New Delhi, Jun 2: India on Tuesday reported 8,171 more COVID-19 cases and 204 deaths in the last 24 hours as the country's virus count inches closer to two lakh, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The total number of cases in the country now stands at 1,98,706 including 97,581 active cases, 95,527 cured/discharged/migrated and 5,598 deaths.
Cases in Maharashtra have crossed 70,000 including over 30,000 recovered while Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 tally jumped to 23,495.
New Delhi, Mar 4: The Supreme Court on Wednesday revoked the ban of cryptocurrency imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2018.
Pronouncing the verdict, the three-judge bench of the apex court said the ban was 'disproportionate'.
The bench included Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice V Ramasubramanian.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), whose members include cryptocurrency exchanges, and others had approached the top court objecting to a 2018 RBI circular directing regulated entities to not deal with cryptocurrencies.
Advocate Ashim Sood, appearing for IAMI, submitted that Reserve Bank of India lacked jurisdiction to forbid dealings in cryptocurrencies. The blanket ban was based on an erroneous understanding that it was impossible to regulate cryptocurrencies, Sood submitted.
The petitioners had argued that the RBI's circular taking cryptocurrencies out of the banking channels would deplete the ability of law enforcement agencies to regulate illegal activities in the industry.
IAMAI had claimed the move of RBI had effectively banned legitimate business activity via the virtual currencies (VCs).
The RBI on April 6, 2018, had issued the circular that barred RBI-regulated entities from "providing any service in relation to virtual currencies, including those of transfer or receipt of money in accounts relating to the purchase or sale of virtual currencies".
New Delhi, Jan 7: Services at various bank branches and ATMs are likely to be affected as hundreds of employees will go on a bank strike across the country on Wednesday.
The bank strike is part of the Bharat Bandh call given by trade unions to protest against the labour reforms and economic policies of the Central government, according to reports.
The protestors' main demand during the Bharat Bandh is that the Centre should drop the proposed labour reforms.
A Bill in this regard was passed and proposes to merge 44 labour laws into four codes -- wages, industrial relations, social security, and safe working conditions.
Kolkata, Jan 2: In what could spark fresh tensions between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the BJP-led centre, the Union Ministry of Defence on Wednesday rejected her state's tableau proposal for the Republic Day parade on January 26.
"The tableau proposal of West Bengal government was examined by the expert committee in two rounds of meetings. The tableau proposal of the West Bengal government was not taken forward for further consideration by the committee after deliberations in the second meeting," the ministry said in its statement.
Twenty two proposals comprising 16 states and union territories and six ministries and departments have been shortlisted for the parade. The shortlist was compiled from as many as 56 tableau proposals - 32 from states and union territories and 24 from various ministries and departments - received by the central government.
"The expert committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and visual impact before making its recommendations. Due to time constraints arising out of the overall duration of the parade, only a limited number of tableaux can be shortlisted for participation in the parade," the statement read, adding that West Bengal was shortlisted for the 2019 Republic Day parade through a similar process.
"The rejection of the West Bengal tableau for the Republic Day parade is discriminatory. It has been done because West Bengal has been opposing the centre's CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and the NRC (National Register of Citizens) plans," Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy told news agency.
"West Bengal is known to be living state as far as culture, including arts, music and other things are concerned. So obviously, this is a discriminatory step taken by the central government against West Bengal," Mr Roy added.
The Trinamool Congress-led Bengal government is at loggerheads with the central government over several issues, and the expanding presence of the BJP in the eastern state ahead of the 2021 assembly elections has further intensified their rivalry.
Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly said that she will not allow Bengal to be a part of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens, an assertion that the BJP claims is proof of her minority appeasement strategy. Last month, a four-member delegation of Trinamool Congress politicians that visited BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh to meet families of those killed in violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act were stopped by police personnel at the Lucknow airport.
The BJP leadership has now decided to launch a campaign blitzkrieg in West Bengal to counter what it claims is the Trinamool's "misinformation programmes" against the amended citizenship law and reach out to refugees. Protests across the country have currently put the party on the backfoot.
The Citizenship Amendment Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution before 2015. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principals of the Constitution.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
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