LEAD

India, on Thursday, logged 2,208 fresh coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, around 1000 higher than the day before. The daily positivity rate in the country stands at 1.55 per cent.

According to the health ministry website, 3,619 people recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours and the total number of recoveries has now reached 4,41,00,691. On Wednesday and Thursday, the country saw a big drop in the daily cases with 830 and 1,112 cases respectively. 

With 2,208 fresh Covid-19 cases, India's Active caseload currently stands at 19,398. The active cases in the country stand at 0.04 per cent and the recovery rate is at 98.77 per cent. The daily positivity rate is 1.55 per cent and the weekly positivity rate is 1.12 per cent. 

The Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh is on a Visit to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. While addressing the Infantry Day function in Srinagar, Rajnath Singh said that people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir are subjected to human rights violations and Pakistan has to pay a price for it. The Defence Minister said that the Indian government is committed to implementing the 1994 resolution passed in the Parliament about retrieving the part of Kashmir “under illegal occupation of Pakistan.”

''Our country is watching and feeling the pain of the citizens of PoK, where Pakistan is unleashing torture and harassment. Very soon there will be a rebellion in the PoK by the citizens against the atrocities. Our country is committed to implementing the resolution passed in the Parliament about retrieving Kashmir under illegal occupation of Pakistan,'' said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. 

The timing of Kejriwal's currency appeal comes on the day when Mallikarjun Kharge was officially anointed as the new Congress president, and after the mega Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya in which PM Modi participated

Ahead of the upcoming elections in Himachal and Gujarat, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider including the pictures of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha in currency notes as they would earn the blessings of the Hindu deities and strengthen the economy. Kejriwal further said if Indonesia can do it, so can India.

It seems that Kejriwal’s appeal clearly has less to do with the economy and more to do with appeasing to the Hindu voters, in an unabashed attempt to corner the ruling BJP on the latter’s core Hinduvta plank. Therefore, Kejriwal’s words have got under the skin of the BJP.

The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre and others on a plea challenging certain provisions of the Registration of Electors Rules 1960 by which the Election Commission is bound to supply two copies of the electoral roll to every contesting candidate. The PIL filed by two advocates has sought an alternative to save the enormous expenditure as well as the usage of large quantities of paper.

It alleged that the country had to bear a cost of about Rs 47.84 crore for printing electoral rolls and supplying it free of cost to the candidates of the recognised parties contesting. A bench of Chief Justice U U Lalit and Bela M Trivedi issued notices to the Centre and the Chief Election Commissioner on a plea challenging Rules 11(c) and 22(c) of the Registration of Electors Rules 1960.

A large number of high-decibel firecrackers thundered throughout Diwali night on Monday as people in Delhi flouted the ban imposed on these by the city government.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai last week said bursting firecrackers in the national capital on Diwali will attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of ₹ 200.

Despite the legal deterrent in place, people in many parts of the city, including in south and northwest Delhi, started bursting crackers by dusk. High-intensity firecrackers could be heard going off on the ground or mid-air.