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Amid boycott, Bihar sees 57% voting in first phase

October 13, 2015

Patna, Oct 13: Amid poll boycott call given by the Maoists, the first phase of elections for Bihar’s 49 constituencies passed off peacefully.

bihar 2According to Election Commission sources, 57 per cent of the electorate on Monday came out to cast their votes in different constituencies spread over 10 districts in the state.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) R Lakshmanan said turnout of woman voters was relatively more compared to previous poll. “In all, 59.5 per cent woman voters turned up while 54.5 per cent male electorate cast their votes,” the ACEO said.

“The senior-most voter who exercised her franchise on Monday was 108-year-old Maharani Devi at Teghra Assembly constituency in Begusarai,” said chief electoral officer Ajay Nayak here on Monday.

Bihar will witness a five-phase election following which poll results will be declared on November 8. The second phase of polling will take place on October 16. After that, there will a short break because of Durga Puja and Muharram. The third phase will commence on October 28, followed by November 1. The fifth and last day of voting will take place on November 5. Monday’s election sealed the fate of 583 candidates, many of whom are Independents. Stung by allegation of corruption against one of its ministers Awadhesh Kushwaha (now dropped from the Cabinet), the ruling JD (U)’s prestige is at stake as in 2010 Assembly elections, it had won 29 seats out of 49 constituencies where voting took place on Monday.

The BJP, which is trying to cash in on Narendra Modi wave against Nitish-led alliance, had won 13 seats in 2010. This time the saffron brigade is contesting elections in alliance with the LJP, RLSP and the HAM.

The Congress’s credibility too is at stake as the first phase of polling took place in Bhagalpur from where its sitting MLA Ajit Sharma faces a formidable BJP candidate Arjit Shashwat, son of BJP MP Ashwani Choubey. The fate of former Assembly Speaker and senior-most Congress leader Sadanand Singh, who is an MLA since 1969, has also been sealed from Kahalgaon.

Altogether 725 companies, including 189 companies of the CRPF and 115 companies of the CISF, were deployed to ensure free and fair elections in all the 10 districts, out of which six – Nawada, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Banka, Khagaria and Munger – are Maoist-affected.

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News Network
May 5,2020

Kochi, May 5: India has sent three naval ships to evacuate its citizens stranded in the Maldives and UAE due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a defence spokesperson said in the early hours on Tuesday.

INS Jalashwa deployed off Mumbai coast, along with INS Magar, diverted for Maldives on Monday night, he said.

While INS Shardul diverted to Dubai to evacuate the expatriates, the spokesperson added.

The three ships will return to Kochi, he said.

INS Magar and INS Shardul are Southern Naval Command ships, while INS Jalashwa is from Eastern Naval Command.

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: The World Bank on Friday approved $1 billion 'Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program' to support the country's efforts for providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the pandemic.

This takes the total commitment from the World Bank towards emergency COVID-19 response in India to $2 billion.

A $1 billion support was announced last month to support India's health sector.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world has required governments around the world to introduce social distancing and lockdowns in unprecedented ways, said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India in a webinar interaction with the media.

These measures, intended to contain the spread of the virus have, however, impacted economies and jobs – especially in the informal sector. India with the world's largest lockdown has not been an exception to this trend, he said.

Of the $1 billion commitment, $550 million will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank's concessionary lending arm and $200 million will be a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a final maturity of 18.5 years including a grace period of five years.

The remaining USD 250 million will be made available after June 30, 2020.

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News Network
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: With the highest single-day increase of 14,516 COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's coronavirus count stood at 3,95,048 on Saturday.

The death toll has gone up to 12,948 in the country with 375 persons succumbing to the infection.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of cases includes 1,68,269 active cases, 2,13,831 cured/discharged/migrated and 12,948 deaths.

Maharashtra with 1,24,331 cases continues to be the worst-affected state in the country with 55,665 active cases while 62,773 patients have been cured and discharged in the state so far. The death toll due to COVID-19 stands at 5,893 in the state.

The number of confirmed cases in Tamil Nadu also crossed the 50 thousand mark on Saturday and reached 54,449.

The national capital is the third-worst affected by the infection in the country with the count reaching 53,116 today.

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