Haryana BJP chief’s son re-arrested for attempting to abduct girl

Mumbai, Apr 2: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday

urged Muslims to observe Shab-e-Barat staying inside their homes, and also suggested that the birth anniversary celebrations of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar be postponed in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Pawar said Ram Navami, being observed on Thursday, is celebrated with fervour every year across the country.

"Unfortunately, there is this threat of coronavirus this year and we have to observe some restrictions...but I am sure people must be remembering Lord Ram staying inside their homes," he said in his address via Facebook.

Shab-e-Barat, also known as the night of forgiveness,will be observed on April 8.

Members of the Muslim community visit graveyards to remember their relatives who are no more, Pawar said, and called for taking precautions to avoid gathering of people given the coronavirus crisis.

Pawar said congregation such as the one held last month in Delhi's Nizamuddin area by Tablighi Jamaat could have been avoided, and urged people to ensure there is no repeat of such meetings on Shab-e-Barat.

"The meeting should have been avoided, but it was notand others may have to pay for it," Pawar said referring to the religious meeting in the national capital.

He said the "possibility of some people who attended the meeting carrying the disease cannot be ruled out" and pressed for maintaining discipline given the situation caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Shab-e-Barat is on April 8. Muslims remember their relatives, who are not more, by visiting kabrastan (graveyard). It should be observed inside home. Precaution should be taken to see there is no repeat of the Nizamuddin meeting-like episode," he said.

The birth anniversary of Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, is observed on April 14.

Pawar said people should also think about postponing Ambedkar's birth anniversary celebrations.

"We normally celebrate it (the anniversary) for two or so months. We should think whether we should really observe the programme at this juncture (given the coronavirus threat).

If we come together, we may have to face health issues," the former Union minister said.

He said in general, 90 per cent people have been observing the lockdown, but 10 per cent are not doing so.

The Centre and the Maharashtra government may have to extend the lockdown period if discipline is not observed till April 14 (till when the lockdown is in force), he said, urging people to toe the line in the interest of each other.

Pawar also praised Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the state administration and police for working round-the- clock, and asked people to cooperate with them by staying at home.

New Delhi, Jul 3: India reported the highest ever single-day spike of 20,903 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours on Friday, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With these new cases, India's coronavirus tally has risen to 6,25,544 cases of which 2,27,439 patients are active cases while 3,79,892 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

379 more deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths due to the infection to 18,213.

As per the Health Ministry, Maharashtra -- the worst-affected state from the virus -- has a total of 1,86,626 cases including 8,178 fatalities while Tamil Nadu has 98,392 coronavirus cases in the state inclusive of 1,321 fatalities.

Delhi has reported 92,175 cases so far inclusive of 2,864 patients succumbing to the virus.

The Indian Council of Medical Research on Friday said that the total number of samples tested till July 2 is 92,97,749 of which 2,41,576 samples were tested on Thursday.

New Delhi, Jan 20: Surging inflation and slowing growth are raising serious concerns about the future growth prospects of the economy and as a remedial measure the government should resolve supply-side hurdles and ensure more stringent governance norms, a report said on Monday.

According to the Dun and Bradstreet Economy forecast, even though the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) turned positive in November 2019, it is likely to remain subdued.

"Slowdown in consumption and investment along with high inflationary pressures, geopolitical issues and uncertainty over the recovery of the economic growth are likely to keep IIP subdued," the report noted.

Dun and Bradstreet expect IIP to remain around 1.5-2.0 percent during December 2019.

As per government data, industrial output grew 1.8 percent in November, turning positive after three months of contraction, on account of growth in the manufacturing sector.

On the price front, uneven rainfall along with floods in many states and geopolitical issues have led to a surge in headline inflation even as demand remains muted.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in December rose to about five-and-half year high of 7.35 percent from 5.54 percent in November, mainly driven by high vegetable prices.

"The sharp rise in inflation has constrained monetary policy stimulus while revenue shortfall has placed limits on the government expenditure," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Economist Arun Singh said.

According to Singh, growth-supporting measures and deceleration in growth are likely to cause slippage in fiscal deficit target by a wider margin.

"The government should focus on taking small steps to address the slowdown; in particular, resolve the supply-side hurdles and ensure more stringent governance norms," Singh said.

Unless these concerns are addressed through a comprehensive policy framework, it will not be easy for India to clock a sustainable growth rate to become a USD 5 trillion economy, he added.