Most of the members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were seen wearing face masks. However, members had crowded the Lok Sabha chamber, while hardly a handful of others, including union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal, were seen seated in the Rajya Sabha chamber.
Subdued celebrations marked Eid-ul-Fitr in the country on Monday with people keeping away from mosques and celebrating the day in the confines of their homes.
The prime minister appealed to citizens for making a renewed commitment to adherence to norms and regulations governing the lockdown restrictions
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers and others leaders urged the people to follow the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm, noting that "social distancing" was key to breaking the chain of infection, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 283 after 60 new cases were detected on Saturday, the highest so far in a day, and states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar imposed partial lockdown till month end.
Mumbai airport was abuzz with activity as film folk made their way back to the city after spending New Year's Eve in exotic locations in India and abroad.
Protests were held in many cities across the country. So far, no one has been arrested for the attack on students and teachers at JNU even as clamour for resignation of the V-C grew.
'Given this dissonance between India's age-old multicultural tenets and the anti-minority temper of the present times, it cannot be easy for the BJP to maintain its balancing act to convince the world that all is well,' observes Amulya Ganguli.
Twenty years after the burning of a train in Godhra killed 59 'karsevaks' and triggered one of India's worst post-Partition riots, the poll-scape reflects the yawning gulf between the two communities.
The GoM was told that six states -- Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- account for 86 per cent of the deaths caused by COVID-19 and 32 districts account for 80 per cent of such fatalities, the Union health ministry said.
It also advised people not to rush for self-medication, blood investigation or radiological imaging like chest X-ray or CT scan without consultation of treating medical officer.
The nation in a post-coronavirus future could well look back on the pandemic period as a 'blessing in disguise' if Indians imbibe hand, respiratory and environmental hygiene and practise it in their everyday lives, the minister said.
Trump can afford to say that COVID-19 is a 'China virus', but we can't expect Modi to say that aloud while his actions may speak louder, says Rup Narayan Das.
In live monuments like Puri Jagannath Temple and Somnath Temple, daily 'puja' will be conducted but no public gathering will be allowed, said Nitin Tripathi, the ministry's media advisor.
Khajura Ram fears more the impact of an uneven monsoon on wheat, chana and mustard, sowing for which, he says, starts immediately after Diwali.
'We are only amplifying the voice of scientists and experts. We are gathering information by talking to experts and are sharing it. If the government chooses to ignore that, what can we do?'
"Also, 35 per cent deaths were recorded in the age group of 45-60 years, 10 per cent in the age group of 26-44 years and one per cent each in the age group of 18-25 years and below 17 years," the health secy said.
According to aviation industry sources, around 630 domestic flights of Monday were cancelled due to the Centre's Sunday night announcement that there would be no flights in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and limited operations at major airports such as Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Across the country, companies have stepped up their act to contain the crisis. IT and other new economy firms seem to have taken a lead.
Addressing a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, P D Vaghela, Chairman of the Empowered Group-3, said about 19,398 ventilators are available in India and orders have been placed for 60,884 more, and of these 59,884 will be made by domestic manufacturers.
With multiple health camps at these protest sites, immediate medical assistance is always at the farmers' disposal in case a protestor develops symptoms like fever or breathlessness.
The official asserted that following social distancing, wearing masks, maintaining hand hygiene and avoiding big gatherings remain vital in preventing the spread of the infection.
'The NEET-UG 2021, will be held on 12th September across the country following COVID-19 protocols. The application process will begin from 5 pm tomorrow through the NTA website,' Pradhan said in a series of tweets.
'COVID has become highly contagious.' 'Being in front of the camera, you can't shoot with a mask on.' 'It's scary.' 'While I am shooting, the air-conditioning is circulating the same air.' 'All this is weighs on my mind, more so when I'll be coming home to a baby.'
'We lost our place in being first in the epidemic, when it hit India so hard, but we were actually the epicentre of the epidemic from essentially April 2020, for almost an entire year. We had such high cases. We were the country that had the most mixed response.'
India's second innings was into its sixth over when Lakmal was seen bending over and throwing up. The Sri Lankan physio rushed in and eventually walked off with the player.
The teen, who was with her younger sister when the attack took place at Mohan Garden near Uttam Nagar, has named two persons who could be responsible for the attack.
The recoveries have mounted to 11,45,629, while there are 5,67,730 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country presently.
Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, Amit Dave and the late Danish Siddiqui, who was killed last July while on assignment covering the war in Afghanistan, won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in India.
The fascists in control of our nation, are afraid of the voices of our brave students. Today's violence in JNU is a reflection of that fear, Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet
Last year, Nikhil Kamath and his brother Nithin jettisoned into a club of the country's 100 wealthiest with their net worth pegged at around Rs 24,000 crore
Celebs follow a template for their special day -- an intimate ceremony with few people and a keen eye for a touch of luxury in every aspect.
16 national and regional industry bodies and sectoral business lobbies video-conferenced with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday and raised key concerns facing Indian industry in the wake of the 21-day lockdown over coronavirus.
Authorities also said the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients was improving consistently in India and it was in a much better position in handling the pandemic, which has seen more than 63 lakh people testing positive for this virus since its emergence in China last December and over 3.7 lakh having lost their lives.
Politics, bureaucracy, ineptitude, double-standards and an attempt to politicise the fight in pseudo-nationalistic terms have all hampered the fight against this deadly virus, says Vir Sanghvi.
'If people show laxity by not wearing masks or wearing it inappropriately or violate social distancing norms, and if law enforcement agencies do not penalise and ensure violations do not increase in quantum, then we are certainly in for a trouble. And, the next wave could be worse than the second wave situation'
The left-hander would be looking to take inspiration from his previous showing in Australia two years ago, when he scored 350 runs in four Tests at an average of 58, with a best of 159 not out.
The survivor from Thrissur, who returned from Wuhan -- the epicentre of the pandemic -- recounts her road to recovery and her future plans. Shine Jacob reports
At 9 am on Tuesday, the overall AQI of Delhi docked at 381, which falls in the 'very poor' category.
The latest surge in cases in the last few weeks was a two year high in the country, denting official claims of China being one of the best performers in curbing COVID-19 pandemic.
The female tiger, named Nadia, is believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with COVID-19 in the US. It is suspected that she contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at that time.
