Odisha on Saturday reported 17 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number to 287, the Health and Family Welfare Department said. Twelve new cases were reported from Ganjam district, three were detected in Mayurbhanj and one each in Bhadrak and Sundergarh district, it said. The total number of infected people rose to 83 in Ganjam district. The number of cases in Bhadrak stood at 25 and total 13 cases were detected in Sundergarh. At present, there are 222 active cases in the state and 63 people have recovered. Two people from Bhubaneswar have succumbed to the disease, an official said. There are currently 298 people in hospital isolation in the state, he said. The state health department had on Friday conducted 3,348 tests for COVID-19, he said, adding that Odisha has so far tested 56,322 samples. As per an analysis by the department, 240 of the state's total 287 cases have been reported from five districts. Ganjam reported 83 cases, Jajpur 55, Khurda 50, Balasore 27 and Bhadrak 25. In

The number of coronavirus positive cases in Nashik district of Maharashtra jumped to 622 after 50 more persons were found infected, officials said on Saturday. As many as 49 of the 50 new patients were from Malegaon and one from Nashik city, the district administration said in statement. Of the total 622 COVID-19 patients in the district, 497 are from Malegaon, 45 from Nashik city and 61 from other parts, it said. The death toll due to the virus is 19 so far in the district, the statememt added. There are 19 patients from outside the district who are receiving treatment in hospitals here. A total of 46 patients- 41 patients from Malegaon, three from Nashik Municipal Corporation limit and two from other parts of the district- have recovereed from the infection so far, it said.

Fifty-seven new coronavirus cases were reported in Rajasthan on Saturday morning, taking the total number of cases in the state to 3,636 officials said. Maximum of the new cases -- 20 -- were reported from Udaipur and 15 in Jaipur, a government official said. Eleven cases were from Ajmer, three from Pali, two each from Rajsamand and Churu, and one each in Kota, Barmer, Jalore and Dausa, the official said. Rajasthan has reported 103 deaths due to COVID-19 so far and the maximum cases (1,160) and deaths (54) are from Jaipur.

A student of the Regional Dental College in Guwahati tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of positive cases in Assam to 59, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. The student's test report came in on Friday night, following which the number of cases detected in Guwahati since Thursday rose to five. Only one person, a resident of a high- end apartment, was found to be COVID-19 positive in the city prior to that. "These are difficult times. My duty is to give finest attention to all. Following social distancing guidelines of the government, met the girl who tested positive at Regional Dental College and assured her best care," Sarma said. He urged other students of the college not to panic and ensure social distance. The girl was tested after she came in contact with a post-graduate student of the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) who had tested positive on Thursday, an official said. A 16-year old girl was found COVID-19 positive .

Thirty Six new COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections in the state to 789, health department said on Saturday. "36 new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon....Till date 789 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 379 discharges," the department said in its mid day situation report. The 36 new cases include- 12 from Bengaluru urban, seven from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada, five from Davangere, three each from- Bantawal in Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga and Bidar, and one each from Tumakuru, Davangere and Vijayapura. While most cases are contacts of patients already tested positive, three are with travel history to Ahmedabad, two are from a containment zone in Bengaluru, and one person's contact is under tracing.

Jammu and Kashmir has been able to achieve "remarkable improvement" in multiple indicators related to maternal and child health in recent years, with a decline in infant mortality rate (IMR), an official spokesman said. The IMR has been reduced from 52 (2005) to 22 (2018), according to the latest data released by the Registrar General of India in the SRS bulletin on Friday. "The current national average of infant mortality rate stands at 32 much higher than that of J-K," the spokesman said. "The entire Health and Medical Education Department with active support from the National Health Mission (NHM) has put in strenuous efforts to provide essential newborn care at government health institutions across the Union Territory," Atal Dulloo, the financial commissioner in Health and Medical Education Department, said. Special newborn care units (SNCUs) have been established in 27 districts and other equivalent hospitals, three NICUs, newborn stabilisation units (NBSUs) and newborn care ...

The Maharashtra government has appointed Ramesh Bharmal as the director and dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Hospital at Sion in Mumbai, which was in the eye of a storm after a video showing COVID-19 patients being treated next to the bodies of victims there had gone viral. In the wake of the viral video, Pramod Ingle had been transferred from the post of the hospital dean and the additional charge had been given to Mohan Joshi. As per the government order issued on May 5, Joshi who will now be the dean of civic-run Nair hospital. Prajakta Lavangare will work as an overall coordinator of both the hospitals, it said. Bharmal was previously the dean of Nair hospital.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress has launched a chat portal that will let people list the problems being faced by them amid the ongoing COVID-19-induced lockdown, the party said on Saturday. The complaints received from users of the UP Mitr' chat portal will be forwarded to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath so that the state government can help the people, state Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said in a statement. "The portal has been made to help the common public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it, problems of the common public will be listed and the UP Congress will help the complainants. The list of complaints will be sent to the chief minister, Lallu said. The Congress leader said that his party was committed to help every needy person in the state. "The party is running community kitchens at various places in the state including Ghaziabad, Hapur, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lakhimpur Khiri and Lucknow, he said in the statement. The party's district committee is making dry ration available ..

Experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences visited the civil hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city on Saturday and interacted with frontline staff amid concerns over the rise in COVID-19 fatalities. The city's COVID-19 mortality rate stands at 6.5 per cent, which is almost double that of the country's death rate of 3.3 per cent. AIIMS director and pulmonologist Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr Manish Soneja of AIIMS' department of medicine, flew in on a special Indian Air Force plane on Friday, an official said. The duo visited the civil hospital and met doctors and staff, who were attending to COVID-19 patients and offered them guidance, the release stated. Principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi also interacted with frontline medical staff at the hospital, which has the highest number COVID-19 patients in the city. The AIIMS doctors were also scheduled to visit Sardar Vallabhai Patel Hospital in the city. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had urged Union Home ...

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi, 74, was admitted to a private hospital here on Saturday after his condition deteriorated, his son Amit Jogi said. Ajit Jogi's health suddenly worsened while he was having breakfast, following which he was admitted in hospital this afternoon, he said. The former CM's wife Renu Jogi, an MLA, is with him in the hospital. A bureaucrat-turned politician, Ajit Jogi had served as the first CM of Chhattisgarh from November 2000 to November 2003 in then Congress government, after the state came into existence. The Jogi senior parted ways with the Congress in 2016 after he and his son got embroiled in a controversy over a by-election. Later, he quit the Congress and formed Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J).

Seventy-six fresh coronavirus cases surfaced in Rajasthan on Saturday, pushing the state's infection count to 3,655. The state has so far reported 103 deaths. Among the fresh cases, the maximum 23 were reported from Udaipur, followed by Jaipur where 20 people were found infected with the virus on Saturday. Thirteen cases surfaced in Ajmer; six in Jodhpur; four in Pali; three in Jalore; two each in Rajsamand and Churu; and one each in Kota, Barmer and Dausa, according to a government official. Jaipur is the worst-hit Rajasthan district with a total of 1,165 case, including 54 deaths.

Four more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttarakhand on Saturday taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 67. The cases were reported from Udham Singh Nagar district, a health department bulletin here said. With this, COVID-19 cases in Uttarakhand have risen to 67 out of which 46 patients have been discharged after recovery and one has died. The number of active cases in Uttarakhand currently stands at 20, it said.

Amid a spurt in coronavirus cases in the national capital, the Delhi government has roped in three more private hospitals with a total of 150 beds to treat COVID-19 patients. In an order issued on Saturday,Delhi Health Secretary Padmini Singla declared Fortis in Shalimar Bagh, Saroj Medical Institute in Sector 19, Rohini and Khushi Hospital in Dwarka for admitting confirmed or suspected cases. The decision was taken due to the "shortage of isolation beds in private hospitals", te order read. The three hospitals will have 50 isolation beds each. Medical superintendents of these hospitals have been directed to make the isolation facility functional before Monday. On April 30, Singla had declared Maha Durga Charitable Trust Hospital and Sir Gangaram City Hospital as COVID-19 hospitals. LNJP Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital, Sir Gangaram Kolmat Hospital and Max Hospital in Saket are some of the COVID-19 dedicated facilities in Delhi, where 6,318 people have tested positive

Confusion prevailed over the number of deaths due to coronavirus in the national capital, with data from four hospitals showing that 92 people succumbed to the infection as against 68 fatalities reported by the Delhi government. The toll of 68 shared by the Delhi government in its health bulletin on Friday is based on data collected from 10 hospitals, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College. According to the bulletin, AIIMS (Delhi and Jhajjar) reported two deaths, Safdarjung Hospital reported four, RML 26 and Lady Hardinge Medical College had none till Friday. However, officials from these hospitals said the number of people who died due to coronavirus in the national capital till Friday is higher than that reflected in the Delhi government's bulletin. AIIMS (Delhi Trauma Centre and Jhajjar) has recorded a total of 14 deaths, an official said. According to All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Medical ...

One more person has tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, taking the total number of cases in the state to 13, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Saturday. Of the total 13 COVID-19 cases, only two are active including the fresh case in Shillong. "Unfortunately we have another positive case in Shillong. Its a person working in the same house. As a precaution health department was retesting all the primary contacts and in the process we found this positive case. The person is safe and healthy and showing no symptoms," the chief minister tweeted. Senior Health department officials said the person had tested negative twice in the past. Meghalaya has reported 13 COVID-19 cases till date with one death. Ten persons have recovered from the disease. The first COVID-19 positive case in the state was Dr John Sailo Ryntathiang, who tested positive on April 13. The 69-year-old doctor died two days later and eight of his family members and two of his domestic help have also ..

: The number of active COVID-19 cases slid below the 1,000 mark to 999 in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday though the overall tally rose to 1,930 with the addition of 43 in the last 24 hours ending 9 am. The COVID-19 toll in the state also increased by three to 44 while 45 more patients were discharged from hospitals, according to the latest bulletin. Chittoor district saw a sudden spurt in cases, with 11 reported in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, as some people who returned from Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai city tested posted for coronavirus. It is suspected that these people contracted the disease at Koyambedu and several others who also returned from the place were sent to quarantine, sources here said. Visakhapatnam too continued to show an upward trend as five fresh cases were registered, taking the total in the district to 62. The major hotspots Kurnool, Krishna and Guntur reported six, 16 and two fresh cases. In the last 24 hours, Krishna reported two

A robot has been inducted into service at the Chandrapur civil hospital, and it could be used for collecting swab samples for COVID-19 test with some modifications in near future, an official said. District collector Dr Kunal Khemnar handed over the "medi-rover robot", which can be used for handing food or medicines to patients, to the hospital on Saturday. It has been developed by Tata Technologies in association with the Government Engineering College, Chandrapur, Khemnar said in a statement. "The robot will help the medical staff in treating and nursing of patients at the hospital," he said. With some modifications, the battery-operated robot, which weighs about 30 kg, can even be used for collection of swab samples of suspected COVID-19 patients in the coming days, he added. So far, only one coronavirus positive case has been found in Chandrapur district.

A 62-year-old man died due to coronavirus in Noida, becoming the second COVID-19 fatality in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, officials said on Saturday. The resident of Sector 66 was among the two people who tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the officials said. "He expired yesterday (Friday) evening. The cause of the death was cardio-respiratory failure, District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said in a statement. The other person who tested positive for COVID-19 is a 52-year-old man residing in Sector 45's Khajoor Colony, the officer said. "Total 100 reports have been received in the last 24 hours of which two were positive and the rest negative for COVID-19. The cumulative positive cases of coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar are now 216," Dohare said. A 60-year-old man from Sector 22 died on Friday due to respiratory failure, becoming the first COVID-19 casualty in Gautam Buddh Nagar, officials had said.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 836 on Saturday as 13 more people, including two nurses, tested positive for the disease, officials said. While 12 of the fresh cases are from the Kashmir Valley, one is from Jammu, they said. "Thirteen new COVID-19 cases were detected in the union territory on Saturday," the officials said. The total number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir has now reached 836, they said. "Of these, 767 are in Kashmir, while 69 are in the Jammu region," they added. Among the fresh cases detected on Saturday, three are from Super Speciality Hospital, Shireen Bagh here -- including two staff nurses and an attendant of a patient from Shopian, said Dr Salim Khan, COVID-19 nodal officer at Government Medical College, Srinagar. According to the officials, there are 459 active cases in the union territory -- 446 in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu -- and 368 patients have recovered. A total of nine COVID-19 patients have died in Jammu and Kashmir.

With 224 new instances of the novel coronavirus infection, the total number of cases reported in the national capital climbed to 6,542, the Delhi government said on Saturday. The fresh cases were reported between 4 pm to midnight of May 8. No fresh death due to the virus was reported in this period. Delhi has so far reported 68 deaths. Of the total cases reported in the city, 4,454 are active while 2,020 patients have been cured of the disease, the health bulletin stated.

A 62-year-old man died due to coronavirus in Noida, becoming the second COVID-19 fatality in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, officials said on Saturday. The man, a resident of sector 66, died on Friday but the report of his COVID test came out as positive on Saturday, they said. "He expired yesterday (Friday) evening. The cause of the death was cardio-respiratory failure," District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said in a statement. Another person who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday is a 52-year-old man residing in sector 45's Khajoor Colony, the officer said. "Total 100 reports have been received in the last 24 hours of which two were positive and the rest negative for COVID-19. The cumulative positive cases of coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar are now 216," Dohare said. On the brighter side, two patients were discharged after recovering from the disease on Saturday, according to the statement. The two men, aged 23 and 40, were undergoing treatment at the ...

Two fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Saturday, both being foreign returnees who reached the state from Dubai and Abu Dhabi on May 7 and were among the expatriates airlifted by the Centre as part of its mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said with the two new patients, the total number of cases in the state has gone up to 505 and there are currently 17 under treatment. "One patient from Idukki, who was under treatment, has been cured today.The two new cases are now under treatment in Kochi and Kozhikode. They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi- Kochi andDubai-Kozhikode flights, respectively," Vijayan told reporters. "There are 23,930 people under observation in the state out of which 334 are in isolation wards of various hospitals," he said. Out of the total 505 infected, Kerala has till now cured 485,Vijayan added. The state has reported three deaths.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was discharged from a Lucknow hospital where he was admitted after he complained of stomach and urine-related issues. The Samajwadi Party founder, admitted to Medanta Hospital on Wednesday, was discharged on Saturday afternoon and he is fine now, party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said. He had gone to the hospital for a routine check-up but the doctors admitted him for observation, Chaudhary said. Chaudhary said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met him on Friday and enquired about his health.

As many businesses around the world struggle, a Canadian disinfectant company is increasing production to keep up with demand during the novel coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Ron Kolumbus/WSJ

Now the Big Oil earnings season has been and gone, serious questions are being asked about whether the future of exploration and production will involve the super majors in their current form.

Textbooks for 800 schools in eight states were revised after a study on the teaching of environmental concepts. A Pune-based institute has recently begun an evaluation of the revisions, reports Rasika Dhavse.

After years of public participation, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan reached its final stage. And then, things began to unravel. Kanchi Kohli reports.

The deadline for public comments from the draft National Environmental Policy expires on Oct 31. Sudhirendar Sharma reports on the context for the development of this policy and what it may portend.

On 7 June, the Kerala government-constituted K John Mathew Commission greenlighted mineral sand mining on a narrow strip of beach and the adjacent sea basin in Alapuzha district. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal note that the report has irked the local communities as well as environmentalists.

Recently, disaster struck all 53 families of the Chellipadam village in a Kochi suburb, when nearly 25 lorries, all carrying stinking garbage from the city rolled in with heavy police escort and dumped decaying garbage in their midst. The villagers had to flee their homes unable to stand the stench. M Suchitra and P N Venugopal have more.

The spirit of a public hearing must be respected, says a recent verdict from the Delhi High Court, refusing to accept the literal interpretations of the rules which the environment appellate authority used. Kanchi Kohli reports.

One of the great biodiversity hotspots of the country comes under threat from a proposed power plant, and environment regulators can't seem to make up their mind whether the area should be protected or not. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Can Jairam Ramesh, who was the Minister of State for Power during his last tenure, suffer a change of heart suddenly and come down heavily on non-compliance by those power projects he once presided over? Himanshu Upadhyaya has more.

A group of committed individuals in Alappuzha, Kerala are battling odds to revive cultivation of the unique Pokkali variety of paddy that had given way to the more lucrative business of shrimp farming. P N Venugopal reports.

Could India’s inflexible and rather aggressive attitude in global climate negotiations jeopardise its domestic mitigation of the real threats from climate change? Darryl D’Monte summarises the key take-aways from a TISS conference that dwelled upon this and related issues.

Himanshu Upadhyaya takes a close look at the Critically Polluted Areas mentioned in a recent CAG audit report on the environmental clearances and post clearance monitoring process of Ministry of Environment.

Darryl D’Monte reviews Indira Gandhi – A Life in Nature , a new book focussing on Indira Gandhi as a naturalist.

In this edition we celebrate the World Mental Health Day by bringing you stories of some mental illness surviors, we remember the Father of the Nation with a review of film Gour Hari Dastaan inspired by his ideals. We also take a look into why developing Amravati, the capital Andhra Pradhesh, in the land earmarked for it could be a disaster, the pollution caused by chemical factories in Vapi , the corruption that is derailing our Tribal Sub Plan and more.

The lung dust that hundreds of thousands of mineworkers in Rajasthan are exposed to takes a severe toll on their health and lives. The rules meant to protect them, however, have yet to be dusted off the shelves. Deepak Malik recounts the history of the mineworkers' plight.

New Delhi's two months time for feedback on its draft Coastal Management Zone notification expired on 8 July. Activists say the proposed law will make way for beach-front villas and water-front recreation parks and do little to protect the rights of fisherfolk and the environment. Krithika Ramalingam reports.

Fifth in the series of articles on civil society and governance Jayaprakash Narayan assesses the challenges from where a process of transformation must emerge.

A recent report by Human Rights Watch, No Tally of the Anguish provides a much-needed exposure of the real story behind averages and official data about maternal mortality, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Wendy Nguyen, founder of Wendy's Lookbook, speaks with WSJ's Veronica Dagher about surviving trauma, creating viral videos and launching a CBD business.

Turo lets individuals rent their personal vehicles. Some “hosts” are building businesses at airports that major car rental companies slam as unfair competition. WSJ’s Jason Bellini reports. Photo: Jake Nicol/The Wall Street Journal

Banks are required to meet capital requirements in order to pass government stress tests. So what is capital, and how much is needed? WSJ's Liz Hoffman reports. Illustration: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal

If the Bharatiya Janata Party's own chances of returning to power are so weak, where is the question of Narendra Modi assuming its leadership and becoming the next Prime Minister. B Raman examines

Fishermen oppose a new notification by the Environment Ministry that would open up the coast to industrial development. Their state governments agree, but the Centre and the World Bank are pushing ahead nonetheless. Kanchi Kohli reports.

Moneylender troubles, a fast depleting catch due to reckless pollution, and displacement: it has been raining blow after blow on fisherfolk in Andhra Pradesh recently. Will a meeting with a cabinet minister fix things? Keya Acharya reports.

Twenty years after the Brundtland report, it is self-evident that economic growth which consumes resources without regenerating them is, by very definition, unsustainable. But despite taking the moral high ground early, India's record on this front has been at best a mixed one, writes Darryl D'Monte.

It is often believed that coal-based power plants near the coast, by virtue of their proximity to the sea, do not create any pressure on water resources. Shripad Dharmadhikary’s visit to Krishnapattanam in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu exposes the fallacy in that.