Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed both the ruling LDF and opposition UDF in Kerala as twins of misgovernance and corruption and sought a mandate for the NDA in Tamil Nadu.

Addressing rallies in the two poll-bound states, he said that vote for BJP and its allies will be a vote for development.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda has said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is "certainly" losing from Nandigram and is therefore searching for another seat to contest.

On being asked on reports of the Trinamool Congress chief searching for another seat to contest in the assembly elections, Nadda told ANI: This is their strategy and they know better about it, but we have information that she is searching and their people have said so to me. However, I cannot take a guarantee of this as they know it. But she is losing Nandigram, this is certain.

With parts of Maharashtra witnessing record Covid surge, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said he could announce stricter curbs in a day or two, and warned of a lockdown if the situation did not improve.

The state government also imposed a week-long 12-hour night curfew in Pune (6 pm-6am) and also ordered the closure of malls, cinema halls, and places of religious worship in the district, which has been the worst-affected in the country in the fresh wave of Covid. Restaurants and bars will remain in open only for delivery and dining won’t be permitted.

More than 100 million people in the US have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About 157 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered as of Friday, while more than 204 million doses have been distributed across the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL) is raising a term loan of Rs 2,100 crore and will tie-up working capital facility of Rs 700 crore to finance projects. Its parent NTPC has set a target of achieving 32 Gw renewable energy capacity by 2030.

The debt tie-up for the existing projects is underway, while equity would be infused by NTPC.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Thursday hinted that some restrictions could be introduced in the city in a bid to flatten the coronavirus curve, including curbs on local trains.

Speaking to reporters, the official said, Nobody wants lockdown but keeping in mind the manner in which cases are rising and creating pressure on the health infrastructure, some strict measures will have to be taken.

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday said that the party would win all the 30 seats in the second phase of the West Bengal assembly election.

Speaking to ANI, Vijayvargiya said, In the history of West Bengal in 50 years, there has never been such peaceful voting like this time. The voters cast their votes without fear in 90 per cent polling booths. There were some minor incidents but the main thing is that earlier goons used to capture polling booths and not allow voters to vote but now that thing has finished.

Pakistan’s Cabinet, the final authority on resuming trade with India, reversed a decision by a government economic committee on Wednesday to import cotton and sugar from the neighbouring country.

The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, linked the resumption of trade with the restoration of autonomy to the region of Kashmir, interior minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed said.

Reliance Retail Ventures, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, has extended the timeline for six months to complete its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Kishore Biyani-led future group to buy its retail and wholesale business.

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) has extended the timeline for the Long Stop Date from March 31, 2021 to September 30, 2021, said a regulatory filing by Future Retail.

In a worrying development, India's fresh surge of COVID-19 cases climbed to 81,466, which is the highest single-day rise in this year.

As many as 469 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, data from the union health ministry said on Friday.

With these additional cases, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 1,23,03,131.

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