India's COVID-19 tally reaches 70,756

New Delhi, Jun 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India fared much better compared to some other countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The PM made this observation while delivering the inaugural address to mark the 90th birth anniversary celebrations of Reverend Dr Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan.

"Earlier this year, some people had predicted that the impact of the virus in India would be very severe. Due to lockdown, many initiatives have been taken by the Government and in this people-driven fight, India is much better placed than many other nations. India's recovery rate is rising," Modi said in his virtual address.

He further warned that the time was not apt to "let our guard down".

The prime minister greeted the Mar Thoma Metropolitan and wished him a "long life and best health."

"Dr Joseph Mar Thoma has devoted his life for the betterment of our society and nation. He has been particularly passionate about the removal of poverty and women empowerment," the prime minister said.

Praising the Mar Thoma Church for its contributions to the country the Prime Minister added that it has worked to bring a positive difference in the lives of people in the country in areas of healthcare and education.

"The Mar Thoma Church is closely linked with the noble ideals of Saint Thomas, the Apostle of Lord Christ. India has always been open to spiritual influences from many sources. It is with this spirit of humility that the Mar Thoma Church has worked to bring a positive difference in the lives of our fellow Indians," Modi said.

Followers of the Mar Thoma Church from India and abroad participated in the programme through video conference.

Jan 31: Twenty-three children aged between six months and 15 years, who had been taken hostage by a murder accused after inviting them to his daughter's birthday party, were rescued late on Thursday night after police killed their captor in a village here.

The hostage drama began at Kasaria village in the afternoon and continued for about eight hours.

"The accused was killed and there were about 23 children who were rescued safely," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi told reporters at a hurriedly called press conference at 1.20 am.

"The accused had invited the children for the birthday party of his daughter and held them hostage. It started about 5.45 pm on January 30 and continued for about eight hours," Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh said, adding that in the entire operation they had tried to "engage" the accused and were successful.

He said the accused, identified as Subhash Batham, had initially released a six-month-old girl by handing her over to his neighbour from a balcony.

Eyewitnesses said a restive crowd gathered outside the house where the children were kept with some women wailing and praying for their safe release.

The crowd broke open the door of the house to rescue the children, they said.

As the accused opened fire, the police retaliated killing him on the spot.

In the exchange of fire, the captor's wife was injured, but none of the children suffered any injury.

A man and two policemen also suffered bullet injuries.

The motive of the accused was not known immediately.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath monitored the situation in Farrukhabad, which is nearly 200 km from state capital Lucknow.

"The CM as soon as he got to know about the incident called a meeting of the crisis management group and personally monitored the situation and ensured children are rescued safely," Awasthi said.

Earlier, a team of NSG (National Security Guard) commandos had taken a special aircraft to reach Farukhabad, a senior security official in Delhi said.

Police said Batham, a murder accused, seemed to be mentally unstable.

Inspector-General of Police, Kanpur Range, Mohit Agarwal, said, "The man called the children for a birthday party and held them hostage in the basement of the house. He fired six shots from inside the building."

Batham initially wanted to talk to the local MLA, but refused to speak to the leader when he arrived, Agarwal said.

May 18: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday announced the date sheet for the pending class 10 and 12 board exams, which will now be held from July 1 to 15.

The exams were postponed due to the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Class 10 board exams are pending only in the North East Delhi.

"The Class 10 exams will be staggered on four dates, starting July 1. The first paper will be Social Science, while the next day students will be required to appear for the Science exam,” said Sanyam Bhardwaj, the Controller of Examination, CBSE.

“On July 10, exams will be conducted for both courses of Hindi and on July 15 for both courses of English," he said.

On health guidelines for students, Bhardwaj said that they will be required to carry their own sanitiser bottles and wear masks to examination centres.

"Parents will have to ensure that their ward is not sick and candidates will have to strictly follow physical-distancing norms," he said.

For Class 12, the Home Science exam will be held on July 1, followed by both courses of Hindi the next day.

The Class 12 Business Studies exam has been scheduled for July 9, followed by Biotechnology on July 10 and Geography on July 11.