Here are the top 5 news updates of October 4, 2021:
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation told the Bombay High Court today that it does not expect a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic coming in the city as the vaccination drive is going on smoothly, with over 42 lakh people fully vaccinated and over 82 lakh people having received the first dose. BMC counsel Anil Sakhare also told the HC that 2,586 bed-ridden people have so far been administered both the doses of COVID-19 vaccine while 3,942 such people have got the first jab. "The work is on. It is going on smoothly. Now, there is no shortage of vaccines too. Mumbai is safe. We do not see a third wave coming," Sakhare said.
Come October 20, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) is reopening its Terminal 1 (T1) for domestic flight operations, six months after it had briefly resumed operations in March this year. While the Terminal 1 will cater to approximately 156 flights daily, close to 396 flights will ply from Terminal 2. The resumption of services via T1 will help maintain social distancing measures, now that there is an increase in nationwide vaccination drive and passenger confidence in air travel. The press statement released by the CSMIA officials read that from midnight, October 20, GoFirst, Star Air, Air Asia and TruJet will resume all its domestic operations from Terminal 1. IndiGo's select flights will resume from October 31st with most of its flights operating from T2 and base flights will operate out of Terminal 1.
The Uttar Pradesh government today announced that a retired High Court judge will probe the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and that the families of the four farmers killed in the incident will be given Rs 45 lakh compensation. The government will also give Rs 10 lakh to those injured in the violence, said Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi. "An agreement has been reached with the farmers. The government will give Rs 45 lakh to the family members of the four farmers who were killed in the violence on Sunday. Besides, one member from their families will be given a government job at the local level," he said. "The government will give Rs 10 lakh to the injured and get the incident probed by a retired High Court judge," he said.
The Supreme Court today while approving Centre's disaster management guidelines on payment of Rs 50,000 ex-gratia compensation to the next kin of those who died of COVID-19, said the money to be disbursed within 30 days of applying. A Bench of Justice MR Shah and Justice AS Bopanna ordered that no state should deny the ex-gratia compensation of Rs 50,000 to the next kin of persons who died of COVID on the sole ground that the death certificate does not mention COVID-19 as the cause of death. The Bench approved the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority for grant of compensation in COVID-19 death cases. The apex court asked the Centre and States to give wide publicity to the ex-gratia scheme.
Snapping its four-session losing streak, equity benchmark Sensex rallied 534 points today, led by gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Infosys and ICICI Bank. The 30-share BSE index ended 533.74 points or 0.91 per cent higher at 59,299.32. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 159.20 points or 0.91 per cent to 17,691.25. NTPC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's and Tata Steel. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Nestle India, Kotak Bank and Titan were among the laggards.
