Here are the top 5 news updates of May 7, 2021:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin today said that his government will bear all the expenses of the Covid patients in private hospitals. The state health insurance cover will bear the expenses of Covid treatment in private hospitals hereon, the Chief Minister said in an order. Stalin issued another order sanctioning Rs 2,000 each to the rice cardholders in Tamil Nadu. Stalin had also signed an order to reduce the price of public sector "Aavin" milk brand by Rs 3 per litre. Besides, an order permitting women to travel in ordinary town buses free of cost was also issued.
The Supreme Court today made clear to the Centre that it will have to keep supplying 700 MT of oxygen to Delhi every day till its order is modified, saying it meant "business" and non-compliance may force it to go "firm". Two days ago, the top court had stayed the contempt proceedings initiated by Delhi High Court against central government officials for non-compliance of direction to supply 700 MT of oxygen for COVID patients to Delhi, saying "putting officers in jail" would not bring oxygen and efforts should be made to save lives. A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah had said however that the Centre will have to ensure supply of 700 MT of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) to the national capital daily.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today said the party's performance in the just-concluded assembly elections was very disappointing and party MPs must draw appropriate lessons from this setback in the spirit of humility and honesty. Addressing the virtual meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, she said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) would meet soon to review the assembly poll results. "Most unfortunately, our own performance in all the states was very disappointing and if I may say, unexpectedly so," she said while concluding her speech at the meeting.
To control the crowd at the vaccination centres amidst the limited supply of vaccines, the Maharashtra government has decided to vaccinate beneficiaries from the 35-44 age group, health minister Rajesh Tope informed today. Tope also said that the beneficiaries from the 18-34 age group will be administered doses after adequate supply. Tope alleged that most of the pharmaceutical companies are not supplying the mandated quantity of Remdesivir vials to the state. Remdesivir, an anti-viral drug, is used in the treatment of coronavirus patients.
Extending its winning run to the third session, equity benchmark Sensex advanced 257 points today, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, ITC and Bharti Airtel amid a positive trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE index ended 256.71 points or 0.52 per cent higher at 49,206.47. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 98.35 points or 0.67 per cent to 14,823.15. HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting over 2 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, M&M, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement and ONGC.
