India

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) India saw 40,953 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, the highest single-day rise recorded in 111 days, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,15,55,284, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday

Registering an increase for the tenth day in a row, the total active caseload has reached 2,88,394, which now comprises 2.49 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 96.12 per cent, the data stated.

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that lakhs of families have suffered pain due to the government's "incompetence and myopia" as the unplanned lockdown continues to haunt the country.

The government had imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 24 last year to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Gandhi has been attacking the government for the lockdown, saying the poor and migrants have suffered due to it.

"The unplanned lockdown disaster continues to haunt the country," he said on Twitter.

Chandigarh, Mar 18 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday batted for polling through ballot papers, saying the electronic voting machines could be "fudged".

His statement came days after when some MLAs, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, had questioned the use of EVMs and had said voting should be held through ballot papers.

"We should go back to ballot papers and I'm totally in support of this," Amarinder Singh said, replying to a question on EVMs during a press conference to mark the completion of four years of his government.

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Enhancing its amphibious warfare capabilities, the Indian Navy on Thursday inducted a landing craft utility ship which will be used for a variety of activities like transporting battle tanks and other heavy weapons systems.

The eighth and last of the landing craft utility (LCU) mark-IV class ship was commissioned at an event in Port Blair, a spokesperson of the Indian Navy said.

The ship was indigenously designed and built by state-run Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata.

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Rajya Sabha on Thursday approved a bill to raise the foreign investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying while control will go to foreign companies, the majority of directors and key management persons will be resident Indians who will be covered by law of the land.

"The laws of the land are fairly mature. They can control every operation which happens in this country. (No one can) take it (money) away and make us sit and watch," she said replying to a debate on the bill.

Ballia (UP), Mar 18 (PTI) A 13-year-old boy allegedly raped a two-year-old girl here after watching a pornographic film on a mobile phone, police said on Thursday.

She was living in her maternal grandparents' home in a village in Revati block, around 30 km from the district headquarters. The toddler had gone to a neighbour's house while playing on Tuesday evening where the teenager raped her, an officer said.

The boy had allegedly seen a pornographic film on a mobile phone before the incident, Revati police station incharge said.

Lucknow, Mar 18 (PTI) The All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) appealed to the Supreme Court to dismiss the petition filed by former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairperson Wasim Rizvi to remove 26 verses of the Quran.

The emergency meeting of the board's executive was held in Lucknow on Thursday and it demanded from the government to give harsh punishments to people like him who are disrespectful to any religion or its holy book.

Mathura, Mar 18 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday alleged that women were feeling unsafe under the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.

He said the Hathras incident has moved the entire world but no worthwhile step has been taken by the state government for the safety and security of women.

While talking to reporters in Vrindavan, Yadav said the state government has "failed" to launch any new work in its four-year tenure.

Thane, Mar 19 (PTI) The body of a 33-year-old woman was found in a forest area of Bhiwandi in Maharashtra's Thane district in the wee hours of Friday, police said.

The body was recovered from a hillock in Shelar village and the police suspect that she was allegedly raped before being murdered.

"The woman had gone to graze her cattle on Thursday, but did not return home till night. Sensing that something was amiss, a search was carried by her husband and villagers and her body was found in the wee hours," an official of Bhiwandi taluka police station said.

Banda (UP), Mar 19 (PTI) A 22-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped for two years by a man on the false promise of marriage here, police said on Friday.

The woman, who hailed from Mahoba district, lodged a complaint on Thursday evening at City Kotwali police station following which an FIR was registered against the accused.

She alleged that Utkarsh Sachan (25), who lived in her neighbourhood, had been raping her since the past two years on the promise of marriage, Station House Officer Jaishyam Shukla said.