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  The liquor industry has reported a decline of 12 per cent in the sale of the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) segment amid Covid pandemic and lockdown despite 6 per cent growth in the January-March quarter in 2020-21. The total sale of IMFL was 305 million cases (9 litres each) products in 2020-21 — nearly 12 per cent below the previous year. Though the sales picked up in the second half of 2020-21 in most parts, the States which imposed high corona cess and other taxes after the first wave of Covid-19 showed poor recovery. According to a data compiled by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the liquor sales fell by a whopping 42 per cent in first quarter of the last fiscal, it declined by 9 per cent in the second quarter and 1 per cent in the third quarter, before showing a recovery of 6 per cent in the fourth quarter. The top five States in terms of recovery in sales were Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while West Benga...

The Delhi Police's Special Cell has sent a notice to Twitter in connection with an inquiry into a complaint regarding the alleged COVID-19 'toolkit' and sought a clarification from the microblogging site for classifying a related tweet by BJP leader Sambit Patra as "manipulative", an official said on Monday. It appears that Twitter has some information that is not known to the police. This information is relevant to the inquiry, Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said. The police, however, refused to divulge the contents of the complaint or the identity of the complainant. The BJP has accused the Congress of creating a 'toolkit' that seeks to tarnish the image of the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by calling the new strain of coronavirus as "India strain" or "Modi strain". However, the Congress has denied the allegation and claimed that the BJP is propagating a fake 'toolkit' to defame it. Last week, Twitter labelled as ...

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane reviewed India's operational readiness along the border with China in the Arunachal Pradesh sector during a two-day visit to the Northeastern region that began on Thursday. His visit to the region came amid the Indian Army's continued standoff with the Chinese military in some of the friction points in eastern Ladakh. Officials said Gen Naravane arrived at Dimapur in Nagaland on Thursday to review the operational readiness along the Northern borders of Arunachal Pradesh and the security situation in the hinterland in the Northeastern region. "On arrival at the Corps headquarters in Dimapur, the Army Chief was briefed by Lt Gen Johnson Mathew, General Officer Commanding of Spear Corps and the Division Commanders on the prevailing situation and operational preparedness along the Northern borders," the Army said. It said the Chief of Army Staff complimented all ranks for maintaining excellent vigil and exhorted them to stay alert and keep watc...

  The first batch of anti- COVID oral drug 2-DG, developed by the DRDO, was released on Monday by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) approved the 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients earlier this month. In his brief remarks, Singh said the drug has brought a new ray of hope for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. "This is a great example of the scientific prowess of our country," he said. At the same time, the defence minister said that it is not the time to relax and get tired as there is nothing definitive about the course of the pandemic. "We do not need to be relaxed, nor should we get tired. Because this wave has come for the second time, and there is nothing definite about this. We have to take steps with full caution," he said at the event in DRDO headquarters. Singh said the government has taken the overall ...

  Israel on Thursday said it was massing troops along the Gaza frontier and calling up 9,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory, as the two bitter enemies plunged closer to all-out war. Egyptian mediators rushed to Israel for cease-fire efforts but showed no signs of progress. The stepped-up fighting came as communal violence in Israel erupted for a fourth night, with Jewish and Arab mobs clashing in the flashpoint town of Lod. The fighting took place despite a bolstered police presence ordered by the nation's leaders. The four-day burst of violence has pushed Israel into uncharted territory — dealing with the most intense fighting it has ever had with Hamas while simultaneously coping with the worst Jewish-Arab violence inside Israel in decades. A late-night barrage of rocket fire from Lebanon that landed in the sea threatened to open a new front along Israel's northern border. Saleh Aruri, an exiled senior Hamas leader, told London-ba...

  The European Commission insisted Monday it still trusts the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and that its dispute with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is only contractual. The EU's executive branch has launched legal proceedings in Belgium against the firm for what it believes amounts to a breach of contract after AstraZeneca failed to deliver doses of its coronavirus vaccine in a timely manner. Millions of doses of AstraZeneca have been safely administered in Europe, but concerns linger over a rare type of blood clot seen in an extremely small number of recipients. The dispute between the EU and the company has further dented the public's confidence in the efficiency of the vaccine, but the European Commission insisted Monday the AstraZeneca serum remains part of its strategy to have 70 per cent of all EU adults immunised this summer. “First of all, the AstraZeneca vaccine is a very important vaccine for our vaccine portfolio," said Stefan de Keersmaecker, the ...

  Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston has appealed to her fans on Instagram to lend a helping hand to India in its fight against the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The actor, popular among the Indian audience as Rachel Green from the 1990s hit sitcom "Friends", on Tuesday shared three posts on her Instagram Stories bringing the country's worrying scenario amid the health crisis to the attention of her 36.5 million plus followers. Aniston's first story read, "A severe second wave of coronavirus infections has swept over India, setting global records for new infections each day over the past five days." In her second story, the 52-year-old actor said that Americares "is raising money for immediate relief aid for India" and also shared link details. Americares is a global non-profit organisation focused on health and development that respond to individuals affected by poverty, disaster, or crisis. In her third story, Aniston said one doesn'...

On April 5, addressing a rally in Debanandapur in Hooghly district, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said, “I will win Bengal with one leg and in the future, will get victory in Delhi with two legs.” The reference was to the injury she suffered in one leg in Nandigram on March 10 that left her wheelchair-bound. Mamata has fulfilled her first vow by registering a resounding victory. But despite the excitement her landslide win generated in the Opposition camp, it would be naïve to think she could emerge as an acceptable face for the Opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Not much should be seen in the warm greetings extended to her by the entire spectrum of the Opposition - Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad, Akhilesh Yadav, Omar Abdullah, Sanjay Raut, Mehbooba Mufti. After all, Mamata has given a bloody nose to their sworn enemy and it was a moment to rejoice for them. But to see Mamata’s Bengal victory as the beginning of a process of consolidation of the anti-BJP Opposition ...