"So far, 17 states and UTs have integrated and three more states Odisha, Mizoram and Nagaland are also getting prepared. Total 20 states/UTs will be ready for the launch of ration card portability from June 1," Paswan told reporters.

Earlier, such registrations/approvals were granted without any specific expiry period unless specifically withdrawn by concerned tax authority. Under the new law introduced by Finance Act 2020 and effective from June 1, 2020, all such registrations/ approvals would now be issued with an expiry period of 5 years.

By the time the third phase of the lockdown ends on May 17, the Indian industry would have lost two months’ output, the CII said, adding that Covid-19 has “crippled” the economy

ET examines the labour reforms template of three states, which also seems to be part of efforts to lure companies looking to move out of China.

Social stigma and low testing are the key reasons for the high mortality rate among COVID-19 patients in West Bengal, where the disease, like elsewhere in the country, is still an urban phenomenon, experts say. The state's Trinamool Congress government has been drawing consistent criticism from the Centre and opposition parties over the way it has tackled the pandemic, and has been accused of under-reporting data about the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

They said stranded Indians in central Asia as well as in various European countries will be brought back home in the second phase of evacuation beginning May 15.

Indian agencies have been engaged in countering Pakistani cyber-attacks on social media platforms for a very long time. But just like the fight against the coronavirus, only through the active participation of ordinary citizens that this war on fake news can be won, suggets Colonel S Dinny (retd).

The migrants demanded that the district administration should arrange for their return to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and other states.

As of Friday, Gujarat's COVID-19 count stood at 7,403 cases, of which 5,260 were from Ahmedabad district alone, while of the 449 deaths in the state, 343 were from the city.