Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Expressing concern over the plight of construction workers after the country-wide lockdown over coronavirus, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce emergency measures, including wage support to those in distress.

In a letter to the prime minister, Gandhi said over 44 million construction workers are now faced with a "precarious" future as many of them are stranded in cities and are deprived of livelihood due to the lockdown.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Pune-based molecular diagnostics company Mylab Discovery Solutions on Monday said it has received commercial approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for its COVID-19 test kit.

The test kit by the company is the first 'Made in India' kit to receive commercial approval from CDSCO, and is named as Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit, the company said in a statement.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) The Delhi government in its budget 2020-21 presented in Assembly by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday targeted to boost the public transport with nearly new 2,500 buses and expand the metro train network.

In the total outlay of Rs 5,941 for public transport sector in 2020-21, Sisodia proposed an allocation of Rs 900 crore for Delhi Metro's Phase IV project.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) The iconic Jama Masjid will remain closed for public till March 31 in view of the coronavirus outbreak, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the imam of the mosque, said on Monday.

The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus as many people who travel abroad also come to offer prayers at the mosque, he said.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) The Delhi government on Monday announced an allocation of Rs 7,704 crore for the health sector in its budget, with approving Rs 2,578 crore for upgrading and expanding 16 hospitals.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday presented the first budget of the AAP government's second term in the Assembly.

"I propose a budget provision of Rs 7,704 crore for the health sector in 2020-21. This includes a revenue budget of Rs 6,555 crore and a capital budget of Rs 1149 crore," he said.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) A total of 32 states and Union territories have declared complete lockdown so far covering 560 districts, in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Tuesday.

Three other states and UTs have imposed lockdown in certain areas in their territories, covering 58 districts, and one union territory has imposed closure of some activities in its jurisdiction.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Protestors against the citizenship law at Shaheen Bagh were vacated by the Delhi Police amid coronavirus outbreak on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The women agitators have been on a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh for over three months, protesting the newly amended Citizenship Act .

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) R P Meena said people at the protest venue in Shaheen Bagh were requested to vacate the site as lockdown has been imposed due to coronavirus outbreak.

New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI) Hyundai Motor and Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) have announced the suspension of manufacturing operations at their respective plants amid coronavirus outbreak.

Hyundai has decided to halt production at its Chennai plant while TKM has put brakes on manufacturing at its Bidadi facility in Karnataka.

Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) The Indian rupee slipped further by 95 paise to 76.15 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday amid sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country and heavy selling in domestic equities.

Forex traders said market participants are concerned that the sharp rise in coronavirus cases, with nearly 400 cases in the country, could weigh on the economy.

New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condemned the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh, saying the valour of security personnel will not be forgotten.

At least 17 jawans were killed and 14 others injured in a Naxal attack in Sukma, Chhattisgarh that took place on Saturday.