The death toll climbed to 4,54,269 with 561 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. Kerala has reconciled 399 fatalities from the previous period.
India saw a single-day rise of 16,326 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 3,41,59,562, while the active cases have declined to 1,73,728, the lowest in 233 days, according to the Union health ministry's data.
On Thursday, violent mobs went on the rampage in the Nagaland capital vandalising and setting on fire government offices and vehicles, prompting deployment of five columns of army to bring the situation under control.
With 1,73,195 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of active cases.
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 26 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 129 consecutive days now.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reviewed the status of passengers coming from the UK to India and found positive in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Goa, Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala and their response measures in a meeting held through video conferencing.
The total coronavirus cases mounted to 40,23,179, while the death toll climbed to 69,561 with 1,089 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, data updated at 8 am showed.
The ICMR has already approved a bunch of rapid test kits for launch. The health ministry admitted that clusters of COVID-19 had appeared in many states and the risk of further spread remains very high.
The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients was recorded at 64.53 per cent, while the fatality rate further dropped to 2.15 per cent, the data stated.
Ahead of the second phase of polls in the state, Banerjee's letter, which was released by the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday, seeks to drum up support from opposition leaders by stating how non-BJP states have suffered due to the saffron party led Centre's actions.
This is the sixth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 45,000.
Just to be clear, "love jihad" -- a concept that claims that Muslim men court Hindu women to convert them to Islam purely to take over India -- doesn't exist, says Mitali Saran
Experts said the strain has not propelled a surge in cases like Omicron, but advised strict adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
Researchers have found two new mutations in coronavirus samples from Amravati and Yavatmal districts of eastern Maharashtra which can escape neutralising antibodies, a senior official said on Thrusday. Meanwhile, authorities in the two districts have announced strict implementation of restrictions, including a weekend lockdown in Amravati, to stem the rising cases of COVID-19.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7.
The case fatality rate has dropped 2.01 per cent, according to ministry data.
Maharashtra has reported 3,75,799 coronavirus cases, the highest among states in the country.
The Hindutva social media continues to present the DMK especially as anti-god, anti-Hindu and anti-Brahmin. The strategy did not work in the past, it has not worked in the present, and would not work in the future, as a massive vote-getter, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday attacked the United Progressive Alliance government for "reducing states to glorified municipal corporations" by turning a deaf ear to their reasonable demands and described central proposals like the Communal Violence bill as "fascist".
The Badminton World Federation has postponed the Thomas and Uber Cup, the premier global men's and women's team championship, to be held in Denmark for three months from the earlier scheduled date in May in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of tests for detection of COVID-19 also crossed the three crore-mark in the country, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 50,921 with 941 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours.
This is the sixth consecutive day when COVID-19 cases increased by more than 30,000.
The Delhi high court has told the Delhi and District Cricket Association it "cannot control" what the International Cricket Council is saying over the issue of lack of completion certificate for the old clubhouse of the Ferozshah Kotla ground, which could lead to shifting of the World T20 semi-final from Delhi.
Singhdeo was the main architect of the Congress party's poll manifesto, which he said was made after feedback from about 80,000 people from across the state.
The testing rate is likely to slow down, report Pavan Lall and Sohini Das.
Winning an election may be a breeze for the BJP but the aftermath of victory isn't always painless.
This was the fourth consecutive day that COVID-19 cases in the country have increased by more than 26,000.
This is the fourth consecutive day when COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 45,000.
The death toll due to the coronavirus infection rose to 7,466 and the cases mounted to 2,66,598 in the country.
It took 110 days for the COVID-19 cases in the country to reach one lakh and just 59 days more to go past the nine-lakh mark.
Street art has emerged from its rebellious underground existence to a growing art genre in its own right. Ritika Bhatia maps the Indian leg of the movement.
The death toll rose to 5,394 after a record single-day spike of 230 fatalities in the 24 hours since Sunday 8 am, the Union Health Ministry said in its morning update. It showed the number of confirmed cases rising by 8,392 to 1,90,535. However, a PTI tally of figures announced by states and union territories, as of 9.35 pm, showed a higher death toll of 5,501.
On the eve of Patidars' meeting with the Gujarat government, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Varun Patel speaks to Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore.
Addressing the daily press briefing on the actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal said 92 new cases and four deaths due to coronavirus have been reported in India since Sunday, taking total cases to 1,071 and the number of deaths to 29.
All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.
Voices of resentment resonated in the camps of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress criticising the choice of new faces by the leadership. Sena leaders have expressed disapproval over party seniors and former ministers not finding a place.
A Delhi-based organisation is helping parents become involved with their children's school experience, says Geetanjali Krishna.
The rate of doubling of COVID-19 cases has increased to 12.6 days
Most feel as the movement of people normalises, the in-patient volumes in hospitals will grow and by the end of May, occupancy should be around 50 per cent, and 75 per cent over a period of time.
Poor land-use planning, indiscriminate approvals of building plans and the absence of disaster-risk assessment in urban design have resulted in what experts term concentrated concretization, predisposing cities to disaster risks
