Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI) Delhi's first plasma bank to help treat novel coronavirus started functioning on Thursday, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying that COVID-19 patients can donate their plasma 14 days after recovery.

Addressing an online media briefing, the chief minister issued numbers - 1031 and 8800007722 where people can contact for donation of plasma to save the lives of COVID-19 patients.

The government has set up the plasma bank at the state-run Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.

New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI) Private train operations in the country will begin by April 2023, and the ticket fares in these trains will be competitive with airfares on similar routes, the Railways said Thursday.

Addressing a press conference online, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said that private players in passenger train operations will mean a quantum jump in technology and coaches that run at higher speeds.

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday reported a 54 per cent decline in total sales at 57,428 units in June.

The company had sold 1,24,708 units in June last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

Domestic sales declined by 53.7 per cent to 53,139 units last month, as against 1,14,861 units in June 2019, it added.

The company exported 4,289 units last month, down 56.4 per cent from 9,847 units in June 2019, MSI said.

New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh has recorded the highest infant mortality rate of 48 for every 1,000 live births while Kerala has registered the lowest -- just seven, according to the latest data of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

The data showed the infant mortality rate in India has improved, albeit slightly, from 33 in 2017 to 32 in 2018.

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) India has bid for the 2027 Asian Cup hosting rights along with four other countries, the Asian Football Federation (AFC) has revealed.

The other bidders for Asia's premier football tournament are Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

Tuticorin, Jul 1 (PTI) The Indian Navy on Wednesday repatriated over 600 Indians from Iran as part of the Centre's "Samudra Setu" mission to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from abroad.

Indian Navy Ship Jalashwa repatriated 687 Indian nationals from Iran and arrived at the VOC Port here today.

It had left Bandar Abbas in Iran on June 25.

Those who arrived on Wednesday hailed from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, officials said.

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in their respective custodies as per the provisions of a 2008 agreement.

India handed over lists of 265 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 97 fishermen in its custody to Pakistan, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Similarly, Pakistan has shared lists of 54 civilian prisoners and 270 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or believed-to-be Indians, the MEA said.

New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a programme to provide free ration for over 80 crore people, mostly poor, by five more months till November end

In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said over Rs 90,000 crore will be spent on the programme's extension, and if the last three months expenditure on account of the free ration scheme is added then the total budget will be about Rs 1.5 lakh crore

New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) The output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 23.4 per cent in May due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to the official data.

The eight core sectors had expanded by 3.8 per cent in May 2019, the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday showed.

New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) TikTok on Tuesday said it is in the process of complying with the government's order on blocking of the app, and asserted that it has not shared information of Indian users with any foreign government, including that of China.

The short video-sharing company said it has been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications.