Strict norms for arriving international passengers, especially from 'at-risk' countries, will come into effect from Tuesday midnight and authorities are stepping their vigil for effective surveillance amid mounting concerns over the emergence of the coronavirus variant Omicron.
The company has set an affordable ceiling price of USD 3 (around Rs 225) per dose, it added.
The govt warned the second wave of coronavirus infection in India was not yet over even though the weekly positivity rate was showing an overall declining trend.
Thirty districts in the country, including 13 in Kerala, eight in Mizoram, four in Meghalaya, three each in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, two in Sikkim and one in Meghalaya are reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 10 per cent.
The stage of alert will be based on positivity rate (on two consecutive days), cumulative number of new cases (over a week) and average oxygenated-bed occupancy (for a week).
Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on the basis of a seven-day rolling average the positivity rate of COVID-19, which was 11 per cent during the first week of August, has come down to 8 per cent now.
A third wave of COVID-19 -- if it occurs -- is unlikely to be as severe as the second wave given the extent of spread of coronavirus infections that has already taken place in the country, according to a study.
The remarks come amid suspected cases of COVID-19 reinfection being reported from abroad and from Indian states like Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra.
The govt said there are 18 states and UTs in the country where the total number of active cases are between 5,000 and 50,000, while there are only four states with more than 50,000 active cases.
'In the coming two-three months, we need to be cautious that there is no upsurge'
'...Your confidence.' 'You go through this emotional roller coaster ride, which affects your partner as well.'
Wives of the two Hyderabad-based professors -- Gopikrishna and Ch Balram -- who are held captive by Islamic State terror group since July 29, also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
After their suspension from Lok Sabha for obstructing proceedings, eight Congress members of Parliament on Thursday protested by blocking Parliament's main gate for 30 minutes and raised pro-Telangana slogans.
In an extraordinary step, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday suspended eight Congress members from Telangana region for four days for repeatedly causing disruptions over separate statehood issue.
Since coronavirus broke out in a few cities in China and a couple of cases were spotted in India as well, rumours claimed for the first time that it was carried by birds.
Kerala health minister Veena George, who reviewed the state's COVID-19 situation two days ago, today blamed the violation of home quarantine directives for the worsening situation and cautioned against the increased indoor transmission of coronavirus at homes.
Leander Paes has achieved by creating a Davis Cup world record on a 'phenomenal' day for Indian tennis
As the global debate on booster shots gathers momentum, several scientists in New Delhi said the priority must be to ensure that more people are inoculated with at least their first jab.
Since India is one of the largest vaccine producers in the world, it is the country's 'moral responsibility' to fast-track vaccine development process to break the chain of coronavirus transmission, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said referring to the two vaccine candidates developed indigenously.
Over 21 per cent of the population, aged 10 years and above, showed evidence of past exposure to COVID-19 in the Indian Council of Medical Research's latest national serosurvey, the government said on Thursday, noting that a large proportion of people are still vulnerable to the infection.
IFFCO chairman Surinder Jakhar died of gunshot wounds under mysterious circumstances at his farmhouse at Abohar, some 125 kms from Ferozepur in Punjab on Monday.
People aged 45 and above account for about 88 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in India making them the most vulnerable section, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday, a day after the government opened up vaccinations for all those in the age bracket from April 1.
'Please don't read something which is not there in DG, ICMR's letter. The intent of the letter is only to expedite duly approved clinical trials without compromising on security and safety concerns'
A rise in the number of daily COVID-19 cases and mortality has been observed in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand, indicating the pandemic is moving eastwards, the Union health ministry said.
All the three Union ministers from Telangana, including S Jaipal Reddy, were renominated for Lok Sabha polls as the Congress on Saturday night announced 16 candidates out of a total of 17 from the region which is set to become a separate state.
Four villagers were shot dead by extremists in Jharkhand's Khunti and Palamau districts, police said on Monday. The activists of the People's Liberation Front of India abducted Sukra Pahan, 25, and Balram Singh, 27, from their houses in Khunti district's Bandra village on Sunday night and fired 13 bullets, killing them on the spot, district Superintendent of Police Manoj Kaushik said.
The 90-minute meeting is being seen as an attempt at reconciliation between Shivpal, a Cabinet minister, and Akhilesh after intervention of the latter's father Mulayam.
A 40-year-old man who was a volunteer in the third phase of the ''Covidshield'' vaccine trial in Chennai has alleged serious side effects, including a virtual neurological breakdown and impairment of cognitive functions.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal -- contribute 85.5 per cent of active caseload and 87 per cent of total deaths in India.
AITA usually names five-member squad apart from one or two reserve players.
From 3.38 per cent in April, the fatality rate in the country has come down to 2.87 per cent as against 6.4 per cent globally.
According to a study done by Singapore University of Technology and Design Data, coronavirus will 100 per cent end across the world on December 8.
'We have the technical expertise, and international collaborations. We also have robust real-time data. We are a university of pandemic management. If the ministry neglects the role of NCDC, it is the loss of the country'
ICMR says it is following all globally accepted norms to fast-track vaccine and wants to 'cut red tape'.
All of the top news of the week gone by, in photos.
The names were given to the Hollywood superstar's three children by Swami Daram Dev of Ashram Hari Mandir here, where the actress is busy shooting for her upcoming film Eat, Pray, Love.
Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai has become Portsmouth's fourth owner in less than a year and will soon look to sell on to a fifth, the troubled Premier League club said on Thursday.
All travellers and contacts have been tested and quarantined.
Watched by a galaxy of top party leaders, including BJP chief Rajnath Singh, Chouhan, 49 , was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Balram Jakhar, marking a high-point in the three-decade-old career of a politician who had taken over the reins of the party in the state at a critical time following the resignation of Uma Bharti.
A delegation led by the Amethi MP, who was on a day-long visit to Bhopal, met Governor Balram Jakhar at Raj Bhavan on Saturday evening and urged him to act in accordance with the Constitution and dispatch a report to the Centre concerning the disturbances.
