Making India $5 trillion economy challenging but achievable: PM Modi

Bengaluru, May 29: Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda mourned the demise of Rajya Sabha member and Managing Director of leading Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi M P Veerendra Kumar, hailing him as a great journalist and writer.

"My deepest condolences on the demise of former union Minister and Rajya sabha member Shri M.P. Veerendra Kumar. He was a great journalist and writer. May god give strength to his family & his people to bear the loss," Gowda said in his condolence message.

Veerandra Kumar, who was a member of PTIs Board of Directors, died late Thursday at a private hospital in Kozhikode in Kerala following cardiac arrest.

New Delhi, Jul 14: India's COVID-19 tally has reached 9,36,181 as 29,429 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

The death toll went up to 24,309, including 582 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

Out of the total cases, 3,19,840 are currently active and 5,92,032 are cured/discharged/migrated.

As per the Ministry, Maharashtra -- the worst-affected state from the infection -- has a total of 2,67,665 COVID-19 cases and 10,695 fatalities. While Tamil Nadu has a tally of 1,47,324 cases and 2,099 deaths due to COVID-19.

Delhi has reported a total of 1,15,346 cases and 3,446 deaths due to COVID-19.

As per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) 3,20,161 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 14, of these 1,24,12,664 samples were tested on Tuesday.

Google on Friday announced the launch of a new feature on Google Search, Assistant, and Maps for users in India to help them find information on COVID-19 testing centres near them.

The search giant has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and MyGov to provide the information on authorised testing labs.

The feature is currently available in English and eight Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi.

According to the company, users will now see a new "Testing" tab on the search result page providing a list of nearby testing labs along with key information and guidance needed before using their services.

On Google Maps, when users search for keywords like "COVID testing" or "coronavirus testing" they will see a list of nearby testing labs, with a link to Google Search for the government-mandated requirements.

Google said that the Search, Assistant, and Maps currently feature 700 testing labs across 300 cities and working with authorities to identify and add more testing labs located across the country.

The company reiterates that it is important to follow the recommended guidelines that help determine testing eligibility before visiting.