 2020 | Highlights

The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has bagged the first prize in the 'National Water Awards-2019' for promotion of water conservation and proper management of water, officials said on Thursday.

The award, presented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, is in recognition of significant strides made by the shrine board to promote water conservation and management under the category of 'Best Institution/Resident Welfare Association/ Religious Organisation for Successful Campus Usage'.

A meeting of the Telangana Cabinet would be held on Friday and the upcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, among others, are expected to figure in the meeting.

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, a still-high level but the lowest figure since March and a further sign that the job market might be slowly healing.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday launched a mobile app that will allow people to access a free e-vehicle service dedicated for transportation of COVID-19 patients who are not critical, officials said.

The Jeevan Seva app can be download through a link which will be sent through SMS and QR codes to every COVID-19 positive patient in Delhi who have been tested, they said.

The Nagaland government has hiked tax on diesel, petrol and other motor spirit from Thursday, an official notification said.

Tropical Storm Eta dumped torrents of blustery rain on Florida’s west coast as it moved over Florida after making landfall north of the heavily populated Tampa Bay area on Thursday morning.

'Anganwadi' workers in Maharashtra will get a special allowance of Rs 2,000 for Diwali, the state government announced on Thursday.

 The air quality stayed in "very poor" category in Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, and "poor" in Gurgaon in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday, according to a government agency.

The national capital recorded its air quality in the "very poor" category on Thursday with experts and government agencies saying it may enter the "severe" category on Diwali night.

The deadline for the redesigning of seven roads in Delhi has been extended from December till March 2021 due to COVID-19, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directing the PWD for appointment of consultants for the project at the earliest.

The Public Works Department (PWD) should remove all hurdles in the redesigning of the city roads along the lines of European cities, Kejriwal said at a review meeting on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia is gearing up to host the upcoming two-day virtual summit of G20 leaders, an international forum for the governments and central bank governors, from 19 countries and the European Union (EU) from November 21.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday distributed appointment letters to 1,438 junior engineers of the Irrigation and Water Resources department pointing out that the youth who are appointed through honest and transparent means show honesty in their work.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled a statue of Swami Vivekananda at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus via video conferencing.

Listed as a non-attainment city, the Chandigarh administration on Thursday decided to continue the ban on crackers. Rejecting the review petition to lift the cracker ban by traders, Advisor Manoj Parida passed the order to ban the crackers under the Disaster Management Act of 2005.

The Central Pollution Control Board has notified this city as one of the non-attainment cities, or those whose air quality is worse than the prescribed standards.

Also, on review of the Covid-19 situation, it was noted that the number of positive cases were rising in the Union Territory, reads the order.

Twenty-one more coronavirus-related fatalities were reported in Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll to 7,302 on Thursday, while 2,278 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 5,05,426, according to a health bulletin.

 SpiceJet on Thursday said it will operate twice-weekly flights between Delhi and Ras Al Khaimah from November 26.

Extending its losing streak to the fourth straight session, the Indian rupee dived 28 paise to end at 74.64 against the US dollar on Thursday on sustained demand for the greenback from importers and banks coupled with foreign fund outflows.

I thank Bihar's people. The mandate favoured Mahagathbandhan, but the Election Commission’s result was in NDA's favour. This hasn't happened the first time. In 2015 when Mahagathbandhan was formed, votes were in our favour but BJP made back door entry to gain power: Tejashwi Yadav, RJD

Delhi High Court division bench lifts single-judge bench order of interim stay on Delhi govt's decision to reserve 80% private hospital ICU beds for COVID-19 patients

Chhath Puja celebration allowed by administration subject to strict observation of COVID-19 protocols and the organisers will be responsible to maintain the same in regards to the celebration: Manoj Parida, Advisor, Chandigarh Administration

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the media in Delhi

1. I would like to announce a few new measures in the series of stimulus announcements we have been doing...Quite a few indicators showing a distinct recovery in the economy
2. RBI predicts a strong likelihood of the Indian economy returning to positive growth in Q3:2020-21, ahead by a quarter of the earlier forecast
3. There has been very good progress on 'One Nation-One Ration Card' in 28 states covering 68.8 crore beneficiaries
4. Labour Ministry with the Finance Ministry and other concerned ministries are working together closely with the States, and the work has commenced on creating a portal for migrant workers
5. Rs 25,000 crores has been disbursed to farmers from Additional Emergency Working Capital Funding through NABARD
6. Credit boost has been given to 2.5 crore farmers through Kisan Credit Cards, Rs 1.4 lakh crores has been distributed to farmers
7. Rs 7,227 crores disbursed under the Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFCs/HFC
8. Under the Emergency Credit Liquidity Guarantee Scheme, a total amount of Rs 2.05 lakh crores has been sanctioned to 61 lakh borrowers, out of which Rs 1.52 lakh crores has been disbursed
9. SBI Utsav cards being distributed, under the festival advance scheme announced on 12th Oct. 11 states sanctioned Rs 3,621 crores as an interest-free loan towards capital expenditure
10. Rs 1,32,800 crores have gone as income-tax refunds to 39.7 lakh taxpayers
11. Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana was implemented up to 31.03.2019. It had covered all sectors & is expected to run for 3 years. So even if someone joined the scheme on 31.03.2019, they would be covered under that existing scheme from then three years
12. Establishments registering with EPFO after the commencement of Scheme to get subsidy for all new employees. Scheme to be operation till 30th June, 2021
13. Up till today about Rs 8300 Crores have been disbursed to the beneficiaries. There are about 1,52,899 establishments which are covering 1,21,069 odd beneficiaries under PM Rozgar Protsahan Yojana
14. Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana being launched to incentivise creation of new employment opportunities during #COVID19 recovery. Every EPFO registered orgs - if they take in new employees or those who had lost jobs b/1 March 1 & Sept 30 - these employees will get benefits
15. The existing Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme extended till 31st March 2021
16. If new employees of requisite number are recruited from October 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, the establishments will be covered for the next two years
17. Guaranteed credit support for 26 stressed sectors identified by the Kamath Committee. Original ECLGS had one year of moratorium and 4 years of repayment, the  new scheme will have 1-year moratorium and 5 years of repayment
18. We are launching credit guarantee support scheme for healthcare sector and 26 sectors stressed due to COVID-19. Entities will get additional credit up to 20% of outstanding credit, repayment can be done in five years' time (1 year moratorium + 4 years repayment)

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unveil a statue of Swami Vivekananda at the JNU campus today, via video conferencing

Union Minister Smriti Irani recovers from COVID-19. She had tested positive for the infection on October 28

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address a press conference today

A total of 12,19,62,509 samples tested for COVID-19 up to 11th November, of these 11,93,358 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research

The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 4,494 on Thursday as 17 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Nine new patients have travel history, while eight fresh infections were detected during contract tracing, the official said.

Delhi: Morning walkers exercise near India Gate, even as the air quality deteriorates and visibility reduces in the national capital. Visuals from India Gate and Vijay Chowk

Uttarakhand BJP MLA Surendra Singh Jeena (file photo) passes away at Sir Gangaram Hospital in Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment for COVID-19. 

He was an MLA from Salt constituency in Almora district. His wife had passed away a few days back following a heart attack.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc will co-chair the 17th ASEAN-India Summit today. The leaders of all ten ASEAN Member States will participate in the Summit that will be held online

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the state of emergency in the country by a month to 15 December amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but has eased restrictions amid attempts to resuscitate the economy.

Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,05,000 on Wednesday as 1,220 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.

Fifteen fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll in the state to 1,469, he said.