Morning Digest | Nod soon for Sputnik V rollout, amid virus surge; Night curfew, weekend lockdown announced in Maharashtra, and more

The Russia-made Sputnik V vaccine could also be cleared for emergency use in India inside 10 days. The attainable approval for a 3rd vaccine candidate comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level assembly on Sunday to evaluation the scenario and the on-going vaccination programme with the variety of new circumstances crossing 1 lakh — surpassing the figures recorded in September 2020.

While ruling out a stringent lockdown, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra authorities on Sunday tightened restrictions additional by saying an evening curfew and weekend lockdown throughout the State in the wake of the relentless surge in COVID-19 circumstances.

A day after the encounter between central paramilitary forces and Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma, our bodies of twenty-two personnel have been recovered on Sunday; one commando was nonetheless lacking, Chattisgarh police mentioned. Thirty-one others have been injured. Some jawans might have died on account of extreme bleeding, a police officer mentioned.

A militant related to the Islamic State-Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) outfit was arrested from Jhajar Kotli space of Jammu district on Sunday, the police mentioned. The militant was arrested after the police obtained a particular enter about his motion and arrange a checkpoint at Jhajjar Kotli.

The BJP on Sunday focused Trinamool Congress chief Abhishek Banerjee alleging that the dialog in a lately leaked audio tape proves his complicity in the coal pilferage rip-off. The audio tape of an alleged dialog between a Kolkata businessman and one other particular person was made public by the BJP management. In the tape, the 2 individuals are heard speaking about how cash was siphoned by way of coal pilferage and different unlawful actions like cattle smuggling by way of a well-organised syndicate.

India and China have to strengthen confidence-building measures in border areas and keep away from a repeat of final yr’s border disaster, China’s envoy to India Sun Weidong has mentioned.

A delay in appointing members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex physique of the Income Tax Department, is puzzling your entire income service and tax forms. The Board has 4 essential vacancies, whereas its chief, P.C. Mody, and member, S.K. Gupta, are serving prolonged tenures.

Bihar accomplished 5 years of prohibition on Monday however illicit liquor and hooch deaths have been stalking the dry State elevating questions over efficient implementation of the regulation.

Campaign for the third section of West Bengal election for 31 Assembly segments that can go to polls on April 6 ended on Sunday. After polling in 60 Assembly segments in the south western components of the State in the primary two phases, constituencies in the southern half are going to the polls in the third section.

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court docket has sentenced 5 leaders of Mumbai assault mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) to 9 years of imprisonment every in a terror financing case.