Breaking News: November 30 | Highlights

Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta said on Monday that it has maintained the legacy of 100 per cent summer internship placements for the class of
2022, beating the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Odisha government on Monday issued new Covid-19 guidelines for December, including allowing all medical colleges to reopen from December 1.

Malaria cases in India dropped from about 20 million cases in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019, said a World Health Organization report on Monday.

President-elect Joe Biden on Monday announced his senior economic team, including his plans to nominate the first woman to head the Treasury Department as well as several liberal economists and policy specialists who established their credentials during the previous two Democratic administrations.

In a statement, Biden said he would nominate Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair, to lead the Treasury Department, and former Clinton and Obama adviser Neera Tanden to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also named Wally Adeyemo, a former Obama administration official and the first CEO of the former president’s nonprofit foundation, as his nominee for deputy treasury secretary. He also unveiled his White House economic team, consisting of economists Cecilia Rouse, Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey.

Biden, who has placed a premium on diversity in his selection of Cabinet nominees and key advisers, is looking to notch a few firsts with his economic team selections. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department and Adeyemo the first Black deputy secretary. Tanden would be the first woman of color to lead OMB and Rouse the first woman of color to chair the Council of Economic Advisers.

“As we get to work to control the virus, this is the team that will deliver immediate economic relief for the American people during this economic crisis and help us build our economy back better than ever,” Biden said in a statement.

The phase III trial of Covaxin-- the vaccine for COVID-19 -- at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Disease (NICED) in Kolkata will start from Wednesday, a senior official said.

State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim (62) is likely to be the volunteer to take the first shot of Covaxin if everything goes according to plan and he is found to be fit in the medical tests, the official of the institute said on Monday.

"The phase III trials of Covaxin will be starting on December 2. We have requested some of the applicants, including Hakim, to appear for the trials on that day. They will be administered the vaccine only after they test fit for the trials. They cannot have any comorbidities. Following satisfactory results, the shots will be administered to them," the official said.

The government of Odisha on Monday issued new guidelines in view of the COVID-19, closing all large social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, functions and congregation will remain prohibited till December 31.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid floral tribute to the statue of Saint Ravidas at Sant Ravidas Park in Varanasi.

"No matter how much things have changed due to COVID-19 none can change the 'Urja', Bhakti' and 'Shakti' of Kashi," PM Modi said at Dev Deepawali Mahotsav in Varanasi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday offered prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.

The Delhi government on Monday capped the price of the RT-PCR test by private labs at Rs 800. So far, people had to shell out Rs 2,400 for the Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction test, considered the most accurate worldwide.

Pakistan violated ceasefire in Shahpur sector in Poonch district.

"New agricultural reforms have given farmers new options and legal protection," PM Modi said.

"Earlier, loan waiver packages used to be announced but the benefits of such schemes never used to reach the farmers" he added.

With establishing of a perishable cargo center in Varanasi, now farmers here have got a facility to store and sell their produce easily. Due to this storage capacity, for the first time, the produce of farmers here is being exported in large quantities: PM Modi in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing an event in Varanasi said, "When connectivity in a region improves it also benefits the farmers there. Recently, a fund of Rs 1 lakh crores was constituted to establish cold storage facilities for farmers & other agriculture infrastructure."

"Along with beautification of Kashi in past years, we can now witness benefit of work done on connectivity here. New highways, flyovers, widening of roads to reduce traffic jams, work currently being done in and around Varanasi has never happened since independence," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

"Varanasi is getting improved infrastructure on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti and Dev Deepawali. This will benefit both Varanasi and Prayagraj," PM Modi said.

13 TDP MLAs including party's floor leader N Chandrababu Naidu suspended for one-day from Andhra Pradesh Assembly for ruckus during a discussion on help to farmers worst affected due to Cyclone Nivar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday had a virtual meetings with 3 teams working on developing and manufacturing vaccine for COVID-19. These teams were from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd Pune, Biological E Ltd Hyderabad and Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd Hyderabad, Prime Minister's Office informed. During the meeting, PM Modi asked the companies to come out with their suggestions and ideas regarding the regulatory processes and related matters. He also suggested that they should take extra efforts to inform the general public in simple language about the vaccine.

The PM also appreciated the efforts being taken by the scientists in these companies to come out with a vaccine solution to tackle COVID-19. The potential of various platforms for vaccine development was also discussed. READ MORE

An associate of a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist has been arrested in Kupwara; one hand grenade & Rs 3.5 lakhs cash recovered from his possession.

Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh have reported maximum decline in active cases in the past 1 month. Total tests in India cross landmark of 14 Crores, Ministry of Health said on Monday.

Karnataka local body elections will be held in two phases on December 22 and 27. Counting to be held on December 30.

Telangana reported 593 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths and 1058 recoveries on 29th November. Total cases in the state rise to 2,69,816 including 1,458 deaths and 2,58,336 recoveries. Active cases stand at 10,022.

23-year-old undertrial prisoner attacked with improvised sharp object by three other prisoners at Tihar jail, succumbs to injuries.

 Nagpur: An on-duty Traffic Police personnel was dragged on the bonnet of a car in Sakkardara area after he attempted to stop the vehicle, yesterday. The driver of the vehicle has been arrested.

418 new COVID19 cases and 707 recoveries reported in Odisha on 29th November. The total number of positive cases in the state at 3,18,725 till date, including 3,11,256 recovered cases & 5,677 active cases: State Health Department, Govt of Odisha

Depression formed over southeast Bay of Bengal & neighbourhood is very likely to intensify further into a deep depression during next 24 hours: IMD

Uttarakhand govt reduces number of people allowed to gather in a closed facility to 100 from 200; registration mandatory for all inbound persons. 

Elementary schools in Assam to reopen from January 1, 2021, in a staggered manner, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

India's COVID-19 caseload crossed the 94-lakh mark on Monday, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease crossed 88,47,000, pushing the national recovery rate to 93.81 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 94,31,692 with 38,772 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,37,139 with 443 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

 A person died while 25 others injured as bus rams into a tree near Chakkaraparambu in Kochi early morning today.

BJP leader and MLA from Rajasthan's Rajsamand, Kiran Maheshwari passes away at Medanta Hospital in Haryana's Gurugram.

She had tested positive for COVID-19 and was undergoing treatment at the hospital

PM Modi to visit Varanasi today and dedicate to the nation six-lane widening project of Handia (Prayagraj)-Rajatalab (Varanasi) section of NH 19.

He will also attend Dev Deepawali, undertake site visit of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor Project and will visit Sarnath Archaeological Site

India continues to have one of the lowest deaths per million population globally (presently 99). Focussed measures to ensure a low and manageable fatality rate have resulted in daily mortality figures of less than 500: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare