Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced interim assistance of Rs 1,500 crore for cyclone-hit West Bengal and Odisha after reviewing the situation caused by cyclone 'Amphan' that ripped through the coastal districts of two states and claimed at least 86 lives.

The cyclone that made landfall near West Bengal's Digha, ripped through the coastal districts of the two states and lay waste to standing crops in thousands of hectares, uprooted trees, blew off electric poles and communication towers.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of the economic package to deal with the COVID-19 crisis as a cruel joke on the country as 22 opposition parties accused the Central Government of unabashedly usurping powers of states and abandoning any pretence of being democratic.

Delhi on Friday recorded its highest temperature of the season as the mercury crossed 45 degrees Celsius-mark in Palam area, the India Meteorological Department said.

A heatwave swept parts of north India, including the national capital on Friday.

While the maximum temperature of 45.4℃ was recorded at Palam, the Safdarjung Observatory recorded a high of 43.8 degrees Celsius.

In good news to tipplers in Mumbai, the BMC has allowed home delivery of liquor via e-commerce platforms in the city as coronavirus-enforced lockdown guidelines have been relaxed by the municipal authorities.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued guidelines for sale of liquor in the city except in COVID-19 containment zones.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Friday extension of loan moratorium by three more months to August 31 due to the financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made the statement at a press conference amidst expectations that he will announce measures to ease the financial burden caused by the pandemic.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against Congress interim Chief Sonia Gandhi for her misleading tweets made from party's official twitter handle INCIndia on May 11 about PM CARES fund in Shimoga, Karnataka.

The FIR was filed against Gandhi based on a complaint made by an advocate, KV Praveen, from Karnataka`s Shivamogga district for the above-mentioned reason.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed officials concerned to ensure that no migrant worker should undergo the unfortunate situation of walking back to hisher native place.

Since the last few days there's been a severe heatwave in the Telangana region making it dangerous for migrant workers who want to travel back home on foot.

In the duration of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-necessitated nationwide lockdown in India, several stories of the innumerable hardships being faced by the country's migrant labourers and their daunting perseverance in the face of that have come to light. The latest in that list is the story of a 15-year-old girl who cycled almost 1,200-km, from Gurugram in Haryana to her hometown in Bihar's Darbhanga, with her injured father riding pillion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to West Bengal and Odisha today to take stock of the situation in the wake of Cyclone Amphan and conduct aerial surveys of the affected areas, the Prime Minister's Office had informed on Thursday. He will also take part in review meetings to decide on the measures that ought to be taken in the aftermath of the disaster.

As domestic flight operations resume on Monday, the government has set limits on airfares, categorising them into seven bands as per the flight durations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.

The limits would be in place till August 24, said Puri at a press conference in Delhi.

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