India

Pune, May 21 (PTI) The first experimental use of plasma therapy for treating a COVID-19 patient has been successful at Pune's state-run Sassoon general hospital, a senior doctor claimed on Thursday.

A 47-year-old woman, who had co-morbid conditions such as hypertension, hyperthyroid and obesity and who was in critical condition, was given convalescent plasma therapy twice on May 10 and 11.

Ahmedabad, May 22 (PTI) The Congress has alleged that the Gujarat government was playing with the lives of coronavirus patients to promote 'Dhaman-1' ventilators made by a firm `owned by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's friend'.

The ruling BJP called the allegations levelled by the Congress on Thursday as baseless and said the opposition party was maligning the image of a local manufacturer.

Muzaffarnagar, May 22 (PTI) A 15-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped by three youths in the Purkazi area here, police said on Friday.

The girl was picked up from her house by the three accused and taken to a secluded place where she was raped, Station House Officer Subhash Gautam said.

The incident came to light on Thursday when the girl came back to home and narrated her ordeal to the parents, he said.

A case under relevant sections of law has been registered against the accused, Gautam said.

Mumbai, May 22 (PTI) The Reserve Bank on India (RBI) on Friday said India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be in negative territory in 2020-21 as the outbreak of coronavirus has disrupted economic activities.

In a televised address, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the global economy is heading into recession. He also said inflation outlook is "highly uncertain".

Pune, May 22 (PTI) At least 25 COVID-19 patients, who are in a semi-critical condition at Pune's government-run Sassoon General Hospital, will be administered tocilizumab, a drug which has proven effective in treating the infection, an official said on Friday.

The new drug, an injection which costs around Rs 20,000, will be given to 25 patients in the first phase and depending on the results, the Pune Municipal Corporation will decide on its further use, municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said.

Lucknow, May 22 (PTI) Police have registered an FIR after receiving a WhatsApp message threatening to kill Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The sender used objectionable language against Adityanath in the message sent on police headquarter's WhatsApp number, calling him a threat to particular community, a senior police officer said.

The unknown sender threatened to blow him up with a bomb, the officer said.

Kochi, May 22 (PTI) INS Sunayna, an offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, successfully completed her anti- piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden and arrived here early Friday morning, a Defence spokesman said.

The ship, based under the Southern Naval Command here, had to sustain herself without entering any port for 80 days due to COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

She was fuelled and resupplied by tankers of the Indian Navy and US Navy, the spokesman said.

Mumbai, May 22 (PTI) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday slashed interest rates, extended moratorium on loan repayments and allowed banks to lend more to corporates in an effort to support the economy which is likely to contract for the first time in over four decades.

The benchmark repurchase (repo) rate was cut by 40 basis points to 4 per cent, Governor Shaktikanta Das said announcing the decisions taken by the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that met ahead of its scheduled meeting in early June.

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) India unit said it would hire 50,000 temporary workers to meet a surge in online shopping in the country, where customers have been stuck indoors for two months in a lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

E-commerce firms faced massive disruption in the initial days of the lockdown in India, but a slow easing of the stringent regulations has allowed them to resume large parts of their operations.

KOLKATA/DHAKA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, peering down from his aircraft on Friday, saw the devastation and flooding caused by the most powerful cyclone to strike India and Bangladesh in more than a decade, before he landed in the stricken city of Kolkata.

Cyclone Amphan killed at least 96 people in the two countries after it swept in from the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, most in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

The toll is expected to rise as communications are restored and authorities reach villages cut off by blocked roads.