Here are the top 5 news updates of December 2, 2021:
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope today said revised guidelines for domestic air travel will be issued by the state government in the next couple of days. Tope's comment came a day after the Centre asked the state to align its order with the SOPs issued by the Union Health Ministry. Maharashtra has mandated seven-day institutional quarantine for travellers arriving in the state from 'at-risk' countries under the guidelines issued by the State Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday night. Such passengers will also undergo RT-PCR test on the second, fourth and seventh day of arrival. If found to be COVID-19 positive, the passenger will be shifted to a hospital. In case the test is negative, the passenger will still have to undergo seven-day home quarantine.
In order to assist children who lost their parents due to COVID-19, the Maharashtra government has decided to waive off their exam fee for the upcoming state board exams 2021-22. Maharashtra School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad making the announcement tweeted, "A small solace from our side to children who have lost their parents to the pandemic - exam fee for state board exams 2021-22 is being waived off. We are aware they have gone through a lot already, but their education must continue." Also, the Maharashtra govt had earlier announced that it will give Rs 50,000 aid to kin or immediate relatives of people who died due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Delhi government today announced the closure of all schools in the national capital till further orders because of an increase in the air pollution levels. However, board exams will continue as scheduled and teaching-learning activities will be conducted online, it said. The decision came hours after the Supreme Court pulled up the Delhi government for resuming physical classes in schools despite an increase in the air pollution levels in the city. "We had reopened the schools considering the forecast that air quality would improve. However, the air pollution levels have increased again and we have decided to shut schools from Friday till further orders," Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said.
The Income Tax (I-T) Department had initiated search and seizure operations on a real estate group, engaged in the construction of residential and commercial projects, in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Region on November 25. The group is mainly carrying out the development of slum rehabilitation projects. The search action covered around 30 premises. As a result of the search action, unaccounted cash exceeding Rs 6 crore has been seized, agency officials informed today. According to the I-T sources, the search action unearthed various methods of tax evasion allegedly adopted by the group. Several documentary and digital evidences have been found and seized demonstrating receipt of cash to the tune of Rs 100 crore, which is not accounted for in the regular books of account.
Equity benchmark Sensex rallied 777 points today, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, Infosys and TCS despite largely negative cues from global peers. Rising for the second consecutive session, the 30-share index ended 776.50 points or 1.35 per cent higher at 58,461.29. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 234.75 points or 1.37 per cent to 17,401.65. HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing nearly 4 per cent, followed by PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv. On the other hand, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were the losers.