Voting for the second phase of Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections began on Monday with more than 3.48 lakh candidates in the fray for over 2.23 lakh posts across 20 districts. ....

In view of the steep rise in Covid-19 cases, the Rajasthan government has announced a 15-day lockdown starting from Monday and will continue till May 3. ....

Veteran Congress leader and former Assam Chief Minister Bhumidhar Barman died here on Sunday evening after protracted illness, Congress leaders said. He was 89. ....

After postponing the CBSE board examinations, the Union Education Ministry has decided to postpone the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) in India and abroad. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) not to conduct the JEE Mains examination in view of the rising Covid cases. The JEE Mains examination was scheduled to be held on April 27, 28 and 30 this year. ....

Emphasising that there is no substitute to testing, tracking and treatment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday at a meeting to review the country's Covid preparedness that all necessary measures must be taken to ramp up the availability of beds for Covid patients. ....

Remaining above the 60,000 range, new Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra spiked to a record high of 67,123 on Saturday, while the death toll mounted to 419, the second highest so far, health officials said. ....

In a significant decision, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday said that all those pilgrims returning from the holy Kumbh fair in Uttar Pradesh won't be allowed direct entry into their villages and towns. First, they will be RT-PCR screened for Corona infection and shall be quarantined and isolated for 14 days in case they are found positive. ....

Considering the alarming daily spike in Covid cases and reports of highest single-day surge of 2,34,692 new cases in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a review meeting related to the pandemic at 8 p.m. on Saturday. ....

Launching a blistering attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Trinamool Congress supremo has an old habit of doing politics with dead bodies and she is trying to do the same with the unfortunate death of five people at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar on April 10. ....

The BJP on Saturday hit back on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for playing politics over availability of oxygen in the state. Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that Maharashtra has so far received the highest quantity of oxygen in the country. ....

On the day of the fifth phase of Assembly elections in West Bengal, a purported audio clip of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee released by the IT cell of the BJP triggered a major war of words with both the Trinamool Congress and the saffron party appealing to the Election Commission to take action against the other. ....

Amid massive surge in Covid cases, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the continuing crisis. He alleged that it's a Modi made disaster. ....

With reports of huge number of Covid positive cases from 'Kumbh Mela' area in Haridwar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to observe the event "symbolic" to strengthen fight against the deadly virus. ....

Brisk polling much on the line of the other phases was recorded in the fifth phase of polling in West Bengal where 45 constituencies across six districts including Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Aklimpong, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and East Burdwan are going for the polls on Saturday. Altogether 1,13,73,307 voters will exercise their franchise in 15,789 polling stations spread across six districts. ....

India has reported 2,34,692 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day spike ever, pushing the country's overall Covid tally to 1,45,26,609, according to the Health Ministry data released on Saturday. ....

The Niranjan Akhada has announced curtailing the ongoing Kumbh Mela on April 17, almost two weeks ahead of schedule, after several senior BJP leaders in Uttarakhand held discussion with the Akhadas to convince them to end it amid surge in Covid-19 cases and concerns of violation of Covid protocols, a senior party leader said. ....

Soaring above the 60K range, Maharashtra on Friday recorded a new high of 63,729 infections and the second highest death toll of 398, with the state jumping past the 37-L mark, health officials said. ....

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19. ....

Speaking in support of a woman SPO (special police officer), whose services were terminated for allegedly glorifying terrorism, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Friday that the officer has been slapped with UAPA for raising legitimate questions. ....

Even after being infected with coronavirus, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the state every day. ....