Board Exams for Class 10th have been cancelled and 12th exams have been postponed, said the Union Ministry of Education today after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Results of Class 10th will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board. Class 12th exams will be held later, the situation will be reviewed on 1st June by the Board," it added. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said that the decision was made due to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Amid surging pandemic cases forcing many states to curb mobility and businesses, a report has said these localised lockdowns in key economic hubs can cost the economy an average of USD 1.25 billion each week and may shave off 140 bps from the Q1 nominal GDP. If the current restrictions remain in place until May-end, the cumulative loss of economic and commercial activity could be around USD 10.5 billion or around 34 bps of nominal GDP, British brokerage Barclays said.
Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat said that there is no comparison between Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi and Kumbh in Haridwar as the former was held in a closed space while the latter is being held in a vast open area. Briefing the media persons, Rawat said, "There is no comparison between Markaz and Kumbh. Markaz was in a closed hall. All the people slept in a single hall with close contacts. They shared blankets. On the contrary, there are 16 ghats in Kumbh. Not just Haridwar, Kumbh is spread from Rishikesh to Nilkanth. Devotees take bath in different ghats at different times." Meanwhile, reports indicate that more than a thousand people have tested positive in the two days of the event.
India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations, the US intelligence community has told Congress in a report. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in its Annual Threat Assessment report to the US Congress, said although a general war between India and Pakistan is unlikely, crises between the two are likely to become more intense, risking an escalatory cycle.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today cited a quote of Mahatma Gandhi to imply that the government's decision to fast-track emergency approval for foreign-produced anti-coronavirus vaccines had been prompted by his party's suggestions. Rahul Gandhi had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, urging the government to fast-track approval for vaccines. BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had then accused Gandhi of lobbying for pharma companies by asking for arbitrary approval for foreign vaccines. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
