-Hindustan Times Earlier this week, the ministry released a user manual for online submission of an undertaking on no increase in pollution load due to expansion, on its Parivesh website. The environment ministry has allowed companies operating in several industries, including some polluting ones, to expand capacities on the basis of a self-certification that this will not “increase the pollution load”, creating the room for potential misdeclaration (and misuse), especially in light...

-The Hindu A catastrophe has hit India and there is no sign that the ferocious second wave is being dealt with competently Earlier this week, a young woman in Uttar Pradesh tweeted a cry for help. Her grandmother’s oxygen level had fallen to 40. “Pls help us in getting one bed in hospital in Bareilly,” she wrote in desperation. Soon a handle that called itself “Team Hindu Unlimited” was on her: “Stop...

-TheNewsMinute.com The scientists said that they have received partial funding and permission for implementing systematic surveillance of new variants of Coronavirus. Over 300 scientists from across India, including renowned names like Prof LS Shashidhara (Professor of Biology, IISER Pune and Ashoka University) and Prof Partha Majumder (National Science Chair, Government of India), have requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to open access to various data in order to transparency in...

-The Hindu Maharashtra continues to lead in the number of infections. With 4,08,323 new COVID-19 cases recorded until 11 p.m. on April 30, India became the first country in the world to register over 4 lakh infections in a single day. As many as 3,464 new deaths were also reported on the day. Maharashtra reported 62,919 infections, followed by Karnataka (48,296), and Kerala (37,199). Maharashtra also recorded 828 casualties, followed by Delhi (375)...

-The Indian Express International TV channels have run visuals of waiting ambulances and patients outside hospitals, and cremations to underline India's lack of preparedness. Mumbai: In a virtual meeting with Indian ambassadors and high commissioners posted across the world, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday conveyed the message that the “one-sided” narrative in international media — that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government had failed the country by their “incompetent”...