TOP NEWS

Recorded infections of Covid-19 in India crossed 4 crore on Tuesday, with 50 lakh fresh cases added in the last three weeks alone during the Omicron-driven third wave of the pandemic in the country.

India's Covid case count continues to be the second-highest in the world after the US, where nearly 7.3 crore cases have been logged till date. India had reached the 3-crore mark in total cases on June 22, 2021, when the second wave was waning. During that wave, the country saw the fastest rise of 1 crore cases, when the count rose from 2 crore to 3 crore in just 40 days.

Meanwhile, daily deaths rose by a steep 27% in a day, with 571 fatalities reported on Tuesday, the highest daily count in five months since Aug 25, 2021, when 603 deaths were recorded. The toll on Monday was 449.

Tweeting the news of former Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee rejecting the Padma Bhushan award, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted a cryptic caption, which seemed to be a subtle jibe at party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad's name on the list of Padma awardees.

In the tweet, Jairam Ramesh said: "Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad not Ghulam".

Meanwhile, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor congratulated Ghulam Nabi Azad on being conferred with Padma Vibhushan.

"Warm congratulations to Shri @ghulamnazad on his Padma Bhushan. It is good to be recognized for one's public service even by a government of the other side," Shashi Tharoor said in a tweet.

This Republic Day, falling in the 75th year of Independence, is being celebrated as 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' across the country. 

This year’s Republic Day parade will have about 180 “special” invitees — construction workers engaged in the revamp of Rajpath. Though the list of invitees also includes autorickshaw drivers, sanitation and other frontline workers,.

Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project: The ambitious infra project- Central Vista Avenue in New Delhi is ready for the celebrations of Republic Day 2022. Giving a big shout out to the workers, the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet that the Central Vista Avenue redevelopment project is ready as a result of the dedication and toil of more than 4000 workers from different parts of the country. The Central Vista Avenue, as a part of the Central Vista Master Plan, has been refurbished, its infrastructure has been upgraded, as well as new social amenities have been provided. Following are some of the new features, the revamped Central Vista Avenue will boast:

Increased Lawn Space as well as Restoring Green Spaces: The lawn space has been increased from 3,50,000 square metres to about 3,90,000 square metres, resulting in the overall green cover of Central Vista Avenue.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will hold a virtual meeting with nine states and United Territories on Tuesday to take stock of the prevailing Covid-19 situation. A source said that Mandaviya will interact with the health ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh.

This meeting will discuss the prevailing Covid situation and public health preparedness for containment and management of the pandemic in these states, he said.