Sixty-eight Rajya Sabha members, including nine Union ministers, are completing their tenure this year, triggering a race of sorts among leaders across political parties to eye a six-year term in the Upper House of Parliament.
Four earthquakes, the strongest being of magnitude 6.2, jolted Nepal in quick succession with tremors reverberating through parts of north India including Delhi-NCR, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said on Tuesday.
The BJP could ask at least a dozen of its 92 Rajya Sabha MPs, particularly those who have served more than one term, to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Serum Institute of India has informed the Centre that it will be able to supply around 22 crore doses of Covishield in October as the Union government has announced resuming export of surplus Covid vaccines in the coming fourth quarter under the 'Vaccine Maitri' programme, official sources said.
The move is aimed at dealing with any possible emergency situation on account of a spurt in coronavirus cases.
Larger hospitals are not worried about a spike in cases, as they are now accustomed to converting ICUs and general wards into negative pressure zones or isolation rooms. For smaller hospitals, the task is tedious.
BJP state president Satish Poonia said there was some confusion regarding the Jan Aakrosh Yatra which has been cleared now and the Jan Aakrosh Sabhas (meetings) will take place as per the schedule.
According to the people aware of the matter, there are currently 10 different variants of COVID-19 in the country, with the latest being BF.7.
The 46-year-old MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh was among the 15 new Cabinet ministers who took oath in the first major rejig and expansion of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government after it returned to power for a second term in May 2019.
Anti-infectives like Ivermectin, Mupirocin and Meropenem have also been added to the list, taking the total drugs under it to 384.
A decision on booster dose and Covid jabs for children will be taken on the basis of scientific guidance from experts, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Friday even as India stepped up surveillance for Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
At the meeting, presentations were made by Union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Dharmendra Pradhan on efficiency and time management. Four more such "Chintan Shivirs" will be held for further improving governance, they said.
These nine states and union territories are Haryana, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Union health ministry has also directed airport and port health officers to be vigilant, they said.
At present, no Omicron variant has been reported in India, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
We cannot predict tomorrow, Health Minister Mandaviya said.
"All these festivals are festivals of restraint, purity, charity and harmony. Advance greetings to all of you on the occasion of these festivals. Celebrate these festivals with great gaiety and harmony," Modi said.
Instead of seven-day home quarantine as mandated earlier, all travellers will self-monitor their health for 14 days after their arrival.
The Nipah virus has killed two people and infected two others in Kerala's Kozhikode district, the state government said on Tuesday.
Modi, who was travelling by road in Punjab, was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to blockade by some protesters, an incident the Union home ministry described as a 'major lapse' in his security.
While Hardik Patel will contest from Viramgam, Rivaba Jadeja has been fielded from Jamnagar North.
The prime minister was seen wearing a light blue "sadri" jacket as he sat in the Rajya Sabha in the morning.
Shapoorji Pallonji Group's head Pallonji Mistry died at his residence here, company officials said on Tuesday. Mistry, the largest individual shareholder in the Tata Group with a 18.4 per cent holding in the conglomerate, was 93.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday named 14 candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls including former Union minister R P N Singh and Sudhanshu Trivedi -- the only outgoing MP renominated by the party.
Fondly remembering the contribution of retiring members from the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said the wisdom shared by them would be greatly missed and their departure would leave a void.
BJP president JP Nadda held a meeting with the ministers on Wednesday to deliberated on the exercise to be held between May 30 and June 15, and to finalise the tour plans.
Odisha is facing a morgue crunch as a large number of unclaimed dead bodies from Balasore's triple train accident, have piled up at its mortuaries.
To mark the completion of administering of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, the largest khadi tricolour in the country, weighing around 1,400 kg, will be displayed at the Red Fort on Thursday, official sources said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in the state this weekend, while his colleagues Gajendra Shekhawat, Sanjeev Balyan, Prahlad Patel, Arjun Munda and Mansukh Mandaviya will be visiting in the next few days, sources in the party said on Thursday.
Representatives from seven vaccine makers -- Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Zydus Cadila, Biological E, Gennova Biopharma and Panacea Biotech -- will be participating in the meeting.
More than 31 per cent of the country's adult population has been administered both the doses, according to Union Health Ministry officials.
Vaccine major Serum Institute of India on Tuesday said the approval for the COVID-19 vaccine 'Covovax' would strengthen immunization initiatives across India and various lower and middle income countries across the world.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
"To make sure there isn't a Covid surge in the country, PM Modi has asked us to be careful. The government is also preparing if at the Covid cases increase. Today, mock drills are conducted across Covid hospitals in the country to make sure people get proper treatment," Mandaviya said.
Announcements will be made on airplanes, ships, metros and at railway stations when India achieves its target of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses while private carrier Spicejet will wrap its planes with posters of this milestone carrying images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and health workers, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.
Former Union minister Prakash Javadekar and another senior party leader Om Prakash Mathur was made poll in-charge for Telangana and Chhattisgarh respectively, a party statement said.
The 2.5 minute show and sound system is installed at the Millenium Park and is part of a project of the Kolkata Port Trust's 150th anniversary celebrations. The show will replace the existing decorative lighting with 650 power-efficient LED and spotlight fittings for a programmable multi-colour lighting, including a show that will sync with music.
With the reporting of Omicron, a highly mutated variant of SARSCoV-2 virus and its classification as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Union Ministry of Health revised its 'Guidelines for international arrivals', Mandaviya said in a written reply.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
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