The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust coffers brimmed with Rs 2,100 crore on Saturday evening — the last day of the 44-day fund-raising campaign launched by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for building a grand temple in Ayodhya.
The home ministry on Friday extended the validity of existing guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution against Covid-19 to March 31. In a statement, the MHA said while there has been a substantial decline in active and new Covid cases, there is need to maintain surveillance, containment and caution to overcome the pandemic.
India recorded more than 16,500 fresh Covid-19 cases for the third straight day on Friday amid a continuing surge in infections in several states. There were 114 deaths from the virus across the country. The Covid-19 toll has stayed above 100 for four days running, the highest number of consecutive 100-plus daily fatalities in February.
India has told China in unambiguous terms that the bilateral ties will continue to be deeply affected if there is no peace on the border with foreign minister S Jaishankar conveying the point to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in a 75-minute phone conversation on Thursday.
Increase in wages of daily wage labourers to waiving of jewel loans availed by farmers and making fuel cheaper, many governments in states going to polls – which were announced by the Election Commission on Friday – announced sops ahead of the declaration to woo voters.
Stung by the loss of office in Puducherry just before elections were announced, Congress has little time to regroup before the April 6 vote. In 2016, Congress emerged the single largest party, winning 15 seats and forming the government with the support of DMK (2) and an Independent.
The stage is set in Tamil Nadu for a do-or-die battle between AIADMK member and outgoing CM Edappadi K Palaniswami (better known as EPS) and DMK president M K Stalin. For the first two years of his tenure, it was life on tenterhooks for EPS as AMMK functionary T T V Dhinakaran unleashed sustained attacks, pulling the rug from under the chief minister’s feet by wooing AIADMK MLAs.