It was decided to cut 75 per cent of salaries of the chief minister, ministers, MLAs, MLCs, chairmen of various corporations and local public representatives, an official release said. There will be a pay cut of 60 per cent in AIS officers such as IAS, IPS and IFS while it will be 50 per cent in state government employees.
In his second national broadcast in a week on the pandemic raging across much of the world with the number of infections rising in India, Modi made a fervent appeal to the countrymen not to cross the 'lakshman rekha' of their homes in the next three weeks.
Anmol Ambani, the eldest son of industrialist Anil Ambani, has lashed out against a new round of lockdowns being imposed amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, saying such restrictions do not concern health but control and that they destroy the very backbone of the society and economy. The 29-year-old former executive director of Reliance Capital Ltd in a series of tweets lambasted the new semi-lockdown rules hurting small businesses and daily wage earners. "Professional 'actors' can continue shooting their films. Professional 'cricketers' can play their sport late into the night. Professional 'politicians' can continue their rallies with masses of people. But YOUR business or work is not ESSENTIAL. Still don't get it?" he said in a tweet.
The decision has come amid a spike in the number of infection cases, which had crossed 35,000 on Saturday.
'We may have to shut places like beaches and the Gateway of India where people gather in the evenings'
Want to give your hair a makeover during this lockdown? Bollywood ladies are here to give you some much-needed inspiration.
With India's health system crumbling, several states have enforced stringent restrictions, including night curfews and lockdowns.
With the gradual opening up of shops, hotels, restaurants and catering services with limited number of participants, milk consumption has improved by 5-10 per cent from the lowest level.
410 civil servants in a feedback survey to the Prime Minister's Office said that the curfew should stay till the pandemic is controlled and asked to increase fiscal spending on health infrastructure to around Rs 5-10 trillion.
'Once the lockdown is lifted, we will need the mother of all fiscal and monetary policy support to sustain the economy,' advises Akash Prakash.
Data from market research agency Nielsen shows that 152 new players entered the hygiene market in March as the lockdown was implemented to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease. The trend is expected to continue, the agency says, as hygiene and health emerge as key themes.
"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray could make an official announcement about more stringent measures tomorrow," Tope added.
The Indian men and women's hockey teams have turned tech-savvy in order to maintain social distancing while continuing with their indoor workout regime during the coronavirus-forced lockdown. The core probable group housed in the Sports Authority of India Centre here suspended high-intensity hockey training in the third week of March following a nationwide lockdown.
The managing director of Bajaj Auto was in a dialogue with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, as part of a series on India's COVID-19 response and the lockdown initiated by the Congress and aired on the party's social media platforms.
After the easing of lockdown in mid-May, auto companies were able to resume production in a phased manner, but the ramp-up was slow due to a broken supply chain, and lockdown-induced restrictions.
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani urged Muslims to offer prayers, including special 'Taraweeh' prayers, during Ramzan at home rather than in mosques.
According to officials, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam and Telangana wanted the lockdown to be continued, some of them wanted the powers to decide the zoning of districts -- green, orange and red -- as per the COVID-19 situation.
"Lockdown is not an option but restrictions will be made more strict," Tope told reporters in Mumbai.
'Many generations have braved and fought many things.' 'Our generation's battle is this, and we have to protect ourselves and our families by not letting the virus get to us.'
Players competed at empty stadiums at Melbourne Park through the five-day lockdown but reduced capacity crowds of 7,477 have been permitted in each of Thursday's two sessions and the same number for the singles finals sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
Manmohan Singh represented the finest aspects of India, asserts Aakar Patel.
The video conference comes amidst indications that the central government may extend the lockdown across the country beyond April 14 after several states have favoured the extension to contain the fast-spreading virus.
"A recent Columbia University study that supports that death is prevented by earlier lockdowns bears the fact that Narendra Modi's government has done an excellent job in clamping lockdown," Tennessee-based Dr Indranill Basu Ray said in a statement.
The fresh restrictions imposed in Maharashtra to contain the second wave of COVID-19 are likely to impact the festive season auto sales, as Navaratri and Gudi Padwa are falling in April, according to rating agency Icra. These two festivals account for a sizeable chunk of the annual vehicle sales across the country, especially in Maharashtra, it said. Gudi Padwa, which is a major festival of Maharashtra, will be celebrated on April 13, while Navrarati will also begin on the same day.
From fast food and athleisure to ACs, the demand for several non-discretionary items has spiked since May 17, when Lockdown 4.0 was extended till May 31.
Rediff.com brings you some of the memes to cheer you up during this trying times.
'We are so busy in our lives, there is never any time.'
In a major relief to passengers, whose flights got cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the Supreme Court on Thursday accepted the recommendations of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to refund ticket fares and also approved a credit shell scheme which will be valid till March 31.
While there was a sharp drop in footfalls in malls in H1FY21, there was reasonable recovery in H2. However, the second wave derailed the recovery.
National Sports Federations and State Olympic Associations have been asked to collect feedback from the stakeholders such as athletes, coaches, support staff, central and state government ministries, match officials and sports administrators on how and when training should resume. The lockdown has been extended till May 17.
This will be the fifth meeting of the prime minister with the chief ministers since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Sheela Bhatt reports from Firozabad, the country's centre for glass bangles, on what life is like for its workers in the wake of the national lockdown.
'Premature lifting of the lockdown will spread the disease from asymptomatics, and those undetected, to the whole community, ushering in prolonged misery, preventable and avoidable deaths, famine and social unrest,' warns Dr Debashish Danda.
The nationwide lockdown, which has been in place since March to contain the spread of coronavirus, has rendered several unskilled labourers and daily wagers jobless. The IIM-A conducted the survey among 500 households in the city that earned less than 19,500 per month, the release in Ahmedabad stated.
The economies of states and union territories such as Puducherry, Kerala, Goa, etc and some North-eastern states are heavily dependent on tourism and hospitality, which is yet to get relaxation from lockdown restrictions.
'Two days notice for the Janata Curfew.' 'Two-and-a-half days notice for lighting candles, but a mere four-hour notice for the lockdown without taking state governments into confidence.'
Yashasvi Jaiswal's intense and innovative pre-tour training against short-pitched balls at the Thane Stadium contributed to his unbeaten 90 in Perth
'There are many questions that come to mind as we consider the reality of India and what Indians will be expected to do from the time this lockdown is opened up,' notes Aakar Patel.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), top officials, including the country's leader Kim Jong Un, held a crisis politburo meeting to discuss the outbreak and announced they would implement a 'maximum emergency' virus control system.
